StayFrosty Posted April 29, 2019 Report Posted April 29, 2019 Hello everyone, I have been enjoying these live blogs for over a year so I thought I would contribute. So let's start with some background. Who: Me and my wife (Teachers!) What: A cruise on the newly refurbished Navigator of the Seas When: June 24-28, 2019 + flying in the day before. Where: Nassau and Coco Cay Why: We just booked this trip (practically last minute!) as we decided we wanted to have a getaway before we think of expanding our family but didn't want to spend too much time away from our lovely toddler-aged daughter. Why not bring her, you ask? Well, even though people have shared wonderful experiences that they have had with their young children on board, it was not the type of vacation we were looking for. We have done short cruises on Enchantment and Majesty before and wanted something more modern but on a short cruise and Navigator fit the bill nicely. If they wouldn't have upgraded and larger ships on these itineraries, I don't think we would be doing a cruise (someday our child(ren) will be older and we will do a longer cruise)! Excursions: Nothing planned. Maybe the flight sim for me in Nassau and a massage for my wife. We were big fans of the "rustic" Coco Cay and were hesitant about all of the upgrades to the island. But after hearing such glowing reviews, I am excited to give it an honest try. I am excited to try all of the new amenities on Navigator: Bamboo Room, Lime and the Coconut, Playmakers (Team Drink Package), the waterslides, FlowRider, escape room, and ice skating. We might even try some specialty dining for the first time. Maybe Hooked for lunch and Jamie's for a dinner? 56 days to go! I'll leave you with a "historical" photo of Coco Cay. Lovetocruise2002, kittysoul, twangster and 4 others 6 1 Quote
JLMoran Posted April 29, 2019 Report Posted April 29, 2019 Wow, looks like @Matt and @Lovetocruise2002 started a serious trend with WAAAY in-advance "blog preambles"! Skid, betatke1480 and Lovetocruise2002 3 Quote
JLMoran Posted April 29, 2019 Report Posted April 29, 2019 @StayFrosty, looking forward to reading your live blog when the time comes! It's great so many folks are contributing, it really helps to stave off the "someday my cruise day will come" blues! Quote
hayley_bopp Posted April 29, 2019 Report Posted April 29, 2019 My first ever cruise was on Navigator. Loved it! Looking forward to seeing how it looks. Skid 1 Quote
StayFrosty Posted April 29, 2019 Author Report Posted April 29, 2019 4 hours ago, JLMoran said: Wow, looks like @Matt and @Lovetocruise2002 started a serious trend with WAAAY in-advance "blog preambles"! It was up in the air whether this was going to happen or not. So I was just excited that I was able to book it that I wanted to share my enthusiasm! KristenM, PRebecca, JLMoran and 2 others 5 Quote
Sweety Posted April 29, 2019 Report Posted April 29, 2019 I am a teacher and I will be on the cruise with 20 family members. Woohoo!!!!! I need this cruise. Have fun. StayFrosty and mom2mybugs 2 Quote
Lovetocruise2002 Posted April 29, 2019 Report Posted April 29, 2019 7 hours ago, StayFrosty said: Why not bring her, you ask? Well, even though people have shared wonderful experiences that they have had with their young children on board, it was not the type of vacation we were looking for. Amen to that! +1 for leaving those kids at home once in a while. I can't wait to cruise without mine in July for Symphony! 7 hours ago, JLMoran said: Wow, looks like @Matt and @Lovetocruise2002 started a serious trend with WAAAY in-advance "blog preambles"! Umm...you mean to say @Matt started a serious trend. Although, @StayFrosty is way ahead of the game compared to both of us! Must be itching to get the school year over and done with. I know I am! mom2mybugs, Matt and Ala_Paul 2 1 Quote
StayFrosty Posted April 29, 2019 Author Report Posted April 29, 2019 4 minutes ago, Lovetocruise2002 said: Must be itching to get the school year over and done with. I know I am! Students’ last day = May 29th! Sweety and Lovetocruise2002 2 Quote
