wannabecruiseexpert

Day 4. Our first time to Costa Maya.  We have a 7 hour excursion scheduled. At some point throughout the night, DD6 started coughing more than usual. Like she needed mucinex. About 6 in the morning she “got sick” and was acting pretty whiny. 7:00…. still acting whiny. I understand a cough and throwing up isn’t abnormal for a little kid but in these covid times, I’m not taking any risks of us being responsible for getting someone else sick. 
 
So I messaged Smitha a little after 7 and told her what was happening and that I was going to call medical. By 7:20 I was off the phone with medical and they were sending a nurse to give her a covid test. 7:30 Smitha told me she had contacted shore excursions and told them what was happening. 7:35 test was done and we were told we’d get results in 45-60 minutes and for everyone to stay in the room. Now I’m not exaggerating when I say this but by 7:45, little one was 100% back to her normal self. No coughing. No whining. It was like someone flipped a switch. 8:33 she messaged me to see if I heard anything. Nope, still waiting. Since it has been an hour, she called medical. 8:37 she told me they have the results and would call me (if they had the results, what were we waiting on??) 8:42 they called and said it was negative but I needed to take her to get checked out. Smitha met us with an elevator at 8:47 and took us to medical and told us it’d be really quick and then left to go get the rest of my family so we could all go on the tour.
 
When we walk into medical, there’s a few people who appeared to be filling out paperwork and waiting. She’s triaged immediately then taken to a room. Doctor comes and explains to me that their typical swab test tests for 4 things….covid, influenza a, influenza b and rsv and that DD was negative for all. Told me not a gastro issue and that she seems phlegmy from allergies and needed to take benedryl and also that she needs to stay out of kids club today and tomorrow (days 4 and 5)
After making sure there’s no issues getting off the ship, we went to the elevator lobby where Smitha was waiting with my family. When we scanned our cards to get off, DD6 flashed red and said she couldn’t get off due to being unvaccinated and not having a ship sponsored excursion. Smitha talked to them and we got off. At this point it’s 9:30, almost 2 hours late. She handed us over to the shore excursion manager who walked us down the pier to meet our tour guide. 
 
Next up: the tour and being scared we were going to miss the ship

Day 3 (Cozumel) started with breakfast delivery from Coastal Kitchen and Starbucks 

I think we all like Johnny Rocket’s breakfast better. 

DD22 and her friend explores to port area, which equates to some drinking at Senor Frogs. 
DD14, her friend and I did a ship sponsored excursion swimming with dolphins. When we went to Cozumel in June on the Adventure sailing, we went to the same place but did the encounter. DD watched all of the people swimming with them and knew she’d want to do it the next time. The excursion included lunch and open bar. Rum punch was REALLY good and the kids quesadillas were very tasty. I had chicken nachos and they were just ok.
But that’s ok because when we returned to the ship, it was snack time….

After lunch we walked around more and when we got back we had more snacks 

 
More sushi! Smitha is doing a great job sending assorted mixed drinks for the adults and virgin drinks for the kids. Earlier I said I don’t eat sushi but those fried things in the picture at about 10 o’clock were amazing. Anyone know what those are called? 
The night before, one of my kids asked if there was anywhere to get a pickle, and I told her I didn’t think so but I would find out. I asked on Facebook and they said maybe the Windjammer but everything was already closed so I asked Smitha the next day if there was anywhere and she said they have sliced pickles didn’t know about big ones but she would find out. Less than 10 minutes later the doorbell rings and we got this

Smitha for the win!! 

On this trip we’re celebrating my oldest daughter’s college graduation. We arrived back to our room with this







She loved it!

On this trip we’re celebrating my oldest daughter’s college graduation. We arrived back to our room with this







She loved it!

Day 4. Our first time to Costa Maya.  We have a 7 hour excursion scheduled. At some point throughout the night, DD6 started coughing more than usual. Like she needed mucinex. About 6 in the morning she “got sick” and was acting pretty whiny. 7:00…. still acting whiny. I understand a cough and throwing up isn’t abnormal for a little kid but in these covid times, I’m not taking any risks of us being responsible for getting someone else sick. 
 
