Rubyfisch

Sunset ...

It's gray and cold in Baltimore. I went across the street and got another cup of coffee, but I'm struggling to stay awake ... I don't normally wake up at 5:45, and I kept waking up thinking I had overslept .... In other news, it looks like little Vision is off the coast of North Carolina:

Thank you!

Ran over to Harris Teeter (conveniently across the street) for some stuff for the trip and for lunch (don't worry - the bananas will get eaten here). I should probably get to finishing up work stuff so I can officially be on vacation.

And, miraculously, a room was ready. I'm staying at Courtyard at McHenry Row. My view:

So, I have to admit - I hate taxi cabs. I'm old enough to remember how horrible they were in the years leading up to Uber. They were expensive and dirty and the drivers didn't use GPS and would "get lost" and would always claim the meter stopped working or credit card reader didn't work. At least that was my Boston experience. But I also kind of hate figuring out Uber in new airports. I decided to go with the cab line today because it was there and I have too much stuff. And it was a perfectly pleasant experience. It was $45 including tip (and Uber XL would have been about $40, and a regular Uber maybe $32 or so). The convenience of it was worth it.

My flight was very smooth - I was in 2A (which effectively just meant I had lots of time to pace around baggage claim as we were half and hour early and baggage at BWI moves at a glacial pace). Here is a Logan on this fine morning: And the harbor: And the Boston cruise port (normally closed this time of year, although those poor folks on MSC just spent two and half days there): And a grainy, blurry picture of NYC:

And here is the itinerary. We were originally calling in Nassau rather than Bimini. I've never been to Bimini, but I've been to Nassau ... So I was fine with swap. It's an eight day out of Baltimore, which I think is just about perfect for a holiday cruise.

As an interlude while I wait (and wait) for my bags at BWI, a little bit about myself. This is my fifth Royal Caribbean cruise (and sixth overall. I'm traveling solo, bought the key and the refreshment package, have a couple of excursions planned, and am ready for the fun to start. My last cruise was on Holland, which was wonderful and different and lots fun. I enjoyed Holland with my partner ... I think I might have bored as a solo (in case you were curious). Check out this one if you are interested in the review: Check out this link if you want to see effectively the same cruise as this one, but colder and with many more logistical issues caused by the weather, aka Christmas 2022 on Enchantment:

Mobile ordering from Starbucks for the win:

Logan wasn't too crazy - there was no line for bag drop at Southwest, and the pre check line moved pretty smoothly. It was only about ten minutes from getting out to curb to getting through the security. The B Terminal was decked out for the holidays: Bonus stuffed monkey:

I am not a particular nervous traveler, and the flight from Boston to Baltimore is not particularly long, but this time of year, I'd prefer to leave nothing to chance ... So I'm on an 8:40 flight. Which means leaving my apartment in the dark .... Here's a blurry photo from the ride to Logan:

Obligatory luggage post - I'm headed out this morning to Baltimore, and then after the cruise I'm going to DC for New Year's, and then on to Delaware for a business trip, which is my current excuse for this much luggage for one person ....

Hello everyone! I'm headed out tomorrow on Vision of the Seas of the Christmas sailing. I plan of doing a live review, so please feel free to ask questions, leave comments, etc.

Royal's cruise arrive and depart earlier than Carnival's out of Baltimore. On my last one, folks were definitely parking by 10 am. And getting on the ship before 11 (which is the earliest time I've seen anyone be assigned on a Royal cruise out of Baltimore).

Sorry - what I meant was a cab or the Silver Line are both better options than Lyft/Uber from the airport. I'm a big Silver Line fan. We took the Red Line plus Silver Line to our last cruise out of Boston.

As a Bostonian, I completely agree, except from Logan. It is a very long walk from some of the terminals to where you can pick up a ride share, and I've found the wait times (and prices) to be more painful than just grabbing a cab from the cab line. Or the Silver line.

When we were in Charlottetown on Holland America, we were docked, as was another ship, but a third was tendering.

I think my limit might be three ... Or even two many days. I typically get a non-alcoholic package when I cruise (regardless of line), but on our next Holland America cruise, we got an amazing deal on the upgrades packages (Elite drinks, premium WiFi, included gratuities), so went for it.

For my next cruise, if you look at the description of the Elite package, it's the 15 total language, but if you look at the FAQ, it says that for Elite, non-alcoholic drinks don't count to the 15.

The Delta website suggests there is a post security shuttle bus from A to E. I think I've seen signs for it when I've been bored out of mind in A and wandering around, but I've never taken it.

I had forgotten about the peanut butter pie - it's amazing. And no where near as heavy as it sounds. On my next cruise, I might steal a piece and stash it my fridge for a midnight snack. Here's a not great photo of it:

This was fantastic - it was a warm chocolate cake with a caramelized banana and a scoop of coffee ice cream. It was on the first formal night (night 2 of 7 for us).

It's funny - the Opera Cake was the only dessert I didn't like.

@kazu - when I read your posts about the Banks from the start of the thread, I thought "man, if I'm ever in Amsterdam, I want to stay there" and went on without much of a thought. Then, somewhat unexpectedly, I found out I had to take a last minute business trip to the Netherlands. No one on my team seemed happy with what the travel agent suggested, so I suggested the Banks. So, low and behold, I'm headed to Amsterdam next week and we are staying at the Banks. And I'm staying over the weekend to get some sightseeing in. I certainly didn't expect this thread to be immediately relevant to my life (and certainly not my work life), but here we are. I'm really enjoying your posts - I hope the rest of your journey is just terrific.