Firefly

On Oasis class I love relaxing at the Trellis Bar in Central Park, and coffee and pastries out on the balcony in the morning. On my favorite ship so far, Brilliance of the Seas, I love Schooner Bar and the outdoor couch seating next to Windjammer. Honestly, just being on any cruise is my happy place.

I get the new log in screen, but am unable to get into any of my cruise planners.

Following. We are sailing Explorer on the same itinerary in December...way too far away! Have a great cruise!

I think you will be fine with that timing. We tendered in Grand Cayman last month and it wasn’t bad at all. They began issuing tender tickets about 2 hours before the first scheduled tender and if you get there early you should have no problem getting a low ticket number. The tender boats were quite large and they usually have several running, especially first thing when you arrive. Usually when you book the third party excursions they request your ship info including time your arrive/depart. They rely on ship passengers for business and definitely want to work with you to make your excursion happen. Have fun!

In St. Maarten, we’ve been out with these guys twice and had a great time. Small group on the boat so no crowds. Short walk to their boat from the cruise pier and they are make sure you are back to your ship before on board time . https://coconut-reef.com In St. Thomas, we’ve been out with https://www.stthomasadventures.com . Absolutely amazing snorkeling with turtles and a reef that we were the only people snorkeling at...and there were 4 ships in port that day. Best excursion we’ve ever taken and worth every dollar. We are booked with them again for our visit in April. Can’t recommend them highly enough.

I felt this way last year after a particularly rough last day at sea before disembarkation. It took a good 3-4 days of being back on land before I felt normal again. We just returned from a cruise on Saturday and I didn’t have issues this time but my husband is still feeling it ever so slightly today. We haven’t found anything that really helps it go away faster, but it does eventually go away. Hope you feel better soon!

I’m sailing on Brilliance this Saturday, Dec 7, cannot wait!!!

Add me to the cruise addiction club. After an 18 lull in cruising (how the heck did I afford Disney cruises when I was just out of college?!), we cruised on Allure last June with my sister and her family. Loved that so much that it led to a cruise without kids in December and the obsession began. I love following along on live blogs here and spend my treadmill time each day watching cruise vlogs. I may or may not have been looking at future itineraries already this morning ?

I informed my husband this morning that a Panama Canal cruise is now on our list of future cruises to book. Your pictures are amazing and convinced me it’s worth the time and price. Looks absolutely incredible.

Beautiful pictures as always. Thanks for sharing your adventures with us.

The Royal Up offer for my 12/7 Brilliance cruise came on 10/11. I don’t expect to hear if it’s accepted or declined until a few days before we cruise. I am really not expecting an upgrade because my bid for a balcony was low, but I am totally happy with the location of our current cabin.

Another vote for Columbus Cove. There are plenty of loungers under the palm trees available, especially if you get there early. The water is much calmer than the other side where the beach beds are. Keep an eye open for the Beach Bungalows there too. We had one last year in June that we picked up on sale for $250 - best money we spent. There are only 8 available, so they can book up quickly.

The ferry ride definitely sounds like it would bother my son. He still gets sick just riding around on our mountain roads. I will definitely just stick to Cozumel and leave the mainland stuff for a future visit.

Wow, that sounds a lot longer than the 3 1/2 hours they list on the cruise planner. I don’t mind the early start, but my MIL cannot go that late for lunch. Might have to go without her since my son and I definitely want to do the ruins for homeschooling purposes. The beach isn’t a big deal this trip, so no big deal if there isn’t time for that. Guess we will play it by ear. Thanks for your feedback.

How long did the tour last and what time of day did the tour take place? I am pretty sure I will be booking this for myself, my 82 yr old MIL and my 11 yr old son. I am hoping we will still have time for my son and I to visit Discover Mexico or a maybe a beach near the port after the tour.

I just booked a 4 day cruise on Brilliance out of Tampa and am trying to plan our day in Cozumel. I will be traveling with my mother in law and my 11 year old son. My son is homeschooling this year and we want to make this day educational as well as fun. He loves history and is excited to see some Mayan ruins. I considered Tulum, but he suffers from pretty bad motion sickness and I am worried about the ferry ride to the mainland as well as the bus ride to the ruins. Is it really as bad as I have heard? (I have not ruled this excursion out completely yet because it looks amazing.) Because we are traveling without the rest of the family, I am leaning towards a ship sponsored excursion to San Gervasio. I also want to check out Discover Mexico afterwards. It looks like it is a short drive from port. I assume getting a taxi back to port isn’t difficult? Any tips or recommendations would be appreciated.

I’m over near Seneca

I agree 100%, and after watching how various cruise lines are handling the ships with delayed port returns, Royal seems to be offering some of the best communication and customer service.

Interesting considering the evacuation order in place and lane reversals on I26 that began a few hours ago. My friends daughter evacuated from Charleston this morning with other students. I’m way up in the corner of SC, so nothing to worry about here, but the coast has sure seen it’s share of storms in recent years.

Enjoying your review. I would love to sail Navigator one of the years, my kids would love those waterslides.

How did I miss the start of this thread? Gorgeous pictures as always. Looking forward to cruising vicariously through you again this week. Have a relaxing cruise!

Thank you for the wonderful live review- looks like you had a relaxing anniversary cruise. Safe travels back to reality...

I’m not a big drinker, but even I definitely break even with the drink package when we get a good sale price. On Oasis in December I got it for $44, and for our upcoming Symphony I got the $18 “deal.” In addition to previously mentioned tips my husband and I order a scoop of vanilla ice cream for dessert along with a shot of Chambord to pour on top. ?

Really enjoying following along - absolutely beautiful pictures!

Got it for my Symphony cruise in April 2020, but my Brilliance cruise in December is still $49. Interesting that the invoice showed up as DBP “Special Offer”. Fingers crossed they don’t cancel the deal on all of us that snagged it.