hayley_bopp

Great shots ?

on port days set the alarm clock for 6am and make an early start lol 

I've been to Barcelona a couple of times (albeit not on a cruise) and it's a beautiful city - I'm looking forward to going back there on IOS this summer. Anyway, there are hop-on hop-off buses which are a great way to see all the sites. The Sagrada Familia is a must see. The tour of the Nou Camp stadium is worth a look if you're a football (soccer) fan. Gaudi's Parc Guell is also interesting with great views over the city if you climb to the top of the stairs at the back of the park. 
We went to Civitivechia on Navigator in 2016 but chose not to go to Rome as it's so far from the port (and being from the UK it will be relatively easy for us to go there for a weekend at some point). If you do choose to go to Rome, I'd recommend booking through RC for peace of mind as it's so far from the port. We booked a wine tasting excursion in Tuscany through RC. It was a pleasant afternoon but my husbsnd and I weren't that impressed with the actual wine tasting - nowhere near as good as others we've done in Napa & Sonoma. We still came away with some nice, very reasonably priced wine though. My parents, who'd never dine wine tasting before, really enjoyed it. 

Day 8 – departure ☹
 
Lucky for us we went sleeping quite early for a last day (around 1 AM ) so we could catch few hours of  quality sleeping time.I found out the hard way that one of the departure day depression is lacking good sleep on the final day.
Our departure time was schedule to 9 am so we had time to organize things and catch some last breakfast in WJ , this was the first day I saw the WJ full but still we found some space to seat and eat a quick one.We left our room around 8:40 directly to the gangway, In Barcelona they have two terminal for Oasis class , terminal C and B , even tag numbers are sent to Terminal C and odds goes to terminal B , as I was not paying attention we found ourselves in the wrong terminal … so we had to do all the way back to the other terminal , the advantage was that we could take one last picture of the ship.

As our flight was schedule only to be the next day (500 $ less) we waited for a taxi to take us to our hotel. Beware , taxies lines in Barcelona port can take up to 30 minutes (that’s the cases if you are not leaving the ship at 7 AM anyway).
We arrived the hotel (Crown Plaza 10 minutes ride from the port and 18 $) as no rooms were available yet we were given access to the launch were we had our second late breakfast  , rooms were available around 11 AM so we went up put our stuff and left to tour Barcelona for few hours.The hotel, although not in the main center, is located near Espania square (10-15 minutes walk) which has a metro , a very impressive fountain nearby and some museum/shops


We took some picture and went to the Subway so we can catch a ride to boqueria food market and to La Rambla avenue.
 
Boueria became a very touristic place although still there many stores which sells fresh food for locals.
If you can avoid it during weekend it is best as the place is  very crowded. Still I would not miss it .
We took some small mixed Jamon plate and fresh exotic fruits cups.
Off we went to walk at  Rambla  until we decided to add back to the hotel.

Later we went to a Supermarkets to buy some Jamon and Cava to bring back home (remember we promised some Jamon to the cat ? ).
Flight back was 6 am so we went to sleep early,  during the cruise I found out that I will come back home , do my laundry and fly day after to South America for some meetings. 
So some thoughts about the ship :
First , it is wonderful ship , I am so happy we will be on it again on September.
We discussed with some crew member which told us that RC brought many people from other ships for few weeks , I do hope they will continue with the excellent service.
The same crew member told us that the new bar, Playmaker was a big success, I could so that every day it was full of people.
Internet was excellent in the entire ship , when we wanted to work on another device we just had to login on this device without logout the other (which is good but can also create some internet wars, sure  I need to buy the travel router for next time as suggested by @twangster  , will do it next week when I will catch my connection flight in EWR)
We brought two bottles of wines and open them one in Hooked and one in the MDR , we were not charged for any fees.
The laser tag is fun, I would recommend to try it, if you come as family maybe even try to be on opposite teams.
The ice show is not to be missed.
Hairspray is very nice, well performed.
We did not took the drinking package  as there was only one sea day so with two bottles of wines , three paid drinks and some very drinks in the Casino we managed to handle it.
RC were very generous with the sparkling wine, almost every day they gave it free in the WJ.
Going on one of the first cruise prove itself to be very good, the ship for sure was ready with 98% of her features.
Another cruise came to its end, thanks whoever followed, as always it was enjoyable to write it , let me know if you have any question on the ship or the ports, would happy to answer.