Lovetocruise2002 Posted April 29, 2019 Report Posted April 29, 2019 2 minutes ago, StayFrosty said: Students’ last day = May 29th! So lucky! #jealous Here in Ontario, we go right to the end of June. The very end. But then I get on a cruise 6 days later with the RC Blog gang! Sweety, betatke1480 and JLMoran 3 Quote
Sweety Posted April 30, 2019 Report Posted April 30, 2019 Our last day is June 24th. I have a floating holiday, so I will be on a cruise the last day of school. PRebecca, JLMoran and Lovetocruise2002 3 Quote
MIkew0805 Posted April 30, 2019 Report Posted April 30, 2019 I will be on this sailing as well. I was supposed to be on the cancelled Feb 24 sailing, so after that disappointment I am looking forward to this cruise. Excited to see not only the changes in Navigator, but Coco as well. Sweety and mom2mybugs 2 Quote
StayFrosty Posted April 30, 2019 Author Report Posted April 30, 2019 14 hours ago, Sweety said: I am a teacher and I will be on the cruise with 20 family members. Woohoo!!!!! I need this cruise. Have fun. 6 hours ago, MIkew0805 said: I will be on this sailing as well. I was supposed to be on the cancelled Feb 24 sailing, so after that disappointment I am looking forward to this cruise. Excited to see not only the changes in Navigator, but Coco as well. Mini-Group Cruise! mom2mybugs 1 Quote
Sweety Posted April 30, 2019 Report Posted April 30, 2019 32 minutes ago, StayFrosty said: Mini-Group Cruise! Yes. Yes. Quote
hayley_bopp Posted April 30, 2019 Report Posted April 30, 2019 22 hours ago, StayFrosty said: Students’ last day = May 29th! 22 hours ago, Lovetocruise2002 said: So lucky! #jealous Here in Ontario, we go right to the end of June. The very end. But then I get on a cruise 6 days later with the RC Blog gang! When do you go back to school? I teach in England. Our schools are in until around 20th July and back beginning if September. (Although I get an extra couple of weeks as I teach at a private school and we finish on 5th July ) On 4/29/2019 at 7:39 PM, StayFrosty said: It was up in the air whether this was going to happen or not. So I was just excited that I was able to book it that I wanted to share my enthusiasm! We've all been there! Skid and mom2mybugs 2 Quote
Lovetocruise2002 Posted April 30, 2019 Report Posted April 30, 2019 5 minutes ago, hayley_bopp said: When do you go back to school? Last day is June 28th. Back on September 3rd. SpeedNoodles and hayley_bopp 2 Quote
StayFrosty Posted May 17, 2019 Author Report Posted May 17, 2019 So update on the cruise planning. I booked Jamies for the last evening. I have never done specialty dining as my wife and I are big fans of the main dining room but since it will be a couple of years before I will be able to cruise again, why not. Also finally, the Escape Room has appeared in the cruise planner! We are booked for after dinner while in Nassau. I love escape rooms and the ones on Royal's ships look more elaborate than any I have been to. I am not sure how the larger groups will work but I have only heard good things. We are still not sure what we want to do in Nassau. We are back and forth between beach day or staying on the ship. Any thoughts? I'll leave you with some photos from 2015 of my students performing in Nassau in the Centrum on Enchantment of the Seas and the tired old lady herself Lovetocruise2002, twangster, The Cruise Junkie and 4 others 7 Quote
Skid Posted May 17, 2019 Report Posted May 17, 2019 On 4/29/2019 at 9:23 AM, StayFrosty said: 56 days @StayFrostyWe love the planning and the countdown. Have a great cruise! On 4/29/2019 at 9:56 AM, JLMoran said: Wow, looks like @Matt and @Lovetocruise2002 started a serious trend with WAAAY in-advance "blog preambles"! Is it too soon for me to start this one? SpeedNoodles, hayley_bopp, The Cruise Junkie and 2 others 5 Quote
