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TLDR; Mariner still has it, great ship and a great cruise. This is my first trip report and I tend to ramble so apologies in advance. Travel/Embarkation (TLDR cake) We drove to Orlando from NW Fla. Stayed at the Comfort Suites Orlando Airport. Good stay, unremarkable. Used points to book, felt safe, clean, shower hot, included breakfast was ok. This was our first cruise in a Junior Suite. We were parked and in the suite lounge area in minutes, and tho I didnt check exact time it felt like we boarded very shortly after our 10:30 check in. Absolute breeze. MDR (TLDR breakfast was amazing dinner was hit/miss service was good to great and attentive the 2 nights we ate there and for breakfast) We ate breakfast every day there. It was really good, and often great. we tended to get there at or shortly after opening I had the express breakfast (2 scrambled eggs, sausage, hash brown, wheat toast) 4 days, the market vegetable bowl 1 day (it was not as good as Harmony last year) and the best was the omelet which I inexplicably waited until the last day to have. The wife (who is decidedly not a breakfast person) had the cheddar cheese grits with bacon which she enjoyed). We ate here first two nights. The southern fried chicken is an abomination. I advised my wife not to get it, but there was nothing else that interested her. The only thing worse than the way it looked was how it tasted. As a life long southerner I am personally offended they call this 'southern' fried chicken. I had the spaghetti bolognese first night. It looked at tasted JUST like hamburger helper spaghetti. Here is the thing, I don't mind hamburger helper spaghetti. It was hot/fresh, and took me back to middle school where the lunch room spaghetti tasted just like it. The peanut butter wafer/cookie thing for dessert was shockingly great. Description is not good and it looks basic, but it was amazing. One thing I need to mention. EVERYONE noticed my wife didnt eat the chicken and asked her about it. She was polite and didnt say it was terrible. Both servers and the head guy offered to get her something else. Second night in the MDR we had the beef tenderloin and it was pretty good. Hot and cooked as we ordered. Mashed potatoes were good, not great. Portions were noticeably smaller but that is fine with me. We don't tend to eat huge portions and the servers always asked if we wanted more. we were in/out in an hour or so both nights. Never felt rushed nor like it was taking too long. I will strongly consider eating in MDR every night on our Mariner cruise in Oct based on our experience here. It was solid if pretty unremarkable. Specialty dining (TLDR, good sometimes great) We ate lunch in Jamies on embarkation day and it was ok. I did it mainly to have a calm lunch and it was that. I was not worth fifty bucks plus additional tip. We ate Chops 3rd night (Labadee) and it was pretty unremarkable. It seemed very busy. The steak was not as seasoned as I recall. I always get my steak rare and the filet I received fit that bill. Not much of a char and it was rare. Jamies was 4th night (Falmouth) and it was also unremarkable. Wife had Lasagna which she enjoyed and I had the chicken parm. Service and food was good not great. Izumi was 5th night (sea) and it was very very good. Food good, chef good, service and everything. I have eaten at Izumi on Harmony, Independence, and Mariner 3 times and this seems to be a pattern. The Izumi on Mariner is very good. Chops was 6th night and was as remarkable as the first visit was unremarkable. Steak was rare but had a great char, and was seasoned perfectly. Maybe the best steak I have ever had on RC. Fantastic visit. Excursions (TLDR terrific) This was our first visit to Labadee and it was great. We had a beach bed on Adrenaline Beach and the service was great. The drinks were very meh (something I will touch on later) but the view was nice and the bed was a nice base. we were in the water and saw some people wander into the bed area and make themselves at home. If you ever wonder what would happen if you tried that, they did not stay there long). We did the Chukka/Good Hope Estate excursion thru RC in Falmouth. I considered cancelling due to a number of reasons. We went and I am glad we did. It was a chill day by the pool area there. We climbed the water fall and went down the water slide. I didnt take enough cash on this excursion, but the gift shop area took cards. We got a South Beach bed at CocoCay and thats it. Absolutely perfect day (pardon the pun). I will have a hard not doing that the next few times we go there. Just a great beach day. Calm, quiet, amazing. The crispy chicken sammich is curiously great. My wife only like Chik fit A chicken sammiches, but she got one and was blown away. Bar/service (TLDR meh) I think this is the first cruise I did not get value from the DBP Only a few bars had Buffalo Trace, most were out of it The quality of the drinks was wildly inconsistent. I always try to stick to ordering certain drinks from certain bars, but based on the person making it there was not telling what you might get. This went for tenders at the same bar. Some would make drinks differently leaving out ingredients. Club soda for example. Gavin in the Schooner Bar was my far the best on the ship. I was sitting at the bar waiting when he came back in from not being there a while and several people broke out into applause. The Viking Crown Lounge remains one of my favorite spots on any ship we have been on. Just a great spot Entertainment (TLDR high and low) This to me is where the Voyager class ships fall far short of the Oasis class. Gallery of Dreams needs to be replaced The comedian was hilarious in the welcome aboard show. I really wanted to make the adult show with him but we didn't. Ice under the big top was really fun to us. I think I have seen people say otherwise. Nothing to be said about the skaters that hasnt already been said. Amazing talents. Trivia in the Schooner Bar was fun Cabin (TLDR wonderful) As mentioned earlier this was our first time staying in a Junior Suite. I got a great price on it, and figured the only benefits would be priority boarding (not a huge one for us) and double points. I was wrong. The closet was astonishing. The extra room and the 'side' window that was great for extra light changed how we used the cabin. Some afternoons instead of hanging out elsewhere we would nap in the cabin. The only thing worn on the ship I noticed was the balcony railing. It looked like it was sanded then left. Almost seemed too uniform to be wear. It was this way as far as I could see both ways on deck 9. this will almost certainly change how I approach booking cabins in the future, it was that enjoyable. I cannot say we have ever had anything below a good steward, but Levy was great. The best we have ever had. 9558 was quiet, clean, in great shape. Accessories First time with a sound machine and we LOVED it. The cabin was quiet but this made it seem more so. cordless fan was great. Too bad I am an idiot and didnt take a micro usb cable to recharge it. So once it was past initial charge it was a paperweight. It worked great for that. Magnetic hooks are must do. It seems like each cruise we find more ways to use them European outlet adapter. Great, yes, get one for these older ships Packing cubes, meh whatever. Maybe we just dont know how to utilize Assorted Motion. The water was pretty churned up and the first 3 full days the ship moved as much as I have ever felt on move. We didn't get sick but I understand many did. I had some pretty crazy videos of water shooting 10 feet in the air out of the pool. They postponed the belly flop contest because of it. Fellow passengers. It seemed we noticed more Brits on this trip. Fewer kids. I heard many complaining about the behavior of other passengers but didnt notice any myself. As always, we met several wonderful couples and had great conversation. Sorry for the length and scattershot nature of this. If you are still reading and couldnt tell we love Mariner. We never felt crowded, the sea views are great, the value it there, and we will see her again in October. Brad

