twangster

Quick update.  
Uber to port had me there just before 10am.  I took the opportunity to take some pictures of terminal G, I’ll post those soon.  
Boarding started at 10:45am.  First on board.  I ran into the Pinnacle doing a B4B who was with me on my B2B.  Julie our Hotel Director saw me and came over to chat greeting me by name.  There will be 12 pinnacles on this sailing.  It’s also the last cruise of her current contract.  Jorge the Guest Services Manager saw me and welcomed me back.  
Right now I’m sitting at the Schooner Bar where Wayan and Roland recognized me and welcomed me back.   
Just like that I feel like I’m home.   

August 10, 2019
You know what that means?
IT'S CRUISE DAY!
Like a kid on Christmas morning it's 6am, I'm awake and ready to go.  It looks like the C&A team has been busy putting presents in my account.  Overnight my points from last week have posted, including the solo-in-a-suite gift.

When cruising in hurricane season I always keep an eye on the tropics.  While only early August this is a great thing to see.  Tropical cyclone activity is not expected during the next 5 days.

Looking at the MarineTraffic.com app I've caught Empress gliding past Symphony as she arrives into the Port of Miami this morning.

I'm here.  The ship is here.  There are no tropical storms on the radar screen.  Phew!
Can you tell I'm bored with nothing to do?  Tick tock.  Tick tock.  Is it time yet?

Interesting story from the previous 8 night Eastern Caribbean Empress cruise.  
A guest on my Empress B2B last week had been on for a month and she told me this story.  Empress has a 2pm departure from CocoCay in order to make San Juan a day after a sea day.  On the last run of this route, several guests missed the ship in CocoCay.  Apparently they didn't note the 2pm departure.
In one case a couple were enjoying CocoCay.  Oblivious to the ship's whistle the woman went to get something to eat while the man went to a bar for a drink.  When he presented his Empress SeaPass card they informed he was about to miss the ship and whisked him away in a golf cart.  Unsure where the woman had gone he got back on board, she missed the ship and it left (late now) towards San Juan.  
Once she figured out she missed the ship, they put her on Mariner and she was taken to Port Canaveral.  She then had to make her own arrangements to get to San Juan which she did at her expense.  The problem is San Juan had some civil unrest and Empress skipped San Juan as a result.  So she missed the ship again.  This time, since Royal cancelled the call on San Juan they paid for her hotel and airfare to Tortola.  Tortola doesn't have an airport so she flew to a neighboring island and had to take a water taxi over to Tortola where she finally re-joined the cruise. 
From what was explained to me they stated the excursion they booked said it ended at 3pm so they thought they were good until 3pm.  
A total of five guests missed the ship at CocoCay.  Unsure what happened to the rest other than being put on Mariner for the ride over to Port Canaveral.  
Lesson learned.  Even at CocoCay, don't miss the ship!
Side note - when Empress skipped San Juan they had already taken on the San Juan pilot when Miami decided they should skip San Juan.  Because the pilot had already boarded they were on the hook for the ~$10k pilot fee.
Hoping we don't skip San Juan but an overnight in Tortola does sound very tempting.
 

Quick update.  
Uber to port had me there just before 10am.  I took the opportunity to take some pictures of terminal G, I’ll post those soon.  
Boarding started at 10:45am.  First on board.  I ran into the Pinnacle doing a B4B who was with me on my B2B.  Julie our Hotel Director saw me and came over to chat greeting me by name.  There will be 12 pinnacles on this sailing.  It’s also the last cruise of her current contract.  Jorge the Guest Services Manager saw me and welcomed me back.  
Right now I’m sitting at the Schooner Bar where Wayan and Roland recognized me and welcomed me back.   
Just like that I feel like I’m home.   

August 10, 2019
You know what that means?
IT'S CRUISE DAY!
Like a kid on Christmas morning it's 6am, I'm awake and ready to go.  It looks like the C&A team has been busy putting presents in my account.  Overnight my points from last week have posted, including the solo-in-a-suite gift.