So I messaged Smitha a little after 7 and told her what was happening and that I was going to call medical. By 7:20 I was off the phone with medical and they were sending a nurse to give her a covid test. 7:30 Smitha told me she had contacted shore excursions and told them what was happening. 7:35 test was done and we were told we’d get results in 45-60 minutes and for everyone to stay in the room. Now I’m not exaggerating when I say this but by 7:45, little one was 100% back to her normal self. No coughing. No whining. It was like someone flipped a switch. 8:33 she messaged me to see if I heard anything. Nope, still waiting. Since it has been an hour, she called medical. 8:37 she told me they have the results and would call me (if they had the results, what were we waiting on??) 8:42 they called and said it was negative but I needed to take her to get checked out. Smitha met us with an elevator at 8:47 and took us to medical and told us it’d be really quick and then left to go get the rest of my family so we could all go on the tour.
 
When we walk into medical, there’s a few people who appeared to be filling out paperwork and waiting. She’s triaged immediately then taken to a room. Doctor comes and explains to me that their typical swab test tests for 4 things….covid, influenza a, influenza b and rsv and that DD was negative for all. Told me not a gastro issue and that she seems phlegmy from allergies and needed to take benedryl and also that she needs to stay out of kids club today and tomorrow (days 4 and 5)
After making sure there’s no issues getting off the ship, we went to the elevator lobby where Smitha was waiting with my family. When we scanned our cards to get off, DD6 flashed red and said she couldn’t get off due to being unvaccinated and not having a ship sponsored excursion. Smitha talked to them and we got off. At this point it’s 9:30, almost 2 hours late. She handed us over to the shore excursion manager who walked us down the pier to meet our tour guide. 
 
Next up: the tour and being scared we were going to miss the ship

I’ll get caught up with day 3 dinner and evening soon but here’s a spoiler for day 4……
It involves a sick kid, medical center, covid test, a very pricey private journeys tour that was scheduled at 7:45 (while we were quarantined to our room) 

After dinner we had an adult comedy show scheduled that DH & I had to miss because the little one was really cranky and needed to go to bed. The 2 older girls had a great time so we will probably try and catch it another time. 
 
We also had our first towel animals, which are one of the kids favorite things on a cruise 

After lunch we walked around more and when we got back we had more snacks 

 
More sushi! Smitha is doing a great job sending assorted mixed drinks for the adults and virgin drinks for the kids. Earlier I said I don’t eat sushi but those fried things in the picture at about 10 o’clock were amazing. Anyone know what those are called? 
The night before, one of my kids asked if there was anywhere to get a pickle, and I told her I didn’t think so but I would find out. I asked on Facebook and they said maybe the Windjammer but everything was already closed so I asked Smitha the next day if there was anywhere and she said they have sliced pickles didn’t know about big ones but she would find out. Less than 10 minutes later the doorbell rings and we got this

Smitha for the win!! 

Yesterday started with breakfast on the balcony from Johnny Rocket’s. I was worried about the temperature of the food but it was still hot.  
 
Today was a sea day and our first formal night. The big kids roamed the ship and we took the little one to the pool. I haven’t noticed any capacity limits for the pool but they were enforcing a limit of 7 (or 8 ) on the circle current thing that makes you swim around in circles. Not sure what it’s called but it was really neat and after a a few minutes we were told to get out, even though there were no people waiting to get in. I’ll take pics of it later.
For lunch, half of us went to Johnny Rocket’s and the other half went to Izumi for sushi. I don’t eat sushi but they said both the food and the service was great!
 
Our waiter at Johnny Rocket’s began telling us all the prices and how shakes were extra and then I asked if it was included in star class and he was like, “oh you have a black card? Forget everything I just said” Told us we could order anything we wanted and as much of it we wanted and then told us we could take the chairs if we wanted😂 Kids thought it was hilarious! It was also really great seeing the staff dance. DD6 got up and danced with them and it was so cute 🥰 
 

So getting on the ship was horrible! 

