Va4fam

We did Pompeii on our own in the morning and then did a Vespa tour of Naples in the afternoon.   Would love to go to Amalfi next time but not enough time to do both properly.

You can bring 12 cans or bottles (16.9oz or less) per cabin. 
https://www.royalcaribbean.com/faq/questions/food-drink-onboard-policy

We did Pompeii on our own in the morning and then did a Vespa tour of Naples in the afternoon.   Would love to go to Amalfi next time but not enough time to do both properly.

We did Pompeii on our own in the morning and then did a Vespa tour of Naples in the afternoon.   Would love to go to Amalfi next time but not enough time to do both properly.

Empress of the Seas (late February 2020).   We were one of the last cruises before the pandemic and don't think she was brought back.
She was small, and you could feel motion when the wind kicked up, but the best all around crew we've sailed with and had everything we needed for an enjoyable trip.
 

Empress of the Seas (late February 2020).   We were one of the last cruises before the pandemic and don't think she was brought back.
She was small, and you could feel motion when the wind kicked up, but the best all around crew we've sailed with and had everything we needed for an enjoyable trip.
 

We hit 140 points on the 2nd to last night of our Brilliance cruise last summer.   
I met the LA at the top tier event and she confirmed we would receive during the cruise.
Sure enough, we received a "Symphony of the Seas" block during the cruise. 

Cruise #2 Days 3 & 4
Well - Nothing spoils a sunny vacation better than a sunburn, and I pride myself on doing things very well...I got a terrible sunburn on Sunday while in Cabo hanging at the pool visiting with a nice couple.  I've spent the better part of the last two days hiding from the beautiful sunshine to recover, and hubby stuck with me to keep me company.  So sweet! 🥰  Being forced to be out of the sun led us to meeting some fabulous new friends in the Diamond Lounge, so I can't say it was spoiled entirely. 
Sunday's dinner wasn't that great, so we avoided dinner Monday (day 3) in the dining room, and ventured up to the Windjammer.  That wasn't the experience we wanted, so we tried the dining room again tonight (day 4).  I think Windjammer might have been better than tonight's dining room dinner.  I wasn't in the mood for the Italian themed options, so I ordered the New York Strip (medium rare) and it arrived to my table very blue (extremely rare) but showing grill marks on the outside as though they put it on the grill for about 20 seconds on each side.  My vegetables and baked potato were both hot (which was new from Sunday's dinner), so I began eating those while I waited for the server to come back and check.  When I told him the temperature was incorrect, he immediately whisked away my entire plate (including the potato and veggies I was happily enjoying) and promptly brought another, that was also extremely rare.  He came back and checked and again wanted to whisk away my plate, but I had made the mistake of prepping my potato and veggies again before trying the steak, so I requested to keep it.  Besides, I had just used the last of the butter in the vicinity (our neighboring table offered their butter since the server didn't bring any).  Unfortunately, I didn't get to eat much of the prepped veggies and potato because he arrived moments later with another plate of food.  I checked the steak while he was there this time (since it was the third attempt) and it as correct this time.  However, he took away my old plate and I was again left with a potato with no butter.  I ate my steak and didn't bother with the rest of the plate because dry baked potatoes aren't appealing to me and I had already indulged in enough broccoli and carrots on the last two plates.  We're pretty much over the dining room now.  Tomorrow is supposed to be lobster night, and I'm not sure it will be worth it.  We'll see.  🦞
We found a fun game show last night to take my mind off of this terrible sunburn.  In the Star Lounge, they had Rock the Room and it was quite interactive.  There were about 5 or 6 people who frequented the floor and it got pretty competitive at the end.  It was good old fashioned entertainment and fun.  We stayed in when the place cleared out and listened to Frequency (band) for a bit, and attempted dancing a couple of songs.  We're rusty, but had fun anyway.  When the band took a break, we headed up to bed.  
The time change is interesting on this cruise.  We've had to change our time twice heading down to Puerto Vallarta, and now we'll change it twice again on the way back.  This time, I get to gain an hour of sleep each night, which is very nice for me working in the morning on east coast hours.  I've set my phone/watch to east coast hours so I don't have to worry about changing my time each night and worrying about alarms.  
Tonight, the ship is moving more than it has over the last week and a half because we're heading back to LA.  For me, the movement of the ship is kind of lulling, so I'm going to sleep like a baby tonight!  😴
 

He just did a song a long in the Promenade and it was pretty packed.  I think they realized how good he is!  I bet you’ll get to see him perform while you’re in!

