yaya luvs to cruz

@monctonguy  Good luck. We're also waiting for a deep discount on drink package. Since we're sailing in January, we might have to wait until Black Friday/Cyber Monday. Hope springs eternal.

Tanya is leaving for a promotion to CD tomorrow on Majesty. I think Dennis is the CD. They have been inaccurate in the past and this sounds like nonsense.

That sounds exactly like our cruise on her in 2005! That 12 night Med cruise was one of my favourite vacations of all time.

When I was on Freedom last April, reduced deposit was only offered at Next Cruise with a non-refundable deposit. And OBC was also higher with an NRD. YMMV, but I got the feeling that it’s the standard now.

The deposit may or may not be lower than normal.  Depends on what you are booking.  You can choose either refundable or non-refundable.  Just make sure you tell the rep which you want...don't assume they will ask. 

Booking a cruise on Anthem of the Seas for January 6, 2019. We sailed on Royal twice previously, the last time in 2009. After cruising 12x on other lines (which we did enjoy), we're coming back to Royal, my hubby's fave. This blog has been helpful and fun. You're amazing people. So excited to sail on Sunday ... 5 days !!!

Thank you, Sabrina. I felt like I was cruising with you. Great job. Safe travels home.

@twangster I want to be you when I grow up ?  Do you fly often or drive? Looking forward to the day we can just cruise whenever we want. Or I need a job where I can work remotely from a ship. Happy New Year everyone!
 

Booking a cruise on Anthem of the Seas for January 6, 2019. We sailed on Royal twice previously, the last time in 2009. After cruising 12x on other lines (which we did enjoy), we're coming back to Royal, my hubby's fave. This blog has been helpful and fun. You're amazing people. So excited to sail on Sunday ... 5 days !!!

Fourteen cruises marks the most I've cruised in any single year so I thought I take a second to put it down in a post.
I started 2018 as a relatively new Diamond member in the Crown and Anchor Society and finished just over the halfway mark to Pinnacle.
Anthem -> Liberty -> Serenade -> Adventure -> Explorer -> Empress -> Radiance -> Mariner -> Enchantment -> Adventure -> Symphony -> Serenade -> Oasis -> Navigator
The scary part is I missed a cruise when my daughter graduated from the Air Force or it would have been fifteen.  Oh well, well worth it.
Of all these cruises I think Navigator to the ABC islands was my best cruise, in no small part due to the ABC islands and my cruise mate (step daughter and scuba diving buddy).
Other notable 2018 cruise events for me
First Transatlantic (Symphony) First Canada/New England (Adventure) First ABC island cruise First visit/cruise to Cuba First Diamond Plus cruise (Adventure repositioning San Juan to Bayonne) First Radiance class experience First Voyager class experience Completed the Oasis class challenge (sailing all Oasis Class) Completed the Freedom class challenge (sailing all Freedom class) Completed the Empress class challenge (easy one here) My longest single cruise (Adventure 13 night Snowbird Migration) Paid for a cruise in full and didn't show up (cruise #15 above) Sailed six different classes of ship in a single year (would have been seven classes if not for the missed cruise) First time on a FlowRider Five Crystal Blocks First year not sailing in a full suite Sailed on a ship every month of the year First RoyalCaribbeanBlog Group Cruise!!!!
What was your most notable cruise moment of 2018?

Booking a cruise on Anthem of the Seas for January 6, 2019. We sailed on Royal twice previously, the last time in 2009. After cruising 12x on other lines (which we did enjoy), we're coming back to Royal, my hubby's fave. This blog has been helpful and fun. You're amazing people. So excited to sail on Sunday ... 5 days !!!

Booking and going on a cruise by myself and not waiting on anyone else. This was a big moment and a turning point in my life...

Happy New Year!!!! 
Finally time to board Mariner in a few days! ?

Happy New Year Everyone 

Happy New Year all! 

HAPPY NEW YEAR ?
AND
FAIR SEAS IN 2019 ?
 