We are heading out on our first Alaskan adventure in less than a week! I booked this cruise last June, two months before getting married/going on our honeymoon to Greece and somehow at the time, all I could think was “we’re going to Alaaaaska!” The days have flown by and suddenly this once-mystical seeming month of September 2023 is upon us and we’re finally going to get to see some majestic Alaskan scenery before all the glaciers melt completely. I am most excited to sit out on my balcony and see waterfalls streaming down mountains, and check things off my Alaskan wildlife checklist (which includes a bear, eagle, otter and whale)! Itinerary This 7-night sailing makes four port stops. We were originally slated to visit Skagway on Day 4 but got it swapped for ISP due to the (un)available dock space in Skagway after a landslide last year. I was so sad since I had White Pass Railroad tickets at an amazing price, I so wanted to ride it after seeing it on an episode of Mighty Trains on Smithsonian channel. Guess it means we’ll just have to make it back to Alaska again in the future! (PS. Where my Mighty Cruise Ships fans at??? Best show on TV) Day 1 - Monday - Departs Seattle, WA Day 2 - Tuesday - Cruising Day 3 - Wednesday - Sitka, AK Day 4 - Thursday - Icy Strait Point, Hoonah, AK Day 5 - Friday - Dawes Glacier & Juneau, AK Day 6 - Saturday - Cruising Day 7 - Sunday - Victoria, BC Day 8 - Returns to Seattle Who’s Going - my husband (Adrian) and I (Daryl) Cabin Back slumming it in an Ocean View Balcony on the 12th deck (12254). Alaska is wayyy pricier than the Caribbean so I couldn’t swing a JS this time as it has been consistently priced about $2k more than our balcony. I need that money for lavish excursions!! Pre-Purchases As usual, I had to stalk the DBP for awhile before purchasing, we finally got it at $62.99, the lowest price I have seen since the pandemic! I am guessing sales aren’t great on our sailing since others on September dates have reported $68 as the sale price. We have two specialty dinners booked at Izumi and Wonderland on nights 2 and 4. I am still thinking about adding Jamie’s on night 6... should I give in? It just doesn’t seem worth $49 each. We ate there on Navigator but that was back when it was priced around $32 which seems more reasonable for the fare. I can’t wait to see what Wonderland is all about! I am sure it’s a one-and-done, but figured we have to try it out since it will be the first ship we’ve be on that has it as an option. If all else fails, at least we’ll finally get to taste The World as a consolation prize. We have a two-device Voom plan this time, we will see how speeds compare to sailing in the Caribbean. I am going to try my best to keep the live-ness up on this blog! Pre-Cruise We are flying in a day early simply because it’s a Sunday and my husband and I will already have the day off. There were about 5 safe options that could’ve gotten us up the coast from San Diego on the morning of embarkation but since neither of us have been to Seattle, getting to see a new city was a bonus! We used A2S and got the tickets for $120 each on the day booking opened, now my Google flight tracker says the same exact flight costs $838 per person!! We’re staying at the Holiday Inn Downtown because it’s close to the Space Needle and was one of few hotels available because of 2 large Seattle conferences that start Monday. I booked it last October so I have to assume people trying to find a hotel right now are scrambling. Everything I want to see seems walkable from this location! While in Seattle we are planning on seeing Pike Place Market, walking the waterfront, riding the Wings Over Washington ride (one of my favorite DCA attractions is Soarin’) and visiting the aquarium. I have Space Needle tickets booked for embarkation morning at 10am, mostly since it should be a lot quieter than the alternative options on Sunday afternoon. This is also nice because I was planning on riding the North Star first thing on boarding to see the city but it’s still broken down and will be until Quantum’s next dry dock. Feel free to ask any Quantum/Alaska itinerary questions. Having sailed only Freedom, Oasis, Navigator and Brilliance we are so excited to try out this new (to us) class of ship! Of course these boards/RCblog have proved valuable in getting me up to speed on Quantum class so I would love to help out future cruisers any way I can. Been watching this countdown since it was in the mid-400’s!! Ahhhhh!

