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Sisters nails this cruise.

What we have to hide for two weeks 

In our cabin

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. 
 

 



 

 

Yes, my dad is probably most looking forward to the wine, he has a large wine collection in my parent's house in Scottsdale. For me, just give me pizza, pasta, and gelato and I will be happy 😃.

We are doing a private golf cart tour and the food walking tour as well! We are booked with LivTours. @Jkaczano spoke highly of them in her previous blog. Can’t wait to hear about your experiences! 

Hi Everyone,
As promised, here is a post about our pre-cruise plans in Rome. 
Just some back story, we have done Rome as a port of call at least 3 times before that I can remember (and I think we went there on one cruise before my memories as well). Those times were all as a port of call and not an embarkation/disembarkation port. Two of the three times I remember we did private tours with Driver in Rome that picked us up in Civitavecchia and drove us into Rome to see the sights. Those were in 2004 and 2008 so no clue if that was the same Driver in Rome company you can find when you Google it now. In 2004 we went to the Colosseum (at my insistence because of the Lizzie McGuire movie that came out the year before 🤣) and hit most of the major highlights and in 2008 I think we mainly went shopping (pretty sure our tour guide got annoyed at us for not wanting to do anything). Both those times were with my grandparents and my grandmother had just started using a wheelchair occasionally around the time of that 2004 trip. The third time was in 2014 with just me and my parents and we did a shore excursion that was a walking tour that started at either the Spanish steps or the Trevi Fountain (I don’t remember but I know it went to both) and ended at the Vatican, covering all the sights in between (except the Colosseum) including a stop for pizza. It was listed as strenuous (something we couldn’t do anymore with my mom but were more than capable of back then). It was a fantastic tour that I would recommend if it was still offered but looking at Royal Caribbean’s site, I don’t see it listed granted I don’t have access to a specific sailing with Rome as a port of call.
Now to our current plans! We land in Rome late in the evening of the 1st so we have the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th to explore Rome. Since we have seen most of the major sites before, we are focusing on the things we wanted to see again as well as some more fun experiences. We are staying at the Doubletree by Hilton Rome Monti which we chose based on a combination of TripAdvisor reviews and location. We have never stayed there before obviously so I will report back how it is. I booked tours each of the three days on Viator, leaving some time each day as free time ie shopping time that my mom insisted on having. I used a combination of Viator and TripAdvisor reviews when booking tours. One of the days we are doing a private guided golf cart tour, another day we are doing a small group guided Vatican tour (every time we have done the Vatican in the past has been self guided so this was something my dad really wanted to do). We are also doing a pasta cooking class one day as well as a food tour one evening. We did a food tour in Amsterdam last year and it was our favorite tour we did so hoping for the same success again. The food walking tour this time also goes through Rome’s Jewish Ghetto so a bit of Jewish history as a consolation prize for not going to Israel I guess. I will share the tour operators if people ask but none of this is a review yet so I don’t want to recommend any of our choices yet as we might be getting this all wrong 😆.
Finally, for transportation, we are using Stefano’s Rome Cabs booked through Viator based on reviews on TripAdvisor as well as on all the cruise board sites. They are picking us up from the airport and taking us to our hotel, taking us from our hotel to the cruise, the cruise to our post cruise hotel, and then taking us from our post cruise hotel to the airport. Speaking of our post cruise hotel, we are staying at the Cardo Roma, Autograph Collection since it is just one night. This is a little closer to the airport than staying in the center of Rome and our flight is very early the next day. This was a last minute change (we were originally staying at the Hilton at the Airport but then heard some pretty bad reviews). Hopefully it was the right change, at least the hotel is very newly renovated and just reopened, so much so that it doesn't have any new TripAdvisor reviews.
In another post I will talk about the cruise excursions we have booked and I plan to post a packing status update soon. I just took out my suitcases today so no progress as of yet but my mom has started putting stuff in her suitcase so at least she is going on this cruise 🙃. Warning: we haven’t exactly mastered the art of packing light so please don’t judge too much. We also got Euros from our bank this week and started all of our obligatory pre-cruise prep of stopping the mail, printing out baggage tags, etc.

Thanks again! TTYL!
- Ashley 

Wow, the water looks awesome !

