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So excited! Christine is sooo happy! The C&A points hit (6 days after the sailing) and we're finally Diamond! Diamond Plus will be like climbing Everest at this stage as we can only sail 1-2x per year, but happy to hit the first major milestone! 91 more points to go!

My cruise countdown is finally at 7 days! We’ve been in dry dock since September and these 8 months without a sailing have dragged on and on. Itinerary This mini 3-night sailing only stops in Ensenada, BC, Mexico. I’m still trying to book the 4N so I can get back to Catalina but a full week of vacation vs. 2 days is usually the dealbreaker, especially with a big Europe trip sucking up vacay days later this summer. I’ve been on a 2-cruises-a-year kick since the pandemic and this one will get me there (assuming a river cruise “counts” - oh wait, I’m the one making the rules)!! Day 1 - Friday - Departs Los Angeles Day 2 - Saturday - Cruising Day 3 - Sunday - Ensenada, BC, Mexico Day 4 - Monday - Returns to Los Angeles Who’s Going My BFF (Meredith) and I (Daryl). This is the first time I am sailing with anyone other than my husband! Meredith (aka Squirrel - we used to say Hey Girl, which transitioned to Gwirl and finally Squirrel) moved away to Oregon a few years ago so I gifted us this cruise to be able to hang out while also experiencing my favorite pastime. Cabin JS 1294. This was a suite guarantee that was sooo much cheaper than picking my own JS. I am usually pretty picky about our location so have never booked Guarantee before but the savings were wild. Cabin 1294 looks to be close enough to an elevator, mid-ship on deck 10. I have RoyalUp bids out on GS, 2 BR GS and the OS but the sailing is sold out so it would be a miracle! Pre-Purchases Of course I had to get us the DBP, not bad at $72.99 pp/pd. When I went on this same itinerary in Oct 2022, I paid $75.99!! Never thought I would see prices lower on a weekend-partiers 3N. We have lunch at Hooked on Day 1 and Dinner at Izumi night 2. I’ve never booked Hooked before as my husband and I aren’t huge seafood lovers but saw they had a chicken sandwich and burger on the menu for me! Meredith loves seafood so she should be pleased and we can avoid the Day 1 lunch madhouse in the WJ. I was toying with the idea of Playmakers instead but with no windows to the outside, a real restaurant felt superior. When we used to live in the same city we had sushi nearly every week so Izumi was an easy specialty dinner choice. I also got us a set of RCCL slippers from the semi-hidden Royal Gifts section because they were $7.99 and I could not say no. Walking barefoot in the cabin always makes me think about what’s lurking in the carpeting so these should calm me. Lastly, we have 2-device internet so that should help with my Blogging Under the Influence!! Or is it PUTI @SweetPea??? I love that we’re embarking the same day so I will have your sneaky, in-the-bathroom blog to return home to. That reminds me, I should toss some underwear in my growing packing pile right now. Excursion I let Meredith pick/buy us the excursion and she chose the Desert Nest Zipline available in the cruise planner. Love a zipline and it definitely won’t be warm enough for any water-based activities so it sounded like a good plan to me. We’ll also probably roam the streets of Ensenada afterwards and take a peek in the Papas and Beers as is the norm. Pre-Cruise Hotel We’re staying at the Crowne Plaza Harbor Hotel the night before siiiimply because Meredith works for IHG and we got it for free. We easily could’ve driven up on the morning of embarkation but who doesn’t love a night in a hotel!? We will make our 10:30am check-in time slot on the dot without any traffic to contend with. Mostly I am excited to experience the Navigator water slides again! Best in the fleet in my opinion (until I make it to Icon, of course). Last time we went on Nav, I said I would book again for the slides alone! The two person raft is so so fun. Hopefully we get some semblance of warmth in the midst of the May Gray/June Gloom frigid coastal weather we have going on. I am also excited to see the production and ice shows. We missed them last time around due to laziness/being too full after dinner but I will make it a point to get in there this time! Meredith and I met doing theatre as children, then rekindled our friendship in a musical as adults and greatly appreciate live stage productions!! Let me know if you have any Navigator questions and I will do my best to find out or photograph things. I’m going to take a page out of the @OCSC Mike blog playbook and post in smaller snippets instead of big long recaps at the end of the day which should help with not forgetting any shenanigans. Wheeee 7 days till cruise day! And with Memorial Day this weekend, my mini work week should fly by!

