JennyJenny

My first Royal Cruise was 11 years ago.
Three weeks before my x decided to become my x.
The cruise was awful. Why? Because all I remember from that cruise was him being drunk, a jerk, and not wanting to do anything at all. His drink of choice was "Grey Goose Martini with Six *&^%$ olives". Six. Never understood why SIX? To this day.... if I hear anyone say "Grey Goose Martini..." I cringe and hear in my head "with six olives".
This December marks 10 years free of my x. I wanted to celebrate with a "do over" and in 217 days, I board the Grandeur of the Seas (same ship) and I will indulge in all the cruise ship vacation fun and experiences that I wanted to do all those years ago but instead listened to a drunk jerk complain for seven days.
I am going to go do all the things and take excursions and dance and see the shows EVERY night! I am going to have so much fun and I am going to do it right this time!
?

My first Royal Cruise was 11 years ago.
Three weeks before my x decided to become my x.
The cruise was awful. Why? Because all I remember from that cruise was him being drunk, a jerk, and not wanting to do anything at all. His drink of choice was "Grey Goose Martini with Six *&^%$ olives". Six. Never understood why SIX? To this day.... if I hear anyone say "Grey Goose Martini..." I cringe and hear in my head "with six olives".
This December marks 10 years free of my x. I wanted to celebrate with a "do over" and in 217 days, I board the Grandeur of the Seas (same ship) and I will indulge in all the cruise ship vacation fun and experiences that I wanted to do all those years ago but instead listened to a drunk jerk complain for seven days.
I am going to go do all the things and take excursions and dance and see the shows EVERY night! I am going to have so much fun and I am going to do it right this time!
?

My first Royal Cruise was 11 years ago.
Three weeks before my x decided to become my x.
The cruise was awful. Why? Because all I remember from that cruise was him being drunk, a jerk, and not wanting to do anything at all. His drink of choice was "Grey Goose Martini with Six *&^%$ olives". Six. Never understood why SIX? To this day.... if I hear anyone say "Grey Goose Martini..." I cringe and hear in my head "with six olives".
This December marks 10 years free of my x. I wanted to celebrate with a "do over" and in 217 days, I board the Grandeur of the Seas (same ship) and I will indulge in all the cruise ship vacation fun and experiences that I wanted to do all those years ago but instead listened to a drunk jerk complain for seven days.
I am going to go do all the things and take excursions and dance and see the shows EVERY night! I am going to have so much fun and I am going to do it right this time!
?

My first Royal Cruise was 11 years ago.
Three weeks before my x decided to become my x.
The cruise was awful. Why? Because all I remember from that cruise was him being drunk, a jerk, and not wanting to do anything at all. His drink of choice was "Grey Goose Martini with Six *&^%$ olives". Six. Never understood why SIX? To this day.... if I hear anyone say "Grey Goose Martini..." I cringe and hear in my head "with six olives".
This December marks 10 years free of my x. I wanted to celebrate with a "do over" and in 217 days, I board the Grandeur of the Seas (same ship) and I will indulge in all the cruise ship vacation fun and experiences that I wanted to do all those years ago but instead listened to a drunk jerk complain for seven days.
I am going to go do all the things and take excursions and dance and see the shows EVERY night! I am going to have so much fun and I am going to do it right this time!
?

My first Royal Cruise was 11 years ago.
Three weeks before my x decided to become my x.
The cruise was awful. Why? Because all I remember from that cruise was him being drunk, a jerk, and not wanting to do anything at all. His drink of choice was "Grey Goose Martini with Six *&^%$ olives". Six. Never understood why SIX? To this day.... if I hear anyone say "Grey Goose Martini..." I cringe and hear in my head "with six olives".
This December marks 10 years free of my x. I wanted to celebrate with a "do over" and in 217 days, I board the Grandeur of the Seas (same ship) and I will indulge in all the cruise ship vacation fun and experiences that I wanted to do all those years ago but instead listened to a drunk jerk complain for seven days.
I am going to go do all the things and take excursions and dance and see the shows EVERY night! I am going to have so much fun and I am going to do it right this time!
?

My first Royal Cruise was 11 years ago.
Three weeks before my x decided to become my x.
The cruise was awful. Why? Because all I remember from that cruise was him being drunk, a jerk, and not wanting to do anything at all. His drink of choice was "Grey Goose Martini with Six *&^%$ olives". Six. Never understood why SIX? To this day.... if I hear anyone say "Grey Goose Martini..." I cringe and hear in my head "with six olives".
This December marks 10 years free of my x. I wanted to celebrate with a "do over" and in 217 days, I board the Grandeur of the Seas (same ship) and I will indulge in all the cruise ship vacation fun and experiences that I wanted to do all those years ago but instead listened to a drunk jerk complain for seven days.
I am going to go do all the things and take excursions and dance and see the shows EVERY night! I am going to have so much fun and I am going to do it right this time!
?

