firebuck

Virtual Symphony
I don’t know what to say about this show. I was a bit underwhelmed.  I found it weird that people applauded after each number. I guess it was just their way of getting into the virtual experience.  The lady next to me got so much into it that she started conducting too.  I was afraid the “orchestra” might get confused as to which conductor to follow. I was ok with her “conducting” but when she started humming along with the music, that was just too much for me. (I hope she doesn’t join this message board and call me out for gossiping... ha ha)

Do you think you could get some more photos of Fish & Ships as it's new and also are the upcharge items included in the UDP? Same with the pub, could you please upload photos of the menu there and ask if the food there is included in the UDP? 

Holy crow! I just checked my Cruise Planner and the Deluxe package is back down to the “old standard” $56/night base price. No active promo in place, so I’m curious if this is a presage of a proper Labor Day sale. Guess I’ll know by Saturday if I’m going to finally be picking up the package or solidly off of #TeamDX.
C’mon 30% sale! Daddy needs a Dark & Stormy or three!!

Day 5 leftovers
We came back from Santorini around 2 pm and went to catch some food and nap. I was do glad they have done the excursion early morning so it was not too hot. We continue our day st the diamond club before going out for the top tier party , must say it was quite empty. On the ship we have 70 platinum , 51 Diamonds , 25 D+ and 0 pinnacles . Too cruiser were with 444 nights ...

The party included a performance of the too dancers and the band which were performing all week long.


The Captain said few words and the cruise director Bill was trying to tell done jokes , he reminds me a 70s TV host show , he was Ok during the events but his morning shows were very short and without much interactions with the activities manager. 
Our captain 

Bill

We continue for dinner at WJ it was lasagna night whic is always good.

We continued to the love and marriage show which seemed as it was rushed but still funny , for some reason they have not emphasis this is adult only so there were we quite allot of kids in the theater, three of the were the grandkids of the older cupple. You can imagine how the cupple struggled to answer were was the strangest place they have done coffee (well as maybe there are some kids here 2) . I am sure lots of parents had to explain new facts to their kids ?

I was looking up the same things for our visit there and the parasailing weight limit is definitely a combined weight, not per guest. I didn't see anything about a weight limit for Jet skis.

I wonder if it is the same Youtuber who got most of the facts and projections wrong when Oasis was damaged in the crane incident.  
Some bloggers and vloggers will do anything to get clicks and followers, even make stuff up.
Fortunately here on royalcaribbeanblog.com @Matt sticks with known and confirmed information, not speculation.
If you want reliable information you'll find it right here https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/

A taste from today in Santorini

Day 4 - sea day .
The boat time was changed to fit Greek time so we lost one hour , but good they have done it before a sea day so we can adjust. What can I say , regular sea day were you have time to rest and explore the ship. Breakfast  in the MDR, for some reason was only until 9:30 am , remember we just changed the watch so we all forced to WJ , it was super crowded but we found some space outside. We went to some lecture about the next ports , it was mainly the port/shop consultant telling us which shops she and RCL are getting the best commission also some tecnic to make sure the shops knew we came from the ship so no lost revinew. I don't miss some guest lectures which actually do not try to sell you anything. Had a visit to the casino , empty as always. Played some 3 card Poker , got straight  3 time in a row ,also with the 5 cards bonus, 30 seconds after the host replaced the dealer and I left 5 hands later (or too late ? but still ip ) not before collecting some water on the way out as was recommended by @Matt in one of the posts , here is my current stockpile 

We went for lunch in WJ , they had Shuarma which was very  good and baklava we I took second portion (telling myself I will walk 6000 more steps to pay for it , or at least dream about it


We went to rest and watch some movie, that followed by our daily visit to the Diamond club which continues with excellent service , I guess it easy when you have only 14 people at the club and most are the same one every day , a combination of Europe route and a small boat. We went to see the battle of the sexes  , the women won ... Quick dinner at WJ , few rounds around deck 5 and we went to sleep as are next port is Santorini and we have a shore excursion that starts at outrageous  7 am time ? 
Side note , our cabin attendant is very good in many aspects and we are very happy with him , but let say towel animals is not his strong side , at least he is trying ?

