Skigoofy

We had a deck 10 JS aft cabin on Radiance to NZ (Port side corner). The most magnificent cabin we ever had and the balcony was absolutely huge!  Fantastic views greeted us everyday from our balcony.  After that, we were totally sold on aft cabins.  Next cruise is Serenade of the Seas from Hawaii to Sydney.  Our cabin is two decks directly below the one on Radiance.  Bottom line is aft cabins are great, very calm, out of the wind and the balconies are usually bigger than normal.  The stern will move up and down gently while underway, but that's ok because I've never been seasick and the gentle movement puts me to sleep like a baby!  I can fully understand why aft cabins are booked very quickly.


 

We had a JS on deck 10 on Navigator in August. We loved the view. I will say that when we were at our railing, we could see all the balconies below us, so if that is something you wouldn’t like, I would recommend getting a cabin on the highest deck. We didn’t notice any of the noise issues that were mentioned by others  

The junior suite aft balconies on Navigator were pretty unobstructed as well. One piece of advice through, if you like to sleep in past 6 on port days, the aft can be a problem. Once the tie downs came out we heard everything while on deck 8. 

If you are referring to the aft balconies that are along the very back of the ship, you would be looking for sailings on almost all of their ships. Some of the more affordable ones would be on freedom, voyager class ships. Oasis and Quantum class ships have aft balconies, but many are star class suites which bring a premium price.
For availability, these are popular stateroom choices for obvious reasons, so the best way to book one of these, is to book EARLY! The next round of Caribbean sailings I believe will be released the week of the 18th. 
 
This is what I will be doing that week too.  Refresh!

This view is worth it

lol I am such a lurker too!  Enjoy all my findings!!

Good morning everyone!  As the title says, we will be doing a side by side sailing coming up a week from Monday out of Miami.  As long as data/wi-fi/VOOM cooperates I will try to post as live as I can.  I'll put some of the background and details below, and will also be commenting on our before/after plans as well so feel free to skip past all that if it's not your thing.  Forewarning this first post will be a long one.  I was back and forth on doing a blog, but I know I really appreciate reading them to get me by until my next sailing.  As we go throughout the trip, feel free to ask questions and I will do my best to answer as I can.  
 
