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MO & LO on the go!

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  1. Like
    MO & LO on the go! got a reaction from JohnK6404 in Explorer | Feb 7-16, 2020 | First Time To ABC Islands!   
    Hello everyone!  We are Matt and Lisa (or MO and LO)!  Matt is the main typer and poster with input from Lisa.
    We are now down to double digits for this cruise after booking it with more than 400+ days until we boarded.  We don't remember the exact number of days because it was so painful to see such a high number so we did not pay attention until recently ?.  We booked it at Next Cruise on a previous cruise and got a $100 OBC!  Next Cruise is our preferred booking location for obvious reasons!  
    Only 98 days until we board, 97 until we fly out!  We are flying from Minneapolis to Miami so you can imagine how excited we are to leave Minnesota in February from the cold and snow!  We initially had this booked on the itinerary right before this one but changed it after we figured out that the Super Bowl was in Miami in 2020.  We would have been flying in to Miami on the Saturday before the big game so we decided that it would have been EXTREMELY expensive, busy, and not relaxing or enjoyable for us so changed it to the week later.  Very glad we did this.
     
    Why this cruise?:
    We have never been to the ABC islands (Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao) and REALLY wanted to get there.  We really enjoy longer cruises since we feel like we really get to experience it and settle in.  For us, anything under 7 nights seems too short.  We also like the Voyager Class of ships so it was perfect.  From that class we have been on Adventure (March 2017) and Mariner (May 2019) in the past.  We recently did our first 9 night cruise which was on Serenade (Jan 2019) and learned that the boat was a bit small for us for such a long cruise.  This will be our 10th cruise together and give us a total of 100 points!  Our first together was our honeymoon in 1997 on Monarch out of Puerto Rico.  All our cruises together have been on RCCL.  I (Matt) have been on 1 extra cruise that I took as a kid with my parents on the Big Red Boat (if anyone remembers that one).   Flights: 
    We are flying on Delta from MSP to MIA on February 6th.  We always go atleast one day early because the weather is unpredictable in Minnesota that time of year and also because the stress of flying and boarding is just miserable......especially if something doesn't go quite right and we get delayed.  We will not land until late at night so that day is purely a travel day.  Unfortunately we learned something about companion fares........they only have so many allowed per flight so you need to book very early.  We did not realize they only allow so many per flight and got burned on this.  Normally we fly out a day or two ahead and hang out but they did not have that option available with the companion fares.  So with the companion fare issues in mind, we had to stay TWO extra days after the cruise to get the first flight available home.  We normally fly out as soon as we can on disembarkation day but now we will have 2 extra days in Miami.  We have never stayed more than a few extra hours after the cruise is over so this will be interesting to try.  We fly back on February 18th. Room:
    9th floor balcony  Excursions: 
    So far we haven't booked anything but will update on that as we continue the planning Dining & Drink Package: 
    We will be having every meal in the dining room because we love main dining.  We enjoy the personal connection and attention we get from getting to know the dining staff.  By the end of the cruise they have "learned" us  and our needs/wants and we love that!  We will be doing early dining (6pm on this cruise) so that we aren't eating so late at night!  That is always our preferred choice. We will be getting the Refreshment Package since we aren't heavy alcohol drinkers.  We WILL be taking part in the Diamond Lounge drinks every night though! ?  Full Itinerary:
    Travel Day from MSP to MIA Day 1 - Miami  Day 2 - Sea Day Day 3 - Labadee, Haiti (8am-5pm) Day 4 - Sea Day Day 5 - Kralendijk, Bonaire (9am-6pm) Day 6 - Oranjestad, Aruba (8am-9pm) Day 7 - Willemstad, Curacao (8am-5pm) Day 8 & 9 - Sea Days Day 10 - Miami Post cruise day - Miami Travel day from MIA to MSP Hotels:
    We are staying at the airport and downtown Holiday Inns.  Holiday Inn is our preferred chain because of quality and price along with consistency. This Live (or mostly) Blog:
    We will be doing our best to give live updates as we are doing them but obviously not everything can be live so some things will get posted when we have a chance. Vlog/Recording/Youtube/Twitter:
    We will be recording/vlogging as much as we can.  We have recorded numerous excursions for our personal collection and friends.  We recently thought that people, like us, would be interested in seeing some of these excursions so they know what they are like and what to expect.  It has helped us in our research of traveling/cruising.  This turned out to be very popular on our YouTube channel so we wanted to expand on that.  This will be our first attempt at that.  Our YouTube channel can be found at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-JW4jgv_suiK-NCHyhQIVA/ .  We will be posting these after they are edited and ready, which will probably be after we are home, but will try to get smaller/shorter things here.  Please subscribe to our channel so you will know when they are posted.  The videos will not just be excursions.  They will include lots of other stuff and we hope to have fun with them.  We will also post to our Twitter account with updates (https://twitter.com/MOLOonthego1).  We just bought the brand new GoPro Hero 8 Black to upgrade from our Hero 4 Silver to get some better quality videos (and not have them shake and bounce all over). Final Thoughts On First Post:
    We are excited to bring everyone along and showcase how we travel and what we do!!!  We look forward to everyone's comments and reactions to our first trip to the ABC islands!  If you have any questions, suggestions, thoughts please feel free to post on here or reach out to us privately.  
