Mrs. Regular

I have iPhone and can't login with the password I haven't changed in a year but the error message says my pw is not correct Update: changed my pw and that actually worked. ugh.

I agree, and for that matter we would just remain in our current cabin and buy The Key instead. For where we are at in our cruise journey and trying to build loyalty status, the investment in suite class to get to Diamond quicker by earning double points is the true draw right now. Any other perks are nice to have but we don't need to have them. On large ships, I think we would consider it.

Thanks, all. This helps a lot! I need to read the fine print better and thankful to this community for your help and insight!

Well that's a reason right there! Yeesh. Thanks for sharing that!

I am sailing on the Brilliance to Alaska in May. Royal Up email appeared in my inbox yesterday. Minimum bids for Jr. Suite through 1 and 2 bedroom Grand Suites aren't that bad per person. We have an aft balcony room so I'm not very interested in giving up that view but I could bid a reasonable amount on a grand suite... Ugh. So torn. I know there's not a guarantee at all. On a larger class ship I would do it but being unfamiliar with sky class suite class benefits on a Radiance class ship I'm not sure there's much benefit beyond double C&A points (we will reach Emerald on this cruise and we're still building toward status that actually pays off, so that might be a pro) and wifi included. We already have all our plans settled so I'm not sure we'd need the concierge. The happy hour in the suite lounge seems ok but we are traveling with family in other rooms who wouldn't be able to enjoy it. Anyone have thoughts on taking the gamble?

We sailed on her for our honeymoon in 2017 in Europe and had a fantastic time. Yes she's small, but if you aren't into all the modern bells and whistles of an Oasis or even Voyager class it's a lovely, low key time. We had a port intensive itinerary with only two sea days, but the time we spent on the ship was so nice and the crew is outstanding. Husband just asked if we could go back on her but I'm gunning for the Symphony next, lol.

Wrap Up Thoughts! Again, these are our thoughts based on how we live life, vacation, and worldview. You may agree, you may disagree, AND THAT IS OK! Once again for context - we take big vacations with the kids sparsely, this was our third cruise overall, we have only cruised with Royal Caribbean, and we don't tend to do a lot of fancy things but will treat ourselves once in a while. With that being said, here are our takeaways about the Mariner of the Seas 6 Night Eastern Caribbean and Perfect Day cruise: We love Coco Beach and the Space Coast. If we ever cruise out of Canaveral again (and we will, just not for a while), I want to come down 2-3 days early or stay a few days after to enjoy the beach town life. We adored Merritt Island, Cape Canaveral, Coco Beach, and still need to tour Kennedy Space Center. Voyager Class Ships are a great fit for us! We previously sailed on the Rhapsody and Anthem, and we felt like if our family was Goldilocks this class of ship is juuuuuust right! Not too big and not too small, the venues were well spaced out (except for deck 3), the ship was essentially sold out but venues never felt overcrowded and queues for food or activities like waterslides moved at a reasonable pace. The ship was easy to navigate but felt large enough that there was so much to keep us busy. I'd be happy to sail any other ships in this class again, and sometimes Adventure ports in NJ! The changes to crew responsibilities, schedule, and dining operations have had negative impacts on service. THIS IS NOT A COMPLAINT