LetsTryThisPlace

think those that programmed website have all been indulging in the  deluxe drinks package 

Great blog, I always wanted to work on a cruise but my wife says no, happy wife happy life ;)
$45 actually sounds like it must have gone up in price. I thought it was less than that here (will need to check when I'm at the store again).
It depends, I kicked myself once as I saw a great deal with Johnny Walker Blue and the Reserve for $225 and I oued and awwed and at the airport, the same combo was about $300. There has been other times that the cruise is tricky like 3 for ... but if its only 2 of us we really can only bring back 2 (at least to cayman).
If I won the lottery this would be the first thing I bought and a really nice box of cigars. 

Martha Poulter new Senior Vice President & Chief Information Officer first big project - FAIL.  Good thing Royal Caribbean is in the cruise business and not the IT business.  It is frustrating for us who work in the IT world.

The cruise lines need some Transfarency.

Needs to change to Cruise Planner Sail...since they sail away with our money.
(yes, i understand we willingly give them our money...just going for a lame dad joke here)

My last NCL cruise was in 2001.  In 2016 when I took my 1st RCI cruise I shopped around, re-activated and updated my NCL account.  Didn't take long for me to unsubscribe and put a bogus # in my NCL account.  I peruse it once in while to compare studio rates (which NCL has more of) and comparing cruise costs with their "free" drink packages.  It's good to know the competition so when people point to things like "free drinks" you can respond intelligently.   NCL for the most part has terrible internet plans (most ships).  Now that Carnival has the fastest internet at sea I may need to try that in the name of research :)

I need to install an add-on to this board that prevents me from posting before I've had my morning coffee

The sales are really for new cruisers who don't know any better.  The marketing campaigns are aimed to draw attention and they do.  I see newbies on other forums claiming how they just got a cruise on sale.  It's very competitive and Royal is just keeping up with the competition who does the same thing.  I had to unsubscribe from NCL for this reason - spam emails basically. 
If you are lonely and desire for your phone to ring, sign into NCL Latitudes, browse some cruises then don't book.  Within 24 hours a cruise specialist will be calling to assist you - guaranteed.    At one point I changed my number in my profile to a bogus number.  Apologies to who ever has 867-5309. 

Note: Not cruise related directly but may still be useful when cruising from Miami or Ft. Lauderdale.
I also just wanted to mention 2 hotels that we stayed at after the cruise and also I rental car warning lol and (why are we always the last ones to get our luggage, wait where is everyone, Oh No! lol). The first hotel was the Nuvo hotel in Miami, very nice and updated property with a full little kitchen and breakfast included. Was a very nice little hotel for those needing somewhere to stay in Miami for a few days.

The other was the Best Western in Ft. Lauderdale, not as nice as the Nuvo but close to the airport and close to the port. It was one of the better of the cheaper options when I was booking so might be something to look into. It also had free breakfast. 

The rental car.....one of my favourite looking cars the Camero SS. Beautiful, powerful, great car. Being so powerful it was a great car to drive. However, if you are ever offered one as a rental I would decline for 2 reasons. 1st reason, no room, if you have luggage you will have a hard time fitting it. We had stuff in the trunk and the backseats and it's only the 2 of us. 2nd boy does it drink gas 3/4 of a tank in 2 days with medium driving   which came to $30 to fill.

So finally our flight home. It was sad to say goodbye but we did and we had a great trip and had so much fun. So we got to the airport a touch late and got to the counter with about 1:30 till our flight, not a bad thing as there was virtually no line at the Southwest counter. Got through in about 10 minutes, security was empty but was still going slow but still pretty quick maybe 15 minutes. Everything went smoother (maybe too smooth). Then we got home did the usual custom line and all and found out our luggage didn't make it. Thankfully Southwest's service is great and they took great care of us and it arrived the next day. I will be taking them again for sure (even though they lost our stuff lol.) 
Until next time, Josh out... (unless you have more questions lol)

