acesandeights

I'm already booked for one in June '21 from Venice.  But who know if either leg will happen or whether we'll have to cancel out on one of them.

Yeah, I wish I had a dry suit on my last dive.  60 degree water and I hate to think what was in there for sure.  I helped a little while 3 vehicles were pulled out of the Missouri River just down from Kansas City.  I was looking at the map yesterday and cringed.  Their "water treatment(sewer)" plant was just up river.  No wonder the muck near the shore was so foul.
But hey, pulled a 80's Chevy Cavalier out that had been in the water since the early 90's, a Pontiac Fiero that was dumped around the early 90's as well and a Chevy 1500 club cab pickup that was from around 2000.  
In some of my home lakes I go on trash patrol's and clean up can's and stuff that have been in the water since the 70's and anything else I come across and can bring up.

? Seven more days 'til we go on the cruise!
Seven more days 'til we gooooo!!! ?
I was going to wait until the day before we left, just to avoid joining the @Matt and @Lovetocruise2002 bandwagon, but work is nuts and nights aren't looking to be much better this week, so...
The Ship
As the title says, this is our second trip on Anthem of the Seas, having sailed her just over a year ago! I've been looking forward to this since the day we booked it, which was (amusingly) at my wife's strong request a mere two weeks after we got back from that last sailing. ?
Itinerary
Day 1 - Depart Cape Liberty at 4:00 PM Day 2 - Sea Day Day 3 - Arrive in Bermuda at 8:00 AM, stay overnight Day 4 - Depart Bermuda at 5:00 PM Day 5 - Sea Day Day 6 - Return to Cape Liberty and non-cruising life Why We Booked It
Our trip last year to Bermuda left us loving this little island that's nice and close to our home state of NJ, and we knew before the first day was even over that we had to come back here. Lots of places we didn't explore last time and want to get a look at, and not enough time at Horseshoe Bay beach. I didn't think we'd be coming back just a year later, but Cathy said she really wanted to go back right away and not wait. Well, who am I to argue against a "YOLO Book It!!!" request?
 
I'm guessing I'll be a bit more live this time around, for reasons I'll get into in another post or two...

I’m in northern Europe, and the nearest dive centre is 4 hours away with dives in an old quarry... I guess it would mean getting used to a dry suit, hmmm..

nothing personal but I would do the training at home where you are not distracted. there are plenty of local dive shops that would help you no matter where you live. Enjoy your time on the cruise and even go diving on it but get your certification before you go. That my personal thought as a diver for over 30 years

I did my first dive in  early April near Chicago we had to break a small layer of ice to get in. It made the water in Hawaii seem very warm

I got certified on Adventure back in January of this year (2020).  I can't remember if I posted about it.
It is time intensive, so if you are traveling with people who will resent you for not spending time with them, you'll have to decide which is more important.
I did all the "book learning" at home before the cruise.  On boarding day, we had to check in at the PADI shop and take a small quiz to see that we actually learned something at home.  Any areas that were foggy were gone over.  We also fitted for gear and learned about it that same day.
The training in the pool was done in the early mornings before it officially opened.  It was interesting to see the people lined up to get chairs as we were finishing up each day.  One morning I went to the chair I had left my bag on, and someone told me that the chair was already taken. 
We did our actual open water dives in San Juan and St Thomas.  The PADI instructor on the ship was not allowed to work in the US (or its territories) due to visa requirements, so while at those two ports, we had an instructor from the dive shops that Royal contracted with.  Our ship-based PADI instructor came with us and for all intents and purposes instructed us with the local instructor.  It was really great because there were two instructors for three students.  We had a lot of personal attention and instruction.
In San Juan, we entered the water from shore.  In St Thomas we entered from a boat.  After the final training dive in St Thomas, we had dive time left to do some sight-seeing with the local instructor.
Diving is something I always wanted to do, and my wife encouraged me to take the course.  We were on the cruise with another couple who we are close to, and they thought it was awesome that I was doing the course.  My wife spent the day in San Juan and St Thomas with them while I was diving.  There were no bad feelings.
The only bummer is that I haven't been able to dive since (we came back from our cruise shortly before the pandemic exploded), so if our back to back cruise in Aug/Sept 2021 goes, I'll take the reactivation course on the first week and do some actual diving the second week.  I don't feel comfortable enough to just go on a dive since I haven't actually practiced what I learned.
 