Dear @Ampurp85, I really appreciate you bringing us along! I have no idea how I will proceed this weekend knowing there will be no more posts to look forward to. Ugh, I'm exhausted for you. Please know I truly looked forward to reading your posts every time my notification sounded. Have a safe and uneventful rest of your journey, all the best to you and your brother. Until next time

He had the Izumi, which apparently was nothing. So he ate 3 plates in the CL. They had Buffalo chicken wings and corn fritters. Then 4 plates in the WJ consisting of a full plate of jerk chicken, potatoes, pasta, breads and 2 chicken patties since it was Caribbean night. Then a plate and a half of dessert. They attempted sweet potato pie cake .

I sat in the Crown Lounge with Linda and Nancy who are sisters, the two new retires I mentioned earlier. I vaguely asked them about the casino host and they had a lot to say.....which ended with she doesn't need to be in a position with people . Another couple in the CL overhead and put in their two cents. They had been on Freedom since April and said they have yet to see her smile. I packed mostly everything and then we had dinner in the WJ. Everyone was coming to the CL trying to book specialty or was eating in the WJ because the service at MTD/MDR was slow. The sisters said it took an hour after getting apps to get their entree and 36min to get their wine. We never got our lemonades. I actually went to the casino and got us drinks last night. We went to the WJ at 7:45 and it was empty. About 8:30 it filled up almost completely. Nobody was washing their hands, poor crew member seemed exasperated. Also I saw a lady stick her hands in her underwear and then grab a plate. I have $23 left in my casino budget. My brother will have a few drinks and I will see what shakes out......but ewww speaking of the casino. During hibachi I needed to use the restroom. The casino one is closer. On the ladies side there is a handicap one. When I was going into the ladies, a man and woman were coming out of the handicap one fixing their clothes .....the scandal at like 1pm.......they were mid-vintage too.

The disembarkation continues. The cost for a Lyft was going to be $27 with a modest wait. The Miami airport shuttle was $10 and leaving.......so we thought. Guess who jumped in front of us for the last two seats, the two guys who had cut in front of us. Small world. No biggie it was another shuttle in 10min, less than the 14min fir the Lyft. Also be advised that it's taxes on the shuttle. So our $20 cost became $22. Here's where I call tomfoolery. My brother heard her say it went to hotels and brightline, I did not, but he swears I did. The lady selling it had promised everyone that their destination was the first stop . The shuttle was late and then we had to stop at 2 hotels and brightline before the airport. People were pissed because things constantly rotated and nobody sat properly. The brightline couple made it to the station at 9:38 for a 9:45 train. Hopefully they made it. The two hotel couples were next. I say all of that to say despite getting into the shuttle a little after 9, it was 10am when we got to the airport. I have precheck so I was through and done in 5min after checking my bag. It took my brother 23min. Not bad for how congested Miami airport is. I have counted 8 people from this cruise on the same flight. Unfortunately its two families with crying tiny humans.

She's baaaaack

Disembarkation day...... This was probably my worst Disembarkation ever. We planned to get off at 8:30, we didn't give any bags, so we could walk straight off. Well at least 60% of people did the same. We didn't take the elevator because so many luggage's and strollers. We made it to deck 4 faster than an elevator and got in line. It was already shenanigans. These two guys got in front of us saying they were with the people..... .they weren't. Then this Polish couple jumped in front of them, then in front of another couple. The line was long, about 20min to the checkpoint for seapass cards. There was two lines and the husband and two guys got into one they thought was shorter, we went to the right. That line started moving fast because they used the first line for Key, suites, and handicap to cut in. There was only 5 groups ahead of me and my brother. The dudes first tried to cut and the people behind us were like no. Then another Key guest came and halted the line. So the Polish lady tried first to come up and get in front of me. I said no and her husband said something in Polish. So she tried to get behind my brother. The group behind us wasn't having it and threatened to beat her ass......exact weirds. Her husband hadn't left his place and told her again. She had been a mess: taking selfies, having loud conversations and holding up the line. So everyone was over her. As the line moved more for us, she tried again, not realizing the people who told her no were part of a large group. They pushed her put of the way, she was crying when we saw her down at customs. Once we got there it moved faster. The line for birth certificates was longer than passports. I stated earlier on that my passport expires in September, so I brought my birth certificate just in case. I got flagged walking off. It was because they made me remove my glasses. I waited longer than it took to check my passport.

What a great idea! I will do that next time too! Going to have to venture in there when we sail Voyager in two months.

and the reason why i always have a cloth napkin wrapped around my hand like a shroud when i grab any type of serving utensil on the off chance i am there.

Gross. One of the many reasons I try hard to avoid the WJ.

