Last year, in an effort to drive more cruise sales, Royal Caribbean had offered double cruise points on all cruises booked by the end of July 2022. This coupled with cheap cruise prices convinced us to book two inexpensive back-to-back Alaska cruises scheduled for last September. Unfortunately, this was when Larry had his medical issues and we weren’t able to go on those cruises. Consequently, we used those cruise credits to book these two back-to-back Caribbean cruises for this year:
August 26, 2022 – Friday – Seattle: overcast and cool / Ft. Lauderdale: 90ish, humid
Today our travels begin once again! Also, we are traveling with only one, 50 pound max suitcase for both of us. We’ll see how that works out! Our Uber ride to SeaTac had little traffic, and our Alaska flight left on time at 8:27am. We wore our masks during both modes of travel as well as in the airports. We were lucky to have the middle seat between us empty for a little more room. It only took 2-3 minutes to break free of the clouds so we could observe the gorgeous landscape below. Early on, the view was of very rugged terrain through clear skies, giving way to a patchwork of farmland, more greenery, waterways, and a wide variety of clouds. The surrounding clouds increased and became stormy looking the closer we got to Florida. Pat, who had a window seat, saw several partial bits of rainbows below as well as one bolt of lightning, but with only minor turbulence. We arrived just before 5:00pm local time, picked up our suitcase, and got an Uber to Embassy Suites. Since it was nearing the end of Happy Hour we quickly dropped our stuff in the room and headed down to claim our 2 free drinks along with some munchies which we enjoyed outside by the pool away from people. We retired to our room, settled in, watched a little CNN, then turned in after a long but smooth travel day.
August 27, 2022 – Saturday – Ft Lauderdale: 90ish, partly cloudy, humid
We were up and at the buffet breakfast just before 7:30 and filled up on eggs, bacon, oatmeal, and juice before it got crowded. We took our coffee by the pool before heading back to the room. Relaxed, read, watched TV, and walked over to Total Wine to pick up an order for 4 bottles of wine and then over to Publix for an Italian sandwich for dinner. Happy Hour was poolside once again, then we returned to our room for the evening. We got hooked on a show which took place at the Madrid airport and had immigration officials and police dealing with drug smugglers and people traveling on fraudulent documents. It was very entertaining and hard to stop watching.
August 28, 2022 – Sunday – Ft. Lauderdale / Miami: 90ish, humid, passing showers, humid
Again we enjoyed the breakfast buffet early then relaxed in the room. About 10:30 we called for a Lyft ride to the Port of Miami. We conversed with our driver, Monique, during the drive arriving about 30 minutes after being picked up.
We checked in, moved our dining time to 8:00, completed the muster drill, people watched in the Promenade, and got into our room (9202) at 1:00. Our room is a spacious ocean view in the very front of the ship with a very large circular window.
After we settled in as much as we could without our suitcase, we wandered the ship. The Diamond Lounge, on deck 14, was pretty large, nicely decorated, and had full floor-to-ceiling windows along 2 of the walls. Automatic doors also took us out into an outdoor private seating area (only for Diamond Lounge patrons) that overlooked the sports court where we sipped some coffee and were able to stay away from those inside the lounge. Continuing our exploring we came upon a feature we haven’t seen on other ships which was an area with windows that looks down into the bridge where you can watch the captain. There was a diagram of what we were looking down at, as well as duplicates of one of the bridge computer screens. A great idea. Next up was Happy Hour when we made use of the outdoor seating area in the Diamond Lounge to have our drinks and appetizers. Antonio was our wonderful waiter who we’ll look for each day. Today’s evening entertainment in the Palace Theater was a Welcome Aboard Show with a couple of song and dance performances and then headliner Nate Weatherup, a comedian who was just okay. Of course we wore masks and sat away from others. Dinner followed in the dining room with Kerisha as waiter and Lucas as assistant waiter. The food was delicious and Lucas’s service was very good, although we didn’t see much of Kerisha. We’ll see if Kerisha improves after a hectic first day. Our bed was very welcoming after a long day.
