Jax

Tomorrow our group of 8 is off to Paradise Beach. This excursion was not offered by Royal so we booked it privately.  We are looking forward to this one. I’ll check in tomorrow but our plan is to meet Berty at 8:30am for our usual express elevator ride.
As much as we are looking forward to tomorrow, having 3 excursions, 3 days in a row is not great especially since all have had an early start. It makes for a very busy last day with star class bridge and galley tours, finalizing photo selections etc.  

I know!! If I was not off eating hotdogs with Reyd I would have chucked it. 
 
Omg yes! We have never experienced this level of humidity on past eastern Caribbean sailings.  It was 100% in Costa Maya yesterday and only 83% in Roatan. 😳 My ankles are swollen which never happens; my hair is a whole other story. lol 

Still can’t believe how much lower your RU offers were than mine. 

Hello, haven’t we established that I am an enabler. lol 

Tomorrow our group of 8 is off to Paradise Beach. This excursion was not offered by Royal so we booked it privately.  We are looking forward to this one. I’ll check in tomorrow but our plan is to meet Berty at 8:30am for our usual express elevator ride.
As much as we are looking forward to tomorrow, having 3 excursions, 3 days in a row is not great especially since all have had an early start. It makes for a very busy last day with star class bridge and galley tours, finalizing photo selections etc.  

I know!! If I was not off eating hotdogs with Reyd I would have chucked it. 
 
Omg yes! We have never experienced this level of humidity on past eastern Caribbean sailings.  It was 100% in Costa Maya yesterday and only 83% in Roatan. 😳 My ankles are swollen which never happens; my hair is a whole other story. lol 

1887 A Journey in Time Ice Show 
We missed this last year and we really enjoyed the show. I am embarrassed to say I always find it hard to follow their storyline. But regardless of why the show reed with a wedding I enjoyed it. Lol  Bonus was being in a nice cold room watching it. Sorry but pictures and video were not allowed.  

Tonight we visited 150 CP. Our friends joined us so it was another fun meal followed by more photo shenanigans. 🤦‍♀️ Oh and it was Caribbean night. 
We ordered a lot of items, short rib was amazing, pork belly yummy, pumpkin soup and leek soup so good, beef tenderloin and lobster thermador delicious. You are getting the picture. Everything was 10/10 including our server.  Sorry I didn’t take any pictures; totally forgot. 
Lindsay took it easy tonight and stuck with the pumpkin soup and leek soup. Both were delicious. 
From there we were off for some photos before heading to the 1887 ice show. 

1887 A Journey in Time Ice Show 
We missed this last year and we really enjoyed the show. I am embarrassed to say I always find it hard to follow their storyline. But regardless of why the show reed with a wedding I enjoyed it. Lol  Bonus was being in a nice cold room watching it. Sorry but pictures and video were not allowed.  

Tonight we visited 150 CP. Our friends joined us so it was another fun meal followed by more photo shenanigans. 🤦‍♀️ Oh and it was Caribbean night. 
We ordered a lot of items, short rib was amazing, pork belly yummy, pumpkin soup and leek soup so good, beef tenderloin and lobster thermador delicious. You are getting the picture. Everything was 10/10 including our server.  Sorry I didn’t take any pictures; totally forgot. 
Lindsay took it easy tonight and stuck with the pumpkin soup and leek soup. Both were delicious. 
From there we were off for some photos before heading to the 1887 ice show. 

Since it’s a new ship for us, and just for you, I will do a walk through 😉

Best wishes to you, your dad, and your entire family.
I hope this cruise and this blog provide whatever will temporarily help with what you're going through... be it distraction, usual cruise enjoyment, or an amazing trip to the WJ (OK, obviously not the last one).

Other dates…
We actually received our pre-cruise survey for this sailing. Our track record is about 50/50 for this survey. The email came in at 10 weeks out. A record for the earliest pre-cruise survey ever!
Shows were released 66 days out. Only “The Book” was available for pre-cruise reservations.
Sergii, our Genie, reached out about 6 weeks ago. I have handed everything over to him. I have zero clue when our activities are, or when/where we are eating. He seems very much on top of things. He already reached out via Whatsapp a week ago. It's very relaxing going into sailing this way.

Royal Up
Royal Up offers for this sailing came in on November 1st, exactly 60 days prior to sailing. Prices are below. I texted @Jax and my TA right away because I thought it was pretty reasonable to try for the RLS. Also, the RLS was showing availability long after final payment. Sadly, I pulled our offer 3 weeks ago when this sailing became uncertain. I could not risk winning the RU, and then having to cancel, so we will be staying put in our original cabin.

