WannaCruise

Happy to report that we just did check in for WestJet, and like your scenario, when we got to bags, it showed $0 for the cost of each bag.  
So it was in fact included.  

Happy to report that we just did check in for WestJet, and like your scenario, when we got to bags, it showed $0 for the cost of each bag.  
So it was in fact included.  

Happy to report that we just did check in for WestJet, and like your scenario, when we got to bags, it showed $0 for the cost of each bag.  
So it was in fact included.  

Finally.  A lone vehicle putting down the pier.  No sense of emergency which hopefully is a good sign. Hopefully that means the patient is well enough not to require urgency.
[~1 hour passes] 
Things are eerily quiet in Grand Turk on a Thursday night.  Other than the vehicle presumably here to remove the sick passenger, there is not another vehicle on the streets as far as I can see. I don’t even see a single person walking around !  Note to self:  Grand Turk is not a hotbed of nighttime partying/shenanigans….     I estimate we were at the pier for over an hour, altogether…so far.
I will give credit to our Panoramic Suite.  You couldn’t ask for a better view of the events….however, we were unable to see anything happening on the pier directly below us.  Some people had gathered on the ship’s bow and I suspect they could see down below (on the pier) where we could not.
We’ve been cruising for 17 years and this is the first time we have ever been diverted for a medical emergency.   Very sad and as @asquared17 said, becoming all too common.  
 
In other news, our second BOGO dinner (Chops) went smoothly.  You may recall the confusion around our first BOGO event and our concern with whether or not the second one would go smoothly since we were not asked to pay for it on nights 1 or 2… but it went perfectly.  Got a -0- bill with no drama.  Our only disappointment was that we were denied a MDR lobster tail (it’s Royal Night in the MDR)  to create  a surf & turf combo….but that’s most likely my fault as I violated my own rule by not giving them a head’s up earlier in the day.  They may well have denied it even if I had asked earlier.  I guess we’ll never know.  Maybe I’ll try it again next week only ask in advance this time.
Maria, the Suites Concierge made all of our specialty dining reservations for next week so we’re all set for another cruise !

Please let this be uneventful…lol
 

I am happy to say that other than going to bed early tonight, there is not much else I can do.
I am also excited to show you guys my newest Beis additions for this trip. Bought it for myself as a birthday gift last month. I told @Jax to talk me out of it, but she was no help. 

