Skigoofy

My royal up was declined. No star class for us! 
 
I'm very happy with our room though!
 
Had to get an icecream while we were cruising coco beach. 
 

Made it Country Inn and Suites Port Canveral. Room is pretty nice. In laws in route with some cuban sandwhiches too. I'm more excited by these sandwhiches than the cruise food!
 
Doesnt look like this hotel has a bar though, going to need to take a trip out for beers and icecream!

 

Woo florida bound!!!!!

To celebrate my Mother in Law’s birthday this year, we’re taking her on her first cruise! My FIL passed away a couple of years ago, and then she had a really hard time selling her home of 40 years. She’s finally settled in her new place, and my husband and I thought she was overdue for a getaway...or maybe we are just using her as an excuse to YOLO go on another cruise. ?‍♀️ Either way, we are boarding Enchantment of the Seas ON HER BIRTHDAY for a 5 day Western Caribbean cruise! I’ve been sending her videos, photos, reviews, menus and the like just about weekly since we booked, and it seems to have become all we talk about. She is so excited!

I'll post all the specifics over the coming days as I get a few minutes of free time. In my typical fashion, I've crammed as much as possible into this last full week at home - 4 client meetings, orders to fill, doctor and dentist appointments for everyone, hair appointments, plus our regular school and evening activities... at some point I'm really just going to learn to clear my calendar the week before and after vacation! 
Here are a few of the details to get us going:
DH, the kids, and I haven’t really changed from our September cruise on Liberty. Well I have purple hair now, but otherwise, we’re the same! My mid-life crisis included drastic hair coloring and buying a bicycle ?‍♀️ - I figure it’s a lot less expensive than a new sports car! Here’s a link to my post from Liberty a few months ago. In case you want the short version, DH’s a VERY early riser and a type A personality who likes to relax and do nothing on vacations. I’m a night owl, and much more relaxed in our day to day lives, who wants to do it all when we travel. Sounds like a sitcom, right? Did I mention he’s 6’4” and I’m barely 5’? I homeschool the kids on an almost year-round schedule, so this will be one of our two spring breaks. My DD is 11 and on the Autism Spectrum, and my DS is almost 8 and made of rubber. My MIL (Mimi) will be turning 7… Well I’m not going to say exactly, but DH (who I have no problem ratting out) is 47, so you get the general idea. She broke her ankle a couple of years ago, and we have tried to be sensitive to her walking long distances and on shifting beach sand in our planning.
MIL and I get along really well and we’re all staying in a 2 Bedroom Grand Suite (8052) similar to the one we stayed in on Liberty. Besides squeezing in another person, we’re on the side, not an aft this time, so the balcony is sadly going to be much smaller. The two aft 2br suites were both booked already, so we're in one of the remaining two that are directly under part of the Windjammer. From deck maps, it looks we pretty close to the very front of the WJ annex though; hopefully there won’t be too much scraping of chairs above us (and gnashing of teeth in our cabin).

