SpeedNoodles

So the Cloud 17 pool was closed by 10 am this morning for cleaning, and remained closed all day. Something. Happened. This put some extra pressure on the main pool and the Swim and Tonic, but there were still loungers and beds around the main pool, and room in the pool. Swim & Tonic was busy, but we easily got seats at the bar at 4pm (had to catch Love & Marriage first). I think I'm missing a pool. The Swim & Tonic pool was a nice temperature (I'm a freeze baby and thought it was good). The temperature around the ship is very comfortable. I've been neither hot nor cold anywhere, even Absolute Zero was comfortable and I had a sleeveless dress on.

Sitting at the Schooner Bar having a Desert Pear Margarita and thought, "Hey! Does anyone want to know how no-touch the public restroom door are?" If that's you, here it is! Just wave your hand and magical access. Seriously, come to me for the mundane information.

Ok, I'm a HORRIBLE blogger. But I'm in steerage, so no impressive pics. I'll catch you up. I met Rover. It was windy. I look like crap. But Rover was soft and beautiful. Last night was great fun, as we hung out with a bunch of Royal Caribbean Blog Insiders at the Dueling Piano Bar. A raucous good time. 20240128_231831.mp4

They are on the last page of your docs and on the cruise planner (before you hit "Plan My Cruise:).

I have long dresses, but they are not sparkly. I just haven't been able to see myself "girling it up" after the age of 30.

Absolutely!

Both nights. One night will just be shorter than the other, lol.

I'm packed! Our flight doesn't leave until tomorrow evening, so I'll spend tomorrow going to the feed mill and picking up grain for the old lady (i.e. my 33-year-old Paso Fino mare) and taking my house/dog sitter out to lunch before she drives us to MSP. We'll be arriving very late into FLL, and then we have to Lyft it down to the Intercontinental. I thought about staying close to FLL, but it would just mean we'd have to get up early to check out, and that would just suck. BTW, "early' for us is before noon. We spent far too long being dog shifters (dog shift = overnight) and it's hard for one of us to adjust. I won't say which one of us. I'm looking forward to the ship, of course, but I'm VERY much looking forward to seeing everyone, some of whom I've met before, some of whom I've just been interacting with for years, and then the people who aren't even on the radar yet!

The lowest price for me to RoyalUp to a Sky Junior Suite was $1775 per person. It was a big nope for me.

Yes, you can.

Yes to both on every ship that I've been on (including Symphony, Harmony, and Allure).

MANY of us use M.E.I. Travel. They are a sponsor of this website, but they are an amazing team. You can fill out the yellow form on the main page of www.royalcaribbeanblog.com and someone will get back to you!

I waited too long and can't get our shirts, but we're going to do our best to remember to show up.

At 30 days prior to your sailing you can find them and print them from your Cruise Planner. 30 days prior to sailing you will see them in your Cruise Planner (before you hit the blue button that says "Plan My Cruise".

I have to say that Harmony from Galveston has been our favorite sailing - ever. While it is a drive from the port, we just took a Lyft with no issues. We stayed at Harbor House (right on the water) for 2 nights - Galveston is a very nice city to visit. Take a dolphin tour, you won't be disappointed (about 800 live in the harbor). The crew on Harmony are fantastic. There's plenty to do, and lots of places to relax. A lot of the passengers will be from Texas, and we found them to be relaxed and extremely friendly. We actually took a post-cruise excursion that took us from the terminal, gave us a short tour of Galveston, and to the Houston Space Center for a few hours before dropping us at the airport (we had a later flight).

Personally, I wouldn't book anything as a back up. I'm not sure that you'd have problems finding something else to do as a lot of people just stay on the ship in Nassau.

There is a cabinet next to the bathroom door (that really doesn't look like a cabinet that opens). The safe is inside that. https://www.facebook.com/reel/1464153037815551 (Travis Kamiyama is a Sushi Chef on Icon - thank him for this info when you see him! I know I will!)

Once shore excursions start showing up, compare the Royal excursions with those through Viator or TripAdvisor. You will likely pay less to go 3rd party, but I often book through Royal for convenience. Our whale-watching tour in Juneau was amazing. It was June, and we saw SO many whales and several whale calves.

It does not.

I would ask this on one of the discussion boards where more people will see the question.

I will not be visiting Celebration Table, so I'm out. @AshleyDillo?

Nice! There were many times we were unable to get onto an elevator on Deck 17 because so many people rode them up in order to ride them back down.

No. I fear that feature will not be available for this sailing

I was looking forward to the cruise, of course, but over the past two days, that feeling has grown to absolute excitement. Reservations for entertainment finally opened up yesterday, so I'm all set there. And today, @Matt got on the ship and gave a live mini-tour of the ship. I'm half packed (since I never fully unpacked from my Harmony cruise), and the dog meals are all prepped and in the freezer. Seriously, gang, I'm ready to go. I have 6 more days of work left.

It depends on the ship. On Harmony last time, it was the Schooner Bar. Often it's the pub. It's where we find the most engaging bartender. Who knows where we'll be found on Icon!