JLMoran

I would also recommend either of the itineraries that include San Juan. The itineraries should list the arrival and departure time for each, and I would advise going with whichever one gives you the most hours in port. Several itineraries leave San Juan at 2 PM, which makes for a pretty rushed day if you want to see the historical sites like El Morro and really have a chance to explore and and learn all the history there. Out of the other ports in your options, I've only been to St. Maarten; it is absolutely beautiful and is definitely my favorite Caribbean port of call so far. Lots of people here have done excursions (usually booked directly instead of with Royal) that cover a lot of the island and also talk about its history while also giving some beach / relaxation time, so it's definitely something that could check off both boxes.

Absolutely bring cash for all casino gaming. As @APM noted, you're assessed a 5% "convenience charge" if you have them charge the amount you're gambling to your SeaPass. If you don't like the idea of carrying around a lot of cash before boarding, you could use the ship's on-board ATMs to withdraw cash once you're on board. The withdrawal fee is kind of hefty, IIRC (like $4 or $5, which means you have to withdraw a lot if you don't want to have more than 2% of the total be the fee), so I'd only advise that if your bank offers automatic refunds of ATM fees as a perk on your account.

Considering you've cost several of us here between several hundred and several thousand dollars, I don't think a measly 80 bucks balances the scales that well. ? ?

If you want your kids to be able to have mocktails, that will require the refreshment package rather than a soda package. That also comes with the special cup for use at the Freestyle machines. If you'd rather they not have soda so easily, you can always take the cups and lock them away somewhere. ?

I've done Chef's Table once, and compared notes with a couple others here (@ellcee and @Broons77) who have done it. Despite being about 6 months apart (April vs. October last year) and on two different ships (Freedom & Anthem), our meals were very very similar. Small variations in the order of the courses or how a particular course was prepared, but generally the same. The real variation is in the wine selections. For instance, while we all had smoked tomato soup as one of our courses, mine was paired with a rosé (which my tablemates and I all thought was nuts until we tried it!) whereas Ellcee and Broons had a more-expected red pairing. The sommeliers are totally free to pair whatever wine they think will work best with each course, so while the food may be the same, the different pairings help to make it a different experience each time. I paid $85 for mine, if I remember right (don't have the note any more), purchased in advance on the Cruise Planner. I don't recall ever seeing it lower there, and I booked for the third night of the trip. Never heard about any discounts when we boarded the first day, but also wasn't looking for them. I'd assume if there were any being offered, it was first night only.

Great live blog, thanks for taking the time out of your trip to post! Did your kids do any of the SeaPlex activities or use any of its other features (X-Box lounge, air hockey, etc), besides the bumper cars I remember you mentioning? Or was the massive number of kids on board hogging all that?

Glad you had a good time in Cuba! How was the ship, did it live up to the line's luxury level branding? What kind of entertainment and other offerings on board? And of course, how was the food?? ? Doubt I'll be sailing Azamara any time before retirement, or at least before being an official empty nester (which will likely be close enough to retirement age as makes no real difference). But after seeing some of the truly unique itineraries they offer, like a southern France sailing retracing some of the steps of D-Day and storming the beaches of Normandie, it's a line I'm definitely keeping in mind for down the road.

Only got to experience CK once, on Anthem; like @Lovetocruise2002, we had the same waiter every night and we tipped him extra at the end of the cruise. I had no idea that the waiters could rotate from day to day, so I'm glad that we got Amar for all 5 nights and had a simplified post-cruise tip!

Hi @Leafywing, welcome to the forums! 1) As long as your excursion isn't first thing in the morning, I would recommend that you go to the bungalow and check in with the attendant first. They will need to know how many are in your party, and you'll get your wristbands so that you can freely come and go from that point on. This also lets you notify your attendant about your excursion so they aren't wondering where you've gone. ? 2) I think the slide is geared more towards young kids than teens, but I've seen comments from others here that it's enjoyable. Definitely not anything super-exciting or geared to adrenaline junkies. If your teens are into roller coasters, the alpine coaster named "Dragon's Tail" is a lot of fun. The rider has full control over the speed, so you can go as fast or slow as you want, and if you go early in the morning the lines are non-existent; I went four times in a little over an hour when we were there a year ago. I do recommend buying the ride passes in advance on Cruise Planner. If you can get to it early in the day, get the all-day pass as you can easily get your money's worth. If you don't think you'd get there until the afternoon, just buy a single-ride pass. People discover the coaster after lunch and the lines get long quickly.

