cruisestuff

This was fun, between my wife and I we got 20 out of 27.

Great point. "Royal Caribbean" could reference the parent company (RCCL) and not necessarily be indicative of Royal Caribbean International resuming west coast cruises.

WHAT!? I cant bring my Illegal Drugs on board? What kind of world do we live in?
 

Tell them it's an emotional support Segway. That's how people get incontinent poodles on board.? Your device is cool though.

That was really good haha!
At least if the ship goes you can somewhat swim compared to plane going down good luck!

Ok well, this just explains it all right there! ?

Friend states in his defense he took 2 cruises with Carnival for a weekend mexico sail.
My relatives have never sailed so far so it makes sense where they're coming with all this nonsense.
Media sure demonizes the cruise industry for the small % of things that do occur and blast it in the spotlight for years if not decades.
 

I for one have stopped trying to promote the cruise industry and agree wholeheartedly with everything they said.
The last thing I need is more people to book cruises (driving up the cost for me).  
It's terrible out there folks.  The sea was 90' yesterday (away from the Promenade deck).  I hear that 99% of all cruise ships got stranded (away from a boring existence) yesterday.  Everyone on board is sick (of being on land).  I went missing (and none of my clients know I'm on a ship).  There were 75 mph winds (for anyone driving on the interstate with their hands out the window in Florida). 
Yep, it's not a life for the faint of heart.  Avoid cruising (so I can book cheaper cruises).
If they don't want to go, please don't try to correct them.  
 

Really?  You can get sick anywhere.  And motion?  Ask them if they know how big some of these ships are nowadays.  But of course they don't because they won't give it a try.
Lots of car, trains, plane etc. accidents recently too.
Often that is due to judgement, the ship/Royal does not "make them" go missing.
Yup.  Every time you step out of your house.
Tell them Royal has a full time meteorologist who is really good at his job.
That's what I would say. ?  Some people love being negative.  Don't worry about them.  You have chosen a fantastic ship to start cruising on.  Go and enjoy it to the fullest!

Different people have opinions about everything, thats whats great ,we are allowed to have opinions.  Personally I have opinions about certain types of travel, hotel brands, specific places in the world etc.  The great thing is they are just that, my opinions and other people can have their own and we should all be able to get along happily ever after. :)

You should share with them Matt's podcast #284 - Reasons people avoid going on a cruise (and why they are wrong)   
I'm assuming people who say things like that have never been on a cruise themselves (like my brother in law!).  Don't let them get to you and have a fabulous first cruise and many more to you!

If they mention getting sick from the food... ask them where they last went out to eat at. (then look at them with a very judgmental look)
If the mention getting stranded... tell them, you would much rather get stranded on a luxury cruise ship than stuck on the Tarmac of an airport. 
If they mention people missing... tell them happens everyday on the city streets. Rarely on cruises. 
If they mention crime and sickness... same as walking into a Walmart. 
Stuck in a storm.... Cruise ships will avoid storms... they have something called navigation. lol
 
Finally... ask them how many cruises they have been on. Then stare at them in judgement again. :-)

Michael Winkleman, the family’s attorney, has challenged a Puerto Rico police report that says Chloe Wiegand’s grandfather dropped the toddler out of a window July 7th when the Freedom of the Seas was docked in Puerto Rico. Winkleman has said Chloe asked her grandfather to lift her up so she could bang on the glass in a children’s play area and that she fell through the window that had inexplicably been left open.
Correct me if I'm wrong here but don't the windows on the pool deck go all the way down to the floor?  If she liked to stand and bang on the glass, why wouldn't she have stood on the pool deck and banged on the glass (just like the picture shows her doing at the ice rink!)?  Why would "she" have asked the grandfather to lift her up where there was a railing in the way and an open window!  While this is a horribly tragic accident, it's sad that many people's first reaction is to find someone else to blame for their own mistakes/actions and try to profit off of the death of a loved one as well.
 

