JohnK6404

Wow! Southern Florida and now Galveston.

I had read extensively about the pool closings before our 5/11/24 sailing, but thankfully there were no closings to our knowledge. No Caddyshack moments as far as I know! However, they were all packed for most of the day. The only exception was the infinity pool in the Hideaway during the mornings (the only time we truly enjoyed and relaxed in a pool onboard). Hot tubs were another story... you could usually find one to relax in any time of the day.

Have an amazing time!

They were on every ship we've been on since the Covid shutdown (Oasis, Odyssey, Wonder, and Icon). The only difference was when they first returned to cruising (mask wearing times), you had to hand your cup to a crew member to fill it for you. Now, for some time, you can fill your own cups.

We'll have to take a look! Thanks for the insight! I know, all of the ports in Italy (3 days in a row!) will be exhausting for us! It looks like many of the excursions run 9-10+ hours! Time to start walking to the Rocky theme to get ready for the trip! Most importantly, so happy to hear your Dad is doing well and getting back to cruising! ...and congrats on your daughter's graduation! Wow! You and your husband have not changed in your beautiful photos!

Our plan as well... we may get the 3 night dining package or a la carte a restaurant, but no DBP or UDP for sure!

We're with you (at least for our next sailing). We just hit Diamond and our next sailing will be 5 ports and only 1 sea day (Med, so no Labadee/Coco Cay to use that DBP). I can't see us benefiting from a DBP or UDP for our itinerary now that we have those vouchers every day. We'll be off the ship more than on so I think we'll be good.

So exciting!!! We'll be following as always, but especially since our first Western Med cruise is next year (Barcelona too)! I'll have to take notes! LOL! Working on airfare now and looking at Air2Sea too... thank you for all of your Air2Sea feedback on other posts! Still narrowing down hotels... I see there are a number of H10 locations and we too want to be relatively close to Las Ramblas. Made a short list from the recommendations provided here from so many folks on our blog. Also, waiting on feedback from the other two couples we're traveling with next year (same gang as past cruises). All of them (separately) stayed in Barcelona just last year so we want to coordinate with them if possible and see if they have any recommendations.

Completely understand. That's one thing I love about Royal! So many ships to meet everyone's personal preferences. We loved her because we're still in the new(er) and bigger is better stage. We agree... no desire to book those infinite balcony cabins. Lost all interest as soon as I heard that the climate control shuts off when you open the window. Also, if it rains, you can't be out on the "balcony". As Matt pointed out in one of his videos, that cabin type is probably better suited for cooler climates.

I guess it’s never too early to start the roll call! Can’t wait! This will be my first trip to Europe. My wife has been to the UK many times as a child (my MIL is British and has/had family in England & Scotland). She’s been to Paris once, but has not travelled to any of the other locations/countries we’ll be visiting so this should be an amazing trip! Traveling with two other couples (our family and friends from past sailings). The planning is ramping up! This will also be our first cruise as Diamond. We sailed Allure back in 2019… our first Oasis class experience which was absolutely amazing! Can’t wait to see what they do during her amplification!

... like a parade... and the bears are waiting by the shore standing and waving...

Thanks so much! Third party would be our last resort... not taking a chance of a mechanical breakdown or traffic over an hour away from the port after a 9+ hour long tour and missing the ship.

Hi everyone! I've been monitoring the excursions in the cruise planner for our 2025 Western Med sailing on Allure (5/11/25). I've heard we can't wait too long to book as some of these excursions sell out fast! So far, as expected one year out, there are only two excursions listed. One for Florence and the other for Rome. The Rome excursion only appeared about 2 weeks ago. How is it possible that the Rome excursion (at full price) only has 3 spots left with a year to go to the sail date? Does anyone have any insight with the CP and these Western Med excursions? IF it actually sells out, I'm assuming they would add other tours of Rome... are we correct in that assumption? We're travelling with 2 other couples, so 3 spots won't cut it. Thanks in advance!

Wow! Neat pic! I've never seen the pool completely drained!

Ahhhhh! Thanks! That explains it now!

