WAAAYTOOO

Thanks to you....i had to google what a smart bag was  I own dumb bags!  so i guess I'm good to go! 

I was speaking with a Crown & Anchor Rep earlier this morning (C&A points were wrong).  At the end of our chat he said he wanted to remind me of a new perk for D+ that was just added this month.  D+ now includes a free spa treatment !  Apparently this excludes Medi Spa so I'm not sure what it does include but, hey !  I had not heard anything about this anywhere before this morning.
I asked if this new perk is permanent - yes.  I asked if this new perk applies to all D+ in the cabin, even if both are D+ - yes.
It's so nice to have a new perk.  It's been a while !

You might say you couldn't see the forest through the trees? 
Sorry, couldn't resist.

If you start buying new camera lenses, then that is an accurate statement

My stop in San Juan all seemed very normal.  Granted this was just a stop on our itinerary as opposed to a hotel based stay. 
As I wandered around Old San Juan it struck me how hard it must be for all these tourism based businesses such as hotels, bars, restaurants and stores.  It costs money to operate a business and absent of money coming in some may be forced to close temporarily not because they can't open because of the hurricane but because they can't afford to pay their employees to do nothing for very long.
I may go out of my way to book a cruise originating from San Juan in the coming months.  Now is when they need our support more than ever and there is no better way to help in this phase of recovery than putting money into local businesses so that they can get through this.  Having a job, going to work and earning money to support their family gives locals a sense of purpose.  It may be a little extra effort to find an open hotel but they need us.  It's worth the effort.

For me it's all about the fabric pattern.  We found a 3pc set with ships, palm trees, light houses, etc on it, from TJMaxx.  No idea if it's actually any good (haven't had a chance to try it out yet) lol, don't really care, cause we're gonna look super cool pulling it around ?
But seriously, I have a big Oakley suit case that I love.  We've had it almost 7 years now and it'll easily do another 7 (no idea if 14yrs is good or not, lol).

I was speaking with a Crown & Anchor Rep earlier this morning (C&A points were wrong).  At the end of our chat he said he wanted to remind me of a new perk for D+ that was just added this month.  D+ now includes a free spa treatment !  Apparently this excludes Medi Spa so I'm not sure what it does include but, hey !  I had not heard anything about this anywhere before this morning.
I asked if this new perk is permanent - yes.  I asked if this new perk applies to all D+ in the cabin, even if both are D+ - yes.
It's so nice to have a new perk.  It's been a while !

I was speaking with a Crown & Anchor Rep earlier this morning (C&A points were wrong).  At the end of our chat he said he wanted to remind me of a new perk for D+ that was just added this month.  D+ now includes a free spa treatment !  Apparently this excludes Medi Spa so I'm not sure what it does include but, hey !  I had not heard anything about this anywhere before this morning.
I asked if this new perk is permanent - yes.  I asked if this new perk applies to all D+ in the cabin, even if both are D+ - yes.
It's so nice to have a new perk.  It's been a while !

I was speaking with a Crown & Anchor Rep earlier this morning (C&A points were wrong).  At the end of our chat he said he wanted to remind me of a new perk for D+ that was just added this month.  D+ now includes a free spa treatment !  Apparently this excludes Medi Spa so I'm not sure what it does include but, hey !  I had not heard anything about this anywhere before this morning.
I asked if this new perk is permanent - yes.  I asked if this new perk applies to all D+ in the cabin, even if both are D+ - yes.
It's so nice to have a new perk.  It's been a while !

Ugh. It’s Ttavel Pro, not Luggage Pro. I make that mistake a lot !

You're really good people, pal.
 
 

That's right.  Virtual balcony rooms are an alternative to standard inside cabins, not a replacement for real balconies. And I love a virtual balcony instead of four walls and no view.

A few words about the virtual balcony.
This is my first experience with a virtual balcony.  I like it.  Sitting at the desk the virtual balcony is framed perfectly in the mirror.  