  2. Thanks
    MO & LO on the go! got a reaction from USCG Teacher in ABC Island Excursion HELP!   
    Thanks for the suggestions!  We have been to most Caribbean ports EXCEPT these 3 so we are very excited!  Everywhere I research aruba the trikes are mentioned......must be very fun and popular.  We will check out all these suggestions!
     
    Thanks!  We are thinking a beach day also at one port to just chill and enjoy the sun!  Checking these suggestions out also!  Looking forward to hearing what you thought of these!
     
    Whatever we pick we are going to make sure we record/vlog so everyone can "experience" it and have a better idea of what its like!
  3. Thanks
    MO & LO on the go! reacted to NJCruisers in ABC Island Excursion HELP!   
    Our cruise to the ABC island's is in 2 weeks and I've booked the following for my husband & I:
    Aruba:  Trikes Aruba  https://trikes-aruba.com/ for the morning, and we plan to just relax and hang on the beach afterwards. https://www.surfsidearuba.com/
    Curacao:  We booked the Beach Day through RC that brings us to Blue Bay Resort.  We'll have lunch back on the ship then just venture out on our own afterwards.
    Bonaire:  We booked with Woodwind https://www.woodwindbonaire.com/  to snorkel in the afternoon.
    St. Thomas:  We booked an All Day Beach/Jeep Excursion through Sunfari http://sunfarivi.com/ 
    I'll be sure to post our thoughts on each once we are back.  
  4. Thanks
    MO & LO on the go! reacted to Mike P in ABC Island Excursion HELP!   
    We're going February 29th on Adventure.  In Aruba I have a catamaran rented for 30 people (I am part of a 52 person group).  For Bonaire we are renting golf carts to explore the island.  As far as Curacao I have nothing planned.  Am thinking about The Curacao Liqueur Distillery tour....or just exploring the port area. 
  5. Thanks
    MO & LO on the go! reacted to FionaMG in ABC Island Excursion HELP!   
    We did the ABC islands last year so although we are not adventurous ourselves we did uncover quite a lot of stuff that might be of interest to you during our research. 
    In Aruba, you could look at the trikes tour https://trikes-aruba.com/ or one of the ATV tours https://actiontoursaruba.com/
    In Curação, you could look at Irie Tours all west beach hopping tour https://irietours.com/all-west-beach-hopping
    And in Bonaire, if you enjoy snorkeling you don't need to book a tour; you can just get the water taxi over to Klein Bonaire https://www.watertaxikleinbonaire.com/ where the snorkeling is supposed to be fantastic. Our table mates raved about it. Alternatively, another very popular option for Bonaire is to rent a golf cart and drive around the island at your own pace http://www.bonairecruisers.com/
    Hope this helps. It's a great itinerary so you're going to have an amazing time. 
  6. Like
    MO & LO on the go! got a reaction from monctonguy in Do I lose OBC if I request change to lower price?   
    As long as you booked the cruise on the ship at the Next Cruise desk you ALWAYS keep your OBC unless you cancel (changing price is not a cancel) regardless of "sale".  We price match all the time and always keep our OBC.  Next cruise can verify this for you and the royal vacation planners can verify it also!
  7. Like
    MO & LO on the go! got a reaction from LilLady in Do I lose OBC if I request change to lower price?   
    I should have clarified also, this is correct.  If the OBC is part of the "sale" then you lose it if you price match and the new promo does not offer OBC.  You only keep the Next Cruise OBC benefit, which is separate from the sale OBC
  8. Like
    MO & LO on the go! got a reaction from LilLady in Do I lose OBC if I request change to lower price?   
    As long as you booked the cruise on the ship at the Next Cruise desk you ALWAYS keep your OBC unless you cancel (changing price is not a cancel) regardless of "sale".  We price match all the time and always keep our OBC.  Next cruise can verify this for you and the royal vacation planners can verify it also!
  9. Like
    MO & LO on the go! got a reaction from Iheoma in Do I lose OBC if I request change to lower price?   
    If you booked on board the ship at Next Cruise you get to get the OBC.  One of the perks of booking while on the ship!
