Atricks

There is a SpaceX Falcon 9 (Starlink 4-22) launch scheduled this Sunday morning at 10:20 at Kennedy Space Center, so heads up for folks getting in (either to watch, or be prepared for some extra traffic coming in) https://www.kennedyspacecenter.com/launches-and-events/events-calendar/2022/july/rocket-launch-spacex-falcon-9-starlink-4-22

Just booked this one because of Kids Sail free without even realizing it was the group cruise. This is going to be the third! cruise Matt and co will be on that we're on purely by coincidence. We're also going on Mariner for the May 28th Bermuda cruise which will get us to Diamon, so two in a relatively short period on the same ship is new for us. The July 17th one will be the first as Diamond members. Last was Wonder of the Seas (2nd sailing00Ran into Matt at Adventure Ocean dropoff and wound up in the same elevator after), and Odyssey back in September. But neither was a real "group" cruise.

Promenade Parades returning soon?

That would be a surprise for those on Freedom tomorrow, it's the only ship scheduled to be there, so Wonder could also dock if they need to. Anyone on Freedom be on the lookout tomorrow. Right now it swapped to the terminal next to 18 in Ft. Lauderdale while Vision of the Seas is there hanging out, maybe swapping crew?

This is a good thing, one of the perks about working on a cruise ship has been seeing the world, and visiting the ports being on there so long without it takes its toll. In general if the crew is happy, so are the guests.

It's getting very close to the halfway point between Cadiz and Ft. Lauderdale.

That looks like the last T-AIS (Terrestrial Automated Identification System) (About 11-12 hours old), make sure the tracking site works with S-AIS (Satellite), the more recent satellite position is well west of there. Most of the free only show T-AIS and Satellite positions are behind a pay wall, I think Cruisemapper still shows sat positions though.

You can see the ore-inagural schedule now. At first when I read the heading I was thinking a Grateful dead cruise would be kinda cool, but it's not quite that. Beyond that it's inspections in Ft. Lauderdale, a shakedown/adjustment cruise. and a "2 night trade event & naming cruise". (aka media/travel agents)

Harmony is in Labadee right now.

Bridge Delivery Ceremony setup:

Yesterday afternoon https://www.royalcaribbeanpresscenter.com/press-release/1577/new-southern-restaurant-and-bar-headlines-royal-caribbeans-culinary-lineup-on-wonder-of-the-seas/

It's now on the deck plan https://www.royalcaribbean.com/cruise-ships/wonder-of-the-seas/deck-plans/2230/15

Got this email about Wonder in the past few minutes (And we're booked on the March 11th Wonder sailing) There is also no mention of March/April here. I think the vlogger the original posted mentioned is Parodeejay from their last live stream. BIGGER, BOLDER MEMORY MAKING The new Wonder of the SeasSM is going to change the way you play — big time. With larger-than-life adventures like the slideable, climbable Wonder PlayscapeSM and an undersea-themed mini-golf course. Meals at PlaymakersSM Sports Bar & Arcade that are always a winner. Plus a new Cantina Fresca bar for mom and dad at El Loco Fresh®. And make it the best stay ever in the biggest, boldest Ultimate Family Suite yet. Embark on an epic Euro tour in summer 2022 or launch into the tropics from Florida’s Space Coast beginning November 2022. Only on Royal Caribbean®.

This rumor wound up being true, see the main page on this site https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2022/01/19/royal-caribbean-will-offer-southern-food-restaurant-wonder-of-the-seas

The description makes me think more of this http://www.homecominkitchen.com/ than Cracker Barrel. Portside BBQ reminded me a lot of 4 Rivers. This and the main theater show have yet to be announced even though the first sailing is 7 weeks out.

