InmyElement Posted January 1 Report Posted January 1 Happy New Year, my fellow cruise addicts! Nothing says fresh start like salt air, sea days, and celebrating another trip around the sun with our 30th anniversary on January 6 (yes, we had it first!). Our honeymoon was on Majesty of the Seas, so this whole cruising life is basically our own fault. I wasn’t planning to blog..so if you’re tired of me, simply scroll away with my blessing, but if someone gets one good laugh out of this, it’s worth it. Plus, I like logging memories. What good is a retirement side-gig as a Coast Guard Captain if I can’t have fun calling this a Captain’s Log? Now, confessions of a Captain time: this trip was originally supposed to be just the two of us on an 11-night X cruise (We'll call her X—my new love. She’s quiet, relaxed, classy, and has no kids. Bliss!). But then my 30-year love put in a formal request up the chain, and suddenly the stowaways were coming. Eleven nights with adult children? Not in this household! So, compromise! We found Allure—brand-new to us..and the 8-night itinerary works perfectly with their work/school schedules. We fly out of ROC today, through 5 inches of fresh snow and a balmy 10°F (for my Celsius friends…that’s probably spring temps lol ). (we live 20 min from the airport and i hear planes overhead ) I booked Southwest before all the shenanigans/changes on points, so 6 (no charge) bags and A4 thru A7 for boarding..woo hoo! Doesn't happen often, but that's a win! Quick stay at a Marriott for a day and a 1/4, then boarding Saturday. We normally stick the stowaways in inside caves, (not that there's anything wrong w/that..lol) but we ended up with two balcony's side by side. They’re very excited me (I'll let you know) BMan (23) and CMan (21) first time for CMan with a drink package. God help us. Float Plans & Targets: First-time visits to Pesky Parrot and Mason Jar thanks to all your tempting photos 3-night dining package - Samba, MJ, and 150-our favorite, but subj to change. Nothing too crazy excursion-wise..we’re stopping in St. Thomas, St. Maarten (Sea Lions), San Juan, and PDCC (Hideaway). Top Secret Float Plan: The First Mate has no idea I ordered the anniversary package - roses, cabin decorations, and chocolate cake with choc strawberries. If she drank champagne I’d have ordered a tub of it...still time She doesn’t know about the blog either, so if you know her… shhh. lol. I’m also 99% sure she doesn’t know how to check our order history we’ll find out soon and also see if RC comes through..Post-cruise: We’ll pick up a Hertz Suburban/Yukon XL..the vehicle I dream of owning ( lived in Texas for a while “Texas Cadillac” lol), but apparently only get to drive in Florida...spend 3 nights at Sapphire Falls/Universal (stowaway request), then finish at the MCO Hyatt (our airport home away from home). Total trip time: 15 days. I’ll be kicking and screaming when it’s over. She’s already prepared the "talk" meant to “calm me down.” We’ll see how that plays out. @WAAAYTOOO and @OCSC Mike do you have room for an old buccaneer down there?? Final request: If you break into our house…please snow-blow the driveway and put the garbage cans by the roadside..Thanks in advance. Ampurp85, Lovetocruise2002, WannaCruise and 18 others 12 3 6 Quote
Sweety Posted January 1 Report Posted January 1 This is going to be an interesting and fun blog. Happy Anniversary! Jan 6 is my brother’s birthday. He tells incredible stories about the day. Ampurp85, Jamesszy94, Ogilthorpe and 2 others 4 1 Quote
