twangster

ATL is a very easy airport to navigate.  There is a train that will swoosh you from B to E.
I'm a million miler on Delta, almost exclusively on domestic flights.  I've transited through ATL over 1,000 times and that is not an exaggeration.  After all, DELTA stands for Deliver Every Living Thing to Atlanta.   
You're connection is very doable, even relaxed.  More than once I've connected in ATL where they closed the airplane door right behind me as I boarded and my checked luggage still made it.  I've mis-connected in a number of airports and the only time i mis-connect in ATL is when my arriving plane is so delayed my connecting flight has already left.  
I've had connections like yours, and walked from A to E underground just to get some exercise between flights.  

there's always the bushes ?

Day Two
drum roll please ~ Introducing... The one and only... CraftyCat05's SemiLive Blog! intro music plays
Wait.... This isn't Jimmy Kimmel? 
Morning
Well, there really wan't a morning to speak of, we all slept though it! We did finally get our butts into gear and got up after a well needed 12+ hours of sleep.
Breakfast
In the lobby, there is a nice cafe that serves all day breakfast (thanks the hotel lords!), and we were all able to get our normal breakfast items we would have at any other restaurant for breakfast back in the United States. Served was coffee, milk, two omlettes, and one eggs Benedict (runny, not hard ?). All was good for a day out and the city (and some more rest)!
The Cathedral
After some deliberation and some guidance by the hotel concierge, we decided to go walk to to cathedral (still on taxi strike) that was about 2.4 KM away (1.5 miles). We were able to get in with shorts, but my mother's tank top was a no go, having to buy a coverup for €2. Tickets for the cathedral, a roof top visit, and a little museum was €7 per person, not that bad for what was included. Once in, we could wonder around, seeing many different statues of religious figures, and other sculptures and historical relics. While walking, you would also be stepping on old graves of prior religious leaders of the cathedral. Once done with the main cathedral area, we walked into an open plaza, which had fountains and (as my father joked about) holy goose, instead of the holy ghost (he found himself very hilarious...). 
After a quick visit of the museum which didn't have much, we took a tip from the helper desk working at the museum and back pedaled to go onto the roof for amazing views. Once a ride on the most rickety and smallest elevator i've seen in recent memory, we were on the roof for views of the Barcelona skyline... and wooh was it amazing!

Main Entrance of the Cathedral

View from Rooftop

 
More Views from the Rooftop

Turrets(?) on the Rooftop
The price for admission was definitely just worth the view! Really surprised us of what we could see. Definitely the highlight of the day.
Bars, Rice, and Pie
After our long, tiring, and sweaty cultural, scenic, and nice walk back to the hotel, we decided to hit the bar to drink the aching muscles away. After downing margaritas, and refreshing slushes, we went to the Marina (same place we went for chicken) to try their dinner service (which is much better than their unimpressive lunch menu) for some rice dishes. All three of us coincidentally ordered the three different rice dishes on the menu! All of us agreed it was good, but really big and filling... but nonetheless we ordered an Apple Pie for us to split. It wasn't U.S. grade (and came with some very bitter caramel) but was eatable and added to the dinner experience. Tomorrow, we will plan to try one of the more fancy sit down restaurants to enjoy dinner at. 
That is all for now! Off to bed for us. Will see you tomorrow, wether it be in a periscope or blog post!
CraftyCat05's Version of Matt's "Stray Observations"
The room here doesn't allow the plugs near the bed and table to function while the lights are off, forcing us to charge everything at night in the bathrooms. The sofa (where I usually sleep on family vacations like this one) isn't a pull out like every other hotel suite room has, forcing me to pay a whoping €110 a night for a pull away bed, or sleep on the couch with just sheets. I opted for the latter. The beach is open 24 hours, meaning many stay at 3AM... Live music plays near our hotel at midnight. Not fun! My father has noticed that the Spanish over here is much different than what he is used to from Peru and home. My dog back at home is doing just fine as per the webcam. He seems to be settling into his new home for the next two weeks! It's now 12:30 and theres chanting outside! I guess I ain't sleeping for a bit lol. Ugh. 

They likely didn't know it was for the infamous Matt Hochberg.

I'd love to see options in Colorado but sadly will have to wait for a major rise of ocean levels before a cruise ship will be home porting anywhere near me.  

