MO & LO on the go!

16 hours ago, Srp431 said:

Only good thing about this snow storm was it hit on Sunday morning and was done snowing by noon. Its a light fluffy snow, so it was easier to clean up after.  Labadee looks very relaxing after spending the morning shoveling and snow blowing

We will take the warm Caribbean sun and ocean any day over the snow!!!  

Just saw this and made us both smile huge...

We are back on the ship after a nice day in Labadee!  We loved beach lounger for 2 and would highly recommend one!

This was our view from the chairs!  Outstanding!

It was a very windy day and got worse as it went on.  We only saw the parasails for a short time in the morning and then it must have been too windy.  Lots of whitecaps!

We took a little walk around and got this shot back towards the main area

All good things must come to an end...unfortunately!  So walked back to the ship and now hanging out in the solarium for a bit and then dinner!

We just love these days at the private stops!  So relaxing and low key!  Especially when home just got about 6” of snow!  Haha!

Just pulled in to labadee!

We were able to get a beach lounger from the wait list so we will be heading there after breakfast!

18 hours ago, JLMoran said:

Even on very short cruises, formal night is typically Day 2 / the first Sea Day.

Hope that you're feeling better after a good night's rest, and enjoying your day at sea.

We must just not have noticed from all the fun  

Thanks, Starting to feel a bit better!  I got hit pretty hard!

20 hours ago, VegasFella said:

::: Following your LIVE BLOG!! ::::

It sounds like you're off to a pretty good start.  Way to go!  By the way, great idea for bringing an extra (empty)

suitcase.  Love the last photo of the ocean from the Balcony!  I'm sure it feels warmer than 12 degrees in Minn., lol.

 

Thanks!

I think there’s a snowstorm there now so this is WAY better!  

Sorry for no more updates last night.  Something hit me and I went to bed very early.  Now today is a sea day so it will be low key.  Tonight is formal night (which we found odd so soon).  

Can’t beat the view from the balcony!

Well that was an experience getting to the port...

We signed up for the shuttle service from the hotel but someone jumped on our spot.  The staff did not stop the people from doing this so we sat at the hotel for another 30-45 minutes.  When the driver came back he picked us up and we then went to a different hotel and picked up a van full of Norwegian Cruise passengers.  We went there first and dropped all them off.  Then he said he was going to pick up more people to bring back.  We sat for a bit at a gate but no one came so he drove to our dock and then stopped.  He came over to the door and opened it and we asked if this was our spot to which he said it was.  It’s been a strange morning getting here.....but WE MADE IT.  It was about a 2 hour adventure to get to the port!

In regards to the coronavirus stuff, we did not notice anything different other than that they asked more questions about where we had been and who we had been with but other than that we did not see anything different (but we did get there later than normal as mentioned above).

Here was security...not too bad

We went to the diamond/diamond plus line and had about 12 couples in from of us.  Then we looked at the platinum/emerald line and there was 1 couple!  We should have payed better attention to the lines!

Check in was a breeze and took no time at all.  Walked right on the ship with no real wait!

We went straight to the shore excursion desk to try and get a bed-thingy for labadee but they were sold out!  We are number 1 on the wait list!  He said we might be able to get 1 since people book 2 since they don’t realize that 1 reservation is for 2 people.

more to come soon....we did our usual rounds and then sat at the “mouth-jammer”! 

33 minutes ago, Big Tule said:

Have a safe trip

Thank you!

Waiting for the shuttle now!  Almost there!  Yay!

1 minute ago, emsff02 said:

Happy cruise day!!

Thank you!

26 minutes ago, Ampurp85 said:

Hopefully this is the universe getting all the bad weather out of the way before the cruise starts.

Oh we sure hope so!  We had more sun in Minnesota in the middle of winter than we have had here!  

16 minutes ago, Sweety said:

Following. I lived in Minneapolis for 18 months. Your dogs are beautiful. I am a coward, I let my husband take the dogs to the kennel. The sad eyes are too much for me. I was on Explorer this past holiday season. The ship is beautiful. Please tell Sharita in the Windjammer hello.

Thanks!  

Yes it is hard to leave especially when they know something is going on!  They will have our kids so atleast it will be something familiar for them.  

Never been on Explorer but have been on sister ships, looking forward to this one!  We will keep an eye out for Sharita and post a picture if we find her.

Catching a shuttle in about 1-2 hours to the port!  Getting cleaned up and packed up to go!!!

Quick update this morning.  Woke up to HEAVY rain pretty early.  This is what it looks like outside!

This is not what we had in mind for our first day of this trip and boarding the ship!  

We signed up for the hotel shuttle service which was $10 a person.  Not too bad of a price.  
 

The issue with luggage tags and set sail pass was solved!  The hotel had an area where they had a desktop computer with a free printer to use!!!  CRISIS AVERTED!!  

Leaving for the ship in about 3 hours so stay tuned!  Thanks to all that are following along!

