KLA

Exactly to that perspective - maybe the genie was expecting to need to be stern - again, experience will tell you when you flip that on/off and not to anticipate it. Or maybe they were just having a bad day.

In our case, we're flying in to the FLL area 2 days before our cruise so we're planning on doing the proctored test in the hotel - which makes for a great option for us since we aren't getting a rental car and I wasn't sure where to go in the Hollywood Beach area. We'll have a spare test with us, too, in case anything goes wrong. We'll test again when we get back home as well.

I did a B2B on Allure for our honeymoon back in 2017 and spent another week on her back in 2019, and totally agree with the above points about Solarium Bistro and also that it's just a really great ship. You'll have a great time.

Yeah.. I think that even with ships sailing at low capacity, they probably aren't losing quite as much money but I can't imagine they are terribly profitable right now either. Ship upgrades probably aren't a strong priority while they continue to build their marketing story around cruises as a safe vacation / waiting to see what happens.

I absolutely LOVE that Buc-ee's is a planned stop. So fun!!

Too funny - we’ll also be flying from CVG!! See you there!

While I could absolutely be convinced to purchase a Royal logo mask as memorabilia from this time - we opted to buy a box of paper masks for this cruise. The logic being that if we are out walking around and have them on often without being able to clean our regular cloth ones, the paper disposable ones will be easier to deal with on a day to day active basis.

Adding on to @AshleyDillo‘s comments about SXM - if you’re comfortable with the walk over the water taxi you can also walk over to the downtown area pretty easily. There’s a cheese shop on the way that sells Gouda to bring back to the ship, and there’s a little museum in the downtown area that’s run by the guy that developed Yoda from Star Wars and has a little museum sharing all of his movie memorabilia. Cool stop for something a little different! Most of the restaurants in that area I believe will also let you use their beach chairs if you order food/drinks - but I could also be mistaken.

I managed to get it for $71 - so it can go lower.

Thanks, all. I figured that was the case for earlier times so I've been checking back to see if I can get on earlier. I was more concerned about the 2 hour window with people checking in after the ship had supposedly departed.

A popular one thrown around (and one I've been to) is Krazy Lobster. $1 little beers and food with beach access and plenty of chairs. Had a great day there on my last cruise in 2019! The easiest way to get there is to walk outside the port area and catch a taxi. Tell them you want to go to Krazy Lobster and they'll take you directly there. Last I remember, Taxis were like $2 a person (but that could have changed). http://www.thekrazylobstercostamaya.com/

This more or less summarizes my same philosophy about obsessive planning ahead of vacations. Plan it and have a backup so you're not disappointed when something goes wrong.

I've been to Coco Cay many times but not since the full referb. I was honestly sad about it because I loved the natural beauty of the island so much. I'll definitely take a walk around to see what all has changed (and apparently locate some of those mozzarella sticks), but I'm excited to have a quiet section of beach to relax.

Noticing something on the Royal app that I'm going to assume is probably common knowledge at this point but I'm way behind - I have a check in time at 2 PM - it's the earliest I could get. I'm noticing that the final check in time is at 7:30 PM... but the ship sails away at 6 PM supposedly? Any insights on why it is set up this way?

Very good price - I think much over the time it hovers over $150 and anything under $100 is considered good. I purchased for a similar price as well.

Odyssey on Oct 3rd - so a little over 3 weeks out seeing that price.

Interesting observation - the floating cabanas that were going for about $1600 yesterday are going for $800 today. Not quite enough of a bargain for me to want to rent one - but interesting to see how much these prices can jump nonetheless. It seems like Royal is still gauging exactly how much people will consistently spend for the luxury. Most other cabanas are down to about ~$500 today.

Now that I think about it - this is definitely a new addition that I'm packing.

Yay! I'm glad to hear this - pub evenings with acoustic guitar just wouldn't feel quite the same with diet coke (but being on a ship I'd be perfectly happy anyway). Maybe now just with less singing along.

I would imagine this works similar to how it always has - you fill up a cup of coffee/water (or, have someone fill your cup of coffee/water) and you dump it in to your reusable cup. This has always been the rule for health code reasons.

Actually going to add on a question here - any idea if NA beers could be included as Diamond drinks or available in the Diamond lounge? (In another weird turn of life events - I also haven't drank alcohol in over a year but do enjoy the NA versions)

HAHA! Listen - When I think "empty ship day" I think "ALL THE CHAIRS ARE MINE" or "Pool deck or Solarium?"

Good morning - beautiful day to relax by the pool!

Actually - Odyssey 6 night Western at the beginning of October! I’ll be sure to jot down some notes to share - especially with that B2B you have!

Oh, interesting - Rhapsody hasn't been cleared to sail yet, right?