JLMoran

Day 7: Sea Day
Continuing our trend for the week, we lazily woke up and headed to breakfast today. After we ate, my wife took the younger girls to the pool and my oldest and I went to the Captain's Corner. I really enjoyed hearing the senior officers talk about the ship and our thoughts about Captain Tobias were confirmed- he looked really young, and indeed he was only 4 years older than I am (of course, I still think of myself as a recent college grad, even though I just turned 40). The best question was about where is the brig. Turns out there are 2 brigs on board, but as the captain said, they usually prefer to put unruly guests in "time out" in their cabins until the next port.
Following that, we did some shopping at the 2/$20 t-shirt sale, and got the girls showered. The 5 year old and I went to Meet the Stars, a meet an greet with the singers and dancers. Most of them were on their first contract with Royal Caribbean, and all seemed to enjoy what they were doing. One of the singers was on her 6th contract. We then met up with my wife and the evens in the Centrum for a salsa lesson, which the girls enjoyed learning to dance, and that was followed by a Baggo contest. Much to my chagrin, I failed to advance past the first round, but my wife went 3 for 3 to advance. This consisted of trick shots from increasing difficulty, including trying to make a shot from the 6th deck balcony. Unfortunately, my wife did not make any more shots, but it was a lot of fun to watch and for her to have her 3 minutes of fame.
After lunch, we went to the Schooner Bar to play Family Children's Character trivia, which our family won on a tie-breaker. Our girls thought that was just the coolest thing ever to play trivia, and win. A couple of counsellors from AO were the emcees, and they genuinely were excited to see our girls- have I mentioned how awesome the kids' staff was? After trivia, we took the girls to Adventure Ocean, the teen ran off to meet up with her friends from the teen club, my wife went to workout, and I went to the hot tub and listen to the live music on deck. It was a nice sunny day, if a little windy up on deck.
We then all rallied to get ready for dinner and go play family bingo before we ate. Dinner was good, and we got our picture taken with our server, who also got a picture of us. We took the girls back to AO and went to the Centrum to watch Dancing with the Superstars. Some of the crew could legitimately dance! Then it was, sadly, time to pack our bags to get them out in the hallway. Packing at the end is so much easier that being neat and organized on the front end. Just dump everything in a suitcase and make sure it weighs less than 50 lbs. 
That done, we collected the girls from Adventure Ocean for the last time and got some photos with the girls and the counsellors, especially their favorite: "Tinkerbell" Tamara. Back in the room, we put the younger girls down to bed, and the teen stayed to watch them while my wife and I went to watch some karaoke. Someone sang "Friends in Low Places," which the Brit cruise staff member said she had never heard before...which I found hard to believe if she had hosted karaoke before tonight. Once that broke up, we headed back to the room, and turned in for the last night. 
Earlier, the captain had announced that we would arrive in Venice about 6 hours early, I think to beat the fog that was building up. So I was able to watch through the porthole of our cabin as we entered the lagoon and up the canal. We were on the port side, though, and the main sights were on starboard as we sailed into Venice.
Also tonight, we found a letter saying that some guests had experienced gastrointestinal illness during this cruise and asked if anyone in our cabins has experienced any symptoms. It also explained that extra sanitation measures had been taken throughout the week, which accounted for all the crew members I saw wiping down everything for the last few days. 
And with that, I finally fell asleep well after midnight, knowing that all good things must come to an end.

Day 6: Argostoli
Today was another late start day. We slept in again (which was so different from our Western Med cruise in May when we were up before 7 almost every day) and went to breakfast in Windjammer. It was actually more of a brunch, because we went so late, and were scheduled to take a 4 hour shore excursion starting at 11:45. This was our only excursion through Royal Caribbean, but I didn't know much about Argostoli, and a tour of caves sounded interesting. We made our way down to the theater to get herded out to the busses and on our way.
The port is very close to the town (about 5 minutes walk), so the bus had to get through the traffic before we were out in the wilds of Kefalonia (or Cephalonia or Sefalonia, depending on who you ask). It was a beautiful drive up and over the mountains that run down the middle of the island, even though this was the only day of the cruise with clouds and a little bit of rain as we got off the ship. After about 45 minutes, we arrived at the first cave and were given about 45 minutes to explore. The girls counted, and there were 120 steps down into the cave, and then back up again. It was really quite impressive underground, with stalactites and stalagmites all around. We were told that they even hold concerts in the large chamber because the acoustics were so good.

