Hockeyman55

It almost didn't happen for me, trying to budget for this cruise along with the new camera and lens stretched me pretty thin for a while but I'm so glad I did. The quality I can def see an upgrade in the a73 vs the A99 I was using previously, plus I am not getting better low light shots which helped for the shows

I love my Rokinon fisheye, still one of the sharpest glass I have used. I'm very happy making the switch to the sony Fe mount, did take some work having to sell all my older Amount lenses but was worth it in the end

Thank you ? We we're all over the place for dinner. One night we at close to 9pm while another near 4 pm. It was just hard for us to commit since we were busy all the time.

Yeah we got warned ahead of time not to leave the port by ourselves. Next time we would like to go on a tour

We didn't plan on buying much but that changed once we saw the weather and cancelled our beach resort. That freed up some money. Next time though, we will be better prepared. Just something about being there that makes you just want to shop, lol

A quick recap of our cruise along with some more pictures Where do I even begin . . . rating these on a scale of 10 Cruise 10/10 Id give the cruise itself a 10 out of 10. Was everything I knew it would be, well actually better than I thought it would be. Can't wait until we can book another cruise and have already begun talking about it. More than likely will be in 2020 and the revamped Coco Cay is on our list of stops we would like to hit up. Room 9.5/10 Besides being on the smaller side, which being on a ship, I totally understand, our room was great. Loved the location overlooking the boardwalk and being able to see the water and The Fine Line was a wonderful thing. I am deducting half a point because of the rock hard beds. Other than that we were totally happy. Also being able to watch the movies on the big screens at the aqua theater from our balcony was super cool. Crew 10/10 Everyone we interacted with was wonderful. Our room attendant Sydney was the man and took care of us and anything we needed. The few times at customer service went smoothly with no issues. No complaints here from us. Food 8/10 There were a few things we came across that was so so, like super burnt and crispy toast and french toast in Windjammer but then there was some amazing food as well, like our meal in Sabor. Shows 10/10 The shows blew our minds, didn't expect them to be that good, even the ice skating shows. I preferred Iskate over 1887 and Columbus over Grease but all were spectacular. The Fine Line was an action packed spectacle and a must see. We did miss the headliner act and comedian. The character meet and greets and breakfast was a lot of fun as well as the parade in the promenade. Labadee 10/10 Was really more than we were expecting. Could have spend a few more hours here. Zipline and coaster were highlights for me and my kids loved the beach and aqua park. Falmouth 7/10 For me this port was just ok. Probably the one port I would have been ok skipping, would have like to see more of the country side though Cozumel 8/10 The rain really did put a hamper on the day but made the best of with some shopping and lunch, the shopping did make up for a lot for us. Along with Jamacia, would have loved to see more of the real country Things we would have done differently Packed less, we severely over packed. Being our first family cruise we didn't know how much to bring and really could have brought less. Sign up for my time dining. I selected the 5:30 dining time and only made it to one meal at that time. Next time will def do the my time dining. Bring/save more money to spend in Cozumel, lol. Book back to back cruises. This is a pipe dream but would have been really great Odds and End Embarking and disembarking the ship couldn't have gone smoother for us. I was pleasantly surprised how smooth and really didn't have to wait in any long lines either day. Even finding our luggage was a breeze Ship could use a few more Coke Freestyle machines IMO ? Elevators could be a pain sometimes but with that many people its understandable Ship could use a few more of those frozen yogurt stands also ? Getting to and from our home in Palm Beach Gardens to Port Everglades was pretty easy as was dropping off our bags and parking

A day late but here is day 8 Today was the day nobody looks forward to, the last day of the cruise. With our bags put outside the night prior, there wasnt much left to pack up to carry off. We had decided to wake up early so we could enjoy one last breakfast at Windjammer. After that we grabbed our carry off bags and headed down to Silk to wait for our number to be called. Number called, left the shipped, found our bags and loaded up into our SUV and was back home in less than an hour. That last sentence was such a depressing sentence to type ? Overall thoughts and pictures to follow