Day 3- Boarding Day
Today is the day, we finally board the Oasis of the Seas.  It may not be a Disney ship, but it's a ship and it can't be too bad right?  
Again I wake around 2a to watch the ship dock, these windows are giving me insomnia!  I wait until she turns in the basin and makes her way back to Terminal A until I lay back down.  We have our alarm set for 8a and plan on leaving the hotel at 10a.  Usually when we sail with Disney we leave the resort area around 8:30 to get to the port and return rental car by 10a just to sit in the terminal until 11:30 but that is what my mother wants to do and well we do it.  So sleeping in and just going at our leisure is new and feels odd.  But who needs an alarm clock, I just woke around 6:30a and showered and was gonna let Scott sleep and go to Starbucks for my coffee and egg white bites.  But Scott woke up and wanted to go, not sure why as he hates their coffee and didn't get anything but across the street we go.  Once I ate and then brought my coffee back to the room Scott showered and then we sat around the room waiting to leave.  We make sure everything is packed, luggage tags on luggage and excitement in check.  I hailed a Lyft at 10:09a and was getting into the car at 10:11, arriving at the terminal at 10:41.  Traffic was a nightmare but its what you expect when 5500 are getting on the ship while the last cruise is also leaving.  We were graced with the "Expedited Arrival".  First impressions at the bottom of the escalator is this place is HUGE!  Love the propellers and lighting as you transcend up to the next level.  Once at the top we show those Expedited Arrival Sea Pass cards and are sent to the far left where they were scanned and then told to move on to security.  Security was empty and we put my backpack and Scott's "murse" (man purse) through and walk through.  Wow these security bins are high tech and really night.  It appears there are 2 lanes set up for the Expedited Arrivals and the rest were the others as there was a big line that appeared to move swiftly.  Up to level 3 and bingo we found all the people, we walked toward the toward front and low and behold they start calling for boarding.  I don't know the levels but when they called Diamond they also called for Expedited arrivals and luckily we were right there so we just walked forward, again Expedited Arrivals had the 2 far left lanes but they announced you could use any lane.  We walked up to the Facial Recognition cameras and were told we were cleared to board.  There must be another line someplace as this is going extremely to easy!  Next is photos and we passed by them and then just kept walking, then onto the gangway and then on to the ship.  It is now 10:55 and we are on the ship!  Holy crap that was so easy and a much better process than Disney at any of their terminals.  
Once onboard it is time for lunch as Scott only had the left over donuts for breakfast from 2 nights ago.  We walk through the beautiful Promenade and then up to the Boardwalk to look around.  Wow this ship is so big but so beautiful.  Every Crew member we encountered were very friendly and almost always said Hello.  Next we head to El Loco Fresh as we both LOVE mexican.  Not sure what all was eaten but it is a great meal and we are in love with the place.  After lunch we head up and went to check out Windjammer.  Scott something else to eat, something small.  Then we headed out to explore the ship and low and behold we are now at The Solarium Bistro where you guessed it Scott got something to eat!  Again if we are on vacation Scott needs to eat and he was worried about going hungry with not being on Disney....so far so good he is full.   The Solarium is beautiful and peaceful.  I love the new sun deck on the front but it is still quite windy and we just look around and head back in.  We now head back down to the Promenade and walk through like 2 salmon going up stream since this is ground zero for boarding.  We take a look into the theater and then down to the casino.  They announce the staterooms are ready so we head  up to Deck 6 to our room.  As we are walking down the hall our luggage is there so we grab it and take it with us.  Our keys our on the door just like everyone said they would. Open the door and explore our home for the next week.  It's a nice room, clean and everything we need it to be.  Once unpacking there is plenty of storage for both of us and we have a few cubies and could easily make more room in the closet for another person or for even more clothes and our luggage fits nicely under the open bed frame.  Scott lays down and takes a nap and I just sit on the balcony and FaceTime my momma until the life boat drill.  When it is time we are already on Deck 6 and our station is at the Aqua Theater so it is a quick trip.  The drill was painless and over in no time.  Scott heads back to the cabin and I head to the Sailaway Party.  I was shocked with such a small stage and entertainment for 5500 people but most people just watch us leave port anyway so the music is good background as we float away.  Sure I am used to a big production and a few characters but I went to the side of the ship and just watched the land drift away.  
Dinner is at 7p (My Time Dining) so I head back to the cabin around 5:30 to shower and get ready.  If the cabin was lacking anything the shower made up for it, the water pressure was amazing and after one shower I am in love!  If you enjoy lots of water pressure you will be so happy, I hope that is throughout the ship after saying that ?
Dinner was good, only 3 course meal as Scott pointed out as opposed to 4 course on that other ship.  Food quality was good, temperature of the food was hot and service was good as well.  Very friendly wait staff and we were in and out in under an hour!  I hate to keep bringing up that other ship but dinner always took at least 2 hours and was so annoying to me.
After dinner we walked around the ship and strolled through Central Park, are we even on a ship?  Everything is just so lovely and first day impressions are looking great!  Love the Royal App and being able to check your room charges as I did this frequently.  On the first night when I checked there was a charge for a cocktail on Scott's card for a mixed drink, a quick call to Guest Services and it was removed.  The Promenade is hustling and we check out a few shops and then back to the Boardwalk to walk around some more.  We decided it is an early night and time to get some rest.  Before going to sleep we order some coffee and pastries for the room in the morning.
Day 2 coming up, its a Day at Sea.  ?