August 29, 2022 – Monday – Coco Cay, Bahamas: 84, clouds with chance of rain, humid
Laurie was up very early and Pat followed about 6:15 joining him in the Diamond Lounge as we pulled into Coco Cay with the sunrise. Sunrise gave way to a torrential downpour with strong winds but it let up within a half hour or so. We read for a while then visited Windjammer for a quick breakfast before returning to our room. It took a while for the clouds to clear out but finally about 10:30 we walked over to Coco Cay. Not being the type for the Thrill Park (which costs extra anyhow), we opted to relaxed in the area called Chill Island. There were loads of lounge chairs and umbrellas there to use with nice beach areas and clear blue waters to gaze out at. After we had our fill of sun, we walked around the island checking out the food which all looked delicious. We tried a few bites of a Cuban sandwich (pork, pickles, mustard) which was pretty good. There were a lot of other options but we choose ice cream cones to cool us off a bit. Back onboard we showered and relaxed until Happy Hour and then dinner. Kerisha was a totally different waitress than the evening before which was very pleasant to find out. We had another yummy dinner before calling it a night.
August 30, 2022 – Tuesday – At Sea: 84, clouds with a chance of rain, humid
The day began with a booming thunderstorm and another torrential downpour which started about 6:15am. Pat joined Laurie in the Diamond Lounge (there’s only a few people there in the morning) for coffee and reading time. There is a light, cold breakfast spread at 7:00 but we’ve held out for Windjammer this morning. It appeared most people were sleeping in, as the Windjammer wasn’t too busy at 8:15. Our hunger satisfied, we made our way to the Solarium where we parked ourselves in lounge chairs facing open windows with an ocean view and a nice breeze coming through the windows. It was so comfortable and relaxing we spent the entire morning there, ending our stay with some refreshing poolside drinks. It started to get noisy with a Men’s Belly Flop Competition going on nextdoor so we returned to our room to relax and read where it was quiet. Before long Happy Hour was upon us and we once again spent it in the outdoor area of the Diamond Lounge. This evening was formal night – we wore “business casual” (that’s what comes from 2 people packing one suitcase under 50 pounds!). The beef tenderloin dinner was tender and delicious. We picked up an after dinner drink to take back to our room to end the day.
August 31, 2022 – Wednesday – Falmouth, Jamaica: 82, clouds with chance of rain, humid
Another wet and windy start to the day but without thunder and lightning. It remained overcast all day but at least the rain let up in the late morning. We had our usual Diamond Lounge coffee followed by breakfast in Windjammer and reading in the Solarium. Later in the morning we decided to stretch our legs and walked around the shopping area by the port in Falmouth (but didn’t go in any stores), before returning to the room to read some more. A visit to the Loyalty Ambassador to let her know we were about to reach Diamond Plus status proved fruitful as she made a note for the system, gave us information on our benefits for the next cruise, gave us our Diamond Plus pins and luggage tags, and then had 3 of the new style beach totes delivered to our room. We then had our regular Happy Hour in the Diamond Lounge outdoor area. Antonio continues to provide very attentive service (and generous drinks). For a change we ate a little early in the Windjammer where the theme was Caribbean food, along with a lot of other choices. Everything was delicious (we even tried goat curry!) and it was nice and quiet in the seating area we chose. We turned in early thinking we might watch a movie but instead found some interesting shows to watch until we started to doze off.
September 1, 2022 – Thursday – Labadee, Haiti: 82, sunny, few puffy clouds, humid
A different start to the day with a colorful sunrise and no rain, although we could see some showers in the distance. Coffee in the lounge, breakfast in Windjammer, reading in the Solarium. Since most people seemed to head ashore and the ship was relatively quiet, we decided to stay onboard and hang out by the pool while there weren’t the usual crowds. The sun was intense, which Laurie loves, but after a short time Pat went in the pool which was pleasantly cool and refreshing and she had it all to herself. After a little more sun we had some cold drinks from the bar, watched part of a cornhole tournament, then went back to our room. Soon it was time for Happy Hour which we started in the outdoor area of the lounge, then finished nextdoor in Dizzy’s (as in Gillespie) Lounge overlooking the pool. Tonight was lobster night in the dining room. We each had two very small but yummy lobster tails and finally opened one of the bottles of wine we had brought onboard. Another wonderfully non-productive day.
