Ferramc

I could live in that room for a very long, long time. Completely envious right now!

5 MONTHS - hard to believe. I had to check that today was really the 14th and then had to double check my math . It seemed like a lifetime ago that I booked this cruise - which actually it what since we were supposed to cruise in May 2020. Now 5 months seems like nothing! We are getting really excited. I am seriously thinking about renting a private boat/yacht in Cozumel. I had one booked for our 2020 cruise at a relatively decent rate, but prices are definitely a lot higher so I’m waiting a bit before deciding. Odds are I’ll do it! As I’ve read here many times -YOLO! My daughter in law told me she’s ready to go - for real (how’s that for a 1980’s expression). She has clothes and all sorts of odds and ends put aside. Now my son will probably wait until 3 days before we sail to figure out what he needs to bring! Anyway, I am so hoping that cruising continues and that there are no new restrictions (and possibly less) by the time May gets here! Til next time……..

Wow. That is so easy! Thanks for letting me know!

Woohoo! 6 months to go! 🛥🛥🛥 I ended up booking 2 refundable bay view rooms at both the Marriott and Doubletree in Biscayne Bay - my plan is to watch reviews and pricing over the coming months and decide closer to the cruise. So air and hotel reservations are all set for 5 of the 7 of us traveling. Jackie and Dave - my husband’s niece and her husband (who are pretty much the same ages as my husband and me) are booking their arrangements separately but I know they’ll get it done soon! The last month has flown by as work was pretty busy and I expect that the next 2 months will as well, but I am dreading the wait between mid January to May. I keep reading the truly live blogs and guess they’ll have to do until it’s my turn! By the way - does anyone know how to edit the title of a blog? Thanks.

Thanks to all - we are going in May and that seems to be a time with higher rates (ie the air bnb ends up being 1200 for the night with fees). Leaning more to doubletree - I can book 2 refundable rooms with points and watch if prices go down there or anywhere else.

I’m in the process of booking a one night pre-cruise stay in Miami. 3 of us will be getting in after 630pm and 2 others around 1pm (there are 2 more people joining us but they are going to book on their own). I checked into pricing for the Intercontinental and the and the Epic but I’m looking at over 1k for 2 bayside rooms. I can book the doubletree in the same area for a lot less but would love to know if others have been happy there. The Marriott is another lower cost option. We are going all out for this trip in other ways (we have the villa) and I wouldn’t mind spending extra if we were actually going to be there longer. The practical and thrifty side of me is cringing at spending that much just to sleep. The bougie side of me says yolo. Thanks for any guidance you can give.

7 months to go! I booked flights for 5 of us (immediate family) and used credit card points to book first class! We’re flying in the day before to avoid stress and we want to get on the ship as early as allowed. The other 2 travelers will be booking their flights soon (hopefully). I also booked the pet sitter - leaving my 2 dogs is going to be the hardest part of the trip. Now I’m starting to look at Miami hotels or Airbnb’s for the night before. Reading blogs to get insights and tips. 3 of us won’t be arriving until after 6pm but my son and daughter-in-law will get there around 1pm. I am so dreading winter and this trip is the major thing I am looking forward to that will help me get through it (although I may try to find a short trip in January to break up the winter months). Until next month………

Forgot to add - we had to drive to CT since we had our 2 dogs with us. They did amazingly well, especially for 8 1/2 year old pups who’ve never traveled before.

8 months and counting! I am loving the updates from the truly live bloggers and can’t wait until it’s my turn! This monthly count down helps me with the wait - just a little. in the past month we sold our Michigan home, knowing we would be homeless for a month until our rental would be available (we sold ‘high’ and are banking the profit until we’re ready to figure out our more permanent move to somewhere warmer). We decided to drive 12 hours from Michigan to our home state of Connecticut so that we could spend time with family. This ties into our cruise plans as the points I earned using a new credit card on the hotel bill will cover 2 first class tickets to Miami next year! And yes, I paid off the card immediately! My husband also earned points on his card that should cover our daughter’s airfare. Now the challenge is to figure out how to pay for my son and daughter-in-law’s flights with points too . I’m holding off booking as the flights are really expensive right now. Figure I’ll give it another month or two. Well, here’s looking forward to another month down!

Congratulations! It was great to read your update.

That sundae looks amazing!

