dr martini

Palapa update: 75% of the little tables that are underneath the palapas are now underwater. It's comical to me cuz all the videos I have seen of this location show them stranded out of the water by a lot. 😂
Hammock update: I have seen so many people try to climb into the hammocks over the water and then promptly fall into the water. Not surprisingly, this has been one of my favorite things to watch thus far.

First observations about Hideaway Beach 
1. The shoreline around the horseshoe shaped bay looks like it would be perfect to walk on. Don't be fooled! That is some tough sand to walk through and there are even rocks.
2. There are no physical tickets that you need for this location. They have scanners at the entrance for your Seapass card.
3. I can confirm that the PDCC song is not coming from the Hideaway Beach pool area. I can definitely hear a little bit of music but it's not annoying at all on the far side of the bay.
4. The swings in the water are really fun! 
5. 8:30 in the morning, the sun is perfect for sunbathing on that far side of the bay. As a day progresses, the sun will be more direct for the people that are closest to the entrance.
6. Regarding the walkover- I think I read something about 3 to 5 minutes to walk it. I'm a pretty average speed walking person, and it took me a solid 5 minutes. Another 5 minutes to the other side of the bay. Definitely take the tram if you have any issues walking, as the sand path has not been compacted enough yet to be easy to walk on.
 


 

Random thoughts for the day, Day 1
It appears that they open up the terminal at 10:00 a.m. This was terminal A. However, they didn't start boarding until after 10:30, but before the 11:00 first boarding time.
With the amount of young people celebrating spring break on board, the bars seem to be overrun. I have never seen the bars looking so busy. It actually makes me rethink whether I want to go get something to drink or not at times.
The Lyft driver I had noted that many drivers will cancel pickups at the cruise terminals because of how long it is taking them to get there versus how much they are going to make. Since I've not ever tried this, I thought it was interesting. He offered to come get me on Friday morning outside of normal Lyft, but not only did this sound highly suspicious and his driving terrified me, I wonder if his story about ride cancellations is true in the first place.
Sail away from Miami is beautiful and so cool. We got to go all the way down the cruise ship lane, turn around, and then head out. I love that we got to do the same thing that Icon of the Seas did when it came to Miami in January. I'm sure this is old hat for many people, but it's brand new and fun for me.
People in their 20s have a different idea of what dressed up is than I do.
While there appears to be a fair amount of children on board for spring break, I don't feel like the ship is overrun with them.
Finding weird hairs in your bathroom is unpleasant. Trying not to think too hard about what they are or where they're from.
I'm supposed to go to Hideaway Beach tomorrow but I don't have any tickets or anything that you typically would get with a shore excursion. I got my ticket in the state room for my bus transfer to the airport on Friday, but that was it. I'm wondering how they will know I am supposed to be there?
Johnny Rockets shakes feel smaller than they were on Allure. Maybe I'm just crazy.

I'm pretty sure I saw a bar attached to ELF when I was up there...
It was super fun people watching!
I'M SO GLAD SOMEONE ELSE SAID THAT BECAUSE I FEEL THE SAME WAY. 🥺😱
That's it, I'm going up to ELF and eating there just to take pictures for you to drool over. 😂
Omg @Ampurp85 had done it to @Sweety's credit card!
Funny you say this - I just finished unpacking and was shocked that there was so much room. It's so nice!
 
I believe you. I thought Galveston was beautiful, but this beats it into the dust. ❤️

I am pretty sure I said in someone’s blog, or my own, recently that Miami is my favourite port to sail out from. It’s the prettiest backdrop.

I booked B2B2B because i saw you had one on Freedom.

I sailed Indy before Freedom as well and I have to say for the most part Freedom is my favorite ship. My B2B2B will be my third time on her. She is just big enough to not feel the crowds and she has ELF and Playmakers. 
That headliner looks creepy, just enough that I would go to see it 🤣.

WTF IS UP WITH THE PIPED-IN INSECTS/NIGHT TIME SOUNDS IN THE SOLARIUM????? It's creeping me out and making me feel like I'm in the Midwest again.......

No reservations for Izumi sushi - first come first served. Ugh. I guess we'll see if I get there then.

Explorer had a lot of interior touch ups including carpeting, chairs, etc. I was actually pretty impressed. I think that’s all she will get. Really that’s all Voyager’s “amp” was anyway. Nothing fancy like Navigator and Mariner.

