hayley_bopp

Cruise Plans
We have 2 ocean view balconies on Deck 10. Not next to one another but only a few cabins apart.
Unfortunately, we weren't able to link our bookings and get the same dining arrangements - we've got MTD and our friends have got late seating - but we're hoping to adjust when we're onboard so that either we join them or they join us.  We've also booked 150 Central park for dinner on night 6. Again we were unable to link our bookings so one of us has 6:30 and the other 7pm but we're hoping to move the reservations together onboard.
We've got an ice-show and an aqua theatre show booked. The aqua theatre is probably the thing I'm most excited to see onboard. 
After some deliberation, we decided to go Team DX. At the price we got and the current exchange rate, we'll need to drink 5 cocktails a day to break even. With a planned early embarkation, 3 sea days, a day at Coco Cay and bottled water, coffees and soft drinks thrown into the mix, I think we should get our money's worth ?
Port Plans
Again, hectic schedules, inability to link bookings and winter illness mean we haven't actually booked any excursions as of yet. As a type A planner, I find this more than a little unsettling, but I'm sure it will be fine ? We've got some ideas of what we'd like to do and hopefully we'll get something booked once we're all together in Miami. If all else fails, we'll simply wander around the shopping area in St Maarten before parking ourselves on the beach for some much-needed R&R and in San Juan we'll just have a wander around. 
In Coco Cay, we've booked waterpark passes - the second most exciting thing IMO - and I think the plan is to go there for some thrill time in the morning before heading to the beach for some chill time in the afternoon.

It would be great to say 'hi' if we bump into one another.
We should be fairly easy to spot in embarkation day if I can convince tube others to all wear tube t-shirts I bought them 

After a VERY hectic few months, it's almost time for our very first Caribbean cruise sailing on Allure Of The Seas over Christmas.
Itinerary 
22/12 - Embark at Fort Lauderdale 
23/12 - Sea Day
24/12 - Sea Day
25/12 - St Maarten (hopefully ?)
26/12 - San Juan
27/12 - Sea Day
28/12 - Coco Cay 
29/12 - Disembark at Fort Lauderdale 
 
The Crew
Me, husband (both Brits) & our USA-dwelling British & Canadian friends all in our late 30s to mid 40s.
For us, it's our 5th cruise - 3rd on RC having done the Med on Navigator and Independence.  For our friends, it's their very first cruise and we've told them they'll love it. I hope we were right!
We chose this sailing to fit in with my holidays from school (I'm a primary school teacher) and because I really wanted to try an Oasis Class ship.
Pre-Cruise
We've driven down to Heathrow airport from our home in the Midlands this afternoon and are spending the night at the Radisson Edwardian Blu. We stayed here earlier this year and were really impressed so we booked again. They do a deal where you get a hotel stay and parking and it's just a short Uber ride to the terminal in the morning. They have a funky bar with great cocktails and a couple of restaurants. Tonight we're trying the Indian restaurant. 
We're flying into Miami tomorrow (after original direct flights to FLL were cancelled and we had to rebook at extra cost or face going via Chicago or somewhere in Texas!) and staying at Pestana Beach hotel in South Beach. 
Our friends fly in to FLL from Detroit in the morning, are renting a car and picking us up from MIA when we arrive in the afternoon. 
We've got no firm plans ( we've all been REALLY busy, plus we thought we weren't going to be able to go at all when our TA went bust!) but we're hoping to see the Everglades and do an Art Deco architecture tour.
 

Miami Day 1
The weather forecast for today had looked pretty grim with more rain on the cards so we'd planned to drive up to Cape Canaveral. However, there was really heavy traffic on the motorway/freeway/highway/interstate/turnpike (I don't really get the road system - luckily, I was only a passenger) as the police had closed the road somewhere north of Fort Lauderdale.
So we changed our plans and went to the Everglades for an air boat tour.  This is something that has been on my bucket list for years so I'm really glad we got the chance to go.
 
Then we headed back to the hotel (via A-1-A whilst listening to Vanilla Ice on repeat ?), dropped off the car and went for a stroll along the boardwalk. We were originally planning on heading all the way down to the end to watch the ships sailing out - we'd seen our first cruise ship, Navigator, in port as we'd driven across the bridge earlier in the day - but unfortunately, we got way laid by some ridiculous cocktails!
 
