June May

In all my years of following live blogs, I have never, here or anywhere else, come across a disruption such as this, in someone's live blog.  A live blog is one's personal account of their vacation.  It takes time, effort, commitment, funds (for VOOM) to put one together.  We all have differing viewpoints.  That's what makes the world go around.  However, let's show @Joe01 some respect by allowing him to continue his live blog without whatever this is.    

I've been checking the availability of ship activity and CK reservations daily for my Anthem cruise in October, and also checking the price of 2-device VOOM to see if it's moving at all. Well, today it dropped from $28.98 per day to $26.58 per day. Oddly, the label in the corner of the picture still says "20% off on-board prices" just like yesterday.
Snagged it while it was there, so paid $132.90 instead of $144.90. That $12 saved is a reposado Margarita earned! ?

With the latest July 4th sale underway naturally I was curious if any of my previously made purchases had dropped in price.  Sure enough, one of my excursion is now on sale. 
You have the option to call Royal Caribbean to obtain the lower price or you can do it yourself online. 
Here is a guide showing how I just saved myself $29 using the online approach. 
While this is an example for a shore excursion, it works the same way for other Cruise Planner purchases such as Voom or Beverage Packages. 
For my cruise I visited the Cruise Planner and found my previous purchases.    They are pretty obvious, it tells you that you purchased this item before:

In order to see how much I previously paid, I went to the top of the page and found the "Order History" link.

Clicking on this provides a complete list of any previous Cruise Planner orders (including free one such as My Time Dining).  To see the details for an individual purchase click the "View Order Details" link:

Look at that, I paid $289.  Now it is on sale for $260!
To cancel my purchase so I could re-purchase it at the lower sale price, I clicked on the "Cancel" link

This brings up the next part of the cancellation process.  Since I do want to save $29 I clicked "Yes".

To make sure I really want to cancel it, it presents a review screen giving me the option to not cancel or to proceed.  I clicked the "Confirm Changes" button.

It then confirmed my original order was cancelled and how my refund would be made.  (If I had used on-board credit for this purchase the refund would be returned in the form of on-board credit. )

Now I am free to re-purchase the excursion at the sale price.  From here you purchase it again as if you had never purchased it before.

Clicking the Next button steps you through the normal Cruise Planner purchase process.

While it will take a few days for the credit card refund to process, I just saved $29 in a matter of minutes.
One word of warning for excursions offered at multiple times.  It is possible when an excursion is offered more than once that your original time slot may no longer be available.  For example a snorkeling excursion might be offered at 10am, 11am and 12 noon.  If you currently hold a 10am booking and you see there 10am is not currently available, don't assume that cancelling your order will immediately make the same time slot available for re-purchase.  If you really desire to keep your original time slot you are best to call Royal Caribbean to have them re-price it.
 

As someone who was born in a (mostly) desert continent, this amount of ice, let alone water, absolutely astonishes me.
Thank you for these incredible photos. Alaska is now firmly on my bucket list! (Super stretch cruising goal - fly to Seattle. Cruise to Alaska and back. Then jump aboard a repositioning cruise from Seattle back to Sydney!)

As someone who was born in a (mostly) desert continent, this amount of ice, let alone water, absolutely astonishes me.
Thank you for these incredible photos. Alaska is now firmly on my bucket list! (Super stretch cruising goal - fly to Seattle. Cruise to Alaska and back. Then jump aboard a repositioning cruise from Seattle back to Sydney!)

Photo intensive post coming up. 
As much as I try by dumping picture after picture into this blog there are no words or mere photos that can adequately capture the beauty and how you feel when experiencing Alaska live.  This will serve as my feeble attempt because it was a pretty incredible morning.  Just understand these photos don't do it justice. 
I had a prime spot at the very front of the bow as we approached Dawes glacier.  I hardly noticed the rain.

But it was time to let someone else have a turn.  Sharing is caring.  I made my way through the crowd and grabbed a shot of the glacier including my new best friends.

I went back under the cover of deck 4 to get out of the rain so I could change to a different lens.

