CazV

Bring your own. That’s all ?

The worst day of the cruise...
The day is here, the day we leave our home on the seas...
We pulled into Miami around 5am, and from what I could tell, we were cleared and self disembarkation started around 6:45am

We headed up to Chop’s about 8:15 for our breakfast, it was delicious 

We decided not to use our Key benefit for disembarking because we wanted to leave with my cousins, they had the latest departure possible, so we wandered around the ship a bit. The next cruise is the Zumba chartered cruise, so the pool deck was oddly empty, and they were craning in a ton of equipment 

We were let off the ship about 9:20, and going down the gangway, we passed the crane

When we got to the baggage area, our bags were already off the belt and waiting for us, assuming because of the Key

Going through customs was super easy, nothing like I was expecting. We were out on the curb about 9:30.
Driving away from the port, the last view of the ship, you can see the crane putting crates up on top

We had decided to rent a car for the four of us to drive up to Ft Lauderdale, that ended up being quite an adventure with shuttles and Uber’s to finally get us a car at the Miami airport, and we had to try a couple of them before we found one to fit all of our baggage

We stayed at a hotel for the evening, and now we are at the airport waiting for our plane. 
Thanks so much for following along, this has been fun, and I think it actually caused me to take more pictures and remember things more to be able to document them. I don’t know when our next cruise will be, but likely something from the west coast, burning a couple days flying back and forth just makes it hard. I am jealous of all you guys that can just hop on a long weekend cruise!!

Day 9 - Last full day....
Didn’t take a ton of pictures today, but I have a few  
We had a slow start to the morning, and went to the spa about 9 for a nice massage / nap! 
We were done just after 11 and went to the Windjammer for lunch. 
After lunch, we caught the show with the house band, it was a big band style and we loved it

We went out on the deck and played shuffle board for a bit before heading up to the pool deck

pro-tip, do the pool at slides starting at 5PM, there is no one out there!

While walking the halls today, I looked up and noticed this right outside our cabin door, makes sense that we had good WiFi reception all throughout the cabin!

Tonight’s dinner was at the Windjammer, it was seafood night, which meant I grabbed a burger and fries from the kids section

After dinner was the fair well show in the theater, it was great

After the show, we hung out at the Bamboo room, this became our favorite place to relax! Played some games and enjoyed our last few hours

The Key breakfast was moved to Chop’s grill tomorrow

 

Royal Caribbean does not automatically refund or credit you the price difference on the items you purchased If the items that you brought beforeare cheaper now then when they were purchased. I would cancel and rebook at the lower price. 
You can cancel items that you purchased in your cruise planner and rebook if the price is cheaper and you can purchase other services/packages until 3 days before your cruise. 
A month ago I purchased some cruise planner items before they were on sale and last week I noticed that some of the items I had previously purchased were now on sale for up to 50% off, so I had cancelled those items and I had repurchased them at the lower price.

Here ya go. 

It’s amazing, that’s what it is! I will swing by there today and take a better picture of the menu

Day 8 - at sea
Today was our first of two sea days headed back to Miami, and it was wonderful! 
I got up early and took my laptop down to the promenade about 7:30 to get some stuff done, it was wonderfully quiet down there, and I grabbed some fruit from the Cafe. 
A little later in the morning, they had a Bloody Mary bar set up on the promenade 

There was a “flash sale” on accessories, and it got pretty busy

I stopped in one of the shops, and noticed that the ship models have already bred updated with the new slides and such, but a lot of the picture related items have not

While wandering  around, we came across the Stowaway Piano Player. This guy is awesome 

We went to a Q&A with the singer/dancer/ice skaters that was quite interesting. Did you know that the singers and dancers will help out backstage with costume changes etc. at the ice show, and the other way around? They also run spot lights for each other’s shows

Tonight was formal night, we went to the main dining room 

With celebrations of the the 50th anniversary for Royal, the had birthday cakes

Tonight’s headliner show was a Whitney Houston tribute, she was great! She was backed with all live music from the house band, they are incredible. 

After catching the late show, we wandered around the ship more, made a stop at the R Bar and got a red velvet, wow!
After playing some late night (early morning) mini golf, we decided to call it a day. Last full day tomorrow!