From September 2017:
Cabanas
Cabanas have a thatched roof area with semi private walls (somewhat see through) and some have a wood deck and upgraded loungers in the front or on the side exposed to the sun as well as some standard plastic island loungers you can drag down to the water if you wish to. 


Bungalows
Bungalows have solid back wall and curtain sides. Each also has some upgraded loungers exposed to the sun.

 

Or maybe I'll be Mrs. Howell --- I can't be Ginger, I don't have the swivel for it.

They likely didn't know it was for the infamous Matt Hochberg.

They likely didn't know it was for the infamous Matt Hochberg.

Two ships at CocoCay
While looking at satellite images of CocoCay in Apple Maps I found two ships anchored off CocoCay.  Enchantment and Grandeur.  Date unknown.
Apparently there is some history with having two Vision class ships sharing CocoCay.

Yes.  In fact there have been threads by users recently who forgot and discovered one day their reservation was gone.  When they called and tried to get it reinstated their cabin was already booked by another guest.  They basically had to book at current rates and accept what ever inventory was available, but it wasn't clear if they were able to apply their old deposit towards the new booking.  
In another case a user reported that for their small group booking one group member didn't make final payment and all group members had their reservations cancelled, even those that did make final payment.  
It's another case for using a travel agent.  Most agencies will be diligent about making sure you make the final payment.  

Ohh I'm very happy I read this because this never would have occurred to me about a security checkpoint. As you said, it's not a big deal, but it definitely would have thrown me. 

Yes, the name of the port in Ft Lauderdale is Port Everglades.
The port is mixed use for cargo, tankers and cruise ships.  Port Everglades is a major fuel port where fuel is offloaded from tanker ships and stored in tanks from where it is distributed throughout South Florida.  Because of this security is stepped up from other cruise ports where you can just drive to the terminal.  You'll need to stop at a a security check point, show ID and they'll likely ask to look in your trunk so be prepared to pop it open.  It's not a big deal but catches some people off guard.
The port area is pretty big with a number of terminals spread out.  They have overhead signs indicating which ship is using which terminal but there is also a Port Everglades app that can be used to learn which terminal you will be using.  There are a couple of different entrances and one has to cross train tracks that can be slow when a slow moving train is using the tracks.  
For clarification, the port in Miami is called the "Port of Miami" or POM and is located on Dodge Island.  Distinctly different than PEV or Port Everglades ~28 miles or so up the coast in between Hollywood, FL and Fort Lauderdale.

Day 12 - Lisbon
Today saw us visit the port of Lisbon. When we visited on our NoS cruise in 2016, it was our favourite port so we've been looking forward to going back. 
We'd really enjoyed taking a tuk-tuk tour that we found on the street on our previous visit so this time we pre-booked a tour with a food focus from Eco Tuk Tours. It consisted of a 3hr tour with stops to try different local specialities including fresh sardines, vino verde, cheese & jelly, cured ham, bread, ginger liquor and pasteis de nata. It cost €49pp +€20 to pick us up from the cruise terminal with a minimum of 4 people. We'd planned to go just the 2 of us and absorb the extra cost but we've gotten on so well with our tablemates that we invited them to join us. They're not particularly foodies but they enjoyed the day. It was a really great tour which was made even better by our fabulous guide Nadia who was extremely informative and entertaining and took us to some extra sightseeing spots that weren't included in the food tour. This included a church that had been detroyed several times by earthquake, flood and fire whixh they decided only to partially restore after the last fire so inside the walls are all still charred. We also passed a traditional laundry in the old town so she took us in so we could take pictures. 
At the end of the tour,  Nadia offered to drop us back at the ship or somewhere else in town. We asked her for a recommendation for somewhere to have a drink so she dropped us at a rooftop bar with great views across the city. 
We then headed back towards the port via the shopping district and stopped off for another drink in the old town before getting back on board. 
We loved Lisbon just as much second time around and it's another place we'd like to go back to for a longer visit. 
Once back on board, we refuelled at Sorrento's before periscoping sailaway from the helicopter pad. Sailaway/into this port is impressive as you go under the 25th April suspension bridge which looks like a smaller version of the Golden Gate Bridge in SF. 
We then relaxed before getting ready for dinner in the MDR which was excellent as always. After dinner we went to watch a comedian in the main theatre. His 'one liner' gags are not really my thing but he was ok. We were all exhausted by this point so we went to bed ready for our final port day in Vigo tomorrow. 

