Oasis of the Seas Pre-Trip Report - 2 July 2016

Oasis of the Seas - 2 July 2016 Eastern Caribbean Sailing

May 11, 2016 -

This will be my attempt at a trip report. I was’t sure about doing one but then realized how much I enjoy reading them. We all have different ideas about what’s important to us on our vacation but I hope you find some useful tips and information from this report.

First a little about us - We are a family of 4: Me, DW, DD(14), and DD(12)

On this trip we will be joined by my Mom and Dad (So I will mention them from time to time)

We love traveling. We typically go to a Disney Property at least once a year along with some other more educational or historical vacation such as National Parks or historical destinations. In 2012 we finally discovered cruising. We’ve been on 4 cruises prior to this one.

Disney Dream - Summer 2012

Disney Magic - Spring Break 2013

Disney Wonder - Alaska Summer 2014

Royal Caribbean Navigator of the Seas - Summer 2014

We still love Disney but we have really felt the pinch of a Disney cruise compared to Royal Caribbean. Prior to booking this cruise we compared it to the Disney Fantasy on a similar itinerary.

The Fantasy Cruise was the 18th of June 2016 - 7 Night - Eastern Caribbean with Stops in Tortola, St Thomas, and Castaway Cay. While we have normally cruised with a Deluxe Family Ocean View Room with Veranda, on this cruise we priced a single Deluxe Interior Stateroom (Category 10A Room 9579 204 sq. ft) The Price for this cruise as priced in March of 2015 was $8315.00

The Royal Caribbean 2 July 2016 - 7 Night - Eastern Caribbean has stops in - St Maarten, San Juan, and Labadee. We booked 2 connecting staterooms over looking Central Park with Balconies. (C1-14211 and C1-14213 182 sq. ft and 50 sq. ft balcony EACH) The Price for this cruise was $5664.36

Neither Price included Tips or other incidentals. So just comparing the basic cruise fare the Royal Caribbean was $2650.64 cheaper and gave us quiet a bit more space and comfort with two staterooms and two bathrooms! (Did I mention I have two teen daughters?)

This enormous difference in price made it an easy decision. Of course I am very well aware of the fact that Disney is still selling out their ships so I have no answer for when I will ever be able to cruise with them again. Maybe it was a mistake to price shop…. Ignorance is bliss I guess.

However, After sailing for a buddies wedding cruise on the Royal Caribbean Navigator of the Seas Ship in August of 2014 I do understand there are differences between these cruise lines. There is something about the level of service on a Disney Cruise that I just can’t explain. Maybe it’s the Kool-aid. I may never know. My last comment on this subject at least for now is this — We were on the Disney Wonder in June 2014 and the RCCL Navigator in August 2014 so we were able to compare the two cruise lines pretty fairly and both were fresh in our minds. I felt Disney was hands down the better cruise line…. The question for me was how much better. I guess I got my answer when looking for our Summer 2016 cruise. While Disney was better it was not almost 50% better… maybe 20%… Maybe 25% but not almost 50%!!

So that’s how we arrived at this sailing.

We booked the cruise on April 3rd 2015 -

Oasis of the Seas - Eastern Caribbean 2 July 2016

Let the count down begin - 439 Days…. Ugh that’s going to be a long wait!

Please forgive me if I revert to comparing to Disney…It’s what I know. For instance no one can tell you exactly when “Excursions and things” open up for booking on the RCCL website. On Disney there are specific rules.

Platinum level can book 120 days prior to sailing, Gold 105 days, *and Silver 90 days. *First time cruisers, who are not yet Castatway Club members, may book 75 days.

There has been quite a bit of confusion on our Roll Call for this cruise because Royal opened some onboard reservations while holding back others. This led to the inevitable questions about show changes or cancellations. And since there is apparently a large private group on our sailing some thought they were taking over some of the show areas and blocking the rest of the cruise passengers from a full Royal experience. IE - Letting “CATS” go dark or maybe a private viewing for the large private group… maybe…. Let me cut to the chase… This was all nonsense. Royal just delayed opening different type of reservations. There was not a set release date for anything.