Day 2
Who needs sleep anyways?  Seeing that we paid for that Bayview we slept with the curtains open.  Not a big deal really but we live in the "country" with total darkness outside so the lights from the city are bright for us.  I did fall asleep but woke up around 2:15a to watch the first ship come in, then back to sleep until around 5a to watch the others come in.  I was not positive which ship was coming in at 2:30a but knew it was an Oasis class, when it made its turn in the basin to go back to the dock....WOW it is huge.  I failed to mention it is extremely windy out and being on the 17th floor with a patio above us it sounds like the roof was gonna fall in at any moment.  We loved this room even with the additional noise from the wind. 
Ships in port today:
Carnival Conquest, Carnival Horizon, Norwegian Escape, MSC Seaside, Empress of the Seas and Symphony of the Seas.
Scott finally woke around 7a and asked why I was sitting on the sofa and how long I had been up.  Without glasses on or contacts in I explained I was just watching the little blurry ships come in to port all night.  He claims I have issues.  I'm a morning person and he is not so I jump in the shower and tell him I am heading to Publix to Starbucks, he of course wanted to join me as it is Publix so now I wait for him to get ready, so I will just sit and watch the ships...I can see now as I have contacts in.
Again I love the convenience of Publix to grab stuff while at the Hilton.  So I went to Starbucks and got a real coffee with Splenda and egg white bites and honestly I have no clue what Scott had for breakfast, I sure you he ate as remember a hungry Scott is a hangry Scott.  Oh wait thats right we got 4 donuts from Salty Donuts last night so he had donuts and coffee.  If you like overpriced donuts, Salty Donuts is there for you, Scott said that Publix donuts are better....well darn I tried. At least the box is cute.  
About 9a we head to Bayside Marketplace as we bought a Groupon deal for a water tour.  Again we took the MetroMover that is right next door to the Hilton the the Marketplace.  Quick, easy and free transportation.  I am amazed at how efficient it is and that there is no charge.  It is limited to the downtown area but you can get a lot of places.  We checked into the podium at Bayride Tours and were placed on the 9:30a tour....awesome but I thought the first tour was at 10:30a, no biggie.  Around 9:30 we boarded the vessel with about 20-30 other people and did out tour around Jungle Island and saw all the celebrities homes.  One of the homes we saw was the old home of Madonna.  This made me smile and warm as she is my sisters favorite performer and I lost her this summer to lung cancer.  The tour was great and lasted about 90 minutes as advertised.  If you want to do a tour in Miami I would check out Groupon as they have some good deals and usually buy 1 get 1.  Here is the Symphony ? 
 
After the tour it was lunch time and Scott wanted to eat at Chili's at the Marketplace.  Wouldn't be my first choice but I suppose he can have some say.  It was a lackluster meal but his tank is full.  We walk around the marketplace and find a Starbucks so I do the mobile order and get my coffee.  We also find the Disney Store, remember we are Disney gays and it is just like every other Disney store....cramped and packed to the rafters.  It is now around 2p and Scott now declares it to be nap time so we head back to the hotel.  During the nap I hear a horn and out of bed I go to watch a Carnival ship leave, then I watch them all leave.  It is now 6p and I pounce on the bed to wake Scott from his sleep coma, I get in trouble for not waking him to watch the ships leave...SMH I can't win.
For dinner we wanted Tacos so we went to Tacomiendo which is a Taco Truck in the Midtown Garden Center in Wynwood.  We arrive and were a little worried but just do it anyway.  Having this little truck tucked into a corner of the Garden Center is beautiful with all the foliage and flowers around you.  They have plenty of tables and you can see even more tables across the way.  The waitress explains the tacos and Scott gets 2 chicken tacos and I get 1 fire brisket taco and we order chips and salsa to share.  My brisket taco was amazing and lots of meat, easily as large as both of Scotts tacos put together.  It was 7p on a Saturday and we were the only ones there but the food was really really good and we would definitely go back, Scott would get the brisket instead though ?  The waitress explained that it is BYOB so next time to bring a bottle of wine or a beer to drink with dinner.  After dinner we head back to Publix to get some more water for the room and then head back to the Hilton for the night.  Time to get repacked and ready to head out on the Oasis of the Seas tomorrow.