Moving on to our NYE sailing on Odyssey of the Seas…
This is our first time on Odyssey. We were booked on the original inaugural sailing of this ship with quite a few others from this blog community. That was cancelled by the pandemic, and this NYE was our first opportunity to re-book this ship. I booked this sailing the day new itineraries were released. I am truly looking forward to this. I feel like OY got lost a bit in the shuffle by Wonder, and then Icon, but she is still fairly new and has a lot to offer.
As many of you know, I am not a fan of Quantum class ships, however, I am intrigued by how OY will differ.
Who’s Going?
Me, Hubby, D17, D15
Flight
Delta from DTW-FLL; booked through Air2Sea. Flying in on the 29th (tomorrow!) as our family policy is now 2 days early if we can swing it. Flight prices are horrendous for this trip, even compared to past NYE trips that we have taken. We were able to price it down a few times before final payment, but it was still double what we paid last year at this time. We even contemplated driving down, but in the end, Hubby was not up for that. Hopefully this doesn’t backfire, and he ends up driving anyway!
Pre-Cruise Stay
I booked our pre-cruise hotel for this trip the as soon as hotels released prices for our dates. The first reason was because I knew from the last few NYE sailings we’ve done; these hotels sell out fast and prices skyrocket the closer you get. Also, booking early allows me to grab the room type that I wanted because there was something specific that I had in mind.
When we sailed out of Port Everglades in the past, we have always stayed on 17th Street. I cannot even remember a time when we did not. However, because we are flying in 2 days early, and because we have no idea which, or if any freeloaders will be cruising with us for future NYE sailings, we wanted this one to be a bit more special. D15 has always looked longingly at the beach during our PE sail aways. She always asks why we cannot stay along the beach (Hello child, you know this family loves La Bamba right?), so for this pre-cruise stay, we are doing just that.
I have always wanted to try the Conrad on Fort Lauderdale Beach, however @Jax persuaded me to try out the Hilton Fort Lauderdale Beach Resort. I was really impressed by her review on this property last year and I’ve been following them on Instagram for about a year now. I think this property is a better fit for the 4 of us over the Conrad. In addition, I persuaded D17’s best friend to stay there with her family back in September, and they loved it as well, so we are pretty excited for our stay.
This will sadly mean that we have to Uber/Lyft our way to our beloved La Bamba.
Itinerary
29 DEC Arrive Fort Lauderdale, Florida
30 DEC FORT LAUDERDALE, FLORIDA
31 DEC FORT LAUDERDALE, FLORIDA (Cruise Day !)
01 JAN PERFECT DAY COCOCAY, BAHAMAS
02 JAN CRUISING
03 JAN LABADEE, HAITI
04 JAN PUERTO PLATA, DOMINICAN REP
05 JAN CRUISING
06 JAN FORT LAUDERDALE, FLORIDA
Cabin
The recurring theme for our next few family sailings is, “Go Big, or Go Home” because D17 is graduating high school this June and we have no idea what that means for sailing as a family of 4 in the future. For this sailing, we will be revisiting a cabin that we fell in love with when we sailed Anthem to Norway.
Pre-Cruise thoughts
-        This is probably one of the most relaxed sailings for me in terms of pre-cruise planning. With two beach days (PDCC and Labadee), Hubby and the girls are going to do their beach things and I will likely not get off the ship at all, except for the day in Puerto Plata.
-        Long time blog members, @recogneyesand @WannaCruise will be on this sailing too. Hoping that we can find a time to finally meet each other. Canadians need to stick together lol
-        This was unfortunately one of the first times where both hotel and cruise fare never dropped since initial booking. Both were booked on the day it was released, and prices have just climbed over time. Zero opportunities for price adjustments this time around.
-        Once again, in the spirit of a live blog, please do not hesitate to ask any questions.  I will do my best to find out whatever I can for you.
-        When responding to a post with a series of pictures, please do not include the pictures in your reply.  It just makes for easier scrolling.
-        Lastly, I will try to post videos and stories on Instagram.  You can follow me @lovetocruise2002

Interesting.  I never even realized that the put-put golf is above us.  I have been paying extra-close attention to the noises per @Lovetocruise2002’s interest and I have noted a few bumps now and again (maybe coming from the bridge ?) but nothing really distracting or worrisome.  I will note that Dan LOVES this room.  He is loving the view and spends hours pretending he’s the Master of the Vessel (kidding) but seriously, the view is really enchanting as long as you are looking straight ahead.  Not so much with the bridge and bow in your lower view…I also love the space in this suite…it’s large, open and bright.  During the day it can get very warm due to the solar loading of the large windows so the AC works overtime to keep it cool (very similar to the temperature issues associated with the ATS, for those who have stayed in one).  At night you’re freezing your a$$ off and have to turn the AC down (up, actually) but the thermostat is very responsive so not a big deal. I strongly recommend that anyone staying in one of these suites plan on fully enjoying the sunrise and sunset.  Every morning before the sun rises we throw the curtains open and watch the sun come up.  It’s awesome !  We are here less often for sunset but the same magic happens again.  I still am not fond of the location of this suite in relation to where I mostly hang out, but I guess maybe this room is growing on me !

I've booked air2sea several times.  Bags are never included on domestic  (USA) or Caribbean flights.  However 1 bag was included on my Australian flight. 

This is what I mean by what I captured at booking time via Air2Sea (This happens to be WestJet booking)
  and then  

We have booked many times through Air2Sea and I have never seen bags included from booking with them. Included bags are usually dependant on the airline fare category that you booked, not the agent (which in this case is Air2Sea). If this exists, then I am missing out too. Interested to hear what others say.

This has proven to be the most difficult part of the voucher system, IMO.  Sometimes they use your voucher and sometimes they do not, even if you tell them you want to use a voucher.  Yes, they will EVENTUALLY show up on your account as a -0- purchase but that might take all day/night to happen.  There are MANY days when absolutely nothing shows up on my account so I assume that the voucher(s) were never used.
As others have mentioned, if you presume to have left-over vouchers at the end of the evening, drop by a bar and ask for some water/soft drinks/beers ??  to go.  It is a shame to waste vouchers but admittedly, I do it every single day.
It's a great perk but it isn't perfect.  Keeping track of how many you have used/remaining can be a challenge but I guess it's a good problem to have !

