Traveler

Yap ,we are one day from Florida and Its not a pool day yet .... 
9 am and the pool deck empty not even the chairs  hogs 

Another unique feature of the Anthem of the Seas is the SeaPlex. 

This is fun for all ages but if you have kids or teenagers I can't see how they could possibly be bored with not only the activities but also the ambiance of the SeaPlex.  Located on deck 15 at the top of the ship it just screams fun!




It is a multi-use facility that offers bumper cars, roller skating and circus trapeze on a rotating scheduled basis.  There is also a basketball court available when circus trapeze is offered.


The second level has some seating to watch but also some extended areas that protrude from the sides and contain foosball, air hockey, ping pong and XBOX gaming areas.


If nothing else there are great views from the upper level.

The rotating schedule can be found on monitors around the SeaPlex which is worth taking a picture of on your phone.  While they list the times in the Cruise Compass I found it easier planning the next day or day after using the SeaPlex monitors.
Times vary based on cruise length and itinerary.  Here was our 12 night cruise schedule.

When the bumper cars aren't being used they get parked out of the way.

The SeaPlex is also where the Dog House can be found.

Its just a fun and cool place to hang out.

Day 1 
I must say for the first day it was very well organized.
10 minutes from the minute I arrived back to the port including 30 second of me almost fainting  finding out I forgot my backpack with the laptop and some other important documents at the security area. Before I already vision my vacation with out it  I turned around from the check in counter to see a security lady looking for me  with the backpack. apparently when they saw  the backpack left at the security desk they looked inside and found my old passport (the one that I have my Visa) and started to look for me, actually,  I think even without a picture of me it was enough just to look for a person running in panic around the area.
WJ was not packed as I remembered from previous cruises and we fount a table very quickly , food was good.
At 1 PM all the room were ready with no delays , we dropped our bags and went up to the pool deck to look around and drink some more exotic drinks (which is a good name for drinks you will never usually order in bar without people looking at you funny).
At 2 PM we went to check the room again and we saw we already got the luggage , 15 minutes and everything was organized and the suitcases under the bad , six cruises give you some experience .

Oh forgot to say , this is our first time with a  sea view balcony cabin, I like it (well what is not to like in it).
The muster drill was fast , but it was so crowded which let me think that in case of a real issue we are doomed , the drill was also the last AHHH for the day.
I mean , in a first cruise day you have six  AHHHH moments : 
1. passing security.
2. Going up the ship.
3. Finding your table in the WJ.
4. Getting your room.
5. Getting your luggage
6. Finish with the muster drill 
Dinner was at the my time dining , I must say it also went very well comparing to previous  times , we are usually not a main dining room people (it just take too much time)   but we try to be there at least forthe first night
This time everything went very smooth, in less than one hour we were after the dessert , the food was excellent , I took the fish tempura which was like a very good fish and chips without the chips and my partner took the  stake which she loved.
Well more later as my battery going to die and I am in the pool deck without my charger.


They light the tree at the evening with a party on deck 5

 
Hanuka was not forgotten either 

Deck 5 upper view 

 
Some note for me , I must find a better  resize picture application , the one I am using now (resizing and sending it to my laptop via email) is not that good , any recommendation for Android application like that will be highly appreciate.  

If you are on Windows, this is my favorite bulk resizing photo app.  It is simple and can resize a lot of photos quickly. http://www.faststone.org/FSResizerDetail.htm

I usually do my photo work on a computer, but I've used the below app a few times and it seems to do the job without much fuss.  Straightforward to use, too.  To give you an idea, on my site, most images within an article are 400px wide (though sometimes larger depending on what they are), and in my galleries (where you can see larger versions), they're usually 650px to 1000px wide.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.simplemobilephotoresizer&hl=en&rdid=com.simplemobilephotoresizer

Day  -2  ,
As I suspected I woke up around 3 am due to the jetlag which mean I only slept  3 hour.
To avoid waking up my spouse I moved to the second room to watch some TV and go over emails I guess getting the upgrade at the hotel was useful.
The hotel itself is very near Universal, almost a walking distance, we consider this option (walking) but somehow we picked the coldest day so far in Orlando and it was rainy (we actually brought the cold front with us) . I was waiting until 7 am for the guest service to open so  I could reserve the shuttle ride to the park.
The early shuttle was already full  I had to settle for the next one which I did not like too much as I wanted to be there early to avoid some of the crowds, the other option was to use the car but I remembered it will take more time (queue , parking , walking).
After quick breakfast we took the shuttle to the park (5 minute drive) and walked to the entrance.
There is some magic with those park (if I am allowed to use the word magic for Universal) I mean, if you come with the right mode, allowing yourself to leave any cynical feeling at the gate (not easy for me I admit) and just have fun it can be a great  experience , in other words, let’s face it you can  feel like a child again for few hours.
We went directly  to the Diagon alley which was under contraction last time we visit the park (too long ago I guess , shame on us well mainly on me) , the waiting time for the ride (the escape from Gringotts)  was less than 10 minutes so I even did not bothered to use the express pass I bought.
I enjoy the ride although I think the older ride at the other park (the Forbidden Journey) is still better.
After the ride we went to drink the warm butterbeer , yes they serve it warm also and the cold day was perfect for that, another thing you need to forget when you are at a theme park is  counting calories (you start to see the similarity to a cruise right ?) .
We wanted to take advantage on the short lines during the morning so we jumped on the Hogwarts express to move to the adventure island.
We reach there just on time to do the forbidden journey ride as the waiting time was again only 10 minutes, I love to go to a theme park when it’s cold and rainy, lines are much better !
We went and did all the other attraction we planned to do there, took something to eat and did again (this time using the express pass) the forbidden journey, although on a full stomach it’s a different experience, still loved it.
We took the train back to Universal studio to do the rest of the attractions we skipped before, including some of my favorites like the mommy revenge and the new ride with Jimmy Fallon which was hilarious.
We did again the escape from Gringotts just in time to see the Macys parade.
Although it was still quite early we were both tired and since we done already most of the attractions we wanted we headed back to the hotel.
It was a perfect day
 