ABOUT THE CREW THEMSELVES. Every singe crew member we encountered on this ship was engaged in their work and we knew they wanted to do a good job to please the guests. It was obvious, though, that the level of service we have experienced on previous sailings before the changes (e.g., cabin service 2x a day, old menus, more crew available) is no longer there because crew are stretched too thin. They didn't have time to engage with us, get to know us, or even have more than a 30 second conversation. It all felt..... transactional at best. It felt like they could no longer go out of their way to help. For example, I was in the Windjammie looking for a banana and asked a crew member, Randy (WHO IS AWESOME), if there were any available because I couldn't find one. He said he'd go look in the pantry for me. While I was waiting, I heard his supervisor looking for him and another crew told him he was in the kitchen looking for something for a guest (me). The supervisor seemed annoyed with this and very curtly said "well tell him to call me." I almost spoke up to tell him how much I appreciated Randy taking the time to help me out, but the supervisor quickly turned on his heel and left to do something else. Randy returned with a banana for me and I really wish I had a dollar or two to show my appreciation. I did give him a shoutout in the post-cruise survey. We experienced this a couple other times, too, that it seemed like all crew have their "track" and they can't stray from it. Obviously I wouldn't ask housekeeping to bring me a banana in the Windjammie, but geesh I didn't think asking a food & beverage crew about food and beverage would be an issue. Even the kids, who don't get waited on at home and don't expect it elsewhere, remarked they felt the service was different and not in a good way from our Anthem cruise, which was sad. We will not do another summertime cruise for a long time. This is just timing and preferences, and if my birthday was any other time of year we wouldn't have cruised in July. We prefer to go to warm climates when it's less humid and less crowded. Labadee is the best! After doing Perfect Day twice, we all agreed Labadee was the best out of the two. We treated ourselves to a bungalow when it was at a sale price I couldn't refuse, and it was worth every penny! We had a wonderful experience here, the natural beauty of Columbus Cove, the fun activities and excursions, and the service were excellent. I know some folx don't love the food, and I get why, but I actually thought the food was very good and better than what was in the Windjammie. We are over the deluxe beverage package for now. While we definitely got the best bang for our buck on this itinerary (only Puerto Plata was non-Royal affiliated), Mr. Regular and I agreed we'd be fine with paying out of pocket for alcohol in the future. We did try some fun new cocktails but by and large we stuck with coffees, sodas, waters, and drinks included with the cruise fare. We are doing Alaska next (YAY!!!) and decided at most we would get Refreshment packages or the coffee cards and carry on wine and Prosecco. Starlink internet was great. I know there's been mixed reviews that vary by ship. We had Voom surf and it was much faster and more reliable than when we were on Anthem in 2022. We used the app to message each other and it worked great, too, just really wish there were push notifications! I also thought the internet worked at Labadee but we couldn't get it. Well, that's all folx! We are now 10 months from our next sailing in ALASKA on the Brilliance of the Seas next May! It will be Mr. Regular, me, my mother and sister, and the Regular In-Laws. Thanks for reading along!!!