In the end, we just ended up strolling around and having a few more drinks and some tasty snacks before heading back to the hotel for the night.
All in all, a good first day in Miami.

Miami Day 1
The weather forecast for today had looked pretty grim with more rain on the cards so we'd planned to drive up to Cape Canaveral. However, there was really heavy traffic on the motorway/freeway/highway/interstate/turnpike (I don't really get the road system - luckily, I was only a passenger) as the police had closed the road somewhere north of Fort Lauderdale.
So we changed our plans and went to the Everglades for an air boat tour.  This is something that has been on my bucket list for years so I'm really glad we got the chance to go.
 
Then we headed back to the hotel (via A-1-A whilst listening to Vanilla Ice on repeat ?), dropped off the car and went for a stroll along the boardwalk. We were originally planning on heading all the way down to the end to watch the ships sailing out - we'd seen our first cruise ship, Navigator, in port as we'd driven across the bridge earlier in the day - but unfortunately, we got way laid by some ridiculous cocktails!
 
In the end, we just ended up strolling around and having a few more drinks and some tasty snacks before heading back to the hotel for the night.
All in all, a good first day in Miami.

lol'd at that! Have a great cruise!

So, we've arrived in Miami to rain of almost biblical volumes. We've been told that it only rains heavily for about 11 days of the year here. Unfortunately, it looks like 3 of those are the 3 days that we're here before our cruise!
Oh well, you can't do anything to control the weather so we're going to make the most of it, and the effects of the jet lag, by getting up early tomorrow and heading to Cape Canaveral for the day. Not somewhere that I thought I'd ever get to see and the boys (and when I say 'boys', you must remember that those to whom I refer are aged 40 and 46) are particularly excited about it. 
Tonight we've just checked into our hotel, where we were pleasantly surprised to receive vouchers for a free drink each in the bar and even more pleasantly surprised to find that cocktails were included. Then we went for dinner at a Cuban place around the corner called Bella Cuba. The drinks service was a little slow but the food came out pretty quickly and was really flavourful and pretty healthy. 

Our travel agent, who I've used for years (Thomas Cook, a major UK travel agent) went into administration in mid-October. People who were already on holiday had to be repatriated and lots of people lost their bookings as well as thousands of staff losing their jobs.  We had to wait for 3 weeks to confirm that ours would go ahead and had to submit evidence that we'd made all payments. All while knowing we'd convinced our friends to come with us and that they might have ended up going alone!

After a VERY hectic few months, it's almost time for our very first Caribbean cruise sailing on Allure Of The Seas over Christmas.
Itinerary 
22/12 - Embark at Fort Lauderdale 
23/12 - Sea Day
24/12 - Sea Day
25/12 - St Maarten (hopefully ?)
26/12 - San Juan
27/12 - Sea Day
28/12 - Coco Cay 
29/12 - Disembark at Fort Lauderdale 
 
The Crew
Me, husband (both Brits) & our USA-dwelling British & Canadian friends all in our late 30s to mid 40s.
For us, it's our 5th cruise - 3rd on RC having done the Med on Navigator and Independence.  For our friends, it's their very first cruise and we've told them they'll love it. I hope we were right!
We chose this sailing to fit in with my holidays from school (I'm a primary school teacher) and because I really wanted to try an Oasis Class ship.
Pre-Cruise
We've driven down to Heathrow airport from our home in the Midlands this afternoon and are spending the night at the Radisson Edwardian Blu. We stayed here earlier this year and were really impressed so we booked again. They do a deal where you get a hotel stay and parking and it's just a short Uber ride to the terminal in the morning. They have a funky bar with great cocktails and a couple of restaurants. Tonight we're trying the Indian restaurant. 
We're flying into Miami tomorrow (after original direct flights to FLL were cancelled and we had to rebook at extra cost or face going via Chicago or somewhere in Texas!) and staying at Pestana Beach hotel in South Beach. 
Our friends fly in to FLL from Detroit in the morning, are renting a car and picking us up from MIA when we arrive in the afternoon. 
We've got no firm plans ( we've all been REALLY busy, plus we thought we weren't going to be able to go at all when our TA went bust!) but we're hoping to see the Everglades and do an Art Deco architecture tour.
 