Day 1 
I must say for the first day it was very well organized.
10 minutes from the minute I arrived back to the port including 30 second of me almost fainting  finding out I forgot my backpack with the laptop and some other important documents at the security area. Before I already vision my vacation with out it  I turned around from the check in counter to see a security lady looking for me  with the backpack. apparently when they saw  the backpack left at the security desk they looked inside and found my old passport (the one that I have my Visa) and started to look for me, actually,  I think even without a picture of me it was enough just to look for a person running in panic around the area.
WJ was not packed as I remembered from previous cruises and we fount a table very quickly , food was good.
At 1 PM all the room were ready with no delays , we dropped our bags and went up to the pool deck to look around and drink some more exotic drinks (which is a good name for drinks you will never usually order in bar without people looking at you funny).
At 2 PM we went to check the room again and we saw we already got the luggage , 15 minutes and everything was organized and the suitcases under the bad , six cruises give you some experience .

Oh forgot to say , this is our first time with a  sea view balcony cabin, I like it (well what is not to like in it).
The muster drill was fast , but it was so crowded which let me think that in case of a real issue we are doomed , the drill was also the last AHHH for the day.
I mean , in a first cruise day you have six  AHHHH moments : 
1. passing security.
2. Going up the ship.
3. Finding your table in the WJ.
4. Getting your room.
5. Getting your luggage
6. Finish with the muster drill 
Dinner was at the my time dining , I must say it also went very well comparing to previous  times , we are usually not a main dining room people (it just take too much time)   but we try to be there at least forthe first night
This time everything went very smooth, in less than one hour we were after the dessert , the food was excellent , I took the fish tempura which was like a very good fish and chips without the chips and my partner took the  stake which she loved.
Well more later as my battery going to die and I am in the pool deck without my charger.


They light the tree at the evening with a party on deck 5

 
Hanuka was not forgotten either 

Deck 5 upper view 

 
Some note for me , I must find a better  resize picture application , the one I am using now (resizing and sending it to my laptop via email) is not that good , any recommendation for Android application like that will be highly appreciate.  

We did it ! 
After starting later than we planned we arrived to the port around 11 am.
I first dropped the suitcase and went to return the car at the airport. Taxi back to the port cost me 22$ which is not cheap for a 5 minutes ride.
From the taxi to the ship it took us 10 minutes so around 11:45 we were  already at the WJ starting to use the drink package.
We done the quick spa tour and went down to the room which was open at 1 pm 
 

Great wrap up of your first day.  Thanks for sharing it!
I am pinging @monorailmedic for Android app recommendations for resizing photos easily. You're on the right track, resizing offline is much faster.

Thanks , 
Well , since I am in Indi were the dining room named after Shakespeare's plays I guess I don't have choice eather
 

Day  -2  ,
As I suspected I woke up around 3 am due to the jetlag which mean I only slept  3 hour.
To avoid waking up my spouse I moved to the second room to watch some TV and go over emails I guess getting the upgrade at the hotel was useful.
The hotel itself is very near Universal, almost a walking distance, we consider this option (walking) but somehow we picked the coldest day so far in Orlando and it was rainy (we actually brought the cold front with us) . I was waiting until 7 am for the guest service to open so  I could reserve the shuttle ride to the park.
The early shuttle was already full  I had to settle for the next one which I did not like too much as I wanted to be there early to avoid some of the crowds, the other option was to use the car but I remembered it will take more time (queue , parking , walking).
After quick breakfast we took the shuttle to the park (5 minute drive) and walked to the entrance.
There is some magic with those park (if I am allowed to use the word magic for Universal) I mean, if you come with the right mode, allowing yourself to leave any cynical feeling at the gate (not easy for me I admit) and just have fun it can be a great  experience , in other words, let’s face it you can  feel like a child again for few hours.
We went directly  to the Diagon alley which was under contraction last time we visit the park (too long ago I guess , shame on us well mainly on me) , the waiting time for the ride (the escape from Gringotts)  was less than 10 minutes so I even did not bothered to use the express pass I bought.
I enjoy the ride although I think the older ride at the other park (the Forbidden Journey) is still better.
After the ride we went to drink the warm butterbeer , yes they serve it warm also and the cold day was perfect for that, another thing you need to forget when you are at a theme park is  counting calories (you start to see the similarity to a cruise right ?) .
We wanted to take advantage on the short lines during the morning so we jumped on the Hogwarts express to move to the adventure island.
We reach there just on time to do the forbidden journey ride as the waiting time was again only 10 minutes, I love to go to a theme park when it’s cold and rainy, lines are much better !
We went and did all the other attraction we planned to do there, took something to eat and did again (this time using the express pass) the forbidden journey, although on a full stomach it’s a different experience, still loved it.
We took the train back to Universal studio to do the rest of the attractions we skipped before, including some of my favorites like the mommy revenge and the new ride with Jimmy Fallon which was hilarious.
We did again the escape from Gringotts just in time to see the Macys parade.
Although it was still quite early we were both tired and since we done already most of the attractions we wanted we headed back to the hotel.
It was a perfect day
 

Bon voyage!
Ouch. The rental car facility did not offer a free shuttle?

