Lovetocruise2002

October 2023
1 - ScottD (Oasis)
13 - Snotarni (Independence)
15 - Ogilthorpe (Harmony)
15 - MarcD (Wonder)
22 - Teddy (Explorer)
23 - Sephy (Mariner)
27 - Snotarni (Odyssey)
29 - JohnK6404 (Wonder)
29 - ScottishRobbie (Brilliance)
If you would like to have your cruise listed each month, please post your cruise details to the following thread: http://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/boards/index.php/topic/17-when-is-your-next-cruise/
Please include the ship, the month, the day, and the year of sailing if you would like it added to our master cruise list.

When we sailed HM in March, we got our luggage within 1hr of dropping it off. Terminal A in Miami. When we sailed Wonder out of PC, even faster. I feel like this is one of those things that are port/ship dependent. Or even sailing dependant as in the case with @JVPIII. Perhaps it even has something to do with how early you check into the port. Later, busier, takes them more time? Let’s see what happens in a few months on Odyssey out of PE.

When we sailed HM in March, we got our luggage within 1hr of dropping it off. Terminal A in Miami. When we sailed Wonder out of PC, even faster. I feel like this is one of those things that are port/ship dependent. Or even sailing dependant as in the case with @JVPIII. Perhaps it even has something to do with how early you check into the port. Later, busier, takes them more time? Let’s see what happens in a few months on Odyssey out of PE.

When we sailed HM in March, we got our luggage within 1hr of dropping it off. Terminal A in Miami. When we sailed Wonder out of PC, even faster. I feel like this is one of those things that are port/ship dependent. Or even sailing dependant as in the case with @JVPIII. Perhaps it even has something to do with how early you check into the port. Later, busier, takes them more time? Let’s see what happens in a few months on Odyssey out of PE.

I think so…but I don’t know for sure as I really haven’t looked into X much. But yes, it would be nice if Royal gave extra points for star. I would be a whole lot closer 🍍😉

I finally got everyone to sit for a picture as we sat down to dinner at Coastal Kitchen.
Mom and Dad

Rick and Me

Lunch was delicious.
Guacamole and salsa.

Queso Fudito

Garlic Shrimp

 
Red Snapper

Steak of some kind

Shrimp Tacos

churro

Flan

Well we didn't leave until like 1030 and boarded around 1230. Traffic was a little heavy since we got there so much later but still moved pretty smoothly.  Boarded, hit sorrentos as it is our "ritual" (we did it once before). Oh..I was really active in the FB group for this sailing and got recognized by two different families in the promenade...my wife wasn't sure if she was proud or really embarrassed. Grabbed the pain in the ass drink cups then decided to shoot up to 15 for a stroll...as we were on the elevator we noticed every one going to cabin only floors and realized we must've missed the rooms are ready announcement, so we jumped off on 14 and found the room.  Went upstairs for the end of the FB meet and greet/sailaway. My son started freaking out as we got to the bridge..swore we were gonna be the first ones to misjudge and slam that bridge. 
Anyway..just got back from dinner at mdr. Requested a window seat and actually got one! Great view as we ate, and it was all pretty good. Wife got fried chicken, son got NY strip and I devoured a prime Rib. I noticed that my favorite dessert wasn't mentioned on any night so I asked about it..and that warm chocolate chip cookie dish thing is no longer. So..we split cheesecake,Boston cream pie and a weird peanut butter bar thing.  Off to try and force the kid to AO and check out the adult comedy show. Oh, @OCSC Mike yep..we all had Eagles shirts on. Missed the OT but heard the EAGLES chant from playmakers up on the pool deck when they won!

They are on my bucket list to try; however, I'm holding out for Edge class to do a stint out of Cape Liberty!
But you know, it would be nice if Royal and Celebrity would at least have the same points policies. Doesn't Celebrity give you extra points for The Retreat? And onboard spend? It's ridiculous that i sold a kidney to sail in Star Class and all i got was a lousy 2 points per night.  🤣

If Royal and X ever get crazy enough to merge their loyalty benefits so that you can accumulate the same points with either line, I would high tail to X in a heartbeat. 

If Royal and X ever get crazy enough to merge their loyalty benefits so that you can accumulate the same points with either line, I would high tail to X in a heartbeat. 

If Royal and X ever get crazy enough to merge their loyalty benefits so that you can accumulate the same points with either line, I would high tail to X in a heartbeat. 

If Royal and X ever get crazy enough to merge their loyalty benefits so that you can accumulate the same points with either line, I would high tail to X in a heartbeat. 

Glad we're not alone! 😁

My parents cruise often, but they are not loyal to any particular cruise line. However, when they do sail with Royal, this is their #1 complaint! 