Moving on to our NYE sailing on Odyssey of the Seas…
This is our first time on Odyssey. We were booked on the original inaugural sailing of this ship with quite a few others from this blog community. That was cancelled by the pandemic, and this NYE was our first opportunity to re-book this ship. I booked this sailing the day new itineraries were released. I am truly looking forward to this. I feel like OY got lost a bit in the shuffle by Wonder, and then Icon, but she is still fairly new and has a lot to offer.
As many of you know, I am not a fan of Quantum class ships, however, I am intrigued by how OY will differ.
Who’s Going?
Me, Hubby, D17, D15
Flight
Delta from DTW-FLL; booked through Air2Sea. Flying in on the 29th (tomorrow!) as our family policy is now 2 days early if we can swing it. Flight prices are horrendous for this trip, even compared to past NYE trips that we have taken. We were able to price it down a few times before final payment, but it was still double what we paid last year at this time. We even contemplated driving down, but in the end, Hubby was not up for that. Hopefully this doesn’t backfire, and he ends up driving anyway!
Pre-Cruise Stay
I booked our pre-cruise hotel for this trip the as soon as hotels released prices for our dates. The first reason was because I knew from the last few NYE sailings we’ve done; these hotels sell out fast and prices skyrocket the closer you get. Also, booking early allows me to grab the room type that I wanted because there was something specific that I had in mind.
When we sailed out of Port Everglades in the past, we have always stayed on 17th Street. I cannot even remember a time when we did not. However, because we are flying in 2 days early, and because we have no idea which, or if any freeloaders will be cruising with us for future NYE sailings, we wanted this one to be a bit more special. D15 has always looked longingly at the beach during our PE sail aways. She always asks why we cannot stay along the beach (Hello child, you know this family loves La Bamba right?), so for this pre-cruise stay, we are doing just that.
I have always wanted to try the Conrad on Fort Lauderdale Beach, however @Jax persuaded me to try out the Hilton Fort Lauderdale Beach Resort. I was really impressed by her review on this property last year and I’ve been following them on Instagram for about a year now. I think this property is a better fit for the 4 of us over the Conrad. In addition, I persuaded D17’s best friend to stay there with her family back in September, and they loved it as well, so we are pretty excited for our stay.
This will sadly mean that we have to Uber/Lyft our way to our beloved La Bamba.
Itinerary
29 DEC Arrive Fort Lauderdale, Florida
30 DEC FORT LAUDERDALE, FLORIDA
31 DEC FORT LAUDERDALE, FLORIDA (Cruise Day !)
01 JAN PERFECT DAY COCOCAY, BAHAMAS
02 JAN CRUISING
03 JAN LABADEE, HAITI
04 JAN PUERTO PLATA, DOMINICAN REP
05 JAN CRUISING
06 JAN FORT LAUDERDALE, FLORIDA
Cabin
The recurring theme for our next few family sailings is, “Go Big, or Go Home” because D17 is graduating high school this June and we have no idea what that means for sailing as a family of 4 in the future. For this sailing, we will be revisiting a cabin that we fell in love with when we sailed Anthem to Norway.
Pre-Cruise thoughts
-        This is probably one of the most relaxed sailings for me in terms of pre-cruise planning. With two beach days (PDCC and Labadee), Hubby and the girls are going to do their beach things and I will likely not get off the ship at all, except for the day in Puerto Plata.
-        Long time blog members, @recogneyesand @WannaCruise will be on this sailing too. Hoping that we can find a time to finally meet each other. Canadians need to stick together lol
-        This was unfortunately one of the first times where both hotel and cruise fare never dropped since initial booking. Both were booked on the day it was released, and prices have just climbed over time. Zero opportunities for price adjustments this time around.
-        Once again, in the spirit of a live blog, please do not hesitate to ask any questions.  I will do my best to find out whatever I can for you.
-        When responding to a post with a series of pictures, please do not include the pictures in your reply.  It just makes for easier scrolling.
-        Lastly, I will try to post videos and stories on Instagram.  You can follow me @lovetocruise2002

