JohnK6404 Posted May 4 Report Share Posted May 4 Phew! All done! The most stressful part of committing to a live blog is naming it! @Lovetocruise2002 sets the bar so high! I waffled between “ICON Sea Clearly Now” and “ICONic Anniversary Cruise”. I hope I made the right choice! Once again, starting the blog a little early to get a head start. We set sail in 7 days! It’s so crazy how time flies… we booked this cruise almost 19 months ago back in late OCT 2022 when they first opened up the bookings for Icon! My wife (Christine) and I (John) will be celebrating our 20th Wedding Anniversary a little early on this cruise. Our actual anniversary is June 4th… the not so clever “6404” in my screen name! It will be just the two of us this time since none of our cruising cohorts could make this sailing due to scheduling conflicts (both couples booked, but had to back out early on… they are soooo jealous! ). Our last “solo” couple cruise was back in OCT 2021 on Oasis shortly after the return to cruising. There will be a number of new experiences during this vacation both on land and on the cruise. Of course, Icon is completely new to us! So excited and ready to go! This itinerary has eluded us to date. We had booked this itinerary on Harmony prior to the shutdown. Harmony turned into Symphony (moved us as Harmony’s planned dry dock was moved up at that time), but when Covid hit, that sailing was of course cancelled. This will be our first visit to Costa Maya and Roatan! * Time for some trip details… Cruise Details: Icon of the Seas, 7-night, Western Caribbean & Perfect Day itinerary Out of Miami, FL 5/11/24-5/18/24 Itinerary: Day 1 (5/11): Miami, FL Day 2 (5/12): * At Sea * Day 3 (5/13): Roatan, Honduras Day 4 (5/14): Puerto Costa Maya, Mexico Day 5 (5/15): Cozumel, Mexico Day 6 (5/16): * At Sea * Day 7 (5/17): PDCC, Bahamas Day 8 (5/18): Miami, FL Cabin Details & General Plans/Stuff: Ocean View Balcony Stateroom (Deck 12, Midship, Starboard side) Selected Traditional Dining (5:00 PM) Purchased the Deluxe Beverage Package Purchased VOOM Surf+Stream Package Purchased 10-Photo Package Purchased a-la-carte specialty dining lunches (Chops Grille, Hooked, and Izumi Hibachi) Purchased Chef’s Table... wanted to try Empire Supper Club, but the $472 charge for the 2 of us was a little too steep this time around! Purchased the Day Pass to Hideaway Beach (CocoCay) Purchased “Semi-Sub Glass Bottom Boat and Monkey & Sloth Park” excursion in Roatan (Christine insisted) Purchased “Chacchoben Extreme Tour” through Native Choice in Costa Maya Purchased admission to Nachi Cocum in Cozumel Purchased Crown’s Edge for both of us (Note: Christine is terrified of heights, but insisted on joining me when I booked it! ) Booked all major entertainment via Cruise Planner (The Wizard of Oz, Starburst: Elemental Beauty, Aqua Action!, Headliner: Adam Kario, The Effectors: The Origin Story, Adult Comedy LIVE! (x2) What did we skip this time? The Key… we do not feel it’s worth it right now with all of the changes and price increases. We’ve purchased it 4 times since 2019 – very familiar with the changes to the program over the last 5 years. It’s also been holding at $49.99/day pp for our sailing! Unlimited Dining Package… tried it for the first time last OCT/NOV on Wonder. We enjoyed it, but we don’t feel it’s necessarily worth purchasing every cruise (our decision will likely be based on cost and itinerary). Will try it again down the road. Currently selling for $420.99 pp! We traditionally purchase the 3 Night Dining Package, but also skipped it this time and elected to go with specialty lunches and Chef's Table for a change. Miscellaneous Stuff: Flight on Southwest Airlines out of Islip/MacArthur Airport (ISP) on Long Island (NY) very early on FRI (5/10) morning to Ft. Lauderdale (FLL). Taking a shuttle (SAS Transport Service) from FLL directly to our hotel. Staying overnight at the InterContinental Miami (booked a Bay View room). Plan on exploring Bayside Marketplace and some other local areas as time permits. Our current plan is to use Uber or Lyft from the hotel to the port on SAT morning. We booked the earliest boarding period available (11:30-12:00) for our sailing (completed check-in right after midnight). We likely will arrive a little earlier just in case! We love to start our vacation and exploration of the ship ASAP! * Oh yeah! We'll finally be Diamond after this sailing! I think that’s it for the synopsis... now we just need to pack this weekend! *** As always, please let me know if you have any questions or would like me to post pictures of something you are interested in... I'll do my best to