Sweety Posted August 17, 2018 Report Share Posted August 17, 2018 Thank you for you wonderful insights, commentary, pictures of the scenery and did I mention pictures of food. I am on a B2B on her next August. I can't wait. Lovetocruise2002 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovetocruise2002 Posted August 17, 2018 Author Report Share Posted August 17, 2018 For those who were wondering, the self carry Disembarkation call came in at 6:58am ellcee, accio7 and bellemiche 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sweety Posted August 17, 2018 Report Share Posted August 17, 2018 Just now, Lovetocruise2002 said: Glad you enjoyed following along. If you haven't booked Mariner yet, stay tuned, @twangster is sailing her in a few weeks and he has a huge track record of making people spend money I am a witness. Lovetocruise2002 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bellemiche Posted August 17, 2018 Report Share Posted August 17, 2018 6 hours ago, Lovetocruise2002 said: ur stateroom location on Deck 11 (1104) was a perfect location. The hallway was so quiet and private and it was great being so close to the solarium, pool, and WJ. It was nice having the room new and fresh. This sailing I did realize that with tween girls, it is getting very difficult to share a room with one bathroom. Thank goodness I have a patient husband. There were times this cruise where things got quite dicey with the kids. Lol. First world problems. You won't need to worry about that on your next cruise! You will have 2 bathrooms! Lovetocruise2002 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twangster Posted August 17, 2018 Report Share Posted August 17, 2018 2 minutes ago, Lovetocruise2002 said: For those who were wondering, the self carry Disembarkation call came in at 6:58am Don't believe it. You'd never be awake at that hour to hear it. JLMoran 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovetocruise2002 Posted August 17, 2018 Author Report Share Posted August 17, 2018 Just now, twangster said: Don't believe it. You'd never be awake at that hour to hear it. I will have you know that I am an early riser for 1) work 2) cruise day 3) disembarkation morning Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boston Babe Posted August 17, 2018 Report Share Posted August 17, 2018 14 hours ago, Lovetocruise2002 said: That definitely won't happen! We have too big of a family to leave them at Christmas. Then you need to plant the seed of a family Christmas cruise! LOL. I hope you have a safe journey home. I really loved your blog and scopes. Felt like I was right there! Lovetocruise2002 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ABT Posted August 17, 2018 Report Share Posted August 17, 2018 We always follow twangster.We have been cruising with Royal Caribbean for 25 years and he always manages to teach us something new. Lovetocruise2002 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted August 17, 2018 Report Share Posted August 17, 2018 Thanks for doing this live blog. You did a great job! Lovetocruise2002 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah Posted August 17, 2018 Report Share Posted August 17, 2018 Thank you for your great review. A question about late night in the Windjammer Is this new? I sailed on Navigator in June from Southampton and as far as I can remember the only late night offering was Cafe Promenade Lovetocruise2002 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rose City Cruiser Posted August 17, 2018 Report Share Posted August 17, 2018 20 hours ago, JLMoran said: Unless I could arrange some kind of B2B on her, I don't see how I could justify sailing her with airfare for 4, but I have to say she really looks impressive after all the changes! When she moves to Port Canaveral, can piggyback a trip to WDW! Lovetocruise2002 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twangster Posted August 17, 2018 Report Share Posted August 17, 2018 1 hour ago, Sarah said: A question about late night in the Windjammer Is this new? I sailed on Navigator in June from Southampton and as far as I can remember the only late night offering was Cafe Promenade Appears to be unique to Mariner so far. This is something new, so we are all waiting to see if any other ships follow this trend. Lovetocruise2002 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tdiedrich Posted August 17, 2018 Report Share Posted August 17, 2018 1 hour ago, Sarah said: A question about late night in the Windjammer Is this new? I sailed on Navigator in June from Southampton and as far as I can remember the only late night offering was Cafe Promenade 2 minutes ago, twangster said: Appears to be unique to Mariner so far. This is something new, so we are all waiting to see if any other ships follow this trend. We were on the Explorer in May for a 4 night sailing out Seattle and the WJ was open til 12:30am as well. It was a limited offering, only about 1/4 of the area was open, but had a good selection of warm and cold food. Maybe it's a new Voyager class perk? Lovetocruise2002 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovetocruise2002 Posted August 17, 2018 Author Report Share Posted August 17, 2018 1 hour ago, Sarah said: Thank you for your great review. A question about late night in the Windjammer Is this new? I sailed on Navigator in June from Southampton and as far as I can remember the only late night offering was Cafe Promenade 8 minutes ago, twangster said: Appears to be unique to Mariner so far. This is something new, so we are all waiting to see if any other ships follow this trend. 