 

Now , what is totally wrong with this picture ?

Hi Everyone And Welcome To My Not Live Blog Of My Cruise On Harmony Of The Seas. I Plan To Take A Lot Of Video And Post It To My Youtube Channel. Also I Am Going To Be Using A New Camera. More On That Later.
So This Is Our Itinerary On This Sailing. 
 Day One: (Orlando) Port Canaveral  Day Two: Perfect Day At Coco Cay  Day Three: At Sea  Day Four: St Thomas   Day Five: St Martin   Day Six: At Sea Day Seven: At Sea  I Am Really Exited For This Cruise Because Today Marks 24 Days Until I Board!!

So With Out Further To Do I Hope You Will Follow Me For This Cruise Adventure!!!
 

I know it's just a typo, but now I can't help but to read this entire blog in the voice of Popeye ?

Ummm, I hope you mean dinners for baby seals and not dinners made from baby seals! ?

I know it's just a typo, but now I can't help but to read this entire blog in the voice of Popeye ?

Following along!  Hope you guys have a great time!

Howdy Folks!!
In six days we will be heading to the mediocre city of Galveston, Texas for an adventure of nominal proportion. This is cruise #26 for me and first out of the Port of Galveston.
Who:
Me, My beautiful wife Brenda, and our 20 month old son Zander or Z as he's been nicknamed....Oh and this is his 3rd cruise. Side note... I am the OCD planner in the family and use to plan vacations down to the foot step....almost. Now I/we have plans but nothing in concrete with a flexible timeline.
 
Why this cruise?
Research of course...We had Symphony booked for last month for a business conference (We flip houses in San Antonio as a side hustle) but weren't able to swing the massive final payment in time so we rebooked Enchantment for the five nighter, so not to lose all the deposit from Symphony, and sill make to Diamond (only needed 5 points) this year....everyone needs goals.
Also...I feel Galveston has not been represented much and typically has been given a bad rap (I'm from Jersey and don't care 'that' much... but still). Galveston is going though a revitalization and I'll cover that further dawn and next week when we get to town.
...and even more so the cruise is going to the 'up and coming port' of Progreso, Mexico. It a little town up the coast from Cancun, on the north shore of the Yucatan. I hear the pier is 4 MILES LONG!!!!
 
Itinerary!
Day 1: Galveston, Texas
Day 2: at Sea
Day 3: Progreso, Mx
Day 4: Cozumel, Mx
Day 5: sea day
Day 6: Galveston, Texas
 
Cabin:
We are slumming it and maybe a little over cautious. We have a bare bones Inside GTY stateroom on deck two (Never been on deck two). Inside because it is least expensive, balconies were twice the price, and with a 20 month, who is into everything, it scares me that he may find his way on to the balcony.
 
Excursions:
We ae not big excursion people. The Mrs. loves the shopping aspect of cruising and not a fan of the cattle call that sometimes happens with group activities. This time around with a new port to explore, Progreso, we are just going to explore the city and hit the beach. Z loves the water. It is my understanding it is a brisk one hour walk just to get off the 4 mile ship pier. a shuttle bus is provided free so we will be taking that with concern that we will not have a baby seat. Once in town, we will explore the shops along the beach and hit the Corona Beach Club...There is an excursion for this place BUT all the reviews I see say it is a waste of money. It consists of a shuttle ride and two chairs and an umbrella for $35 pp.  The shuttle is free and you can go to the beach for free too. An umbrella and chairs are negotiable I'm sure.  Something is fishy. I'll ask at the excursion desk...maybe.  My understanding that the locals can be extremely pushy with their wares that are set up along the walkways at the port and beach areas.
Bing map of the pier.

