mom2mybugs

We have B2B in Feb on Anthem and must change cabins. While I wish we could have gotten the same suite for both segments, we are thrilled to be going our first B2B !  Can’t wait !
 

Deck 14 on the Allure departing Miami would be AWESOME, just bundle up or find some big fat guy to hug you! 

Think @Matt said it best to me on the Brilliance cruise, "Sea days make boring writing up days." or something along those lines.
Today was case and point, so far. This morning was the Suite and Pinnacle reception in Geovanni's. Nice little spread I would have taken pictures of it had I remembered to put my memory card back in the camera. Either was write up is fine. Selections include some of the sushi offerings from Izumi, crab cakes, lamb chops, chicken lollipops, spinach manicotti, beef fillets, plus an assortment of desserts.
Afterwards headed back to the room and essentially went back to sleep. Finally woke up again and headed up to the Suite Lounge and was presented with some of the same items for the cocktail hour.
Right now, back in the room watching the sun set.

Jane,
We have been on the Allure four times in the past couple of years and will go again in the future. Here's a neat thing, after the muster immediately head to deck 14, go to the port side all the way forward, through the sliding glass door and out onto the viewing deck. You will be standing over the bridge and can actually walk out onto the "wings". Great view for sailing our of the port. Word of caution, it is VERY windy! Enjoy your cruise. 

Yeah, going from Freedom to an Oasis class is a jump. Oasis class does have some common design elements. But for the most part it is new territory.

Yes, if anything is incorrect in points posted call or email C&A.   Email will take several days, phone calls are usually quick.  
(800) 526-9723
[email protected]
 
 
 

Awesome!   I’m currently living through others cruises!  We won’t get to Alaska til at least 2021 or 22 at the earliest.  I can’t complain though since I will do Greek/med on vision this summer!  Jane

Awesome!   I’m currently living through others cruises!  We won’t get to Alaska til at least 2021 or 22 at the earliest.  I can’t complain though since I will do Greek/med on vision this summer!  Jane

I'm looking forward to seeing how I feel about it, too  - although I think ANY ship to Alaska is a great choice!  But I'm sure I won't shut up about it when the time comes :)

Some first day thoughts...
Love finally getting the chance to see origin story for the Freedom class. Odd being able to see the Promenade from end to end, so small compared to the Oasis class ones. Gal in the Pub had some entertaining not kid safe songs (check out the quick Scope).
Finally, clocks are changed early morning day 2.

Someday we will do Alaska!  I will be very interested to know if the bigger ship works well or if the smaller ones are fine,  I look forward to your comparisons since it looks like you have been to Alaska a lot!  Jane

Lucky Me. I Was Going Through My SD Cards And Found Some Photos Of My Ride On The Roller Coaster In Labbadee. Hope You Enjoy These Photos.

Funny, I had started creating a scavenger hunt for our group that is sailing later this year.  We have a bunch of kids, and I thought it would be great for the first day when they were exploring the ship to do in families.  Here is what I started.
 
Symphony of the seas
Scavenger Hunt
 
Take a picture with a crew member.
Find the three interactive works of art.        
Daniel Canogar's all embracing Sound Shell
Alejandro Marote's out-of-the-ordinary, meteorite-inspired sound chamber.
dEmo's memorable Drier-Wig sculpture
Video someone playing the Piano Stairs.
Take a picture of someone under the Solarium Big Wonder (Art installation)
Video someone doing the zipline
Video someone going down the Ultimate Abyss
Find the Crystal Hallway inspired by a real-life cave in Mexico.
Find the 4 deep divers throughout the ship
Take a picture with the Ice Cream machines.
Take a picture of the Beetle Sphere
Take a picture of your favorite plant in central park.
Use the X-ray vision app on the Royal Caribbean app to virtual view around the bridge of symphony of the seas.
What are the Windjammers Hours?

I hosted a pub crawl on the Serenade of the Seas last year. The bar selection is different but the idea can be applied to yours. Our group consisted of 4 couples (8 people) and we had a blast! We caught the attention of many onlookers with our crawl. And the bartenders joined in the fun by dealing out the cards.
To keep people on pace, we turned the crawl into a poker run (7 card stud). And my wife and I flipped for a prize which ended up being $25 poker chip from the casino. That's just what we wanted to do, feel free to collect some cash from each person.
Make a loose plan of which bars you want to go to (we ended up adjusting a few on the way based on peoples feedback). Below is our plan from the Serenade Start at the top of the ship (it's easier going downstairs drunk than it is going up) Someone holds the deck of cards (no peeking) Someone deals out the cards (recommend getting a bartender to help, they love it) One card is handed out to each player at each new bar Everyone needs to finish their drink before you move on to the next bar (or make it a roadie) Best hand wins at the seventh bar!   Hope this helps and cheers!
 