So here we are on day 7 which means tomorrow we are back home . . .booooooooo. Currently sitting in Sabor for dinner and I'll go out on a stretch and say the shredded short rib tacos have been the best meal I've had the whole trip. We skipped breakfast and ended up sleeping in until 9:30 which is super late for us. Rushed down to promanade to check out the glassware and t-shirt sale and of course walked away with some goodies. Also went to the other gift shops to do some last minute shopping. After shopping we had some time for ice skating. Myself and our 2 oldest went and had a blast. At 2:30 we had our showing of Grease. Was a fun show but not my favorite thing. My wife and kids loved it however. So her we are finally caught up. Will try to post more later but anticipate a busy evening and morning. Have tons of pictures to share so stay tuned

Day 6 was the day we were most looking forward to and one of the reasons we went on the Western Caribbean cruise, our day in Cozumel. About 3 days prior we knew it was going to be a rainy day so we cancelled our reservations for Mr Sanchos and decided to spent the day in port shopping and eating. Was initially disappointed but it turned into a good day regardless. Our hual included some jewelry, chocolate, tequila, cologne and trinkets for the kids. Once back on board we spent some time in the hot tubs and then dinner at Windjammer again. After that we played mini golf again and ping pong, by that time it was 10pm and I was spent. Off to bed for day 7

Day 4 note, today was finally able to checkout the waterslides after our day in Jamaica. I was highly excited to try these but left somewhat disappointed. The Perfect Storm slides both myself, brother and daughter both stalled out halfway down. The toilet bowl was the saving grace, I shot out of that one like a cannon and ended up coming out head first? Day 5 Today was our second sea day. Today was also the day we wanted to do all thing things on the ship we have yet to experience. Breakfast today was down at Johnny Rockets. Was nice to not be at Windjammer and have somewhat of a relaxing breakfast, let's be honest, that place can be an adventure to navigate. After breakfast we headed straight to mini golf. The course was really fun and ended up getting a hole in one on the last hole. The Abyss, oh boy that was so much fun. Was a little nervous standing on that top deck looking down waiting to slide but was a breeze once we went down. Day also included the usual pools, hot tubs and ice cream. We decided to skip formal dinner and went to Jamie's Italian. I had the chicken cacciatore while my wife had the ribeye and we loved both. Dessert they brought out the dessert plank and we'll just say that was a hit with everyone ? After dinner we had a reservation for Columbus and that has been hands down our favorite show by far this trip, this show was hilarious. Well that pretty much sums up day 5. On to day 6

Thank you everyone. Will go back and reply to everyone tomorrow once I get home. I've fallen behind and wanted to catch up. Day 4 Jamaica We initially had the dolphin encounter palnned for this day but with the weather forecast showing some potentially bad weather we cancelled that excursion and decided to spend the day in port shopping and having lunch. We spent most of our time at Margaritaville which worked out great for us. The food was great and the drinks even better. I got the clock cup with the electric lemonade and it was outstanding and super strong. Everyone enjoyed thier food and drinks minus the ketchup, lol, my kids were just not having it. After we ate we spent some time at the pool there, was a fun party atmosphere and a swim up pool bar, score! My only complaint was the hot tub wasn't so hot. Other than that we all came away happy. After lunch we did some shopping, nothing too crazy, mostly just small Jamaica trinkets and dresses. After some shopping we headed back to the ship, might have been around 2-3pm at this point. Kids wanted to play in the pools and hot tub so off we went. After swimming I believe this was a late night dinner in the main dinning room for us. I had lasagna this time and was outstanding. Way better than the meal I had on formal night. This was pretty much the end of the day and off to bed we went. Day 5 up next

We are on the same cruise @DisneyWorld30th on deck 10 boardwalk balcony and haven't had an issue with internet and/or speed. Seems to be pretty consistent for us all over

We were there Monday on Harmony and thymey had a stand outside on the pier for us to check in and out towels