We used to love the paper copies too for marking up, but finally gave in to the digital version. Use this link while onboard and connected to the ship's Wi-Fi... it will load the current day's Cruise Compass. I just save each Cruise Compass to the "Books" app on my iPhone for later use while onboard or at home. Once I found out about the link (here on this forum), I've used it on our last few sailings including last month on Icon. It's probably the same link you're sent to if you scan the QR code on the card in the cabin. No need to scan to PDF! Here are some sample copies of the digital Cruise Compass: Day 1_Compass_Icon 05.11.24.pdf Day 2_Compass_Icon 05.12.24.pdf

... or the PB&J Old Fashioned! Loved that drink! They better add Mason Jar to some of the new ships under construction!

Yes, they were everywhere near the Hideaway Hut concession area last month. I got up and walked away to grab a drink and Christine told me one bird swooped in and stole a mozzarella stick! Not the mozzarella sticks!

OK, OK... I'm done slacking... time to wrap it up! So sorry for the delay! Final Wrap-Up, Random Thoughts & Observations Another absolutely amazing cruise with Royal Caribbean! Christine and I LOVED Icon! There was soooo much that we missed as we ran out of time! The waterpark, so many pools, bars and restaurants, shows in the Music Hall, the casino, the comedy club, etc! Airports, Cruise Port, and Transportation · As always, Islip/LI MacArthur (ISP) is such a pleasure to fly into and out of especially on an early flight. The minimal delay at Baltimore/Washington (BWI) due to the weather was no biggie (30 minutes) since the turnaround time for the changeover was very short to begin with and we arrived close to expected time at Ft. Lauderdale Airport (FLL). · As recommended by many here on our blog, we used SAS Transportation to take us from FLL to our hotel in Miami. Excellent, friendly, and timely service at only $15 per passenger. Highly recommended and will use them in the future! · The Miami cruise port was a great experience for us on this trip (as they say, YMMV)! What a nice terminal! We skipped the Key this time (absolutely no regrets!) and was also unable to secure the new express boarding perk the day before (did not know to use the app!). Neither perk would have made the slightest difference for boarding in our case! We also booked the earliest boarding time as usual (11:30AM for Icon). Just in case we could board earlier (since we had 12:00PM reservations at Chops), we booked our Uber to drop us off around 10:45AM. Our Uber driver picked us up a little early (around 10:15AM) and we headed to the port. Traffic heading to the terminal drop-off area was getting heavy as expected. We checked our bags with the porters at 10:35AM and they told us not to wait and to immediately enter the terminal to board. No one asked for our boarding time. We flew through the terminal (no lines at this time) and were in the promenade by 10:50AM! Leaving the terminal was even easier… when we collected our bags, a porter was waiting for us and escorted us through security (facial recognition kiosk) and took us directly to the rideshare pick-up area. No waiting in line to go through security when we disembarked the ship. We were lucky... great timing! · The Brightline experience was excellent as well! We won’t go out of our way to book it, but we wanted to experience it at least once. The original plan was sound, LOL! Taking the Brightline from Miami to Orlando (MCO) and then flying non-stop home should have been much quicker (by almost 2 hours) if not for the unfortunate 2 1/2 hour delay at MCO due to all of the weather issues in Texas. It was nice to ride on the Premium fare for those 3 1/2 hours and to have access to the Premium lounge beforehand. At just $104 pp (usually around $149 pp), we felt it was worth the experience. Christine especially, since part of the reason we wanted to fly home from MCO was due to the available non-stop flight. Once again, she is not a good flyer! She hates takeoffs and landings! The service on the train was excellent. Plenty of legroom and comfortable seating. · Our return flight at Orlando Intl. Airport was delayed by roughly 2 1/2 hours, but getting through security was a breeze once again with the TSA PreCheck! No waiting and no need to remove clothing, shoes, or items out of your carry-ons, etc. Hotel We loved the InterContinental Miami hotel! Thanks again to @Lovetocruise2002 for your recommendation! We were right on the water with a bay view and a complete view of the port. The hotel was beautiful and just a short walk along the water to the Bayside Marketplace. It was a little more than what we would normally pay for a pre-cruise hotel room, but it was worth it especially since we had never stayed overnight in Miami. Christine insists we book this hotel the next time we’re in Miami! Dining Experience This was the first sailing in some time that we skipped a dining package (usually 3-night dining or UDP last sailing) and we did not have any