kimberussell

Hahah this is me, too! NOTHIN SHIMMERS LIKE GOLD!! 
14 big points and countin' 

Fixed that for you. ?
Hope you both have a great trip! Like @ellcee, love your sense of humor and style in your writing.

Hi! I'm Kim! You may know me from my Enchantment of the Seas trip report 2 years ago. We're baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack!
Me: 47, cruised with Royal Caribbean 2 years ago for the first time and Disney 15 years ago. I love warm weather and palm trees. 
Mom: old enough to be my mother, cruised with Royal Caribbean 2 years ago for the first time. She also loves warm weather and palm trees.
We both love to eat. She's gluten-free, I'm gluten-full. We get along very well. 
We are Basic. We have no Star, Pinnacle, or Diamond statuses going for us. We are our own Genies. We have matching t-shirts that say "Resting Beach Face." We accept every photo op. We lose money on bingo and gambling. All of those things that experienced cruisers laugh at and wonder who they're aimed for? Us! They're aimed for us!
Our story: we took our first cruise 2 years ago because Mom had a medically crummy summer and I wanted her to look forward to something once she put in the necessary PT work. We had THE BEST TIME and at least once a week every week since she mentioned taking another cruise.
Mom: Let's take another cruise!
Me: We could do that. Or we could go back to Virginia Beach! Or find a nice place in Florida...
Mom: But then we'll have to go out and FIND food instead of just walking to a restaurant and having all the food we want. Don't you remember just grabbing the bag of chips from that stand? And there's no Solarium. And just the hotel is more money than the entire cruise and that's WITHOUT food and...
I created a monster who wants to be able to grab a bag of Sun Chips and walk away.
She wanted to take the same exact cruise again, because this time since she's back to 100% and won't have to use a cane. She's even going to the gym now. I know, right? I also know who'll be lugging our suitcases.
But our beloved Enchantment of the Seas moved to Galveston and the Navigator's 5-day doesn't include Key West. 
Mom: I don't want a smaller boat than Enchantment, though!
Me, looking at Navigator photos: I...don't think that will be a problem.
And here we are, booked on Navigator and headed to Nassau (day 2), CocoCay (day 3) and a day at sea (day 4).
What we are keeping the same:
Same ocean-view room. We were barely in it last time and I think that we'd really waste money on a larger room. Same VOOM 2-device surf and stream package.  Still not booking an excursion in Nassau; we're using a map I found online to create our own walking tour with a goal to be back on the ship for lunchtime. I might purchase a bottle of rum to bring home.  Still not booking fancy dining - we were completely happy with MDR and Windjammer last time and I'm excited to add free tacos to our lineup. Can't forget the free chips. Still not buying beverage packages - even when it goes to buy one, get one 50% off, neither of us can sustain the pace to make it break even. And we don't mind regular coffee. What we are doing differently:
I kind of fibbed about the lack of STATUS. Because we are Crown & Anchor GOLD LEVEL, baybeeeeeee! ha-HA!  We'll be strolling down deck 3 with our four points like this:

(Which is why we'll never be let into fancy lounges.)
I bought lanyards from an Etsy shop to replace the "Bristol Meyers Squib" medical conference ones we had before. They befit our GOLD status. My husband is my favorite person but NOT a tropical-loving guy so he is staying behind with my beloved dogs and retinol. He will be driving us to the airport. We are flying directly into Miami the night before to spare me the agita I had last time when we almost missed the plane in Philadelphia. I'll disclose the hotel once we've checked out because I'm paranoid. We are not buying Evian water to be delivered to the cabin - 12 1-liter bottles = WAY too much water. Instead, I'm going to pick up a 6-pack of bottles in Miami to carry on and satisfy Mom's bottled water demands. I'm sure the complimentary C&A Gold status sherpa will help us. (disclaimer: there is no sherpa) I was raised on NJ tap water, so my body has evolved its own high-end filtering system. I pre-rented a floating mat at CocoCay. But with the construction on CocoCay's South Beach we don't have the opportunity to rent a lounger for the day. For just 2 of us, dropping hundreds of dollars on a daybed or cabana isn't cost-effective.  I'm very concerned about snagging seats with an umbrella. Even though the map shows little umbrellas all over, I don't want us to scorch.  I have feelings about CocoCay. It's just ... we had the perfect day there 2 years ago before it became capital-letter Perfect Day. We're not doing the waterpark and my brother would kill me in my sleep if I hooked Mom up to a zipline. I just hope Royal Caribbean remembered that some people's perfect day entails just lying on the beach under an umbrella, drinking and eating. Other than weather, norovirus, airplane crashes, the softening of my jawline, and the ship catching on fire at sea, this is what I'm worried about. I am often wrong, so I'm hoping my wrongness streak continues.
Goals:
Flush myself down the Riptide slide. It looks to be 25 seconds long. I can do that. As long as I keep my mouth shut (tall order) I won't drown. Try a Lava Flow.  Have a FANTASTIC time. All that's left is the packing, folks.

Hi! I'm Kim! You may know me from my Enchantment of the Seas trip report 2 years ago. We're baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack!
Me: 47, cruised with Royal Caribbean 2 years ago for the first time and Disney 15 years ago. I love warm weather and palm trees. 
Mom: old enough to be my mother, cruised with Royal Caribbean 2 years ago for the first time. She also loves warm weather and palm trees.
We both love to eat. She's gluten-free, I'm gluten-full. We get along very well. 
We are Basic. We have no Star, Pinnacle, or Diamond statuses going for us. We are our own Genies. We have matching t-shirts that say "Resting Beach Face." We accept every photo op. We lose money on bingo and gambling. All of those things that experienced cruisers laugh at and wonder who they're aimed for? Us! They're aimed for us!
Our story: we took our first cruise 2 years ago because Mom had a medically crummy summer and I wanted her to look forward to something once she put in the necessary PT work. We had THE BEST TIME and at least once a week every week since she mentioned taking another cruise.
Mom: Let's take another cruise!
Me: We could do that. Or we could go back to Virginia Beach! Or find a nice place in Florida...
Mom: But then we'll have to go out and FIND food instead of just walking to a restaurant and having all the food we want. Don't you remember just grabbing the bag of chips from that stand? And there's no Solarium. And just the hotel is more money than the entire cruise and that's WITHOUT food and...
I created a monster who wants to be able to grab a bag of Sun Chips and walk away.
She wanted to take the same exact cruise again, because this time since she's back to 100% and won't have to use a cane. She's even going to the gym now. I know, right? I also know who'll be lugging our suitcases.
But our beloved Enchantment of the Seas moved to Galveston and the Navigator's 5-day doesn't include Key West. 
Mom: I don't want a smaller boat than Enchantment, though!
Me, looking at Navigator photos: I...don't think that will be a problem.
And here we are, booked on Navigator and headed to Nassau (day 2), CocoCay (day 3) and a day at sea (day 4).
What we are keeping the same:
Same ocean-view room. We were barely in it last time and I think that we'd really waste money on a larger room. Same VOOM 2-device surf and stream package.  Still not booking an excursion in Nassau; we're using a map I found online to create our own walking tour with a goal to be back on the ship for lunchtime. I might purchase a bottle of rum to bring home.  Still not booking fancy dining - we were completely happy with MDR and Windjammer last time and I'm excited to add free tacos to our lineup. Can't forget the free chips. Still not buying beverage packages - even when it goes to buy one, get one 50% off, neither of us can sustain the pace to make it break even. And we don't mind regular coffee. What we are doing differently:
I kind of fibbed about the lack of STATUS. Because we are Crown & Anchor GOLD LEVEL, baybeeeeeee! ha-HA!  We'll be strolling down deck 3 with our four points like this:

(Which is why we'll never be let into fancy lounges.)
I bought lanyards from an Etsy shop to replace the "Bristol Meyers Squib" medical conference ones we had before. They befit our GOLD status. My husband is my favorite person but NOT a tropical-loving guy so he is staying behind with my beloved dogs and retinol. He will be driving us to the airport. We are flying directly into Miami the night before to spare me the agita I had last time when we almost missed the plane in Philadelphia. I'll disclose the hotel once we've checked out because I'm paranoid. We are not buying Evian water to be delivered to the cabin - 12 1-liter bottles = WAY too much water. Instead, I'm going to pick up a 6-pack of bottles in Miami to carry on and satisfy Mom's bottled water demands. I'm sure the complimentary C&A Gold status sherpa will help us. (disclaimer: there is no sherpa) I was raised on NJ tap water, so my body has evolved its own high-end filtering system. I pre-rented a floating mat at CocoCay. But with the construction on CocoCay's South Beach we don't have the opportunity to rent a lounger for the day. For just 2 of us, dropping hundreds of dollars on a daybed or cabana isn't cost-effective.  I'm very concerned about snagging seats with an umbrella. Even though the map shows little umbrellas all over, I don't want us to scorch.  I have feelings about CocoCay. It's just ... we had the perfect day there 2 years ago before it became capital-letter Perfect Day. We're not doing the waterpark and my brother would kill me in my sleep if I hooked Mom up to a zipline. I just hope Royal Caribbean remembered that some people's perfect day entails just lying on the beach under an umbrella, drinking and eating. Other than weather, norovirus, airplane crashes, the softening of my jawline, and the ship catching on fire at sea, this is what I'm worried about. I am often wrong, so I'm hoping my wrongness streak continues.
Goals:
Flush myself down the Riptide slide. It looks to be 25 seconds long. I can do that. As long as I keep my mouth shut (tall order) I won't drown. Try a Lava Flow.  Have a FANTASTIC time. All that's left is the packing, folks.