Who: 
Myself (Cody) and my wife (Ainslie).  I'm active duty AF currently stationed in Colorado Springs.  Just got back to the area in April after living 30 minutes south of Port Canaveral for almost five years, so this will be our first cruise in years where we have to fly to the port which was a big driver in the longer trip.  No kids, so aside from getting the vacation time we have the flexibility to cruise any time of the year.  We love this time of year as the weather is perfect, it's typically cheaper, and longer sailings (Explorer) often have a much more laid-back feel to them which we like.  We are Emerald C&A members coming just short of Diamond after these sailings and won't be in suites so I won't be much help in regards to those aspects/questions.
Why these sailings?: 
We did 14 nights b2b on Navigator a couple years ago over the exact same timeframe and loved it.  We got off that sailing and immediately knew we had to get back to the ABCs, which this time is on Explorer.  We considered doing the 5 night over Thanksgiving and making it a true b2b again, but this one went to Labadee & Jamaica and we're already doing Labadee the second sailing.  We really enjoyed Navigator and were excited to see the amplified ship so got a great rate a year ago on the 4 night Thanksgiving sailing and we get to go to Coco Cay.  I went in September but my wife has never been as we missed it the previous two attempts before the pier was installed.  We'll get to sail on one new ship to us and one revamped ship coupled with getting back to our favorite ports in the ABCs so it was a no-brainer!  Escaping the Colorado cold doesn't hurt either.
Staterooms:
Navigator we'll be in a deck 7 Promenade Room.  Originally had the exact same room # on Explorer, but after final payment date the rates on Oceanview Balconies dropped to the point where we upgraded for less than $100, so we'll have a deck 7 Oceanview Balcony on the Starboard side which we prefer.
Onboard Extras:
We purchased the Deluxe beverage package + VOOM for myself and the Refreshment for my wife on both sailings.  I waffled a bit on this but in the end got a rate we were happy with and I love not having to worry about a bill at the end for drinks.  Coupled with the fact that due to work we may not get to cruise next year and it was a fairly easy decision.  On Navigator I booked the UDP for us as there are some new venues I wanted to try and the price was $99pp so not bad.  VOOM came with my DX package but we would've purchased anyways.  No specialty dining on Explorer as we have some longish port days so a couple nights MDR but a lot of casual WJ meals for us.
Travel:
More in the itinerary to come but we're flying on the red-eye from Denver next Saturday morning at 12:45!  Flying into Orlando to spend time with friends.  We're flying Frontier (I know), but the ticket price was a few hundred cheaper than other airlines which allowed us to spend some time both before and after the cruise in Florida.  After disembarking on the 8th we'll head back up to Orlando to get a couple days at WDW before flying out late on the 9th back to Denver.  Got some great pricing on one way rentals both Orlando to Miami and in reverse with Avis.  Dropping of the rental the night before the cruise so will use Uber/Lyft to get to the ship.
Itinerary:
23 Nov- Fly to Orlando, spend day/night in Melbourne with friends
24 Nov- Drive to Miami, one night at the Gabriel downtown
25 Nov- Board Navigator
26 Nov- Nassau (8:00am-6:00pm)
27 Nov- Coco Cay (7:00am-5:00pm)
28 Nov- Sea Day (Thanksgiving)
29 Nov- Turnaround day, board Explorer
30 Nov- Sea Day
1 Dec- Labadee (8:00am-5:00pm)
2 Dec- Sea Day
3 Dec- Willemstad, Curacao (9:00am-8:00pm)
4 Dec- Kralendijk, Bonaire (8:00am-8:00pm)
5 Dec- Oranjestad, Aruba (8:00am-7:00pm)
6-7 Dec- Sea Days
8 Dec- Disembark, head to Orlando/Disney
9 Dec- Fly home late
Excursions:
Nassau- My wife is doing some sort of dolphin thing (I believe) and I'm going to just walk around, get a bite to eat, and spend some time at Pirate Republic Brewing (I'm a big beer guy)
Coco Cay- I've got the all-day waterpark pass, but aside from that a leisurely day
Labadee- Nothing planned, just relax
Curacao- Rented a car through Advance and plan to drive up to some of the more remote beaches.  Afternoon/evening will be spent walking downtown and getting a bite to eat at our favorite place
Bonaire- Snorkeling again with Woodwind and then relaxing in town
Aruba- Local bus to our favorite dutch pancake restaurant, then plan to spend the rest of the day at Reflexions Beach Bar while my wife shops in town
 
Again, apologies for the long post and congrats to those who stuck with it!  I will start with the live portion next Saturday once we start traveling.  I will not be uploading the compasses daily but if you have specific questions on those I will try to answer.  Have a great weekend and thanks for following along!

Cruise Summary
This was another bucket list cruise that lives up to that reputation.
It introduced me to several new destinations that each warrant a return visit.  Puntarenas and Cartagena stand out as top ports while the transit of the Panama Canal completely lived up to all my expectations.  Simply wow.  
This is my second time on Vision of the Seas and she fulfilled everything I needed for this cruise.  An issue with my cabin temperature was fixed within two hours on day one and I had no issues for the remainder of the cruise.  The crew were fantastic in all respects.  
The only thing I can think to complain about was the lack of enough tenders in Cabo San Lucas.  Using the four dual purpose lifeboat/tenders from the ship simply wasn't enough and it impacted out useable time in port.  The ship offered a lot of excuses for this but at the end of the day if they can't figure out how to execute tendering in Cabo they should drop the port. Fortunately I've been there before and it wasn't the reason I booked this cruise.
Seeing the operation of the Panama Canal locks firsthand and up close was amazing and I'm glad I experienced the original Panama Canal.  It's not an experience I'll soon forget.
When I return I'll spend more time down low watching all the action from lock level.  
My decision to save money by booking an ocean view cabin worked out fine.  Looking back I don't think I missed out by not having a balcony or suite.  Even if I had a balcony I wouldn't stay out there for the canal transit as there is too much to see on both sides of the ship.  Balconies were more than twice the price of my cabin so not only did my savings cover my stay on the Queen Mary, excursions and airfare but also left enough to pay for my next two cruises.
I have a few other bucket list type cruises in the future but I'll be looking out for another Panama Canal cruise after those.  
I hope you enjoyed following along and I thank you for viewing.

Day 17 - Ft. Lauderdale
After 4,890 nautical miles we have arrived into Port Everglades terminal 18.  That's a new personal best for a single sailing and longer than my transatlantic last year.
Nice sunrise for our arrival.



Our cruise...



Windjammer open from 5:30am to 8:30am, Dining Room 6:30am to 8am.
I was told to go with the last luggage tag number 31 leaving at 9:45am to meet my shuttle to Port Miami.  