There were more 'growlers' as the senior officer on the helipad called them when the chucks of ice (glacier) are a certain size.

The blue color comes from hundreds of feet of ice compressing and squeezing the oxygen out of the ice.

With the sun now coming and going it dramatically changed the colors of the glacier, growlers and cliff walls of Endicott Arm.  Here two different arms of this glacier meet.  Where the glacier has been rubbing down the wall of the rock face it grinds off pieces of rock that form the dark strips that can be seen on top of the glacier.


Everywhere I turned there was something that caught my eye.

We had reached our closest approach to the glacier at approximately 1 mile.  From here the Captain began to slowly turn the ship in a clockwise circle.  There isn't a bad spot to be, except maybe in the casino, the pub or a restroom.

From here I ventured up to deck 12.

A polar bear had emerged on the ship roaming around with the ship photographers.

With the first 90° of a turn complete the ship was sideways across Endicott Arm and the views in direction we had come from was pretty impressive.

As impressive as the glacier may be, I was equally impressed with the cliff faces of the rock walls of Endicott Arm surrounding the ship.  It was truly awe inspiring. 

The deck 12 sun deck above the Sky Bar was a popular spot for a quick selfie.


























With that it was time to leave.  We began our departure back down into Endicott Arm.

Very blessed and grateful for sure.  With only 2-5% even survive to get to the hospital.  We are high school sweethearts, married for 42 years and our plans are to grow old together!

Well to say that we are extremely grateful is an understatement!  Hubby had a heart attack this past Thursday, heart cath on Friday to find what the doctors call the "widow maker" with the main artery in his heart 99% blocked.  They were able to fix it with a balloon and stint.  We came home on Saturday and other than being very sore is feeling pretty good. He has to take it easy for a few weeks.  I asked the doctor about flying for our Alaska cruise and he said he could fly in 4 weeks.  We were 2 days shy of the 4 weeks and the doctor gave his blessing.  I did have trip insurance but thankful that he is still here and to be able to still go.  Hubby is very active and that was in his favor too. 

Was the coke included in the drinks package? If it was then at £45 per day that's not to be sniffed at ? 
Probably the only time there's been a straight line on an RC cruise 

By the way, am I the only one who read "OH MY!" and heard it in George Takei's voice. OHHHHH MY!

Quebec City is spectacular. The "lower" part of the city, the old port, is a maze of cobblestone streets and little stores, and then you can take the funicular railway up a very steep cliff to the upper city, with stupendous views of the St Lawrence River and more historical buildings. The remaining city fortifications - the wall in particular - are well worth seeing. The hop on hop off bus is a great way to see a lot with little effort - you can buy tickets in the upper city, just across from the viewing area at the top of the cliff. 
I highly recommend it as a destination - that being said, no idea where the cruise ship terminal is compared with the Chateau Frontenac (which is rather central to the area I was describing). But I'm sure you'll find out!

Lets hope the IT Department of Royal doesn't merge with Silversea... ?

Since I'm still so new to cruising, I'm trying to pick an itinerary each time that gives new destinations and maybe a new ship class to try. The destinations are more important right now, so I don't have a problem re-sailing a particular class or even ship if it's going somewhere new.
As far as on-ship activities -- I completely forgot to check out trivia games or things like that when I was on my first cruise. I was too busy enjoying the balcony or the helipad, exploring the ship, or just relaxing with a beverage somewhere! But I will admit there were a few times I was looking for something to do and forgot that I should check the Cruise Compass for any activities.