Hi! I'm Kim! You may know me from my Enchantment of the Seas trip report 2 years ago. We're baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack!
Me: 47, cruised with Royal Caribbean 2 years ago for the first time and Disney 15 years ago. I love warm weather and palm trees. 
Mom: old enough to be my mother, cruised with Royal Caribbean 2 years ago for the first time. She also loves warm weather and palm trees.
We both love to eat. She's gluten-free, I'm gluten-full. We get along very well. 
We are Basic. We have no Star, Pinnacle, or Diamond statuses going for us. We are our own Genies. We have matching t-shirts that say "Resting Beach Face." We accept every photo op. We lose money on bingo and gambling. All of those things that experienced cruisers laugh at and wonder who they're aimed for? Us! They're aimed for us!
Our story: we took our first cruise 2 years ago because Mom had a medically crummy summer and I wanted her to look forward to something once she put in the necessary PT work. We had THE BEST TIME and at least once a week every week since she mentioned taking another cruise.
Mom: Let's take another cruise!
Me: We could do that. Or we could go back to Virginia Beach! Or find a nice place in Florida...
Mom: But then we'll have to go out and FIND food instead of just walking to a restaurant and having all the food we want. Don't you remember just grabbing the bag of chips from that stand? And there's no Solarium. And just the hotel is more money than the entire cruise and that's WITHOUT food and...
I created a monster who wants to be able to grab a bag of Sun Chips and walk away.
She wanted to take the same exact cruise again, because this time since she's back to 100% and won't have to use a cane. She's even going to the gym now. I know, right? I also know who'll be lugging our suitcases.
But our beloved Enchantment of the Seas moved to Galveston and the Navigator's 5-day doesn't include Key West. 
Mom: I don't want a smaller boat than Enchantment, though!
Me, looking at Navigator photos: I...don't think that will be a problem.
And here we are, booked on Navigator and headed to Nassau (day 2), CocoCay (day 3) and a day at sea (day 4).
What we are keeping the same:
Same ocean-view room. We were barely in it last time and I think that we'd really waste money on a larger room. Same VOOM 2-device surf and stream package.  Still not booking an excursion in Nassau; we're using a map I found online to create our own walking tour with a goal to be back on the ship for lunchtime. I might purchase a bottle of rum to bring home.  Still not booking fancy dining - we were completely happy with MDR and Windjammer last time and I'm excited to add free tacos to our lineup. Can't forget the free chips. Still not buying beverage packages - even when it goes to buy one, get one 50% off, neither of us can sustain the pace to make it break even. And we don't mind regular coffee. What we are doing differently:
I kind of fibbed about the lack of STATUS. Because we are Crown & Anchor GOLD LEVEL, baybeeeeeee! ha-HA!  We'll be strolling down deck 3 with our four points like this:

(Which is why we'll never be let into fancy lounges.)
I bought lanyards from an Etsy shop to replace the "Bristol Meyers Squib" medical conference ones we had before. They befit our GOLD status. My husband is my favorite person but NOT a tropical-loving guy so he is staying behind with my beloved dogs and retinol. He will be driving us to the airport. We are flying directly into Miami the night before to spare me the agita I had last time when we almost missed the plane in Philadelphia. I'll disclose the hotel once we've checked out because I'm paranoid. We are not buying Evian water to be delivered to the cabin - 12 1-liter bottles = WAY too much water. Instead, I'm going to pick up a 6-pack of bottles in Miami to carry on and satisfy Mom's bottled water demands. I'm sure the complimentary C&A Gold status sherpa will help us. (disclaimer: there is no sherpa) I was raised on NJ tap water, so my body has evolved its own high-end filtering system. I pre-rented a floating mat at CocoCay. But with the construction on CocoCay's South Beach we don't have the opportunity to rent a lounger for the day. For just 2 of us, dropping hundreds of dollars on a daybed or cabana isn't cost-effective.  I'm very concerned about snagging seats with an umbrella. Even though the map shows little umbrellas all over, I don't want us to scorch.  I have feelings about CocoCay. It's just ... we had the perfect day there 2 years ago before it became capital-letter Perfect Day. We're not doing the waterpark and my brother would kill me in my sleep if I hooked Mom up to a zipline. I just hope Royal Caribbean remembered that some people's perfect day entails just lying on the beach under an umbrella, drinking and eating. Other than weather, norovirus, airplane crashes, the softening of my jawline, and the ship catching on fire at sea, this is what I'm worried about. I am often wrong, so I'm hoping my wrongness streak continues.
Goals:
Flush myself down the Riptide slide. It looks to be 25 seconds long. I can do that. As long as I keep my mouth shut (tall order) I won't drown. Try a Lava Flow.  Have a FANTASTIC time. All that's left is the packing, folks.

Hi! I'm Kim! You may know me from my Enchantment of the Seas trip report 2 years ago. We're baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack!
Me: 47, cruised with Royal Caribbean 2 years ago for the first time and Disney 15 years ago. I love warm weather and palm trees. 
Mom: old enough to be my mother, cruised with Royal Caribbean 2 years ago for the first time. She also loves warm weather and palm trees.
We both love to eat. She's gluten-free, I'm gluten-full. We get along very well. 
We are Basic. We have no Star, Pinnacle, or Diamond statuses going for us. We are our own Genies. We have matching t-shirts that say "Resting Beach Face." We accept every photo op. We lose money on bingo and gambling. All of those things that experienced cruisers laugh at and wonder who they're aimed for? Us! They're aimed for us!
Our story: we took our first cruise 2 years ago because Mom had a medically crummy summer and I wanted her to look forward to something once she put in the necessary PT work. We had THE BEST TIME and at least once a week every week since she mentioned taking another cruise.
Mom: Let's take another cruise!
Me: We could do that. Or we could go back to Virginia Beach! Or find a nice place in Florida...
Mom: But then we'll have to go out and FIND food instead of just walking to a restaurant and having all the food we want. Don't you remember just grabbing the bag of chips from that stand? And there's no Solarium. And just the hotel is more money than the entire cruise and that's WITHOUT food and...
I created a monster who wants to be able to grab a bag of Sun Chips and walk away.
She wanted to take the same exact cruise again, because this time since she's back to 100% and won't have to use a cane. She's even going to the gym now. I know, right? I also know who'll be lugging our suitcases.
But our beloved Enchantment of the Seas moved to Galveston and the Navigator's 5-day doesn't include Key West. 
Mom: I don't want a smaller boat than Enchantment, though!
Me, looking at Navigator photos: I...don't think that will be a problem.
And here we are, booked on Navigator and headed to Nassau (day 2), CocoCay (day 3) and a day at sea (day 4).
What we are keeping the same:
Same ocean-view room. We were barely in it last time and I think that we'd really waste money on a larger room. Same VOOM 2-device surf and stream package.  Still not booking an excursion in Nassau; we're using a map I found online to create our own walking tour with a goal to be back on the ship for lunchtime. I might purchase a bottle of rum to bring home.  Still not booking fancy dining - we were completely happy with MDR and Windjammer last time and I'm excited to add free tacos to our lineup. Can't forget the free chips. Still not buying beverage packages - even when it goes to buy one, get one 50% off, neither of us can sustain the pace to make it break even. And we don't mind regular coffee. What we are doing differently:
I kind of fibbed about the lack of STATUS. Because we are Crown & Anchor GOLD LEVEL, baybeeeeeee! ha-HA!  We'll be strolling down deck 3 with our four points like this:

(Which is why we'll never be let into fancy lounges.)
I bought lanyards from an Etsy shop to replace the "Bristol Meyers Squib" medical conference ones we had before. They befit our GOLD status. My husband is my favorite person but NOT a tropical-loving guy so he is staying behind with my beloved dogs and retinol. He will be driving us to the airport. We are flying directly into Miami the night before to spare me the agita I had last time when we almost missed the plane in Philadelphia. I'll disclose the hotel once we've checked out because I'm paranoid. We are not buying Evian water to be delivered to the cabin - 12 1-liter bottles = WAY too much water. Instead, I'm going to pick up a 6-pack of bottles in Miami to carry on and satisfy Mom's bottled water demands. I'm sure the complimentary C&A Gold status sherpa will help us. (disclaimer: there is no sherpa) I was raised on NJ tap water, so my body has evolved its own high-end filtering system. I pre-rented a floating mat at CocoCay. But with the construction on CocoCay's South Beach we don't have the opportunity to rent a lounger for the day. For just 2 of us, dropping hundreds of dollars on a daybed or cabana isn't cost-effective.  I'm very concerned about snagging seats with an umbrella. Even though the map shows little umbrellas all over, I don't want us to scorch.  I have feelings about CocoCay. It's just ... we had the perfect day there 2 years ago before it became capital-letter Perfect Day. We're not doing the waterpark and my brother would kill me in my sleep if I hooked Mom up to a zipline. I just hope Royal Caribbean remembered that some people's perfect day entails just lying on the beach under an umbrella, drinking and eating. Other than weather, norovirus, airplane crashes, the softening of my jawline, and the ship catching on fire at sea, this is what I'm worried about. I am often wrong, so I'm hoping my wrongness streak continues.
Goals:
Flush myself down the Riptide slide. It looks to be 25 seconds long. I can do that. As long as I keep my mouth shut (tall order) I won't drown. Try a Lava Flow.  Have a FANTASTIC time. All that's left is the packing, folks.