We did it ! 
After starting later than we planned we arrived to the port around 11 am.
I first dropped the suitcase and went to return the car at the airport. Taxi back to the port cost me 22$ which is not cheap for a 5 minutes ride.
From the taxi to the ship it took us 10 minutes so around 11:45 we were  already at the WJ starting to use the drink package.
We done the quick spa tour and went down to the room which was open at 1 pm 
 

Have a great embarkation day!

A spectacular sunset tonight.

For those keeping track, this was shot with my iPhone 7 Plus.  I was headed to the Diamond lounge when I exited the elevator on deck 5 and saw a glimpse of this through the doors to the promenade deck outside.  The best camera is the one you have with you...
 

Day  -2  ,
As I suspected I woke up around 3 am due to the jetlag which mean I only slept  3 hour.
To avoid waking up my spouse I moved to the second room to watch some TV and go over emails I guess getting the upgrade at the hotel was useful.
The hotel itself is very near Universal, almost a walking distance, we consider this option (walking) but somehow we picked the coldest day so far in Orlando and it was rainy (we actually brought the cold front with us) . I was waiting until 7 am for the guest service to open so  I could reserve the shuttle ride to the park.
The early shuttle was already full  I had to settle for the next one which I did not like too much as I wanted to be there early to avoid some of the crowds, the other option was to use the car but I remembered it will take more time (queue , parking , walking).
After quick breakfast we took the shuttle to the park (5 minute drive) and walked to the entrance.
There is some magic with those park (if I am allowed to use the word magic for Universal) I mean, if you come with the right mode, allowing yourself to leave any cynical feeling at the gate (not easy for me I admit) and just have fun it can be a great  experience , in other words, let’s face it you can  feel like a child again for few hours.
We went directly  to the Diagon alley which was under contraction last time we visit the park (too long ago I guess , shame on us well mainly on me) , the waiting time for the ride (the escape from Gringotts)  was less than 10 minutes so I even did not bothered to use the express pass I bought.
I enjoy the ride although I think the older ride at the other park (the Forbidden Journey) is still better.
After the ride we went to drink the warm butterbeer , yes they serve it warm also and the cold day was perfect for that, another thing you need to forget when you are at a theme park is  counting calories (you start to see the similarity to a cruise right ?) .
We wanted to take advantage on the short lines during the morning so we jumped on the Hogwarts express to move to the adventure island.
We reach there just on time to do the forbidden journey ride as the waiting time was again only 10 minutes, I love to go to a theme park when it’s cold and rainy, lines are much better !
We went and did all the other attraction we planned to do there, took something to eat and did again (this time using the express pass) the forbidden journey, although on a full stomach it’s a different experience, still loved it.
We took the train back to Universal studio to do the rest of the attractions we skipped before, including some of my favorites like the mommy revenge and the new ride with Jimmy Fallon which was hilarious.
We did again the escape from Gringotts just in time to see the Macys parade.
Although it was still quite early we were both tired and since we done already most of the attractions we wanted we headed back to the hotel.
It was a perfect day
 

Day 9 - St Kitts
I awoke at the pier In St Kitts.  Beside us again today would be the Celebrity Summit.

Today I went scuba diving booked through RCI.  This two tank dive will be executed by a local dive shop "Dive St. Kitts".  As dive boats go it isn't the biggest dive boat I've been on so it was cozy but fine.  We met at the end of the pier and had a 15 minute bus ride to the dive shop.

The dive sites were a 20 minutes boat ride from the dock.
Today's dive had some current and because of that visibility wasn't the best but it was still a nice dive.  We saw lizard fish, lion fish, trunk fish, stingray, turtle, eels, crabs, lobster and more.







St Kitts is a beautiful island and we got to see the island from the sea coming back from the dive.

That's our dive master today (the woman) and our dive boat driver at the helm with great views of St. Kitts as a back drop.



There were four ship guests becoming certified today but they went off on their own dive boat.
Note for divers - they want to see your Open Water Diver Certification card at the dive shop on board before they will print your excursion tickets.  I found out it's closed on port days so having not done that by day 3 I wasn't able to visit the on board dive shop before St Kitts.  You can also visit the shore excursion desk on board to have them go through the dive questions with you, inspect your C card and print your excursion ticket.
Back to the ship there was a football game on the outdoor TV.

 

Day -3
To blog or not to blog this is the question.
On one hand it was a nice experience last time , on the other hand this following cruise was just got excellent  live review from Matt , also blogging in parallel  to such nice blog from Anthem with pictures I can only dream to  take with my poor phone  …
But hey there is not such a thing as too much live blogs right ?!
 