Here is a summary of when I was able to book on board shows and excursions:

74 days till cruise -

19 April - Frozen in Time Ice Show - This is approximately when it became available

19 April - Oasis of Dreams Aqua Show - Again this approximately when it became available

19 April - Labadee Dragon’s Breath Flight Line - Zip Line - This had been available for a long time. I was just waiting to book it. I chose the 11:30 AM availability. I felt like 11:30 was a good time but I guess we’ll see how that day goes. As a side note this is the only “excursion” we have booked for the entire trip. We might add another excursion but nothing on the web site jumps out at us. We are going to be happy just to be on island time for the week with no real set schedule.

67 Days till cruise -

26 April - Headliner Showtime,

26 April - Stand up Comedy Show

26 April - Cats

26 April - Come Fly with Me show

So these shows opened up 67 days prior to the cruise. Kind of an odd time. There does’t seem to be any rhyme or reason for when shows become available. Just a tiny bit frustrating but not the end of the world. We booked these shows immediately upon seeing they were available. Also, I learned they were available by someone on our Roll Call. So here’s my plug for joining your Roll Call. It’s great to have a bunch of eye balls watching RCCL’s website since there seems there is no schedule to making shows available.

A Little More About Our Summer Vacation

This isn’t just a cruise… Oh No. We are a very travel friendly family (This means we like to travel) Plane, Train, Automobile, Hike… Whatever.. Just try to see it all.

This trip will begin bright and EARLY on Tuesday the 28th of June. How Early? Must you ask?

Let me preface my next statement by the rule follower in me… We must be at the airport at least 2 hours prior to departure.

Our Flight leaves Austin at 5:10…………AM - It even hurts to type it. This means our vacation will officially start around 2:30 AM Tuesday Morning the 28th of June.

2:30 AM - Leave the house

3:00 AM - Arrive at the Airport

3:00 AM - 4:30 AM Wait patiently waiting and realizing absolutely nothing is open in the airport this early in the morning

4:30 AM - Board my Southwest Airlines Direct flight to Ft Lauderdale that I only paid $64.98 per person for. Whoo-Hoo! By the Way Total Round Trip Austin to Fort Lauderdale for my family of 4 - Drum Roll Please - $519.84 Thank you Mr. Saint Paddies Day Sale!

5:10 AM - And we are on our way

Scheduled Arrival in Fort Lauderdale is 8:55 AM (EST)

We are then renting a car and driving to Savannah, Georgia. It’s a goal of mine to get my daughters to all 50 states before they finish High School. We’ve got 9 states to go and only 4 more summers to get it done! We will make Savannah Base camp for 3 days and visit sites in Georgia and South Carolina knocking out two more states off our list! On the 1st of July we’ll drive back down to Fort Lauderdale and turn in the rental car.

I know what you’re thinking…. Why not just fly into Savannah and rent the car there? Two reasons the air fare sale mentioned above and the ridiculous drop fee when renting a car in one location and dropping at a different location. I don’t mind spending money on vacation but I can’t stand wasting money……ever! Those two reason would have easily added over $1000 to the cost of the trip.

Anyway - After dropping the car back at the FT Lauderdale airport I’ll take the free shuttle from the airport to the Hampton Inn (Airport North Cruise Port Location)

We will stay 1 night in the Hampton Inn and then Board the Oasis on the 2nd

Then we will cruise, cruise, cruise (yada yada yada)

and disembark on the 9th.

Finally, We will spend the last two nights at the Margaritaville Resort on Hollywood Beach. This is our detox time before having to go home. This is a new resort in Hollywood Florida that I think just opened a few months ago. We are really looking forward to this part of the trip!

Last but not least we fly home the night of July 11th. This is another painful moment. Yes it’s a direct flight but it’s not scheduled to depart until 10:50pm with an arrival the next day at 12:40am.

So that is the basic synopsis of our trip! I hope you’ll join us for the ride.

The Drink Package challenge - What’s the square root of 7 * 98 + e4 * pi / 4 bottles of rum

This is the formula for figuring out whether or not the drink package is worth it. At least it seems that way by the way people talk on the boards. It seems like rocket science trying to figure out whether or not a drink package is worth the money.