Hi! I'm Kim! You may know me from my Enchantment of the Seas trip report 2 years ago. We're baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack!
Me: 47, cruised with Royal Caribbean 2 years ago for the first time and Disney 15 years ago. I love warm weather and palm trees. 
Mom: old enough to be my mother, cruised with Royal Caribbean 2 years ago for the first time. She also loves warm weather and palm trees.
We both love to eat. She's gluten-free, I'm gluten-full. We get along very well. 
We are Basic. We have no Star, Pinnacle, or Diamond statuses going for us. We are our own Genies. We have matching t-shirts that say "Resting Beach Face." We accept every photo op. We lose money on bingo and gambling. All of those things that experienced cruisers laugh at and wonder who they're aimed for? Us! They're aimed for us!
Our story: we took our first cruise 2 years ago because Mom had a medically crummy summer and I wanted her to look forward to something once she put in the necessary PT work. We had THE BEST TIME and at least once a week every week since she mentioned taking another cruise.
Mom: Let's take another cruise!
Me: We could do that. Or we could go back to Virginia Beach! Or find a nice place in Florida...
Mom: But then we'll have to go out and FIND food instead of just walking to a restaurant and having all the food we want. Don't you remember just grabbing the bag of chips from that stand? And there's no Solarium. And just the hotel is more money than the entire cruise and that's WITHOUT food and...
I created a monster who wants to be able to grab a bag of Sun Chips and walk away.
She wanted to take the same exact cruise again, because this time since she's back to 100% and won't have to use a cane. She's even going to the gym now. I know, right? I also know who'll be lugging our suitcases.
But our beloved Enchantment of the Seas moved to Galveston and the Navigator's 5-day doesn't include Key West. 
Mom: I don't want a smaller boat than Enchantment, though!
Me, looking at Navigator photos: I...don't think that will be a problem.
And here we are, booked on Navigator and headed to Nassau (day 2), CocoCay (day 3) and a day at sea (day 4).
What we are keeping the same:
Same ocean-view room. We were barely in it last time and I think that we'd really waste money on a larger room. Same VOOM 2-device surf and stream package.  Still not booking an excursion in Nassau; we're using a map I found online to create our own walking tour with a goal to be back on the ship for lunchtime. I might purchase a bottle of rum to bring home.  Still not booking fancy dining - we were completely happy with MDR and Windjammer last time and I'm excited to add free tacos to our lineup. Can't forget the free chips. Still not buying beverage packages - even when it goes to buy one, get one 50% off, neither of us can sustain the pace to make it break even. And we don't mind regular coffee. What we are doing differently:
I kind of fibbed about the lack of STATUS. Because we are Crown & Anchor GOLD LEVEL, baybeeeeeee! ha-HA!  We'll be strolling down deck 3 with our four points like this:

(Which is why we'll never be let into fancy lounges.)
I bought lanyards from an Etsy shop to replace the "Bristol Meyers Squib" medical conference ones we had before. They befit our GOLD status. My husband is my favorite person but NOT a tropical-loving guy so he is staying behind with my beloved dogs and retinol. He will be driving us to the airport. We are flying directly into Miami the night before to spare me the agita I had last time when we almost missed the plane in Philadelphia. I'll disclose the hotel once we've checked out because I'm paranoid. We are not buying Evian water to be delivered to the cabin - 12 1-liter bottles = WAY too much water. Instead, I'm going to pick up a 6-pack of bottles in Miami to carry on and satisfy Mom's bottled water demands. I'm sure the complimentary C&A Gold status sherpa will help us. (disclaimer: there is no sherpa) I was raised on NJ tap water, so my body has evolved its own high-end filtering system. I pre-rented a floating mat at CocoCay. But with the construction on CocoCay's South Beach we don't have the opportunity to rent a lounger for the day. For just 2 of us, dropping hundreds of dollars on a daybed or cabana isn't cost-effective.  I'm very concerned about snagging seats with an umbrella. Even though the map shows little umbrellas all over, I don't want us to scorch.  I have feelings about CocoCay. It's just ... we had the perfect day there 2 years ago before it became capital-letter Perfect Day. We're not doing the waterpark and my brother would kill me in my sleep if I hooked Mom up to a zipline. I just hope Royal Caribbean remembered that some people's perfect day entails just lying on the beach under an umbrella, drinking and eating. Other than weather, norovirus, airplane crashes, the softening of my jawline, and the ship catching on fire at sea, this is what I'm worried about. I am often wrong, so I'm hoping my wrongness streak continues.
Goals:
Flush myself down the Riptide slide. It looks to be 25 seconds long. I can do that. As long as I keep my mouth shut (tall order) I won't drown. Try a Lava Flow.  Have a FANTASTIC time. All that's left is the packing, folks.

Hi! I'm Kim! You may know me from my Enchantment of the Seas trip report 2 years ago. We're baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack!
Me: 47, cruised with Royal Caribbean 2 years ago for the first time and Disney 15 years ago. I love warm weather and palm trees. 
Mom: old enough to be my mother, cruised with Royal Caribbean 2 years ago for the first time. She also loves warm weather and palm trees.
We both love to eat. She's gluten-free, I'm gluten-full. We get along very well. 
We are Basic. We have no Star, Pinnacle, or Diamond statuses going for us. We are our own Genies. We have matching t-shirts that say "Resting Beach Face." We accept every photo op. We lose money on bingo and gambling. All of those things that experienced cruisers laugh at and wonder who they're aimed for? Us! They're aimed for us!
Our story: we took our first cruise 2 years ago because Mom had a medically crummy summer and I wanted her to look forward to something once she put in the necessary PT work. We had THE BEST TIME and at least once a week every week since she mentioned taking another cruise.
Mom: Let's take another cruise!
Me: We could do that. Or we could go back to Virginia Beach! Or find a nice place in Florida...
Mom: But then we'll have to go out and FIND food instead of just walking to a restaurant and having all the food we want. Don't you remember just grabbing the bag of chips from that stand? And there's no Solarium. And just the hotel is more money than the entire cruise and that's WITHOUT food and...
I created a monster who wants to be able to grab a bag of Sun Chips and walk away.
She wanted to take the same exact cruise again, because this time since she's back to 100% and won't have to use a cane. She's even going to the gym now. I know, right? I also know who'll be lugging our suitcases.
But our beloved Enchantment of the Seas moved to Galveston and the Navigator's 5-day doesn't include Key West. 
Mom: I don't want a smaller boat than Enchantment, though!
Me, looking at Navigator photos: I...don't think that will be a problem.
And here we are, booked on Navigator and headed to Nassau (day 2), CocoCay (day 3) and a day at sea (day 4).
What we are keeping the same:
Same ocean-view room. We were barely in it last time and I think that we'd really waste money on a larger room. Same VOOM 2-device surf and stream package.  Still not booking an excursion in Nassau; we're using a map I found online to create our own walking tour with a goal to be back on the ship for lunchtime. I might purchase a bottle of rum to bring home.  Still not booking fancy dining - we were completely happy with MDR and Windjammer last time and I'm excited to add free tacos to our lineup. Can't forget the free chips. Still not buying beverage packages - even when it goes to buy one, get one 50% off, neither of us can sustain the pace to make it break even. And we don't mind regular coffee. What we are doing differently:
I kind of fibbed about the lack of STATUS. Because we are Crown & Anchor GOLD LEVEL, baybeeeeeee! ha-HA!  We'll be strolling down deck 3 with our four points like this:

(Which is why we'll never be let into fancy lounges.)
I bought lanyards from an Etsy shop to replace the "Bristol Meyers Squib" medical conference ones we had before. They befit our GOLD status. My husband is my favorite person but NOT a tropical-loving guy so he is staying behind with my beloved dogs and retinol. He will be driving us to the airport. We are flying directly into Miami the night before to spare me the agita I had last time when we almost missed the plane in Philadelphia. I'll disclose the hotel once we've checked out because I'm paranoid. We are not buying Evian water to be delivered to the cabin - 12 1-liter bottles = WAY too much water. Instead, I'm going to pick up a 6-pack of bottles in Miami to carry on and satisfy Mom's bottled water demands. I'm sure the complimentary C&A Gold status sherpa will help us. (disclaimer: there is no sherpa) I was raised on NJ tap water, so my body has evolved its own high-end filtering system. I pre-rented a floating mat at CocoCay. But with the construction on CocoCay's South Beach we don't have the opportunity to rent a lounger for the day. For just 2 of us, dropping hundreds of dollars on a daybed or cabana isn't cost-effective.  I'm very concerned about snagging seats with an umbrella. Even though the map shows little umbrellas all over, I don't want us to scorch.  I have feelings about CocoCay. It's just ... we had the perfect day there 2 years ago before it became capital-letter Perfect Day. We're not doing the waterpark and my brother would kill me in my sleep if I hooked Mom up to a zipline. I just hope Royal Caribbean remembered that some people's perfect day entails just lying on the beach under an umbrella, drinking and eating. Other than weather, norovirus, airplane crashes, the softening of my jawline, and the ship catching on fire at sea, this is what I'm worried about. I am often wrong, so I'm hoping my wrongness streak continues.
Goals:
Flush myself down the Riptide slide. It looks to be 25 seconds long. I can do that. As long as I keep my mouth shut (tall order) I won't drown. Try a Lava Flow.  Have a FANTASTIC time. All that's left is the packing, folks.

Quite true.....But they are really heavy. What is the proper gratuity if a porter carries it for you? Can you arrange for a Royal Genie to take care of it? Will it fit through the security screening equipment? Too many unanswered questions.?

Slate, chisel and hammer.  Chiseling the bar code is the hardest part but the end products will last for thousands of years.  Just ask Moses.  

Day 3 - Osaka (taking advantage that I have cellular internet that not blocking this site like Royal WIFI).
Today we arrived our first Japanese port , time of arrival 1:30 PM , yes late but we are at port until 3am the day after ! We slept late again but around 11 am we went to the C&A party. There were around 20-30 people in the 270 were it took place. The Captain gave some information and talk about the Typhoon we passed explaining that we had to go out from port as the Chinese would not let us stay extra time. No C&A numbers were shared but for the first time the top cruiser is from China , the captain by the way is , surprise, from Norway.