It is not an alternative to an actual balcony cabin.  Given the situation and the price point you can afford a balcony cabin will always be a first choice (ignoring suites for the moment).  
For the most part though when I cruise solo I often cruise with an inside cabin because its just me.  I don't need a lot of space and I'd rather put the savings in dining, beverages or excursions.   Grandeur, Freedom and Indy are good examples where it was or will be an inside cabin for me.
When I booked the Alaska Group Cruise I was thinking inside cabins.  I've been to Alaska with a suite that had a large balcony.  Sure it was nice but I didn't use it that much (it's cold out there) and I spent a lot of time outside of my cabin.  For the Alaska GC I am planning a healthy excursion budget.  That's a key to a great Alaska experience.  I'd rather divert money into excursions.  This past June I took a $350 helicopter ride and walked on a glacier - amazing! 
For the Alaska GC the price difference between inside and inside virtual balcony was minimal and I'll spend most of my time elsewhere on the ship so for the small difference a virtual balcony is perfect relative to a standard inside cabin.  

The display works quite well and last night I enjoyed seeing the sunset on it.
I will say though it is backwards for my cabin.  I shouldn't have seen the sunset last night since I am on port side of center.  The head of my bed is aft but unless the Captain is backing the ship up all the way to San Juan, the motion I see is reversed given the starboard side camera they must be using as evidenced by the sunset on the starboard side last night.  Standing in my cabin facing the bed while watching the display you would think that I am facing the bow given the motion of the water displayed yet I know that I am facing aft.  It doesn't bother me in terms of motion, it's just something I noticed.
I'll continue to watch prices but for the moment the savings on the Alaska GC between balcony and Virtual Balcony is around $750 per person which goes a long way to paying for some of the best excursions.  The extra $50 I spent to upgrade from inside to inside VB is well worth it for me.

I plan on trying either Uber/Lyft for the first time when I cruise out of Miami in January(we don't have either here)
 
 I will be trying it out from the port to a hotel near the Dolphin mall and then the next morning from the hotel to the airport very early. Hoping it works as well and as smooth as every seems to say it does. Normally I rely on hotel shuttles or a cab when its not too expensive. But for these two trips, it was going to cost me close to $100 so I figured that was a good time to try another option. Wish me luck on my experience!

As of Thanksgiving week there were no extra gratuities added to Chops on Anthem. We prepaid for 1 lunch and 2 dinners. None of them got charged extra gratuity. We enjoyed lunch very much there so we booked an additional lunch later in the week. No extra gratuity added there either.

Suck-up !  
??

I have done Stingray City at GC and while it was VERY crowded, there were no shortages of stingrays for everyone to enjoy.  I agree that everyone should do it at least once.  I will probably never do it again but it was quite an experience.

We are planning Alaska on Ovation in 2020.  My oldest graduates college that year and we want to do something special. Going to be awesome!! 

Woohoo!  See @WAAAYTOOO it pays to be a suck up! 
Since I've still got nearly two weeks on board Anthem I've been thinking how to blog this out.  I think I'm going to focus on various venues making each one the highlight of post.  Windjammer one day, Solarium another day, SeaPlex, Two70, Vintages, pool deck, etc.  They say a picture speaks a thousand words so I'll try to let the photos do the talking. 

I struggled with Sabor! After all the Guac, I was usually just about too full for my meal!

Suck-up !  
??

This is a 'pick your pain' situation. 
A. Go with your current docs and cross your fingers. If you run into problems you will wish you got those stinking passports.
B. Deal with the near term battle of getting passports. Relax on your vacation.

I resemble that remark!

We just got off Allure and had purchased the 4 night specialty dining plan.  They did not add any additional grats for any of our meals.  I did not hear anyone talking about paying extra grats for their dining purchased onboard but that doesn't mean they weren't charging it.

Suck-up !  
??