We arrive at 11:30 and didn’t get on the ship until about 1:20. It took forever to get the test result for the little one. Finally get the negative  email and finish checking in and we had no clue if we were supposed to wait for Smitha or not. I ask someone if we’re supposed to be with our genie and they went and asked a different person who told them that Smitha had been there waiting for us. 
 
Once we got with her, she took us to our room which was full of snacks and drinks. 
 

This post will be all about communications with our Genie.
Being that this is our first time, I had no clue what to expect other than what I've read on here. I did, however, know to expect a questionnaire. It came via email August 25, or 46 days before sailing. Honestly, I didn't fill it out. Seems to me that they don't give the genies useful information so we didn't take them time to complete it.
On September 4 (36 days before sailing) I received the first emailing from our Genie. We will have Smitha. It was a welcome email with a few attachments of all of the star class benefits and some regulations (such as not being able to enter stateroom if we are there). I replied to this email with a few generic requests and questions. Nothing worth noting.
A few days later I received a very detailed email. A few things that surprised me to note -
1. At this point, our official check in time was 1:00. I knew we could arrive 1 hour earlier. Smitha's email said:
Arrival:
When arriving to Terminal 1 at Port Canaveral please find the purple Star Class flag where two Terminal Genies will be greeting Star Class guests outside the entrance of the terminal.  They will escort you through security ensuring that a porter follows with your suitcases (please do not hand over your suitcases at the regular drop off area as we won't be able to expedite it). I will be at the second level of the terminal,  by the check-in area where you will be escorted to.  I will then escort you to your suite and will be delighted to assist you in any way desired, making sure your arrival experience is the best of what Royal Caribbean has to offer.
 Thank you for advising your arrival time confirmation to ensure a seamless boarding process and avoid any unnecessary wait. Boarding usually starts as from 11:30am so you may arrive at 11:00am and start check-in so you may board early.       I wasn't expecting to be able to arrive 2 hours early. I wonder if that's because we have a little one who needs to be tested at check-in. Not sure.
2. In the prior email I sent, I mentioned some candy the kids like - m&m's, etc. She replied merchandise sweets are not included unfortunately.      I was a little surprised by that one because I’ve seen countless photos and posts of bowls of m&m’s and candies.
3. She included a list of options for the mini bar.  As your mini bar is included, please let me know your beverage preferences in advance from the following options: Evian Water | Tonic Water | San Pelegrino sparkling water | Club Soda | Coca-Cola | Diet Coke | Coke Zero | Sprite | Sprite Zero | Fanta | Ginger Ale | Minute Maid Juice orange & apple |  Beer: Amstel Light, Budweiser, Bud Light, Coors Light, Corona, Guinness, Heineken, Miller Lite, Stella.

May I also ask if you prefer to be greeted with one of the following bottles: Champagne Moet Chandon Brut 750ml | Wine Chardonnay Cakebread Napa 750ml | Wine Pinot Noir Belle Glos Las Alturas Monterey 750ml | Wine Sauvignon Blanc Cloudy Bay New Zealand 750ml | Wine Cabernet Sauvignon Sequoia Grove Rutherford 750ml | Wine Merlot Duckhorn Vineyards Napa 750ml
 The rest of the email was basically describing all of the specialty restaurants and she did give us a preliminary dining and show schedule.
Countdown: 14 days until flight ; 16 days until boarding 

Day 4. Our first time to Costa Maya.  We have a 7 hour excursion scheduled. At some point throughout the night, DD6 started coughing more than usual. Like she needed mucinex. About 6 in the morning she “got sick” and was acting pretty whiny. 7:00…. still acting whiny. I understand a cough and throwing up isn’t abnormal for a little kid but in these covid times, I’m not taking any risks of us being responsible for getting someone else sick. 
 
