Ogilthorpe

Day 6: San Juan
This morning I woke up late and skipped exercise because I was still wiped out from St Maarten. We just took breakfast from WJ and ate at the balcony. Btw, I was not able to get any sunrise picture on this cruise due to a combination of waking up too late, clouds, and the orientation of the ship. Some days I would wake up early enough, and the sky was clear, but we were totally facing the wrong way, and I didn't feel like going all the way to the top deck in my PJs just to chase the sunrise. 
In San Juan, once again we were docked next to Allure, which I thought was pretty cool. Because we docked very early, a lot of shops were still closed when we first explored San Juan, although after lunch things were a lot more lively.

We did not book any excursions because many friends and relatives told us that San Juan is small enough that you can do a self-guided walking tour. If anyone is interested, we used the app called GPSmyCity. I would rate it pretty high, but it's a bit annoying with the constant push to sell you the upgraded version. We just chose the itinerary that looks interesting, get the list of places and eyeball the map, and plug in the location to google maps ourselves. Plus it was raining so we had to modify it a little bit depending on when the rain was supposed to hit (for example, we skipped Casa Rosa and Casa Blanca, but added the fort. We did the gate first and walked around the trail to the fort).
Warning: it is definitely a lot of walking and stairs. No problem if you are fit, but in laws had to walk slowly especially when climbing stairs.


DW loves cats so we also enjoyed looking at a colony (is that the right word?) of cats along the trail

The fort is amazing both when viewed from the fort itself, or from the city. We would definitely recommend this stop if you go to San Juan.

Afterwards we had lunch at a restaurant called Rincon Iberico, located in the museum by the entrance of the fort. It has authentic Spanish cuisine. The paella was amazing, but the food did take a long time to come out. Perhaps related to the fact that we were there early (around 11).
After lunch, we took a taxi back to the pier, but we asked to be dropped off a few blocks away to continue shopping, now that the stores were open. In San Juan, it was very easy to find taxis near tourist areas. Supposedly there is uber service, but although I had internet connectivity, the app didn't really load for me. 
Anyways, is it just me or Adventure and Allure looked to be about the same height? Is it a trick of the cameras?

We went back to the ship around 1:30 pm, and we spent the afternoon in the Solarium again. National Treasure was playing by the main pool, that's why we retreated to the Solarium. I did slides once again, and because of the cloudy weather, it was empty. Thing is, it's just not as fun riding the slides when the ship is docked because you miss the rocking of the boat, so it became just like a regular waterpark slide. Nevertheless, I went like 5 times in a row. The in laws ate some afternoon snacks in the WJ during this time. 
On the way back to our room I passed by the Solarium pool, and I realized that it was closed. However, there were people in the pool. Upon closer inspection, they were the crew, being trained on their lifeguard duties. The instructor said something about "grab them not here but here...." I thought that was really cool.
Right before dinner we did a bit more shopping. Remember the $10 flat sales that I mentioned earlier and wished I had bought more of? It's back! I'm so glad it's back, although the selection was a lot fewer this time, but at least they still had the main items. 
Tonight was both the second formal night at the MDR and the British-themed dinner at the WJ, coupled with chocolate buffet. This was an agonizing decision to make, but in the end we decided to eat in the WJ (mainly because under no circumstances did I want to miss the chocolate buffet). Now recall that we had tickets for the 9pm showing of the ice show, which would mean we would have rushed through the MDR dinner anyways. So now everything worked out perfectly. We had an early-ish dinner (around 6:30) at the WJ.
The dinner was delicious. My favorite was battered fish (as in fish and chips, but I skipped the chips), and seafood pot pie. But the part where I did the most damage was the chocolate buffet. They had a line set up about an arm's length from the buffet, and there were crew members getting the items to us (so we were not allowed to get the items ourselves). If it was a cake, then they sliced the cake for us. I guess this is to keep the chocolate items looking pretty throughout the buffet.





 
My favorite here was the tiramisu, because I finished two whole cups of tiramisu all by myself. Oh and all of those plates above? Those were mine (not shared with DW). I finished them all! ? Apologies that I did not take the picture of the buffet line (or the buffet spread) because both my hands were occupied holding two plates AND a glass of chocolate mousse.
Random comment about chocolate buffet: I live in Boston, and one day while taking the commuter ferry (in September 2019), I passed by a cruise ship that looked to be Voyager-class. Out of curiosity I peeked at the name, and golly it was Adventure of the Seas!! This was about a couple weeks after we booked our cruise, so of course I got excited and posted this on the facebook group. That same night, somebody posted on the Royal Caribbean Dining that they were having chocolate buffet right that very moment. So I promised myself that if there was a chocolate buffet on our cruise, I would not miss it for the world.
After dinner we went to the ice show. Because we got there early, we got really good seats; center section, second row from the front. Ok I wished it had been front row because the performers gave high fives to that row from time to time, but oh well.

