MorganMichelle2001

We forgot to pack goggles for our kids a few years ago and in October the only store that had them instock enroute to our destination was a sporting goods store $$$. Of course heaven forbid the kids couldn’t swim at the hotel. We absolutely loved Allure last year. My boys still talk about Washy Washy Woman at the MDR. Have a great cruise!

We forgot the googles too once. Hubby decided to buy them from a street vendor in Cozumel. Kids used them once and tossed them because water leaked in like crazy! You husband has one up on mine in that department ?

I didn't see any shopping of any sort there. 

Let the vacation begin! Heading over to spend the night at my folks’ place. Grandpa is driving us to the airport, bright and early, and they are watching our doggie all week. 
 

 
Oh, and daddy JUST said he forgot to pack the goggles...guess we will be making a pit stop at Target! (the guy in the blue shirt is my husband, doing the ‘daddy walk of shame’ into Target... how could he forget something so pivotal ?)

3 more days until we leave for Miami!!! And just in time too, it seems. Thank goodness we decided to fly out a day early, Minnesota is expected to get major weather starting around Saturday night into Sunday. I just hope and pray for all of the spring break travelers' safety and hope no one (including us) miss their vacations! 
I have another secret/tip to share! We booked a Central Park Balcony room which came with certain "perks": bottle of wine, lunch for 2 at Giovanni's, and a "Casino Lesson". Well, hubby and I are already knowledgeable Blackjack and Poker players (we don't play other casino games other than Roulette which is easy peasy), and we have the Deluxe Beverage package, so we didn't really care about the wine. On a whim, I Facebook Messaged Royal Caribbean back in October and asked if there was any chance they could switch our perks to what the Boardwalk Balcony gets: Lunch for 4 at Johnny Rockets, 2 Soda Packages , and a family Rock Climbing session. They needed to check with a manager, and after a few days wait, much to my surprise, they said YES! They did say it was a "one time exception" which I take to mean I probably can't ask this of them again in the future (understandable). I just wanted to share my experience and suggest that if you too want to swap your "perks", it can't hurt to ask! You might be pleasantly surprised! 
Royal's Facebook team is great! I have used the message feature about 10 times when planning this trip. Someone gets back to me right away, usually within minutes! I needed to reach out to Royal the week before my trip to confirm that our perks-swap was logged with the ship, and I just used Facebook Messenger to do that! They contacted the ship, made sure the swapped was logged (and I specifically asked for the soda packages to be assigned to my kids), and they messaged me back to confirm all was set and ready to go! I used a Travel Agent to book, but Royal's Facebook team was like a second, often more helpful, vacation assistant! Can't say enough great things ?

Let the vacation begin! Heading over to spend the night at my folks’ place. Grandpa is driving us to the airport, bright and early, and they are watching our doggie all week. 
 

 
Oh, and daddy JUST said he forgot to pack the goggles...guess we will be making a pit stop at Target! (the guy in the blue shirt is my husband, doing the ‘daddy walk of shame’ into Target... how could he forget something so pivotal ?)

3 more days until we leave for Miami!!! And just in time too, it seems. Thank goodness we decided to fly out a day early, Minnesota is expected to get major weather starting around Saturday night into Sunday. I just hope and pray for all of the spring break travelers' safety and hope no one (including us) miss their vacations! 
I have another secret/tip to share! We booked a Central Park Balcony room which came with certain "perks": bottle of wine, lunch for 2 at Giovanni's, and a "Casino Lesson". Well, hubby and I are already knowledgeable Blackjack and Poker players (we don't play other casino games other than Roulette which is easy peasy), and we have the Deluxe Beverage package, so we didn't really care about the wine. On a whim, I Facebook Messaged Royal Caribbean back in October and asked if there was any chance they could switch our perks to what the Boardwalk Balcony gets: Lunch for 4 at Johnny Rockets, 2 Soda Packages , and a family Rock Climbing session. They needed to check with a manager, and after a few days wait, much to my surprise, they said YES! They did say it was a "one time exception" which I take to mean I probably can't ask this of them again in the future (understandable). I just wanted to share my experience and suggest that if you too want to swap your "perks", it can't hurt to ask! You might be pleasantly surprised! 
Royal's Facebook team is great! I have used the message feature about 10 times when planning this trip. Someone gets back to me right away, usually within minutes! I needed to reach out to Royal the week before my trip to confirm that our perks-swap was logged with the ship, and I just used Facebook Messenger to do that! They contacted the ship, made sure the swapped was logged (and I specifically asked for the soda packages to be assigned to my kids), and they messaged me back to confirm all was set and ready to go! I used a Travel Agent to book, but Royal's Facebook team was like a second, often more helpful, vacation assistant! Can't say enough great things ?