September 2, 2022 – Friday – At Sea: 84, partly cloudy, humid
Our last full day on this cruise. It was a golden sunrise with a passing shower. After our usual morning routine, we returned to our room to do some packing. Then we parked ourselves once again in the quiet Dizzy’s Lounge to read and people watch the pool down below us. Eventually our waiter Antonio approached us and we started Happy Hour a little early. We moved over to the Diamond Lounge to sit outside to read. On the sport court below us a dodgeball tournament started and we drawn into watching some of it. For a change of scenery we decided to have our next beverage in the uncrowded Schooner Bar where a guitarist provided some pleasant background music. It was Greek night in the Windjammer which sounded interesting so we gave that a try for dinner. Everything was good. We turned in for an early night, finishing up a little more packing.
This first cruise was very relaxing – after the Welcome Aboard Show on day one we weren’t interested in any of the other shows. So, a lot of the time was spend reading, relaxing and soaking up the hot sun! We ate in Windjammer for several nights in which we didn’t feel like the dining room. We went to the beach in Coco Cay, stretched our legs in the port in Falmouth, and decided to hang out by the ship’s pool instead of going to the beach in Labadee. All were good choices for us. On to next cruise!
September 3, 2022 – Saturday – Miami, Florida: 80’s, partly cloudy, scattered showers, humid
We were up early, had coffee in the Diamond Lounge, returned to the room to finalize packing (switching rooms), picked up specialty coffees at the Windjammer bar, then returned to the lounge to wait for the beginning of our next cruise activities at 9:15am in the Star Lounge. Since we were switching cabins, we only had to pack the suitcase, items in the closet could remain on hangers, and the staff would move everything to our new cabin.
Our second cruise began at 9:15am with all consecutive cruisers (about 42) meeting in the Star Lounge to get new Sea Pass cards and have our passports and vaccination cards checked. We were all then led off the ship into the terminal and about 10 minutes later back onto the ship. We met a couple in line who had a lot of similarities to us – they originally lived in Illinois, then lived in Washington about a half hour from us, and now spend their time between cruising and traveling in their motorhome (full-timers). They will also be on the same Holy Land cruise as us in October. Back on the ship it was wonderful to have just the few of us wandering around the nearly empty ship. We stopped by our room, then checked out the Concierge Club which looked nice – but much smaller than the Diamond Lounge. Once people started coming onboard we went to Chops to make a BOGO dinner reservation for tomorrow night, checked in at our muster station, and then went to the dining room for a “consecutive cruisers luncheon” – delicious food, but lackluster service. Back to our room to unpack and relax. Later, we went to the Diamond Lounge where Laurie read outside where it was really hot, and Pat red inside until it became very crowded. Back outside we watched as we sailed away about 4:15 along with several other ships that we could see, then we found secluded lounge chairs in the shade with a bit of a breeze to hang out. We had a short stay in our room when we met our room steward, Rezhel who seemed very nice, then it was off to dinner in the dining room which ended our day. (Dennis is our new waiter, Jerrard our assistant waiter – both great.)
September 4, 2022, Sunday, At Sea: 84, partly cloudy, shattered showers, humid
Just like our last cruise we followed a similar morning routine of coffee in the Diamond Lounge, breakfast in Windjammer, and reading in the Solarium. Early afternoon we lotioned ourselves up and went up to the not-so-crowded top deck looking down on the very crowded pool to absorb some sun. At times there was recorded music, a live band, and a DJ playing dancing songs which a huge group danced along to poolside so we had entertainment as well. The rest of our afternoon was spent relaxing and going to Happy Hour in the outdoor area of the lounge. We decided to use our BOGO to try Izumi’s instead of going to Chops for a change. It was fun, tasty, and waaaay too much food! For a set price of $35 we each got a small plate (Crispy Rice Spicy Tuna Roll and Shrimp Firecracker Spring Roll) and 2 large plates (Crispy Philly Roll – Laurie’s favorite, Izumi Ryu Futomaki Roll – Pat’s favorite, Snow Crab & Salmon Dynamite Roll – Laurie also liked a lot, and Chef’s Sushi Selection). For dessert we had green tea ice cream and crispy sesame balls, with the entire meal being washed down with hot saki. We would definitely eat there again. We were absolutely stuffed (leaving quite a bit of food) and could just make it back to collapse in our bed.
