To a Family Infinite Oceanview Balcony and Beyond! - Icon of the Seas (Feb 17, 2024 - 24, 2024)

[TheMaxRebo]

Hello all, thought I would do a trip report/live blog for our cruise on Icon of the Seas - which is in only 3 days (eek!)

 

This is the February 17-24, 2024 sailing and is doing the Western Caribbean itinerary:

Day 1 - Leave Miami

Day 2 - Sea Day

Day 3 - Sea Day

Day 4 - Puerto Costa Maya, Mexico

Day 5 - Cozumel, Mexico

Day 6 - Sea Day

Day 7 - Perfect Day at CocoCay

Day 8 - Return to Miami (sad face)

 

Who we are - we are a family of 5 from New York that are looking forward to escaping the cold and snow we currently have on the ground. It is me (Phil), my wife (Judi), daughter Olivia (14), son Peter (12), and daughter Emma (9). Here is a photo of us from our cruise the same time last year (on Symphony of the Seas) having completed a Pirate Scavenger Hunt we did on St. Thomas (which was tons of fun)

 

(we look basically the same, just a year older)

 

 

As the title implies, we are staying in one of the new classes of rooms, a Family Infinite Oceanview Balcony. I was excited to try out this room mostly due to the space for fitting all 5 of us - we shall see if we like the Infinite Balcony (a.k.a. window) or not.

 

We have a few fun things planned - including celebrating both my birthday and Olivia's - she is turning 15 and I am, well, more than 15. For her birthday we have booked Izumi Hibachi for lunch (first time doing that) and for my birthday Judi and I are doing the Empire Supper Club (very excited for that).

 

We also have booked lunches at Giovanni's Italian Kitchen and Hooked - last cruise my kids had a combined 42 oyesters at Hooked so figure we will get our money's worth there, especially as we got these 40% off during Black Friday sale.

 

I have also been planning a bar crawl with members of a Facebook Group for this cruise and ~60 people have expressed interest, so we will see how that goes. I made up lanyards with required drinks based on suggestions from JJ Cruising. 

 

 

Our travel day down to Florida is in 2 days - due to this being a school holiday week in New York the flight prices to Miami and Fort Lauderdale were just crazy so we are actually flying from Westchester (our local airport) to West Palm Beach and then getting a rental car to drive down to Miami to stay over for one night.

 

I have watched tons of videos on the ship and have my spreadsheet ready! ... just hope we are.  

[GatorCruiser]

 Great pics, hope you have a blast. Keep us updated. 

[asquared17]

exciting!!!!!

[Sweety]

Have a joyful cruise.

[PPPJJ-GCVAB]

Ready to follow along!  Another Icon adventure!

[LandstromCruise]

Can’t wait to follow along. Have a ton of fun! 

[JohnK6404]

Have an awesome time and please keep her shiny and new for all of us!    Will be following along!

[ScottD]

Awesome, I feel like you guys are a lot of fun and looking forward to this one! Love the lanyards for the pub crawl! 

[missyandmishaps]

Looking forward to following along! We will be on Icon in one month with similarly aged children and are beginning to make our bucket lists.

[TheMaxRebo]

Part 1 - Travel Day a.k.a. planes, trains, automobiles, and one giant ship

 

We started our travels the morning of Friday, February 16th. Because basically all of the Northeast has schools off flights were crazy expensive into Miami or Ft Lauderdale - I was afraid we would have to drive from NY but we found a good rate on a flight from Westchester Airport (local to us) to West Palm Beach.

 

Photo of my son wearing merch for his favorite airport 

Flight was a bit bumpy to start but we arrived on time and picked up a rental car to start the journey south to Miami. About 2/3rds of the way we stopped to see my wife's cousin which was nice to spend time with them and my.kids played with her daughter for a bit. We then made it the rest of the way and spent the night at the Comfort Suites Miami Airport North. It was ... Fine. Got the job done and room for the 5 of us and included breakfast, but nothing special.