keep up throughout the sailing! My current iPhone lockscreen… always a pic of the next ship we’ve booked! Having at least one in the hopper, even if it's a year away, helps soften the pain of disembarking the ship! Have a good night everyone! Sweety, calvink669, DDaley and 10 others 10 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SweetPea Posted May 4 Report Share Posted May 4 I think you picked the right title! Sounds fun! Looking forward to following along! JohnK6404 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovetocruise2002 Posted May 4 Report Share Posted May 4 Love the title! And the lock screen photo! JohnK6404 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnK6404 Posted May 4 Author Report Share Posted May 4 Good morning! Oh, and @WAAAYTOOO will love this! We will be keeping our eyes open for 3 very important "subjects"... both human and canine! Capt. Henrik (aka "Capt. Hottie" per my wife ), Rover, and Chris (@CHRIS WONG)! Capt. Henrik and Chris should be relatively easy to find during the course of the cruise, but Rover is the wildcard! On our Facebook group established for this sailing, I suggested we create a real-time "Rover Alert" ... it's gaining traction with tons of likes and comments! I'm starting to feel the "pressure" to book Star OTS! We also have to meet Sailor! We'll see how many of these "icons" we can see or meet on this sailing! WAAAYTOOO, MaryS, OCSC Mike and 5 others 6 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OCSC Mike Posted May 4 Report Share Posted May 4 13 minutes ago, Lovetocruise2002 said: Love the title! Wouldn't you have preferred "I-CON-ADA"? Not even sure if that was funny, lack of sleep. @JohnK6404 Love the well-organized preface. Happy 20th! Our anniversary is 6/1 and we usually wind up sailing right after it. Have a cruise booked for 6/2 the next two Junes. It's our 22nd this year. SweetPea, Lovetocruise2002, Sweety and 1 other 1 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cruisin and Boozin Posted May 4 Report Share Posted May 4 Can’t wait to read about the fun! I’ll be following. JohnK6404 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnK6404 Posted May 4 Author Report Share Posted May 4 12 hours ago, SweetPea said: I think you picked the right title! Sounds fun! Looking forward to following along! Thank you so much! We can't wait!!! 6 hours ago, Lovetocruise2002 said: Love the title! And the lock screen photo! Thank you, Sabrina! Yeah, the cruise ship pics on my phone are very calming during everyday life, LOL! 6 hours ago, OCSC Mike said: Wouldn't you have preferred "I-CON-ADA"? Not even sure if that was funny, lack of sleep. @JohnK6404 Love the well-organized preface. Happy 20th! Our anniversary is 6/1 and we usually wind up sailing right after it. Have a cruise booked for 6/2 the next two Junes. It's our 22nd this year. ... and an early Happy Anniversary to you as well!!! 3 hours ago, Cruisin and Boozin said: Can’t wait to read about the fun! I’ll be following. Thank you! I'll try my best to keep up! I always start strong, but fade as the week progresses! I'm a master of the photo dump! calvink669, OCSC Mike, Lovetocruise2002 and 1 other 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OCSC Mike Posted May 4 Report Share Posted May 4 26 minutes ago, JohnK6404 said: I'll try my best to keep up! I always start strong, but fade as the week progresses! I feel like that's a common problem with live blogging. JohnK6404 and WAAAYTOOO 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asquared17 Posted May 4 Report Share Posted May 4 yasssss happy early anniversary!!!!!!! also, unpopular opinion, BUT: i absolutely ADORE PDCC on the last day!!!!!!!! JustMeJoe and JohnK6404 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottD Posted May 5 Report Share Posted May 5 Happy anniversary!! Looking forward to following along with you! LOVE the detailed intro! JohnK6404 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnK6404 Posted May 5 Author Report Share Posted May 5 On 5/4/2024 at 3:51 PM, asquared17 said: yasssss happy early anniversary!!!!!!! also, unpopular opinion, BUT: i absolutely ADORE PDCC on the last day!!!!!!!! Thank you so much! We prefer a sea day, but PDCC is at least a relaxing day for us! 57 minutes ago, ScottD said: Happy anniversary!! Looking forward to following along with you! LOVE the detailed intro! Thank you!!! asquared17 and SweetPea 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnK6404 Posted May 9 Author Report Share Posted May 9 It's crunch time! 2 more days until we board! Our flight departs 6:00AM tomorrow morning ! We're only 5-10 minutes