Traveler

Ok , so I boarded the aircraft , I should mark it to check if it's going to be the same one I will board tommorow doing my way back to Milan ? actually going to seat in the same exact seat. 
So why I am doing this crazy Milan home Milan in less than 24 houre ? Well few months ago when we booked the cruise we booked also flight for the cruise in a very cheap fare , so cheap that canceling it  would mean to lose the full fare. Last week I was request to come to Milan for a business trip which was not planned (I just returned from another trip) I tried to see what I can do but staying in Milan would mean my spouse will need to travel alone , add money for the suitcase (I can take two without fee) , not able to use the lounge and need to navigate alone in Milan airport which is not that frendly. It would also mean I would need to take the cruise suitcase with me , mixing my cruise outfits with my business one. So here I am going back home for 12 hours , hey at least I will have time to print my sell pasess.
For now enjoy a Greek sunset 

Only  three days before our second Greek cruise ,
Seating in Milan airport to go back home , do some laundry, last minutes arrangement and back to the airport to land, yes back to Milan . Yes , I know it require some explanation why I am doing that but I promise later to explain this.
We are going again on the Rhapsody of the seas for 7 night cruise from Venice (until Venice will not allow any big ships anymore) , we thought last year that although we like big ships we can survive with the small once also as long it is interesting route.
So were we are going :
DUBROVNIK – Never been there but this is kings landing from game of thrones – we took a tour as it’s a tendering port , it will take us by the cable car to a nice view of the city and the bay post a tour in the old city
CROATIA KOTOR – We will take our time and just take one of the tender boats after the rush hours, we will than do a tour in the old city which we thought we did not had enough time last year
CRUISING
SANTORINI, GREECE – We took a tour to AIO and some wine tasting 
KATAKOLON, GREECE – did not figure this one yet.
CRUISING (and celebrating my birthday)
VENICE, ITALY  - Cry and catch our flight back.
 
The plan is to land in Milan , stay for two nights and take the morning train from Milan to Venice , from the train station we will take the people mover to the port, plan B if train will have some issue will be to rent a car and drop it in Venice airport.
My spouse never visit Milan before so she asked to stay there and not in Venice this time , After all the last supper it there and the Domo.
Its should be a nice cruise , we both need to rest , it was a crazy month for me running from one end of the world to the other one.
We did not order any special restaurant nor a drinking package but for sure we will try again the chef table and use our voucher for some evening drinks.
As you can see , after I so RCL are not removing cats from Oasis post the dry dock I started to train my own cast , some already know how to give high five when they want food . well our own stray cats soup kitchen , which mean we need to find someone to keep feeding them when we are not there,

 
maybe will try to convince our own cat to arrange it.

 
Well , my flight is being called , so I will continue to update later.
 

@Traveler  I Will Be Following. I Hope You Safe Travels.

Only  three days before our second Greek cruise ,
Seating in Milan airport to go back home , do some laundry, last minutes arrangement and back to the airport to land, yes back to Milan . Yes , I know it require some explanation why I am doing that but I promise later to explain this.
We are going again on the Rhapsody of the seas for 7 night cruise from Venice (until Venice will not allow any big ships anymore) , we thought last year that although we like big ships we can survive with the small once also as long it is interesting route.
So were we are going :
DUBROVNIK – Never been there but this is kings landing from game of thrones – we took a tour as it’s a tendering port , it will take us by the cable car to a nice view of the city and the bay post a tour in the old city
CROATIA KOTOR – We will take our time and just take one of the tender boats after the rush hours, we will than do a tour in the old city which we thought we did not had enough time last year
CRUISING
SANTORINI, GREECE – We took a tour to AIO and some wine tasting 
KATAKOLON, GREECE – did not figure this one yet.
CRUISING (and celebrating my birthday)
VENICE, ITALY  - Cry and catch our flight back.
 
The plan is to land in Milan , stay for two nights and take the morning train from Milan to Venice , from the train station we will take the people mover to the port, plan B if train will have some issue will be to rent a car and drop it in Venice airport.
My spouse never visit Milan before so she asked to stay there and not in Venice this time , After all the last supper it there and the Domo.
Its should be a nice cruise , we both need to rest , it was a crazy month for me running from one end of the world to the other one.
We did not order any special restaurant nor a drinking package but for sure we will try again the chef table and use our voucher for some evening drinks.
As you can see , after I so RCL are not removing cats from Oasis post the dry dock I started to train my own cast , some already know how to give high five when they want food . well our own stray cats soup kitchen , which mean we need to find someone to keep feeding them when we are not there,

 
maybe will try to convince our own cat to arrange it.