Welcome, Ellen!

The ferry you're thinking of is the Blue Line that goes from the Dockyard (where you're... um... docked) to Hamilton. The $7 pp shuttle that I mentioned is separate from the public transportation options that @coneyraven describes here. Advantage of the shuttle is that it will take you all the way down the road to the beach entrance, whereas the bus will stop at the top of a rather steep and long hill that you'll have to go down (there are walkways) and then back up later. Both are perfectly viable, but if you have anyone in your party who is mobility limited or would otherwise have difficulty with the walk / climb, best to take the shuttle.

What you have booked is all that actually can be booked in advance on Anthem; everything else is just walk up and take a seat / get in line. There will be a schedule of all SeaPlex activities like bumper cars or trapeze class posted at the entrance to the SeaPlex; it will be on one of the TV displays (might have to wait for it to cycle around with other content they show); I recommend taking a photo for future reference so you can schedule time accordingly.

If you are interested in app options, two others I can recommend are Halide and Spectre, both made by the same company. Halide gives you full manual controls for aperture, focus, ISO, etc. through a gesture-driven interface, shoots in RAW format or regular JPEG, and has been designed to work with both older model phones and the latest ones with AI-enhanced computational photography systems. Spectre is designed for low-light and slow shutter shots; it does it via multiple exposures (really a modified burst mode shot), which lets it pull off some neat tricks like automatically removing people walking through the shot as the multiple frames are merged, creating ND filter-like effects with waterfalls or fog, and handling normal camera shake when doing hand-held long exposures.

"Bermuda" and "Cheap" aren't really synonymous. Since it sounds like you have an overnight, you could do the Crystal Caves and/or Fantasy Caves; those are $24 per adult and one of the less-expensive things my wife and I did there last October. Definitely a "one and done" item, but interesting nevertheless. From the caves you could take the #1 or #3 bus to St. George's, then take the Orange Line ferry back to the dockyard. (see the last paragraph for more on this) You could also go to Horseshoe Bay beach for a good chunk of the day, although instead of the transit pass you'd want to just use the small shuttles / minibuses located just off the pier, right by the booth where you buy the transit passes. Costs $7 per person each way, and once at the beach you're under no obligation to rent a lounger, chair, or umbrella; you can bring towels (just don't lose them!) and then go in the ocean for no extra cost. Take the shuttle back to the ship when you get hungry and eat on board, since anything you buy food-wise will definitely not be cheap, at least at Horseshoe Bay's only on-site restaurant. If it's available (wasn't yet posted as of yesterday), you can use the transit pass to take the Orange Line ferry to St. George's; it's only available weekdays, but that shouldn't be an issue on the 5-night Bermuda as long as it's back in service for the summer months. In St. George's you can wander around and window shop, as well as walk the half-mile to Tobacco Bay Beach and just hang out there a while for nothing. Once again, when done you can take the next ferry back to the dockyard and eat on board to save money. This option really is only viable when the Orange Line ferry is available, as otherwise you have to take the other ferry (Blue Line) to Hamilton, and then deal with a 1-hour bus ride to St. George's.

Yup, I'm liking the new look that I've seen in some other pics and vids. Definitely a heck of a lot better than the old decor in my book!

Not the schools in my northern NJ district! We have Christmas to NYE, then MLK day (only), Presidents’ Day (only), and spring break the week before Easter (or after Easter when it’s really early like it was in 2018).

So... Carnival is Samsung (highest market share, second-best profits) and Royal is Apple (takes the lion’s share of the profits with significantly smaller customer base)? I knew there’s a reason I liked Royal better! ?