I completely understand.  Keep an eye out for discounts offered once onboard. I've had decent luck in looking through the Cruise Compass for them, or talking to waiters who walk around the ship looking to drum up business.

Keep up the excellent 'research' ?

Keep up the excellent 'research' ?

Keep up the excellent 'research' ?

If I am using hi
heated seat in the thermal suite while listening to RC blog poodcasts do you think I need to seek help ?

Keep up the excellent 'research' ?

We went down to the rabbit hole 
 

The Segrada Familia is so impressive. 
Have a great cruise!

Apparently guests were disembarked for tours as usual, damage to the ship is minimal and port authorities expect her to leave port about 2am once necessary repairs have been completed and she's expected to arrive in Belize, her next scheduled port, on time. 
https://www.mirror.co.uk/travel/cruises/msc-cruise-ship-crashes-port-12341913

Day 5 – St. Maarten
To use a @twangsterism – This is going to be a photo-heavy post. Consider yourselves forewarned.
Our day in St. Maarten ran from 8 until 5, and we were in the process of docking around 7 AM when I woke up. What woke me up was the sound of two men in what sounded like an argument. I went out to my balcony and saw these two gents down on the pier, still having a rather animated discussion.

 
While the rest of the family got up and ready to go down to breakfast, I continued to take pictures while docking wrapped up. Even from the pier I could see the island was beautiful, and I wanted to capture as much as I could, especially that unparalleled water. It was still cloudy this early in the day, but in a way that was better since the light hadn't yet gotten harsh.

 
We went down to the MDR for a slightly hurried breakfast, since we needed to make our way over to Dock Maarten where our excursion with Captain Bob's Soualiga Adventures would depart. We left the ship and started walking through the port market around 9:10, having been notified through email that checkin was at 9:30 and departure at 10 sharp. Thankfully, this market was a complete 180 from the one in St. Kitts; while it still had plenty of shops, we didn't get harassed even once as we walked through. If we weren't in a genuine rush, it would have been nice to wander a bit and maybe give these folks some actual customers.
As we left our ship's pier and headed to the market, we saw the other ships who were in port for that day -- Celebrity Eclipse and MSC Seaside:

 
It's actually a pretty straightforward trip from the market to Dock Maarten -- if you're walking, it's only about 15 minutes (20 if you're more slow-moving like me); but since we were running a bit late and needed faster transport, we grabbed the first taxi that was offered to us by the gents at the port entrance, where it meets the main road. The taxi driver was this particular gent's mother, and she was driving a seriously beat-up Hyundai that the four of us had to somewhat squeeze into. It cost us $12 to get there, but for saving the strain on my feet that morning it was worth it. And it gave some funds to the locals who I knew could use it.
We did get a chuckle on our way there; our driver had gone into the left lane to bypass the backlogged traffic and get us to Dock Maarten more quickly, when she saw a police car coming our way. She quickly pulled into a gravel parking area on the other side of the road that looked like it was part of a construction site for some rebuilding work, and while she checked to make sure the policeman had passed by and wasn't coming back, she explained that this was the sole policeman in the area -- and her nephew! She chuckled as she said she'd almost certainly see him again later that evening around dinner, and he was sure to ask her what she was doing on the wrong side of the road by the port; she told us she was going to play all innocent and say she wasn't anywhere near there. It was something of a game the two of them played every day while he patrolled the area and she worked her taxi service, and we had to laugh along with her.
We got to our destination and met up with Captain Bob himself. He handled our checkin, then introduced us to his son, Brett, who would be our tour guide and captain of the particular boat we were going to be on. The first mate was Brett's fiancée, Laura. I'll be writing up a longer review of the whole excursion in the Shore Excursions forum, for now I'm going to stick to the highlights and the photos that go with them...
As promised, we departed at 10 AM sharp. As we pulled out of the port area and into the open water, we saw a Costa ship making a late arrival into the port; so there would actually be four ships in port that day, which I'm sure the people of the island were more than happy to see. I wasn't able to get a photo at this point as the ship was too far away and we were moving a bit too quickly to get a steady shot.
At this point, Brett took us along the Dutch side of the island, and we made our way to the big marina that houses the most expensive yachts. All along the way, there were visible signs of the devastation that Hurricane Irma had wrought and that hadn't yet been repaired. But there was also still a lot that was intact or rebuilt, and a lot that was still really pretty and good to see.