 
Well , my flight is being called , so I will continue to update later.
 

I thought I'd start the day with a morning snorkel.  
I asked about the submerged plane at the Snorkel Shack.  It's "Permanently cordoned off, for now." 
The water was a little rough and the currents had stirred up more stuff to reduce visibility so it wasn't the best conditions today. 




More jellies on this visit.

Only  three days before our second Greek cruise ,
Seating in Milan airport to go back home , do some laundry, last minutes arrangement and back to the airport to land, yes back to Milan . Yes , I know it require some explanation why I am doing that but I promise later to explain this.
We are going again on the Rhapsody of the seas for 7 night cruise from Venice (until Venice will not allow any big ships anymore) , we thought last year that although we like big ships we can survive with the small once also as long it is interesting route.
So were we are going :
DUBROVNIK – Never been there but this is kings landing from game of thrones – we took a tour as it’s a tendering port , it will take us by the cable car to a nice view of the city and the bay post a tour in the old city
CROATIA KOTOR – We will take our time and just take one of the tender boats after the rush hours, we will than do a tour in the old city which we thought we did not had enough time last year
CRUISING
SANTORINI, GREECE – We took a tour to AIO and some wine tasting 
KATAKOLON, GREECE – did not figure this one yet.
CRUISING (and celebrating my birthday)
VENICE, ITALY  - Cry and catch our flight back.
 
The plan is to land in Milan , stay for two nights and take the morning train from Milan to Venice , from the train station we will take the people mover to the port, plan B if train will have some issue will be to rent a car and drop it in Venice airport.
My spouse never visit Milan before so she asked to stay there and not in Venice this time , After all the last supper it there and the Domo.
Its should be a nice cruise , we both need to rest , it was a crazy month for me running from one end of the world to the other one.
We did not order any special restaurant nor a drinking package but for sure we will try again the chef table and use our voucher for some evening drinks.
As you can see , after I so RCL are not removing cats from Oasis post the dry dock I started to train my own cast , some already know how to give high five when they want food . well our own stray cats soup kitchen , which mean we need to find someone to keep feeding them when we are not there,

 
maybe will try to convince our own cat to arrange it.

 
Well , my flight is being called , so I will continue to update later.
 

Lil guy has made several friends in the pool already! So cute! They are racing each other and having a ball.
Dad and mom are relaxing...