So, we've arrived in Miami to rain of almost biblical volumes. We've been told that it only rains heavily for about 11 days of the year here. Unfortunately, it looks like 3 of those are the 3 days that we're here before our cruise!
Oh well, you can't do anything to control the weather so we're going to make the most of it, and the effects of the jet lag, by getting up early tomorrow and heading to Cape Canaveral for the day. Not somewhere that I thought I'd ever get to see and the boys (and when I say 'boys', you must remember that those to whom I refer are aged 40 and 46) are particularly excited about it. 
Tonight we've just checked into our hotel, where we were pleasantly surprised to receive vouchers for a free drink each in the bar and even more pleasantly surprised to find that cocktails were included. Then we went for dinner at a Cuban place around the corner called Bella Cuba. The drinks service was a little slow but the food came out pretty quickly and was really flavourful and pretty healthy. 

So, we've arrived in Miami to rain of almost biblical volumes. We've been told that it only rains heavily for about 11 days of the year here. Unfortunately, it looks like 3 of those are the 3 days that we're here before our cruise!
Oh well, you can't do anything to control the weather so we're going to make the most of it, and the effects of the jet lag, by getting up early tomorrow and heading to Cape Canaveral for the day. Not somewhere that I thought I'd ever get to see and the boys (and when I say 'boys', you must remember that those to whom I refer are aged 40 and 46) are particularly excited about it. 
Tonight we've just checked into our hotel, where we were pleasantly surprised to receive vouchers for a free drink each in the bar and even more pleasantly surprised to find that cocktails were included. Then we went for dinner at a Cuban place around the corner called Bella Cuba. The drinks service was a little slow but the food came out pretty quickly and was really flavourful and pretty healthy. 

So, we've arrived in Miami to rain of almost biblical volumes. We've been told that it only rains heavily for about 11 days of the year here. Unfortunately, it looks like 3 of those are the 3 days that we're here before our cruise!
Oh well, you can't do anything to control the weather so we're going to make the most of it, and the effects of the jet lag, by getting up early tomorrow and heading to Cape Canaveral for the day. Not somewhere that I thought I'd ever get to see and the boys (and when I say 'boys', you must remember that those to whom I refer are aged 40 and 46) are particularly excited about it. 
Tonight we've just checked into our hotel, where we were pleasantly surprised to receive vouchers for a free drink each in the bar and even more pleasantly surprised to find that cocktails were included. Then we went for dinner at a Cuban place around the corner called Bella Cuba. The drinks service was a little slow but the food came out pretty quickly and was really flavourful and pretty healthy. 

So... that just happened.   Turns out that cruising in a group of 7, with 4 boys is a LOT busier than I ever anticipated and the whole "live" portion of the blog went completely out the window.   We got home super late last night and are getting our feet under us today (kids actually went to school) and I'm plowing through a million work emails... I will attempt to recap and recount over the next few days.   
 
Needless to say - we all woke up this morning in official Starr Class Withdrawal (whaddaya mean there's no starbucks waiting for me on the table???)  

So, we've arrived in Miami to rain of almost biblical volumes. We've been told that it only rains heavily for about 11 days of the year here. Unfortunately, it looks like 3 of those are the 3 days that we're here before our cruise!
Oh well, you can't do anything to control the weather so we're going to make the most of it, and the effects of the jet lag, by getting up early tomorrow and heading to Cape Canaveral for the day. Not somewhere that I thought I'd ever get to see and the boys (and when I say 'boys', you must remember that those to whom I refer are aged 40 and 46) are particularly excited about it. 
Tonight we've just checked into our hotel, where we were pleasantly surprised to receive vouchers for a free drink each in the bar and even more pleasantly surprised to find that cocktails were included. Then we went for dinner at a Cuban place around the corner called Bella Cuba. The drinks service was a little slow but the food came out pretty quickly and was really flavourful and pretty healthy. 