There was a nice 270 screen Robot , follow some classic guitar player.  
After this show we went to eat late breakfast at the Silver dining room . We had 1 PM shore excursion so we rushed to get ready , it's the first Japanese port day so there a long imigration process. Elevators were busy so we had to wait quite a while to got on one , our meeting place was on the other side of the ship in the music hall. We arrived at 1:03 PM got our stickers and looked around , no one else with the same number , Mmm something is wrong. Asked the excursion lady what happened she said they already went down but they are still waiting for 5 more people and some one will escort us out and do not worry they are waiting for us. Asked her if it's not better that we will do our way now to the gangway so we can catch them , oh no do not worry. Now at this point I would accept that we came 3 minutes late and or we missed it and we will catch them at immigration or it would cancel, pissed , yes but hey it's our responsibility. After 15 minutes asked her again , answer was the same . Only after 30 minutes we were escorted with another group of the ship. Again asked if they are waiting , got answered that yes , sound strange to me that the groups should wait so long , it's not making any sense. We went true with imigration and custom went out to see all the excursions numbers signs beside one number , ours. Asked the excursion officers what's going on , she checked and said they went a way and she will check if they can catch them , well no. She told us we can join another tour and she will refund us the difference. The tour she offered us was basically a transport to the main  shopping street with free time. Here i started to be annoyed as if they would not told us to wait we would catch time without any issue , hey they would not even had to wait. At this point I felt that from our issue (being 3 minutes late ) it became RCL issue as something went really wrong with the process and they gave us the wrong information. I explained the officer that we came to Japan to see Japan not for shopping and why we have told to wait and not to worry, she offered us 20% off which and told nothing can be done and she do not know who told us to wait. Ok here I lost it , you see if someone from my team is messed up I will not come to my customer and explain him that it's there problem, I will take responsibility for their actions as I am there manager , I was responsible for their training and I am responsible for their actions. I guess that here was the time were I raised my voice at the shore excursion officer ( if it was one of the workers I would avoid o guess). She tried to tell me that we were more than 3 minutes late , I told her that is not true and she want we can check the exact time I was signed in to the WIFI routers in the music all (I am sure RCL IT not really keeping the router  logs  , but was sure she did knew it , but really it was 3 minutes) At that point she did some calls and what do you know found a solution. We were escorted to the taxi stand  and drove to meet the group at the first point which was some temple. We have rushed with a private guide to the temple and catch up the bus. Lesson learn, come 15 minutes before the indicate  time, not to trust RC representative, never give up. Again please do not get me wrong , I do not think anyone should have waited for us but they should give the right information and not stuck us waiting at the meeting point saying "do not worry"
The temple was small but nice

, out next stop was the Osaka castle . It is a huge area of that contains gurdenes , park and the castle which also serve as a museum and a observation (at it's 8th floor). It was very rainy do we focused on the inside.

The old gate

The moat 

New times new signs 

The castle



The small museum

Osaka landscape from the tower





The visit was around two hours before we went back to the ship we were we first went to buy some shampoo in the adjust shopping mall to resolve the IFly hair incident from yesterday. Adjust to the docking place you also have a huge big wheel, will come to that later , as you know a big wheel that appears at the first act will return before the end ?

Haha...do you guys comp me trips if I work for this blog? ;)
***
(apologies to Captain Toni for calling him Chef Toni yesterday.)

Day 4: I woke up on my own at 7am, which is good because we had to clear immigration at 9:30. It would have been 11:15 based on our muster station, but since we had an 11am excursion, we got to leave earlier. We got dressed and headed to our beloved windjammer for breakfast. Mom got her usual gluten free grub, I got "fruit" (chocolate covered bananas), some sweet bread with berries in it and sugar on top, a grilled tomato (good and I think something I can do at home), carved ham (apologies to yesterday's pig) and coffee. And mimosas, of course. After that we took our second cups of coffee to the pool area to watch us dock at Key West.   We went to MDR at 9:30, and were trooped up the stairs, across the ship to the theater, and down those stairs. Our group was puzzled, but compliant.  The very nice agent looked at our documents and cleared us to leave the ship. (background music: Neil Diamond's "America")
I chose the Conch Train Tour for our excursion because it was hop-on, hop-off and that was an easy way to get Mom around town. Plus, it looks like a cute little train! What I didn't realize (I probably should have researched it more instead of gazing lovingly at port webcams) was that there is a 50 minute tour ride between Stop A and Stop B, AND that Stop B was only a few blocks away from Stop A. We were driven right by the Southernmost point buoy without the opportunity to hop off. We hopped off at B and decided to walk down Duval Street in the 85+ degree weather to the Southernmost point buoy and then walk back to Train stop C to continue on. YES my mother is still walking slowly with a cane, NO I didn't think this out, and YES I stink at map skills.
My first stop was at a shack that claimed to have Best Conch Fritters. I had a 3-piece and I can verify that they are the best conch fritters I ever had. We meandered down Duval Street into and out of shops. Sloppy Joe's was full, so I mugged at the Duval Street webcam instead. My productivity is going to improve 100% once I get back to work because my second monitor will no longer have 5 webcam feeds running on it all day long. We saw the oldest (still-standing) house in Key West. I squeed at the Margaritaville restaurant but we didn't eat there because I was full of chocolate covered bananas and conch fritters. Instead, I bought a shirt with a parrot and "it's 5:00 somewhere - Key West" on it because I excel at being a tourist.  After about an hour of walking, I brought up Google Maps and had my expectations reset as to how quickly we'd get to the buoy. It was literally closer to go back to Stop B and ride down to Stop C. We turned around and walked back, hopped back on the train and rode to Stop C at Truman and Duval Streets, which was still a good 5 blocks away from the buoy. GOTTA GET THAT PICTURE!
Wouldn't you know, that the buoy was repainted yesterday (Wednesday) because of the damage it sustained from Hurricane Irma? The colors are painted onto it but the words haven't been redone yet. So we had our picture taken in front of the plain buoy.  I smiled for the webcam and considered the walk back to Truman/Duval. And then we saw him. Like an angel sent from above to save my mother from her daughter's bad decisions...a young man with a pedicab. It was very hot, and I ran out of my liter bottle of water.
He took us back to Mallory Square and it was a gorgeous, breezy ride. Just amazing. We tipped him well. We bought touristy things at the open-air shops (more non-magnet souvenirs for the nephew and a wooden Key West sign for me, and I don't know where I'm going to put this thing) there and called our trip to Key West good. I didn't have an alcoholic beverage or a slice of pie, but I loved the artsy, beachy, slightly drunken vibe there. I'd like to spend 3-4 days there in the future, drinking at sticky bars and listening to music. I'd have rather been docked at Key West until midnight instead of Nassau.
If I had to do it again (I hope I get the chance to do this again!) I would take the Trolley tour instead of the Conch Train because the trolley tour had more stops around town. 
My clothes were stuck to me, so I tossed on the sundress I wore on the first day because it's the coolest non-swimsuit item I brought. We missed Windjammer lunch but Windjammer afternoon snack time is just about the same thing. I had a hot dog and a fruit crumble drowned in chocolate sauce and then we returned to our solarium lounge chairs.  I wonder how much it would cost to renovate my living room into a mini Solarium?
We went to the photo shop to make our tough decisions about photos. It wasn't open yet so genius me used the kiosk. I ordered the digital 4-photo package, put in my stateroom, prepared to slice 20 photos down to 4 and ... it thanked me for my order.  Uh. When do I choose the photos? I guess I'll find out after dinner.
Bingo was starting up it the Centrum. I smugly prepared to walk by until my Bingo Boo JP announced that the jackpot was $300 and it was only a $25 package instead of $33. Grrrrrrrrrrrrr. We bought 2 packages, got the third one for free, and lost AGAIN. Bingo is gambling. Don't be like me. By then it was 5:45. Mom went to get a sweater and I watched us pull away from Key West. Sadly. Wistfully. Lip-quiveringly. 
Our tablemates didn't come to MDR that night, so again we had the table to ourselves. I had French Onion soup which was oh my goodness so good. I could have had 3 more bowls and skipped everything else. Instead I had a turkey dinner and carrot cake. Mom had shrimp cocktail, Angus beef sliders without the buns, and a gluten free sugar free chocolate cappuccino mousse. Ajay and Jesus (assistant waiter) wished us well and said they'd miss us. We were THIS CLOSE to breaking down into ugly cries but pulled it together.
After dinner we went back to the cabin to pack. Sadly. Wistfully. We were almost done when I saw that it was 8pm. Parade of Flags! We need to see this! We dropped everything and fled back to the Centrum.
I thought this would be the hokiest event EVER. It really looked like it would be. I rolled my eyes as my GenX people do. Whatever. Let's watch this. You know what's coming, right? Because you've all seen this before.
It. Was. So. Fun. We really enjoyed the dancing interludes and the love and pride the crew has for the countries they are from. (USA's dance was to Cotton Eyed Joe which, okay fine.) When the Cruise Director Michelle said if the over 800 crew members from over 50-some countries can work together and be a family, so could we all, I got a little choked up. Let's all be nice to each other. We all want food, love, warmth - that should be more than enough to overlook whether or not I voted for that candidate or that the lady over there wears a headscarf or that other weird person thinks chocolate covered bananas are awful. I'm glad we took the time to see it and still feel guilty for mocking it prematurely.
We finished packing, put the bags out, and went back to the photo store. Turns out that the digital package is a computer program that allows me to pick 4 photos to download once I go home. Perfect. The best hard decision is a postponed one. After that good news we went to the Spotlight Lounge to watch another round of karaoke. I collected my final drink of the day, the Citrus Cooler. We had 14 fantastic performances and one guy who drank too much and wanted attention. I will listen to people sing off key all night as long as they're trying in earnest. But when Drunky McLookAtMe tries to be cute, I'm done. On the positive side, there was a young German couple who sang "Stumbling In" ("Our love is alive, and so we begin...") perfectly and got a standing ovation. When we went back to our cabin, they were rebroadcasting the Parade of Flags on the RCI channel so we watched it again. Mom told me this was the best vacation she ever had and thanked me for planning it and I cried because I'm a giant baby. 
It was a great end to a long day and a beautiful cruise.
Day 4: A++

