Steve in Orlando

Cheryl and I were supposed to be on Wonder next week - but when our TA called to tell us about Icon and the trip we were going on is the same itinerary as next week - we moved Wonder to this trip so Cheryl can visit the Sloths in Roatan. lol With what we have on the books - we're still shy of D+. Guess I'll have to book more.

Cheryl and I will be on this sailing. Excited to join you all there.

I was willing to pay for access to the Hideaway for our Icon trip in February - but not for the day bed. Guess we'll just have to look over the fence from the cheap seats to see what they are like.

It's one of our favorites. Slightly ahead of Mariner but surprisingly for us, behind Jewel and Brilliance.

That's where I am - it's a step towards bringing the two lines together in a common reward program.

I need the internet anyhow for work and on return to port having the key for early departure on our weekend cruises means I can get to work by 9am. Well worth the extra few dollars over internet when on sale.

Hi! We had been planning to go to Coral World on St. Thomas to do a dolphin sea trek, but we won't be in port early enough that day. We have since heard about a nearly deserted beach just a taxi ride away where sea turtles and stingrays, etc. have been known to frequent. We know the laws about disturbing turtles and have no plans to touch or ride them, but know little else about the beach area itself. Has anyone ever been to Brewer's Beach, and do you recommend? If not, what alternatives would you suggest? We will be in port in October from noon to 8 p.m. Thanks! Steve & Cheryl

Three kinds of rain in Florida... 3pm, Did I miss a Hurricane and Hurricane.

Like the vloggers - we will probably wait for the first US departure too. And I understand about things not being 100% yet. More of a soft opening than a Grand opening. Same thing is true of every new venue. Just debating with ourselves if rubbing elbows with Matt and the Royal elite makes up for it.

went from almost 2 packs a day to cold turkey about 30 years ago. no regrets (except ever once in a while when someone lights a cigarette with a zippo lighter.. mmmmmm that smells good).

Should we be expecting a sale this coming long weekend? I know all bets are off in today's world - but did Royal usually have a sale on this weekend in the times known as BC (before covid)?

After watching Matt and all the fun chaos on the first sailing of Wonder - we started thinking that maybe we should try the inaugural sailing for Icon and be part of that craziness. Assuming that many other people have the same idea, especially the bloggers/vloggers/press - do you think it is worth the effort to secure a cabin? or should we wait a week or two (or more) for them to shake out the cobwebs for a better experience?

We decided this year to try and get to Prime to see if 1- we enjoyed the casino enough to do it regularly and 2- if the benefits of Prime were worth it. I was hoping that our 900 (ish) points each so far this year were enough to get their attention and maybe throw us an interior room but I read this week that they won't be doing that anymore. Oh well - it's still fun (even if way too smokey)

We're not you your cruise (yet) but have been on Indy 3 times so far this year and two more scheduled at the end of summer. We really like this ship and the short weekend cruises. I hope you will too. (though waiting over a year? We got off Indy two weeks ago and can't wait for August to get here to get back on.). lol

No Cup cake making classes? Hmmm. We may have to re-consider this. What ship were you on?

Cheryl and I have hidden ducks on a couple of ships now. It's fun when you get to see the kids find one. Sometimes more fun when you get to see an adult find one (and then proudly present it to his wife).

Hi everyone - We have been focusing on Royal for a while to get to Diamond and are about to hit that mark shortly. Once there - we thought we would try out Celebrity. Any recommendations on what to look for for our first cruise with the sister company? We would prefer to sail out of Florida - but would travel if needed for the right experience. Thanks! Steve P