from the airport, but we have an early boarding position (Southwest) and the plane starts boarding at 5:30AM! Christine had to work today (never again!) so I'm trying to tie things up around the house and finish my packing. She is mostly packed and will finish up when she gets home before we drop the "pups" off at my sister's house tonight! Those that know me knew it was coming... some recent pics of our Goldens! They always know that something is up! Bella is the smaller female on the left (12 years old, about 60 lbs) and Jake is the big boy on the right (6 years old, about 86 lbs)! They wanted to come and meet Rover, but we had to explain that's not possible... Jake resting on Bella ... Bella once again... Jake... Gotta get productive again! Still a lot to do before tonight! SweetPea, Lovetocruise2002, WAAAYTOOO and 5 others 7 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ampurp85 Posted May 9 Report Share Posted May 9 I have two coworkers that will be on your cruise. They have family in FLL, so that's where they are flying into, and left today as they are like @Lovetocruise2002 with their La Bamba love. They don't follow the blog, though they are followers of the Facebook group. I usually have to wait until they return to hear anything, so this will be great source. SweetPea, JohnK6404, Lovetocruise2002 and 2 others 3 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnK6404 Posted May 9 Author Report Share Posted May 9 26 minutes ago, Ampurp85 said: I have two coworkers that will be on your cruise. They have family in FLL, so that's where they are flying into, and left today as they are like @Lovetocruise2002 with their La Bamba love. They don't follow the blog, though they are followers of the Facebook group. I usually have to wait until they return to hear anything, so this will be great source. We're also flying into FLL and taking the shuttle to the hotel in Miami. Current plan is to also go to La Bamba (also at @Lovetocruise2002's recommendation ) for lunch! Ampurp85, asquared17, WAAAYTOOO and 4 others 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovetocruise2002 Posted May 9 Report Share Posted May 9 1 hour ago, Ampurp85 said: and left today as they are like @Lovetocruise2002 with their La Bamba love. Smart people lol 1 hour ago, JohnK6404 said: Current plan is to also go to La Bamba (also at @Lovetocruise2002's recommendation ) for lunch! Yay! Post pics! I won't be able to get back to La Bamba until December PPPJJ-GCVAB, JohnK6404, Ampurp85 and 1 other 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnK6404 Posted May 9 Author Report Share Posted May 9 1 hour ago, Lovetocruise2002 said: Smart people lol Yay! Post pics! I won't be able to get back to La Bamba until December Will do! Me... not post pics... LOL! PPPJJ-GCVAB, Lovetocruise2002 and asquared17 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Babsy47 Posted May 10 Report Share Posted May 10 12 hours ago, JohnK6404 said: We're also flying into FLL and taking the shuttle to the hotel in Miami. Current plan is to also go to La Bamba (also at @Lovetocruise2002's recommendation ) for lunch! Big thanks to @Lovetocruise2002 for La Bamba! A couple of weeks ago, I arrived in Miami a few days before our cruise for work and rented a car. I picked up a hungry family (we are Californians) at FLL around dinner. All were frantically device searching for food and I casually said, “I’ve heard awesome things about La Bamba” so off we went. All enjoyed dinner and could not believe I knew of the place; I was a food hero! JohnK6404, PPPJJ-GCVAB, Lovetocruise2002 and 3 others 2 2 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovetocruise2002 Posted May 10 Report Share Posted May 10 4 hours ago, Babsy47 said: Big thanks to @Lovetocruise2002 for La Bamba! You’re welcome! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LandstromCruise Posted May 10 Report Share Posted May 10 5 hours ago, Babsy47 said: Big thanks to @Lovetocruise2002 for La Bamba! A couple of weeks ago, I arrived in Miami a few days before our cruise for work and rented a car. I picked up a hungry family (we are Californians) at FLL around dinner. All were frantically device searching for food and I casually said, “I’ve heard awesome things about La Bamba” so off we went. All enjoyed dinner and could not believe I knew of the place; I was a food hero! Ok, I guess in August I’m going to have to check this place out. We will be getting in Friday morning early and staying close to the airport. Will definitely check it out for lunch or dinner. Lovetocruise2002 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WAAAYTOOO Posted May 10 Report Share Posted May 10 Sabrina the Influencer ! asquared17, JohnK6404, Lovetocruise2002 and 5 others 4 4 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OCSC Mike Posted May 10 Report Share Posted May 10 1 hour ago, WAAAYTOOO said: Sabrina the Influencer ! If only La Bamba had referral fees! She deserves a commission. Sweety, JohnK6404 and WAAAYTOOO 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovetocruise2002 Posted May 10 Report Share Posted May 10 7 hours ago, WAAAYTOOO said: Sabrina the Influencer ! 