Well I am back from my Oasis of the Seas sailing.  After 32 Disney cruises on all 4 of their ships I was not sure what to expect.  Sure there would be food and activities but would I miss that Disney feeling that I get onboard while sailing with Disney?  We did a 7 night on the Disney Fantasy in September and it wasn't the best, I was on a knee scooter with a cast and between having to wait on elevators (even to go up one deck).  I am used to being independent and running up the stairs.  Maybe I was a little moody since I was in a cast and with a scooter.  You know how fun those scooters look, well if you have to be on one they are not fun, plus my coordination level is not good as I would run my good foot over and tip over.
Cast of Characters:
myself, Dan- avid lover of all things Disney, over planner and control freak
Scott- Husband of 23 years (bless his heart), lets me over think everything and just goes along for the ride.  Oh he complains if it goes wrong.
Itinerary 
Western Caribbean...departing from Miami with stops at Labadee, Falmouth and Cozumel.
Room
Booked a Balcony GTY and received 6322- 8D according to deck plans.  Was not excited about this room assignment at all, it was beside Playmakers and so far away from everything else it seemed. 
Travel
We traveled to Miami on Friday January 10th on uneventful flights from Columbus with a connection in Atlanta.  There are no airlines in Columbus (or Cleveland/Akron) that offer non stop service to Miami except a flight on United from Cleveland but the flight times were not ideal coming back so we (ok me, again Scott just nods when discussed) opted for the lay over.  Arrived in Miami around 10:30a and took the MIA mover to the metro rail  to the Metromover to our hotel.  I booked the Hilton on Biscayne Blvd with a Junior Suite with a bay view.  We were at the hotel by 11:30 so we stopped by the front desk to drop our luggage to explore the city.  Well our room was ready which was shocking!  So off to our room we go.  Get to the room and the curtains are all closed to keep the heat out so first thing we do is open those up, we paid for a view and we are gonna enjoy it.  The room is a corner room so floor to ceiling windows on the 2 walls and off in the distance we can see ships (we also saw them on the trip on the MetroMover).  Ships in port were Carnival Victory, Norwegian Sky, Explorer OTS, Navigator OTS and Victory Sky.
So we are situated in our room and we haven't eaten since 5:30a at the Starbucks in Columbus airport, I wasn't necessarily hungry but if on vacation Scott is always hungry and gets really hangry!  The hilton is across the street from a Publix and he LOVES their subs so off to Publix we go for lunch.  We come to love having this Publix so close for bottled water, snacks and such for the weekend.  Scott got his Chicken Tender sub (OH my they put so much chicken on that beast) and I am harder to please as I am a post weight loss surgery person so I focus on proteins and less breads, so I ended up with a Chipotle Chicken Bacon Wrap.  We also grabbed some water, pretzels and potato salad and headed to the room.  After lunch it was time for a nap (Scott needs lots of naps during vacation as well or he gets grumpy), I couldn't sleep so I got out of bed and just watched the ships.
After nap we watched the ships sail away and then we went to the  Wynwood Walls and walk around.  So I got us a Lyft and away we went.  I apologize for not having pictures in my report but I am attaching one here.  I am not a professional photographer by any means but I absolutely loved this mural.  Wynwood was amazing and so glad we ventured out.  Being in a big city like Miami is intimidating for us country boys!
 

 
After walking around I recall people talking about Salty Donut and I knew that was something Scott would enjoy, so we heading there next.  Salty Donut is just a small donut shop with cult like following.  We stood in line about 15 mins and then got our 4 donuts and we took Lyft back to the Hilton.
For dinner I had the other half of my wrap of Publix and Scott had Checkers (it is across the street as well).  I did have a small burger there as well.
Not that it was late or anything but we had an early night after starting our day at 3:30a.
Stay tuned for day 2
 