We then returned the rental car in the evening, taking the fake-o-rail back to the terminal (the "trains" part of this journey) and then shuttle back to hotel

 

They offered a free shuttle to the port but the times were either 9am or 12:30pm, which really didn't work for our 11:30am boa ding time, so we reserved an Uber. That worked out really well - and the driver referred to the Icon as a "monster".

 

We got to the port about 10:50 and got on within 5 minutes - fortunately we were selected for Express after we completed the safety videos in the app, but even without it it would have only been a few minutes more, all was very efficient

 

It felt a bit surreal to be on the ship 478 days after having booked it. But first impressions were that it was beautiful and the openness of the promise with the Pearl and the windows is really nice.

 

We went to our muster station and then put to Thrill Island to do some water slides. The area is amazing and the slides are legit (we did 3 of them, the mat slides were my favorite 

 

Coming up next, food, drinks, more drinks, room tour, and meeting Rover!

 

 

[asquared17]

EXPRESS BOARDING!!!!!!!

HUZZAH!!!!!

also i’m so glad you’re aboard!!! 

[Lovetocruise2002]

I miss Icon already after seeing those pics! 

[Jamesszy94]

Enjoy Icon! Looking forward to the next 7 days of seeing pictures of a ship I'm never getting on.... 

[Sweety]

Have a fun fill cruise.

[PPPJJ-GCVAB]

6 hours ago, Jamesszy94 said:

Enjoy Icon! Looking forward to the next 7 days of seeing pictures of a ship I'm never getting on.... 

Right with you!    

[PPPJJ-GCVAB]

Can’t wait for the Bar Crawl adventures!    

[TheMaxRebo]

Part 2 - Drinks, Food, and Getting our Bearings

 

While set up on Thrill Island I did order my first drink of the trip from a passing bartender: got the Category 6 from th Basecamp Bar. This was really good, but definitely has that floater of Kraken at the top - strong first sip!

 

Kids wanted to go swimming so we went to the main pool in Chill Island which was quite nice and bounced between the pool and hot tubs. Picked up margaritas from Cantina Fresco which were quite tasty!

 

We then went to Windjammer for lunch - or, considering they still have the steak and l better and other seafood, it is definitely the Wind Jahmehr! Good way to start off the cruise foodwise

Rooms were ready at 1pm so we went there and also able to locate all our suitcases, which was great. Kinda were enjoying the infinite veranda part - my son definitely liked playing with the window (probably more than his siblings enjoyed him playing with it.)

 

We are a full day now in the room and the space is really nice - the you get two having there separate area is really nice and kinda keeps them and their stuff contained. The infinite veranda area is nice for relaxing in - the chairs are comfy. One negative so far is there isn't enough storage - struggled a bit to put away all the stuff for 5 people. Could use more drawer space especially. Having the split bathroom is really nice but it does result in each part feeling a bit tight. We will see how we feel at the end of the cruise but so far more positives than negatives but not perfect. 

 

Oh, and as a size comparison, this is my 5'5" wife on one of the bunk bed beds - she fits no issue and they are great for my 12 and 9 y ah old but would be tight for like a teen who is like 5'10" or more

 

We then heard they were selling Wow bands so we went to get two for the younger two and then went to check out Adventure Ocean and the Teen Club. They said my 12 year old could use either - but had to pick one, he couldn't be registered at both. He decided on Adventure Ocean as he met some kids his age there and there is a ton to do there and so much space - definitely a big step up from the club on our last cruise which was on Symphony of the Seas. 

 

I then got another drink and hung out with my sone in the Peal Cafe area - this is quickly becoming one of his favorites spots and he enjoyed watching the other ships leave port before ours left.

 

Unfortunately we missed sail away as we had 5pm dinner and it didn't happen until then - we could actually see us start to move out the windows int h Main Dining Room which was cool.

Dinner was good the first night - I got escargot and the prime rib. My son tried the escargot and went back for a 2nd so guess he liked them 

 

Coming up, evening entertainment, enjoying the Overlook, and a cloudy start to day 2

[LandstromCruise]

Interesting they still had the steak and seafood in the WJ on day 1. I figured that was only for the inaugural. Wonder how long it will last, guessing by my August sailing that won’t be the case. 

