Pookie

I feel like I am about to be scammed by the wife too. 

Truth!! Hubby just said to me that the whole “let’s try it once” thing was a scam! ?

Be afraid.  Be very afraid
??

I will follow your blog. We are doing the villa on SOTS in April, so all information from you will be awsome and very helpful.  This will be our first star class. I am afraid once I go down that path, I wont want anything else?

Yes, typically the sushi and cupcake classes are included.  As are the Bridge and Galley tours and also the Escape room.  Any classes involving alcohol is usually an additional charge.  I took pics of all the star class literature in this blog:
https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/boards/index.php?/topic/10695-“i-dream-of-genie”-–-star-class-harmony-of-the-seas-–-031019-031719/
 

I had to laugh at your description of how you ended up booking your suite.  We ended up with ours under the same circumstances.  After free flowing cocktails in the concierge lounge on the Allure we thought it would be a great idea to book our ATS and take our 4 - early 20ish kids as an xmas gift.   

We have had a very good first day, but it has been super busy so we haven't had time to blog until now.  Alan has been amazing.  Embarkation was smooth, and we were on the ship before 11am.  We had plans to have Chops for lunch, but the cruise before ours had a norovirus outbreak and Chops was closed for lunch as they were doing extra sanitation there at lunch time.  We went to Giovanni's Table instead, and we enjoyed it very much; but I still prefer Chops for embarkation day lunch.  After leaving Giovanni's, we picked up Sabor guacamole and chips to take back to the room and then went to Cups and Scoops for ice cream and cupcakes.  After we registered the kids for Adventure Ocean, Alan met back up with us in our cabin, and again, wow, we are really impressed by him.  He has been extremely accommodating and very personable.  Although we know he is busy, he does not show it.  He takes the time to make you feel like you are his only guest.  He is also great with the kids and takes the time to interact with them as well.  For dinner, we went to Izumi, and it was wonderful like always.  We were wanting to see Mama Mia but did not want to be away from the babies for that long, so we were going to put them in the nursery long enough to see the first half.  We enjoyed it so much, that we decided to see the second half tomorrow.  The performers are fantastic, and we enjoyed Mama Mia much more than Blue Planet.  After the first half of Mama Mia, we picked up the babies.  We tried to pick up the older two as well, but they were having too much fun and wanted to stay longer.  We met Alan at Oceanaria, but ended up leaving early because it was very chilly.  We, then, proceeded to do what we do best and made pitstops at Johnny Rockets, Sabor, Cups and Scoops, and Vintages to get an assortment of snacks from each.  I really don't know how we were still eating at this point, but as @SweetPea said in her blog, looks like we are going to have to do a Star Class detox when we get home.  We are finally leaving port and will be in CocoCay tomorrow. 

Getting closer...

We left this morning around 10am and were immediately met with a 50 minute construction delay in the Great Smoky Mountains.  After finding out Alan loves chocolate, we stopped in Asheville to visit the Lindt Chocolate Shop.  We got him a cute champagne bottle of assorted Lindor truffles.  Now the kids are wired on chocolate, and I should be wired between the chocolate and the Starbuck's venti caramel brulee frappuccino I just had, but all I want to do is nap.  Wish I had half the energy, that the kids have.

I will if I get a chance.  I will ask Joyce if there was any refurbs on the ATS.

Awesome! We do as well this time. I can’t wait to see if they refurnished it. Hoping @WAAAYTOOO can take a peek in a few weeks.

Because we have already had 33.5 inches of snow here in the Mitten State and I am not a big fan of that nonsense, I spend a lot of time thinking about upcoming cruises.  I love reading about people's experiences and living vicariously through them to pass the time.
I'm sure a lot of us have countdown to cruise apps on our phones and I've read in numerous posts "Only 623 or 17 more sleeps until we board!"  
I am currently sitting in my 6 x 8 jail cell (oops, I mean cubicle) at work looking out the window at a dull monochromatic landscape and since I am a numbers person,  I have been thinking of other milestones to use for our countdown to cruise.
Only 3 more hair appointments!

Does anyone else have a fun way for countdown or do you stick to days and/or sleeps?

Okay fellow hijackers!  We are officially checked in!  I was even able to upload our mugshots with no problems.  We all got a tingly little thrill seeing STAR listed under the class section of our set sail passes???!!! It’s starting to get real now!

We have a 2 bedroom aqua theater suite

Okay fellow hijackers!  We are officially checked in!  I was even able to upload our mugshots with no problems.  We all got a tingly little thrill seeing STAR listed under the class section of our set sail passes???!!! It’s starting to get real now!

I’m not there yet, but I’m always excited when I buy milk or eggs and the expiration date is close to our vacation date.   140 days for me-so quite a ways to go. 

Okay..  51 more times shaving my head.  ....oh, that is the same as the number of days before set sail.