I don't think they will do very much to Quantum guest areas. 
The dry dock is being performed due to required maritime maintenance every 5 years until a ship is 20 years old then every 2.5 years.  That is the primary reason for the dry dock.  The required maintenance is the basis to maintain the certificate to sail.  Without the prescribed scheduled maintenance the certificate to carry passengers would be revoked.  
It's not unusual for some additional work to be performed to guests areas during a dry dock because the ship is empty of guests.  When Anthem was scheduled to go into dry dock in 2020 before the pandemic happened Royal flat out stated there would be no meaningful updates to guests areas.  They might replace things like broken floor tiles but there would be no new venues.  During my January 2020 cruise on Anthem they replaced all the carpet in the Windjammer doing sections every night while the WJ was closed.  This was months before her scheduled dry dock in May of 2020.  The point being that replacing carpet doesn't require a dry dock.  Carpet is routinely replaced all the time as required over the lifecycle of the ship.  
Quantum, Anthem and Ovation are one year in age apart.  Once onboard they are nearly identical to each other. In many places if you were magically teleported between ships you would not be able to tell which ship you were on since they are nearly identical to each other.  There are minor differences such as the name of the pool side restaurant.  Ovation had this restaurant changed to a Fish & Ships venue during her first Alaskan cruise in 2019.  I was onboard and watched them work on it during the cruise.  It didn't take a dry dock to get this venue changed, it was done during a regular cruise with guests.  On Quantum specifically they may choose to modify this venue in a dry dock, or not.  Bilingual signage might be replaced, or not.
The SeaPlex pods that hang off the ship where Playmakers is located on Odyssey is wildly different between the original Quantum class and the Quantum Ultra class Odyssey. They would need to do a lot of work making significant structural modifications that would alter the weight and balance of the ship requiring her to be reengineered and recertified.  It's possible but it would be costly.  Would a PM generate enough new revenue to justify the multi-million dollar modification?  Without a PM guests find somewhere else to drink and eat so the investment would need to show that retrofitting a PM would generate new additional revenue that would not otherwise be spent.  
I doubt they would make this sort of investment on the original Q class ships but who knows?
They could maybe find a way install a Teppanyaki venue by displacing the teen/kids club area.  That would require some infrastructure such as plumbing and electrical to support a food venue in a place that doesn't have that infrastructure currently.  Would such an investment generate new additional revenue or would it simply drain revenue away from the existing specialty dining venues?  Royal has data to review from Odyssey to see if Teppanyaki has created new revenue or reduced the revenue from the other venues.  If the amount of new revenue is minor it's difficult to justify adding a Teppanyaki to the original Q class (non-Ultra).  
My gut is telling me that the original Q class ships won't receive meaningful updates to guest areas.  If a ship does not yet have shore power capability that will likely be added during a dry dock.  This type of modification may be best done with the ship completely dark, no power.  A dry dock while doing other required scheduled maritime maintenance is an ideal time to slip in a few days to add shore power capability.  Quantum needs shore power capability to operate from California so if she hasn't already had this added, it will be added during this dry dock.   
I think they will find a way to refresh Allure and Explorer.  Adventure is mostly "amplified" already, they just need to some minor stuff to call it a full amp.   PM on Voyager class is not required to declare them amplified so I'm not sure Adventure will get a PM.  Royal has to be careful as they have told investors they are focused on reducing debt, not so much on amplifications.  Yet we all know ships like Allure and Explorer need an update.  Liberty and Adventure to a lesser degree but both could use a minor touch up.  That's four ships that clearly have a need despite Royal telling investors amplifications have been indefinitely postponed.   I suspect they will find a way to quietly update these four ships without the fanfare and telling the worlds about it like the "amplification" program did.  Beyond these four ships I don't see newer ships such as Q class getting meaningful changes such as new venues at this time.  