Hello All, we just got back from a 5-day Bermuda cruise on the Anthem of the Seas and I wanted to share my "lessons learned" as a "pay it forward" for all the great forum members who provided advice to me for several questions I posted.  We are a 4 person family (42M, 39F, 13M, and 10F) and we had 2 balcony rooms booked on Deck 13 forward. I hope I can help some newbie cruisers with the info below!
1.  Do Show Up Early on Embarkation Day: Our ship was schedule to leave from Bayonne, NJ cruise port at 4:30pm.  Coming from NH, we drove to Danbury, CT the night before and stayed at a hotel (Did you know Ethan Allen owns a hotel?).  That put us about 1.5 hours from the port.  We got there right at 10:30am when the terminal opened and there was already a good number of cars in front of us.  I dropped off the family and our bags and the porters quickly put our checked bags on the carts.  I parked the car in the garage, met up with the family and headed inside to check-in.  Check-in was painless, and we were literally stepping onto the ship at 11am exactly.  They told us our rooms would not be ready until 1:30pm, so we mainly stayed in the outdoor pool until we could drop off our bags. We hit Windjammers at 1pm and they announced that all rooms were ready at 1:15pm.
2. Windjammers is great, but watch out for peak times if you hate crowds: As you probably know by now, Windjammers is a (extremely large) buffet that serves breakfast and lunch.  I think 99% of all passengers can easily find several things they like on their diverse and plentiful buffet stations (vegetarian, vegan and GF too).  However, it can get VERY crowded at peak times.  One of those peak times is lunch on embarkation day.  I think it was the only place open for that meal since not all passengers had boarded yet.  While we were able to get our food fairly easily. finding an open table was tough!  You really just need to hang out near a family that looks like they are wrapping up and pounce as soon as they get up.  Hail one of the Windjammers employees to clean the table for you.  The only times I would say Windjammers wasn't moderately to severely crowded was during lunch on the 2 days in port.
3. Prepare to be STUFFED:  RCL should just partner with medication companies that have drugs for blood pressure, cholesterol, etc... cause I can guarantee you will come back at least 5 lbs heavier.  We purchased a 3-night specialty dining package and got an extra night free from our Cruise travel agent (CruiseOne).  We ate at Izumi (2 times), Wonderland, and Jamie's Italian.  If you like sushi, Izumi is wonderful!  At Izumi, you get a $35 credit per person... so we had $140 to use each night. We got at least 6 specialty rolls, a few makimono rolls and the sushi deluxe and easily stayed under.  I think we had everything on the menu after the 2 visits. Wonderland is almost a dinner and a show... the dinner IS your show!  Here, you don't order... they just bring you just about everything on the menu.  It was pretty amazing. Jamies was great as well... they bring you samples of all their apps (charcuterie, fried rice & cheese balls, calamari, cheeses, olives, etc..) and then you choose a main and a dessert.  I got the truffle noodles and they were amazing!  We only ate at the main dining room once and it was OK.  My wife's fish (Barramundi) was a little "fishy", but my fish (can't remember the name) was good.  The shrimp cocktail were very small... but the birthday cake (RCL is celebrating 50 years) and the cheese cake was very good.  FYI, all the specialty dining and main dining room have kids menus.   I highly recommend visiting Solarium Bistro for breakfast (also a buffet, but much smaller than Windjammers... but WAY less crowded).  You'll find all the common staples for breakfast.  Café 270 is great for lunch and dinner/late night snacks (only certain nights is it open).  Great paninis on pita bread, wraps, salads and dessert.  Sorrento's pizza was great for late night craving, but they also serve breakfast (no, not pizza... mostly breakfast sandwiches).  Room Service for breakfast is free as long as you order from the "Continental Breakfast" section.  All other times its a flat $7.95 per order (regardless of how much you order... so ahead, get one of everything if you like... it will still cost $7.95 total)
4. To deluxe beverage package, or not to deluxe beverage package... that is the question: I was on the fence on this one up until a week before the cruise.  I do like to drink, but I try to stay clear of everything with sugar. I'm not a big wine drinker, so just bringing 4 bottles on board with me was not that enticing. I pulled the trigger and paid the $50/day.  My wife doesn't drink, but I was in a stateroom with my son... so I only had to pay for me.  I knew from other posts that knowing that the drinks average about $10-13... just having 5 would be my break even point.  Yeah, I ended up get my money's worth and then some.  No, I didn't go on a bender and forget most of the hours of my cruise and end up naked in the engine room!   It really wasn't that hard.  They have mimosa and bloody mary carts setup for breakfast.  Sir, would you like a Mimosa... why, yes please!   Can I make you a spicy bloody mary with bacon and horseradish?  Of course.   How about a vodka, club soda and extra lime while you hang out by the pool?  Sure!   Can I get you a Jack and Diet Coke while you wait for the show to start?  Yes please!  As long as you pace yourself, be sure to eat and stay hydrated, stay away from sugar drinks (I never once ordered a pina colada or strawberry daiquiri, which were so prevalent I couldn't open my eyes without seeing someone having one), and keep any minor "overindulging" until after dinner (so you can sleep it off), take some precautionary Advil or Tylenol before bed... you'll do fine.  Never had an signs of a hangover (mostly from following the rules above).  I probably averaged 8-12 drinks/day.  I know that sounds like a lot (and probably is according to my doctor!), but I did find that their drinks are a little "light" compared to your average bar.  They do jigger pour every drink which means you are only getting 1.5 oz of booze per drink.  Sometimes they would pour a little more.  They also tend to give you a tall glass for your standard "spirit & mixer".  So, if you order a "rum & coke" you are getting 1 shot of rum... and then like 10oz of coke.  Of course, they are doing this to get you to take longer and therefore, order less drinks.  Be sure to ask for a lowball glass.  I also got my money's worth by ordering a few Patron Reposados tequila (which are like over $15/shot in most bars).  Be sure to ask for a bottle of water with each drink.  Even if you don't want it now, you can put it in your fridge and bring ashore when you visit a beach or go shopping.
5. Bring your Cruise Compass with you wherever you go!: The Cruise compass is a printout brochure of the next day's open times, activities, shows, etc..  You stateroom attendant will put it in your room every late afternoon.  Review it, highlight it, and do some planning.  I was kinda disappointed to see that RCL hasn't created a digital version of this yet.  They do have the iQ app, but it only shows you your dinner reservations and the shows that require reservations.  I'm hoping they enhance this soon as it could be a real value-add to their guests.  We attended some great trivia sessions, info sessions on the ship and Bermuda pier and shopping, listened to some great small musical groups, super funny comedians, and attended some great onboard shopping sales.  While it's great that RCL offers so much to do everyday, the hardest thing was making the schedule work! Many times we came up with a plan, only to realize we couldn't do it because we had a dinner or show reservation that conflicted. We found compromises and made it work the best we could. We definitely weren't disappointed or had any FOMO!