There are three certainties in life: Death, taxes, and the Leafs underachieving.

I was perusing my American Express Cash Back card; if you have this take a PEEK. I had an offer today for 150.00 returned if you spend $500.00 on Celebrity. I am waiting to sail Celebrity until I reach Diamond on RCCL but it can make the pain of the initial deposit a little less painful. Just in case someone is looking to place that celebrity deposit today, I wanted to share. Have a great weekend everyone
Maybe @JLMoran??

I've come pretty close to the brig.  It looks like this:
 

Hi everyone, I know we get heated debating which dessert is the best one to order, or if a balcony room is worth it, but let's keep these basic rules in mind when chatting here.
No profanity No personal insults No political discussion This includes tropes about politicians and generalizations about political parties No debating religion Keep your posts relevant and accurate to each specific thread. We can all have our little fun within each thread but please make sure the information you're putting out there is correct and current.   Topics not related to Royal Caribbean may be removed. Posts or comments encouraging cruisers to break any Royal Caribbean policy is not allowed and will be removed.

A couple are still here in Toronto. However the company (KSF group) that owns the locations (along with other restaurants) filed for creditor protection this month.
 
They apparently owe $34 million to creditors, which seems insane. But I'm guessing that this might affect the Jamie's here. 

Thanksgiving dinner last year, on board Adventure of the Seas, which we booked without realising it was a holiday sailing, since we don't celebrate Thanksgiving on this side of the Pond. What a great experience!
Wishing all my US forum buddies as happy and as safe a Thanksgiving as possible this year.
Here's to next year's holiday being a "normal" one again.
 

 

We docked in Sydney on March 15th 2020 after bottom of Australia and New Zealand 18 day cruise. After leaving the ship we heard the news that all cruise ships were stopped from cruising in Australian waters and being asked to leave. After we had such a fantastic cruise on our favourite Radiance we felt sorry for the people who had boarded for the next cruise and were then made to get back off. Heartbbreaking for them.

We were supposed to be eating dinner in the Solarium on the Anthem right now. We did the same on our last cruise. It was a great way to start the sail. Only 344 days till our b2b on the Anthem. 

Water package for 50% off.
Other than that...
 

Wasting no time... North Star is installed.
 

CATS!  (or Cat)
Photo credit: Unknown



Looks like the cat is chasing after a ball of yarn based on the float out video.
 

Sovereign as of today.  Looks like a lot of attention is turning to Monarch.  The Port Side Bridge Wing is gone on Monarch.  Also, looks like the canopies over the hottubs (and possibly the hottubs themselves) are gone on Sovereign.

Finally, we are looking to book for Oct 21. Possibly Brilliance of the seas with a stop in Key West port. My questions are is Brilliance a nice ship and what to do in key west port?

I really like Brilliance. Great ship!

Over the years, I have seen many former British warships dragged up this same slipway by their own anchor chains. When I see it happening, I remember them not as hulks being cut to shreds and trucked away to be melted down, but as the glorious ships they once were, the pride of those who served aboard them. Sadly, the lot of a ship, whether it be a sleek grey messenger of Freedom, or a luxurious passenger ship, is set from the date of its creation. Sooner or later, it will meet the scrapper and the cutting torch (unless it is sunk as a reef, used as a target, or preserved as a memorial).
For those of us who spent our lives maintaining our homes of the sea around us, it is one of the most tragic sights ever. However, we all take heart that although the steel of the ship may now be in different forms, the ships are alive, and can never be taken from us. They live on, in thoughts, in memories, in photographs. It is in this way they not only pass into history, but they become "immortal"
 

Why don't zombies like pirates?   
They're too salty...

Contract with Schwann's to transport....Problem Solved! ?  The Ice Cream on those trucks is at least -80 C.