So, we've arrived in Miami to rain of almost biblical volumes. We've been told that it only rains heavily for about 11 days of the year here. Unfortunately, it looks like 3 of those are the 3 days that we're here before our cruise!
Oh well, you can't do anything to control the weather so we're going to make the most of it, and the effects of the jet lag, by getting up early tomorrow and heading to Cape Canaveral for the day. Not somewhere that I thought I'd ever get to see and the boys (and when I say 'boys', you must remember that those to whom I refer are aged 40 and 46) are particularly excited about it. 
Tonight we've just checked into our hotel, where we were pleasantly surprised to receive vouchers for a free drink each in the bar and even more pleasantly surprised to find that cocktails were included. Then we went for dinner at a Cuban place around the corner called Bella Cuba. The drinks service was a little slow but the food came out pretty quickly and was really flavourful and pretty healthy. 

I Will Be Following This One. Have A Great Cruise On Allure OTS.

I am so excited for all of you. This is going to be so much fun !  I wouldn’t stress too much about not having excursion plans.  Sometimes it’s more fun just to wander aimlessly and stay close to “home”. Since you have the DBP, there is benefit to hanging out around the ship. Merry Christmas !

Post-Cruise Plans
After the cruise, we're back to the same hotel as we're in pre-cruise and will be there for the New Year's celebrations. 
Again, we have no firm plans. We're far from party animals. 
I believe there are fireworks on the beach, so we may just have dinner somewhere and then watch those, but if anyone has any suggestions, please let me know. 
We're all checked in at the airport now and waiting for our flight. Then it's just a mere 10 hours until we arrive in Miami, although, to be honest, I'm really quite looking forward to the idea of sitting and doing nothing for 10 hours ?

Cruise Plans
We have 2 ocean view balconies on Deck 10. Not next to one another but only a few cabins apart.
Unfortunately, we weren't able to link our bookings and get the same dining arrangements - we've got MTD and our friends have got late seating - but we're hoping to adjust when we're onboard so that either we join them or they join us.  We've also booked 150 Central park for dinner on night 6. Again we were unable to link our bookings so one of us has 6:30 and the other 7pm but we're hoping to move the reservations together onboard.
We've got an ice-show and an aqua theatre show booked. The aqua theatre is probably the thing I'm most excited to see onboard. 
After some deliberation, we decided to go Team DX. At the price we got and the current exchange rate, we'll need to drink 5 cocktails a day to break even. With a planned early embarkation, 3 sea days, a day at Coco Cay and bottled water, coffees and soft drinks thrown into the mix, I think we should get our money's worth ?
Port Plans
Again, hectic schedules, inability to link bookings and winter illness mean we haven't actually booked any excursions as of yet. As a type A planner, I find this more than a little unsettling, but I'm sure it will be fine ? We've got some ideas of what we'd like to do and hopefully we'll get something booked once we're all together in Miami. If all else fails, we'll simply wander around the shopping area in St Maarten before parking ourselves on the beach for some much-needed R&R and in San Juan we'll just have a wander around. 
In Coco Cay, we've booked waterpark passes - the second most exciting thing IMO - and I think the plan is to go there for some thrill time in the morning before heading to the beach for some chill time in the afternoon.

It would be great to say 'hi' if we bump into one another.
We should be fairly easy to spot in embarkation day if I can convince tube others to all wear tube t-shirts I bought them 

Cruise Plans
We have 2 ocean view balconies on Deck 10. Not next to one another but only a few cabins apart.
Unfortunately, we weren't able to link our bookings and get the same dining arrangements - we've got MTD and our friends have got late seating - but we're hoping to adjust when we're onboard so that either we join them or they join us.  We've also booked 150 Central park for dinner on night 6. Again we were unable to link our bookings so one of us has 6:30 and the other 7pm but we're hoping to move the reservations together onboard.
We've got an ice-show and an aqua theatre show booked. The aqua theatre is probably the thing I'm most excited to see onboard. 
After some deliberation, we decided to go Team DX. At the price we got and the current exchange rate, we'll need to drink 5 cocktails a day to break even. With a planned early embarkation, 3 sea days, a day at Coco Cay and bottled water, coffees and soft drinks thrown into the mix, I think we should get our money's worth ?
Port Plans
Again, hectic schedules, inability to link bookings and winter illness mean we haven't actually booked any excursions as of yet. As a type A planner, I find this more than a little unsettling, but I'm sure it will be fine ? We've got some ideas of what we'd like to do and hopefully we'll get something booked once we're all together in Miami. If all else fails, we'll simply wander around the shopping area in St Maarten before parking ourselves on the beach for some much-needed R&R and in San Juan we'll just have a wander around. 
In Coco Cay, we've booked waterpark passes - the second most exciting thing IMO - and I think the plan is to go there for some thrill time in the morning before heading to the beach for some chill time in the afternoon.