I believe there is some level of value just having the ability to grab a drink and never think about the cost or budget. Kind of like the fact that Disney includes the cost of sodas in the price of the cruise. Of course like everyone else I do a little bit of math to make sure the drink package isn’t just plane foolish. So here is my math for the drink package.

For my wife and daughters

Royal Replenish - $156.94 Per Person or $22.42 per day

All three drink “foo-foo” coffee drinks (Yes I know Starbucks is not included) and I’ve already caught some or their wrath for this. I do expect each of them to give the Seattle’s Best at the Cafe Promenade a try. (At least I am told it’s Seattle’s Best) I guess we will see.

The prices below are the values I have assigned Not the actual on board prices since I don’t have those handy. I will update my review with actual numbers during the cruise.

Daily Coffee drink - $4.00

Dailey OJ at breakfast - $3.00

Dailey Soda Drink at Lunch and Dinner at $3 each - $6.00

3 bottles of water per day at $2 each - $6.00

1 Milk Shake or foo-foo drink daily - $5.00

Total for each day - $24.00

Again this is a simple estimate of what I think my wife and girls will drink in a typical day on the cruise. Some days they will drink more and some less, but on average I know each of them would spend $20-$25 a day on drinks.

For myself I have purchased the Ultimate package - $437.78 ($62.54 per day)

I will drink enough frozen margaritas to make this cost a non-issue.

Just in case you didn’t know - Royal Caribbean Margaritas are Not all created equally. I learned this on the Navigator in 2014. Up at the pools the Margaritas were made with a cheap mixer…. At the R Bar they were made with fresh limes, strawberries and a top shelf tequila upon request…. MmmmmTasty.

Inter-Webs Package

I am not a fan of being connected while on vacation. I’ve spent too many years in IT where I was the only expert on a specific group of systems and always available meant ALWAYS! I could bore you with the true story of getting a call about a server down while standing at Old Faithful and missing the excitement of the initial blast, or the time…… Never-mind - let’s not dwell on those times. I am currently part of a talented IT team where going on vacation for the most part means actually going on vacation.

So NO Inter-webs for me this trip!

But wait - I have teenage daughters. Their faces will melt if they don’t have inter-webs. It’s true - I’ve seen it happen. And the inter-webs is on sale. Dad we just have to keep our snap chat streaks alive! Dad….Dad…… DADDY!

Fine we’ll get the inter-webs package. There goes family time……

Voom Surf + Stream - 4 Devices - $274.19

Little do they know that with Inter-webs comes the ability for mom and dad to keep closer tabs on them anyway. “I didn’t hear my phone” cannot be used as an excuse when it is common knowledge that teen girls have their phones surgically attached to them at all times!

Also due to the fact that we bought the Inter-webs package I will be attempting to periscope from the cruise. I fear I won’t be that interesting but I will give it a try. I have asked my girls to be involved with that… We will see how it goes! You can find us on periscope @bajadahl

Final Pre-Cruise thoughts -

So there you have it. Our basic plan for our family of 4 with grandma and grandpa along for the ride. Feel free to ask me questions along the way and I will do my best, within reason, to find answers.

You can ask things like -

Do they make you walk the plank if your wife takes a sip of your rum (from the drink package)?

They probably won’t make her walk the plank, but heaven knows I would! Don’t touch my drink, If you wanted some you should have ordered one! Just like french fries at MickeyD’s!!!

Can one person really take up space on 6 loungers by the pool?

I don’t know but I’ll give it my best shot!

Do they really flog you if you show up at the MDR in shorts and flip flops?

(We might have to draw straws to see who tests this one)

As you you have probably gathered by now, the further I get into this the saltier I'll get. This should be a fun trip!

Enjoy -

Alan

Enjoying the ride so far, will follow!!

We all have different ideas about what’s important to us on our vacation but I hope you find some useful tips and information from this report.

Alan

Even if I don't find anything useful, I'll enjoy it. I know I will find something useful, I always do. Some people don't like some pre-cruise details, but I'm from the camp that if you put things in paragraphs as you have, its easy to skip ahead if something doesn't interest me.

Love this so far.

Looking forward to your review!

We are on a B2B on Oasis in Feb so will be looking forward to your report. Thanks for doing this.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Love your report so far and you haven't even left yet. We were on Allure and also did the comparison with Disney. Allure was amazing and we were not sorry one but, so I'm sure you'll feel the same with Oasis.

