Welcome to the island of St. Kitts, which is our third port stop and it is my first time here.

We were scheduled to arrive at about 10am, so there was not much rush this morning.

The 1-year-old woke us up too early again, but we did get a chance to enjoy the view of us sailing into St. Kitts from the comfort of our balcony.

Prior to disembarkation, I made a Starbucks run and noticed a sign at Cafe Promenade advertising the rarely seen, but often discussed, drink card!

These drink cards are special promotions that a particular Royal Caribbean ship will offer on a particular itinerary, but there is no way to know or guarantee it will happen on your sailing.  Essentially, the ship's revenue manager will want to boost revenue and offer a drink card.

The drink card costs $80 and that gets you 10 drinks (beer or wine), including gratuity.  You can share the drink card and use it just like the Premium drink package.  It basically works everywhere, except for room service, mini-bar and does not include some of the crazy-expensive liquors.

I am generally not a fan of the unlimited drink packages because I, personally, cannot drink enough to "break even" on them over the course of the cruise, but a 10 drink card that I can share with my wife is a no-brainer.  That means all my drinks will cost $8, and with most cocktails at $10-12, it will be easy pickings for me!

Once we were docked, we headed off the ship for our excursion.

We had booked prior to the cruise the scenic railway excursion, where we would tour part of St. Kitts on an old train that used to be used for transporting sugar cane.

The excursion cost $109 per adult ($59 for kids, the 1 year old was free) and we boarded a bus to bring us to the train.

The bus driver gave us a tour of the island as we made our way to the train, giving history on the island as well as pointing out various points of interest.

You will board the train at one of two positions, depending on where the train happens to be from the last ride.

I will write up a formal review of the excursion for a future blog post, but essentially, you tour the countryside by train and get a chance to see a lot of the parts of the island that many excursions do not go.

Also included in the excursion is unlimited mixed drinks, sodas and water.

We picked this excursion because it was something completely different than we had done before and we thought it would low-impact for the kids.  I think the kids enjoyed it, not sure it was their favorite thing ever either. The one-year-old got stir crazy by the end and scenery is largely lost on her, but overall it served its purpose of doing something different.

We returned to the port area and I did a little perusing around the port area.  

We left the port area for a bit, but unlike Cozumel or Grand Cayman, there was not a whole lot that I could find that a tourist would find worthwhile purely on our own while walking.

I would like to return to St. Kitts so that we can do more exploring of what there is to do.  I think next time we will do more of a potpourri approach, hiring a driver, and checking out a few quick spots.

Back on the ship, it was nap time and Adventure Ocean time for the kids.

As afternoon turned to evening, I was compelled to try something new, yet still old.

I noticed the other day there was an "Izumi to go" option and wanted to try it out.

Essentially, it is take out sushi that is available, where you call Izumi, order anything off the menu and then go to the restaurant to pick it up.

I could see a variety of reasons this would be useful, especially for evenings when being on the balcony is preferable or the kids are not in the right mood for a restaurant.

I ordered my go-to DX Sushi Combo and it was ready in about 10 minutes.  They will actually call your stateroom to let you know it is ready to be picked up.

Hard to beat sushi on my balcony!

We got dressed for dinner and dropped my youngest off at the Nursery.  My wife and I headed up to the Diamond Lounge to check out what was happening there.

In addition to the usual drinks, here is a look at the food available.  Some nice snacking options and I really like being out in the outdoor section, where there is a nice breeze to enjoy.

In the time leading up to dinner, we wandered around and tried some drinks from Boleros.  

At dinner, I had a cruise first when a waiter from Sabor came to our table and told us our regular waiter was sick and he would be waiting on us.  

We rounded out our evening with music at the pub. Jimmy is the guitarist there and is very entertainment.

We had a very nice moment this evening, when we picked up my 5-year-old from Adventure Ocean and they had a backpack full of goodies for her as a present.  They said it was "for being cruising with them so much", but it was such a kind gesture.

The Adventure Ocean staff, both in the Adventure Ocean and the Nursery, are the hardest working folks I see on any Royal Caribbean ship.  They genuinely care about the kids and their well-being, and we have had such excellent crew members over the years. Tonight was just the icing on the cake.

Tomorrow is our last port stop and we will be in St. Maarten.  We have lots planned, so hoping everything (mostly the children) cooperates!

Stray Observations

• The Cruise Compass and the Captain both told us the high temperature would be about 73 to 75 degrees today.  My sweaty clothing tell a much different story.
• The tour guide told us there some 20,000+ monkeys on the island, but the only ones we saw were the monkeys you can pose with in the port area.
• The Port Zante area is similar to many other Caribbean port facilities, with tourist shops, a few bars and even fewer restaurants.  
• The distance between St. Kitts to St. Maarten is something like 90 miles, so we are going extremely slow.  I cannot remember a cruise where we went this slow, for this long a time.  
• Someone asked about the blue car on the Royal Promenade, so here it is!
  
