Skigoofy

Day 3 - George Town, Grand Cayman
We’d only been to Grand Cayman once, on a Disney cruise, and we used that time to have a beach day. This time around, we decided to do something we’d never tried before - swimming with Stingrays. After a lot of research, I signed up with Stingray Sailing and their sister company, Cayman Eco Adventures. They have a very good reputation and do excursions with small groups, so I was willing to go with them despite their tour not being the least expensive.
Unfortunately, fate had other things in mind for us. Because of the diversion back to Key West we arrived to Georgetown around 8:00. At this point we’d already eaten breakfast in the MDR but were unable to finagle our way onto one of the first tenders (which went out around 8:30) out to the terminal. Which if things proceeded apace would not have been a huge issue, but after the first two tenders winds and waves caused a temporary stop to the boats. And since it was looking like we wouldn’t be off before 10, I emailed Stingray Sailing (I’d been in contact with them throughout the morning) notifying them that we would have to cancel our tour.

To the credit of the company, they refunded our deposit even though they did not have to based on the contract language. So while I cannot comment on the tour itself, I have to commend the customer service and will more than likely give them another go if and when we come back.
 
So with the tour cancelled, we went with our backup plan – Calico Jack’s and Public Beach. Public Beach is one of the well known locations along the Seven Mile Beach, and Calico Jack’s has been an institution there… but apparently they’re leaving. Don’t know what this means for the area, but I’m sure they’ll be missed.
 Seven Mile is also where my brother once went into the water with a cellphone in his pocket. Oops. But thanks to that incident, I now bring those airtight cellphone pouches (several variations can be found on Amazon) with me, just in case.
 Cab/Minibus fare over to Public Beach was $6 per person, and once there, we rented chairs and an umbrella for $20. And with that, we hit the water. What I love about Grand Cayman is that the beaches have some incredibly clear water, and it’s beautiful.
 
 
We also had some lunch. Kept it simple and had chicken tenders and pan-fried grouper. I’m fairly certain the grouper was previously frozen, but whatever spices they use on it make up for that – very tasty!
 
After a few hours at the beach we headed back to the ship. An interesting note was that on the way back our minibus had members of the Grease cast. Interesting because it seemed like they were mostly from the British Isles or Australia – I have to say that their onstage accents really fooled me, so kudos to them!
 
Once back on the ship we headed to Sorrento’s to grab a couple of slices. Didn’t feel right to overeat at Windjammer when a slice or two would do the trick. And after the snack it we had just enough time to see the Texans win, shower, change and head down for dinner.
Dinner on this day was probably the slowest that I’ve seen on a ship. Ryan had mentioned that this was a new menu combination so it’s possible that the kitchen staff were working the kinks out. It does make me wonder if this was why the dinner was my least favourite of the cruise. I had the sole and everyone else, the short rib, and both seemed heavily reliant on underwhelming sauces to carry them. So I’ll say that if you were on Independence and saw this menu, I’d recommend taking this day to do a specialty restaurant.
 
The show tonight was the ice show, Freeze Frame. Based on our experience with Grease, Hannah and I got there early, and managed to nab some decent seats.

As always, the performers worked hard and generally did a good job with a few tumbles here and there. The highlight was when one of the women did a spin that featured something similar to this:
 
This is what I call a crazy trick.
The plot of the show was a trip through the various dance and music styles from the 40’s to the 70’s. I don’t know that it entirely worked for me. There were some fun moments (for example skating around with handlebars during “Bicycle Race”) but I wasn’t really feeling it.
After the show Hannah went off to sleep while I went down to Playmakers to catch the end of the Patriots-Titans football game. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the crowd was firmly anti-Patriots (I’m sure there were some Titans fans, but people REALLY wanted the Patriots to lose). Not having a horse in this race (I’m a Texans fan, and while I expected us to get smushed, last weekend was a step beyond smushed.), it was fun to watch.
 

Overall, we didn’t get to do what we’d planned, but the pivot to the beach still made for a nice day.