[Ampurp85]

3 hours ago, LandstromCruise said:

Interesting they still had the steak and seafood in the WJ on day 1. I figured that was only for the inaugural. Wonder how long it will last, guessing by my August sailing that won’t be the case. 

I read it was for the first 4 sailings, so a month.

[Lovetocruise2002]

8 hours ago, TheMaxRebo said:

One negative so far is there isn't enough storage - struggled a bit to put away all the stuff for 5 people. Could use more drawer space especially.

That seems to be a trend in all the rooms on Icon. 
 

3 hours ago, Ampurp85 said:

I read it was for the first 4 sailings, so a month.

Yeah, a few who were on the sailing after the maiden voyage did some recon and said the same thing; first 4 sailings. 

[TheMaxRebo]

22 hours ago, LandstromCruise said:

Interesting they still had the steak and seafood in the WJ on day 1. I figured that was only for the inaugural. Wonder how long it will last, guessing by my August sailing that won’t be the case. 

I asked our server last night if the lobster on might 2 in the main dining room was permanent for Icon or just limited time - he said he wasn't sure but the thought only first 1 to 2 months

[TheMaxRebo]

Part 3 - Aquadome, The Wizard, And Rover, oh my!

 

After dinner we stopped back at the room and it was made up for night time - since we only had one person for the couch bed, they just made it up that size, it didn't pull out to a full size bed. Definitely helps to leave some more walking room. Also got some nice sunset views out the "balcony"

 

We then went to the Aquadome/overlook area to check it out and we're able to get one of the pods. Very cool area and just feels like a totally different place than rest of the ship. We also got to meet Rover - who is definitely a good girl

 

We then went to see the Wizard of Oz and it was a fantastic show. Well, my wife and oldest went, the younger two didn't want to so my youngest went to Adventure Ocean and son just went off exploring.

 

Huge cast that was very talented and the little be orchestra makes a big difference. The effects/staging was amazing, can't recommend enough, it's a must do (we definitely may try to see it again)

 

Only issue is the show starts at 8:30 and is 1 hour 40 mins lon so we were anxious about picking up yh you get for AO since now a bit after 10, but the line to pick up kids was super long so wasn't an issue

Thus ends a great first day - definitely feel like we got a lot done and yet parts of the ship we didn't even step foot in yet 

 

Coming up next, a cloudy / raining but very fun day - including the (official) start of the bar crawl!

[Lovetocruise2002]

4 hours ago, TheMaxRebo said:

 

Rye & Bean!!!!!!

I miss this place. I wish it was on other ships too!

[TheMaxRebo]

Part 4 - a cloudy, rainy, no good day .... That was still lots of fun

 

The next day was a sea day and we all slept in a bit ... I gotta say the window screen really make the rooms day as it was after 8 by then but was still pitch back in the room.

 

I went to Pearl Cafe for coffee and food and the steak and eg sandwiches are pretty great

 

At 11:30 we had a meetup for a shot glass exchange which was fun to meet a bunch of people and we picked a mystery shot glass which was a custom made on for the cruise which was cool 

 

We then had much at Giovanni's Kitchen - overall we enjoyed it - with he meat platter, pasta carbonara, pizza, and tiramisu being our favorites. I will say the open concept for this in the promonade did make it really noisy and felt more like a restaurant in a mall or something. 

 

As mentioned I had created the lanyards for a bar crawl and set up a couple of meeting points for people to get them and then hamg bout any maybe hit a bar or 3 ... First one was after lunch and we met at the 1400 Bar. We really liked this bar overall and the 1400 is a great drink - was awesome to get as the group (gave out about 40 lanyards at this meet up) with everyone getting the drink with the smoke bubble.