Btw...I felt the exact same in terms of internet. We are way too connected day to day.

Sent from my ONE E1005 using Tapatalk

We are on the July 2nd sailing as well (DH, DS 15, DD 11). We have never sailed Disney just Carnival and NCL. We are super excited...15 days!!!

Oasis of the Seas - 2 July 2016 Eastern Caribbean Sailing

 

As you you have probably gathered by now, the further I get into this the saltier I'll get. This should be a fun trip!

 

Enjoy -

Alan

The saltier the better. Tagging along!

Carol

We are on in September. Can't wait to read your report. We've cruised Disney, Carnival and Royal (yes we're cruise whores :o) but first time on the Oasis. Can't wait. Enjoy your cruise.

Sailing Oasis in August... tagging along!

Have fun!

Annette~

Following with interest! We are on Oasis for the first time B2B next May!

Alan, enjoy your writing style....anxiously waiting your continued review. :)

First cruise with Royal in 2004 on the Empress. Two cruises on Disney Magic in 2006 and 2009. We are going on Oasis in October. Can't wait to hear your comparison.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Oasis of the Seas - 2 July 2016 Eastern Caribbean Sailing

 

May 11, 2016 -

 

This will be my attempt at a trip report. I was’t sure about doing one but then realized how much I enjoy reading them. We all have different ideas about what’s important to us on our vacation but I hope you find some useful tips and information from this report.

 

 

Enjoy -

Alan

I have to say, Alan, that I really enjoyed reading your post. I'm not even on your cruise and I feel like I'm along for the ride. Oasis is an awesome ship. I sailed it in 2014 and will again on 7/30/16. You will have a blast, but remember when walking onto the ship, you must pick up your jaw from said floor so you don't trip over it. The ship is huge and breath stealing. So have a great trip and I'm glad your countdown clock is almost at zero.

Bon Voyage!

love your pre cruise post...I'm sure the rest will be great too..and your periscope too

Following

Oasis of the Seas - 2 July 2016 Eastern Caribbean Sailing

 

May 11, 2016 -

 

This will be my attempt at a trip report. I was’t sure about doing one but then realized how much I enjoy reading them. We all have different ideas about what’s important to us on our vacation but I hope you find some useful tips and information from this report.

 

First a little about us - We are a family of 4: Me, DW, DD(14), and DD(12)

 

On this trip we will be joined by my Mom and Dad (So I will mention them from time to time)

 

We love traveling. We typically go to a Disney Property at least once a year along with some other more educational or historical vacation such as National Parks or historical destinations. In 2012 we finally discovered cruising. We’ve been on 4 cruises prior to this one.

 

Disney Dream - Summer 2012

Disney Magic - Spring Break 2013

Disney Wonder - Alaska Summer 2014

Royal Caribbean Navigator of the Seas - Summer 2014

 

We still love Disney but we have really felt the pinch of a Disney cruise compared to Royal Caribbean. Prior to booking this cruise we compared it to the Disney Fantasy on a similar itinerary.

 

The Fantasy Cruise was the 18th of June 2016 - 7 Night - Eastern Caribbean with Stops in Tortola, St Thomas, and Castaway Cay. While we have normally cruised with a Deluxe Family Ocean View Room with Veranda, on this cruise we priced a single Deluxe Interior Stateroom (Category 10A Room 9579 204 sq. ft) The Price for this cruise as priced in March of 2015 was $8315.00

 

The Royal Caribbean 2 July 2016 - 7 Night - Eastern Caribbean has stops in - St Maarten, San Juan, and Labadee. We booked 2 connecting staterooms over looking Central Park with Balconies. (C1-14211 and C1-14213 182 sq. ft and 50 sq. ft balcony EACH) The Price for this cruise was $5664.36

 

Neither Price included Tips or other incidentals. So just comparing the basic cruise fare the Royal Caribbean was $2650.64 cheaper and gave us quiet a bit more space and comfort with two staterooms and two bathrooms! (Did I mention I have two teen daughters?)