Sorry for my delay on the last sea days post. It was very busy and then just never stopped lol. Finally home and slowly getting back to things (not that I want to lol) So we started the day with ice skating. After many years I started to get back into it like riding a bike. We then headed to chops for our lunch reservations (not that they were needed). Lunch was pretty good but to be honest I am not sure it was worth the extra fee compared to Giovanni's or even the MDR. As someone with allergies I did everything I thought I was supposed to, I called before the cruise and they put a note on my file. On the first sea day I went to Chops and confirmed they had the note of my allergies and asked if they needed anything else which they said no. I then went to Chops and was told I should have placed my order before so I ended up with a limited menu. We never touched the bread as it had nuts in it (to anyone who can eat nuts, does that even taste that good?) I started with the Beef Carpaccio which was alright. Sandra tried the wedge which she liked too. I then had the Roasted Half Chicken which was the best part of the meal. Sandra then had the Filet Mignon and loved it. For desert Sandra had the Red Velvet Cake, which I was told before was nut free then Chops informed me it wasn't, so I couldn't have it.  Sandra did enjoy it. They then got me Pavlova with strawberry coulis and kiwi for desert because of my allergies (it was not the greatest) and Lemon panna cotta with strawberry sauce from Giovanni's. Both of these had a strawberry sauce that tasted more of a jam then a sauce. It was very disappointing that some how my allergy warnings got missed and I was not informed to preorder my Chops order (I don't understand the need for this as even at other fancy restaurants normally have better solutions for these). I also never had any deserts from the buffee as I was told they were not safe for me and my question is, with so many kids on board, who don't always think, why wouldn't they be a little more allergy friendly? (end of slight rant lol)
 

I then decided to try climbing. The line was long but found out that was because some kids where holding up the line so they could go on certain walls, so once the line realized that it started to move a little better and I got on pretty quickly. The first wall was pretty easy, then.....the next wall was where I met my match lol. I got up about 80% of the way and just couldn't get myself the rest. This was one of the curved walls and was so fun and challenging but it got me on the first run and I was out lol. I'm not used to the way they harness you in and the delay in the line catching you is a little scary. I am used to someone holding you as you repel down and having your weight caught right away. There is a slight delay in their lines and it tricks your mind into thinking your falling. If I did it more I would get used to it but freaked me out at first. 

We then went and played a game of mini golf. It was interesting but we both agreed they could have had some more decorations with only one bird and many rocks. Could be a little more lively and fun if they put some interactive things in but I guess is just some bonus stuff for everyone to try. It was fun all the same. 
We lost track of time and realized it was almost time for the parade so we went looking for seats but there weren't any left so we headed up to the room to watch from there. We had a pretty good sight but wasn't great for pictures or the periscope I tried to do lol.
After that it was dinner time. It was back to the MDR for us and we scheduled our Anniversary dinner to be on the last sea day as a nice way to round off the trip. So we had the caesar again to start. I had the braised lamb shank which was the best lamb I have ever had. It tasted like a braised short rib we have at a restaurant here mixed with lamb which was a killer combo I must admit. Sandra got the battered cod which she thought was alright. For desert they brought us strawberry cheesecake with a happy anniversary song (replace birthday with anniversary) which was a nice touch. For those wondering, they never gave us anything extra. We did get some coupons and similar items but the amount you have to spend to use them is well outside our budget lol. We brought a Chandon (same as the $65 bottle on Royal's site but $15 at Walmart) which surprisingly lasted us most of the cruise. I did have a few other mixed drinks and Sandra got hooked on the virgin Lava flow and I enjoyed the alcohol version better (yes you do taste a difference in it). I also really enjoyed the royal castle. There were 2 shows to end the cruise. Both had been missed because someone broke the theater (their words not mine) but was able to go on before we ended. The First one was Once Upon a Time which is based on the common fairy tales and was in a modern way with modern music and another scene where red riding hood was driving a car and it had road signs about her getting lost. It was a great performance. There was one scene that we had troubles with the lights shining in everyone's eyes on the 2nd floor (try to get the 1st floor if you can.) It was a great way to end the cruise and then we had one of the funniest comedians I have heard live, Michele. She had the entire room laughing and it just added to the great ending of the cruise. We still repeat some of her jokes to each other and break out laughing lol.