OCSC Mike Posted January 1 Report Posted January 1 8 hours ago, InmyElement said: and @OCSC Mike do you have room for an old buccaneer down there?? My upstairs does have guest rooms but it sure as heck isn’t a Universal or Hyatt hotel, lol. Another blog with Mason Jar! And hopefully with 4 drinkers someone enjoys Pesky Parrot. Painchiller is my favorite frozen drink & I liked the Monkey Business after dinner but it didn’t seem popular. It’s kinda like a White Russian but with rum & banana although it needed more banana when I had them. Big fun glass filled with crushed ice too. Happy New Year & looking forward to the blog! I’ve already mentioned that I’d love to sail Allure now that it has my favorite venues from Utopia without the inflated price. InmyElement, Ogilthorpe, WannaCruise and 3 others 4 1 1 Quote
asquared17 Posted January 1 Report Posted January 1 i am LIVING for this blog already!!!! happy anniversary!!! 54 minutes ago, InmyElement said: BMan (23) and CMan (21) first time for CMan with a drink package. God help us. get some waterboy packets for those boys at publix or target today. make sure they supplement with one each day and they should be fine the 8 night itinerary sounds great!!! an extra day to relax glad you got out of this winter chill when you did!!! OCSC Mike, WAAAYTOOO, InmyElement and 3 others 5 1 Quote
SweetPea Posted January 1 Report Posted January 1 1 hour ago, InmyElement said: with our 30th anniversary on January 6 (yes, we had it first!). Hey! Happy Anniversary! Jan 6 is Batman's birthday. 1 hour ago, InmyElement said: CMan (21) first time for CMan with a drink package. God help us. God help you, I guess. But I see way funny blog opportunities... for us ... if He doesn't. 1 hour ago, InmyElement said: She doesn’t know about the blog either, so if you know her… shhh. lol. I’m also 99% sure she doesn’t know how to check our order history Tell me: what does it feel like to live that way? I have NO clue! Also a very happy, healthy New Year to our blog fam! Ogilthorpe, OCSC Mike, Ampurp85 and 2 others 2 1 2 Quote
JohnK6404 Posted January 1 Report Posted January 1 Happy Anniversary!!! Majesty was our first Royal sailing (Disney Wonder was our first cruise and part of our honeymoon)! Have an amazing time! Ogilthorpe, InmyElement and WAAAYTOOO 2 1 Quote
WAAAYTOOO Posted January 1 Report Posted January 1 Come on down !! If we cannot find a bed for everyone we will put B and C in the bird cage. It's been in the 40's here at night so I will throw them a blanket or a beach towel or something....they'll be fine.... As long as we are matching birthdays to your Anniversary, my DIL's B-day is Jan. 6. Glad you reminded me of this ! I will mail the B-day card tomorrow ! Allure is such a hidden treasure. It won't take long for the word to get out, so book now (for those of you who haven't, yet) !!!! Have an awesome time and Happy New Year and Happy Anniversary. Yesiamthere6, Hoppy2BHere, InmyElement and 9 others 8 1 3 Quote
asquared17 Posted January 1 Report Posted January 1 3 minutes ago, WAAAYTOOO said: Come on down !! we’re on our way!!! Ampurp85, WAAAYTOOO, Ogilthorpe and 1 other 1 2 1 Quote
Ogilthorpe Posted January 1 Report Posted January 1 We are so looking forward to your blog! We are on the Allure in May and Mason Jar and Pesky Parrot were 2 of the attractions that drew us to that booking. Flying out of ROC? We must be relatively close geographically, ROC is our part time depature airport, ELM is still first, only 5 minutes down the hill. But it has its limits: you can go anywhere .. as long as it's DTW I'm positive your blog will be informative and entertaining. Although it will be a challenge to outdo "Fischer-Price Stampede" Happy 30th to you and Happy New year to all! OCSC Mike, InmyElement, SweetPea and 3 others 4 1 1 Quote
Lovetocruise2002 Posted January 1 Report Posted January 1 Sounds like it’s going to be a good one! InmyElement, Ogilthorpe, Ampurp85 and 1 other 3 1 Quote
Southern Dan Posted January 1 Report Posted January 1 3 hours ago, JohnK6404 said: Majesty was our first Royal sailing (Disney Wonder was our first cruise and part of our honeymoon)! Majesty was my first Royal sailing as well back in Jan 95 (Celebrity Zenith was my first a year or so earlier). Happy 30th Anniversary and enjoy your escape to the warmth! InmyElement and Ogilthorpe 1 1 Quote