 
I took some video while we went through the marina, but my phone's mic picked up way too much wind noise and I haven't been able to clean up the sound enough yet to make it worth sharing. iMovie is still my editing tool for video, and the latest version removed the manual equalizer tool that could have allowed me to clean up that wind noise.
As we exited the marina and made our way to the next area of interest, we passed a graveyard of wrecked ships that were waiting to be destroyed, having been sunk and beyond the point of repair or salvage.

 
From here, we moved out into open waters again and made our way to the first destination of our trip. I continued to take lots of pictures, capturing both the beauty and the tragedy that was on display. I was using my tele lens the whole time, and you're going to see that it has some... interesting... effects on the corners of these images. I took most of them using the phone's burst mode, so I could get some reasonable shots as the boat bounced and sped along, and combined with the tele lens it introduced what looks to me like a tilt-shift effect in the corners of many of these pictures. If you've ever watched Sherlock on PBS, you'll know tilt-shift from the show's opening sequence.

 
Here we have the governor's house for the French-side governor.

 
Not long after seeing this (and Brett kidding with us that it was Oprah's winter home), we officially crossed to the French side of the island as we passed under a small drawbridge.

 
Once we were on the French side, we saw a lot more boats docked in the area. Brett explained that the rates for boat moorings on the French side are significantly lower than on the Dutch side, so most of the local folks who have smaller and cheaper boats dock them in that area. It's been nicknamed the boat trailer park of the island.


 
Ummm, I can't really talk now. I've got cows...

 
Brett and Laura said they stumbled across them one time while just going to that beach on their own for a picnic. The herd has some bulls and they actually charged the two of them; they had to clear out of there in a big hurry!

The little island above is named Tintemarre, and this was our first snorkeling stop. The prime "catch" here is sea turtles and sting rays. My wife and the girls got their snorkeling gear and dove in to explore. I stayed on the boat and spent the 45 minutes we were there just chatting with Brett, getting to know him a bit and talking about things like the add-on lenses he saw me using, investing (he was a hedge fund manager before he joined his dad in doing the boat tours), and other small talk.
After everyone was back on board, we made our way to the next stop, Pinel Island. The island is both a wildlife refuge / nature preserve, and also a day trip spot for the neighboring locals and people looking for a little pleasure cruise. In addition to the small beach that offers loungers and umbrellas, there are two small restaurants / bars and a little gift shop that offers hand-made items.

The water here is really only about chest height, so you just jump off the boat and wade to land. I took advantage and made my way up to the little yellow hut at the top of the second picture above, which is the sole restroom on the island. On my way back, I noticed as I passed the gift shop that there was a big cluster of hermit crabs sheltering in a little bit of ground cover around a palm tree. I wish I had my phone, but there was no way with my non-waterproof model that I was throwing it in my backpack and risking it getting soaked in the ocean while I waded from boat to land and back. I did tell my wife and the girls about it, and they went to take a look and also look at the gift shop. D17 bought a couple of sets of hand-carved and -painted cats, one set for us and the other for her boyfriend's family. She also picked out a couple of other knick-knacks.
 

We spent a little over an hour here, relaxing and having lunch. Lunch consisted of sandwiches, chips, and apples that were packed on board, since the beach restaurant they used to go to was destroyed by Irma and not yet rebuilt. I gathered that the places there on Pinel wouldn't have catered to us, for whatever reason. The sandwiches were quite good, and there was plenty of water and beer to go around and wash it all down. I enjoyed a nice light French lager that was a local favorite and quite tasty.
After lunch, we went to our next stop, which is named Creole Rock. It's literally a massive rock thrusting up from the otherwise open ocean, and which harbors a wide variety of sea life, including urchins that will wreck your day if you swim on the ocean side and get dashed onto the rock by the powerful waves there.

 
My wife and the girls took another dip in the water, although this time D17 was content to just swim and not snorkel; she found breathing through the snorkel tube too weird and unnerving to give it another go, especially after swallowing a bunch of sea water the first time when she didn't clear it properly after water got in. D14 and the wife both stayed well clear of the rock, where they'd been told they'd also see octopi as well as the sea urchins, and managed to catch sight of some of the many fish there. I once again stayed on board, having gotten quite refreshed at Pinel and not feeling the need to get in the water again. I also found climbing back into the boat via the rail-less ladder they attached on the back very difficult, and that definitely played a part.
Once our time at Creole Rock was up, everyone got back on board and we sped back over to the Dutch side of the island, where we had a quick stop at a very lavish mansion in Plum Bay that we learned had been bought a few years prior by one Donald J. Trump. Ironically, the water and land surrounding the building are declared public by the government, and people regularly show up around the building just going about their business without the owner or his staff being able to do a damn thing to keep them off his lawn.