6.  You kids will love the Adventure Ocean Club or the Teens Club: Both of our kids were excited about the kids and teens club.  For those under 13, parents needs to check the kids in and out (for the kids 10-12, you can give consent to allow them to check themselves out).   There is a morning, afternoon, and night programs they can join... all are included.  The only exception is after 10pm its $7/hr per child (very reasonable) and they can stay until 1am.  The counselors are excellent and they do fun and educational activities with the kids.  The Teens club is free to come and go and my son made a some friends and they often went swimming and played in the Seaplex together.
7.  Make your show reservations in advance for the ones you can... and make the other activity and dining reservations as soon as you get on board!:  I made reservations for "The Gift" and "We will Rock you" a few weeks in advance on the RCL website.  The only thing I couldn't make reservations for in advance for shows was "Spectra", but I was able on the second day of the cruise.  We also made all of our dining reservations as soon as we got onboard.  On the second day, we tried to make reservations for the iFly (indoor skydiving) but they were already booked up for the whole cruise!  :(   Lesson learned!   Also, if you are like me and like to sit up front at the shows... show up about 30-40 mins early and you will have your pick of any seat you wish.  They have waiters taking drink orders and usually have popcorn and snacks/candy available for purchase... so the waiting isn't so bad.  We had front row middle for "We will Rock you" and it was awesome!  Spectra was a great cabaret style show, but I think they had some technical difficulties with their vistavision (these are the 19 projectors that can make the 270 degree backdrop appear as just about anything you can imagine!)  The robots with the flatscreens were working fine and are amazing!
8. Bermuda is great, but not a lot to do in the port: This doesn't mean we didn't have fun!  We took people's advice and waited until the 2nd day to go to the famous "Horseshoe Bay Beach".  Luckily, it was overcast and a little showery on the first day, and the second day was mostly sunny and 83 degrees!  Of course, many other guests followed the same plan.  Anyways, on the first day we decided to stay in the port area (Royal Navy Dockyard, aka King's Wharf) and check out the shops. We went to the clocktower mall and explored the shops.  We also went into the "Diamonds International" store which was heavily marketed by the Anthem's Shopping Director (Paige).  While seeing all the very beautiful jewelry and rare gemstones is great, the customer service is horrible if you aren't looking to spend a few thousand dollars.  After seeing pieces that were $5k-$20k, I asked one of them what is the cheapest jewelry they had for sale... she said they had an earring set that was $1000. When I said you are still way above what I'm looking to spend... she didn't say "I'm so sorry, we don't have anything under that pricepoint".... Nope, she just turned around and walked away.  How f'n rude!   We ended up finding a much better service at a jeweler in the clocktower mall and my wife got a great sterling silver ring made with a stone made from the pink famous sands for a much more reasonable price.  After about 2 hours, we pretty much saw everything in the port area.  We went back on the ship (which can take about 10-15 mins as you have to go thru security), had some lunch, and then put our bathing suits on an went swimming at Calico Jacks.  This is the black pirate ship that is literally the first thing you reach after getting off the dock area.  It's a bar/grill that has its own swimming area.  There's no beach... they have a ladder into the water and have plenty of foam noodles you can borrow so you can just float and relax.  They also have a plank on the second level that you can jump or dive off of... as well as a giant inflatable slide.  Unfortunately, they don't keep the slide wet... so almost everyone came to a halt before hitting the end of the slide.  They charge $10/pp to get a wristband to use their water access.  Rum swizzles were $10.  We also checked out the "Frog & Onion Pub" for a quick snack and a "Frog Grog" and bought some swag.  The second day we took a shuttle to Horseshoe Bay Beach.  I wouldn't recommend paying the $35/pp shore excursion to the beach through RCL.  They have public shuttles for $7/pp that are continuously headed to the beach.  It's about a 20-25 min beautiful drive.  Our driver the way out to the beach was great, he pointed out all the landmarks and gave details about the homes,  resorts and golf courses.  You can rent loungers, beach chairs, umbrellas and tents at the beach... but they are a little pricey.  We got 2 loungers and it cost $44.  They do have guys who will drag your lounges/chairs to wherever you want, but be sure to give them a tip (we gave him $5).  The water was stunningly beautiful.  Perfect temp!  Some pretty good waves due to the weather over the past day, but nothing too bad.  The grotto area to the right as you enter the beach was really neat.  I would recommend water shoes/socks as it can be a little rocky in that area.  While you aren't supposed to climb up the massive rock cliffs... there were dozens on the top of the bigger ones.  Some of the smaller ones teens were jumping into the water.  There is a bar/grill at the beach, but the prices are a little inflated (Burger & Fries for about $12). Recommend bringing waters with you... and if you can, pack some snacks (Café 270 will pack food to go).  Be sure to leave the beach by 3pm to ensure you get back with enough time for any "unexpected" happenings.  The shuttle drivers guarantee that if you get on one of their shuttles at 4pm... they will get you on the ship without issue, but I'm not willing to play with those odds!
9.  Adults can take naps too! With shows/activities often scheduled to 1am, I strongly recommend trying to find a time for a quick siesta in the late afternoon before dinner.  It will keep you fully charged to enjoy the nighttime events!  Also, try to get at least 7-8 hours of sleep each night if you can.  No reason to go to Windjammers at 6am just because it's open!
10.  Be sure to keep an eye on your account!  Your Seapass card can be used to purchase ANYTHING on board.. and I mean anything!  Be sure to keep an eye on your account (you can use the iQ app, but send you an email at the end of the cruise).  You'll automatically be charged for gratuities $14.50/pp per day, but you'll also see all your other charges. Remember, things add up quick!
11. Keep an eye out for flash sales and good buys on the ship: I ended up buying my wife and gorgeous diamond tennis bracelet on the ship.  It is stunning, very sparkly and she was smitten as soon as she saw it.  The regular price was $195, but we ended up getting it for $99 during a sale.  OK, of course at that price.. it's not a lot of diamonds, but lemme tell you.. it really sparkles and she has already gotten tons of compliments on it.  They also have 2 for $20 T-shirts which make a great souvenir.  They also have duty/tax free booze for purchase, but coming from NH where liquor is state-controlled, the prices were already comparable. If you buy bottles on the ship, they hold it until you disembark (except on the last full day, where you can take it to your room).
12. Most importantly, have fun!:  It's your vacation!  Try something new... or stick to your favorite activities... it's all up to you!
I hope this has helped you.  Please feel free to leave feedback and any questions that I might be able to help with.  If I can't, I'm sure another forum user will!

