FloridaCruiseGirl1210 Posted October 19, 2019 Report Share Posted October 19, 2019 Hello Everyone, I am going to attempt a not-so-live blog. I am Anti-Internet Package so once we embark this will probably run dormant for the 8 days. I booked this 8-night Eastern Caribbean cruise 500+ days ago. Yes you read that right, 500+ days ago. I booked this cruise before my BF even knew if he liked cruising...brave move I know. I got this for a killer steal since I booked it SO early (less than $500pp). More about our trip Day 1- Port Everglades Day 2- At Sea Day 3- Labadee (7am-4pm) Day 4- San Juan (1pm-10pm) Day 5- St. Thomas (8am-6pm) Day 6- St. Maarten (7am-4pm) Day 7- At Sea Day 8- At Sea Day 9- Disembarkation This cruise we have three excursions booked, two through the cruise line and one separately. We have the Zipline booked in Labadee for early that morning so we can enjoy our Labadoozies on the beach the rest of the day. In St. Maarten, we are taking a tour with Bernards Tours to see both the Dutch and French side, we are not doing the one with the beach stop. And after we disembark we are planning on doing the Airboat Tour plus drop-off at FLL, which I'm hoping doesn't get cancelled. In San Juan, I think we are going to walk around go to the forts and then Barrachina's (for pina coladas) and then finding Mofungo. In St. Thomas, I have no idea what we are doing, neither of us are big beach people, so any suggestions are greatly appreciated! This cruise seems to be pretty packed as when I checked the last time the only room available was the 1-bedroom Owner's Suite. Even though we are Orlando, we are making a brave move and flying to FLL on cruise morning... I know, don't yell at me, however I just started a new job as did the BF and neither of us could get an EXTRA day off on top of the cruise... Matter of fact, I work until 3:30am on cruise day... and we need to be in our Uber to the airport (or at the airport) by 4:50am. We live very very close. This is doable. Also on this cruise we will be Team DX! So excited, on our last sailing on Mariner of the Seas, I had a total of 1 drink on board because I was afraid, I would hate it and then be out that money. This will be our trip to experiment with new alcohols and drinks. I am also VERY excited about having the specialty coffee items as I don't do Hot Coffee, and the last trip was struggle bus. This will be my longest sailing/vacation EVER and will be new ports for all of the locations. As for packing, we did a practice pack for the cruise, knowing my schedule would be bonkers leading up to, about two months ago and from there we made a thorough spreadsheet with every single item we packed, in what bag and if we needed anything else (i.e., luggage scale, waterproof pouches, etc.). We also photographed all the items in each bag so we could remember how we packed them... Yes a bit nuts, but so far it has been really handy. We have also rented a DJI Osmo Action for use on the trip. It was about $90 for a full month rental, and we got it so we could both have an action camera on the zipline, we are planning on using head mounts, per suggestions here so we can do hands free. Leave any questions, comments or suggestions for what to do in St. Thomas! Very excited to try out this whole, not-so-live blog. You may even get some vlogs from this trip being posted if I can convince the BF to let me post them here 7 days to go! JohnK6404, ellcee, Traveler and 3 others 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovetocruise2002 Posted October 19, 2019 Report Share Posted October 19, 2019 Happy sailing! I would love to see some recent pics of the ship. We'll be sailing her in July. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JLMoran Posted October 19, 2019 Report Share Posted October 19, 2019 Have a great cruise! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FloridaCruiseGirl1210 Posted October 19, 2019 Author Report Share Posted October 19, 2019 24 minutes ago, Lovetocruise2002 said: Happy sailing! I would love to see some recent pics of the ship. We'll be sailing her in July. Absolutely! I'm not bringing a big camera, just a little point and shoot and some action cameras but I'll see what I can do with that and my phone combined! 16 minutes ago, JLMoran said: Have a great cruise! Thanks Joe, You too, enjoy Anthem! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovetocruise2002 Posted October 19, 2019 Report Share Posted October 19, 2019 6 minutes ago, FloridaCruiseGirl1210 said: Absolutely! I'm not bringing a big camera, just a little point and shoot and some action cameras but I'll see what I can do with that and my phone combined! I might be a suite snob, but I am definitely not a photo snob. Any pics are good! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FloridaCruiseGirl1210 Posted October 19, 2019 Author Report Share Posted October 19, 2019 2 minutes ago, Lovetocruise2002 said: I might be a suite snob, but I am definitely not a photo snob. Any pics are good! haha same Lovetocruise2002 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FionaMG Posted October 19, 2019 Report Share Posted October 19, 2019 Looking forward to your review since we will be doing the exact same itinerary over Thanksgiving, so just five weeks from now! Have a fabulous time! