henrysea13

in my experience with royal lobster night is the last formal night of the cruise of course you can have lobster anytime you want in the main dining room but you have to pay extra 

in my experience with royal lobster night is the last formal night of the cruise of course you can have lobster anytime you want in the main dining room but you have to pay extra 

I for one love the idea I have questioned many times why no fishing charters in these beautiful ports as a young man sailing the Caribbean on my uncles 83 ft island hopper I never remember a time we did not have several trolling feathers dragging behind the ship we always had an ample supply of mahi fresh as can be and when in port plenty of snapper and grouper nothing beats fresh fish on the grill I think it is time to drop a suggestion in the box by guest services on my next cruise

^^^This is me!  A while back, Hubby said I should have used the handle "worktocruise" instead of "lovetocruise" ?

Yeah, I’m the same way sometimes…

I'm surprised at how many of these bands I do NOT know.  I guess I'm older than I thought !

As John said, I can no longer recommend Samba.  Back when we first started cruising on Allure, it was a fun dinner. They had the place decorated and it looked great.  They had a cute little "carnivale" show with dancers in beautiful costumes.  Now it's a dull and uninteresting venue and the food is unimpressive.  If you are a BIG meat eater then you will probably enjoy the food...but be careful NOT to fill up on the cheap cuts that they serve first.  They save the good stuff for the end.  The last time we were on Allure we were Star Class so we tried it just b/c it was available to us but I would not bother with it again - even if it's free.
Frankly, I hope when Allure goes into dry dock next year, they will replace that venue with Hooked.

Final Thoughts
Having been now waiting in the airport for 8 hours, I feel that I have been reflecting enough for my final thoughts through my firsts. ? 
My firsts
My first time to the ABC islands and they shined. Caruaco, Bonaire, and Aruba did not disappoint. All beautiful but different: Caruaco more urban, Bonaire small town feel and Aruba tourist and sandy. 
First time renting a car. Fun but more to think through. 
First time being Platinum.  Yes, we made sure to get the bathrobes and marvel at each other. As noted, wore them to the hot tubs at night. Yes, newbie loyal to Royal move bit who cares!
First time using a taxi and flagging down any ride back to the port. So as you see it took 5 or so cruises for us to break free of RC booked shore excursions
First time attending an art auction and buying art. Note that my intial post said we are not art auction folk... You just never know until you attend. It wound up being a highlight!
First post cruise excursion. Again, not planned and turned into a highlight. Also a good bargin cause of the transfer to the airport. 
First time booking two cruises at once. Blessed that we can do that. 
Talking about being blessed
You probably noted that I tend to use "we" in my posts.  I am blessed with the most amazing cruise partner for me and that makes these adventures that much more special. I know we have just begun to explore all the places we can go via Royal and I will look forward to every one of them!
One more
This community had really helped us plan out this trip. I know there is so much to track down for our next cruises such as Cuba, all inclusive resorts in Cozumel, etc.  I want to thank all who share their knowledge because it makes a difference! 
Next blog is Cuba in September unless a really good deal shows up ? YOLO
 
 

Recap of Bonaire and Aruba! Part 1
It's been busy doing so many things I will have to condense the two days into this one post. 
The day in Bonaire started with us watching Freedom dock on a very small pier. As I mentioned, watching the different ways each port ties up the ship has been facinating. The big Panoramic windows tilt out a good two feet so the view is enhanced in all directions. After a windjammer breakfast we headed out to a snokel and beach break at Coco beach. The snorkeling was good but the beach break was very crowded. It reminded me of some of the places in Phillipsburg St. Maarten. For us, if you have to find your row to get to your beach chair it's to crowded. Again, the fish were colorful and plentiful so it wasn't a total thumbs down. 
The best part of the day was the afternoon. After lunch on board we went into town. The street fair vendors were true island artisans and we shopped more here than the last 10 ports. The whole center of town hand a real pleasant feel and we lingered a long time. With bath salts, jewelery and gifts in town, we headed back. 
Back on board we realized that on this trip, day five was formal night.  Feeling so good from the day we posed for photos and had a delicious meal in the MDR. The Las Vegas Tenors headlined. They said they did over 50 RC cruises last year. It was our first time seeing the and we along with the crowd enjoyed the performance. Off to sleep to get ready for Aruba.
Quick thoughts - Sprinkles is broken. Oh the humanity! - I know the late leaving  ports of call effect show times but they just seem to be at very odd times. - Is it me or does the schooner bar and boleros always seem to need about double the seats when they just entertainment - freedom class ships have such an impressive profile when docked with other ships. Proud to be on her!
 