Fresh of the Empress with a night in a hotel in between I'm ready and pumped for my next cruise.
Did I mention...  IT'S CRUISE DAY!
I thought about starting this thread before my Empress cruise even left the dock (like some others around here do) but that just wouldn't be right.
This five night Majesty of Seas cruise was necessary.  I needed something to justify the airfare to Empress so this side-to-side was the perfect solution.
Itinerary
Ft. Lauderdale Nassau Perfect Day at CocoCay Sea Day Key West Ft. Lauderdale I love Empress but this way I'm upgrading to a much larger ship!  Plus, I gotta get back to CocoCay.  :) 
I originally booked a number of Empress and Majesty sailings when the Cuba cancellations were forced upon the industry.  I feared Royal might move these ships out of the fleet.  My plan was to take lots of pictures and document this legacy class of ship that were the foundation of so much that became even much more on later ships.  It was because of the success of ships like this that Royal has become what it is today.   Success breeds success.  As it turns out they aren't moving these ships out to pasture just yet plus I get to sail on some of the best (small) ships in the fleet!  That's a win-win.
To be fair I split my time between Empress (3 bookings) and Majesty (3 bookings).  I already had some fall bookings that were bucket list type cruises so I had push some my Majesty cruises into October but that's okay, she'll be here waiting for me.
When you stay in a hotel and pay for things like meals and drinks you quickly appreciate the value that cruising represents.  Spoiler alert - the view out my hotel window never changed and I woke up right where I was the day before.  #boring
Cabin this time is an Ocean View on deck 4.  

