This week, I’ll be heading up north for the very first Royal Caribbean Alaska cruise for the season! 

I’ll be sailing on a 7-night sailing onboard Radiance of the Seas from Vancouver to Alaska. Our itinerary includes port stops in Ketchikan, Sitka, and Skagway. The cruise will also sail through the Inside Passage and Tracy Arm Fjord, which I’m very excited about. 

Queue the song “North to Alaska” - one that my dad sang everyday of our first Alaskan cruise!

This week, I’ll be sailing with a very special friend, Sydney! We were roommates during our Semester at Sea and we haven’t sailed together since we disembarked from our ship in 2015. From sleeping in a remote Senegalese hut to hiking almost the entire island of Santorini, we have some incredible travel memories together. 

It’s been 4 years since we last saw each other at my wedding, so we have lots to catch up on during our week in Alaska. We've been wanting to take a trip together since our semester abroad, but life has been busy for us both. The pandemic didn't help, of course.

Travel Requirements

When we booked our Alaska cruise in February, it wasn’t entirely clear if Canada would allow cruise ship travel. Given the country’s overall cautiousness with the pandemic, I was hesitant to get too excited about the cruise. 

Luckily, Canada has allowed the entry of cruise ships and our cruise is a go! Sydney will be visiting Seattle and taking the train to Vancouver, while I will be flying from Florida directly into Vancouver. As fully vaccinated travelers, we don’t need a negative covid test to enter the country. 

Both of us were required to fill out the ArriveCAN form online, in which you receive a QR code to board your flight. The website says you can be randomly selected for COVID testing, but those recovered from COVID within 180 days are exempt with a positive PCR test. Sydney and I have both recovered from COVID in the last 180 days so we will be traveling with documentation to exempt us from the testing. 

Royal Caribbean still requires a negative COVID test within 2 days to board the ship and the United States still requires a negative test for airline travel. I’ve been holding out hope that the international testing requirement would be dropped for airline travel, but who knows if I will luck out by May 5. 

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I am planning to take the Abbott Home-Test (proctored) for both the cruise and the airline requirement since I am outside of the 90 day recovery window. I’ve had great luck using these tests and I will probably pack and extra just in case. 

Alaska Experiences

I’ve sailed twice to Alaska before, both on Royal Caribbean cruises. The first time I did an Alaska cruise was in 2010 with my family and grandparents. We sailed south from Seward to Vancouver onboard Radiance of the Seas as well. 

I will never forget showing up to the train in Anchorage; we were under the impression it was a quick 30 minute ride to the cruise port Seward. Someone told us to enjoy the train’s beautiful views during the 5 hour ride - and we all were shocked to hear it was a long haul ride to the port. Guess that’s what life was like before iPhones! 

Our cruise was incredible though, even with the weather being unexpectedly cold. I have vivid memories of doing the dog sled training excursion and whale watching from the sea. Our horse-drawn city tour excursion hit a car in Ketchikan, which was very memorable. We also cruised right up to an iceberg and could hear the cackling and crashing of ice chunks falling into the freezing sea. 

The worst part of the trip was when I got home and found out I had mono- which explains why I got sick on the flight home from Vancouver. Hoping for better health this time around in Vancouver!

The second time I sailed to Alaska was last summer in July 2021 when cruising had just restarted. My husband and I sailed for 7-nights roundtrip from Seattle on Serenade of the Seas. Luke and I desperately needed a vacation after he graduated from his rigorous pilot training program and I finished grad school, not to mention the pandemic wearing on all of us at that point. 

We just wanted to cruise and honestly didn’t care where it went. When Royal Caribbean announced that Alaskan cruises would be restarted, we booked right away. It was perfect for us because it didn’t require approval for Luke to leave the country. We were true Floridians escaping the summer heat to vacation somewhere cooler!

Overall, our exploring was quite minimal. We had no plans because we wanted to have ultimate relaxation filled with eating, drinking, sleeping and being literal vacation blobs with no schedule in mind. 

We accomplished just that and enjoyed a week of much needed cruising relaxation. We didn’t do much in the ports other than walking around. The scenery from our balcony each evening was spectacular - and we had been upgraded from an outside cabin for free. We also have excellent weather and were actually able to use the outdoor pools a few days. 

Radiance Class Ships

As I mentioned, I sailed on Radiance of the Seas nearly 12 years ago. The ship was refurbished in 2016, so I’m looking forward to seeing some of her upgrades. We had a New Zealand cruise scheduled for March 27, 2020 on Radiance of the Seas, but you all know how that ended! She's definitely a great ship to sail anywhere with gorgeous landscapes and natural beauty.

Radiance Class ships are some of my favorite. In fact, in the last 5 years, I’ve sailed almost exclusively on Radiance Class ships. I appreciate the more intimate size of these cruise ships and the glass atrium gives truly incredible scenic views. 

Being on the smaller side, these ships are usually placed on longer sailings with more interesting ports of call. Radiance Class ships might not have all the bells and whistles of the bigger cruise ships, but they’re so comfortable and have everything you need for a great cruise. 

This Cruise

For our week in Alaska, Sydney and I are going to take a freestyle approach. We weren't sure if excursion policies would change so we haven't booked any tours currently. We are open to doing a tour if the opportunity presents itself but we normally like traveling on our own and exploring the port cities.

This is the first sailing of the Alaska season for Royal Caribbean! I've never been on a ship’s first inaugural season sailing, so that will be fun. It’s looking like we won’t be having amazing weather, as the forecast is showing 40 to 50 degrees each day. Looks like it will be rainy and cloudy. This is expected for late April so I’ll be packing all the cozy sweaters.  

Apparently, Radiance of the Seas just returned to service in April as the 22nd Royal Caribbean ship to resume cruising. I'll be interested to see if the ship's recent return to service will affect the onboard operations.

Sydney and I got an incredible deal on our cruise. We booked an inside cabin guarantee for $450 each with $100 onboard credit included. With the price being so low and the sailing being the first of the Alaska season, I will be interested to see what capacity we will be sailing at. I assume most who sail to Alaska sail in the summer in hopes of better weather and kids are out of school. After my busy Mariner of the Seas sailing last week, I wouldn't complain about a quiet ship.

Last summer, our Alaskan cruise had boozy hot chocolate and coffee during one of the mornings sailing through the fjords. This was something I was so excited for because I saw pictures online before we sailed. I asked at every bar when the boozy cocktails would be served but most bartenders didn't know what I was talking about.

Apparently these amazing drinks were served one morning on the pool deck and there was no announcement, much to my disappointment. They didn’t serve these special boozy drinks again the rest of the cruise. I’m very much looking forward to seeing the different cozy cocktails that will be served and I’ll be darned if I miss the warm cocktails on the pool deck again! 

Sydney loved getting up early on Semester at Sea to see the sunrise as we pulled into new ports - and I never once joined her (haha). This time around, I don’t want to regret missing beautiful sunrises or sunsets if the weather looks like it will cooperate. 

Overall, we are very excited to be sailing through Alaska. I really think it's the best way to see the state and all of its natural beauty. Getting to sail through the Inside Passage and the fjords can't be matched with a land trip. Of course, Sydney and I are equally as excited to see each other again after we lived in a cabin together at sea for 104 days!

Bon voyage!

It’s the final day of our 4-night Bahamas getaway cruise, which means we are sadly packing up our bags and getting ready to drive back home tomorrow.

Why can’t every week go as quickly as it does when you’re on vacation?

Today, we arrived early in the morning to Nassau, Bahamas. Angie and I were responsible today and set our alarms for a gnarly 8:30 AM to ensure we wouldn’t sleep another morning away.

I was again surprised to see the ship was already noticeably quiet, meaning most people were up earlier than we were to start their Nassau day. We didn’t have any issues with getting a seat in the Windjammer and the coffee bar was wide open - all good ways to start our morning.

We allocated 30 minutes to have breakfast and another 30 minutes to get ready for the day. Our goal was to be off the ship by 9:30 and we were successfully off the ship right around that time. 

Good Morning, Nassau

As I mentioned yesterday, we had Resort for a Day passes to the RIU Palace in Nassau. This all-inclusive resort is located on Paradise Island right next to Atlantis. It looked to be about a 10 minute drive from the port to the resort.

Our passes for the day were around $100 each and included access to the pools (including chairs and towels), unlimited alcoholic drinks and unlimited food. The pass was valid from 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM, but Mariner’s gangway up time was 3:00 PM for all aboard.

I don’t like to play with fire when it comes to all aboard time. You won’t see me cutting it close.

During my Semester at Sea abroad program, we would be punished with ‘dock time’ if we were late to the ship. Dock time was the ultimate punishment because for every 15 minutes you were late for all aboard time, you’d lose an hour of port time at the next stop. Needless to say, it’s engrained in me to give at least 30-60 minutes of buffer time for returning to the ship.

As we walked off the ship in Nassau, we were docked next to Carnival Freedom and Disney Magic. I might be biased, but Mariner looked to be in the best shape of the 3 ships.

There was a ton of construction, apparently for a new cruise port terminal in Nassau that’s being built. We probably had a solid 10 minute walk as we zigzagged through the construction. Finally, we reached the main road outside of the current terminal, which is basically a few tents.