Day 7 -Aruba
This is our last port stop on this trip, and maybe the one we were most looking forward to, because of the excursion we had booked.

The ship docked about 7am and the gangways were down and open before 8. Our tour was picking us up just outside the port at 8:45, so we had a little time to grab a quick bit at the windjammer.
Today's tour was a Harley ride, touring the island. We have done this kind of thing in Hawaii before, and have always said there is no better way to see the island. Today did not disappoint.

We took off from the shop about 9:30am and the weather was perfect for riding, not so much for pictures though. Overcast for the most part

Saw some beautiful sights along the way

The last stop before heading back to the shop was Baby Beach. There is a new adults only bar/lounge/pool that just opened about 3 months ago that our guide took us to

The tour lasted almost 5 hours, and it was incredible!

After returning to the shop, they gave us a ride back to the port. We had gotten a recommendation from our guide about a place to eat, and we were hungry, so we walked there, about a 15 minute walk to a little place called El Gaucho. Incredible steak and fish!
We spent some time walking around the shops, then headed back to the ship. All aboard is 6pm, and we were back on about 5.
Dinner in the windjammer tonight was Indian theme, I didn't care for much of it, so I hit the Kids Corner for a burger and fries, perfect!
We went to the main show at 10pm tonight, it was a ballroom dancing show by the Royal Caribbean singers and dancers, it was a lot of fun!

As soon as the show let out, it was time for the 80's party on the Promenade. The people watching during and after did not disappoint! 

The cruise compass for tomorrow shows the drink card as coming available!

That's about all for today. The next two days are sea days as we make our way back to Miami...
 

My excursions on my Navigator sailing at the end of April are down in price from when I purchased in the last sale a few weeks ago. It's only a few pounds, but that few pounds is better in my pocket. 

Also worth mentioning is that Adventure Ocean on this ship is unlike any other design I've ever seen. I've taken a handful of bad pictures and a hasty video that don't do a justice but its completely opened for ages 3 to 11. It has a lot of stations where the kids can float between at their will. Towards the front they've used tape to mark of an area where they play games like dodge ball. Along one wall they have nooks with library books around them. There's a rock wall for the kids opposite the library wall with dodge ball in the middle of this. Farther back they have stacked tubes that are padded for the kids to relax or climb around in. Next to that is a dome hockey table. Further back there's a "princess" station which has doll houses and princess stuff. There's a handful of TVs here playing kids shows. Next to this is the arts and crafts table/center with a sink for clean ups. Further back they have a large TV (maybe 75") with bean bags around it and Nintendo Switches sitting above it. They said they play movies there too. Then they have a board game table with a bookshelf of board games. Next to this they have 3 Playstation 4's hooked to 3 50" TVs. They have about 9 or 10 gamer chairs on the floor next to them. I front of that they have a large table with an assortment of wacky chairs that they said is just a free play area. Hopefully someone can get some good shots of this on a future sailing. Definitely my kids most favorite Adventure Ocean experience.

I'm on board this sailing as well so I hope its okay if I add a few extra pictures. Curcao looks lovely at night. Here's a shot of the pontoon bridge from an angle.
And here's a shot of the pontoon bridge while on it.

We have a late departure of 10:30pm. Most of the shopping was closed when we walked around at 7 to 8pm but most restaurants were opened. Interestingly it appears all the shops on board started to open at 7pm.

Day 6, Curaçao. 
Today we visit the island of Curaçao, the weather is in and out overcast, but still plenty warm. We docked about 7:30am and the gangway was down about 8am. We are sharing the port with a Celebrity ship today
We had ordered room service for delivery between 7:30-8, but by 8:05 they hadn’t shown up and we were ready to get going, so we ran up to the Windjammer for a quick bite before heading out. 
We booked at ATV off road tour for today, and they met us out front of the port to take us to their shop. They had a van, and several 6-seat buggy’s to transfer everyone. There were a lot of people that were booked! We were directed to a buggy with Lorenzo as our guide, and he drove the 20-minute ride to the shop. 
We got a good view of the ships from the bridge
Once we got to the shop, everyone went to fill out paper work and pay the money after that was done, we grouped up into our different groups for the tours. Our group was originally supposed to have 8 people on it, but 4 backed out, so it was just us and another couple from the Celebrity ship, nice small personal tour!
Our guide was awesome, so happy and loves what he does! Took us to a spot where we climbed up and through some lava caves and came out up on top with and awesome view