5 hours ago, OCSC Mike said: If only La Bamba had referral fees! She deserves a commission. Ah, if they only knew! I would gladly just take a free fried ice cream lol WAAAYTOOO, Sweety, Jax and 3 others 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnK6404 Posted May 10 Author Report Share Posted May 10 Happy Friday!!! Sitting by the pool at the InterContinental while Christine swims… I think this area is on the 5th floor! Let’s see what I can do to recap the day to this point! Woke up at 4:00 AM … we both got ready and then packed the car and drove to the airport. It was raining, but thankfully the airport is literally 5-10 minutes away! Dropped her off at the curbside check-in for Southwest and left to park the car in one of the resident parking lots. Flew through security as usual at this time of the day at Long Island Islip/MacArthur (ISP). Love TSA PreCheck! No need to remove shoes, jackets, laptops, or tablets from our carry-ons. Looks like they are into the facial recognition tech now as well. When we lined up to board our flight, we bumped into one of our next-door neighbors and her daughter! They are going to Myrtle Beach for a cheerleading competition and will need to change at BWI too! So funny! We had a slight delay (approx. 30 minutes) at BWI and then we continued on to FLL. I have read on our cruise’s FB page that so many flights along the east coast were delayed due to the weather. Our early flight must have put us just ahead of the major delays! Nice to fly above the weather too! Matt had recommended the Apple AirTags, so we picked a set up. It was nice to see that our checked luggage arrived with us when we landed at BWI! As we approached FLL, we caught a glimpse of Symphony in Port Everglades. Excuse the quality… a zoomed and cropped cell phone pic taken from an airplane! I was wondering why she was in port on a Friday. I checked her May itineraries and noticed this will be the last sailing out of Florida (3 nights) this season before she repositions to Cape Liberty for the summer season (5/16 sailing is the first out of Bayonne). After we landed at FLL, we called our shuttle driver (SAS Transportation) and he arrived about 15 minutes later to pick us up. We headed to Miami and stopped for some other passengers at the Carnival terminal and also Terminal A where Freedom is departing this afternoon. You can actually see her through the terminal entrance! We got a mini tour of the surrounding area while we dropped off a few passengers at other hotels. Passed the arena where the Miami Heat play and got our first glimpse from the shuttle of the InterContinental… When we arrived at the hotel, we checked in and thankfully the room was ready! Lovetocruise2002, MaryS, Ampurp85 and 3 others 5 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnK6404 Posted May 10 Author Report Share Posted May 10 Now for a few pics of the room. We splurged a little with the InterContinental… After all, this is our 20th anniversary cruise and only our second visit to Miami, LOL! We booked a Bay View room and we were assigned one on the 12th floor… awesome view of the bay and port!!! Looking toward door and bathroom… Bathroom… very nice! Has both a tub and a shower enclosure. Closet and safe in the entrance to the bathroom. Enough of the bathroom… the room and panoramic view from Bayside past all of the cruise terminals! Tinted windows, so I apologize in advance! We can stalk RC’s headquarters from our room… Freedom currently at Terminal A… I might have to wake up a little early tomorrow to see Icon come into port… hmmm… Ampurp85, Sweety, WAAAYTOOO and 5 others 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnK6404 Posted May 10 Author Report Share Posted May 10 Some pics of the inside of the hotel… … of course there is a Starbucks! OK, I have to confess. I’m sorry Sabrina (@Lovetocruise2002)!!! We arrived later than expected and Christine wanted to go somewhere super casual and close to the hotel for lunch. We were starving! We did not go to La Bamba this trip… It will be top of the list the next time we come to Ft. Lauderdale or Miami! We