Hi all, was on the Harmony this past week for a 7 night Eastern Caribbean sailing. Arrived home less than 24 hours ago, from the cabin on Harmony to my apartment in Glasgow it was about 22 hours worth of travel so definitely tired. But it was a great trip. I'll review the trip in it's entirety, but to give some context first - this cruise came about as my sister was working in a Summer camp in America for 2 months, and the opportunity to go on a Caribbean cruise after she finished came up. I didn't have my summer vacation booked so I figured why not. On this one, I travelled solo for 4/5 days, visiting Boston, New York & Miami before finally meeting her for the cruise. Itinerary was as follows: August 21st - Fly from Edinburgh to Boston August 22nd - Full day in Boston August 23rd - Amtrak from Boston-NYC, dinner & evening in Times Square August 24th - Fly from LaGuardia to Miami August 25th - Full day in Miami August 26th - Embark Harmony of the Seas August 27th - Perfect Day at CocoCay, Bahamas August 28th - Sea Day August 29th - Charlotte Amalie, St Thomas (stayed on ship) August 30th - Philipsburg, St Maarten August 31st - Sea Day September 1st - Sea Day September 2nd - Debark Harmony/fly from Miami-JFK, overnight to Edinburgh September 3rd - Arrive back in Scotland Most definitely a packed 2 weeks, lots of fun had! Next up is the day by day blog/review.