My first cruise was in 2015, and when my TA told me about the drinks package, I went home, calculated the price and then worked out how much I'd need to save per week to pay for it! ?
Second cruise coming up in March 2019, so no idea yet what the package is going to cost - but I've high-balled a number and yep, saving up for it as we speak.
When I was married, I NEVER got to drink when we went out - the ex didn't drive, so I was always the designated driver and had to stay sober. Now I'm single, I'm still the designated driver, but I've been known to indulge and catch a cab home (the ex disapproved of that - can you see why he's now the ex?) ?
For me, my cruise vacation will be just that - a vacation. Away from always being the driver, away from (much) responsibility - the drinks package allows me the freedom and convenience to enjoy speciality coffee (the free stuff is pretty dreadful, and I'm no coffee snob), to take bottles of water on shore excursions, and to laze away the day by the pool with lovely waiters bringing me drinks with umbrellas in them. Isn't that the stereotypical vacation ideal?
Plus, my experience on Independence back in 2015 was brilliant - I glimpsed a cocktail in the wine bar (before the ex dragged me away because he didn't want to stay there) that had elderflower liqueur in it. Couldn't remember the name, just that it was champagne and elderflower. When I asked the bartender in the MDR for this vaguely described drink? I got it. And it was beautiful.
So the unlimited alcohol package is an indulgence, but one which I am sure I will get value for. It's also a convenience. I should mention I'm cruising alone, so there's no requirement to purchase a second package for another party, which certainly adds to the affordability.
I can't wait for March next year to enjoy some fabulous Royal cocktails again!

My first cruise was in 2015, and when my TA told me about the drinks package, I went home, calculated the price and then worked out how much I'd need to save per week to pay for it! ?
Second cruise coming up in March 2019, so no idea yet what the package is going to cost - but I've high-balled a number and yep, saving up for it as we speak.
When I was married, I NEVER got to drink when we went out - the ex didn't drive, so I was always the designated driver and had to stay sober. Now I'm single, I'm still the designated driver, but I've been known to indulge and catch a cab home (the ex disapproved of that - can you see why he's now the ex?) ?
For me, my cruise vacation will be just that - a vacation. Away from always being the driver, away from (much) responsibility - the drinks package allows me the freedom and convenience to enjoy speciality coffee (the free stuff is pretty dreadful, and I'm no coffee snob), to take bottles of water on shore excursions, and to laze away the day by the pool with lovely waiters bringing me drinks with umbrellas in them. Isn't that the stereotypical vacation ideal?
Plus, my experience on Independence back in 2015 was brilliant - I glimpsed a cocktail in the wine bar (before the ex dragged me away because he didn't want to stay there) that had elderflower liqueur in it. Couldn't remember the name, just that it was champagne and elderflower. When I asked the bartender in the MDR for this vaguely described drink? I got it. And it was beautiful.
So the unlimited alcohol package is an indulgence, but one which I am sure I will get value for. It's also a convenience. I should mention I'm cruising alone, so there's no requirement to purchase a second package for another party, which certainly adds to the affordability.
I can't wait for March next year to enjoy some fabulous Royal cocktails again!

One other thing for me is my relationship with people that entrust me with their trips

 - we take our clients and our friendships/bookings with them very serious - Certainly MEI Travel
supports this blog and we are thrilled to be doing that. And WE CAN"T TELL YOU THANK YOU
enough for entrusting us to handle your cruises - thank you - thank you - but its the relationship
with Matt and the Blog that is also of great value as well to me.

AND - I have many clients that after 10-12 years of booking with me are friends too
They don't just book cruises- they book all trips with me - and now I'm moving down to their
Kids Trips as well - its awesome!    And once I learn your likes/ etc.  I don't have to come ask
you "what type of cabin?  what dining"  I try hard to get to know your likes/dislikes so we work
as a Team - and other MEI Agents do this as well.

TO me - besides all things listed here in the post about perks and supports -its about
that relationship too!

Mark - you are too kind!  but so happy we connected and I can help you with your cruises! 
It's My Pleasure - and MEI TEAM rocks!

Now I understand what the Royal Caribbean Blog is all about - it's a support group for Cruiseaholics.

I was 54 on my first cruise in '16.   If I had the means, I'd be going 3-4 times a year, but I'll have to be satisfied with @ 1 a year.
Go ahead - let me win that lottery...I double-dog dare ya

This was our experience on the Enchantment (albeit it was only for 2).  I made reservations 3 of the 4 nights, requested a table for two.  On embarkation, we went to the MDR to confirm times, table for two and said we'd prefer the same wait staff and a table by the window.  At the end of dinner on the first night, we let the waiter know we would be at Chops for Day 2, but back for days 3 & 4.   Showed up for Day 3 and the waiter and made notes or our previous drink order and just verified it, on Day 4 he just went and got them.  And we had the same table every night.   There was some variation on the people around us but we saw the same people at the adjacent tables on Days 3 and 4 
 

They have real cheesecake on the ship. My favorite is red velvet cheesecake.