Then to the “cave of doom” were we found some beautiful pink rocks in this little cave
He took us to the only sand beach on the north side of the island. It’s not a tourist spot, and we had the beach to ourselves for a bit till another couple came in. Did some swimming for a little bit before heading back
When we were maybe a mile away from the shop, the drive belt blew on our machine, and left us dead. Luckily he had a tow rope (which he hadn’t had to use yet) and was able to tow us the rest of the way to the shop
It was an awesome tour, and would do it again in a heart beat!
We headed back to the ship to shower and change (we were quite dirty from all the dust) then grabbed a lava flow from the Lime and Coconut and some El Loco Fresh for lunch
Then we ventured in to town for some exploring and shopping. All the colors here are incredible!
Went across the pontoon bridge
We decided to come back to the ship for dinner in the MDR. On the app, the menu stated there would be buttermilk fried chicken, but it was a completely different menu when we got there. (This isn’t the first thing that the app has been different than what actually happens. They still have some work to do) I decided on the Chicken Parmigiana and my wife had her staple, a steak
The service in the MDR was the best we have had thus far, whether it’s breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Our waiter was super attentive and on the ball 
We decided to hit the theater for the headliner act, a ventriloquist/comedian. He was ok, good enough that we didn’t leave, but don’t feel the need to see him again. During the show he was interrupted by an announcement for ‘alpha, alpha, alpha’, I feel bad for that person. 
 
After the show, we went to the helipad to check out the night time view
Went and spent some time in the Schooner Bar listening to the great live music. It’s been the same guy every night, and he is super talented. 
Came back to the room to find it ready for bed, complete with a towel elephant 
Tomorrow is our last port day, at Aruba, then two sea days back to Miami 

Day 5 (I think?) Bonaire!
Such a beautiful day today. We docked about 8:30, and the captain gave us the all clear right at 9am
We were the second ship in port today, the first was the old Monarch 
We decided to rent a couple scooters for the day and just tour the island on our own. Turned out to be a fantastic idea! The guy we rented from was awesome, picked us up at the port and took us to two brand new (in November) Yamaha scooters. These are the bigger models that you actually have to have a motorcycle endorsement on your license to ride. My wife and I are both endorsed, and decided to get our own, instead of riding tandem. 
We set off to see the sights!
The beauty in these islands just amazes me
the shape of the corals that have washed onshore and now line the shore are just incredible 
Saw some incredible kite surfing down at the south end
We rode the whole south end of the island, and stopped back in Kralendijk to grab some lunch, and then headed north
We stopped at 1000 steps and went down and got in the water with our snorkels. Wow!
After the snorkeling, we were beat and decided to head back. After stopping for fuel (and putting in a whopping $2.48 between the two bikes) We got back to the rental shop about 3:30 and he took us back to the port where we walked around for a little bit and then headed back on the ship. 
We hadn’t had a chance to catch the Iskate show yet, so we headed down to studio B to take it in. I was a bit skeptical walking in, but then the show started and I was hooked!
Tonight’s dinner was the Windjammer, and then up to the room. We are beat and want to get some good sleep before we hit Curaçao tomorrow!

Fresh off Navigator in March 2019 here is the latest version of the drink menu found on many ships. 
It's largely unchanged from 2017 but prices have been updated.

Also consider this isn't the extent of drinks they can make.  They can make just about any drink. 
The drink menu is to give people something to look at to help them decide.  It would be impossible to list every possible drink that a bartender can make.

I’ll have to pack wigs and hats. ???

That's a great question that I should have asked more about on board Navigator.  In the Bamboo Room $14 drinks cost me an extra $1 with the DX package.  However I didn't try going over at other bars.  
Anthem was $13 in practice even thought the terms and conditions stated $12.  

Will confirm, at least on Mariner, it is $13 getting covered. This was verified with one of the bartenders at the Pub.
Same deal as @twangster in the Bamboo Room. The $14 drinks rang up as $1.18. Another FYI sales tax was charged on overages the first day while still in Miami.
Another credit to the Bamboo Room folks, they were informing drink package holders about the overage on those drinks.