• We have used 3 drinks so far from our 10 drink coupon.  I think it will be most useful at our specialty restaurant reservations, especially Sabor.
• For those keeping score at home, no naps for me today!
• May the Fourth Be With You!

Live Blog Index

• Live blog introduction
• Day 1 - Embarkation Day
• Day 2 - Sea Day
• Day 3 - Labadee
• Day 4 - San Juan
• Day 5 - St. Kitts
• Day 6 - St. Maarten
• Day 7 - Sea Day
• Day 8 - Sea Day

​

Today we visit our second port of call, San Juan, Puerto Rico.

If memory serves me correctly, we were drawn to this itinerary because of the San Juan stop.  We love Old San Juan for its amazing culture, history and food.  

We let the kids dictate what time we woke up today, which meant the 1 year old was up at dawn and the 5 year old wanted to sleep until noon.

We managed to get everyone out the door by 8am for a breakfast in the Windjammer.

Today was kind of a mashup of sea day and port day.  We were not due to dock in San Juan until 2pm, so the morning was effectively a sea day.

After breakfast, we went to the Nursery for a parent and child activity, where kids can play with all sorts of instruments.

They had maracas, drums, triangles and lots of other instruments that the kids could "play" to their hearts content.

It was 45 minutes and a great way for kids and parents to do something together and something just for the youngest children.

By about 10am, we were all feeling the effects of getting woken up at dawn, so headed back for a nap.  The theme to this cruise is napping is the best vacation ever.

We awoke at 11:30 to see we were entering San Juan harbor, signigicantly earlier than we were planning.

The Captain informed us that there was a medical emergency, and so the ship got to San Juan much sooner.  They took care of the guest and by about 12:30pm, we were cleared.

Ordinarily this would be great news to get an extra hour and a half in port, but we were dependent on Adventure Ocean and the Nursery being open, and they were still on track to open at 2pm.

We took it easy onboard until both facilities opened up, dropped both children off and then were on our way.

My wife and I had a simple plan for Old San Juan: there was no plan.  We would just explore the city and see where it took us.

The most sensible strategy for walking Old San Juan is to head to the forts first, which are at the top of the hill that San Juan is built on, and then work your way down.

We began at Fort San Cristobal, because my wife had never been there.

Admission to the fort is $5 and admission to one fort gets you admission to both forts for that day.  

Both forts are impressive in their architecture, history and views.  Even if you do not care about the history at all, the views you get of the city from these forts is quite impressive.

After exiting the fort, we wandered the streets and stopped here and there to see art, window shop or grab a drink.

The weather was hot and humid, but not oppresively so.  Had this been a few more months from now, it might have been awful but today was just hot.  Luckily, there clouds and a decent breeze, so that helped.

Nonetheless, we took opportunities to stop, sit down and sip on something tasty.

We ran across Las Palmas restaurant and had their mojito and pina colada, both of which were excellent.

You forget what the real thing tastes like after having so many mixes.

In short, we did a lot of walking and just meandered.  For us, this is what makes Old San Juan fun and it is great to see the city on foot.  It is a gorgeous as it is hilly!

For dinner, we ended up in El Jibarito because the reviews were too good to pass up.

Naturally, I opted for the mofongo and chicken in garlic sauce.

I love mofongo, which is the national dish of Puerto Rico, and is essentially mashed plantains.  It tastes really good.

We made one last walk up to El Morro to see the sunset, which was quite lovely, despite the clouds.

Next it was off to 3 convenience stores in search of swim diapers (neither Walgreens or a local market carry them, but CVS had it) and then it was back onboard.

Since we had eaten dinner on shore, we skipped dinner on the ship and enjoyed sailaway from the helipad.

Tomorrow, we are headed to St. Kitts, which will be our first time ever there.

Stray Observations

• According to my iPhone, I logged 17k steps today.  Evidently San Juan is great for walking off those drinks.
• I admit, it felt really good to have a cell connection and high speed internet once again.  
• There is a complimentary shuttle from the port area to El Morro and another complimentary shuttle that brings you from the entrance of El Morro all the way to actual fort. Your feet will thank you for being able to use them.
• The Captain indicated many taxis were on strike today because they were protesting Uber coming to the island. 
• I love visiting ports, but I would love to have a sea day tomorrow just to get a break from the excursions.  Four port days in a row is tough!
• There was not as much street food as I was expecting, unfortunately.  I made up for it in drinks and mofongo!
• The nursery also offers everyday a self-play option in Optix, where parents can go anytime 9am-5pm to play with toys. We liked doing this on Allure of the Seas, and will be using this more going forward.
• I joked that San Juan must mean, "land of many hills and equally as many cats"

Live Blog Index

• Live blog introduction
• Day 1 - Embarkation Day
• Day 2 - Sea Day
• Day 3 - Labadee
• Day 4 - San Juan
• Day 5 - St. Kitts
• Day 6 - St. Maarten
• Day 7 - Sea Day
• Day 8 - Sea Day

Today is our first port stop and it is among my favorite ports to spend the day, Labadee.