Lovetocruise2002 Posted May 17, 2019 Report Posted May 17, 2019 36 minutes ago, Skid said: Is it too soon for me to start this one? By all means, you should start it! Then they can all stop picking on me! hayley_bopp, Skid, mom2mybugs and 2 others 5 Quote
StayFrosty Posted May 17, 2019 Author Report Posted May 17, 2019 51 minutes ago, Skid said: Is it too soon for me to start this one? You are under a year. Sounds good to me! Lovetocruise2002 and hayley_bopp 1 1 Quote
JLMoran Posted May 17, 2019 Report Posted May 17, 2019 3 hours ago, Skid said: Is it too soon for me to start this one? This just triggers my natural instinct of one-upmanship... I'll start the pre-blog soon as I'm off work. mom2mybugs, hayley_bopp, The Cruise Junkie and 2 others 4 1 Quote
Skid Posted May 17, 2019 Report Posted May 17, 2019 1 hour ago, JLMoran said: This just triggers my natural instinct of one-upmanship... I'll start the pre-blog soon as I'm off work. What a fantastic itinerary and vacation! I'm sure time will fly until you get to about 90 days. Safe travels @JLMoran mom2mybugs and JLMoran 2 Quote
StayFrosty Posted June 4, 2019 Author Report Posted June 4, 2019 twangster, PRebecca and The Cruise Junkie 2 1 Quote
Skid Posted June 4, 2019 Report Posted June 4, 2019 1 hour ago, StayFrosty said: Woohoo! Then comes 10, then comes single digits. You'll be on board in no time! Quote
Ralph Posted June 8, 2019 Report Posted June 8, 2019 @StayFrosty we will also be on this cruise and my wife is a teacher! Her year ends on the 13th! Can't end soon enough! We are first timers so this is all new to us! This blog has been extremely helpful! Thank you @Matt and all! mom2mybugs 1 Quote
mom2mybugs Posted June 8, 2019 Report Posted June 8, 2019 On 5/17/2019 at 7:49 AM, StayFrosty said: So update on the cruise planning. I booked Jamies for the last evening. I have never done specialty dining as my wife and I are big fans of the main dining room but since it will be a couple of years before I will be able to cruise again, why not. Also finally, the Escape Room has appeared in the cruise planner! We are booked for after dinner while in Nassau. I love escape rooms and the ones on Royal's ships look more elaborate than any I have been to. I am not sure how the larger groups will work but I have only heard good things. We are still not sure what we want to do in Nassau. We are back and forth between beach day or staying on the ship. Any thoughts? I'll leave you with some photos from 2015 of my students performing in Nassau in the Centrum on Enchantment of the Seas and the tired old lady herself Love these pics!! Are you a music teacher? I have a special love as my 2 oldest are band nerds (trombone and percussion) and my youngest does show choir. I personally just appreciate everyone else’s talent! Jane Quote
StayFrosty Posted June 9, 2019 Author Report Posted June 9, 2019 5 hours ago, mom2mybugs said: Are you a music teacher? No, not technically anyway. I teach high school government and economics. But I have been on marching band staffs for 12 years in addition to my own band and vocal experiences. I was on that trip as part of the marching band staff. Quote
mom2mybugs Posted June 9, 2019 Report Posted June 9, 2019 3 hours ago, StayFrosty said: No, not technically anyway. I teach high school government and economics. But I have been on marching band staffs for 12 years in addition to my own band and vocal experiences. I was on that trip as part of the marching band staff. I'm married to a high school social studies teacher...AP world and Euro. My oldest just finished 4 years with University of Illinois' marching illini and my son is on the pep band at Iowa State (he was one of the dancing dinosaurs if you've seen the halftime show)! The trip looked awesome! Jane Quote
StayFrosty Posted June 9, 2019 Author Report Posted June 9, 2019 For those keep track at home! JohnK6404, Sweety, hayley_bopp and 1 other 4 Quote