asked the front desk and they recommended Julia & Henry’s. Just think specialized food court on three floors. No chains you see in mall food courts or airports. Nothing crazy, but seemed fresh and tasty. We of course gravitated to Mexican at “Tacotomia”… We both had Baja Fish Tacos and Guacamole and Chips. Very tasty! WAAAYTOOO, SweetPea, Lovetocruise2002 and 5 others 6 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnK6404 Posted May 10 Author Report Share Posted May 10 Just a few more pics around the hotel before we head down to explore Bayside for dinner in a bit! It was a beautiful day and the temp hit 90! The space shuttle Challenger Memorial… Sweety, SweetPea, WAAAYTOOO and 6 others 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovetocruise2002 Posted May 11 Report Share Posted May 11 I am in love with this blog already! I must have missed it earlier, but I had no idea you were staying at the Intercontinental Miami! another one of my faves! You are forgiven for no La Bamba pics. It’s funny because the last time we were there in March, we were supposed to go to Julia & Henry’s but because of our check in fiasco, they gave us a $100 food credit and we ate at Toro Toro instead. JohnK6404 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnK6404 Posted May 11 Author Report Share Posted May 11 9 hours ago, Lovetocruise2002 said: I am in love with this blog already! I must have missed it earlier, but I had no idea you were staying at the Intercontinental Miami! another one of my faves! You are forgiven for no La Bamba pics. It’s funny because the last time we were there in March, we were supposed to go to Julia & Henry’s but because of our check in fiasco, they gave us a $100 food credit and we ate at Toro Toro instead. Thank you! Yes, your recommendation definitely helped us with our decision to book the Intercontinental! When do you start your YouTube channel? We’re ready to like, subscribe, and click the bell for notifications as they say! Lovetocruise2002 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnK6404 Posted May 11 Author Report Share Posted May 11 Time for me to wrap the day up. I may get up early tomorrow to watch Icon come into port… exhausted now so we’ll see! We did go down to Bayside Market… some random shots along the way… Sky Views Miami wheel… Christine wanted to go to Margaritaville for dinner. Literally the first restaurant we passed entering the market from the hotel side! I know it’s not RC food , but she had the Teriyaki Chicken & Shrimp and I had the Jimmy’s Jammin’ Jamablaya. Have to practice the food porn pics, LOL! We sat outside… the restaurant is at the base of the Sky Views wheel… pic from our table… we both enjoyed our meals. We took a walk through the market for a bit… more big names and chains… Wow! What a variety of restaurants! Argentinian, Cuban, Italian… tons of bars all along the shoreline. We also stopped by a gelato place near Pier 5 (outdoor area with dancing)… delicious! Headed back to the hotel and took in the skyline before heading up to our room for the night. I think that’s it! Have a good night everyone! DDaley, Sweety, WAAAYTOOO and 5 others 7 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnK6404 Posted May 11 Author Report Share Posted May 11 Good morning! Day 1: Miami, FL (Embarkation Day) I got up early to see if I could catch Icon coming in, but missed her as she had already slipped by my defenses and docked at Terminal A! Pretty sneaky for a 250K ton ship! They do come in with minimal lights…. I did catch a Carnival ship coming in around 6:00 AM or so. We headed for breakfast at Olé which was included in our room charge. Very nice breakfast buffet with all the usual hot buffet offerings and an omelette station. Our friends at home were asking about the pool, so I headed back down to the 5th floor pool area to take a few more pics of the area. These cabanas are available for rental… $350-$450 per day based on capacity… the other side of the cabana opens up to the bay view and not accessible to the general public. If we were staying more than one day and were traveling with friends, we would definitely book one of these! There us a full bar to the left of the cabanas as well servicing the pool area. OK, back to the room to finish packing! We have a scheduled Uber pick up in a little over an hour from now to take us to the port. As many of you have mentioned, this hotel does not offer shuttle service to the port. They recommend just using a taxi or ride share. In summary, we second @Lovetocruise2002’s recommendation of this hotel! So conveniently located near the port with bay views and