 

After hitting up a few bars with folks it was getting close to dinner time. I definitely prefer a set dining time vs the My Time Dining but 5pm is pretty early. I guess my sone enjoyed the escargot he tried the day before as he got his own for dinner that night. There was a slightly different menu for Icon for Day 2 that featured Main Lobster - our server didn't know how long it would last, might only be 1-2 months total

We then had reservations for the Ice Skating show and we really enjoyed it..the one on Symphony of the Seas was just weird and we kept finding holes in the plot. This was sort of odd too but it just worked better as a collection of segments vs a storyline type show. Victor, the juggler, was really good - definitely recommend this show 

Later that evening we did Taylor Swift Trivia in the Music Hall - which my 9 year old took very seriously 

 

We had reservations for the Comedy show that night but while we made it to the Attic prior to start of the show, they said they were full and you had to get there 15mins prior to start of show with reservations. It was annoying in the moment but it worked out well as we stopped by Dueling Pianos and saw some folks we met earlier had a spot up front and we joined them and had an absolute blast. 

 

I think I got on Sarah's good side by requesting a Janice Joplin song so got picked for a number of things including leading the conga line - which is not something normal to my personality, but we were about 7 bars into the bar crawl by that point

 

These shows get packed so definitely get there at least 45 mins early if you want a seat

 

Was really late for us so we headed back to bed at that point. 

 

Coming up next, a much sunnier sea day but people were making up for lost sun and the pool deck was packed! 

[Jamesszy94]

7 hours ago, TheMaxRebo said:

Part 4 - a cloudy, rainy, no good day .... That was still lots of fun

 

The next day was a sea day and we all slept in a bit ... I gotta say the window screen really make the rooms day as it was after 8 by then but was still pitch back in the room.

 

I went to Pearl Cafe for coffee and food and the steak and eg sandwiches are pretty great

 

At 11:30 we had a meetup for a shot glass exchange which was fun to meet a bunch of people and we picked a mystery shot glass which was a custom made on for the cruise which was cool 

 

We then had much at Giovanni's Kitchen - overall we enjoyed it - with he meat platter, pasta carbonara, pizza, and tiramisu being our favorites. I will say the open concept for this in the promonade did make it really noisy and felt more like a restaurant in a mall or something. 

 

As mentioned I had created the lanyards for a bar crawl and set up a couple of meeting points for people to get them and then hamg bout any maybe hit a bar or 3 ... First one was after lunch and we met at the 1400 Bar. We really liked this bar overall and the 1400 is a great drink - was awesome to get as the group (gave out about 40 lanyards at this meet up) with everyone getting the drink with the smoke bubble.

 

After hitting up a few bars with folks it was getting close to dinner time. I definitely prefer a set dining time vs the My Time Dining but 5pm is pretty early. I guess my sone enjoyed the escargot he tried the day before as he got his own for dinner that night. There was a slightly different menu for Icon for Day 2 that featured Main Lobster - our server didn't know how long it would last, might only be 1-2 months total

We then had reservations for the Ice Skating show and we really enjoyed it..the one on Symphony of the Seas was just weird and we kept finding holes in the plot. This was sort of odd too but it just worked better as a collection of segments vs a storyline type show. Victor, the juggler, was really good - definitely recommend this show 

Later that evening we did Taylor Swift Trivia in the Music Hall - which my 9 year old took very seriously 

 

We had reservations for the Comedy show that night but while we made it to the Attic prior to start of the show, they said they were full and you had to get there 15mins prior to start of show with reservations. It was annoying in the moment but it worked out well as we stopped by Dueling Pianos and saw some folks we met earlier had a spot up front and we joined them and had an absolute blast. 

 

I think I got on Sarah's good side by requesting a Janice Joplin song so got picked for a number of things including leading the conga line - which is not something normal to my personality, but we were about 7 bars into the bar crawl by that point

 

These shows get packed so definitely get there at least 45 mins early if you want a seat

 

Was really late for us so we headed back to bed at that point. 

 

Coming up next, a much sunnier sea day but people were making up for lost sun and the pool deck was packed! 

Yikes!! So many people - the only time I've seen that many people on a cruise is for Harry Potter trivia... suddenly everyone seems to be a Harry Potter nerd during that time... 