Heading out of Miami now! After some clouds this morning, it’s turned into a very pretty evening!
 


We had a reservation at Chops for lunch today that was delicious. Probably our best Chops visit yet. (No food photos, sorry.) We checked out Riptide which was very fun and going to try the aqua coaster probably tomorrow. It was closed for some sort of maintenance but is now up and running. After a boring muster drill, we are now hanging out in the Suite lounge before dinner. Dad continues to be amazed at the suite life. I’m officially a snob but I think I’m turning him too. ?

 
Overall, our fellow passengers seem to skew 40+ generally. Some kids but relatively few. I was curious myself because it abuts MLK day. ?
Off to Jamie’s for dinner tonight for Steve’s birthday! ?

Some odds and ends:
 
Travel:  We will be flying from Palm Springs, California to Miami on American Airlines with a change of planes in Dallas.  We’ll leave out here at 630am and arrive in Miami at 630pm. Flying in on the day before the cruise.  Staying in a two bedroom suite somewhere in Miami.  Nurse Ratchet made all of the travel plans so I’ll just follow her there.  Ill let you know when I get there! No plans yet for the night in Miami that I know of.  I’m fairly certain it will include food and cocktails!  
 
Genie Requests:  He is working on ideas to celebrate the twins December birthday and the Doctor’s recent graduation.  I think this year we will enjoy the sail away for our deck so I think we will ask for some food and a drink or two for that.  If we follow our cruising habits we will have a few breakfasts and afternoon snacks, also on the balcony. We enjoy the front row seating at the shows, morning Starbucks, laundry and the escort off the ship. Not requesting a cabana at Labadee.  We’ll request time in the Escape Room. Hopefully the helipad sail away from Labadee. We’re pretty laid back.
 
Food:  We’re waiting for Allan’s suggested schedule but I’m certain we’ll do Chops, Giovanni’s, 150, Izumi, CK on filet night and then go back to whatever was best. Lunches are pretty much played by ear.  I think most breakfast’s will be either on the balcony or in CK.  We definitely hit Portside BBQ and El Loco Fresh. I have said on each of the last three cruises that I was going to try the Dog House and didn’t. I’m going to do it this time!  I’m sure there will be sushi and pizza in the mix somewhere!
 
Side Note.  I’m seeing that Mario Salcedo, or Super Mario is now onboard the Oasis.  It would be fun to chat with him I think.  But then again, I’m pretty impressed I know the manger of our local hardware store.
The meme is for @teddy to keep that song playing in your head!
More to come….

Barbecue?  That’s food, right??  I should have put more info in the introduction to this thing!  The short answer to your question is yes, we will be trying the barbecue. The expanded answer is that there are two distinct types of people in our family:  One that lives to eat and the other that eats to live!  ALL food on the ship will be sampled by some!  Although I’m not considered a “foodie” in this crew, I did tell the Genie I can easily be bought with the mushroom soup and apple pie.  Cheap date. 

Day One - Evening Activities & MDR Dinner
I had the later, 8:30pm seating time for dinner in the main dining room, so while I waited, I decided to catch the night's movie being shown on the pool deck, Crazy Rich Asians. Loved the movie, though viewing angles were a little awkward. I appreciated that the movie had captioning as well. It definitely got colder up on the pool deck now that the sun had gone down, so I grabbed a towel at the towel station as a stand in for a blanket while I watched the movie.
Once the movie finished, I popped back down to my cabin to do a quick change into some nicer clothes for my dinner in the MDR. I went with a blouse and a nicer pair of dark jeans. I had been worried about what exactly the dress code entailed, but there didn't really appear to be anything enforced. At my table, I was joined by another solo traveler, and a family of three. There were other seats available, but no one else came the two days I had dinner there. My tablemates were nice, but not very interested in talking.