1 minute ago, vancouverdude said: We were on the Explorer in May for a 4 night sailing out Seattle and the WJ was open til 12:30am as well. It was a limited offering, only about 1/4 of the area was open, but had a good selection of warm and cold food. Maybe it's a new Voyager class perk? IIRC, didn't @jurrjurr also say a few months ago that Empress also has it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovetocruise2002 Posted August 17, 2018 Author Report Share Posted August 17, 2018 56 minutes ago, jurrjurr said: When she moves to Port Canaveral, can piggyback a trip to WDW! Land Vacation?! Banish the thought! Rose City Cruiser and bellemiche 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twangster Posted August 17, 2018 Report Share Posted August 17, 2018 3 minutes ago, vancouverdude said: We were on the Explorer in May for a 4 night sailing out Seattle and the WJ was open til 12:30am as well. It was a limited offering, only about 1/4 of the area was open, but had a good selection of warm and cold food. Maybe it's a new Voyager class perk? Explorer GC in June did not feature this. WJ closed at 9pm. Maybe they are experimenting to determine interest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twangster Posted August 17, 2018 Report Share Posted August 17, 2018 Just now, Lovetocruise2002 said: IIRC, didn't @jurrjurr also say a few months ago that Empress also has it? Empress did not a few weeks ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruiselife Posted August 17, 2018 Report Share Posted August 17, 2018 22 hours ago, JLMoran said: Unless I could arrange some kind of B2B on her, I don't see how I could justify sailing her with airfare for 4, but I have to say she really looks impressive after all the changes! I had no idea Boleros had such a great drink menu. Does that look similar to what you've seen on other ships? I'll definitely have to stop at the one on Anthem for a mojito or two, just to mix it up with my usual margaritas. And speaking of... the tequila selection there beats anything I saw at any other bar on Freedom! Same for me, but hoping they bring a similar offering to Galveston because honestly these revamped ships have even more to offer than other cruise line's best ships. It looks incredible. Boleros drink menu is awesome! It has been my favorite place to get drinks on our cruises on Navigator and Liberty. My wife is absolutely obsessed with the Coconut Mojito. It's really good. JLMoran, Lovetocruise2002 and KathyC 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovetocruise2002 Posted August 17, 2018 Author Report Share Posted August 17, 2018 Finally made it to FLL. Lyft Plus from POM to FLL was $76.78. It was about a 40min ride. A few notes about disembarkation.... If I have one complaint about this cruise it's going to be right here. To sum it up, this morning's walk off was the longest I have ever waited for any cruise! We self carried all our bags off at 8:45am. Disembarkation is from Deck 4 either aft or forward. Because of the location of our cabin, we used the forward elevators. Once you get to deck 4, the line was past Izumi, past the Schooner Bar, and well into the casino. To make it an even longer wait, the line actually wrapped all around the upper levels of the theatre and you have to wait through all of that before you can walk off the ship. And the line was not exactly moving at a steady pace. Once off the ship, there was a lot of waiting at the terminal as well. They seemed to be holding people from entering the baggage claim area and only let in small groups at a time. This created huge backups in the area between the ship and baggage claim. Once past baggage claim, it was smooth into customs. We did not claim bags and ship to curb was 50 minutes! Perhaps I've been spoiled by Port Everglades in recent years, or we walked off too late (but we always get off around 9am), but I cannot remember a disembarkation ever that took so long! So for those who think that the big ships are busier, at least they have their embarkation and disembarkation down to a science. . @WAAAYTOOO this morning while waiting, I was reminded of your comments about POM and wasn't sure if this is what you have experienced as well? accio7 and bellemiche 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rose City Cruiser Posted August 17, 2018 Report Share Posted August 17, 2018 17 minutes ago, Lovetocruise2002 said: IIRC, didn't @jurrjurr also say a few months ago that Empress also has it? On our June 3rd sailing on Empress, WJ was open 10:30pm - 12:30am. Only cold sandwich options avail from 12:30am-1:30am. Lovetocruise2002 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JLMoran Posted August 17, 2018 Report Share Posted August 17, 2018 58 minutes ago, jurrjurr said: When she moves to Port Canaveral, can piggyback a trip to WDW! Nope, both kids have said they're solidly done with WDW. I think the problem is they're both still too young to fully appreciate a multi-day visit to just Epcot and all the cultural displays. They loved the food there (sushi was to die for, and our dinner in the France section was also outstanding), but found the rest of Epcot boring. That's honestly the only part of WDW I have any interest in re-visiting, and I could easily spend a week there; especially during the flower gardens display and the food and wine festival! Magic Kingdom -- I can't ride Space Mountain any more due to my feet, and that's the only ride I care about there; kids have no more interest in that area Animal Kingdom -- No real interest in revisiting this area from anyone; done the safari a few times now, and while it's definitely interesting Hollywood Studios -- We're not Star Wars fans, and having done all the special effects shows and couple of thrill rides once, we're good EPCOT -- I love the place, wife is cool with it, kids as noted are bored by it outside the dining options; the rides there were just... odd... by everyone's standards, and the recent changes to make them more Frozen-themed don't appeal to us. 19 minutes ago, Lovetocruise2002 said: Land Vacation?! Banish the thought! Yeah, with just one out of four parks of interest, it'll be cruise-only family vacations for a while! Rose City Cruiser 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JLMoran Posted August 17, 2018 Report Share Posted August 17, 2018 16 minutes ago, cruiselife said: Boleros drink menu is awesome! It has been my favorite place to get drinks on our cruises on Navigator and Liberty. My wife is absolutely obsessed with the