harryfat1

OK, even of an old man complaining. Let's wrap up the beach part of the Labadee experience: +++++++++++ I tried to take a short nap while the fam was out on the beach but it's not easy when you have these guys coming by: 20231229_133240.mp4

Thanks for the pricing info. The water park isn't as expensive as I thought. However, if I was a parent paying for the park, I would feel like I got ripped off based on the picture of the waterslide versus reality. Compare the size of the waterslide in your picture to what was at Labadee in December. Notice the difference? Must be the same shrinkage we experienced on the shuffleboard game. RCI's new slogan - less is more (as in they charge you more and give you less)...

Not a fantastic memory. Just did a quick on my old posts I needed to provide the link anyway. I uploaded a Youtube video on the food waste on RCI last week and someone mentioned they order what they anticipate to be popular for any given cruise. I'm sure they have it down to the science of how much food each restaurant sells. There is one unique thing about cruise ship specialty restaurants that is different than land-based restaurants. Ship-based restaurants know EXACTLY who ate at each restaurant since you are billed by your cabin. Based on that, they can build a database on what an average 50-year-old man and woman will order versus a 30-year-old couple based on what each age group orders at Chops or whatever restaurant. Whereas in a regular land-based restaurant, they can't track that level of detail. They also can estimate on holiday sailings where there are over 1,000 kids on the ship, they will need to order more food catering to the younger crowd. Another unique thing is that ship-based restaurants only charge one fixed price instead of per item on land-based restaurants. Back at home if you order steak and salmon and chicken in one meal, you have to pay for all 3 items separately. On the ship, it's just one set price. A final thought is that RCI can change prices weekly on any sailing for specialty dining as they run regular promotions online. Your average land-based restaurant with a pre-printed menu and prices are not as flexible to make changes

Ok. Enough pictures. Time to go back to the lounger chairs. After we came back, both boys wanted to check out the area as well so my wife went back with them while I chilled out at the lounger. I might have dozed for a few minutes while they were gone. I think I woke up when the next roving musical band came by to do their act Here are their pictures

Does anyone know the cost of doing the slide?

There’s a water park on the other side of the walking pier. I don’t know what the cost is to use the water park – anyone who knows can leave a comment so others will know Looking back at our lounger area

At about one o'clock, my wife and I decided to walk along the beach to see what was happening at the other part of the Columbus Cove. As I said, we are not the sitting type on vacation. Not even at the beach, not when there are photo opts to be had...

So done eating and washed my hands in the bathroom by the lunch area. It's time to just chill out at the beach You can hang your hats underneath the umbrella

They had different groups coming by periodically singing and dancing to keep the area lively. That's assuming you want it to be lively. If you want your beach time to be nap time, it might not work out for you Between the drums and megaphone chanting, it's likely your nap time will be cut short

Then it was my wife and the boys' turn to get their food Dessert Time

Back to the trip reporting ++++++++ So I brought the lunch back to the lounger chair area. You can either eat on the benches by the buffet or bring it back to your chair to eat. The view is better back at the beach area

Next time you should wrap a couple of diapers to both sides of the lounger chair and squeeze a little mustard on the diaper with a touch of water dripping from it. I guarantee you that your chair will be untouched…🤪 Heck, you may not have anyone sitting next to you if you point the mustard part outward to both sides of you so you will have lots of space to stretch out…