My wife and I did the land portion of this land/cruise portion first. We finished up Denali and got to the Port in Seward on Friday, September 1st. Early on the motor coach the "adventure guide" informed us that she was just notified that the Radiance had a "propulsion system issue" that they were working on and our cruise might be delayed. We finally got to Seward about 5:30 and boarded the ship with no problems nor mention of any ship related problems. Once in our cabin, the captain made an announcement that the problem wasn't fixed, the ship had to go to dry dock and the cruise was cancelled. He did mention that we would receive a letter detailing the reimbursement packages and comps. We quickly headed to the conference room where four staff members were assisting guests with return flights home through Royal's Air/Sea. Within 1.5 hrs I received an email with our flight arrangements for Saturday night. So we headed to the nearest bar for a few complementary drinks then off to dinner. Saturday we took the last shuttle bus back to the Anchorage airport and caught our flight home later that night. Are we disappointed, yes of course. Butthese things happen and it was out of our control. We did get to see Denali and a few of the small towns around Denali. Didn't see Mt. Denali because of the clouds nor did we see any wild life but we really enjoyed that national park. We were totally satisfied with the way the captain, his staff and crew quickly reacted to this problem. Very professional, we can't complain. We look at it this way, we travelled to Alaska and got to have dinner and a night on the Radiance of The Seas. By the way, she's a beautiful ship for her age, just a "little" problem with her propulsion system. rjac

Well you got me reeled in. I do find it very fitting that this journey begins on Friday the 13th.

I tried it for the first time ever on my recent Anthem cruise. We had booked an oceanview guarantee. When I saw we'd been allocated an OV all the way forward on deck 3, I decided to try a bid on Royal Up and ended up with a large balcony cabin for just $50pp extra!

Just finished the galley tour. This turned out to an awesome one to go go. Photos to follow Our tour guide if in the future you go on this tour beware of very slick floors.

Good morning! What a great night with calm seas. Not sure we ever left Galveston. The only waves to be seen are being made by Allure.

Barcelona to Paris weekend recap- After a lovely last breakfast in Luminae we headed up to the retreat lounge to wait for disembarkation. We were one of the last groups for a flight shuttle as our flight was not international and after 12:00. One thing to note when you disembark in Barcelona is they have a baggage claim type belt where you have to pick up your bag vs having all of the bags lined up. You don’t clear customs in the cruise terminal when the entire trip takes place in the EU. The entire process took around 30 minutes. I noticed the port had a locker and luggage delivery option for those taking a Royal or Celebrity cruise out of Barcelona. We arrived at terminal 2 and looked for our check in area for Transavia, the airline we would be flying from Barcelona to Paris. One thing to note about the lower cost carriers is that you cannot check your bag until 2 hours prior to your flight. We had to wait around about an hour but decided to wait in line so it would be quicker. These airlines are also very specific about luggage requirements so if you do decline to fly somewhere in the EU after your cruise I recommend reading the fine print on luggage and buying a small travel luggage scale you can bring with you. We booked the max fare which gave us guaranteed space for a roller bag & personal bag on the flight and 30 kg of checked luggage included. If you have priority pass check out the VIP lounges in terminals 1 & 2 in Barcelona airport. Our flight was a quick hour and a half flight over to Paris ORLY. Once we arrived in Paris we checked into our hotel for the weekend the Intercontinental Le Grand. This hotel is located right next to the opera and was a gorgeous place to call home for the weekend. One thing to mention about IHG is they have special offers for status from time to time. We ran into an offer last year where if you stayed 5 nights with IHG you would get platinum elite status for a year. We stayed with IHG in Israel last year for a week and were able to use our points/status for this trip. This got us a free upgrade, free daily breakfast, 2 free drinks at the bar, and late checkout. Be sure to look out for special offers like this. We had an incredible weekend in Paris visiting - musee d'orsay, a dinner cruise on the seine, the dior gallery, and the Hemingway bar. Paris is an incredible city and a great place to tack on a few days if you are headed out or back from a European cruise. Let me know if you have any questions! We are headed out on our next cruise in exactly 1 month from today - a 7 night Pacific Coast Cruise on Celebrity Eclipse. Looking forward to that while soaking in the memories from this fantastic vacation.