After we emerged from the cave, we grabbed some water from the nearby snack stand and boarded the bus for the short drive over to the "Cave of the Nymphs." This cave had an underground lake, and part of the roof had collapsed during an earthquake many years ago. There were boats that took you out on the lake and into the enclosed part of the cave. The water was amazingly clear and turquoise, and quite unlike anything I'd seen before. Our oarsman was very friendly, and let two of our girls take turns rowing the boat for a few seconds. It was a very enjoyable visit, and we all agreed one of the highlights of our cruise.

From this cave, we drove around the island, stopping at a scenic overlook of the most famous beach on Cephalonia for a photo op. The bus then wound its way back down the mountains and back to port. We had a few hours until all aboard, and asked the girls if they wanted to walk around town with us or go to Adventure Ocean. Of course they chose to go to AO, so we dropped them off (they would eat dinner with the counsellors, which was an awesome option) and our oldest elected to stay on board, also. So my wife and I took a walk along the water front, did some window shopping, crossed a famous bridge in town, and had a snack before we came back to the ship.

When we got back on board, we got ready for dinner, Chops Grill tonight, and went to the show. Tonight was Piano Man, a mixture of songs from Billy Joel, Elton John, Stevie Wonder, and other "piano men." It was ok, but all I could think about was how every song it seemed that the singers and dancers came out in a different wig. My wife and I then went to Chops for dinner to celebrate my birthday. We really enjoyed the food, and the service was attentive if not great. We saw another waiter that was much more personable with his table, and felt like we missed out a little bit. For desert, they brought out a red velvet cake and sang happy birthday (which was the first time that has ever happened to me, mostly by choice). We even got a to-go plate with another slice of cake to take back to our room.
After dinner, we picked the kids up from AO, dropped them in the room, and then went to the Centrum to listen to some music for a little bit. 
Tomorrow was a sea day and the impending sadness of having to end the cruise.

Day 5: Mykonos
Today was another day without much of an agenda. Port time was 7-4, but we didn't have early plans, so we slept in a little bit and lazily got ourselves ready this morning. The 7 and 3 year olds (as we call them the evens) opted to stay on the ship while the odds (13 and 5 year olds) tendered into port with us. I had read that Mykonos was famously windy, and today was no exception. It was a bright and sunny day, but the wind was pretty brutal. We had been looking forward to this island for the postcard, whitewashed landscape. However, we were a little disappointed that the roofs were not all blue like Santorini. Expectation management, I guess. We did find a few blue roofs and got the obligatory pics near them.

 


We wandered through the maze of streets (no street names here, just find your way around) and up to the windmills that overlook the town. 

From there, we did some shopping, and my wife bought a pair of sandals, which apparently is what you do in Greece. Since it was the very end of the season on the island, she got a good deal. Next was a great quest for gelato, which is a family tradition for wherever we travel. Again, being the end of the season, a lot of places were closed, so we had just about given up hope when we found a place as we re-entered the port area on the way back to the tender. The tender ride was a bit choppy headed back to the ship, and my wife got some sea spray through an open door on the boat, but we made it back to the ship in time to grab a quick, late lunch at Windjammer.
Following lunch, we dropped our daughter off at Adventure Ocean, and the teen, my wife, and I went to watch the art auction for a little while (mainly for the free champaign). Then it was time to get ready for the second formal night of the cruise. Like I said, the girls love dressing up and we had a good time pretending to be fancy at dinner. The younger three went back to Adventure Ocean, and we went to the headliner show in the theater. This was American Dream, a Motown tribute band, and the show was really good, probably our favorite of the cruise. My oldest didn't know a lot of the songs (parenting fail on my part), but she enjoyed the high energy of it all.
Last night the seas were a little rough, and the motion was more pronounced than we had experienced on this cruise or our one before it. I'm going to blame the motion of the ocean for what happened...my wife and I were walking down a corridor, when the ship rolled a bit, causing me to stagger just a little. As I did, I rammed my watch into the end of the railing on the wall- shattering the glass, making my watch unreadable. So anyway, we ended up in the shops tonight, looking at watches, which was funny because while we were at the airport on Friday, I asked my wife "who buys watches on a cruise ship? I guess enough to be profitable for the ship." Well played Royal Caribbean, well played. But I do have a nice watch now...
Tonight was also the first night I became really aware of crew sanitizing all of the handrails and public spaces around the ship. Didn't think much of it at the time, but it all became clearer on the night before we disembarked (this is called foreshadowing). Unrelated- last night both my wife and I woke up with some stomach discomfort, but we wrote it off to the motion of the ship.
 

