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I am super late to this party. The freeloaders have been keeping me so busy I have not been on the blogs for weeks now. This is the perfect time for me to read this blog. @TheBoss518 and I just booked Indy for August. We actually got a casino comp for the cruise. This is our first "free" cruise (we of course paid to upgrade to a suite gty) I feel pretty lucky because the last time we were in the casino was two years ago. I ran the Facebook page for that sailing and ran a slot pull. depite not spending any more money there, we still get offers and this was the first one we have been able to do. 
We are excited because we are leaving the freeloaders home with the grand parents for this one. 
I do have a question for all you  casino pros. When you book a casino comp, do you get the opportunity for royal up bids? We did a suite gty rate because we would be perfectly fine in a jr suite since there aren't big differences in suite benefits moving to a GS. I don't feel like paying an extra 1k per person to book into a GS directly. There are so many rooms open still so fingers crossed we get a magical room assignment by default. I just found out that this cruise is also a Gaming and Anime convention cruise so I cant wait to see all the kids in their cosplay🤣 This should make for a fun blog when we go!

I had to check out Fish & Ships again for quality control. This room is handy for running up/down one flight and grabbing some..or some soft serve..or hitting up WJ for a to-go plate.
The chicken fingers were different this time. The fish they were frying fresh in small batches. It tasted less bland this time too..maybe because it was fresh.

Of course I had dinner 3 hours later. I'm at a 2-top in a row of other 2-tops so I have neighbors to pretend to ignore.  No great people watching to share. 
Now I'm in WJ for second dinner 😂 I needed vegetables because the MDR doesn't know what those are.
They are frying donuts up fresh tonight...

Those mugs are labeled as sugar donut with chocolate milk..because everyone likes their milk to sit under a heat lamp.
 

Pretty sure that was our chosen location on Indy a couple years ago when I was able to move whatever our GTY assignments were... deck 10 aft.
Purely coincidence... definitely not the reason why... OK, it was the exact reason why, lol.

To the room...


There are so few rooms in this little loop and it's behind a door so likely to be pretty quiet. The wifi is fast in the room too 👍

From the decor it appears this is a bunch of newer rooms perhaps? It definitely looks different from my last room here:

Got my C&A amenity..

Even the bathroom is a different tone from the last one..

No SeaPass = no Crown Lounge so I just hung out in the public area up on 14 until the room announcements were ready.

I like the location of my room other than it throws me at the aft elevators. Those are always the busier elevators since it's the side of the ship with all the food. Lots of people riding up to go down and filling up the elevators before it gets to deck 10. Fortunately I tend to spend a lot of my time on this ship on decks 11 and 14 which are close enough to be stair friendly. 
 

I tried to pull a @WAAAYTOOO and grab my SeaPass card from my stateroom door, but it wasn't there. I didn't break any rules or go behind any signs that said rooms wouldn't be open until 1pm.  But my room this time is tucked in a little hallway next to the stairs.

I was onboard by 11:05..very little waiting.  You MUST spread yourself at least 3 escalator steps apart from the person ahead of you at Terminal G. They scream and berate people who do not follow this rule.

The trolley stop is right there at the Metrorail station and it's only a couple steps..but the app said it's 20 mins til the right trolley shows and Miami is not air conditioned while my Lyft is..so Lyft it is.

Good to know for the future, though.

Don't blame ya for avoiding the trolley but you know I'd already be heading for the Metrorail to save the $16 or whatever.

It’s getting real!  We have 28 Days to go.  In weeks: 4 weeks!

It’s getting real!  We have 28 Days to go.  In weeks: 4 weeks!

We too went in December and found the weather to be perfectly pleasant for Thrill Water Park, paddling around in the pool and even the splash pad for the kids.  
With that said, I am noticing a trend that everyone encouraging winter months tends to be from colder weather to start with so this very much may be a ymmv situation.  If you consider 70 chilly and put on a coat at 60, you might not like Coco Cay in January.  For those of us who see water temp peaks of 67 in August, Cococay is great year-round.  

yes you can use the Starbucks app as normal.
I don't remember seeing any High Noons
You can book out as far as what is published which is currently April 2026
Also, drink all the drinks

We only had 13 available tours for Santorini and most of them have been sold out the whole time, I am glad I snatched one early. Hopefully more open up for your cruise? It could also have to do with what other ships are in with you as well, I haven't looked who is in with us. I know that this is a difficult port to do without an excursion so that definitely contributes to how quickly they have sold.