My first Royal Cruise was 11 years ago.
Three weeks before my x decided to become my x.
The cruise was awful. Why? Because all I remember from that cruise was him being drunk, a jerk, and not wanting to do anything at all. His drink of choice was "Grey Goose Martini with Six *&^%$ olives". Six. Never understood why SIX? To this day.... if I hear anyone say "Grey Goose Martini..." I cringe and hear in my head "with six olives".
This December marks 10 years free of my x. I wanted to celebrate with a "do over" and in 217 days, I board the Grandeur of the Seas (same ship) and I will indulge in all the cruise ship vacation fun and experiences that I wanted to do all those years ago but instead listened to a drunk jerk complain for seven days.
I am going to go do all the things and take excursions and dance and see the shows EVERY night! I am going to have so much fun and I am going to do it right this time!
?

My first Royal Cruise was 11 years ago.
Three weeks before my x decided to become my x.
The cruise was awful. Why? Because all I remember from that cruise was him being drunk, a jerk, and not wanting to do anything at all. His drink of choice was "Grey Goose Martini with Six *&^%$ olives". Six. Never understood why SIX? To this day.... if I hear anyone say "Grey Goose Martini..." I cringe and hear in my head "with six olives".
This December marks 10 years free of my x. I wanted to celebrate with a "do over" and in 217 days, I board the Grandeur of the Seas (same ship) and I will indulge in all the cruise ship vacation fun and experiences that I wanted to do all those years ago but instead listened to a drunk jerk complain for seven days.
I am going to go do all the things and take excursions and dance and see the shows EVERY night! I am going to have so much fun and I am going to do it right this time!
?

My wife and l have been on the Grandeur twice, inside room and suite, inside no fridge, suite diffidently, very little room for personal stuff. Like the young lady said before, can't have soda without ice! Small ship, but we like it! The whole staff on the ship both times was excellent!

I've taken this magnet with me on MOST of my cruises.  Too bad I can't say ALL of my cruises because I left the first one I made on the Harmony.

I’m a first time cruiser so have no experience with this, but I am planning to decorate our door.  This cruise is a LONG overdue Mom-Daughter Cruise for myself and my Mom.  I had collage pics printed at Walgreens, bought a bunch of fun bright signage (pina colada, tropical flower cutouts) from Dollar Tree and magnet clips to hold it all.  I’m hoping to surprise my Mom ❤️

The view of the ocean at night.  I love to go out late at night when it is quiet and there is no land within site to see the ocean.  That is the best feeling in the world to me.

Just received an email from Royal that the cruise leaving Saturday will change itenary from a day at sea Monday to take supplies to,Grand Bahamas. Royal is really doing as much as they can to help,out. I don't mind missing a sea day in an effort to help so many people that need support at this time.

Closing Thoughts
I hadn't been on a cruise in 14 years but I’ve already got another one scheduled for this December! It’s through Holland America (Oosterdam) so I can leave from my home port of SD.. just a 5 minute Uber from my apartment, but it means no live blogging! Get an RC ship back to the West Coast and I would be Riviera cruisin’ every month!
We ate every night in the MDR (aside from one night of Windjammer due to laziness) and I would say it was perfectly adequate. Our Assistant Waiter Mithun was leagues more attentive and friendlier than our main server. I warmed up to her distance later in the cruise, she just does not GAF! I like that, haha. Mithun would always ask how our day was and knew our drink orders right away. The food was all just okay. I didn't have anything that was a true standout – wait! I take it back. I fell in love with the Baked Alaska. I also came to enjoy a 2-3pm afternoon cheeseburger in the WJ which could account for some slight cruise weight gain! ?
I enjoyed every excursion we went on and could go back and do the same things again but of course would want to see new places next time. In St. Lucia, for example, we only saw the port and the rainforest and I would love to go to Marigot or the Pitons next time! Although I could do Magen's every time I visit St. Thomas with no qualms. The RC See Antigua by Sea excursion was great, I highly recommend it if you're headed there! I liked seeing all the varied coasts of the island (one side was all yucca trees?) and getting to experience some real ocean waves on the Atlantic side. 
The junior suite was well worth it to me, the huge balcony was amazing. We would lay on the loungers in the afternoons post-Solarium pool time and sit at the table with drinks to watch sail away. We were up for every docking as well, the port side seemed fruitful in seeing a lot of action. Just sitting on the balcony in the evenings and as we entered each port was so relaxing, I would never be able to go interior. We would leave the balcony door open a bit at night to hear the "waves" and to battle the ridiculous AC! Even when you turned the dial into the red zone it was still freezing in there.
Pre Purchases
#TeamDX all the way! It was so so easy to blow through the $44 a day. Even on all our many port days I was still enjoying upwards of 6 cocktails once back on board plus a water bottle with every drink order. I loved the guys with water/vitamin water carts in the WJ and Promenade at breakfast, it was so easy to scan and pick up a few drinks for port. The one sea day made up for any abandoned cocktails on the port days! We had drinks brought by a funny pool server who was sassing us for ordering them at 9am. He said people get the DX and don't get their money's worth and seemed pleased we would be using it to our advantage. Even with all those cocktails we must've been hydrating perfectly because I was never too drunk or hungover at all!! 
The Voom I would say was not quite worth it for 2 devices since it only worked in major common areas like the MDR and pool decks. We would set up instagram posts/blog posts in the room and then have to remember to open the phone and set it to upload while dining or nothing would ever go through. I would probably buy Voom again for one device next time and we could share the all important insta-posting capabilities. 
Amazon Purchases
The Dock and Bay towels worked WONDERS. @JennyJenny I can absolutely recommend these to you now after putting them through their paces fully in the Caribbean. I liked them before but after using them 7 days straight, after battling full body dries of both sea water and pool water, they weren't crinkly or smelly! Still soft, probably could've worked another week or more before needing a wash. After washing, back to full bright white and extra soft! New favorite beach towels, hands down, not even going to be relegated to travel-only usage. 
The beach tent was great! We used it in Magen's Bay (St. Thomas), Cockleshell Beach (St. Kitts) and Brandon's Beach (Barbados) and it went up easily every time and was not susceptible to wind. We brought stakes but didn't need to use them anywhere, as adding items to the tent easily weighs it down. Photo included for @JLMoran although this is from this weekend in Ocean Beach as I forgot to capture its glory amongst a Caribbean backdrop. Easily fit two adults sitting or laying with legs sticking out.