Day 4, at sea.
Today was a pretty laid back day for us. Beautiful views from all over the ship 
We started off with breakfast in the MDR
I had the French toast and an omelet, they were fine, but I don’t think the quality of food was any different than the windjammer, and I don’t particularly care for taking an hour and a half to eat breakfast, I think we will stick with the Windjammer. 
After breakfast it was time for our All Access Tour
It was a group of 18 people, and was quite informative. I took most of the pictures on my GoPro, and haven’t loaded them yet, but here are a few
We had lunch in the MDR again today. We really enjoy the salad bar and Buffett, but I’m still not sold on the slow service. It takes 20 minutes to get a refill on a soda or water. Maybe I just drink too fast. 
After lunch we just cruised around the ship for awhile, and then went a took a nap, it was wonderful. 
Just after 5pm we went out to the sports deck (around this time, the pool deck and sports deck are all but deserted) and went down the slides about 6 or 7 times each, basically no lines. It was awesome!
We went back to the room and got changed, and watched the sunset. 
Then we ran up to the Windjammer and grabbed a plate of food and took it out to the Lime and Coconut to enjoy the movie on the pool deck, that was fun. 
The pool deck at night is beautiful 
We decided to catch the Headliner show his name was James Stephens III, he was an impressionist and musician, it was fun and a totally packed house!
Tonight was the 70’s party, we stayed on the promenade for a little bit, but it was really warm, so we decided to call it an evening and went back to the room to cool off and relax on the balcony for a bit before bed. 
The wind kicked up quite a bit this evening and there was a fair amount of rocking, but it hasn’t bothered us yet, we haven’t had any issues with seasickness!
Next stop is Bonaire!

So I just took two 18 year olds on a family cruise in December and here are some of the things they did.
Casino slot tournaments.  Only $25 and fun way to meet people. Some ships have free casino tournaments also. 
Lying out poolside and movies pool side.
Mocktails at venues with music.
Coffee shop and people watching.
Booked some paid activities like the sushi class, cupcake class, brunch with galley tour.
 
Things I found in an old cruise compass:
Free gaming lessons in the casino, you will find a lot of 18 to 20 year olds in the casino because some land casinos are 21.
Game shows, karaoke, dance party, comedy shows, there is a whole list of music and dancing where you can hang out and have a mocktail
Some ships have a free talk about the ship called "Get to know the ..........."
fitness classes, bingo, scavenger hunt
 
There are tons of activities in the daily compass for you to pick from.  Go to the Cruise Compass link at the top of the page and look for old compasses from the ship you are sailing on and take a look at what they offer.
 

I would say this is a great opportunity to break in to the adult activities.  Really the only activity you cant do is drink alcohol.  Mocktails solve that real quick.  So for things to do for the not quite 21 crowd is....
1.  Shore excursions. You're definitely not left out of those!  
2.  Flowriders and pools.  You may find others in your age range in these areas.  Its not that organized of an activity but its activity
3.  Trivia.  Just think, the pop culture trivia things you'll absolutely crush!  There will be many older groups who will want the pop culture guru on their team!
4.  Athletic activities.  Things like basketball, bumper cars, ice skating.  Might not be your thing, might be right up your alley.
5.  FOOD!  No teen or kids club telling you when to get your grub on!  You want a bagel at 10am?  Its yours for the taking!
 
I think you may mean scheduled activities for just those in your age range.  I think that since the under 21 over 18 crowd is so small, it just may not be feasable to have a meetup or activities just for that particular group.  It may feel a bit like a limbo state, but its really a great opportunity to start doing the adult activities, just they're not going to involve drinking alcohol.  
One of the beautiful things about common age groups is, they find each other.  My first cruise I'll never forget.  I was 15 and there was no teen club to speak of on the Princess cruise I was on.  Within a day I managed to find the other teens and we took over the club one night.  Wasnt organized by the ship, but it was organized by the resourceful teens.  And I'll be frank, I'm a bit of a social butterfly type so for me its very easy to just go up to those in my age range and say hello.  But if you're not the social butterfly type, it might be an opportunity to spread your wings a little bit and start just by saying hello while enjoying a mocktail.  And that goes for any age range.  Cruises are magical in that they really can give introverts a chance to try out extroverting a bit.  If the social interaction leads nowhere, that's fine, nothing lost.  Its not like you'll be faced with the less than successful interaction for years to come.  But if it IS successful, you can make friends for life.  
Your conundrum isnt really exclusive to the 18-21 crowd either.  All age ranges experience this.  And your cruise director does get a list of ages on the cruise.  So if they do see an influx of the 18-21 crowd, then they'll organize activities with that crowd in mind.  Same if the cruise director sees more in the 65+ range.  If they see more in the younger crowd, you may see more activities by the pool and the clubs.  You'll see trivia with younger themes. But be prepared to enjoy less organized activities if there isnt an influx of your age range.
 