Because we have already had 33.5 inches of snow here in the Mitten State and I am not a big fan of that nonsense, I spend a lot of time thinking about upcoming cruises.  I love reading about people's experiences and living vicariously through them to pass the time.
I'm sure a lot of us have countdown to cruise apps on our phones and I've read in numerous posts "Only 623 or 17 more sleeps until we board!"  
I am currently sitting in my 6 x 8 jail cell (oops, I mean cubicle) at work looking out the window at a dull monochromatic landscape and since I am a numbers person,  I have been thinking of other milestones to use for our countdown to cruise.
Only 3 more hair appointments!

Does anyone else have a fun way for countdown or do you stick to days and/or sleeps?

Days. My wife shows me these almost every day. ?

Because we have already had 33.5 inches of snow here in the Mitten State and I am not a big fan of that nonsense, I spend a lot of time thinking about upcoming cruises.  I love reading about people's experiences and living vicariously through them to pass the time.
I'm sure a lot of us have countdown to cruise apps on our phones and I've read in numerous posts "Only 623 or 17 more sleeps until we board!"  
I am currently sitting in my 6 x 8 jail cell (oops, I mean cubicle) at work looking out the window at a dull monochromatic landscape and since I am a numbers person,  I have been thinking of other milestones to use for our countdown to cruise.
Only 3 more hair appointments!

Does anyone else have a fun way for countdown or do you stick to days and/or sleeps?

Because we have already had 33.5 inches of snow here in the Mitten State and I am not a big fan of that nonsense, I spend a lot of time thinking about upcoming cruises.  I love reading about people's experiences and living vicariously through them to pass the time.
I'm sure a lot of us have countdown to cruise apps on our phones and I've read in numerous posts "Only 623 or 17 more sleeps until we board!"  
I am currently sitting in my 6 x 8 jail cell (oops, I mean cubicle) at work looking out the window at a dull monochromatic landscape and since I am a numbers person,  I have been thinking of other milestones to use for our countdown to cruise.
Only 3 more hair appointments!

Does anyone else have a fun way for countdown or do you stick to days and/or sleeps?

I’m starting this blog for my sailing on the Empress.  Seeing so much content on the Empress already on this forum, my blog will not be an exhaustive one, especially because I know that a much better blogger is also on this sailing (*cough* @twangster*cough*)
For those who would like some recon mission on this ship, I’d gladly do what I can.

This is a recap, and not a highly detailed live blog. If you have questions, please let me know in the replies
 
October 31 & November 1 — Pre-Embarkation
We flew from our home near Nashville to Miami on a late flight and were one of the last arrivals of the day. 
This presented a problem with getting a ride share to take us to the Mercury Hotel in South Beach as it is quite a distance. 
One Uber and two Lyft drivers bailed on us. While annoying, it is understandable. We ended up taking a taxi and ran into construction traffic on I-95 delaying our arrival. We entered our hotel room at about 12:30 am. 
We stayed at a quirky Art Deco hotel a block west of Ocean Drive near 1st Street. 
for brunch, we at at a Popular Cuban restaurant called Puerto Sagua. I highly recommend it. It was an easy walk to Collins and 7th where it is located.
After brunch, we walked along the shoreline to the southernmost ended of South Beach and watched Navigator sail away. You can see a time lapse on my Instagram at:
 