Last week at this time we were somewhere in the middle of the ocean. Now I'm back at my desk and keyboard counting the days until the next trip (47 days on MSC's Meraviglia). Thought I would share a couple of thoughts from the trip. From the time we got to the luggage attendants at the port, we didn't stop walking until we were on Desk 8 for a stop at the Trellis Bar. Very smooth boarding process. Be prepared to show your vaccine card, ID and boarding pass (I used the phone app) several times. I can understand why there's really no need for priority boarding any more even if you are in the suite level. Rooms were available early - around 1:15. Luggage showed up some time in the afternoon but well before dinner. We Royaled up to a Crown Loft Suite on the 17th floor overlooking the Boardwalk. I would do the suite again but would prefer a port or starboard view. The crew on 17 was incredible and made Cheryl feel very special for her birthday cruise. However the RoyalUp process is buggy - Our records were still attached to the old room. The letters we had in the new room were for someone else. For the first half of the cruise every time we gave our room number to someone, they greeted us with someone else's name. Expectations for Sky level were much higher than what reality ended up being. Videos here and on other sites talked about some upgraded shampoos and other bathroom amenities. That didn't happen. We were expecting priority reservations for some of the shows. That didn't happen - though with 2400 passengers on board, it wasn't an issue. We were expecting concierge to help with reservations at some of the speciality restaurants. That happened but was a much more complicated process than it should have been. The Concierge was very helpful and making the best out of a Covid cruise, but things were off. For Dinner, we ate at Coastal Kitchen, Chops, Giovanni's Table, 150 Central Park and the Main Dining Room. Each was a great meal. Of all I think Giovanni's was the best. On our next cruise, I think we'll go a bit lighter on dinner choices. Great food but 7 nights of 3 courses (plus extras) was more food than we needed. So maybe two specialty, MDR and pizza or hot dogs a couple of nights. Mama Mia was the show in the main theater and was broadway quality. The seats were very comfortable and maybe reclined a little to much and I had to fight from wanting to take a nap. The Ice show was fun. Very talented skaters but the show it self was disjointed. The "roll the dice" Segways between scenes lasted too long (over a minute once). The way they divided up the seating because of Covid for the Aqua show was a bit confusing but the show was incredible with several OMG how does she not fall? moments. We had fun hiding ducks around the ship. At first we thought "why are we doing this silly thing" but one time, quite by accident we sat by the trellis bar after hiding a few and were able to watch the reactions of the kids (and kids at heart) find them and watched their reactions. We'll do that again. We knew it before going on board, but the Suite deck was just a deck. No pool. Walked up there once. Didn't use it. The main pools were much more enticing. We got the drink package because it was $58/person/day and that worked out to our benefit. Wouldn't do it again if it was over $90. We got the 100 picture package and only had 60 pictures taken so that was over kill. We got the Coco Beach Club package for about $80/person. It was a great place. We were one of the first ones there and almost last to leave. Didn't see anything else of the island on this trip so next time we may skip that just so we can see the other parts of the island. But well worth it and would do it again (not for $160/person though). There are so many things we didn't get to do on the ship that it warrants another Oasis class trip for sure (which will be Harmony next October). The staff was one of the best parts of the cruise. Looking forward to seeing them again. Steve & Cheryl

We are on allure this week

Saw some different colored cards this week and wasn’t sure what if anything the colors mean.

Guess it's official. Marc Walker Cruise Director 4m · Hi everyone, I know some are wondering where I am as I’m not on allure. I came home yesterday to take a break. I’ll update when I can. Hugs to all https://www.facebook.com/bingbongcruisedirector

What about luggage - is there still a concierge luggage area? or does all luggage now go with the attendants at the drop off area?

Cheryl and I will also be at Diamond by this time next year thanks to the double points.

Hi. There's been a lot of posts about bringing some toiletries, snacks and other items to the crew. Last weekend we were at Costco and ended up with quite a bit (oh.. they could use that. and that.. and that...) Almost an extra suitcase worth at this point (good thing we're not flying in) So the question is to those who have already brought some items for the crew.... Who do we give them to once on board the ship? Is there a process setup for this? Will anyone there even know what to do with these items? Probably should have figured this part out before the Costco trip. Steve & Cheryl

That's a big help. Thanks. Looks like a great time but I think we'll look for something we can't do at home.