IRMO12HD

Sales do happen but it seems to be more of a pop up sale when the need arises.   It is nothing you can count on.   On our last cruise on Symphony, (Feb 2020 😞 ) there was such a long line at the dining room for My Time (7:30 pm) they offered anyone in line a table at Chops for 1/2 price for each person in the party.  We took it and they ushered us up to Chops and seated us right away even though there were other parties waiting for a table. 

Updates to the Key Program!
Just got this today -- it looks like hanging on to The Key was the right move for me -- hope it helps others who are considering it.  This is on my 4-Night Freedom sailing at the end of November:
 
Dear Guest,
We're excited to share that our Welcome Lunch, featuring Chops Grille has been brought back to The Key! We hope you look forward to enjoying your exclusive lunch which will take place in the Main Dining Room between 12:00 PM - 1:30 PM! Additionally, as we previously shared, you'll receive a 25% discount for onboard dining purchases, plus complimentary room service! And, our private debarkation á la carte breakfast is back, replacing the "grab and go" breakfast option. Now, enjoy a more relaxed breakfast experience before heading off the ship.
Here's what you can expect on your upcoming sailing:
Early access at the terminal.* Drop off your carry-on luggage in the Main Dining Room on Deck 3 by 2:00 PM - your carry-on luggage will be hand delivered to your stateroom. Exclusive welcome lunch in the Main Dining Room featuring the Chops Grille® menu (open from 12:00 PM - 1:30 PM). We recommend arriving to the terminal no later than 11:30 AM for you to have enough time to enjoy lunch with us! Complimentary room service for your entire cruise, along with 25% off all onboard dining purchases! Private time at some of our onboard activities such as rock climbing, FlowRider, etc. Priority departure from ship-to-shore at tender ports. Early access at shows in the Main Theater on Deck 4, however a reservation is needed so don't forget to book once you're onboard! VOOM Surf & Stream package, now including high speed internet, for one device (1 package per guest). On debarkation day, enjoy a private á la carte breakfast and choice departure. *Please arrive at the terminal between 11:00 AM - 11:30 AM. If you are not able to make the early access window, you should arrive within your appointment time and will receive priority access into the terminal.
Lastly, when you arrive to the port for your sailing, please locate The Key signage for priority access into the terminal and make your way onto the ship.
We look forward to welcoming you aboard Freedom of the Seas in the coming days!

Upload your proof of vaccination on the Royal App under check-in; they're validating those so you'll get some actual feedback if something is acceptable or not before you get to the terminal.

We have a A1 2 bedroom Aqua theater for my wife, twin boys (turning 7 on sailing) and 5 year old daughter. Also joining is my sister in law and her 18 month old son. There are 3 other families in Sky class suites and two sets of grandparents in Junior suites.
I booked this suite the day it released back in November 2019 while on board Navigator. 
We are flying direct to Miami from San Francisco. I splurged on first class seats since we had lots of American credits from cancelled cruise flights. 
Staying near Miami airport the night before cruise then using hotel shuttle to ship (if times are bad we will use other transportation)
Got an over water cabana for Coco Cay. With current protocols we are required to purchase Royal excursions to take kids off ship in other ports. Because of this rule I purchased a mainland excursion to ruins in Cozumel. (We usually do an island beach club on our own) In Roatan we will go to Sol y Mar for beach time. No plans currently for Costa Maya. The port pass apiary I have read others have done has not been available in cruise planner.
Received Genie email from Shane. Gave him a list for dining times and places for each night. I hope that there will be flexibility to make changes if necessary. 

Made beer and wine requests for our room. I travel with a Yeti bag which I prefer over the cowboy cold fridges in Royal Caribbean rooms. I asked for 2019 vintage Coors Light (high snowfall in Colorado Rockies that year provides a hint of pine) If this is unavailable I’ll settle for 2021 vintage. 
Also asked Shane for an in suite ice cream party the afternoon of my twins birthday for all the kids in group.
Doing COVID tests locally before heading to airport. Plan to do two in attempt to reduce potential sample problems.
Listing this post in “Live Blog” section. No promises on quantity or quality of posts during sailing. Will certainly post a reflection on experience and answer questions once back home.

