Skid

Hey, I like coffee as much as the next guy (or gal), but I don't know if everybody likes it. ?

Everybody likes Joe!

Everybody likes Joe!

And again, had it been my wife and I in this situation, it would have been the reverse of Sabrina and hubs-bot -- I'd have said 150 CP, she'd have said Jamie's, and I'd be eating Italian food that night. ?
That said, this...
would have totally made the "sacrifice" worth it, assuming it's the same garlic truffle tagliatelle that I had at Chef's Table on Freedom. And if I had room left after that, I'd have asked for a side portion of the carbonara. Because like @FloridaCruiseGirl1210, I live for carbonara. At least, as long as it isn't made with cream (or heaven help us, peas! ?)

First time I've ever said this: Boo on Hubby. It's your anniversary cruise. How could he pass up the ambiance (not to mention the food and service) of 150 CP? He obviously didn't read my Symphony blog. ?

DH is a rum snob. From *extensive* research on his part, he would say that the definition of good rum depends completely on what kind of drink you're going to put it in.
His personal favorite, for drinking neat or with coke and lime, is Ron Zacapa 23. 
In a frozen drink, a spiced rum holds up better, and he likes Kraken or Bayou Spiced.
In a mojito, a clear rum is best, like Flor de Cana 4 or Mount Gay Silver.
I could go on... but that's already probably more than you wanted to know!

I have an unusual (and somewhat first world problem) solution to our wait.
We are 108 days away from our sailing (first RC cruise too) and to be honest, its the least prepared that i will ever be for a cruise/holiday. (that said.... I am an over preparer for holidays).
My wife and I are in the middle of building a new house and whilst its under construction, we are living with my Mother In Law!!!  So the cruise was designed for us to have 2 weeks away from living at the in-laws in the middle of construction.  The problem is:  the house is going to be finished about 3 months ahead of schedule and we will be moving in BEFORE the cruise.
So i am spending my time planning our move in activities and will then use the cruise to just sleep off the hectic last few months.
In short: If you want to stand the wait for the cruise.... build a new house! hahahaha! (not the cheapest way around the situation though)

That is not news that I ever wish to make! ?

Fast Track Boarding
Warning:  Apologies first because I don’t really think that I am high maintenance but I believe that there should be a logical way of doing things.  This is going to turn into a rant because I did not like how this process was done at all. In fact, I am pretty sure that I will be giving my thoughts to the concierge later. 
As many of you know, Symphony has two gangways to enter/exit. Forward and aft. And she is a very large ship.  As we approached the ship to get back on, there was first of all, no signage about Fast Track Boarding. We looked for white flags and it was very hard to spot. If we did not look as hard as we did, we would not have noticed that they were tucked away (not very visible) way at the forward entrance. 
Here is my problem with this. And yes, this is first world problems. Fast Track Boarding is, as they advertise, supposed to be for suite guests, those with strollers, assistance needs, etc. Why on Earth would you put this at the forward gangway?!  So that those who have young children and need assistance can walk even further down a super hot pier?!  And it’s a significant distance from aft to forward gangway, especially if you are in those categories. Does not make sense at all. Add into the equation that most of your suites which qualify for this are located in the aft section of the ship too. It’s just not logical.  They achieved the “Fast” promise of this because no one wanted to walk all the way past the aft gangway to the forward gangway!  
Ok, rant over.  Back to nice Canadian.

Either you're a major speed reader, or you're expecting hubs-bot to spend on heckuva long time with That Yoda Guy! ?

Majesty of the Seas is only 5 points "ahead"  of Fantasy

The Majesty would have fared better had they not found those 2 fruit flies in the potato room.? They also got beat up pretty good for the condition of the break room used by the engine room crew members. It looks like pass or fail can sometimes be hit or miss, industry wide.

Interesting to see that RCL did have one ship that didn't pass... quite a few issues with Potable water tank which concerns me... I'm not interested in sailing on that exact ship so doesn't bother me as much but yikes

I've never drunk rum in any real measure, beyond Captain Morgan's (?) back in college. But after two cruises and trying out mojitos and a dark and stormy and discovering that they're really tasty when made with good rum, I'd like to be able to make them while in dry dock. Problem is that I don't know good rum from bad; that's why I'm going to the folks who do! ?

How nerdy can I get? ?
I'm a traditionalist, so it's Goslings for me (the standard bottle, not the 151). Goslings only has 11 grams/liter of added sugar, whereas Kracken has 43 gpl, if that is a concern for you.  Goslings is also the more traditional 40 proof vs 47 for Kracken.
"Groupthink" rates them about equally  https://www.rumratings.com/brands/482-kraken-black-spiced  https://www.rumratings.com/brands/420-gosling-s-black-seal
Kracken uses a younger rum base as well, IIRC (hence the added sugar and caramel colorings), so personally I'd be sticking with Goslings.
But all that said, keep in mind these are SPICED rums, not regular rums, so you might want to make room in your cabinet for a traditional rum like Appleton or Mt. Gay (both easily accessible) for recipes that require a non-spiced rum.

But make sure you follow ship time!

For some GREAT information and pictures look here for @JLMoran's blog from his visit to Old San Juan. He did not go through an excursion (but he can now probably lead one!).

SAME! So glad I found this site and that others are as preoccupied with their future sail dates as I am ? I am considering changing my mindset from  "BUY/BOOK <upgrade room/extra excursion/over the top decorations/etc>, you only live once" to "hmmm if I scale back the unnecessary costs on this cruise I can justify booking another while on board"  That may be the way I go!

Well today we got ambitious and traveled 85 miles further south than the beach above to the very edge of the state..Cape May, NJ. It's a few degrees cooler and enough breeze for folks to keep kites going. This is one of our favorite towns. Cute shops, restaurants, bed and breakfasts, hotels, etc. 

Well, it's not a cruise and it's not the color of the Caribbean, but it sure helps! We are only about a half hour away and are here now. Like I've said before, do not judge NJ by the turnpike!

the haha reaction doesn't cover your post---now we need a "that's hilarious" reaction!

I can't believe it just occurred to me after all this time and I apologize if someone else brought it up and I missed it. But, with all the teasing about @twangster and @Lovetocruise2002 being bots, YOU, my friend, are the only one that has "bot" in your name AND has it copyrighted! Just sayin'   ??

Meh. These days unless you meet someone in person you just don't know...