So once again (and not so far from last time) we are planning to be on cruise.
This time a quick 5 days on Indi.
 
So let’s start from the whys:
After the last cruise we got a voucher from the Casino for a free cruise, the voucher allow you a free (well they call it  free, you still need to pay gratitude and taxes) to choose from a list that contains mainly Caribbean cruises.
If you choose not to use one of the cruises from the list you can use the voucher value for any other cruise you choose (only new cruises allowed  and it should be no later than one year from the voucher date)  
Why Indi – well I was looking for a bigger ship after our last cruise in the Voyager and a shorter one.
The main idea is for us to squeeze a cruise and some other activities in one week which will allow us to be back home/work at the next Sunday.
So the 5 days cruise was just perfect for that and I loved to find out short cruise on bigger ship (usually the shorter cruise are on the small ships for some reason).
Why now?  , We both need to consume some vacation days as the end of the year around the corner  and we both over the allowed accumulated quota.
The most important reason - its going to be my spouse birthday and I cannot think about  a  better  place to celebrate such occasion …
Besides that, does anyone really need an excuse why to cruising RC ?  J
 
As Usual (if I can call a second live blog usual) I am starting the blog few days earlier as the vacation starts now and I started my long journey to the US (currently waiting for my connection in a country which I will not disclose its name but its famous for its Swiss cheese , Swiss chocolates and Swiss clocks).
The plan was very simple, flying to Miami, take a car and drive to Orlando (I refuse to go to Florida and skip Orlando parks, sorry, if I am already there I will take advantage on it),
3.5 hours’ drive after a transatlantic flight is not something I am not familiar with and we planned to split the drive between us , its sounds like a good plan.
Plans are one thing and reality is another, my spouse was called few days ago,  urgently to some business meetings in the US.
It was perfect on one hand as it save us one of the reward airline ticket (all I needed now is one domestic ticket from the city the meeting are taking place to Orlando) on the other hand it means I will do the Miami – Orlando drive alone, well not totally alone, although  Matt still do not know it yet but he is going to make sure I will stay awake during driving by listen to a binge  RC blog podcasting I calculate after 8 podcast I should arrive safely, you can say many thing about Matt (just good thing don’t worry) but no one can say his  podcast  can be used as lullaby, especially with his enthusiasm,
Before you all ask why I did not fly directly to Orlando ?  well as I am using rewards  miles I cannot be too picky , in other words , it’s much easier to find international flight to Miami than to Orlando.
So now the plan is even easier , land in Miami , run to immigration and custom , pray that the lines are short and I am not stuck behind people from a flight of certain countries in Europe which the immigration officer love to question them for long period of time.
I will pick the car set the BT and start my way to meet my spouse so tomorrow we can visit Universal.
 
Currently still waiting here ,  after leaving a teenager to watch the apartment (he rather be left alone almost for the first time than joining us).
I just hope it will be ok as all we ask him  is (he is a teenager you know you cannot ask them much) :
We want still have the apartment when we are back.
No complaints from neighbors.
Alcohol bottles remain the same as they were , and no , to refill the Gray guess with water or the whiskies with teas does not count .
The cat should still be alive.
 
Not too complicated as I said, good we have insurance (and his grandmother to spy on him from a distance).
 
Here is the cat reaction after understanding we are again going to cruise without him .

 
 
Tomorrow visiting Harry Potter (I hope).

Woohoo!  Going on Indy on the 21st so looking forward to your live blog!
Hint - the best camera is the one you have with you.  Some of my pictures are from my phone because I don't always want to carry the Albatros that my good camera seems to be on some days around my neck.
Cheers!

Day -3
To blog or not to blog this is the question.
On one hand it was a nice experience last time , on the other hand this following cruise was just got excellent  live review from Matt , also blogging in parallel  to such nice blog from Anthem with pictures I can only dream to  take with my poor phone  …
But hey there is not such a thing as too much live blogs right ?!
 
So once again (and not so far from last time) we are planning to be on cruise.
This time a quick 5 days on Indi.
 
So let’s start from the whys:
After the last cruise we got a voucher from the Casino for a free cruise, the voucher allow you a free (well they call it  free, you still need to pay gratitude and taxes) to choose from a list that contains mainly Caribbean cruises.
If you choose not to use one of the cruises from the list you can use the voucher value for any other cruise you choose (only new cruises allowed  and it should be no later than one year from the voucher date)  
Why Indi – well I was looking for a bigger ship after our last cruise in the Voyager and a shorter one.
The main idea is for us to squeeze a cruise and some other activities in one week which will allow us to be back home/work at the next Sunday.
So the 5 days cruise was just perfect for that and I loved to find out short cruise on bigger ship (usually the shorter cruise are on the small ships for some reason).
Why now?  , We both need to consume some vacation days as the end of the year around the corner  and we both over the allowed accumulated quota.
The most important reason - its going to be my spouse birthday and I cannot think about  a  better  place to celebrate such occasion …
Besides that, does anyone really need an excuse why to cruising RC ?  J
 