Ms. Medicare here had to read your bookings several times, and was more impressed with your skills each reading. So, you are in charge of a bunch of old people and a legally blind guy that no one has actually met. You gotta make sure they all get on the train, and the blind guy doesn’t wander off. You gotta get them to the hotel and on the ship. I’m definitely following this cruise.

It’s cruise day again. This will be our first cruise from Galveston. We didn’t want to fly this time so we arrived yesterday in Galveston after driving for two days. We are getting ready to leave the hotel soon. I’ll be back on the blog after boarding and get this blog rolling. I’m happy happy happy .Oh yes forgot to say it’s just hubby and I this cruise.

Checking entertainment for next week MO5AIC will be the headliners. If you followed my blog last year you might remember that they came for dinner in the suite and gave us a couple hour private show! They’re not only talented but down to earth fun guys. One or two of the guys communicate with the daughters now and then on Instagram, or Instacart or one of those chat things. He told her a month or so again they would be on this cruise but I thought he was joking. What a coincidence. Almost a year to the day! Looking forward to seeing them!

Please feel free to add any pics or sailing anecdotes as we go! This is the first vacation I have actually started packing a week in advance for, I am usually a day-prior packer but we are sooo ready to go, too. Even excited to see a little rain, anything better than sticky humidity!

Inquiring minds want to know if you were expected to do this in Braille?

I would avoid anything unethical while cruising. If I wanted soda for two trips, I'd pay for two trips. With the complimentary beverages, I am never thirsty. An occasional a la carte soda really hits the spot.

We have bids for all the suites through Royal UP. Hopefully we win as you did. There are a ton of suites still open so we are it comes through.

This just keeps getting better and better ... for us! Not necessarily for you, and i *am* sorry about that. Sort of. Because this is hilarious. To me.

This may sound boring to others, but this is one reason I enjoy going back on the same ship. I'm not a big show guy but I'll see everything once (except Broadway, just not my thing). When we go back, we don't feel obligated to see any shows again (besides comedy which changes of course) unless we decide to. I'll likely make some show reservations when we go back on Wonder just to have the option (especially if my wife tells me she wants to see something again), but it's kind of nice to have the entire night free for DL snacks, dinner, drinks, a non-show activity, more dinner somewhere else (I like to eat), etc.

Breakfast in Coastal Kitchen Baja Eggs

A "problem" with cruising is there's so much to do and sometimes not enough time to fit it all in !! A nice problem to have though and probably common for a lot of us! We like to have before-dinner drinks and not be rushed about getting to dinner. Then while eating, we don't like feeling rushed to get to the show. Your solution, USCG Teacher, is similar to what we'll do. On some cruises, we find ourselves getting to bed after midnight though -- kind of late at our ages! Oh well.... very excited about our upcoming cruises. Enjoy yours!

In the early days of RU, I would win consistently from either balcony or JS to sky class (mostly CLS) but lately zero luck. I’m still bidding the same and on some occasions more money but still no luck. The demand for cruising is through the roof and the upgrade program has become a pipe dream. I still bid for every sailing but the expectations are set very low.

