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After pool and hot tub time, I headed over to Cafe Promenade for a quick bite to eat. The coconut cookies (not pictured) were good, the less I have say about Royal’s “pizza” the better ? Attached were today’s offerings, I may try something different this week.

Writing this from a non-chair hogged lounger in the Solarium, Mr. Sun is glorious! Our Cruise Critic Meet and Mingle was a little smaller than I anticipated, but a good number nevertheless. (The CD Mercedes coordinated the draw.) Sadly, I did not win a prize although one of my MDR table mates did. Thanks for the free food and drink, Royal Caribbean ? I then decided to kill time in the casino afterward and lost the $7 I won yesterday plus the $10 I originally put in both machines lol. (?Hey, big spender!?) Decided afterward to finally make an appearance and took a dip in the Solarium while waiting for the World’s Sexiest Man competition to start. The World’s Sexiest Man competition was hilarious, Magic Marvin is an awesome activities manager! (He and Mercedes work so well together, their morning show is really entertaining ?) (This dude Darryl ended up winning the contest?) I went back to the Solarium, and, after my dip in the pool, discovered that someone has taken my towel? ? No clue where it went, but, no worries, we managed to exchange it for a new one after explaining that other one had been misplaced. Anyway, I’ll probably stop at the Cafe for a quick bite to eat as it is getting close to dinner. It is formal night tonight which means MDR, Captain’s Reception, Christmas tree lighting, and production show in the theatre.

Took the stairs up to explore parts of ship which I missed yesterday and apparently woke up one of the ladies staying in an interior on Deck Seven (sorry! I just wanted to see your room ?). I also found Henry ? Stretched on a couch in Blue Moon, waiting for our Cruise Critic Meet and Mingle to start at 10:30. It is extremely relaxing being at sea ?

Good morning! Woke up early and have just finished breakfast consisting of fruit, omelet, and toast in the MDR. They gave me a buffet option, but truly I would prefer to be waited on while on vacation. Just left at 9 am and a long line has formed outside, so it pays to wake up early ?

I then spent the rest of the evening at the Schooner Bar singing along with the very talented, very funny pianist named Keith and participating in the If You Know It, Sing It game show in the Imperial Lounge. Our current position FYI: - I had to inquire at Guest Services for my Gold letter of benefits and Cruise Critic Meet & Mingle as neither were provided in my stateroom. - clocks will advance one hour ahead starting tonight, ship will remain on local time. Until tomorrow!

Afterward, I checked out the Welcome Aboard Show featuring a very funny comedian named Dan Wilson and popped into the Royal Logo shop. Debating on either an Adventure mug, small purse or Adventure ship ornament. Decisions, decisions.. I stopped by the casino and deposited $10 into two machines. Hooray for not losing money!

My most excellent dinner consisted of escargot, salmon, and hazelnut chocolate cake in the Main Dining Room.

I’m back! Well, when I left you guys, I had just finished lunch and decided to explore the ship until the staterooms were ready. Staterooms were ready around 1 pm and I went down to dump my bag and check out my new home for the next nine days. Overall, I really like it; has adequate space, amenities for the solo passenger. ? (I barely spend time in my room anyway, so it’s not worth it to spend a ton of money in that arena.) Now to explore the rest of the ship until muster drill! I then stopped at Giovanni's to inquire about the sea day lunch and a crew member ended up making a reservation for me. I spent some time outside on Deck 11 watching the Caribbean band play before heading inside. Back inside, I decided to stick around for the $500 spa raffle, but sadly no winner winner chicken dinner ? After freaking about the location of my muster station lol, I managed to locate it using the maps posted and arrived earlier (4:15) than requested in the Compass. It was time for sailaway under a brilliant sunset ? Going to stop here and post the remainder in a separate post.

