Floski

So happy you're sailing again!! I'm interested in where you guys end up and the route(s) you sailed to get there, thanks to Ian. Very sorry for you and your friend's losses.

I guarantee he will be overwhelmed at first. Let him just take it in for a while. The beauty, the smell, the enormity. Dec will be my 7th and I still get goose bumps when I first board.

Nachi is super cool. NOT a party atmosphere like Sancho's. Nice pool, restaurant, and loungers all over. You are assigned a waiter upon arrival and he/she will take care of you the entire time (food, too). I love it there.

How ironic. Joe, I've always enjoyed your posts (I thought it was like 25,000 before your first cruise!) and am very sorry about the crappy experience and, worse still, your poor cat. A little while ago, I was wondering where you had gone, so I actually did a search of your name and found this thread. Talk about irony. I agree with you about the blog family - it seems to have grown a lot, even since CV. There was always the same folks contributing and replying, but I guess the virus caused a big pause for all of us. I kind of miss having familiar names to converse with and seemingly get to know. Anyway, it's good to see you're still around; I hope you post more.

The Real Taxi Drivers of St. Thomas When we went a coupla years ago, we saw how mean these dudes can be. I think that would be a fabulous idea for a show. St. Thomas is great, but it certainly isn't known as The Friendly Island like St. Maarten. Enjoying your blog...

I've been on 6 cruises (2 Freedom, 2 Oasis, 2 Harmony) and the best beer I've ever seen was La Fin du Monde. I also prefer my beer from the tap, but never, ever, ever in a frosted mug. Before Covid, when we had an Allure cruise (missed the $18/day DBP ) scheduled, RC announced that they were collabing with Funky Buddha for a special Coco Cay beer, but I'm not sure it ever got off the ground. I love some FB. I do agree with the poster that they should open a craft beer bar (how about ditch the waste of space called the Bionic Bar?). Since the beer choices basically suck, and I get the DBP, it's all liquor, all week for me.

I'd like a deluxe Hochberg special, please. With a Kraken floater. And a shot of Kraken.

Okay, so if I was to test positive on the Friday before a Sunday sail, can't I go to another place and re-test? I'm not 100% confident in the results of these tests.

$72.99/day for Wonder in Dec, but Josh Crothers will be on there so I had to bite the bullet. There may be some drankin' goin' on. Hoping for a better sale to come along. You'd think that the dearth of high-end liquor aboard would make the price go down.

My first cruise was on Freedom in April 2015, and I was that guy with the jaw on the floor. I was absolutely blown away, from how easy it was to board all the way to disembarkation. The ports (St Thomas, St. Maarten, and the original Coco Cay) were fantastic as well! Loved it so much that as soon as I got home, I booked the exact same cruise for the next year. So, two Freedom, two Oasis, and two Harmony's later, I'm stoked for Wonder in December!!

I can't honestly answer this, as we have only gone to Nachi Cocom on Coz, but I'd be surprised if you can find any good craft beer pretty much anywhere in the Caribbean. I'm a craft guy, too, and essentially all I've found on the islands is local lagers, or "local" beers that are brewed in Indiana or Florida. Heck, even the ships have terrible tap lists. When the best you can find is La Fin du Monde (which I do like and think is a solid beer, but nowhere near good craft), you're gonna be hurtin'.

Chris, congratulations - that is quite a coup! You handled yourself brilliantly!

Thank you, Neesa; that was super informative. We've never cruised Mariner, although we have booked an 8-day next May, and now I'm a little concerned. Balconies were stupid high, so we opted for a promenade inside room, which was our cabin on our first two cruises on Freedom. I'm hooked on balconies, and am a little disappointed to be back inside, but the itinerary is fantastic. I hope by May '23 perhaps the Elon wi-fi will be installed and we won't have to deal with crappy zoom.

I hope y'all have a great time! Where are you parking? We usually stay across the street at the Radisson; the Hampton is a little cheaper, I believe, but their cruise parking is really high. We will be sailing Mariner next May, so I'm hoping for some juicy tidbits! Happy birthday to your daughter!!!