Ampurp85 Posted January 1 Report Posted January 1 Happy anniversary 11 days on X would have been great. You could have ignored your spawn I guess 8 days are better than 7 or less, so its still a win. I am excited for you, I'm about a week away from enjoying the cruise life, so following along will get me even more in the mood. SweetPea, InmyElement, asquared17 and 3 others 5 1 Quote
OCSC Mike Posted January 1 Report Posted January 1 3 minutes ago, Ampurp85 said: following along will get me even more in the mood Always! I'm thankful for the diverse cruise schedules of the other bloggers as I suffer through my usual 8 month dry dock. There was a lull for a little while but now it seems like as soon as one blog ends another begins! JohnK6404, Ampurp85, Ogilthorpe and 4 others 7 Quote
InmyElement Posted January 1 Author Report Posted January 1 Thanks Everyone! I’ll catch up on all the awesome blogs during the flight…bman at the bar..cman texting him our gate info Ampurp85, asquared17, Ogilthorpe and 4 others 1 5 1 Quote
ScottD Posted January 1 Report Posted January 1 Happy New Year AND Anniversary. Looking forward to this adventure. Expecting some fun shenanigans with a drink package rookie! JohnK6404, Ogilthorpe and WAAAYTOOO 3 Quote
InmyElement Posted January 2 Author Report Posted January 2 23 hours ago, Sweety said: This is going to be an interesting and fun blog. Happy Anniversary! Thank you..for sure! 23 hours ago, OCSC Mike said: Happy New Year & looking forward to the blog! I’ve already mentioned that I’d love to sail Allure now that it has my favorite venues from Utopia without the inflated price. Thanks, my friend! I’ll try not to let you down.. I’m really looking forward to those two new places to us...And the CL on the upper deck will definitely change up my morning coffee run. Matt’s recent tour only showed one Coffee Genius machine, so we’ll see how that goes… 22 hours ago, Ogilthorpe said: Happy 30th to you and Happy New year to all! Thank you!! YES!!! We actually lived and worked in Corning for a while..both boys were born there. And Aniello’s pizza?? Still easily in my Top 5 Allure and X… I think we’re absolutely on the right track here...same cruising wavelength 20 hours ago, Lovetocruise2002 said: Sounds like it’s going to be a good one! Thank you! I’m really loving your blog and trip...sorry I haven’t been able to keep up as much. What a beautiful family! I also love how much your husband enjoys the FlowRider..it truly makes me smile. I wake surf once the lakes thaw and my family definitely teases me, but I’m always trying to fine-tune the wave for a better ride or learn something new. It’s all part of the fun! 19 hours ago, Southern Dan said: Majesty was my first Royal sailing as well back in Jan 95 (Celebrity Zenith was my first a year or so earlier). Happy 30th Anniversary and enjoy your escape to the warmth! Yes!! Her Majesty!!! We were partiers back then It’s a bit of a blur now, but wasn’t it Majesty that had the Champagne Bar? I remember practically living there on one of those sailings... And thank you so much..30 years went fast! not! We’re definitely looking forward to the warmth.. 18 hours ago, Ampurp85 said: Happy anniversary 11 days on X would have been great. You could have ignored your spawn I guess 8 days are better than 7 or less, so its still a win. I am excited for you, I'm about a week away from enjoying the cruise life, so following along will get me even more in the mood. Thank you!!! I hear you...I think it was just a knee-jerk reaction to move the 11-nighter to 2027 and go with RC for them. I'm really looking forward to following along on your trip…that’ll take us to February—almost spring! On 1/1/2026 at 8:15 AM, asquared17 said: i am LIVING for this blog already!!!! happy anniversary!!! Thank You!!!! Lets get this party started!!! 