@WAAAYTOOO and @RCL_Cruiser_Dan Christmas cruise on Adventure

TL;DR - All is well.  Christmas is coming.  The BOGO process is a Charlie Foxtrot.
 
I promised a live blog for this sailing but in keeping with my utter unreliability for doing live blogs, I have failed again....this being day 3 already.
I will skip all of the pre-boarding and boarding details as these are not of particular interest to anyone and it was entirely uneventful.  All went well. We are here.
The ship is in great shape for her age.  We sailed on Adventure relatively recently so there haven't been any changes since that time.  Sure, she needs paint in some areas and there are patches of carpeting that are in need of replacing but these are purely superficial issues and have not impacted our enjoyment at all.
We are in a Panoramic Ocean View Suite (VP), a room which was converted at the time that part of the spa was removed.  The room has an ENORMOUS panoramic view with ceiling-to-floor window panes.  It makes for a really lovely view....particularly at sunrise and sunset.  LOTS of space.  There is a large-ish closet area that they advertise as a second bedroom but that's not fair.  It's just a couple of bunk beds in a closet with a curtain.  Yes, it provides additional beds. No, it is not a second bedroom.  There is a bath-and-a-half (full bath and second toilet and sink) but the full bath is somewhat disappointing as it is the same size and layout of a typical stateroom bathroom with a space tube shower (ugh).  Nothing special there.  It is considered a full suite so we have access to the Suites Lounge and all of the suites' amenities.  Breakfast is in Giovanni's on this ship (it's typically in Chops) b/c Chops is on Deck 4, forward and Gios is the only specialty restaurant on deck 11....and it is in an unusual place (instead of being located inside the Windjammer entrance as it is on most VY and FR class ships, the entrance is outside of the WJ).  The food and service have been very good.
It's a good thing that the VP is considered a full suite b/c we would otherwise be denied access to the Suites' Lounge on this sailing.  There are 65 Pinns onboard this sailing (and I'm sure we are #'s 64 and 65 in seniority !).  Only the top 30 are permitted in the Suites' Lounge and we certainly are not among those 30...but since we are in a full suite, we are allowed in.  As may be expected, the SL is an empty wilderness and the Crown Lounge (CL) (or Clown Lounge as some are calling it) is a whirlwind of chaos.  Since the only [public] computers that I am aware of are located in the back of the CL (there are 2), that is where you will find me in the AM.  At least there is SOMEwhere to get on a keyboard !
As one would predict, there are many families and children on this sailing but I have not found it to be a concern.  Everyone is having a wonderful time and the children are all looking forward to Santa's arrival.  
There was a show in the theater last night called "Can't Stop the Rock" which we fully intended to attend but failed (we decided that the hot tub would be a better thing to do)....but I heard it was tolerable.  We went to the ice show on our last AD sailing so we will probably skip it this time but as I recall, it was very typical of all the ice shows and definitely worth going to if you haven't been before.
We have not stepped foot inside the WJ and intend to keep it that way.  Our one night of dining in the MDR (so far) was fine.  Welcome Aboard is one of my least favorite MDR menus and that happened to be the night that we decided to eat there (having eaten lunch in Chops on boarding day....didn't think 2 big meals in one day would be a good idea).  We will also eat in the MDR on Christmas evening and one more time during the last part of the sailing...which night, escapes me at the moment.  We have a 3 night dining package plus 2, BOGO which works soooo well for us.  Speaking of BOGO I thought I would relay the mechanics of using the BOGO on AD...or at least, on THIS sailing on AD as it never seems to be the same process, even on the same ship !  We ate at Giovanni's last night (night #2) and told the server that this represented the use of the first of our BOGO dinners and that we would be eating in Chops later in the week.  Knowing that it is MANDATORY that you pay for your BOGO meals on nights #1 or #2, we requested that the server go ahead and charge us both, full price for our Gio's meal.  That utterly confused her....so she called the manager over.  The manager finally decided that the thing to do was to call Chops, have them charge us for our [yet-to-be-consumed] Chops BOGO and then when we get to Chops later this week, we will already have pre-paid.  PERFECT !  Exactly what we wanted.  We paid for our Gio's BOGO and went home full and happy.  Later that evening we checked our onboard account.  Gio's was charged...but no Chops.  UGH.  So this morning when enjoying our breakfast in Gio's we queried the manager...what happened to our charge for Chops ?  Blank stare.  So she got on the phone with someone...the final determination is that they will charge us for the second BOGO when we get to Chops in a few days.  WHAAAAT ?  I thought the charge had to be completed NLT day 1 or 2 ?  It's an utter mystery and it's yet-to-be-seen whether or not this process will actually work but if I get to Chops and have some bill-issue, I will turn full Karen and somebody's going to be sorry.  LOL  I will report back.
This is already waaaytooo long.  That's what I get for waiting 3 days.  I will catch up later.
Merry Christmas to all !  Santa comes tonite !!!!