following one of my favorites have been on her 4 times and she never gets old

ok aren't the ships confined spaces and the lack of personal sanitation the cause of noro virus with all the people crammed into small spaces now we add dogs cats turkeys hamsters and whatever to the mix where does the litter box go where does the dog poop and pee I have seen a great dane that its owner said was a support dog the smell will become overwhelming and what about fleas and ticks does the ships doctor certify the health of the animal I think not I applaud you Royal for doing the right thing in my humble opinion animals do not belong on cruise ships yes it costs me a lot of money to board my 3 cats and 2 dogs when Im cruising but I accept it as part of cruising it would never occur to me to bring little poopsie or Sylvester on a cruise its not fair to all the passengers with allergies or just don't want to cruise with other peoples pets 

Really?....I don't see that making sense at all...unless demand drops and they cant fill the ships.
 
That being said, I am ok if they want to drop the prices of the cruise and charge more for the add-ons...as long as if you don't pay extra for the add ons you aren't treated and feel like a 2nd class citizen while cruising.....we are heading back to Titanic days if that happens.

ok aren't the ships confined spaces and the lack of personal sanitation the cause of noro virus with all the people crammed into small spaces now we add dogs cats turkeys hamsters and whatever to the mix where does the litter box go where does the dog poop and pee I have seen a great dane that its owner said was a support dog the smell will become overwhelming and what about fleas and ticks does the ships doctor certify the health of the animal I think not I applaud you Royal for doing the right thing in my humble opinion animals do not belong on cruise ships yes it costs me a lot of money to board my 3 cats and 2 dogs when Im cruising but I accept it as part of cruising it would never occur to me to bring little poopsie or Sylvester on a cruise its not fair to all the passengers with allergies or just don't want to cruise with other peoples pets 

Outstanding blog with great pictures I was on adventure oct24 to dec2 and see how much I missed cant wait to go back I love the forts in San Juan pictures as by the time we got off the ship I had barely enough time to enjoy EL MORRO. Next time I believe I will skip going ashore in St Martin rest up and get. An early start in San Juan what I saw I loved I could feel the history I wait excited for your review and pictures of St Kitts the monkeys there were so much fun and the people so friendly.Keep up your great blog and cruise on my friend 

Outstanding blog with great pictures I was on adventure oct24 to dec2 and see how much I missed cant wait to go back I love the forts in San Juan pictures as by the time we got off the ship I had barely enough time to enjoy EL MORRO. Next time I believe I will skip going ashore in St Martin rest up and get. An early start in San Juan what I saw I loved I could feel the history I wait excited for your review and pictures of St Kitts the monkeys there were so much fun and the people so friendly.Keep up your great blog and cruise on my friend 

I am loving reading your blog! You look so happy!!! Love to see fellow solo travelers as well.

Another terrific day, totally lit as the kids would say ?
Finally made my first visit to Labadee and she did not disappoint! But first it was off to the MDR for French toast breakfast..

Time to get off this gorgeous ship and explore! 
 
I really enjoyed my time on Labadee today and hope to make a return visit on a future cruise ? Just a nice, relaxing day at the beach! I have a few comments to make: 
If possible, please leave your expensive jewelry in your stateroom safe. A lady lost her wedding ring in the sand on Adrenaline Beach today ?
People, the ocean is NOT your trash can, put away your garbage. ?
Saltwater is not meant to be drank, I threw up my breakfast after accidentally doing so snorkelling ?



I managed to walk the entire property very easily and grabbed a chair on Adrenaline Beach (partially because at that point I was starting to boil like a lobster lol) close to Cafe Labadee, Schooner Bar, Floating Bar. 





After a quick snorkel (and vomit into the ocean ?), I decided to continue my walk until call for 11:30 am lunch. I walked all the way north toward beach beds, basketball court, and turned around south to the Artisan’s Village and Market. In no way did I feel threatened to buy anything; sure, they tried to get my attention but a simple “no, thanks” sufficed. 

The walking path led me to Columbus Cove...




..and Nellie’s Beach. 



By this time, I was starving and it was time for BBQ lunch ? 

After lunch, I grabbed a Labadoozie, pulled out my People magazine, and drank, read in the sun for an hour. 

Needless to say, I needed to cool down and the ocean did its job ? I snorkeled again and chatted with a few people in the shallow end. 


I slowly made my way back (lots of photo ops) and was onboard the ship 30 mins prior to sailaway which I witnessed from the helipad. It was an eye-opening and awesome experience watching the ship back away from the long pier and then pulling forward. 