regrets. · We spent 6 of 7 nights in the MDR for dinner (5:00PM Early Traditional). We’re happy to report that the service was absolutely amazing!!! This was the first sailing post-pandemic that we found the MDR service to be consistently excellent! Elvis and Brandon were awesome and rivaled our team on Allure back in 2019 (Kadek and Oleksandr). We chatted numerous times with Elvis… he knows Kadek and Oleksandr! Small world! His contract on Allure overlapped theirs back in 2019. He explained that Kadek is now on Symphony and Oleksandr was promoted to waiter and currently is on Harmony. They keep in touch. The food was consistently good IMHO... temperature as expected. Of course everyone’s palate is different, but we really enjoyed the vast majority of the food in the MDR. I’m a little picky at times, especially after working 10 years in a restaurant in my younger days! We also loved having lobster on the menu on both formal evenings! I had heard numerous times that when they selected the crew, they chose more experienced personnel and it clearly showed! I believe Royal uses the assignment to Icon partially as a reward for the better crew members. Icon’s staff across the ship was exceptional in our experience! · Instead of booking a dining package or specialty dining for dinner (since we wanted to give the MDR a chance to restore our faith), we booked a number of specialty lunches this time. We enjoyed Chops Grille on embarkation day, Izumi Hibachi on Day 2 (sea day), and Hooked on Day 6 (sea day)… watch those CP sales closely! You can’t beat the specialty lunch pricing during CP sales! All of our specialty lunches were excellent! The one night we skipped the MDR, we went to Chef’s Table and really enjoyed the experience again. Neither of us was willing to spend $472 for Empire Supper Club on this sailing… maybe down the road we’ll splurge. · The Surfside Eatery was a nice and quiet option for breakfast. Not nearly as expansive a selection as the Solarium Bistro on Oasis class or even El Loco Fresh on Wonder (awesome option!), it did have enough of the breakfast basics to keep us coming back. · The Pearl Café was nice for quick grab-and-go (think upgraded Café Promenade) items and for the Starbuck’s limited menu items included in the DBP. I did stop at the official Starbuck’s location in the promenade, but only to get my Icon of the Seas Starbuck’s mug! · The AquaDome Market was a nice food court style option when you’re short on time. Cabin · We booked an Ocean View Balcony on this sailing (12596 – starboard & midship, but a little closer to the forward elevator banks). Deck 12 is the first deck of traditional OV balconies just above the multiple decks of infinite balconies. Traditional balconies are definitely our first choice in warmer climates, but we would consider the infinite balcony in a cooler climate. We have no desire to let all of the hot/humid air into the cabin while simultaneously shutting off the a/c! I’ve always preferred “real” balconies as I can sit out on the balcony (sometimes updating the live blog, LOL! ) while Christine goes to sleep in a dark and cool cabin. Win, win for both of us! · Our stateroom attendant (Joselito) was awesome! He must have radar as he was always outside in the hallway whenever we headed out and always so genuinely friendly. · DO NOT play with the new climate control touchpad too much! I learned pre-cruise from folks that sailed Icon to NEVER put the climate control into “Sleep” mode as it actually goes into an eco-mode and the cabin warms up during the overnight. On the second evening, somehow it went into sleep mode and the cabin warmed up and would not drop below 72/73 all night… very uncomfortable for me. We both slept on top of the bedding. The following morning, our attendant confirmed this and suggested we use the light switches just below for controlling cabin lights and the up/down buttons to control the temperature. The strange thing was that the climate control never showed us in sleep mode that evening. Our attendant called maintenance the next morning and they adjusted it and from that point on we were able to maintain 67/68 the rest of the cruise. Perfect Day CocoCay · Hideaway Beach was very nice and well worth the $32.99 pp. I did see another drop in price, but I did not want to cancel/reissue to save a few bucks fearing the dreaded CP refund fiasco and potential cruise cancellation for an outstanding cruise fare balance! · The infinity pool was huge and we really enjoyed the swim-up bar, tables and submerged seats in the water, and the option to take cover under the bar overhang/roof when we needed a break from the direct sun. · The beach was nice as well. The water was very clear for most of the day… you can see the bottom as it was not too deep. The debris (plant matter, not seaweed) did not wash up until later in the afternoon just before we headed back to the ship. · Food was tasty at the Hideaway Hut and Slice of Paradise. Not gourmet or fancy like the Coco Beach Club restaurant, but satisfying