I know this is an old thread, but I would like to contribute to it. I work at a university and oversee the purchases for the second highest volume food service operation in my state with a little over $15 million dollars in food spend a year. I deal with food recalls when they occur. Typically, I receive food recall notices 1-2 times per year due to food contaminated by e coli or salmonella (the two most common causes in my experience). Tainted food is usually fresh produce and sometimes a packaged good. The process of removing such products from the supply chain takes about a week because of what is needed to identify the source, track the product and inform those within the supply chain who may have the product. Frequently, because of the efficiency of the flow of supply, the food has been served and nothing happens or gets reported. Also, one must consider that symptoms can occur a week or more after exposure. This is unfortunate and a little scary, and we all do our best to keep such product from reaching the table. For the most part, practices within the supply and temperature chain are very safe considering the volume of food in the economy. Another possible exposure is cross contamination. It is unlikely that it comes from the crew, but it is possible. I have been on several back of the house tours on cruise ships and the sanitation practices I've seen are better than the industry standard for high volume food service. I can say with confidence that great care is taken and best practices are in play. I think cross contamination is most likely through passenger contact. If it's e coli, salmonella or norovirus, the best hedge against getting sick, by far is hand washing with soap and very warm water. Sanitizer solution is ok, but not ideal. It is the operator's best hedge against poor hygiene by the public. I find that many who have been the victim of sickness on land or on a cruise, the first default is that they had food poisoning. The blame for such outbreaks always seems to go to the operator and rarely to the practice of guests who are sick and want to assign blame. When there are outbreaks of a certain percentage to the total population of the ship, it gets reported and investigated. The real cause is frequently different than the assumption. All this is to encourage people to give grace to the medical and food service staff on board ships and consider that the first assumption of the cause may not be correct. Imagine 40 passengers descending on the medical center on board any ship at one time. I can see how people can be distressed and impatient and be inclined to make judgments on what they see.

Day 7: PDCC, Bahamas (CONT.) We returned to the ship after a nice day at PDCC. Headed to our cabin to shower and change for our “last supper”! Before heading to the MDR, we sat out on our balcony and waved goodbye to Adventure as she departed PDCC just ahead of us… Tonight was “Bon Voyage” night in the MDR… We both tried the Seafood Cake… not bad… … and we both had the Autumn Turkey Dinner which was very good… For dessert, I had the Crema Catalana and Christine had the Warm Apple Cobbler… both tasty. We decided to try to make the 7:00PM rescheduled show of “The Effectors: The Origin Story”. This is the third installment in the series which is actually a prequel to the other two shows currently on Odyssey (“The Effectors”) and Wonder (“The Effectors: Crash & Burn”). ** Spoilers ** This installment explains the origin of each of the Effectors, as well as, Crash (the main villain). They integrate similar dance and flight scenes used in both of the other installments (eg. Pixel’s dance with her copies/clones, Lume flying above the crowd with the laser show, Crash deploying the drones over the crowd). I guess it makes sense since it’s likely many of the passengers onboard have yet to see the other two installments. We still enjoyed it for what it is… a high-tech production with cool special effects. To be fair, this episode attempted to have more of a plot as they explained the evolution of many of the characters. After the show we sprinted back to our cabin and packed and placed the bags in the hall just before 10:00PM. They actually collected our bags before 10:30PM… too close! We decided to call it a night as we were both exhausted from the looong day! Finally, finished with Day 7! Have a good night everyone!

I am not here to defend Royal for their handling of things but the number of posters who come on and say "I'm never cruising Royal again" may as well go with I'm never cruising again because the other lines are going to handle things pretty much the same way. The reality is that the cruise lines are much more similar than they are different, especially when it comes to handling of issues. If you expect to go on another cruise line and expect the same situation to be handled in a much different way you are going to be sorely disappointed.

At least you have time to mentally prepare yourself... I think you'd rather have an appointment for a root canal than the WJ.

I get that... hibachi grilled seafood may be delicious but it's not filling if you eat a lot. He could probably have eaten a dozen portions of the proteins. Sorry about the disembarking shenanigans... you truly are a magnet.

On my last cruise my waiter purposely told me he was not going to tell me about the survey with a wink as he knew I was a seasoned cruiser. He got a very good tip at the end of the cruise.