Well, we finally made it down to Miami.  Had two standing reservations with Enterprise for a minivan this morning. Got to Enterprise and no minivans.  Had to wait a little bit for one to be brought in.  Did a little trunk Tetris with the luggage and made the 7-hour drive to Miami.  Uneventful other than traffic..but expected cuz Miami and before a big travel holiday..blah blah blah.
Our hotel is the Hampton Inn and Suites Brickell.  Great location if you are flying as it's about 2 blocks from the Metrorail from the airport.  It is downtown Miami so of course not optimal if you're driving because you have to pay to park..so we checked in, ditched the luggage and drove out to the airport to drop off the rental.
$14 Lyft or $2.25 Metrorail...hmmmm tough choice there.  Now, I don't live in a big city so public transportation is a novelty and I embrace it whenever I can.   Rode the 'Rail back and then hit up the gastropub next to the Hampton.
Now our hotel rate came with coupons for drinks at two bars.  One was this gastropub called Batch.  We hit it up and I got their house Black Barrell draft.  It tasted like KY Bourbon Stout but much, much lighter.  We order some eats..and they made mac and cheese out of gnocchi.  This was amazing comfort food and totally worth the hipster we serve grain bowls and avocado toast prices.  The wings were alao good and the Brussels sprouts were also a hit.
Annnnnd..ladies drink free sangria and well drinks from 10pm-1am.  Whaaaaaaat?  So remember that if you stay downtown Miami on Friday night..Batch in Brickell..look them up!  Currently waiting on my free sangria in plastic cups to take it back to the hotel.
Another bonus... @CGTLH paid the dinner tab...haha, sucker.

Departure morning:
We had a quick breakfast in CK this morning and manage to make the 7:30 am departure with our suite concierges. Like the Genies, they have a card to request priority service on the elevator. From there, they walked us down to Deck 5 where the gangway is and that is as far as they go. This is different from Port Everglades where they actually walk you to customs.
Once you leave the bridge and enter back into Terminal A, you can go left or right. Suites go right, non-suites go left.  By going right, you now have access to a Suites only elevator which drops you off a little further down the baggage claim area, thereby getting you through customs faster if it was crowded. At least that is what Jennie and Jackie told me yesterday.  
Because it was still early, we ran into very few crowds. Once past customs and outside you make a right for ride share. The area is set up into zones for pick up and there are quite a few people there directing traffic. 

This is a view from Zone 9 where we waited.  The exit from Terminal A is approximately where the black van is.  As you can see, it is not a far walk at all.

Total time from ship (Deck 17) to being in a Lyft was 21 minutes, at least 7-8 of those minutes were waiting for a Lyft.  So very fast walk off. 
Now sitting at FLL waiting for our ride back to reality. 

I know, ironic right? Anthem has the best CK in terms of service and food quality. It can’t beat the view of OA class CK though. 
I have the drink package so I just ordered it with dinner.
Now that I have sailed both, I would pick whichever one works out to be cheaper. They are so similar, I love them both. It’s like asking me to choose between my kids. Can’t do it ?

Did I mention how much I love El Loco Fresh?! ?

Maybe this is where all the chair hogs have gone...?

Great blog! I was reading this while at work, and then this conversation with the wife happened regarding our three upcoming cruises.

Flight was hands down, the best Royal Caribbean original production. We have now seen 5 of them and where The Gift is on one end of the spectrum, Flight is at the other.
The special effects and set designs are amazing!  Royal has really outdone themselves with this one.  Really impressive all around. We still found this cast a bit weak vocally, but the rest more than made up for it. 


I had high hopes for this show as I taught Grade 6 for a number of years and the History of Flight is in the Grade 6 curriculum.  I have always enjoyed teaching that unit.  
I thought they did a wonderful job giving a nod to all the important figures who contributed to Flight. My favourite scene was probably the “In Memorial” scene and the one following with the Wright Bothers.
Love the underlying theme in this production as well as this is the one thing, if only thing, I try to teach my students all year, Dare to Dream, Dare to Fly. ?

She’ll never know...

Bet you there were extra tables in the Windjammer!

First time I’ve ever spotted a helicopter on the Labadee pier.  It was there before we arrived. 

Fixed it for you.  

My vote says YES.