TheHobbys

Day before leaving and I'm up way to freaking early again. On the agenda for today is pretty much going to be spent checking that we have everything and cleaning the house. Always nice to come home to a clean house, huh. Over the past few days, we have limited our grocery shopping so as not to have anything in the fridge that might end up expiring while we are gone. Also, a good time to just clean it out. Seeing as how most everything is all packed now, made a quick run yesterday to the bank to get our 'play' money. Today we will need to check-in for our flight, hoping to get in a good boarding section. With Southwest, it's always funny how you can click the check-in button within seconds of it opening up and still being about 60+ back in the boarding line. Oh well, no biggie. Will be making sure that we have all charging cables and that everything is charged before we go. It's going to be hard trying to get to sleep tonight knowing tomorrow is travel day. I enjoy traveling, but I'm the type that gets anxious about being early to where we need to be. I guess it's my fear of some stupid issue creeping up that causes a problem. Might have to break out the whip to get the rest of the family in gear tomorrow morning. Just going over our check list of last minute things - passports, confirmation print-outs (yes, and they are sync'd in my OneNote ? ), set sail passes, extra luggage tags (those don't go on our suitcases until we head to the port), small bills for tipping, charging cords, clothes set aside in the small suitcase for boarding day, and a whole slew of other little double checking of things. Tomorrow is also going to be my first attempt at the whole periscoping thing as @CruisingHobby with #rcperiscopers. I've done my homework by watching others who have periscoped their trips and even watched @Matt's periscopes. Thinking I'm going to start out with some short scopes, just to get used to the whole thing. If you watch it, don't get your feelings hurt if I don't give those 'real-time' shout outs. Ok, off to wrap up some work stuff. Ya'll behave on here! ? #CruiseTime

Well, @Lovetocruise2002 I WAS taking questions from people about the cruise for those who are doing the same thing ... but that's only for those paying attention 'in class' lol

*cough* *cough* yeah, I um, typed all that up on my Android using OneNote ? Gotta keep them busy so we can have some casino time.

Hey - ya'll hi-jacking my blog #Shame I need to report ya'll - lol Aight, where did I leave off. Ya'll got me all confused on what I was doing. Geez, making me spend time doing some OneNote stuff AND printing so I could have the best of both worlds - haha Let's see, we are T-Minus < 48 hours before heading out to our first stop - NY, well, technically, I think it's NJ. We are pretty much all packed, just have the small suitcases to go with the last minute stuff. Kinda hard sitting here waiting for time to go by, so I'm binge watching Marvel movies. For those of you with kids 12+, we were able to get a copy of the activities for them during our cruise. Ok, more later - ya'll behave on my blog! ? *edit - stupid images got outa order

Isn't this what they call 50 card pickup? lol

Since ya'll made me feel bad about all my 'paper-work', I've start the transition to the OneNote world. I use it for work but never sync'd to my phone. Now i've got a personal OneNote notebook started and I have to give a #Thanks to @Lovetocruise2002 #SheRocks for giving me an idea on how to layout the notebooks. ? For those of ya'll interested, here's my new layout. I have some work to do to put all the crap in there, but it'll give me something to play with ...

