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Not sure why these are rotated ??‍♂️

Current situation. Standing at a desk at Baltimore Airport charging the phone and caffeinating while waiting for our next flight to FLL. The surprise went well. We picked the kids up from school and headed to the airport. Thankfully they didn’t notice the luggage in the back of the car. We live close to the airport so a statement of we have to run to a store in Albany and that kept them from asking what was going on. 
Once we pulled into the airport, they started asking “why are we here?” To which we replied WE ARE GOING TO FLORIDA!!!!! This was met with cheers of excitement and are we going to Disney, Seaworld etc. so of course we told them no. We are going to Miami to check out the beach and stuff. 
 
I’ll attempt to get a screenshot of the video we took of the kids excited faces to post later.
We arrive at FLL at 11:30pm so the next update will be sometime tomorrow.

Me leaving work this morning since I am now on vacation!! Wheels up tomorrow, I'll start packing soon I guess..

Radiance of the Seas, 2003 in Alaska, roundtrip from Vancouver. Ship was 3 years old and we were blown away with how upscale we thought this ship was. First balcony cabin 7154.  

My first cruise was a four nighter on Enchantment of the Seas one January. I left the cold of Tennessee to find myself watching the ship anchor at Coco Cay early in the morning while the sun rose. What an amazing experience! Then, spending time on the beach soaking in the warmth of the sun that time of year was fantastic.
The next day was in Nassau and involved a tour which helped me identify what to do and not to do regarding excursions. It wasn't the best experience in itself, but gave me confidence to branch out in a Caribbean port.
The last day was a choppy sea day which ended up with some rolling and the feeling of sea sickness for the first time. Yuck. I figured out that where you are on board has an effect on how you feel, and to stay hydrated and eat green apples. I remember leaving the theater after the last performance thinking that I will be back on another ship asap. It was a little over a year, and the addiction was fully set with a seven night Eastern Caribbean cruise aboard Freedom. I love cruising on Royal Caribbean, and all the people I have met in this forum and on the one group cruise we were able to go on.

Many years ago, I cruised with a couple of girlfriends and our motto was "What happens on the cruise, stays on the cruise".?
Much older, wiser and married now. 
Taking my first cruise with my husband in February.  ❤  Looking forward to making many happy memories with him❤?

One of the most memorable experiences and thoughts from our first cruise was walking Deck 5 on Serenade after dinner. As my wife and I walked around the biggest ship we had ever been on, we looked out at the moonlight ocean, the end less sea and star-filled sky, and I remarked to my wife about how small I felt. We all get tied up with ourselves and our lives and how big and important everything is.  I felt very small in that moment, with the enormity of everything.  This was actually a good thing. A little perspective on things. There are so many things out there bigger than ourselves, our ship, our planet and even our universe.  It was very humbling and I thought about that every deck walk the rest of the cruise. I still think about it today.

My first cruise was Monarch of the Seas in 1993. I remember thinking she was HUGE!? Some of my fondest memories were in the dining room. Our server was Bulent. During dinner they would dance around the tables with Baked Alaska on their heads on fire! They would also have sparklers. Cherries Jubilee was served table side & they would light it on fire to burn off the alcohol! I can't imagine that much fire on a ship anymore. Looking back I wonder how many close calls they had from it?

Our first cruise was in May of 1999 on the Enchantment of the Seas.  I proposed to my wife on the stage of the Orpheum Theater with the assistance of the Cruise Director who tricked her into getting up on stage under the guise that she had lost her SeaPass card.  Pretty lasting memory if you ask me.  ? 

First ever cruise for me was just last these, on Freedom of the Seas for an 8-night Eastern Caribbean sailing. It was a celebration of many milestones: our 20th anniversary, our older daughter graduating high school, and our middle one graduating middle school.
I think my happiest memory was the four of us getting to swim with the dolphins in St. Kitts. It was a bucket list item for my wife, and it was the happiest I remember seeing her.