Love your smoke bubble effect.

[TheMaxRebo]

2 hours ago, Jamesszy94 said:

Yikes!! So many people - the only time I've seen that many people on a cruise is for Harry Potter trivia... suddenly everyone seems to be a Harry Potter nerd during that time... 

Love your smoke bubble effect.

Lots of people at the Taylor Swift Trivia too ... And heard hundreds of tweens singing the songs was definitely something!

 

Definitely fining some of the individual venues are undersized for the ship - Dueling Pianos and Swim and Tonic come to mind but other areas as well

[TheMaxRebo]

Part 5 - 2nd Sea Day and First Hibachi for Us

Quick note, I have heard there are around 6,000 total passengers on this sailing with about 1,200 of them being kids

 

Day 3 was my oldests' birthday as she turned 15! It also started much sunnier than the prior day. We continued trend of sleeping in and first thing I had to get ready for was the 2nd part of the Bar Crawl Lanyard giveaway which was at 11am at the Hideaway. Gave out about another 10 or so - definitely enjoyed the drinks here and the bartenders are working hard but definitely gets crowded (I found a seat at the bar but all the comfy seats out away from the bar were all taken)

 

Judi and the younger two spent some time at the pool but found them really crowded and hard to find a spot - I think with the rain the day before, everyone was out trying to enjoy the weather.

 

We had lunch reservations at Izumi Hibachi for lunch and to celebrate Olivia's birthday. We do How bachi quite often at home but hadn't done it on a cruise ship before and have to say we really enjoyed it! Obviously some of the effects they do are different as can't do anything with fire, but they mixed in lots of different things and everyone enjoyed their meal. Doing the prepaid lunch option (which I got 20% off) made it pretty affordable too.

At the end they sang Happy Birthday to Olivia

 

the afternoon was a bit of a downer as Olivia was feeling quite down as she hadn't made any friends on the ship and was missing being home and her cat. So she spent much of the day in her bed with the covers over her head on her phone. We tried to encourage her to come do stuff with us or to try the teen club again but she just didn't want to do anything 

 

Judi and I did have a group slot pull that afternoon which was also a downer as we didn't win anything - but was a fun way to meet people and spend some time. We had literally never been in a casino before so was a good first step. 

I don't think anyone was feeling doing dinner in the Main Dining Room that night so we kept it low key. First I took Emma to the black light puppet show at Adventure Ocean and that was really fun. They use a lot of water and bubbles and fake snow effects and the kids all had a blast with that.

 

We just did Aquadome Market for dinner (actually was pretty chill that time of day). The Feta Mediterranean stall is excellent.also tried the Asian stall which was ok, and he kids loved the crepes, they each had two for dinner - gotta love vacation.

When we got back to the room they had done up a towel cake for Olivia for her birthday and a few treats provided by our travel agent were left as well, so that was nice.

We kept it pretty low key at night, I think we were all a little tired. Emma did was to go to this family Know It, Sing It game show so Judi and I took her for a bit while Peter was off with some friends. It was ok but Soooo crowded and was giving me a headache so I left after a bit but Judi and Emma stayed a little longer and Emma did get up in stage with a friend to sing at one point. 

 

Coming up next, our first port day with a great excursion, but also a bit tiring

 

[LandstromCruise]

glad emma cheered up and got up on stage!!!  Happy birthday to her. 

[TheMaxRebo]

1 minute ago, LandstromCruise said:

glad emma cheered up and got up on stage!!!  Happy birthday to her. 

Emma is my youngest, Olivia is the one who had the birthday and was just sort of down all day, sorry for any confusion

 

She started doing better the next day, just was having a rough time

[LandstromCruise]

oh sorry about the mess up.  well happy birthday to Olivia and glad she is feeling better.  i have 5 boys, 3 that are currently in their teens, and it is a tough age for sure.  Hope you are enjoying the cruise! 

[TheMaxRebo]

Part 5: Costa Maya and Fun and Games

 

This was now day 4 and our first port of call which was Costa Maya which we had never been to. 