Dinner menu in the MDR for the first night.
I ended up ordering the Baked French Onion Soup, the Roasted Chicken Breast, and the Warm Hazelnut Chocolate Cake. No complaints on any of the food. I was surprised to see how large the French Onion Soup was, so tasty! I skipped taking photos of this meal, I was feeling a little self-conscious around my tablemates.
After dinner, I took a seat in the lower level of the Royal Theater, to the right side, to watch the Welcome Aboard Showtime, which started at 9:45pm. There was an area reserved for Key guests at the back of the lower level, but it didn't seem particularly full. The show consisted of little bits of entertainment from the orchestra, featured dancers, and a comedy set. Our cruise director, Elvis, was so funny and friendly during his pieces, I almost wish he had his own comedy set! During the show, I felt myself swaying with the ship a little bit more than I liked, so I headed back to my stateroom once it was finished, took some motion sickness medication, and headed to bed.

Day One - Ship Tour
After my lunch at Chops, I began to walk through the Shooner Bar, intending to go right to my stateroom, but found that a ship tour was starting, so decided to do that instead. Our tour was led by Bonita, who did a great job and was very funny too. Since the Empress is not too big of a ship, the tour didn't take very long, maybe about a half hour. We went through a lot of the places I had already seen on my own, but Bonita gave us interesting facts as well. She let us know that the Empress may be the smallest ship in the fleet, but "it's got the biggest heart," which I think echoes what @twangster has said in his many reviews. I also found out that the Empress's godmother is Gloria Estefan. I didn't know that ships even had godparents, I'm curious to know what the job entails. ?
Day One - The Stateroom
At 1:00pm, the staterooms were announced to be ready, though I didn't make it to mine until after 2:45pm. After I the ship tour, I made my way to my stateroom, 4535. I spent a good long while roaming around trying to find my cabin. The numbering system and various hallways confused me, but I did finally find my way to the right place. It was not nearly as difficult to find after the first time, but throughout the rest of the trip I did frequently go to the wrong side of the ship when getting off the elevators/coming from the stairs. My stateroom was a regular interior cabin, which was plenty spacious for me, especially since I was traveling solo. When I entered, I noticed the TV was set to the cruise info channel, which still had Christmas music playing in the background. I unpacked my bag and then took some time to look through the Royal App to see what activities were going on around the ship. 

Interior stateroom 4535

The cozy bathroom
Day One - Sail Away & Sunset
Having had a brief rest, I went up to the Viking Crown Lounge, where they were holding a raffle for $500 (Two $100 prizes, Two $150 prizes) in credits to the Vitality Spa. It was very simple, just filling out a card and dropping it into their raffle container. Wasn't lucky enough to win this time. With the raffle finished, I went back towards the pool area for the sail away party. Finally the clouds had started to give way!


Lots of dancing to be had at the Sail Away party. And feel good dog videos on the big screen.
After a little bit of dancing and taking in the views on the sun deck, I found a recliner to relax and listen to the live Caribbean music provided by the Mass Effect band. They've got a great sound and presence, I enjoyed them the whole trip. As the sun set, more of the clouds dispersed to allow for some beautiful sunset views and photos.

Cococay was so much fun. We just got back onboard for the day. We took lexi to the waterpark and got a cabana there, she loved it we stayed a little over 3 hours. The wave pool was her favorite but I really enjoyed the dueling demons slide and the sling shot. 
 
Then when we got back Luciano had a surprise waiting on us! He is so great. Now we are going to hang out at the  pools and wait for a nice dinner at 150 Central Park.

@Lovetocruise2002, We go in disguise!  I always have to do the Windjammer at least once.  People shoving, cutting in front of you, taking the last of a food item right out of your hand.  Dirty dishes everywhere. Reminds me of home..