This is my first time ever in Miami. Why has no one told me how beautiful it is here???

freedom might be favorite ship in the fleet currently - perfect blend of size, features and familiarity.  we just were on her for the same 4 day pdcc trip a year ago and i live blogged, have a great time!  our next cruise will definitely be freedom or independence when they get on some different itineraries a year from now

freedom might be favorite ship in the fleet currently - perfect blend of size, features and familiarity.  we just were on her for the same 4 day pdcc trip a year ago and i live blogged, have a great time!  our next cruise will definitely be freedom or independence when they get on some different itineraries a year from now

yes @Cactus527 unfortunately the past few years of travel explosion post covid it's been really crazy in miami, they had these restrictions a few years now, believe the curfew started in 2021.
Another factor would be Hurricane Ian - Florida's southwest coast was pounded in fall of 2022 by that storm (category 5 of 5) and devastated Fort Myers Beach, which was nowhere near Miami level but still a good sized spring break destination.  now those kids have to go elsewhere as FMB is nowhere near to back up and running, even when they are rebuilt it will likely be a lot different aka more expensive (family and retirement focused).  Miami's #1 status only getting bigger

freedom might be favorite ship in the fleet currently - perfect blend of size, features and familiarity.  we just were on her for the same 4 day pdcc trip a year ago and i live blogged, have a great time!  our next cruise will definitely be freedom or independence when they get on some different itineraries a year from now

freedom might be favorite ship in the fleet currently - perfect blend of size, features and familiarity.  we just were on her for the same 4 day pdcc trip a year ago and i live blogged, have a great time!  our next cruise will definitely be freedom or independence when they get on some different itineraries a year from now

🎶On the 12th day before cruising, my live blog did begin...🎶
It's almost cruise time! I'm starting this live blog to control my excitement and keep track of all related things. I'll try to update daily before the cruise, and then as things go once onboard. Being my first live blog, I have no idea what's going to happen here.
I'm Cactus. I've been cruising sporadically since 2005, both solo and with family, mostly on Royal Caribbean. While I live in the desert, I love traveling and have gone as many places as I can throughout my life.
This cruise is a 4-night Perfect Day at CocoCay and Bahamas cruise out of Miami. Port schedule shows Terminal A, so I'm super excited for my first trip out of Miami (how have I avoided this up until now??!?) and out of Icon's terminal. It's a bit of a wonky cruise for me because I have to pack for this trip AND a conference that starts on Saturday after I disembark on Friday. Thank goodness for Southwest's two-bags-fly-for-free policy.
Day 1 Miami
Day 2 PDCC
Day 3 Nassau
Day 4 At Sea
Day 5 Miami
My family calls me two things: The Ruler of Red Lights (when driving) and Overpacker Extraordinaire. I'm hoping the latter doesn't get me in trouble while packing for both cruising and conferencing.
I booked a balcony guarantee for this solo cruise because my MEI travel agent had an awesome price for it. I was on Independence in a junior suite in September and absolutely loved the ship/room/location of room, so I had no hesitation in booking Indy's sister ship. The balcony I was assigned was okay, it would have worked, but I went ahead and did a Royal Up bid for both a junior suite and a spacious balcony. The JS failed, but the spacious balcony went through! And, lo and behold, the spacious balcony is in a similar location to where my JS on Indy was. Score!
Counting down is killing me - 11 days until I fly, 12 days until the cruise. Of course there's a bazillion things to do in the mean time, including getting over this nasty cold I currently have. Healthy and happy cruising coming soon!
---Cactus

For 3 short nights I wouldn't worry about it.

I used to book almost nothing but GTY's b/c the cabin isn't very important to us.
One other benefit that we have booking in the US is the ability to switch rooms once assigned but I don't think you are allowed to do that in the UK.
In any case, why exactly are you having regrets?

Royal has been trying to kill MTD for a few years now.  They made MTD chaotic trying to make MTD unappealing.  This appears to be the final nail.  

The China market is untapped potential and RCCL definitely wants to compete.  I wouldn't be surprised to see Wonder wander off even before Oasis 7 is done.
Also, given the current demand a lot of Vision itineraries could be dropped for larger ships (shift Voyager in and replace Voyagers with Oases).  Everything is sort of cyclical, Oasis will be the new Voyager class (which really has 8 ships since Freedom/Liberty/Independence are pretty much just stretched Voyagers) and Voyager will replace vision.  Eventually Quantums will replace Radiance. 
The question is how to fit Voyager and Quantum into the places that Vision and Radiance go now.  As far as home ports go my memory is the two tricky ones are Tampa and Baltimore? I am sure Discovery will come along eventually but I suspect it will be closer in concept to Quantum than Vision.  

 

Despite that Royal insists they can't include Voom on the older ship full suites because they are so much cheaper.  🤷‍♂️

I still can't believe Navigator and Star have similar suite prices.