 
We also passed this ship, which seemed to have a Viking theme to it. I assume it was another excursion vessel.

 
From Plum Bay, we made our way to Long Bay. This is the area with the many beautiful white houses and villas with red tile roofs. We spent a half hour here for more beach time and swimming, and in my case more photography.

 
Having done this a few times now, I really like how a panoramic image comes out when taken with the tele lens vs. no lens. It's a night and day difference.

Once we wrapped up our time in Long Bay, it was time to head back to the marina. Brett opened up the triple engines on our boat and we were seriously jetting along, far too fast and bouncy for me to even think about taking any photos. He was in a rush for a reason. We pulled up to Maho Beach just as a big private jet zoomed by overhead. We got there just a little too late; I had needed to stow my phone and lens in my pockets / under my towel, with the lens in its travel bag, because of the splashing we were getting from our fast ride. There was just no time for me to pull everything back out and get a photo before that jet zoomed by. Two of the other boats from Captain Bob were already there and those folks were definitely luckier in that regard.
There were no other planes coming, and we needed to get back to the marina so we didn't miss our 4:30 all-aboard time. The three boats got into a rather fun and exciting race to see who'd make it back to the marina first. Although our boat had three engines while the other two just had a pair, we ended up getting into the marina second. Partly because we needed to yield to some other boats that came along, partly because the captain of the "winning" boat was driving like a bat out of hell.
Once we were back on land, I tipped Brett and Laura $25 to thank them for the great trip, the good food and drink, and the good conversations I'd had with them. We stopped briefly at the cheese shop, where Brett said we'd be able to get a free treat, and a part of me wished we didn't still have five days left before we'd be home. They were selling a really awesome Gouda that I was given a sample of, and while they said it was designed to travel well, I didn't think a wedge would hold up for that long on a ship and also a hotel before going on a plane back home.
As we made our way through the port market, we passed by a yacht I'd seen docked there since we left in the morning.

Because I had to walk slowly, we barely made it to the ship for all-aboard. We were among the very last to get back on, with a few of the ship's staff who had the day off ahead of us. We laughed privately as we heard two of them getting super-excited because they just found out their next contract would transfer them from the Caribbean to a ship that would be sailing Alaska and then Australia for the winter months.
D14 and D17 both had a scare as they got back on board. Their Sea Pass cards had smudged and faded to the point of being barely legible, we assume from the sunscreen they were using. The security guards told them that while the scan of the bar code on back was good and they could board, they had to get new cards from Guest Services immediately or they would be denied permission to leave the ship the next day in San Juan. Needless to say, they both went straight to Guest Services and got new cards printed out.
While they got that taken care of, I quickly grabbed my standard sail-away margarita (sadly, "just" a Patron Silver and not a reposado) and went back up to my balcony. The Costa ship I'd seen earlier was still there, and I could now see clearly that it was the "new" Costa Classico (which I later learned from our dinner mates was about to be decommissioned, so none of us could figure out what it was doing all the way out here).

 
I heard a vehicle coming down the pier, and looked down to see a dock worker release the last of the mooring lines from the pier. It was quickly drawn in and I knew sail-away was about to start.

 
Freedom's horn called out to signal sail-away... and HOLY MOTHER OF GOD WAS THAT COSTA SHIP'S HORN CALLING BACK TO US FRACKING LOUD!!!!! I had no idea she was going to do that, and the ship is so much smaller than Freedom that her horn is practically on the same level as our Deck 8 cabins. I was maybe a couple of hundred feet away from it when it sounded. And then sounded again. And then again! I had my ears covered each time I heard Freedom's horn sound again, knowing that Classico was about to respond. Once that ended and I saw we were moving, I took some more pics of her as we pulled away and left St. Maarten behind us.

 
Once sail-away was done, I grabbed our towels that we'd checked out and returned them to the pool deck. On the way back, I noticed a tile mural in the solarium that I had somehow missed in my earlier "photo safari".

