Cruzinfun

Day 1 - Embarkation (cont,
 
Enjoyed a sailaway party zs we pulled out of Port Tampa with a beautiful sunset just beginning to show a hint of its colors.
Ate in the MDR with friends, two of whom are HSR 'Virgins;' -- it's their first High Seas Rally, so they get to wear orange wristbands. Although it may sound like a stigma, it's really not -- it's kind of a license to make mistakes;-)
We had the first HSR Giveaway show of the cruise. Remember that fundraising aspect?  The first 50/50 drawing was worth $10,420.00!!  Between that and the other raffles going on that first Day, over $16,000.00 was raised for dialysis -- in just ONE day!
 

Wow, it's already Day 3!  How to summarize?
Day 1: 
Embarkation went smoothly, besides actually getting on the ship itself! We took the trolley (free!) From right outside the Marriott to Stop #7 -- Cumberland Ave -- right across the parking lot from Terminal 3.  Aside from one grumpy Xray operator, Security was effective and pleasant. From Marriott to check in was about 30 minutes total (including the obligatory group photo before entering the terminal.
Getting on the ship was a mess - not RCCL's fault -- lots of new cruisers, not a commanding voice on the PA system, and a lack of understanding of C&A boarding priorities.  
We made it though; grabbed table and chairs on the Pool Deck, and launched our drink packages.  And yes, I had a  Kummelweck!
Cabins were ready at 1 (we boarded about 11)  and we had our bags by 3 pm

They found us a plane! We will be boarding soon. Not really too bad of a wait. It took me less than 5 minutes from curb to the end of security, and the TSA agent was keen on my shirt. 

Shout out to @WAAAYTOOO and @ellcee for the Secret Clinic deodorant recommendation.  My pits have never felt fresher.
I know you have been hanging on the edge of your seats for this update, so you are WELCOME .
???

Again..thanks for following along and keeping me going with your feedback!  
Up next is the Royal Caribbean Blog Freedom Group Cruise.

I will NOT be blogging this one for my sake and to protect the anonymity of all parties involved.

Good morning.  I am a little late o review day 1 because I had a little too much fun Saturday night!  I was chocolatly wasted on Chocolate martinis!  Boy, did I pay the price.  
 
Embarkation was so smooth.  We arrived about 10:45 and took us about 15 minutes to find a parking spot.  We found the Star Class banner pretty easily.  We were whisked away inside the lounge while we waited for our luggage to go through security.  Everyone made a bathroom break and then Lisa took us away.  I told her we have been on several Oasis Class ships so no tour was necessary.  She mentioned our room was ready so off we went.  This ROOM is amazing.  If anyone is thinking about securing the Villa, do think...just do it!!  I will post some pictures soon of the Suite.  Once inside the suite Lisa went over our schedule and some ins and outs.  We got all of our phones set up on voom.  

It was time for lunch at Jamie’s.  This one was a huge surprise.  I am a big fan of Giovanni’s so it had big shoes to fill.  It was quite tasty.  We tried the meat plank, aranaci, Calamari, the garlic bread and shrimp.  Star Class food coma is commencing.  For mains we had the salmon, smaller pasta portions, lasagna, and my dad had chicken.  ALL of it was exceptional.  Somehow we managed to have room for dessert.  So she made us a dessert plank.  We left and most of us took a nap!  

Have a great cruise!  Looking forward to hearing all about your trip in star class! 

8-14 inches? You need to get away from that very badly! 

Great blog!  Wonderful sense of humor!  Awesome writing!  etc, etc...blah, blah, blah.
Now get my ship back to Miami so I can board her tomorrow.  

Well that was just about the best filet I've ever eaten at 8am in my bed on a cruise ship.