22 hours ago, WAAAYTOOO said: As long as we are matching birthdays to your Anniversary, my DIL's B-day is Jan. 6. Glad you reminded me of this ! I will mail the B-day card tomorrow ! Its the least i can do for all your insight and wisdom over the years....lol. I wish you were staying on Allure!!! 23 hours ago, JohnK6404 said: Happy Anniversary!!! Majesty was our first Royal sailing (Disney Wonder was our first cruise and part of our honeymoon)! Have an amazing time! Thank You!!!! Her Majesty Again!!!!! 15 hours ago, ScottD said: Happy New Year AND Anniversary. Looking forward to this adventure. Expecting some fun shenanigans with a drink package rookie! Thank You!!!! Yes, should be trying on my sanity and I keep telling myself just relax and it will be ok.. Quick update: I need more coffee!!! On the way down, no direct flights, so we had to stop in Baltimore. No snow..thinking we’re good, right? Nope. Our plane from Florida was delayed four hours…ugh. After some margaritas and great mexican food at BWI we crashed on the seats, we powered through. airport crowds weren’t too bad..most looked hungover.. We finally landed in FLL at 10:45pm, and of course it was still bumper-to-bumper traffic around the airport. Took a chance and called the hotel shuttle (they run until 11)… and surprisingly, he answered! Charles showed up within 20 minutes with a van and a luggage trailer. Absolute hero. He easily could’ve said “too late.” I tipped probably too much, but the relief was worth it and Uber XL was showing about $80... We’re staying at the Marriott in Dania Beach..nothing fancy, but it has the two bedroom - suite setup we like with a full kitchen. Boys separate room..lol Bman loves the.. is it the Dania beach mall/food extravaganza.?? I'm sure he'll uber over today..Too tired for pics. Everyone’s still sleeping, but it’s sunny and warm for me, so I’ll take it!! Bonus: I got some unexpected accolades from the family last night for planning a day of rest today before boarding tomorrow lovetheplaya, Ampurp85, Southern Dan and 7 others 3 7 Quote
OCSC Mike Posted January 2 Report Posted January 2 Sounds like you made the best of the hiccups (like margs and Mexican during the delay) and were rewarded with the hotel shuttle. Enjoy your relaxing day and don't eat too much pre-cruise! Ogilthorpe, Ampurp85 and InmyElement 2 1 Quote
InmyElement Posted January 2 Author Report Posted January 2 Thanks! Ahhhhh… Ogilthorpe, asquared17, Ampurp85 and 3 others 2 4 Quote
WAAAYTOOO Posted January 2 Report Posted January 2 33 minutes ago, InmyElement said: We finally landed in FLL at 10:45pm, WOOHOO ! Welcome to sunny (if not, warm) Florida. Have a great "day of rest". Ampurp85, Ogilthorpe and InmyElement 2 1 Quote
Ogilthorpe Posted January 2 Report Posted January 2 23 minutes ago, InmyElement said: Thanks! Ahhhhh… I recognize that view! That was our last pre-cruise hotel. Enjoy!! InmyElement, WAAAYTOOO, OCSC Mike and 1 other 2 1 1 Quote
asquared17 Posted January 2 Report Posted January 2 first leg of the trip DOWN!! it’s gonna be great!! JohnK6404, Ogilthorpe and InmyElement 2 1 Quote
ScottD Posted January 2 Report Posted January 2 Nice, the hard part is out of the way... enjoy the day relaxing! Also, Majesty was my first cruise, as well... for YEARS I thought it was Soveriegn of the seas..wasn't until I emailed a few years back to see about getting my back cruise points that I found out I was wrong, gave them very very vague info- "I sailed sometime around end of summer or 1999 or 2000, no idea where from but think it was on Sovereign and went to Key west and maybe Nassau." They wrote me back "you actually sailed August of 2000 on Majesty" Lol, for almost 20 years I was saying I cruised on Sovereign. Ampurp85, Ogilthorpe, Southern Dan and 4 others 5 2 Quote