After the ice show, we went back to the room. My in laws got peacocks with googly eyes, whereas we got elephants without googly eyes ?


 
Comments about the ice show:
This is by far my favorite performance during the whole cruise. Some of you may disagree and that's fine. I do think that the singers and dancers are very talented, but I'm just a sucker for figure skating performance in general, so I'm definitely biased. The captain of the team was on the male national team for... Slovenia, I think? So you're getting close to olympic-level performance whenever he does a solo.The rest of the team were maybe a bit less than national team level performers but still very good. 
What I liked the most was just how well-choreographed the moves were. This is something that you miss from olympic performances, because at most you're getting two (pairs or ice dance) or solo, but you never see 5 people doing double loops together. Ok I have to admit the timing is not as clean as it could be, but give them a break.... they're skating... on a rocking ship. 
The main soloist (the captain) was definitely good. I think he did a triple jump once, but the rest of the jumps were doubles and singles, but considering that the whole show was 50 minutes long and he was in most of the scenes, you'd have to admire his stamina. The rest of the skaters were also very entertaining. They were not just executing the moves, but you can see the spirit and enjoyment in what they did, which is eventually what dance performance should be about.

Today is our last day at sea. I’m not a very good blogger?. It has been a great cruise even with problems. Everyone has been very kind. Little M adores the kids club. Most of staff know her. She is a bundle of energy. I think I have all of the cruise compasses and the kids club for 3-8 years. I forgot to pick up teen and tween compasses. This was worth the 2 year wait.

To answer your question I haven’t encountered any disloyalty from Royal Caribbean.  
As a D+ I’ve encountered many times the concierge lounge becoming over subscribed and the need for them to accommodate D+ in an expanded Diamond area.  That’s always worked very well.  The result is no loss of benefits.  
As far as upgrades go, those are not promised to anyone.  No D+ should ever get upset over a missed upgrade.  If they did give out upgrades by CAS status a Pinnacle would have received the upgrade so either way you lost out on nothing.
Instead be happy for your friends.  

I hope everyone enjoyed my blog and learned something about Celebrity and Equinox. I will continue to consider Celebrity cruises when cruising without my kids especially if they offer promotions that give free perks. I hope to see you onboard my next RC cruise which is the blog group cruise on Brilliance of the Seas in October. If you have any further questions please post them in this thread. 
 
Jason Peterson 
 

I forgot to mention the app which runs on the same platform as the RC app. It had the chat feature that we didn’t use since we ha had the internet package and have iPhones. It also had the unlock your room door feature which I don’t find to be convenient since I usually have pockets for my sea pass card. I am throwing in a picture of Symphony if the Seas departing Miami as we passes by the port on our way to Cozumel and some pictures of the pool deck, solarium and lawn club. Cabanas in the lawn club were $99 on port days and $249 on sea days. 
 

Equinox is one of the newer and larger ships in the fleet which has also been revitalized recently in the half billion dollar fleet upgrade program. It is a very popular ship in the fleet. I heard mixed opinions from people both onboard and online but I think it comes down to pre research and expectations and prior cruise experience to select the right cruise ship, itinerary and line. My opinion is Celebrity is a very nice and slightly premium cruise line that is a bit of an upgrade from mainstream cruise lines. It has a more elegant design and decor than the mainstream lines.  The level of service is also slightly better and more refined.  It does lack some of the signature activities that mainstream lines offer like rock walls. It is more of a relaxing cruise than the average ship, more adult oriented. There is also less of a hard sell to buy more stuff like specialty dining and drink packages except the first day. 
 
A few other random things. They only have paper straws and sometimes I wasn’t given a straw and had to ask for one if I desired it. The World Class bar had drinks that were mostly $12 covered by the premium drink package (up to $15) while the classic included drinks up to $9. This bar had higher quality ingredients including syrups made from scratch and several specialty drinks unique to this location. Specialty dining on a shorter cruise was almost entirely booked by the afternoon of the next to last day except for some parties larger than two. Curious that they didn’t want to seat us at a larger table to guarantee additional revenue as opposed to hoping a larger party might still make a reservation. They also didn’t charge us for our specialty dining we booked onboard until we showed up. I have heard some people book onboard at a significant discount same day but I would discourage this based on my experience on a shorter cruise unless you could make your reservation for later in the cruise. The casino was smoke free. It was not large but adequate. A little crowded at peak times and a $10 minimum for table games. I included a picture of the dining room chairs based on a request. 

