Lovetocruise2002

This was our dinner tonight. D15 grabbed a slice of pizza at Whole Foods and didn’t even make it to join us. She was too tired lol. We really loved the Lobster Mac & Cheese last time so we knew D17 would love it too. She did. And of course, there is no way we could pass up on truffle fries. We also got Crispy Prawns which was good, but a bit too much batter.

Oh, I love Wonder! I hope that you had a great time! And that the upcoming week settles a bit for you.

Ok, where do I start here? It’s almost 10pm and I am exhausted. We got to Miami very smoothly. DTW was empty this morning, flight was smooth, even arrived slightly early into MIA. Luggage was not lost, and we got to the hotel all within an hour of landing. Not bad at all. That is pretty much where our good luck ran out. As many of you probably guessed, we are staying at the Intercontinental Miami, a hotel that I adore. Interestingly enough, our kids have never stayed here. The one time we tried to bring them was the dreaded March 2022 fiasco where we ended up driving to Pittsburgh, and almost missed our cruise. Anyway, we got to the hotel around 5pm. I had booked using my Ambassador free weekend night credit for this stay. I get one voucher each year. I get to the front desk and they said they don’t have my reservation. I told them that is impossible because it shows up in my app and I have been getting the emails from them all week about my upcoming stay. So they tried to access the reservation with the confirmation number instead and they said it shows that it’s been cancelled. I said that I definitely did not cancel it. And I said that if I did, why is it still showing as an active reservation on my app? They got the manager, and this went on for almost 45 minutes! They said they were truly puzzled but they also could not honour the free night, but they also can see that my voucher remains unredeemed, so basically they did not know what to do. Apparently, they also cannot manually override either because they said their system doesn’t allow it. By this point, I was getting a bit mad. It was almost 6pm. They said they need time to look into this further and they were going to put us into the room we originally booked. Hopefully, this gets worked out tomorrow. To make matters worse, we always book club level here at the Intercontinental Miami. It does not say anywhere in reservation confirmation when you book that club access only includes two adults. If we want the kids to access the lounge; they would be charged $50pp/night. Uh, no thanks. So then we had to make a trip to Whole Foods to get the freeloaders fruit and breakfast items for the next two mornings. By this point it was 7pm and everyone was hangry and tired. We had a 7:15pm reservation to eat a quick bite at Toro Toro. They gave us a food credit for all the trouble from earlier. I called housekeeping to get a couple of luggage racks delivered. They are usually super fast here. A guy comes with two racks and said he would come back with the 3rd and never did. So off we went to dinner. After dinner, there was still no 3rd rack. So we made another call to have the 3rd rack delivered, along with some mugs and a kettle for tea. After two of us showered, there was still no delivery of items. Hubby called back and they apologized for forgetting. Eventually , the 3rd rack shows up along with paper cups, no kettle. By this point, even D17 who is the most critical of my antics, said, “Ok, maybe it’s not you. Maybe this hotel is messed up today.” I said to Hubby and the kids, this whole thing with the hotel upsets me because I love this hotel. We have always had the best stays here. I tell everyone how much I love this hotel. I am not sure what happened this time but we are going to call it a day, and hope for better luck tomorrow. We still have no clue what is happening with our free night voucher… Our Bay View room

That’s why I am trying to “encourage” you guys to leave the weighted blanket at home Haha! I figured you might be a lost cause

That pretty much sounds like Hubby. It used to drive me nuts when the kids were little and he wasn’t doing anything to help them. So I always sat with them. That just sort of stuck. He’s in his own world with his noise cancelling headphones lol

That’s what I am afraid of! Those of you who follow Andrew’s blogs, over at that other place, know that he does bring his own boards. I am afraid that cruising with them will make Hubby consider too. He was already talking about it on Icon. He’s getting picky about the type of boards given. Apparently there are different ones

Boarding doors now closed! Yay! Hubby has gotten the boot and is on his own.

Thank you! I will be thinking of you, and your family lots this week! The loft shower has me worried though. Curious minds want to know, if you are docked next to a ship, are you giving others a shenanigans show? Lol

Everything looks good so far. Full flight. They started checking carry on bags for free. That is all a good sign that we are leaving shortly. Boarding in 15-20mins.

Hubby and I were talking last night about excited we are for this surprise La Bamba visit and I was telling him how I think I missed it. I have always know they have locations scattered over South Florida. I also knew from before that the 17th St. location is the most southern location, and the rest are North of it. I forgot about the west though and that’s the Plantation location. Anyhow, so thankful it was brought up! Hubby and D17 are so ready for their Queso!