So I messaged Smitha a little after 7 and told her what was happening and that I was going to call medical. By 7:20 I was off the phone with medical and they were sending a nurse to give her a covid test. 7:30 Smitha told me she had contacted shore excursions and told them what was happening. 7:35 test was done and we were told we’d get results in 45-60 minutes and for everyone to stay in the room. Now I’m not exaggerating when I say this but by 7:45, little one was 100% back to her normal self. No coughing. No whining. It was like someone flipped a switch. 8:33 she messaged me to see if I heard anything. Nope, still waiting. Since it has been an hour, she called medical. 8:37 she told me they have the results and would call me (if they had the results, what were we waiting on??) 8:42 they called and said it was negative but I needed to take her to get checked out. Smitha met us with an elevator at 8:47 and took us to medical and told us it’d be really quick and then left to go get the rest of my family so we could all go on the tour.
 
When we walk into medical, there’s a few people who appeared to be filling out paperwork and waiting. She’s triaged immediately then taken to a room. Doctor comes and explains to me that their typical swab test tests for 4 things….covid, influenza a, influenza b and rsv and that DD was negative for all. Told me not a gastro issue and that she seems phlegmy from allergies and needed to take benedryl and also that she needs to stay out of kids club today and tomorrow (days 4 and 5)
After making sure there’s no issues getting off the ship, we went to the elevator lobby where Smitha was waiting with my family. When we scanned our cards to get off, DD6 flashed red and said she couldn’t get off due to being unvaccinated and not having a ship sponsored excursion. Smitha talked to them and we got off. At this point it’s 9:30, almost 2 hours late. She handed us over to the shore excursion manager who walked us down the pier to meet our tour guide. 
 
Next up: the tour and being scared we were going to miss the ship

Yesterday started with breakfast on the balcony from Johnny Rocket’s. I was worried about the temperature of the food but it was still hot.  
 
Today was a sea day and our first formal night. The big kids roamed the ship and we took the little one to the pool. I haven’t noticed any capacity limits for the pool but they were enforcing a limit of 7 (or 8 ) on the circle current thing that makes you swim around in circles. Not sure what it’s called but it was really neat and after a a few minutes we were told to get out, even though there were no people waiting to get in. I’ll take pics of it later.
For lunch, half of us went to Johnny Rocket’s and the other half went to Izumi for sushi. I don’t eat sushi but they said both the food and the service was great!
 
Our waiter at Johnny Rocket’s began telling us all the prices and how shakes were extra and then I asked if it was included in star class and he was like, “oh you have a black card? Forget everything I just said” Told us we could order anything we wanted and as much of it we wanted and then told us we could take the chairs if we wanted😂 Kids thought it was hilarious! It was also really great seeing the staff dance. DD6 got up and danced with them and it was so cute 🥰 
 

On this trip we’re celebrating my oldest daughter’s college graduation. We arrived back to our room with this







She loved it!

Our tour was the Chacchoben Mayan Ruins and Bacalar Lagoon. So we’re about 2 hours late for a 7 hour tour. Gangway up is 3:30 and it’s 9:30. The tour guide said it’s no big deal and we would just shorten the stops by a little and we should arrive back by 3:10. He told me let him do all of the worrying about time.
The drive to the ruins was full of information about the locals and Mayan history. I found it very interesting. We get to the ruins after about 1 1/2 hours or somewhere there abouts. Told us to load up with bug spray and sunscreen and we started walking. Lots and lots of walking. We were told we could take photos but if we wanted to take video we needed to pay a fee. 

The little one probably enjoyed the ruins more than anyone else! She was practicing her Spanish with the tour guide. She walked up ruins I didn’t even go up due to being exhausted. After seeing all of the ruins we ended at a shop which only took cash. I wasn’t prepared for that and had cash for tipping so unfortunately we didn’t purchase anything. That’s been my only regret of the trip so far. 
 