 
Final verdict, Sandra has approved more cruises. Although I may be restricted to 1 cruise a year unless I can get a great deal and it needs to be Royal (well after our MSC cruise next year.) We are planning another trip on Freedom in 2020 once she moves to San Juan and will do the Southern Caribbean since we have done most of the rest. I have to say it was a great ship and I loved it. Not sure I'll get the drink package next time but it was great. Also one last point, I couldn't find the smoothie place so I asked one of the bar staff and they told me Freedom doesn't have it, so no fresh smoothies for me but had many other options. (I may have slightly cheated and bought the virgins while Sandra got the mixed and would switch but hey they got my money still so I don't feel bad.)

Sorry for my delay on the last sea days post. It was very busy and then just never stopped lol. Finally home and slowly getting back to things (not that I want to lol) So we started the day with ice skating. After many years I started to get back into it like riding a bike. We then headed to chops for our lunch reservations (not that they were needed). Lunch was pretty good but to be honest I am not sure it was worth the extra fee compared to Giovanni's or even the MDR. As someone with allergies I did everything I thought I was supposed to, I called before the cruise and they put a note on my file. On the first sea day I went to Chops and confirmed they had the note of my allergies and asked if they needed anything else which they said no. I then went to Chops and was told I should have placed my order before so I ended up with a limited menu. We never touched the bread as it had nuts in it (to anyone who can eat nuts, does that even taste that good?) I started with the Beef Carpaccio which was alright. Sandra tried the wedge which she liked too. I then had the Roasted Half Chicken which was the best part of the meal. Sandra then had the Filet Mignon and loved it. For desert Sandra had the Red Velvet Cake, which I was told before was nut free then Chops informed me it wasn't, so I couldn't have it.  Sandra did enjoy it. They then got me Pavlova with strawberry coulis and kiwi for desert because of my allergies (it was not the greatest) and Lemon panna cotta with strawberry sauce from Giovanni's. Both of these had a strawberry sauce that tasted more of a jam then a sauce. It was very disappointing that some how my allergy warnings got missed and I was not informed to preorder my Chops order (I don't understand the need for this as even at other fancy restaurants normally have better solutions for these). I also never had any deserts from the buffee as I was told they were not safe for me and my question is, with so many kids on board, who don't always think, why wouldn't they be a little more allergy friendly? (end of slight rant lol)
 

I then decided to try climbing. The line was long but found out that was because some kids where holding up the line so they could go on certain walls, so once the line realized that it started to move a little better and I got on pretty quickly. The first wall was pretty easy, then.....the next wall was where I met my match lol. I got up about 80% of the way and just couldn't get myself the rest. This was one of the curved walls and was so fun and challenging but it got me on the first run and I was out lol. I'm not used to the way they harness you in and the delay in the line catching you is a little scary. I am used to someone holding you as you repel down and having your weight caught right away. There is a slight delay in their lines and it tricks your mind into thinking your falling. If I did it more I would get used to it but freaked me out at first. 

We then went and played a game of mini golf. It was interesting but we both agreed they could have had some more decorations with only one bird and many rocks. Could be a little more lively and fun if they put some interactive things in but I guess is just some bonus stuff for everyone to try. It was fun all the same. 
We lost track of time and realized it was almost time for the parade so we went looking for seats but there weren't any left so we headed up to the room to watch from there. We had a pretty good sight but wasn't great for pictures or the periscope I tried to do lol.
After that it was dinner time. It was back to the MDR for us and we scheduled our Anniversary dinner to be on the last sea day as a nice way to round off the trip. So we had the caesar again to start. I had the braised lamb shank which was the best lamb I have ever had. It tasted like a braised short rib we have at a restaurant here mixed with lamb which was a killer combo I must admit. Sandra got the battered cod which she thought was alright. For desert they brought us strawberry cheesecake with a happy anniversary song (replace birthday with anniversary) which was a nice touch. For those wondering, they never gave us anything extra. We did get some coupons and similar items but the amount you have to spend to use them is well outside our budget lol. We brought a Chandon (same as the $65 bottle on Royal's site but $15 at Walmart) which surprisingly lasted us most of the cruise. I did have a few other mixed drinks and Sandra got hooked on the virgin Lava flow and I enjoyed the alcohol version better (yes you do taste a difference in it). I also really enjoyed the royal castle. There were 2 shows to end the cruise. Both had been missed because someone broke the theater (their words not mine) but was able to go on before we ended. The First one was Once Upon a Time which is based on the common fairy tales and was in a modern way with modern music and another scene where red riding hood was driving a car and it had road signs about her getting lost. It was a great performance. There was one scene that we had troubles with the lights shining in everyone's eyes on the 2nd floor (try to get the 1st floor if you can.) It was a great way to end the cruise and then we had one of the funniest comedians I have heard live, Michele. She had the entire room laughing and it just added to the great ending of the cruise. We still repeat some of her jokes to each other and break out laughing lol.


