codyh21

Your mileage will vary from ship to ship and bartender to bartender. Have the recipe handy and if they don’t know it but you provide that most will at least give it a shot. I’ve had bartenders tell me they enjoy challenging/new drinks because it helps them get better.

Not at all! Other than one stoplight our driver didn’t have to stop until we got right to the curb and virtually no traffic. Ship was already cleared so we boarded right away,

Day one was everything we had hoped and been waiting for! Lyft XL from our hotel to the port was $9. Picked up at 1020, dropped off at 1032, stepped off gangway onboard at 1040! Royal really has the boarding process down at terminal A. Line at Hooked so went straight up to deck 11 to make UDP reservations, which were done in maybe a couple minutes. My wife doesn’t do sushi or seafood and has no interest in hot rocks, so two nights at Jamie’s and two at Chops. I’ll probably hit hooked on the sea day for lunch and can pop into Izumi anytime if I want. Met someone from our cruise critic roll call who is doing the side by side with us at Playmakers. Initially told no to UDP but I politely mentioned the terms they put out he checked and came back saying we were good. Burger, chicken sandwich, wings, and potato skins and we definitely left fries there was so much food. Everything was good but the potato skins which were a definite miss for us. Rooms ready right at one. We’re staying in a deck 7 promenade room right above the stairs down to the casino and across from the pub. Took a short nap then up to the top deck above Lime & Coconut to watch sail away, amazing weather too. Enjoyed a few drinks both before and after sailaway. Dinner was at Jamie’s and the food was excellent. My lamb was slightly overdone but the flavor was very good. Afterwards sat on the Promenade and watched MNF game. Plan was to watch late comedian at 1030 but I completely crashed around 1015 and was out until 5. Slept right through the 70s party outside our window and heard nothing. All in all a very enjoyable first day. WiFi still spotty so I will try and upload photos but mileage may vary. Approaching Nassau now so I’m going to go catch the sunrise but will check back later today. Random note- the “specialty” drinks in Bamboo Room are now $14 so they wanted $1 upcharge on drink package. Didn’t ruin my night but just odd as on Mariner in September they were $13. All other venues onboard are $13 or under for their menus. Oh well, small problems!

WiFi here on Navigator is not good right now. I’ll do a day one wrap up later but photos will probably have to wait until we get back to Miami later this week unless it improves. Loving the ship so far though!

Tried to add some more photos but when I post on my iPad they come out upside down so I’ll try again tomorrow. We were fortunate to watch the Oasis fireworks show from our balcony as well so that was a treat.

The last couple days have been a whirlwind but we’re firmly ensconced in our Miami hotel waiting to board Navigator in the morning. Red-eye to Orlando Saturday morning was uneventful and we easily picked up our rental from Avis. Dropped my wife at Disney and drove to Oviedo to have lunch with my friend Brandon and his wife. Picked my wife up around 2pm and headed to our hotel in Melbourne. Dinner and drinks were with a bunch of old friends at Intracoastal Brewing were I use to hang out regularly and a great time. Lunch today was at our favorite Longdoggers with our friend and fellow cruiser Paul Crow. Drove to Miami, dropped the car off at the airport and took a Lyft to our hotel at the Gabriel downtown. Lyft was $11 with a discount code I had and short drive. Dinner was a Publix subs and a key lime pie. The hotel is amazing and photos are below. More to come tomorrow after we board. 87A1A753-BC47-4DA5-B414-A8F6EA605CBC.MOV

Our last two B2Bs have been in different rooms. We've gone from inside to balcony and inside to inside. Both times we spoke to our current room steward on the first sailing and everything was moved with no issues. I agree that having the same room is always preferred, but either way your attitude about it is spot on.

Someone just did a review of the UDP on Mariner over on another website. They were told they could do Hibachi and get two proteins which they were able to get filet and lobster. Clearly, it all comes down to a specific ship and is definitely frustrating when terms show one thing and then we're often told another. Here's to hoping they come out with a universal policy whatever it is that is truly enforced/followed.

They are typically open until 6-7 depending on when you visit. Not sure how many of you there are and what the cost is, but consider an Uber/Lyft in addition to looking at the Royal Excursion. Would allow you to maximize the time you have. It really is a cool place and seeing the shuttle Atlantis and Saturn V up close is mindblowing (especially for space geeks like myself). You could also do a one day car rental but there is a small parking fee if I remember right. Your all aboard won't be until 8-830 so you shouldn't have timing issues no matter when you go.

We've had guarantee rooms assigned 2-3 months out, others as late as 2-3 days prior. There is no right answer on this, just keep checking back.

Have a great time! I’ll be blogging from Navigator and Explorer at the same time. This time of year is perfect for cruising, looking forward to following along!

It's maybe a 15 minute ride to the airport, I would do Uber/Lyft. Very easy to get to and you should have no problem getting there in plenty of time.

Book early! Up until final payment date you can take advantage of price drops. Even after final payment, we’ve managed to get an upgraded room when the price dropped below what we paid, albeit no money back. Don’t rule out booking with a TA either. We have a great one and he deals with all our booking details related to room changes and pricing for us. All we have to deal with is cruise planner stuff.

See what a one day car rental would be. This would allow you to have luggage storage and also get/visit anywhere you might want to go. If you have a rental at the MIA rental center there are free shuttles you can take.

Unless we get onboard and they have some sort of transport option we're just going to wing it. If not, plan is to stay on as late as we can and just grab the first taxi we see once leaving the terminal. They should open up Explorer's terminal shortly after we arrive so not too worried if I have to wait around a few minutes. I'll make sure and report back.

I take battery chargers on all our cruises and have never had an issue. Because we usually have an iPad and a couple iPhones with us, I also bring a 4 port usb hub and have never had it confiscated or even given a second glance.

You can show between 10-1030. Assuming the ship is cleared on time they should start boarding between 1030-1100. The 2pm is a suggestion they use to hopefully manage traffic but not a requirement.

We’re on Navigator over Thanksgiving and looking forward to it. Have a great sailing and looking forward to following along.

Woodwind in Bonaire has always been exceptional and we’re going back in a couple weeks. They ask the group your skill level beforehand and divide you up with staff spending more time while in the water with those less experienced. We rented a car through Advance in Curacao so we can do some exploring. I’m doing a live blog so will be sure to report on that experience as well. ABCs are our favorite port stops!

We did MDR on Navigator for Thanksgiving a couple years ago. Typical turkey dinner, nothing special. We’re on Navigator again this year but have UDP so will probably do Chops or Jamie’s. Any Thanksgiving meal they do likely won’t come close to what you’ll make back home.

We prefer deck 7-8. Easy access down to Promenade, MDR, etc and just a few flights down from the pool deck.

Recommendations above are great. Definitely reserve your shows if there’s something you want to see. Pre-book any specialty dining or excursions before getting onboard. Look at deck plans as Oasis class ships are massive and it’s nice having a rough idea of what’s where when you finally board. I love watching YouTube videos and listening to the podcasts on here, lots of good info.

This is still the case. My wife is the same way, we always hit up Publix or somewhere similar on the way so she can get her own stuff. With long hair there is no way I could get her to use that stuff.