Dan Curtis

Great question, I did that one time on arrival day,one and only time I had sea pass card on a lanyard, super windy day on top deck, look down, no sea pass card, I went down and stood in line for at least 45 minutes, other than that, I have no clue.

Hi, everyone!

I'm back on RCCL at the end of January. Can't wait. It's been a rough year and there's a lot going on right now, health-wise, with various family members. This will be a wonderful break from reality. (Though I have to work while on board, it won't be too bad.)

We are sailing on Enchantment of the Seas out of Baltimore. Port stops are Orlando, CocoCay, and Nassau. Eight nights!


First time on Enchantment, first time out of Baltimore, first-ever port stop at Orlando, and fifth solo cruise.
 
I blogged last year about my first ever solo cruise on Odyssey, then on Allure. I was a little uncertain about solo cruising then and still finding my way into the experience. I'm not uncertain anymore. I love cruising solo and go into it with confidence and happy anticipation.
 
There are still things that challenge me as a 55 year-old solo traveler.....staying in the hotel alone the night before always bothers me. I get a little worried getting into a taxi. Anxiety can creep into such situations a bit. But those are small things. Cruising solo is awesome, and for those who are tempted to try it--do it! I love making my own schedule, not having to compromise, not inconveniencing anyone if I stay up late or get up early. I love being at sea and exploring new ships and ports! I am happily married with a husband that does not like cruising very much and can't travel right now, but who likes to hear about it all. Sending photos and texts home to my family is lots of fun. 
I have found that as a solo cruiser, even though I mostly keep to myself, opportunities pop up all the time to meet people and eventually explain that yes, I am traveling alone. People are always so surprised and immediately intrigued! Sometimes I can see the wheels turning as someone realizes that cruising solo is an option they've never considered.
 
I don't know what to expect on Enchantment, but I picture this cruise as being very laid back and peaceful. I picture being a lump in a lounge chair, or possibly asleep by the pool. (Maybe shamelessly eavesdropping on conversations nearby.) . But I'll also be walking, swimming, hitting the gym, exploring port, things like that.
 
I basically want to sail away from 2022 and not look back. You know?

I'll be blogging away when the time comes! See you then.
 

Can't sleep so I will catch everyone up...if I can remember what I've done! 
  Yesterday was very low key.  We got to the Hilton fort Lauderdale marina and check in took forever.  We were unfortunately not thrilled with the room.  It's fine, but in the old wing, first floor (so Patio is below the walkway and thus feels like a concrete box), and the door has a huge gap at the bottom.  There is no soundproofing at all and we are people not bothered by noise. 

 

The weather wasn't terrific, butt we spent some time by the pool and then ate dinner at the pool bar.  It is truly highly overpriced, but other than the fish tacos (which were horrible) it was good.  The wine... Well, I'm looking forward to vintages lol!  
   Today was sunny and much happier!  We didn't get to the pool until around 11 and there were no chairs at all.  Maybe 10 mins later, 2 showed up in the shade so we took them.  I decided to sit in the sun on the edge of the pool and read, and when someone left, I grabbed their chair.  Eventually my husband  abandoned the shade and joined me.  We ended up ordering chips and guac and hummus and they were all very good.  

  We finally dragged ourselves to shower and head to the water taxi.  It took us one hour, forty mins to get on.  It was a mess :(. Literally a boat would come every half hour and load like 2-4 people.  Once on though, it's such a nice ride. We decided to head to stop 10 to see the mansions all decorated for Xmas.  



We got to bokampers at around 7 and we seated by 710.  Great we thought... And then 30 mins later we still hadn't seen a server even though we had gone and spoken to someone several times.  It was a mess.  Jeff finally went to the hostess who seated us...we actually think she was the manager doing a million things.  She literally took our order, got our drinks, apologized a million times and then ended up comping us our drinks and giving us half price on the food.  It was unexpected and kind for sure!  I recommend the atmosphere and the food was great... Hopefully staffing and big groups dont kill you.  



We did get to see the bridge go up a couple times too!

We literally managed to walk right on the water taxi... Big change from before!  It was a quiet boat till the very drunk people got on, but that's ok.  That will be me soon on the drink pkg!!!   
  So now I'm too wound up to sleep and can't wait for 10 1/2 hrs when I walk onto Harmony!!   My aim is to church in once a day but keep in mind the title of this blog lol!  @Lovetocruise2002 will be blogging symphony and will be much more interesting lol!!!!     I have the Muppet Christmas carol singing going through my head, but instead of "there's only one more night til Christmas" I have "there's only one more night night til Harmony"!!!!! Jane

My wife, she takes care of the details. God bless her! I show up and exercise my DBP! 