This will be probably my 10th trip to Cozumel and we have done all there is to do there from buying to much jewelry to Senor Frogs and Carlos and Charlie's to swimming with the dolphins & Mayan ruins. With advice I received from y'all we are going to hit up Nachi Cocom at $55.00 per adult and Z will be free of charge. Unlimited drinks, 4 course meal... I am very excited to visit here especially knowing they limit the number of guests to 130 per day (I'll believe it when I see it)
http://www.cozumelnachicocom.com/
Extras:
In my older younger years I am not the big drinker as I use to be and have opted for the Soda Package. We will bring the allotted wine on board that we love from Lake Ridge Winery near @Matt place in Central Florida. As much as everybody LOVES the WindJammier on embarkation day is blows my anxiety off the charts. That whole part of the day where EVERYBODY is clustered in the Centrum/Royal Promenade/Esplanade & the WindJammier drives me a little nutty when I should be relaxing. Ok...focus...I went ahead and pre-booked Chops for lunch to hopefully avoid the whole waiting for 1 o'clock for the staterooms to be ready crowd dealio. Our little guy loves steak and since he's 20 months he can order for free of the kid's menu and help daddy with his ribeye or filet and maybe mommy's salmon. I also pre-ordered some branded RC toys for Z for a surprise for him.
 
Pre Game:
We will be taking the 3+ hours drive from San Antonio to the port area the day before and staying that a quirky looking hotel adjacent to the two cruise terminals aka terminal one and terminal two... The Harbor House at pier 21.  https://www.harborhousepier21.com/. Granted this hotel is owned by Wyndam and the Mrs. likes to do 'local' things, yet this hotel appears to have a mom and pop charm to it. we will walk the two blocks the next day to the terminal. 
We are big 80's rock fans (8 Monster of Rock cruises under our belts) so we will be stopping at the Hard Rock Café in Houston (Right off the interstate) for lunch, on the way, to break up the ride for the little guy and hit a one off restaurant called Shark Shack (unless I get vetoed) for dinner. Side note...Landry's OWNS the food and Beverage industry in Galveston. (Landry's Rainforest Café, Cadillac Bar, Fish Tales, Kemah Pier, Bubba Gump even SaltGrass) we want to eat local fare and enjoy fresh local seafood, and we want to avoid that Landry's chain food...be aware. We will be parking overnight at the onsite parking for the one night fee and leaving the car at the Harbor House's sister hotel, the Galvez Hotel, for free parking during our cruise. I will take the car there day of and they have a free shuttle to take me back to the terminal. I will go solo to retrieve the car upon return.
I have been studying the port and the surround area for months. I go to Google maps and tour the streets and read reviews (with a grain of salt) to lay out my plan of attack of Galveston.
I will be Periscoping our trip the day before and up to sail away day of. I typically put the phone away and do not get the internet package...1. because I'm cheat and 2. I like the disconnect aspect of cruising. I an MOTELYBRUE on periscope.
the link below is a PowerPoint of the master Plan for the harbor area. You will see the plans for the new terminal 3 at Pier 10. Notice the ship that is placed in the rendering is an OASIS CLASS SHIP!!!!! Looks like the Texas market is growing!!
https://www.portofgalveston.com/DocumentCenter/View/2607/Strategic-Master-Plan-Preliminary-Draft-Presentation-Website
Notice upper right Oasis Class!!

 
This is how close the Harbor House is from the Whale Tail Cruise terminal... RCCL is one block behind.

Strategic-Master-Plan-Preliminary-Draft-Presentation-Website.pdf
The Landry's family of restaurants

I know it's just a typo, but now I can't help but to read this entire blog in the voice of Popeye ?

I know it's just a typo, but now I can't help but to read this entire blog in the voice of Popeye ?

I know it's just a typo, but now I can't help but to read this entire blog in the voice of Popeye ?

I know it's just a typo, but now I can't help but to read this entire blog in the voice of Popeye ?

My first ever cruise and we are going all out! Me, my best friend and her sister are going on Symphony of the seas on October 12/ 2019! We are staying in a 2 Bedroom Aquatheatre Suite and are so excited to see what this trip has to offer! I will be keeping everyone up to date here! 