CROWN AND ANCHOR MEMBERS
Anybody suffered disloyalty from rccl  
Me and my husband are diamond plus members, we booked 3 cabins, 1 for us and one each for friends who are. Are all first time cruisers
we booked the same category cabin, at the same price at the same time with the same rccl staff member.  He gave us individual booking reference nos. But I specifically asked for all three bookings to be linked so that what we could sit at the same table etc. Me and my husband both celebrate our birthday on next weeks dubai cruise!!
On 24th dec we received email saying that diamond plus members would not be allowed into concierge due to high number of loyalty memberbers on board - ok, not the Christmas present we would expect but as all 6 of us have a drinks package we didn’t worry too much
HOWEVER, this is where the DISLOYALTY really hurts. We receive an email  saying there was a change to one of our friends reservation. - they have been upgraded from balcony to Grand Suite. That’s great for them, a kick in the teeth for us LOYALTY MEMBERS 
do you all realise that first time cruisers get upgrades over loyalty members 
WHAT IS THE BENEFIT OF BEING LOYAL TO RCCL?
we called the office to explain our surprise and disappointment at being snubbed but were told the office who allocate cabins had left (this was 2pm USA time) so nothing they could do 
LOYALTY MEMBERS BEWARE OF DISLOYALTY FROM RCCL

Just wanted to share! 17 days until we sail! 
 
So excited!

Hello Everyone,
just received this email. :) I thought that I would share this email as it outlines suite benefits for the Explorer of the Seas with the hopes that it may benefit someone else that has questions related to this ship.
I am counting the minutes, Kiki :).
 

Day 7: Labadee
Day 7 is Labadee, which is a private section owned by Royal Caribbean, but technically part of Haiti. I woke up early, but again failed to capture the sunrise. This is the best I got (the real sunrise is on the other side of the ship, and by the time I got there it was already bright). I just spent some time jogging on the treadmill, and tried the sauna room again. The steam room was turned off for some reason.

 
We had breakfast at the MDR. There were 2 lines at the door, one for buffet, and the other one for a la carte. We chose a la carte, but we could still go to the buffet if we wanted. So I'm not sure what the "buffet" line means. Maybe it just means the servers wouldn't come and take your a la carte order? Anyways, as soon as we sat down, we were handed the menu, which had roughly the same items as the room service menu, with the addition of eggs benedict and freshly made omelette. The rest of the items are standard breakfast items that you see in WJ. You can also go to the middle area where they set up a mini buffet, and I'm guessing it's the same items from WJ as well (the "special" items changes daily such as Asian or Indian themed breakfast dishes). There's also an omelette station and waffle station next to the mini buffet.
Overall, I liked the MDR breakfast because it feels more elegant and refined, although it does take a lot more time. If you're in a hurry you would want to go to WJ. The table setting, the service, the ambiance, everything was designed to make it feel like an upscale brunch place you would find in NYC. For example, you can order a plate of smoked salmon and they gave you all the condiments to it. This is available in WJ as well but certainly not as well-presented as here. 
 

 



 
After breakfast, we disembarked. There were people performing Caribbean dances and music on the pier (hired by Royal Caribbean), and I also saw some crew cleaning the exterior of the ship. This is why Royal Caribbean ships always looks like it's in excellent condition, unlike some other lines who should not be named.


 
For Labadee, we booked one beach bed at the Adrenaline Beach. It is quite far to walk from the entrance, but there is a tram that goes around every few minutes. Your best bet is to just wait for the tram in the shaded spot right by the "cafe" near the entrance. The beach bed is very spacious. It says "two beds" but it really fits four. It comes with two beach chairs, a cooler stocked with bottled water, and two floaters. So if we take turns sleeping and/or floating on the water, this whole setup easily fits four people. 