Maho Beach Plane Spotting 
Plane Spotting ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Everything Else ❎❎❎
We did this excursion last year and loved it.  This time not so much.  
The tour operator was disorganized, late leaving. On route the driver curbed a tire and a few minutes later we were pulled over so he could assess the damage.  When we arrived the beach was already packed which we expected due to Wonder being in port. What we didn’t expect was the condition of the beach. Sand has eroded resulting in a 2 tier beach area with a 2-3 foot steep drop.  It was very steep and difficult to get from one tier to the next.  Loungers and umbrellas were hard to secure. We grabbed 2 and paid $20. On the positive, the airport was busy and our expectations were more than met with many planes landing and taking off. They now charge $1 to use the bathrooms. 😳 That really ticked me off as the bathrooms are nasty. When we went back to meet our tour operator the bus driver was about 20 minutes late. I was not impressed with the tour operator. Their job is to get guests from point A to B safely and on time.  On another positive note at least no one 🤮 in the seat behind us this year.  

Day 5 Coco Cay day.  The Anthem and Independence were both at Coco Cay today.  OMG So many people.  I'm so glad that I the $50 OBC showed up in my account on black Friday because the Beach Club was the perfect place to be.  I was very happy in my beach chair in the shade at the club with my lobster lunch.  I heard from a few people that the water park was so busy that they were giving out scheduled times to come back for certain slides.  I did walk around for a while and it was a big difference from the 2021 Anthem Christmas cruise.  I think the Beach Club has spoiled me.
Day 6 Nassau.  I really didn't want to stay on the ship because we have 2 sea days next so I booked the Blue Lagoon Island Beach Day.  The boat ride to the island is about 40 minutes then they only give you about 3 hours before you have to go back to the ship.  I found a lounge chair in the shade and chilled out for a while.  Lunch was included and it was the usual hamburgers, hot dogs, BBQ chicken (really good)...  After lunch I walked around the island (I get bored just sitting around).  Found the dolphins and sea lion area and watched them for a while then back to my chair to pack up.  Would I do this again, no once is enough. 

I am on the same cruise and I hope @D Altdoesn't mind if I post a bit (if I remember).  I also love leaving from Bayonne.  It's only an hour drive for me from PA and I was on the ship by 11:30.  I'm in a balcony room and on the cruise by myself which is fine with me (my one sister has to work and my other sister doesn't "come up north". Her loss)  This is my 3rd time on Anthem and my 2nd Christmas cruise on Anthem (did 2021 Christmas cruise).
Day 2 sea day went to the top tier event and forgot everything they said (and it wasn't because of the free drinks).  It is a packed ship and I think they said occupancy is the highest since 2019.  I think they said there are around 1500 children on board too (and they've taken over the Windjammer).  There are also many families from Asia.  Went to Jamie's for lunch.  It was just okay.
Day 3 I finally was able to go to Kennedy Space Center this trip since we were in Port Canaveral until 8.  I had a great time.
Day4   Did a Miami/Art Deco/Little Havana tour (South Beach).  The tour was okay.  We did manage to lose one person at the 1st stop.  She lost us as soon as we got off the bus,  I have never actually visited Miami.  I have been to the cruise port and airport tons of times. Saw Spectra tonight and I always enjoy it.
Tomorrow is Coco Cay and I'm off to the Beach Club  An OBC popped up on my account on black Friday so I used it towards the Club.  I don't have a clue where the OBC came from but I didn't think twice about what I was going to use it for.

Good Morning from St Maarten. 😎
Berty’s update promises to be sunny and hot. 
We are off to Maho Beach to watch planes. It’s going to be a great day! 

One of my biggest pet peeves is leaving room service trays in the hallway. For me it is a big drawback with the ATS.  Usually I message Berty to have room service remove the trays right away. Well tonight it was late and I was not going to message Berty and there was no way I was having the food smell up our suite overnight.  So what did we do?? Put the tray in the hallway but called room service to pick it up. 

The Surprise Birthday 🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉
I am sooo happy to report that the night was fantastic!!! Berty took care of all the planning and set up. I had a brief moment of panic when I arrived and there was no cake. But moments later Berty arrived with the cake. Thank god he popped by to check on everything and noticed Jessica’s name was spelt wrong.  So he quickly got that fixed. I have no idea how but he used his genie powers.  ❤️
Jessica had no idea and was totally surprised. The Fine Line show went ahead with a few changes due to high winds. But a shorter show was better than no show.  

*Not sure if it’s the Internet but having problems uploading pics. 
 

We explored and headed to El Morro. This stop was a pleasant surprise! Very walkable, seemed clean and lots of security and police presence.  

Packing for a trip is always interesting when you are working around little friends!  I'm finally trying to get something into packing cubes today!!!  