Our Cabin – Since my I am planning this trip, and it is for my birthday, I chose to splurge with cabin 9708 which is an aft, 2 bedroom Grand Suite (formally the Royal Family Suite if you want to search on YouTube). Regardless of where we vacation, we always look for a room with space that DH can go to read or work while he waits for the rest of us to get up. DH has been an early riser all of his life – 5am is really sleeping in for him. I’m a night owl and could close down the dance floor, and apparently I’m no fun when woken up at 4am! DH and I have stayed in Junior Suites on both of our previous cruises, which worked well for the 2 of us. That little curtain between the bed and couch was just light blocking enough to keep me from being a… let’s just say grumpy lady… every morning. But with the kids, we knew we wanted the extra space and the second bathroom. Hopefully all goes well for the kids on this cruise because we’ve already booked another! We're taking my MIL on her first cruise next time around - Enchantment in February 2020 also in a 2br Grand Suite. Hopefully we won’t be ruined by the real suite experience, and we will be able to handle connecting rooms in the future. If not, and you know anyone who needs a wedding cake, send them my way so I can keep paying for the suite life! ?
Pre-cruise purchases – Because we are in a suite, we didn’t think we would take full advantage of the Deluxe Beverage Package, so we purchased the Refreshment package at $17 for all of us during the Black Friday sale. I caved and upgraded to the Deluxe Beverage Package at $46 about 80 days out. I really think it needed to come down to $42 to make financial sense for us as we got the Refreshment package so low and we’ll be taking advantage of the Suite Lounge every evening, but it’s worth the extra $50ish in my mind to not have the big bill at the end. I never saw the package go that low, even on Black Friday. Of course now, with the recent price increases across the board, it really seems like a steal!
We also purchased an excursion in Roatan through RC. I found the same excursion through a 3rd party, but the price was only $10 more when RC was running one of their sales, and DH likes the assurance of staying with the herd. 
We haven’t had family photos made in a while, so we will most likely buy the digital photo package. I haven’t quite decided yet, but the price is normally $250 for all the digital shots. None of the photographers I work with, even on their family sessions, give all the digital images and a print release for only $250. Most start around $300 just for the session fee. I’m sure it’s not quite apples to apples with the ship’s photographers (I'm not getting any editing with that price), but it doesn’t seem completely unreasonable to me. The package also went on sale today for $235 so I'll probably get off the fence about that today. I can use that $15 for one of the kids' souvenirs instead! 

@Big Dawg Ron: Matt! You've gotta come back with me!
Matt: Where?
@Big Dawg Ron Back to Perfect Day at CocoCay!
Matt: Whoa, wait a minute, Ron. What are you talking about? What happens at Perfect Day at CocoCay? What, do we sign up for a cruise with @monorailmedic or something?
@Big Dawg Ron No, no, no, no, no, Matt. You turn out fine.  It's your weekend, Matt. Something gotta be done about your long weekend!
-----
Friends, it's time to go back on board Mariner of the Seas over Labor Day weekend for a quick jaunt to Perfect Day at CocoCay, and a return to a live blog here on the forums!
With an extra day off on Monday for the Labor Day holiday, I couldn't help myself but book a quick weekend cruise on Mariner. Originally I was on Navigator of the Seas this weekend until a certain person decided to hold a celebration of their final days of being single there and I was forced to change ships.

Instead, we are headed back on Mariner of the Seas and down to Perfect Day at CocoCay.  Another visit to Perfect Day at CocoCay is always welcome, and these weekend sailings line up quite well with my schedule. I can work until lunch on Friday, head over to the port and then wrap up my day while onboard the ship.  Then the rest of the weekend is enjoyed onboard the ship!
Not only am I looking forward to getting back to Perfect Day at CocoCay, I am looking forward to @mpoole3 not ruining the weather this time around.

Cabin
For this cruise, we have a category 2T Promenade View Interior room. 
As I recall, prices for a balcony were a bit out there and a Promenade room gives us a much better value.  Plus, on a 3-night cruise without kids, how much time will I really spend in there?

We will visit Nassau and Perfect Day at CocoCay.
No plans booked for Nassau yet. Will wait and see what I feel like and then decide on something. 
For Perfect Day at CocoCay, I reserved an Oasis Lagoon cabana in the name of "science".  I've stayed in the Thrill Waterpark and Chill Island cabanas, so now I need to try the Oasis Lagoon Cabanas to fill out the trifecta.

The live blog kicks off on August 30. Until then, I will be counting down the days until we depart.