Day 3: Corfu
We didn't have big plans for this day, just to wander the town at our own pace. We did set an alarm for 8:30, just in case, thinking that there was no way the girls would sleep that long (they never do at home). Apparently, though, the long days had already caught up with them, and we ended up sleeping until the alarm went off. Shortly after that, the captain made an announcement that it was 9:45 and the ship had been cleared by the local authorities...I'd forgotten to change clocks the night before- oops! But since we didn't have anywhere to be, we still were able to get ready at a leisurely pace and head up to breakfast. While eating, we gave the younger three girls the choice to stay on the ship at AO or go into town with us, and they unanimously chose to stay at the kids club. So we dropped them off and headed off the ship with our oldest with us.
We decided to walk into town, about 15-20 minutes from the port along the waterfront. The weather was gorgeous and the walk wasn't too bad. With nothing much in mind to do, we just wandered around the streets of Corfu town, going down side streets that looked interesting to us. We found a shop where the owner carved olive wood, talked to him a little bit, and bought a Christmas ornament. Next we saw a fish spa, the kind of place where you stick your feet in a fish tank and let them nibble at your dead skin. My wife was very tempted to try it, but ended up not, afraid of getting some kind of exotic fish-borne skin-eating disease, only half joking. From there we stopped at a Starbucks to add a mug to our collection (yes I know, cheesy and touristy, but it is our thing). My oldest daughter found wifi there, so she was happy, having starting to get withdrawal from the internet while on the ship. 
Finally, we reached our destination- the Old Fortress at the very end of the town. You buy your tickets and then cross the moat into the fortress. There is a very small museum with some well-preserved mosaics from Byzantine times and a brief history of the fort. The fortress was built as early as the town was settled, the moat was dug and the fortifications built up by the Venetians, and most recently (relatively speaking) was a British stronghold in the late 1800s. It was a bit of hike to the lighthouse atop the hill, but the pay off was well worth it. 

 



After our hike up the hill and back, we started back to the ship. We arrived back at the terminal just as two busloads of shore excursions were returning, which gave us confidence that we wouldn't miss all aboard, but made for a long ling processing back through the security checkpoint. We then grabbed a quick snack and watched as the ship cast off from the pier and sailed away from Corfu.
Tonight was formal night, which the girls always enjoy dressing up for. Service was excellent again in the MDR, although I made a bad choice for dinner (seafood pasta), I should have gone with a steak or the duck my daughter tried for the first time. Afterwards, we dropped the 7 and 3 year olds off at Adventure Ocean, the oldest went to watch Avengers Infinity War on the pool deck, and my wife, 5 year old and I went to the magic show in the theater. The magician was very good and we really enjoyed the show, even my wife who isn't big into magic. 
A bit more snacking and picking the girls up from AO, and it was time for bed. Tomorrow was the planned highlight of the trip: Athens and a tour of the Acropolis. 

Day 4: Athens
Overnight, the Rhapsody had made the long haul around the corner of Greece, and was headed towards Pireaus and Athens. I got up early to enjoy a cup of coffee up on deck and watch the sun rise.


