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Andrew72681

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Everything posted by Andrew72681

  1. I could have missed it but didn’t see a molten chocolate cake. Compared to the dessert menus hosted on the site it seemed like a very pared down dessert menu of maybe five choices.
  2. Yes. It’s nowhere near inedible. Considering it’s pizza made by a concoction of nationalities which none of which are Italy it’ll do. And having had that same pizza on Getaway this time last year it’s much better than NCL
  3. As time for dinner was approaching we went back to get dressed and head over to Chops grille for dinner. Addie was hoping we could move dinner as Santa was coming to the royal promenade at the same time. We lucked out though as he was waiting for his sleigh (rising tide bar) at the same time as we walked by. Chops will probably become the quintessential cruise ship steakhouse when we think back. Everything was prepared well and delicious (excluding the Lobster Bisque which tasted more like walnut soups I’ve had) We ordered the following dishes Shrimp cocktail Crispy bacon Lobster bisque Wedge salad Filet Mignon Kids roasted chicken Everything was cooked to our liking and came at a great pace. We were heading off to the show in the Aquatheater so only had 90 minutes for dinner. The kids dish was outrageously large and while tasty was an absolute waste. Dessert was a letdown as the apple pie was bland and I’m not sure I’ve ever found an acceptable use for raisins. The girls were finished off their Key lime pie and we headed off to the show. The Fine Line Before I start let me emphasize that I don’t think anyone can portray in words the uniqueness of the show, so I won’t try. It was crazy from the spinning dancing guy down to the last giant high dives. The show took a turn for the worse as we and numerous others noticed as we were leaving that the chairs had left grease spots all over suits and dresses. A visit to guests services ended up in them agreeing to clean the dresses and replace if they couldn’t be. My daughter was quite upset as they ruined a Nordstrom dress that had tags on it just three hours earlier.
  4. After lunch Addie wanted to head to the face painting and Ultimate Abyss slide. Quick tip, before you head up there be sure to have shorts and a T-shirt on. Addie had on a tank top on so I went back down to grab her a T-shirt while they played some miniature golf. The slide was busier than yesterday but still on a five minute wait. The platform before the slide might have the best view on the whole boat with the unencumbered glass and the clear platform beneath your feet. This time even Nikki came along rather than meeting us down on six. The pool was the next thing on the agenda, but it was a bit windy so we spent most of the time in the hot-tub. We did make time for The Perfect Storm water slide which was really fun. I was worried about not making it around but went all the way around the funnel twice at what seemed like high speeds. Adventure ocean was having a family activity in the Science area which fit in perfectly before we left for dinner. Today’s active was a Volcano experiment. It was anticlimactic at best as rather than the kids creating a volcano an instructor did just one in the center of the room.
  5. Day 2 Sea Day After running around all day yesterday the crew was tired and even Addie slept till 8:00. After getting a shower I have to make a revision to my room ratings from yesterday. It’s now a landslide in the bathroom department for NCL, the half door shower means they turned the water pressure down so far that you have to stand on the drain to get showered. As we got moving late we decided to try out the park cafe for breakfast and the girls tried a little bit of everything. Breakfast is already my least favorite meal and on a cruise ship it’s even more so as the pastries, bagels, and bread are all dull and taste alike. Also, not being an egg-eater most of breakfast is lost on me. At 10:30 the girls made their way over to Izumi for Sushi class. As I’m not a fan of Sushi I declined and sent them on their way. We’ll let Nikki guest blog on the live blog to discuss their experience. As I had skipped breakfast I was ready to eat when the girls came back to the room we decided on American Icon for lunch. Having eaten way too much last night and heading to Chops tonight I just had some chicken and rice from the buffet. The dessert assortment was bonkers for an afternoon weekday lunch.
  6. After dinner at Jamie’s we rushed over to the Royal Theater for the production of Grease. I’ve never even seen the movie so I’m probably not a good judge of execution and storytelling for this one. It did seem to drag on pretty long for a cruise ship theatre show. There were also some very dicey humor in the show, so be aware if taking young children. Wasn’t expecting a “motor boating” reference to jump out. For being on a ship, the set production looked and sounded great. After heading off to bed in the cabin, Addie decided she was hungry so we agreed to head down to Sorrento’s for a quick slice. Apparently everyone else had that some thought as there was quite a line. While it won’t win any awards and won’t see pop up shops in NYC, it’s perfectly serviceable pizza for a cruise ship. It’s better than what you’d find in the Garden Cafe on Norwegian at Midnight. They move the line very quickly so don’t be afraid if it looks like the line stretches to the aft of the ship.
