JLMoran

Thanks for the live blog! I'm going to have to see if the Freedom has that same "peek a boo" deck that Voyager has; if it does, maybe I'll skip signing up for the bridge tour. (although the geek in me really wants to see it up close and personally)

I think the difference is that on Anthem, they repurpose the Teen Club room into the escape room for part of the day. On Harmony, the escape room is an actual dedicated room.

In addition to the food while in Bar Harbor, seriously consider visiting Acadia National Park. It's gorgeous and in September, depending on how late in the month you're going, you should have some spectacular foliage on display. I spent four years in Maine while in college, and the months of September and May were always the best in my opinion. For info on Saint Johns temps, take a look at this link at holiday-weather.com site, which another member here pointed me to when I was asking about the temps in Halifax for May / June.

I think R&B is included for all staff, since they're already living on the ship full time without any real choice. But only the basics. If they want internet or drinks, they pay the same as regular passengers.

Pics or shens! Isn't that iPhone 7 of yours basically waterproof? Even if it isn't, you know you've been wanting to make that GoPro purchase for a while now anyway....

Man, $2,150 a month?!? That's $25,800 a year, really less since they're on contract and will most likely have at least a month between contracts, to be a full-time professional butler to a level of clientele that is paying that much just for their 7-night trip?? (assuming no casino rate or other deep discounts) I know, I know, all depends on where that person came from and how far that dollar goes. But when the genie is supposed to be several cuts above the typical stateroom attendant in level of service and professionalism, that just strikes me as a slap in the face. Given they work 7 days a week for at least 8 hours a day, that's a measly $9.60 per hour! Barely over minimum wage (at least in some states; others it's well below current minimum wage levels) for a highly demanding service profession.

Really liking this blog! Thanks for taking the time, I’m looking forward to the remaining days!

Oh. So you're the Aberdonian suitor (third one in the below clip) from Clan McGuffin in Brave. Or is Doric a separate dialect from Aberdonian?

+2

Well, for what it's worth I bought the drink package ($43/night) and fully plan to be getting myself a margarita as soon as possible after we board, as well as enjoy a couple of glasses of wine or beer with dinner each night, and a cocktail to sip during shows. And probably something fruity and umbrella-adorned while lounging by the pool or the sun deck. Life with teenage children. They're old enough to get themselves out of whatever trouble they might get into.

Is it wrong that, knowing you're from Scotland, I mentally hear all of your posts spoken in either (depending on my frame of mind) Gerard Butler's, Henry Ian Cusick's, or Iain De Caestecker's voice? At least you don't ever "play back" in my head as Scrooge McDuck.

@constable145, meet @Ray. @Ray, @constable145. Seems you two might have a lot in common.

Well first off, thanks for offering to feed our vicarious cruise addiction for another 9 days! Your service is much appreciated! As to the beer, @twangster had showed in one of his earlier liveblogs that the pub on board actually has a pretty good selection of decent beers, including some good German double bock. Have a couple of those instead of the Bud and you’ll be singing a different tune, I’m sure!

Sutures came out today, so the knee is finally "free and clear". It does seem like now that they're out, I'm not feeling the same twinges and other sudden little pains when I wiggle the knee the "wrong way" when I'm walking, so this is good. I also got some clarification on the additional damage she found when she did the surgery. Apparently the tear in the cartilage was a big one, leaving bone exposed even before she cleaned it out. So far I'm not feeling any kind of grinding bone-on-bone pain (and with my history of arthritis in both heels and ankles, that's a pain I recognize quickly), and she said it will hopefully stay that way for a while and be nothing more than just soreness when the weather changes. When the time comes, I'll get the Hyaluronic Acid injections to loosen things back up. Three more days, and then surgery number two!

It was her idea! I just told her that she was owed a 50th birthday trip of whatever stripe (land, cruise, whatever) and to let me know what she wanted to do. She looked through the cruises out of Bayonne and said she'd like to do a 6-night NE / CA on Adventure, since she wanted to see Canada. We just have to finalize what month we want to go, and maybe wait another month to get on a billing cycle where adding a $1,000 total deposit for 2 rooms doesn't slam us.

Considering I'll have only sailed Anthem once by the time 2020 comes around, I do hope we'll get another Q class ship if they decide to send her across the pond. Can't properly gauge a lady or her family from just one date, after all.

W00T!! Sushi for me on next year's NE / CA cruise!! Well... at least, once I've actually booked it...

One thing I haven't seen mentioned yet -- you'll want to have some cash for the porters at the dock who get your luggage out of your car and onto the ship, and then again if you ask a porter to take your bag from ship back to your car when you disembark. Just a dollar or two per checked bag is enough.

Really interesting article! I wasn't surprised to read about the absolute ban on crew fraternizing with passengers, but I was surprised to read about how getting romantically involved with your fellow crew members is not only allowed, it's basically encouraged! I guess it makes sense. You're "stuck" with these people for six to ten months, so I can see how they'd want to reduce the... umm... tensions that might otherwise build up. Still, with the way the author said relationships on board tend to be like "dog years" and get hyper-accelerated, makes you wonder about the potential inter-crew drama that might unfold with it.

Thanks, both of you! I'm planning on using Lyft, so hopefully will have smooth sailing.

That's the biggest issue with food reviews. Unless they explain the flavour in detail it's really subjective and may be influenced by things like where they are from and what they tend to eat, to begin with. If they compared it to something referenceable it might be better. I definitely have to agree, this is my only issue with his reviews. Look at his commentary about the salting of the food on Seaside, and how he found everything highly under-salted, then an Italian passenger complained that the tomato soup was far too salty -- and he found it exactly right! For me, this would be an indication that food on Seaside might actually be quite enjoyable for me. Why? Because for years as a teen, due to my dad having developed high blood pressure, I had to learn to deal with salt-free / low-salt cooking, and I've stuck with that my whole adult life. I now find typical American diner and chain restaurant food to be so heavily over-salted that I end up not eating those things again (or being ready to drink an absolute ton of water to flush it out fast). It also warns me that I should expect the food on RC to maybe be a good bit more salted than I might care for, but at least I know I can then speak to the dining staff and ask them to please prepare my meals with less salt going forward.

Dr. Strangecheese. Or, how I learned to relax and embrace the Sorrentos.

Thanks, @Matt! Perfect timing on that reply, was just about to ask if there might also be any issues at FLL.

+1 for this. Between that and being allowed to bring 2 bottles of wine on board, I'd hope that could cover a good amount of any alcohol-based drinking you might be doing. Then you could get 2 refreshment packages if desired, or just go with the complimentary beverages.

Hi @J. Woody! Welcome to the boards! Per this article from @Matt, you get complimentary golf cart transportation to anywhere on Labadee: Not sure if this also gets you transport back to your cabana when you're done. I'd imagine you could flag down a staff member in the area you are at, show them your cabana wrist band, and request the cart back without any hassle, but best to let someone who has actually used the cabanas there before confirm that. ?