walking distance to Bayside Market on the water where so many restaurants and bars are located. Christine said we’re spoiled now and will have to splurge and book this hotel the next time we’re in Miami! Almost boarding time! Sweety, Lovetocruise2002, SweetPea and 3 others 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovetocruise2002 Posted May 11 Report Share Posted May 11 11 hours ago, JohnK6404 said: When do you start your YouTube channel? We’re ready to like, subscribe, and click the bell for notifications as they say! LOL! That's actually funny because the kids and I keep telling Hubby he would be perfect on YouTube. Those of you who have met Hubby know that he has the voice and the ease for the camera already. Me on the other hand, I will stick to blogging. I write way better than I speak. That makes it interesting in my classroom though, there's a lot that is said unfiltered lol 1 hour ago, JohnK6404 said: In summary, we second @Lovetocruise2002’s recommendation of this hotel! So conveniently located near the port with bay views and walking distance to Bayside Market on the water where so many restaurants and bars are located. Christine said we’re spoiled now and will have to splurge and book this hotel the next time we’re in Miami! Almost boarding time! Yay! I am so glad you and Christine liked it! We love that place, despite the little fiasco we had our last stay there. I think that is why I was so disappointed with them in March, we have always had fantastic stays with them, minus that one. It's cruise day! Go have a 1400 and a Big Bobba for me! WAAAYTOOO, Sweety and JohnK6404 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asquared17 Posted May 11 Report Share Posted May 11 i am so glad to see the pool back up and running!!! when we were there last feb (2023), there was MAJOR construction going on. it shrunk the pool footprint to basically nothing. this is a MUCH better experience. (that was also our no sleep trip so your journey is already looking up!!!) also loving this taco recommendation!! can’t wait for icon pics!!!! hope you and christine are having a BLAST!!!! JohnK6404 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnK6404 Posted May 12 Author Report Share Posted May 12 12 hours ago, Lovetocruise2002 said: It's cruise day! Go have a 1400 and a Big Bobba for me! Will have to check those drinks out! Lovetocruise2002 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnK6404 Posted May 12 Author Report Share Posted May 12 7 hours ago, asquared17 said: i am so glad to see the pool back up and running!!! when we were there last feb (2023), there was MAJOR construction going on. it shrunk the pool footprint to basically nothing. this is a MUCH better experience. (that was also our no sleep trip so your journey is already looking up!!!) also loving this taco recommendation!! can’t wait for icon pics!!!! hope you and christine are having a BLAST!!!! You’re welcome and thank you!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnK6404 Posted May 12 Author Report Share Posted May 12 Day 1: Miami, FL (Embarkation Day) - CONT. Our Uber driver arrived a little early to take us from the hotel to the port. We planned on arriving early to play it safe (knowing there was the possibility of not being allowed to enter the terminal early). We had the earliest boarding window of 11:30-12:00. Once again, we skipped the Key and we failed to get the Express boarding after completing the health questionnaire for whatever reason. We arrived early and were dropped off with the baggage porters outside the terminal at 10:35. They asked for our boarding time and told us to just walk straight into the terminal. We flew threw the terminal (no line) and walked into the promenade at 10:50 just 15 minutes after arrival! Maybe the early boarding time was the difference this time! Ahhhh… first glimpse… 1400 Lobby Bar… First glimpse of the Pearl… A few promenade pics… We completed our muster drill and picked up WOW bands. Figured we’d give the WOW bands a try this sailing! To kill some time before our noon lunch, we went to the Trellis Bar to break in our DBP! Christine had *cough, cough* her first 2 glasses of wine (Cabernet Sauvignon) and I had my traditional Lava Flow with the Kraken Float and then tried a Goobay Smash. John (right) and Beto (left) were our bartenders. We chatted with John (from the Philippines) for a bit. He explained his current 6-month contract is winding down and ends next month. He has already signed up for his next contract which starts in August back on Icon. He was a little bummed that he will only have 2 months off between contracts. He