  7. Dinner night 1 Jamie’s Italian We scheduled dinner at Jamie’s Italian for 6pm. The restaurant was nearly empty as I guess the thought that most people don’t pick specialty dining on the first night was certainly true tonight. Jamie’s was mostly empty, it was just us and four or five families. Our server Emron was the same server I had passed up dessert from earlier in the day at mini-bites. Oddly enough even though I didn’t remember him, he remember me and the whole exchange. That attention to detail would shine throughout the overall fantastic meal. The food was paced well and come out great from the bread basket to the Calamari to the crispy salmon. Emron even added an order of Truffle Tagliatelle as it’s one of his favorites. Overall between the three of us we tried the following Crispy Squid Prosciutto with Melon Kids spaghetti Bologese Prawn Linguini with Salmon Dry aged tenderloin with tagliatelle Bolognese Truffle tagliatelle-compliments of the chef Epic Brownie Raspberry sorbet
  8. the rooms were nearly ready and we were nearby we decided to just hang out in Dazzles for 15 minutes. Sure enough right at 1pm the stateroom hallways doors were open and we could get to our room. While comparable in category there are several places where the Royal Caribbean Junior Suite and Norwegian’s Mini Suite with large balcony diverge. Bathroom- even though the RC room has a tub/shower combo I have to give the category to Norwegian. The bathroom on Harmony felt kind of squished together (I know the interior room people are giving me dirty looks right now) and missing the second sink is a big thing when everyone is trying to get ready for dinner. Storage space- this one isn’t even close, the junior suite closet is as big as some New York City hotels I’ve been in. It did seem larger on YouTube videos though, so I guess instead of ten pounds, the camera adds 10 square feet. Room Layout- the extra walking space between the bed and the desk and on the side of the bed makes the room feel very spacious and you don’t feel like you’re constantly bumping your knee on the bed. Balcony- our Norwegian suites had not only the two chairs but also two loungers in case you wanted to sun on your balcony. On Harmony in a similar location the balcony was a little less deep, but still very serviceable
  9. Boarding announcements were made at 10:40 that the ship was cleared for passengers. Upon walking in the first big difference from Norwegian was right in your face. Walking into the Royal Promenade rather than a tiny hallway makes a huge difference in perception of space. The promenade is huge with sprawling shops, guest services, and a litany of bars and restaurants. Since we had a jump on the crowd we decided to head up to the windjammer for lunch, which happened to be right as they were setting up for the busy embarkation day. Right up until we were about to leave our side was empty and very quiet. Service was friendly and there was always someone around if we needed another drink. As it was nearing noon we headed over to the Ultimate Abyss slide. The crew was just getting everything setup so we decided to hang out for the two minutes till opening. As such, we were able to be the first people on all week which Addie got a big kick out of. The slide was fun but I’ll need to go back on again with the GoPro on to take a video. We slid down to find a very crowded Boardwalk followed by an even busier Central Park area. I know many bestow the virtues of Park Cafe on Embarkation day but it was packed with people.
  10. Embarkation Day 1 Port Everglades We checked out of the Hyatt House at around 9:45. The hotel offers a shuttle, which online appears to be about 10 dollars a person. We’re not big fans of waiting through multiple stops and the loading and unloading of numerous bags, so we always just hop in an Uber or Lyft to get to the port. After our 23 dollar Uber ride to the port we were at the port by 10:10. Check in was a breeze and by 10:20 we were in the suites departure area waiting to board.
  11. Pre-Cruise Hotel While normally Marriott loyalists (yeah I know, probably time to change that card number after yesterday’s leak) as I stay in Hotels about 120 nights a year. But as I’ve already requalified for Marriott Platinum Premiere I’ve focused the back half of the year on Hyatt properties where available. We decided on the Hyatt Place 17th, but after some bad experiences with Similar properties, we moved fairly last minute to a fairly new looking Hyatt House. The Hyatt House is located only about two miles from the airport and as you have to navigate around the airport, it’s about 6 miles to port Everglades. Paid rates for the stay were in the 160 per night range, so redeeming points was the better option. Point rates are pretty low in this area as all the FLL properties cost the same 8,000 points per night. We booked our two night stay in a king suite. Check in was quick and friendly and we were on to our room in about two minutes. Breakfast is complementary at the property and even includes a fresh made omelette station for registered guests. The room was quite comfortable and the entertainment center made for a nice division between the living room and bedroom. My only complaint during our stay was the spotty housekeeping services. It took an hour the first night to get linens for the sofa bed and on our second day, we never got housekeeping at all. We were gone from 11-4 so there was plenty of time for service the room. A call downstairs for towels was made and they were delivered within 15 minutes. To keep Addie busy the day before leaving we decided to go bowling. She had a great time bowling and playing games and best of yet it ate up a couple of hours. The highlight was definitely what looked like a hilarious mashup of a Duck, a Dalmatian, and a turkey. In what has become a precruise tradition we decided on hibachi for dinner. Normally as we’re on Norwegian we depart out of Port Miami. There’s a Benihana in Coral Gables where we meet up with friends who live in Miami. This time however they were out of town so we found a different Benihana closer to the hotel. The service and entertainment was good and the food was above average. The location over the water would definitely be a highlight if it wasn’t December and dark by 5pm
  12. Yeah, having it at all three of my local airports (BWI, IAD, and DCA) makes it a breeze. They’ve added it to FLL but at this time it’s only in terminal 2.