My monthly countdown continues……..only 9 months to go! Here’s a quick update: Airfare - first class prices are really high but we want to stay in ‘ star class’ mode for this trip. So knowing we had a large expense coming up this month, I researched credit card offers. I found two - one each for my husband and I - that once we use them and charge our planned expense - the amount of large reward points will more than cover first class airfare! And yes, I will pay the cards off immediately to avoid high interest fees. I love nothing better than a deal and free airfare! Co- travelers - We had dinner last night with two of our traveling party. They really did not know what star class includes so we had a wonderful time enlightening them! Especially about the food coma???? that I’ve read so much about thanks to other bloggers! Roll call - still waiting for others to join the 5/14/22 roll call ? Know there must be others out there who will be joining us. Well ……til next month.

If it’s real, your price is better than mine (1699). We have 7 adults so we figured it will be worth it. Plus as many of you say, yolo! Now I’m working on the best deal for first class tickets for our flight (at least mine and my husbands) . Most likely going to use the sky mile points I’ve been saving.

We booked the overwater cabana about 6 weeks ago to lock it in. The only other thing I would book is the photo package (if it has a good price) but it hasn’t come yet.

Only 10 months to go! It may sound crazy but we’re already talking about the food we’re going to eat. I’ve been sharing stories and pictures with my family from this site - it has the most amazing info thanks to so many bloggers. Now my family is anxiously anticipating the often referenced ‘food coma’ ?. You are all greatly appreciated. ??

Same here! We’re going star class on Symphony next year and treating them all the way! We were very financially challenged for much of their childhood years, so I feel very fortunate to be able to share travel experiences with them now.

I’m really hoping everything works out for you and you get to go -also really looking forward to hearing about your experiences!

Just a small update ..... we booked the Coco Cay overwater cabana! It will definitely be an extravagance, but with 7 adults chipping in we figured it would be worth it! I know we’re a long way off, so I’ll keep checking the price to see if it goes down.

So, I’ve been anxiously waiting for this one year countdown to begin! We were supposed to be cruising star class last year, but then this wretched little bug started going around.......??? As one who looks for silver linings, I will say that I got a better cabin (4 bedroom villa) at an even better price for this cruise than I had for the cancelled one! And there will be much more room for all of us (we went from 5 to 7 travelers since we had the extra bedrooms)! But I’m really hoping that roominess in no longer an issue and that the term social distancing is a very distant memory by then ???? So, here’s to the countdown! May the days go fast and the ridiculously out of touch CDC go ....... well, I really don’t care where they go as long as they let cruising resume!

Please add Symphony of the Seas. May 14, 2022. Thank you!

By the way - we will be happy to host a cabin get together for blog members who book the same cruise (assuming Royal doesn’t cut that offering post Covid). Just 536 days to go! Bet you can’t tell I’m excited! And in desperate need of a cruise!

We like May the best - nice weather, not over crowded with kids since they’re still in school (our kids are adults now ? ) and it’s our wedding anniversary month. I can also usually find great deals. I typically luck out booking in the same year as the sailing, but knowing I really, really, wanted the villa I knew I had to book as soon as the sailings opened up. Since I knew we wanted the Caribbean and a newer ship (our ‘kids’ haven’t been on a cruise in over 10 years and we want to make it special) I picked the May date with the best itinerary for us and when the room showed open, I immediately booked. You should have seen me running downstairs from bed to go get my credit card! I could only book 4 of us on line and didn’t believe I really got it until I spoke with a royal rep to add the 5th person as soon as they opened. I added the 6/7 people a couple of days later when we confirmed that the funnest couple in our extended family could join us! This will be first time star class for us and we all can’t wait. We worked our way up from the tiniest interior, lower deck cabins to our first grand suite over a 25 year period. We also had about a 10 year pause in cruising in that period until 2 years ago - the teen years were difficult and there was no way would we all have survived in one cabin. Now we’ll have 4 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms. No privacy or space issues as there are 3 couples and 1 single And all the food and drink necessary to keep everyone extremely happy! I hope you get to travel next May.

We have 7 adults booked for May 2022 on symphony. I got what I consider an amazing deal. Approx 15k after a 1k credit. Less than 2,300 per person. We will get more than our money’s worth. Passengers 3-7 were about 1k each. Plus my TA has also given a very nice amount in cruise credit. I watched the boards for a couple of weeks and booked at 645 am the morning the bookings opened up.

Even before I looked up your location info, I knew you had to be living in Michigan! I’m mid state, so I wasn’t personally impacted, but have some co- workers who were. Overall, this is a year I’m sure none of us will forget Here’s to hoping that 2021 offers you more positive experiences, beginning with your cruise!

Definitely find others while the great additional passenger deals are out there. We ended up with 7 and are stopping there. My two adult kids, daughter in law, a niece who’s my age, her husband (really fun people) and my husband and me. So the 4 bedrooms are gone. The 3rd -7th passengers are only $960 each. Now we all just have to wait 18 months. Argh.