Imagine my delight when I woke up this morning to this sight from my balcony!
Mr hayley_bopp says I'm more excited about this than going to Rome. I think he's right!

Lovely pictures and blog , Enjoy Allure and have a wonderful cruise.

Day 4 - Sea Day
Hubs couldn’t sleep so he got up and went to the pool.  Lil guy and myself slowly got up right after, went to breakfast and met him at the pool.  We spent all day there until about 1pm. My fish was finally tired. We sailed by Coco Cay and could see a ship docked there from very far away. 
Had annoying chair hogs in front of us at the pool.  Put four towels down on four chairs at 9am and left. At around 11am there were families looking for chairs so my husband said something to a worker and he said anyone could have the chairs. A family took two of the four chairs stayed an hour and left.  A second family then came and took the two chairs they vacated. About 12:30pm here comes chair hog family to start their day and they instantly start in on the two people saying they had to get out of their chairs. The family gets up and my husband interjected and told them they didn’t have to get up.  He told the chair hog family that they can’t reserve chairs for four hours without being there and think that’s okay.  Chair hog mom says, “Well my kids didn’t want to get up sooooo...” ???
You could tell that she was the one that just got up and not the kids. 
We headed back to the room for a nap.  Got up and had our second visit to the Suite Lounge. Lil guy had coke and two crab cakes. We met more lovely people and Mario came in as well. Had dinner at the dreaded Windjammer because the dining room was not appealing either.  We’ve seen a lot of rainbows outside because of all of the rain showers. 
Then off to see the show for the evening Showgirls. After the show we packed up and then went to the 80’s party. 

We had dinner in the MDR and went to the show Oh What A Night. It was a tribute to Frankie Valle and the Four Seasons. It was good!
Our schedule hasn’t allowed us to make it back to happy hour and I’m missing a lot of complimentary drinks at this point.

Where did I leave off? Oh yes, Blue Lagoon.  After the dolphin encounter it turned pitch black outside. We decided to catch the 2pm boat back to the ship because if we didn’t get that one we’d be stuck there until 4pm.
Good thing we did.  It started lightning and thundering. On the way back we even saw two water spouts. The ride back was fun.  It was a very lively crew that got everyone up to dance.
 

Mariner was docked beside us and we also had Norwegian Dawn and Carnival Liberty with us. We disembarked to meet our tour group.  After what seemed like forever, we were finally on our way to Blue Lagoon.
The boat over was a pretty subdued atmosphere.  The tour operators and most of us hadn’t had enough coffee apparently. 
We enjoyed the view of the mansions on our way over. Once there, we had some time to kill on the beach before our encounter.
There was a jellyfish warning posted, but the water was so clear I wasn’t concerned about not seeing it first (hopefully). 
Lil guy was still traumatized from his crab encounter and then he heard someone mention the jellyfish and he was outta there. Ugh...
Hubs finally convinced him to let him take him out on his back.  A little later he was asking for his snorkel mask and was back to himself.

We walked right by a local resident and I told lil man we have to give him a name.  Everyone...I would like to introduce you to Chic-Fil-A:
 

We’re back from week one.  As I write this I’m sitting in a laundry mat in Little Havana.  There was a method to my madness when choosing this place.  Anyone with a husband or so who is picky about their barber will understand my pain.  Hubs and lil guy wanted to get a touch up between trips and we had to do a thorough investigation on a good place to go to. 
I wanted to do laundry while they were there.  We found the perfect barber and a clean laundry mat one block away and walah...here am I catching up on the blog in Little Havana. 
Now to catch you up....

My destination was sort of El Morro and anything I happen to see along the way so I just started walking up hill vaguely in that direction snapping a few pictures along the way.

I walked past a church with open doors so I couldn't resist a photo.

Eventually I reached the edge of the field in front of El Morro just in time for sunset.


