SpeedNoodles

I'm still waiting for my rejection email ... 3 days until sailing.

I plan the cruise, although Mr SpeedNoodles does let me know where he'd like to go. He plans the pre-cruise stuff (so in this next instance he has all sorts of things planned for our time in Seattle pre and post).

I'd LOVE to do this. The cruise I can afford. I can probably get the time off from work. But the flight! Oh my! Long and expensive!

I second this!

Ok you guys, I'm SO excited. Mr. SpeedNoodles and I have not been on a vacation for 10 years (yes, you read that correctly). We've had time off from work, hauling the hounds to dog shows, but those are work. Lots of fun, but lots of work. This year is our 25th wedding wedding anniversary, his 50th birthday, we found a hound(s)/house sitter, and we are READY TO GO!!! I'll focus this blog mostly on the ship, since there's no way my photos of the scenery will do any justice of it, and Twangster did a superb job on his. Hats off to him - they were absolutely incredible! I don't know that I'll be able to post daily, but I intend to do the best that I can. We will have 36 hours in Seattle before we get on the ship, so we're super excited about that! Tick, tick, tick, tick, tick .....

It may be for certain suite classes - my refrigerator had nothing in it on my Mariner cruise. But, yes, you can ask your stateroom attendant to remove the items.

I learned a lot from watching cruise packing/cruise tip videos on YouTube! You may find that useful as well. Sheri at Cruise Tips TV has some excellent videos on her channel.

The only really good nights of sleep I've had in the past 2 years were the 4 nights I spent on Mariner with that bed and those pillows. But pillows/beds are such individual things.

I didn't have a balcony on my last cruise and I decided that I just can't do a cruise without it. When people say "you never spend any time in your room anyway", that may be true for some. And in a room without a balcony, that's true for me. But if I have a balcony, I actually do spend more time in my room, on the balcony, relaxing away from everyone else. So it's really a personal thing.

I've spent a dime or two on Billy's site ?

I travel with Ex-Officio undergarments - they are easily hand washable and dry super quickly (because they are actually designed for travel/camping). 2 pairs will work for any length of trip, if you so desire.

Yep, I've found the sales to be pretty similar - but always check - once I caught an excursion at $130 when every other time it's been on sale for $163 (when not on sale it's over $180). I also got Chops during one sale at $33pp (for dinner, not lunch) when the sale price is typically much higher. I tend to check prices several times a week on all of my purchases/cruises, even if they aren't listed on sale (because, yes, I have just that much time).

The sale that Matt posted isn't going on for your sailing: " The Splash into Savings sale runs between June 6 – 10, 2019 and is valid on sailings from June 12, 2019 – December 30, 2019. "

I figure when there are choices between reef-safe and regular (and there aren't difficult to find these days), why not just choose reef-safe if you're going to be in the ocean, regardless of requirements.

Mine was just applied to my cruise planner - 15 Days to go (if anyone is keeping track of the average time ahead of sailing). Oh, and there's only 15 days until my next cruise!!!! WOOOHOOOO!!!!!!!!

But you can't fly with a passport card, which limits options of getting home if something happens on an island ? When I renewed our passports we got them back in under 5 weeks - I was shocked how quickly they took care of it.

Someone forgot to tell IT to shut down the ability to book cruises to Cuba - they're still available to book.

Our first vacation in 10 (yes, TEN) years!!! We are beyond excited!

Welcome to the forum! If you are on Facebook, do a search for "Harmony of the seas July 21" - a page has likely been started for your sailing already. There will also probably be a roll call on Cruise Critic for your sailing (I personally have found the Facebook pages to be more useful/active than CC, but I suppose it can vary by sailing). Also, you may want to alter this post so that the topic of your post is in the topic line, as opposed to your name, which doesn't let people know what the thread is about (therefore may just pass it by). Happy sailing!

Thanks. He's right, I was wrong (although I still don't see it, but I'll take your word for it). I'm actually glad that I don't see it because that sounds really ugly, lol.

@twangster help! Mr. SpeedNoodles and I are having a disagreement. Is the hull of the Ovation baby (powder puff) blue, or is it white, like every other Royal Caribbean ship?

Hey, I checked my Oct 2020 cruise and the bev package and the dining are all available, too - guess the October people have their stuff together!.

Jamie's opened for reservation for my Feb 2020 cruise last week. Just Jamie's. Nothing else, lol.

Good grief, what's the point of even buying insurance then? I'm not smart enough to outthink them like you are. I'd just be throwing my money away.

There is a section with huge hammocks on Coco Cay. I them.