Lovetocruise2002

Yes, if we go to the beach I don't bring a purse either. Everything just goes in our drawstring bag and the cards go in hubby's pocket.

Sitting at the gate waiting for our flight. Pretty non-eventful trip to DTW other than the airport was completely packed through baggage check and security. It is never like that here! But then again, we usually don't fly out Sunday morning either so who knows. My kids informed us that they did not sleep at all last night. Lights were on at 3am when I woke up earlier. Pretty sure D9 is crashing. Should make for an interesting rest of the day. Currently debating what we should eat for breakfast before boarding...exciting times ?

I must be getting old. I do not remember the last time I woke up at 3am to catch an early flight. It feels terrible! Note to self, this may not be a good idea in the future. Wonder if I should throw an umbrella into the suitcase....

Periscope is wonderful in that you can live it through others but terrible in that the more you watch, the more you wish you were going somewhere too ? Thank you for following along and don't hesitate to ask anything along the way. That's how we roll here ? @Matt...look...another one sailing Mariner before you lol I am honoured ? Too bad it's not tomorrow. I know...it's the dog's fault

I think it's a matter of preference. I simply don't like large handbags, especially on vacation. I see many females carry a larger bag than I do. You have to be aware of pick pockets no matter what bag you carry. This is my go to cruise bag while walking around a port:

We don't go back until the day after Labour Day here in Ontario. It's more like "one last hurrah" before we go back ? Thank you for following along.

It's a sticker that I turned into a magnet.

When we are on the ship, everything gets locked in the safe except the Sea Pass card. If swimming, the card goes in hubby's shorts because they have a zipper pocket. If we are just walking around, I put the card in my pocket. I'm not a lanyard person so I always wear shorts that have storage somewhere. My kids wear lanyards. If we are sailing a ship that has wristbands, most of my family will wear the band instead of carrying the card. When off the ship, we bring our wallets, passport, and sea pass card. It either goes in a waterproof drawstring bag or if we are just walking around the port, I might bring a small purse.

What gave it away? ?? Well at least I cannot be blamed for you booking her then ? Let me tell you, between @bellemiche and her blog, and scopes by @twangster and others last week and this week, it was so hard waiting two weeks!! One day...I have not completely ruled out the Anthem GC yet ? Thanks Raye! Will do! Have to...in for a 6 month dry dock after this so I really have to soak it all up!

I wasn’t entirely truthful…. or that’s what Hubby told me when I first presented the idea of this cruise to him. The last time I blogged in March, while on board Anthem, I said the next live blog would be on Harmony in March 2019. At the moment, it’s only August… Here’s the backstory: It all started around April (@Skid, it was not as spontaneous as you thought), when Hubby let me in on an innocent fact. He said, “I took a week off in August while you and girls are still off.” My response, “What do you want to do during that week?”, but really, the gears already started turning and I’m thinking, “What cruise can I book that won’t break the bank (since we’ve already taken double the amount we usually take in one year)?” We tossed around the idea of doing a land vacation to New York or Chicago. I even went as far as to price it out and research things we could do with the kids there. All the while, in the back of my mind, I’m thinking, a cruise is still better value. I consulted the kids in the land vacation planning and I was met with two responses, “Is there going to be a lot of walking?” and, “Why can’t we just go on another cruise?” Yes! I have raised cruise addicts…scary thought. With all the hype surrounding Mariner’s revitalization, my curiosity was piqued. I priced it out and the price was not as bad as I thought it would be. With that, I pitched the idea to Hubby. I was met with a firm, “NO!” Not because he doesn’t like cruising, but because this would be our 5th cruise (6th if you count the one that we treated my parents to) within a one-year period (we don’t live the @twangster or @Matt life), we are 211 days away from a Star Class sailing ???, and we just got off the Seaside two weeks ago. However, fittingly, as my title by @Matt would have it, I’m not called a “Stubborn Canadian Scorpio” for nothing. I continued to monitor pricing and air fare, and as luck would have it, somewhere near the end of May, both went down to a decent rate. Hubby, as I suspected, did not have any other ideas for a land vacation so he finally agreed, and I said, “YOLO, I’m Booking It!” The reality of it is that I am, “Blessed by God and Spoiled by my Husband”. Who is going? Hubby and I, and our two girls (D12, D9 about to be 10) Flight: Once again, we are flying out of DTW to FLL. Mariner leaves from Miami, but flights were cheaper to FLL and we prefer to stay there anyway. Our plan is to use Lyft Plus to get us to the Port of Miami in the morning. Pre-cruise Stay: Normally, we like to stay at the Renaissance (on 17th Street) but this time we have our kids with us and HYATT PLACE FORT LAUDERDALE 17TH STREET CONVENTION CENTER is better suited for our family. The hotel provides a free airport shuttle from FLL, complimentary Wi-Fi, and a complimentary hot breakfast in the morning. Anyone travelling with kids knows what a relief it is not to have to find food for the kids in the morning. In addition, the best part about this hotel, is that it is right next door to our favourite restaurant in Fort Lauderdale, La Bamba! The call of margaritas and fried ice cream is strong! I also discovered a really nice surprise when booking this hotel. There is a website, valuetrips.com, that discounts the rate at this hotel considerably. They act as a third party. They reserve and secure a great rate for you, you pay for it upon arrival and you will still receive loyalty points if you collect them. Their communication is horrible, but I knew this from reading online reviews. Upon securing the reservation with the hotel, Valuetrips should send you a confirmation through email. As per the reviews I had read, the email never came. About ten days after submitting my request online, I called the Hyatt directly, and my reservation was on file with them. They confirmed the rate that I secured through Valuetrips and everything worked out. I finally received an email from Valuetrips about a month after submitting my request. For anyone thinking of using valuetrips.com, be prepared to confirm the booking on your own but you’ll save a bit of money in the process. We saved almost $100 by going through Valuetrips. Itinerary: This 4-night Mariner sailing brings us to Nassau and Coco Cay. As usual, the ship is the destination for us. Last time, on Anthem, we missed Coco Cay and we asked the girls if they wanted us to re-purchase the excursions that we had planned. They declined. I also thought it would be fun to take them to explore the aquarium at Atlantis in Nassau, but they declined that too. If you ask my kids what they are looking forward to this week, the answer is simple (and cheap). They want to eat ice cream and pizza, have free reign over food in the WJ, ride the waterslides, and swim. So, we have no excursions booked and we will be roaming around with no set plans for this cruise. Cabin: We are booked in a JS up on Deck 11. There were no plans to upgrade this because of two reasons. One being that this is one of the new Junior Suites installed during the recent dry dock, so I know this room is new, fresh, and in good condition. Recent reviews and scopes have indicated that existing staterooms have not been refurbished with the rest of the ship, so I am happy with our choice here. The second reason is that this cruise is an extra for us. I wanted at least a JS to get the double C&A points (we are currently 5 points out from Diamond, so this will do it for us), and because Voyager class ships don’t have the same suite benefits as Oasis and Quantum class for GS and above, there is no real incentive to go higher for a 4-night sailing. Pre-cruise thoughts: - The most special thing this sailing will be my daughter’s 10th birthday. She has big plans. She wants to sleep in, check out the ship, swim a bit, go on the water slides, and spend time together as a family. She is the sweetest! I also think she is what finally convinced Hubby. Those of you who have children know that you cannot take one daughter on a cruise three years ago to celebrate her birthday and not have the other daughter want the same eventually. - Really looking forward to this sailing since it will be a return to the beginning for us. We have not sailed a Voyager class ship since our first cruise back in 2002. - We are booked for MTD. This will also be a return to the MDR since 2016. I have mixed feelings about this. More on that later. But again, keeping this cruise as low cost as possible, we will not be doing any specialty dining. - I am excited to be literally steps away from the Solarium. - It will be interesting to see what my kids think of this ship. They have now sailed DCL (which is similar in size to Mariner) three times and Anthem. This will be the first time that they can skate on a ship. - I cannot wait to check out the late night WJ offerings. - We purchased VOOM for 2 Devices again. - Once again, in the spirit of a live blog, please do not hesitate to ask any questions. I will do my best to find out whatever I can for you. - When responding to a post with a series of pictures, please do not include the pictures in your reply. It just makes for easier scrolling. - Lastly, I will do my best to bring the cruise to you LIVE through Periscope – you can follow me @LoveToCruise2002.