Serenade of the Seas   Deck 12 Sky Bar   Deck 11 Rita’s Cantina   Deck 6  Crown & Castle Pub Schooner Bar Safari Club   Deck 4 Tropical Theatre R Bar

I will be on Celebrity Summit on August 2, 2020 for my long-hoped-for and dreamed-of 50th birthday celebration trip. It's a 14-night transatlantic voyage (8 port days, 6 sea days) going to Nova Scotia, Greenland, and Iceland before ending in Dublin. It will encompass a number of firsts:
First time on Celebrity First transatlantic cruise First time in Iceland (bucket list item!!) First time NS, Greenland, or Ireland (not bucket list, but way cool) Really looking forward to this, especially as Summit will only be a year post-refurbishment; not exactly "new ship smell", but exciting to think about! And we may stay a few extra days in Ireland, as none of us have ever been there and my wife has cousins there who she hasn't seen since the last time they came to the US; but we'll figure that part out down the road.
We've got... 575 days(!!!) until boarding day. A new personal record!
It will be another six days before I actually have it booked (waiting for my card to cycle), but given that my whole family is on board and I have the cabin selection figured out, I'm fine with saying it now. And if you can't start the countdown until it's booked, it'll still be a record at 569 days.

It’s cruise day!!  Didn’t get much sleep last night. Got to the hotel around 11:45 and was just too excited for today. This is my first time in Miami and wish I had been able to come in earlier in the day to enjoy it more. We stayed at the Hyatt Centric Brickell.  This hotel is gorgeous. I get a Hyatt employee discount so was able to book the room for $119 for the night. For the quality of the room it was a steal. Here are some photos. 
And here off in the distance you can see Symphony!  Sorry kind of blurry: 
Time to get ready and go get some breakfast. My sister is coming down from Ft Lauderdale to meet us. 

We have drifted over to the Windjammer style option more and more, its a shame because one of our early memories that we really thought set cruising apart was getting the "special" level of service that you got from building the relationship with the waiters and really having a different experience than you got elsewhere.
More and more now we find the waiters are so stressed just getting it done that there is no relationship, throw in tablemates that randomly appear and disappear and it just isn't the same anymore.
We tried MTD a bit and it doesn't fix any of the things I miss about the MDR experience but certainly gives the flexibility of eating when you want, in all honesty though the buffet food is typically pretty similar and its easier just to go eat when I am ready. The service is nothing special so im not missing anything, I have to get my own drinks anyway, etc.
Have done some Specialty, hit and miss, sometimes worth it, sometimes not. I think the NCL model of eat where you want, when you want (subject to lines for some venues) is where we are drifting too.

I was on the Oasis over the Holidays and the app had so many issues. I also was not the only one. The I.T. Manager just kept giving the same answer over and over again, "We are still working out the kinks." I asked was this the alpha, beta or release version and he said he didn't know what that means. Ok I.T. Manager. My 4 year old niece knows what I'm referring to. Needless to say, I looked at him and responded, "Thank you anyway, but I'm not going to have a battle of wits with someone who is truly unarmed." and I walked away and had a double Mimosa!! ??

We said YOLO BOOK IT and did it! Ovation here we come!

Lets just say that I WISH that I was as slow as you guys at work, but what I will say is that passing my time here allows me to day or night dream as well, until my next cruise!  I do find that the closer that I get to my next cruise the more time I spend here.....?

I've had several conversations with C&A about this.  According to them, it is completely random.  People on your sailing might get an offer, and it doesn't mean that you will.  Also, they can inform you at the very last minute if you won the bid, or you could find out early on.  It's classic Royal.  No one knows.
Here's @Matt's blog post on it: https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2018/11/26/royal-caribbean-introduce-bid-based-stateroom-upgrade-program

Today is our first and only sea day and to be honest the rest is needed, now understand why so many of you prefer the sea days. 
Almost 8am and sitting in smoking area near pool, a rough guess over 50% of the chairs have already been claimed, towels and other items just left on them with very few people actually here.
This one was here at 6am and has not returned, it did cross my mind how funny it would be if the last page vanished ?

You should laugh, life is far to short to worry about things. 
What may appear as sarcasm is in fact just a weird sense of humour, nothing i say here i wouldnt say to my wifes face but she gives as good as she gets which is why we have been together 23 wonderful years. 
Admittedly the best times have been when shes sleeping that way shes not nipping my ear lol 

First pic of my home for the next week, i was sitting in the back of uber amazed at the sight before me.
Even my wife was amazed, in fact her exact words were  " ive never seen anything so big" 
Thanks dear!! Even the uber driver is sniggering while looking in her mirror 

We have seen del morro, but have not seen the smaller fort, and it is actually closer to the port, just walk off the ship and keep walking straight up the hill and you shouldn't miss it.
We ended up just getting a map and finding our way around, with Google maps on smart phones it should be easy to find you way around.