Since we’re officially 4 weeks away from our cruise I thought it was an appropriate time to start the blog? (No? Meh, I’m going with it anyway).
I never expected to book a cruise like this with Mr SpeedNoodles.  He’s more into the “culturally enriching and/or scenic” sort of cruises.  He wasn’t really thrilled about booking a cruise to the Caribbean because “they’re just islands - what is there to see that’s different from the next island?”.  Plus, he’s a small-ship guy.  He likes being able to walk around that outside Promenade level and visiting the helipad.  He likes that connection to the sea.
Honestly, since I’ve never been to the Caribbean myself so I couldn’t really negate his impressions. I have no idea myself.  My two, short, warm-weather cruises were to Nassau/Coco Cay.  
So how did we end up booking this? Well, a year and a half ago, we had our Alaskan cruise booked on Ovation for June 2019. We hadn’t taken a cruise, or any vacation that didn’t involve showing dogs, in ten years (pet sitters are hard to come by). But we finally secured one, and we had quite the trip planned.  We were going to drive to Seattle, spending 2-3 days in Yellowstone (we had the historic Yellowstone Inn booked), and then we were going to spend about 4-5 days exploring the Olympic Peninsula in Washington State, where we plan to retire, before we boarded Ovation for our 7-night Alaskan cruise.
But things happen, and in September of 2018 my husband slipped on a wet floor at a business and tore his quadricep.  He was out of work for 4 months after his surgery, which ate up a significant portion of his PTO that he had saved for the trip.  We decided that we couldn’t pull off the 3-week trip, and would have to fly to Seattle if we wanted to still go (note: Mr SpeedNoodles is terrified of flying - serious druggage is necessary to accomplish a flight).  So MY thought process was that we could use the money we were saving by shortening our trip to Seattle to book a winter Caribbean cruise! #speednoodleslogic.  I threw the idea out there at him, expecting him to poo poo it, and to my great surprise he just said yes! HOLY CRAP!  I emailed @michelle at MEI and quickly booked Symphony before he could change his mind. 
During the 13+ month span of time since I booked the cruise I’ve been exposing him here and there with Royal Caribbean Blog podcasts (as well as the Cruise Tips TV Unplugged podcast), live YouTube and Facebook chats, etc etc.  After the Ovation cruise, he was even more excited about Symphony.  Planning. Could. Begin.
Itinerary
Miami - Sea Day - Sea Day - St. Maarten  -  San Juan, PR - Sea Day - Coco Cay - Miami
Pre-cruise hotel: Kimpton Epic
What have we booked onboard? We went all out on our first Oasis-class ship.
Unlimited Beverage Package ($18 intern special, TYVM)
Unlimited Dining Package
All Access Ship Tour
Escape Room
The Key
Excursions? You betcha!!! (#OfficialMinnesotaTerminology)
St. Maarten - 3rd party ATV tour
San Juan - ATV tour booked through Royal Caribbean (this one should be very special to me and later I’ll tell you why!)
Nothing special on Coco Key - Mr. Speednoodles’ plan is to snorkel, eat crispy chicken sandwich, snorkel, eat crispy chicken sandwich, repeat. I'll do some of the same with breaks to find the chickens and iguanas (I believe we are now on a first-name basis).
This cruise is actually ending up being a sort of celebration.  Immediately upon our return I’ll be starting my new job - I’ve been promoted to supervisor!  I’m very excited (for many reasons, not least of which it is much easier to get PTO approved at that level!!)
Ugh, the waiting is the hardest part (or so said Mr. Petty).  I want to pack and go NOW!!!!!
(Shameless Fezzik photo, just because).

 

Well good Moring. Today I got up and went around the ship to take some photos.


Well at 9:00 It was time for me to ride the wave. The line was super short for a sea day and the wave was working great today!

 

Some people live their lives in constant denial....

Hey, @Lovetocruise2002 started it!

I’m so sorry for going AWOL! We had a little bit of internet slowness on the ship, then we were having a ton of fun, and then I had to fly immediately from vacation to a work trip... so just getting home now. Will go through photos and update!

I forgot to add the photos I took from the helipad of the stars. 

3 days from now i will be on board! Vacation mode is fully activated! I can't get anything done at work... Luckily i took tomorrow off to help get everything else ready for the flight out on Saturday!
 
I got a message back from concierge. They assured me that the over water cabanas  will be ready by Feb 1st. I also sent an email to the shore excursion team, they also assured me they would be ready! 
 
Everything is coming together! Table for 11 at main dining already secured table 184 in the American Icon. Reservations for the anniversary dinner at Izumi Hibachi are set! My vows are "mostly" done.

So after laser tag I headed to the head to the helipad to see all the ships at night but at last I was a little bit to late. As the only ship left was the Bahamas paradise Grand Classica.