Coconut Mojito. It's really good. Guess this will have to be my go-to bar on Anthem, then! On Freedom I never tried them out, wishing I had instead of getting all my drinks at the pub or Schooner Bar. I'll also have to find the other bars on board, make more of an effort to try each place at least once. cruiselife and KathyC 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc Van Niekerk Posted August 17, 2018 Report Share Posted August 17, 2018 @Lovetocruise2002 thanks for the wonderful live blog. Doing a B2B on Mariner Oct 2019 and can't wait! Lovetocruise2002 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovetocruise2002 Posted August 17, 2018 Author Report Share Posted August 17, 2018 6 minutes ago, JLMoran said: Guess this will have to be my go-to bar on Anthem, then! On Freedom I never tried them out, wishing I had instead of getting all my drinks at the pub or Schooner Bar. I'll also have to find the other bars on board, make more of an effort to try each place at least once. The peach Margarita is really good too! I can't remember if I said that already. JLMoran and cruiselife 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guy Gadwa Posted August 17, 2018 Report Share Posted August 17, 2018 Thanks for the great blog & scopes! Really enjoyed them. Lovetocruise2002 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JLMoran Posted August 17, 2018 Report Share Posted August 17, 2018 Thanks a bunch for another great live blog and all the pics, @Lovetocruise2002! Lovetocruise2002 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bellemiche Posted August 17, 2018 Report Share Posted August 17, 2018 Thanks for the blog! Glad you enjoyed your trip! Now back to reality and preparing that classroom! Lovetocruise2002 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruiselife Posted August 17, 2018 Report Share Posted August 17, 2018 Awesome live blog! I give it a 10/10. Thanks for doing it! Lovetocruise2002 and ABM 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovetocruise2002 Posted August 18, 2018 Author Report Share Posted August 18, 2018 8 hours ago, bellemiche said: Thanks for the blog! Glad you enjoyed your trip! Now back to reality and preparing that classroom! Ugh...trying not to think about it until Monday Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KathyC Posted August 18, 2018 Report Share Posted August 18, 2018 10 hours ago, cruiselife said: Same for me, but hoping they bring a similar offering to Galveston because honestly these revamped ships have even more to offer than other cruise line's best ships. It looks incredible. Boleros drink menu is awesome! It has been my favorite place to get drinks on our cruises on Navigator and Liberty. My wife is absolutely obsessed with the Coconut Mojito. It's really good. Love the coconut mojito!!! cruiselife 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KathyC Posted August 18, 2018 Report Share Posted August 18, 2018 Thanks for another great live blog Sabrina!!! Lovetocruise2002 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VACruiser Posted August 19, 2018 Report Share Posted August 19, 2018 As a newbie here I do read these live blogs, all ten pages, and learn something new. I still haven't been on a RC cruise but have two planned for the next two years, 2019 and 20. Thanks for taking the time to write this all up on your vacation; that must take some time. Matt and Lovetocruise2002 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Traveler Posted August 19, 2018 Report Share Posted August 19, 2018 Thanks for enjoyable blog Lovetocruise2002 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovetocruise2002 Posted August 19, 2018 Author Report Share Posted August 19, 2018 Just realized last night that I forgot to include a few pics. So here they are in no particular order: Mariner Gym: Ping Pong Table (deck 12, outside of Adventure Ocean) Starbucks menu: Dining Room: And last but not least...Always dedicated to Royal Caribbean Blog Thanks again all for following along this week Matt, accio7, J_Keeble and 7 others 9 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rose City Cruiser Posted August 19, 2018 Report Share Posted August 19, 2018 Thanks @Lovetocruise2002 for the live blog. Can't wait to board on her tomorrow. Lovetocruise2002 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovetocruise2002 Posted August 19, 2018 Author Report Share Posted August 19, 2018 1 hour ago, jurrjurr said: Thanks @Lovetocruise2002 for the live blog. Can't wait to board on her tomorrow. Have a great time!!! Too bad we did not sail together. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Floski Posted August 20, 2018 Report Share Posted August 20, 2018 Thank you, Sabrina! Your blogs are top-notch! Your mentor-bot must feel like a proud papa!! And thank you for being a teacher. The dedication and love you all have for your profession is an inspiration! Lovetocruise2002 and bellemiche 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovetocruise2002 Posted August 20, 2018 Author Report Share Posted August 20, 2018 41 minutes ago, Floski said: Your mentor-bot must feel like a proud papa!! He recently said he's not that old....... But bots are ageless so who knows mworkman 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted August 20, 2018 Report Share Posted August 20, 2018 On 8/19/2018 at 9:02 AM, Lovetocruise2002 said: And last but not least...Always dedicated to Royal Caribbean Blog Woot! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sweety Posted August 26, 2018 Report Share Posted August 26, 2018 Thanks to your awesome blog, I am now booked on a B2B2B next August. I won over 500 on the penny slots the first night. I played over 3 hours on an initial 50. Since I played so long, I accumulated over 1200 points. I didn't go back after the first night. I received an certificate for 300 on my next cruise. The B2B2 is on my bucket list. WAAAYTOOO, Lovetocruise2002 and JLMoran 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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