We weren't scheduled to make port until noon, so we decided to take the girls swimming as soon as the pool was open. My wife stayed in the hot tub, and I got in and out of it as the middle girls decided to move between the hot tub and pool. Too late, we decided that we should have taken a picture of my daughter in the pool and the lifeguard wearing a coat and beanie hat. We let them swim for about an hour, and they had a great time, and turns out the pool water wasn't as cold as I was expecting- not bath water by any means, but definitely not frigid.
After the pool we went back to our cabin, got ready for the day, and headed up to Windjammer for lunch. While we were eating, we watched the ship dock and saw Athens in the distance. I could even see the Acropolis faintly. Later, while talking with our tour guide, she told us that the weather could not have been more perfect, and the visibility is just about as good as she'd ever seen in Athens...no smog or humidity, bright sun, and just enough breeze to blow anything out of the way. As we were leaving WJ, Captain Tobias informed us that we had been cleared to go ashore, so we quickly went to our cabin to grab our day bags and continued down to the gangway on deck 1. I had scheduled an independent, private tour of the Acropolis and Ancient Agora, including transfers for today, and we were met by our driver immediately upon leaving the terminal.
It took about 30 minutes to drive from the port to the Acropolis, with our driver pointing out things of interest along the way, mostly sights from the 2000 Olympics. He even pulled over at an overlook to let us take a picture of the harbor. We were delivered right to the bus parking lot at the Acropolis and promptly met by our guide. After purchasing our tickets (half-price because it was off-season, and kids under 18 free, by the way), we started the hike up the hill. Our guide, Marialena from Greeking.me, was fantastic and great with the girls. She took us all around the Acropolis, and stopped at various places to tell us the myths about this most important of places in Athens. Another benefit of being off season was that the sight was not crowded at all and the weather was perfect: sunny but not hot.
After we descended from the Acropolis, we walked past Mars Hill where the Apostle Paul gave his famous speech to the Athenians and on to the Agora. Our girls were enthralled by the stories of Greek myths and walking around the ancient marketplace, looking up at the Parthenon, I could put myself back in that time. All in all, it was a great tour and well worth booking a private tour (I feel like I may be becoming a private tour snob!). 





 
We then had some free time to wander for about an hour before our transfer back to the ship. Arriving back at port, we headed to WJ for dinner and watched as the Rhapsody pulled away and out of Piraeus. The girls went up on the pool deck to watch Incredibles 2, while my wife and I enjoyed some time alone and went to the Love and Marriage gameshow, which was hilarious.
It was by then time to turn in and get some sleep, with a lazy morning ahead of us again the next day.

Day 12 - Morning (sea day)
Breakfast this morning was in the Windjammer for us.  We slept in a little, and with it right above us, it's easy to run up and grab food.  It's been pretty tasty as well.  
After breakfast, Abby and Virginia were signed up for the cupcake class.  After seeing pictures from other classes, I assumed it would be in a dining room or something, and that it would be a lot of piping work.  With our pastry degrees, I felt confident Abby could do it with Virginia and have a nice "mommy and me" memory.  Instead, it was in the Centrum.  I went with them to watch, and it's a good thing I did.  Luckily, Abby got a glimpse of the directions that the instructor was using, so we knew what we were making, otherwise we would have been lost.  Directions were very poor, and given over a speaker that we could rarely hear.  There were about 30 people, standing in a horseshoe in the centrum, many of them young children.  It was tough for the two of us to understand what was going on, I felt so bad for some of the young girls.  There was a lot of frustration.  Eventually, Virginia gave up and sat down, while I continued with her cupcake.  Instead of piping icing, we were decorating with fondant, which is difficult for trained professionals, let alone children.  People were even asking the chef what we were making, and she kept saying it was a surprise.

Eventually we were finished with our Thanksgiving favorite..... Frogs!

After the cupcake class, we walked around for a little while, and then headed to the MDR for lunch.  I went with the buffet option, as I love a good Tutti salad.  Also on the buffet was a carving station of beef.  There also was an array of desserts, including page favorite Red Velvet Cake.  
Today they were showing the football games in Boleros, so we went to watch my team, the Bears.  They had nachos and hot dogs set-up buffet style, which was a very nice touch.  The were also running BOGO Free drinks until 4 for Black Friday.  With the Bears win, Abby and I went and grabbed our photos that we wanted, as V had been taken to AO halfway through the game.  
There hasn't been a lot of programming going on today, and most of it has been in the Centrum.  It's been a little windy and overcast outside, so I haven't left the comfort of indoors.  It has been very cold inside though, I guess preparing us to head back to reality.  This evening we are just relaxing in the room, and debating on order room service dinner, or just running up and grabbing plates from the Windjammer and eating them in our room.  

Day 11 - Nassau
This, like the rest of this journey, was our first trip to Nassau.  Not wanting to spend the crazy amount of money to go to Atlantis, we decided just to wander around a little and get a feel for the city.  We were joined in port by a couple of riff-raff, the object of my next affection, and a photo-bomber.

