KLA

My apologies for not providing sufficient context to the original post. During Matt's daily Periscope broadcasts, he will utter at least one "gotsta" in reference to an activity, product or feature of a Royal Caribbean cruise, ship or port. In yesterday's (5/19/2016) Periscope, someone came up with the idea of tracking them perhaps in the hopes of creating a future "Gotsta" t-shirt with a top "gotsta" list prints on the back, perhaps a la Letterman's Top Ten list. So, here is a place to do just that.

This worked pretty well for our group on Freedom class ships. 

Tried them our first couple of cruises, surprisingly we generally were able to get "signals", however, we quickly learned that a lot of other people had the same idea and the channels can get crowded.
 
I spent about an hour one morning listening to some crazy lady bitching out her husband for not answering her (in between lots of other side conversations) ... turned out the crazy lady was my wife ..... walkie talkies no longer travel with us.

Did you say something to Guest Services before you disembarked?

I actually had good luck with the Michael Kors on Indy! I had my eye on a bag that I knew I wanted, and it was the same price on board as on land... plus, duty free! Fun souvenir. :) 
 
I've had good luck with some of the perfume and cosmetics on board as well - better prices. 
 
I'm sure jewelry and watches are something different entirely. 

I actually had good luck with the Michael Kors on Indy! I had my eye on a bag that I knew I wanted, and it was the same price on board as on land... plus, duty free! Fun souvenir. :) 
 
I've had good luck with some of the perfume and cosmetics on board as well - better prices. 
 
I'm sure jewelry and watches are something different entirely. 

If you don't want to go with the hassle of renting a car, a very convenient (although more expensive option) would be to use a car service such as Towncar Now (http://www.towncarnow.com/). They'll pick you up from the airport, and drop you off at a hotel in either Orlando or Port Canaveral at a time that you specify, and then be waiting for you outside the ship when you are ready to return to the airport. They communicate very well, and it was a comfortable and quiet ride. We used them to return to the airport after disembarking at PC, and I'd highly recommend them. 
 
I'd also recommend the Doubletree in Cocoa Beach (http://doubletree3.hilton.com/en/hotels/florida/doubletree-by-hilton-hotel-cocoa-beach-oceanfront-MLBASDT/index.html). While it doesn't have a shuttle to the port, it was a cheap cab ride the next morning and there are several local transportation options that the desk can help you with. There is also a restaurant and bar on site, along with a nice pool and beach access. The staff was all incredibly friendly as well. 
 
Hope that helps! 

If you don't want to go with the hassle of renting a car, a very convenient (although more expensive option) would be to use a car service such as Towncar Now (http://www.towncarnow.com/). They'll pick you up from the airport, and drop you off at a hotel in either Orlando or Port Canaveral at a time that you specify, and then be waiting for you outside the ship when you are ready to return to the airport. They communicate very well, and it was a comfortable and quiet ride. We used them to return to the airport after disembarking at PC, and I'd highly recommend them. 
 
I'd also recommend the Doubletree in Cocoa Beach (http://doubletree3.hilton.com/en/hotels/florida/doubletree-by-hilton-hotel-cocoa-beach-oceanfront-MLBASDT/index.html). While it doesn't have a shuttle to the port, it was a cheap cab ride the next morning and there are several local transportation options that the desk can help you with. There is also a restaurant and bar on site, along with a nice pool and beach access. The staff was all incredibly friendly as well. 
 
Hope that helps! 

Just off of Indy today - this actually happened to me in Labadee a couple of days ago. 
 
It rained just about the entire day we were in Labadee, aside for a couple of sunny patches where we checked in to see if we'd be able to do the zipline (we were scheduled at 10 AM and we were cancelled due to rain) - it was shut down frequently during the day due to rain. So, a couple of hours before the ship left Labadee, we tried our luck and were able to successfully complete the mini zipline, and headed up the hill to the main attraction. 
 
On the way up the hill, it started raining again so we weren't sure we were going to make it down. In a combination of nerves and adrenaline, I volunteered my fiance and I to go down the zipline in the first group. As we stepped up to get strapped in, it started pouring. Despite this, the attendant pulled the line and we were off! 
 
It started out really fun, the view is GORGEOUS... though, the rain started feeling pretty painful and it became difficult to see as we picked up speed.. and then the wind started. I could feel myself being blown sideways due to how much the wind had picked up.... and then realized we were quickly losing speed. All five of us on the zipline stopped short of the end, and wound up dangling over the ocean... in a rainstorm, with the waves picking up beneath us. 
 