After a VERY hectic few months, it's almost time for our very first Caribbean cruise sailing on Allure Of The Seas over Christmas.
Itinerary 
22/12 - Embark at Fort Lauderdale 
23/12 - Sea Day
24/12 - Sea Day
25/12 - St Maarten (hopefully ?)
26/12 - San Juan
27/12 - Sea Day
28/12 - Coco Cay 
29/12 - Disembark at Fort Lauderdale 
 
The Crew
Me, husband (both Brits) & our USA-dwelling British & Canadian friends all in our late 30s to mid 40s.
For us, it's our 5th cruise - 3rd on RC having done the Med on Navigator and Independence.  For our friends, it's their very first cruise and we've told them they'll love it. I hope we were right!
We chose this sailing to fit in with my holidays from school (I'm a primary school teacher) and because I really wanted to try an Oasis Class ship.
Pre-Cruise
We've driven down to Heathrow airport from our home in the Midlands this afternoon and are spending the night at the Radisson Edwardian Blu. We stayed here earlier this year and were really impressed so we booked again. They do a deal where you get a hotel stay and parking and it's just a short Uber ride to the terminal in the morning. They have a funky bar with great cocktails and a couple of restaurants. Tonight we're trying the Indian restaurant. 
We're flying into Miami tomorrow (after original direct flights to FLL were cancelled and we had to rebook at extra cost or face going via Chicago or somewhere in Texas!) and staying at Pestana Beach hotel in South Beach. 
Our friends fly in to FLL from Detroit in the morning, are renting a car and picking us up from MIA when we arrive in the afternoon. 
We've got no firm plans ( we've all been REALLY busy, plus we thought we weren't going to be able to go at all when our TA went bust!) but we're hoping to see the Everglades and do an Art Deco architecture tour.
 

It would be great to say 'hi' if we bump into one another.
We should be fairly easy to spot in embarkation day if I can convince tube others to all wear tube t-shirts I bought them 

Post-Cruise Plans
After the cruise, we're back to the same hotel as we're in pre-cruise and will be there for the New Year's celebrations. 
Again, we have no firm plans. We're far from party animals. 
I believe there are fireworks on the beach, so we may just have dinner somewhere and then watch those, but if anyone has any suggestions, please let me know. 
We're all checked in at the airport now and waiting for our flight. Then it's just a mere 10 hours until we arrive in Miami, although, to be honest, I'm really quite looking forward to the idea of sitting and doing nothing for 10 hours ?

Cruise Plans
We have 2 ocean view balconies on Deck 10. Not next to one another but only a few cabins apart.
Unfortunately, we weren't able to link our bookings and get the same dining arrangements - we've got MTD and our friends have got late seating - but we're hoping to adjust when we're onboard so that either we join them or they join us.  We've also booked 150 Central park for dinner on night 6. Again we were unable to link our bookings so one of us has 6:30 and the other 7pm but we're hoping to move the reservations together onboard.
We've got an ice-show and an aqua theatre show booked. The aqua theatre is probably the thing I'm most excited to see onboard. 
After some deliberation, we decided to go Team DX. At the price we got and the current exchange rate, we'll need to drink 5 cocktails a day to break even. With a planned early embarkation, 3 sea days, a day at Coco Cay and bottled water, coffees and soft drinks thrown into the mix, I think we should get our money's worth ?
Port Plans
Again, hectic schedules, inability to link bookings and winter illness mean we haven't actually booked any excursions as of yet. As a type A planner, I find this more than a little unsettling, but I'm sure it will be fine ? We've got some ideas of what we'd like to do and hopefully we'll get something booked once we're all together in Miami. If all else fails, we'll simply wander around the shopping area in St Maarten before parking ourselves on the beach for some much-needed R&R and in San Juan we'll just have a wander around. 
In Coco Cay, we've booked waterpark passes - the second most exciting thing IMO - and I think the plan is to go there for some thrill time in the morning before heading to the beach for some chill time in the afternoon.