Day 5 - the Saddening: 
Since our departure time was slated for 9:10am, I set my alarm for 7. We were awake before that though, because at 2am I realized I packed my keys into the big suitcase that I left out last night and what if the bag doesn't make it to Philadelphia and my keys aren't there and how will I get home and I don't want to call my husband and say the keys are lost and .. and ... and... That kind of put a damper on my sleep quality for the rest of the night.   At 6:30 Mom and I sat in the dark in our cabin as we glided by Miami's pink and blue lights and docked for the last time of our cruise. SIGH. 
Mom went up to the Windjammer to get a table (good plan, it was crowded) and I went to pick up my photo DVD and get boarding passes printed out.
When I got up to the Windjammer it was bedlam. As God is my witness it was like nobody was going to EVER eat again. People were running and grabbing and stacking plates high with food. It's a freaking hashbrown, people - they sell them at McDonald's. Get a grip. Of course with all of the chaos, people were spilling things left and right and the floor was dive-bar-level sticky. Mom had her usual gluten-free grub. Two truths and a lie: To fit in I had 3 pieces of that sweet bread, 5 pieces of chocolate covered banana and did a keg stand at the orange juice dispenser. 
After that we walked the pool deck one last time. We went to the Spotlight Lounge at 9:00 and at 9:10 we were processed off of the ship and into the terminal. Something happened with Customs and we waited an extra 30 minutes before being able to get downstairs to the baggage carousels. I found the bags without a problem, and we got into the other line to be cleared by the Customs agent. Which made us late for the shuttle from the port to Ft. Lauderdale airport, but gave me time to feel through my bag and find my keys. All of the fruit that people collected during the morning's breakfastpocolypse ended up abandoned.
The ground transportation area of the terminal was loud and crowded and chaotic. We ended up on the 10:30 Miami Port Express shuttle.  Major props to them, because they kept in touch with me though all the delays. The FLL -> MCO -> PHL flights went without a hitch, and on the flight I typed out Day 4's blog post and scrolled through pictures. Sadly. Wistfully.
Got back to PHL, found our bags, shoved onto the Economy Parking shuttle, got to the car (oh crap I only have 1/8 tank gas left thanks Past Kim for leaving me this mess), stopped at the nearest gas station (Wawa, and this Jersey girl DOES pump gas when she has to), headed back to Jersey, dropped off Mom, went home. And here I am, filled up on husband hugs and on the sofa with two happy, snoring spaniels in my lap.  The suitcase needs to be unpacked but I am tan and happy and sleepy and ... sober.
Day 5: B-. Points off for being told we had to get off of the ship.
****
THANK YOU for all the compliments.  This was a fun exercise to help me remember and document this amazing trip. And also it's my thank you gift back to this community. I have a rough list of of takeaways that I'll come back and post in a few days.

Thank you all for the kind words! I'm glad you're enjoying it. We are having a blast. 
Day 2: I woke up with a start at 6:30am because I was going to be late for work, which of course I was not. I peeked out the window and saw tiny glimmering lights in the distance. "Self," I said. "It's time to go see the sunrise." With Mom as my willing accomplice, we put on some appropriate duds and headed up to deck 9. There were clouds on the horizon so we didn't get the full effect, but it was lovely nonetheless. As we approached Nassau, I saw a castle up ahead that turned out to be the Atlantis resort.  Well, since we were awake, may as well have breakfast. And that's how we ended up in the Windjammer at 7:15am. I had eggs, bacon, a grilled tomato (good!), and a chocolate covered banana. Mom hit up the gluten free area and ended up with eggs, potatoes, and fruit. We had mimosas because WHY NOT??
We had no excursions planned because I wanted us to take it easy. But how could we skip the opportunity to set foot in Nassau? After breakfast we left the ship (had the gangway photo taken because we are cruise noobs) and headed to shop. We are tourists so we stuck to the touristy area. I won't lie, being loudly solicited for hair braiding and taxis as soon as we left the pier was a bit of culture shock, but whatever. Everyone was nice, just loud. We shopped on Bay Street. I picked up some gifts for coworkers (spoiler: magnets), Mom bought some gifts for friends (spoiler: more magnets), and something for my nephew (not magnets. He's 3 1/2.) at Del Sol. I bought color changing nail polish that is a gorgeous pink in sunlight and a jaundiced yellow when I'm not in sunlight. I spend my days in a cubicle, so in retrospect that was not the best choice.
We were back on the ship in time for lunch at the Windjammer, which was very empty today. Mom had a bunless hamburger, some fries and fruit. I had Caribbean curry chicken with coconut and cranberries, some mashed potatoes, a dollop of penne alfredo, a giant piece of sourdough bread, a slice of peach pie and a plop of bread pudding. As you can tell, I've taken to the concept of a cruise buffet like a duck to water.
Speaking of water.... Mom told me to order bottled water for the room. I idly picked the 12-pack of 1-liter bottles but I'm an idiot who has no idea how much a liter actually is. We have a LOT of water here for just two people. Caveat emptor when buying water.
Next up: POOL TIME. I suited up and headed to deck 9 while Mom chilled in the cabin for a bit. It was ridiculously hot, and even the drink of the day (Portside Punch) failed to cool me off. The movie playing was the live action remake of Beauty and the Beast, which I have serious and angry feelings about. Mom came up to join me and we (along with 2 liters of water) moved to the Solarium which was quite a piece of paradise. 
Back to the room to shower. (I read someone on these boards who said there is no soap in the cabins. We have bar soap and some sort of squirty soap in the shower.) Tonight is formal night. Dinner is at 6 and skipping bingo is not an option, so we suited up in our LBDs and were the most fancy-pants ladies at the 5pm bingo session. Those who brought receipts from the previous day's bingo session received even more cards and I really have a problem. I won another free tablet full of cards before the game began and I got down to waiting for one number and ... STILL LOST. Bah.
Formal night dress code: Don't sweat it. Some people were in super fancy duds, some people were in nice-casual duds like us, and some people were in MDR in shorts and tees. I wore a black dress, silver heels, and a black and white Kate Spade scarf as a pashmina. I concluded that I spent far too much time worrying about how to dress.
Off to MDR for dinner. Our friends from last night had a sunset cruise excursion, and the other ladies never returned so Mom and I had the table to ourselves. Mom had another amazing gluten-free night: shrimp cocktail, chicken breast au jus, and coconut rice pudding.  I had a chilled banana rum soup as an appetizer. You could have just put a fancy umbrella and a straw in it and handed it to me as I sunned on the deck today. For dinner I had pan-fried corvina (a white fish I never heard of before) and dessert was a chocolate mousse-like bar. Our server is Ajay and he is the best.
Mom: "I don't know how I'm going to go back to tossing chicken tenders in the oven."
Me: "I think I'm buzzed from this soup."
After dinner (and numerous formal night photos because we are cruise noobs) we settled into the R bar for the captain's reception. I spied that Super Mario guy at a "reserved" table and because of Michael Poole's live blog from this past weekend, I knew who he was. I enjoyed the reception, especially that each officer had their own walk-on music like baseball players. Mario was called up and given a bottle of wine because he has 7009 nights logged on Royal Caribbean ships. This is Mario's last time on the Enchantment -- he's moving to the Freedom. I tried to get Mom to hook up with him to see if we could glom some points from him (or at the very least that bottle of wine), but she was not willing to take one for the team. Whatever, Mom. I drowned my sorrow in a Captain's special peach champagne drink because the soup buzz was wearing off.
Music this evening was from Mood Icons, a 3-man cover band with a repertoire of American sing-along songs. Friends in Low Places! Margaritaville! Wonderful Tonight! Sweet Little Sixteen!
We asked Guest Services about the food at Coco Cay tomorrow and was sent back to talk to the head waiter at MDR. He's going to make sure Mom has a gluten-free bun at the lunch area. Everyone is so nice and accomodating. We hit the stores on deck 6 and I bought a non-magnet gift for my nephew. There's a Roxy sundress I'm lusting over but it's $64.50 and ... nah. I'll by myself something to wear in Key West.
After going from deck 3 to 4 to 6 to 5 to 4 to 6 again, my feet were howling. Back down to 3 to change shoes, and then we called it a night shortly after. We are docked in Nassau until midnight so I won't get to see us leave. That's a bummer. I don't know why we're here so long - we are the last cruise ship in port. There was a snail towel sculpture waiting for us in the room. I like it here. :)
Day 2: A++

Noticed they were doing lifeboat training today, so I bopped down to deck 5 to make an inquisitive nuisance of myself.
Putt-putt-putt... I’m a lifeboat!  Putt-putt-putt... 

Look at how spacious I am!  You and 369 of your closest friends fit in me!  Hope you wore deodorant.

This is my friend.  We have our ups and downs.

Not sure who this guy is, but he likes bossing me around.

The Star Class lifeboats have a wet bar and priority boarding.  Keep that SeaPass handy.
 
 

Haha...do you guys comp me trips if I work for this blog? ;)
***
(apologies to Captain Toni for calling him Chef Toni yesterday.)