 
We were in port early, and had 12 hours to kill.  Not sure what we could do for 12 hours in Nassau, but we thought we'd at least see what was offered.  We had breakfast in Chops due to Suite status.  It was almost empty, so service was very quick.  The danish were delicious, as they were heated before serving.  After breakfast, we took V to Adventure Ocean, where she was the second kid checked-in.  We had a little of the guilty pang, but she has a good time there, so off we went to Nassau.
I had researched before, and saw that Graycliff wasn't too far from the pier.  Google Maps didn't show the elevation change, so off we went on our uphill climb.  It was a little strange when we got there, as there was nobody else really walking around.  We followed signs around the back to the cigar portion.  After a quick, self-led, tour of the cigar making area, I purchased a few cigars, then we went a looked at the pool.  It was really beautiful.

 
We stopped into the chocolate shop.  We bought a couple of items just because, but after Chocolateria Isla Bella in Cozumel, nothing very special here we thought.  We started heading back down the hill, and I was getting this weird feeling that something was getting ready to happen.  There was a large, nervous, police presence at the government building.  As we kept walking, I could feel there were crowds starting to gather along the street, and I told Abby we needed to duck into a shop real quick.  We did, to get her an Alex and Ani bracelet, and while we were inside there was a large, peaceful, protest parade that proceeded down the street.  They were protesting the Prime Minister, stating he had broken campaign promises and that the electric bills were too high.  There also was an increase in the VAT recently from 7.5% to 12%.  
After the parade passed, we headed back out to the street to walk around, and wait for a liquor store to open for some Bacardi Anejo.  It was very interesting hearing all of the different conversations going on between locals about the protest.  All of them were very civil in their discussions, with multiple points of view.  
Abby and I then stopped for lunch at Pirate Republic before heading back to the ship.  Abby had the coconut porter, and I went for the low alcohol Watermelon Weiss.  Mine was very refreshing, with a slight aftertaste of watermelon.  For food we got a pretzel, portobello fries, and chicken wings.  The wings were ok, the pretzel and cheese dip was excellent, but the portobello fries I wish I could have right now.  They were amazing.  
Back onto the ship to spend a little relaxation in a hot tub without Virginia.  When we went to pick her up around 3, she gave Abby the biggest sad face ever, so we let her stay until around 5.  Once we got her a little before 5, we stopped at the Windjammer for a quick snack.  Dinner for V was a room service pizza tonight, as we watched the Norwegian Sky and Carnival Freedom leave port.  Abby and I had won a free dinner in Chops from NextCruise, so we went there again last night.  Our view after the riff-raff left port:

Tonight in Chops, we decided to try different things, since it would be our third time in 2 weeks.  We both had the wedge salad first.  For a simple salad, it is very good.  Then I went with the crab cake and Abby had the shrimp cocktail.  For mains, I had the chicken and Abby had the salmon.  Both were very good, very well seasoned, and delicious.  The filet would still be my go to dish, but it was nice to have a break from red meat.  We had the fries, mushrooms, and baked potato for side dishes.  The mushrooms were very good, and far exceeded those from Oasis.  Across the board, seasoning has been much better at Chops on Enchantment.  Desserts we went with the cheesecake and the key lime pie.  Both were good.  The cheesecake was the better of the two in my opinion, but neither were life-changing.  
Abby and I then went back to the room and watched Deadpool 2 on my laptop.  We had rented it before we left, and it was nice to just relax and watch a movie.  Virginia didn't want to leave AO until story time was over, so we waited outside for a few minutes, and then brought her back downstairs to bed.  Two more sleeps and then we would be heading home...

Day 10 - CocoCay
The seas are completely flat right now, so we were able to dock at CocoCay with no issue.  We did breakfast in the Windjammer since it is right above us.  Tendering went easy, then it was a short walk to our cabana, #12.  Overall, the cabana is quite nice, but I preferred the bungalow we had on Labadee.  The layout was nicer, and the amount of beach and water per capita was more.  The cabana on CocoCay was nice at lunch however, as there is a special lunch area for suites and cabana rentees.  It was very easy to get food, without the huge crush of people like there was at Labadee.  
Overall, I think we prefer Labadee.  The music was quite loud at the cabanas, so it was tough to relax some.  I think part of it was to cover the noise of construction.  While in no way did that ruin our experience, it definitely could be heard, and I would assume it will get worse.  
Here are some photos of the construction, pier, and from our cabana.  I'm hard pressed to believe that the will be completed with the pier by January...
 