Just a quick update. About mid-day, we got another email from our genie. This time it was the canned email about the boarding process. At first, I was a little taken-aback, but after chatting with my better half, she reminded me it was a similar process on our last star cruise on Oasis. I would summarize the email, but figured, for those who have never cruised star class before or those who are relatively new to it #RaisesHand, I'll just drop the email here for ya'll to read. I'm curious, though, as to how much our star service will be impacted by those with The Key program. Guess we'll find out in a few days. Dear John, It's almost time for you to experience the wonders of the Star Class suite program. As your Royal Genie, I am eagerly awaiting your arrival. With regards to that, kindly be advised that your drop-off point at Cape Liberty Cruise Terminal will be Zone 6. There is a large purple banner, which says Star Class, at the location. Please do not get off at any other zone as the delivery of luggage, to your suite, will be delayed until after 6pm. Once at Zone 6, kindly identify yourself as a Star Class guest and the assigned pier staff will ensure that your luggage is loaded onto a cart and taken to a secure area, from where the onboard housekeeping team will deliver the luggage to your suite. If the porter assigned for luggage is away, delivering luggage for guests who arrived before you'll, kindly proceed inside the terminal, to the Star Class check-in agent(desk located on the left, after entering the terminal), who will then assist you with your luggage. After the check-in process you will go through security screening after which you will be taken to the VIP waiting area. Kindly be advised that there may be a line for the security screening process, even at the exclusive Suites Only area. The boarding process will begin by 10.30 am and your suite will be ready by 1pm, at the latest. I will be informed of your arrival, if I am not already there waiting for you, and will be escorting you onto the ship. If I am escorting another guest onto the ship, please wait for me in the VIP waiting area, inside the terminal, and I will be there to escort you as soon as I can. Kindly be advised that there might be some waiting time involved, especially if you are arriving early at the terminal. Please do not proceed to the ship on your own. Also, I might have to escort multiple guests at the same time, if they arrive together. I thank you, in advance, for your kind understanding and patience in this matter.I highly recommend that you'll arrive before Noon, to avoid the traffic that builds up while approaching the terminal. Lunch will be served at the Coastal Kitchen from 11:30am to 1:30pm, where you can enjoy your lunch whilst your suite is being made ready. After lunch you can proceed to your suite and I will come meet you there as soon as I am done with the boarding process. Should I not be escorting other guests on board, I will come and escort you to your suite from your lunch venue. Please do not hesitate to contact me should you have any queries with regards to your arrival at the port. I have listed the port address below, for your convenience, as also the Google map coordinates (through a web browser).Address- 4 Port Terminal Blvd, Bayonne, NJ 07002Wishing you a safe and pleasant journey to the beautiful Anthem of the Seas! Cannot wait to meeting you! Your Royal Genie, More to come soon ...

lol - now ya'll are just trying to make me feel bad and old. ok, ok ... i'll be a little more 'prepared' with my documentation for my cruise next year on Harmony

Planning on PATH train from exchange place which is next to the hotel over to the world trade center - then meander around from there.

ha - we have packing cubes, i mean zip top bags ? I've thought about OneNote. already use that for a lot of work related stuff. might have to reconsider that. I'll probably have to go back through this blog and pull stuff out to put into Word/ON for reference on our cruise next year.

@karl_nj, working out routes right now on things to visit. planning to go see the 911 memorial, maybe try and get to China town and jump the ferry to loop around liberty island. won't have much time to do a lot. thanks for the advise offer ?

I consider it something to do to take the anticipation off just waiting around for the cruise - lol. But, for me, it's also a really good way to reference what we did in the past.

Yawn - blink, blink. Another early morning. You would think my body would be used to this by now. The early waking up. I would blame it on my 'age' ... ha With coffee slowly kicking in this morning and bills handled yesterday, I got a little time to toss out some more random thoughts. With 'technically' 4 days to go before getting on the cruise, seems like RCL is struggling to get some of their top rooms filled. I mean, sure, I wouldn't mind the RLS - but when you only give me $1200 as a starting bid pp, yeah, I'll pass. I think this is the third email about this I've gotten over the past month. If we bid, it would only be at the $1200 - which IF we got it would cost us an extra $2400 for the cruise. Probably not that bad since this is a 9-night cruise. I just don't think we would do the RLS justice ? We'll let another family enjoy it. Oh yeah, I said I was going to take some pictures of my travel folder. Now granted, it may not be as fancy as some of ya'lls but it keeps me a little more organized. After 12 yrs in the Army NG, I've had a hard time NOT wanting to be somewhere early - especially, when traveling. I've even got my better half now used to showing up to movies early - lol. Though my 14 yr daughter is now starting to #DragA** o_0 Sorry, side-tracked. Hang on - let me go take a picture and get more coffee ...... Miss me? probably not, but oh well. Without getting too close to my secret paperwork ? I have two folders. The one on the left has: * Parking confirmation (place for the car while we are gone) * Southwest confirmation (yup, this would be the flight) * Hotel confirmation (imagine that) * Cruise - set sail passes (see a pattern here?) The one on the right has all the 'other' stuff. This includes a map of San Juan, dinner menus, TA information for next cruise booking and more notes about islands. I usually don't keep all the stuff in the second folder, but I do keep everything from the first folder. Well, second round of coffee is almost gone, and it's late ( 7am ) guess I need to get motivated to do something around the house. Maybe I'll unpack the guys suitcase and repack it - ha.