We had a great time on this excursion with the exception of the snorkeling which was not great. The experience was sub par and required a guided tour which is very beginner level. The guide brought you to the wall where it drops off to 7000’. Literally you see a few fish and the abyss which was less then desirable. The remainder of the excursion was exceptional. The beach break was absolute perfection with crystal clear water and lots of rum punch. Overall I would recommend this excursion for the time at the beach alone. 

Welcome to the message boards!
I'd recommend two connecting cabins instead of one room.
https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2022/02/15/mailbag-whats-the-best-cruise-ship-cabin-my-family

@OCSC Mikehas it right.  Retirement is the key.  Of course, our cruising style has taken a bit of a downgrade since retirement, but where the quality went down, the quantity went up !  Nothing truer than the old adage, “When you’re working you have the money but no time and when you’re retired you have the time but no money”.

I think retirement helps. Been trying to speed it up but Powerball doesn't want to cooperate.

For me…once you’ve been to a few of them…you feel as though you’ve seen them all!  Almost always same or very similar questions.  Just not entertaining enough to sit through.

21 days til cruise day, 19 days til we leave, and 12 work days left... 
The first hints of packing have begun, I've got some essentials gathered together in the bathroom - sunscreen, aloe gel, a couple of OTC meds. Debating picking up some motion sickness meds, although neither Jamie and I suffer (we rode all the simulator style rides at Universal multiple times with no ill effects) and I've had one day of feeling slightly off in 14 nights at sea. But I'm thinking better to have it and not need it. 
Currently searching Amazon for a few things - including a bag for port days. I need one that will hold a couple of bottles of water, phone and my cane when folded (which is around 30cm long including the rolling ball tip). I'd ideally like one with some anti-theft features too. 
Packing proper will happen next weekend - that way if I'm missing anything major I have time to get it delivered. 

WAAAYTOOO, you guys (and others) have convinced us that this should be our plan.  We'll be on Mariner, so chose to book Jamie's.  Thanks for your help!

They didn't offer it on any recent sailings, I asked about it in Jan and everyone (crew members) was unsure if it would be back. 

I've heard that its National Lunch Day on the Saturday before Mom's day (5/11) so Royal may run a special pricing that day.

You can always consider pre-purchasing lunch at a specialty restaurant.  This is what we do.  Yes, it's additional $$ but it is so worth it for a calm, enjoyable boarding day reward.  Prices have gone up but lunch is still one of the few bargains left on Royal Caribbean.

I usually spring for the extra cost and get some food at Playmakers. There aren't any complimentary options that really are away from the masses on that ship class unfortunately.

Thanks, AshleyDillo.  I was thinking this might be one option.

Every time I post something about how the WJ isn’t busy or chaotic when it first opens I get crickets so I basically gave up.
It takes a while for people to board, explore, find their way around, take care of issues, etc. I love being one of the first people there.

We always go in about 10 minutes after it opens. No lines, plenty of window seats available.

Same...sometimes I board before it's even open and there's never a rush when they open the doors.

Yep, yep, and yep.

Okay, there has certainly been a lot of hype about this ship, and a colleague (adult) is doing a back-to-back with her mother (senior) this Fall, so I was somewhat interested in learning more about the huge new Icon.  I have to say, I skimmed through your video just to hear at the end that in your opinion the ship is not too adult friendly.  We, as a mature couple, have always had a good time on our previous RC cruises, but there were a nice mix of ages.  We are not really into adult-only cruises, but we do not necessarily want to be on a cruise which is completely child-centered.  Did you do any grown-up things, like go dancing, listen to a band, or attend a comedy show, or anything that was not focused on the young one? Is there good shopping variety, or are there decent spa services? 
Anyway, it was a very nicely constructed video, and I cannot believe you even did pricing--very helpful to those interested in a future booking! Your shots were clear and interesting, your pace was great, the narration was smooth, and you covered a nice variety of topics. 
Yes, I agree the ship is probably way overpriced--that is what happens when there is a lot of demand.  
Sorry I cannot subscribe--your video is actually one of the few cruise videos I have ever watched on Youtube! After fifty years of cruising I rarely have a need to look at those types of resources.  But, I do like chatting a bit on this forum, so thanks for sharing.
I know your son will look back on these experiences and treasure them all, along with his father's excellent documentation.  Best wishes!