enough! · We’ll probably go there the next time we have PDCC on the itinerary, especially if our family/friends join us so they can experience the area as well. Although there are so many nice, included areas at PDCC, it’s nice to have the Coco Beach Club option for that resort-like pampered experience with the upscale lunch and Hideaway Beach for the beautiful adults-only party vibe experience. Entertainment/Activities As we expected, there was no way to get everything in on one sailing. I keep telling Christine we’ll just have to come back! · The Aqua Theater show, “Aqua Action!” was excellent! This show and “Aqua 80” on Oasis are our favorites to date (we have not sailed Harmony or Symphony yet). Since the venue is smaller and enclosed, the experience is much more intimate and immersive than the shows in the outdoor theaters. Also, there are "new" acts beyond what typically is included in an Aqua Theater show. I do miss the dives from the super high platforms on Oasis class. The technology of course is amazing! Just remember, the show can and will be cancelled/rescheduled due to rough seas. This happened to us, but the rescheduled performances went off as scheduled later in the sailing. I would highly recommend arriving 30-45 minutes before the show. The earlier the better to secure a great seat! · “The Wizard of Oz” in the Royal Theater was absolutely amazing! We’re glad Royal went with a traditional Broadway-style production with an actual plot on Icon. I’m not the biggest fan of some of their homegrown productions ("Blue Planet", "One Sky", "The Book", etc.). We loved "Mamma Mia!" on Allure, but this has to be our favorite show to date! The technology in the theater, sets, performers, and 16-piece live orchestra were amazing! The performer that played Dorothy had an awesome voice as well. Other than the Aqua Theater shows, arriving about 30 minutes early should guarantee great seats. We were able to sit dead center on the main level literally one row in front of the STAR class reserved seating area! Another reason why we feel the Key is losing it’s shine… · The ice show, “Starburst: Elemental Beauty”, in Absolute Zero was excellent. We really like the new venue with the round/oval ice surface compared to the rectangular rinks on the other ships. The whole venue, as with the other major theaters, is loaded with impressive technology. The performances were on par with all of the other great ice shows, but the technology in this venue raises the bar! Same here… get there 30 minutes before the show for great seats. · The other major production in the Royal Theater, “The Effectors: The Origin Story”, was also entertaining. This is the prequel to the others shows on Odyssey ("The Effectors") and Wonder ("The Effectors: Crash & Burn"). What makes this show a little different is that they introduce you to some of the characters before they became a superhero or villain (their origin story, LOL! ). Since the theater on Icon is even more impressive than on Wonder, the show is even a little more immersive since the projections/images extend outward on either side of the main stage at times. They do replicate some of the basic scenes found in the other chapters, but I guess we have to assume that many folks have not had the opportunity to see the other shows. As with the other chapters, this is purely about showing off the technology and would likely appeal a bit more to the younger audience. · We skipped the other headliner, “Adam Kario”, who I believe was a juggler/comedian. I doubt he could top Pete Matthews (“The Crazy Juggler”)… he was amazing... we saw his awesome show on Odyssey. We also had to skip the comedy show since they rescheduled one of our cancelled shows which created a time conflict. Not a biggie! · We both surprisingly enjoyed “Crown’s Edge”. It was reasonably priced ($32.99) and came with a video (video and download link provided in RC app) and a picture taken by one of the ship photographers (extra cost or included in photo package). We were able to go twice which was really nice. I’m so proud of Christine for fighting her fear of heights! After the second run, she would have gone again if allowed! I don’t think this was necessarily a “one and done” activity, but definitely not a must do on each and every sailing. Random Thoughts and Observations · The Overlook area in the front of the AquaDome is amazing both day and night! Such a cool and relaxing place to hang out. Of course, fully enclosed and air-conditioned. There are two bars if you want a drink… one in the Overlook and another very close nearby (the “Rye & Bean”). · Just about every bar, restaurant, and café has ocean views (excluding Central Park and Surfside of course). Lots of natural light! · The Royal Promenade is huge and bright! Now with two complete decks (5 & 6) and natural light and ocean views from floor to ceiling windows on both sides (see above comment) and skylights above in Central Park. Seems even more spacious since they eliminated all of those permanent counters/tables usually