Neesa

Such a sad situation Jodie. I'm so sorry for her children as well as her friends who are suffering her loss. Thank you for expressing this most important sentiment. Every day is a gift and a loss of this nature really hits home. I wish for you and Batman comfort during this time. I pray her family can remember all of the joy she brought them and recover in a healthy way. Counting our blessings this morning and every morning because like you said we live once. Peace be with you

@Sweety now that it's in it can be any time. The one time I was awarded a RUB, it was one day before sailing, they have the ability to even award it on embarkation day. I usually hear at dinner or after on day 1 thanks but your bid was unsuccessful, so you should hear something but it's super random. In my case I was told I was unsuccessful and then a family had a canceled flight, so they canceled last minute and I was allowed the bid "win"

I just checked my CP, sailing in 28 days. Everything is gone from the app as well. Not even reflected in venues, not in dining.... just poof! Royal Railway has left the atation!

We just concluded an Adventure sailing and can confirm with @Ampurp85 Chops was the specialty restaurant open. The Italian didn't open until dinner.

@Cruising Granny thank you for coming along. The only thing I would have changed if I had a magic wand was to have Coco Cay first! We were exhausted and really "full" by the time we had to "suit up" for the beach, lol! So my crew is pretty pasty white, like almost see thru. My daughter has some of my attributes but when she was young our coloring was so different people did not believe she was mine. This being the case they don't enjoy the beach as they get pink then red, Period! We did a little train type tour of the Island & walked the port area with the shops in Curacao. In Aruba we previously visited the RIU resort via Resort for a Day, it was an all inclusive with a huge pool and lots of shade. (on another sailing) This time in Aruba we did a bus tour through Royal Cruise Planner where they took us on a nice newer bus with working air conditioning to an Aloe factory, a Rock, a Light House and a Natural Bridge that is collapsed. It was nice to see kiddo enjoy it but I wouldn't recommend it per say. (Unless you like this sort of thing) It was Okay, but just OK because we had a great tour guide, I like that the others gave advice. No matter what you choose to do have the best time. The crew was stretched super thin and the Effy store people were the most pushy we have ever encountered, but I can just imagine a memo from the top ordering them to make more sales. It was an enjoyable itinerary have the BEST time!

I'm most surely sitting this one out. I'm not a fan of deck 18 and the prices for the others are insane for 3 nights. I'm very happy in my Grand and was eyeballing the Solarium suite for a bid but I can't justify the cost if awarded the ability to pay more. I considered the 1 bed aqua for a hot second but I can make the best of the 3 nights being right next to #CK. Well wishes and positive vibes @Sweety may the RUB gods be in your corner!!

They also have a type of software that alerts them of price drops! @Sharla not only saved me $$ on my sailing in 2025 she was able to upgrade my cabin as well. The feeling of joy I get when she emails me....guess what? There's a price reduction, it's the real deal also, not the raise the base price but throw in some % off deal!

Yay, I've been anxiously waiting for this one. D almost 18 is stunning in that dress! What a beautiful photo of the 3 of you.

Happy Father's Day to all of the Amazing dads in our blog family!

@Lovetocruise2002 yes I told her the date you embark and she said most likely she will still be there. If not she will be over at the CL but someone new is arriving soon and they put the newbies in the CL I guess to train before the demanding Suites and Pins are hoisted on them, LOL!! S2S so much fun! A bonus at 0700 this morning there was no one on the road for a solid 30 minutes maybe?

I asked about the transition during the back stage tour 2 days ago. We were told nothing is changing, we won't even know he is gone. They praised the new woman in charge as well. They seemed like there was nothing concerning with the change. I'm sure they are told to say these things, but I posed the question anyway.

@Lovetocruise2002 Leaving the ship was fantastic. Julia asked us to meet her deck 4 at 0645 as the ship starts letting passengers off at 0700 sharp. Apparently that is when customs reports to work. She had us all in the seating area and about 0655 she walked us outside on deck, lined us up and with sea pass scanned we were on our way. Lots of others tried to partake in the walk off as Julia escorted us but she was turning people away like a boss. If you were not a Suite, Pinnacle or Key you were out of her line. I think you will really like her! Don't forget the puffy cheetos!!

I was trying to be kind but they treated us as if we bothered them. All we ask is no butter or creams or sauces on any of Cabosh entree's, the waiter was constantly telling us NO! & then the head waiter came and asked if everything was wonderful, he got an earful & it just got worse from there. So I'm glad they treated you well but they treated us not well. Good though because your 10 for dining is going to cancel out my 2! We ventured to say it was one of the worst serving teams we had ever experienced, you guys were super quick also leaving before dessert, I'm sure they love that. Maybe we reminded them of someone else who didn't leave gratuity or something, who knows? Stands to reason this is only the second time in our cruising career we left nothing additional to our dining team, their added gratuity went to the room service people who were amazing. I hope Mrs. Smokey has the best time on her solo outing, I am so jealous!!

