voyager70

I’d take late February over July/August in Coco Cay any day, but I’m from the northeast so anything over 70 is pool or beach weather for me😎

2 hours ago, BonTexasNY said:

Truth be told I hate raisins as well.  I never ate Raisinettes.  I was a Goobers gal. I pick raisins out of trail mix.  My mom would omit raisins in her recipes just for me. Raisins were left out of her apple strudel, cheese blintzes, cookies among other dishes. 

My late grandmother was an avid (and excellent) baker. Whenever she was baking something that called for raisins, she would make a special batch just for me without raisins, as she knew of my disdain for them. She was amazing!

15 minutes ago, Keksie said:

I am glad her margins were clear.  Give her extra pets from me.  

From me as well ❤️
 

32 minutes ago, grapau27 said:

Pauline and Sarah are excited to be going to Rod Stewart's concert on Friday.

Boy George and Culture club are one of the supporting artists.

That sounds like an amazing concert. Hope Pauline and Sarah have a great time.

1 hour ago, Ocean Boy said:

I was thinking, I wonder what the proud parents of these people think of the kids they raised? Imagine that one of them is yours and your friends call you up and tell you they saw your son/daughter on TV last night... 😮😮

 

I do like the chef. She is good at her job and just seems like a very nice person.

Agree about the chef. I really like her and how she has managed to avoid the ridiculous drama and just do her job. Unfortunately this means we probably won’t see her again after this season as it’s become very clear Bravo loves the drama causing, narcissistic types to stir things up season after season.  Really starting to get getting sick of this show.

I personally would pick the Mariner cruise for the extra night and the two days in Bermuda, which has some beautiful beaches as well. But either itinerary would be great.

5 minutes ago, Another_Critic said:

Anyone see Winkleman or Walker at the sailaway party handing out business cards?  🙃

They’re probably licking their chops. Thank God nobody was hurt.

7 minutes ago, HBE4 said:

I hate it when I read back one of my posts, notice a few grammar errors, go back to edit and correct them all and when I hit the SAVE button, it tells me its too late!  I mean, if its too late, then take away the EDIT button.

 

Don't make me do all that work of correcting my post and hope people didn't  notice before telling me it's too late. 😅

No worries, I think most of us have done the same. I know I have!

1 hour ago, singinalot said:

our final stop of the trip was the lighthouse…where we climbed 219 steps…both got vertigo pretty badly, and decided it’s not something we’ll ever do again!

 

 

 

🤢🤢🤢

 

 

 

Beautiful pics, as usual, thank you! Have to say though the third one gave me vertigo just looking at it! Don’t think I’d have been able to make that climb.

24 minutes ago, KroozNut said:

Do any of you RCI/EOS veterans know when the 2 'formal nights' (or whatever RCI calls them) might be on this 9-night itinerary?

 

Day 1 - Miami (depart 4:30pm)

Day 2 - Sea Day

Day 3 - Puerto Plata (depart 3pm)

Day 4 - St. Thomas (depart 7pm)

Day 5 - Antigua (depart 4pm)

Day 6 - Grenada (depart 5pm)

Day 7 - St. Kitts (depart 7pm)

Day 8 - Sea Day

Day 9 - Sea Day

Day 10 - Miami (arrive 6:30am)

 

I'm guessing the 2nd one will be on the evening of day 8 (sea day). As for the first one, would it likely be on the first sea day (day 2), or some other day (all port days)?

 

I realize it's up to the captain of the ship, and anybody's guess. But my experience on other lines is that they can usually be predicted with some success based on itinerary.

 

Thanks!

 

 

My guess would also be days 2 and 8. On our 8 night itinerary it was days 2 and 7, both were sea days.

Can’t answer your question but that’s an interesting username you have 😉

On 6/2/2023 at 10:16 PM, RobInMN said:

Here is "MS Sovereign" when it was owned by Pullman docked next to Symphony of the Seas in 2018 in Civitavecchia. I wish I had noticed it sooner and taken a better picture, but I didn't. I realized as we were on the bus to the airport after our cruise.

I thought it was kind of fun to see the current "largest cruise ship in the world" next to it's ancestor that held the title from 1987 to 1990 and what some people consider the first "mega cruise ship"

These comparison photos are always mind blowing. My first cruise in 1982 was on the 23,000 ton Sitmar Fairwind and it seemed huge at the time (mind you I was only 12 but still!) That ship would look like a little toy next to an Oasis class ship.

7 minutes ago, dani negreanu said:

 

Cannot "like" such a post. Glad there is only material damage.

I second that. @Husky1987very happy you are all ok. 

I also take several prescription meds and ALWAYS pack them in my carry on, not only so they’re not lost if checked luggage is lost but also to ensure they’re not exposed to temperature extremes. I’ve never had an issue at cruise ports or with TSA.