Hit another snag in finishing up this blog. A few snags, actually! When we last left off our flight had been delayed only a few hours. Well, fast forward to nearly 7 hours later (say it in your head with the Sponge Bob accent, it's fun!) and we were still in Terminal C waiting. A series of unfortunate events with air traffic, weather in both DC and MCO (our plane to Central NY was coming from Regan), and crew/staffing problems caused by hours and hours of delays meant we spent a bonus night in Orlando. Ranting about the airline's decision to continuously delay us nearly 24 hours and then not assist customers with overnight accommodations is outside the scope of this blog, but it was frustrating to say the least and I'm thankful I never travel without trip insurance. I still got home in time to spend my 40th with Shania Twain, though! Then Sunday, Mr. Regular discovered he came home with an unwanted souvenir, if you get my drift. He was feeling a little "off" and chilly on the plane Saturday, which is unusual because this man is NEVER cold, but I chalked it up to a week's worth of vacation, alcohol, restaurant food, lack of sleep, and eating exactly 3 vegetables. Sadly, he spiked a fever Sunday and we confirmed a certain virus followed him home. Luckily, the kids and I are ok! Hopefully he's starting to feel better this morning. So anyway, that was our adventure filled end to our cruise vacation. Wrap up thoughts to come!

Day 6 - Coco Cay Our last day of the cruise was at Coco Cay. We have been here once before and had a Beach Bed on Breezy Bay, which we booked again for this time. We really like the Breezy Bay location and the space a Day bed affords, but I don't know if we will reserve one again next time. Unfortunately, the weather was not perfect when we arrived. We docked at 7 a.m. and I was off the ship almost as soon as it cleared. I was going to spend EVERY AVAILABLE MINUTE at that bed come rain or come shine. There were some scattered rain showers in the forecast, but I wasn't concerned. Well, I should have been. I checked into the bed and just about 15 minutes later the thunder rolled. From about 9-10:30 a super intense cell of thunder storms blew in. I was surprised we weren't directed to take shelter in Chill Grill, just instructed to stay out of the water due to the lightning. Once it passed, the rest of the day was sunny and warm. I stayed at the bed pretty much all day long, the rest of the fam went to do Swimming with Pigs. They said it was cute and had fun but definitely a one-and-done experience. Unlike the monkey encounter experience at Puerto Plata, it was apparent this excursion is about profiting off the animals. Mr. R. said he could really tell the pigs are not very well taken care of and are forced to stay in the water for the sake of taking photos they pressure you to buy. I am NOT about that, and am glad I didn't go. My SK's love animals and that's why they wanted to do it. We live near several farms, I can get my pig fix at home, lol. We stayed at the bed, floated in the water, and got yummy food from Snack Shack until it was time to pack up and head back to the ship. What a sad walk that is. So, while we do love the beach bed, when we go to Coco Cay again I think we will just get chairs under umbrellas adjacent to the beach beds. We felt tethered to the bed because we paid for it (not much, but still) and didn't explore the island at all. Last trip we had a bed and did the water park so we also didn't do anything else that trip. We would do more in the pool, look at the other beaches, and play the games there next time. We still had a lovely day! We left around 4 pm and got ready for our last dinner onboard. It was pretty good, but again we just didn't feel the connection with our wait staff this time and saying good-bye didn't feel as bittersweet as it has in the past. After dinner, we went to trivia, the farewell show called Center Stage, and then saw the first half of The Quest. We just don't get the appeal of The Quest, but I understand why so many love it. Maybe we were too sober? Maybe it's because my career is in higher education so I don't love this kind of college behavior while I'm on my vacation? We tried, but it isn't for us. This morning disembarkation went very smoothly. We were out of our rooms at 7:45 and got a quick bite in the Windjammie. We were off the ship around 8:30 and through customs, and got on our GoPort shuttle before 9. Arrived at MCO in time for several delays, including the most recent one that now has us arriving home at 9:30 p.m. I suppose there are worse things that could happen. Final thoughts, food reviews, and more pics to come in the following days. I officially turn 40 tomorrow and celebrating by going to Shania Twain with my girl squad!

Day 5 - A Day at Sea We did a whole lot of.... NOTHING today, and it was great. Mr. Regular and I had hoped to get to the Solarium really early to get a day bed. We arrived at 7 am and all of them were taken. It looked like some folx slept there overnight to hold one for their party. That's dedication. We got 4 chairs next to each other looking over the sea and spent the morning there relaxing, reading, eating, and drinking. At 11:30 we did the escape room, which was pretty cool. I don't love the $35 per person fee, but what can you do. I am not as into puzzles and games as the rest of my family but they had fun and it was cool to be in the space and do it once. We got some lunch at the Windjammie after that and hit the water slides in the afternoon. I had wanted to go to BINGO but seats were all taken 45 minutes early. I pivoted and went to catch the last bit of the ice show and then Boy Band trivia in the Schooner Bar. That was a hoot! I got some video of the whole bar singing Backtreet Boys, it was great. Why does time fly on a sea day? Before we knew it, it was time to get ready for dinner. It was the second formal night and felt odd without the Royal menu. We all felt pretty ambivalent about the new menus, everything was tasty and hot when it came out but we missed the Classics and we felt the pressure on the staff to get guests in and out of dinner within 60-75 minutes made for some disjointed communication and service. We didn't get to know our wait staff how we like to and felt our interactions with them were short because they had lots of tables to take care of. After dinner, we did some more trivia and then saw the A Night with Adele headlining show. Amy Jo was amazing! I liked that she can sing Adele's material in a very confident and commanding way but she still sounds like herself and not trying to be an Adele impersonator. We had been taking full advantage of our beverage service and I knew the time was ripe to get Mr. Regular on the dance floor at the 80's party. This was fun, too, and should be longer! There's only time for a couple songs and by the time you get into it the party wraps up. Nevertheless, we both had a great time rocking out to the tunes from our childhood. A very relaxing sea day, just as the good Lord intended. Tomorrow, a (fairly) Perfect Day at Coco Cay!