Paid a real premium for that full photo disc, but worth every penny for that memory.
Apart from that, my favorite personal experiences were sitting on my balcony and watching that incredible cobalt blue of the deep ocean going by, and going to the helipad at night to see the stars. That in particular was just stunning!
 

My first cruise was a TA on the Jewel in 2007.  We paralleled a small hurricane for a couple days.  A third of the crew was sick, the Shops On Board were closed because a lot of the bottles in Duty Free had broken and it smelled like a distillery on that entire deck.  It was hard to walk in open areas because of the pitching and rolling.
So I thought it would be a good idea to see if the little snack bar on the fantail (up a flight of stairs from the putting green) was open.  I was surprised to see the crew and the feeling was mutual.  It may not have been a good idea to climb an outside staircase in a hurricane for a chili dog and onion rings,  but it seemed like an adventure at the time.  Then I went back to the cabin and looked at the weather conditions.   Judging from the quality of the photo, I took a picture with a potato.  It shows the wind at 94 MPH almost directly at the port side of the ship.
Meclizine saved me from hugging the toilet, but anytime I sat down for more than a couple minutes I fell asleep.
I  knew cruising was for me.

My first cruise was 2007 but my first Royal cruise was in 2016. It was not my favorite cruise by far but I did have a lot of fun. We were in Barbados and decided to walk from the ship to the Boatyard. It was hot but I remember liking the walk. We had a few drinks at the bar after finding a good spot to lay our stuff then swam. The water was the most beautiful I'd ever seen, the scenery was gorgeous, the people I was with were all gelling - it was a perfect day.

The motion in the ocean is back. 

Mongolian grill in the Windjammer tonight.  Took all my will power not to get something in order not to ruin my dinner appetite for later. 

My first cruise was 2007 but my first Royal cruise was in 2016. It was not my favorite cruise by far but I did have a lot of fun. We were in Barbados and decided to walk from the ship to the Boatyard. It was hot but I remember liking the walk. We had a few drinks at the bar after finding a good spot to lay our stuff then swam. The water was the most beautiful I'd ever seen, the scenery was gorgeous, the people I was with were all gelling - it was a perfect day.

My first cruise was 2007 but my first Royal cruise was in 2016. It was not my favorite cruise by far but I did have a lot of fun. We were in Barbados and decided to walk from the ship to the Boatyard. It was hot but I remember liking the walk. We had a few drinks at the bar after finding a good spot to lay our stuff then swam. The water was the most beautiful I'd ever seen, the scenery was gorgeous, the people I was with were all gelling - it was a perfect day.

Since we departed, there has been some serious motion in the ocean. The captain said it was a combination of the effect of Hurricane Humberto and a high pressure system. It’s not terrible l, but now and then you get a big wave that feels like we swerved to miss a whale. 
The captain had to make a follow-up announcement that it should start getting better by 1am. 
Dinner tonight is at Jamie’s Italian. Made a reservation onboard and had no issues getting the time I wanted. 







I ordered a glass of wine and the waiter brought the bottle and let me have it all.  Umm, ok!

My first cruise was 2007 but my first Royal cruise was in 2016. It was not my favorite cruise by far but I did have a lot of fun. We were in Barbados and decided to walk from the ship to the Boatyard. It was hot but I remember liking the walk. We had a few drinks at the bar after finding a good spot to lay our stuff then swam. The water was the most beautiful I'd ever seen, the scenery was gorgeous, the people I was with were all gelling - it was a perfect day.

My first Royal Cruise was 11 years ago.
Three weeks before my x decided to become my x.
The cruise was awful. Why? Because all I remember from that cruise was him being drunk, a jerk, and not wanting to do anything at all. His drink of choice was "Grey Goose Martini with Six *&^%$ olives". Six. Never understood why SIX? To this day.... if I hear anyone say "Grey Goose Martini..." I cringe and hear in my head "with six olives".
This December marks 10 years free of my x. I wanted to celebrate with a "do over" and in 217 days, I board the Grandeur of the Seas (same ship) and I will indulge in all the cruise ship vacation fun and experiences that I wanted to do all those years ago but instead listened to a drunk jerk complain for seven days.
I am going to go do all the things and take excursions and dance and see the shows EVERY night! I am going to have so much fun and I am going to do it right this time!
?

