WAAAYTOOO

Here we are again it’s time for another cruise. This time we are celebrating our 35th anniversary. We originally booked these dates as a b2b. But things changed when the cruise line decided to cancel those dates and change it to a a transatlantic. I was so upset first because it was our favorite ship and it was going to be our anniversary cruise. So after many sleepless nights the transatlantic dates and cabins showed up so we snagged our new cabin choice. We changed the cabins we had on the b2b to just one cabin for the 14 days.
 
Who will be going this time : Me, hubby, sister and sisters fiancé 
Saturday we made it to Miami with no flight delays. We are staying at Intercontinental Miami. 
 

 



 

 

Oscar has been killing it with the mini menagerie..

Matches the theme of the little choking hazard I found yesterday..remote for scale.

And got my B2B letter!
 

I will be. It's my first cruise and time in the Caribbean so open to suggestions and ideas!

I've got a cruise on Vision in summer 2025 and the price for that dropped considerably today. I wonder if they're suddenly having issues selling that route?

Carnival Corp has 1.2 billion plus shares outstanding. Royal Caribbean Ltd? About 30 or so percent of that total. And most recent net margin, Royal leads the pack at 12.8%, Carnival and NCLH are hovering around 1.5-2%. Carnival IIRC also pledged 17 ships across their total fleet as collateral against high interest loans or high yield bonds (junk).
All 3 lines are heavily leveraged still, but Royal appears best positioned to shovel their way out, though I wonder how by all that's holy they all keep making enormous capital expenditures on infrastructure and ships in the current environment (cost of money). Seems like when/if 'the music stops again' all could be left without a chair............

Specialty dining on embarkation day is definitely the way to go. The wife and I have been doing this for the last few cruises, it makes everything much calmer and you're away from the chaos. Also by the time you finish lunch the ship has had a chance to calm down. So much more relaxing.

Some of the crew get really excited about these cruises.  I'm on Independence of the Seas right now and my room steward was telling me all about one that just happened where Quiet Riot played. It's his favorite band and he was able to work his schedule to catch them play.

Theres a bunch of different kinds of these cruises, but I been on all 11 of the Rock Legends Cruises. They are charity run so they seem to attract more of the big names on each cruise. I don't go for the cruise amenities. I go because the aging big names are performing 3 to 20 feet in front of me. That is a thousand plus dollar ticket to any shows on land. And theres over 20 bands per cruise. And if that is not enough, I run my video cameras in their face with 300x zoom. I can count their nose hairs if I want. On land you go thru metal detectors and no video cameras allowed. Only cell phones get a pass any more and those are only now getting better. Then you get meet and greet on elevators and toilets and buffet lines. It's like the legends are just like us. They get pestered abit, but it's not like what happened to the Beatles 50 years ago. So I dont book balconies and opt for a port hole room, since Im not in the room much. I played golf on only one of the 11 cruises and only because a lady asked me really nice to join her there. I rarely do the formal dinning because its small portions and way too slow. I heap it on at the Buffet and wolf it down as I look over the schedule for the rest of the days bands. It's almost impossible to see ALL of the bands so Im always running around to all the venues to see as many as possible. To get up to the front rows you have to wait for over an hour and even longer. 2 hour waits for the theater. I rarely watch at the theator. The Deck stage and the Studio stage is standing room in front of the stage. So that is where I mostly go. It's loud, but they perform right in front of you. It's so amazing. Sammy Hagar pouring his rum into my drink mug. Same with Rick Springfield. They both partnered to make their own rum brand after Sammy sold his Tequila brand. The access to this kind of rock and roll is matched by no other venue. I am so tired when its over in 5 days, but then I play with pics and videos all the rest of the year, and I am floored by what I did. Some people complain about service compared to regular cruises. But Im glad staff stays out of my way. On the first cruise staff came out and sold drinks at the theator all thru the shows. That has never happened again. Fabulous. Room service is as friendly as any other cruise and I leave them a tip. Rock Legends Cruise 2025 will be different. The woman that created this cruise passed away. A young lady has replaced her, and she seems too young for the job. I have not bought an advance ticket and may finally miss a Rock Legends Cruise. They started booking bands much too late and I think most big names have their schedules already finalized. But it has been 11 fabulous cruises. I stand all day every day, but there is plenty of seating for those that sit until everybody has to stand, hah.

I love Brightline, but it wouldnt be practical for Everglades to PortMiami because you'd need to pay for a taxi/lyft from port to train station, and then train station to the port. Just easier to take a lyft the entire way.

No. I do multiple times a day. LOL.