I think the only other benefit of booking with Air2Sea is that they're pretty much guaranteeing that you will get to the ship with any flight that you select through them.  That said, due to the nature of air travel, things could still go wrong, but instead of YOU being on the hook for missing the ship, Royal will do everything possible to get you there - at least at the next port stop.  
From the Air2Sea site:
ASSURED ARRIVAL
When your vacation comes around, you don't want to miss the ship because of flight delays or cancellations. Book airfare through us and we guarantee, should an issue arise, our Emergency Travel Team will work with our airline partners to get you to the first available port of call.

I have been in dry dock for almost 8 years, and it’s finally (FINALLY!!) time for the uncontainable excitement I have for my upcoming cruise to boil over onto the Live Blog pages! We’ll be on Liberty of the Seas embarking September 1 for a 7 day western Caribbean cruise to Roatan, Costa Maya, and Cozumel. We're also heading to Galveston a couple days early to visit Space Center Houston. Unfortunately, this will not be a true live blog as we are unplugging for the trip, but list any questions you have here and I’ll do my best to get the answers when I’m on board then post when I’m back. I’ll post our plans and some details over the next several days and a review with photos once home.
About us - I am 39 and DH is 47. I home school our two kids and run a wedding cake bakery from home. I like to think I can talk to myself in public and call it a parent-teacher conference. ? DH is an engineer.  DH and I have sailed twice before, both on Royal - Independence Eastern Caribbean in 2010 out of Ft. Lauderdale and Voyager Western Caribbean in 2011 out of Galveston. We loved both of these, and our only “complaint” if we had to come up with one was that the dance floors were too small. This will be our kids’ first cruise; DD is 10 and DS is 7. DD has Autism Spectrum Disorder and Generalized Anxiety Disorder. A few years ago, she would have been diagnosed with Aspergers, but it’s now lumped in with ASD. She doesn’t generally need special accommodations as she’s mainly socially awkward (can’t remember multiple step tasks, gets distracted in her own world, interrupts you mid-sentence to tell you all about dinosaurs/Pokemon/every word of a tv show she saw once 6 years ago). With her GAD, she occasionally catastrophizes things. In her mind, wild fires in California mean the whole world will be consumed by flames type of thing, so we did a lot of video watching and safety type prep with her to hopefully ease any fears that might come up on board. I had several photos of a life boat drill and another crew drill from our previous sailings which helped a lot. DS is your typical silly, loud boy. Both the kids are extremely excited for the cruise. Right now they want to spend a little time in Adventure Ocean each day, but we'll be spending a good portion of the time together as a family. 
Why this cruise - I decided that it had been long enough since our last cruise, and that we were going to take one for my 40th birthday. It’s the same month as the sailing, so it counts, right? We actually had our third one booked in 2012, but we got pregnant with DS and wound up just cancelling due to timing of everything else going on in our lives beyond a new baby (aging parents, job changes, etc). We have been land vacationing a lot these last 8 years at Great Wolf Lodge as there is one less than an hour from our house, the kids love it, and it’s cheaper than Disney!  Because we live in north Texas (Dallas area), we decided to keep it easy and drive down to Galveston. Liberty’s water slides and Splashaway Bay will be a good fit for my kids, and I wanted a 7 day cruise which Liberty offered as opposed to Enchantment’s 4 or 5 day itineraries. We booked during the 2018 Black Friday sale which featured a discount on the second passenger and Kids Sail Free promotions. We picked up about $500 in price drops along the way, even after our cabin category sold out thanks to @Lovetocruise2002's tips.
More to come...

I think the only other benefit of booking with Air2Sea is that they're pretty much guaranteeing that you will get to the ship with any flight that you select through them.  That said, due to the nature of air travel, things could still go wrong, but instead of YOU being on the hook for missing the ship, Royal will do everything possible to get you there - at least at the next port stop.  
From the Air2Sea site:
ASSURED ARRIVAL
When your vacation comes around, you don't want to miss the ship because of flight delays or cancellations. Book airfare through us and we guarantee, should an issue arise, our Emergency Travel Team will work with our airline partners to get you to the first available port of call.