lauraodonnell86

We have done several B2Bs and it is nice having the same room but if you don't, it is very easy to move. Last January on Jewel, they knew we were moving to another room and got that room ready for us early so we were in that room by 11am(ish) and unpacking our stuff. They moved our luggage and our hanging items. We were able to upgrade for free last year from a balcony to a Junior Suite due to a large price drop so we took the upgrade since we'd never been in a Junior before. B2Bs are the best and I'd move from one cabin to the complete opposite end of the ship if it meant I got to stay on another week! Enjoy!

Once you hit 140 C&A points, you get a crystal block for the ship you are on when you reach 140.  Then, every 70 points (210, 280, etc) you get another one.  
#keepcruising 

After the previous nights fun we docked in St Kitts, for some strange reason my wife decided against having breakfast, she believes it must have been the pizza at 1am that made her unwell, nothing to do with the 7 or 8 alcoholic drinks she consumed.
St Kitts
Nothing planned so we just walked about the port and enjoyed the sight of a Puerto Rican invasion of st kitts. Ive read elsewhere on other forums how some people will no longer sail out of san juan due to the fact the ship is full of Latinos whos only objective is to have fun. What an entrance they made to this beautiful island, lead by a small band the marched off the ship singing songs and carrying their national flag. 
Found out the best cure for a hangover is retail therapy, its amazing how quickly my wife recovered will looking at perfumes and jewellery. 
Back on ship had a walk about to parts we hadnt been to yet, a game of golf which my wife won ( she cheated but i let her off) was followed by a trip to johnny Rockets. After all the talk about Johnny Rockets milkshakesi had to try them out. Ok i now understsnd why everyone raves about them.
Another late night in various bars but pleased to say my wife decided to leave her singing voice in stateroom.
Antigua
Up early, breakfast and off ship
Decided to have a beach day, taxi to valley church beach $8 pp each way if sharing. $5 per chair $10 for an umbrella, $4 or $5 a beer, free wifi 
Great beach to just relax only downside was that beach is made of shell not sand which can be sore on feet. Water itself drops very steeply its either up to your knees or over your head, no inbetween so care is needed.
Had read about Pams massage on beach so went to beach hut and booked half hour session, $55 per couple and worth every penny. 
Taxi came back after our 4hrs as agreed and we headed back to port for more shopping.
Dinner was MDR for 1st time cant fault the food or service.
Evening was spent at ice show, few bars and karaoke just taking in all the different sights and experiences. 
As we walked along the promade heading back to room my wife stopped outside one of the outlets and completely shocked me! The sign above the entrance said " Next Cruise" and my wifes only words were " should be book our next cruise now?" 
Told her we would wait and plan! Im not in the YOLO group yet lol
St Lucia next nothing planned 
 