A lady wearing an official looking vest asked if we were going to Paradise Island and we told her we were headed to the RIU Palace. She had us join a large group of others heading to Paradise Island. I was actually fine with this - as two women traveling together, I prefer to be in a larger group just to be safe.

RIU Palace - Resort for a Day

The drive was a quick 10 minutes and I initially was very impressed with Paradise Island’s curb appeal. We walked into the RIU Palace right at 10:00 AM, as we had hoped, and waited in line to check in. The lobby was beautiful with plenty of views of the pool and ocean.

In alignment with our theme this entire cruise, it was quite windy as we walked outside to the pool area. There were 2 pools, one of which was an infinity pool overlooking the ocean. There was a swim-up bar and plenty of chairs to choose from.

The wind was a bit overwhelming when we first arrived, so we walked around the resort for a bit to see what it looked like. As you can guess, we are loyal cruisers so we haven’t really been to an all-inclusive resort before.

Angie ordered a vanilla milkshake from the snack bar inside - a wild start to our unlimited drinking! We noticed that people seemed to be enjoying the infinity pool without getting blown over, so I grabbed a drink and we snagged a spot on the corner near the infinity's edge.

The infinity pool had a gorgeous view of the ocean with some lounging chairs partially submerged in the water. The pool was super nice and the bar was blocking us from the majority of the wind. The temperature was perfect. We settled nicely into the infinity pool and had a mini photoshoot with the picturesque views.

The other pool appeared to be less protected from the wind, so we stayed comfortable in the infinity pool near the swim-up bar. The RIU Palace also has a private, direct access to the beach. The water was gorgeously blue, but the red flag and giant waves made us appreciate the infinity pool.

We also met some nice gals traveling from Las Vegas. This is one of my favorite parts of traveling - getting to meet and connect people from all over the world!

Between the views, pina coladas and new found friends, it seemed like the time really flew by.

Lunch was being served both poolside and in the buffet. Since cruising is essentially one big buffet, we opted to try the Caribbean-style buffet poolside. We tried the rice, jerk pork and jerk chicken. All of it was delicious and hit the spot.

Since we needed to return to the ship by 3:00 PM, we started to pack up around 1:30 PM. We had to check-out of the resort, in which the front desk would return my ID that they held and would cut off our wristbands.

The line, unfortunately, wasn’t moving quickly as many people had now arrived to check-in to their rooms at the resort. We waited probably 15 minutes before I approached the bellhop to ask if he could arrange a taxi for us to go back to the ship.

The bellhop went behind the front desk and returned my ID while also cutting off our wristbands. I wasn’t getting too worried about the time at this point, as we had an hour to get back on the ship.

Our taxi driver promptly returned us to the port where we walked and zigzagged through the construction again.

We made it back to the ship by 2:15 PM, which was still plenty of time.

Overall, we really enjoyed our time at RIU Resort. It had a party-vibe with lots of groups and friends traveling together, perhaps for bachelor and bachelorette parties. There was a wide array of people there though, so I think people of all ages would enjoy this. The unlimited food and drink is a great perk. The infinity pool and beach access are also great amenities.

I would check to see how long you have in port and how early you can check in for your resort pass. We could check in at 10:00 AM and needed to be back on the ship by 3:00PM, which only gave us about 4 solid hours of the 8 hour pass. If our ship was in port longer, or if the resort had let us in earlier, we would have gotten more of our money’s worth.

Three Strikes on the SkyPad

Back on the ship, I made one final attempt for the SkyPad. I dressed in workout gear and put on my closed toe shoes. I even tried to yank off my wedding ring to make sure I didn’t have any jewelry. To no one’s surprise, my fingers were swollen from the heat, eating and alcohol so I was not successful at removing all my jewelry.

As I trekked up to the SkyPad, I saw the long line coming around the stairs. Filled with determination, I made my way to the line where the employee would approve my outfit. I guess my ring was no problem but Angie’s shorts were too short and my top didn’t cover enough of my arms. We discretely traded shirts so Angie could capture me doing the SkyPad.

I think the universe was laughing when I wrote the SkyPad was on my top 3 things I wanted to do for this cruise. They only had 1 trampoline in use and there were probably 12 adolescents in front of me. A storm was brewing in the distance and the employees told everyone they could stay in line but the SkyPad would close if it started to rain.

At this point, I accepted that I wasn’t meant to do the SkyPad. Most of the people in line were significantly younger than I, so I also didn’t want to take a spot from one of the kids if the line happened to magically move fast and the rain stayed away.

We made our way to the Solarium to grab a cocktail and drown my sorrows of 3 failed attempts at the SkyPad. Angie said how she hoped maybe we could grab one of the daybeds in the Solarium to watch the sail away from port.

Well, fate just wasn’t on our side again because all of the daybeds were taken. What made me super frustrated was that all 3 daybeds on one side of the Solarium were ‘taken’ but no one was using them.

Cruising is officially back because the chair hogs are back in full swing!

As we sailed away from port, Angie and I waited at least 20 minutes and no one returned to the daybeds. One of the beds simply had a beach bag on the corner so we sat on the opposite side while watching the ship sail off.

We agreed if the person came back to the bed, we would just move to another spot. After sitting on the edge for some time, we hear a voice that says “uhm, can you not sit by my stuff?”

I responded that I was sorry, but no one was using it. She grabbed a towel from the adjacent daybed (that no one was currently using either) and draped it across the entire bed to claim her territory.

Essentially, she was hogging 2 of the coveted daybeds and walked away!

Angie and I were pretty surprised that she was blatantly hogging the beds and didn’t even use the daybed after telling us not to sit ‘by’ her stuff.

I wish people could be more considerate on these packed sailings. In the full hour that we were in the Solarium, not one person laid on the daybeds that they were saving.

Jamie's Italian for Dinner

All the chair hogging got me worked up, so we went back to our cabin and got ready for dinner. We had a reservation for Jamie’s Italian tonight and we were both very excited. Our reservation wasn’t until 6:00 PM but we arrived a little early and were accommodated without problem.

The first time we ate at Jamie’s was on Spectrum of the Seas during our China sailing. We had been craving a sense of cruise normalcy during that time, so Jamie’s really hit the spot and knocked it out of the park on our first impressions. We also dined back in February at Jamie’s with our parents on Harmony of the Seas.

Angie and I die for good Italian food, so we came hungry. We started with the black truffle arancini and ultimate garlic cheese bread. Both of these were delicious. We’ve also enjoyed the meat plank before, but we skipped this time around since it was just the two of us.

For pastas, we ordered the carbonara, truffle tagliatelle and bolognese in the smaller portions. We both agreed that the truffle pasta was the winner, which was also our favorite last time.

Angie ordered the lasagne for an entree and I ordered the beef short rib. Angie’s lasagne was delightful, rich in sauce and plenty of cheesy layers. My short rib was tender and very flavorful. We opted to polish off our meals with the pavlova and epic brownie. The pavlova is always a hit and Angie hoarded it mostly to herself; I wasn’t mad though, because the brownie was also rich, fudgy and decadent.

The service was excellent again and we commented how we’ve had such fast services during all of our meals.

The two of us got talking to the table next to us - an older couple from Chicago area. We were chatting away until we realized it was nearly 7:00 PM and we had to go to the Royal Theatre for the show. The final headliner tonight was a variety show featuring the previous night’s juggler and the Royal Caribbean Singers and Dancers. It was a lovely show to end the cruise.

And yes, the family-friendly juggler comedian mentioned flatulence (as I predicted) multiple times.

We finished our night with one final drink at The Bamboo Room. Angie and I both enjoyed a mojito. I also wanted to say goodbye to our Ukranian bartender we met, as he really tugged at my heartstrings the first day.

Here we all are on this cruise, a carefree vacation, while some of the crew members have families in an active war zone. The crew work so hard while sailing on these cruise ships and they receive very little time off. Most of the time, these crew members are working to support their families back in their home countries.

With a deployed spouse myself, I empathize greatly with the sacrifices they make being away from family. I know personally how hard that is to be separated from your family and miss milestones, birthdays, anniversaries, etc. 

I always keep this on my mind and in my heart when I finalize my gratuities on the last day. I want to recognize the crew members that really make cruising so special for us and reward those who go above and beyond to cater to our needs. 

After our last mojito and a farewell to The Bamboo Room, we came back to our stateroom and packed our bags. The saddest moment of the cruise - truly!

So that brings us to the end of our sister cruise! We had the best time sharing this experience together and capturing all the incredible (and unexpected!) moments. We still can’t believe our ship was hit by a cargo ship on the first day - nonetheless that our first day was meant to be a sea day.

Thanks for following along and hope to see you all back at sea soon!

Today we arrived at the beautiful island of CocoCay, Bahamas, which is Royal Caribbean’s private island.

Back in February, we had visited Perfect Day at CocoCay for the first time in nearly 13 years. We were super impressed with how the island had been transformed into a private island oasis.

Needless to say, Angie and I were super excited to return to CocoCay. It’s such a fun stop with great music, delicious food and tropical vibes around every corner. It’s an easy going day with everything all in one convenient spot.