OK @Matt...that's it! I'm putting up my Royal Caribbean Blog magnet next cruise. Enough of this incognito stuff! Hubby always says it is a more true experience to see what service is like even if they don't know you're blogging but I want some freebies ? Hopefully, it doesn't get stolen lol......

We ADORE Coastal Kitchen!!! Yes, food is very subjective but IMO, Coastal Kitchen is just as good (if not better than) as any specialty restaurant. The MDR cannot even compare. We will book suites that include at least dinner in Coastal Kitchen if the ship has one. Not only is the food better, but, IMO, service is better and more personalize too. Yes, it is smaller, and that is why reservations is almost a must. From what I understand, the CK menu is fairly universal across the fleet now. If you take a look at @bellemiche live blog from Oasis, and mine from Anthem, there are CK menus posted and pics of some of the food: https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/boards/index.php?/topic/8867-oasis-of-the-seas-july-29-august-5/ https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/boards/index.php?/topic/5780-anthem-of-the-seas-march-9-17-2018/

You have to at least do a picture blog. I won't be able to do her justice...

Haha...are you being sarcastic? ? Honestly, not sure there will be anything else left to blog or scope about after @CruiseLifeRick is done this weekend ?

I just figured it out myself recently, it is a fun way to pass the time ?

From the last time I cruised in March....Continental breakfast is still complimentary for all. All room service is complimentary for GS and above. Everyone else $7.95 regardless of time of day. This has gone through several changes lately.

We had a great time. No complaints. However, it was not Royal. As long as you don't go in expecting Royal, then you'll be fine. When looking at the overall package, we still prefer Royal.

No offense taken! It's all in good fun! That's what I love about this RC Blog community.

I'm not sure on that one either, however, with a cabin that is sold out and the price goes down, you can still re-price it before final payment so....it might work with the cabanas. I would definitely do it over the phone, not online.

Me! I am! Assuming wifi holds up....

I will make it up to everyone with a Mariner blog in a few days ?

Yes. Up until your cruise planner closes 3 days prior to sailing. That is why if you spot a good price and you know you want it, grab it. Prices don't always go down. There were sailings in the past where prices went up over time.

I just cancelled and re-booked VOOM today to save $4! Every little bit counts. Just made it before my cruise planner closes tomorrow lol.

One can dream lol....once I saw that FB post, I realized that I probably missed out on Abe once again.

We usually ask for it at the bar in the WJ. Not sure where else you might get if from? Maybe Cafe Promenade?