I read somewhere that the official policy of the beach bed is first come first serve, but because there were not that many people that day (we were the only ship at Labadee, and Adventure is not a very large ship), he lets us choose our own bed. We chose the bed at the back most row, furthest from the water but had the most shade. Quick tip: the sun does rotate throughout the day (duh), so you might have to get creative with closing the drapes and repositioning your beach chairs to keep being in the shade.
The attendant was really friendly. He came over several times to take our drink orders. Your drink package works at Labadee, but they only had one drink mocktail: Labadoozie, which is some kind of red drink and tastes kinda like fruit punch. You can order your own mix though. I ordered coke and grenadine syrup, which is basically a Roy Rogers. 
I loved Adrenaline Beach. It is very shallow, and the water is very calm, although there were raging waves just outside. They put man-made breakwaters to keep it calm, and a lot of underwater "reef ball" (basically steel ball with holes so that fish and coral reefs can grow and live in it) to help stop the waves. So it's almost like a lagoon that way. Throughout the beach and the water you can see a lot of kids playing, and people lying on floaters. It is definitely very safe. However, it's not a great place to snorkel. First, it's very shallow. When I was swimming, my torso rubbed against one of the aforementioned reef balls several times. Second, there are a lot of seagrass on the ground, which feels slimy and gross when you're standing up. 




The zip lines pass over our heads, so we could hear screaming from time to time. There was an over-water bar that you could swim to, but I really didn't want to lose my seapass card (even though it was secured to the lanyard) so I didn't swim there with my card. There were also some "tables and grass umbrellas" around there to enjoy the shade and drink (which we just brought from the bar on the ground). There were swings (not pictured) right over the water. Overall it's a great beach for playing and being lazy, not great if you're expecting waves.
We had lunch at a restaurant near the beach. All the food is free because it's included with your cruise fare. The lunch was standard picnic / BBQ food, which was actually pretty good but because we've been spoiled by so much great food on the ship, this felt like a let down. .

After lunch we tried the roller coaster, whose entrance and exit is right by Adrenaline Beach. It costs $26 per ride per car, and the car can fit two people, one driver and one passenger. So if both of you want to drive, you would need to get separate cars. The driver can control the speed of the car. It's mostly driven by gravity, so the driver's job really is to brake and release brake. The fee is charged directly to your seapass card.
After the roller coaster, we just lounged around and read some more, intermittently falling asleep. Around 3:30 pm we explored the artisan market before heading back to the ship. The goods here are produced and sold by locals, and all the payments need to be made with cash (not seapass card). We bought a few things just to help the local population. Unlike some other comments in the forum, we didn't feel the locals to be pushy at all. Maybe we just don't look rich? ?

Overall Impression about Labadee:
I think it's a great destination. There is not much to do other than to just lie down and enjoy the beach, but it is a very large property. If you want to sample "all" the beaches with everything Labadee has to offer, you could, but you would only be at each beach for about one hour each, which is not fun. Our approach is to sample one area and really enjoy that area, and plan to do a different area on our next visit. The whole property has that lazy and laid back feeling to it, which fosters the atmosphere that this is a place to just hangout instead of to "do things."
After we got back on board, we stayed at the Solarium some more to read and drink. The MDR dinner that night was Caribbean-themed, and the waiters all wore Hawaiian shirts, and there was a Caribbean backdrop set up in front of MDR. There even was a performance (although I'm not sure what the performance was, seems like every waiter just got together and clapped and swayed left and right?)
For the dinner, we went with seafood risotto and more shrimp cocktail. The risotto was good, the mussels very fresh. For the main course, we ordered Cod loin which was excellent (cooked perfectly) and of course the NY Strip again. For dessert, I ordered English Trifle (again, the no sugar added option) which was great, and Chocolate Souffle which was good but felt too rich for my taste.







When we arrived at the room, there was a puppy waiting for us, while the in laws got monkey with google eyes.


 
The show that night was the Beatles, at 7pm and 9pm. When we were at the Solarium, the in laws went to see the show. I didn't care that much about the Beatles because it was before my era, but the in laws definitely enjoyed it. They thought the performers did a good job imitating the Beatles, down to skinny pants. But after our dinner (around 9:30), we went to the Lyric theater just to catch the tail end of it. The final song was Hey Jude, and they dimmed the lights all the way and asked us to enable the flashlights on our phone. It was enjoyable. After the performance, as we were not sleepy yet, we just lounged around Schooner (the guy is really really good), and went around Promenade to shop a bit more although we didn't buy anything. At the end, I just retired and continued reading my novel on the bed.
A few more random comments:
1. One of the things I wanted to do but didn't get the chance on this cruise was to participate in a trivia quiz. We didn't get the chance mostly because it was right during our "napping or lounging around" time near the pool lol. I don't know how well we would have done though, as we were not that good in trivia in general. I just enjoy participating in a bar trivia in general. Maybe next cruise I will make a more conscious effort to go to a trivia game.
2. The other thing I hear mentioned was to go to helipad after dark, because the stars are in full view. But during this sailing, every night the helipad was closed off due to strong winds. Whenever I looked up, the stars were not that visible either (maybe because of lights from inside the ship). So this is something I have to keep an eye on future sailings.