“Formal” = leather
 

High Seas Rally (30 November - 7 December 2019)
 
In case you ever wondered what a full ship charter is like – I’ll be chronicling this, our third High Seas Rally, and 2nd time on Brilliance of the Seas as a full ship charter.  A few quick notes.  This is a biker-oriented cruise, but with an awesome cause.  Many people don’t realize just how giving motorcyclists tend to be . . . whether it’s looking out for another rider on the road, swarming with support at funerals and memorials for military veterans and community heroes, or donating to a cause, bikers are super generous as a group.  This cruise’s whole purpose is to support dialysis patients.  In fact, each HSR cruise hosts at least 8-10 dialysis patients and their caregivers ON THE CRUISE!  Yes, these patients receive dialysis while on the Brilliance – and they and their caregiver pay $0.00 – yeah, nothing!  On the last cruise in 2017, in addition to hosting our dialysis guests, we raised over $700,000.00 for kidney dialysis.
With three days before we leave for Tampa, most of my prep work is done -- well, except for actually packing the suitcases! Because of the theme, and the nature of the cruise 'crewmembers,' our packing differs a bit from the standard cruise.  We'll have numerous fundraising opportunities while on board -- 50/50 raffles, Pirate Bingo, Treasured Chest, and numerous other raffles for prizes.   Our formal night will be in leathers (vests), and even our shore excursions will include many biker-friendly possibilities -- like Segways on Grand Cayman and scooters on Key West.  For me, one of the most awesome opportunities is getting to meet and talk with one of the 9-10 dialysis patients who are coming with us. 

Good morning everyone!  As the title says, we will be doing a side by side sailing coming up a week from Monday out of Miami.  As long as data/wi-fi/VOOM cooperates I will try to post as live as I can.  I'll put some of the background and details below, and will also be commenting on our before/after plans as well so feel free to skip past all that if it's not your thing.  Forewarning this first post will be a long one.  I was back and forth on doing a blog, but I know I really appreciate reading them to get me by until my next sailing.  As we go throughout the trip, feel free to ask questions and I will do my best to answer as I can.  
 