As Usual (if I can call a second live blog usual) I am starting the blog few days earlier as the vacation starts now and I started my long journey to the US (currently waiting for my connection in a country which I will not disclose its name but its famous for its Swiss cheese , Swiss chocolates and Swiss clocks).
The plan was very simple, flying to Miami, take a car and drive to Orlando (I refuse to go to Florida and skip Orlando parks, sorry, if I am already there I will take advantage on it),
3.5 hours’ drive after a transatlantic flight is not something I am not familiar with and we planned to split the drive between us , its sounds like a good plan.
Plans are one thing and reality is another, my spouse was called few days ago,  urgently to some business meetings in the US.
It was perfect on one hand as it save us one of the reward airline ticket (all I needed now is one domestic ticket from the city the meeting are taking place to Orlando) on the other hand it means I will do the Miami – Orlando drive alone, well not totally alone, although  Matt still do not know it yet but he is going to make sure I will stay awake during driving by listen to a binge  RC blog podcasting I calculate after 8 podcast I should arrive safely, you can say many thing about Matt (just good thing don’t worry) but no one can say his  podcast  can be used as lullaby, especially with his enthusiasm,
Before you all ask why I did not fly directly to Orlando ?  well as I am using rewards  miles I cannot be too picky , in other words , it’s much easier to find international flight to Miami than to Orlando.
So now the plan is even easier , land in Miami , run to immigration and custom , pray that the lines are short and I am not stuck behind people from a flight of certain countries in Europe which the immigration officer love to question them for long period of time.
I will pick the car set the BT and start my way to meet my spouse so tomorrow we can visit Universal.
 
Currently still waiting here ,  after leaving a teenager to watch the apartment (he rather be left alone almost for the first time than joining us).
I just hope it will be ok as all we ask him  is (he is a teenager you know you cannot ask them much) :
We want still have the apartment when we are back.
No complaints from neighbors.
Alcohol bottles remain the same as they were , and no , to refill the Gray guess with water or the whiskies with teas does not count .
The cat should still be alive.
 
Not too complicated as I said, good we have insurance (and his grandmother to spy on him from a distance).
 
Here is the cat reaction after understanding we are again going to cruise without him .

 
 
Tomorrow visiting Harry Potter (I hope).

Day -3
To blog or not to blog this is the question.
On one hand it was a nice experience last time , on the other hand this following cruise was just got excellent  live review from Matt , also blogging in parallel  to such nice blog from Anthem with pictures I can only dream to  take with my poor phone  …
But hey there is not such a thing as too much live blogs right ?!
 
So once again (and not so far from last time) we are planning to be on cruise.
This time a quick 5 days on Indi.
 
So let’s start from the whys:
After the last cruise we got a voucher from the Casino for a free cruise, the voucher allow you a free (well they call it  free, you still need to pay gratitude and taxes) to choose from a list that contains mainly Caribbean cruises.
If you choose not to use one of the cruises from the list you can use the voucher value for any other cruise you choose (only new cruises allowed  and it should be no later than one year from the voucher date)  
Why Indi – well I was looking for a bigger ship after our last cruise in the Voyager and a shorter one.
The main idea is for us to squeeze a cruise and some other activities in one week which will allow us to be back home/work at the next Sunday.
So the 5 days cruise was just perfect for that and I loved to find out short cruise on bigger ship (usually the shorter cruise are on the small ships for some reason).
Why now?  , We both need to consume some vacation days as the end of the year around the corner  and we both over the allowed accumulated quota.
The most important reason - its going to be my spouse birthday and I cannot think about  a  better  place to celebrate such occasion …
Besides that, does anyone really need an excuse why to cruising RC ?  J
 
As Usual (if I can call a second live blog usual) I am starting the blog few days earlier as the vacation starts now and I started my long journey to the US (currently waiting for my connection in a country which I will not disclose its name but its famous for its Swiss cheese , Swiss chocolates and Swiss clocks).
The plan was very simple, flying to Miami, take a car and drive to Orlando (I refuse to go to Florida and skip Orlando parks, sorry, if I am already there I will take advantage on it),
3.5 hours’ drive after a transatlantic flight is not something I am not familiar with and we planned to split the drive between us , its sounds like a good plan.
Plans are one thing and reality is another, my spouse was called few days ago,  urgently to some business meetings in the US.
It was perfect on one hand as it save us one of the reward airline ticket (all I needed now is one domestic ticket from the city the meeting are taking place to Orlando) on the other hand it means I will do the Miami – Orlando drive alone, well not totally alone, although  Matt still do not know it yet but he is going to make sure I will stay awake during driving by listen to a binge  RC blog podcasting I calculate after 8 podcast I should arrive safely, you can say many thing about Matt (just good thing don’t worry) but no one can say his  podcast  can be used as lullaby, especially with his enthusiasm,
Before you all ask why I did not fly directly to Orlando ?  well as I am using rewards  miles I cannot be too picky , in other words , it’s much easier to find international flight to Miami than to Orlando.
So now the plan is even easier , land in Miami , run to immigration and custom , pray that the lines are short and I am not stuck behind people from a flight of certain countries in Europe which the immigration officer love to question them for long period of time.
I will pick the car set the BT and start my way to meet my spouse so tomorrow we can visit Universal.
 