Some ships are very strict in enforcing the days you can eat the meals while others are more flexible. You must eat a dinner on day 1 and/or day 2, all other days are not allowed. A different ship interprets it to mean make the reservation on day 1 or 2 for a meal any night. Another ship might allow you to make the reservation at any time during the cruise, for a meal anytime during the cruise. Some ships enforce the restaurants listed yet while in practice some ships don't always enforce the venues. Some ships interpret that the BOGO applies to one specific visit. One person pays, a 2nd guest is free for that specific dinner only. That works for a couple but this would prevent a solo guest from using the BOGO. Most ships allow a solo guest to pay for one cover charge at one venue then eat at a second restaurant on another night for their free meal. Sometimes on some ships a solo guest has to escalate this to management. Consider the first point with the last point if they are on a ship with a Coastal Kitchen and staying in a suite. What if they want to visit CK for the filet on night one? That only leaves day 2 for the BOGO. A solo guest is then locked out of the BOGO and a D+/P couple can't both use their BOGO. Some ships do just that, other ships allow the second meal on another night. Some ships randomly add other conditions or venues as they see fit. Some ships don't have that many specialty venues. If one venue is sold out on night 1 or 2 it effectively renders the BOGO unusable if they strictly enforce some or all of the points above. For example Enchantment only has Chops. If Chops is full on day 1 or 2 then no BOGO. Other ships have 3 specialty venues, others have more. When a ship enforces one or more of the points above it can render the BOGO useless or very restrictive for that ship.

Yeah I was wrong about that, it was midnight and read it wrong, its 10:30. That's actually perfect. Hopefully on the ship at 10:45 and then we have an hour to explore before Chops at noon for a nice relaxing quiet lunch far, far away from the Windjammer.

Must disagree with @Ryan79 unless something has changed recently. Once activated, the cups have historically worked for 14 days on the same ship. Keep in mind that the cups, if active, will only work for beverages from the Freestyle machines. All other refreshment package drinks will be charges.

Momma Mia show tonight. As always it was fantastic. We were on the front row.

I want to point out that all the vintages are upset with my mother for inviting a strange man on our vacation. My mother is also upset because I told her once I get the blind gent on the ship, she will have to look out for him. Also @USCG Teacher I would appreciate all the insight. I have done European trains but never Amtrak for that long.

Dinner tonight was Coastal Kitchen.

@SweetPea you guessed it .I Will BE A GRANDMOTHER!

We are on board. This was the best checkin ever from car to in room we were zoomed through everything. Pictures below of star loft . It also includes one picture of when we first walked into the terminal.

Possible help for your new legally blind friend, but first a story: I’ve been wearing hearing aids since my early 30’s - genetic thing. Four years ago when hubby and I went to the movies he got me the “new and improved” hearing device from the ticket guy to hear the movie better. Hubby listened to how this updated model worked. He got it programmed and slapped that sucker on my head. After a few moments of the movie I decided to make the sound even stronger, so I moved the switch by the ear. Now I’m starting to hear odd stuff - like “he touches her hair and she smiles.” WTH, maybe this movie is trying something different by explaining verbally what is happening. After 20 minutes, hubby grabbed it from head and messed with the volume. Ten minutes later I feel like I just need to turn the volume up, so I messed with the volume again. The movie goes back to explaining what it happening. Later in the car I told hubby that I enjoyed the movie but found it a bit painful to have to hear what was happening when I could plainly see what was happening. Was the movie people trying something new? Hubby said he could hear it coming from the head phones so fixed the problem but I turned the problem back on, so he figured that’s what I wanted. Apparently, I kept turning it from the hearing impaired mode to the legally blind mode. My point is: Royal might have something to enhance your new legally blind friend’s experience! You should check.