@WannaCruise - You get free 24 hour internet access, no purchase necessary.

There's a coupon loaded on your account.  When you log in and try to purchase 1 day internet,  it automatically applies and makes your cost $0. Whether or not you choose to use it is entirely up to you

My favorite view ❤️

Boarding has started! 

Phew, what a day!
We arrived at the port around 9:45am, easily dropped off our luggage and got in line for the parking garage. We were only 5 or so cars back from the gate, however there was some commotions so the parking staff had us all reverse back out away from the gate and let someone exit the line. The lady in front of us reversed into us, pushing us into the guy behind us…panic. 
 
I apologized at least 5 times to him, while the lady in front of us just went on through. None of the PC staff seemed to have caught the accident, but we had no damage on the front end so DH and I just let it go. I did have a small dent on my back bumper, fortunately the guy behind us had no damage and was so calm and cool about the whole thing. “We’re on vacation! Y’all go have fun!” I offered several times to buy him a drink and he wouldn’t take me up on it. I hope the universe dishes out some good karma somewhere for him. 
Got in line around 10:10, not too far back from the door. All of a sudden we start seeing several people in full suits. The moment we saw the dress bags we connected the dots. There seemed to be a lot of people a part of this wedding ….it took several buss loads to get them all in. I’ve read that sometimes things can run ahead of schedule, but that wasn’t the case for us today. Once we finally breezed through the check in process we were finally seated in our check in group at 10:45am. That’s when we found out not only was it one wedding, but two! AND apparently one was for an actor - I had to google his name to find he was on the Love Boat (how fitting) and a soap opera? It seemed to take several people coordinating who was just there for the wedding and not sailing, I thought this was a weird concept, but to each their own. By 10:55, we finally hit the walkway into the ship. I have also heard rumors from some B2B people on board that there was a disturbance onboard early this morning. An adult apparently punched a child. I have not heard full details, but police were brought on board and someone was arrested. 
 
Quickly found our muster and headed straight to the Solarium for lunch. We figured we’d start off in a quiet spot first and then walk the length of the ship and get our bearings. DH hopped on the Flowrider after a bit of waiting. Definitely feel like they needed two of these instead of the golf area. There was a small issue with kids jumping in front of others in line (parents of course, idle) but DH is a good sport and let them go. There seemed to be an intense brother-sister competition going on. 
Our room was ready at 12:45. It was hard not to take a nap right then and there. We saved our champagne and strawberries for an after dinner treat, grabbed the waters, and headed back for some Solarium pool time to read and snooze, we stayed there quite a bit today, but it just felt like our vibe. We’re retirees stuck in 30 year old bodies apparently. 
 
Dinner was pretty good tonight, I’d say 7.5/10 if you desire a score. Our server Donna is very sweet and assistant Leo was so kind to the table next to us with small kids. One had found a duck, but he must have overheard the other being upset not to have one, so he made a duck out of a napkin and gave it to him.  
 
DH did well and explored some options out of his usual palette. The escargot wasn’t for us, but the flavor of the sauce went well with the bread. He was jealous of my crab cake, yeah I could take two more of those. Nothing too exceptional with the fish, but the potatoes we good. Cheesecake is always a winner for me. 
 
We came back to the room after dinner to enjoy the rest of sunset with champagne and strawberries. We almost dozed off but had the comedy show booked at 8:30…I applaud you all with children because we were exhausted. Glad we went though because it helped us unwind for the rest of the evening. Clocking out for now 😴

Symphony
Oasis
Anthem
Independence
Allure
(but will see if Wonder, Odyssey and Icon takes a spot above once we go on them)

Wonder>Symphony>Oasis>Harmony>Allure
It’s pretty easy when you have 5 of the greatest ships ever in the same class. RC hit a home run with Oasis class!