Let the vacation begin! Heading over to spend the night at my folks’ place. Grandpa is driving us to the airport, bright and early, and they are watching our doggie all week. 
 

 
Oh, and daddy JUST said he forgot to pack the goggles...guess we will be making a pit stop at Target! (the guy in the blue shirt is my husband, doing the ‘daddy walk of shame’ into Target... how could he forget something so pivotal ?)

We live on a cul-de-sac and the "snow mountain" (as the kids call it) where they pile the snow when plowing is as high as I've ever seen it! We should rename this year's Snow Mountain, Snow Everest, and send the kids up with oxygen tanks!

Yesterday I shared on my Live Blog post how I was able to get my Inside Balcony Room "perks" switched to the Boardwalk perks (vs. Central Park perks) using Facebook Messenger. If you don't already know, Royal Caribbean's Facebook team is GREAT, very responsive, and apparently very helpful in making special accommodations or fulfilling special requests via Facebook Messenger!
Well... the Midwest including MSP airport (Minneapolis) is expected to get hit hard by winter storms this weekend starting Saturday morning/afternoon. Our flight was 1 pm Saturday, which is projected to be the time where things were getting heavy, so of course I start worrying about missing our cruise (even though we are on the Sunday, Allure of the Seas sailing...you never know how bad the weather delays can be). I started freaking out this morning and calling the airlines to see what could be done. Since we booked basic economy, we didn't have the option to change flights. The Customer Service agent on the phone said if there was a winter advisory (or what he called a "bulletin") they might be able to change us to an earlier flight. When I got to work, I started Facebook Messaging with Delta. Still no advisory/bulletin but the Facebook agent hinted that it may be coming. He messaged me back as soon as the advisory posted to let me know he could assist me in changing my flights. All through Facebook Messenger, I was able to get my party of 4 re-booked to the 8:45 am flight with no fees,  AND he was able to get me and my daughter seats together and us all together on our flights home. I can't say enough GREAT things about the customer service I received today as well as all of the times Royal has been able to serve me via Facebook Messenger. 
Now, hopefully the weather patterns don't shift too much and we will be able to fly safely in the morning on Saturday! Good luck to all of the Midwest travelers this weekend, stay safe and hope no big delays for your trip! 
 

Let the vacation begin! Heading over to spend the night at my folks’ place. Grandpa is driving us to the airport, bright and early, and they are watching our doggie all week. 
 

 
Oh, and daddy JUST said he forgot to pack the goggles...guess we will be making a pit stop at Target! (the guy in the blue shirt is my husband, doing the ‘daddy walk of shame’ into Target... how could he forget something so pivotal ?)

Yesterday I shared on my Live Blog post how I was able to get my Inside Balcony Room "perks" switched to the Boardwalk perks (vs. Central Park perks) using Facebook Messenger. If you don't already know, Royal Caribbean's Facebook team is GREAT, very responsive, and apparently very helpful in making special accommodations or fulfilling special requests via Facebook Messenger!
Well... the Midwest including MSP airport (Minneapolis) is expected to get hit hard by winter storms this weekend starting Saturday morning/afternoon. Our flight was 1 pm Saturday, which is projected to be the time where things were getting heavy, so of course I start worrying about missing our cruise (even though we are on the Sunday, Allure of the Seas sailing...you never know how bad the weather delays can be). I started freaking out this morning and calling the airlines to see what could be done. Since we booked basic economy, we didn't have the option to change flights. The Customer Service agent on the phone said if there was a winter advisory (or what he called a "bulletin") they might be able to change us to an earlier flight. When I got to work, I started Facebook Messaging with Delta. Still no advisory/bulletin but the Facebook agent hinted that it may be coming. He messaged me back as soon as the advisory posted to let me know he could assist me in changing my flights. All through Facebook Messenger, I was able to get my party of 4 re-booked to the 8:45 am flight with no fees,  AND he was able to get me and my daughter seats together and us all together on our flights home. I can't say enough GREAT things about the customer service I received today as well as all of the times Royal has been able to serve me via Facebook Messenger. 
Now, hopefully the weather patterns don't shift too much and we will be able to fly safely in the morning on Saturday! Good luck to all of the Midwest travelers this weekend, stay safe and hope no big delays for your trip! 
 

