Summer Bee Sweet

Let’s price out the inclusions:
- business class airfare to Miami: $1,000
- hotel the night before: $250
-Deluxe Beverage package ($50/day+gratuity): $16,166
- Wash and Fold Laundry (3 bags/week at $25/bag): $2935
- Gratuities ($14.50/day): $3973
- VOOM Surf and Stream ($16/day): $4384
 
Inclusions total is $28,708
interior stateroom is $65,000 after taxes and port fees. Less the inclusions, you’re at $36,292. Per day, that’s $132. Not bad, and not a terrible premium considering YOU’RE GOING AROUND THE WORLD.
 

Woohoo!  Reduced single supplement applies for being over 340 points!
 

Hi Everyone, Just wanted to give a quick update - I did email Michael Bayley's office and another person higher up in guest relations, that was yesterday afternoon.  I received a call from a wonderful gentlemen today and we are working on getting me off the fence of whether or not to go on the cruises. 
Thanks for the advice everyone. I will provide you with the final resolution. 😉

If royal shuts down for a couple weeks, imma need a camera crew to follow him around as he is forced to be on land for an extended amount of time

I’ve done 3 B2b, with one more planned. Twice we left the ship (used it like a port day in San Juan) and once stayed on the ship. Had a nice lunch in the dinning room at noon that was over when rooms opened up.
If you don’t change rooms, your cabin attendant will greatly appreciate it if you tell them to skip your room that day.

These are not breaks to do hotel upgrades although they might drain the pools and do work on them, or replace some carpeting but for the most part these dry docks are purely for marine maintenance.   
Older ships like Vision class, Majesty and Empress are required to do more periodic maintenance that can't be performed while in service.  New ships are required to "dry dock" every 5 years.  Older ships are more frequent. 
Empress is in great shape after her 2016 refresh when she came back into the fleet.  She doesn't really need much refreshing and they are not going to AMP any of the older ships at this point.  

No longer going solo....our youngest is changing colleges and taking the semester off in between.  I convinced them to come with me.  We won't get to spend much time together since I'll be diving at the ports, but I'm sure they will have fun....they will be three weeks shy of 20 when they get on the ship....how can they not have fun?  ? 

As a side note, I traded emails with the PADI staff on Adventure and found out they offer the Advanced Open Water Course.  The local PADI shop I bought my mask/snorkel at encouraged me to take the course in the Caribbean if it was offered rather than doing it in the cold and dark water off the coast of Maine.
 

We just watched some cruise shows on Smithsonian Channel, which helps fill the time.  I like to download the excursions brochure for my cruise and then study it before I go into Cruise Planner.  Enjoy your trips!  PS.  You are not completely addicted until you start saving the leftover foreign currency so you are prepared for the future....I am a strong believer that everyone should have a few Euros on hand (smile).

Are your friends taking applications for additional friends?

I’ve done it twice. There is very little actual hiking necessary. It is more of a bus ride that takes you directly to 4-5 places (a welcome center/mini-museum, a waterfall, a lookout tower, and a few other stops). You can be as active as you want during the stops, but will not need to anything strenuous. The ground may be uneven and you may have to walk 50-100 feet from the bus to the actual point of interest, but nothing beyond that.  And you can always stay on the bus or in the bus area at any of the stops. 

For this to make sense you need to know that we have recently been on Adventure of the Seas.

 
We were sat watching the TV last night, our eldest little girl who is 9 was sat watching videos on YouTube, all of a sudden she takes her earphones off and says “mam, dad do you know that Allure of the Seas, Oasis of the Seas, Harmony of the Seas and Symphony of the Seas are much better than our ship” the reason she gave was that they had a robot that makes you drinks, made us both laugh.

I've read that being able to see them from the ocean is very much dependent on weather and wave conditions. The small group tour I'm looking at has been cited as sometimes taking the guests out to sea while at the Burren area, and giving a view of the cliffs from there. But it was noted that's never listed as part of the tour and is always at the discretion of the tour guide.

Thanks! Prices dropped on Voom from when I checked this morning. Cancelled and repurchases for Allure in January, saved $30. 

We did a land tour of Ireland this summer. Didn’t visit Northern Ireland so I have no input on Belfast. The Cliffs were quite the site. If you can, try to see them from the sea too. We did a day trip to the closest Aran Island then cruised by the Cliffs by sea before seeing them by land. 
Enjoy your time in Ireland! Beautiful country and the happiest cows I’ve ever seen
 

Kathy, Majesty was my first cruise back in 92. I went on her B2B  earlier this month solo and hit that magic 140 points. Had to ask 3 times but got my block right before I disembarked.

I took SCUBA diving as a PE credit in college but never got certified either. Didn’t have the funds for the winter trip to Florida and I was the only female in the class....
One year my husband and I were looking at going to one of those all-inclusive resorts with a group. He’s not a drinker and I can only lounge for a day before getting ancy. I did notice that shore dives were included in the resort. 
We never made it to that resort, but both my husband and I are certified and he went further and got his Dive Master certification. 
My favorite dive was a shark dive through Stuart Cove in Nassau. Second wan on a live aboard in Palau. 
Hopefully your wife would want to join you one day. Our adult daughter has no interest in diving but she will snorkel. 
Check out Advanced Certification after your cruise. You can get extra training on buoyancy control.