 
Final verdict, Sandra has approved more cruises. Although I may be restricted to 1 cruise a year unless I can get a great deal and it needs to be Royal (well after our MSC cruise next year.) We are planning another trip on Freedom in 2020 once she moves to San Juan and will do the Southern Caribbean since we have done most of the rest. I have to say it was a great ship and I loved it. Not sure I'll get the drink package next time but it was great. Also one last point, I couldn't find the smoothie place so I asked one of the bar staff and they told me Freedom doesn't have it, so no fresh smoothies for me but had many other options. (I may have slightly cheated and bought the virgins while Sandra got the mixed and would switch but hey they got my money still so I don't feel bad.)

Great blog, I always wanted to work on a cruise but my wife says no, happy wife happy life ;)
$45 actually sounds like it must have gone up in price. I thought it was less than that here (will need to check when I'm at the store again).
It depends, I kicked myself once as I saw a great deal with Johnny Walker Blue and the Reserve for $225 and I oued and awwed and at the airport, the same combo was about $300. There has been other times that the cruise is tricky like 3 for ... but if its only 2 of us we really can only bring back 2 (at least to cayman).
If I won the lottery this would be the first thing I bought and a really nice box of cigars. 

I must agree with the Lava Flow, both my wife and I really enjoyed it.
Also, the Royal Castle was a nice strong drink with lots of citruses. I think even your husband may enjoy that one (minus the cup it comes in, although I thought it was fun but with alcohol package it would be extra anyways so just skip the cup ;) )

Great blog, I always wanted to work on a cruise but my wife says no, happy wife happy life ;)
$45 actually sounds like it must have gone up in price. I thought it was less than that here (will need to check when I'm at the store again).
It depends, I kicked myself once as I saw a great deal with Johnny Walker Blue and the Reserve for $225 and I oued and awwed and at the airport, the same combo was about $300. There has been other times that the cruise is tricky like 3 for ... but if its only 2 of us we really can only bring back 2 (at least to cayman).
If I won the lottery this would be the first thing I bought and a really nice box of cigars. 

I was close lol.

I will look for your blog regarding your trip.  I'm a flight attendant, off to Tampa this evening for a quick trip.  Then off to San Francisco on Saturday.

So Chris, is it true that the Captain of the ship lets the crew member of the week (hardest working, most loyal/dedicated/best looking) drive the ship the following week? 

@CHRIS WONG VLOGS meet @twangster...our resident photographer, Mr. Knowledgeable, and climbing the C&A ladder probably faster than anyone else here! ?

Note: Not cruise related directly but may still be useful when cruising from Miami or Ft. Lauderdale.
I also just wanted to mention 2 hotels that we stayed at after the cruise and also I rental car warning lol and (why are we always the last ones to get our luggage, wait where is everyone, Oh No! lol). The first hotel was the Nuvo hotel in Miami, very nice and updated property with a full little kitchen and breakfast included. Was a very nice little hotel for those needing somewhere to stay in Miami for a few days.

The other was the Best Western in Ft. Lauderdale, not as nice as the Nuvo but close to the airport and close to the port. It was one of the better of the cheaper options when I was booking so might be something to look into. It also had free breakfast. 

The rental car.....one of my favourite looking cars the Camero SS. Beautiful, powerful, great car. Being so powerful it was a great car to drive. However, if you are ever offered one as a rental I would decline for 2 reasons. 1st reason, no room, if you have luggage you will have a hard time fitting it. We had stuff in the trunk and the backseats and it's only the 2 of us. 2nd boy does it drink gas 3/4 of a tank in 2 days with medium driving   which came to $30 to fill.