  10. Like
    MO & LO on the go! got a reaction from Iheoma in Do I lose OBC if I request change to lower price?   
    As long as you booked the cruise on the ship at the Next Cruise desk you ALWAYS keep your OBC unless you cancel (changing price is not a cancel) regardless of "sale".  We price match all the time and always keep our OBC.  Next cruise can verify this for you and the royal vacation planners can verify it also!
  11. Like
    MO & LO on the go! got a reaction from Iheoma in Do I lose OBC if I request change to lower price?   
    I should have clarified also, this is correct.  If the OBC is part of the "sale" then you lose it if you price match and the new promo does not offer OBC.  You only keep the Next Cruise OBC benefit, which is separate from the sale OBC
  12. Like
    MO & LO on the go! reacted to WannaCruise in Do I lose OBC if I request change to lower price?   
    Ditto.  We got to keep our OBC that was part of booking while on board.
    Any OBC that was part of the specific booking sale, you lose.
  13. Like
    MO & LO on the go! got a reaction from ChessE4 in Do I lose OBC if I request change to lower price?   
    As long as you booked the cruise on the ship at the Next Cruise desk you ALWAYS keep your OBC unless you cancel (changing price is not a cancel) regardless of "sale".  We price match all the time and always keep our OBC.  Next cruise can verify this for you and the royal vacation planners can verify it also!
  14. Like
    MO & LO on the go! got a reaction from Neesa in Do I lose OBC if I request change to lower price?   
    If you booked on board the ship at Next Cruise you get to get the OBC.  One of the perks of booking while on the ship!
  15. Like
    MO & LO on the go! got a reaction from Gregg S in Flights out of Miami   
    Sounds like a tight time schedule.  With any minor hiccup you might miss it or atleast be very stressed out.  Our personal preference is to have a little buffer.  We don't mind sitting in the airport for a bit and just going over videos and pictures from the cruise while we wait.  And of course getting caught up on the world (emails, texts, phone calls, news, etc..).  Our 2 cents
  16. Like
    MO & LO on the go! got a reaction from WAAAYTOOO in Double Points for Junior Suite?   
    YAY to triple points!  Suites are awesome, especially when the price isn't too much more than a balcony room
  17. Like
    MO & LO on the go! got a reaction from Flacruiser99 in Flights out of Miami   
    Sounds like a tight time schedule.  With any minor hiccup you might miss it or atleast be very stressed out.  Our personal preference is to have a little buffer.  We don't mind sitting in the airport for a bit and just going over videos and pictures from the cruise while we wait.  And of course getting caught up on the world (emails, texts, phone calls, news, etc..).  Our 2 cents
  18. Like
    MO & LO on the go! got a reaction from Carlos A. in SHORE EXCURSIONS   
    Not to be rude..........but what does this thread have to do with wanting to be Pinnacle?
  19. Like
    MO & LO on the go! got a reaction from ChrisK2793 in SHORE EXCURSIONS   
    Not to be rude..........but what does this thread have to do with wanting to be Pinnacle?
  20. Like
    MO & LO on the go! reacted to Srp431 in In defense of Nassau!?!   
    Jamaica is the worst of all the islands in my opinion for aggressive sales
  21. Like
    MO & LO on the go! got a reaction from Neesa in Refreshment Package question   
    We always print and bring the confirmation emails just in case (even for hotel, airfare, transports, and anything else we prepay just for extra proof), but yes it should be on the setsail passes as shown above.  
  22. Like
    MO & LO on the go! got a reaction from Hoski in Refreshment Package   
    We do that too!  
  23. Like
    MO & LO on the go! got a reaction from AndrewCharles in Coco Cay Snorkeling   
    You walk straight in to the water from the beach.  Snorkeling there is very good.  I would possibly recommend a vest for them as the waves and wind can get pretty difficult.  I am a strong swimmer and did not use a vest but after an hour I was very tired from fighting the waves and current (I also had fins).
  24. Like
    MO & LO on the go! got a reaction from SteveinSC in Spring Break Cruises   
    We went on a cruise that turned out to be Florida college spring break.  5 nighter I think.  The pool deck was out of control busy with drunk people everywhere, no where to sit, and spilled alcohol/cups all over the deck.  The kids were grouped up in the walkway and it was hard to walk around up there.  We just avoided it and it was fine.  We did not have our kids but I don't think it would have changed our feeling about it if we did.
  25. Like
    MO & LO on the go! got a reaction from Vwjo in Coco Cay Snorkeling   
    You walk straight in to the water from the beach.  Snorkeling there is very good.  I would possibly recommend a vest for them as the waves and wind can get pretty difficult.  I am a strong swimmer and did not use a vest but after an hour I was very tired from fighting the waves and current (I also had fins).
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