Ok, I had to take a pause from live updates due to some extreme sea sickness on night 4 (more on that later) and fighting with teenagers for access to the internet we were "sharing." I should have just changed the pin code on her until I didn't need it anymore live and learn. We debarked this morning and have been at MCO for a few hours because SK 2 had an earlier flight than the rest of us and now we have just been delayed 2 hours so here I sit in Terminal C, finishing my blog. When we last left off, we had just docked in Labadee. After a quick Windjammie breakfast we got off the ship and were at our Bungalow on Columbus Cove by 9:15 a.m. We got checked in and met our attendant, Lamy, and enjoyed the view of the ship and calm, cool water until it was time to go Ziplining at 11! Lamy called "the limo" (a small golf cart for bungalows and cabana guests) to take us to the excursion spot. We got harnessed up, watched the safety video, and then hit the warm up run. The wind was picking up so our guides were really flying us through the basics so we could be sure to get the real deal done. This was such a fun experience, and I would highly recommend. I'd do it again in a second! I had forgotten to pack a couple necessities in my beach bag, so after Ziplining was over I briefly went back to the ship and then spent the rest of the afternoon luxuriating in the water and drinking Labadizzles (as we called them the more we drank). We absolutely adored our bungalow and our time at Labadee. It was hot, but we had shade, drink service, floating mats, and a peaceful spot to enjoy each other's company. The natural beauty of Haiti was stunning. I think this was easily my favorite day until... Rough seas. I can be sensitive to motion especially in the car or on the bus if I am looking at a screen or reading (which is why I binge podcasts when traveling!) but I usually don't get bothered on cruises. Except this night! During dinner I could tell something was off. I ate my meal just fine, but I knew I had to go back to my cabin and not come back out until conditions improved. The captain announced some thunder storms nearby were making the seas pretty unstable with 10 ft. swells that definitely made the ship rock and roll to the point I wasn't sure I would make it. I took Bonine, got some ginger ale, and laid down in the room. Sadly this meant I would miss our post-dinner trivia and all the July 4th celebrations. My family enjoyed the balloon drop on the Royal Promenade and I could hear the music from our stateroom. Luckily the captain announced conditions would improve greatly by midnight and they did. When I woke up the next morning I was back to normal. Day 5 coming next, but first some pics from Labadee!

Hmmmm, I don't know. I haven't been on an Oasis Class ship yet, I was supposed to be on Oasis in 2020 but obviously wasn't (no one was). I remember from some YouTube sources and looking at deck maps it seemed like they pul hallways that go from bow to stern around Studio B.

Now that we are halfway through our itinerary and have gotten to know the ship a bit better, it’s time for Likes and Dislikes. These observations are OUR OPINIONS and based in what we think as we experience the world. Thanks for not engaging in rudeness, but I happy to have a dialogue if you have other opinions based on how you see the world. DISLIKES Deck 3 layout. I know this has been remedied on Oasis class ships with a Studio B. The lack of ways around it on deck 3 was poor design. If you are in the theatre at the bow and would like to get to the ice show or something at the stern (or vice versus) you have to go up to deck 4 and walk through the smoky casino, or up another to deck 5 and get through the crowd on the Promenade and get back down to deck 3. Casino. We aren’t gambling people but we do enjoy Vegas and spending about 45 minutes (and $100) at the Black Jack table but we just couldn’t stay in there. Too much smoking (you have a right to smoke, sure, but you don’t get to blow it in my face when I ask you to please direct you exhale away from me) and the dealer we had was either new or having a rough evening. Room service. So sad to put this here! We’ve ordered room service twice and while the delivery time and service has been fantastic, the food has been very sub par. The SK’s ordered most of the menu for dinner last night (their consolation prize for being left out of Chops) and they both said the food was cold or tasted bad. Luckily, this had been the only disappointing food experience so far, but sad because we’ve had great food from room service on every other cruise in the past. LIKES! Food (except room service) has been excellent all week from the Windjammer to Cafe Promenade. Crew are by and large fabulous, friendly, efficient, and responsive when we’ve needed something. Entertainment cast! So energetic, super talented, and really gets us into the spirit of having fun at sea. Full review will come at the end of our trip, of course, but for now these are the highlights and lowlights over the last three days. We just docked at Labadee, so after a quick Windjammie stop we are off to our Bungalow for the day.