I booked a casita two days on Wonder last summer. One was a port day and it was probably a waste as there were plenty of loungers available. On the sea day we would not have had lounger if not for the casita. 
I booked ahead on the cruise planner, but to pick the location I had to go to one of the bars near the pool deck from 9 am on the day to reserve the specific casita. I then had to go back to the bar to check in later in the day when we came back to actually use it.  Some had already been booked by 9 am and had their names written on the casitas. I assumes those were star class as I wasn’t given the option for choosing ahead and our name was never written on ours.  
We did have someone’s stuff on our casita when we got there on the pool day but the attendant moved it. 
It didn’t offer the best protection from the sun but I’d consider booking one again for a sea day especially as we don’t tend to hit the pool deck early so have less chance of finding loungers. 

Hubby likes Crown Royal and I like rum. I got Malibu Rum for my drinks last night and can add them to any drink I order tonight because I usually order rum-based cocktails. I’ll post tomorrow how it worked out for us. 

Thanks @CravingaCruisefor the Andy update.   He was definitely on our Empress sailing and entertained us in the Schooner Bar each night back then.  Hope he will still be performing when we board this Friday.
Getting your drinks in advance is a brilliant idea.  What type of drinks did you order that will save until the next day?   I can't even get a paper straw to last long enough to finish a frozen cocktail.

Thanks @CravingaCruisefor the Andy update.   He was definitely on our Empress sailing and entertained us in the Schooner Bar each night back then.  Hope he will still be performing when we board this Friday.
Getting your drinks in advance is a brilliant idea.  What type of drinks did you order that will save until the next day?   I can't even get a paper straw to last long enough to finish a frozen cocktail.

Andy Elton is the impersonator.  He's awesome!  Royal really missed out on keeping him.
It didn't really feel like many got off in Ensenada - the ship was pretty full all day.
We will definitely be trying the coaster!  We walked back there the other day to see where it was and how to get there - it's quite a maze back there.  We're waiting for it to be just a tad warmer!

We rented a Casita on our last cruise and yes, all day. We like the button you can push service even though we were in front of bar so they were always available! You get water included in an ice bucket and we ended up getting a nice fruit plate that was delivered to us. We liked how we can have a designated space to relax. You choose your Casita location when you sign up on ship. 

You should be fine with the day you've reserved. The only time I observed crowds on the pool decks and solarium were during sea days. I believe you'll enjoy the casita (we only live once)!

Navigator, Freedom, Oasis, Odyssey, and Wonder have them. Mariner does not.

I certainly get cost:benefit ratio wrong but I never do something that I have decided isn't worth it in advance. 

If it helps at all, I just got off Navigator this week and spent every morning of my 3 night cruise up on the jogging track at 5am. At 5am, the chalkboard signs for the reserved casitas already had names on them for the day ("Welcome, Smith Family!"). So, it really is aaaaaall day.
I also agree with @14Terry- it was flipping COLD up there on the pool deck! I felt sorry for all the people competing in the belly flop competition - there I was wearing a coat and wrapped in my blanket while they were in swim trunks only... 🤣 Pool deck and Solarium were NOT crowded, but the hot tubs were!!!

We will also be on a Cruise this Easter. I would love to know as well. ours is not on boarding day. 
 
I did liberty in 2019 out of Galveston and they had some decorations. They had Flowers for sale (I feel more roses then normal. most formal nights they sell some bouquets) They also had specialty valentines dining and If I remember a jewelry sale. 

Just completed a B2B on the Navigator in January. Not certain when your cruise is but it was pretty chilly on board (Lido deck) the first 2 days or so upon departing the LA cruise terminal. Not many casitas were occupied. About the 3rd day it warmed up enough. And as Xaa said, its yours for the day. Enjoy your casita and your cruise 😀!

Yes, you can come and go as you please.  It's yours for the day.

We were on Liberty last Valentine's Day. They decorated one end of the Promenade with a string of red and white balloons (like a balloon arch that was upside down) , and they had balloons around some of the venues too. I don't recall anything special like a themed triva, but they did have a special dinner at Chops that included a glass of champagne, lobster, and some sort of dessert in addition to the standard menu. It was quite a bit more than the standard fee. $80ish per person comes to mind. I may have posted about it in the live blog linked in my signature. 

They had special Valentine reservations at specialty restaurants. I didn’t get to go as I got Covid the day before the cruise.

We did an Easter cruise last year on Anthem.  Easter was embarkation day and the only thing I saw was Catholic mass in the music hall.  No bunnies or eggs or anything like that.