Unfortunately it said on pier next to ship. No signage to wait here.

In 2006 I went from Toronto to Dulles to San Juan on Boxing Day for a departing-the-same-day Princess Cruise. Zero problems but with basically zero slack it's not something I'd try to do again.
With that said, Virginia to FLL in April is obviously a shorter trip (and direct) so there is less chance for things to go wrong. It still might not be ideal to fly in the day of, but with that said I think it's an acceptable risk.
What I always think of when I see "moot point":

YIPPEE !!  First cruise....so exciting !
As Cruisegirl1976 said, a great deal depends on the time of year you are traveling/cruising.  Also a factor....whether or not you have any connections or if the flights are nonstop.  Most regular cruisers will advise that it is BEST to arrive at the port [area] a day in advance of sailing but we all know that it's not always possible to do that.  If all goes as scheduled, you will be fine.  If, however, you are traveling in the winter months and you have connecting flights somewhere, your risk is significantly increased.
Just to show you that I am complete hypocrite, next month (arguably the coldest and most unpredictable month of the year) I am traveling from DCA to Newark via Charlotte on sail day...so I have violated all of the recommendations that I just made to you. ...but I like living on the edge.  #notreally

We missed our tour. It’s definitely not clearly marked where you should wait. We waited here because of this sign. Sorry it’s sideways. I don’t know how to make up and down. You should wait where you get off ship.

While there are some overlaps in the JS and Key benefits, there are some that are exclusive to each.  The JS does provide priority boarding and CK dinner, but the VOOM service, embarkation day lunch and priority show seating does not extend to JS. For VOOM, reserved show seating, CK lunches, Concierge services, etc you would need to RoyalUp to a Grand Suite or above.
 

In the future call guest services and tell them to send security.  Don't ask them, tell them.  
I had a similar issue on a recent cruise.  Upon the first call to GS, GS called their cabin and told them to be quiet.  I heard the phone ring and it got quiet for 30 seconds before they ramped it up again.  My next call to GS wasn't as polite and I directed them to send security.  Security appeared wearing body cameras to document the incident.  
All you can do is to escalate your calls.  Late at night the lowly GS person probably isn't very senior.  They may not want to deal with it.  Don't let that stop you.  Ask to speak to the GSM (Guest Services Manager) .  When they hear you use their lingo like "GSM" they'll know you are not new to this game.  In the morning talk to the deck supervisor.  They themselves may or may not be in a position to do anything but the more senior staff involved the more they'll know it's heading up the chain of command. 
None of them want the Hotel Director involved in a matter that should have been dealt with at a lower level but engaging the HD is the nuclear option.  If you have to go there, having engaged the deck supervisor, GS and GSM will usually work in your favor.   The ship in general doesn't want this going on, you just need to get around any junior guest services personnel that don't know or don't want to handle it.

I am glad that the issue didn't ruin your holiday.  Whether RC reaches out to you is anyone's guess.
There has to be a bit of give and take while on a vacation along side lots of different people from different cultures, upbringings and ways of doing things - all stuck on a ship in the middle of the ocean.  Being able to roll with the stuff that inevitably happens is part of travelling, but most people understand there is a limit.  IMHO, disrupting at least 3 neighboring cabins on a ship went over that line.
As I finish preparing for a cruise that leaves this Saturday, I am now unpacking the ball I was going to dribble and bounce off the walls of my cabin so I don't disturb my neighbors.  Thanks for the reminder to be kind and considerate.  

Pretty normal day here in OSJ today.









 

Not much that you can do now that you are off the ship.  In the future, if you feel that Guest Services is not much help, see if you can meet with the hotel director.  If you are in a suite or Diamond member, you can also see if you can voice your complaints to the concierges.