First - and only - cruise was on Independence of the Seas, 7 night Western Caribbean cruise out of Fort Lauderdale.
Ex-husband and I were doing a "trip of a lifetime" because I'd come into some money from my mother's estate. The cruise was a bit of a splurge item after seeing a show (not even about RCI) on TLC about cruising.
Chose the cruise because I wanted specifically to go to the Mayan site at Cozumel and that didn't disappoint - it will be one of my forever memories.
That being said, the ex was generally a surly wet blanket most of the cruise (most of the whole trip) so for my next milestone birthday in 2022, I'm celebrating ditching the ex and planning on going back to Fort Lauderdale and doing another Western Caribbean cruise so I can truly enjoy it! Stretch goal - doing B2B and taking in the Eastern Caribbean as well. 
In the meantime, I've got Explorer of the Seas booked for March next year (South Pacific) and Ovation of the Seas in February 2020 (New Zealand). 

First - and only - cruise was on Independence of the Seas, 7 night Western Caribbean cruise out of Fort Lauderdale.
Ex-husband and I were doing a "trip of a lifetime" because I'd come into some money from my mother's estate. The cruise was a bit of a splurge item after seeing a show (not even about RCI) on TLC about cruising.
Chose the cruise because I wanted specifically to go to the Mayan site at Cozumel and that didn't disappoint - it will be one of my forever memories.
That being said, the ex was generally a surly wet blanket most of the cruise (most of the whole trip) so for my next milestone birthday in 2022, I'm celebrating ditching the ex and planning on going back to Fort Lauderdale and doing another Western Caribbean cruise so I can truly enjoy it! Stretch goal - doing B2B and taking in the Eastern Caribbean as well. 
In the meantime, I've got Explorer of the Seas booked for March next year (South Pacific) and Ovation of the Seas in February 2020 (New Zealand). 

First - and only - cruise was on Independence of the Seas, 7 night Western Caribbean cruise out of Fort Lauderdale.
Ex-husband and I were doing a "trip of a lifetime" because I'd come into some money from my mother's estate. The cruise was a bit of a splurge item after seeing a show (not even about RCI) on TLC about cruising.
Chose the cruise because I wanted specifically to go to the Mayan site at Cozumel and that didn't disappoint - it will be one of my forever memories.
That being said, the ex was generally a surly wet blanket most of the cruise (most of the whole trip) so for my next milestone birthday in 2022, I'm celebrating ditching the ex and planning on going back to Fort Lauderdale and doing another Western Caribbean cruise so I can truly enjoy it! Stretch goal - doing B2B and taking in the Eastern Caribbean as well. 
In the meantime, I've got Explorer of the Seas booked for March next year (South Pacific) and Ovation of the Seas in February 2020 (New Zealand). 

First - and only - cruise was on Independence of the Seas, 7 night Western Caribbean cruise out of Fort Lauderdale.
Ex-husband and I were doing a "trip of a lifetime" because I'd come into some money from my mother's estate. The cruise was a bit of a splurge item after seeing a show (not even about RCI) on TLC about cruising.
Chose the cruise because I wanted specifically to go to the Mayan site at Cozumel and that didn't disappoint - it will be one of my forever memories.
That being said, the ex was generally a surly wet blanket most of the cruise (most of the whole trip) so for my next milestone birthday in 2022, I'm celebrating ditching the ex and planning on going back to Fort Lauderdale and doing another Western Caribbean cruise so I can truly enjoy it! Stretch goal - doing B2B and taking in the Eastern Caribbean as well. 
In the meantime, I've got Explorer of the Seas booked for March next year (South Pacific) and Ovation of the Seas in February 2020 (New Zealand).