mentioned he usually has 3 months. He told us he loves working on Icon. Chatted about the crew area improvements and he confirmed that the areas are much nicer than on other ships. Conveniently, our embarkation day lunch reservation was in Chops Grille which is next to the Trellis Bar. We traditionally have either Chops Grille or the Key Chops lunch menu as our first meal onboard. One disappointing, yet understandable, change involving the Key was the move from having the lunch actually in Chops Grille (we had it there back in 2019) to the MDR. That first Key lunch in Chops was of course amazing, but each of the next 3 Key lunches in the MDR were progressively worse. After the post-Covid restart, we noticed the waitstaff was not very experienced and the service really suffered. Also, the temperature of the food was never quite right. Very long story short, since we skipped the Key this time, we wanted to book Chops. What a huge difference! Here’s the Chops Grille menu… not much has changed over the years: A few pics of the restaurant and the view from the table… The restaurant was so quiet! We were one of maybe four or five tables! Love the rolls… especially the pretzel rolls! We both ordered the Wild Mushroom Soup, the 8 oz. Angus Filet Mignon and shared Grilled Jumbo Asparagus, Mashed Potatoes, and Mac & Cheese. Everything was delicious and cooked perfectly! Our waitress was amazing! For dessert, Christine ordered the Warm Chocolate Cake (surprise! surprise!) and I ordered the Key Lime Meringue Pie. Both very tasty! Oh, and in case anyone was wondering… folks on my FB cruise group page confirmed that they continue to serve seafood (including lobster) in the Windjammer on embarkation day! We were way too full to check it out! OK, going to split these post up so they don’t run n forever (like me! )… Jax, OCSC Mike, SweetPea and 4 others 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnK6404 Posted Sunday at 04:36 AM Author Report Share Posted Sunday at 04:36 AM Day 1: Miami, FL (Embarkation Day) - CONT. We also heard Super Mario is onboard! He has a table roped off by Cloud 17 in the smoking section. Many have stopped by and they say he is always gracious and happy to say hello! Will need to meet him during this sailing! Now, excluding Capt. Henrik, we need to meet Rover, Super Mario, and Chris Wong! While we finished up lunch around 1:00 PM, the announcement was made that our cabins were ready. We headed to our cabin to check it out and to start unpacking. Let me just say that some of the decks (our Deck 12) have cavernous elevator lobbies with these new destination elevators! We booked a “traditional” Ocean View balcony… sorry for the wacky wide-angle distorted pics! View as you open the cabin door… Bathroom is definitely smaller! Less square footage, but actually more storage. Christine likes the door and the bench in the shower. It also has a US outlet in the bathroom. Now the rest of the cabin… a little smaller than Oasis class we believe. We were afraid we would not have enough storage space, but somehow everything found a home. Those wire baskets at the bottom of the wardrobe are a little strange! So many little shelves everywhere in the cabin. So many USB ports… I took my Anker USB hub, but did not need it! I believe Matt had pointed this out… there is a secret cabinet behind the mirror. More storage and the safe… *** Ooooo, VERY IMPORTANT! Another hot topic on our FB cruise group page. DO NOT SET YOU THERMOSTAT TO SLEEP MODE EVER! Our cabin attendant confirmed that when it goes into (or mode is manually selected) the “Sleep” mode (as in sleep ) the A/C slips into an eco mode and the room gets warmer. He told us to use any other mode and to keep the balcony door closed and properly secured (as usual) to keep the room cool at all times. Lovetocruise2002, MaryS, asquared17 and 4 others 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnK6404 Posted Sunday at 05:05 AM Author Report Share Posted Sunday at 05:05 AM Day 1: Miami, FL (Embarkation Day) - CONT. After unpacking, we went to explore the AquaTheater/AquaDome area on Deck 15. We checked out the Rye & Bean Bar… will need to try some of the unique drinks on their menu. We also checked out the AquaTheater/AquaDome area including the Overlook. Many more pics to follow later this week! We stopped at the Overlook Bar and tried the Mint Berry Delight… pretty good… Yes, a lot of drinking today… next week walked around the Promenade and stopped at the 1400 Lobby Bar. Christine had a Mojito and I tried the Flowrider… I’ve been getting a little into bourbon and rye whiskey and gave it a try. Not bad, but I’m