We got back on the much needed air conditioned van and headed for the lagoon. Pictures looked amazing. It was anything but. It was like a dirty lake. When we first got there, there was 1 big bus full of people. We went to the buffet of chicken (good), steak (not good) and fruit and veggies that were good. There was an open bar and the staff made sure we always had a drink in hand. After we ate, we realized we were the only ones there. So that part was really nice. The had kayaks but we didn’t use them. The young teenagers were being grumps so they took naps on the chairs while everyone else changed into swimsuits and relaxed in the water. Very rocky so if you ever go, make sure to have water shoes! We left about 2 to head back to the ship. Everyone, including the tour guide, took a catnap 😂😴
We arrived back at the port right at 3:10, just like he said. The way back to the ship was VERY confusing. We would follow a sign that said back to ship and end up at a dead end to a pool. Or a bar. We were so confused. We were in a rush due to time and I still wasn’t able to get a souvenir from any of the shops. We try to get a magnet and shirt from every new stop.  We will be back in April so at least I can get one then. We finally find our way of the crazy maze and see a third ship, Carnival Breeze. I forgot to mention earlier that we were at Cozumel with Liberty OTS and a couple from the dolphin excursion told us they’d be in port with us at Costa Maya too. We step on the ship at 3:31. Not too bad for being 2 hours late and practically getting lost on the way back.










 
 
 
 

On this trip we’re celebrating my oldest daughter’s college graduation. We arrived back to our room with this







She loved it!

Our tour was the Chacchoben Mayan Ruins and Bacalar Lagoon. So we’re about 2 hours late for a 7 hour tour. Gangway up is 3:30 and it’s 9:30. The tour guide said it’s no big deal and we would just shorten the stops by a little and we should arrive back by 3:10. He told me let him do all of the worrying about time.
The drive to the ruins was full of information about the locals and Mayan history. I found it very interesting. We get to the ruins after about 1 1/2 hours or somewhere there abouts. Told us to load up with bug spray and sunscreen and we started walking. Lots and lots of walking. We were told we could take photos but if we wanted to take video we needed to pay a fee. 

The little one probably enjoyed the ruins more than anyone else! She was practicing her Spanish with the tour guide. She walked up ruins I didn’t even go up due to being exhausted. After seeing all of the ruins we ended at a shop which only took cash. I wasn’t prepared for that and had cash for tipping so unfortunately we didn’t purchase anything. That’s been my only regret of the trip so far. 
 
We got back on the much needed air conditioned van and headed for the lagoon. Pictures looked amazing. It was anything but. It was like a dirty lake. When we first got there, there was 1 big bus full of people. We went to the buffet of chicken (good), steak (not good) and fruit and veggies that were good. There was an open bar and the staff made sure we always had a drink in hand. After we ate, we realized we were the only ones there. So that part was really nice. The had kayaks but we didn’t use them. The young teenagers were being grumps so they took naps on the chairs while everyone else changed into swimsuits and relaxed in the water. Very rocky so if you ever go, make sure to have water shoes! We left about 2 to head back to the ship. Everyone, including the tour guide, took a catnap 😂😴
We arrived back at the port right at 3:10, just like he said. The way back to the ship was VERY confusing. We would follow a sign that said back to ship and end up at a dead end to a pool. Or a bar. We were so confused. We were in a rush due to time and I still wasn’t able to get a souvenir from any of the shops. We try to get a magnet and shirt from every new stop.  We will be back in April so at least I can get one then. We finally find our way of the crazy maze and see a third ship, Carnival Breeze. I forgot to mention earlier that we were at Cozumel with Liberty OTS and a couple from the dolphin excursion told us they’d be in port with us at Costa Maya too. We step on the ship at 3:31. Not too bad for being 2 hours late and practically getting lost on the way back.










 
 
 
 

On this trip we’re celebrating my oldest daughter’s college graduation. We arrived back to our room with this







She loved it!

Our tour was the Chacchoben Mayan Ruins and Bacalar Lagoon. So we’re about 2 hours late for a 7 hour tour. Gangway up is 3:30 and it’s 9:30. The tour guide said it’s no big deal and we would just shorten the stops by a little and we should arrive back by 3:10. He told me let him do all of the worrying about time.
The drive to the ruins was full of information about the locals and Mayan history. I found it very interesting. We get to the ruins after about 1 1/2 hours or somewhere there abouts. Told us to load up with bug spray and sunscreen and we started walking. Lots and lots of walking. We were told we could take photos but if we wanted to take video we needed to pay a fee. 