Last but not least, 2 Swimways Spring Floats which we used in all port beach stops, including a few times once we were back in Puerto Rico! They fold up so small for easily taking everywhere (you can see it closed and in its blue, net travel bag in the pic above) and inflating the exterior ring only takes about 5 breaths of air to blow it up fully. We even brought them on the catamaran rides in Antigua and Barbados and the other boat guests were questioning where we had gotten it during our swim breaks! 

 
Freedom never ever felt crowded, even after the ice show let out, the flow leaving Studio B and through the On Air Club moved super quickly. I will say that RC should not let you book MTD between 5:30 and 6:00 on embarkation day with the muster as it is at 5:45. Muster gets out at 6:10 and everyone with a reservation that had been at 5:30, 5:45, 6:00, or 6:15 is in line at the same time on deck 3 and the hosts are frantically trying to fill the dining room. Will know to book dinner much later than muster next time. 
Overall, we loved cruising. Looking out over the water every day was so relaxing, like having the best available hotel room on land! And the sexy sky pics did not disappoint! There are more on my instagram @daryldaley. I sent my Cruise Compass to Matt, so any future Freedom-riders can look for that soon. Thanks for hosting these live blogs! I enjoyed writing it. ?
Cruise Compass 8/18/19
Edited to add my Caribbean magnet and Christmas ornament haul: 
 

From the Royal Caribbean list of prohibited items: "Scissors with blade length less than 4 inches are allowed"
https://www.royalcaribbean.com/faq/questions/prohibited-items-onboard-policy
 
 

Looks like a lot of people get away with bringing scissors aboard. Received my Guest Ticket Boolket a few days ago and it says, "Prohibited items: Sharp Objects, including knives and scissors. (Note: Personal grooming items such as safety razors are allowed.)."

I always pack a small scissors, corkscrew,  and pocketknife.  Never have had an in issue from RC.And it is in the checked luggage. And duck tape.  

I'm not even a religious person.... but....  At this point, i really dont care so much about what happens regarding my cruise... I just heard on tv, that when this made landfall in the Bahamas an hour or so ago, it did so , officially in a tie with the one that hit the Fl Keys in the 1930's, as THE worst / most powerful hurricane to make landfall there..  in recorded history ... ?    Now is the time to seriously pray for the folks who live on those tiny islands

I'm sure most of you R/C followers are aware of what's going down on this ship right now, but just in case: They canceled CocoCay because of the hurricane and then decided it was not safe to return to Miami today so they extended the cruise by three days. A lot of folks bailed in Cozumel and then we sailed to Roatan for the day. We're now at sea heading to George Town for tomorrow, then back in Miami (maybe) on Wednesday.
The three days are totally free! They extended my drink and internet packages at no charge and even the gratuities stopped at 8 days. Instead of getting off the boat in Miami this morning I'm on a whole new adventure, compliments of Royal Caribbean. This is my first cruise ever and man am I a brand new fan of this cruise line!

I only have one and a small rolly bag for onboarding. That one should sit in the closet fine and is small!