Well, it wasn’t the day in Puerto Plata we planned, but it was the day we had and it wasn’t half bad. The Taino Bay port is very nice. We just didn’t have enough information to make good decisions today and it wound up costing us a bit more than we planned. But it all worked out. we went to MDR breakfast around 9:15. We had a great time at MDR breakfast on the Anthem last year, but either this morning was a fluke or last cruise was. None of us were all that pleased and the waiter we had was… gruff. We have a loooong tether when it comes to food service because all of us know how hard it is. So we give folx the benefit of the doubt that maybe he was having an off morning. Anyway, we wandered off the ship and walked down the pier and then to the verrrrrry end of the port to find a cab. Sadly, the taxi driver told us the cable car stopped working last week. It got stuck and there were cruise passengers on it. Can you imagine?!? So we pivoted and hired a driver to take us around town for a few hours. We went to the rum factory, a chocolate tasting, Pink St., Umbrella St., and the city center. It was a nice way to see the town. After our tour we settled in at the port, floated along the lazy river, and as I wrote this Mr Regular and the SK’s are at the monkey experience. I love animals but prefer to enjoy exotic animals at a distance so I’m lounging by the pool while they do that. All aboard is in about 45 minutes. I, for one, can’t wait to get going to Labadee tomorrow. This port is ok; but I probably won’t be scrambling to get back here.

It is the statue at the base of the staircase in the MDR. It is definitely themed to Sound of Music. I adore it!

Early morning update today. The teens are asleep so it’s the only time I get uninterrupted internet for more than 20 minutes at a time, lol. Plus I’ve been up for an hour anyway thanks to my body adjusting to cruise food and some larger swells rocking the ship a bit. Nothing uncomfortable, not even a little bit. But enough to feel it and make the hangars in the closet clack gently together every few minutes. It feels like riding on a train. Anyway, yesterday was Day 2, at sea! Mr. Regular and I had our FlorRider lesson bright and early. We were in a small group of a couple kids and their dads, so about 6 total. We had 2 instructors, they were very good and gentle with me when I was tense and getting frustrated. The Flowrider is fun but wow is it difficult to surf! Mr. R picked it up right away but I will stick to Boogie Boarding. We wrapped up around 9, and then Mr. R and SK2 had sushi making class at 10 so I grabbed a mimosa and breakfast to go from the Windjammie and ate on my balcony. My favorite sea day activity! I heard sushi was really fun and saw pictures of what they made. Apparently you can’t take it with you out of the restaurant if you don’t eat it all, so they left a bunch behind. But overall they really enjoyed it. I hung back in the room to write some Dissertation stuff and then went by myself to the MDR for lunch. I had a lovely seat at the window and enjoyed being waited on. The food was all right, nothing to write home about, but certainly not bad. I wrote some more after that and then around 2I took a quick nap because we had ice skating at 3! I’ve been skating since I was 6 years old and couldn’t wait to skate at sea. I don’t know how those performers can do anything on such a small ice sheet. Tonight we will see Ice Under the Big Top so I’m really looking forward to it. Mr. R and the SK’s went to some trivia games, walked around the ship, ate some snacks and won some Bingo cards at Name That Tune. We will use those on the next sea day. Dinner was France night and it was very satisfying. MDR service both nights 1 and 2 have been super. Our servers are Kimberly and Jeffrey, they are pleasant and efficient but not as jovial or verbose as the wait staff we have had on other cruises. I don’t know if that’s due to the new goal to speed up service or just luck of the draw with personality. We have not felt rushed or ignored at all, and for a family of 4 that orders multiple appetizers and desserts and likes after dinner coffees, we have been finished within 60-75 minutes. Entertainment and activity wise I love production shows and the last 2 nights have been good. The Welcome Aboard show was pretty good. This is Dan Dan’s first week as CD on Mariner while Bing Bong is on vacay. He’s energetic and hokey like every other CD I’ve had. We don’t tend to care much about the CD but I know many folx do. Last night we saw Gallery of Dreams. Loved it! I’ve always said that most of the time the material the cast have to work with is t the best but they are all super talented and do well with what they have to work with. Today we dock in Puerto Plata in about 3 hours. We will take a cab to the cable car and head up the mountain and then enjoy the port a bit (the new Taino Bay!) before heading back onboard to enjoy a less crowded pool deck the rest of the afternoon. Mr. R and I have date night at Chops for dinner.

