Ciardasully Posted October 29, 2015 #1 Share Posted October 29, 2015 Hello, Let me start by introducing myself. My name is Kerry and this is my first cruise on Royal Caribbean and my fourth cruise overall. I cruise with my husband Bryon (bmckim). This time we had an additional cruiser join us for her first cruise- our 13-month-old daughter Maddy. A lot of my review will come from the live blogs that we have on website but I will be adding more information. If you want a sneak peak, feel free to go to my website that it is in my signature. You may see Bryon(bmckim) on here. He is the planner so he will most likely answer any questions you may have in regards to planning or logistics. We live in Upstate NY and enjoy cruising in the winter months. We did not get to cruise last winter due to Maddy being too young and we missed it! Bryon would snow blow and listen to Caribbean music while doing it. We had booked a Feb 2016 on the Freedom of the Seas. We had no plans to take this cruise until one month ago when Bryon was looking for deals. We had used airline miles (I have the United credit card) and booked a flight for the three of us. While we literally live minutes from the Albany airport, but we opted to drive to Newark as the flight from Newark would be non-stop. This would be our first time flying with a baby and with a carseat and we did not want to worry about layover and changing planes. Also, we always fly down a day or two ahead of time. We don't like to chance having issues with our flight. Our day started very very early this morning. Too early as I am not a morning person. We woke up at 4 am. Bryon and I did almost all our packing the night before but there is always that last minute “do I have this?” as well as frantically trying to get the garbage out and ensuring the cat food is placed where the cat sitter can find it. We were on the road by 5 am. Bryon admits that the drive was tough until the sun came up. We parked in a shuttle lot. The shuttle lot service we used Newark Long Term Parking was very efficient. Bryon also likes that that service has an app. We were at the airport at 7:45. We went up elevators and down elevators and up elevators as one of the elevators only stopped at levels 1 and 3 and we needed be on floor 2. We did ultimately get to check in and made it through security painlessly (thank you TSA pre-check). We tried to avoid as many carry-ons as possible, as they would be tough to carry through the airport along with the stroller, carseat, etc. Something that made it easier was when we were buying carseats, Bryon bought one that would not only fold up, but have straps on it so you could carry it like a backpack. This made going through the airport a bit easier. We made our way to the United Club (we get free passes since I am a United card holder) and had some breakfast. And much needed coffee. Maddy loved the bananas. Maddy was excited and was walking around. Lucky for us, she tired herself out for the flight. Maddy wanted to walk around. She had been walking a little since her first birthday but she literally just started taking off the weekend before. She wanted to walk around the United Club and thought that walking was hilarious. We made our way over the gate and boarded uneventfully. We checked our stroller at the gate. It was a little hectic boarding as Bryon had to set up the carseat but we got settled in. Maddy slept through most of the flight and I watched DirecTV (King of Queens, Frasier and How I Met Your Mother). Bryon was excited to watch the new Entourage movie on board the flight. We deplaned easily as I took whatever carryons I could carry along with Maddy and got off the plane. I waited for Bryon at the gate as he took out the carseat. Up Next: Fort Lauderdale Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3OhioCruisers Posted October 29, 2015 #2 Share Posted October 29, 2015 Can't wait to read!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trihawks1 Posted October 29, 2015 #3 Share Posted October 29, 2015 What a cutie! Waiting to see the rest of the review. we are on Oasis in December for the first time so I appreciate the review. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MerriWthr Posted October 29, 2015 #4 Share Posted October 29, 2015 Following along! Great start! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canadian-nurse Posted October 29, 2015 #5 Share Posted October 29, 2015 (edited) Maddy is adorable! I can't wait to read more. We're on Oasis in March! Thanks for taking the time to post! Edited October 29, 2015 by canadian-nurse Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimbri Posted October 29, 2015 #6 Share Posted October 29, 2015 Looking forward to your review. Maddy is adorable! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare BillOh Posted October 29, 2015 #7 Share Posted October 29, 2015 Are you saying there was good deals to be had on this 4 day cruise? On one hand I would expect to see good deals to fill up the ship when the schedule is thrown off by a charter as it was. In the past, they haven't been there, so I didn't even look. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LuCruise Posted October 29, 2015 #8 Share Posted October 29, 2015 Subscribing. How sweet to travel with your 13 month old. What special memories. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bmckim Posted October 29, 2015 #9 Share Posted October 29, 2015 Are you saying there was good deals to be had on this 4 day cruise? On one hand I would expect to see good deals to fill up the ship when the schedule is thrown off by a charter as it was. In the past, they haven't been there, so I didn't even look. The deal we got was a steal. We booked a month out, and it was very clear where the prices where at that they were having a hard time filling up the ship. To give you an idea of price, we were looking at a last minute cruise for this timeframe, and it came down to a Carnival Fantasy Class Ship (Oldest Class) on a 4 night cruise, or this one for a 3 night cruise, and they were about the same price. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ciardasully Posted October 29, 2015 Author #10 Share Posted October 29, 2015 Can't wait to read!!! Glad to have you along! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ciardasully Posted October 29, 2015 Author #11 Share Posted October 29, 2015 What a cutie! Waiting to see the rest of the review. we are on Oasis in December for the first time so I appreciate the review. Thank you! You will have a great time in Dec Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ciardasully Posted October 29, 2015 Author #12 Share Posted October 29, 2015 Following along! Great start! Thank you for following along! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ciardasully Posted October 29, 2015 Author #13 Share Posted October 29, 2015 Maddy is adorable! I can't wait to read more. We're on Oasis in March! Thanks for taking the time to post! Thank you! You are going to have a great time on Oasis! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ciardasully Posted October 29, 2015 Author #14 Share Posted October 29, 2015 Looking forward to your review. Maddy is adorable! Thank you! I hope the review doesn't disappoint. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ciardasully Posted October 29, 2015 Author #15 Share Posted October 29, 2015 Subscribing. How sweet to travel with your 13 month old. What special memories. Thanks for the subscribe! I know she won't remember it but it will be nice for her to look at the photos. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ciardasully Posted October 30, 2015 Author #16 Share Posted October 30, 2015 We got our baggage at the baggage claim and Bryon remembered that the rental car pickup was quite a walk so Maddy and I waited with the luggage by the curbside pickup while Bryon picked up the rental car. As we waited, Maddy ate crackers. The pigeons played nearby. Maddy loved them and they loved all the crackers that Maddy dropped. Everybody wins. We drove to our hotel, the Hilton Resort on Fort Lauderdale Beach. Here is a bad photo from of the port from the car. I can't help it, I am short. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ciardasully Posted October 30, 2015 Author #17 Share Posted October 30, 2015 Here are some pics of our suite. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruisexlife Posted October 30, 2015 #18 Share Posted October 30, 2015 Very excited for your review, great start! :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ciardasully Posted October 30, 2015 Author #19 Share Posted October 30, 2015 We decided we wanted to get a lunch so we walked down Fort Lauderdale Beach Blvd. We wound up at a place called The Parrot Lounge. We sat outside. It was basic pub food which was what we wanted. I had the BLT and Maddy had chicken fingers. Bryon had a quesadilla, of which I forgot to get a photo. It was good. The only thing that I can critique is that the BLT didn't come with mayo on it. Since we were outside, the waitress didn't come out much to check on us so I was unable to ask for it. It still tasted good nonetheless. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ciardasully Posted October 30, 2015 Author #20 Share Posted October 30, 2015 Very excited for your review, great start! :D Thank you! I see you have been on the Glory. That was our first cruise and we loved that ship. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ciardasully Posted October 30, 2015 Author #21 Share Posted October 30, 2015 We walked along Fort Lauderdale Blvd. It was windy and there was a red flag out at the beach so no swimming for us. We got back to the hotel and wanted to take a nap but this one had other plans. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruisexlife Posted October 30, 2015 #22 Share Posted October 30, 2015 Thank you! I see you have been on the Glory. That was our first cruise and we loved that ship. She is a great ship! :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpm1973 Posted October 30, 2015 #23 Share Posted October 30, 2015 Great to see another review from this sailing! Sent from my KFTT using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare perfect match Posted October 30, 2015 #24 Share Posted October 30, 2015 Thanks for your review. Can't wait to read the rest. :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
depplep Posted October 30, 2015 #25 Share Posted October 30, 2015 Being a transplant from the North, I love the line about Byron snow blowing listening to Caribbean music! I'll be on Oasis tomorrow so I hope to catch the rest of your review before then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Please sign in to comment
You will be able to leave a comment after signing in
Sign In Now