Back to real life, I sent Cabosh to Publix because I like to unpack and do laundry myself, he is kind and tries to help but his haphazard way gives me anxiety, lol! Other random takeaways, We walked to HideAway, great walk but Yikes, my foot had no business walking in the sand like that...it is ugly black and blue spanning across the top of my foot my 2 middle toes, ouch. Taped them together, all good just ugly. The piano. Just lovely, my family has music in their hearts. By the end of the week they were playing all types of songs and Cabosh was writing a new one. Now they are researching a purchase....of a piano for our home. How about you just let me book cabins with a piano? That's a good idea, no? Our MDR team was not the best, the restaurant was very hot for us as well. We really thought the dinner in the cabin was a huge home run. When we were done we did gather everything up and called room service back to take the trays. I hate leaving a mess for the room guy. And nothing goes outside the door, No way just gross. There were dishes, food and glasses left in elevators, near stairs etc but not nearly as many as on the Wonder. We were very conscious of scooters, rascals, wheelchairs and when waiting for elevators when not taking the stairs we would let them go and wait for another. My dad and his wife who has just left this world were able to sail the Mariner last June, she cried because she said people were mean and they had difficulty when trying to use one. It was a small gesture but when we moved over and gave up our spots for these young of heart people 9 out of 10 were so appreciative. There is always the one off who will physically try to run you down though. This ship had more kind humans than I have experienced in a long while, what a huge blessing.

Glad all is well @smokeybandit son! He was such a cutie. Nice meeting you on our joint Adventure! Home, first load of laundry in and kiddo already napping! We love disembarking right away, the terminal was seamless. The worst part was waiting for the elevator in the parking deck and even that was not long. That chair! So my thoughts on that are this cabin was older opulence, I mean she had some wear of course and the lights were a challenge because the labeling of the buttons has rubbed off. But we all thought it was a treat and it really could use the second bathroom, at least half. That silly room off the dining room was just a waste. The chair was placed in a beautiful windowed nook, it was old and ugly. It just didn't belong. Thanks again all!

Last night we skipped the show, a family friendly comedian and ordered from the MDR up in the cabin, we really enjoyed this option. Once again the food came up pretty hot and they made Cabosh a meal not on the menu, with zero drama. Then out on the balcony for a hot tub and sunset family evening. Some additional packing, policed the cabin and slept well. One issue on my folio with kiddos arcade D+ benefit because she turned 18, a quick what's app to Julia and it was addressed. Sing a Song by the Carpenters on the radio driving home and I feel like that is the perfect beautiful ending to our celebration cruise, thanks for joining us!

We are off the ship, debark was amazing. Julia had to be the police because a few people were trying to debark with our group. We were suites, pinnacles and keys. So smooth, the process was seamless. Why, this chair?

@SweetPea they gave us 72, it was perfect. Thank you again. The security at that beach were huge chunks of eye candy, wow! One was bigger then the next! Lot's of vaping but that truely was the only "illegal" behavior we saw. Oh, lots of booties out, my word! Full moon in the afternoon. I'm not bothered by it but one can tell they are taking adult beach to a new level. I honestly think our Icon friends deserved to party after being trapped on that ship with so many kiddos.

So much fun sailing away from Coco Cay. The Icon crowd was on their feet, hooting and howling, waving and whistling. So much fun, it was so wonderful. I said a little prayer in hopes one day our world would be like this. It was a blessing, a beautiful feeling.

Thanks for all the well wishes and positive vibes, we were off about 15 minutes later. Yes, I reacted some but mostly remained engaged all day. I loved HideAway what I was unprepared for was how much kiddo loved it, dancing ALL day! @SweetPea the cabana recommendation was on point. Thank you! It really was not crowded either as Icon people there were saying the amount of kids on board was tremendous, thus the families were restricted from the area. @OCSC Mike we hardly ate. Our cabana guys brought us snacks but we are still full from the past 7 days. We did crush 3 vouchers each and the weather while overcast was amazing. Kiddo is even sporting pink shoulders now. The cool thing is that she grew up with old parents, so she knew all the music, she said it was the best time she ever had at Coco Cay! Dance party all afternoon! We really liked the location of the cabana we had and agreed we probably would not get the one on the little pool. Also, with how many chairs were available we won't be getting a cabana again. It's so not necessary for the three of us. Oh, Evian water, home run!! Perfect day....once we got on the Island!

OMG, this is us! Still in the cabin, Neesa may be a little overcast in her mood. I was up, walked, photos, a lite bite at the Gio breakfast. Cabin now, practically packed as the Cabana I purchased sits empty because my crew is in absolutely no hurry to leave. So frustrating.....any day now!

Agreed!!!

Beautiful new baby, I'm happy to see her up close. While not my personal style she really is beautiful. We heard grumbling on our morning walk teens not wanting to leave the ship. It's a Perfect Day, you just have to make it so!

Royals new baby, we love seeing her up close. Not our cruising style at all, not a fan of all of the window type balconies but Royal has something for everyone! Right now it seems to be a light mist and overcast here.

@asquared17 yes. With a little cake as well, the combination is so good. I was hesitant to try it at first, I believe they have it every royal night.