Dlove707

So jealous!!!!!

I hear everyone wears their pins on the nudist cruises

My in-laws are very into status. They constantly brag about being D+ and are super impressed when they meet Pinnacle members. So I like to wear my Platinum pin when we go to the MDR with them so that I can wow them. 😂😂😂

We are very near D+.  I've never wore a pin and likely never will, but if a person wants to wear theirs,   I wont worry about it. 

Here's the last few Black Friday deals to give you an idea on timing: https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2021/11/08/royal-caribbeans-past-black-friday-deals

I spoke with Laszlo at length on the Wonder inaugural from Port Everglades.  It was never their intention to rip out live plants and replace them with plants that can stand the Florida weather and/or are approved by the USDA back in March. 
Plants don't die the instant they encounter Florida in March.  It takes times for a living plant to slowly struggle to survive but ultimately succumb.  Laszlo told me then that their plan was replace plants as they died, he wasn't about to take something that was alive and destroy it prematurely.   Even in March some plants were already showing signs and some had died in March so they were replacing them and filling in as it occurred.  Some went quickly he told me, good a few days ago but now dying quickly, while others would go through the same cycle over a number of months.   
There are many different species in Central Park, each has their own lifecycle. 
This approach was also consistent with funding that was available.  They didn't have millions and millions of dollars to throw at Central Park and do everything in the first few months of the ship's launch.  By spreading the spend over many months it was easier on their fragile pocketbook.  
He told me in March this is going to take a while.  

When we originally boarded Wonder in Rome about 2 weeks ago, I was surprised how small the plants still were in Central Park. After a full growing season on the ship, I expected the park to be much more lush than it actually is. It looked as if the plants had only been put in maybe 2 or 3 weeks ago.
Today, I did the guided tour in Central Park and Laszlo, RCL‘s head gardener, who started the parks on all Oasis class ships, explained that they had to pull out all the plants and replant everything only a couple of weeks ago, since most of the original plants had been chosen for the asian climate Wonder was originally supposed to go. However most of those plants would not be compatible with the Caribbean climate and worse, are considered invasive species by the USDA, so Wonder would not be allowed to dock at any US port with those plants still in.
 

@AdrianaI was super shocked they were broadcasting the not showering.
@GregD 150CP is a long dinner. I can see the Boss not being impressed but the bread makes it worth it.
@VACruiser yeah given it was above 90 in our port stops and humid throughout I don't know how they are surviving. FYI  it was 4 people in an interior cabin.  It was no wonder there has been a bad smell on deck 3.

I didn't realize they were even still holding the RPT.  MANY years ago we participated.  Dan won one of the preliminary rounds on one of the ships (can't even remember which one it was) and he advanced to the final.  That year it was held on Liberty, which at the time, was the largest ship in the fleet.
Truthfully, it was one of my least favorite cruises b/c everything was geared towards the tournament - which makes complete sense, but made it somewhat less convenient for the non-poker passengers.  They had the tournament set up in the conference room (deck 2 or 3 cannot recall which it was) and there were some cash games that were held in there once the preliminary rounds dwindled down.  Evening dining was kinda weird.  They encouraged the tournament players to dine together but it wasn't mandatory.  Dan went out in the first round which was a blessing b/c then we could enjoy ourselves.  The further you advanced in the tournament the more structured your time became.  We were free to do whatever we wanted after he was out of the tournament.  While I was not involved in the tournament at all, I did play some cash games.  One particular night we were playing [poker] in the casino and I got my one and only "natural" Royal Flush.  Haven't had one since.  Kind of a letdown though...only me and one other guy in the hand.  I think I won a whopping $80.  Royal didn't even bother to give me a T-shirt or anything !  LOL
It was fun but very structured (until you're out, of course !!).  Dan has never bothered to participate in the RPT since.  Poker is a loser w/Club Royale b/c you don't get any casino credit for playing....and the rake is waaaytooo high.
Congratulations if you are going, @GregGGGand good luck !

It’s tough not to want to do everything, but the fact is you can’t do everything.  That’s especially true if “relax” is on the must do list along with all the ship and the ports have to offer. I always feel like I’ll likely never be on the same ship twice so want to do everything as can while on board.  It’s always felt like the days are scheduled around meals, even port days to an extent.  Anyway, we’ve found that try not to Over schedule helps create a balance. Being willing to skip an activity when your getting tiered can help to, so aside from not over planning/scheduling being flexible might be the best advice I’d offer.

Somewhere in the middle.  

LOL!