Very welcome. I was previously shooting with the Sony A99 and have been kicking around switching to the smaller mirrorless camera for a little while. I really wanted the A7RIII but couldn't justify an extra $1,000. Am very happy with the a7iii and lenses I have. So nice having a lighter camera as well

For those curious I am shooting with a Sony A7iii, the iSkate and Columbus pictures I was using my Sony 70-300G lens. Just got this camera in April and love how much I can crank up the ISO for the lower light pictures and still get some pretty sharp photos. Also with me I brought my Rokinon 12mm fisheye lens and Sony 24-70 lens. Photography is a pretty big and expensive hobby for me, I do quite a bit of theme park photography also.

Getting ready for our day in Mexico. Wanted to post some photos in the meantime until I can post on the previous few days.

Absolutely ? You can also download higher quality pics off my Flickr if you like, should be set up for anyone to https://www.flickr.com/photos/sperdutophotos/

Ill start by saying Labadee was outstanding and the only downside was that I wished we spent more time there. We disembarked around 8:45am and headed towards Columbus Cove and ended up speeding most of our time in that area. Our zipline was at 10:30 which snuck up on us rather quickly. Words can't describe how great of a ride the zipline was, as many of you I am sure you are aware of. Our next adventure was the aqua park at 1pm with the kids. I knew it was going to be a lot of work and that part didn't disappoint, myself and my kids loved playing on this and I know my wife loved seeing me make a fool of myself and fall off multiple times. ? So by the time we got done with the aqua park it was about 2 pm with the coast and market still to try and get done. We headed to the coaster and waited about a half hour or so and by the time we got off it was about 3:10pm, needless to say my wife wasn't thrilled it cut into her shopping time. My first time on one of these mountain coasters and loved it, thrilling ride with a spectacular view. We did manage to get in a little time for shopping before we got back on the ship so I avoided an upset wife lol. Back on the boat we decided on eating at Johnny Rockets and was a hit all around and with the best part being able to eat outside so our kids could blow off some more steam in that little net play area next to it. So that concludes my little summary of today. Enjoy some more photos I took today.

Thank you ?

Absolutely, she is a seasoned pro now lol

Yesterdays quick hits Started the day with Dreamworks breakfast - had a great time After breakfast was a few hours at the pool and hot tubs, TBH my kids enjoyed the hot tubs more than anything. Didn't get on the slides, by the time we got there the line was long, will though for sure After the pool it was time for lunch at mini bites and of course some ice cream ? 2pm we headed down to the promenade for the Trolls dance party and meet and greet. Was cute and with my kids being big Trolls fans it was a must do We finally made it down to formal night at 6. This was our first meal at the main dining room and thought my food was just so so,I had the beef dish, everyone else loved there food. We did let our waitress know we had a show reservation for 7:30 and surely they got us out in time. Our first show of the trip was 1887, my kids and wife loved it, I thought it was good but not something i need to see more than once. That was pretty much a quick take on our day. Off to Labadee we go . . . .

I love it, I enjoy the hustle and bustle but if you have trouble sleeping with noise it might not be the best choice. We also decided on a balcony room towards the back so we could see the water and show and neither have disappointed so far. I would choose this room again without a doubt

Long and busy day, will recap in the morning before getting off ship at Labadee. For now a few pictures from today

I think it was a mix of excitement and nervousness. Our middle daughter was super nervous and said she didn't want to go on the boat. My wife and other two daughters were blown away by the shear size of it. Even on board they couldn't believe how massive it was and all the things you can do (even though I had them watch a thousand videos on YouTube prior to the trip?) The most excited they have been though is when we pushed away from dock initially, they all ran out to our balcony to watch out the back since we are on a boardwalk balcony.

Quick morning update Just finished up DreamWorks character breakfast Character interactions was great, we had Kitty Soft Paws who walked table to table spending time with everyone and then Shrek and Puss N Boots had a walk up meet and great with a little dance party. Will put up some pictures later as time allows. Now the sun is finally out and we are headed to the pools.