ddmcruiser

OK - I was sure I didn't see it but when I went back to the app and checked their menu it says right there to "ask about our turf & turf option"!!!  So sorry, but thanks for the info!
 

"Live cultures"

I got my brother looking at cruise blogs and he is obsessed with Oasis class. He believes the more people the merrier so he is excited about the two Oasis sailings we have booked. On another note I would be barfing like crazy if I had to wear that 3D harness.

Did the waterpark on our first visit, found a table and left our "stuff" at the table (threw a towel over everything so it wasnt obvious what was there but certainly not secure).
It was a decent waterpark but i have no interest in paying to do it again.
After the waterpark, wandered over to south beach, swam out to the tiki hut bar and floated for the rest of the day.
 
2nd visit, split time between floating at Tiki hut and floating in pool
 
3rd and 4th visits Tiki hut was not optimal with construction, grabbed seats at the big pool and floated all day.
 
Side note: Floating is a technical term meaning "to bob in the water while drinking beers and watching the scenery, occasionally drifting close enough to the bar to replenish the beer".

We lived outside of Atlanta for a couple of years. Only 2 years we have lived outside of the Chicago area. Spent the "winters" in sweatshirts while the locals wore parkas. We got 2 in of snow one year and my wife made the long and grueling, 3 mile drive to work to discover she was the only one in the HR dept. to show up for work. Everyone else called out because of the snow. 
The flipside to that was the 95 degree summers with 80% humidity!
As bad as it can get here in Chicago from time to time, I look at those people who live in Northern Canada or Alaska and think to myself, How do they do it? 

Yeah....its not economical to prepare for the one, MAYBE, snow "event" we get a year.  So if it snows, even a little, its hysteria. Everything shuts down. Even my employer sends everyone home. Is it excessive? Yes. Is it fun? Yes.
If im in the house with my family tomorrow, itll just give me more time to over analyze my packing list, order my last few things from Amazon.....44 days!!!!!!  No royal up decision yet. I think I wont get that decision till last minute. 
@kilmarlic enjoy your trip, and while youre sipping that drink by the pool in the sunshine.....think of your Carolina brothers and sisters in the snow/slush. 

I wish i was still on vacation.......

 
Damn it didn't work!
 
I am 100% having the back to reality blues.
 
This was my first Royal Caribbean cruise but it won't be my last. I'm already planning my next cruise!
 
While looking through pictures there were a couple things i didn't post that i wanted to mention.
 
At port arrival a glitch in the system allowed the in-laws into the suite area even though they were not staying in a suite. We were able to have them stow away at the port and at the suite lounge until they got their physical sea passes. The app had them as sea or sky class even though they weren't.
 
I am proud to say my 8 year old daughter ate steak EVERY night of the cruise! No matter where we were that was what she wanted. The only time she  was disappointed with the steak was at the windjammer. Her favorite was from Coastal Kitchen. I thought the beach club had the edge though.
 
This was the first time i have ever really traveled with a group, I value family time vacations because i can be pretty busy and stressed out with work. It is really important to me to create lasting memories on trips, and i enjoy getting my wife and child to myself. Traveling with a group was a lot different and i think i made some mistakes. I thought staying in a suite would give us more time together, but juggling time with our travel mates and living the "suite life" was pretty difficult. Some of what i see as value in suite amenities was lost because no one else could use it and we were supposed to be all together.  We didn't even eat dinner at CK until night 4 and as soon as i tasted my food i wished we could have eaten there more. Little things like not sitting together at shows because i had to utilize the suite seating sections might have caused some tensions with my group. I am very used to a higher end experience when vacationing but i may have to really look at things differently if we are traveling with a group again in the future.
 
Speaking of the higher end experience. Everything that was included with the suite perks were amazing. The concierge staff,  Mohamed and Jeremias were amazing.  They were extremely attentive and put in extra effort multiple times throughout the trip.  All of the staff knew us by name and it always felt very inviting. I really liked both of the main suite lounge bartenders as well,  Marlin was the man! I made sure to give them all extra praise in the survey.
 

 
Even though i had a great time at the overwater cabana, I probably wouldn't get one again. There weren't a ton of offerings in the beach club for my daughter aside from swimming, and the weather wasn't the best for that. I felt she probably would have had a better time on the rest of Coco Cay. Sure we could have done some of that as well but then it would have taken time away from the cabana, which i wanted to experience. She'll be 10 by our next major cruise so maybe a waterpark cabana is in our future!
 