Late Morning

I’m embarrassed to say we had a late start to our day - to the point that we missed breakfast in the Windjammer! I must have jinxed myself yesterday because I really didn’t sleep well last night, which is unusual for me on a cruise. I was awake throughout the night and finally fell back asleep in the early morning.

I could feel the ship swaying and waves were crashing against the ship’s hull, so I was in no rush to wake up. Angie had reported that we might arrive late into port today because of the wind, so I was convinced all morning that we simply hadn’t arrived to port yet because I could feel the ship moving.

Low and behold, when we finally awoke from our pitch-black slumber, we had no idea where we were or what time it was. We turned on the TV map to confirm that we had indeed arrived in CocoCay and it was 11:00 AM. I guess the wind must have been substantial enough to make the ship continue to sway even while docked.

That’s one of the downsides on an inside cabin I suppose, we really have no concept of time or location without a window.

Everyone must have been ashore by the time we left our cabin because the ship was virtually dead as we made our way to deck 1 and onto CocoCay.

It was certainly a bit windy as we walked along the shoreline, but it was very comfortable once we reached the island. The sun started to peak out and it really was a perfect day.

Allure of the Seas was supposed to dock with us today but was unable to make it due to reported medical emergencies. Therefore, the island felt pretty empty with only our ship docked.

Perfect Day at CocoCay

Since we had missed breakfast, we were very ready to grab some lunch. Snack Shack is a great spot for food, so we made our way across the island for a quick bite to eat.

Angie and I had the crispy chicken sandwich with basil mayo - it’s deliciousness reminded us both of Chick Fil A. Per recommendations, we also ordered the cheese sticks, which were equally as cheesy as they were crispy.

We polished off our meal with a funnel cake, which I have deemed an absolute must-have when visiting CocoCay. Deep fried sweet dough covered in powdered sugar. How often can you get a funnel cake these days anyway… unless you’re dragging yourself to your local state fair in the summer?! Just go for it and thank us later!

The party tunes were blasting from Oasis Lagoon, so we made our way over to the swim-up bar. This was our favorite spot when we visited in February - it’s such a fun atmosphere and everyone’s always having a good time drinking to the DJ’s remixes.

We also had it on our agenda to try out the floating tiki bar on South Beach. We weren’t entirely sure where the bar was located, so we started wandering around towards the hot air balloon (which wasn’t running today because of wind).

Eventually, we found rows of beach chairs and umbrellas on South Beach with the famous floating tiki bar off in the distance.

The water was turquoise blue and felt refreshing after walking in the sand and heat. South Beach was much quieter and felt very low key, so this would be a great place to relax if you prefer a more serene beach experience.

We did, indeed, have to swim a bit to get to the floating bar. As we hoisted ourselves up on the bar, it was pretty packed with other cruisers. We waited for a bit while the bartender left the bar and started to make a few calls.

Someone told us the bar had ran out of ice, which was bad luck timing for us. We didn’t feel like waiting for the logistics to play out regarding how exactly more ice would be transported to the floating tiki bar, so we swam back to the beach.

Since we love Oasis Lagoon so much, we went back for a few more drinks and to enjoy the DJ again. Angie opted for a Bahama mama while I tried out the watermelon margarita. It’s dangerously easy to access your Diamond + vouchers at the swim-up bar!

Drinks were flowing and the tunes were bopping as we soaked in the sun in the freshwater pool.

Back Onboard

By now, it was around 3:00 PM so we decided to return back to our ship and get ready for the evening. We could see the waterslides were running, so we thought that would be fun since we were already in our swimsuits.

Angie and I both took our turns on the waterslides, twisting and turning through the tunnels. We agreed that the slide didn’t go as fast as we were expecting. Angie said the slides on Harmony of the Seas were faster and a bit more thrilling. Perhaps the slides are meant for younger (and smaller) cruisers.  Still fun to try though!

It was nice that we didn’t have to wait in any lines - we actually saw some people going multiple times in a row. Long lines have been a recurring theme on this cruise, so it was nice to see this. This pre-departure timeframe seemed like the opportune time to try out the onboard thrills with minimal waiting required.

To my surprise, the SkyPad trampoline experience was open! I figured with the winds that it wouldn’t be open today. Drenched in both beach and pool water, I wasn’t equipped to seize the opportunity and jump in line (that was punny, eh?!). I am determined to do the SkyPad tomorrow and I’ll be angsty if it’s too windy when I try again.

Famished Tummies

Angie and I returned to our cabin for a quick change and grabbed our laptops. We were hoping to get on the internet to catch up on work emails while grabbing a snack at the Cafe Promenade.

Well, apparently everyone had the same idea because the line was wrapped around to Ben and Jerry’s again and the Internet virtually crashed simultaneously. Big bummer.

Angie had a great idea to head to the Diamond Lounge - it would probably be quieter and we could grab some hors d'oeuvres. Since it was about 45 minutes before these would be served, we sat in the lounge and caught up on our work emails.

The hors d'oeuvres were served promptly at 5:00 PM, consisting of more cheesy sticks, corn fritters and chicken wings. By this time, I was basically famished by cruising standards so the snacks were devoured.

I was a little nervous about how our dinner situation would play out again. Again, we didn’t feel like sitting with strangers so we asked the hostess if we could sit elsewhere just the two of us. He was a bit frazzled, but ended up accommodating us at an empty table of 8.

Angie and I both ordered the chicken parmesan and Mississippi mudslide pie for dessert. I started with some needed greenery by ordering Cesar salad. Angie ordered the mushroom risotto (which is funny, since she claims she doesn’t like mushrooms). This was actually and entree tonight but she requested it as an appetizer. Angie also splurged on a second dessert and tried the apple blossom. Everything was delicious!

It was probably the fastest meal we’ve ever eaten in the dining room; we were in and out within 30 minutes! Our waiters were hilarious - I wish we could have had them every night.

Our originally assigned table was around the corner and it didn’t seem to be the liveliest bunch. Cruising is certainly back if they’re sitting strangers together again!

Right after dinner, we had some RoyalCaribbeanBlog fans introduce themselves to us! This was our first time meeting blog fans in real life; it was such a special moment!

Evening Fun

After blushing in my new found stardom (joking!), we made our way to the Royal Theatre for the nightly show. Tonight’s entertainment was a dual show starting with a family-friendly comedian and followed by a juggler. We both loved the variety show and laughed many times!

If there’s one topic that’s going to come up during a family-friendly comedy show, I guarantee it will be flatulence! Mark my words, the next time you go to one of these shows, it’s not a matter of if, but when, the topic comes up.

When the show concluded, we took a spin at the casino to use our free Diamond + free spins. Last night, Angie won $20 on her free spins so she was anxious for me to use mine. As my luck would have it, I won absolutely nothing.

I forgot that smoking was back in the casino, which I really didn’t miss as one of the pandemic protocols.

We also picked out our free Diamond + photo from the gallery tonight with hopes of avoiding congestion tomorrow. We each get a free photo, so we selected the pictures that should be ready for pickup tomorrow evening. This seems to be way more sustainable than printing every single photo like Royal Caribbean used to!

Tomorrow we will be docked in Nassau on our final day. We have a resort day pass booked for the RIU Palace in Nassau - this is our first time doing a resort day pass while cruising! I just discovered our vouchers needed to be printed for tomorrow - which prompted us to panic about where we can print something onboard.

Mariner has a library located on deck 5 with computers and a printer. We were able to access my email by using the internet package login, so that worked nicely.

Today was a very eventful day onboard Mariner of the Seas!

To start, we were meant to have a sea day on the original itinerary. Yesterday, we found out we would instead be docking in Freeport, Bahamas for the ship to undergo routine maintenance.

As such, Angie and I were excited to visit a new port in the Bahamas. We’ve only visited Nassau and CocoCay, so we welcomed the unexpected opportunity to visit somewhere new. I think this scenario, receiving a bonus port, is probably the best case scenario when you see there’s been an itinerary change last minute.

Royal Caribbean offered excursions for Grand Bahama Island, including beach tours, dolphin encounters and city guides. We opted to just do our own thing in port rather than book anything last minute, although we did consider booking a resort day pass.

Easy Going Morning

I always sleep amazing when I am cruising. Between the ship slowly swaying and our inside cabin being pitch black, it’s so easy to get a good night’s rest.

Angie and I enjoyed a nice morning onboard the ship starting with breakfast at the Windjammer. It was fairly busy, but we didn’t have to wait in any lines. I was worried it would be packed with long lines given we are sailing almost at 100% capacity. Perhaps most people had an earlier start than we did at 10:30am, but we didn’t have any issues finding a table.

I discovered on our last cruise that I could order my morning latte (a necessity) at the Windjammer bar with one of my Diamond + drink vouchers. There is a Starbucks onboard, but I would rather take advantage of my vouchers than pay out of pocket for a latte at Starbucks.

Breakfast was great - we’re pretty much always pleased with the Windjammer breakfast. Angie indulged in a cinnamon roll and meat lovers omelet while I had a strawberry yogurt parfait. We both are obsessed with the cranberry strudel bread, which seems to be a Royal Caribbean staple over the years. Sometimes it’s topped with almonds and other times it’s sprinkled with coarse sugar. Either way, the bread is best enjoyed with a large slab of butter.