What's your credit card number so I can update my app?

received my group cruise t-shirt today, I guess im official now

received my group cruise t-shirt today, I guess im official now

received my group cruise t-shirt today, I guess im official now

We are going to Alaska.  July 2024.  1st cruise ever.  So excited

I feel the same...waiting on June 2024, anything but Icon!! Come on Royal, my credit card is vibrating in my purse. 

Color me impressed!

I recently waited up until midnight to do my check in and grabbed the earliest possible slot.  After patting myself on the back and of course posting my "WIN" on our Facebook group.  I watched the entire following day as others in the group scored the same slot, and a good night's sleep 🙂
 

When this summer gets here, you're going to be disappointed to learn that your Icon sailing is next summer.  2024. 🙂

Day 2 on this cruise is a port day in Palma de Mallorca. This is THE vacation island for Germans so we didn’t get off – again been there, done that. Don’t believe me? Well, my sister and her boyfriend left Palma a day before we arrived. If they’d stayed another day, we would have gotten off but without a meet up we prefered the empty ship. Pre-Covid-tests the passenger count was rumored to be 4200-4300, no idea how many got eliminated by the test.


We skipped breakfast as we were still full from Izumi and went straight to the Sudoku challenge. There weren’t many contestants but I was l completely shellshocked to win. I can’t just „see“ the numbers and that means meticulously trying out everything tends to be much slower than Michaels way. I only got the upper hand because the first Sudoku was too difficult to just go by „seeing“. I even got a really nice prize – a t-shirt from Wonder of the Seas! Morning trivia started right after the Sudoku challenge and we decided to flee the Schooner Bar and relocate to Cafe Promenade. We weren’t too happy with how trivia went on the last transatlantic so we decided to skip it altogether and use the free time for more relaxation. Last cruise we were so busy that we nearly never got to the pool. Tbh the abysmal weather could’ve played a part too. Not a problem this year, temperatures have ranged from 22° to 28° celsius so far. Last time we also forgot that speciality coffees are included in the DBP, so we’re trying them out this time. I might also be on the hunt for the famous Ranger Cookie, who knows…

The rest of the morning was spent getting to know the ship and catching up with the blog. I’ve already given up on truly catching up so I’ll just go with the flow to make the most of this vacation while still making sure I can remember it for years to come. With no normal speciality restaurants open we had lunch at Johnny Rockets. I forgot to take pictures yet again but we had Bacon Cheese Fries, Smoke House & Route 66 burgers, milkshakes and Michael was crazy enough to also order a Sundae. Don’t worry, he regretted this at dinner 😄 Afternoon was spent on the pool deck, alternating between pools and hot tubs. The pools get a bit chilly after some time but the hot tubs are waaaay too hot to spend much time in them. No idea how people can stay in there for hours, I felt boiled after 10 minutes. On the way to the cabin we came across The Mason Jar and it was finally staffed. We got ourselves on the wait list for any brunch they’d have us but chances are slim. With 4 brunches with 90 people each that’s less people than the consecutive cruisers – no surprise we didn’t have a chance booking it. Apparently they don’t have enough staff to open more days or open up more capacity – that’s true for all speciality dining venues and the bars are a bit short-staffed as well. When the bars run out of ingredients they don’t have enough staff to get them and the people doing rounds refilling the bars are far and few in between. Hope Royal will be successful in hiring more crew as I’m sure it takes a toll on those who are currently working. 
 
Dinner brought us back to Giovanni’s. We started off with the Meat & Cheese platter and the Stromboli. The latter was amazing and the platter looked big enough to feed at least 6 people. For mains we ordered Filet Mignon (yummy) and the 7 Cheese pizza. Amazing pizza but this is sooo much food. Forgot to take pictures of the dessert, we had Pistachio Panna Cotta and Chocolate Ravioli. The Panna Cotta was the better choice between the two. On the way back to the cabin we made a detour to Chops and were able to score a lunch reservation - yeah! After dinner it was time to dress up for Halloween. Same costume as last time, and make up did again take forever – oops. We had fun watching the parade but there were way fewer people in costume than last time. There were also no decorations done by Royal and now balloon drop – your guess if it’s due to money or staffing or delivery chain problems. We had another drink at Playmaker’s and then called it a night.

It's spelled out pretty clearly here - https://www.royalcaribbean.com/faq/questions/what-travel-documents-i-need-for-boarding-day
If the 14-year-old has a passport I would encourage them to use that (the adults as well - you never know!).
Alternatively, an official U.S. Birth Certificate is also accepted.

I always thought that a passport is the best way to go if you already have one.  After all, you never know when you will be stranded on an island and need to fly back.  (I am thinking of Carnival and their fire.