This is the older article that mentions the rumor from October 12th. https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2021/10/12/royal-caribbean-registers-new-trademarks-possible-southern-united-states-restaurant The Wonder deck plan has the generic "Specialty Restaurant" labeled on the starboard side (inside of portside BBQ on the oasis). It also has WIndjammer on deck 15 where it's on 16 on all the other oasis ships. (15 on the others is where the mini golf and sports court are.) Is wonders aft (mini golf and sports court) really going to be one deck higher than the rest? Aft on deck 15 on the deck plan looks just weird compared to the other oasis ships or I just never noticed it until now. Mason Jar would definitely be a big pivot from the Asian plans for Wonder. edit: Looked at the render/videos again, yep Windjammer is one deck lower and split. The Flowrider and Playscape sinks down from Deck 16 to 15, which is reverse of the other ships. Minigolf and the sports court are above the Windjammer, which is further back and split down the middle by the boardwalk gap.

Symphony is still sitting at Miami at 9:15pm, any new updates from there? (see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1JsukEu2pc4) Edit: started to move out at 9:30pm.

Just got this email from Royal: (We leave Sunday on Allure) Updated mask protocols for departures through January 5, 2022 With the recent uptick of COVID-19 in the world and added Omicron variant concerns, we feel it prudent to temporarily tighten our onboard health protocols to require masks indoors at all times, unless actively eating or drinking. This new update also applies to vaccinated areas and venues. We're sorry for any disappointment that this may cause, but hope you understand that health and safety come first. Despite the new requirement, we know you will still have a great time onboard. For full protocol details, please click here. As always, health and safety protocols are subject to change. If you have questions about these protocols, please reference our FAQs for details or contact us at 1 (866) 562-7625 or 541-285-9150 for assistance. If you prefer to not sail as a result of this change or would like to reschedule your cruise, we are glad to assist. Looking forward to seeing you onboard!

This past weekend was the first weekend children 5-11 could officially be fully vaccinated and sail. I'm looking for any first hand reports of what the differences were on boarding and on board (Shows, Kids Club, etc). We have a sailing with one on the 19th (Allure) and there's things like, no way to upload the vaccine card in the royal app for her, and getting emails about the at port test. However the instructions say she'll be treated as vaccinated. (So we're doing the antigen at the same time we are). I've heard people not having a problem getting on board with that so far, but what I haven't heard anything about is: Any changes with Adventure Ocean for them (particularly with time block limits) ? What about booking "V" only shows with the app? I have a strong suspicion you won't be able to without going to guest services (just based on the vax card upload issue since my programmer brain says, that's just an age check) We did Odyssey in September but that sailing had few enough kids the capacity wasn't an issue in AO. But I know the 19th cruise is probably going to be loaded.

In the current covid lineup MSC's kids club (Dorimiland - Think Do Ri Me Fa Sol La Si Do for pronounciation) currently has the most going on and the most generous with time slots (6-11PM). It might change if restrictions lift on the other lines.

We booked the beach + sloths from https://www.boddentours.com/roatan-tour-excursion-availability (Victor's Monkey & Sloth Sanctuary) based on a friend's recommendation (Wonder of the Seas March 11th) but the other one we looked at was Daniel Johnson's sloth tours which was also mentioned. (The RC ones were sold out on that)

Does that include gratutities and port fees?

Cruise Planner, under Costa Maya Excursions, referred to as "Port Pass to The Aviary" on my next one (Which is Wonder of the Seas on March 11th) This is the same port pass we used on Odyssey's Sep 5th sailing. (We haven't gotten anything for March yet as we want to wait a bit to see if any changes happen by then) Port Pass to the Aviary Puerto Costa Maya, Mexico Duration: 1 hour from* $10.00 USD Adult $10.00 USD Child Add To Cart This fulfills the requirement of a ship sponsored excursion for kids under 12.

Cruise Planner, under Costa Maya Excursions, referred to as "Port Pass to The Aviary" on my next one (Which is Wonder of the Seas on March 11th) This is the same port pass we used on Odyssey's Sep 5th sailing. (We haven't gotten anything for March yet as we want to wait a bit to see if any changes happen by then) Port Pass to the Aviary Puerto Costa Maya, Mexico Duration: 1 hour from* $10.00 USD Adult $10.00 USD Child Add To Cart

They had a train on the new track last week, delivering rail to expand it from that point It's pretty amazing when you realize each rail runs the entire length of all the cars and bends along with it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GHMKfRuJGA0