So finally our flight home. It was sad to say goodbye but we did and we had a great trip and had so much fun. So we got to the airport a touch late and got to the counter with about 1:30 till our flight, not a bad thing as there was virtually no line at the Southwest counter. Got through in about 10 minutes, security was empty but was still going slow but still pretty quick maybe 15 minutes. Everything went smoother (maybe too smooth). Then we got home did the usual custom line and all and found out our luggage didn't make it. Thankfully Southwest's service is great and they took great care of us and it arrived the next day. I will be taking them again for sure (even though they lost our stuff lol.) 
Until next time, Josh out... (unless you have more questions lol)

It was great. So giving an idea of what I used. I turned off most things on my phone to give data to the primary things, (work phone app, whatsapp, emails, and periscope.) I could still use the other apps they just wouldnt use background data. I periscoped multiple times from St. Kitts, St. Maarten, and Labadee (Caribbean plan) I some how only used 112MB out of my 500MB plan which was only $20 US. For the North American plan that covers Puerto Rico and my Florida trip including maps usage and lots of other stuff trying to kill my data I only used 420MB. I purchased a 1GB plan and it got bumped to 1.5GB (I'm guessing as a first time bonus type thing) which was $20 US. If you are from the US you will only need the Caribbean plan but I needed both. Luckily for me, I can still use the rest of my data here (well once they figure out why it doesn't work in Cayman). Oh, yes lastly, so I got home and decided to try it here and I have tried many different things but nothing seems to get it to work here. Support is looking into it as all things considering it should, I mean I had no issues anywhere but here. It doesn't provide a usage report per-say but it tells you the remaining usage. My phone also records how much I use so I can check that too. I would definitely use it again. Now that I have learnt how much I use I might go with the 500MB North American plan for $15 (although for $5 it is a good deal just in case). I'm not sure what the costs are for plans like AT&T for roaming but for our pricing it is worth it and will be sharing the sim with my family since all they will have to do is top it up and go. They did have a deal (not sure if they still do) where they were giving the sim for free, I bought mine on Amazon for $10 as I wanted to make sure it made it to me on time. 

So today was Laberdee. I have to say coming from Cayman it really isn't much for us. My original plan for today was to go to the floating bar and have a Laberdoozy. We got off the ship a little before 2, I then went to look for the floating bar. I must admit I really thought it would have been more towards the cove side as it was much calmer there. We found it we went to go into the water and realized it was too cold for us. Not extremely Cole but for us, it was too cold lol. So no floating bar for us. We also found they were also all out of Laberdoozies everywhere. After 0/2 we walked around and took some photos for you guys with some hints. 

If you would like to avoid the market there is a walkway just after the gold card area on the right side. We found this on the way back so we didn't have to be asked to look at every stall (I swear just looking over at them that they all have the exact same stuff???). If you are interested in some stuff but don't want to be pushed as much, then I would recommend the first shop that looks kind of like a barn.
 
When we got back on the boat I discovered the Royal Castle and although a little strong is so good. Very flavorful and a lot of citrus, its really good)

 
For dinner we both had the caesar salad to start again. Sandra also got the tomato seafood risotto.

Sandra had the chicken coq au vin which she liked. I got the Royal Strip Loin first and didn't like the olive taste it had, the table next to us also found it to be a little tough. I then got the baked perch instead and that was really good (no photo of the perch)

 
For desert, I had the cheesecake and apple pie again. I'm not sure if they read my post because now it went from 3 raisins to a whole box lol. Not sure why they are there still. Sandra got the cheese plate.


We then came home to find this little guy.

 

Ya, you really don't know when they were made. I would prefer to get them out as soon as they get made. 
 
I will try to remember to take one tomorrow for you.
 
My Periscope name is @LetsTryThisPlace 

So today was Laberdee. I have to say coming from Cayman it really isn't much for us. My original plan for today was to go to the floating bar and have a Laberdoozy. We got off the ship a little before 2, I then went to look for the floating bar. I must admit I really thought it would have been more towards the cove side as it was much calmer there. We found it we went to go into the water and realized it was too cold for us. Not extremely Cole but for us, it was too cold lol. So no floating bar for us. We also found they were also all out of Laberdoozies everywhere. After 0/2 we walked around and took some photos for you guys with some hints. 

