Dan Curtis

Made it home safely. Final thoughts soon.

Debarkation was very easy with Genie. We had an 8:00am breakfast at costal kitchen. Then went back to room and hung out till 9:15. We then met genie near guest services where he escorted us off the ship. Took an Uber to Miami airport. Crazy long security lines. We have a 1:40pm flight so no stress. Shorter than expected layover in Dallas due to flight time changes. Fingers crossed my family and bags all make it to Sacramento this evening.

Portside BBQ. Great food.my daughter danced with staff.

Sitting here in the Schooner bar, and looking across at Sorrento’s, I was thinking. Sorrento’s should deliver. Because you know, you shouldn’t get too much exercise on a cruise. Of course, the next best thing is Ken delivering.

DAY 2, PART 1:
Kids were up around 6:15am, got everyone dressed and hit up the Windjammer as they opened. Plenty of breakfast options available for everyone! We wrapped up breakfast around 8:30am, and as AO doesn’t open until 9am, went out the back of Windjammer to enjoy the view. As mentioned by many others, there are extra tables out here that are great to use when the weather’s not too cold (this morning was still a bit chilly and windy). We went up the stairs and scoped out the FlowRider, iFly, and the climbing wall. From there, we stuck our heads into the SeaPlex and checked out the first round of bumper cars until we realized AO was open! We hustled to the opposite side of the ship, and dropped the girls off in Aquanauts, and the boy off in Royal Babies. Both were very clean hand-offs, as all the kids were eager to go and play. 
After drop-off, the wife and I hit up the Fitness Center for a bit. All the equipment is pretty nice, plenty of variety for weights, cardio, yoga, etc. We did a mix of cardio and strength to try and offset what will be a lot of cocktails and ice cream 🤣. With some time left in our AO window, we went back, changed to bathing suits, and scoped out the hot tubs. We first checked out the Solarium, and while it’s warm, it’s a bit loud (lots of glass to reflect noise) and has a heavy chlorine smell. Moving back to the indoor pool is better, but the hot tubs were full. We ended up in a hot tub by the outdoor pool near the pool bar, which was one of the only hot tubs with a “lip” to store your towel, phone, etc. After about 30 minutes, I decided to check out the 11am FlowRider boogie boarding session. I ended up arriving a little late, and a line had formed. The staff were generous with time, as each person got about 4-5 minutes to practice bogey-boarding, no hands, knees, etc. I left the line after 30 minutes of watching to meet up with the wife, and go claim the kids from AO. 
AO pickup went very smoothly, the staff gave great updates on the kids, especially the little one (last diaper change, temperament, snacks). ALL of them want to go back (the littlest kept tugging back to the entrance saying “PLAY! PLAY!”), so we re-booked again for tomorrow morning. 
Lunch was back at the Windjammer, we got a table again towards the back. Everyone was worn out, but ate well. I volunteered to take the little one back to the room for a nap while the wife and nanny took the girls to the pool. Reports back from the pool was “the outdoor pool was too windy, and the indoor pool water was cold, like the heater wasn’t on”. The girls tried the hot tub, but deemed it too hot. Everyone came back to change and are out getting ice cream. The wife and nanny have some hair appointments tonight at the spa before formal night, so I’ll be on kid duty for a few hours. Should have another report with the rest of the day later tonight.
Random thoughts:
- Internet is working well, occasionally slow. Nothing to fret over. 
- Magnetic walls in the staterooms are a GODSEND! We got some “100lb” magnet hooks and two hanging shoe organizers just to manage all the little stuff that accumulates (coupes, remotes, masks, bracelets, bingo dabbers). Do yourself a favor and get a 10-pack of magnet hooks, even if you don’t think you have a need for them - you will find one by Day 2!
- We packed everything in duffel bags, and that was a great choice - we just nested them inside each other and stuffed them under the bed. 
- The wife, brilliant as always, pre-packaged the kids clothes by day in ziploc bags, and that’s been a game changer as well. Dirty clothes go in one of the duffels we’ve assigned for laundry, otherwise they’re still in their bags until the right day. 
- If your in an interior room, a nightlight or two wouldn’t hurt!
- North Star is exclusively “extended experience” during sea days ($29). No slots are opening up for the normal experience until day-of, I’m guessing that will be port days. 
- iFly appointments are also extended experience ($49), with normal experience not available today. There’s a small window for tomorrow during port, but that’s already booked up. I think they’re rationing it out. 
- Staff has been great. Main Dining Room last night was a little slow on service, not sure if that’s the norm or just day 1 jitters. 
- Virtual balcony has been hit-and-miss. The feed in both rooms gets a green, pixelated “flash” every now and then, which is super distracting in the middle of the night. We do pull the curtains closed, but it bleeds through a little. I only noticed it because I was awake anyway, but maybe it will be nicer when in port. 
- There’s a SpaceX rocket launch from the Cape at 1am when we depart back to NJ (Thursday morning, I think), with the flight path just north of the Caribbean. Gonna try and stick it out and stay up for that one!
 