After I got back to our room, I suggested to my wife we watch the sunset. We went down to deck 4 and the Schooner Bar so I could get another margarita (an 1800 reposado this time) and she got a mock lava flow. Drinks in hand, we made our way to the Star Lounge to get to the helipad... and found ourselves blocked by a locked door. Rather than try to find our way to the outside walkway on deck 4 and then back up to 5 and the helipad, we went up to deck 12 and then onto the top-most lounging area above the pool.

We were a little late to catch the full show, but it was still nice and I got one really nice shot, with a cloud edged in fire as the sun went behind it and a visible shadow shooting up from it into the air.

 
Sunset over and with some time to kill before dinner, I went to Boleros after getting changed and just people-watched while editing some of my photo backlog. The Latin band started playing while I was there, and some of the passengers got into the spirit of the music and started dancing.

 
I joined the rest of my family for dinner, where D14 and I sadly saw there were no escargots on the menu. We ordered some other appetizers, and I also ordered the Tiger Prawns that were the specialty of the evening for my entrée. Much to our surprise, our waiter Jigger brought out a plate of escargots for each of us that he "had found in the kitchen". We were beyond thrilled, although now I was wondering if I'd have enough room for the rest of my meal. The challenge was amplified when Jigger then brought out my Tiger Prawn entree... and then came with another plate that he split between me and my table mate, Debbi... followed a few minutes later by another plate that he split between us! This night was the first time in the whole trip where I felt a little more than comfortably full, but I still didn't feel like I'd over-eaten.
None of us were interested in that night's headliner, a magician duo. So dear wife and the girls went to bed, while I went to the casino for another round at the craps table. Luck was on my side again, and I came out $66 ahead after only a half hour of play. This was good enough for me, and I called it a night and went to bed. I found our night's towel animal still intact.

 
Two port days down, two to go! And for San Juan, we were really going to be off the usual path since we were meeting D17's friend Estefania, who lives right in Old San Juan and would be acting as our personal tour guide!
More to come tomorrow! (well, later today at this point)

OK, we are back home and I've finally reviewed all the photos I took and edited the ones I judged worth keeping (which was still over 400 total!). With that taken care of and only watermarking of the copies for here needed, this blog is officially resuming... NOW
 
Day 4 – St. Kitts
Today is our first port day, and we're really excited because it's also dolphin swim day! We wanted to get up early enough to catch the sunrise today, but my Fitbit alarm wasn't strong enough to wake me up (might have had something to do with all that wine I'd had the night before). At least we still woke up around 7, so we didn't have to race through breakfast before going out to our excursion.
While we missed the sunrise, we were still up early enough to see the island of St. Kitts somewhat far off in the distance, shrouded in clouds and mist.

 
We went to breakfast in the MDR, and got a table right alongside one of the large porthole windows. We were treated to more views of the island as we sailed into the port, and could see the clouds rapidly burn away as the sun rose higher.

 
After breakfast, we went back to our cabins to get ready for our outing, and got our first view of the port area.

 
We disembarked on deck 1 and walked out onto the pier. I finally had a chance to get some shots of the ship's exterior, as well as our approach to the port entrance.