September 5, 2022, Monday, At Sea: 84, partly cloudy, humid
While having our early morning coffee in the lounge we decided to have breakfast there as well. About 8:15 we went to the Solarium and unbelievably all the lounge chairs facing the windows had towels reserving them, as well as lots of other chairs. This cruise is loaded with “chair-hogs”! We saw chairs reserved for over 2 hours with no one even showing up, and others that the people went off for long periods of time. We found chairs the next row back but were right on a very busy aisle so had lots of people walking by. Oh well. Guess it’s a different crowd from last cruise. We read our books, and early afternoon we went back to our room to do some computer stuff, get a laundry bag together, and relax. Late afternoon we went to the Schooner Bar for Happy Hour where there was a piano player followed by a music trivia contest. They played songs from musicals and you had to name the musical. I think we got about 17 out of 20. Dinner was in the Windjammer which had Italian themed food. The food was all very good with the desserts just being good.
September 6, 2022, Tuesday, Kralendijk, Bonaire: 96, sunny, very humid
Today we had our coffee and breakfast in the Diamond Lounge. Around 9:30 we left the ship to walk around town. It was unbelievably hot! There was something going on at the port with the local population. Military personnel marched a bit, there was a band and singers, and the flag of Bonaire was raised on a flagpole. We then strolled down a shopping street of mostly colorful buildings. On the way back we walked along the waterfront promenade. The water was gorgeous shades of turquoise dotted with boats. It was extremely hot even in the early morning. There really isn’t a lot to do in Bonaire.
We returned to the ship and by 11:00 we settled by the uncrowded pool to relax in sun then Pat sat in the shade for a couple hours. Much needed naps and showers rounded out our afternoon. Our evening started with a trip to the casino to use the $12 total credit we got from Royal, which we turned into just short of $30! We didn’t start our Happy Hour until after 6:30 in the outdoor area of the lounge. It was still very warm but we sat in shade and observed a pretty sunset. The captain announced that we were only 75 miles from our next port so overnight we’d be crawling along at 4 knots. Dinner in the dining room and then retired to our room. (Because we missed 2 nights in a row in the dining room we got a call from Augusto, our maitre’d in the afternoon making sure that everything was alright.)
September 7, 2022, Wednesday, Willemsted, Curacao: 89, partly cloudy, humid
We had our early coffee and a pastry as we pulled into Willemsted about sunrise. We thought we’d get an early start to avoid the heat but at 8:30 it was already 86 and climbing. After walking along the water then through the historic Rif Fort within the Renaissance Shopping Mall, we crossed the Queen Emma Pedestrian Bridge which is a swinging pontoon bridge that leads to the city’s colorful shops. While wandering around the streets we came across the Mikve Israel-Emanuel Synagogue which is the oldest surviving synagogue in the Americas (1732).
If you’re into shopping there’s plenty to do in town, but we just enjoyed the architecture of the town then headed back in time to see the bridge swinging back in place after opening for a ferry. It felt good to get back into A/C to rest before going to the Windjammer for lunch since we didn’t have much of a breakfast. We then spent about 1-1/2 hours by the pool, Laurie in the sun, Pat in the shade. Afternoon showers and naps refreshed us for the evening. The outdoor area of the lounge was in the sun and very hot but we found a table just outside the lounge in Dizzy’s that was pushed back in a corner by itself and away from the few other people in there. Dinner was in the dining room again, then we stopped at a bar to get a few cans of Coke and bottles of water to use up our drink credits on our way back to the room. Once we turned off the lights we noticed flashes of light outside the porthole which turned out to be pops of lightning around and above high clouds off in the distance. Nice to fall asleep to.
September 8, 2022, Thursday, Oranjestad, Aruba: 87, partly cloudy, humid
Our last port for the cruise. Our day started in the Diamond Lounge for coffee and a nosh as usual. We left the ship around 9:00, walking to a bus terminal a short distance from the port to catch a public bus for $2.60 each to Eagle Beach which was only about a 10 minute drive. Eagle Beach is gorgeous and has been rated by some as the third best beach in the world. The beach was white, sugary sand and the water was varying shades of blues and turquoise with small waves. The huge expanse of beach was dotted with palapas which provide shade for the lounge chairs sitting beneath them. We rented lounge chairs for $15 each and parked ourselves in the front row of chairs, Laurie in the sun, Pat in the shade of a palapa.