Bonjourno from Italy! We arrived in Venice around 9am after our overnight hop over the pond. We prearranged a private water taxi through our Hotel which was 100% worth it. A driver picked us up at the airport for a short 5 minute drive over to the airport dock and then we boarded our water taxi. Our Hotel had a private dock as well which made the experience so enjoyable. We stayed at the Palazzo Vernart which was a beautiful 15th century palace. We booked this hotel through the Amex Fine Hotels and Resorts collection using our Platinum card which gave us $100 of dining credits, breakfast included, and an amenity of prosecco, fruit, and a candle with the hotel’s signature scent. our room had this private terrace After we checked into the hotel and got freshened up we headed out for the day. Our first stop was at All’Arco for Cicchetti and a spritz. We continued our journey to the Rialto Bridge and stopped at a wine bar to grab a glass of to go wine(yes you can take drinks to go!) to enjoy with the views and the rest of our walk to Piazza San Marco. We planned a 2pm tour of San Marco Basilica & the Doge Palace with a guide through Viator. The Basilica was breathtaking. The art inside all depicted different stories in the bible. After the basilica we headed over to the Doge Palace where we toured the various rooms, prison, and the bridge of sighs. I was so glad I only booked a 2 hour tour because we started to hit the afternoon slump! We did some shopping before heading back to our hotel for dinner. Our Hotel features the Glam restaurant which is the only two Michelin star restaurant in Venice. We booked the Glam bistro which allowed for us to order al la carte vs doing the full tasting menu. With the jet lag i knew there was no way we could make it through a 7+ course meal! The meal was fantastic and the service was incredible. I truly wish we would have had some more time to enjoy the hotel was it was SO beautiful and the service was fantastic. We will absolutely be back to Venice in the future, it is a beautiful city with so much to offer!

More details: https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2024/05/23/royal-railway-utopia-station-first-look

Your post has not been rejected. But we do keep new accounts here moderated for a short time to keep the spammers away. Your post just got around to being approved now. There are 3 mods here: @AshleyDillo @SpeedNoodles, and myself, and @Matt is admin. @Matt is on a cruise right now, and the rest of us have day jobs and other obligations too. We try to get them approved asap but sometimes it can be a bit before we get to it.

It occurred to me on the Icon Inaugural that not one staff member even mentioned the survey once to us.

Monarch of the Seas was still in service when this thread was created. You guys are prophetic.

Nooooo we’re here for literally any commentary! The Tales of SweetPea and Batman are the best!

Nonsense... every blog is so different! Skip if it if you don't feel like blogging but not b/c you think you have nothing to add. Do you realize how similar mine will be to my March blog? Same ship, different itinerary but we're only getting off the ship once (besides CocoCay) for an actual excursion so really one new port... and that's about it.

The sheer number of people who ignored the washy washy lady was insane. I saw one person besides my brother and I wash their hands at ELF. I don't understand the aversion to cleanliness. But anyhow the flight was delayed and the tiny screaming humans continue to be a lot. I hate to hear them crying, not because I hate children but because I feel bad for them. It's also weird how the parents put in earbuds and ignore them. Lots of turbulence. I slept for a little over an hour. Now we are about 45min away from landing.

In military time that is 14:00. 1400 is the build number of the ship from the shipyard. They also named the 1400 Bar for the same reason.

I appreciate the shout out & switching to that style made it more fun & less like a chore for me… but I can’t take credit. I used to be a long recapper & was only following the lead of others who blog that way. I even mentioned it in the intro I’ve mostly written for my next one & just haven’t posted yet. The live blog forum is gonna be busy at the end of May into early June!

Followed all of the directions from the article and got Express Boarding for tomorrow. Nothing better than RCB!

If only there was a way to remind people to wash your hands??!! Oh Wait....

Well said. I've certainly been guilty of assuming something is occurring, only to realize later that's not the case at all. Moreover, it's even easier to "Monday morning quarterback" something after the fact. I'm sure it was not pleasant on Allure yesterday, and even if you weren't sick, frustrating not to be able to disembark at CocoCay as scheduled. But unfortunately life happens, and being flexible and trying to make the best of the experience is key. When I had Covid on Serenade of the Seas in 2022, I was miserable in my cabin, but I caught up on TV shows and YouTube content on my phone and it helped distract me a bit.

They should be enforcing hand sanitation before entering food venues irrespective of any noro breakout. My personal pet hate is the entitled people who body swerve the hand sanitizers outside the WJ.

Honestly, this is my pipe dream, but the Oasis staterooms really could use a refresh. Maybe it's just me, but i notice that Royal tends to neglect the staterooms during dry dock. I often compare them to 90s college dorm style.