 
We actually went out to the port around 9:30, and our meet-up for the dolphin swim wasn't until 10:15, so the girls and I explored the port area a little bit while my wife held our place in line and stayed in the shade. We thought maybe the girls might find a souvenir or two to pick up for themselves or their friends, and we at least wanted to get a view of the place.
I'll be honest, this was not a good first impression of a port village. The girls and I couldn't walk three steps without someone walking up and offering us a guided tour, or a taxi ride to some place, or a chance to take a photo with one of the monkeys the island is known for, or to step into their shops to just look around and get some free stuff in exchange. Even if I had wanted to take any pictures of the place, and believe me I didn't, I didn't feel like I could do that safely or without someone jumping into the shot and then telling me I owed them money for taking their picture. We all quickly grew tired of saying no and having to rush away, and went back to the port entrance.
One important note here, for those who have said in the past they would just bring their Sea Pass cards off the ship and nothing else: The port security people were not allowing anyone out of the village and back onto the main entrance / pier area if they did not have both their Sea Pass and a passport or other valid ID (I think they were accepting driver's licenses, but preferred passports). This was a big surprise, and I was very glad that I had our passports in my foldable backpack; otherwise we'd have been in a lot of trouble since my wife was nowhere near close enough to hear us holler at her to get them from the ship.
So with that little "adventure" out of the way, we waited while the excursion team got everyone grouped together, had us sign in, and gave us the appropriate wrist bands for the specific activity we'd signed up for. The vast majority had signed up for the same Push / Pull / Swim as us, with just a few people doing the higher-end option that included a push by two dolphins, and maybe a dozen or so (mainly families with toddlers or other very young children) doing the baseline "experience" option. Once everyone had signed the checklist and gotten their wrist bands, we were put into vans and driven over to the Dolphin Discovery site, near the Bird Rock Beach hotel about 15 minutes away.
Many others here have written about these excursions before, so I won't go into any great detail here. The staff were quite knowledgable about dolphins in general and the ones in their care specifically, telling us about our particular dolphin's history with the organization. They definitely seemed to care about the dolphins we were interacting with, treating them well, frequently reminding us to be careful around them and not try to stroke their face or under their chins as it was not comfortable for them, and making sure to reward them each time that they successfully did one of the actions with us.
For our package, we got to go into the water and "cuddle" with our dolphin, Dante, get pulled by him by grabbing his lower fins while he swam on his back, and ride a boogie board while he pushed us by one of our feet. We also did the standard "kiss" and cheek peck while standing on the platform by the dock, as well as a couple of other typical trainer tricks. All the while, the photographer was there getting lots and lots of pictures. Since this was a bucket list item for my wife, I did buy the photo package, which was $210 for a CD with all of our photos on it and well as the ability to download the full-resolution images via their app for up to 15 days after our visit. I had hoped to get a chance to haggle about that price a bit, but it was bedlam inside the gift center area where you bought this, and we were getting close to the time we'd have to get on our vans back to port, so I ended up paying the full price. But in my view it was totally worth it. It certainly supports the place and the locals who staff it, and helps keep the dolphins in their care in good shape; and if nothing else, I can make my own prints at larger than 8 x 10 to hang on our walls, and I can also share some of them here (with proper attribution in the watermark).
For here, I just chose the photos that showed our faces, as I think it sums up the experience pretty well. My wife only liked the one photo of her that's posted here, so that's why you don't see more of her.

 
After this, we returned to the ship, showered, and then spent the rest of the day doing separate things. My wife and daughters did go back to the village for a bit, aware of what it was like but still hoping to find something decent; and D14 was debating spending the money to get a picture with a monkey. They came back after a short time without anything, and D14 agreed that the prices charged for the monkey pics were ridiculous.
For myself, I relaxed on the balcony and broke out my mini-tripod, Camalapse, and phone bracket (as well as getting creative with stacking our two balcony tables to get a clear view above the railing) to take a nice time-lapse of the port area. I used the telephoto lens for this, and I really like how it came out:
 
Besides the time-lapse video, I also took some stills using my different lenses.

 
For sail-away, I went back out to the helicopter deck and tried another Periscope, since the ship was parked "backwards" and I could be closer to the interior while still getting video of the island. On my way there via the Star Lounge side door, I found this sight:

I really don't get these people. You can find out why when I post my Day 7 recap.
 
After scoping, I was treated to a very nice sunset. My wife had just messaged me to see if I wanted to join her for a bit before dinner, but I had to wait a few minutes so I could get these shots. The sky was just striking at those moments.

 
The sky faded far too quickly for me to have my wife join me, but I did message her that it was happening and to get to the balcony fast so she and the girls could watch it. Afterwards, I went to the cabin and my wife and I spent some time relaxing on the balcony together before dinner.
Dinner was in the MDR again, and as with all the prior nights D14 and I made sure to order escargots as part of our appetizers. The girls and my wife were tired and went back to the cabin to relax, and in the girls' case do a little homework or drawing before turning in for the night. For myself, I went to see the headliner act for that night, a ventriloquist named Ronn Lucas. He was very funny, and reminded me in a lot of ways of Jeff Dunham, as their acts shared a lot of similarities. Lucas didn't use as many puppets, but I have a feeling that one of them is drawing on the other's routines; either that, or it's a standard in ventriloquist acts to have things like the "you're arguing with yourself!" bit, or doing the multiple characters / voices in rapid-fire back-and-forth.
As soon as the act was over, I went back to the cabin. I had considered going back to the craps table for a bit, but decided sleep was more important given the long day ahead of us in St. Maarten. We had this fellow waiting on our bed when I came in:

That's it for our day in St. Kitts. I have to watermark all the pics from St. Maarten now, and I have to get back to laundry, ordering new eyeglass lenses, and a few other chores; so that day's post will be out later tonight.
 