+1...I fully agree with MM2001...We live in northern NY state where 6" snows are a "nuisance" weather event but can still mess up the best plans. We are leaving 4 days early. Not only to make sure we don't miss the ship but we can get together with family and friends that live in Florida and to do some of the things we love about Florida (yes, yes we are Disney addicts). Flying into Orlando, renting a car, and doing the slow crawl to Miami.

Let the vacation begin! Heading over to spend the night at my folks’ place. Grandpa is driving us to the airport, bright and early, and they are watching our doggie all week. 
 

 
Oh, and daddy JUST said he forgot to pack the goggles...guess we will be making a pit stop at Target! (the guy in the blue shirt is my husband, doing the ‘daddy walk of shame’ into Target... how could he forget something so pivotal ?)

Good luck all of you traveling this weekend! I’m praying for no late season storms we head our from Buffalo NY on March 29th

Yesterday I shared on my Live Blog post how I was able to get my Inside Balcony Room "perks" switched to the Boardwalk perks (vs. Central Park perks) using Facebook Messenger. If you don't already know, Royal Caribbean's Facebook team is GREAT, very responsive, and apparently very helpful in making special accommodations or fulfilling special requests via Facebook Messenger!
Well... the Midwest including MSP airport (Minneapolis) is expected to get hit hard by winter storms this weekend starting Saturday morning/afternoon. Our flight was 1 pm Saturday, which is projected to be the time where things were getting heavy, so of course I start worrying about missing our cruise (even though we are on the Sunday, Allure of the Seas sailing...you never know how bad the weather delays can be). I started freaking out this morning and calling the airlines to see what could be done. Since we booked basic economy, we didn't have the option to change flights. The Customer Service agent on the phone said if there was a winter advisory (or what he called a "bulletin") they might be able to change us to an earlier flight. When I got to work, I started Facebook Messaging with Delta. Still no advisory/bulletin but the Facebook agent hinted that it may be coming. He messaged me back as soon as the advisory posted to let me know he could assist me in changing my flights. All through Facebook Messenger, I was able to get my party of 4 re-booked to the 8:45 am flight with no fees,  AND he was able to get me and my daughter seats together and us all together on our flights home. I can't say enough GREAT things about the customer service I received today as well as all of the times Royal has been able to serve me via Facebook Messenger. 
Now, hopefully the weather patterns don't shift too much and we will be able to fly safely in the morning on Saturday! Good luck to all of the Midwest travelers this weekend, stay safe and hope no big delays for your trip! 
 

Yesterday I shared on my Live Blog post how I was able to get my Inside Balcony Room "perks" switched to the Boardwalk perks (vs. Central Park perks) using Facebook Messenger. If you don't already know, Royal Caribbean's Facebook team is GREAT, very responsive, and apparently very helpful in making special accommodations or fulfilling special requests via Facebook Messenger!
Well... the Midwest including MSP airport (Minneapolis) is expected to get hit hard by winter storms this weekend starting Saturday morning/afternoon. Our flight was 1 pm Saturday, which is projected to be the time where things were getting heavy, so of course I start worrying about missing our cruise (even though we are on the Sunday, Allure of the Seas sailing...you never know how bad the weather delays can be). I started freaking out this morning and calling the airlines to see what could be done. Since we booked basic economy, we didn't have the option to change flights. The Customer Service agent on the phone said if there was a winter advisory (or what he called a "bulletin") they might be able to change us to an earlier flight. When I got to work, I started Facebook Messaging with Delta. Still no advisory/bulletin but the Facebook agent hinted that it may be coming. He messaged me back as soon as the advisory posted to let me know he could assist me in changing my flights. All through Facebook Messenger, I was able to get my party of 4 re-booked to the 8:45 am flight with no fees,  AND he was able to get me and my daughter seats together and us all together on our flights home. I can't say enough GREAT things about the customer service I received today as well as all of the times Royal has been able to serve me via Facebook Messenger. 
Now, hopefully the weather patterns don't shift too much and we will be able to fly safely in the morning on Saturday! Good luck to all of the Midwest travelers this weekend, stay safe and hope no big delays for your trip! 
 