+1 on the lazy river, that would be so damn fun. Imagine all the babies that could poop in it to enrage everyone further!!!

i truly don’t understand. WASH YOUR HANDS!!!!!

my routine is as follows: i aggressively handwash at the sinks going in - shroud wrap my utensil hand - and then aggressively handwash going out OR before eating (if not taking out to the pool deck to consume) this is how i stay clear of the WJ germs (or so i tell myself)

**Update** We’re three families departing on Icon tomorrow. Husband and I are Gold, my inlaws have no tier and neither does the other family traveling with us. I entered our check-in info -except- for our photos because no upload option was available and our kids were always in school when I'd think about adding pics. Fast-forward to me clicking on an “App Checklist” email I received today. I clicked through and it showed the other family with Express Boarding and their SetSail Pass in purple! I was scratching my head and then figured I’d better add our pics. (Although it shows our check-in as completed, I thought this might have something to do with it.) Once I did this, my inlaws and son’s passes turned purple (he's booked in their room), while I'm waiting on my room passes to turn purple. In short, complete all of your check-in steps and maybe you’ll get a purple pass!

There might be truth to that lol

Oooh oh yeah, another go on Wonder!! Can’t wait to read. I had just remembered you expounding the virtues of the snippet posting and thought it sounded much easier for sure! Thank you!

Is ovation of the seas. Heading to alaska. And only show is cabaret.

Yikes ! That just SUCKS ! Losing $1K in FP would really not sit well with me....as I'm sure it isn't, with you. I agree that the casino/NC BS is a nightmare. What I really hate (and it sounds like you would never have this problem ! ) is when I don't play enough to earn an instant reward certificate - so I don't purchase a NC open booking....and then, lo and behold, I DO receive an instant reward cert. But since I failed to purchase a NC booking, the certificate is only good for $$ off (which is useless to me) since those low level certs are contingent upon having a NC cert in order to qualify for the associated comp cruise ! I've been lucky so far and the casino CS reps have given me an "exception" and allowed me to book the comp cruise but it's still a complete nuisance to have to "beg" to use the cert that you were awarded !

SWEET JESUS. GOODBYE FOREVER AND ETERNITY.

If they remind you to take the survey, or tell you it's important, I think that's fine and doesn't qualify for that question. But if they give you a guilt trip and/or talk about how only a 5 star rating is acceptable, then that is indeed what this question is for.

Have a safe and joyful trip home.

I've only sailed out of Seattle once so I didn't know about the program until a few days before the sailing date. That said, I was skeptical because it sounded too good to be true. We ended up waiting until we were on the ship and did it via the form they give you, it's free so it made no difference when we signed up for it really. Honestly a lifesaver because the only flight we could get from Seattle to Houston that day without spending an extra $300pp was at like 11:45PM so we had from 8AM until evening in Seattle. I will add, I was still skeptical and a bit uneasy with it all until we got to the airport and saw the bag tracking updating in the United app. Great thing they do there, wish more places did it.

Yes, we did this in Seward after getting off the 11:30 AM train: checked in, muster drill, ate lunch, and treated the rest of the day as a port day. Got back to ship via the FREE shuttle after having gone to the Alaska Sea Life Aquarium. We love all things Seward. We land vacay in Cooper Landing (about 30/45 min away) every other year during the salmon run (last two weeks of July) and visit Seward three or so times over 8 days. It's a fun area. Exit Glacier Guides, zip lining, Bear Creek Weir, Alaska Sea Life Aquarium, walking paths further down (the name escapes me right now), and of course all the day cruises in the area. Just watch your time - plan to be back at least 90 minutes before all aboard. It can be hard to get into a restaurant on turn around day. If you have your heart set on a specific one, it might be worth calling to get a reservation if they take them.

i mean……. i wholeheartedly agree!!!! dude people keep Doing the Most on this cruise and i am NEVER going on a shorty. good grief. also this casino host sounds like she needs a vacation or something because…. i know how you are with people and i know how much benefit of the doubt you give folks. she’s out of line. oh boy. godspeed.

I just recently won a RU bid on a casino comp. It’s for my 6-6 Indy cruise. Even better, it was one of those BOGO comps and I wasn’t sure it would even qualify, but I guess it did ! I didn’t want to upgrade this one directly b/c the second guest would have been expensive to upgrade….but I got a nice RU from an inside 4V to a panoramic OV 1L on Indy. Very happy. I have one more of those to get rid of (8-15 also on Indy) so I’m crossing my fingers that RU works again next time.

wonder if icon sailings are not where they want them to be for 2025 with star and utopia and.... hopefully the rest of us going, 'this shiz is CRAY'

Now hold on there Baba Looey, I will not use the sanitizer after I just washed my hands with soap and water. edit: I don't use hand sanitizer as a rule here at the clinic. It dries out your skin to much... use soap and water all the time, and some lotion once in a while and you are fine.