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FloridaCruiseGirl1210 Posted October 20, 2019 Author Report Share Posted October 20, 2019 8 hours ago, FionaMG said: Looking forward to your review since we will be doing the exact same itinerary over Thanksgiving, so just five weeks from now! Have a fabulous time! Thank you! That should definitely be a fun cruise as well! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex272 Posted October 20, 2019 Report Share Posted October 20, 2019 I'm going on this same cruise ship Dec 21st. So excited! Driving down from Orlando area as well. Would love to see a recent cruise compass of this itinerary if you wouldn't mind uploading those. Also, do you know if the refreshment package includes the speciality juices and smoothies from the vitality spa? Lastly, I am trying to understand the royal app. Do you know if can communicate with other travelers on cruise with this app if everyone has an iPhone? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FloridaCruiseGirl1210 Posted October 20, 2019 Author Report Share Posted October 20, 2019 44 minutes ago, Alex272 said: I'm going on this same cruise ship Dec 21st. So excited! Driving down from Orlando area as well. Would love to see a recent cruise compass of this itinerary if you wouldn't mind uploading those. Also, do you know if the refreshment package includes the speciality juices and smoothies from the vitality spa? Lastly, I am trying to understand the royal app. Do you know if can communicate with other travelers on cruise with this app if everyone has an iPhone? Hi Alex, I can definitely try to upload them. I will do my best. I don't believe there is a vitality spa cafe on Adventure, but I will definitely check. The royal app right now is being used only for the cruise compass and your sea pass card. The interaction feature (chat) isn't available yet, they said by the end of the year but... that is kind of running out of time, but you may be lucky and have it for your sailing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex272 Posted October 20, 2019 Report Share Posted October 20, 2019 Thank you so much, and have a great time on your cruise!!! FloridaCruiseGirl1210 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WannaCruise Posted October 20, 2019 Report Share Posted October 20, 2019 Looking forward to your review. Great itinerary. We'll be in Adventure in December. FloridaCruiseGirl1210 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FloridaCruiseGirl1210 Posted October 21, 2019 Author Report Share Posted October 21, 2019 6 days to go... I have managed to get more green (packed) on my spreadsheet which is making me feel much better about the trip. I tend to be the traveler who is nervous and has the jitters but who is also super excited. Once I step on board (or at least at the cruise terminal) I'll be fine. I thankfully have tomorrow off, so I am hoping to conclude the majority of my packing except the tech, and last minute things. I am also trying to make sure that I get all the bills and stuff paid since the end of the month will be while we are on the cruise... ICK.... sometimes I hate being an Adult, lol. I don't know if I've mentioned but I am booked in a normal interior cabin on Deck 7. We don't spend much time in there, shower and sleep and an occasional nap here and there. I can honestly say this cruise is MUCH needed. I left a very unhealthy job in March for freelance, which I hated so I went back to a company I loved but am making less. Once I made that decision to leave freelancing it, my mom ended up needed emergency open heart surgery on my BFs birthday (she is fine now and is actually preparing for her cruise in November, she got me hooked). Plus my BF started a new job... Life has been crazy and I cannot wait to unplug and disconnect from the "real world" and reconnect with myself and the BF. I am actually the type of person who LOVES working out on a cruise because I actually have a full gym unlike my apartment so I am also very excited to take part in that. Any tips on what to do in St.Thomas that isn't beach related? Is it Saturday morning yet? Lovetocruise2002, ellcee and JLMoran 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FionaMG Posted October 21, 2019 Report Share Posted October 21, 2019 7 hours ago, FloridaCruiseGirl1210 said: Any tips on what to do in St.Thomas that isn't beach related? There's a self-guided historic walking tour of Charlotte Amalie: https://virginislandsthisweek.com/st-thomas/st-thomas-land-activities/historic-walking-tour/ And the Paradise Point Skyride might be another option: https://www.paradisepointvi.com/ FloridaCruiseGirl1210 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emfagan Posted October 21, 2019 Report Share Posted October 21, 2019 So excited for an Adventure blog as we are going on a 9 night in May! Have a fantastic time! FloridaCruiseGirl1210 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FloridaCruiseGirl1210 Posted October 22, 2019 Author Report Share Posted October 22, 2019 4 days until we go on the cruise, 4 days til we go... Wow, time really has sped up. I have 4 work shifts left, thankfully tonight I am off at 8, so I can be productive tonight and Wednesday morning before work. Our DJI Osmo Action arrived yesterday