APDMOM

Our Debarkation Experience: As we suspected, although we boarded at Terminal 25, we were at Terminal 29 when we returned from our cruise... This meant a shuttle ride to the Palm Parking Garage. For the first time in 38 cruises, we decided to try the self-assist debarkation at the last minute. It was a GREAT decision. TIP: If you can manage your own luggage, the self-assist debarkation was a breeze for this cruise. We were on deck 5 to debark by 7:30 and in our car by 7:56. Plenty of shuttles were lined up to drive us to Palm Garage. You just walk straight out the terminal and slightly to the right: TIP: For parking at Palm Garage - If you can make it to the opposite corner with your luggage, there is another elevator you can take. The elevator by the shuttle drop off had a long line, and it is a very SLOW elevator. We decided to walk our luggage up when we noticed the second elevator in the back corner. You can also pay for your parking at the elevator:

My View: Debarkation Day in Port Everglades Final Sunrise for this cruise: Ships in port: Have I mentioned how much I LOVE seeing our future ships in port? We are booked on Odyssey in just 6 short days! A few other ships in port - they will have to wait on our "maybe some day" bucket list for now:

My View: End of Day 8 - Final sunset at sea (at least for this cruise)

Celebrating You Parade: TIP: The best place to watch the parade is between the Mast Bar and the Mast Bar Grill - the parade will walk right past you and you can see their faces. We were on the opposite side, but walked around to the other side to at least get the whole staff/crew picture. Quoting Captain Karatzas: “Don’t forget, Life is beautiful. Enjoy it!” Rich - Our Energetic, Amazing Cruise Director: (He had me in stitches again at this parade)

The Pool Contrast: Only our son in the pool at 11:30 on Cozumel day: vs. Sea Day: (And this is why we love a balcony!)

My View: Day 8 - Sea Day Most of the day was spent on the balcony, seeing some ships go by: I will have to take a closer look to see if the other Celebrity ship from earlier in the week was Millenium or Silhouette... Here is Millenium:

We did not notice it being darker than other balconies we have had. We set the chairs close to the glass and the lighting from deck 5 shines up there some. We did not even check to see if there is a balcony light, since we did not need it. 🙂

No, it is actually not dark - that is just the picture due to the beautiful bright water that the camera sensor picked up. The balcony is very well lit and can get quite sunny too.

Alas! My day job is interfering with my review. Hope to finish out the sea day and end of cruise tomorrow, then post dailies and more ship pics. 🙂

My View: End of day 7 - Cozumel: Caught the lightning in the cloud!

Full Moon over Cozumel:

A few more Views of Cozumel It is a busy place! Seascape sailing away:

The Balcony: The View Forward - you have to kind of lean over to see forward: The View Aft: The View Straight Down: The Location - Midship, Port, Just 3 doors from the elevator area:

On that note, I will share about our stateroom - 8279: My parents had this angled type of balcony on our cruise to Alaska. We loved the larger size with the wind blocked for Alaska. For this cruise, I wish we had booked the forward facing angle, as this balcony got quite hot on the way to Grand Cayman. It was sunny on the balcony most of that sea day. On the way back, it was the opposite, with nice cool breezes though. So, all in all it was a great choice. For warmer weather I would just switch to the forward angled balcony in the future. Pictures of our room: First glimpse upon arrival: Later, with the bed ready for our son: Storage space: The safe is nice and spacious. We were able to fit 2 iPads and our MacBook Air into the safe with ease! The bathroom: Lotion, Soap, Shampoo, and Conditioner were provided. TIP: If you are picky about shampoo, bring your own. I did not like this shampoo and conditioner at all. It dried my hair out. So, I only used it one time then switched back to my trusty Pantene. The Minibar: This one actually got quite cold - more like a regular fridge. I know there is always debate about this being more of a cooler than a fridge. However, this one was definitely cold enough to keep milk fresh, or to chill a cafe latte for later 🙂

DH and DS on our balcony:

We just had some fun walking around port, bought a hat, and took too many pictures. 😄 My new hat - a good excuse to support the local economy:

Cozumel: We were the only ship at Royal Village. There were three ships at the Carnival dock, while Norwegian Breakaway docked at Punta Langosta. These Catamarans looked like so much fun - they are now on our bucket list for a future trip to Cozumel.

The moon (not the sun!) setting over the water: The first picture was taken with my iPhone. The second was taken with my Nikon P900 Sunrise on the other side of the ship: TIP: If you catch the full moon at sea, you will be able to watch the moon set just before the sun rises. A perfect combination. This is usually the morning before the official full moon night.

My View: Day 7 - Cozumel, Mexico

My Favorite View: End of Day 6: Roatán I finally taught my two favorite guys to drink coffee/latte/cappuccino:

Senior Officers Party: This was also the second "formal" night. Really enjoyed our chats with Inrich during our morning cappuccino.

TIP: The Roatan sign is not far from the port - just over a mile. It is probably possible to walk there, but do so in a group - safety in numbers. Also be careful because the roads are narrow with lots of traffic.

Arrival: TIP: When the ship pulls in, try to be on a deck where you can see the pier. We always receive a warm welcome here! Fortunately, the ship docked port side and we were able to watch the action from our balcony: IMG_0863.MOV We only did a quick walk around the port this time. I really wanted to replace a purse from Roatan that I gave to my niece, but the new options had very poor zippers. So, we just took a few pictures and then enjoyed the quiet ship. A Few Views of Roatán:

TIP: Book an excursion for this port - I highly recommend a ship excursion. Many people complain about this port. There really is not much in the port area itself. However, Roatan is beautiful and worth taking an excursion. We went on one in November 2019. Click here for review of Roatan 2019

My View: Day 6 - Roatán