Behind me the lights along the road towards Castillo San Cristóbal caught my attention so I went that way.

I wasn't really feeling the photography juices flowing so I had to figure something out. 

Maybe some long exposure light streaking photos would do the trick.

This is why I love golden hour.



Castillo San Cristóbal.  With my camera doing a 30 second exposure I used the light on my phone to "paint" the area closest to me with light.  

You just never know when a deal will pop up.  Before the Black Friday sales hit last November (actually ON Thanksgiving Day), I randomly found Chops at $33.60 each and snagged it.  The price didn't even come close during the Black Friday sale.  I advocate for keeping a close eye on the Cruise Planner for things you know you want.

Thanks for the wonderful blog and sharing your experience Jane , it was lovely to follow. 

+2!!

Day 3 - Midday
Pool deck is popular.

Carving demonstration in the Centrum.


Trivia in the Schooner Bar.  That's Brittney our Sports Deck Manager.  Her parents were on for the 2nd leg of my B2B last cruise. 

Beer sale!  

It's views like this I really appreciate on Empress.  The deck 6 Centrum doors to the outdoor deck that wraps around the ship.  The sea feels like it's right there.

Sights from our visit to South Beach today. Some beach time, a stroll on Ocean Dr., a visit to the Versace Mansion and some amazing food and drink at Taquiza on Collins Avenue.

So... My final take-aways.  First of all, I focused this blog mostly on the trip and not necessarily the ship because it's something different.  I really like vision.  The crew, the cruise director, the activities director, my stateroom attendant...I have no complaints!!  They were all amazing.  I'm not a picky cruiser and vision was totally fine, especially for a port heavy itinerary.  It truly never felt crowded except when chair hogs hit the decks.  I felt like the ship was in good condition (yes a bit of rust here and there, but hey, that's me too lol) and the shower curtain doesn't bug me.  That being said, we had some negatives as well.  The music venues are very limited, the bars were limited and the activities are limited.  For me, that was fine.  My sea days involved myself and 5 novels!  My husband, who had previously been on adventure, freedom and allure surprised me by saying he really prefers the bigger ships.  He would rather sail on a bigger ship if we can get the same itineraries and trade the price difference by staying in an interior room.  We are scheduled on rhapsody for next spring break...we got an amazing deal and great itinerary (including Belize and Roatan) but we may cancel and save up a bit... Especially if we decide to go to the UK next summer.  
   Speaking of itineraries... Europe was mostly amazing!!!  We did find that just like the Caribbean, there are better ports and that we are excursion people.  A whole day of shopping won't work for us...we need something to do.  Otherwise, you start seeing the same shops, just like in the Caribbean!!  
   Long trips:. We found that 12 days was just awesome!  But I was still sad to get off... The 2nd to last day is always gonna suck no matter how long your cruise is!
   Eating:. Unless there is lots of variety, we will probably decrease our specialty dining... It's just too much food.  Same for the dining room...we will continue to do my time because we just don't want 2 hour dining every night.  We enjoyed windjammer on those days we were tired and just wanted to relax, or had eaten big at port.
   Drink pkg:. The drink pkg even on 12 days was totally worth it.  We went through at least 3 bottles of water every day, coffee every morning, 2 glasses of wine with dinner and at least 1 cocktail a day.  Could we do without it, yes but for us it is really worth it and again, I'd be willing to go with a smaller room to afford it.  It was pricy but it worked for us absolutely.  Just FYI, the lowest price we ever saw was $48/day, and $57 with the internet 1 device each.  The drink card never showed up on our 12 day cruise so people must have been purchasing enough drinks!  
Packing:. Ok... So I definitely did better this trip, but could have done a bit better.  We managed 3 checked bags and 1 carry-on and didn't bring back a lot of souvenirs.  I could have done better... The laundry bag was amazing and my stateroom attendant made me fill enough for two bags and charged for one.  Nothing shrunk and next time I could easily pack fewer bathing suits and PJs and cover-ups.  Still would worry about my dresses, but none of Jeff's nice polos shrank!  
So that is our trip.  I'm so sad it's over...we have dreamed of this for a lifetime and planned it for almost 2 years.  But we have memories to last us forever, amazing pictures and the knowledge that we will do what we can to continue traveling.  Life is way too short not to try and travel, and for us it's a priority!  Thanks for coming along on our voyage with us!  Jane