Day 4: I woke up on my own at 7am, which is good because we had to clear immigration at 9:30. It would have been 11:15 based on our muster station, but since we had an 11am excursion, we got to leave earlier. We got dressed and headed to our beloved windjammer for breakfast. Mom got her usual gluten free grub, I got "fruit" (chocolate covered bananas), some sweet bread with berries in it and sugar on top, a grilled tomato (good and I think something I can do at home), carved ham (apologies to yesterday's pig) and coffee. And mimosas, of course. After that we took our second cups of coffee to the pool area to watch us dock at Key West.   We went to MDR at 9:30, and were trooped up the stairs, across the ship to the theater, and down those stairs. Our group was puzzled, but compliant.  The very nice agent looked at our documents and cleared us to leave the ship. (background music: Neil Diamond's "America")
I chose the Conch Train Tour for our excursion because it was hop-on, hop-off and that was an easy way to get Mom around town. Plus, it looks like a cute little train! What I didn't realize (I probably should have researched it more instead of gazing lovingly at port webcams) was that there is a 50 minute tour ride between Stop A and Stop B, AND that Stop B was only a few blocks away from Stop A. We were driven right by the Southernmost point buoy without the opportunity to hop off. We hopped off at B and decided to walk down Duval Street in the 85+ degree weather to the Southernmost point buoy and then walk back to Train stop C to continue on. YES my mother is still walking slowly with a cane, NO I didn't think this out, and YES I stink at map skills.
My first stop was at a shack that claimed to have Best Conch Fritters. I had a 3-piece and I can verify that they are the best conch fritters I ever had. We meandered down Duval Street into and out of shops. Sloppy Joe's was full, so I mugged at the Duval Street webcam instead. My productivity is going to improve 100% once I get back to work because my second monitor will no longer have 5 webcam feeds running on it all day long. We saw the oldest (still-standing) house in Key West. I squeed at the Margaritaville restaurant but we didn't eat there because I was full of chocolate covered bananas and conch fritters. Instead, I bought a shirt with a parrot and "it's 5:00 somewhere - Key West" on it because I excel at being a tourist.  After about an hour of walking, I brought up Google Maps and had my expectations reset as to how quickly we'd get to the buoy. It was literally closer to go back to Stop B and ride down to Stop C. We turned around and walked back, hopped back on the train and rode to Stop C at Truman and Duval Streets, which was still a good 5 blocks away from the buoy. GOTTA GET THAT PICTURE!
Wouldn't you know, that the buoy was repainted yesterday (Wednesday) because of the damage it sustained from Hurricane Irma? The colors are painted onto it but the words haven't been redone yet. So we had our picture taken in front of the plain buoy.  I smiled for the webcam and considered the walk back to Truman/Duval. And then we saw him. Like an angel sent from above to save my mother from her daughter's bad decisions...a young man with a pedicab. It was very hot, and I ran out of my liter bottle of water.
He took us back to Mallory Square and it was a gorgeous, breezy ride. Just amazing. We tipped him well. We bought touristy things at the open-air shops (more non-magnet souvenirs for the nephew and a wooden Key West sign for me, and I don't know where I'm going to put this thing) there and called our trip to Key West good. I didn't have an alcoholic beverage or a slice of pie, but I loved the artsy, beachy, slightly drunken vibe there. I'd like to spend 3-4 days there in the future, drinking at sticky bars and listening to music. I'd have rather been docked at Key West until midnight instead of Nassau.
If I had to do it again (I hope I get the chance to do this again!) I would take the Trolley tour instead of the Conch Train because the trolley tour had more stops around town. 
My clothes were stuck to me, so I tossed on the sundress I wore on the first day because it's the coolest non-swimsuit item I brought. We missed Windjammer lunch but Windjammer afternoon snack time is just about the same thing. I had a hot dog and a fruit crumble drowned in chocolate sauce and then we returned to our solarium lounge chairs.  I wonder how much it would cost to renovate my living room into a mini Solarium?
We went to the photo shop to make our tough decisions about photos. It wasn't open yet so genius me used the kiosk. I ordered the digital 4-photo package, put in my stateroom, prepared to slice 20 photos down to 4 and ... it thanked me for my order.  Uh. When do I choose the photos? I guess I'll find out after dinner.
Bingo was starting up it the Centrum. I smugly prepared to walk by until my Bingo Boo JP announced that the jackpot was $300 and it was only a $25 package instead of $33. Grrrrrrrrrrrrr. We bought 2 packages, got the third one for free, and lost AGAIN. Bingo is gambling. Don't be like me. By then it was 5:45. Mom went to get a sweater and I watched us pull away from Key West. Sadly. Wistfully. Lip-quiveringly. 
Our tablemates didn't come to MDR that night, so again we had the table to ourselves. I had French Onion soup which was oh my goodness so good. I could have had 3 more bowls and skipped everything else. Instead I had a turkey dinner and carrot cake. Mom had shrimp cocktail, Angus beef sliders without the buns, and a gluten free sugar free chocolate cappuccino mousse. Ajay and Jesus (assistant waiter) wished us well and said they'd miss us. We were THIS CLOSE to breaking down into ugly cries but pulled it together.
After dinner we went back to the cabin to pack. Sadly. Wistfully. We were almost done when I saw that it was 8pm. Parade of Flags! We need to see this! We dropped everything and fled back to the Centrum.
I thought this would be the hokiest event EVER. It really looked like it would be. I rolled my eyes as my GenX people do. Whatever. Let's watch this. You know what's coming, right? Because you've all seen this before.
It. Was. So. Fun. We really enjoyed the dancing interludes and the love and pride the crew has for the countries they are from. (USA's dance was to Cotton Eyed Joe which, okay fine.) When the Cruise Director Michelle said if the over 800 crew members from over 50-some countries can work together and be a family, so could we all, I got a little choked up. Let's all be nice to each other. We all want food, love, warmth - that should be more than enough to overlook whether or not I voted for that candidate or that the lady over there wears a headscarf or that other weird person thinks chocolate covered bananas are awful. I'm glad we took the time to see it and still feel guilty for mocking it prematurely.
We finished packing, put the bags out, and went back to the photo store. Turns out that the digital package is a computer program that allows me to pick 4 photos to download once I go home. Perfect. The best hard decision is a postponed one. After that good news we went to the Spotlight Lounge to watch another round of karaoke. I collected my final drink of the day, the Citrus Cooler. We had 14 fantastic performances and one guy who drank too much and wanted attention. I will listen to people sing off key all night as long as they're trying in earnest. But when Drunky McLookAtMe tries to be cute, I'm done. On the positive side, there was a young German couple who sang "Stumbling In" ("Our love is alive, and so we begin...") perfectly and got a standing ovation. When we went back to our cabin, they were rebroadcasting the Parade of Flags on the RCI channel so we watched it again. Mom told me this was the best vacation she ever had and thanked me for planning it and I cried because I'm a giant baby. 
It was a great end to a long day and a beautiful cruise.
Day 4: A++

Day 5 - the Saddening: 
Since our departure time was slated for 9:10am, I set my alarm for 7. We were awake before that though, because at 2am I realized I packed my keys into the big suitcase that I left out last night and what if the bag doesn't make it to Philadelphia and my keys aren't there and how will I get home and I don't want to call my husband and say the keys are lost and .. and ... and... That kind of put a damper on my sleep quality for the rest of the night.   At 6:30 Mom and I sat in the dark in our cabin as we glided by Miami's pink and blue lights and docked for the last time of our cruise. SIGH. 
Mom went up to the Windjammer to get a table (good plan, it was crowded) and I went to pick up my photo DVD and get boarding passes printed out.
When I got up to the Windjammer it was bedlam. As God is my witness it was like nobody was going to EVER eat again. People were running and grabbing and stacking plates high with food. It's a freaking hashbrown, people - they sell them at McDonald's. Get a grip. Of course with all of the chaos, people were spilling things left and right and the floor was dive-bar-level sticky. Mom had her usual gluten-free grub. Two truths and a lie: To fit in I had 3 pieces of that sweet bread, 5 pieces of chocolate covered banana and did a keg stand at the orange juice dispenser. 
After that we walked the pool deck one last time. We went to the Spotlight Lounge at 9:00 and at 9:10 we were processed off of the ship and into the terminal. Something happened with Customs and we waited an extra 30 minutes before being able to get downstairs to the baggage carousels. I found the bags without a problem, and we got into the other line to be cleared by the Customs agent. Which made us late for the shuttle from the port to Ft. Lauderdale airport, but gave me time to feel through my bag and find my keys. All of the fruit that people collected during the morning's breakfastpocolypse ended up abandoned.
The ground transportation area of the terminal was loud and crowded and chaotic. We ended up on the 10:30 Miami Port Express shuttle.  Major props to them, because they kept in touch with me though all the delays. The FLL -> MCO -> PHL flights went without a hitch, and on the flight I typed out Day 4's blog post and scrolled through pictures. Sadly. Wistfully.
Got back to PHL, found our bags, shoved onto the Economy Parking shuttle, got to the car (oh crap I only have 1/8 tank gas left thanks Past Kim for leaving me this mess), stopped at the nearest gas station (Wawa, and this Jersey girl DOES pump gas when she has to), headed back to Jersey, dropped off Mom, went home. And here I am, filled up on husband hugs and on the sofa with two happy, snoring spaniels in my lap.  The suitcase needs to be unpacked but I am tan and happy and sleepy and ... sober.
Day 5: B-. Points off for being told we had to get off of the ship.
****
THANK YOU for all the compliments.  This was a fun exercise to help me remember and document this amazing trip. And also it's my thank you gift back to this community. I have a rough list of of takeaways that I'll come back and post in a few days.