Although I still haven't packed yet, my daughter helped me try on a ton of dresses and I am sorta prepared with what I think I'm packing!  Today I'm doing nails, going to the used bookstore and maybe digging out my suitcase!  
   Won't be needing the warm Christmas jammies in a few days!!!! Jane

Who’s Going?
Hubby, D16, D14, and I on this one.
Flight
Delta from DTW-MIA. Ever since the March Break 2022 fiasco, I book through Air2Sea. Hubby works on the 29th so we are not able to leave until the 30th. That does leave me slightly nervous, you never know about the weather in the winter months, but fingers crossed for a smooth flight and no cancellations.
Pre-Cruise Stay
A bit more sad news here, my usual go-to hotel, Intercontinental Miami has blocked out 1-night stays close to December 31st. I even tried calling their loyalty number to take advantage of the “guaranteed room” benefit from our Platinum Elite status, but it was a no go. Because Hubby works until the 29th, we could not book this either. Venturing out of our comfort zone here and trying out a new hotel in Brickell Miami.
Itinerary
31 DEC MIAMI, FLORIDA
01 JAN CRUISING
02 JAN ROATAN, HONDURAS
03 JAN COZUMEL, MEXICO
04 JAN CRUISING
05 JAN NASSAU, BAHAMAS
06 JAN PERFECT DAY COCOCAY, BAHAMAS
07 JAN MIAMI, FLORIDA
Cabin
#teamDeck17 of course! This is the way.
Unless, as @Jax says, we get a “Festivus Miracle” and win one of our Royal Up bids.
Pre-Cruise thoughts
 This is our second NYE sailing. I loved our first one, four years ago on Indy. I cannot wait to see some of the little NYE touches that SY will have. This is our first sailing back since the restart where we will not have to test! Yay! Such a relief. As if the “cruise gods” are laughing at me, or Royal IT is just terrible (likely this lol), we never got our Star Class pre-cruise questionnaire for March 2022 or July 2022. However, this sailing we are not star, and in October, they sent me my pre-cruise questionnaire! I cannot make this stuff up! Once again, in the spirit of a live blog, please do not hesitate to ask any questions.  I will do my best to find out whatever I can for you. When responding to a post with a series of pictures, please do not include the pictures in your reply.  It just makes for easier scrolling. Lastly, I will try to post videos and stories on Instagram.  You can follow me @lovetocruise2002

Shining, Shimmering, Splendid! NYE SY 12/31/22 – 01/07/23

📸: Hubby July 2019
Here we go again with another one!
As I type this and think back over the last year, grateful and gratitude are the two words that come to mind. As I reflect on the last few years, to be able to say, “Here we go with another one!” is not something that I will ever take for granted again.
The journey to this sailing as been an interesting, and slightly disappointing one. Way back in March 2021, I got a message from @twangster telling me there was a star class deal that was too good to pass up on Oasis 12/18/2022. I got a hold of @WAAAYTOOO and together we all booked that sailing. Sadly, they went, I did not. About 9 months ago (April 2022), our school board decided to apply for permission to move our Winter break leaving me teaching up until December 23rd. Permission was granted, I tried to ask for an unpaid leave of absence, it was denied, and I had no other option but to cancel my sailing with my Bot Mentor and the OG Suite Snob. That left us with one major problem (other than having to cancel). I still had just under $4000 of FCCs leftover from the pandemic cancellations that I needed to use up before 12/31/2022.
Already late to the party with booking a NYE sailing at this point, we did not have many options that interested us. We knew we would need to book an Oasis class ship because moving the sailing meant bringing our two girls (bad parenting to leave them for New Year’s). I wanted to move to HM (it was the best pricing for star), but because our SY March 2023 sailing got moved to HM (due to early SY dry dock), there was no way Hubby and girls wanted to sail HM now, and then again in March. Oasis was another option, but we had just sailed that in March 2022, and Hubby and the girls were not too keen about that either. Allure is in Texas and sailing from Galveston is not something I want to take a chance with during the winter months. See what I mean? I am grateful that I can even say all of that and those options are there.
The obvious choice here was Symphony, mainly because the girls have never sailed Symphony, and they have been wanting to for a while. The only problem with this was that pricing at this point in the game (this was April 2022) was crazy, especially for star. But, knowing that our cruising days with the girls is passing quickly, we said, “YOLO! Move It!” and here we go again, ready to sail Symphony of the Seas for NYE!

Oh no…pools are closed due to winds. 

Hibachi Night 2  ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This is always a fun experience and the food was delicious.  We added dumplings and udon noodles to go with our meal. 

Random pics of the ship before it fills up. 

The thing I really enjoy about the MDR is the service.  I like the waiters know what I want, do tricks for my daughter, etc.  To me, it's a big part of the cruise experience.

The wind finally died down a bit yesterday so we went to the beach in the morning and kart racing in the afternoon, followed by a great supper at Louie Bossi’s.  The boys had so much fun kart racing and finished at the top of the leaderboard. That was some of the best Italian food; everyone raved about their meals.  

Harmony as she leaves Port Everglades today. This was fun! Got to see Beyond too! 
You tube link attached with video.
https://youtu.be/7463OZdxpu0

I would say, it depends on your interest, we have been over to the blue lagoon and did segways, we are stopping there in February, they finally added more tours, we are doing a 4 HR private beach with food and drinks included. It seems so many people have been to the island before, the ship remains crowded.

Looks like 10, will be 11 in February, 2 are no longer in service, our first and second cruise was on Majesty. 

We will be getting off as your getting on the ship, will try and save some food, drinks and fun for you.