Well we made it safely to Miami.  Had a little bumpy ride over northern Florida where no one was allowed to leave their seats.  We are now going to get a good night sleep and call it a day.  Stay tuned for boarding day!  

One thing we did that we have NEVER done before is forgot the set sail pass and luggage tags.....we are going to work on that before we leave for the port tomorrow!  So far I took a picture of the set sail pass and hope that works  (this ship is not available on the RCCL app for the electronic set sail pass).

We made it to the airport!

and now we wait at the gate for awhile until boarding

Plane is here already!  Should be an on time departure!  The sun is actually out and the ground is dry too so that should help!  Quick note about plane...there is only 29 rows so this is a fairly small plane!

Miami here we come!

4 hours ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

Those puppies look lonely already !  

They definitely get sad when we go and we miss them lots!

2 hours ago, emsff02 said:

Looking forward to following along with you guys. It will help me get through this last week of dry dock. We are departing for Liberty of the Seas next Saturday!

Thanks!  

Liberty is a great ship and you should have a great time!  Almost there!

All packed and ready to go....we think!  We always feel like we are forgetting something even though it seems like we have the kitchen sink with us

As a side note...one of those cases is completely empty so we have space to bring purchases home!

Now the dogs are just hanging out together in the sun as we wait to go.

Almost time to load up the vehicle and head to the airport!

Couldn't really sleep this morning (as usual before a trip) so got up and continued to get ready to go.  Lisa is mostly packed and I am a last minute packer so I don't have anything packed yet.  I decided to work on last minute things around the house and whatnot.  The packing for me will start soon...

Here is a positive for us though.  The 7 day forecast that we will be missing!!!

Stay tuned as we finish packing and start the journey!

Just got this from Royal Caribbean......they have expanded the restrictions.  They are taking this quite seriously (as they should)!

ABOUT YOUR UPCOMING TRAVELS         Dear Guest, We’re looking forward to welcoming you aboard! Before you embark on your adventure, we have an important update to share with you. As we previously shared, after consultation with medical experts and public health authorities regarding the coronavirus, we’ve decided that regardless of nationality, any guest or crewmember traveling from, to, or through mainland China or Hong less than 15 days prior to their sailing will be unable to board any of our ships. Considering the increase in cases globally, we’ve also decided to add Macau to this travel regulation. Additionally, anyone that has knowingly come in contact (which the CDC defines as 6 feet or 2 meters) with someone that has traveled to, through, or from mainland China, Hong Kong, or Macau, less than 15 days prior to their sailing, will also be unable to board any of our ships. We regret to have to do this. This precaution will help avoid the spread of this virus. We take this very seriously and have a responsibility to maintain a safe and healthy environment onboard our ships, as well as in the ports we visit. We continue to tighten our secondary health screening requirements, as well, and the following guests will need to undergo extra screenings to ensure safety at the cruise terminal: Guests or crewmembers that are unsure if they’ve been in contact with individuals that have traveled from, to, or through mainland China, Hong Kong, or Macau in the last 15 days. Anyone that holds a Chinese or Hong Kong passport – regardless of when they were there last. Anyone that feels unwell or demonstrates flu-like symptoms. While these measures are conservative and may disappoint some guests, our responsibility is to keep our ships safe, reduce the spread of coronavirus, and ensure you are able to enjoy your time with us. If you or someone in your stateroom has traveled or been in close contact with someone that has traveled from, to, or through mainland China, Hong Kong, or Macau, please contact your Travel Advisor immediately, or contact us at 1-800-256-6649 or visit www.RoyalCaribbean.com/contactus for your local Royal Caribbean International office phone number.  Onboard our ships, we continue to take numerous proactive steps to maintain high health standards. This includes: Thoroughly sanitizing the cruise ship terminal before and after every sailing, Special sanitizing of high traffic areas onboard multiple times a day, Adding extra medical staff on each sailing,  Providing complimentary consultations with medical experts for all guests & crew,   Plus, the Captain will make two daily announcements during your cruise reminding everyone of how to stay healthy onboard. And, you can do your part too! Here are some important tips to help keep you healthy and prevent colds, flus, and stomach viruses – both onboard and on land.  After using the bathroom and before any meal or snack (it’s a cruise; we know there’s lots of that), make sure to wash your hands thoroughly with soap and warm water for at least 20 seconds. If you happen to sneeze, cover your nose and mouth with a tissue (or with your upper sleeve). Avoid sneezing or coughing into your hands or without covering your nose and mouth. Use hand sanitizer as often as possible. Rub the gel thoroughly, and in-between your fingers, until your hands are dry. And remember, if you don’t feel well while you’re onboard, it’s imperative that you immediately visit our medical facility for a complimentary checkup. Our onboard doctors and nurses are always ready to assist. Your safety and wellbeing are always our top priorities, but we also want you to have an amazing time. Stay clean, stay healthy, stay happy! Lastly, should we have to make any changes to our newly implemented travel regulation, we will let you and your Travel Advisor know immediately. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation. Sincerely,

10 minutes ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

Have a great trip !

Thanks!!!