It does! We had it booked for the 4 of us for NYE 2018 on Indy (not Mariner but I believe those rooms are set up the same). That was a sailing that we booked only a few months out from sailing so there were not many choices left. But then closer to the cruise, I couldn't bring myself to do it. A Cat. 1K (Ultra Spacious Ocean View) opened up and I moved us. In retrospect, that was the worst room that we have ever stayed in! Front of the ship, so loud, so much motion. I would assume the Panoramic rooms on those two ships are going to be similar. 

One of the few perks of sailing with tons of kids during school breaks on Oasis class... I have yet to ever see a truly crowded CL since they started vouchers (obviously the DL was crowded back during the open bar happy hour days). It's a veritable ghost town in the mornings when I go to get my coffee. I was usually the only one there besides the crew member putting out breakfast at 7am on Wonder last month during spring break.
Granted I go on the early side (sometimes crazy early just to get coffee to go), but even if I went back with my wife at 8:30 or something, there were less than 10 people there. It was a bit more crowded during nightly "happy hour" (should be called snack time) but there were always plenty of seats.

We have been on 80+ cruises with Royal Caribbean and we have never ever gone to a L&M game OR a Quest.  Just not something we enjoy.

We have been on 80+ cruises with Royal Caribbean and we have never ever gone to a L&M game OR a Quest.  Just not something we enjoy.

Dinner was very good.  I had the garlicky shrimp and Dan had the seafood linguine.  I was surprised that he chose the pasta dish as we had both eaten pasta for lunch at the B2B luncheon and Dan is not much of a pasta guy.  But he did, and he said it was very good. I absolutely love their olive bread and you could tell that it had just come out of the oven.  Oh, Lordy !
We both won a bit in the casino.  We broke even on Dancing Drums and then played a bit of UTH and both cashed out ahead.  I suppose my purple drawers we “red enough” to bring me a little luck !  😂😜😂
Sea day tomorrow.  We’re on our way to Puerto Plata, DR where we will be snorkeling with the sea lions and the sharks !

I think this room does sleep additional guests….it seems like the couch would fold out although I haven’t tried it to see.
I think you might be right about the noise….i have already heard a few grumblings in the hallway.  One thing I will say about the PV room, it was QUIET !
We’ve stayed in this cabin category before and while the location is not my favorite, I do like the space and the view.  This particular room is located on the port side and has a totally unobstructed view and of course, has the floor-to-ceiling windows.  Some of the cabins in this category look out over the bow and IMO the view is much diminished by views of the ship’s structure and hardware such as antennae and comm towers, etc.
Dan has gone for his daily sauna (which is now VERY convenient). I took a bit of a nap but it was really more of a “rest”.  I never actually fell asleep. I’m not used to all the light !  😜😜

We have been on 80+ cruises with Royal Caribbean and we have never ever gone to a L&M game OR a Quest.  Just not something we enjoy.

Boy, what a difference in this cruise and the last 2.  Waaay more folks in the Crown Lounge on this leg.  Dan and I had to sit out in the VC area while I drink my coffee.  It’s a zoo inside.  Same thing with breakfast this morning in Giovanni’s.  Waaay more people in there and the service was very slow.  On the past 2 cruises we were in and out in no time.
The TTE will be this morning at 10:00 (which is typical rather than the 5PM nonsense of the past 2 cruises) and then the Cheers lunch at noon.
Our Loyalty gifts are still dicked up.  They brought our water but we’re still missing my Cokes and our Chandon.  What a PITA.  The LA doesn’t go to her desk until 4:00 today so I guess it’ll have to wait until then.  I’m sure she’s tied up with the TTE and Cheers stuff this morning.
Seas are nice and smooth, thank goodness.  Our new dwelling location can suffer greatly with ocean motion so I’m grateful that it’s calm.

Boy, what a difference in this cruise and the last 2.  Waaay more folks in the Crown Lounge on this leg.  Dan and I had to sit out in the VC area while I drink my coffee.  It’s a zoo inside.  Same thing with breakfast this morning in Giovanni’s.  Waaay more people in there and the service was very slow.  On the past 2 cruises we were in and out in no time.
The TTE will be this morning at 10:00 (which is typical rather than the 5PM nonsense of the past 2 cruises) and then the Cheers lunch at noon.
Our Loyalty gifts are still dicked up.  They brought our water but we’re still missing my Cokes and our Chandon.  What a PITA.  The LA doesn’t go to her desk until 4:00 today so I guess it’ll have to wait until then.  I’m sure she’s tied up with the TTE and Cheers stuff this morning.
Seas are nice and smooth, thank goodness.  Our new dwelling location can suffer greatly with ocean motion so I’m grateful that it’s calm.