 

 

 

 

 

 


 

 

 
Dinner tonight was in Chops, the lone specialty restaurant on-board.  We booked during embarkation day for a 20% discount from one of the waiters.  We wanted to compare Chops here vs. Oasis.  Chops on Enchantment is much better.  Food was seasoned better, and overall was more enjoyable.  We did dine with Virginia, and she loved the shrimp and caesar salad. Our waitress, Teresa, was amazing with her, and kept asking to come home with us for Christmas.  I had the same menu I had on Oasis, and each course was better on Enchantment.  The restaurant is also much bigger on Enchantment, but was not very busy.  
For dessert, Abby had the red velvet cake, but liked the one on Oasis better.  I had warm chocolate cake with ice cream.  Virginia had ice cream.  She was trying to get every last drip of melted ice cream that Teresa noticed and asked her if she was trying to put a hole in the bottom of the bowl.  2 minutes later, another bowl of ice cream showed up.  

"Don't you even think about it Mom!"
We then took V to Adventure Ocean, and we headed to an empty VCL to relax and enjoy the view.  This cruise seems very empty, even through there is almost a full load.  The captain's speech mentioned there were over 700 children on the cruise, but I feel like a lot of them are teens.  AO drop-off on night 1 was a very long process, but that's due to how the AO is set-up, and it is quite small.  Especially compared to Oasis.  Top cruiser this cruise has 1749 nights.  
After a little while in the VCL, in came the Honeymooner reception, so we decided to leave.  Young love, gross...
We picked up V and came back to the room to go to sleep.  The next day we will be docked in Nassau.
I forgot to mention on Day 9, but we did go to the casino for a little while, and ran into my favorite dealer from Majesty, Deborah from Italy.  Her and Brendan from Zimbabwe are both on Enchantment now.  They were so much fun on Majesty, and we still talk about them from time to time.  It's one of those things that you wonder if you'll ever see someone again, and it was great to run across them.  Also, the Activities Director is Mo, who was the AD on Majesty last year as well.  
Random thoughts
- Abby and I decided that we do still like small ships, but it's more for a cruise that would be just the two of us, and not V.  Ginny is having fun, but Oasis class is a lot more for her to do.  
- There is a lot of cosmetic upgrades going on.  A lot of the things @twangster pointed out in his live blog are still existent, but seem to be slowly getting remedied.  Nothing major, but she needs a lot of paint.  Theres definite signs of salt wear and rust.  
- The GS is right beneath the Windjammer, so there is a lot of foot traffic noise.  Kind of weird, since this is the only location of suites.  
- We can also hear a lot of noise from our neighbors, and people walking down the hall.  We knew when our neighbors had their breakfast delivered this morning, and that one of them stirs cream and sugar in their coffee cup. 
- The crew have been amazing, again.  And, the small ship vibe is a change from Oasis, but one we enjoy.  
- The centrum is nice and open, but the layout of the shops is very weird.  Almost a maze to get through, and the salespeople feel a little more like used car salespeople...
 
 

Day 9 - Part 2
After a long day, we decided to take advantage of the complimentary room service, as well as being able to order from the MDR menu.  
Food was ok.  Part of it was due to coming from room service, the other was a little lack of flavor.  I didn't get butter or sour cream with my potato.  I guess that's my fault for not ordering it.  
The rest of the evening was pretty uneventful, as we are all starting to get a little vacay'd out...  2 weeks seemed like a good idea before hand...