Looks like it’s the same as last year. Let’s hear it for consistency! ? The aquarium and zoo are located close to where the caves are, maybe 10/15 minutes away. I’ve read on TripAdvisor that the aquarium is “meh”, and IIRC neither has much in the way of native marine / land animals. If you can snag it through the ship-hosted excursion then no harm going for it. But as with the caves, that will most likely be all you can do that day aside from wandering the dockyard.

I think someone told me it's something like a Jerel. ?

Pinging @ellcee. If I remember right, she went on a tour very similar to this one. Might also be covered in her live blog from her trip.

Hey there @Lovetocruise2002! I had a whole day-plan figured out for you until I realized that the Orange Line ferry to St. George's doesn't operate on the weekend. That threw a major wrench in the works. Being there on a Saturday, the Crystal Caves is really tough make work while still being able to do anything else. The caves are located smack in the middle of the island; the only "fast" way to get there on the weekend is by taking the Blue Line ferry to Hamilton (30 minute trip, first departure at 9:45 AM*), followed by a short walk to the bus terminal and a ride on the #1 or #3 bus to the caves (about 35-40 minutes). Thankfully, by the time you're in Hamilton the morning commute will be done, and it should be reasonably easy to get a bus that isn't packed. The actual tour of the caves is only 20 minutes, plus whatever time you need to wait for your group to go in, so you'll have to decide if over two hours round trip on a ferry and bus is worth that. And keep in mind that you have to take the 1:45 PM* ferry back from Hamilton to the Dockyard to make all-aboard, as there won't be another ferry until 3:15. So if you do the caves, that will most likely be the only thing you'll have time for in that window. Hate to say it, but with everyone's widely varying interests I think this might require a day of just splitting up and doing two separate things so that everyone is happy. Your hubby and D10 can take the shuttle bus from the dockyard to Horseshoe Bay beach and make a day of it there; IIRC, it's $7 per person for the small shuttle buses / minivans that are lined up right outside the pier, price paid each way. There is a restaurant right at the entrance to the beach where they can grab lunch, and they should also bring cash for loaning a lounger or two and an umbrella. Meanwhile, you and D12 can take the Blue Line ferry to Hamilton, where you can wander around, do some shopping and grab lunch, and hopefully find something of interest for D12 to enjoy there. I haven't yet explored Hamilton, so I can't really give advice on what to see or do. If you just don't think she'll enjoy it because of too many "ifs" and "maybes", might have to ask her how she'd feel about being in AO for the day. Your other option is to just explore the dockyard, as there is a museum, restaurants, shops, and more there. I recall there's also a "dolphin experience" kind of thing offered there, but I don't know the specifics around that; might be more to D12's liking though. Sorry I can't be more help with this; I hadn't realized how much more restricted the transportation options are on the weekend; losing the Orange Line ferry really complicates things. ? *Ferry times based on the 2018 summer schedule, as the 2019 schedule isn't released yet.

Man, what I would give for a liver that could once again keep up with that rate of consumption every single day!

While I won't be sailing with any of you, I'm hoping that there will be some kind of pre-cruise meet-up that I could maybe crash and at least have a chance to meet everyone. You'll all practically be in my backyard, although if you're staying / meeting in NYC that will make things harder. Depending on the day, might schedule a day off from work.

I've used my iPhone (a 6s Plus) along with some lens attachments from Moment, and I've gotten what I consider some better than halfway decent photos. But I recently came into ownership of the same Sony RX100 that @twangster has, and after playing around with that some; having more than 2x the pixels on a big sensor, with real aperture and shutter control, makes an unbelievable difference even for such a "low end" camera. I'm going to be spending a lot more time shooting with that my next cruise. Not yet ready to shoot RAW, I need to learn better post technique in Pixelmator around that first; I haven't yet been happy with the results I create vs what the camera figures out in JPEG mode. But it will definitely let me step up my photography game and the desire for a phone with the best camera possible has gone down a lot.

I'm sure if you asked your waiter, he/she could do that for you. They always have decaf available. And honestly, if it wasn't for the fact I was wired every night I'd never have known there was coffee in it -- where I was expecting black coffee with just a splash of Bailey's, it looked and tasted more like it was 30% coffee and 70% Bailey's! ?