 

This enormous difference in price made it an easy decision. Of course I am very well aware of the fact that Disney is still selling out their ships so I have no answer for when I will ever be able to cruise with them again. Maybe it was a mistake to price shop…. Ignorance is bliss I guess.

 

 

However, After sailing for a buddies wedding cruise on the Royal Caribbean Navigator of the Seas Ship in August of 2014 I do understand there are differences between these cruise lines. There is something about the level of service on a Disney Cruise that I just can’t explain. Maybe it’s the Kool-aid. I may never know. My last comment on this subject at least for now is this — We were on the Disney Wonder in June 2014 and the RCCL Navigator in August 2014 so we were able to compare the two cruise lines pretty fairly and both were fresh in our minds. I felt Disney was hands down the better cruise line…. The question for me was how much better. I guess I got my answer when looking for our Summer 2016 cruise. While Disney was better it was not almost 50% better… maybe 20%… Maybe 25% but not almost 50%!!

 

So that’s how we arrived at this sailing.

 

We booked the cruise on April 3rd 2015 -

 

Oasis of the Seas - Eastern Caribbean 2 July 2016

Let the count down begin - 439 Days…. Ugh that’s going to be a long wait!

 

Please forgive me if I revert to comparing to Disney…It’s what I know. For instance no one can tell you exactly when “Excursions and things” open up for booking on the RCCL website. On Disney there are specific rules.

 

Platinum level can book 120 days prior to sailing, Gold 105 days, *and Silver 90 days. *First time cruisers, who are not yet Castatway Club members, may book 75 days.

 

There has been quite a bit of confusion on our Roll Call for this cruise because Royal opened some onboard reservations while holding back others. This led to the inevitable questions about show changes or cancellations. And since there is apparently a large private group on our sailing some thought they were taking over some of the show areas and blocking the rest of the cruise passengers from a full Royal experience. IE - Letting “CATS” go dark or maybe a private viewing for the large private group… maybe…. Let me cut to the chase… This was all nonsense. Royal just delayed opening different type of reservations. There was not a set release date for anything.

 

Here is a summary of when I was able to book on board shows and excursions:

 

74 days till cruise -

 

19 April - Frozen in Time Ice Show - This is approximately when it became available

19 April - Oasis of Dreams Aqua Show - Again this approximately when it became available

 

19 April - Labadee Dragon’s Breath Flight Line - Zip Line - This had been available for a long time. I was just waiting to book it. I chose the 11:30 AM availability. I felt like 11:30 was a good time but I guess we’ll see how that day goes. As a side note this is the only “excursion” we have booked for the entire trip. We might add another excursion but nothing on the web site jumps out at us. We are going to be happy just to be on island time for the week with no real set schedule.

 

67 Days till cruise -

 

26 April - Headliner Showtime,

26 April - Stand up Comedy Show

26 April - Cats

26 April - Come Fly with Me show

 

So these shows opened up 67 days prior to the cruise. Kind of an odd time. There does’t seem to be any rhyme or reason for when shows become available. Just a tiny bit frustrating but not the end of the world. We booked these shows immediately upon seeing they were available. Also, I learned they were available by someone on our Roll Call. So here’s my plug for joining your Roll Call. It’s great to have a bunch of eye balls watching RCCL’s website since there seems there is no schedule to making shows available.

 

A Little More About Our Summer Vacation

 

This isn’t just a cruise… Oh No. We are a very travel friendly family (This means we like to travel) Plane, Train, Automobile, Hike… Whatever.. Just try to see it all.

This trip will begin bright and EARLY on Tuesday the 28th of June. How Early? Must you ask?

 

Let me preface my next statement by the rule follower in me… We must be at the airport at least 2 hours prior to departure.

 

Our Flight leaves Austin at 5:10…………AM - It even hurts to type it. This means our vacation will officially start around 2:30 AM Tuesday Morning the 28th of June.

 

2:30 AM - Leave the house

3:00 AM - Arrive at the Airport

3:00 AM - 4:30 AM Wait patiently waiting and realizing absolutely nothing is open in the airport this early in the morning

4:30 AM - Board my Southwest Airlines Direct flight to Ft Lauderdale that I only paid $64.98 per person for. Whoo-Hoo! By the Way Total Round Trip Austin to Fort Lauderdale for my family of 4 - Drum Roll Please - $519.84 Thank you Mr. Saint Paddies Day Sale!