Firstly let me thank all on this site for the knowledge they have shared, being a new cruiser i didnt know what to expect but the information and friendliness shared on this site has made me less worried about things.
For me this upcoming cruise has been a long time coming, in fact over 20 years, it's a bucket list item that i thought i would never be able to tick off! I have dragged my wife to some strange cities and countries around the world, be it on vacation or for work but one thing i could never do was get her to go on a cruise due to her dislike ( thats an understatement ) of water. However this year as this trip is for my 50th birthday she had to relent ? hopefully this cruise is the first of many!
We fly British Airways (BA)from a very cold and wet North East of Scotland on Thursday, heading to New York via Heathrow with a 7hr layover in JFK before boarding our Delta flight down to Peurto Rico for a 2 day stay before our cruise. I booked both of these flights as soon as i was able to (11 months out) and i have watched prices daily, BA has never dropped, Delta i could have saved a little ($100) if i waited one month. Since then prices have risen so it was a good idea to ignore my wifes advice to wait until 2 or 3 months out.
The hotel of choice having read good reports on it was the Sheraton in Old San Juan, right opposite the cruise port or so i thought! Thanks to info on here i found out that RC leave from another terminal, that along with the fact my wife saw a photo of a hotel with a beach with hammocks on it where we could just chill on our first day sipping cocktails  after a long flight, i decided a change was needed, booked the Courtyard by Marriot Isla Verde ( yes the one with hammocks) as soon as dates appeared available and since then i was watched the prices rocket, so again good idea to book as soon as you can.
The cruise itself was booked through a UK travel agent, i didnt have a clue which one to use but noticed one was giving you a price match, $100 OBC and free drinks package and 6 bottles of red wine if you booked through them, the wine was the deciding factor and i must admit they tasted nice. Room is an oceanview on deck 9, i wanted a balcony but had to compromise as my wife wasn't keen on a balcony on first cruise.
For UK cruisers i used trivago to look for best deal on hotel, skyscanner for flights and just searched for best deal on cruise, i then went onto  TOP CASHBACK and used that as a link to BA, Booking.com and company for insurance and have ended up with a £200 payback which is extra money to spend on holiday
ONBOARD
Voom purchased for my wife using OBC so she can keep in touch with family back home
As i got drinks package FOC, theres no point adding up bar bill to see if i break even, also the fact as im scottish the batterey would probably run out an calculator from over use??
Schedule 
Thursday 22nd Aberdeen to Newyork 
Friday 23rd New York to Peurto Rico : 2 night stay
CRUISE ITERNERARY
BASSETERRE, ST KITTS & NEVIS 
ST. JOHNS, ANTIGUA 
CASTRIES, ST. LUCIA 
BRIDGETOWN, BARBADOS 
PHILIPSBURG, ST. MAARTEN
Back to San Juan
SJU TO JFK
As we just like to wing it and decide what we want to do when we wake up or sober up lol, the only things we have planned are Bernards tours in St Maarten and Atlantis Submarine in Barbados ( another bucket list item so i had to bribe my wife for this one) 
After the cruise we head back to the big apple and heres where the bribery kicks in, a 2 night stay in the Grand Hyatt in NYC taking in the xmas lights etc, ice skating in Bryant Park even though i've never skated in my life( just as well i have idiots abroad travel insurance)  some Xmas shopping at Jersey gardens, however my wife wants to visit Tiffany's for her present ? and just when i thought everything was done and i could relax without having to spend anymore more money, John Legend announces a tour where his only New York date corresponds with our time there and knowing full well what my wifes reaction would be if we get there and she see's advertisements for his concert, its easier for me to have a quiet life if i just open my wallet and purchase 2 tickets
All packed and counting down the days ? 
 
Ray 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Note to self, never begin live blog posts with "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times..." Got it!


Gotta keep you all on your toes.
These message boards are so fun.  I think you'll love it, Laura!

I've just recently "found" the message boards on this wonderful website so I'm excited to follow along with your live blog. ? 

I've just recently "found" the message boards on this wonderful website so I'm excited to follow along with your live blog. ? 

I've just recently "found" the message boards on this wonderful website so I'm excited to follow along with your live blog. ? 

I've just recently "found" the message boards on this wonderful website so I'm excited to follow along with your live blog. ? 

I've just recently "found" the message boards on this wonderful website so I'm excited to follow along with your live blog. ? 

Practice what you preach is what they say (whoever "they" are), so I'm dipping my toes into the fabulous Live Blogs forum of the Royal Caribbean Blog message boards!
We're headed on Brilliance of the Seas for a 4-night weekend getaway cruise and I usually post my live blogs on the blog portion of this site, but, I decided to do things a little differently this time because I've blogged this particular ship and sailing a few times already.  Instead, I'm taking my talents to the message boards to show some love for what I believe is a vastly underrated and extremely entertaining feature of this blog!

Our cruise departs the fabulous port of Tampa on February 14 and on this sailing, it will be just me and my wife.....and @ShakeDownCruise's family.  We originally booked our kids on this sailing with us.  Kids Sail Free was in full effect, so we put a deposit down. As it turns out, I convinced my parents to fly down and watch the kids so it will be just me and my wife enjoying this quick sailing. 
Fun fact, my kids are still technically booked on this sailing because we got kids sail free, so removing them from the reservation seemed pointless.  Plus, gives me a safety net if my parents reneged on the plan.