Well, actually we’ll fly on down, but you get the idea.
Warnings/Disclaimers:  This blog is the sole opinions and thoughts of just the old guy who is writing it.  It doesn't reflect the thoughts, opinions, clarity, good sense or tact possessed by those sailing with me.  And to be clear, I don’t have the sense of humor, literary skills, or good judgement of most of you who post these live blogs.  But I'm going to do it anyway.  I guess I can be labeled as a “lurker” on this site.  I read it daily but have made only a few comments.  So today I take the plunge and become one of you by just jumping in the deep end with a live blog! 
Two weeks from today I will be in the air traveling from Palm Springs, California to Miami to begin our next Star Class adventure.  In 2017 we sailed on the Oasis in a crown loft suite and thought we had found the ultimate way to cruise.  But no, there was more to discover!  In 2018 we booked another crown loft, this time on the Allure.  A month or so later while checking for a price reduction I stumbled across something called the.Royal loft Suite!  After watching a quick YouTube video of that suite I quickly booked it.  YOLO as someone on this blog always says.  We sailed in July with Dave Mac as our Genie and there was no turning back.  In May of 2019 we cruised in the RLS on the Harmony with the amazing, wonderful Ariceli who I think has spoiled us for life!  As I said, there’s no turning back now so two weeks from tomorrow we will be in the RLS on the “new” Oasis and will have Allan as our Genie.  
If this blog goes as planned you will see and hear much about each of us and what we will be doing during the week. So let me introduce our merry band of sailors:
Stacy, my bride and partner.  I many times refer to her as Pollyanna, which is defined as “an excessively cheerful or optimistic person.”  Defines her to a T.  She sees the good in everything and everyone.  Poor thing. My Pollyanna uses those traits everyday as she toils as an RN, or BSN to be accurate, in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at Desert Hospital in Palm Springs.  She is our cruise planner, specializing in the culinary aspects of the Star Class experience.  As she takes her break from those 12 hour shifts at the hospital she will be seen around the ship with a permanent smile on her face and a blended Love Connection drink in her hand.  I expect she will pop in on this blog and provide you with some of her excessive cheerfulness!
Shari who I refer to as Polyanna2.  Yeah, no kidding.  Another one.  Stacy’s identical twin sister.  The Oasis is a big ship but I’m not sure there’s room enough for this goodness!  She and her family have cruised with us the last three trips but this time she will leave them behind at jobs and school while she gets a well deserved week of relaxation. Shari is the 24/7 caregiver for her mother-in-law who suffers from dementia. That’s a task where that Pollyanna thing coms in pretty handy.  I expect the twins to be side by side everyday and although they act and talk alike you can tell them apart by their hands.  Shari’s will be holding a Bud Light!
Daughter Taylor, almost 21. Young T, as I call her, is a preschool teacher with with a gaggle of I think 3 year olds.  Can you imagine?  A classroom full of germ carrying, tantrum throwing, runny nosed 3 year olds and Taylor is too young to drink!  T is the calm, chill one in the group.  She gets that from me.  You will find her sleeping late, spending lazy days in the sun and with one of two things in her hand.  Her Starbucks or a virgin Pina Colada.  I told our Genie that I think T holds the Harmony record for most virgin Pina Coladas consumed in one week!  We might also find her in the casino which she discovered last year. 
Daughter Kaitlyn, 30 something.  The party girl of the bunch. She is also a nurse like her mom. But she is in the other Intensive Care Unit – the one for adults.  Same hospital as her mom.  On December 19th Katie received her Doctorate of Nurse Practioner degree which we will be celebrating on the cruise.  So now she has more letters behind her name:  Dr. Taylor, RN, BSN, DNP, EIEIO. I asked the Genie for time in the engine room for this one because she can talk and drink like a seasoned sailor!  You’ll recognize her by her flaming red hair the the gin and tonic in her hand.  Or a Margarita. Or a vodka and soda.  Or…well you get the idea. 
Rounding our our group is yours truly, Jim. The quiet one of the group.  I will usually be found on that massive balcony at our suite, on the quiet suite sun deck or in the suite lounge.  With a Jack Daniels and sprite in one hand and a camera in the other. My plan is to try and share as much here in words and photos as I can.  I have enjoyed and learned so much from reading others blogs here so I hope to return that favor.  I’m sure much of the blog will deal with Star Class aspects as I try to justify why we spend a bazillion dollars every year to do this!  I will be doing Genie recon for those sailing after us and will certainly try to answer questions anyone has once we board.  We plan on eating everywhere except the Chef’s Table this year. We’ll even work in the MDR for a breakfast or lunch and a couple of trips to the Jammer.  I think we will do all of the shows. Even Cats.  Yep, I’m gonna do it.  I’ll spend the afternoon in the suite lounge slamming the Jack and sprites and then go experience the feline extravaganza!  We have no plans for Cozumel or Falmouth. Just maybe a little shopping and back on the ship.  We are looking forward to Labadee which we all love.  A relaxing day on the suite beach.  
In the lead up to our sail day I plan to share more about our travel plans, our night in Miami, our previous experiences with RC and how we survive the Miami airport as we disembark on Super Bowl Sunday.  I might have to involve Jack in breakfast plans that morning!  I know its somewhat early to post but I’m hoping we can all share and get to know each other by our sail date. It’s not too early by Matt or Sabrina’s standards but it is early!
So come along for the ride with this crazy bunch as we embark on our 3rd Star Class adventure. It’s a long way from my first sailing on the Song of Norway.