You ever wake up way to early in the morning? Brain kicking in before coffee? I mean, geez. oh well, so fine - I had to turn the coffee on at 5am on a flipping Saturday. After grabbing my coffee, I sit down at the computer and work on bills. Since it's the first of the month, everyone needed to get paid. Basically, I was just making sure all payments went out on time and the monthly bills were covered. Oh, and since we won't be back till the middle of the month, I had to go ahead schedule the middle of the month bills also. Yeah, don't forget to do that. Anyways, let's catch you up. We are just around 3 days to go before heading out to the cruise. A month or so ago we ordered new luggage (Sears had a sale). It's been sitting in the living room ever since taunting us to pack. I'm not like #CoughCough @Lovetocruise2002 or @Matt who probably leave their suitcases packed year-round ? but hey, at least we actually have been putting stuff next to the suitcases over the past month. Ok, ok - back to my story ... After multiple times of counting clothes and items (um, how many underwear do we need) I was finally able to actually pack the 'guys' suitcase. Yeah, girls pack their own - ha. This cruise is a little different for us, as we are coming in the day before into a new city, staying at a hotel that is a little further away from the port than normal, navigating a new terminal and on top of all that - we are cruising for 9 nights instead of our normal 7. All of this means a few more clothes, well maybe. Actually not really, since, as us guys can wear the same thing multiple times. Wait, don't think that - shame on ya'll. We have access to the laundry on board ? woot #StarClass Yeah, not sure the girls will do the same. See - our luggage isn't that bad. And yes, all those clothes I fit into that suitcase #GoArmyRolls oh - suitcase and all those clothes weigh only 38 lbs. I had to borrow the neighbors scale to weigh it. Traveling Southwest, each bag can't weigh more that 50 lbs. On a prior cruise, we had to 'rearrange' some clothes from our big suitcase because it was like 60 lbs and transfer some to another suitcase. Was a little awkward sitting on the curb opening and moving stuff around in front of everyone. #ShameOnUs But we needed to do that to avoid getting hit with an extra charge. Yup, won't let that happen again. It's just the clothes that went into that big case, I'll pack the medium case with all the other 'stuff'. Toiletries, shoes, snorkel gear, etc. Here's just a quick shot of the 'guys' version of toiletries #Simple #Minimal. Those are portable battery charges in the top left next to the underwater camera. Most of our stuff is meant to just be for travel, meaning, I don't really want to bring it home - if there's just a little left, it gets tossed. Under the camera are some magnet clips for the walls. Oh, and can't forget extra zip top bags. All the toiletry stuff goes into zip top bags, just in case one decides to leak. Found the cool snorkel gear at Costco, so we picked up one for each of us. Oh, and the girls stuff you ask? I'm guessing this is all they are packing?? How is it that the guys stuff looks like a lot more crap? Meh For now, we are sorta 'pre-packed'. Hoping I don't have to dig anything out because now I have nothing left to wear. It's amazing when you actually pack for a long trip you realize just how many underwear you truly have. Anyways, tomorrow will be another day of fiddling around with checking stuff for the um-tenth time to make sure I don't forget anything. Which, in all honesty, I'll end up with stuff that we won't even touch - but hey, at least we have it just in case. As I've mentioned before, we are rolling in Star Class. After pouring over multiple threads about other cruisers adventures with their genies, we wanted to pickup something neat for our genie. My better half found this cute diddy bag (ok, so it's a makeup bag, but it's still technically a diddy bag). She also found some little pampering type things we hope she'll like. If not, she can regift it to her next cruisers - lol. Hey - it's the thought, right? So - those of you looking to see what others do for their genie, here's our version. Ok, it's late and my blogging brain is running dry. I forgot to take a picture of my planning folder, so I'll try and remember to do that tomorrow and toss it out here. When traveling, I have to have my folder with all the registration printouts. Helps me make sure I'm not missing anything. But - more on that soon.