We booked a category 1B Spacious Balcony stateroom on deck 9.  We picked this room primarily under the guise of my kids sailing with us, but now we will enjoy some extra space and the ocean views my wife enjoys. In my experience, I barely spend time on the balcony on most cruises.  If I am going to lay out, I prefer the pool deck for the music and people watching.
Our 4-night itinerary takes us to one port, Cozumel.  While I went to Cozumel six times in 2018, this will be one and only stop in Cozumel in 2019. ? I will be sure to eat as much chips, salsa and guacamole as humanly possible. Nothing booked yet on what we will do, but we have some time to figure it out.

In the weeks left until this cruise, I will take some cues from some of the awesome live bloggers here, such as @ellcee, @melski94, @JLMoran, @Lovetocruise2002 & @twangster.

When Royal ships visit the ABC's they often mix it up and which island you stay the latest can vary.  For us we had Aruba with a midnight departure,  Bonaire at 8 pm and Curaçao at 6pm.  
Google sunset times and consider being on a beach for sunset.  That's a rare treat for cruisers as most times you have to be back on board before sunset. 
In Aruba we enjoyed late afternoon on Eagle Beach with a sunset to follow:



 
 
 

Fourteen cruises marks the most I've cruised in any single year so I thought I take a second to put it down in a post.
I started 2018 as a relatively new Diamond member in the Crown and Anchor Society and finished just over the halfway mark to Pinnacle.
Anthem -> Liberty -> Serenade -> Adventure -> Explorer -> Empress -> Radiance -> Mariner -> Enchantment -> Adventure -> Symphony -> Serenade -> Oasis -> Navigator
The scary part is I missed a cruise when my daughter graduated from the Air Force or it would have been fifteen.  Oh well, well worth it.
Of all these cruises I think Navigator to the ABC islands was my best cruise, in no small part due to the ABC islands and my cruise mate (step daughter and scuba diving buddy).
Other notable 2018 cruise events for me
First Transatlantic (Symphony) First Canada/New England (Adventure) First ABC island cruise First visit/cruise to Cuba First Diamond Plus cruise (Adventure repositioning San Juan to Bayonne) First Radiance class experience First Voyager class experience Completed the Oasis class challenge (sailing all Oasis Class) Completed the Freedom class challenge (sailing all Freedom class) Completed the Empress class challenge (easy one here) My longest single cruise (Adventure 13 night Snowbird Migration) Paid for a cruise in full and didn't show up (cruise #15 above) Sailed six different classes of ship in a single year (would have been seven classes if not for the missed cruise) First time on a FlowRider Five Crystal Blocks First year not sailing in a full suite Sailed on a ship every month of the year First RoyalCaribbeanBlog Group Cruise!!!!
What was your most notable cruise moment of 2018?

1-31 Brilliance - RCPeriscopers Group Cruise!  There are 40+ of on board that will be periscoping so make sure you tune in! 

I'm back home and found some aft balcony pics from 9392 on Mariner.


Looking down:

To the side:



Here is 9390.  Note the hinge door versus patio door, plus window.  It does have a support beam that runs down but don't let the pictures from this angle fool you, it's a nice balcony with side and aft views, just no loungers.


Aft panoramic view at sea:

We were in Curacao until 11pm 2 years ago and we went to dinner at Perla Del Mar at the suggestion of a cruiser who had been on board for 9 weeks and frequently ate off of the ship. It was very delicious and it's an easy 20(ish) minute walk from the ship. We walked back to the ship after dark and never felt unsafe. The restaurant sits on the water and the view of the ship at night is wonderful! There are several shops and bars in Rif Fort that are also really cool at night. That is right off of the pier. 
For Aruba, we are thinking about going to dinner at Lucy's Retired Surfers Bar or West Deck. I think they are both about 10-15 min walk from the ship and both sit on the water. 
I look forward to reading your live blog when we get back! We aren't purchasing Voom but it'll be cool to read about the same cruise through someone else's eyes! 

We have cabin 9404 booked on Freedom in 3 weeks! I will try to take some photos and come back to report ?