Yesterday I shared on my Live Blog post how I was able to get my Inside Balcony Room "perks" switched to the Boardwalk perks (vs. Central Park perks) using Facebook Messenger. If you don't already know, Royal Caribbean's Facebook team is GREAT, very responsive, and apparently very helpful in making special accommodations or fulfilling special requests via Facebook Messenger!
Well... the Midwest including MSP airport (Minneapolis) is expected to get hit hard by winter storms this weekend starting Saturday morning/afternoon. Our flight was 1 pm Saturday, which is projected to be the time where things were getting heavy, so of course I start worrying about missing our cruise (even though we are on the Sunday, Allure of the Seas sailing...you never know how bad the weather delays can be). I started freaking out this morning and calling the airlines to see what could be done. Since we booked basic economy, we didn't have the option to change flights. The Customer Service agent on the phone said if there was a winter advisory (or what he called a "bulletin") they might be able to change us to an earlier flight. When I got to work, I started Facebook Messaging with Delta. Still no advisory/bulletin but the Facebook agent hinted that it may be coming. He messaged me back as soon as the advisory posted to let me know he could assist me in changing my flights. All through Facebook Messenger, I was able to get my party of 4 re-booked to the 8:45 am flight with no fees,  AND he was able to get me and my daughter seats together and us all together on our flights home. I can't say enough GREAT things about the customer service I received today as well as all of the times Royal has been able to serve me via Facebook Messenger. 
Now, hopefully the weather patterns don't shift too much and we will be able to fly safely in the morning on Saturday! Good luck to all of the Midwest travelers this weekend, stay safe and hope no big delays for your trip! 
 

Yesterday I shared on my Live Blog post how I was able to get my Inside Balcony Room "perks" switched to the Boardwalk perks (vs. Central Park perks) using Facebook Messenger. If you don't already know, Royal Caribbean's Facebook team is GREAT, very responsive, and apparently very helpful in making special accommodations or fulfilling special requests via Facebook Messenger!
Well... the Midwest including MSP airport (Minneapolis) is expected to get hit hard by winter storms this weekend starting Saturday morning/afternoon. Our flight was 1 pm Saturday, which is projected to be the time where things were getting heavy, so of course I start worrying about missing our cruise (even though we are on the Sunday, Allure of the Seas sailing...you never know how bad the weather delays can be). I started freaking out this morning and calling the airlines to see what could be done. Since we booked basic economy, we didn't have the option to change flights. The Customer Service agent on the phone said if there was a winter advisory (or what he called a "bulletin") they might be able to change us to an earlier flight. When I got to work, I started Facebook Messaging with Delta. Still no advisory/bulletin but the Facebook agent hinted that it may be coming. He messaged me back as soon as the advisory posted to let me know he could assist me in changing my flights. All through Facebook Messenger, I was able to get my party of 4 re-booked to the 8:45 am flight with no fees,  AND he was able to get me and my daughter seats together and us all together on our flights home. I can't say enough GREAT things about the customer service I received today as well as all of the times Royal has been able to serve me via Facebook Messenger. 
Now, hopefully the weather patterns don't shift too much and we will be able to fly safely in the morning on Saturday! Good luck to all of the Midwest travelers this weekend, stay safe and hope no big delays for your trip! 
 

Yesterday I shared on my Live Blog post how I was able to get my Inside Balcony Room "perks" switched to the Boardwalk perks (vs. Central Park perks) using Facebook Messenger. If you don't already know, Royal Caribbean's Facebook team is GREAT, very responsive, and apparently very helpful in making special accommodations or fulfilling special requests via Facebook Messenger!
Well... the Midwest including MSP airport (Minneapolis) is expected to get hit hard by winter storms this weekend starting Saturday morning/afternoon. Our flight was 1 pm Saturday, which is projected to be the time where things were getting heavy, so of course I start worrying about missing our cruise (even though we are on the Sunday, Allure of the Seas sailing...you never know how bad the weather delays can be). I started freaking out this morning and calling the airlines to see what could be done. Since we booked basic economy, we didn't have the option to change flights. The Customer Service agent on the phone said if there was a winter advisory (or what he called a "bulletin") they might be able to change us to an earlier flight. When I got to work, I started Facebook Messaging with Delta. Still no advisory/bulletin but the Facebook agent hinted that it may be coming. He messaged me back as soon as the advisory posted to let me know he could assist me in changing my flights. All through Facebook Messenger, I was able to get my party of 4 re-booked to the 8:45 am flight with no fees,  AND he was able to get me and my daughter seats together and us all together on our flights home. I can't say enough GREAT things about the customer service I received today as well as all of the times Royal has been able to serve me via Facebook Messenger. 
Now, hopefully the weather patterns don't shift too much and we will be able to fly safely in the morning on Saturday! Good luck to all of the Midwest travelers this weekend, stay safe and hope no big delays for your trip! 
 

Testing how to add photos from my phone. This was me and the hubby on Reflection in Aug 2018!