If you would like to avoid the market there is a walkway just after the gold card area on the right side. We found this on the way back so we didn't have to be asked to look at every stall (I swear just looking over at them that they all have the exact same stuff???). If you are interested in some stuff but don't want to be pushed as much, then I would recommend the first shop that looks kind of like a barn.
 
When we got back on the boat I discovered the Royal Castle and although a little strong is so good. Very flavorful and a lot of citrus, its really good)

 
For dinner we both had the caesar salad to start again. Sandra also got the tomato seafood risotto.

Sandra had the chicken coq au vin which she liked. I got the Royal Strip Loin first and didn't like the olive taste it had, the table next to us also found it to be a little tough. I then got the baked perch instead and that was really good (no photo of the perch)

 
For desert, I had the cheesecake and apple pie again. I'm not sure if they read my post because now it went from 3 raisins to a whole box lol. Not sure why they are there still. Sandra got the cheese plate.


We then came home to find this little guy.

 

So today was Laberdee. I have to say coming from Cayman it really isn't much for us. My original plan for today was to go to the floating bar and have a Laberdoozy. We got off the ship a little before 2, I then went to look for the floating bar. I must admit I really thought it would have been more towards the cove side as it was much calmer there. We found it we went to go into the water and realized it was too cold for us. Not extremely Cole but for us, it was too cold lol. So no floating bar for us. We also found they were also all out of Laberdoozies everywhere. After 0/2 we walked around and took some photos for you guys with some hints. 

If you would like to avoid the market there is a walkway just after the gold card area on the right side. We found this on the way back so we didn't have to be asked to look at every stall (I swear just looking over at them that they all have the exact same stuff???). If you are interested in some stuff but don't want to be pushed as much, then I would recommend the first shop that looks kind of like a barn.
 
When we got back on the boat I discovered the Royal Castle and although a little strong is so good. Very flavorful and a lot of citrus, its really good)

 
For dinner we both had the caesar salad to start again. Sandra also got the tomato seafood risotto.

Sandra had the chicken coq au vin which she liked. I got the Royal Strip Loin first and didn't like the olive taste it had, the table next to us also found it to be a little tough. I then got the baked perch instead and that was really good (no photo of the perch)

 
For desert, I had the cheesecake and apple pie again. I'm not sure if they read my post because now it went from 3 raisins to a whole box lol. Not sure why they are there still. Sandra got the cheese plate.


We then came home to find this little guy.

 

So today was Laberdee. I have to say coming from Cayman it really isn't much for us. My original plan for today was to go to the floating bar and have a Laberdoozy. We got off the ship a little before 2, I then went to look for the floating bar. I must admit I really thought it would have been more towards the cove side as it was much calmer there. We found it we went to go into the water and realized it was too cold for us. Not extremely Cole but for us, it was too cold lol. So no floating bar for us. We also found they were also all out of Laberdoozies everywhere. After 0/2 we walked around and took some photos for you guys with some hints. 

If you would like to avoid the market there is a walkway just after the gold card area on the right side. We found this on the way back so we didn't have to be asked to look at every stall (I swear just looking over at them that they all have the exact same stuff???). If you are interested in some stuff but don't want to be pushed as much, then I would recommend the first shop that looks kind of like a barn.
 
When we got back on the boat I discovered the Royal Castle and although a little strong is so good. Very flavorful and a lot of citrus, its really good)

 
For dinner we both had the caesar salad to start again. Sandra also got the tomato seafood risotto.

Sandra had the chicken coq au vin which she liked. I got the Royal Strip Loin first and didn't like the olive taste it had, the table next to us also found it to be a little tough. I then got the baked perch instead and that was really good (no photo of the perch)

 
For desert, I had the cheesecake and apple pie again. I'm not sure if they read my post because now it went from 3 raisins to a whole box lol. Not sure why they are there still. Sandra got the cheese plate.


We then came home to find this little guy.