We arrived at Terminal A at 9:45 AM and went straight to the Suite Lounge. We waiting most for the elevator and now have been sitting in the suite lounge waiting. Bags dropped to relaxing was about 7 minutes. 


They have coffee, tea, lemonade, and sodas available to drink. Moved into a little alcove around the corner from the last time we were here.


Looks like some folks just started boarding (maybe back to back folks?) so we should be on shortly. Everyone is very excited over here on a breezy, cloudy morning in Miami. ?

Well, I certainly can’t complain about the hotel situation. We go on the plane and Dad was very excited still. Kept tapping my brother on the shoulder and looking and smiling at us.

The cake wasn’t quite on the plane... but it was at the Hyatt Regency. I shot an email to Hyatt telling them about Steve’s birthday and they went above and beyond. We showed up and instead of getting our two small rooms, we got this...

And not only this but a cake and some craft beers too! Steve was over the moon and we had SO much fun watching the football game and enjoying our beers.

It was so great! Thanks again to the team at Hyatt Regency for going above and beyond. It was such a great start to our vacation! This morning we’re getting ready and heading to the ship a little early this morning so we can get onto the suites. ? Today is Steve’s actual birthday too! So far so good!

And we’re off! Successfully made it up to Boston Logan without any trouble. Dad was very surprised about the limo and remarked, “wow, so this is how you do it.” My brother and I laughed.

After a relatively simple 1.5 hour drive and a few glasses of champagne, we were checked in with Delta and hanging out in the Delta lounge up here. Our flight leaves in about an hour so we got here a little early but nothing to complain too much about. Dad is enjoying getting his phone charged and having a cup of coffee... or two. “It’s all free?!” We’ll, if you fly way too many miles with them it is. ?

Dad has figured out that we’re in First Class and asked what they’re serving for dinner. Club Sandwich or a Salad. He is unimpressed. This is going to be a trip to remember to say the least! Will report in once we get to Miami and the Hyatt. ?

Two days to go! Sitting in a coffee shop while one of my little dudes attends a birthday party. Catching up on last minute concerns/flights as weather looks to be sweeping across the United States but so far things look OK for us.
We got a little bit of luck from Universal Orlando! Rooms seem to be opening up so we’re going to be staying at Royal Pacific the entire stay instead of doing the final night at Aventura. While we were a little bit excited to try the new hotel, we loathed the idea of packing our bags on the 12th night of our trip if we could avoid it. We’ll give Aventura a try another time and keep our bags in our rooms. ?
For my job, I travel a ton and have earned miles and points for days in the last year (flew 125,000 miles last year). I don’t regularly travel for work so when I do I tend to send kind, get-what-you-get emails to the brands I’m loyal to and see if they can do anything special for my family as we travel. I’ve had a TON of success with this and I probably do it once every two years. (I stayed about 65 nights in Hyatt last year after switching loyalties from Marriott brands at the suggestion of my boss.)
I’m not going to share too much in case it falls through but it looks like the Hyatt Regency Miami is going to be coming through a big surprise for my family. ? Will be very excited to share with you all assuming all works out!
My father, who isn’t the most computer literate gentleman, texted me last night because “something is wrong with my room number”. Turns out, he’s figured out (albeit indirectly) that we upgraded him to a suite. To avoid him giving our travel agent or Royal a hard time, we let him in on the surprise a little early. ? He is very excited albeit it I think slightly in shock and unsure how to respond. Just a lot of “oh wow, thank you’s”. Going to be a big week for him!
Tomorrow, we’ll be driving up to Boston to fly direct to Miami arriving later tomorrow evening. Very excited we’re so close and only a tiny bit of packing to go...