After finishing breakfast, we went back to our cabin on deck 8 and got ready for the day. I appreciate that our cabin is pretty centrally located - it’s never too far from any of the activities or dining options. Of course, it’s a bit of a long trek from Deck 1 when you return to the gangway.

Our cabin was already cleaned by the stateroom attendant and we found a tray of room service breakfast that we hadn’t ordered. I may (or may not) have enjoyed the mimosa that was accidentally delivered to our cabin after telling our stateroom attendant that the room service must have been delivered incorrectly. She encouraged me to enjoy the drink, so I didn’t hesitate!

We usually take the stairs when we cruise. One of the main reasons we choose to do so is because the elevators are always busy, especially this time around. The few times we’ve taken them, we stop at every deck and have to wait for a more empty one. A little bit of exercise isn’t the worst thing for us either!

Freeport Shopping

Angie and I walked right off the ship into the Freeport port, which appeared to have a really nice shopping area. We could see a bunch of little souvenir shops surrounding an outdoor Senior Frogs.

The weather was a comfortable 75 degrees with light gusts of wind and low humidity. I can imagine in the summer months that it gets much hotter, but today it was perfect.

We enjoyed souvenir shopping in the port area and even sampled some rum cakes that were made locally. Any day that includes rum cake and free samples is a great day in my book!

Because we were originally meant to be at sea today, Angie and I had a few things onboard that we were planning to try. After shopping and walking around the nice port, we decided to head back to the ship so we could make our way through the to-do list.

“We must have hit an iceberg!”

Upon returning to our stateroom, we found a fruit plate that was addressed to Allie Hubers from the Crown and Anchor Society. Angie jokingly questioned why she didn’t receive a fruit plate even though she’s the same status as I am.

Shortly after, we hear a knock on the door and we are gifted another fruit plate which is also addressed to me. Angie scowled, although we were both laughing at the abundant recognition that Royal Caribbean was giving me.

As we were eating said fruit, we felt the ship unexpectedly jerk back and forth. I immediately figured that must have been the scheduled maintenance that Mariner apparently was needing.

Angie joked “That was weird! We must have hit an iceberg!”

Of course, icebergs were nowhere to be found in the Caribbean and we were docked at the port…. so what could that jolt have been?

Well, not too long after, the captain announces that another ship has unfortunately bounced into us while we were docked. He assures everyone onboard Mariner that we are not to worry and everything is fine, although the ship would need to be inspected to ensure it's safe to continue sailing.

Our bonus port day suddenly got even more interesting!

Angie and I nearly ran to the top deck to check out the action - this was the moment that cruise blogging turned into investigative journalism! We saw a few people watching below from the top deck as a tug boat helped keep the cargo ship away from us.

I asked the gentleman next to me if he had seen the incident happen - he asked me what I was talking about. I informed him that the captain said we were struck by another ship - he seemed surprised and had no clue! There was a ship officer on the top deck who I also spoke with; he wasn’t concerned and joked that he has lived at sea so long, he has seen it all.

Click here to read more about the incident.

Overall, it was pretty obvious no one onboard was very concerned. The belly flop competition on the top deck was absolutely packed with people cheering and drinking. The FlowRider was also quite busy; by the way, I heard yesterday that there was a long line to surf, but I noticed today they had the divider up so two people could surf at once.

I told Angie we should check out the jogging trail on deck 4 since that would probably offer a better view of the cargo ship. The crew had blocked off the back of the ship by this point and told us we couldn’t be there, so unfortunately we didn’t get to see much. Aftermath photos show that this is where the ship ‘bounced’ into ours, so it makes sense why we couldn’t continue walking to see more.

Afternoon Activities

The original plan was to get back onboard so we could try out the SkyPad. Since I’ve heard a few grumblings of long lines, I thought it would be good to get there early.

The breaking news of our ship being struck by a cargo ship had derailed our afternoon plans. After realizing we wouldn’t get to see much more of the collision action, we opted to try out the SkyPad. We had dressed appropriately with closed toed shoes and removed our jewelry.

Sadly, the winds were too strong to do the SkyPad so we weren’t able to bounce today. I suppose that makes sense, as the wind seemed to be causing other problems today too (i.e. a cargo ship bouncing into us).

All the commotion and investigating made me hungry, so we opted for a quick lunch at the Windjammer. Given how busy the pool was, it was nice that the Windjammer was pretty quiet again. There was a little crowd of people who were watching as two tug boats attempted to safely move the cargo ship.

As I savored my go-to hot dog and fries, we could see more clearly that the cargo ship’s bridge had sustained some damage.

A small group of us watched as the tug boats safely moved the cargo ship while a pilot boat hovered nearby. That seemed to be the end of the commotion, although we couldn’t really see Mariner’s damage from anywhere public on the ship.

By this time, it was almost 3:00 PM and Angie wanted to check out the free massages. We found a small line outside of the spa forming but it moved fast. Really, this was more of a ‘free sample of a massage’ rather than a ‘free massage’. Angie opted for a 2 minute hot stone massage while I had just a normal mini massage.

Of course, they asked if we wanted to book any spa treatments. A quick glance at the treatment sheet showed plenty of lovely options, but most of them costed more than our cruise fare alone so we politely declined.

A Happy Hour Campfire Cookie

Other writers from RoyalCaribbeanBlog have raved about the campfire cookie at Playmakers, so this was at the top of my list of things I needed to try.

The promenade was busy with Cafe Promenade having a line that wrapped around the corner all the way back to Ben and Jerry’s. That was longer than the day prior, and we overheard a few other cruisers grumbling about the wait.

As a first-timer to Playmakers, I wasn’t sure if we were supposed to order at the bar and find a seat or if we would be seated and order at the table. I still am not sure the answer to that, but we ordered the campfire cookie from the bartender. He told us the kitchen was pretty busy and it could take up to 45 minutes.

I was a bit surprised by the wait time, but we told the bartender we would grab a drink at The Bamboo Room and return after to indulge in our cookie. We had really liked The Bamboo Room yesterday and the tiki bar was nearly empty when we walked inside.

This time around, I tried the Royal Zombie, which came in an adorable tiki cup and had hints of black licorice flavor. Angie was feeling less adventurous and opted for the same piña colada again. We sipped on our delicious drinks and once again enjoyed the ambiance.

We walked across the promenade back to Playmakers to hopefully indulge in our campfire cookie. After another 10 minute wait, our cookie was finally delivered to our table.

I think heaven opened and angels sang from above as we took our first bite into the ooey, gooey, chocolatey cookie goodness. It was insanely delicious and certainly lived up to the hype. Our cookie was served (we think) with Ben and Jerry’s cookie dough ice cream, which was the perfect accompaniment to the warm cookie.

Main Dining Room

Since we ate at Chops Grille last night, we went to the main dining room for the first time tonight. We had scoped out earlier that our table had 6 seats… meaning we would be seated with random people.

I was a bit surprised by this, as I haven’t been seated with strangers in the main dining room for years!

We were fashionably late to dinner since we didn’t realize it was formal night and we needed to change. We eyed our assigned table from afar and found it was filled with 4 older folks - totally fine but we weren’t feeling like sitting with strangers at dinner or making small talk.

We asked the hostess if we could be seated elsewhere. He said the dining room was full and he could seat us with other passengers who are closer to our age if we wanted. Luckily, he was able to find us a private table where the passengers were dining at a specialty restaurant.

Angie and I enjoyed a nice dinner overlooking the main dining room. As we were getting seated, the captain announced that the ship would be leaving port as scheduled. He explained only minor cosmetic damage was done from the cargo ship and Mariner was seaworthy and safe to sail. Great news!

Dinner was great tonight. Angie and I both enjoyed the beef tenderloin as the main entree. Angie said the pumpkin soup was a very good starter. My French onion soup tasted different than normal, but I still enjoyed it. For dessert, we both chose the Grand Mariner soufflé. This is our dad’s all-time favorite dessert, so we had to indulge for him!

I will say, I miss the more personalized service you receive on longer voyages. It’s been a while since I’ve done a short cruise, but I do feel like this is less intimate than other voyages. Normally, we get to know the crew members and they also get to know us - which is something I miss on this shorter cruise.

After dinner, Angie went to the Royal Theatre for the headliner show, which featured Royal Caribbean singers and dancers with a live band. This isn’t my favorite kind of show, so I relaxed in the cabin instead.

The show was called Production Showtime: Gallery of Dreams. Angie reported that it was an upbeat show with worldly themes from Austria, Morocco and the ‘Wild West’. The show was enjoyed by people of all ages, kids and elderly alike.

Angie also reported back that the cruise director told the audience we might be late getting into CocoCay tomorrow because of the wind. For how much wind has been impacting our cruise, I really don’t feel like it’s *that* windy outside! We will see what adventures tomorrow brings.

Reporting live from Mariner of the Seas! It’s the first day of our 4-night sailing from Port Canaveral to Nassau, Bahamas and Perfect Day at CocoCay. The first day is always filled with so much excitement and anticipation.

As we drove up to the port, we could see both Mariner and Anthem of the Seas in the distance. Busy day in port for a Tuesday!