Day 9 - Embarkation Day #2
We were able to get into our hotel room yesterday pretty early, and get started on laundry.  After V took a nap, we went to the hotel restaurant for dinner.  I would skip this if I were to stay there again.  Then we spent a little time in the pool, then back to pack and go to bed.  This morning, we got up and went back to Southern Charm Cafe for breakfast.  This quickly became a family favorite.  It is very tasty food, and the servers are all great. 
We got a "late" start to the port, arriving at the rental car return around 10:15.  We were at the port around 10:30, and there was no line for security.  Much different from Oasis, and more similar to Majesty last year.  The port staff were a little rude, maybe they had a case of the Mondays.  They were already boarding when we checked in, so we went straight onto the ship.  We were playing ping-pong by 10:45.  
Part of the pool deck was being refinished, so they had it partially closed.  We went to Windjammer for lunch, and it was pretty tasty.  The rest of the day has been relatively uneventful.  We love the grand suite.  Lots of room.  Overall, Enchantment definitely seems tired, and not as well taken care of as Majesty even was.  
We did head to NextCruise after Muster drill.  We now have a 2BR ATS booked on Oasis in Feb 2020.  We're also looking to upgrade Anthem to a Grand Loft suite, as we found out we're having to cancel the Mariner GC due to scheduling with our new business opening.  
While we were at NextCruise, V passed out on Abby.  She had been getting cranky.  She napped in the Centrum for about 1.5 hours.  Then we headed back up to the room, and are currently taking advantage of the free room service, and room service from the MDR.  


 
A reminder that this is not, in fact, Oasis of the Seas, but a great view of the Ocean from the bar.
 

After 24hrs of travel finally arrived in San juan, hotel is great with a fantastic view, bar right on beach which is great, less distance to travel.
1st drink of the day ( not sure what day it is though lol ) 

Aberdeen International Airport check in area lol without doubt the worst Airport i have travelled through. 
For those waiting to get through to deparatures you may if you are lucky get one of the ten seats available for waiting public ( thats not a joke), area contains 1 bar, 1 cafe and 2 shops which are the same. 
Once through customs into departure are its not any better, 1 bar, duty free, 2 luggage shops and 1 everyday shop with snacks etc 

Finally its arrived
Cases at door, taxi booked to take us to the worst Airport i have ever been in and a surprise visitor to see us off on our holidays, just a shame she's asleep lol

Finally having a chance to take one advantage of a Star Class perk. Dinner from a Specialty Restaurant (Chops) on the balcony.

Yes @Sweety Red Velvet Cake does exist at Chops here. Was told it was delicious.

LOL at the Carnival officer sneaking on our ship for a bite to eat.

I’m also seeing $49.99 in my Cruise Planner for Anthem in October. That really stinks, IMO. Anthem’s Izumi has no hibachi option, and so many here have commented how the old $35 a la carte credit was more than enough to walk away feeling stuffed. I’m just having a hard time finding a rationale for this outside of either crowd control or (the cynic in me says more likely) a money grab.
One other thing that bothers me: Does this mean that lunch at Izumi is going away? There’s no option for Izumi lunch in the Cruise Planner like they offer for Chops and Jamie’s / Giovanni’s. I hope that’s nothing and it just means that there will still be an a la carte lunch option on sea days.

I’m also seeing $49.99 in my Cruise Planner for Anthem in October. That really stinks, IMO. Anthem’s Izumi has no hibachi option, and so many here have commented how the old $35 a la carte credit was more than enough to walk away feeling stuffed. I’m just having a hard time finding a rationale for this outside of either crowd control or (the cynic in me says more likely) a money grab.
One other thing that bothers me: Does this mean that lunch at Izumi is going away? There’s no option for Izumi lunch in the Cruise Planner like they offer for Chops and Jamie’s / Giovanni’s. I hope that’s nothing and it just means that there will still be an a la carte lunch option on sea days.

For my Grandeur Christmas/NY cruise the deluxe drink package is down to $45 PP/PD. Previously the lowest I had seen is was $49 but most recently it had been going for $51.  I am seriously concerned that we will never be able to keep up the pace we would need for 12 days to make that package attractive, even at $45.  The gun remains cocked but no trigger pull yet.
I did, however, pull the trigger when I saw that they have FINALLY offered a dining package for this cruise !  I have had this cruise booked for the better part of 2 years and today was the first time they have offered any dining package.  They are offering a 3 day package and an Ultimate package.  I purchased the UDP for us at $288 PP which I think is an excellent value for a 12 night cruise, 6 of which are sea days (meaning there will be other dinner and lunch offered) AND which includes Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Years Eve and New Years Day.  The wording on the website specifically states that there are no exclusions for the dining pkgs so it looks like they will be good on all of the holidays.
My guess is that neither the drinks pkg nor the obscenely expensive holiday special events were selling well and they relented and offered the dining packages.  I can tell you that, with the exception of Izumi, the specialty restaurants here on NAV this week have been ghost towns since they offered no dining pkgs on this Thanksgiving Cruise.  Maybe Royal is rethinking the strategy of not offering pkgs on holiday cruises.  Let’s hope so.