As you recall, back on my Navigator of the Seas trip report, you requested that I analyze the foot cost for half of the year (the latest info available at the time). Here is the link (see post #413 for those that didn’t read the old info): https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2958097-cheapo-dads-trip-report-on-the-navigator-of-the-seas-maybe-with-few-pictures-added/page/17/#comment-66046593 I assume the cost remained similar for the rest of the year. Originally I was going to do a comparison for the whole year but Biker19 mentioned that there’s already a discussion on the RCI board on the 10K results so there’s no need for me to reinvent the wheel if people are already talking about it. Being thorough is part of the occupational hazard of being a “bean counter” as you have to be detailed oriented to survive this job. Almost every Accounting job posted online requests the ideal candidate to be detail-oriented. There’s an old saying – treat others the way you want to be treated (apparently most people on social media never heard of this saying as they constantly bash one another). When I read other people’s trip reports, I want them to be as detailed as possible as being a 9.2 on the anal scale, I don’t like surprises on my vacation so I look for tips that help in my planning. And since I get bored easily with my ADHD tendencies, I also want to be entertained when I read trip reports. Thus when I write my reports, my target audience is myself as I write these reports the way I want to read them if I was on the other end. Loads of hourly details and photos and tips on boarding/disembarking and maybe a Baby Got Back video to keep me engaged. This trip report is almost done but not quite there yet. To borrow the old sports adage – it ain’t over until the fat lady sings. She’s last seen in the background warming up but not on the stage yet so we have a bit more to go before we wrap this up.

You have your basic burgers/hot dogs/chicken/corn and salad selection. Another sign of RCI cutting back on the food quality. Back in 2014 and 2017 when were last at Labadee, they had ribs as part of the lunch offering. Not there anymore My lunch in 2023 My lunch in 2017 Much better fruit display back in 2017 as well. Didn't see anything like this back in December

We also took turns getting lunch. I was the first one to get something to eat as the boys were still in the water when I stood in line at 11:45. I wanted to grab lunch earlier before the buffet area got messy Here is the lunch area as you see people taking the food back. You can either eat on the benches there or eat by the beach. We have always brought back our food to eat at the beach with the view of the ship as how often do you get to do that back at home? They are open from 11:30 to 1:30 so don't be too late for the lunch area Self Explanatory

The North Star is up Even at the beach, we visited the uncle in prison (aka shipboard photography) with the boys in the picture together It's just crazy to me the dude is that deep in the water with the expensive SLR taking pictures

I like the old dude in the background holding his drink as he walks across the water...

Technically my cell phone is supposed to be waterproof up to a certain point but I wasn't going to tempt fate in case someone bumped into me and my phone took a deep dive so I didn't go too far into the water I had a waterproof camera that I should have brought along on this trip then I just wrapped it around my neck and took as many pictures as I wanted in the water.

After dropping off the stuff, we took turns being in the water just so there was always someone to watch our stuff

The boys in front of us and nobody behind us other than the walkway

So after scouring around the area, we found 2 X 2 chairs with the boys in the front and my wife and I in the back. I like this area because it’s shady and has a straight path to the beach in the front as well as to the lunch area behind us and the restroom on the other side. Turning around, the buffet lunch is just behind the blue umbrellas in the middle so it's a convenient area

Also gone since 2017 is the dude who used to hang around the beach looking for a tip to set up the lounger chairs. Maybe we got off the ship too late after the IFly experience or they stopped the tipping policy but I didn’t see anyone there looking for a tip as all the lounger chairs were already set up. I prepared some small bills in case I had to pay for the dude to set it up for me. Anyway, there are lots of loungers around and many trees/umbrellas so if you want a shady area, you should be able to find one. As with land real estate, the closer to the water, the more people preferred so all the early birds got the first row of chairs right by the water and then the second, third, and later rows were taken. Since we didn’t get there until after 11 AM, all the front-row loungers were occupied. Personally speaking, it’s not a bad thing because as the day wore on, the sun would shift so that the shaded area would be completely gone in the first row by 11. So if you want the front row but not in the direct sun, come to the beach early and then leave early to avoid direct sun exposure. We were in the last row before the “walkway” that people can walk by and there are more loungers behind the walkway. See the walkway dividing up the umbrellas. Not much sun in the row closer to the water but more shade in the back rows

OK, we made it to Columbus Cove. Labadee has different beaches but from the various reviews in the past, this is the most family-friendly and we typically come here. If you have $$ to burn, RCI is more than happy to sell you the waterfront bungalow for 4 figures but being cheap, I will opt for the free chairs. Speaking of free chairs, it looks like they replaced the beach chairs to be orange or blue solid-colored ones. The old ones with blue and white stripes from my previous 2017 visit are no longer here Our chairs Chairs from 2017