When cruising in hurricane season I always keep an eye on the tropics.  While only early August this is a great thing to see.  Tropical cyclone activity is not expected during the next 5 days.

Looking at the MarineTraffic.com app I've caught Empress gliding past Symphony as she arrives into the Port of Miami this morning.

I'm here.  The ship is here.  There are no tropical storms on the radar screen.  Phew!
Can you tell I'm bored with nothing to do?  Tick tock.  Tick tock.  Is it time yet?

Quick update.  
Uber to port had me there just before 10am.  I took the opportunity to take some pictures of terminal G, I’ll post those soon.  
Boarding started at 10:45am.  First on board.  I ran into the Pinnacle doing a B4B who was with me on my B2B.  Julie our Hotel Director saw me and came over to chat greeting me by name.  There will be 12 pinnacles on this sailing.  It’s also the last cruise of her current contract.  Jorge the Guest Services Manager saw me and welcomed me back.  
Right now I’m sitting at the Schooner Bar where Wayan and Roland recognized me and welcomed me back.   
Just like that I feel like I’m home.   

Quick update.  
Uber to port had me there just before 10am.  I took the opportunity to take some pictures of terminal G, I’ll post those soon.  
Boarding started at 10:45am.  First on board.  I ran into the Pinnacle doing a B4B who was with me on my B2B.  Julie our Hotel Director saw me and came over to chat greeting me by name.  There will be 12 pinnacles on this sailing.  It’s also the last cruise of her current contract.  Jorge the Guest Services Manager saw me and welcomed me back.  
Right now I’m sitting at the Schooner Bar where Wayan and Roland recognized me and welcomed me back.   
Just like that I feel like I’m home.   

Since I nearly went overboard with pictures of Empress in my previous live blog I'm going to skip all the basics about Empress in my pictures this time around.  Take a look in my previous thread if you want to see the ship (link included in first post).
If you do reply to posts with pictures please take the time to remove the pictures in your reply to keep this thread a lot easier to read. 

August 10, 2019
You know what that means?
IT'S CRUISE DAY!
Like a kid on Christmas morning it's 6am, I'm awake and ready to go.  It looks like the C&A team has been busy putting presents in my account.  Overnight my points from last week have posted, including the solo-in-a-suite gift.

When cruising in hurricane season I always keep an eye on the tropics.  While only early August this is a great thing to see.  Tropical cyclone activity is not expected during the next 5 days.

Looking at the MarineTraffic.com app I've caught Empress gliding past Symphony as she arrives into the Port of Miami this morning.

I'm here.  The ship is here.  There are no tropical storms on the radar screen.  Phew!
Can you tell I'm bored with nothing to do?  Tick tock.  Tick tock.  Is it time yet?

My flight was supposed to be early but with storms in the South Florida area they had us slow down and we landed on time.  Woohoo, my suitcase was the very first bag on the carousel.  
With ample time to spare I took the Tri-Rail from FLL airport down to MIA airport.  I was just going to sit in my hotel room anyways so I figured I'd take the slower but cheaper way to my hotel.  From MIA I picked up the free hotel shuttle to my hotel.
My Tri-Rail timing was pretty good.  A short wait for the bus to the train station.  The train pulled up as I bought my ticket at the station.  
Total cost $3.75.  Uber/Lyft were both just under $50.  
Safely in my hotel near MIA airport I used my savings to pay for a hotel dinner and drinks which make on board ship prices seem like a bargain.

I can't count beyond my fingers and toes.  

Quick update.  
Uber to port had me there just before 10am.  I took the opportunity to take some pictures of terminal G, I’ll post those soon.  
Boarding started at 10:45am.  First on board.  I ran into the Pinnacle doing a B4B who was with me on my B2B.  Julie our Hotel Director saw me and came over to chat greeting me by name.  There will be 12 pinnacles on this sailing.  It’s also the last cruise of her current contract.  Jorge the Guest Services Manager saw me and welcomed me back.  
Right now I’m sitting at the Schooner Bar where Wayan and Roland recognized me and welcomed me back.   
Just like that I feel like I’m home.   