Yay Today Is The Day. It Is Cruise Day Y'all!! I Will Leave You For Right Now With This Photo Of Mariner OTS!

So we had dinner at Giovanni’s! It was excellent as normal. No shows tonight, just wanted to chill. Update Luciano was able to help us get the liquor at a reasonable price and surprised my dad and father in law with it! He is by far amazing. In one short day we have already learned he is to be asked for if you can. 
 
The food coma starts soon! We are at karaoke now for some entertainment.
 

My in laws room the Owners Pan. 
 
They love it!!!!! 

Yes they are!!!! And it’s a huge selection! 
 
We had a huge spread sent for lunch, we had Sabor chips and guac/ salsa, burgers, fries, onion rings and part of the seafood tower brought to the room. That was really nice. We  finished  the muster then we hit the champagne bar for some martinis now we are on the deck waiting for sail away!

Thank you all!
 
So we met Luciano! He is super nice and helpful. He took us straight to our room. Lexi had to be the first on and she couldn’t wait to hang out with him. 
Big difference we noticed between the RLS on Harmony and Allure.... the carpet downstairs. However the room is so nice and clean. 
 
 
I will post photos of my in laws owners Pan in just a bit. 
 
lexi is already in the hot tub playing and we are waiting on lunch. 

We have made it in the port and we are checked in. Waiting on Luciano now ?
 
 
The tree was still up so I thought I would put a photo up! 

Day One - Embarkation
Once on board, I started to explore the ship. I stuck closely to the the Centrum area at first, just going up a floor at a time. I really enjoyed all of the little sitting areas throughout the ship. It was difficult to find places that didn't have a nice ocean view. I especially liked the Library area on deck 9, which has a decent sized collection of books for you to read at your leisure. I found an interesting book that I managed to read over the course of the trip, before returning it to its home.

View of the Centrum from deck 6

One of many sitting areas around the ship
I made my way up to deck 10 to get some ocean views from the top of the ship. It was still pretty cloudy, but I enjoyed the view nonetheless. I walked back past the pool and towel station, finding a ping pong area, some secluded recliners, and the rock wall at the very back.

Recliners toward the back of the ship on deck 10

View of the parking garage construction next to Terminal J
After taking some photos, I continued to explore the ship until my lunch reservation at 1:30pm at Chops.
Day One - Lunch at Chops
I made my way to Chops around 1:25pm. When I got to the entrance, the host stand outside was empty. I saw that the times listed on the wall for lunch ended at 1:30pm, so I double-checked on the Royal App to make sure I had my reservation correct. As I was doing so, the host came out and told me I was right on time, and took me to a table. It was very quiet in the restaurant, with only two other couples there when I was seated. Since we were still in port, the view was that of the cruise terminal, but I imagine that it's a gorgeous experience out at sea.