Our boarding time was 1:30 this afternoon. Upon arrival, the parking lot appeared to be more full than our last cruise from Port Canaveral onboard Harmony of the Seas in late February.

We were prompted to park in an open lot that was a bit further than the parking ramp that we had previously parked in. It was $85 to park for the duration of the cruise.

Checking In

After showing our negative covid test and vaccine card, we walked inside the terminal to go through security.

I was curious to see if we could ditch our masks during the check-in process, as last night the news broke about the CDC’s mask mandate being overturned. As such, all of the airlines dropped their masking requirements but I had yet to read any news about cruise travel being impacted.

We were almost immediately prompted to put on our masks while showing our travel documents outside the terminal, so that question was quickly answered. 

Signs indoors also instructed cruise passengers that masks were required in the terminal. Masks are currently optional onboard, but the vast majority of passengers are not wearing them.

Check-in was a breeze, and we were on our way to board the ship!

Stateroom Impressions

By the time we boarded, it was almost 2:00 PM and the staterooms were ready. This was great news, as we opted to carry on our luggage for this short cruise rather than giving our bags to the porters.

Since we booked an inside guarantee cabin, our stateroom was assigned right before the cruise departed. We will be staying in cabin 8371, which is located at the very back of the ship. We found our stateroom, unloaded our luggage and spent some time getting settled.

This inside cabin oozes with nostalgia for us. As a family, we cruised many times onboard Voyager Class ships for nearly a decade, so this cabin truly feels like home. These ships brought our family everywhere from Canada to Greece and around the Caribbean multiple times. Recent cruises for us have been on newer ships, which certainly have more modern cabins with updated interior designs.

This cabin has everything we need to be comfortable though; in fact, it feels a bit roomier than our inside cabin onboard Harmony of the Seas a couple months ago.

Angie and I didn’t pack too much for this cruise since it’s only 4 nights, but there’s plenty of space and storage. We barely filled up the closet with our clothes, so I don’t think we would need a bigger stateroom for the two of us even if we were cruising on a longer voyage.

It was quite windy today when we boarded the ship, so we were worried about whether our cabin location would make us feel the swaying of the ship more intently. We usually prioritize a midship cabin to limit motion, but we didn't want to pay extra to choose our cabin. Luckily, we haven’t felt the seas being rough, but I will keep you updated if my opinions change on that.

Itinerary Change

For the first time in all my cruising years, our sailing has a last minute itinerary change! Of course, this has become more common with the pandemic, but we were surprised to find an updated itinerary in our cabin.

Instead of having a sea day tomorrow, we will be docking in Grand Bahama Island. The letter stated that Mariner of the Seas needs to have some “regularly scheduled ship maintenance,” so this is a logistical stop, but we are able to get off the ship or book excursions if we choose.  

This is interesting for a few reasons, as the change appears to be pretty last minute. Regularly scheduled ship maintenance is necessary I am sure, but I figured these logistical needs were built into the itinerary or performed on the ship’s turnover day in Port Canaveral. I’ve inquired about the maintenance to multiple crew members. They’ve all been surprised to learn of the itinerary change themselves, so I haven't uncovered the need for the maintenance. 

Needless to say, we are excited to explore a new port! Neither of us have visited Freeport, Bahamas so we plan to explore the port on our own.

Getting Acquainted

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After settling into our cabin, we finished our virtual muster drill safety requirements. I hope Royal Caribbean keeps the virtual muster drill forever, as it’s infinitely better than the traditional drill where everyone crams together on deck 4 and ‘learns’ how to put on the life jacket.

As with any cruise, we couldn’t go more than a few hours without eating so we grabbed a quick lunch at Cafe Promenade. Angie and I both enjoyed our sandwiches. She also tried the cheese pizza and felt it was equivalent to Sorrento’s pizza, which is her go-to lunch option when cruising.

I noticed immediately while sitting inside the cafe that the ship felt much busier than the last few times I’ve cruised. We didn’t have any issues finding a seat or waiting in a long line to get food, but the overall atmosphere felt more crowded.

The Bamboo Room

One of the things I was eager to try is The Bamboo Room, which is a tiki bar located in the promenade. Bright neon lights and greenery made this tropical venue easy to find. The bar had a very fun and inviting ambiance adorned with more neon lights, wicker lampshades, teal booths and floral wallpaper.

The bar was fairly busy, which was fine for us as we looked over the extensive cocktail menu. Specialty drinks seemed to included a multitude of rum and other liquors. There were so many quirky cocktails that we had a hard time choosing which ones to try!

I tried the ‘On the Run’ cocktail while Angie tried a classic piña colada. Mine was served in a Bamboo Room plastic bag, which was a fun twist on the traditional cocktail glass! The cocktail was priced at $14, so I had to pay the extra $1 since my Diamond + drink coupons only cover up to $13 per drink. The up-charge was well worth it! We both loved our drinks and definitely enjoyed the island vibes.

One of my favorite parts of cruising is getting to talk to the crew members and asking about their families or home country. The Bamboo Room bartender was very chatty with Angie and I while fixing our drinks. When I asked where he was from, he responded he was from Ukraine. I asked if he had family back in his home country, to which he said yes he did. He briefly mentioned that his family is in a safer area, but it certainly made my heart heavy for him. I can’t imagine how difficult it must be for him to be so far from his family during this time. We told him we would be back to The Bamboo Room to try more drinks; but I also added I would be thinking of his family and sending prayers for their safety. He was genuinely grateful and said he looked forward to seeing us again.

Sail Away

Our ship was scheduled to depart Port Canaveral around 4:00 PM, so we had to check out the pool deck for the sail away party. Did you even cruise if you don’t wave goodbye to the port from the top deck?!

The pool deck was turnt-up with a DJ busting out some very classic, upbeat party tunes. There were lots of cruisers dancing with a drink in hand. The pools were pretty busy with kids swimming and also enjoying the fun atmosphere.

Again, it was much busier than the previous cruises I’ve done; granted, my last 2 cruises were sailing at 25% and 50% capacity. I noticed a small line coming from both the pool bar and Solarium bar. Because this cruise was so cheap and booked last minute, I assumed the ship would be sailing with a lower capacity as well.

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According to the crew, we are sailing with 3,500 passengers, which is just below sailing capacity.

We’re also sailing at the tail end of spring break following the Easter holiday, so there are tons of families and college kids onboard. Normally, I feel like Angie and I are some of the youngest cruisers onboard - especially as we’ve been sailing on longer voyages to more unique destinations in recent years. What a change of pace!

These short getaway cruises attract an entirely different cruising population and the atmosphere feels much more party-like. Even the Solarium felt more lively than normal during sail away.

Angie and I both commented on the Solarium’s noticeable upgrades to feel more trendy and modern. There were multiple canopy beds intertwined with the lounge chairs and a greenery backdrop. These canopy beds looked super comfortable, so we are hoping to snag one during this cruise if we can.

As the ship sailed out to sea, we realized it was almost time for dinner. Time flies when you're having tiki drinks and head bopping to The Electric Slide. 

Our normal routine while cruising includes a quick visit to the Diamond Lounge before heading to dinner, so we made our way up to Deck 14 to check it out.

The Diamond Lounge had a small selection of hors d'oeuvres with limited seating, but felt like it was pretty busy. We normally prefer when the lounge has a more intimate experience and you can get to know the staff and other cruisers.

Since we can use our Diamond Plus drinks at any bar now, Angie and I opted to just grab a cocktail before heading to Chops Grille.

Dinner at Chops Grille

Because this cruise was so cheap, we were able to treat ourselves and spend a little extra to enjoy a more upscale dinner at Chops Grille.

We took advantage of the pre-cruise deal for Chops + 1, which was on sale last week when planning our cruise. This dining package allows us to enjoy Chops and another specialty restaurant during our cruise.

Growing up, we never ate at the specialty restaurants onboard. Our parents always said we had already paid for food in the main dining room with our cruise fare, and we were very satisfied with the food and service we received when cruising. As cheap college students, my husband and I also found the main dining room to offer a very nice dinner experience each night and never felt we needed to spend extra for food.

Within the last 5 years, we’ve all grown to appreciate the specialty dining experience while cruising. We normally choose to go when the main dining room has a lackluster menu or we want to switch up the nightly routine. The BOGO deal for Diamond + cruisers is also a nice perk that makes specialty dining more affordable.

Tonight, our Chops Grille dinner started with a warm plate of bread, which included pretzel rolls and onion buns. We both ordered the bacon starter, which is a thick cut of pork with a light drizzle of sweet & spicy glaze. For the next course, I ordered the fried goat cheese salad and Angie tried the wild mushroom soup. Both were excellent.

For the main course, I ordered the petite filet mignon and Angie ordered the roasted chicken. A steakhouse isn’t exactly the best place for Angie since she doesn’t like beef, but she has always loved the chicken entree.

My steak was very tender and flavorful. We love most of the sides, so we ordered mashed potatoes, asparagus, giant guerre tots and Mac and cheese. The tots are our absolute favorite!