Happy birthday @barbeyg! Have a great day! 😊🏖️

Docking a Cococay.  I can’t believe Ken got up and walked 2 miles with me, but he did. I’m sure it is because it is my birthday. 😂 I expect him to sleep in some the rest of this week. It will be interesting to see if another ship docs here today, because of the Labadee cancellations.

Some anecdotes from the day: boarding was late, and general boarding a zoo. A couple reasons were bandied about:
1. The medical evac in Key West yesterday evening caused a bit of delay in the ship arriving back to Miami.
2.  A B2B CC member posted that there were a couple of passengers who couldn’t be found (to leave) and security had to hunt them down.  I envision two people hiding out from security, moving from location to location like a bad Three Stooges skit.  
We also had the normal refusal of some to go to e-muster. 🙄 E-muster was the first thing we did to get it done. As the afternoon passed, the CD’s tone got more and more irritated. Ken said he was waiting for him to start cussing like a potty-mouthed parrot. 😂 Not sure what would be a good solution to this situation, but maybe they should start calling out names and cabins. 🤷🏻‍♀️ 
When the ship arrived later than usual this morning the captain didn’t turn the ship around to save time, so we got the pleasure of spinning around in the basin as we sailed away.  We also saw the fireworks from the last night of the arts festival in Miami. So imagine sailing away seeing the beautiful sunset, the skyline of Miami, and the fireworks in the background, all while seated in Coastal Kitchen having an amazing meal. If that isn’t a great beginning to a cruise, I don’t know what is.
 

Exactly !  STOP testing healthy people !

"“All of the identified cases onboard are asymptomatic,”"

OK I'm confused. What prompted the testing in the first place then?
 
This seems like one hell of a not-news story.
 
 
But then there's this junk
 
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the chance of getting COVID-19 on a cruise ship is high. The virus can spread easily in close quarters on a ship, the CDC said.

But...it hasn't

Dinner tonight was in Coastal Kitchen. The filet is never to be missed. It was so good that Ken had to finish mine as I paced myself to make it to dessert, the warm apple pie a little mode. Ken finished that too.  And he is in Heaven because his favorite after dinner drink, Grand Marnier neat, is available in the suite restaurant.

You could walk in that amount of time, ha. 

You could walk in that amount of time, ha. 

Onboard! All negative tests from the kids. We watched the muster drill while waiting for test results, and when we got onboard, went straight to the muster station for the last step. 
 
Lunch at Windjammer, then staterooms were ready. Unpacking now before heading to Adventure Ocean for registration. 

Being married to a southern gentleman is so nice. I’m on his second Diamond drink now. 😉
 
Edited to clarify: I ask him to go get me a drink and he uses his card. I’m sure he will catch on sooner or later.

Luggage unpacked and important stuff in the safe. 

All is good in my world. 

Waiting to board. At check-in they only wanted to see our negative tests, they didn’t even look at our passports, they didn’t want to see our shot cards because they are loaded thru the app. Your mileage may vary depending on the port and the ship.

Thanks @Dan Curtis! We moved to this area 16 years ago after traveling here for many years. They are great places to live that avoid the tourist traffic, and we reside in one of those areas with the most amazing view from our front window. Used to think this place was just tourists too. LOL. Our view:

 
 

Enjoying your blog, thank you. We are cruising in January, so keeping an eye on everyone’s blog. Also we live in Ky, so we travel to your beautiful part of the country about every year, I didn’t know any actually lived there, ha, thought it was all tourist.  Have a blast.