We loved our cruise on Anthem last week.  Crew was great, ship was beautiful, everything was great....EXCEPT for the people in the cabin next to ours.
Apologies in advance if this involves anyone on this forum.
There were 2 and sometimes 3 young men staying in the cabin next to ours.  Probably 18-22 years old.   Never heard a peep from their cabin all day but every night at 3 or 4 am, they would come in and proceed to slam doors, move furniture, open/close the balcony door repeatedly, wrestle on the floor, dribble a ball against the wall, and be very, very LOUD.  After about 60-90 minutes of shenanigans, they would go to sleep, or leave.   After waking us up the first two nights, we called guest services to see if there was anything they could do.   They suggested to call them the next time it happened. 
We ran into the father of one of the young men entering the cabin one evening and told him about the issue.  He said he would take care of it. 
The neighbors on the other side of us, and the opposite side of the noisy cabin told us they heard the noises too.
Things improved for one night but got progressively worse the rest of the cruise.
We called guest services two nights in a row and were placed on hold but never got to speak to anyone.
The last night of the cruise, the young men came back to the cabin at 11 pm, seemed to be intoxicated (audio cues only).  One young man indicated he could not wait for the bathroom and was going to "use the balcony" as his personal restroom.   They went out quickly but resumed the noise at 4 am. 
We received an apology from RCI for the incident but are concerned that no additional measures were taken to minimize the disruption to us and our neighbors.  We have never experienced inconsiderate neighbors before and wondering if anyone else has and what you did to resolve.  I detailed the account in the post-cruise survey with RCI but should we pursue it further?
 

We take an approach where "post cruise" is not a recognized state of affairs. There are only two  states: pre-cruise and cruise ... when the cruise is over we move directly  back to pre-cruise  mode! ?⚓??

We take an approach where "post cruise" is not a recognized state of affairs. There are only two  states: pre-cruise and cruise ... when the cruise is over we move directly  back to pre-cruise  mode! ?⚓??

While there are some overlaps in the JS and Key benefits, there are some that are exclusive to each.  The JS does provide priority boarding and CK dinner, but the VOOM service, embarkation day lunch and priority show seating does not extend to JS. For VOOM, reserved show seating, CK lunches, Concierge services, etc you would need to RoyalUp to a Grand Suite or above.
 

Hey everyone! I've loved reading the blog over the last year since I took my first cruise with my younger brother at his request. Now, I'm hooked and excited to share with you our next (now annual) cruise coming up on January 13th on the Navigator of the Seas. Our last trip was on the Mariner of the Seas and we're both very excited about going on its sister ship.
Who
The party will be the two of us (older brother and younger brother). My brother is turning 30 on this cruise and on embarkation day! When our Dad heard about our cruise plans, he decided he had to attend as well. We haven't done a vacation together as a group since we were 12 years old. ? 
Where
We're headed to Miami to board Navigator of the Seas! After Navigator, we're taking a quite jaunt up to Orlando to spend a few days at Universal Studios (another of my brother's favorite places). My wife and boys are more of the Disney type so it's a fun change of pace to head over to Universal for a few days.
How
Well, I love to vacation. After reading all the live blogs, I'm realizing I need to book Star Class at some point to REALLY get the "extra" experience. Instead, I decided to bring a little bit of star power to the rest of our vacation by (secretly) getting us a limo to bring us to the airport, upgrading our tickets to first class, and then upgrading what my Dad thinks is an inside stateroom to a suite (we have two rooms, two grand suites). Yes, I'm being "extra" as the kids say (do they still say that?) but I don't care! I'm on vacation! I'm excited to capture their reactions.
We're staying at the Hyatt Regency in Miami, flying down with Delta, and using my bevy of points, miles, and rewards to get us there. One small benefit of traveling a ton for work is making a major part of your vacation cash free. (Don't worry, this boys trip was already offset by a couples trip to keep the Mrs. happy. ?)
Then, We are starting with 3 days at Royal Pacific and then 1 day at Aventura (which none of us have stayed at yet). We wanted to add an extra day because I unfortunately need to fly from vacation to a work trip directly and instead of coming home for a day I’m going to stay an extra day. But it turns out Universal was almost all sold out... so doing a little split stay out of necessity (but still using our extra day or Express Pass). ?
---
We're a mere 6 days away from starting the journey down! I'm hoping Voom holds up and I can share photos and such from the travels as we go! If it ends up being of interest, I'm also happy to share about our time at Universal Studios though I know that's a bit of an extra excursion. ?
This is only my third cruise though by brother and Dad have done a bunch more than I have. Either way, I'm excited to dive in, get to Coco Cay, and get into the "warm" water since we'll be flying down from New England. Almost there!