 

We were doing the Chacchoben Extreme Tour through Native Choose. Within the Facebook group for this cruise a few others decided on this tour so we made plans to walk over together ... Though we were a bit unorganized this morning and they left before we were ready .... In the end it works out well as we all got along great and each of the other families had kids close to Peter and Emma's ages and we hung out a lot later in the cruise too

I have to say, this port area was like a maze to get through and tons of shops and pool areas with people lounging out and just was a bit stressful and felt like it went on forever - maybe we just haven't been to that many ports but this one seemed a bit excessive 

The Chacchoben Extreme tour is a combination of tow tours, first stopping at the Chacchoben Mayan Ruins and then to the 7 Color Lagoon.

Seeing the ruins was one thing I really wanted to do this trip and I really enjoyed it - I thought they were really cool and we had a really good tour guide who provided a lot of interesting information - like how they would only sacrifice members of Royalty which is why they would fight other groups to capture their royalty to be sacrificed rather than their own.

At the 7 Color Lagoon we were at a resort that first provided a taco lunch (with beer and margaritas included) and then time in the lagoon including kayaking 

 

It was really beautiful and something a little different.

The tour overall was about 5.5 hours and we got back to the ship in plenty of time. Definitely recommend.

The Icon was docked next to the Radiance of the Seas and can definitely tell the slight size difference

Once we got back since we were already in our swim suits Judi and I decided to check out the Swim and Tonic. This is a really cool addition but kinda feel they shouldn't allow kids at the actual bar or at least better enforce them wrestling there and splashing people. But we still enjoyed our drinks (we both got the lemonchello and tonic)

 

We then had dinner in the Main Dining Room again and overall enjoyed it - felt like the food overall was of better quality than our cruise last year on Symphony, and everything was hot and fresh, etc. only slight negatives was bar service as sometimes was slow and a few times got us the wrong wine.

After dinner we had reservations for the AquaAction Aqua Show - though quick tip, you only need reservations for the wooden beach area, the comfy chairs at the top aren't subject to them - we sat in them (ones at the high top tables) later in the week with no reservations and they are more comfortable

Anyway, the show is phenomenal, tons of great music and high energy. I think the slack liners are my favorite part. They definitely are still working on it/it isn't complete (they showed us a segment they are working on later in the week and during the day you could see them working on the skateboard ramp). Can't wait to see the whole thing some day

 

Judi and I went to the Perfect Couple competition with the other couples from the tour that day and it was historical. Definitely helped that another couple we knew from the other Facebook group activities participated and wound up taking 2nd place. Definitely a hard PG-13 rating for it so probably a little uncomfortable for the kids their with their parents, but a good time.

When we got back our invitation for the Super Club was waiting for us .... But that will be for another update.

 

Coming up: well, the Super Club, but also another excursion and other fun

[Sweety]

Happy Birthday Olivia!

[WAAAYTOOO]

If this was today, then that was not Radiance in port with you,  We are on Radiance and we were in COZ today.  

[TheMaxRebo]

12 minutes ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

If this was today, then that was not Radiance in port with you,  We are on Radiance and we were in COZ today.  

 

No, this was this past Tuesday, Feb 20th

[JohnK6404]

5 hours ago, TheMaxRebo said:

We were doing the Chacchoben Extreme Tour through Native Choose. Within the Facebook group for this cruise a few others decided on this tour so we made plans to walk over together ... Though we were a bit unorganized this morning and they left before we were ready .... In the end it works out well as we all got along great and each of the other families had kids close to Peter and Emma's ages and we hung out a lot later in the cruise too

I have to say, this port area was like a maze to get through and tons of shops and pool areas with people lounging out and just was a bit stressful and felt like it went on forever - maybe we just haven't been to that many ports but this one seemed a bit excessive 

The Chacchoben Extreme tour is a combination of tow tours, first stopping at the Chacchoben Mayan Ruins and then to the 7 Color Lagoon.