At this point, I wasn't really sure how they were going to get us down... but I was wet and cold and didn't know what to do. I started yelling 'HELP' at one point and then quickly realized that was an unreasonable reaction. We found that swinging in a particular way would inch us along the line towards the end, so we tried that for a little bit. Eventually, the workers who were waiting for us at the end grabbed a rope, and dove through the waves to toss it to us - they got pulled under the water quite a bit in this process. We tossed the rope in a line between all five of us, and three or so workers helped pull us to safety. The whole ordeal lasted around ten minutes. 
 
SO - that's my super exciting vacation story! The employees who helped get us down were fantastic, and it was really appreciated. We were also given a full refund for the experience. Evidently, this happens once or twice a year. After this whole experience, I was "Laba-done" and pretty excited to get back on the ship and in some dry clothes. 
 
I would definitely do this again, and am looking forward to trying again sometime -  I was freaked out, but I can't say I ever felt truly unsafe. Now, if there is rain in the forecast, I would definitely recommend maybe saving this activity for your next Royal Caribbean cruise. I'm planning to write up a full review of my experience on the Independence of the Seas in the next couple of days. 
 
On a side note... there was a pretty large crowd that had gathered to take pictures of this as it was happening. If anyone happens to have any of those pictures... please let me know. :D

Similar to other posters here, I had no idea I'd get hooked on cruising... especially in my mid-20s. I went on my first cruise on Liberty of the Seas in January 2015, and I was obsessed from then on. I went with my now-fiance's family, and they had been on many cruises as a family in the past. I had absolutely no idea of what to expect going in to it, but I fell in love with the freedom of being able to do whatever I wanted, and be able to disconnect from everyday life for a while. It was the most truly relaxing vacation I had ever taken. I'm pretty type-A and feel the need to plan the details of EVERYTHING, but cruising helps to take away some of those stresses. I also love the idea of being able to see many different parts of the world on a single trip, and having your own 'space' to come back to after a long day of exploring. I've been on two additional cruises since my cruise on Liberty last year, and I have many more scheduled. Looking forward to many more adventures at sea!

If you're doing a 3 day cruise, is it safe to assume you'll be in Nassau and Coco Cay?
 
At least for Coco Cay, it's a private island and everything on the island will be handled with your Sea Pass. The only cash really needed there will be if you plan to make any purchases from one of the local vendors in the craft area. As for Nassau, as DocLC said, it really depends on what you want to do there. I typically bring cash ashore with me for any little purchases or souvaniers, but that's entirely up to you.

I think this was part of his April Fool's joke.  I don't think the Empress is going to be homeported in Cuba.

When isn't he suing one of the cruise lines?

Coco Cay is considered basically an extension of the ship, so I'd imagine the 21 rule for the ship would still apply on the island.

February because it's sooner!   :lol:

Come on Matt...  You know after a night of hanging in the bars the pizza is good... 

Seems relevant - just came across this on CC. 
 
Jewel docked next to Empress: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=49629976&postcount=644

I'm hoping they still do the overnight cruises to Cozumel.  My wife has some work-related stuff that she can't get out of otherwise we'd be doing the one in late May.  I want to do that cruise so we can make the long trek to Chichen Itza and still be able to enjoy Cozumel in the evening and the next day.  If Empress goes Cuba-only I'll be quite sad.

Seems relevant - just came across this on CC. 
 
Jewel docked next to Empress: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=49629976&postcount=644

I can understand your concern. I got caught up in Empress-Gate myself. Please know, however, that this kind of overrun of dry dock extremely rare. You should be fine on Majesty.

Huh - this would explain the Sea Pass we found labeled "Extra Key" in our stateroom from a previous sailing that confused us. 
 
So, it's real and it does happen I guess! 

I did call Royal Caribbean today, and I have confirmed that during my cruise on September 26, 2016, Royal Caribbean will honor their offer to provide free Voom Wi-Fi Internet, to those cruisers, that booked before March 15th.
I plan on Periscoping from this Cruise, so that is something I'm definitely going to need!

She's on her way to Freeport. 

Tenerife Port Authority shows her taking on fuel oil.  
 
She is due to leave at 7pm local time this evening and has a destination listed as Freeport, Grand Bahama Island.

I believe you will get the free Zoom on any trip booked before March 15 even those sailing after July 1. That is the way I read it anyway.