IVE BEEN SUMMONED i actually quite enjoy the option to get lunch aboard but it typically doesn’t work out for us since we are sun seekers and i am loathe to sacrifice the time midday for a specialty meal. however alaska is a much different climate and to me this sounds like an excellent idea!!!!

@Jonathan Tanner Welcome to the Solo cruise world. There is so much to learn and know. If you spend a little time on these blog posts, you will learn a lot. here are a few items from a Solo Cruiser: There is a difference Solo and Single. Just as on land be careful and know what your expectations are. There are always Solo Cruser get together but in my experience they are terrible. they are a no-host and in a bar that is busy with other cruisers. It is very hard to figure out who is there to meet people and who is there to have a drink. Join the activities to meet people. I meet people just setting at the bar, eating at the buffet and doing ship activities. If you want to meet people eat dinner at a large table. If you want to get dinner done quickly go at 6 pm and set by yourself. I can show up at 6 pm and have dinner done in 30 minutes when I eat alone. Look for the Facebook Group for your cruise. Just search Facebook for your ship name and date. You will end up with many friends before you get on the ship. last one for now. As a solo cruiser I love the longer cruises on a smaller ship. They tend to do more planning before the cruise and more activities during the cruise. You also see the same people for 14 days and have time to meet them. I love sea days to relax and enjoy the ship and people I have meet.

Day 41 The options for shows opened up at 42 days and so I booked all of our shows. Now I am curious as to whether or not the blind gent will want to go to the shows. But I would rather err on the side of caution and book everyone. We have: Day 3: OceanAria 7:30pm Day 5: Blue Plane 10pm Day 5: Comedy 11:30pm Day 7: Mammia Mia 2:15pm Day 7: BLADES 7pm I had made a spreadsheet of dining times. I have to reconfigure the venues and possible times now that I know what time the shows will be.

Oooooooh this will be a nice one. But I would agree that $49+grats for Jamie's is not worth it.

Yes, this is what I do every year for spring break. After incorrectly guessing when spring break will be 2 years in a row (it's either the 2nd or 3rd week of March in TX), I now book both weeks as a refundable fare and when school calendars come out a year or so later, I cancel the unneeded week. My school district has no consistent pattern as far as I can tell and I've tracked back 10+ years of calendars. However, Royal Caribbean always seems to know when Spring Break is, as the correct week has always turned out to be the more expensive week. Since they are booked refundable, the deposit usually comes back on my credit card a few weeks later.

I don’t think it’s a QR code. The hack is putting your set sail pass into your Apple wallet and the last 4 digits of the bar code is your cabin number

Just read in a FB group that she’s headed to Victoria on 9/6 for dry dock repairs until 9/16. So another sailing will be cancelled as well. That’s a bummer. Heard she hit some ice that damaged the propulsion system

I'm debating blogging with so many other good SC blogs on the shelf right now, but we're in the OP across the hall in 9/24. So of course I'll be following along! Happy planning!

The cruise line did lift it, but the website verbiage hasn't been updated yet

This week on Grandeur the BOGO worked like I hoped it would. On night #1 we ate at Chops. We both paid full price for our meals. We have reservations at Chops again on night #4 and on that occasion, both of our meals should “free”. Tomorrow is night #4. If we run into a snag I will let you know ! 2 weeks ago, on Wonder, we weren’t so lucky. There, we were required to use all of our BOGO meals on nights 1 and 2. Since we also had the 3 night package, we just re-arranged our eating itin and it worked out but this was a bit of an unnecessary nuisance. I really don’t think the lady helping us with our dining reservations knew what she was talking about when she forced us to jam all of our BOGO’s into the first 2 nights but it is what it is….

The cheapest public website balcony rate I see is Central Park balcony starting at $2,969 per guest for two. Two guests have many types of balcony available but once you specify one guest the only balcony offered is a D4. Therefore it appears Royal is implementing rules designed to limit solo guests on that ship and date. My TA has a group rate for a Surfside balcony at $1,349 per guest before taxes and port fees but not for a D4 balcony. It's possible your TA has some group space available to their specific agency for a D4 balcony. This is a huge benefit of using a travel agency. They do have access to group space that is never offered on Royal's public website. This is a perfect example of why everyone should be getting quotes from a travel agent before blindly booking on the public website. I wouldn't wait long to book something at that price. If other agencies also have access to that group space it will sell out. Group space is usually limited.