My first cruise was to Alaska (Vancouver, closed loop) on Vision of the Seas in 1999.  Our most memorable thing from that sailing came on the last sea day.  We're basically out at open sea (no longer in the Inside Passage) and we're enjoying lunch in the MDR.  Someone on the starboard side yelled "Dolphins!"  The entire MDR started moving towards the windows.  Everything in the dining room STOPPED.  EVERY waiter, headwaiter, assistant waiter, and a few people from the kitchen came out to look.  Because it wasn't a few dolphins.  It was hundreds and hundreds of dolphins, moving in the same direction of the ship, nearly at ship speed, for as far as the eye could see.  Staff were commenting on how they'd NEVER seen such a sight while working in Alaska (including the captain).  I have a crappy memory for things, but I"ll NEVER forget that day.

Over a decade ago my wife and I decided to cruise.  Liberty of the Seas best fit our schedule.  We were entirely ignorant.  We picked one excursion.   
Jamaica excursion:  Blue Mtn Coffee-Dunn River Falls-Snorkling with all the rum "kool-aid" U could drink.  We decided that we would not snorkle and enjoy the boat.  Again, first cruise...  we did not remember the excursion details, and dressed for hiking along the "banks of Dunn River."  Well.. My wife was dressed very fashionably with pants and shirt.  
Loved the Blue Mtn Coffee.  Then, we were organized into groups to go hand in hand, not on the banks but IN THE RIVER.  My wife was a trooper and stuck with it - still not realizing the depth (she is less 5 feet tall) by the time we got to the top she was soaked.  We end up buying at the top of the falls, from the vendors, short gym shorts and a tee shirt.  She changed in the restroom and walked out.  The shorts were lime green with florescent yellow piping with JAMAICA (the bright yellow) across the back of the shorts.  We laughed so hard and bought the video.  As most were snorkling, we drank koolaid.  Yes, my wife lead the Conga line dance before we ended the excursion.   
I still have photo at the start as a screen saver.  
What is your first cruise memory?

Royal Caribbean has decided to discontinue their Dine Drink Discover program that was available on Oasis class cruise ships.
Due to feedback from booked guests after the announcement, Royal Caribbean has made a change.  Guests who were already booked in a neighborhood balcony stateroom will be able to keep the original package if they choose.
The cruise line sent out the following email to travel agents a few minutes ago letting them know about this change:
“This week we announced our decision to discontinue the DINE • DRINK • DISCOVER program, a collection of perks exclusive to Boardwalk Balcony and Central Park Balcony staterooms on Oasis Class ships. Along with this, we included the compensation we are offering to those impacted guests. Based on the recent sentiments and valuable feedback shared on this topic, we recognize we didn’t get this one quite right.
While some guests were pleased with the choice to convert the DINE • DRINK • DISCOVER amenities into an Onboard Credit to use at their discretion, others saw value in the tangible amenities included at the time of purchase. It is for this reason that we are now enabling impacted guests to choose the best option for their vacation experience. Choices include:
$50 per stateroom Onboard Credit Original DINE • DRINK • DISCOVER amenities determined by the category booked This is eligible only to those guests booked before September 18th, 2019 on sailings departing on-or-after January 1st, 2020. Both you and your impacted clients will receive an email with an enclosed questionnaire allowing your client to select their compensation preference. We ask that you please encourage your clients to submit their preference by October 4th, 2019.
As always, nothing is of more value to us than our partnership with our travel partners and our guests’ experiences. We greatly appreciate you every step of the way!

It's cruise day!

...but first, working this morning.

The beds were pre-assigned.  When we got to our stateroom there was instructions and an assigned bed.  There is a map with it to show which beds are where.  Be sure to take the tram once you get off the pier, it will take you around to the check in concierge for the day beds.

Power in Bermuda is back up & running.  The airport is open too.