Oh, my heart!!!  During my zoo keeping time, I was privileged to care for half a dozen toucans, and they were, by far, the most enjoyable birds that I ever worked with (even though one of them had a habit of rapping me in the back of the head if I wasn't quick enough with his grapes), and anteaters were a dream of mine to care for, but we never acquired one.  I love all of those toothless wonders   ?

Day 16 - Sea Day
Back in familiar waters.


Captain reports we are on schedule for a 7am arrival.
Solarium roof was open again.  Enough pictures of that.
Typical sea day except it involved packing.  Ugh.  The cruise is nearly over.
TNF by the pool.  The football feed we are receiving has no vocals, just game noise.  Even the commercials have no vocals.  Oh well, it works.  

Our bus dropped us off at the other end of the cruise terminal.  The cruise terminal in Cartagena is kind of unique.  It includes an eco park.

This is free and you have to walk through it to reach the ship.



Giant anteater.

There are two aviaries within the park.












It's a very nice way to return to a ship.

CHECK IN AREA
Not busy at all at 10:30AM

In case you are wondering, he looks like this:

Well Good Moring From The Port Of Miami.

Well Now It Is Sadly The End To This Great Cruise. It Took Me Just 10 Minutes To Get To The Car From The Ship.

With That It Is Time To Head Back Home To Orlando. Here Is On Last Shot Of The Navigator.
 
Well That Is It For This Blog. I Hope You Enjoyed It. If You Have Any Qestion Please Let Know. 

Son #2 is a goalie and racked up his third shutout (after a crazy game with some HUGE saves)  and now he’s really working me for the water park passes.   I love torturing them.   Tee hee. ?

Day 15 - Grand Cayman
Work day for me so I never left the ship. 


Grand Cayman is a tender port.




The Solarium roof was open once again.

You can walk to the eco park from the ship.

If you don't feel like walking the rest of the way back to the ship there is a free shuttle bus.




Thinking of my next visit here I think I'll spend the day in the old city.   Towards that end I noticed they have Uber here.

With that our day in Cartagena was done and we sailed away in the dark.

I was very impressed with Cartagena and will definitely look for itineraries that stop here.

With our time up we met as a group and headed back to the bus. 

One last look at some street art.






Naval hero.  Admiral Jose Padilla.

At this point we were given some free time to explore on our own.






The Hard Rock Cafe.



This seemed like a good spot to sample a local beer.

We walked through the streets of the old city to reach our next stop.



Since Spain had conquered Colombia when Spain went through the period of the Inquisition so did Colombia.  Our next stop was at the Palace of the Inquisition.


Within these walls justice was served for various crimes including being accused of being a witch. 





Off with their heads!

It was quite a dark time in the history of Cartagena until residents had enough and stormed the Palace to end the inquisitions. 

Ha - yes, and good catch.    He was a club DJ here in town and I was working in a bar where he had a residency when we met.   He still gets some gigs here and there, but I’ll always be “the DJ’s Mrs. ” ??

We decided to take everyone's advise and leave Friday instead of driving all day on Saturday.  This should make the drive a lot more bearable and also means we can leave a day early and out run the cold.  We got about two inches of snow which is nothing for most of y'all but for this Southern girl, that is way too cold.  Steven, being originally from Maine, didn't mind it and the kids enjoyed playing in the snow.
We also got an email from RCI today stating that we would be leaving at 2am Monday morning instead of 4:30pm Sunday afternoon.  This is due to routine maintenance and does not impact when we can board the ship or our itinerary just the time that we leave Port Everglades.

I was impressed with how nice the old city is and how pleasant it was to walk around.

Colombia is open to many religions but the Catholic church played a distinct and primary role in the religious history of the nation.  

This is the Sanctuary of Saint Peter Claver that we saw from the fortress.


Admission is included in our tour.






Quite breathtaking inside.

Back on the bus we drive around the old city to reach our next stop.  The old city is very nice and I could easily see myself spending a day just here.

Back on the bus to soak up some the cool air coming down from the air conditioning vents we head into the old walled city.
Our guide provides some history of how this area has had numerous conquerors. 

Our next stop is at a market where we can do some shopping.



Our guide informs us vendors accept USD and most vendors will provide change in USD.   Prices are in Colombian dollars so some math is required but prices appeared typical for many goods.


This leads up to the top of the wall that protected the old city.