Quick update.  
Uber to port had me there just before 10am.  I took the opportunity to take some pictures of terminal G, I’ll post those soon.  
Boarding started at 10:45am.  First on board.  I ran into the Pinnacle doing a B4B who was with me on my B2B.  Julie our Hotel Director saw me and came over to chat greeting me by name.  There will be 12 pinnacles on this sailing.  It’s also the last cruise of her current contract.  Jorge the Guest Services Manager saw me and welcomed me back.  
Right now I’m sitting at the Schooner Bar where Wayan and Roland recognized me and welcomed me back.   
Just like that I feel like I’m home.   

Quick update.  
Uber to port had me there just before 10am.  I took the opportunity to take some pictures of terminal G, I’ll post those soon.  
Boarding started at 10:45am.  First on board.  I ran into the Pinnacle doing a B4B who was with me on my B2B.  Julie our Hotel Director saw me and came over to chat greeting me by name.  There will be 12 pinnacles on this sailing.  It’s also the last cruise of her current contract.  Jorge the Guest Services Manager saw me and welcomed me back.  
Right now I’m sitting at the Schooner Bar where Wayan and Roland recognized me and welcomed me back.   
Just like that I feel like I’m home.   

August 10, 2019
You know what that means?
IT'S CRUISE DAY!
Like a kid on Christmas morning it's 6am, I'm awake and ready to go.  It looks like the C&A team has been busy putting presents in my account.  Overnight my points from last week have posted, including the solo-in-a-suite gift.

When cruising in hurricane season I always keep an eye on the tropics.  While only early August this is a great thing to see.  Tropical cyclone activity is not expected during the next 5 days.

Looking at the MarineTraffic.com app I've caught Empress gliding past Symphony as she arrives into the Port of Miami this morning.

I'm here.  The ship is here.  There are no tropical storms on the radar screen.  Phew!
Can you tell I'm bored with nothing to do?  Tick tock.  Tick tock.  Is it time yet?

Quick update.  
Uber to port had me there just before 10am.  I took the opportunity to take some pictures of terminal G, I’ll post those soon.  
Boarding started at 10:45am.  First on board.  I ran into the Pinnacle doing a B4B who was with me on my B2B.  Julie our Hotel Director saw me and came over to chat greeting me by name.  There will be 12 pinnacles on this sailing.  It’s also the last cruise of her current contract.  Jorge the Guest Services Manager saw me and welcomed me back.  
Right now I’m sitting at the Schooner Bar where Wayan and Roland recognized me and welcomed me back.   
Just like that I feel like I’m home.   

Quick update.  
Uber to port had me there just before 10am.  I took the opportunity to take some pictures of terminal G, I’ll post those soon.  
Boarding started at 10:45am.  First on board.  I ran into the Pinnacle doing a B4B who was with me on my B2B.  Julie our Hotel Director saw me and came over to chat greeting me by name.  There will be 12 pinnacles on this sailing.  It’s also the last cruise of her current contract.  Jorge the Guest Services Manager saw me and welcomed me back.  
Right now I’m sitting at the Schooner Bar where Wayan and Roland recognized me and welcomed me back.   
Just like that I feel like I’m home.   

Since I nearly went overboard with pictures of Empress in my previous live blog I'm going to skip all the basics about Empress in my pictures this time around.  Take a look in my previous thread if you want to see the ship (link included in first post).
If you do reply to posts with pictures please take the time to remove the pictures in your reply to keep this thread a lot easier to read. 

August 10, 2019
You know what that means?
IT'S CRUISE DAY!
Like a kid on Christmas morning it's 6am, I'm awake and ready to go.  It looks like the C&A team has been busy putting presents in my account.  Overnight my points from last week have posted, including the solo-in-a-suite gift.

When cruising in hurricane season I always keep an eye on the tropics.  While only early August this is a great thing to see.  Tropical cyclone activity is not expected during the next 5 days.