Hello from Adventure! So, I started my morning bright and early and went to breakfast at the Floridian, located within walking distance of the AirBnB, with those two ladies booked on the same cruise as me. Thoroughly enjoyed my eggs benedict, recommend this restaurant to all! We then hailed an Uber to terminal 29 at Port Everglades and managed to locate a porter to drop off our bags (tipped him as recommended by @Matt). The entire boarding process was very quick and efficient: 24 minutes from curb to ship! Thankfully I printed off my SetSail Pass as they needed to stamp it at check-in. I was so incredibly excited that, at one point, one of the ladies in our company turned to another guest and said “don’t mind her, it’s her first cruise” ??? (Technically not my first cruise, but it sure feels like my first one on Royal after 10 years lol.) Next to the main dining room on Deck Four to change dining reservations; ladies have graciously allowed me to join their table. ? Then we split up to explore the ship, rejoined them on the pool deck for a drink, and went to Windjammer for lunch where I am writing this day’s recap. Had no issue btw ordering a Diet Coke with my SetSail Pass (SeaPass is waiting in stateroom). (They have since gone back up to the pool deck for more sun and drinking lol. I need a few minutes with my second Diet Coke to digest lunch and review the Compass.) I will post again a little later with pics of my prison cell..er stateroom, sailaway, dinner, and other fun ? Why, thank you, Royal Caribbean crew member for the Drink of the Day!

Sorry for the late check-in, but I’ve had a long day! So, although the departure was delayed, we ended up arriving close to the original arrival 11 am arrival time which was good. What was not good was waiting 30 mins for luggage at the baggage carousel and also causing me to miss my Uber (which service I used for the very first time - another first!) and incurring a cancellation fee. Oh well, at least while I was waiting, I had a most bizarre piece of “artwork” to entertain me LOL. The luggage eventually did show up (yay!) and I did manage to hail another Uber to my AirBnB just off Las Olas Blvd. (Nothing but positive things to say about the driver - great, interesting convo, I tipped her appropriately.) I checked in early, met the host’s wife, dropped off luggage, and she then accompanied me with another guest to Las Olas as they were headed in that direction to a restaurant. I really have nothing but positive things to say about both of them (husband was at work when I arrived, but met him when I came home) and the place is really good for the minimal cost I spend (no fancy hotel room for me!). My second primary objective of the day, after checking into the AirBnB, was to send US and international Christmas cards and a Secret Santa gift. (It costs an arm and a leg to send US mail from Canada and my mother is nothing but cost efficient LOL.) After locating the US postal office around the corner, I then headed to the beach and cursed Google Maps for making that walk look much shorter than it actually was (close to 30 mins from the AirBnB) LOL. I didn’t complain because I’m on vacation and got to check out the homes, million dollar yachts along the intercostal en route to the beach ? I was grateful for finally reaching the beach because the water, weather was picture perfect warm - not humid whatsoever! I then walked from the Las Olas beach up to where the Westin/Hilton/W hotels are and, somehow along the way, met a Canadian family from Barrie (north of Toronto), also walking on the beach, who were sailing out on MSC Divina tomorrow ? (They’re actually doing a side-to-side from Miami: 7 nights aboard Divina followed by a 7 nighter on a Carnival ship. As they explained to me, a second cruise ended up being much cheaper than what a hotel and flight home would cost.) Anyway, so the family and I separated near the hotel section I mentioned earlier and I walked back south to Las Olas Beach. After a quick stop at CVS for wine, munchies, etc., I then walked west on Las Olas in preparation for objective #3 - meeting friend of mine at Rocco’s Tacos for dinner at 5 pm. Well, let’s just say that the driving gods did not want him to meet up with me on time - a crash on 95 delayed our dining time to 5:30. After a quick, “dude, it’s totally cool, I’m on vacation” text, I decided to continue walking along Las Olas for some window shopping and admiring at some very expensive cars in the neighbourhood. Eventually I stopped at SE 6th Ave, turned back until I reached Rocco’s, and my friend finally showed up for a most excellent dinner of chicken tacos with chips, tableside guac and Corona. And I then walked back to the AirBnB, situated conveniently around the corner from Rocco’s, and...ran into two ladies at my AirBnB WHO ARE CRUISING ON ADVENTURE TOMORROW. After a quick game of gin rummy and cruise convo, we have decided to stop at Gran Forno Bakery tomorrow morning before hailing an Uber to the port. I am sooooo happy that they want to get to the port early in the morning ? (Oh, and another thing, I have decided to keep track of my step count: today’s total was 26, 194!) Anyway, that was my fun day today, I hope you like the photos! I expect the cruise to range between semi-live to live; on port days, I probably will have to post my recap toward the end of the day like today. Let me know if you have any questions! Christine

Beautiful morning for a flight!