While I am a new Royal Caribbean Blog poster, I have been a quiet voyeur on the page for almost one year! We booked our Spring Break family cruise back in May of 2018 during a Kids Sail Free event. Man, did we score an amazing deal! Oasis Class was not in our price range, but the sale was too good to pass up. We are anxiously awaiting (T minus 12 days) our first family vacation (excluding Disney with the whole extended family 2 years ago). 
About us: My husband and I are in our mid/late thirties, and we love to travel. We’ve been on vacation together almost once/per year since we started dating almost 13 years ago. We enjoy going to warm, tropical locations (since we live in a frozen-tundra: Minnesota). I cruised with my family when I was in college and absolutely fell in LOVE with cruising, but, ironically, haven’t been on a second cruise until August of 2018. We already had our March 2019 Spring Break booked and, Surprise! My husband earned President’s Club through his work, and we were treated to a 5-night Italian Cruise on Celebrity Reflection (ADP chartered the entire ship- it was an absolutely unbelievable experience). That was my husband’s first time cruising. He is a rather tall/big drink of water, and his hesitation with cruises in the past was the size of the room/bathroom and feeling claustrophobic. He had NO issues on our Presidents Club cruise and really enjoyed the experience (though it will be very different cruising on a 100% booked Mega Ship @ Spring Break).
We have a seven-year-old son who will be celebrating his eighth birthday on the second day of the cruise, which he is rather excited about. We also have a five-year-old daughter who is an absolute joy, a social butterfly if there ever was one (don’t be surprised if she befriends you and your children at the pool or Adventure Ocean). We normally do adults-only vacations- when our kids were little it was imperative for us to take time to connect as a couple, and we are blessed with amazing parents who BEG to take their grandkids for the week! During our last AO trip in March 2018, I found myself missing the kids like crazy! They are not babies anymore, much easier to go out and do things with (plus SO MUCH FUN to hang out with), and decided that they are old enough to start taking on our “relaxation” vacations. We know this vacation will be more “work” than AO, and we will have times of stress and chaos, but I know we will have an amazing time as a family.
We are flying into Miami on Saturday, March 9th. We booked The Key, so we plan to be at the port as early as possible to board/start enjoying the ship right away! We do not have any specialty dining plans (other than Chops with The Key), and only a beach excursion booked for St. Maarten (Orient and Maho beach). Other than that we plan to hang out as a family by the pool and around the ship, hopefully the kids will enjoy some time at Adventure Ocean, check out the cruise activities (my son is ALMOST heavy enough to try the zip line!) and eat, drink, and play!
With The Key, we have internet access so I will try my best to post updates LIVE. If nothing else I will update you all when we get back. What else will there be to do in the remaining frozen months of MN winter (no more Cruise planning/daydreaming…might as well reminisce with pictures/write-ups of our adventures!)

We live on a cul-de-sac and the "snow mountain" (as the kids call it) where they pile the snow when plowing is as high as I've ever seen it! We should rename this year's Snow Mountain, Snow Everest, and send the kids up with oxygen tanks!

Yesterday I shared on my Live Blog post how I was able to get my Inside Balcony Room "perks" switched to the Boardwalk perks (vs. Central Park perks) using Facebook Messenger. If you don't already know, Royal Caribbean's Facebook team is GREAT, very responsive, and apparently very helpful in making special accommodations or fulfilling special requests via Facebook Messenger!
Well... the Midwest including MSP airport (Minneapolis) is expected to get hit hard by winter storms this weekend starting Saturday morning/afternoon. Our flight was 1 pm Saturday, which is projected to be the time where things were getting heavy, so of course I start worrying about missing our cruise (even though we are on the Sunday, Allure of the Seas sailing...you never know how bad the weather delays can be). I started freaking out this morning and calling the airlines to see what could be done. Since we booked basic economy, we didn't have the option to change flights. The Customer Service agent on the phone said if there was a winter advisory (or what he called a "bulletin") they might be able to change us to an earlier flight. When I got to work, I started Facebook Messaging with Delta. Still no advisory/bulletin but the Facebook agent hinted that it may be coming. He messaged me back as soon as the advisory posted to let me know he could assist me in changing my flights. All through Facebook Messenger, I was able to get my party of 4 re-booked to the 8:45 am flight with no fees,  AND he was able to get me and my daughter seats together and us all together on our flights home. I can't say enough GREAT things about the customer service I received today as well as all of the times Royal has been able to serve me via Facebook Messenger. 
Now, hopefully the weather patterns don't shift too much and we will be able to fly safely in the morning on Saturday! Good luck to all of the Midwest travelers this weekend, stay safe and hope no big delays for your trip! 
 

@MorganMichelle2001  - the weather is just beginning to feel like severe harrassment at this point, doesn't it? We need a restraining order!  Glad you got your flight moved and have an incredible cruise!