Greetings from onboard! Sail away in 29 minutes! All going well so far, rooms were ready at 1:15. Mr. Regular and I enjoyed our wine and cheese plate on our balcony while dolphins played in the water.

Greetings from Coco Beach, FL! We had a great day yesterday with the only hiccup being finding our rental car. PSA for everyone flying through MCO: There are 3 terminals and therefore 3 possible locations to get your car, based on what you get assigned. They are supposed to keep them consistent, but somehow even though we arrived in Terminal C (which is new and beautiful!), our car was in Terminal A, which we didn't learn until first visiting the garages in both terminals C and B. We have now trod the entirety of MCO. Once we arrived at the correct garage, my paperwork wasn't there and the wrong car was in the space. It was frustrating, but mostly because we were hot and hangry (the alternative family name but Regulars was nicer) and I was ITCHING to get to Disney Springs. But, it all worked out ok and shout out to the Budget agent who I am sure has had to put up with all kinds of BS from people. She couldn't have been more helpful and got us a car that fit our needs. The drive to Disney Springs was great, and I-4 was not the usual parking lot I know and love, which is a huge win. We arrived at Disney Springs for some food, some magic, and a little shopping. Once we enjoyed our food and I got a new Magic Band+ for my October trip, we headed to a Target to grab some last minute needs and then arrived at Coco Beach. The drive to the coast was beautiful, although it's super hot and humid, the weather couldn't have been much better yesterday. No afternoon rain! Personally I hate the politics in FL but gosh darn it I love the environment and by and large FL residents are great people. It does feel like my home away from home. Whether at Disney or off property, relaxing in Naples or touring Miami, FL is my happy place. Our hotel is literally atop the Ron Jon Surf Shop! It's a well appointed Sheraton in a fantastic location. We had dinner at a hidden gem right across the street called Pancetta Pizza Bar. Tucked into a plaza next to Winn Dixie, don't sleep on this spot the next time you're in Coco Beach. The service, food, and atmosphere were 5 stars. After dinner we walked to the beach to enjoy the late evening air (it's so nice here compared to the poor air quality at home right now) and browsed the Ron Jon shop. We headed to bed early and are just getting ready for the day this morning. We have an 11 a.m. check in so about an hour from now we will drop the car, take the shuttle to the port and *hopefully* be boarding the ship before the SpaceX launch. I'll check back in most likely tomorrow. Bon Voyage!

Thanks! Yes, I'll be sure to document and post a review. Vacation friends are the best, LOL!

Popping in now so I can catch up later. I'll be sailing this itinerary next May so I really appreciate your time sharing about your trip!