Currently still waiting here ,  after leaving a teenager to watch the apartment (he rather be left alone almost for the first time than joining us).
I just hope it will be ok as all we ask him  is (he is a teenager you know you cannot ask them much) :
We want still have the apartment when we are back.
No complaints from neighbors.
Alcohol bottles remain the same as they were , and no , to refill the Gray guess with water or the whiskies with teas does not count .
The cat should still be alive.
 
Not too complicated as I said, good we have insurance (and his grandmother to spy on him from a distance).
 
Here is the cat reaction after understanding we are again going to cruise without him .

 
 
Tomorrow visiting Harry Potter (I hope).

Day -3
To blog or not to blog this is the question.
On one hand it was a nice experience last time , on the other hand this following cruise was just got excellent  live review from Matt , also blogging in parallel  to such nice blog from Anthem with pictures I can only dream to  take with my poor phone  …
But hey there is not such a thing as too much live blogs right ?!
 
So once again (and not so far from last time) we are planning to be on cruise.
This time a quick 5 days on Indi.
 
So let’s start from the whys:
After the last cruise we got a voucher from the Casino for a free cruise, the voucher allow you a free (well they call it  free, you still need to pay gratitude and taxes) to choose from a list that contains mainly Caribbean cruises.
If you choose not to use one of the cruises from the list you can use the voucher value for any other cruise you choose (only new cruises allowed  and it should be no later than one year from the voucher date)  
Why Indi – well I was looking for a bigger ship after our last cruise in the Voyager and a shorter one.
The main idea is for us to squeeze a cruise and some other activities in one week which will allow us to be back home/work at the next Sunday.
So the 5 days cruise was just perfect for that and I loved to find out short cruise on bigger ship (usually the shorter cruise are on the small ships for some reason).
Why now?  , We both need to consume some vacation days as the end of the year around the corner  and we both over the allowed accumulated quota.
The most important reason - its going to be my spouse birthday and I cannot think about  a  better  place to celebrate such occasion …
Besides that, does anyone really need an excuse why to cruising RC ?  J
 
As Usual (if I can call a second live blog usual) I am starting the blog few days earlier as the vacation starts now and I started my long journey to the US (currently waiting for my connection in a country which I will not disclose its name but its famous for its Swiss cheese , Swiss chocolates and Swiss clocks).
The plan was very simple, flying to Miami, take a car and drive to Orlando (I refuse to go to Florida and skip Orlando parks, sorry, if I am already there I will take advantage on it),
3.5 hours’ drive after a transatlantic flight is not something I am not familiar with and we planned to split the drive between us , its sounds like a good plan.
Plans are one thing and reality is another, my spouse was called few days ago,  urgently to some business meetings in the US.
It was perfect on one hand as it save us one of the reward airline ticket (all I needed now is one domestic ticket from the city the meeting are taking place to Orlando) on the other hand it means I will do the Miami – Orlando drive alone, well not totally alone, although  Matt still do not know it yet but he is going to make sure I will stay awake during driving by listen to a binge  RC blog podcasting I calculate after 8 podcast I should arrive safely, you can say many thing about Matt (just good thing don’t worry) but no one can say his  podcast  can be used as lullaby, especially with his enthusiasm,
Before you all ask why I did not fly directly to Orlando ?  well as I am using rewards  miles I cannot be too picky , in other words , it’s much easier to find international flight to Miami than to Orlando.
So now the plan is even easier , land in Miami , run to immigration and custom , pray that the lines are short and I am not stuck behind people from a flight of certain countries in Europe which the immigration officer love to question them for long period of time.
I will pick the car set the BT and start my way to meet my spouse so tomorrow we can visit Universal.
 
Currently still waiting here ,  after leaving a teenager to watch the apartment (he rather be left alone almost for the first time than joining us).
I just hope it will be ok as all we ask him  is (he is a teenager you know you cannot ask them much) :
We want still have the apartment when we are back.
No complaints from neighbors.
Alcohol bottles remain the same as they were , and no , to refill the Gray guess with water or the whiskies with teas does not count .
The cat should still be alive.
 
Not too complicated as I said, good we have insurance (and his grandmother to spy on him from a distance).
 
Here is the cat reaction after understanding we are again going to cruise without him .

 
 
Tomorrow visiting Harry Potter (I hope).

Day -3
To blog or not to blog this is the question.
On one hand it was a nice experience last time , on the other hand this following cruise was just got excellent  live review from Matt , also blogging in parallel  to such nice blog from Anthem with pictures I can only dream to  take with my poor phone  …
But hey there is not such a thing as too much live blogs right ?!
 
So once again (and not so far from last time) we are planning to be on cruise.
This time a quick 5 days on Indi.
 