Last night DH asked if we wanted a to go to a specialty restaurant one night. We checked MDR menus and decided to reserve 150 Central Park on night 5. He's calling it our third formal night.😆
Right now the night 5 MDR menu is not listed in the app, but the current sailing shows the Taste of Asia. 
I also went ahead and booked flowrider lessons for me and the kids. There is an indoor flowrider about 45 minutes to an hour away from us at a community center's pool, and we have been to go a handful of times since our fall cruise. DD is almost able to self load for surfing, and once she's in the current, she can stay up for quite a while. DS has gotten really good at boogie boarding and has learned a few tricks that I don't think areRoyal Caribbean approved (there's a YouTube video out there by one of Royal's sports staff explaining what they will and won't allow.  I'll see if I can find it again). DS says he wants to try stand up again. I really like the lessons because the wait time between runs is minimal. 😆

I feel that we were very fortunate as we have always homeschooled, and the shut down barely registered for us. We just stopped sports and moved piano and scouts to Zoom calls. School went on like normal for us. I can only imagine how hard it was for everyone - kids, parents, and teachers - to be thrown into that without any sort of transition time or process to rely on.
We have really enjoyed Paradise Beach in the past and are looking forward to enjoying it again. I'll be sure to get lots of photos that day.

Morning #5....last day of leg #2.  Sea day.
Our SL Concierge (Gigi) disembarked yesterday in Jamaica for vacation and Vanessa, who was in the CL has moved down to the SL on deck 9.  The other CL Concierge (I'm ashamed to say that I have not yet learned her name) is now in charge of the CL.
I was able to give the new CL Concierge (I promise I will get her name and remember it before I disembark in 10 days !) a list of the specialty dining for next cruise.  We have 2 BOGO (which I will use on nights 1 and 2 just to make things easier) and then a 3 night package to cover the nights that we do not care for, in the MDR - namely, USA, French and Caribbean.  Then we will have 4 nights in the MDR.  It's nice to have this taken care of before TAD and now I won't have to mess with it when we get back onboard, tomorrow.  Since there is a complimentary B2B lunch on TAD, I had no need to purchase a specialty lunch for either of our TAD's.  I only purchased a specialty lunch on our very first embarkation day.
We met Mrs. @JustMeJoe yesterday.  SOOO glad to have them on board next week.  We will definitely make some plans to spend some quality time together.
Not much (anything ?) planned for today.  Dan is going to the sauna and I am pecking away on the computer in the computer lounge.  Dinner tonite is the MDR.  No idea what the menu is.  It will be surprise !
Of course, we have to change cabins for the last leg (BOOOOOO) which means we have to pack tonite or first thing in the AM. Dan has already put the new luggage tags on the luggage.  We will be able to leave whatever is hanging in the closet and only pack the "loose" items.  Our current cabin attendant (Rozel....who has been wonderful for 2 weeks !!!) will move everything to our new home waaay up on deck 12 all the way forward.  We have a Panoramic Ocean View for leg #3.  We've had this category of cabin before and we like it.  Yes, there is more motion all the way forward, but it really doesn't bother us.  It will be nice to see the sun and the ocean again from our room !  Being in the Promenade View interior for the past 2 weeks, we never know what time it is or whether or not we have docked, etc.
Our itinerary for next cruise is exactly the same as the 9 day cruise that we just completed.  We have 1 excursion, which will be in Puerto Plata, DR.  We are swimming and snorkeling with the sea lions and the sharks !  YIKES !
The passenger dynamic is undoubtedly going to change again on leg #3 as we already know (from being kicked out of the SL) that there will be many more upper tiers on this next leg and presumably, fewer children.  Just for the record, we had 32 Pinns onboard on Leg #1 and 16 onboard for this leg (#2).  I will let you know how many are on #3 once I find out.

Well, it’s finally happened.  We are disinvited to the Concierge/Suites Lounge on leg #3.
SUITE AMENITIES ACCESS http://www.creative.rccl.com/e-lite/RCI/2014/Masters/email_temp/html/images/spacer.gif Dear Valued Member,

As you prepare for your upcoming adventure, we have some updates to share on your Crown & Anchor® Society benefits.

Due to the high number of guests with access to Suite amenities on this cruise, the Suite/Concierge Lounge will be reserved exclusively for guests booked in eligible Suite accommodations and select Top Pinnacle Club members. Rest assured, you'll still have full access to the exclusive Crown Lounge, its services, and other well-deserved onboard benefits.

Please note that these restrictions are specific to this ship and sailing and are not indicative of any permanent changes to your Pinnacle Club benefits. We appreciate your understanding and can't wait to welcome you onboard!