Who: 
Myself (Cody) and my wife (Ainslie).  I'm active duty AF currently stationed in Colorado Springs.  Just got back to the area in April after living 30 minutes south of Port Canaveral for almost five years, so this will be our first cruise in years where we have to fly to the port which was a big driver in the longer trip.  No kids, so aside from getting the vacation time we have the flexibility to cruise any time of the year.  We love this time of year as the weather is perfect, it's typically cheaper, and longer sailings (Explorer) often have a much more laid-back feel to them which we like.  We are Emerald C&A members coming just short of Diamond after these sailings and won't be in suites so I won't be much help in regards to those aspects/questions.
Why these sailings?: 
We did 14 nights b2b on Navigator a couple years ago over the exact same timeframe and loved it.  We got off that sailing and immediately knew we had to get back to the ABCs, which this time is on Explorer.  We considered doing the 5 night over Thanksgiving and making it a true b2b again, but this one went to Labadee & Jamaica and we're already doing Labadee the second sailing.  We really enjoyed Navigator and were excited to see the amplified ship so got a great rate a year ago on the 4 night Thanksgiving sailing and we get to go to Coco Cay.  I went in September but my wife has never been as we missed it the previous two attempts before the pier was installed.  We'll get to sail on one new ship to us and one revamped ship coupled with getting back to our favorite ports in the ABCs so it was a no-brainer!  Escaping the Colorado cold doesn't hurt either.
Staterooms:
Navigator we'll be in a deck 7 Promenade Room.  Originally had the exact same room # on Explorer, but after final payment date the rates on Oceanview Balconies dropped to the point where we upgraded for less than $100, so we'll have a deck 7 Oceanview Balcony on the Starboard side which we prefer.
Onboard Extras:
We purchased the Deluxe beverage package + VOOM for myself and the Refreshment for my wife on both sailings.  I waffled a bit on this but in the end got a rate we were happy with and I love not having to worry about a bill at the end for drinks.  Coupled with the fact that due to work we may not get to cruise next year and it was a fairly easy decision.  On Navigator I booked the UDP for us as there are some new venues I wanted to try and the price was $99pp so not bad.  VOOM came with my DX package but we would've purchased anyways.  No specialty dining on Explorer as we have some longish port days so a couple nights MDR but a lot of casual WJ meals for us.
Travel:
More in the itinerary to come but we're flying on the red-eye from Denver next Saturday morning at 12:45!  Flying into Orlando to spend time with friends.  We're flying Frontier (I know), but the ticket price was a few hundred cheaper than other airlines which allowed us to spend some time both before and after the cruise in Florida.  After disembarking on the 8th we'll head back up to Orlando to get a couple days at WDW before flying out late on the 9th back to Denver.  Got some great pricing on one way rentals both Orlando to Miami and in reverse with Avis.  Dropping of the rental the night before the cruise so will use Uber/Lyft to get to the ship.
Itinerary:
23 Nov- Fly to Orlando, spend day/night in Melbourne with friends
24 Nov- Drive to Miami, one night at the Gabriel downtown
25 Nov- Board Navigator
26 Nov- Nassau (8:00am-6:00pm)
27 Nov- Coco Cay (7:00am-5:00pm)
28 Nov- Sea Day (Thanksgiving)
29 Nov- Turnaround day, board Explorer
30 Nov- Sea Day
1 Dec- Labadee (8:00am-5:00pm)
2 Dec- Sea Day
3 Dec- Willemstad, Curacao (9:00am-8:00pm)
4 Dec- Kralendijk, Bonaire (8:00am-8:00pm)
5 Dec- Oranjestad, Aruba (8:00am-7:00pm)
6-7 Dec- Sea Days
8 Dec- Disembark, head to Orlando/Disney
9 Dec- Fly home late
Excursions:
Nassau- My wife is doing some sort of dolphin thing (I believe) and I'm going to just walk around, get a bite to eat, and spend some time at Pirate Republic Brewing (I'm a big beer guy)
Coco Cay- I've got the all-day waterpark pass, but aside from that a leisurely day
Labadee- Nothing planned, just relax
Curacao- Rented a car through Advance and plan to drive up to some of the more remote beaches.  Afternoon/evening will be spent walking downtown and getting a bite to eat at our favorite place
Bonaire- Snorkeling again with Woodwind and then relaxing in town
Aruba- Local bus to our favorite dutch pancake restaurant, then plan to spend the rest of the day at Reflexions Beach Bar while my wife shops in town
 
Again, apologies for the long post and congrats to those who stuck with it!  I will start with the live portion next Saturday once we start traveling.  I will not be uploading the compasses daily but if you have specific questions on those I will try to answer.  Have a great weekend and thanks for following along!

Playing in the cruise planner..looks like excitement is on the agenda for today to send us off.

 
 

PRO-TIP: Before settling in to sleep at a hotel, check to make sure the prior hotel patrons have not set the desk clock alarm to go off at a way, way too early time.
I mean it's still CRUISE DAY and all..but it's still early!
Guess I might as well make sure the ship is still there ??
It is..and it has been joined by another Royal ship, Explorer of the Seas as you.can obviously tell here and not have to look up on the port schedule website.

For those following along closely, #currentkindlestatus:

Hi All,
Well many of you  remember that we attempted to get on Anthem in October for a 9 night tour of New England and Canada with my sister, but my husband had to have an unexpected surgery the day before.  I am happy report that I got 100% of my travel claim back from submitting a travel insurance claim on my Chase Sapphire Reserve card, and we found an AMAZING price on Anthem for  an 8 day cruise to the bahamas and Cococay for Thanksgiving Week.    ( In fact, after all most 30 cruises, it is the cheapest price I have ever paid for a balcony cabin), plus the deal through the travel agent included free gratuities, an onboard credit, and a free dinner in a specialty restaurant.  ( I have been dying to try wonderland, and have not been on a ship with it yet). In addition, we have had no problems lately getting our additional OBC from being a Royal Caribbean shareholder.
Since we do not love this itinerary as much as Canada New England and will likely opt to spend more time exploring the ship this cruise, and since we are going to Cococay, we decided to get the drink package for this cruise vs. just relying on Diamond drinks like we have with great success on some of our recent cruises.  We are looking forward to really getting to explore some of the bars and music venues.  We tend to do this more with the DX than without, where we tend to spend more time in the Diamond lounge.
The other thing I have booked for this cruise is the Taste of Royal 4 course meal which is on day 2 starting at 11:30 am.  I am a major foodie, and a big fan of the Chef's table, but Chef's table is less of a value if you have the drink package, (unless you get a special discount like we did several years ago on Grandeur).  I think this will be a fun way to explore the first full sea day,  Get up, go to the gym, the taste of royal 4 course meal, and then we are booked for the "We will Rock you Matinee in the afternoon" that was rescheduled from later in the week. 
We booked a guarantee cabin, and got assigned a room on the 13th floor mid ship near the forward elevators.  I think this will be a good location, and is a quck walk to the secret doors and staircase that leads to the solarium. 
Friday, we fly to Newark and will stay at Hyatt house in new Jersey with a view of the NYC skyline.  My husband and I are burger connoisseurs so we plan to visit Left bank burger for an early dinner and happy hour, and will check out some local craft brew.    
Will check back in on friday for a review! 
 
 
 
 
 
 

I would choose the small-group tour to the Cliffs of Moher  (but I may be prejudiced as my ancestors came from the Burren area) spectacular scenery and a real feel of Ireland.

Thank you, thank you for the canal transit pictures.  This has been my number one to do cruise for years and seeing it now in full like this just reinforces that feeling.  Enjoy the rest of your trip. 

On both sides of the canal there have been ships at anchor waiting to transit the canal.  This leads to the question how long do they have to wait?  
Bill Benny offered that the typical wait time without a reservation can be up to ~ 36 hours.  Timing varies based on demand and how many ships have reservations.    Typical volume is forty ships per day.  
The new locks don't have locomotives.  Each ship is allocated two tugs, one forward, one aft.  They do all the control, forward or aft or lateral movements that the locomotives do in the original canal.
The entire Panama Canal system uses gravity.  There are no pumps.  Water flows from Gatun Lake into upper lock chambers then to the next lock chamber down to the ocean.  This area of the Americas receives a lot of rain, it always has.  The Chagres River which was dammed to create Gatun Lake flowed into the ocean.  The man made Gatun Lake is a reservoir that flows water into the locks as they operate replacing the natural draining of the Chagres River into the sea.  
Too much rain isn't a serious issue as spillways can dissipate excess water.  If nature changed rainfall amounts downwards there are concerns about a lack of rain impacting canal operations.  If there was a major change in weather patterns that denied the region the rain it normally receives it is conceivable the canal would reduce operations compared to how it operates today.  
Gatun Lake is freshwater.  It also supplies drinking water to millions of people.  Gatun Lake has Crocodiles and Caiman.  
The canal generates around 3 billion USD in revenue annually.  Roughly half of this goes to the Panamanian treasury and half is consumed by the canal for operational use and development.
 

Thank you, thank you for the canal transit pictures.  This has been my number one to do cruise for years and seeing it now in full like this just reinforces that feeling.  Enjoy the rest of your trip. 

Thank you, thank you for the canal transit pictures.  This has been my number one to do cruise for years and seeing it now in full like this just reinforces that feeling.  Enjoy the rest of your trip. 

I copied that directly from our Cruise Compass from the Anthem last week.  There have been horror stories about the arcade and the sea pass cards. And even with cash accounts Royal allows you to go over so much before they call you down to pay the bill. 

Wait, that defeats the purpose of deactivating the card if it can be re-activated by your kids in the arcade.  Sigh.