@RCIfan1912 see this post from the past. https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/boards/index.php?/topic/10443-fare-reduction-for-phantom-cabin/

Status report: Left the house at 8:45am and now all checked and settled at DTW. @GregD and @asquared17, this is all of our luggage for 4 people

Heck, I work full time so that I can afford to cruise lol No, the S2S is this July. Adventure to Reflection. We have Beyond booked for July 2025 but we are cancelling that for SY. Nah, I just know @Jax too well to know that she would not last lol He was ok with the Beyond booking up until Icon inaugural. It was actually his idea to book Beyond over the Star inaugural. We had holds on both a few months ago. Looking back, thank goodness we never put the deposit on the Star inaugural. I would not be able to make the new date of 8/31. Goes to show you that things happen for a reason. Anyway, during the Icon sailing, he decided that he would be too bored without it so we will be making a visit to Next Cruise in a few days.

We had a table to ourselves last year on HM too. We squeezed all 10 of us at the table. You are right, it was way better. Not that we mind sharing a table with random strangers but it's hit/miss depending on who you end up with.

Oh, we are beyond excited! Especially since we had already psyched ourselves up for not going. Yes! We are so looking forward to catching up with him again. And he does prefer ships based out of NJ so It's our 3rd time with Shane too lol. But first time with him as our actual Genie. We first met Shane back in 2019 on the Anthem GC and we kept in touch with him ever since. Then we sailed with him on Oasis for #majorstarclasstakeover in March 2022, but there was a mix up and he was supposed to be on vacation, but then he came back early. Anyway, we saw him lots, but he wasn't our Genie. This time he is! This is what my Mom always says too. She too is in the same chapter of life as you are. 3 grown girls, 3 SIL, and 6 grand kids, the oldest (D17) is graduating high school in a few months. She never stops reminding how blessed we all are. And no truer words, we don't know the future, we only have now. Hence the YOLO, Cruise Big! You, my friend, would not survive in the tub. Who are you trying to kid? We're going in knowing that. There was a reason for trying Reflection other than the timing working out. If I was trying Royal for the first time, I would want to go from smaller to larger. If I tried Icon or Wonder first, and then went to Mariner, I would be really disappointed. I would rather go from Mariner to Wonder/Icon. We will definitely try the Edge class one day. But Hubby has to outgrow the FlowRider first. We have a booking on Beyond that we are going to cancel for July 2025 and move it to SY. Reason? No FlowRider, he thought about it, and can't do it. I could not agree more!

Yeah, when we sailed MSC Seaside back in 2018 (one and done), that is where I got a lot of my info from. But definitely a different vibe over there!

Same! We'll definitely text each other and meet up! Wishing you and your family safe, and uneventful travels! See you on the ship!

There was a thread recently by @Smokey79 recently where booking Chef's Table and Hibachi ahead of time was discussed. This is a topic that has come up frequently in other forums as well. I have mentioned here, and in other places, that I have never booked Hibachi ahead of time when sailing star, and this sailing remains no different. We don't do Chef's Table ever so I cannot comment on that. Not our scene. Anyway, we have always waited for the Genie to book us into Hibachi, even when we had 10 in the Villa last year on HM. We have always been able to secure a time in our usual dinner slot (around 6:30/7pm). This time was no different. I asked Andrew and Lisa if they wanted to do Hibachi together this time, better than being stuck at a table with strangers. Between our two families we have 7 people and Shane was able to secure a 7pm time for us together without any issues.

I am truly in awe. I won't last that long in teaching. 2030, that's my end game.

So it's the day before we leave..... The packing situation has improved slightly. I only have last minute toiletries items left. Hubby was up until midnight last night packing. I have no idea what his status is. D17 has made her list but has not packed a thing. Off to run some last minute errands shortly. And of course, most importantly before a cruise, getting a mani/pedi with the girls once they get home from school.

Thank you for the encouragement. We definitely plan to keep cruising into our retirement years, with the girls and a growing family in the future, as long as our health allows. I have already informed the kids that they know my cruising style. So when it's their turn to treat me to one...... It's the Home Genie/teacher running the show, otherwise they would be worse than they already are. We don't zip until the morning of either. We always have last minute stuff that goes in and Hubby has this thing where he says there is no need to put any more stress on the zippers than necessary so they don't break as easily. I agree. That whole Deck 17/18 area on Wonder is gorgeous. I love the decor style of the suites on Deck 17/18. He told us he was not planning to go to Icon. But yes, he was great and I would love to know where he is now.

Ok, good cause I was truly confused

Were you on HM on the March 11th, 2023 sailing? We were on that one. I agree. HM used to be my favourite ship. I loved that sailing, the cabin and being with my sister and parents. We have such treasured memories from that trip, but the food definitely was not as good as on other ships. We seriously cannot thank you enough!!! Hubby was like, "How did you miss that location?" I don't even know lol, I am just so thankful you came to our rescue! Fried Ice Cream here I come!

What am I merging this with? I am not sure...