Dessert is also a highlight for us, so Angie and I ordered 3 different ones to try: key lime pie, warm chocolate cake and cheesecake. The warm chocolate cake was the winner, with its ooey gooey molten center, followed by the key lime pie. The cheesecake didn’t do it for me, which was the only disappointing part of the meal - but we certainly didn’t leave hungry.

Ice Show

We ended our evening with the ice show, which was called Ice Under the Big Top. We love the ice shows, and this one did not disappoint! We scurried our full bellies from Chops down to Studio B for the ice show and arrived with just a few minutes to spare; unfortunately, this means we got stuck behind a giant pole because the venue was packed.

There was no main headliner or welcome abroad show in the Royal Theatre tonight, which was interesting. Instead, they were playing a movie, Sing 2. This didn’t appeal to me or Angie, although I am sure some of the families enjoyed.

The ice show was circus themed with some elaborate, dazzling costumes. It was certainly a show that anyone would enjoy, with some segments catered more towards kids and others simply showcasing the incredible skating skills of the performers. The littlest cruisers were very interactive with the cast members, often cheering and dancing in their seat.

It’s that time again to pack my suitcase, find some sunscreen and swab my nose for a negative covid test! My next Royal Caribbean adventure begins on April 19 when I’ll be boarding Mariner of the Seas for a 4-night Bahamas sailing from Port Canaveral, Florida. 

Each day, I will be live blogging my cruise to share our experience onboard Mariner of the Seas! I am very excited to share my cruise experience with y'all.

Our itinerary includes one sea day and stops at both Perfect Day at CocoCay and Nassau, Bahamas. Nothing like a short and sweet cruise to break up a normal work week!

This cruise was actually very cheap for an inside guarantee cabin, costing us just $62 a night. Since I live in northern Florida, the trek down to Port Canaveral is well worth the drive for this quick getaway cruise.

We've already been assigned our cabin, which is located near the back of the ship according to deck plans. Since it's a short cruise, I'm not too concerned about the cabin location.

We booked this cruise only 2 weeks ago, making this officially a ‘last minute cruise deal’ in my book. I've never booked a cruise this close to departure, but I love the feeling of being more spontaneous than I typically am in life.

My normal cruise buddy (my husband) is currently deployed, so I will be cruising with my sister. We are looking forward to having a sister cruise, something we’ve never actually done before in all of our years of cruising together as a family. 

Fond Memories

I am super excited to be sailing on Mariner of the Seas. The first time I sailed on Mariner of the Seas was 16 years ago in 2006 with my family; in fact, that was one of my first Royal Caribbean cruises. Mariner of the Seas was a shiny new ship back in 2006 and I remember being in awe of our cruise ship having an ice skating rink!

The most recent time I sailed onboard Mariner of the Seas was in January 2017 with my (now) husband back when we were in college. With a full month off during our J-term, we were so excited to sail around Asia and experience an entirely new part of the world together.

We took a wonderful 7-night Southeast Asia itinerary from Singapore to Thailand and Malaysia. We visited an elephant sanctuary, explore temples and visited floating villages. After exploring the culturally rich ports each day, Mariner of the Seas was so comfortable to return to each night. 

Needless to say, I have very fond memories of sailing on Mariner of the Seas. I’ve always been a big fan of Royal Caribbean’s Voyager Class ships. I personally think they are the perfect size with just enough bells and whistles.  

The Cruise

I haven’t taken a quick getaway cruise in probably 10 years! Since I've never lived that close to a port, we always did a 7-night cruise to make the trip worthwhile. In fact, it seems over the years we’ve been taking longer cruises rather than short ones, so I am interested to see how the atmosphere is different when the sailing is much shorter. 

My sister and I both work remotely - so we will be testing out the internet capabilities and VPN connectivity while sailing as well. I've had good experience with the internet speed on other Royal Caribbean ships, so I am hoping Mariner of the Seas will be no different.

Our first port after the sea day is Perfect Day at CocoCay, which has quickly become one of my favorite Caribbean ports because of its lively atmosphere and ultimate convenience.

I love all the swimming pools, the swim-up bar and all the fun amenities that are offered on the island. This time around, I want to try the floating bar off South Beach. We ran out of time during our last visit to CocoCay, so I definitely need to make my way out there. 

After our visit to CocoCay, we will sail to Nassau. I’ve visited Nassau, Bahamas a few times on previous cruises, but never done anything that memorable during our time in port.

This time around, we are looking forward to trying a resort day pass at RIU Palace! Our pass includes unlimited drinks and snacks, along with access to all the resort’s pools and hot tubs. It should be a fun and relaxing day in port. 

Three things I am excited to try onboard

During our 4-night sailing, we are planning to try some of the new additions made to Mariner of the Seas. Back in 2018, the ship was refurbished and refreshed, with some exciting new venues and activities added. It’s been 5 years since I sailed onboard this cruise ship, so I am excited to see the upgrades, additions and enhancements that were made. 

Playmakers

We’ve been hearing great things about Playmakers, which is one of the newer dining options onboard Royal Caribbean’s ships. I have yet to sail on a ship that features this new restaurant, and apparently they have a killer cookie skillet for dessert! I am a sucker for all things sweets and desserts, so I have high hopes for this dessert especially.

The Bamboo Room

I had no idea this new bar addition was even available onboard Mariner of the Seas until I did a little research. Royal Caribbean describes this Polynesian-themed bar in the ship’s promenade as having ‘throwback vibes and crazy good cocktails’. I love all things that incorporate throwback vibes AND crazy good cocktails, so I am excited to sample some of the tiki bar drinks. 

SkyPad

One of the coolest additions to Mariner of the Seas since my last sailing is the SkyPad, which is a virtual reality, bungee trampoline experience. Apparently this onboard thrill is considered ‘out of this world’. I’ve always loved bungee trampolines, so this will be a fun experience I think.

We'll see you later this week when I blog live from Mariner of the Seas!

It looks like Royal Caribbean will homeport Icon of the Seas in Miami, Florida when she arrives in the United States.

In a recent interview, Royal Caribbean International President and CEO Michael Bayley talked about how excited he was for Icon of the Seas, and mentioned in passing that the new ship will be based at PortMiami.

Mr. Bayley was speaking with TTG Media and explained following Icon of the Seas' debut in the UK summer season, “We will take [Icon of the Seas] across the Atlantic to Miami, which is where it’s going to be homeported.”

Bayley also stated that Icon of the Seas would likely have some stops in New York or Boston during the ship's East Coast transit. 

This was the same interview that Mr. Bayley mentioned Icon will visit Southampton, UK initially.

Debuting a brand new ship in the UK for its inaugural sailing season isn’t the first for Royal Caribbean; in fact, Harmony of the Seas first debuted to the UK market before transiting to the U.S for its homeport.

Bayley also emphasized how important the UK market is for Royal Caribbean, which helped solidify the cruise line’s decision to debut Icon of the Seas to the country first. 

"An Amazing Ship"

Royal Caribbean has been very quiet about its new Icon Class of ships, creating a lot of buzz in the cruising industry about the ship's design and features. Icon of the Seas will be the first cruise ship in the Icon Class. 

Little is currently known about Icon of the Seas, but Bayley did allude to being very impressed with Icon of the Seas. He stated, “The ship is unbelievable. It's an amazing ship. What’s fascinating about Icon is the sheer amount of product."

Although this gives us very little detail about Icon of the Seas itself, Bayley is certainly hyping up Royal Caribbean’s newest ship.

According to Bayley, Icon of the Seas will be a game-changer for the cruising industry, as the cruise line has spent 5 years designing the ship.

Just this month, Bayley said Royal Caribbean rented a movie theater in Miami and the company spent an entire day reviewing Icon of the Seas with internal stakeholders, marketing members and other executives. This meeting also focused on how Royal Caribbean plans to reveal Icon of the Seas to the public. 

Tradition, Evolution and Revolution

Although Bayley isn’t allowed to reveal anything specific, he explained that Icon of the Seas will feature a combination of ‘tradition, evolution and revolution’ cruising elements from Royal Caribbean. 

Bayley acknowledged that Royal Caribbean cruisers will always love certain features about the brand. These fan favorites, like the Schooner Bar, determine which traditional elements continue to be found on ships across the fleet.

On the other hand, evolution elements revolve around continuously improving elements that cruisers love, such as entertainment venues and waterslides. Finally, revolution elements are ‘industry-firsts’ and are meant to be WOW factors for the company.

In regards to revolutionary, it is known that Icon of the Seas will also be the first LNG-powered cruise ship for Royal Caribbean. This is a huge step towards Royal Caribbean's sustainability efforts to use cleaner, more environmentally-friendly fuel. 

Industry Leader

In general, Royal Caribbean leads the cruise industry with designing the biggest and most innovative ships at sea. It was the first cruise line to bring many onboard thrills to a cruise ship, such as the first zip-line at sea, the first surf simulator at sea and the first skydiving simulator.

With the Oasis Class ships, Royal Caribbean introduced its multi-neighborhood concept to the cruise industry, which featured an entire opened-aired Central Park and Boardwalk at sea. 

With Bayley hinting that Icon of the Seas details have been shared internally at Royal Caribbean, this could signal that more information about the new cruise ship will be made public soon. Bayley also stated that the cruise line plans to host an interactive event, potentially this spring or fall in New York, to reveal Icon of the Seas to the public.