Seeing the ruins was one thing I really wanted to do this trip and I really enjoyed it - I thought they were really cool and we had a really good tour guide who provided a lot of interesting information - like how they would only sacrifice members of Royalty which is why they would fight other groups to capture their royalty to be sacrificed rather than their own.

At the 7 Color Lagoon we were at a resort that first provided a taco lunch (with beer and margaritas included) and then time in the lagoon including kayaking.

It was really beautiful and something a little different.

The tour overall was about 5.5 hours and we got back to the ship in plenty of time. Definitely recommend.

Oooo! Thank you so much for sharing your experience of this tour. We too decided to go with Native Choice and the Chacchoben Extreme tour this May as we heard mostly great reviews so far! It's also less than half the price of the Royal sponsored identical excursion!

[CanHardlyWait]

Your son had shorts on in the MDR. My trips past and future are completely ruined. LOL.

[TheMaxRebo]

23 hours ago, CanHardlyWait said:

Your son had shorts on in the MDR. My trips past and future are completely ruined. LOL.

dang, usually we only ruin current cruises ... bully to us for ruining past and future ones as well lol

[TheMaxRebo]

Part 6: Paradise Beach and a Fancy Schmancy Dinner ... oh, and It's My Birthday!

 

Day 5 found us in Cozumel - another new port for us, but first, needed coffee and breakfast. I am already missing these steak and egg they had at the Pearl Cafe - and love the windows in this area

 

We were keeping it pretty simple and just going to Paradise Beach for the day to enjoy the water and food and drinks and chill out a bit - though I think Matt needs to have them trim this tree as it is blocking the Royal Caribbean dot Com promotion a bit

 

My wife and son explored the area a bit and then my kids talked me into doing the inflatables in the water - that was actually a lot of fun but quite the workout for someone who is not in shape

 

We didn't stay too long as my kids were getting bored and asking to go back - they just really aren't beach people but thought they would enjoy the pool and relaxing more than they did. Oh well - I could have sat at the edge of the pool with a beverage for a lot longer

 

When we got back it was only about 2 or so and ship was still a bit empty so my son and I figured since we already had our bathing suits we would do the Category Six some more. We did one slide but then he ran into some of his friends and asked if he could do a raft slide with them, which I agreed to ... only issue is after they finished that they ran off to explore some more without him telling  me what was going on, how long he would be gone, etc. After about 30 mins I got tired of waiting and asked the parents of some of the other kids to tell my son to come back to the room when they saw him as he didn't have his phone or anyway for me to reach him. He eventually got back to the room and was upset I left and I was upset he ran off as it was supposed to be some time for us and he didn't tell me what he was doing, etc. 

This trip was the first cruise he was able to go off on his own and definitely this was a growing pain moment - but also a learning moment for both of us. So in the long run it was good it happened but was frustrating in the moment. He was much better the rest of the cruise with checking in and keeping to timelines we gave him, etc - so guess he learned something.

To try to improve the relationship in the moment though I encouraged him to come with me to watch the Anchors Aweigh Parade. I love how off the wall this parade is - especially the Admiral Admiral. I enjoyed the added Top Gun segment too - and it was good to spend time with my son and just have some positivity.

 

Then it was time for our Empire Supper Club Dinner. My wife spent several hours working on her hair and getting ready and I think we both cleaned up pretty well. Note: Prior to the cruise this was scheduled to be "White Night" so we planned our outfits to be fancy but fit the White theme, but during the cruise they changed around a bunch of the nights, getting rid of White Night (this became a casual night, and then another night became Red, White, and Blue night and they added Colorful 70s night as well).

 

I wrote up another thread with more of a full review of the experience, but all I will say is that the Empire Supper Club is amazing and totally worth it. The quality of the food, the creativity of the cocktails and the pairing, the level of service, and the entertainment was amazing and just the right complement. Obviously not something we would do every night but for a special occasion I can't recommend it enough (note: definitely order the seabass, best of the entrees)

 

Link to full review: 

 

 

After dinner we stopped by Lou's to try another drink that was on our Bar Crawl (the Jazzy Saz) and just to try to make the night last longer. 