I would recommend taking a screenshot of your twitter exchange, just in case there's an issue at check-in.

Update #1:  Per RCL Twitter, the state Certificate of COVID-19 Vaccination will be accepted.  I still want to see if there's any empirical data to support that, and hope that someone out there in the RCLBlogverse can help me.

If Twitter says its good, I would agree that you're good.  I've done 3 cruises so far with an electronic screenshot from my care.CVS account.  nobody blinks and nobody has asked for the original paper CDC copy.  
now, it does say "CVS pharmacy" at the bottom, but the information is all in one paragraph.  it doesn't say "name of administering medical provider:  CVS Pharmacy" like a line-item list.  just "CVS Pharmacy".  so there's some level of inferencing here, but I can't be the only American who has been on a cruise so far that got the jab at a CVS.
(from my card)
1st dose PFIZER COVID-19 VACCINE (EUA), Lot #EN6199, 03/11/21, Dose 1, CVS Pharmacy 2nd dose PFIZER COVID-19 VACCINE (EUA), Lot #ER8732, 04/13/21, Dose 2, CVS Pharmacy    

There is still a lot of spread out there in the wild.  With cruise lines ramping up capacity a large outbreak would be a death blow.  It's taken so much effort to get to the point where turning a profit is getting closer and closer.  They simply can't afford to screw this up.  
My parents retirement home went into lockdown today with 5 new cases.
Despite how badly we want to be done with the virus it isn't done with us regardless how much we want to pretend that isn't the case.     

Oops the liveness has really fallen off on this leg! I will come back to add some recaps a little later, but interesting update for this sea day has been us waiting all day for a medical evac! 
Captain Thor came on around 9am and told us why we were hovering off the coast of Nassau again; waiting for a medical plane to arrive in Nassau for a passenger evacuation. I figured we’d be done with that soon enough but we have been tooling around off the coast all day! The cruisemapper route looks so crazy already and we’re not done circling yet. Update was that the plane should land around 4:30pm. 



We have a nice spot in a day bed on the port side and the sun has been coming and going all day as we turn back and forth. 
Giovanni’s Italian Kitchen tonight and Thrill Waterpark tomorrow! 
Here’s a rainbow pic as an offering for my poor live blogging. 

I will definitely come back to recap all the great Oasis activities and specialty dining once we get home! I have a feeling our FR cruise will be a lot more laid back. 😎

Buncha sisters in Nassau.
Mariner, Indy and Odyssey 

I generally like that area because it's super convenient to the elevator lobby and access to the boardwalk or promenade.
The bulk of all ocean view cabins are pretty similar between 2D and 4D.  2D tend to be in slightly more desirable locations but inside the cabin they are pretty much the same.  
For me my go to decks on Oasis class are decks 6 or 8.  Deck 6 for easy access to boardwalk and promenade, deck 8 for easy access to Central Park.  Some folks like being higher up for easier access to the pools or solarium but the solarium is 16+ so with a 2 yo not sure that it as important as maybe boardwalk access might be.  
As far as the cabin goes it's probably the most common type of cabin found on this class.  Once inside a balcony cabin they are all very similar and very functional.     No complaints.  A 2D cabin typically has bed space for two adult guests and the sofa does not become a sofa bed.  The sofa may work for a 2 yo as long as they can sleep on a sofa that is not a pull out sofa bed.  If you are looking for a proper bed for your child you might need to talk with your travel agent or Royal about moving to a 1D, 3D or 5D balcony.  
Needless to say but engage the child lock on the balcony door depending how mobile your child is or if a climber.  Never leave them alone out there if you let them out there at all.  At that age we put our kids to bed then sat on the balcony as an adult only area so we could talk and enjoy a glass of wine without waking them but we were very careful with them outside on the balcony.      