not likely going to order that again. After a little more exploration, we headed to dinner in the MDR (early 5:00 PM traditional dining). Our dining request e-mailed 3 weeks ago was honored! We got a table for 2 in front of the window! Don’t mind poor Christine… she was feeling a little off I think… Sail away was at 5:00 PM right as we sat down for dinner… Tonight’s menu… “Welcome Aboard”… Elvis was our waiter and Brandon was the assistant waiter. Both were excellent! For our appetizers, Christine ordered the Spinach and Artichoke Dip and I ordered the Crispy Crab Cake… For our entrees, Christine ordered the Southern Fried Chicken and I tried the Aromatic Chicken Saag. I’ve never tried an Indian dish onboard, but it was very tasty! For dessert, Christine had the Royal Cheesecake and I had the Boston Cream Pie… both very good. OK, time to retire… it’s after 1:00 AM! Tomorrow is a sea day… I’ll try to wrap up today (or yesterday now)! Good night to all! MaryS, OCSC Mike, SweetPea and 4 others 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asquared17 Posted Sunday at 01:32 PM Report Share Posted Sunday at 01:32 PM 8 hours ago, JohnK6404 said: Ooooo, VERY IMPORTANT! Another hot topic on our FB cruise group page. DO NOT SET YOU THERMOSTAT TO SLEEP MODE EVER! Our cabin attendant confirmed that when it goes into (or mode is manually selected) the “Sleep” mode (as in sleep ) the A/C slips into an eco mode and the room gets warmer. I AM CONVINCED THIS IS WHAT THEY HAVE DONE TO ALL OUR THERMOSTATS WHILST WE SLUMBER!!!! and why we sweat to death some sort of master thermostat setting that goes off between 1-4am also the new icon cabins give me ascent vibes (in the best way) especially with the hidden shelving and the bathroom layout. LOVE the bathroom layout JohnK6404 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LandstromCruise Posted Sunday at 03:31 PM Report Share Posted Sunday at 03:31 PM 1 hour ago, asquared17 said: I AM CONVINCED THIS IS WHAT THEY HAVE DONE TO ALL OUR THERMOSTATS WHILST WE SLUMBER!!!! and why we sweat to death some sort of master thermostat setting that goes off between 1-4am This is probably true. I used to help run a hotel and there is a program that you can have run the HVAC system and no matter what the thermostats said it would only do what you had it programmed to do. So if someone complained it was hot or cold, we would mess with the thermostat to make them think we were changing it and it wouldn’t actually do anything. That program wasn’t on the actual rooms in the hotel, just the main lobby area and conference rooms as such, but I’m guessing it could be done everywhere. WAAAYTOOO, JohnK6404 and asquared17 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnK6404 Posted Sunday at 09:29 PM Author Report Share Posted Sunday at 09:29 PM Day 1: Miami, FL (Embarkation Day) - CONT. After dinner we killed some time and made our way over to see Anton and Grace at the Dueling Pianos Bar. This was their first show (8:00 PM) on the evening of embarkation and the bar was maybe half full. They were very good, took song requests, and encouraged audience participation. I like the drink menu! Looks like an old LP… Christine was still a little off (she thinks it was something she ate during breakfast possibly) and played it safe with Diet Coke and water. I tried a drink call “Metalliquor”… vanilla vodka, raspberry liquor and pineapple juice topped with cranberry juice. Very sweet of course! After the show, we walked around the pool decks for a bit and then Christine went back to the cabin to call it a night. We skipped the headliner show in the Royal Theater (Adam Kario). I think he was a juggler/comedian. I walked around a bit and found the ship model… always love the detail! The first one I remember seeing was on Wonder. My ship model from the gift shop will have to do! I grabbed a slice (or two) of pizza at Sorrentos… because you have to at that time of night! Finally, I headed to the Overlook to relax for a bit (and try to update this live blog, LOL!)… the 10:30 PM performance of AquaTheater show was still running. Just a couple of quick shots from the Overlook at night… they lowered the light level during the performance even in the Overlook… After some time relaxing in one of those elevated seating areas, I finally headed back to the cabin to call it a night! Finally, Day 1 is complete! Getting ready for the 1st formal evening, so I have to get ready! I’ll be back when I have a chance to start today! SweetPea, MaryS, DDaley and 3 others 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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