Royal Caribbean’s Icon Class is the first class of new vessels since 2014 when Royal Caribbean launched the first of its Quantum Class ships. 

If you’re a loyal cruiser with Royal Caribbean, you know it’s pretty rare to find a Caribbean sailing that doesn’t stop at Labadee or CocoCay. Both of these ports are actually private islands owned by Royal Caribbean and are frequent stops for the cruise line when sailing the Caribbean.

To be honest, anytime I saw CocoCay as a port stop for a cruise, I’d scowl at the thought of wasting a port stop at Royal Caribbean’s private island in the Bahamas. There were plenty of other islands that I’d rather spend my time and money visiting. 

Lackluster First Experience

Back in 2009, I cruised with my family onboard Royal Caribbean’s Majesty of the Seas on a weekend cruise to the Bahamas. One of our stops was CocoCay - and to say it was pretty lame is an understatement. 

After tendering to the island from the cruise ship, my family and I walked onshore to find an underdeveloped island surrounded by rocky shores. There were some lounge chairs scattered around the beach. We found a few places to shop while walking around the island.

Overall, It was pretty dull and lackluster. I was just 14 years old and my sister was 12 at the time. There wasn’t much to do on the island, so my parents bought us tickets to ride the waterslide. 

After a few less-than-thrilling rides on the blowup waterslide, we tendered back to the ship and opted for lunch at Johnny Rockets. The whole family agreed that the island was nothing special and we certainly wouldn’t go out of our way to return. 

Because of our underwhelming experience, we’d avoided any itineraries with stops at CocoCay. For years, we would look for cruise itineraries that didn't include CocoCay.

Second Chances

Fast Forward to February 2022, my family had a cruise planned onboard Harmony of the Seas with stops in St. Maarten, St. Thomas and - yup, you guessed it - CocoCay! 

After Royal Caribbean’s major renovations were finalized in 2019, it appeared that the private island received a well-deserved facelift. We were excited to give the renovated island another chance after our first visit more than 13 years earlier.

The bar was set pretty low based on our prior visit, but we had heard from many people that the island had been transformed into a great port stop. Seeing beautiful pictures and videos of Perfect Day at CocoCay made the island seem like a new Caribbean island oasis. 

First Impressions

As we sailed into port, we could easily spot the Up, Up and Away balloon soaring above the blue sea. The colorful flags from the port could be seen blowing in the wind. It was a beautiful, warm day for our last port stop. 

The island looked as bright and vibrant as the many pictures and videos I had seen online. We could already see from the ship that the island was way more developed than before. It almost felt like we were pulling up to a resort!

My mom is notorious for choosing to stay on the cruise ship when we dock in ports that she’s uninterested in. She said that CocoCay was so lame before that she might stay on the ship. Luckily, we convinced her to give the island a try, as she could easily head back to the ship if she wasn’t enjoying her day. 

As we walked along the pier under the colorful awnings, we were immediately impressed by the new CocoCay. The island was glistening with white sand along the ocean.  There was a shuttle running from the ship to bring guests to the amenities; however, we enjoyed walking along the ocean.

To start, it was a welcome change that we didn’t need to tender to the island this time. It saves so much time when you can just walk off the ship and get your day started!

Oasis Lagoon

With a little research, we decided our first stop would be Oasis Lagoon. Plenty of signage helped direct us towards the lagoon, which is actually the large freshwater pool in the Caribbean.

Even better, there was a swim-up bar in the Oasis Lagoon. My sister snagged a lounge chair that was partially submerged in the lagoon. There was great music pumping from the DJ across the lagoon. 

We were amazed at how large the lagoon was! There were tons of chairs and umbrellas surrounding the pool. The swim-up bar was our first stop after getting settled. The day called for pina coladas!

One of the perks of visiting Royal Caribbean’s private island is that you can continue to access your internet and beverage package! We were ready to indulge in our daily allowance of 5 Diamond + drinks. 

The Oasis Lagoon was so much fun, we ended up spending most of the day here. With great music and plenty of drinks, we were having a great time relaxing.

Even more fun - we had an unexpected Royal Caribbean Blog staff meeting! As fate would have it, Matt himself was cruising with his family onboard the Freedom of the Seas and docked right next to our ship. This was actually our first time meeting in person, so it was a fun coincidence.

Funnel Cake

After a few drinks at the pool, it was time to find something for lunch. We walked through the large buffet area on our way to the Oasis Lagoon, but we were looking to try something a little different. 

We’d heard Snack Shack was a great place to grab lunch, so we headed towards South Beach. Having so many options for food was another welcomed change. Everywhere we looked, there was either a bar, buffet or ice cream machine!

We ordered chicken sandwiches at the Snack Shack, along with mozzarella sticks and french fries. But, we were all the most excited about the funnel cakes! That crispy, powdery cakey goodness hit the spot on our last day of vacation.

Everything we ordered at the Snack Shack was delicious. The chicken sandwich with pesto mayo tasted like a Chick-fil-a sandwich.

An insider tip - don’t leave your food unattended! My dad sat down with his french fries and hot dog before getting up to snag some ketchup. About 15 birds swarmed the table and tried to steal as many fries as they could. 

Shops and South Beach

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While enjoying our lunch, we marveled at everything CocoCay had to offer. South Beach had so many activities for those looking to do more than have a cocktail at the beach. You can find activities like volleyball, basketball, snorkeling, paddle boarding and ping pong. 

We also enjoyed shopping around the many stalls that adorned touristy shirts, magnets and beach bags while polishing off our funnel cake with an ice cream cone. There were plenty of shops for those looking to support the local economy, as the stalls were all operated by locals. 

Final Thoughts

Perfect Day at CocoCay blew all of us away! The whole family truly enjoyed our day at CocoCay. Even my mom, who typically hates spending her day at the beach, said she loved the island and was very impressed. 

It was obvious that Royal Caribbean invested heavily in making its private island a destination that cruisers will want to visit. I can totally understand how people love to visit CocoCay repeatedly. 

The entire day was very laid back and relaxing. Everything at CocoCay is so easy, making it feel like a true day of vacation. There was no need to worry about transportation or logistics - you walk right off the ship and you’re right where you need to be! 

I loved being able to use my daily drinks at the island too. Oasis Lagoon was the perfect place for us to spend the day relaxing w drinking and dancing Next time, I’d love to visit the floating bar on South Beach. 

We saw so many families having a great time too, which is easy to do with all the waterslides, waterparks and activities. CocoCay is certainly a great spot for families with kids of all ages. 

I honestly wish I could transport my 14 year old self to the new CocoCay! That big blowup waterslide from the old CocoCay couldn’t even compete with all the new amenities offered.

If you haven’t visited the new Perfect Day at CocoCay, or you’re avoiding it like we were, think again! I promise you’ll be impressed by everything that Royal Caribbean has done to make the island an amazing destination. 

Royal Caribbean Group has a new CEO, Jason Liberty, but who is he and how did he get to be the new head of the cruise giant?

Just a few weeks ago, Royal Caribbean Group began the year with a new CEO, following the departure of former CEO Richard Fain. The company announced in 2021 that Richard Fain would be stepping down from his CEO role and would be promoting Jason Liberty to Chief Executive Officer and President. 

According to Royal Caribbean’s website, Jason Liberty, 46, will be the President and CEO of the company’s three global cruise brands: Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises and Silversea cruises.

In addition, Liberty will oversee TUI Cruises and Hapag-Lloyd cruises, which it is a 50% owner in a joint venture. Liberty will also oversee the Group’s strategy, technology, supply chain, port operations and legal functions. 

Stepping into this role, Liberty will oversee the company’s 60 ships that carry more than 7.5 million passengers to ports around the world, including all 7 continents. 

Fain’s departure from Royal Caribbean Group came as a surprise to some, as he was the third-longest serving CEO among current S&P 500 leaders. When it comes to contributions, Fain was an instrumental leader for the Royal Caribbean Group. He introduced new ship categories and helped transform Royal Caribbean’s classes of ships from Sovereign, Voyager and Oasis ships to Celebrity’s Solstice and Edge classes.

Fain most recently was a leader for the company through the unprecedented nature of the pandemic’s shutdown on the cruise industry. Many have praised his role and involvement as CEO during the cruise shutdown, including his visionary leadership and creation of Royal Caribbean's Healthy Sail Panel. 

History with Royal Caribbean

Liberty is not a new name to the Royal Caribbean Group, as the new CEO joined the company back in 2005. With more than 16 years of experience under his belt, Liberty has held many positions with Royal Caribbean Group. 

Liberty joined Royal Caribbean Group as a Vice President of Audit and Advisory Services before moving into Corporate Strategy, Revenue and Planning.  In 2012, Liberty transitioned into his role as Senior Vice President of Finance and Strategy. The following year, he was promoted to Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Liberty held those positions for 8 years before his current promotion to President and Chief Executive Officer. 

Prior to his positions at Royal Caribbean Group, Liberty worked for the account firm KPMG LLP as a senior manager. According to LinkedIn, Liberty held this position for 8 years before transitioning to Royal Caribbean Group. 