so I have been testing that out, it shoots in 4k and 1080 so we will see HOW many SD cards we need. Hopefully we don't need any extra other than the 32gb and the 64gb. @twangster @JLMoran what do ya'll think? I know video is different than photo capacity, just figured I'ld ask. We are not bringing a laptop with us so transferring the files aren't possible... Packing is going well, I still have some items that will have to be washed on Thursday night/Friday morning, so they will be ready for embarkation day. I printed our luggage tags as well as our confirmation for our one excursion not done through the ship. I figured we would use the mobile SetSail Pass and I couldn't find any confirmation emails for our Zipline and Airboat Excursion, just will confirm with RC once we are on board (or is that a bad idea). I am in a state of concern and stress, but also eerily calm. I know its because I have 4 wild work shifts ahead of me and THEN I can relax. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JLMoran Posted October 22, 2019 Report Share Posted October 22, 2019 If I remember right, 1080p video uses up about 1GB for every 10 minutes of video. 4K video will gobble up about 4x as much. So if you stick with 1080p video then the two cards you have should be good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Cruise Junkie Posted October 22, 2019 Report Share Posted October 22, 2019 40 minutes ago, FloridaCruiseGirl1210 said: . Hopefully we don't need any extra other than the 32gb and the 64gb. @twangster @JLMoran what do ya'll think? I know video is different than photo capacity, just figured I'ld ask. We are not bringing a laptop with us so transferring the files aren't possible... Most Of My Videos I Shot In 1080p 60 On My Gopro And Osmo Pocket. I Use A 64 GB SD Card And It Gets Me About Two Hour And Fifty-six Minutes Of Footage. Also If Your Doing Anything With A Lot Of Action Make Sure You Use 60 Frames Per Second. It Will Be A Life Saver If You Ever Have To Slow Down Clips Or Take Stills In Post. 52 minutes ago, FloridaCruiseGirl1210 said: HOW many SD cards we need? On My Last Cruise On Harmony I Brought Two 64 GB SD Cards And I Only Used Roughly About 60% Of The SD Card In The Osmo Pocket And About 35% In The SD Card For The Gopro Hero 4. In My Option Unless You Plan To Shot 20+ Minutes Of Footage Per Day On Your Cruise You May Want To Get A Third SD Card. Also Here A Pro Tip. Always Have A Spare SD Card With You So Just In Case You Run Out Of Memory Or The SD Card Goes Bad You Can Replace It. Hope This Helps You. WAAAYTOOO 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FloridaCruiseGirl1210 Posted October 23, 2019 Author Report Share Posted October 23, 2019 Thanks @JLMoran and @Jaymac Radio The Cruise Junkie 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SolariumSnoozer Posted October 24, 2019 Report Share Posted October 24, 2019 Extra excited to follow your blog, I am on the same itinerary in February. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FloridaCruiseGirl1210 Posted October 24, 2019 Author Report Share Posted October 24, 2019 2 days to go until we board... I.e. one "full" night sleep lol We are nearly completely packed, just finished charging the electronics and some last minute meds and toiletries (I didn't cruise with my electric toothbrush last time and man did I miss it). Here is the waiting game... I purchased Southwest Earlybird Check-in for myself (so i can get on and hold a seat for the BF) so I should get that assignment in the next few hours. I tried to see my chiropractor today but he is out of the office all today which is very odd, so hopefully he will be in tomorrow... I did put in a last minute RoyalUp bid for an oceanview balcony, but realized after that our cruise was pulled from most websites, so I'm assuming we are fully booked. I'm not too concerned was thinking I might get some last minute magic. We realized we forgot to pack pants for this sailing... for ice skating... hopefully they have the BFs skate size....if not, I guess I'll be going solo. I was talking to some local Puerto Ricans last night at work and they even recommended Raices for Mofungo so I must be getting solid info from this blog ;) I'm too the point also in the cruise where I'm eerily on schedule and I'm afraid I'm missing something "MAJOR". Let's just hope these next nearly 18 hours of work will go quickly... fingers crossed! Lovetocruise2002, ellcee and PRebecca 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WAAAYTOOO Posted October 24, 2019 Report Share Posted October 24, 2019 Passports ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JLMoran Posted October 24, 2019 Report Share Posted October 24, 2019 4 hours ago, WAAAYTOOO said: Passports ? Travel alert on credit cards? Mail / newspaper stop? Light timers ready to set up? Fresh perspective? Packed in airtight storage containers, of course. WAAAYTOOO 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FloridaCruiseGirl1210 Posted October 25, 2019 Author Report Share Posted October 25, 2019 5 hours ago, WAAAYTOOO said: Passports ? Yep that's the first thing I put in my bag! WAAAYTOOO 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FloridaCruiseGirl1210 Posted October 25, 2019 Author Report Share Posted October 25, 2019 52 minutes ago, JLMoran said: Travel alert on credit cards? Mail / newspaper stop? Light timers ready to set up? Fresh perspective? Packed in airtight storage containers, of course. Travel alert done! Apartment so locked box for mail no light timers bc apartment! Fresh perspective ✔ Happy go lucky attitude: Confirmed! WAAAYTOOO, Vwjo, Skigoofy and 1 other 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FionaMG Posted October 25, 2019 Report Share Posted October 25, 2019 6 hours ago, FloridaCruiseGirl1210 said: Yep that's the first thing I put in my bag! Just don't forget the bag! Bon voyage! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FloridaCruiseGirl1210 Posted October 26, 2019 Author Report Share Posted October 26, 2019 I am on break at work only 3 and a half hours left. I got some solid sleep before work and finished the majority of my packing! Just add toothbrush! I got my early bird check in A25. The bf checked in normal A33... lmao I'm so ready for vacay Skigoofy, JLMoran, Lovetocruise2002 and 2 others 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FloridaCruiseGirl1210 Posted October 26, 2019 Author Report Share Posted October 26, 2019 We have made it to Fort Lauderdale! This mornings flight was painless except for the fact that my feet were trying to bust out of my shoes the entire flight (note to self: get compression socks). Also minimal if any sleep on the flight... Off for some breakfast at Joe's Cafe, we will see how it is... We had a pretty epic sunrise while leaving Orlando... Lovetocruise2002, The Cruise Junkie, Dan Curtis and 2 others 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JLMoran Posted October 26, 2019 Report Share Posted October 26, 2019 Have a great cruise! Glad you made it there without incident. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Cruise Junkie Posted October 26, 2019 Report Share Posted October 26, 2019 Have A Great Cruise @FloridaCruiseGirl1210 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WAAAYTOOO Posted October 26, 2019 Report Share Posted October 26, 2019 Yippee ! It’s so exciting when you finally leave home ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FloridaCruiseGirl1210 Posted October 26, 2019 Author Report Share Posted October 26, 2019 Food at Joe's Cafe was pretty good and ironically directly next to La Bamba Now in the terminal waiting for them to give us the all clear to board... Terminal 29 is quite different than the new RC terminal we sailed out of last year. Oh well... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FloridaCruiseGirl1210 Posted October 26, 2019 Author Report Share Posted October 26, 2019 Food at Joe's Cafe was pretty good and ironically directly next to La Bamba Now in the terminal waiting for them to give us the all clear to board... Terminal 29 is quite different than the new RC terminal we sailed out of last year. Oh well... twangster 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FloridaCruiseGirl1210 Posted October 26, 2019 Author Report Share Posted October 26, 2019 So far this ship is VERY similar to the Mariner (yes, same class I know). BF is within 2 drinks of paying for the first day of the DX. This will def be doable... sustainable...who knows? Since this is a 8-night sailing it seems that they have dropped the discounted price to $65 for the first. JLMoran, twangster, Lovetocruise2002 and 1 other 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JLMoran Posted October 26, 2019 Report Share Posted October 26, 2019 6 hours ago, FloridaCruiseGirl1210 said: Food at Joe's Cafe was pretty good and ironically directly next to La Bamba Yup, I remember eating at Joe's (yes, I said it ) for some of our lunches on our Freedom sailing last year, since we were in FLL for a couple days pre-cruise. We found Joe's thanks to eating at La Bamba the night before, and made a mental note to check it out for lunch. RWDW1204 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FloridaCruiseGirl1210 Posted October 26, 2019 Author Report Share Posted October 26, 2019 Bon Voyage All! Will update at the end! coneyraven, JLMoran, Lovetocruise2002 and 5 others 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnK6404 Posted October 27, 2019 Report Share Posted October 27, 2019 Enjoy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FloridaCruiseGirl1210 Posted November 3, 2019 Author Report Share Posted November 3, 2019 We are back! Unfortunately... Headed to an Everglades Airboat excursion and then the airport. Will probably do my full written recap tomorrow... JLMoran and coneyraven 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FionaMG Posted November 3, 2019 Report Share Posted November 3, 2019 23 minutes ago, FloridaCruiseGirl1210 said: We are back! Unfortunately... Headed to an Everglades Airboat excursion and then the airport. Will probably do my full written recap tomorrow... Well I guess that "unfortunately" means you had a great time. Looking forward to hearing all about it. Safe journey home. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex272 Posted November 4, 2019 Report Share Posted November 4, 2019 Looking forward to it @FloridaCruiseGirl1210. Glad you had a wonderful trip! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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