I’ve been on Explorer several times, most recently last month for 8 nights to the southern Caribbean. It’s a great mid sized ship with a great crew. It recently came out of a (mostly) cosmetic dry dock (they did add water slides) and I thought she looked great, especially considering she is 20+ years old. I love this class of ship and similar Freedom class ships. They’re actually my favorite in the fleet. Obviously they don’t have all the bells and whistles of the Mega ships which you said you don’t need (I don’t either) but they still have plenty to offer and I’m already booked on this ship again for this fall.

1 hour ago, ownedbypets said:

Baileys General Store?  I grew up in Ft Myers and my family had condos on Captiva. I have family and friends that still live there, including my daughter.

Baileys was always our first stop when arriving on Sanibel. Always felt like home stepping into that place. I understand they were under 6 feet of water after Ian and they will be tearing down the original building and building a new one. The artist renderings are beautiful but it just won’t be the same. Hope your family and friends in Captiva are doing well post Ian.

4 minutes ago, Sea Dog said:

Sad that your place was destroyed holding a lot of fond memories. I used to go every year down to Fort Meyers to cover the Kansas City Royals in spring training before they moved to Orlando. I loved Fort Meyers and every year we would go to the Bubble Room. I loved the decor and oh those desserts were to die for.

Fortunately Bubble Room survived Ian but has yet to reopen. Amazingly, Mucky Duck across the street and right on the beach not only survived but has also reopened! Both hold special places in my heart and are among my go-to places on the islands. 

7 minutes ago, Sea Dog said:

Did you ever go to the Bubble Room? That’s one of my all time favorite restaurants.

Love the Bubble Room! Sanibel/Captiva are actually where my love for SW Florida started. We bought a condo there when I was a kid and another a few years later. Would vacation there 3-4 times a year. I still made it a point to visit once every year or two (in between cruises, of course!) right up until Ian devastated the islands last September.  I did some checking to discover our first condo was completely destroyed (it was a ground floor unit and didn’t stand a chance) and the other (second floor) was heavily damaged but still standing. I’m hoping to visit again next year but I know it will be a sobering visit. 

16 minutes ago, ReneeFLL said:

A friend of mine who was born with a congenital heart defect lived in Fort Myers and would come over to Weston (Ft. Lauderdale area) to go to Cleveland Clinic.

Yes, Cleveland Clinic is a huge plus for SE FL and one of the main reasons I’m considering this area. Would definitely want to go there for heart issues. At least it’s not too far across the state.

54 minutes ago, disneybabe said:

*UPDATE*

I’m home!
License never found. Thanks for the suggestions on places to look.

Requested early luggage tags from guest services so we could get off earlier to start whatever process awaited us in the morning.

Happy to say it was a short easy process to get off the ship.  When they scanned my sea pass card we were instructed to wait for a ship’s officer.  We waited off to the side for about 10 minutes and were then escorted to the luggage area then to the customs checkpoint. The ship’s officer requested a custom’s agent to escort us to a side room.  The agent went through the family’s documents then questioned each child about their names and birthdates.  She was very pleasant.
We started leaving the ship at 7:50 and were in our car by 8:20

Smooth easy process!😀 

Thanks for the update. So happy all went smoothly for you.

2 hours ago, ReneeFLL said:

I hear SW Florida isn’t bad, but I think differently about Miami and Fort Lauderdale. You might want to rent or Air B&B for about 6 months here and then see what you really think. Being so close to the ports is great and we really like Cleveland Clinic, but I sometimes think I’m in another country south of Florida. The drivers down here are just awful. We can’t wait to get out of here, but unfortunately that won’t be for about another 5 years. We are also over ever having a winter. It consists of several days here and there with decent cool temps. It’s also very crowded and they just keep building. We feel this way, but there are many others that think differently. Come check it out before permanently moving down here.

Thanks for your thoughts. It’s always helpful to get first hand perspective from someone who’s lived in the area for an extended time. I’m definitely leaning towards SW FL as I’m much more familiar with the area, and after doing some research the health care system seems to be vastly improved from years ago. Still have time to work out all the details. I’ve always been a little (or a lot) OCD about planning anything, and this is a big one for sure!

I just book at a price I’m comfortable with leave it at that. Having sailed with Royal for as long as I have I don’t even bother with their so-called sales and promotions. But I understand the frustration.

Same old deals and “sales” for me as well. 
 

The Miami sail away is the most beautiful in FL in my opinion. Sailing through Biscayne Bay and past South Beach can’t be beat. Nothing wrong with the other Florida ports but nothing special either. I’ve never had any major issues with MIA or the drive to the port, although I’ve never been the one driving 😁 

1 hour ago, orville99 said:

House is paid off; pay cash for our cars, $0 debt (only use one CC and pay it off every month), so other than utilities, taxes, food, beer, and cruises we don't have a lot of places or things that require any of our $$ any more.😇

That’s an awesome place to be. I’m doing my best to get there myself in the next 10 years (or hopefully sooner) so I can enjoy my retirement and plenty of post-retirement cruises!