StayFrosty Posted June 9, 2019 Author Report Posted June 9, 2019 BREAKING NEWS! We interrupt your obsessive reading about cruises to bring you this important report. We are no longer in “Guarantee” limbo. We have been assigned a spacious ocean view balcony on desk 8 starboard rear. More news as it becomes available. We now take you back to your regular cruise programming. Sweety, NCBookworm, Traveler and 9 others 7 2 3 Quote
Sweety Posted June 9, 2019 Report Posted June 9, 2019 See you on the ship. I am with the group with the same shirt on the first day. You can't miss us (21). mom2mybugs and Bbjunkie 2 Quote
Skid Posted June 10, 2019 Report Posted June 10, 2019 7 hours ago, StayFrosty said: BREAKING NEWS! We interrupt your obsessive reading about cruises to bring you this important report. We are no longer in “Guarantee” limbo. We have been assigned a spacious ocean view balcony on desk 8 starboard rear. More news as it becomes available. We now take you back to your regular cruise programming. Great post....congrats! Will be following with interest. We are doing this cruise in October. Happy sailing. Quote
GregD Posted June 13, 2019 Report Posted June 13, 2019 On 5/17/2019 at 1:29 PM, JLMoran said: This just triggers my natural instinct of one-upmanship... I'll start the pre-blog soon as I'm off work. How about this one? Skid, IslandBoundMama, JLMoran and 1 other 3 1 Quote
JLMoran Posted June 13, 2019 Report Posted June 13, 2019 1 minute ago, emsff02 said: How about this one? You win!! Lordy, I didn't know you could book a cruise that far out!! Skid 1 Quote
GregD Posted June 13, 2019 Report Posted June 13, 2019 1 minute ago, JLMoran said: You win!! Lordy, I didn't know you could book a cruise that far out!! There is a 14 Japan, Russia and Alaska Cruise on Ovation you can book that departs May 8, 2021! Quote
Bbjunkie Posted June 16, 2019 Report Posted June 16, 2019 Hello!! We will be on the cruise as well and we cannot wait to get away from what has been the wettest, dreariest spring in Michigan that I can ever remember. My husband and I are teachers, too. We will be on this cruise with 186 others in our group! Yep, you read that right. We have our 13-year-old daughter and 39 dancers with us that will be performing on the ship in the Main Theatre. We’d love it if you’d take a few minutes of your sea day to come watch our kids. Anyway, I’m looking forward to your trip report, too. See you in a week! ? mom2mybugs, Sweety, JLMoran and 1 other 2 2 Quote
Sweety Posted June 16, 2019 Report Posted June 16, 2019 2 hours ago, Bbjunkie said: Hello!! We will be on the cruise as well and we cannot wait to get away from what has been the wettest, dreariest spring in Michigan that I can ever remember. My husband and I are teachers, too. We will be on this cruise with 186 others in our group! Yep, you read that right. We have our 13-year-old daughter and 39 dancers with us that will be performing on the ship in the Main Theatre. We’d love it if you’d take a few minutes of your sea day to come watch our kids. Anyway, I’m looking forward to your trip report, too. See you in a week! ? I will be there. Bbjunkie 1 Quote
Cruzinfun Posted June 16, 2019 Report Posted June 16, 2019 It sounds like all of you are going to have a blast next week! Sweety 1 Quote
StayFrosty Posted June 17, 2019 Author Report Posted June 17, 2019 One week to go!!!!! Here is a little update. Booked a massage for my wife while I am off at the flight simulator, but mainly I am trying to finish all of the stuff around the house that needs done before we leave. We have an uncovered exterior stair well in the rear of our house. We have a toddler, so we’re are constantly worried she will fall down those stairs. My in-laws are staying with her and my two collies while we are on the cruise. I didn’t want them to have to worry about it so I got it fenced in. Sounds good right? Wrong, my younger collie is afraid of the gate and will no longer go down the stairs... Oh well, cruise in a week! NCBookworm, The Cruise Junkie, JLMoran and 3 others 5 1 Quote
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