AshleyDillo

Aruba Ariba..there's some special red liquor in it from Aruba called coecoei. It's a pretty potent drink..think fruity long Island iced tea 🙃

Grrr. Cape Liberty security is the only place that we've ever experienced issues with security. In our case it was a cheapy three-outlet extender.

That is exactly what Hubby said last night! 🤣

12 days is a LOT of MDR food 😂

You could, but it may be easier to just keep them in your room and bring the plates with the covers back if you really want to take something. The MDR is pretty small portions. Also there isn't a true food safe fridge in the room, only a cooler.  That said, we do bring a couple of plastic containers and zip baggies in case we want to store anything..they come in handy for desserts and such.

Yes, if you're based in the Miami metro area it can make sense. I have done 2 one-way car rentals for cheaper than port parking there! 
There aren't as many offsite options in Miami as there are at PC, so there's not much competition to bring the prices lower. 

Yup..makes the lower prices on a weekender out of Miami negligible over a PC sailing. I can make up the difference in gas and toll costs and parking alone, not to mention coming from N. Florida means a hotel stay for a south Florida sailing.

$25-28/night..shorter sailings are more per day. PC is $17/day.

I prefer Freedom, but just because it's been more recently amped and has the new Giovannis Kitchen and El Locos Fresh on it.  
I'm driving distance to Port Canaveral, so that usually has me sailing Indy, though.

It's been 6:45pm on both ships I have been on this week and also the ship I sailed at the beginning of the month.

Eight Days and Counting
 We have eight days to go and we are already packing. In our defense we leave town in either five or six days. I want to leave on the 18th and my wife wants to leave on the 19th (we will stay with my parents so we won’t have to pay for a hotel). Like any good couple, we will calmly discuss why we want to leave when we do. Have a civil debate before coming up with a compromise, which means we will do whatever she wants.
We have two large suitcases, a carry on, and my C-Pap machine. We decided because we have two suitcases, we will put half my clothes in one suitcase and the other half in the second suitcase. We will do the same with my wife’s clothes, that way if one of our bags gets lost on the flight from California to Florida, we’ll each have some clothes to get by. My wife and I have been married for 30 years and together for 33, we have weathered many storms including the awful plunger incident of ’91 (which she brings up at least once every few months), and most recently when she reset my Wordle stats back to zero. But I will tell you right now, if we don’t separate our clothes and one of our suitcases gets lost in transit forcing my wife to wear my skivvies for seven days, we’ll probably never recover from that.
Since I’m retired and my wife still works, I offered to take a load of her shoulders and pack for both. She responded with an enthusiastic, “Not a chance in Hell, buddy.”  She would rather spend all day in work meetings that easily could’ve been an email than have me pack for her or myself or anyone for that matter. I am so bad at packing that she wouldn’t allow me to even pack for her worst enemy.  I don’t blame her one bit, I mean last time I packed for myself I ended up with two pairs of jammies, one shirt with a mustard stain, and eight pairs of undies for a 3-day weekend getaway, because when I pack underwear, I am like a fricken Boy Scout, “Be Prepared.” Here is how I pack my chonies: one pair for day one and one pair in case I poop myself. One pair for day two and one pair in case I eat Taco Bell for lunch (If you know, you know). One pair for day three and one pair for…surely it can’t happen three days in a row, but just in case, one more pair. And finally, two extra pairs just because. I always forget socks. It’s like my hidden talent to forget to pack socks. My wife is afraid if I pack for myself I might end up bringing three pairs of snow pants to the Caribbean, but hey, you never know when you need a good pair of snow pants.
We have stacks and stacks of new clothing my wife has been buying since we booked the cruise almost six months ago, yet I am not allowed to wear any of them. I swear, you get one little mustard stain on your shirt every time you wear one, and suddenly your wife doesn’t trust you around clothes…and food. Remember when you were a kid and you went to your friend’s house where the couch was covered in plastic and you weren’t allowed to sit on it? It’s the same thing with my stack of cruise clothing.
My wife is packing and I’m in the room to lend moral support, but I’m not paying very much attention. When I arrive on the ship and open my suitcase it will be a surprise, like when my kids were younger and they opened their Christmas presents in front of me and I see for the first time, what we got them.
I’ll be back in a few days to report on my pre embarkation testing and our traveling from rural county in California to the Sacramento area.  

Seems like even more of a no-brainer for you than me. I've never even bothered looking at the exact costs associated with Ft. Lauderdale or Miami. The hour drive to PC for me is just too damn convenient.

I’m jealous- we still have only done Oasis, Harmony and Allure. A couple multiple times though. But at least for the next one we’re going back to the RL on Allure where this nonsense all began!  I’ll let you know if the Jack Daniels is waiting!

Funny you mention that. I was just thinking yesterday that other than sailing in the RLS, I now have another cruise goal to sail SC on all the oasis class ships. I am missing SY and WN. I think it might be attainable. Hubby does not know about this new cruise goals haha. 

Yes they do! 😉

It's different on each ship, but most of the bars on the Promenade will have them. Or at least be able to tell you where to get them.

The Genies also talk to each other. Ordered one random Fireball shot on a SC cruise, 8 months later on a different SC cruise and different ship, we kept getting deliveries of Fireball shots to the room 😂 never once ordered Fireball on that cruise!

The Genies also talk to each other. Ordered one random Fireball shot on a SC cruise, 8 months later on a different SC cruise and different ship, we kept getting deliveries of Fireball shots to the room 😂 never once ordered Fireball on that cruise!

81 days for me! But then we will have experienced it on all 5 Oasis class ships, so we can start over again..haha.

True!  And I hope to prove it true again in about 20 days😂

Yes. Line up early to get your cards!

Yes. Line up early to get your cards!

Yes. Line up early to get your cards!

They have funnel cakes at the Snack Shacks on the island and they're included!  Chicken sandwiches are fantastic as well.

Unfortunately the phone reps are often wrong or misinformed. If they won't give you something in writing,  that's probably a good sign that there is nothing official yet.
When booking a cruise, it's best to consider the current protocols on their website. Things are constantly evolving and the protocols are being more relaxed. If you book accepting the current protocols, you will be managing expectations on the conservative side.
We're getting closer, but not quite there yet.