Oh there's a clever idea! Hadn't considered I could stow it "open face" ! Thank you!

On our one-and-only inside cabin on Grandeur, we had to do this as well.  Be careful if you lift up one side of the bed.  The double bed is actually 2 single beds that are connected. Without knowing it, we inadvertently disconnected them when we lifted the one to slide the luggage under it.  In the middle of the night, I awoke to find myself submerged  in an abyss which had developed between the two (now-loose) beds.   It took the attendant to fix whatever malfunction we had created.  We laughed and laughed over that one.

1. I have my Bulletproof Coffee each morning. I was contemplating bringing my set up for cold brew with me IF there was a fridge but if there is not then I won't. I can just improvise with bringing my protein and doing it hot with some coffee from the cafe lattitudes place. I try if possible to stick with my Bulletproof brand of coffee for certain reasons but it's not something I am going to sweat if I don't have it. I am planning to get the refreshment package so can get the little bit nicer coffees and not fuss with my own. So I have already crossed that off my worry list. I travel so much that a fridge is about 50/50 if I get one so I have learned to make it work either way.
2. Oh good! lol There was this one in Normandy that was just "what is the point"? Even my former spouse who was 130 pounds soaking wet with 3% body fat didn't fit in it. That was a wet washcloth stand up wipe down few days for sure. The showers and the elevators in Paris! ? The elevator was so small we sent one person up to our floor, I staid down on the ground and sent each suitcase up one at a time then took the final empty ride up! Crazy! But amusing and a fun story to tell the kids ?
3. I suppose I should just go for it with what I take this time and then figure I can adjust/learn accordingly from there. No vacation will be perfect and I have decided taking a suitcase that is too big shall be allowed as one of my mistakes the first time ☺️ I have made far worse mistakes in my life and probably will again!
A. Oh! Were you the one who first mentioned this??? I saw that and I love Neil Diamond and this was on my list of things to look for! I grew up listening to all his albums as my family drove long car trips. I could probably sing all his songs by heart. I am so so so hoping to see that one!
B. I have been pouring over the old Compasses. Looking forward to the music in the Centrum and, hopefully, some dancing. I am about to medal test for Rumba and Waltz so hope to get a little dancing in!
C. I was recently in Vegas for work and for the first time simply indulged in sitting down in the lounge EVERY night and listening to the piano player. I'd never done that before but I am truly trying to prepare to cruise. I rather liked that so look forward to the piano bar and people watching.
D. I am hoping to make this cruise a yearly enforced (on myself) vacation exile and look forward to becoming part of the Grandeur Army ?
 

1. I have my Bulletproof Coffee each morning. I was contemplating bringing my set up for cold brew with me IF there was a fridge but if there is not then I won't. I can just improvise with bringing my protein and doing it hot with some coffee from the cafe lattitudes place. I try if possible to stick with my Bulletproof brand of coffee for certain reasons but it's not something I am going to sweat if I don't have it. I am planning to get the refreshment package so can get the little bit nicer coffees and not fuss with my own. So I have already crossed that off my worry list. I travel so much that a fridge is about 50/50 if I get one so I have learned to make it work either way.
2. Oh good! lol There was this one in Normandy that was just "what is the point"? Even my former spouse who was 130 pounds soaking wet with 3% body fat didn't fit in it. That was a wet washcloth stand up wipe down few days for sure. The showers and the elevators in Paris! ? The elevator was so small we sent one person up to our floor, I staid down on the ground and sent each suitcase up one at a time then took the final empty ride up! Crazy! But amusing and a fun story to tell the kids ?
3. I suppose I should just go for it with what I take this time and then figure I can adjust/learn accordingly from there. No vacation will be perfect and I have decided taking a suitcase that is too big shall be allowed as one of my mistakes the first time ☺️ I have made far worse mistakes in my life and probably will again!
A. Oh! Were you the one who first mentioned this??? I saw that and I love Neil Diamond and this was on my list of things to look for! I grew up listening to all his albums as my family drove long car trips. I could probably sing all his songs by heart. I am so so so hoping to see that one!
B. I have been pouring over the old Compasses. Looking forward to the music in the Centrum and, hopefully, some dancing. I am about to medal test for Rumba and Waltz so hope to get a little dancing in!
C. I was recently in Vegas for work and for the first time simply indulged in sitting down in the lounge EVERY night and listening to the piano player. I'd never done that before but I am truly trying to prepare to cruise. I rather liked that so look forward to the piano bar and people watching.
D. I am hoping to make this cruise a yearly enforced (on myself) vacation exile and look forward to becoming part of the Grandeur Army ?
 

So if you get a 100% refund AND a FCC of 100% what does that mean?
A 100% refund on the current cruise you were scheduled to take PLUS a FCC of that same amount towards a future cruise (sort of like a free cruise IF the price was the same?)