Drink package and drinking: I'm torn on this one. I don't drink a lot normally, only on the weekend while socializing or special occasions. I drank a lot on the cruise, but i never over did it.  Staying in a suite on an oasis class ship i probably would have been fine without the drink package and just having beer and wine 11-11 in the suite lounge. The drink package did let me try a bunch of drinks i have never tried. Pretty sure there wasn't a single thing that i didnt like. I want to thank this board for suggesting the Kraken Lava Flow.  One of my favorite drinks on the cruise!
 
I was also pretty happy that i could order 2 drinks i wasn't expecting to be available.  Port wine was available in the suite lounge, i did some research prior to cruising and didn't think I could get it. I tried a few other bars but came up short. The other drink was a Sake and Sake Bomb, it was not on the menu. I always order a Sake bomb and a bottle of Sake when i go to hibachi. They wouldn't let us use the chop sticks to balance the glass of sake though. Something about safety.  It was still pretty damn tasty though! Don't i look classy slamming the drink in my tie? lol...

20200129_194541.mp4  
 
The survey has been completed, the bags are unpacked, and  i'm depressed it's all over. ?
 
Thanks for reading everyone! Doing this blog was a lot of fun! I will be doing one again on my next cruise.

It's like the IT people have a language of their own!

We snagged it for ~43 bucks so the cost for our entire family of four is actually less then what the cost for one person is right now ?
I wonder, how many lobsters can I stuff down my speedo before it looks weird?

They were shocked by how much lobster people ate the first three days and had to recalculate. ?

@dodgestang I sometimes look at my bags in the closet and think..."you could have been a vacation"... But I still love you. I am excited to go on Allure and see what designer purse labels they will have.

Those were three bad contestants.  
 
I got it!  Do we get a free cruise or anything cooler than a RC keychain?
 
eta:  First time in over 40 years of watching that I've seen a player ask to change their wager after Alex gave the answer.  Hilarious!!

Glade to see the Slide Safety Rules #1 "recommended" was NOT followed.  I know I would have also.
Daddy has to make sure the slide is safe for his daughter after all.

Biggest mistake - waiting so long to go on my first cruise!!
Otherwise...getting to the port at 9am was a mistake. Next time, we are aiming for 11!

Booked one for Day 2 at Coco Cay on Mariner, Aug 2020.  $1499.  Doing the cabanas at the Thrill Water Park on Day 1 at CoCo Cay.
Waiting to read and see what the floating cabanas are like.

We are on the Symphony in April 2020. Yeah, you got it, now its 2000.00. Wished I jumped on it ar 1500.00

Try this?
What to bring on a cruise.pdf

We booked an excursion though ShoreTrips on our cruise to Alaska this summer.  It was the helicopter and dogsled excursion.  We thought they did a great job.  Very friendly, on the shuttle back the driver pointed out some places in Juneau we should check out if we had time - a little extra tour guide information.
Also want to mention that communication via email before the trip was excellent.  We received several prep emails about how excited they were to have us.

Love this!  Looking forward to Symphony of the Seas in April!  First time on Royal Caribbean and you guys here are great!

I have 0 GIF game, felt lucky to find the emojis but I love what you all post!
 
Mariner 50 days
Allure 1 year and a day
 
Waiting is soooo hard but this boards get me through it ?

I've never posted on a message board in my life.  Only a nerd would do that.
 
Oh shoot, I guess I'm busted by my rating.
 
Just kidding.  This is a great place for information about all of cruising... not just Royal Caribbean.  I appreciate the atmosphere as well as the info.

Lurkers unite!
Dyslexics untie!

I very recently  joined in for the first time ...  a grand example of "long time listener,  first time caller ..."
 

Hi everyone! I pride myself on being very social when I meet people in person, but online, I’m a certified lurker ?. I read the message boards, take notes ?, and have learned so much from everyone on this blog (thanks @Matt for this awesome platform) but I rarely make a post or comment.

Maybe it’s because everyone has already said what I was thinking (and y’all don’t need to see my “ditto” response ?)... Maybe it’s because I can’t come up with any interesting new questions or topics that are worth posting ?... Maybe it’s because I’m afraid that my post will be the equivalent of the kid sitting alone at the lunch table in a crowded middle school cafeteria ??...

Soooooooo... This post is dedicated to all of the lurkers out there just like me! Say hi, hit like, or drop a comment of your choosing below! Or don’t. ? You are still loved and welcomed here!
 

In the words of Mad-Eye Moody: "Constant Vigilance!"
Like most have said before; get it out when you need it, put it back right away, and lock it up in your stateroom safe.