EDIT: I forgot the drink package tally!
Fresh squeezed OJ in MDR with breakfast Grande cappuccino at Cafe Promenade right after breakfast 2 Patron reposado margaritas, one right before sail-away and one after the sunset, from Bull & Bear pub A glass of the "La Volte" Toscana I'd had on Day 2, from Vintages ($4 overage applied to my account) Something of a "light" day, but I think I just broke even with the $43 daily cost, since the three alcoholic beverages were $36 against the package, and the non-alcoholic ones were about $10 total.

I'll have seven days at sea on Serenade later this year...I can only do so much trivia and poolside sitting; may be something I take on.  I can print out deck plans and make little marks where they are.  It's like the Small Wonders hunt on Harmony!  :D  Now I only need to know what to look for...

So I did one periscope but my cruises are about absolute relaxation!   So no voom, no live blog and not a ton of pics.  But I had an amazing time with my husband and 15 year old daughter (who I pretty much only saw 1 day lol).  
   I had not been on a cruise until 2015.  We did 3 cruises in 2 years and then we hit Disney (the other obsession!)  I can't even describe how much I missed being on a ship.   This was the 2nd time on freedom.   I did like the cruise terminal at port Canaveral better than port Everglades but embarkation was super easy... under 40 minutes for sure and drinking my first lava flow (with kraken rum) by 11!
   We had an ocean view... plenty big enough for the 3 of us. Our stateroom attendant suzanna was wonderful and we loved our 4 towel animals! 
  The 6 days was too short (Joe took my extra day for his 8 day.  Freedom alternates 6 and 8 day cruises right now) but we still hit 3 ports... grand Cayman, Costa maya and cozumel.  The biggest disappointment of the trip was that it was so windy in grand cayman that they canceled all excursions to stingrays city.  I was very bummed but we still got to swim with lucky the dolphin and buy lots of pics!   In Costa maya my husband did one of the ruins while my daughter and I shopped and enjoyed the one day we could get near the pool (chair hugs were awful and i sure wish rc would enforce their policy).  In cozumel we went to nachi.   Since there were a ton of ships in port I'm glad we went.   We got in so early we beat all the employees... got a beautiful beach spot!  We enjoyed it... the food was excellent!
   Speaking of food,  we ate...a ton!  Sabor was excellent (service not great though)  and I loved the tuna tacos and the guac.  I tried all 3 margaritas (goes love the drink pkg) and liked the cucumber jalapeno the best.   Chops was so good (and the service great)  that we took the 25%off and went back the next night.   The my time dining was mixed.... the service was fast (almost too fast)  but the tables for 2 were right on top of each other and the food was good,  but not amazing.   I'm glad we tried my time but not sure we will do it again.  And then....CHEFS TABLE!   the chef was amazing, the wine was amazing,  the food was amazing and the dessert (the world from wonderland)  was ever moist AMAZING thing I've ever eaten or watched!!  This was our 2nd chefs table and we will definitely do it again. 
   RC lost money on my drink pkg for sure.   Most days I parked myself on my sky deck chair with my book... read,  eat,  drink,  repeat.   We also had a mocha or latte every morning, wine with dinner (loved the bartender at vintages... she never steered us wrong and one of her suggestions was served at chefs table) and after dinner drinks.   My daughter was probably a wash in terms of cost...we got her the refreshment pkg and she was over a few days,  probably underused more but it was nice to have it paid for before the cruise.
   The ship never felt crowded and traffic flow was great.   It's really a perfect size... not too big and not too small.   For what I do (loaf in a chair and try to thaw)  it works well.   I'd love to try oasis class for the dining and the shows... someday lol!
   Precruise we stayed at the Hilton marina.   We had an amazing corner balcony that had views of the intercoastal waterway as well as the port.  Their pool area was a perfect way to unwind precruise!  We ate at cheesecake factory on Las olas and that was fun.   Post cruise we stayed at the W hotel and got upgraded to a 2 bedroom suite...amazing!  I could sit on the balcony staring at the ocean and the waterway!.  Both were absolute splurges but we decided to yolo book them!
   And so now I'm over 400 days till my next ocean cruise.   I thought about a 5 night navigator next spring break but we really need to save for our summer 2019 cruise...12 night Mediterranean/ Greek isles out of Barcelona on vision of the seas.   It will be the trip of a lifetime and with 8 ports we will spend a 5 night cruise amount just on excursions.  We also have Paris this summer to link forward to (we have never been to Europe and will be going on a viking river cruise!)  Both are very different from our Caribbean cruising!
   So that is my freedom trip.  I wanted to share more since I love reading everyone else's blogs but I was too busy reading and being lazy!   Let me know if you have any questions!   Jane

I went and picked up my new car today, and look what popped up on my instrument panel!