So let’s start from the whys:
After the last cruise we got a voucher from the Casino for a free cruise, the voucher allow you a free (well they call it  free, you still need to pay gratitude and taxes) to choose from a list that contains mainly Caribbean cruises.
If you choose not to use one of the cruises from the list you can use the voucher value for any other cruise you choose (only new cruises allowed  and it should be no later than one year from the voucher date)  
Why Indi – well I was looking for a bigger ship after our last cruise in the Voyager and a shorter one.
The main idea is for us to squeeze a cruise and some other activities in one week which will allow us to be back home/work at the next Sunday.
So the 5 days cruise was just perfect for that and I loved to find out short cruise on bigger ship (usually the shorter cruise are on the small ships for some reason).
Why now?  , We both need to consume some vacation days as the end of the year around the corner  and we both over the allowed accumulated quota.
The most important reason - its going to be my spouse birthday and I cannot think about  a  better  place to celebrate such occasion …
Besides that, does anyone really need an excuse why to cruising RC ?  J
 
As Usual (if I can call a second live blog usual) I am starting the blog few days earlier as the vacation starts now and I started my long journey to the US (currently waiting for my connection in a country which I will not disclose its name but its famous for its Swiss cheese , Swiss chocolates and Swiss clocks).
The plan was very simple, flying to Miami, take a car and drive to Orlando (I refuse to go to Florida and skip Orlando parks, sorry, if I am already there I will take advantage on it),
3.5 hours’ drive after a transatlantic flight is not something I am not familiar with and we planned to split the drive between us , its sounds like a good plan.
Plans are one thing and reality is another, my spouse was called few days ago,  urgently to some business meetings in the US.
It was perfect on one hand as it save us one of the reward airline ticket (all I needed now is one domestic ticket from the city the meeting are taking place to Orlando) on the other hand it means I will do the Miami – Orlando drive alone, well not totally alone, although  Matt still do not know it yet but he is going to make sure I will stay awake during driving by listen to a binge  RC blog podcasting I calculate after 8 podcast I should arrive safely, you can say many thing about Matt (just good thing don’t worry) but no one can say his  podcast  can be used as lullaby, especially with his enthusiasm,
Before you all ask why I did not fly directly to Orlando ?  well as I am using rewards  miles I cannot be too picky , in other words , it’s much easier to find international flight to Miami than to Orlando.
So now the plan is even easier , land in Miami , run to immigration and custom , pray that the lines are short and I am not stuck behind people from a flight of certain countries in Europe which the immigration officer love to question them for long period of time.
I will pick the car set the BT and start my way to meet my spouse so tomorrow we can visit Universal.
 
Currently still waiting here ,  after leaving a teenager to watch the apartment (he rather be left alone almost for the first time than joining us).
I just hope it will be ok as all we ask him  is (he is a teenager you know you cannot ask them much) :
We want still have the apartment when we are back.
No complaints from neighbors.
Alcohol bottles remain the same as they were , and no , to refill the Gray guess with water or the whiskies with teas does not count .
The cat should still be alive.
 
Not too complicated as I said, good we have insurance (and his grandmother to spy on him from a distance).
 
Here is the cat reaction after understanding we are again going to cruise without him .

 
 
Tomorrow visiting Harry Potter (I hope).

Day 5 - St Thomas
I woke up early to make sure I could watch our approach before our pier arrival.  I was happy to see much of this side of the island with power.  


The main power generating plant is not far from Crown Bay so it's no surprise the South East of the island was first to get power back.  
A line of showers moved through sending me into the Solarium but soon after we were treated to a nice sunrise as we approached the harbor.  This is one of the bridge wings on Anthem (the port wing has been closed for both sailings). 

Today we would be docking at the West Indies pier or what many refer to as Havensight.  
I wanted to wait for the sun to rise a little higher for it to set off the color in the water so I went off to the Solarium Bistro for breakfast.  As it turns out this early morning photo with the blue sky day would be one of the best of this area of the island.  The blue sky wouldn't last all day.


The Captain mentioned increasing chances for rain so I decided to head to Magens Bay for some pictures while the weather was good.  This photo was taken shortly after leaving the Havensight Mall area.

I took a 'Safari' taxi for $8 and joined 10 other shipmates on our way to the beach.  On the ride out of town I looked over and saw Oasis docked in Crown Bay.

That is Anthem far left and Oasis far right.



I had asked our driver if he could stop by Drake's Seat and he did.  This is the spot to get a great overview picture of Magens Bay Beach.


As we approached Magens Bay you could see large areas of forest that had been damaged by the hurricanes.  In the past this was dense and you couldn't see much of anything when you looked into the forest.  Now you could see many trees down, many with no tops and most with no foliage.  
Magens Bay is a preserve managed by the local USVI government and has a $5 per person entrance fee.  We paid at the gate.  Our driver then took us to the South end of the beach where they had set up a temporary bar, grill and beach shop while the centrally located building that used to house them is being rebuilt. It's cash only right now.  I tipped well and I hope you do too.




Chairs and umbrellas can also be rented here.  Otherwise it's a ship towel on the sand - don't forget one.  There are showers and a foot wash area as well as restrooms all working fine on this occasion.

Magens Bay Beach remains as beautiful as ever.
As I took this photo, Beatles Abbey Road popped into my head...

I was curious what the efforts were to repair the beach.  Royal Caribbean partnered with the local USVI authority that operates the park to restore it.  Beyond the obvious structures that were damaged and are being rebuilt,  you can see there are hundreds of new trees that have been planted recently each with temporary braces until they take root.  

This is the activity to rebuild the central bar, grill and gift store building.  It's looking close to completion.  Maybe another few weeks?   Hard to tell in the islands...







I wanted to stop by Charlotte Amalie for lunch so at this point I headed to the taxi stand to get a ride back into town.  Dark clouds were starting to move in and I sensed rain was coming and boy did it.   Safely in our Safari taxi me and a couple from Oasis watched the downpour as we made our way back into town.  There is an overlook with great views of the harbor but a traffic accident had closed that road and with the heavy rain it made no sense to try.  For each of these $8 ride I gave our drivers a $20 - they need the money.
Fortunately the rain stopped just as the driver dropped me off in Charlotte Amalie.  
Lunch today was at a favorite restaurant of mine 'The Green House' with views of the harbor.  