Dinner was very good.  I had the garlicky shrimp and Dan had the seafood linguine.  I was surprised that he chose the pasta dish as we had both eaten pasta for lunch at the B2B luncheon and Dan is not much of a pasta guy.  But he did, and he said it was very good. I absolutely love their olive bread and you could tell that it had just come out of the oven.  Oh, Lordy !
We both won a bit in the casino.  We broke even on Dancing Drums and then played a bit of UTH and both cashed out ahead.  I suppose my purple drawers we “red enough” to bring me a little luck !  😂😜😂
Sea day tomorrow.  We’re on our way to Puerto Plata, DR where we will be snorkeling with the sea lions and the sharks !

Boy, what a difference in this cruise and the last 2.  Waaay more folks in the Crown Lounge on this leg.  Dan and I had to sit out in the VC area while I drink my coffee.  It’s a zoo inside.  Same thing with breakfast this morning in Giovanni’s.  Waaay more people in there and the service was very slow.  On the past 2 cruises we were in and out in no time.
The TTE will be this morning at 10:00 (which is typical rather than the 5PM nonsense of the past 2 cruises) and then the Cheers lunch at noon.
Our Loyalty gifts are still dicked up.  They brought our water but we’re still missing my Cokes and our Chandon.  What a PITA.  The LA doesn’t go to her desk until 4:00 today so I guess it’ll have to wait until then.  I’m sure she’s tied up with the TTE and Cheers stuff this morning.
Seas are nice and smooth, thank goodness.  Our new dwelling location can suffer greatly with ocean motion so I’m grateful that it’s calm.

Dinner was very good.  I had the garlicky shrimp and Dan had the seafood linguine.  I was surprised that he chose the pasta dish as we had both eaten pasta for lunch at the B2B luncheon and Dan is not much of a pasta guy.  But he did, and he said it was very good. I absolutely love their olive bread and you could tell that it had just come out of the oven.  Oh, Lordy !
We both won a bit in the casino.  We broke even on Dancing Drums and then played a bit of UTH and both cashed out ahead.  I suppose my purple drawers we “red enough” to bring me a little luck !  😂😜😂
Sea day tomorrow.  We’re on our way to Puerto Plata, DR where we will be snorkeling with the sea lions and the sharks !

Back onboard for the last leg.  This is a 9 night cruise with the exact same itinerary as leg #1, 2 weeks ago.
TAD was kind of a mess although it didn’t really impact us much.  More of a problem for new cruisers boarding and, of course, for the crew.
Apparently, the number of folks with “Account issues” was enormous, which caused a 2+ hour delay in boarding of new guests.  When I passed by GS ~8AM, the line stretched all the way to the entrance of the MDR.  I should have sensed, then, that this was going to cause issues.  Apparently, it did.
Finally, some time around 11:45, they began the B2B parade.  Everything went smoothly once we got started and the B2B luncheon, which was supposed to start at 11:30, got underway at around noon.  Presumably, general boarding began shortly after that.
As was the case with leg #1, our Loyalty gifts were incorrect.  On leg #1, we got a bottle of St Michelle “champagne” rather than the Chandon “champagne” that we have chosen. On this leg, the champagne was again wrong, as well as missing Cokes and missing water.  We strolled down to the Loyalty Ambassadors desk and she, I’m sure, will rectify everything.
We had to change cabins on this leg and we are now in a panoramic OV cabin on deck 12.  These are the “newer” rooms created when they downsized the spa.  It’s much bigger than our Promenade View dungeon and the sunshine and view are an extremely welcome change.  I’m not as fond of the location of this new room but I’m glad to be here.
We’re pulling away from the dock right now (4:45) so the last adventure has begun !  Dinner tonite at Giovanni’s (first of our BOGOs) at 7:00.

We have been on 80+ cruises with Royal Caribbean and we have never ever gone to a L&M game OR a Quest.  Just not something we enjoy.

Boy, what a difference in this cruise and the last 2.  Waaay more folks in the Crown Lounge on this leg.  Dan and I had to sit out in the VC area while I drink my coffee.  It’s a zoo inside.  Same thing with breakfast this morning in Giovanni’s.  Waaay more people in there and the service was very slow.  On the past 2 cruises we were in and out in no time.
The TTE will be this morning at 10:00 (which is typical rather than the 5PM nonsense of the past 2 cruises) and then the Cheers lunch at noon.
Our Loyalty gifts are still dicked up.  They brought our water but we’re still missing my Cokes and our Chandon.  What a PITA.  The LA doesn’t go to her desk until 4:00 today so I guess it’ll have to wait until then.  I’m sure she’s tied up with the TTE and Cheers stuff this morning.
Seas are nice and smooth, thank goodness.  Our new dwelling location can suffer greatly with ocean motion so I’m grateful that it’s calm.