I ordered the Charred Beef Carpaccio, the Filet Mignon, and the Grilled Asparagus. All were delicious, but I especially liked the beef carpaccio. Afterwards, the waiter brought out a dessert/coffee menu, from which I got a warm chocolate cake that came with strawberries and ice cream.
\

 

To the Cruise Terminal
My flight landed in Miami around 8:50am. I hung around the airport for a bit to grab something quick to eat, and try to figure out which terminal the Empress would be. I didn’t see anything on my cruise docs, nor on Royal’s site when I logged in. If anyone knows specifically how to find this out, please let me know! I’d appreciate it for next time. I searched through these forums to see if anyone said where the Empress typically was. The couple posts I found mentioned Terminal G, so I decided to input that for my Lyft and go from there. 

From the ride share area looking back at the terminal.
I followed the signage to the ride share pickup spot easily. Once there, I ordered my Lyft, and waited about 10 minutes until the driver showed up. Traffic was fine, until getting to the tunnel leading to the cruise terminals. Since I was early, there were still people disembarking from their cruises that were adding to the traffic. My driver took me to Terminal G, but the porters informed me that while Empress is usually at that terminal, today it would be boarding at Terminal J. I asked my driver if he’d be okay taking me further than what I had requested on the app. He was fine with it, and I made sure to tip him extra than I had been planning on for the trouble. I made it to Terminal J around 10:45am, making the total trip time from when I requested the ride about 45 minutes.
 
Check-In and Boarding
Outside of Terminal J was very busy. I didn't see any specific signage directing people where to check-in, assuming I was just there too early for that. I handed my bag over to one of the porters and he pointed in me in the right direction. Keeping my backpack with me for the day, I queued up to go through security on the lower level, where they checked my passport and ticket. I then took an escalator up to a second level to go through a metal detector and bag screening.

Second floor of Terminal J, leading around to the metal detectors & bag screening (top left).
After the screening, I headed over to the Royal check-in table to get my Seapass. They confirmed the credit card I had on file as well for gratuities and other charges. One of the questions asked was about overall health, ie, if you had been exhibiting any symptoms of flu, nausea, etc, in the past two weeks. I hadn't, so that was that, but I'm wondering what happens if people say yes to this question? Do they bar them from boarding? Once I was checked in, I took a seat in the waiting area, getting ready for when they would start boarding. I started to look through the various info that I was given during check in, especially the map of the ship.

Seapass and the map of the ship given to me at check-in.
I didn't have to wait long for them to start boarding the ship, around 11:10am. Once all the higher status loyalty members made their way on, they called for everyone else to start boarding. I passed on the photo op outside of the boarding bridge, but it looked like a cute moment to celebrate the start of your vacation. By 11:20am, I was in the Centrum and ready to begin my cruise!

An instance where being on the shorter side is to my benefit.

Hello all! Hoping you enjoy this "live-blog" style recap of my first cruise. A little about myself and the trip:
I was completely new to cruising before this trip. I knew it was something I wanted to do, and I knew that I would have time off in-between Christmas and the first Friday of the new year, so I decided it try it out. I tried to get a friend to come along, but ended up deciding to do a solo trip instead. I've done solo traveling in the past, so I was not worried about this aspect. Around the end of July, I worked with a family friend who is also a travel agent to find different cruises that fit my time and budget (including any flights that might be needed). I had looked at itineraries from other cruise lines as well, but this one stood out to me the most. Once I put down my deposit, I started some research and found Royal Caribbean Blog, which proved to be invaluable!
Part of my goal with this trip was to see exactly how much I could do included with the cruise. I didn't book any excursions before my trip, or on-board. I didn't purchase any drink packages, preferring to pay by the drink as I realized I would most definitely not be able to keep pace to make the deluxe drink package worthwhile. I did receive $50 on-board credit through my travel agent when she booked for me. I used part of this for a lunch reservation at Chops Grill on embarkation day, which I booked online ahead of the cruise. I did not purchase any Voom packages ahead of time, or on-board. I thought it would be a nice way to start the year, with some technology disconnect.
Itinerary
12/30/19 - Miami
12/31/19 - Key West
01/01/20 - Sea Day
01/02/20 - Perfect Day at Coco Cay
01/03/20 - Miami
I am still fiddling around with some of the photos I took on this trip, so please feel free to ask any questions in between posts!

