MelKaps

My favorite cruise was on Allure of the Seas in September 2017 during Hurricane Irma. Although it negatively impacted many people and islands, it was a wonderful extended cruise for us. It was a great way to celebrate my fiancé’s birthday. We vlogged our cruise experience, which you can view HERE.

I first did this excursion in 2005 and made sure to book the same one back in 2017. It will always be one of my favorites! Make sure to pack water shoes for both tubing and climbing the waterfall. I vlogged this excursion and you can check out the videos below. ROYAL CARIBBEAN | ALLURE OF THE SEAS: CLIMBING WATERFALLS! ROYAL CARIBBEAN | ALLURE OF THE SEAS: RIVER TUBING!

I have a European cruise booked for June 22. On the bright side, I called up today and saved over $400 on my cruise fare. I don’t mind having to cancel and receiving FCC as I have a cruise already booked in 2021. The main thing stressing me out is that we booked our flights 2 weeks before we found out about coronavirus and airlines aren’t addressing flights booked after April just yet. I also had to alert my company that I have a trip planned and they keep emailing me about my decision, but I don’t want to cancel just yet since the trip is in 3 months and anything can happen.

New vlog is live! We swam with turtles (and crowds of people) in St. Thomas and enjoyed Caribbean night aboard Harmony of the Seas. ROYAL CARIBBEAN | HARMONY OF THE SEAS: ST. THOMAS!

I know how you feel as I am also worried about my Baltic cruise in June. We booked our flights a week before coronavirus was announced. Our final payment is in a few weeks and we aren’t sure what to do. I still really want to go, but nobody knows what will happen in June.

The next vlog is live! We enjoyed our first sea day and formal night aboard Harmony of the Seas. ROYAL CARIBBEAN | HARMONY OF THE SEAS: FORMAL NIGHT!

After a 2+ week delay, the next vlog is here! We visited Perfect Day at CocoCay on the second day of our cruise. ROYAL CARIBBEAN | HARMONY OF THE SEAS: PERFECT DAY AT COCOCAY!

No need to bring your own towels. The pool deck provides beach towels. All you need to do is scan your seapass card with the crew member to check out the amount you need. Make sure you return the towels, otherwise you are charged $25 per towel not returned by the end of the cruise. You are allowed to take them off the ship for excursions and use them on the ship at the pool.

The next vlog is here! Embarkation Day Part 2 includes a tour of a Central Park balcony, inside look at the Diamond Lounge, and dinner at Chops! ROYAL CARIBBEAN | HARMONY OF THE SEAS: EMBARKATION DAY PART 2!

If you decide to carry the bags off yourself, the elevators will be crowded. A great tip is to take an elevator up with all of your luggage before riding it back down. ?

Yes, I have footage from each day of our cruise. I am hoping to upload a new vlog every week, but sometimes I am too tired when I get home from work to edit and fall behind. ? Some days I have so much footage that I have to divide the vlogs into 2 parts (Embarkation Day for instance). My goal is to definitely have all the vlogs uploaded before I leave for my next cruise in June, which is very achievable. Thanks for watching and I'll be sure to post in this thread every time a new vlog is up!

I tried Wonderland and I was disappointed, mainly because I have dietary restrictions. I felt uncomfortable the entire time with not knowing what food was going to be brought out since we had to "trust the waiter." For me personally, the food was just too out there for me. I ended up having Sorrentos pizza later. My significant other enjoyed Wonderland, but also felt uneasy with how the experience went. He wants to try it again, but I told him he would have to go alone. Overall, I am glad I tried Wonderland once, but I think I had too high of expectations.

That is a lot of people on the island. I can only imagine the wait times for the water slides in the thrill park.

Thank you! It was a much needed vacation that I was looking forward to all year. We absolutely love the first day of cruises and exploring the ship. We were on board by 10:50am and everything in the vlog was filmed in the first 2.5 hours (plus more not shown). That’s why we tell everyone to get to the port early!

Check out part 1 of Embarkation Day aboard Harmony of the Seas on October 13, 2019. ROYAL CARIBBEAN | HARMONY OF THE SEAS: EMBARKATION DAY!

The new vlog went live! We visited Animal Kingdom the day before our cruise. Check it out: ROYAL CARIBBEAN | HARMONY OF THE SEAS: DISNEY PRE-CRUISE!. Please make sure to like and subscribe!

I am actually really happy that we have more time in Athens and an extra stop in Greece. My fiance is a little upset about losing Naples. We are both indifferent about Crete.

Instead of an overnight in Naples, they removed Naples entirely and we now have an overnight in Athens. They added Rhodes, Greece. They replaced Heraklion (Iraklion), Crete with Chania (Souda), Crete.

I noticed all the October 2021 cruises are back up again. And my itinerary for October 10 has already been changed.

We carried the knife back to the ship and had no issue. I am pretty sure it was in its own packaging. We bought ours in Ketchikan. If you sail out of Seattle on Royal Caribbean, they do not stop there (I was on Celebrity). But most of the Alaskan ports have the same souvenirs so you can find it in Juneau and Skagway.

Bumping this old thread. Question: Do they ensure vegan food is cooked in separate cookware so it doesn’t cross contaminate with meat/dairy? My mother is cruising next month on Independence and wants to make sure the vegan options are truly vegan. I assumed they would know better, but now I am asking on her behalf. If anyone is unsure, I can always have her email.

My favorite purchase was an ulu knife made in Alaska (don’t get made in China). It is great quality and I use it all the time when cooking.

One of my favorite excursions was the Rhino Rider Adventure in St. Maarten. You drive small motor boats to a beach and snorkel in the area before returning. Each boat ("Rider") fits 2 people, but has to be driven by an adult. It is great if you like snorkeling and want something a bit more adventurous. You can find it listed on the Cruise Planner. Check out my vlog from last year when we did the excursion: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NcMDyyrIYZY

Update: My sailing still exists and I paid my deposit. However, apparently it sold out in 2 days because I have not seen it listed on the website since I placed a hold. It just seems odd to me.

I stayed at the Best Western Fort Lauderdale Airport/Cruise Port a couple of times. It has a free shuttle to the hotel from the airport and free continental breakfast. There is a shopping center across the street with a Winn Dixie, liquor store, restaurants, and a few other stores (perfect for last minute things). It's about a 12 minute drive to the port. However, they charge approx $15 per person for a shuttle to the port that doesn't leave until after 10AM. We never had a problem with lyft taking us to the port.