At one point a beach attendant came around with little skewers of frozen fruit which were very refreshing. The water outside of the marked beach areas were very busy with jet skis, boats, and parasailing boats. Once we had our fill of sun and beach we headed back to the ship. As we waited at the bus stop a small van that said “Bus” on the front stopped to see if we wanted a ride to the port for $2 each, so we hopped on with the 3 people already there, and were later joined by another 3 people. It actually dropped us off closer to the ship than taking the regular bus to the bus station would have done. We got ourselves hydrated, showered, and relaxed for the rest of the afternoon. Happy Hour was once again in the outdoor lounge area as the sun set. A peak up at Windjammer for Chinese themed night made us decide to have dinner there instead of the dining room. (The sad news of the day was the death of Queen Elizabeth II at the age of 96. Just two days prior she had met with the new Prime Minister. She looked happy but frail then. Prince Charles is now King Charles III.)
September 9, 2022, Friday, At Sea: 84, partly cloudy, humid
Enjoyed the sunrise through through tall, puffy clouds while having coffee, a little nosh, and reading in the Diamond Lounge. We headed to the Solarium just after 7:30 to see what the chair situation was but the chairs hogs had already been out in full force. We did manage to snag a couple chairs near the pool in the shade for a little while until we went for a mid-morning breakfast in the Windjammer. We caught up with a few things in the room before going up on deck to get a little sun. Deck 12 wasn’t crowded by our spot looking out to sea. It was very hot so we had cold drinks before returning to the room to wash up and relax. We started Happy Hour outside but it was hot so once the people with a 5:30 dinner seating left, we found a secluded table off by itself in Dizzy’s Lounge until it was time for our 8:00 seating. It was lobster night which was delicious. We were very full when we were done and glad to retire to our room.
September 10, 2022, Saturday, At Sea: 85, partly cloudy, humid
Our last full day. Coffee in the Diamond Lounge. Then we went to the Solarium about 7:00 where once again every window chair was draped in towels to reserve them. We talked to one of the workers there who said they were working on the problem but we didn’t see a single towel removed the 2 1/2 hours we were there. (The worker said he got there at 6:00 and already the chairs were covered in towels.) Very aggravating and the one negative part of the cruise. We left for the Windjammer and people immediately took our vacated chairs by the pool. Then we returned to the room to rest and start packing, but mainly we just relaxed and read in bed. It was pleasant outside the Diamond Lounge for our Happy Hour – very warm but not hot and slightly less humid. We went to the Windjammer for dinner so that we could get back to the room sooner and finish packing.
September 11, 2022, Sunday, Miami, Florida: 86, partly cloudy, humid
Our last few hours on the ship. We had our coffee in the lounge just after 6:00, then returned to our room to finish packing. We opted for a self-assist departure which meant we took off our own luggage and got off the ship early. It worked well and we were off before 7:30, took a Lyft ride to the Embassy Suites in Ft. Lauderdale, and by 8:30 we were enjoying their buffet breakfast. We relaxed in the lobby finishing our coffee before sitting out by the poolside. It was nice for a while but then got too hot for Pat so she headed in to read in a quiet spot while Laurie continued to soak up the heat. We both read until about 1:30 when a room was ready. (we’re on the 9th floor looking north for a city view). We watched some TV and read, then went to for a Happy Hour drink and snacks. After seeing a commercial for pizza we decided to order a pizza from Manhattan New York Pizza for pickup in the shopping mall behind the hotel. A medium pepperoni was on special for $7.95 and it was very good. In the evening we got caught up watching episodes of The Office, several which we hadn’t seen before.
September 12, 2022, Monday, Miami, Florida: 86, partly cloudy, humid
Time to travel home, but our flight isn’t until 6:25pm. Plenty of time to enjoy the buffet breakfast, have coffee by the pool, watch some TV (mainly Queen Elizabeth II footage), pack up, and have a late checkout at 12:00. We sat and read in comfortable spot in the lobby until about 3:30 when we took a Lyft to the airport. After checking our bag and going through security, Pat picked up a sandwich to have for dinner which she ate while we waited to board. The flight took off on time around 6:30 and was a bit bumpy for a while at first but then smoothed out. We were the second row from the back so it took a long time to get off the plane. The luggage came pretty quick but then getting a Lyft ride took nearly an hour. Even though we touched down about 9:30, we didn’t home until midnight (3:00am Florida time)! Daniel came down to give us hugs but then we all quickly made our way to bed. It brought to an end a wonderful trip that was very relaxing and we enjoyed very much!
During our travels we stayed Covid-safe by wearing masks when needed, staying away from crowds, and trying to stay outside as much as possible when not in our room.