We land on Wednesday around 1pm, so hoping traffic isn't as bad from the airport to our hotel. That trip won't be as big of a time crunch. Expecting a little bit of traffic going from our hotel to the port on Thursday. Planning on leaving hotel around 9:30, with hopes of being at the port before 10:30.

I'm trying to get a better estimated price to travel from the Newark Airport to our hotel, Hyatt Regency on the Hudson. Looked at a shuttle / van which shows just over $100. Comparing Uber and Lyft and both of those are coming back estimating at about $30. Yeah, that's a big swing. So, who has done the Uber / Lyft (or another transport option?) from the airport to somewhere near the port or near the Hyatt on the Hudson and what was the cost? This will be a family of 4 with about 6 pieces of luggage. ?

We usually stay at the Embassy Suites on 17th Street. Really nice hotel with happy hour. We also stayed at the Holiday Inn Express on 17th, which was nice since the Starbucks was right across the street - lol. If i remember correctly, both offered shuttles to the port.

Have to admit, on our San Juan cruise - got all the way there and forgot my underwear o_0 BUT, that's why you fly in a day early - cause we went shopping for some new ones

Might want to check on FB to see if there was a group for your specific cruise.

If you can get a good price on the UDP, might want to go ahead and get it. For us, we like having the option to go to the CK for dinner instead of the WJ or MDR if we don't feel like doing a specialty. I will say, I really enjoy the CK breakfast every morning. It's really nice and peaceful and the food has always been excellent #EggsBenedict Lunch and dinner are always good backups in there if we aren't feeling anything else.

We did ours awhile back and a couple of days ago it showed up - of course, after we purchased our excursion lol. we are about 7 days out from our cruise.

@WAAAYTOOO, we really enjoy the CK for breakfast and lunches, so that'll be our first stop for lunch on embarkation day. I remember you mentioning that she is very literal, so may have to spell out exactly what we want. The party in our suite is a possibility only if we find another family that we hit it off with and decide to host them. But will keep your thoughts in mind ?

If your in the star class suite, you'll have a genie. Let them know that you want a roll-away bed so that they can make accommodations. We are in the Owner's Loft suite on Anthem next week and have requested a roll-away bed. It'll be easier than traveling with an air mattress. I'll try to remember to post pictures of it once its setup in our suite on my live blog that you can follow here:

Hey @Andrew72681 - here's some of our requests to our genie ? Our requests to the genie are probably minimal compared to others. We tend to be easy going but enjoy having our genie make sure that we can experience all the activities that could be challenging to get to. I'm sure there will be other requests once we get on board that we might have, but for now this is all we have communicated with Yen - our genie. We did mention what drinks / snacks each of us prefer and to have those stocked in our room. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Activities If possible, we would like to schedule a behind-the-scenes of some of the shows for our daughter. Since she’s been in theater all during middle school and will be working on theater in high school, it would be really cool for her to see some of what the professionals go through before performing. We tried a tour of one on the Allure a few years ago, but didn’t get to talk to any of the entertainers – so it was just a plain tour. Our son may be interested in something that would show how the mechanical stuff works for some of the venues. Such as, how the Two-70’s work or how the robot drink maker works. Other activities we want to make sure to do: Flying trapeze, bumper cars, iFly during the first at sea day, escape room, Northstar on embarkation day, we'll defer to your recommendation for the shows, roller skating, Carrie/John for adult comedy, sushi class (all of us) Dining John and Carrie want to do the Chef’s table and Wonderland. Early dining time for these two would be ok. · Monday – plan for a reservation at Jamie’s (we have an excursion but then want to hit a few shops in St. Maarten before getting back on board) · Tuesday - It appears that lobster night is in the Coastal Kitchen Our daughter is a vegetarian, so need to make sure there’s always a non-meat option for her. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- We did ask if there was a way to be able to do the escape room with another star class family, but this may be something we'll have to arrange once we get on board. I'm hoping the kids will meet some cool other kids that maybe we could hook up with their family to do the escape room. I read in a post somewhere (might have been on FB) that another SC cruiser would 'pay-it-forward' to another family they met on their cruise. Basically, they would meet another nice family and then treat them to something special that only the genie would be able to pull off. Something like dinner from a specialty restaurant in our suite so they wouldn't have to pay for it.