I was happy to see the "Blackened Mahi Caesar Salad" was still on the menu.  
On my first trip to St Thomas I found this restaurant and since then the Mahi salad has become a ritual meal.



A Bushwhacker and a beer rounded off lunch. 
With another line of showers coming this way I found another Safari taxi for the ride back to the ship.  
The stores in the Havensight Mall were all open and people were eagerly shopping. 


Back on board I jumped in the shower and made plans to take a nap.
Summary of my day on St. Thomas and some thoughts.
Some of the pictures I decided to include to illustrate how far the flora and fauna on St Thomas has come.  Talking with my friends who live here they told me in the days after the hurricane everything was brown.  There was no green anywhere.  It was very depressing.  Even they are amazed how quickly green has returned.  That in no small way is helping everyone get through this.  Life is normal one told me (even though he doesn't have power back just yet).
From a distance St Thomas looks like it always has but you don't have to look very far to see signs of hurricane damage.  Some people may never rebuild.  It was like this when I lived here and I recall stories of "that was from hurricane ..." when I saw a broken down building.  I imagine there will be similar stories years from now.
When the ship arrived I saw lines of utility trucks leaving their staging area near the West Indies pier.   At lunch I saw a truck pulling a trailer full of pole transformers drive by.   Maybe tomorrow my friend will get power back.
This morning I observed a cargo ship carrying dozens of luxury yachts enter the harbor behind us.  This is a thing.  People ship their luxury yachts and fly in to use them as a base to explore from.  Oh the lives of the rich and famous.  However it shows you even they are returning.  
I tipped a LOT more than I have in the past but they have been without income for way too long.  
St Thomas is back and there is no reason to avoid coming here.

Day 4 - San Juan, Scheduled Arrival 3pm 
As we approached San Juan our sunny day ended and it became apparent we would have some liquid sunshine, emphasis on liquid, to contend with.

We docked near the Sheraton in Old San Juan. Skies began to look better but radar showed another line or two approaching from the East.


After a few false starts to avoid getting drenched I finally ventured out.  

San Juan is doing much better than much of Puerto Rico.  On the surface it doesn't look much different compared to previous visits.
There were street performers waiting to greet us. 

I've eaten here before but was looking for something a little less corporate to visit tonight.

I ended up at Tijuana's bar and grill.  This is very close to the ship pier on this side of the harbor and I've walked past it many times before.

Today is the first day they have opened since Hurricane Maria.  They have a limited menu right now and are cash only but I'm glad I stopped by.
Beer and a burrito sounded pretty good to me with great views. 

The bill came to around $18.  I left them $40.
After this I wandered down the shore along the edge of the fort walls that used to protect the city in the days of old.

Another wave of rain moved through but it was light and refreshing.  They have festive lights set up.  San Juan is back and is ready to greet you. The rain soaked streets increased the contrast and made it especially pretty tonight.

 
I made it down to the fountain I've visited before but lighting wasn't very good tonight and some more rain was moving in so I doubled back to a restaurant and bar I passed along the way.

The Princesa Gastro Bar has the "It's Rum Time" sign that you'll see around San Juan.  On the outside it's a small bar but I was I glad I stopped by.



I talked to 'Angel' the bar keeper and he eagerly explained the island rum he had available.  It's quite a selection.  He arranged it compared to popular liquor such as Scotch, Bourbon and Vodka.  He explained that if someone likes a certain type of Scotch, they might like this type of rum and so on.  He was very passionate and he invited me into his bar.   


After discussing my likes and dislikes he recommend a couple for me to try.   He then presented them to me, complete with bottles to review as I sampled them.

I was impressed.  As a frequent Scotch drinker I appreciated the flavors and differences between the samples that I would not have noticed had I not discussed them with him.  Despite being a small looking bar, it's packed with some great island rum and other liquor if you just don't like rum  (Scotch, Vodka, Gin, wine, etc). 
This might not be the kind of place to seek a rum punch or frozen something but there is no doubt Angel could probably come up with something for you.
The ambiance in the shadow of the old fort wall combined with the restaurant next door is quite nice.

I won't say the ridiculous price he tried to charge me.  I had to do a double take with my old eyes but I tripled it in cash.

They say the trick to navigating is always look for the North star as it shines brightest in the sky.  This wasn't lost on me as I made my way home to Anthem in light rain with a belly full of rum.









 


Back on board I settled down in Vintages to write and post this. There's no place like home.
I was hoping for not just an adventure in San Juan but I also wanted to contribute to the local economy as they need our tourist dollars in the long road to recovery.  It's wasn't what I had in my mind but I'm quite pleased how it played out.
I went into the Walgreens to pickup a few things I forgot to pack.  I used my credit card.  My time in old San Juan all seemed very normal except the restaurants and bars were lightly occupied.  They need tourists to return.  Absent of money coming in some of these businesses will be forced to close if tourists don't return.
If anyone is concerned about booking a cruise with a call on San Juan, don't be.  Book it.