installed in the Royal Promenade for merchandise/liquor sales throughout the sailing. There is just one area off to the side set up for this purpose and it definitely helps eliminate bottlenecks. · Give yourself some time to get used to the layout of the pool decks! Yes, multiple pool decks! Not all of the pool decks circumnavigate the ship. There are a number of dead ends which can be frustrating at first! Some outside decks are only partially accessible due to interior spaces, etc. · We enjoyed the Hideaway at the aft of the ship. If you want a chill atmosphere (think Coco Beach Club) and the chance to grab a nice spot right next to the infinity pool, or a lounger near the hot tubs, arrive early a little before they open the infinity pool at 9:00AM. There were no crowds in the AM up to noon. They play music over the speakers and there is full drink service if you are looking for an early drink while you chill in the pool, etc. If you want a nice party vibe (think Oasis Lagoon Pool/Hideaway Beach) and don’t mind crowds, arrive sometime around noon. At some point the DJ starts playing and the party continues through the afternoon. · Playmaker’s… Uggghh … IMHO a design screw-up! First "issue", the entire sports bar is in an interior space near Surfside with no windows or direct access to the outside. It feels like a basement sports bar. Second "issue"… in order to enter/exit the ice rink (Absolute Zero), you have to walk through Playmaker’s. Not the end of the world, but I guess they ran out of prime locations! · As with other ships with high-tech productions, try to be flexible as rough seas and/or tech issues may cause the cancellation of your performance. They will automatically reschedule the show to a later day for you (no need to make new reservations and it will appear in the RC app). We had a cancellation of “Aqua Action!” due to rough seas which was rescheduled to Day 5. If the show is too close to the end of your sailing, they will likely reschedule, but it will probably be open seating (no reservations needed). We had this for “The Effectors: The Origin Story” since our original performance was scheduled for the evening of Day 6. The CD explained there is no way for them to have the reservations moved and updated in the RC app that late in the sailing. · The service on Icon was outstanding across the board! I’ve heard (and some of the crew members confirmed) that they tend to assign more experienced crew when they launch a new ship and it clearly showed! If there were trainees onboard, it was not noticeable to us. · The Brightline experience … we loved it! As someone that has only been on the Long Island Railroad/LIRR (as they say IYKYK ), it was a very nice and relaxing experience. If the Brightline makes sense for you, I would not hesitate to try it! Prices tend to fluctuate based on time of departure, etc. We can now check it off our list! Bottom line… another amazing cruise! Love the ship and can’t wait until we can get back on Icon, or sail Star, but the prices will of course dictate if and when! Until then, we'll have to nail down Harmony and Symphony! It was really neat to have the opportunity to meet Chris Wong and Super Mario on this sailing! Oh, and Rover of course!!! Christine was bummed Capt. Henrik was not on this sailing , but Rover helped her ease her pain! I really hope we’ll be able to meet some of the many amazing people from our blog down the road! One day we’ll try to swing an RC Blog sailing! Our next cruise will be exactly one year from this sailing… not sure how we’ll survive. We will be back on a newly amped Allure from 5/11/25-5/18/25 sailing the Western Med! This will be my first trip to Europe and I can't wait! We’ll have to live vicariously through all of you, continue to plan for Allure, and research our 2026 cruise! I think that’s it for now… thanks so much for being patient and for following along!

Congratulations on your daughter's HS graduation! Happy Birthday to your daughter as well! Have an amazing time!!!!!

Bon Voyage!

I'm sure he'll be at the Top Tier, but not sure if he will speak again. They made a presentation to him that day. He's very gracious and seems happy to meet new folks and take pics (especially at the event). On our sailing, his "office" was set up outside in the smoking section in Cloud 17. A table with a couple of chairs that is roped off... they do have a sign designating it as "Super Mario's Office".

Same here... Harmony and Symphony are so elusive. I mentioned this before, but we had booked Harmony pre-Covid and they moved up her 5-year dry dock and they let us switch to Symphony. Covid hit and that ended that! Post-Covid, we booked Harmony out of PC for JAN 2023, but Wonder was redeployed to PC, so we moved to Wonder (certainly not mad, LOL!). Now Symphony is in Bayonne, but we're done this year and booked for 2025... not sure how much longer they will keep her in Bayonne for the summers beyond 2024/2025.

Sounds good to me! Enjoy yourself! I still haven't wrapped up mine and we returned 11 days ago!