"New Year, New Odyssey. Our Journey into 2024…" – OY 12/31/2023 – 01/06/2024

I am writing this blog with a heavy heart. Even as I write this, I am not sure if this sailing will be a go for us or not. I even contemplated not blogging, because I was not sure if I had it in me at this moment. However, blogging makes me happy, and these blogs remain a great way to record our memories, and that is what these trips are all about. Making memories with the ones we love.
About 3 weeks ago, our lives were unexpectedly turned upside down. My Dad is going through a major health crisis that took us completely by surprise. If you asked me 3 weeks ago if I was going on this sailing, I would have probably said no. However, as awful as the situation is, our health care system in Ontario has not totally failed us, and my Dad has received treatment, and is stable for the time being.
I have long supported the whole “YOLO Book It” mentality, the pandemic fueled it. However, with the events that have transpired over the last few weeks, it has only strengthened our resolve to seize each moment, to not let a single opportunity pass us by, to truly live, and have no regrets, and to take every moment to enjoy each other because life is so fragile.
We have no idea what 2024 is going to hold for our family. But one thing is certain, we take heart in knowing that God is working for our good in the midst of all of this, and there is always joy come morning.

Berty arranged snacks for Reyd. He got a little bit from a few places. Nachos and salsa from Sabor with hot cheese from Johnny’s. Great combo but without Berty we wouldn’t have known where to get cheese. Ham & bacon pizza from Sorrentos. From the time I messaged Berty it was delivered within 20 minutes. I think that’s pretty impressive especially when multiple venues are involved. 

Our departure from Turquoise Bay went smoothly. The van left right on time. It was a 24P van and there were a couple empty seats.  The resort itself is very nice, offering a wide range of excursions.  Very organized, great service.  Food quality was the low point today.  The VIP section is located at the far end of the beach. Overcrowding was not an issue.  There were plenty of empty loungers available.  I think for what we paid and the poor food quality, it was overpriced. I did get a chance to scout out the villas and overwater cabanas. Although sold out on cruise planner there were plenty available today.  Glad we didn’t spend anymore on upgrades as food is a big part of our overall experience and theirs fell short.  

Reyd and I didn’t order from the VIP menu; we opted for hotdogs, wings and fries. We felt it was a safer option. They were “fine,” nothing great.  Lindsay ordered the surf and turf and chicken skewers and it was terrible.  We weren’t there when his meal arrived but he said the lobster didn’t smell very good and it was rubbery. He only ate a couple bites and chucked it.  I said why would you eat it at all? 🤦‍♀️ As we were returning to the ship he started feeling off and headed straight back to our suite while Reyd and I browsed the shops. We will see how it goes. Hopefully we don’t have an alpha alpha alpha on deck 9 suite #9730 😆

Our arrival at Turquoise Bay 
It was about a 45 minute ride. 
The tour guide escorted us to the VIP area where there was a great selection of loungers. Umbrellas and towels are included. You are assigned a dedicated waiter. You can order off the VIP menu or grab hotdogs, fries, wings, burgers, nachos at the main eating area.  
VIP food and drink menu attached. 

More on the food and drink in a bit. 

Good morning from Roatan. This picture says it all in terms of the humidity  


 
It’s another gorgeous day here. We are off to Turquoise Bay for the VIP excursion. Wish us luck with the drive over there.  😳😬

Oh really? It was served in a can with a teeny tiny cup. Lindsay drank from the tiny cup but the guys opted to pass around the can to sample. It’s classier that way. lol 

Sounds familiar. I only got to eat there on Allure b/c my wife likes some of the sides & desserts. She won’t do spicy or anything Mexican really but she loves yucca fries & liked their churros & one other dessert. She had a plain cheese quesadilla as her main. I could honestly just eat a bunch of those chicken bacon jalapeño things & dessert & be content at Sabor. Oh, and a jalapeño cucumber margarita.

Berty arranged snacks for Reyd. He got a little bit from a few places. Nachos and salsa from Sabor with hot cheese from Johnny’s. Great combo but without Berty we wouldn’t have known where to get cheese. Ham & bacon pizza from Sorrentos. From the time I messaged Berty it was delivered within 20 minutes. I think that’s pretty impressive especially when multiple venues are involved. 

Our departure from Turquoise Bay went smoothly. The van left right on time. It was a 24P van and there were a couple empty seats.  The resort itself is very nice, offering a wide range of excursions.  Very organized, great service.  Food quality was the low point today.  The VIP section is located at the far end of the beach. Overcrowding was not an issue.  There were plenty of empty loungers available.  I think for what we paid and the poor food quality, it was overpriced. I did get a chance to scout out the villas and overwater cabanas. Although sold out on cruise planner there were plenty available today.  Glad we didn’t spend anymore on upgrades as food is a big part of our overall experience and theirs fell short.