It was a bit wonky but I got the earliest arrival time. 9:30-10:00. That's all I did so far, that's all i really wanted for now. I'll do the rest tomorrow. The wonky part was when I opened the app there was this weird orange message at the top saying "they hit a snag and couldn't complete my request". Something to that affect. After I got that to go away I was able to secure our time slot. Thanka for the info and help.

When I did my last check in for my cruise in a few weeks, it showed as closed/ unavailable for the entire day before I could actually check in. After midnight that day that I could check in, it showed it as closed until about 12:04am. Then it was magically open.

@MLH I will gladly ask about the genies whereabouts through December. Can not wait to get the email. I have been checking email first thing everyday and last thing as well. I am waiting not so patiently.

You really expect the Royal IT department to act quickly updating things.

Sail away

I feel your pain. I am the family planner for our 12. My family and my sister and her family. No vintages Started a google doc which no one reads. Have to travel to venice , get to our hotel, spend 2 days in Venice,get to the bus station for the 2 hour shuttle ride to Ravenna,board the ship, find excurions in 4 ports and then get back to the airport. Check in opened and 1 person did it. So they can sit out and wait for their time while I am onboard enjoying the flowrider and drinks!

Afternoon snacks

Yes lol. Ever since having the kids, I take a year off every few years. Our school board has a great plan for that. I have taken advantage of that over the last ten years and some. This is my last one though. After this year off, it will be the home stretch to retirement. And that “Hell to the Bell” cruise

Day 44 I was able to stay up the night before and get the earliest check-in time of 11am. By 11am the same day only 12pm and on was left. I had read that for some reason 11am is listed as the earliest time out of Galveston but they eventually update and move the 11am to 10:30. As it stands, I shall be actively looking for the earliest time for me so I can board early book our UDP dining times. Itenirary: Friday the 13th: train ride Texas Eagle 22 Saturday the 14th: La Quinta Inn & Suites by Wyndham Galveston North at I-45 Sunday the 15th-22nd Allure of the Seas, Western Caribbean GALVESTON, TEXAS ROATAN, HONDURAS PUERTO COSTA MAYA, MEXICO COZUMEL, MEXICO Sunday the 22nd: train ride Texas Eagle 422 Rooms: 3 Aft OV balconies #12688, 12690, and 12674 1 Aft interior #11275 Excursions/amenities: Beach Snorkel in Costa Maya x3 UDP x8 Voom 3-device plans x2 Water package 24 x 3, 12x1 Premier Pass fiasco x 4 This cruise is one of the Premier Pass Fiasco's, so everyone ended up with some OBC. When I changed the names around, they removed the OBC and had everyone's C&A status wrong. It got fixed and they added in extra OBC for the troubles. I want to point out that I got this entire vacation for $1474pp. That is the cost for the cabin fare, grats, the UDP, internet, hotel, water package and train tickets. It is currently $1800 just for a balcony alone. I paid the old price of $267 for the UDP, got the water package for only $16 and $9. The hotel was half price on a BF deal meaning at two to a room, we paid $68/night. As I mention I got the train tickets on a group rate that helped us save 60% each ticket. I brought the multi device package for Voom, we have used it, and it works for us. The train allows two of each bag: checked, carry-on, and personal. But you don't have to worry about liquid sized. We are bringing wine from home. This is the first D+ sailing and I have decided to forego even the soda package as I am also prime. Speaking of....... my brother has the cruising bug and so I will spend this cruise making him prime. I like to gamble, I'm already prime for this and next year, so........ We have lots of new travel accessories as the train ride requires lots of snacks and meal planning. I will post our new finds.