 

Pretty eventful birthday but definitely a reminder of how lucky I am  

 

Up Next, another sea day, 36 oysters, surf and turf, and more dueling pianos!

[Jamesszy94]

On 2/25/2024 at 10:31 AM, TheMaxRebo said:

Part 5: Costa Maya and Fun and Games

 

This was now day 4 and our first port of call which was Costa Maya which we had never been to. 

 

We were doing the Chacchoben Extreme Tour through Native Choose. Within the Facebook group for this cruise a few others decided on this tour so we made plans to walk over together ... Though we were a bit unorganized this morning and they left before we were ready .... In the end it works out well as we all got along great and each of the other families had kids close to Peter and Emma's ages and we hung out a lot later in the cruise too

I have to say, this port area was like a maze to get through and tons of shops and pool areas with people lounging out and just was a bit stressful and felt like it went on forever - maybe we just haven't been to that many ports but this one seemed a bit excessive 

The Chacchoben Extreme tour is a combination of tow tours, first stopping at the Chacchoben Mayan Ruins and then to the 7 Color Lagoon.

Seeing the ruins was one thing I really wanted to do this trip and I really enjoyed it - I thought they were really cool and we had a really good tour guide who provided a lot of interesting information - like how they would only sacrifice members of Royalty which is why they would fight other groups to capture their royalty to be sacrificed rather than their own.

At the 7 Color Lagoon we were at a resort that first provided a taco lunch (with beer and margaritas included) and then time in the lagoon including kayaking 

 

It was really beautiful and something a little different.

The tour overall was about 5.5 hours and we got back to the ship in plenty of time. Definitely recommend.

The Icon was docked next to the Radiance of the Seas and can definitely tell the slight size difference

Once we got back since we were already in our swim suits Judi and I decided to check out the Swim and Tonic. This is a really cool addition but kinda feel they shouldn't allow kids at the actual bar or at least better enforce them wrestling there and splashing people. But we still enjoyed our drinks (we both got the lemonchello and tonic)

 

We then had dinner in the Main Dining Room again and overall enjoyed it - felt like the food overall was of better quality than our cruise last year on Symphony, and everything was hot and fresh, etc. only slight negatives was bar service as sometimes was slow and a few times got us the wrong wine.

After dinner we had reservations for the AquaAction Aqua Show - though quick tip, you only need reservations for the wooden beach area, the comfy chairs at the top aren't subject to them - we sat in them (ones at the high top tables) later in the week with no reservations and they are more comfortable

Anyway, the show is phenomenal, tons of great music and high energy. I think the slack liners are my favorite part. They definitely are still working on it/it isn't complete (they showed us a segment they are working on later in the week and during the day you could see them working on the skateboard ramp). Can't wait to see the whole thing some day

 

Judi and I went to the Perfect Couple competition with the other couples from the tour that day and it was historical. Definitely helped that another couple we knew from the other Facebook group activities participated and wound up taking 2nd place. Definitely a hard PG-13 rating for it so probably a little uncomfortable for the kids their with their parents, but a good time.

When we got back our invitation for the Super Club was waiting for us .... But that will be for another update.

 

Coming up: well, the Super Club, but also another excursion and other fun

I always love pictures like those ship comparisons... really puts it into perspective how much larger these ships truly are... I was in Sydney Harbour the past weekend, there were two cruise ships - The Ambiance by Ambassador Cruise Line, she isn't a small ship by any means, she's slightly smaller than Grandeur and she didn't really block much of the view to the other side of the harbour and then there was also the Celebrity Edge, which is almost twice her size, and she blocked a lot of the view.. let me see if I can find some pictures for reference. 

[jbrinkm]

19 hours ago, TheMaxRebo said:

Pretty eventful birthday but definitely a reminder of how lucky I am  

Your wife's vibe is fantastic in the pics! I love the platinum on her, and I couldn't imagine a more perfect dress for the supper club (the scallops remind me of the Chrysler building).