Sincerely,

Royal Caribbean International
Ship Sail Date Booking ID Explorer of the Seas 19-Apr-2024 5957721 http://www.creative.rccl.com/e-lite/RCI/2014/Masters/email_temp/html/images/spacer.gifA
 
As it turns out, the SL on EX isn’t the most desirable place to spend time anyway (we’ve only been in there twice in 13 days) but it has finally happened.  It was just a matter of time.  I feel sure that there are lots of Pinns who are on this next cruise and will then be staying on for the TA.  At least we know ahead of time and didn’t have to wait until we boarded for the “bad” news.

we are under 30 days to go!  My luggage tags and cruise documents showed up yesterday!  Love it when I can get all my papers in order!  

I like what they’ve done with the port revitalization. They invested quite a bit. Much nicer, modernized. No more trip hazards and broken pavement. Easier to walk around.
Very nice area just past the gate with lots of brightly colored booths and shops. Don’t have to run the gauntlet of people vying with each other for your attention, and your money as you try not to trip over uneven and broken pavement. Now it’s all new.
Calmer, clean, airy and spacious. Some places for snacks and drinks in that area. A very convenient excursion boat docking area attached to the pier…before the security gate so still inside the port.
There's plenty of videos posted showing the new port area. Check them out.

You betcha!  I'd like to hear all about Port St. Lucie.  Boy, those drums beat ME last night 😂

Here are our plans for the ports. 
Roatan: We booked the 3 Reef Stop Snorkel with Roatan Getaway Tours. We paid a deposit by PayPal and will pay the balance when we meet them in port. Communication by email has been pretty quick.
Costa Maya: We're staying on the ship. The current plans are Flowrider in the morning, and we have Escape the Rubicon booked that afternoon. If that does wind up getting cancelled, we'll probably all laugh at how bad mom is on the golf course instead. 
Cozumel: Paradise Beach. We've been here a few times, but not since February 2020.
Usually I can get the kids to wrap up our school year before we leave on an April/May cruise (we homeschool). This year though, they are both dragging their feet in a couple subjects. They will both have papers to finish when we get back and DD, who is taking Biology this year, will have a couple labs to complete. All their other subjects will be complete this week. This is also the last week for our co-op, so after Friday, my teaching duties are over for the year. I gave myself a break with work this trip too, and my last wedding is this Saturday. I'll have all next week to pack! DS is the only one who may need a new shirt for formal night. The rest of us are all the same size as fall's cruise, and I just replaced the kids' swim suits right before we went to Great Wolf. I actually feel prepared and calm - not normal for me, but I like it!

@Cactus527I have never done deck 2, but it is only for 3 nights so I will hopefully not have too many problems. I did deck 3 on Harmony once and I enjoyed being so close to the casino but hated that the MTD line often stretched to my room. 
It is also not just SWA but UA and AA in Chicago. There used to be a lot of later flights and also, a lot of direct flights. I can find later flights, but they seem to want to connect only and even flying in a day or two before, I don't want to connect flights......that's a lot of hassle. 

YAY! Happy early birthday to you and your brother! And I get what he's saying about his eating habits - he should be able to do what he wants, when he wants, without people staring at the bottomless pit that he is. Kudos to him for making every morsel count. 😉
I got 11am for Freedom as well in March, but they started letting people on at 10:30am. The boarding area was accessible at 10am, if that makes any difference for you. 
Deck 2! I'm curious what your thoughts are going to be about being down there. I've often considered doing a room down there, but my TA said don't, it's got weird vibrations/sounds that turn most people off to being down there.
SWA for the win! I too agree - why are they doing such weird things with their schedules lately? I had a trip booked to Cincinnati (business) in September and have to be there by 5pm that day, and they just resorted all the flights so that I'd arrive after 8pm. No thanks, I'll go with another airline, I guess. You would think they'd put more flights IN Chicago instead of not, but whatever. Didn't they say they were going to start doing red eyes at some point soon? WHERE IS THAT, SOUTHWEST?!?!??! WE'RE ALL WAITING. Sorry you have a 5am flight. 
Now I'm hungry for birthday cake... 🤣

Yeah! My bday is in May also and I've been on a ship several times for it. I ❤️ ❤️❤️ cruising in May. I don't recall ever having any bad weather and it's not Africa Hot yet. Can't wait to follow along, and I'm so glad ... for me and the rest of your loyal readership ... that mom is coming again!  Yippee!!!!!