Good morning everyone! After following a ton of great live blogs, reviews on this site, I have decided to document my time aboard Adventure of the Seas commencing tomorrow ? I had intended to write a pre-cruise post yesterday, but, as it turns out, my day was completely crazy (thankfully booked a day off of work to complete my tasks and finish packing!). Currently writing this from Toronto Pearson airport with much needed coffee, flight to Fort Lauderdale has been delayed, so I have some time to start this after all ? A little bit about me: I’m in my early 40s, single, and cruising solo (actually love to travel on my own). My last cruise with Royal Caribbean was back in February 2008 aboard Sovereign of the Seas, but my family has actually taken quite a few cruises since then with other lines (most recently DCL aboard the Magic in March 2017). As I recalled having a blast on my first cruise, there was no doubt in my mind which cruise line I would take my next vacation with! Pre-cruise thoughts: I booked this cruise, an eight night Eastern Caribbean itinerary on Adventure, last August, a little over 16 months ago, and am booked in a studio interior stateroom in the basement on Deck Two. Why so far ahead in advance do you ask? Well, I actually scored a great price and the few remaining rooms sold out quickly. (Let’s hear it for listening to @Matt!) Anything else? I prepurchased the sofa plus Voom (physically cannot drink as much booze as you guys can lmao) as well as gratuities. My objectives for this cruise are a) not losing money to the casino (???this will NOT happen, trust me, but a girl can only dream) and b) to leave the ship with as minimal balance as possible. Anyway, I’m really looking forward to the itinerary, all new ports for me, which leads me to my next topic... Itinerary: Friday, December 7th: arrive at Fort Lauderdale, stay overnight at AirBnB off Las Olas (scored great deal on both). Meeting up with a mod of one of the subreddits we moderate together for dinner at Rocco’s on Las Olas. Will pick up wine (let me know if you have any wine or store recs) and any last minute incidentals tonight before retiring to bed. Saturday, December 8th: embarkation day! Sunday, December 9th: sea day Monday, December 10th: Labadee - nothing planned Tuesday, December 11th: San Juan - self-guided walking tour Wednesday, December 12th: St. Maarten - SXM Island Tour I through Bernards Tours Thursday, December 13th: St. Kitts - Grand Tour of St. Kitts through Thenford Grey Friday, December 14th: sea day Saturday, December 15th: sea day (dining at Giovanni’s for lunch on one of these two sea days) Sunday, December 16th: in which Christine is kicked off the ship disembarkation day. Late flight home (9 pm), planning to store luggage at FLL airport until 5:30 pm cut-off. Guess whatever I didn’t get a chance to see today, I’ll be able to do that on my last day. As I wrap this up for now, just wanted to add that there are quite a few firsts for me on this trip: First cruise on Royal since 2008 (feel like a newbie again LOL) First cruise SOLO First visit to all of the port of calls mentioned Let me know if you have any questions! Christine

Last full day of your cruise, don't want it to end ?

Happy birthday, @Ray!

Royal Caribbean sent me an email last night for my cruise aboard Adventure in nine days time: Pricing is in Canadian dollars.

Loved your review, @iluvwineandtravel, thank you for sharing!

Loved your review, @Nicolas LaBarre! This is the exact same itinerary I am sailing on in 11 days aboard Adventure, first time to cruise on her ? I did purchase the soda plus Voom package yesterday as I don't really drink alcohol, but I appreciate your feedback about the soda in general. Did you and your family dine at any of the specialty restaurants? Also, with a late port arrival in San Juan, did you guys dine in the MDR that evening or elsewhere (land/ship)? Thanks!

Sounds like it will be an amazing vacation! Have a blast, @Ray!

Happy belated birthday, @RatedPG! Late follow, but I’m loving your review!

Thank you so much, @Neaxan, had a lot of fun following along with your live blog on this cruise! I hope you and hubby had a blast aboard Symphony and safe travels aboard your next cruise ?

@twangster, thank you so much for all of your hard work photographing and documenting your adventures aboard Symphony! Hope you have a great time aboard Serenade ?

Late follow, but loving your live blog, twangster! Terrific job as usual, sir ??

Late follow, but I’m all caught up! Kerstin and Michael, I am absolutely loving your live blog; you guys sound as if you’re having the most amazing time ? Keep up the great work!

Looking forward to hearing about you and your wife's adventures in Bermuda, Joe!