I'm sure these past two years have been pretty stressful on him as well.  Probably a few more gray hairs compared to the start of the pandemic.  
Time to sit back and enjoy cruise travel without the weight of the entire group on his shoulders 24 x 7.  

The CDC has used cruise ships as an experiment to test various theories they had about this virus.
It's proven to be a huge success. 
Time to let go of the cruise industry and once again too late, apply these lessons in places like nursing homes where we have lost so many.

We packing a few of plastic straws anyway for the frozen drinks.  Nice hack.

This is why I back up the final payment a few days for everyone- you never know if something might happen to your card and we have to scramble at the last minute. 

As a TA, I prefer it if people don't pay early. The accounting if there is a price drop is a mess.

We renewed my wife's passport and paid the little extra for expedited processing...only took about 3 weeks from door to door. I would do this every time it's up for renewal.

My final payment is due Feb 13 but my check in date is Jan 27.  I believe, because final pmt for cruises through March 2022 is due only 30 days prior, check in does open first & you can check in before you make final payment.

I recently renewed mine, paying the $60 expedite fee and that was a 12wk max wait time.  I received it last week and it was 2 weeks door to door, so either wait times arent what they used to be or i got lucky.  There is a spot to indicate booked international travel (Jan 29 sailing), so maybe that moved me up line, not sure. 

There are no advantages and only disadvantages to paying off a cruise early.  Not that you would necessarily want to do this, but once a cruise is paid in full you cannot transfer the booking to a new/different travel agent.  I never pay off a cruise early except for casino comp bookings which MUST be paid in full when they are booked.

I would never pay off my cruise until the last possible moment (maybe a day early 🙂.  Price drops could still occur and then you would get OBC instead of the lower price.  

It’s cruise day(again)!!!! Good morning from our mega balcony in South Beach. Boarding Freedom around noon. 


We are staying at the Penguin Hotel. Pretty cute but only stay here if you're getting the mega balc.



Scenic Miami shot

Day Four in Nassau was fairly stormy, a novelty for us native San Diegans who rarely see more than 2 consecutive minutes of rain at any time. We were in port this day with Freedom, Disney Magic and Crystal Serenity. 

We started this morning in the Windjammer (perfectly adequate) and hopped off the ship to do some limited sightseeing following a Nassau walking tour map I had found here. Let me know if anyone wants me to link it again! We saw some cool churches, government architecture and the Fort and Queen’s Staircase, carved by hundreds of slaves out of solid rock. We stopped for some conch fritters and a tasty beer flight at Pirate Republic Brewing back near the port, the fritters were great and the bar had a nice upper viewing deck that kept up protected from a TON of rain!! 



Queens Staircase (in the background)

The old island water tower. 



I spy the Ultimate Abyss!! 

Sail away


Funny position report with a lot of circling around

For dinner we tried Portside BBQ.. I am with everyone else that the sides leave something to be desired. The beans were the best side option for sure, and the Banana Dream was amazing! 

After dinner we won back all our losses in the casino with a $75 jackpot! heyooo 
Ended the cruise with the ice show. Very entertaining and better than the Freedom Ice show, I think! The had some great talent. My favorite was the duck number, obviously. 

This has reminded I never mentioned the Day 3 Aqua show! IT WAS THE BEST SHOW I have ever seen on a cruise! Just fantastic. 

We came back to the room and had to pack up but it wasn’t sad because cruise number twooo is only a day away!! 

The importance of using the app:
 

My mother is not celiac but stays gluten free due to allergies. I cannot speak to what they put in the sauces but Mom did not have any trouble.  I would suggest however if you have not sent in the form for allergies you do so.  If you put in the special request form noting she is celiac then they will not cook her food with anything else.  My mother just let them know she was gluten free and our server asked if she was celiac just to be safe.  Our server in the MDR would tell Mom she could not have a particular dish once she told them she was gluten free. Every day she had shrimp cocktail appetizers because she loves them and everyday the server would have two ready for her. 🙂