Well, we are sitting in the airport to go home. Time to get cought up on this. 
Following dinner we dropped the kids off at Adventure Ocean and Heather and I grabbed a drink and wandered around the ship. Heather wanted to play bingo......so I wanted to play bingo. We lost...... oh well. Adventure Ocean was done at 10pm so we grabbed the kids and it was time for bed. 

Finally the family is up, breakfast from Windjammer is eaten and onto Coco Cay!

Looking back at the ships

Don't scare the mermaids!!! ( I hear they bite)

Ahhhhhh relaxing in the cabana. We were in #8 which was preassigned. I forgot to take a picture but many have been posted before. All of them are new. They changed the design. Now all of them have a front porch vs a side porch. Each one comes equiped with a ceiling fan, power outlet, a comfy couch perfect for naps (personally tested) Two side chairs, 4 lounge chairs, two floating beach mats, two sets of snorkel gear. There is a table like thing that has a locking compartment for valuables and a cooler stocked with cold bottled water. 
Contrary to some other comments, we had a cabana attendant who gave us a buzzer for us to call her any time we neaded something. She got our lunch and drinks for us any time we needed something. 
Again, per a suggestion from @Matt, we had the crispy chicken sandwich and added mozerella sticks.....it was yummy.
So were these

My kids spent a lot of time here because they weren't tall enough for the regular water park

They were perfectly content playing here and swiming on the beach.
I had a visitor while keeping an eye on the kids here

We also had this guy

Lydia wanted to make friends with him.......she...did....not......

After a great day here we headed back to the ship. Like other people have said, I loved the additions to Perfect Day. I have been here twice before and still get the island vibe. The island absolutely manages crowds well. Even though we had a cabana, just walking around I could see that there were plenty of loungers for everyone. Even with two ships there were tons of empty seats. We had no issues finding seats at splash away bay to watch over the kids. Bar service was quick when I was getting a drink on my own. I will gladly come back and look forward to coming with the kids when they are bigger and can do the slides. 

It’s cruise day!!!
Zero days till we go on a cruise!
zero days till we go!
The sun has come up, let’s head to the port, zero days till we go on a cruise!!!
(thanks @JLMoran)

Me leaving work this morning since I am now on vacation!! Wheels up tomorrow, I'll start packing soon I guess..

We were on The Navigator Sept 16th-20th and Mario was there in his cabana talking with all the ladies and on his laptop.

Thank you for this! The Enchantment will always have my heart because she was my first RC ship.  I also am a Jersey native so I appreciated not only your take but your amazing hair band/cruiser mashup username.

Howdy Folks!!
In six days we will be heading to the mediocre city of Galveston, Texas for an adventure of nominal proportion. This is cruise #26 for me and first out of the Port of Galveston.
Who:
Me, My beautiful wife Brenda, and our 20 month old son Zander or Z as he's been nicknamed....Oh and this is his 3rd cruise. Side note... I am the OCD planner in the family and use to plan vacations down to the foot step....almost. Now I/we have plans but nothing in concrete with a flexible timeline.
 
Why this cruise?
Research of course...We had Symphony booked for last month for a business conference (We flip houses in San Antonio as a side hustle) but weren't able to swing the massive final payment in time so we rebooked Enchantment for the five nighter, so not to lose all the deposit from Symphony, and sill make to Diamond (only needed 5 points) this year....everyone needs goals.
Also...I feel Galveston has not been represented much and typically has been given a bad rap (I'm from Jersey and don't care 'that' much... but still). Galveston is going though a revitalization and I'll cover that further dawn and next week when we get to town.
...and even more so the cruise is going to the 'up and coming port' of Progreso, Mexico. It a little town up the coast from Cancun, on the north shore of the Yucatan. I hear the pier is 4 MILES LONG!!!!
 
Itinerary!
Day 1: Galveston, Texas
Day 2: at Sea
Day 3: Progreso, Mx
Day 4: Cozumel, Mx
Day 5: sea day
Day 6: Galveston, Texas
 
Cabin:
We are slumming it and maybe a little over cautious. We have a bare bones Inside GTY stateroom on deck two (Never been on deck two). Inside because it is least expensive, balconies were twice the price, and with a 20 month, who is into everything, it scares me that he may find his way on to the balcony.
 
Excursions:
We ae not big excursion people. The Mrs. loves the shopping aspect of cruising and not a fan of the cattle call that sometimes happens with group activities. This time around with a new port to explore, Progreso, we are just going to explore the city and hit the beach. Z loves the water. It is my understanding it is a brisk one hour walk just to get off the 4 mile ship pier. a shuttle bus is provided free so we will be taking that with concern that we will not have a baby seat. Once in town, we will explore the shops along the beach and hit the Corona Beach Club...There is an excursion for this place BUT all the reviews I see say it is a waste of money. It consists of a shuttle ride and two chairs and an umbrella for $35 pp.  The shuttle is free and you can go to the beach for free too. An umbrella and chairs are negotiable I'm sure.  Something is fishy. I'll ask at the excursion desk...maybe.  My understanding that the locals can be extremely pushy with their wares that are set up along the walkways at the port and beach areas.
Bing map of the pier.

This will be probably my 10th trip to Cozumel and we have done all there is to do there from buying to much jewelry to Senor Frogs and Carlos and Charlie's to swimming with the dolphins & Mayan ruins. With advice I received from y'all we are going to hit up Nachi Cocom at $55.00 per adult and Z will be free of charge. Unlimited drinks, 4 course meal... I am very excited to visit here especially knowing they limit the number of guests to 130 per day (I'll believe it when I see it)
http://www.cozumelnachicocom.com/
Extras:
In my older younger years I am not the big drinker as I use to be and have opted for the Soda Package. We will bring the allotted wine on board that we love from Lake Ridge Winery near @Matt place in Central Florida. As much as everybody LOVES the WindJammier on embarkation day is blows my anxiety off the charts. That whole part of the day where EVERYBODY is clustered in the Centrum/Royal Promenade/Esplanade & the WindJammier drives me a little nutty when I should be relaxing. Ok...focus...I went ahead and pre-booked Chops for lunch to hopefully avoid the whole waiting for 1 o'clock for the staterooms to be ready crowd dealio. Our little guy loves steak and since he's 20 months he can order for free of the kid's menu and help daddy with his ribeye or filet and maybe mommy's salmon. I also pre-ordered some branded RC toys for Z for a surprise for him.
 
Pre Game:
We will be taking the 3+ hours drive from San Antonio to the port area the day before and staying that a quirky looking hotel adjacent to the two cruise terminals aka terminal one and terminal two... The Harbor House at pier 21.  https://www.harborhousepier21.com/. Granted this hotel is owned by Wyndam and the Mrs. likes to do 'local' things, yet this hotel appears to have a mom and pop charm to it. we will walk the two blocks the next day to the terminal. 
We are big 80's rock fans (8 Monster of Rock cruises under our belts) so we will be stopping at the Hard Rock Café in Houston (Right off the interstate) for lunch, on the way, to break up the ride for the little guy and hit a one off restaurant called Shark Shack (unless I get vetoed) for dinner. Side note...Landry's OWNS the food and Beverage industry in Galveston. (Landry's Rainforest Café, Cadillac Bar, Fish Tales, Kemah Pier, Bubba Gump even SaltGrass) we want to eat local fare and enjoy fresh local seafood, and we want to avoid that Landry's chain food...be aware. We will be parking overnight at the onsite parking for the one night fee and leaving the car at the Harbor House's sister hotel, the Galvez Hotel, for free parking during our cruise. I will take the car there day of and they have a free shuttle to take me back to the terminal. I will go solo to retrieve the car upon return.
I have been studying the port and the surround area for months. I go to Google maps and tour the streets and read reviews (with a grain of salt) to lay out my plan of attack of Galveston.
I will be Periscoping our trip the day before and up to sail away day of. I typically put the phone away and do not get the internet package...1. because I'm cheat and 2. I like the disconnect aspect of cruising. I an MOTELYBRUE on periscope.
the link below is a PowerPoint of the master Plan for the harbor area. You will see the plans for the new terminal 3 at Pier 10. Notice the ship that is placed in the rendering is an OASIS CLASS SHIP!!!!! Looks like the Texas market is growing!!
https://www.portofgalveston.com/DocumentCenter/View/2607/Strategic-Master-Plan-Preliminary-Draft-Presentation-Website
Notice upper right Oasis Class!!

 
This is how close the Harbor House is from the Whale Tail Cruise terminal... RCCL is one block behind.

Strategic-Master-Plan-Preliminary-Draft-Presentation-Website.pdf
The Landry's family of restaurants

Cruise Day 1
 
It’s Time!  Having a toddler is always an adventure let alone traveling with one. Typically, I would not set an alarm on cruise day but guess who was up at 5:30 AM.  I checked the Galveston Web cam and chat feed and Enchantment was on it’s way into the channel.  I headed out to the pier and watch my ship come in.  It took roughly 45 minutes for it to make it to the dock. I will post the periscope link once I find it.
 
https://www.pscp.tv/w/1ZkKzADzdwdxv?t=3s
 
A little side note, yesterday Aug 27, as per reported on RCBlog.com Enchantment was having propulsion issues. It was very confusing. Matt reported the issue but Royal made no mention of it on the website. The Enchantment Aug 28 2018 Facebook page said nothing and nobody on the page confirmed that they received any email about port time changes or issues of any sort. I didn’t get any email either.  Very Odd?!.
 