 

Well with as many outfit changes that he did during the show, I think he brought more clothes for that one night than I brought for the whole cruise!

Day 3, Labadee!
Started this morning off at the Windjammer just after 7am with a nice little breakfast while watching us back into the dock at Labadee
We went down to StudioB at 7:50 for our Key debarment, and were escorted off the ship about 8:15
Hopped on a golf cart that took us to our Over the Water Cabana
We are in the one on the left. This is amazing!
The water here is incredible. Remember, we live on the west coast, and haven’t ever been down here before. We have been to Hawaii several times, but it just doesn’t compare. Did some snorkeling under the cabanas, some neat stuff
Spent the day relaxing. Amazing...
Our attendant, Jantee, was awesome, and kept the Labadoozies and Pina Colada’s flowing! Definitely made use of our drink package today!
Sailaway from our balcony

Dinner was in the MDR tonight
Tonight’s headliner was a Journey tribute band, they were...interesting

Thats all for now. See you later!

Day 2,at sea, continues...
We hit up the MDR for lunch, and decided to do the salad bar/buffet. It was incredible! We will definitely be doing this again! It was so good in fact, that I forgot to take any pictures!
We then went and got changed, and headed out to the pool deck. It was pretty busy when we got there, but we found my cousins, sat down, and people watched while enjoying some drinks from the Lime and Coconut. 
We enjoyed some time outside, and went down both water slides several times. I think I enjoy the mat racer most, but my wife and I did the tube together, and that was quite fun as well. The lines weren’t too bad at all, and they kept the turnover moving pretty well. 
Tonight we are eating at Hooked, but with a dining time of 8:30, we had some time to wander the ship. We grabbed some espresso from Cafe Promenade, and noticed it was now Seattles Best, must have been a change from Illy during the revamp
We found the stowaway piano player just outside the Windjammer!
Stopped by the Bamboo room and grabbed a drink. I got the Banana Colada, and it was awesome!
Ventured outside and caught an amazing sunset. Sunsets at sea are like no other!
We still had some time before dinner, so we went down to Cafe Promenade again, and I grabbed a vanilla smoothie, stopped by Playmakers and got a Rum Punch, and combined the two. Total win! I will be doing this again. 
It was then time for dinner, so we made our way down to Hooked. Our waiter there was great and took care of us well. I opted for the Messy Fish Sandwich, and it did not disappoint! My wife got the Turf and Turf and enjoyed it very much as well
We were wanting to make it to the show, so our waiter offered to give us dessert to go, which was awesome! I got the bread pudding, it was incredible. 
Now off to the show, “Showgirl!”, it was a lot of fun, and quite talented people up on stage!
We got back to our room and had a nice fruit plate waiting for us
As well as another letter with information on our priority debarkation process for the coming ports
Tomorrow is Labadee!!

Just to add to this research, I have placed on hold 2 B2B cruises with MEI. The price comparison is:
Anthem 11 night Caribbean cruise from Port Bayonne 26th January 2021, Spa Junior Suite
Current UK price: £6,494
MEI / US price: £4,106 (using conversion of £1 = $1.30)
Anthem 8 night Bahama cruise from Port Bayonne 6th February 2021, Spa Junior Suite
Current UK price: £3,292
MEI / US price: £2,108
This is a direct comparison as the UK price for 2021 does not include any additional offer - not even wifi. I noted, though, that 2021 pricing, is much higher than the same cruise on the same ship in 2020. So, there may be lower prices or drinks packages offered in the future. I will track this and report back.
Total saving at current prices and exchange rate is: £3,572.
That's a bit of a no-brainer!
Thanks to Stephanie at MEI for a very quick response.