Throughout his many roles with the Royal Caribbean Group, Liberty has been heavily involved in the company’s biggest strategic initiatives. He’s also been praised for his leadership during the pandemic, an especially difficult time for the cruise industry. 

Education

Jason Liberty is a graduate from the University of Miami School of Business, where he holds a bachelor's degree in accounting. Liberty also attended Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business, where he earned a second bachelor’s degree in finance. 

In addition to his bachelor’s degrees, Liberty attended University of North Carolina’s Kenan-Flagar Business School in Chapel Hill to earn his Master of Business Administration. He currently serves on the board of directors of WNS Limited, which is a business process management company. 

A New Chapter

With help from the board, Fain has stated that he had carefully planned a succession process for when the time was right for him to step down. After seeing most of the company’s ships return to service, Fain felt it was the right time for Liberty to take over as CEO and President.

On the topic of Liberty’s new role, Fain stated, “He is a highly versatile and strategic leader, who has been integral to all aspects of the company’s accomplishments and performance.” Fain expressed, “I couldn't be happier to have such a superbly qualified and principled leader succeed me as CEO. Jason will lead the Group to new heights.”

Additionally, Fain praised how Liberty has played a crucial role with organizing over $12 billion of financing during the pandemic cruise shutdown. Because of Liberty’s ‘methodical manner’, Fain is confident that the company will be well served for many years to come. 

In his new position, Liberty will also join the board, which Fain will continue to chair. In addition, Fain will continue to be involved in the company’s ship construction program

‘Humbled and Honored’

Liberty will be stepping into his role as CEO as a very qualified and principled leader. With culture at the forefront of the Royal Caribbean Group’s business success, Liberty will be embodying the company’s values through his leadership. 

In reference to his new role, Liberty shared that he is both honored and humbled to become CEO for the Royal Caribbean Group. He stated, “Our incredible people and culture, combined with our leading brands and the most innovative fleet in the world are what make our organization so successful."

"I'm grateful to both the board for selecting me, and to Richard, for his friendship, mentoring and guidance. I look forward to building upon the company's remarkable record in the years ahead."

I should be on a cruise heading towards Mexico right now. I’d probably be sipping a drink on the pool deck watching the gorgeous sunset on the sea.

But fate had other plans for me and I had to cancel my cruise because I caught Covid before my cruise began. 

I was scheduled to sail on the Brilliance of the Seas on January 8 for a 5 night sailing to Mexico. I snagged a super cheap cabin last month. My bags were packed and I was ready to go.

‘Tis the Season

I was happy to spend my Christmas back home in South Dakota with my family. My husband is deployed and this cruise was giving me something exciting to look forward to, which I was desperately needing after my husband deployed.  My dad was nice enough to fly down to me in Florida to help me drive 20 hours back with our pups. 

I couldn't watch TV or look at my phone without seeing news about rising Covid cases and the new Omicron variant. However, after 2 years of not catching Covid, I was starting to feel kind of invincible. 

I went to multiple weddings, bachelorette parties, concerts and music festivals last year. My husband and I traveled to Ireland in October and we cruised to Alaska over the summer. With a combination of vaccines, some precautions and a little luck, we had avoided getting Covid throughout the entire pandemic. 

With cases in the Midwest remaining fairly low, I felt pretty safe with our holiday gatherings. Almost everyone in our family was vaccinated and most had received their booster. I still wanted to lay low and avoid unnecessarily risk leading up to our cruise, just to be extra safe. 

Cruises in the Media

With the rising cases of Covid across the US, I read many stories of vaccinated people getting Covid. The media started blowing up with stories about cruises getting denied in ports, returning early and sailings getting canceled. 

Some family members asked if my sister and I were still planning to cruise. We both agreed that we were comfortable cruising. With vaccine requirements and health protocols, we agreed that being on a cruise is not more dangerous than living our normal lives. 

We reviewed Royal Caribbean’s current cruise protocols and felt that the cruise line was doing everything they could to mitigate the spread of the virus. They also had great policies and procedures in place if you test positive onboard. 

I made lots of cruise and travel plans over the next few months to keep myself busy while my husband is deployed. At this point, I was more worried about testing positive unexpectedly during my travels than I was about getting super sick. 

Just a cold?

The holidays come and go - we’ve been busy with dinners, brunches and even a pretend royal tea party with my cousin’s three little girls. 

My mom tells us one morning that she has a stuffy nose and scratchy throat. After a few days though, she is quickly on the mend; so that truly didn’t seem to be more than a cold. 

Shortly after New Year's Eve, my sister wakes up with a mild sore throat. This isn’t surprising, as my cousin’s kids are always sick with colds because they’re little. My sister takes a rapid test at home before we see my grandparents for brunch. 

Her test comes back clearly negative, so it must just be a cold.

A few days later, I woke up feeling more tired than normal. I hadn’t slept well so I figured that was why. I napped over my lunch break and went to bed early. 

The next morning I woke up feeling a tad stuffy with some light congestion. I have allergies, so this isn’t unusual. Being tired for me isn’t unusual either, as I never sleep that great - and the holidays were exhausting. 

My sister tested negative so I figured if anything, I had what she had. We’d been sharing some food and drinks before she got her cold. 

It’s Tuesday morning. We planned to leave on Thursday to start making our way to Tampa from the Midwest. Our upcoming trek involved a quick visit with friends before flying down to the sunshine state and boarding our ship.

Around 2pm, I started to feel a tad achy in my legs and lower back. It was nothing major, but I have become hyper aware of any symptoms at this point.

I started to get conflicting thoughts about whether I should take a home test or not. 

My Internal Conflict

I’ve tested myself for Covid numerous times over the last year. Some of these tests were needed for travel; other tests were ones that I did at home when I didn’t feel well.

I thought back to all the other home tests that I’ve done last year. Honestly, I felt way more sick every other time I took a home test than I did today with these very mild aches. My nose wasn’t even stuffy this time. 

I started to feel conflicted. 

Was I being overactive? Should I waste a home test that I diligently searched around town trying to find? My sister didn’t have Covid, so why would I have it?

If it was Covid, that meant I couldn’t go on the cruise. Royal Caribbean’s policy is currently that you can’t board any of their ships if you’ve tested positive in the last 14 days. 

Part of me just wanted to wait until Thursday when we would start our trip. I would probably feel better by then anyway. I work from home so I could easily lay low and get rest. 

Honestly, I was scared to get confirmation of what I feared. 

My legs were unusually sore. It’s been blistering cold in the Midwest so it certainly isn’t from being active outside or taking the dogs on their 5-minute walk around the block. I had influenza a few years back, and my legs had a similar achy sensation (although this was much more mild).

I started to think about the worst case scenario. If it was positive, at least I have a few days to cancel everything. I am at my parent’s home where it’s comfortable to be isolated.

I also knew in my heart that it would be best to find out now rather than hope whatever I had would run through me before on the cruise. I didn’t want to risk spreading anything to friends or family. It would be better to find out now at home than potentially find out on the cruise ship. 

Home Test Results

Before taking the dogs for a brisk walk, I took out one of my home tests. Luckily, I had stocked up before Christmas in anticipation of the spike in cases.

I swabbed my nose as instructed and also swabbed my throat since that’s where my congestion was.

Every time I’ve hyped up myself that I probably had Covid, the tests always came back negative. I dropped my sample into a rapid test and ran downstairs to change before taking the dogs out.

In the midst of getting the pups ready to go, I glimpse over at the test on the counter. My mom jokes to me that I am not even sick, so why would I take the test?

I looked down to see 2 red lines on the rapid test. 

I literally gasped. My heart sank.

It was positive.

I had a flurry of emotions. First I am surprised, as I really didn’t feel that sick. Then again, I guess I am not super surprised, the case rates around the US are rising like crazy. My mind is all over. 

Even though I may feel fine now, my symptoms might worsen. I have no idea how long I’ve actually been sick.

Cancellation

I quickly realized there was no way we could cruise. Royal Caribbean’s Covid policy is clear: If you test positive within 2 weeks of your cruise, you aren’t able to sail. 

I told my sister to take another rapid test, as I am sure she will test positive too. She takes another test and it comes up negative, again! I had her take a second one; that also comes back negative. 

This was very confusing, as she had more respiratory, classic Covid symptoms than I did. Regardless, we wouldn’t be cruising with my positive test. 

Luckily, canceling the cruise was very easy. I alerted our travel agent of the unfortunate news. She asks if I prefer a refund or cruise credit. Since this is Covid related, and per Royal Caribbean’s Cruising with Confidence program, we are eligible for a full refund so I opt for that. 

The Right Choice

Obviously, it was a huge bummer that we caught Covid and couldn’t go on the cruise. In the end, it was the right choice to take the home test when I started to question if I was showing Covid symptoms. 

In the grand scheme of life, we are lucky to have very mild cases, which I am confident is because we’ve had our vaccines and boosters. 

My sister’s symptoms have lingered a bit longer than mine. Today, the day we should have been boarding our ship, she tested positive for Covid as well. I am feeling almost 100% today, although I was fatigued most of the week.

But, it was better to be safe and proactive than sorry. Testing positive at home is much more comfortable and easy than having Covid while traveling.