Looking at the MarineTraffic.com app I've caught Empress gliding past Symphony as she arrives into the Port of Miami this morning.

I'm here.  The ship is here.  There are no tropical storms on the radar screen.  Phew!
Can you tell I'm bored with nothing to do?  Tick tock.  Tick tock.  Is it time yet?

Quick update.  
Uber to port had me there just before 10am.  I took the opportunity to take some pictures of terminal G, I’ll post those soon.  
Boarding started at 10:45am.  First on board.  I ran into the Pinnacle doing a B4B who was with me on my B2B.  Julie our Hotel Director saw me and came over to chat greeting me by name.  There will be 12 pinnacles on this sailing.  It’s also the last cruise of her current contract.  Jorge the Guest Services Manager saw me and welcomed me back.  
Right now I’m sitting at the Schooner Bar where Wayan and Roland recognized me and welcomed me back.   
Just like that I feel like I’m home.   

My flight was supposed to be early but with storms in the South Florida area they had us slow down and we landed on time.  Woohoo, my suitcase was the very first bag on the carousel.  
With ample time to spare I took the Tri-Rail from FLL airport down to MIA airport.  I was just going to sit in my hotel room anyways so I figured I'd take the slower but cheaper way to my hotel.  From MIA I picked up the free hotel shuttle to my hotel.
My Tri-Rail timing was pretty good.  A short wait for the bus to the train station.  The train pulled up as I bought my ticket at the station.  
Total cost $3.75.  Uber/Lyft were both just under $50.  
Safely in my hotel near MIA airport I used my savings to pay for a hotel dinner and drinks which make on board ship prices seem like a bargain.

On the plane now, live from 37,000' and 586 mph.  
Landing around 6pm in Ft Lauderdale.  I have lots of time tonight so I might do the Tri-Rail thing again to get down to my Miami hotel.  
South Florida rush hour traffic in a $50 ride-share or $3.75 on Tri-Rail?  I think I'll save the $45 and use it to pay for drinks on CocoCay.
Here is a bit on my last Tri-Rail experience:
https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/boards/index.php?/topic/11517-south-florida-tri-rail-ft-lauderdale-miami 
 

Plans for this Cruise
Only one excursion booked so far.  A day trip to Jost Van Dyke in the BVI from Tortola.
My last visit to Jost Van Dyke occurred when I lived on St Thomas.  It's one of the smaller islands of the Virgin Island chain but she has a beautiful beach and is home to the Soggy Dollar Bar right on the beach.  Boats anchor off the beach and visitors swim to land hence they have soggy dollars. 
The hurricanes that impacted San Juan and the US Virgin Islands did a number on Jost Van Dyke but I understand they've rebuilt.  Time to contribute to the local economy again.  
I brought my snorkel gear this time and hope to snorkel at CocoCay if the weather is good.  Then I'll jump in Oasis Lagoon to enjoy the fresh water and swim up pool bar.  No CocoCay excursions purchased (so far).  Lunch at the Snack Shack for another Shack Crispy Chicken Sandwich.   Yum.
With our late arrival in San Juan the plan is to wander around and take pictures during golden hour assuming there is no more civil unrest.
St Thomas will be a boring work day for me.  

Following and also Cruising along with Twangster on the Empress compliments of Casino Royale. Also JS on Deck 9.

Be careful to separate rumor from speculation from facts.  
Until the White House announces it, it's not going to happen.  Even if it did, the cruise lines lost so much money on the abrupt short notice changes they will be a lot more careful going back absent of anything that doesn't confirm another whimsical change couldn't occur a month later.  The current administration isn't very business friendly towards the cruise industry.
Even if a new administration were to allow it, the cruise industry would be cautious.  Most cruises are booked over a year in advance.  The cruise industry will always struggle with a flip flop government policy that allows it for a few years then changes it's mind with zero notice. It's challenging to build a business model when nothing is certain and the government can rip the rug out from under you tomorrow.
In the past there were grandfathering clauses that provided some stability.  Those were not offered this time where they could have been. 
Once bitten, twice shy.