5:10 AM - And we are on our way

 

Scheduled Arrival in Fort Lauderdale is 8:55 AM (EST)

 

We are then renting a car and driving to Savannah, Georgia. It’s a goal of mine to get my daughters to all 50 states before they finish High School. We’ve got 9 states to go and only 4 more summers to get it done! We will make Savannah Base camp for 3 days and visit sites in Georgia and South Carolina knocking out two more states off our list! On the 1st of July we’ll drive back down to Fort Lauderdale and turn in the rental car.

 

I know what you’re thinking…. Why not just fly into Savannah and rent the car there? Two reasons the air fare sale mentioned above and the ridiculous drop fee when renting a car in one location and dropping at a different location. I don’t mind spending money on vacation but I can’t stand wasting money……ever! Those two reason would have easily added over $1000 to the cost of the trip.

 

Anyway - After dropping the car back at the FT Lauderdale airport I’ll take the free shuttle from the airport to the Hampton Inn (Airport North Cruise Port Location)

 

We will stay 1 night in the Hampton Inn and then Board the Oasis on the 2nd

Then we will cruise, cruise, cruise (yada yada yada)

and disembark on the 9th.

 

Finally, We will spend the last two nights at the Margaritaville Resort on Hollywood Beach. This is our detox time before having to go home. This is a new resort in Hollywood Florida that I think just opened a few months ago. We are really looking forward to this part of the trip!

 

Last but not least we fly home the night of July 11th. This is another painful moment. Yes it’s a direct flight but it’s not scheduled to depart until 10:50pm with an arrival the next day at 12:40am.

 

So that is the basic synopsis of our trip! I hope you’ll join us for the ride.

 

The Drink Package challenge - What’s the square root of 7 * 98 + e4 * pi / 4 bottles of rum

This is the formula for figuring out whether or not the drink package is worth it. At least it seems that way by the way people talk on the boards. It seems like rocket science trying to figure out whether or not a drink package is worth the money.

 

I believe there is some level of value just having the ability to grab a drink and never think about the cost or budget. Kind of like the fact that Disney includes the cost of sodas in the price of the cruise. Of course like everyone else I do a little bit of math to make sure the drink package isn’t just plane foolish. So here is my math for the drink package.

 

For my wife and daughters

Royal Replenish - $156.94 Per Person or $22.42 per day

 

All three drink “foo-foo” coffee drinks (Yes I know Starbucks is not included) and I’ve already caught some or their wrath for this. I do expect each of them to give the Seattle’s Best at the Cafe Promenade a try. (At least I am told it’s Seattle’s Best) I guess we will see.

 

The prices below are the values I have assigned Not the actual on board prices since I don’t have those handy. I will update my review with actual numbers during the cruise.

Daily Coffee drink - $4.00

Dailey OJ at breakfast - $3.00

Dailey Soda Drink at Lunch and Dinner at $3 each - $6.00

3 bottles of water per day at $2 each - $6.00

1 Milk Shake or foo-foo drink daily - $5.00

Total for each day - $24.00

 

Again this is a simple estimate of what I think my wife and girls will drink in a typical day on the cruise. Some days they will drink more and some less, but on average I know each of them would spend $20-$25 a day on drinks.

 

For myself I have purchased the Ultimate package - $437.78 ($62.54 per day)

I will drink enough frozen margaritas to make this cost a non-issue.

 

Just in case you didn’t know - Royal Caribbean Margaritas are Not all created equally. I learned this on the Navigator in 2014. Up at the pools the Margaritas were made with a cheap mixer…. At the R Bar they were made with fresh limes, strawberries and a top shelf tequila upon request…. MmmmmTasty.

 

Inter-Webs Package

 

I am not a fan of being connected while on vacation. I’ve spent too many years in IT where I was the only expert on a specific group of systems and always available meant ALWAYS! I could bore you with the true story of getting a call about a server down while standing at Old Faithful and missing the excitement of the initial blast, or the time…… Never-mind - let’s not dwell on those times. I am currently part of a talented IT team where going on vacation for the most part means actually going on vacation.

