Andy & Sheryl Unwin

I have both, and next time, I will be adding the hang tag to my car, too.

Sheryl and I disembarked Allure on Friday, the 13th. As is our norm, we left our vehicle in a handicapped spot in the Terminal (A) Parking lot. However, we discovered a pleasant surprise when we arrived at the barrier. For the first time ever, the gate attendant stopped me from paying the $140.00 fee and validated the parking ticket to ensure no fee was payable. $0.00 We have had handicap plates on our vehicles for well over 15 years, and like I say, this was a first—a rather pleasant one.

Sheryl and I live in Florida. It's a 2-3 hour drive from Miami or Port Everglades and a tad longer for Port Canaveral. It's under an hour to Tampa. We always drive to the other coast a day ahead of time. Simply because you can never tell what may happen on the way. For example, we drove to Port Everglades in February this year for a trip on Odyssey the following day. About 10 minutes from leaving the house, "Newsflash". An aircraft had crash-landed on I-75 south of us. (RiP to the souls onboard) and I-75 was blocked entirely. Rerouting cross-country to avoid the blockage and the tailbacks added 4 hours to our journey. After all, we weren't the only ones who had heard the news. Had we been driving on the day of departure, I have no doubt we would have missed the trip.

We were onboard Grandeur, but we managed it...

Sheryl and I off on another Cozumel/Costa Maya adventure, this time on a stretched ship

We snagged a 6 night Western Caribbean on Freedom on December 1st

Point of interest. When you drink Pussers Rum, you are contributing to Charity. At Charles Tobias’ insistence, (Tobias is responsible for commercialising the recipe of Admiralty Rum) the Royal Navy Sailors’ Fund, a naval charity more commonly called the ‘Tot’ Fund, receives a substantial donation from the worldwide sales of Pusser’s Rum. After almost 25 years, this Pusser’s contribution has become the fund’s largest source of income aside from its original bequest, and the ties between Pusser’s Rum and the Royal Navy continue today in a manner that benefits serving Royal Navy sailors.

We always update via the link at https://www.royalcaribbean.com/resources/guest-special-needs and, at the same time, add wheelchair assistance for boarding/disembarking. Both an extension cord and a gallon of distilled water are usually waiting in the room. I think only once have we needed to ask the cabin attendant, and it took minutes to arrive. This proves once more that a good cabin attendant is a precious person to be valued.

This will be our second time on Allure. The first time in March 2022, I was 4 weeks post-op from a total knee replacement and was unable to experience the ship as well as I had hoped. This trip will be something of a makeup for that. For me it will be almost like a first cruise.

Another trip on one of our favourites

Alas, we received an email from RCCL a few days ahead of departure advising our bid had not been successful.

Sheryl & I did Chefs Table onboard Odyssey. The Somalier was outstanding and the chef was incredible. Each dish is prepared to perfection and paired with a delicious wine. It is an experience for sure, one that I shall consider again for Anniversaries or Birthdays. It isn't a cost, it's an investment in culinary delight.

Thats a pretty good idea, thanks for the tip.

Is it just me, or does this resemble "Hideaway Beach" at Coco Cay ?

We will be on this sailing too

Sheryl & I are excited to be back on this grand old lady. This time in an ocean view.

Heavens no, you are fine...

You are quite right. My fault for not being observant.

Very doable... Likely we will be in there anyway, and the drinks are free

The same here. She really is a lovely ship with an elegance unlike any other we have sailed on. Granted, we have only had one cruise on her so far, but she really did connect with us. We have one more coming up in July and are looking at another in December.

Dang... Rumour mongers then... Although one day, even Icon will be dragged up a beach by her anchor chains.

Depends on the day, and the time... Embarkation day, casino bar is closed

Our fist stop is always Windjammer, then to Schooners... Traditionally (and at your suggestion some years ago) we have a Lava Flow with Kraken Rum

It will be sad to see Grandeur go, hopefully to another operator. However, given her vintage and the current asking price, I would say it is more likely she will find herself meeting the inevitable fate of all cruise ships from the moment they are laid down. That is, she will be sold for recycling.

This morning, I placed a bid for Royal Up on the upcoming Freedom trip on May 20th. I will print all emails to PDF and retain them until the process is completed. All documents will be available for review. Update: I haven't mentioned this to Sheryl; if successful, I would like it to be something of a surprise.