The little one probably enjoyed the ruins more than anyone else! She was practicing her Spanish with the tour guide. She walked up ruins I didn’t even go up due to being exhausted. After seeing all of the ruins we ended at a shop which only took cash. I wasn’t prepared for that and had cash for tipping so unfortunately we didn’t purchase anything. That’s been my only regret of the trip so far. 
 
We got back on the much needed air conditioned van and headed for the lagoon. Pictures looked amazing. It was anything but. It was like a dirty lake. When we first got there, there was 1 big bus full of people. We went to the buffet of chicken (good), steak (not good) and fruit and veggies that were good. There was an open bar and the staff made sure we always had a drink in hand. After we ate, we realized we were the only ones there. So that part was really nice. The had kayaks but we didn’t use them. The young teenagers were being grumps so they took naps on the chairs while everyone else changed into swimsuits and relaxed in the water. Very rocky so if you ever go, make sure to have water shoes! We left about 2 to head back to the ship. Everyone, including the tour guide, took a catnap 😂😴
We arrived back at the port right at 3:10, just like he said. The way back to the ship was VERY confusing. We would follow a sign that said back to ship and end up at a dead end to a pool. Or a bar. We were so confused. We were in a rush due to time and I still wasn’t able to get a souvenir from any of the shops. We try to get a magnet and shirt from every new stop.  We will be back in April so at least I can get one then. We finally find our way of the crazy maze and see a third ship, Carnival Breeze. I forgot to mention earlier that we were at Cozumel with Liberty OTS and a couple from the dolphin excursion told us they’d be in port with us at Costa Maya too. We step on the ship at 3:31. Not too bad for being 2 hours late and practically getting lost on the way back.










 
 
 
 

Yes, Starbucks is included with all star class suites.

On this trip we’re celebrating my oldest daughter’s college graduation. We arrived back to our room with this







She loved it!

On this trip we’re celebrating my oldest daughter’s college graduation. We arrived back to our room with this







She loved it!

Yes, Starbucks is included with all star class suites.

Day 4. Our first time to Costa Maya.  We have a 7 hour excursion scheduled. At some point throughout the night, DD6 started coughing more than usual. Like she needed mucinex. About 6 in the morning she “got sick” and was acting pretty whiny. 7:00…. still acting whiny. I understand a cough and throwing up isn’t abnormal for a little kid but in these covid times, I’m not taking any risks of us being responsible for getting someone else sick. 
 
So I messaged Smitha a little after 7 and told her what was happening and that I was going to call medical. By 7:20 I was off the phone with medical and they were sending a nurse to give her a covid test. 7:30 Smitha told me she had contacted shore excursions and told them what was happening. 7:35 test was done and we were told we’d get results in 45-60 minutes and for everyone to stay in the room. Now I’m not exaggerating when I say this but by 7:45, little one was 100% back to her normal self. No coughing. No whining. It was like someone flipped a switch. 8:33 she messaged me to see if I heard anything. Nope, still waiting. Since it has been an hour, she called medical. 8:37 she told me they have the results and would call me (if they had the results, what were we waiting on??) 8:42 they called and said it was negative but I needed to take her to get checked out. Smitha met us with an elevator at 8:47 and took us to medical and told us it’d be really quick and then left to go get the rest of my family so we could all go on the tour.
 
When we walk into medical, there’s a few people who appeared to be filling out paperwork and waiting. She’s triaged immediately then taken to a room. Doctor comes and explains to me that their typical swab test tests for 4 things….covid, influenza a, influenza b and rsv and that DD was negative for all. Told me not a gastro issue and that she seems phlegmy from allergies and needed to take benedryl and also that she needs to stay out of kids club today and tomorrow (days 4 and 5)
After making sure there’s no issues getting off the ship, we went to the elevator lobby where Smitha was waiting with my family. When we scanned our cards to get off, DD6 flashed red and said she couldn’t get off due to being unvaccinated and not having a ship sponsored excursion. Smitha talked to them and we got off. At this point it’s 9:30, almost 2 hours late. She handed us over to the shore excursion manager who walked us down the pier to meet our tour guide. 
 
Next up: the tour and being scared we were going to miss the ship