 

So NO Inter-webs for me this trip!

 

But wait - I have teenage daughters. Their faces will melt if they don’t have inter-webs. It’s true - I’ve seen it happen. And the inter-webs is on sale. Dad we just have to keep our snap chat streaks alive! Dad….Dad…… DADDY!

 

Fine we’ll get the inter-webs package. There goes family time……

 

Voom Surf + Stream - 4 Devices - $274.19

 

Little do they know that with Inter-webs comes the ability for mom and dad to keep closer tabs on them anyway. “I didn’t hear my phone” cannot be used as an excuse when it is common knowledge that teen girls have their phones surgically attached to them at all times!

 

Also due to the fact that we bought the Inter-webs package I will be attempting to periscope from the cruise. I fear I won’t be that interesting but I will give it a try. I have asked my girls to be involved with that… We will see how it goes! You can find us on periscope @bajadahl

 

 

Final Pre-Cruise thoughts -

 

So there you have it. Our basic plan for our family of 4 with grandma and grandpa along for the ride. Feel free to ask me questions along the way and I will do my best, within reason, to find answers.

 

You can ask things like -

 

Do they make you walk the plank if your wife takes a sip of your rum (from the drink package)?

They probably won’t make her walk the plank, but heaven knows I would! Don’t touch my drink, If you wanted some you should have ordered one! Just like french fries at MickeyD’s!!!

 

Can one person really take up space on 6 loungers by the pool?

I don’t know but I’ll give it my best shot!

 

Do they really flog you if you show up at the MDR in shorts and flip flops?

(We might have to draw straws to see who tests this one)

 

 

As you you have probably gathered by now, the further I get into this the saltier I'll get. This should be a fun trip!

 

Enjoy -

Alan

Hey there we will be there too. I love reading your plans. How did your packing go???

Ya'll be safe, it's a 4 1/2 hour drive for us.

7/1- Dropping the dog off at the best kennel here in town

Finish packing, loading the car, setting up GPS.

7/2- Leaving for the Port around 6:00am.

See Ya'll in 10 dayZ :-D :-D

Thanks for all the kind words everyone! We are in the mad rush of packing, and buying last minute items. The Days are really flying by now!

Dry Cleaning is done, just needs to be picked up tomorrow.

To add just a bit more pressure my wife gave me a new camera for fathers day so I am playing with it tonight to make sure I am not fumbling with it on the cruise.....

A little more info for you photophiles out there - It's a Nikon D500 to replace my D7000 (which I wasn't terribly fond of) The D500 has the pro menu system much like my really old D200 so it feels like home again.

Anyway the D500 is ridiculously fast at up to 10 frames a second and has a 200 picture buffer which is what I needed when I was chasing two year olds.... but I digress.

So everything is going well, just need to get my youngest through 2 more days of basketball camp without major damage (she jammed a finger today while going for a loose ball) I told her ease up - Cleveland already won the title this year. Let's not tear anything up before vacation. (Vigorously Knocking on wood)

This is the child who has broken her arm a month before vacation (TWICE!)

Just as FYI to all following - I will be posting reports for all of my vacation days starting on the 28th while the cruise doesn't actually kick off until the 2nd. I hope some of you find it entertaining at least. Just want to make sure I get my typing wheels greased up real good so that my words just flow eloquently onto the screen..... Is it getting deep in here...

Oh well back to packing and finishing up all the little household details.

Departure Countdown 6 Days 5 Hours 53 minutes

-Alan

Same itinerary for us in November. Looking forward to your review.

Following. I'm really enjoying your review. I sail Oasis in September and can't wait!!!!:):)

Ignore me folks - just making sure I have picture stuff ready to go. I don't want to be fumbling with this during the trip.

So here is a test picture with the new camera.

Hoping it works.

Alan

No pic.......sorry:(

But will see you on board!!:D

No pic.......sorry:(

 

But will see you on board!!:D

lol - yeah - I'm working on it. For some reason I can link to the pictures but can't embed them from the Nikon site. I may just have to break down and use photo bucket. But I am going to play with this a bit more first.

I see it now.........REALLY big!!:p

Beautiful!!! Don't forget extra memory cards.