Going to recap here
It's a firm toss up.  Take your pick.
No, we didn't. Again, for what we do or don't do, we have no preference. We'd happily sail either. I'll say this though to be fair:
When you are in the OP, you don't want to leave the room.  Lety said Shane had the GP, and his folks were the same. All day on the balcony or in the hot tub, just like us. There was so much we didn't experience because of this. So this really isn't fair. 
Also, i know so many of you are huge fans of CP, and i did like it too.  However, my preference is to be connected to the ocean. CP, while beautiful, does not connect you to the ocean at all. You don't even know you're on a ship when you're there. So i know this is sacrilege in these here parts, but give me the Waterfront on Norwegian any day. 
Another wildly unpopular opinion alert:  I'm not certain I'm sold on the Promenade/Esplanade concept. One night, i said to Batman, It's 1983 and I'm on set during the opening scene of a cult classic movie. Where am i? Without missing a beat, he said, should we see if Jennifer Jason Leigh is working at Sorrento's?
Ok, for all you young whippersnappers who've never seen Fast Times at Ridgemont High .... watch it one day, or don't because i have no idea if it aged well. But the point I'm making is that Oasis's Promenade reminded me of the opening mall scene in that movie. 
It was very nice and absolutely convenient to be right around the corner from the suite lounge. 
Service and snacks were awesome. 
But  .... another wildly unpopular opinion, we prefer the Haven to Deck 17. Ouch, i know. You'd think we didn't have a great time this week. We did. You were there for nearly every single part of it, for crying out loud. You know we did!
Honestly, if there were changes, i didn't notice. This is exactly why we waited so long to get back in the game. 
 
This is a big yes for us. We love the Haven. And i just can't see us chasing status on Royal. We have two more Star Class cruises booked, and we're looking forward to them too. I just don't see us as Sky Class people. I'm a price watcher, and Sky Class and Haven can be pretty close, not to mention that i detest stalking the Cruise Planner for price checks (something else i don't have to do on Norwegian).
Haven over Sky Class for these 2 idiots. No brainer there. (See what i did there?) 
Also, and here was our primary complaint: how does a ship the size of Oasis go dead at 12:30am? I've never seen anything like that. I don't understand how the only place hopping at that time was Sorrento's. That's it. We tried to find something, anything, to no avail. 
And we did find it odd that restaurants close at 9. I know many of you just read that with horror. 
Obviously we're night owls. So this applies to literally no one else here.  Norwegian is just a better fit for us as far as nightlife. 
Of course! YOLO!
However, not booking on opening day was a mistake I'd rather not have made and surely won't make again!
Next up for this board: Symphony, May 31. That cruise did not require one of us to resort to selling spare body parts so there's that. 😆 And, we're looking forward to being in a different area of the ship so it's likely we'll actually get some time in the Boardwalk that cruise. 
Thank you all for following along on our comedy of errors. Love the camaraderie here! You truly made my clandestine blogging efforts worthwhile! ❤️
 

Made it to the ship and it seems to be moving more smoothly now. I think the biggest issue I had was they had us waiting on the front sidewalk for 1/2 an hour before taking us to the lounge to wait for Wendy.
Ricks Birthday celebration surprise went well.

 

 

Me and mom were also able to get the first drink in hand.

 
We are going to lunch at Sabor.

I didn't find the need to quote everything...so just a few comments.
1.  SO thankful to your your delightful, funny and personable [even if covert] live blog.  It has been a hoot, and as @Lovetocruise2002 said, passed far too quickly.
2.  The chicken piccatta (sp ??) in Gios has become my very favorite.  I have to tell them to limit my chicken to 1 piece as 2 pieces is just TOO much and I hate to waste.
3.  Glad to hear that the missing undies were finally recovered....even if it was at the last possible minute.
4.  I am outraged (hyperbole ?) at the thought that your luggage can no longer accompany you on or off the ship.  I do NOT buy the apparent explanation for this.  I suspect that it is a task-minimizing move or MAYbe an issue with the longshoremen in NJ.
Glad you made it home safely and had a fun cruise.  You certainly made it fun for us.

I'm so happy you found the missing "items" Thanks so much for allowing me to live vicariously through you, so much fun! Was Silas happy to see you, or is she giving you attitude? LOL! When we sailed Oasis out of Miami we were instructed to put our luggage out by 1200 as well, our Genie was Derick.
This is the sailing @Lovetocruise2002 had no luggage, yikes!! What a great blog, lots of smiles and fun. 

Wow! That was quick! Both the trip home, and the blog this past week!
Thanks for taking us along with you and Batman. As always, a great laugh! ❤️

Wow! That was quick! Both the trip home, and the blog this past week!
Thanks for taking us along with you and Batman. As always, a great laugh! ❤️

Canadian airlines 👎 

Wow! That was quick! Both the trip home, and the blog this past week!
Thanks for taking us along with you and Batman. As always, a great laugh! ❤️

So far checkin has been a disaster. Got to the port at 10am and still waiting to board. Others have boarded so I don’t know what the hold up is. They keep telling us to wait someone will be right with you

It is indeed cruise day after over 750 day wait we are back in Star class!!!
We have already been in contact with Wendy and I got notification that our Lyft driver will be on time to pick us up in 1 hour