I got my dunkel bier fix for dinner at the Bavaria Bier Haus in Bayside Marketplace right on the water by the marina next to Port Miami. See the first attached pic for an incredible sunset effect by the surrounding skyscrapers. 
November 2 — Embarkation
We had breakfast at a local eatery called Big Pink, checked out and took a Lyft to Port Miami. MacArthur Causeway was closed and traffic was being routed to the Venetian Causeway and to I-195 to the north. Our Lyft driver was astute and chose the latter. While I missed driving opposite cruise ship row that morning, our driver did a great job with the circumstance. When we made it to Dodge Island, we dealt with the effects of getting to Terminal A caused by the construction of the Norwegian terminal next door.
Soon, were we curbside at the terminal and entering the building. A couple of months ago, I cancelled the Key due to reviews. I didn’t realize that the icon was still on my SeaPass in the app, and when I showed it, we were ushered into the Key line and found ourselves bypassing waiting guests and were on board immediately  it took five minutes  when I realized what happened, that somehow we still had the Key, I chose not to take advantage of the other perks it offered for the duration of the cruise.
We ate lunch at El Loco Fresh, and were set up for the rest of the day  our CP balcony room was ready right at 1:00 pm, and we were unpacked by 1:30 pm  my wife had a manicure in the spa scheduled for 1:45, so I did the slides on board starting with the Ultimate Abyss.
We chose My Time dining, during sail away. We watched Hairspray in the theater that evening. The cast was incredible. 
November 3rd & 4th — Sea Days 2 & 3
Readers of these boards will have varying styles of cruising on sea days. I love sea days because of the relaxation available.
Hi lites:
-we purchased a thermal suite package and started using it — very nice, however, the weight room in the fitness center is above the spa, so there are related sounds and bangs
-we ate dinner at Chops on Day 2. It was execellent
-Day 3 was the same with dinner at Izumi Hibachi — it was fun as always
November 5th — Day 4 — Sint Maarten
We chose to make this an easy beach day and took the water taxis from the port to the middle of Philipsburg for $7 round trip. We got off the water taxi after a five minute ride into the middle of the town. We turned right, headed toward the Lazy Lizard and rented two beach chairs and an umbrella for $20. It included a bucket of six beers or two cocktails. Lunch was extra for about $13 a plate. I had the curry chicken with voodoo shrimp appetizer. It was...BY FAR...the best meal I have had on a cruise vacation anywhere. We chose the Lazy Lizard because of reviews on Trip Advisor. Photos attached.
That evening, we watched 1977 in Studio B. The drones and the skating did not disappoint. 
November 6th — Day 5 –  San Juan, PR
I have been dying to get to this port for a while. We did the standard walk up the hill to Castillo del Morro and walked around absorbing some of the history of the magnificent place. We chose not to go to the other fort, and instead walked down the hill on the west side and and toured Casa Blanca where Ponca de Leon lived. The grounds were beautiful and the house was incredible considering how people of that time lived. 
We ate at the famous Barrachina restaurant near Cristo Street. I tried the mofongo combination with chicken, beef and shrimp along with a piña colada. It’s a little touristy, so it won’t be my choice for my next visit to San Juan. We did some shopping and headed back to the ship for a thermal suite session.
We watched Hiro in the Aqua Theater and were mesmerized.
Flowing Hiro, dinner was at Wonderland, an experience Royal Caribbean cruisers should experience once in a lifetime.
November 7th — Day 6 — Sea Day
- we lazed around and ended the evening watching Flight in the Main Theater  
November 8th — Day 7 — Perfect Day at Coco Cay

Seas were as smooth as a glass before sunrise. It was a beautiful and surreal experience walking onto deck 15 to see a Carival ship lit up as she passed by our starboard. A little later, a Norwegian ship sailed across our wake. They looked close enough to touch and were beautifully lit up.Sadly, I was dealing with condensation on my camera lenses, and didn’t have time to get a really cool photo.
-we found loungers behind the swim up bar  on Coco Cay and lazed around until lunch at the Snack Shack where we had the popular crispy chicken sandwich with fried mozzarella and marinara. It is a big step up from the standard fare from the old Coco Cay. The transformation of the island is mind blowing. 
November 6th — Disembarkation 
-I booked a late flight out of FLL, so we took our time getting off the ship
-we had breakfast in the main dining room and left the ship by 9:00 am
-we took a cab from the terminal to Miami Brightline on NW 1st in downtown Miami for $15. We bought Select tickets which gave us lounge access in the very nice, new train station

- the ride from Miami was about 30 minutes and included beverages and snacks served by an attendant in our carriage. The train experience on this line is as a good as any I have had in Europe. It was excellent. I was sad to have to get off in Fort Lauderdale.
-tickets may be pre-purchased online or at the station  — the process is pretty seamless  
-FLL is 3.5 miles from the Fort Lauderdale Brightline station, so a quick ride share will get you to/from the station and airport
-overall —> this short experience far surpassed dealing with a cab or ride share up I-95  — if you are flying out of FLL on a later flight, or if you are coming from a location near a Brightline station elsewhere in Florida, Orlando (future station planned) for example...THIS is how I would get to Port Miami, or Port Everglades — it is well worth it, especially considering the net cost was about the same as a cab would have been and a little higher than a ride share. I will be figuring other ways to use this service while in Florida in the future  — included are pics of the Fort Lauderdale Brightline Terminal and the inside of a carriage
 

What does it cost a for ship like Vision of the Seas to transit the Panama Canal?
Bill Benny admits he hasn't seen our bill but he can guestimate it pretty close.
Ship are charged based on capacity.  For cruise ships it's the number of berths regardless if they are being used or not.  For cargo ships it's based on their cargo capacity regardless of the amount of cargo actually being carried.  
Cruise ships pay $138 per berth.  To go through on a specific day they have to make a reservation.  This costs $35,000.  To go through in daylight hours also has a fee of $30,000.  The tugs come with a charge between $12,000 and $14,000.  The Panamanian sea men who come on board to handle the cables cost around $4,000.  Each cable on a locomotive has a $300 charge.  There are some other fees and charges that are pocket change in the bigger picture. 
Bill's guestimate for Vision is about $380,000.00.
Ship's are tagged with a new name when they transit.  We were N 29 Zulu.  Northbound, 29th ship of the day and zulu means preferential treatment (daytime reservation).
Remember the NCL Bliss that used the new locks last year?  They paid $880,000.00