Plan of execution
 
Out the door at 9:30 Drop wife and son at port with luggage Drive car to sister hotel for free parking Take hotel free shuttle to port Get inside and check in Total time 1 Hour
 

 
 

 
 
The waiting area was a little convoluted, but nothing to complain about. It seemed folks just sat wherever regardless of C&A status. Terminal is nice. No real difference from a Florida terminal. We approached the check in desk with only one couple in front of us. Galveston only has a separate check in line for Suite and Pinnacle folks. At 10:30 AM it didn’t matter.  We boarded exactly at 10:57. It must have been high tide for I have never seen a gangway ramp as steep as I seen today. Poor wheelchair pushers ☹ .  First item of business R-Bar  to take the edge off with a Texas Tea, and casual walk to Chops for lunch. I had made reservations for 11:30  and paid for it a few months back (as per @Matt advice to break Up the cost of the vacation).  Arrival time 11:26 and was told Chops does not open until 12 noon. Not happy!! & HUNGRY BABY ALERT!!.  We took a quick tour of the ship and made it back for noon lunch
 
Lunch:
 
Chop’s Grill.
 
Me:
                Wedge Salad with Ranch not Blue Cheese
                6oz Filet Medium
                Key Lime Meringue Pie
Wife:
                Charred  Beef Carpaccio
                Scottish salmon Steak
                Apple Pie
Zander:
                Ate the side of Mac N Chz, some French fries and some of daddy’s steak.
 
We ordered ALL the side dishes. Inside info that they let you do. I tried to remember to take pictures. I remembered…sometimes.
 

 
 
 







 
Sail away Periscope 
https://www.pscp.tv/w/cEBA-Tk2ODQ4MTJ8MXJteFBYYUVFUHl4TlHaJLhAP0HV4laJqxU1sF4shmuHUiClVYD9vyJAEbYr?t=1s
 
Our stateroom was ready shortly after lunch and were greeted by the cup for the soda pkg, chocolate chip cookies and 4 bottles for water all complimentary from either C&A or our TA. Couple things needed attention. One  water was delivered for my CPAP machine but no extension cord, the beds were not pushed together, amenities that we order for the baby were not in the room upon arrival, no crib that was requested by email beforehand and we needed the ladder for the bunks removed from the room. They were the first thing the baby ran to.  None of these were any big deal and were taken care of immediately by Humberto our steward.
 
With my wife being pregnant she tends to nap often. Zander likes his naps too. So they did exactly that then I took Zander up to the kiddie splash zone on deck 9.
 
This is my first time ever having early dining.  My wife pitched a fit in September that we had late seating for dinner. Even though 5:30 is a typical dinnertime on land, on a cruise it is too early. It is  rush to get to the MDR on time and interferes with shows, activities, and being in port, and especially today when we had lunch close to 1pm. With late dinner you can snack at the Windjammier or Park Café for a roast beef sandwich.
 
Dinner:
 
MDR 5:30pm
 
We have an incredible wait staff. Michael from the Philippines and his assistant Arroyo (sp) and Head Waiter Petar. I helps crew to remember you, I think, When you have an adorable baby with you. No pictures of the food tonight.
 
Me:
                French Onion soup
                Classic Caesar Salad
                Prime Rib
                Royal Chocolate Cake
 
Wife:
                Classic Caesar Salad
                I don’t recall
                Sugar Free Dessert
 
Zander
                Kid’s Pizza and daddy’s Prime Rib
                Cookies
 
After dinner we took a stroll around the pool deck and headed to the room. We hit the hey early as we were all exhausted from our travels thus far. Tomorrow. Day 2 Sea Day
 
 
               
                PICTURES TO FOLLOW SHORTLY
 
 

Cruise Day 2 A Day at Sea
 
Let me back up a little.  In reference to check in…My wife is 23 weeks pregnant. RCCL limits pregnancy to 24 weeks on Disembarkation Day,  but no one ever asked if she was pregnant, (it would be rude if they did) and most likely no one would if she was 30 weeks either. I guess this is a rule that is only a concern if you go into labor but then again that is too late.  Anyone have any experience with this??
 
Another early day with the baby Zander. We always do breakfast at the Windjammier. I noticed RC is now cooking their bacon to my and most folks and likely everyone’s liking…crispy!  Another observation. They do not serve bananas in the Windjammier in the morning….odd.
 
Beautiful partly cloudy day.  We are not ‘lay out by the pool’ kinda folks.  We attended the Art auction as we occasionally do. Free Champagne is always a plus. Wifey likes the art and I ended up surprising her with a Thomas Kinkade portrait of the American Flag and Statue of Liberty. She completed 30 years in the Navy Reserve last year and I found the portrait to be fitting for her.  Lunch at Windjammier then a quick donation to the casino while mommy and baby napped.  
 
Many folk complain about the age of this ship. The only things that, to me, make it appear dated in the exterior has a lot of rust and that cigarette smoke has just permeated everything around it. You can smell smoke all the way to the Centum on deck 5 and the forward elevator atrium on 4 5 and 6. Everything else about Enchantment is fantastic.
 
I find it odd that the run movies in the room that are 3 hours long. Today was Aquaman. I never got to see the full movie for it always ran into other activities ☹
 
Day 2 is formal night and we didn’t overdo dressing for it. Khakis and a dress shirt for me, fancy slacks and blouse for the misses and a Tuxedo onesie for our son.  I am an extremely picky eater, but I am consciously trying to “try” new things. This trip it’s escargot eh the garlic
 
Me:
                Escargot
                Classic Caesar Salad
                Filet
                Royal Chocolate Cake
 
Wife:
                Classic Caesar Salad
                Filet
                Sugar Free Dessert
 
Zander
                Fruit cup
His own Filet
Cookie & ice cream
 
 
 
After dinner we headed for the pool deck to walk of some calories and enjoy the peacefulness of the outdoors.  It early to bed for mommy and baby, and I headed to the casino for some Roulette and had to shower to get the smoke off me upon returning to the cabin.  Wifey is highly sensitive to it.
 
PICTURES TO FOLLOW

Cruise Day 3
 
Today We get to go to a new port that we have never heard of before this booking let alone been to.  Progreso Mexico!! 
 
Breakfast was at the WindJammier as usual.  I have never done breakfast in the MDR. Breakfast is more of  grab and go type situation for me.  We docked later than a typical port.  So we had plenty of time to eat and get down to Deck 1 to disembark the ship.
 
As previously mention Progreso has a FOUR MILE long pier.  It is not a typical wooden/cement pier. It is land extended for four miles into the Gulf Of Mexico. Two lane road and multiple turn offs and building along the way.   Progreso offers and free shuttle to the downtown area and then you are free to explore. Right where the ship docks there are some chatzky stores and the usual Duty Free shops offering free tequila shots. The shop owners and hawkers are relentless everywhere here. Worst I’ve seen. A simple No thank you does the trick most of the time. The heat was unreal. 88* F but is felt like 110*F. Oppressive is putting it lightly. The bus drops you a central bus depot and it is a 4 block walk to the beach area IF you can find your way out the maze of shops. After doubling back 2 times we found our way.
 
RCCL offers an excursion for the public free beach.  $35 pp will get you a bus ride, access to the beach and two loungers and a palapa.  Umm,  bus is free for everyone… beach is free for everyone…lounger and palapa you can haggle to $10.  Am I missing something??  Along the beach are mostly restaurants that offer seating on the beach. We have a simple beach tent to protect us from the sun. This ‘tent’ folds up into a sack that is ¼ the size of a shoe box. Quick set up and tear down. We bought is on Amazon real cheap.
 

 
https://www.amazon.com/Venustas-Umbrella-Outdoor-Shelter-Lightweight/dp/B07PNW1WPB/ref=pd_ybh_a_1?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=7MGHW9HQSFG72NJ0BKZQ
 
I hit up the convenient store across the street for some soda and water.  I was thrown off for a moment when saw a 1.5 Lt bottle for water for $14.50….Yes with a dollar sign. BTW the Peso uses the dollar sign also.  Easy translation 20ish pesos to a dollar….so 85c. The diet Pepsi Black was .5 Lt for 40c.  Prices for locals are amazingly inexpensive….Tourist areas not so much!!
 
We spent about two hours at the beach and headed back to a restaurant that was handing out little flyers on the way to the beach. Barlovento Restaurant and Bar had little dollar margaritas so that peaked my curiosity. Since my wife is pregnant I had four, two for her and two for me. Quesadillas and fries for me and the baby, enchiladas for the Mrs. she also had some Mexican flavors fruity water. $47  DOLLARS!!!  Return bus ride was quick and painless for I hate shuttles and waiting on them to fill up to capacity.  This one filled up quick.  We were back to the ship by 1:15.
 

 
That's the NOT the ship in the distance....that not even the half way point to the ship!!!
 

 
 

Check out this old school high chair!!

 
 
One question I had right off the bat was will the casino be open while in port?  The ship is docked 4 miles for the coast of Progreso….essentially International Waters?  Nope not open.  Upon return it was nap time for the baby and mommy. I walked around a bit, then before you knew it was time for dinner.   
 
Dinner
 
Me
 
French Onion Soup
Caesar Salad
Chicken Parm
Royal Chocolate Cake
               
 
                Wife
                IDK
 
                Zander
                Fruit Cup
                Steak off kids menu  NY Strip
 
After dinner walk led us to the ventriloquist show at the theater. I was a little hokey and nice and lighthearted.  Zander being your typical 20 month old got bored real quick and we made our exit to explore some shops and head to the room.  I then headed to the roulette table to turn $40 in to $240. Now I’m even. Of to bed. Tomorrow Cozumel and Nachi Cocom!!!  1st timer here
 
 



someone is sleeping.



this is part of the dock/pier in Progreso


Zander waiting for steak!!

These were cool. Fold on this sailing's FB page talked about hiding Rubber Duckies around the  ship.  They had dozens we found one for Zander. It took us to day 4 to find one, but we did!!
 

Enchantments "added" 70+ feet of ship that was added after the original build