But right after I made it to the helipad. She blew her horn and was headed back to West Palm Beach.
And then right after watching the ship leave it was time to head to the diamond club. but on my way up to there I snapped a photo of skypad at night. 
 

Guess who's back?

Traded emails with Allan today inquiring if the entertainment schedule has been firmed up.  He sent a tentative line up for next week with the caveat that it was “being reviewed by the CD and staff and will change.”  I’ll share that schedule with you as soon as I know it’s really going to happen.  Seems strange to me that the entertainment schedule is still tentative this close to the cruise, but what do i know?  
We’re really counting down now to our departure for Miami Saturday morning.  My mind is already on the cruise.  I sat in a meeting today about a building project.  Others in the room thought I was using my IPad to research local fire codes when in reality i was looking at the weather forecasts for our ports.  ?  Two more work days....
Did some last minute shopping on the way home.

Day 5 - Miami Debarkation Day  ?

Finishing up our cruise course
On the last morning of the cruise, I woke up at 6:15am. I packed up the last few of my things and then took my camera and went to the sun deck to watch the sunrise. It reflected beautifully off the buildings in Miami as we got closer to port.

Sun rising over Port of Miami

Joining us in port was the Navigator, a Carnival ship, and a Norwegian ship
I grabbed a quick breakfast from Windjammer and sat out on the pool deck to eat while watching the ship come into port at Terminal G. Royal let guests know that they were providing a shuttle to the Terminal J parking area for anyone that had driven to port. The Empress came into port around 7:00am. I finished up my breakfast and popped back down to my room to gather my things before heading to the centrum. Once in the centrum, I was directed by staff to line up in the Royal Theatre once I had everyone in my party together. Check. In the Royal Theater, everyone placed their bags in a line, and then took a seat while we waited for debarkation to begin.

Waiting in the Royal Theater for the self-assisted debarkation to begin. Bags are lined up, rather than people.
We didn't have to wait very long. We got clearance to debark at 7:45am, and I was off the ship by 7:50am. Staff directed us down towards customs, which I got through in about 15 minutes. I was easily able to request a Lyft once outside. My Lyft arrived at 8:15am, and dropped me off at my departure terminal at the airport 20 minutes later. I had plenty of time before my flight, so I wasn't worried when I saw what looked like an intimidatingly long security line. It went much quicker than I thought it would though, and I made it to the end of security by 9:00am.
Post Cruise Thoughts
I really enjoyed my first cruise, and am glad that I had it with Royal! It was a fun trip and I would definitely do it again. I would probably give myself the extra day to get to port ahead of time if doing air travel, or make sure to utilize Air2Sea to make sure if there is a delay that Royal would get me there, as mentioned by @JLMoran. I think if you're a light sleeper, ear plugs are crucial. And I think it's completely possible to have an enjoyable cruise vacay without needing to shell out the big bucks for additional excursions!
I hope you all enjoyed this recap, and if you have any other questions feel free to ask!

Day Four - Perfect Day at Coco Cay - Back to Chill Island & Departure
I made my way back down towards the area of Chill Island by Diver's Den. I passed by some live musicians playing near the Chill Grill that were very good. I found more lockers for use on the back side of the rental area, again with nothing indicating that they were an added cost. At 1:00pm, much of Chill Island was packed, but I managed to grab a chair by a lifeguard stand as a couple was leaving.

Wayfinding map of the island

Musicians playing by the Chill Grill
I decided to go back out snorkeling again. The water was much cloudier up near the shore this time since there were many people there, which stirs up the sand. Farther out though, it was just as clear as the morning and there were still many fish to be seen. If snorkeling at Coco Cay, I'd still recommend doing it earlier in the day though, just because so many other people were out snorkeling as well later in the day. It's a little more magical when there's fewer people about. I came back in and read for a little while longer before deciding try one of the beaches a little farther back.
On the way there, I stopped by the bar next to Snack Shack to order one the island's specialty drink, the Coco Loco. This drink consists of a shot of rum at the bottom of a fruity slushy that I'm not sure the contents of. It was very good, though a little on the sweet side, even for me. I found an empty chair not too far from the Snack Shack, but it took a while to find. This part of Chill Island only had two rows of chairs, compared to the six or so back toward the snorkeling area.