Looks like CocoCay Perfect Day will have Voom coverage in the future and it's included in the purchase price like drink packages.


 

I had the optional surf & turf this evening in the Symphony MDR. It’s a $34.99 up charge. I have had this selection before and I remember a bigger filet & what amounted to a Maine lobster tail & claws stuffed into a 1/2ed lobster shell. What I received this evening was a very skimpy filet and a lobster tail butterflied the size of a shrimp. Not what I remember, especially for $34.99! Do yourself a favor (even if the thought of surf & turf is tempting) and don’t buy this because it’s a waste of $. 

102 days and counting before my first cruise on RC. I’m off on a 10 day cruise to New Zealand

Oh, I know that overall there's very little to be worried about. But that hotel manager was so insistent with us not to leave our luggage in the car while visiting the memorial that we didn't want to chance it. He gave us quite a story of how there is always a group of locals watching out for rental cars in the parking lot, and how they all carried "slim jims" to pop the truck and steal all the luggage and belongings without the renter being aware it had happened. It was only day 3 of our honeymoon, we were newlyweds, mid-20s, and not yet experienced enough in life to feel like we could consider ignoring the person.
That was the only negative experience of our two weeks there. Everything else was absolutely wonderful (well, except for being terrified while biking the whole way down Mount Haleakala!), and we couldn't have asked for a better honeymoon.

@JLMoran And @RCVoyager I will say the native Hawaiians have a low level of trust regarding outsiders  and a percentage are still fairly angry over how HI became a state and the horrible treatment levied against their last queen (justified, but I think it’s time to move on and let history be history IMHO). All that said, they are fun loving people (just quite poor as so many indigenous people have ended up and not entirely of their own doing). Not making a political statement, just adding context since most or all of the areas considered unsafe are  those with large percentages of native Hawaiians. But, I am very European looking (no one will mistake me for Hawaiian LOL) and I have never felt frightened in those areas because I know Hawaiians are fun-loving, non-critical, easy-going people. They have their own ways, but they are genuinely loving people; plus, I have never been treated with more respect by nieces and nephews than when I am there and I was raised in the South US where respect for elders is highly valued. They have very little, but what they gave they will share with you
I hope that you will go back some day. And hey, if you need to experience some real  Aloha, just me know and I can set you up with the real deal! Just avoid the poi ??‍♀️??‍♀️?
 
P.S. for me Pearl Harbor was a must see..12+ uncles, my father-in-law and father served in WWII. My father was on Omaha Beach on DDay and the Battle of the Bulge. I could not help but cry some for all those young people, all that was lost, all that was saved, and all those lives effected. 

I would also agree with this. My wife and I went to HI for our honeymoon, spent 12 days there -- 2 on Oahu, 5 each on Kaua'i and Maui. Oahu was definitely a little rushed, only got to see the Polynesian Cultural Center -- a full-day activity all its own and totally worth it -- and go horseback riding around Turtle Bay. We had planned to see Pearl Harbor on the way to the airport for our transfer to Kaua'i; but as we were checking out of our hotel, the manager at the front desk told us no uncertain terms that if we did that, our rental car would have the trunk popped and our luggage would be stolen as soon as we went inside. ? 
The other islands all had a bunch of places we wanted to visit, even with everything we did and with 5 full days on each. A cruise to the islands would feel way too rushed, IMO.

Here's a link to the full review (with tons of photos) that I wrote after doing this on Freedom last April:
I did it solo, even though I was traveling with my family, and it was a fantastic time. @ellcee was traveling solo on Anthem at the same time as my wife and I were, and she also had a great experience. She didn't do a full review, but this short-yet-perfect summary also gives you an idea of the experience as a solo traveler:
 
As for whether it's "worth it" if you don't drink, I would still wholeheartedly say yes. The food alone is worth the price of admission, and you combine that with the great experience of the chef coming out and explaining all the courses, the people (well, barring something like what @Broons77 had to go through with a couple of passengers who were too far into their drink packages...), and the camaraderie, and it's really something you just have to experience at least once. Doing it for a birthday sounds like a great idea to me!