From the U.S. east coast (a little early, but making sure it gets done ?),
Lynn
 

Times Square on the Promenade. Happy New Year! ??
https://youtu.be/1iEtWVEt5eo

Happy New Year everyone ?

Loving your blog. Enjoy the New Year's Eve festivities.

Following along and thoroughly enjoying your posts. Thank you for taking the time to share. Happy New Year. 

Final Thoughts 
 
I wanted to give a few weeks in between returning and reflecting on my thoughts from the cruise and hopefully avoid some of the recencey bias. 
All in all I’d have to agree with @Matt that Harmony is my favorite ship out there, but that does not mean it’s without fault.
Even with the numerous elevator banks they’re programmed erratically which seems to lead to overcrowding. I’d prefer the system like in many hotels where you select where you are going and people get grouped together.  Also, the lack of common sense by elevator crowders often causes me to want to develop a pop up cardboard cut out that looks like an at capacity elevator. 
The main dining room food was among the worst I’ve had, I’d compare it to our early days of cruising on Carnival and well below Norwegian. Temperature was bad, food was bland, and even the choices were subpar. 
Specialty restaurants- in contrast to the MDR, this one leans towards Harmony over NCL, we had great meals at the Specialty Restaurants, with Jamie’s Italian being the standout. So much so that my eight year old wants to book a flight to London to visit the landslide Jamie’s Italian locations.
As others have mentioned signage is pretty poor, as someone who seemingly lacks a sense of direction, those little signs and indications of where I am are very helpful. I hear they’re doing away with it in the future, but in the hallways on Norwegian, fish on the carpet always point towards forward. 
Embarkation and Disembarkation- this will be an interesting one to compare once the new Norwegian terminal in Miami opens in 2019. Our experience embarking the ship and getting back on and off at ports was much smoother than any ports on NCL. We’ll be in the new Port Miami Terminal purpose built for Norwegian Encore next fall, only a couple of weeks after its opening. 
Shows and Entertainment- At the top end I’d give this one to Royal Caribbean for the broadway shows, but on daily activities I’d give a slight edge to NCL, mostly because of serendipity, with things like trivia relegated to pubs, and bars we wouldn’t stumble upon activities. On NCLs getaway and escape, they’re held in the atrium where we’d often stroll into an event. 
Pools and outdoor activities- other than the main dining room category this one is the biggest landslide. The Harmony had plentiful pools, decent water slides, and the flow rider was our favorite discovery. The Perfect storm water slide was fun, but the others were rather slow. Norwegian Encore is slated for great looking water slides to go along with a Go Kart Track, and laser tag, so this one might flip next year. 
Cabin- viewing mini-suites and junior suites in the same category, we much preferred the junior suite on Harmony, the closet being the differentiating factor. Having a walk in closet is a luxury we’d love to have every time. There was plenty of storage throughout the room. The bathroom however was  smaller than we expected with some wasted space in the middle of the room. We also sorely missed the second sink for when everyone is getting ready at the same time. 
 

 
So in Conclusion- we’d never hesitate to book either line, which after four cruises on NCL we thought we’d stick there. Partially because of the latitudes program, but also because of the included added values. However, I think we’ve gotten to a point where it’s just worth paying for the additional space, priority embarkation, etc.. A lot of that is probably because as a frequent business traveler I’m used to boarding first, so why go back to the back on vacations. 
So we may be Loyal to Royal, we’re also Feelin’ Norwegian. 

@JLMoran My Two Blogs Are Written From Me A 13 Year Old. 

@chalkdawg4 I am loving this blog for several reasons:  Love the pics so far.  Not sure if you know but I am a teacher.  I teach mainly 13 year olds but over the years, the writing skills of young people have been going downhill.  Quite scary at times.  As I read this with my "teacher hat" on, this blog is so well written for a teenager.  The style and wording is not only descriptive but there is an excellent voice coming through.  Love it!