Chill Island beach by the Snack Shack
I continued to read my book until I had finished it, and then decided to get one last swim in before making my way back to the ship. Since I was not snorkeling this time, I had my feet below me walking out, rather than floating. I realized the farther you go out, the finer the sand becomes, and takes on almost a mud like quality that you sink into, rather than pushing off of. The water was clear enough to see the footprints of people that had walked out still stuck in the mud-like sand.
Happy with my time on the island, I went back to the area with the showers to rinse off and then waited by the tram area to be taken back to the main entrance. The tram arrived a little before 4:00pm. We waited about five minutes before departing. The tram was a nice way to see other parts of the island, though I still wasn't able to find any signage that South Beach was open while on board.

Sandcastle by the tram stop

On the tram back to the main entrance
Back at the main entrance, many guests were heading back to both ships. Empress had an all aboard time of 4:30pm, but I don't know what Anthem's was. There was music playing us out, as well as some staff holding a limbo stick for people to do on their way out. Walking down to the ships, some aquatic life (possibly rays?) was spotted jumping in the water. I made it back to Empress around 4:10pm.
I dropped my bag off at my room and changed before heading up to the sun deck to see us sail away from Coco Cay. It was a beautiful sight to see as the sun continued to set. 

So long to Coco Cay and the Anthem

Sad that my last day of vacation was coming to a close, but appreciative of the beautiful sunset
After taking my obligatory sunset photos, I went to the Windjammer for dinner. They had a bunch of different cakes set out at the dessert area, so I got the black forest cake, which was very good.

Red Velvet Cake, Key Lime Cake, Black Forest Cake, Carrot Cake, and Chocolate Cake at the dessert station on our last night
After dinner, I went to see the 7:00PM showing of the Production Showtime, which was something about the past, present, and future of showgirls. I found a nice seat at the front of the upper level that actually seems to be perfect for a solo traveler, as next to the seat is a pole that would block the view of a second guest. There is a similar seat on the right side of the upper level. The show was very good, a very big production. The entertainers continued to be wonderful, as they had been the entire trip.

A seat made for the solo traveler.
Once the show was finished, our cruise director, Elvis, invited us all to go to the centrum to see the Crew International Parade of Flags. I found a nice spot to watch, and really enjoyed seeing where the crew is all from.

In the centrum for the Crew International Parade of Flags
After the parade, I went to the back of the ship to Boleros, to check out something that had interested me in the cruise compass, Kamikaze Karaoke. I wasn't around when it started to see how it was set up, but the idea is that you put your name in and a song will be randomly selected for you. When I came in, the crowd was being serenaded to the tune of All-Star by Smash Mouth. Everyone was very good sports about the songs that they were given to sing, and the staff picked new songs for some people that had never heard of ones they were originally assigned.
Around 9:30pm, I headed back up to the pool deck to see the last movie on the big screen, Rocketman. There were no captions on this one, so it was a little difficult to know exactly what was being said at some times, but I thoroughly enjoyed the movie. Once the movie ended, I made my way to my stateroom to pack up my suitcase so I could be ready to do the self-assisted debarkation the next morning.

After the arrival of the  Carnival Elation. There was a yacht behind it.
But after the Yacht it was time for the Celebrity Equinox arrival into Nassau.   
 
After watching that great arrival Of  the Celebrity Equinox. It was then time for lunch in the windjammer. and then after that lunch It was time to go back to the flowrider. This wave Session was not at all packed and I was able to get 15+ rides in. 

This has to be one of my favorites of all the... hundreds? More likely thousands of photos you've taken. I don't care that it's only January 21, this one has got to (a) get into Friday Photos at some point, and (b) be a finalist for Best Cruise Photo of 2020.