We are Barb & Ken, from the Smoky Mountains of TN.  We have sailed with RCI since the early 1990s, and love cruising. We first sailed in an inside cabin, quickly moving to an OV on the next cruise.  I remember being.so.close to the walls of the Panama Canal locks that I could see the petrified fish and barnacles on the walls from our great big window).  After much cajoling and whining, I talked my husband into a balcony for the following cruise. We upgraded to JS several cruises ago, and never looked back. We sailed in a GS on Anthem to NE the fall of 2019 thanks to a RoyalUp, and this is our first cruise since sailing resumed. We have missed it so much!
Who is going: Just us, Ken and Barb. I’m an accountant in a large corporate setting, so am always looking for a quality bargain. I love planning travel almost as much as actually going.  Cruising is my favorite, because even though I enjoy cooking, I also enjoy a break.  Ken is in logistics at a large coffee company, and is your quintessential dad, hating waste.  So he finishes my meals onboard…and wonders why he gains on a cruise, turns off lights around the house all the time…even if someone is in that room.  Once he turned off the oven as we ran out for several hours of errands….even though I had a turkey baking.  He also has some really cool electronics all over the house to save on the cost of electricity. I’m an ‘early-adopter’ electronics geek, so love that. 
When: December 5, 2021, eastern Caribbean
Celebration: Last year’s 35th anniversary, my birthday
Cabin: CLS 1724 — our first!
Logistics:  We will be testing at home Friday morning, very early.  If for some reason inconclusive or a test is defective for either of us, we have CVS booked as a backup. Will cancel if not needed.  We then drive to Savannah, GA, which makes the trip 1 hour longer, but will have some great food along the way. We will be driving from Savannah to Ft Lauderdale the second day, staying near the interstate that night. Haven’t decided on the Buc-ee’s that we will make a pitstop at yet, but one is on the list. 
Our checkin time is 11:30 Sunday morning. Since we are in a suite, we will arrive between 10:30 and 11:00.  When checkin first opened for our sailing, RCI assigned me 11:30 and my husband 12:00 even though I checked us in at the same time.  I was fine with that, since I planned to have a drink and relax while I patiently waited for him onboard.  For some reason, he wasn’t crazy about it, but sacrifices, you know?  I was eventually able to change his checkin time to 11:30 too, but it sure was fun teasing him about waving buh-bye as I boarded, blowing kisses as I left. 🤣
How we got here:  We were first booked on Odyssey for this week, in a JS.  When we saw the Covid restrictions as sailing resumed, we decided to do a ‘cheaper’ cruise, so moved to a JS on Oasis, which was half the price, albeit one night less.  After toying with a few bids for GS and CLS, we found a CLS facing aft, close to one side of the ship and snatched it up for slightly more $$$ than the JS we previously had booked on Odyssey.  So, cheaper it isn’t, but upgrade it is! 
Special plans:  Dining in 150 CP for my birthday, Cococay Beach Club same day, Coastal Kitchen most nights,  no plans for the ports. We are doing a similar itinerary next December on Harmony, so may not even leave the ship this time.  This is our first time sailing Oasis class, so we want to check out everything onboard.
Caveat: I have been wrestling with whether or not to do a live blog for several reasons:
1.  I was afraid I would jinx us by starting a blog, then one of us test positive two days ahead.  Now, I’m too excited to fret, and know if that happens, there is a reason for it. But, I will cry buckets. Serious buckets.
2.  I am nowhere near as entertaining as other writers here. Some of you are amazing at blogging. I was a bit intimidated. 🙂
3.  I could get onboard and only update sporadically, failing at live blogging. After all, we have 4 free drinks a day, plus the suite happy hour.  I’m a lightweight when it comes to alcohol.  I plan to do the Ultimate Abyss, even though I’m a bit claustrophobic. Who knows what could happen?  Also, Cruise Life Rick and John&LaLa from CC onboard. I could be starstruck. 😂
If you have questions, I will try to find the answer to them. No promises, but will do my best, as long as it doesn’t interfere with the experience. 
I apologize now, before failing at this. You have been warned. 🙂 Set your expectations low, and no one will be disappointed. 😂 
 
 
 
 

On our cruise last week, some of our regular Bar staff did not always log our drinks, also offered some bottled water after a few drinks, no charge. 
Some times happen, just not to be counted on.  Take care of your bar staff when enjoying your "Free" drinks

room is spaciousray near cabanasmall sharkIf food is left unattended seagulls take advantage of lunch

2 Bedroom Grand Suite 9394

The Key . . . So far, so good!
Things I’ve enjoyed:
Priority embarkation:   Although my initial time was 11:30, being in The Key line meant that we went in just as the middle of the Suite Line had entered the Terminal and right before the 11:30 crowd - it looked like about 50-60 people in that line.  We were directed to a separate The Key seating area — right next to the General Boarding waiting area, but separate.  I have no idea where the Suite area was, or if there was a separate Pinnacle/Diamond Plus section as well.   There was a restroom right next to us, but, as I typed before, no place to refill water bottles or get a drink of water.  I think RCL needs to rethink that approach.  The Key area was summoned before the other groups to proceed aboard.
Carry On Bag Handling:  Since I was carrying my two bottles of wine in my carry-on (an E-bags backpack — very comfortable, but kind of heavy when serving as a wine tote), I was very happy to hand it over to The Key staff at the entrance to the MDR prior to going in for my Chops Lunch.  TBH, I was a bit concerned because it had my iPad in it too — but when I got into my room at almost exactly 2:00, there it was perched on my sofa!  I felt badly that I had those concerns, as I really have a lot of faith in the RCL crew members — and they delivered their usual high degree of excellent service.
Chops Lunch: My filet was really good — perfectly cooked (medium rare) and so flavorful and tender.  I restrained myself and only had grilled asparagus as a side — and no dessert, much to the dismay of my server, Anna.  
25% Discount on Specialty Dining — yup, it was included, and worked on my Sushi and Sake pairing on Day 2!
Voom 1-Device: the daily cost for Voom onboard is $22.99 (I think), so The Key gives me the above benefits PLUS Voom for $6.00 / day less than Voom onboard.
 
One small downside:  the priority access for the shows in the Theater appear to be limited to the 4th Deck, which is the Everybody deck.  I don’t want to deprive families with kids of the opportunity to see shows, so plan on sitting in the Vaccinated sections on the 3rd Deck.  I guess it gives families with The Key a better chance of getting prime seats for their families which is fine.