Welcome to another edition of Regular People Cruising! I can't believe we will be setting sail in 3 days. My family booked this trip on our last cruise 18 months ago on the Anthem. Well, we booked the same ship but a completely different itinerary at the time. I wanted to spend my 40th birthday at sea, and in just a short few days that dream will come true! Here's some more about the Regulars! Me, Mrs. Regular! I'm Nikki. Wife to J (aka Mr. Regular) and step-mom to SK1 and SK2. I work at a university and love all things Disney, ballet, figure skating, cooking, books, and beaches. I am in a EdD program in the literature review stage, so unfortunately this trip will be a little bit of writing sprinkled into the party. This will be my third cruise with Royal. J (aka Mr. Regular). Dad to SK1 and SK2. Works in IT. Loves all things winter and snow sports. Very kindly allows me to drag him to hot places occasionally. This is also his third cruise with RCC. SK1 (step-kid 1). 17 year old girl, loves all things theatre & dance. Super extroverted, can't wait to meet other kids on this trip and be lifelong SnapChat friends. Second time on a cruise. SK2 (step-kid 2). 16 year old guy, obsessed with sports. Baseball is life. Also excels at basketball and is eager to play pickup games at any time. Looking forward to eating a lot of pizza, drinking Shirley Temples at dinner, and going to the gym. Also his second cruise. Why are we called the Regulars? Well it started with my last blog in 2022 on the Anthem. We aren't fancy vacation people and don't have the budget or lifestyle to support the suite life. We also don't buy too many add-ons or make splurge purchases, just a couple drink packages and treating myself to a birthday bungalow at Labadee. Many of the blogs here have been very helpful with planning but I don't come across too many that feature regular stuff. You won't see one Diamond or Suite Lounge photo in this blog, we eat in the MDR and Windjammie, so if that's not what you're looking for just make sure you set your expectations, ok? Here's what we have planned: June 30 -fly from Central NY to Orlando. We have an early direct flight so after picking up our rental car we are going directly to Disney Springs so I can get a fix at World of Disney and enjoy my favorite food, thigh high chicken and biscuits, at Homecomin.' After shopping and eating we will stop by a Walmart to get full size sunscreen (Regulars carry on only) and aftersun lotions, then drive to our hotel at Coco Beach. July 1 - drop the car back off at Budget near the port and take shuttle to the terminal! We have an 11 a.m. check in time. I'm hoping we can get in earlier because Mr. Regular REALLY wants to try and catch the Space X launch at 11:15 a.m. We'll see what we can see. No other plans today other than embarkation, eating, activating drink packages, eating dinner, and catching a show or live music. July 2 - Day at sea! Mr. Regular and I booked Flowrider surf lessons at 7:45 a.m. Unfortunately, there were still some lingering COVID restrictions on our last cruise and the Flowrider staff were unable to teach and assist at the time so he is really excited to learn this trip. I will also do some dissertation writing in the morning and then spend the rest of the day luxuriating. The guys have the On a Roll Sushi Making Class for lunch today, SK1 and I will probably go to the MDR, Playmakers, or order room service for lunch. July 3 - Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic. I initially had wanted to do the waterfalls but SK1 is a little adventure adverse and she wasn't into it when we looked at videos on You Tube. I think we will walk through the town and take the cable car up to the monument and botanic garden, then get lunch in the port and enjoy the free pool and lazy river there. This port has just been renovated and it looks amazing! Mr. Regular and I have dinner at Chops tonight and the kiddos are on their own. July 4 - Happy US Independence Day and MY (early) BIRTHDAY. We are at Labadee and I CAN'T WAIT! We did take advantage of Black Friday sales that made virtually every activity half off. So we booked a beach bungalow for everyone, we are all doing the Dragon's Breath zipline, and the kiddos are going into the inflatable waterpark. We have Zipline first thing so I can take the rest of the day to drink and relax in the bungalow. July 5 - Day at sea! No plans. Like, NONE. I will likely get up before the rest of the fam and write in the library for a bit. I want to ice skate and see the ice show, spend time on the pool deck, and keep working on my Flowrider skillz! July 6 - Coco Cay! This will be our second time here, and after really enjoying our experience last cruise we also booked a Breezy Bay beach bed here. Mr. Regular and SK1 are doing swimming with pigs. Otherwise SK2 and I have no plans but hanging out all day. July 7 - Disembark in Port Canaveral. I wasn't excited that our originally booked 8 night cruise turned into a 6 nighter, but given how busy our lives are and SK1 is preparing to go to college just 6 weeks later, we can use some more time at home. SK2 has a baseball tourney in Boston so he's taking off on his own flight up to Logan, and then the rest of us are flying back to Central NY later in the afternoon. Wow, for just 6 nights onboard we will still be doing a heck of a lot. What would you like us to report back on? What would you like to see from the ship? Ports? We will absolutely document food, drinks, rooms, and maybe some other random experiences. I'll check back in here once we arrive in FL! Thanks for reading!

Is there really no one else on this sailing, lol???

Never too early, I have May 2024 Alaska! 508 days and counting.

Anthem is a great ship! The entertainment is wonderful, make sure you also see We Will Rock You. The story is not great but the music is all Queen and the talent is top notch. We also enjoyed Spectra's Cabaret in 270. We also do not get off at Canaveral, not enough time to do anything significant and it's nice to enjoy an emptier ship. While in port, Northstar is complimentary but reservations go fast. It only goes up and down regardless of which port, not just a Miami thing.

I'm hoping Odyssey comes to NYC at some point like the rumors are saying, for now holding off on booking Symphony because we already have Alaska in May 2024. It's really nice to have an Oasis class option up here in the northeast but I like the Quantum class a little better. Anthem has my heart though I'd love to try on Odyssey without having the additional travel costs to FL.