I'd love to see options in Colorado but sadly will have to wait for a major rise of ocean levels before a cruise ship will be home porting anywhere near me.  

Welcome to the message boards!
I'm sailing Empress next week to Cuba.  Watch the Live Blog section of the message boards for my live blog.
I'm going to Cuba again in September on Majesty with an overnight stop in Havana.  
I've booked the full day excursion with Royal this time.  I hope to use the full day excursion to better plan a culturally enriching experience for Majesty.  
@Matt who runs this site just returned from Cuba and his blogs should give you some great information to prepare for your cruise:
https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2018/07/06/majesty-of-the-seas-live-blog-day-3-havana-cuba
https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2018/07/12/excursion-focus-old-havana-city-sightseeing
Podcast on Cuba:
https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2018/07/11/majesty-of-the-seas-cruise-cuba-review-royal-caribbean-blog-podcast
 
Royal Caribbean has a FAQ specific to Cuba:
https://www.royalcaribbean.com/faq/topics/cuba-cruises
 
 

Agreed.  Adjusted for inflation over the years cruising rates still make them a great way to vacation.
There are trends across many cruise lines and for the most part we see the same or similar changes being made across the industry. 
Also be aware there is a service fee for most room service orders now.  The menu is much better but there is a per-order service charge.  I can't fault them for this as I used to see gobs of wasted food lining the halls because, why not?, it's 'free'.  The small fee charged now makes people think twice about ordering room service and you don't see the waste you used to.   

Yes.  In fact there have been threads by users recently who forgot and discovered one day their reservation was gone.  When they called and tried to get it reinstated their cabin was already booked by another guest.  They basically had to book at current rates and accept what ever inventory was available, but it wasn't clear if they were able to apply their old deposit towards the new booking.  
In another case a user reported that for their small group booking one group member didn't make final payment and all group members had their reservations cancelled, even those that did make final payment.  
It's another case for using a travel agent.  Most agencies will be diligent about making sure you make the final payment.  

Welcome to the message boards!
The ability to use iMessage for free is an unpublished feature that guests have discovered.  It's not an official offer from Royal.  I've seen it work myself but since its a side effect the loophole could be closed by Royal at anytime.  No one knows if that is coming or not, or when it might end.  If it still works for your cruise that's great but don't be upset if you board and discover they've fixed it.  
My understanding is that the $7.95 charge for the chat feature in RoyalIQ is per person, not per cabin.  I believe your device is assigned a unique phone number on board and two devices can't share a phone number at the same time.  Having said that I've only cruised solo on Anthem and have no direct experience trying to use multiple devices per cabin to prove my supposition.  
On this cruise I was in cabin 11300.  Note how my extension became 88113001.   The last digit is 1 for the first device.  I believe additional users in the cabin would have a last digit of 2 and so on.  

The section in the app where you purchase the chat options doesn't really address it:

Royal is still wearing the cone of silence. 

I'd love to see options in Colorado but sadly will have to wait for a major rise of ocean levels before a cruise ship will be home porting anywhere near me.  

Yes, the name of the port in Ft Lauderdale is Port Everglades.
The port is mixed use for cargo, tankers and cruise ships.  Port Everglades is a major fuel port where fuel is offloaded from tanker ships and stored in tanks from where it is distributed throughout South Florida.  Because of this security is stepped up from other cruise ports where you can just drive to the terminal.  You'll need to stop at a a security check point, show ID and they'll likely ask to look in your trunk so be prepared to pop it open.  It's not a big deal but catches some people off guard.
The port area is pretty big with a number of terminals spread out.  They have overhead signs indicating which ship is using which terminal but there is also a Port Everglades app that can be used to learn which terminal you will be using.  There are a couple of different entrances and one has to cross train tracks that can be slow when a slow moving train is using the tracks.  
For clarification, the port in Miami is called the "Port of Miami" or POM and is located on Dodge Island.  Distinctly different than PEV or Port Everglades ~28 miles or so up the coast in between Hollywood, FL and Fort Lauderdale.

I'd love to see options in Colorado but sadly will have to wait for a major rise of ocean levels before a cruise ship will be home porting anywhere near me.  

I'd love to see options in Colorado but sadly will have to wait for a major rise of ocean levels before a cruise ship will be home porting anywhere near me.  

I'd love to see options in Colorado but sadly will have to wait for a major rise of ocean levels before a cruise ship will be home porting anywhere near me.