Early start to the day after getting a solid sleep.  




Walking through the solarium and around the pool deck before sunrise I observed the pool attendants at work




Here is the solarium on Serenade

Finally a post-dinner sunset:




Deck 5 Hyperlapse
 

Here is a hyperlapse of the pool deck.  I'm hoping to capture more of the ship in this way as it's a quick way to get a feel for a ship.  
 
 

I'm not looking just at Royal. HAL has the best itineraries for Norway and Iceland that I've seen anywhere (a Dutch-homed cruise line having the best access to Scandinavia, imagine that). A bit pricy, but at least one of those itineraries I see for 2019 is on the brand-new Prinsendam (sister ship to Koenigsdam), and I'd assume 2020 will be roughly the same; if it's a once-in-a-lifetime kind of trip then I figure the price is worth it. But will weigh going with a higher-end cabin vs. required budget to explore and do stuff off-ship.

I am so jealous!  We have 367 days left.  Which ship are you going on?  We will be sailing on Symphony of the Seas March 23rd 2019.  My hubby and son would probably vote for intervention. I created a event on facebook.. I told everyone to turn off notifications, but one day they would appreciate all my links.  

I feel you. My first ever cruise is in just 12 more days, only 9 until I get on the plane down to Florida. My family is as excited as I am but really tired of me going on about every little update I found. "Hey, I just discovered this on the boards I follow...", or "You've got to listen to this podcast episode!", are becoming phrases that evokes fear and dread in my home. Well, either that or the feeling that an intervention might be necessary. 

Day 3: St Kitts
Today our RCL Kayaking/Snorkel Adventure left at 8:30 am. We met just outside the ship and loaded in a van for a short drive through town, the airport, Timothy Hill and to Friar's Bay. We received a short tutorial on kayaking and kayaked towards a floating dock. There we switched into snorkel gear and spent probably an 45 minutes or so snorkeling around. The water was a little murky from the last storm,  but there was still much sea life to be seen. Our guides were lively yet professional and I thought they did a great job with our group. They even offered to take a girl in the water who didn't know how to swim. She did great! After snorkeling, we got back in the kayaks and headed towards Frigate Beach where we exited the water and returned the kayaks. We could either return back to ship with the tour buses or stay at the beach and take a taxi back later. We opted to stay and enjoyed ourselves at the beach. The weather was hot and the water just right. They had fun music playing and bars and food available for purchase . Two chairs and an umbrella cost us $15. The taxi back was $3/person if you have a group. 
The rest of the afternoon we spent shopping , eating at the Windjammer and relaxing to the live Caribbean music by the pool. I love that live music in the afternoon!
 
Dinner tonight was our first in the main dining room for this trip.  We always enjoy the main dining room and look forward to it. Tonight, I noticed they offered the new menu that people have been buzzing about. I was really disappointed to find only 1 GF appetizer and 1 GF entree--shrimp cocktail & chicken breast and a baked potato. I know I can't be picky,  but on the old menu I was always able to find two or three options of each. The food was definitely served more quickly and we didn't spend much time waiting. Our gluten eating members seemed happy with their meals and options. Tomorrow's menu offered the same chicken breast for dinner, but the head waiter offered to see if they could make something else off of the menu for us, so we'll see that goes.
 
Entertainment in the main theater was a Spanish gentleman who did a combo act of guitar, comedy and swirling these ball type things ?I have no idea what they were called. He was pretty funny and his skills were impressive. He also incorporated the orchestra into his act. Adult comedy and a game show were also on the schedule for later, but we called it a night after being in the sun. I'm saving the Cruise Compasses to send to Matt. I'm writing from an iPad while kids are asleep, so I apologize for not being able to interact more or be more detailed. Here are some pictures from today. I'm looking forward to a Sea Day tomorrow!