On 2/3/2020 at 4:45 PM, JLMoran said:

Wow! I had to read that line twice because I thought I mis-read it at first. Not just the ship, the entire terminal building?!?!?

That has to be a typo, right?

On 2/3/2020 at 5:03 PM, Ogilthorpe said:

I thought the same thing. Perhaps they planned for it with the new terminal design and they can accomplish it with an efficiency.

We will make sure we comment on what we see with this....if we even see anything different.  We got on a ship a year ago that came back "sick" and that was quite a different experience until the ship went back to normal.

We fly out tomorrow evening!  We are now both done with work before the trip and going to start packing tonight!  Such a good feeling to be done with work and focus on the trip!  We can't wait to get away from the snow and cold and have some fun in the warm sun!

4 days until we leave for Miami and 5 until we board the ship!!!  Can't wait!!!

We both have 3 days left of work so almost done with the grind.  I (Matt) will have worked 9 days in a row before we go with a couple 12-13 hour days.  Watching the Super Bowl stuff on TV and seeing all the sun makes us want to get down there even more!!!

We FINALLY booked our last excursion..

We booked this because we have had good experience with cave related excursions in the past and thought hanging out on the beach would be nice and relaxing.  Who can't use relaxing in the sun....right?!?!?!

Just got this email from Royal Caribbean about the coronavirus so this will be a bit different experience...

ABOUT YOUR UPCOMING TRAVELS         Dear Guest, We’re looking forward to welcoming you aboard! Before you embark on our adventure, we have some important information to share with you. After consultation with medical experts and public health authorities, we’ve decided that regardless of nationality, any guest or crewmember traveling from, to, or through mainland China or Hong Kong less than 15 days prior to their sailing will be unable to board any of our ships. We regret to have to do this, but due to the recent increase of coronavirus cases around the world, this precaution will help avoid the spread of this virus. We take this very seriously and have a responsibility to maintain a safe and healthy environment onboard our ships, as well as in the ports we visit. Additionally, we’ve tightened our secondary health screening requirements and the following guests will need to undergo extra screenings to ensure safety at the cruise terminal: Guests or crewmembers that have been in contact with individuals that have traveled from, to, or through mainland China or Hong Kong in the last 15 days. Anyone that holds a Chinese or Hong Kong passport - regardless of when they were there last. Anyone that feels unwell or demonstrates flu-like symptoms. While these measures are conservative, our responsibility is to reduce the spread of coronavirus, in an effort to keep our ships safe and to ensure you are able to enjoy your time with us. If you or someone in your stateroom has traveled from, to, or through mainland China or Hong Kong, please contact your Travel Advisor immediately, or contact us at 1-800-256-6649 or visit www.RoyalCaribbean.com/contactus for your local Royal Caribbean International office phone number.  Your vacation and your health are very important to us, so in an abundance of caution, we’ve taken numerous proactive steps to maintain high health standards onboard our ships. This includes: Thoroughly sanitizing the cruise ship terminal before and after every sailing, Special sanitizing of high traffic areas onboard multiple times a day, Adding extra medical staff on each sailing,  Providing complimentary consultations with medical experts for all guests & crew,  Plus, the Captain will make two daily announcements during your cruise reminding everyone of how to stay healthy onboard. And, you can do your part too! To ensure we all have an enjoyable cruise, here are some important tips to help keep you healthy and prevent colds, flus, and stomach viruses – both onboard and on land.  After using the bathroom and before any meal or snack (it’s a cruise; we know there’s lots of that), make sure to wash your hands thoroughly with soap and warm water for at least 20 seconds. If you happen to sneeze, cover your nose and mouth with a tissue (or with your upper sleeve). Avoid sneezing or coughing into your hands or without covering your nose and mouth. Use hand sanitizer as often as possible. Rub the gel thoroughly, and in-between your fingers, until your hands are dry. And remember, if you don’t feel well while you’re onboard, it’s imperative that you immediately visit our medical facility on Deck 2 for a complimentary checkup. Our onboard doctors and nurses are always ready to assist. Your safety and wellbeing are always our top priorities, but we also want you to have an amazing time. Stay clean, stay healthy, stay happy! Thank you for your understanding and cooperation. Sincerely,

Packing will be starting soon so stay tuned.........!!!  

We have even experienced it where we got our money back on our account before we were even notified.  We had to go ask the desk why we got our money back and that was when we found out about the cancelation. It was when the ferry boats were exploding in Cozumel and RCCL cancelled all excursions that used the ferry.  We had to scramble to book a new one on the island instead which ended up being a lot of fun  

1 hour ago, fa-li said:

Looking forward to your report!   We are on this exact itinerary on the Feb 21 sailing.  A little nervous with some of the negatives I'm hearing about this ship pre-drydock, but keeping my hopes up.  We've done the ABCs before and I can't wait to get back!

We have 4 sea days so we will cover some of the ship related stuff.  We put some thought in to the pre-dry dock also knowing that the ship is dated but the itinerary was what we were really after so hope all goes well!