Cruise Summary
When ever I sail a Quantum class ship I'm reminded about how much I love this class of ship.  I was just on the newly amped Oasis and that is a great class of ship but there is something about Anthem and Ovation that is really appealing.  I prefer both the balcony and junior suites on these ships more than Oasis class.  The balcony cabin layout and bathroom is just about perfect on this class. 
As it has happened to work out 80% of my 2020 cruises are on Quantum class and I'm okay with that. 
On this trip I hardly used the pool deck and for the first time I didn't use North Star or iFly.  I don't know where the time went but other than walking through the Solarium a couple times I lived on the lower decks this cruise.   I'm not a sun worshiper so that plays into equation.   I may dig through some of my older Anthem picture galleries to post some pictures because the Solarium is one of the nicest in the fleet and the indoor pool area for families is perfect for this ship.  I wouldn't be doing her justice to not show them off.  
I did walk through the SeaPlex with the goal of visioning how Playmakers will work on Odyssey when she arrives later this year.  I'm really looking forward to sailing on that ship with the evolution that has come with operating these ships for a number of years now.  I was disappointed when Spectrum went straight to Asia but was thrilled when Odyssey was placed in Florida for the end of this year.
A lot has been said about Diamond Plus being restricted from the Concierge Lounge.  I seem to pick my sail dates with increased number of top elite so that is something I've experienced a number of times on both Anthem and Ovation.  I've got to say the expanded Diamond Lounge has always worked really well for me on both ships.  I met some new friends and saw a many of them night after night.  As a solo cruiser I love that the Music Hall bar is available for happy hour.  It's much easier to meet and talk with new friends at the bar seating compared to a table somewhere by myself.  For me losing access to the CL is a non-event.  
The crew were amazing once again on Anthem.  I've sailed with Captain Srecko before and will always look forward to sailing with him again.   
Coastal Kitchen once again was a star and a highlight of the cruise for me.  The night one filet is one of the best steaks in the fleet.
I am really glad they occasionally do these longer itineraries on Anthem.  It's such a nice ship a 7 or 8 night is too short and the ports are more interesting on these longer runs.  Having to wear long pants on the first and last day in the middle of winter is trivial.
Bayonne or Cape Liberty is a great home port.  With sub $20 rideshare transfers it's second only to Fort Lauderdale for fly-in convenience.  Facial recognition is a welcome update since my last Bayonne departure that makes the debarking process so easy.
I'll post the specialty dining menus I have soon and I may go through some of my older Anthem pictures to find the best one to show off a few areas I missed this time around.
Until then I hope you enjoyed following along and I thank you for viewing.  
Cheers!

Dinner tonight - not Coastal Kitchen.  Shocker, I know.
My TA had given me a specialty dinner for two so I invited a new solo friend I met at Diamond happy hour in the Music Hall to Jamie's Italian for dinner.
Having dinner with a new friend I decided to switch off trip report mode and enjoy the moment.  No pictures.
I have a collection of menu pictures from various restaurants including Jamie's I'll post at the end.  
It occurs to me that had I been able access to the CL I probably wouldn't have met my new Diamond friend so while access to the CL for D+ is a hot topic these days, the Music Hall Diamond Lounge overflow approach worked in my favor this trip.
For those following along with the Coastal Kitchen menus, tonight we repeated day 5

Sail away party on the Helipad.
I've always called it a Winch Pad because that's what the big letters on it say but when the Captain invites you to the Helipad, I'm going with his wording.  His ship, his rules.


Like Oasis class, the Quantum class Helipad is not open to the public.  Oasis class has often held special sail away events for Suites and Pinnacles but they are much less common on Quantum class ships.













The Hotel Director mentioned this was only the second time he has put on this event using the Helipad so it was truly special enjoying the sail away and a fabulous sunset from here.

Loyalty pays.  #Loyal2Royal

Day 8 - St. Kitts
Arriving in St. Kitts it seems my streak continues.  It always seem to rain in St. Kitts in the morning.
The heavy rain even knocked Voom offline for a spell.  Fortunately these were isolated showers so 10 minutes later it was sunny.
The new pier (in the distance) at St. Kitts is nearly complete.  In fact it looks complete but along the shore you can see signs of ongoing construction activity so it's got to be very close.

Through the rain and morning mist I could a see a ship approaching but it seemed to have this large array above it.  In my morning haze I thought maybe it was a glitch in the matrix but my telephoto lens proved it be one of those small ships that can sail under wind power as well.

Breakfast this morning at the café @ two70°

This is a somewhat lesser known gem on Anthem both for breakfast and lunch and it's included. 

Not going to lie.  I have a hard time not inserting "Mc" when ordering the Egg Muffin.  The salads are part of the lunch offering.

Lunch sandwiches.  It's probably not good for me but the B & B is heavenly.  This is also where I get my Kümmelweck fix at lunch.

The coffee bar has an additional charge.