(I took video of sailaway, will upload later.) 
Goodbye, Labadee! 

Sorry for the late check-in, but I’ve had a long day! 

So, although the departure was delayed, we ended up arriving close to the original arrival 11 am arrival time which was good. What was not good was waiting 30 mins for luggage at the baggage carousel and also causing me to miss my Uber (which service I used for the very first time - another first!) and incurring a cancellation fee. Oh well, at least while I was waiting, I had a most bizarre piece of “artwork” to entertain me LOL. 
The luggage eventually did show up (yay!) and I did manage to hail another Uber to my AirBnB just off Las Olas Blvd. (Nothing but positive things to say about the driver - great, interesting convo, I tipped her appropriately.) I checked in early, met the host’s wife, dropped off luggage, and she then accompanied me with another guest to Las Olas as they were headed in that direction to a restaurant. I really have nothing but positive things to say about both of them (husband was at work when I arrived, but met him when I came home) and the place is really good for the minimal cost I spend (no fancy hotel room for me!). 
My second primary objective of the day, after checking into the AirBnB, was to send US and international Christmas cards and a Secret Santa gift. (It costs an arm and a leg to send US mail from Canada and my mother is nothing but cost efficient LOL.) After locating the US postal office around the corner, I then headed to the beach and cursed Google Maps for making that walk look much shorter than it actually was (close to 30 mins from the AirBnB) LOL. I didn’t complain because I’m on vacation and got to check out the homes, million dollar yachts along the intercostal en route to the beach ? 
I was grateful for finally reaching the beach because the water, weather was picture perfect warm - not humid whatsoever! I then walked from the Las Olas beach up to where the Westin/Hilton/W hotels are and, somehow along the way, met a Canadian family from Barrie (north of Toronto), also walking on the beach, who were sailing out on MSC Divina tomorrow ? (They’re actually doing a side-to-side from Miami: 7 nights aboard Divina followed by a 7 nighter on a Carnival ship. As they explained to me, a second cruise ended up being much cheaper than what a hotel and flight home would cost.) 
Anyway, so the family and I separated near the hotel section I mentioned earlier and I walked back south to Las Olas Beach. After a quick stop at CVS for wine, munchies, etc., I then walked west on Las Olas in preparation for objective #3 - meeting friend of mine at Rocco’s Tacos for dinner at 5 pm. Well, let’s just say that the driving gods did not want him to meet up with me on time - a crash on 95 delayed our dining time to 5:30. After a quick, “dude, it’s totally cool, I’m on vacation” text, I decided to continue walking along Las Olas for some window shopping and admiring at some very expensive cars in the neighbourhood. 
Eventually I stopped at SE 6th Ave, turned back until I reached Rocco’s, and my friend finally showed up for a most excellent dinner of chicken tacos with chips, tableside guac and Corona. And I then walked back to the AirBnB, situated conveniently around the corner from Rocco’s, and...ran into two ladies at my AirBnB WHO ARE CRUISING ON ADVENTURE TOMORROW. After a quick game of gin rummy and cruise convo, we have decided to stop at Gran Forno Bakery tomorrow morning before hailing an Uber to the port. I am sooooo happy that they want to get to the port early in the morning ? 
(Oh, and another thing, I have decided to keep track of my step count: today’s total was 26, 194!)
Anyway, that was my fun day today, I hope you like the photos! I expect the cruise to range between semi-live to live; on port days, I probably will have to post my recap toward the end of the day like today. Let me know if you have any questions! 
Christine

following just gor off the Adventure

HAPPY BIRTHDAY FANTASTIC BLOG IM ON TH ADVENTURE TOMORROW FOR 8

Day 5 Birthday Dinner

I normally try to eat healthy, but today I’m having this ... ... because I’m going on the Liamuiga Volcano Hike today... and it’s my birthday.
 

I’m here with my rum group, and since the Don Q rum distillery is closed for the weekend to give the workers some time off, they graciously flew in someone from their European operations to give us a seminar and some tastings.  It’s great that a big company would do that for a small tour group.
Being the holiday, Ponce was dead, but we managed to see the sights and have a good time nonetheless.
Tomorrow we dock in St. Kitts and take a ferry to Nevis for another tour of a spiced rum place run by a friend of many of us.
I’m loving the ship and crew.  Literally my only complaint is that the Diamond Lounge is way too small for the number of people on this particular cruise.  Other than that, this is a great cruise and great crew. Hope your vacation is going as good as mine!

Day 3 Breakfast at Reflections 

Day 2 Breakfast at Reflections