Ampurp85 Posted January 2 Report Posted January 2 Glad the delay wasn't too bad and now you are enjoying better weather than you left. InmyElement, Ogilthorpe and WAAAYTOOO 3 Quote
Ogilthorpe Posted January 2 Report Posted January 2 8 hours ago, InmyElement said: Thank you!! YES!!! We actually lived and worked in Corning Excellent! Then you would be on what I imagine to be a short list of participants here who would know what I was referencing when I say "Horseheads" InmyElement 1 Quote
lovetheplaya Posted January 2 Report Posted January 2 Ohhh how exciting for you and the kids and of course your wife!! Happy Anniversary!!! Love seeing the sunshine photo. There's NOTHING better than that sunny weather on a pre-cruise day... love that feeling! Sweety, InmyElement, WAAAYTOOO and 1 other 3 1 Quote
InmyElement Posted January 3 Author Report Posted January 3 On 1/1/2026 at 8:39 AM, SweetPea said: Hey! Happy Anniversary! Jan 6 is Batman's birthday. Thank You!!! Happy Birthday from the fan club that definitely does not exist…in theory On 1/1/2026 at 8:39 AM, SweetPea said: God help you, I guess. But I see way funny blog opportunities... for us ... if He doesn't. God help me… worst case scenario, the blog wins!! On 1/1/2026 at 8:39 AM, SweetPea said: Tell me: what does it feel like to live that way? I have NO clue! I'm lovin it!!!!! Also you are killing it on the other blogs just catching up...is it the day drinking??? Or all the snow and you can't leave the igloo??? asquared17 and Ogilthorpe 1 1 Quote
InmyElement Posted January 3 Author Report Posted January 3 I guess I can save some money and skip the book "The 5am Club' I’m already living it. Vintage life and all.. Yesterday was thankfully a relaxing one, and everyone survived the germ-filled airport fest in good health Bman is the foodie, so I agreed to a trip to Aventura Mall for Cvi.che 105 (Peruvian cuisine). Really nice spot, especially sitting outside… surrounded by so many beautiful people. I, of course, felt aggressively unattractive I ordered the Tortellini a la Huancaína with risotto..except they were out of tortellini and he had some kind of rice cake with medallions, plus matcha ice cream. That last part was a hard no for me.. Cruise Day!!!!!! MaryS, Ogilthorpe, WAAAYTOOO and 7 others 6 2 2 Quote
InmyElement Posted January 3 Author Report Posted January 3 On 1/1/2026 at 8:15 AM, asquared17 said: get some waterboy packets for those boys at publix or target today. make sure they supplement with one each day and they should be fine the wisdom ..Done! asquared17 and Ampurp85 1 1 Quote
OCSC Mike Posted January 3 Report Posted January 3 Happy cruise day! Can’t wait for you to try Mason Jar! InmyElement and Ampurp85 2 Quote
SweetPea Posted January 3 Report Posted January 3 Happy Cruise Day! InmyElement and Ampurp85 1 1 Quote
asquared17 Posted January 3 Report Posted January 3 ITS CRUISE DAY!!!!!! 1 hour ago, InmyElement said: I agreed to a trip to Aventura Mall such good shopping there!!! InmyElement and Ampurp85 1 1 Quote
WAAAYTOOO Posted January 3 Report Posted January 3 Woohoo ! Cruise day is here ! Ampurp85 and InmyElement 1 1 Quote
lovetheplaya Posted January 3 Report Posted January 3 HAPPY CRUISE DAY!!! InmyElement and Ampurp85 1 1 Quote
Southern Dan Posted January 3 Report Posted January 3 Happy Cruise Day!!! InmyElement and Ampurp85 1 1 Quote
ScottD Posted January 3 Report Posted January 3 Cruise day! And I agree..I'd definitely be skipping that matcha ice cream, looked like play dough,lol MaryS, Ampurp85, Southern Dan and 4 others 7 Quote
GatorCruiser Posted January 3 Report Posted January 3 Nothing more exciting than embarkation. InmyElement, asquared17, Southern Dan and 1 other 3 1 Quote
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