  13. Day 1 Flight Flight 11/30/18 Southwest 594 BWI-FLL 06:30-9:10 One of the fortunate benefits of frequent work travel and being based out of a Southwest Hub is that I maintain A-List Preferred and Companion Pass status with Southwest. As such, even if it’s not glorious we always fly southwest on vacation. With the companion pass, my wife flies for just the taxes and fees wherever I go. We used points for the remainder of the flights and free airfare is always a great start to a vacation. Unlike most Friday evenings in the DC area, traffic was a breeze and we were in the terminal with more than an hour to spare. Security was quite busy, but as a frequent traveler we have subscriptions to the Clear Service. We breezed through security in about two minutes to grab some dinner before boarding. Boarding began right on time on what was a completely full flight on a older Southwest 737-700. A first for me also, there were zero preboard wheel chairs on a flight to Florida. Normally they’re lined up like the starting line for a NASCAR Race waiting to board the plane. It made for a nice quick boarding process and the door was closed with plenty of time to spare. We took off right on time and we’re officially on our winter vacation. After a simple flight we landed on Fort Lauderdale almost half an hour early.
  14. Thanks Matt. Couldn’t have done it (or at least as efficiently) without the blog and podcast.
  15. Thanks. Hoping that the stateroom location is as quiet as our Mini Suite with large balcony on Norwegian Getaway. It also was behind restaurants so stayed quiet without interior staterooms nearby.
  16. Intro blog Booking and Stateroom After deciding we wanted to take another cruise for my wife’s December birthday (we spent her last birthday on NCL’s Getaway) we examined our options again on NCL. The first week of December is ideal for cruise pricing and even though my eight year old daughter misses some school, we’ve always had great experience with teachers. Having done our last four cruises over there and holding onto a CruiseNext credit it seemed it would make the most sense. Around the same time MGM’s Mlife program sent out an offer made possible by their reciprocal benefits program with RCCL’s Club Royale. While being gold in MGM’s program gets a few benefits many are duplicated once you book a Suite, and I doubt I’ll ever make platinum and get the free annual cruise. After calling and getting quotes on a few different room types and ships we settled on the 12/2 Sailing of Harmony of the Seas. On Norwegian we’ve long been fans of their Mini-Suites with Large Balcony category for two main reasons, the extended balcony and more importantly the Full Size Shower. Knowing our history we knew the junior Suite would have to be the starting point for a room. While the grand and owners suites seem like fabulous rooms and have additional benefits, they didn’t seem like they would pay off as both were approximately 2k more than our junior Suite. The 7 night cruise including $175 on board credit for the three of us totaled $3799.08. The junior Suite did get us some benefits that would prove helpful, priority boarding is a big asset as I’m one to arrive to the port early. We also lucked out to get a junior Suite on “the hump” which would afford a slightly bigger balcony. The room location was right behind Central Park with no interior rooms on the other side of the hallway so would hopefully be pretty quiet. On 11/28 we received our very first “Royal Up” offer. As the first minimum bid to move from a junior to a grand suite was at least 800 we decided to keep our Junior suite and keep the money for the next time.
  17. 72 Hours out and can’t wait to get on the boat. Somewhere over New Mexico at 3am on a redeye is a great reminder that I should be thankful for the upcoming cruise.
  18. If there’s only two of you and are still looking for a bit of shade and space to pay, consider the beach bed on labadee. We were able to get one for about ~150 on the cruise planner. Will try to remember to post pictures after our cruise next week.
  19. My offer came today for our sailing this weekend on Harmony. Not worth the price to go from Junior suite to grand suite. It’s only three of us (me, wife, 8yr old)and we already have four specialty dining restsurants planned. Can’t see coastal kitchen, better seating at shows, suite lounge being worth 800 bucks.
  20. As these are “free play” chips anyone have any idea how that are counted toward tier credit accumulation?
  21. Thanks. Don’t get the free drinks (at least it’s not a published benefit) but do get the cash advance feee waived. The bigger benefits if we hadn’t booked a suite would have been the priority checkin and the departure lounge access, and I’d never turn down free OBC.
  22. Probably a question best posed to @WAAAYTOOO if I booked a cruise through Casino Royale by way of my existing status with MGM Mlife do I need to visit the cage to sign up for a program when I get on board or is it automatically done? First RC cruise so only entry in the system would be from this booking. Made for a great discount on our junior Suite without any existing play so worked out great already
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