After lunch the kids went back to the room for a nap, while my wife went back up to the pool deck to… nap. I went to the promenade to grab a coffee and a latte (for my wife – we got a coffee card) and relaxed on the balcony.
 A little before 3pm, we headed down for our skate session. Seeing as we flew in from Toronto, we wore our “travel” clothing on the ice. I hadn’t done any proper skating in about 4 years, so despite the skates not being a great fit (as to be expected with rentals) it was a lot of fun – like riding a bike. Other folks were not having as much of a good time – as you can see in the photos some were having issues just trying to skate, which if it was one of your first times, is not unexpected.
 
 


Tonight’s dinner was formal night, and as such we took a little extra time to get ready so we could get some photos taken.
 

The show tonight was Grease. Olivia and my wife were a little tired so Hannah and I went to watch. We figured getting to the theatre 15 minutes early would be sufficient for us to get some decent seats. We were wrong. Check out the crowd! And that pillar right in front of me! 
 

Believe it or not, this was the first time I’d seen a production of Grease from start to finish, and I thought the cast did a pretty good job with it. And I know that the musical has some themes that might be considered too mature for kids, but I wasn’t much older than Hannah when I started watching Degrassi Junior High, so I didn’t think this had anything that she couldn’t handle.
 After the musical, Hannah went back to the room and I decided to try my luck at some blackjack. And to say that I had no luck would be understating things. I don’t play with a huge buy-in, but I lost my stake in about 30 minutes thanks to a combination of dealer blackjacks and players that consistently stayed on 14/15 against a 10. I can usually grind myself back to even, but on this night I had no shot.
 With my wallet a slight bit lighter, I went up to grab a couple of slices from Sorrento’s. And was actually surprised as the pizza was better than I’ve had on other Royal ships. Not sure I’d have more than a couple of slices at any one time, but I’d definitely eat it over Big Chain pizza.
 After the pizza and some water, it was time for bed.
 The next day would be our first port – Grand Cayman.

After watching the sail away from the balcony, we did some unpacking, and then it was time for dinner. We did get the early seating (5:30 on Independence), and our servers were Ryan and Mutsam (I may have his name wrong). Mutsam was fairly new, and this was in fact his first contract. I thought they did a good job over the course of the cruise. Nothing spectacular, but everything was done competently.
 
My first night main was the Caribbean Jerk Pork Chop. Cooked very nicely, although perhaps not enough jerk flavour. We also asked for extra vegetables for our table. Seems weird, but we do eat a lot of veg, so this worked out for us.
After dinner, we wandered around the promenade a bit. They had singers and musicians doing some standards – it was nice.
 
(So much better than two singers and an iPad)
We then went to register Olivia in Adventure Ocean. Hannah (my older one) was 12 so she went to look in on the Teen club meet and greet, but the kids there were mostly older teens, so she didn’t want to join in. She’s actually quite sociable, but I could definitely understand her apprehension.
After this, I think that we experienced a first day adrenaline dump, as we all felt quite tired. I’d planned on doing some more first night exploring, but, well, sleep beckoned, and tomorrow would be a new day.

The good news is that it gave me some time to explore Deck 11 and 12. Not having been on a Freedom class ship before, I was curious to see the layout. I liked it.
Splashaway Bay has a layout similar to what I saw on Harmony, with the addition of a kiddie pool that hopefully wouldn’t be a “kid soup” pool similar to DCL’s Mickey pool. If you’ve been on DCL, you know what I’m talking about.


The sides of the deck even had some windows open, to let in some air. 

The main pool area had a couple of pools bisected by a deck area, with a few hot tubs surrounding it. There was also a large video screen for movies.

Further back was Solarium, which was actually a nice layout.

In the bar, I noticed a BOGO deal on the drink package. Still more expensive than in the Cruise Planner, but hey, better than paying full price, if one were so inclined to purchase the package (I was not).

In the adjoining terminal, we could see the Majesty, set to sail out that day as well.