Nothing like starting the blog last minute! We fly out tomorrow and set sail this Sunday (10/29)!   🚢 🌴 🌞
I kept wavering on the title of this blog… trying to keep up with everyone’s clever titles (especially @Lovetocruise2002's 😆)! Should it be, “Return to Wonder”, “All the Wonder”, etc.
This year, my wife and I are experiencing some cruising firsts. This is the first time we were able to schedule two cruises in a calendar year. Also, the first time we sail the same ship twice. Finally, 2023 is a “Year of Wonder” because this will be our second time on Wonder! Our sad version of a B2B I guess 😃… instead of getting off and immediately reboarding, we had to wait almost 10 months to reboard Wonder! 🤣 A true B2B is definitely on the bucket list!
Once again, our only other cruise this year was on Wonder last January. We originally booked Harmony (CP balcony), but got to jump to Wonder due to the redeployments! Also, when they first posted Wonder’s new PC schedule right after the redeployment announcement, fares were very low at first (Harmony rates), so we booked this sailing (OV balcony) immediately!  😎
On this cruise, we’re sailing with 2/3 of our January traveling group. So, it will be my wife and I, and my wife’s uncle and GF!
We’re all so excited! This will be our second Halloween cruise!  🎃 👻 🎃 
 
* Time for some trip details…
Cruise Details:  
Wonder of the Seas, 7-night, Eastern Caribbean & Perfect Day itinerary Out of Port Canaveral, FL 10/29/23-11/5/23 Itinerary:
Day 1 (10/29):              Port Canaveral, FL Day 2 (10/30):              PDCC, Bahamas Day 3 (10/31):                (* At Sea *   HALLOWEEN!  🎃 👻 🎃) Day 4 (11/01):              Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas Day 5 (11/02):              Philipsburg, St. Maarten Day 6 (11/03):                (* At Sea *) Day 7 (11/04):                (* At Sea *) Day 8 (11/05):              Port Canaveral, FL Cabin Details & General Plans/Stuff:
Oceanview balcony (Deck 9, Port side)… we love being just above Central Park! Selected Traditional Dining (5:00PM according to Cruise Docs) Purchased the Unlimited Dining Package… first time for us! Purchased the Deluxe Beverage Package… expensive once again, but had to do it! Purchased the Key… we’ll see if this is the last time! Purchased the All Access Ship Tour… always wanted to do this! Purchased the Pickleball at Sea (Intro Clinic)… I blame my wife on this one! Purchased the Full Day Pass to Coco Beach Club (CocoCay). Purchased “Mountain Top & Villa Botanica” excursion in St. Thomas. Purchased “Philipsburg by Trolley Train” excursion in St. Maarten. Booked all major entertainment via Cruise Planner (365 Seasons on Ice, The Effectors II: Crash & Burn, Tap Factory, Voices, inTENse, Adult Comedy LIVE). We have other plans beyond the excursions while at port in St. Thomas and St. Maarten… we’ll see how that plays out!
Miscellaneous Stuff:
Flight on Southwest Airlines out of Islip/MacArthur Airport (ISP) on Long Island (NY) early on SAT (10/28/23) morning to Orlando (MCO). Reservations were made for the Radisson Resort at the Port this time. We’ll be able to see the ship from the hotel once again! We all booked the “Fly, Stay, and Cruise” package which includes shuttle service from MCO to the hotel upon arrival on SAT, service from hotel to the port on embarkation day, and service from port directly back to MCO when we disembark. We booked the 10:30-11:00 boarding period so we could board and take care of the specialty dining reservations, relax, explore, and start our vacation right away!  
I guess that’s it for now... my wife had to work today 😔, so we’ll need to finish packing later! On to yardwork to prep for the trip!
*** Please let me know if you have any questions or would like me to post pictures of something you are interested in... I'll do my best to keep up throughout the sailing!

Wife is home and packing... for the dogs! LOL!  
We're getting them ready to head over to my sister's house for the week. We'll have to complete our packing after we drop them off!
Time for the pet photos (thinking of you @WAAAYTOOO! 😀)... I think Bella (left, 11 years old) and Jake (right, 6 years old) do not approve of this trip!  😂
They'll be in very good hands at my sister's house. They too will need to go on a diet after this cruise as my sister will spoil them!  🤣

Yeah, they're wonderful, eh?  lol

Yeah, they're wonderful, eh?  lol