Labadee is Royal Caribbean's private destination and it is all about a beach day.

We were scheduled to arrive at 7am and be cleared by 7:30am, but we did not get the announcement until 8:30am.  It did not really matter, since we were not up and ready until maybe 9am.

We had breakfast at the Windjammer and then promptly dropped my 5-year-old daughter off at Adventure Ocean.  She wanted to stay onboard rather than deal with the heat and sand of the beach. Whatever makes her happy!

Getting off the ship was quite easy and it is remarkable the difference of visiting Labadee on Navigator of the Seas versus our last ship, Allure of the Seas.

I had booked online a beach lounger because it was something I had not seen offered in Labadee previously.

For $35, you could get a beach lounger, along with attendant.  It is somewhat similar to what has been offered on CocoCay for a while.

The beach loungers are set up at Adrenaline Beach in a roped off area that essentially has its own private beach.

Each beach lounger has two beach chairs inside the lounger and an attendant who can get you drinks.

I will post a more formal review later on, but it was a nice way to spend the day.  We all ended up napping, which was fine with me.

I love Labadee's sheer natural beauty, warm waters and tons of activities, but getting a visit from the "Labadoozie fairy" is just what I wanted!

Our schedule at Labadee was a bit odd, with an early arrival and then departure by 2:30pm.  Given that, we got back on the ship around 12:30pm, rinsed off back in the room and had lunch in the Windjammer.

We checked on my daughter on Adventure Ocean to see if she wanted to leave, but she was having too much fun there, so we let her stay.

We walked by the NextCruise office to see if they were taking walk-ups. They had availability, so we stopped in for a quick "chat".  That is all I am allowed to say at this time. 

We headed back to the room for my 1-year-old daughter to nap and to figure out our plans for the rest of the day.

Seeing as my daughter was napping, it looked like a good idea, so I partook in the hard to find but often sought after, two naps in one day!

When I (and the baby) came to again, it was close to dinner time so we retrieved my 5 year old from Adventure Ocean.  I made a quick pit stop at Cafe Promenade for a Starbucks infusion (it's not easy taking two naps in one day).

As the sun started to go down, it was a very pretty sight to behold from our balcony. 

It is views like this that make a balcony worth every penny!

After we got the kids dressed and fed, we brought them up to Adventure Ocean and the Nursery and my wife and I headed down to a place we loved on our last Navigator of the Seas cruise, R-Bar.

R-Bar is a throwback kind of lounge, with kitchy furniture and personalized cocktails.

I looked over their menu but remembered a drink they used to make at the R-Bar on Navigator of the Seas, called the Raspberry Ricky.

The waitress was surprised I knew what that was and was able to make it for me.  Score!

Tonight was Italian night in the main dining room. I love the Italian night menu and think it is the best overall main dining room menu.

I went with the lasagna and eggplant parm, neither of which disappointed!

Following dinner, we did a little gambling and enjoyed some time on deck before collecting the children.

Tomorrow is our next port stop in San Juan, Puerto Rico.  We are going to do a lot of exploring, so it should be a full day.

Stray Observations

• The Diamond drink coupons are evidently available to use at Cafe Promenade for select coffees: lattes, cafe Americano and a few others. Sadly, my go-to caramel macchiatto is not included.
• Maybe this is what happens after you cruise on Allure of the Seas, but I have found very, very few lines onboard. Crowds are nearly non-existant.
• Tonight's entertainment is 70's night, but we decided to skip in order to get some needed sleep and get energy for San Juan.
• Speaking of entertainment, today's Cruise Compass activities felt very light in terms of things to do.  I believe 70's night plays a lot in that.
• Tomorrow morning in the Nursery is a complimentary music event from 9:00 - 9:45am and I would like to go there, unless by some miracle the kids sleep in.
• A special hello to Chad and his family, who said hello while we were in the R-Bar.  Talking to Chad got me super excited for our group cruises!
• If you have read all of this and thought, "Gee, it sounds like all Matt did was nap today" then you would be 100% correct. Never pass up a good nap opportunity!

Live Blog Index

• Live blog introduction
• Day 1 - Embarkation Day
• Day 2 - Sea Day
• Day 3 - Labadee
• Day 4 - San Juan
• Day 5 - St. Kitts
• Day 6 - St. Maarten
• Day 7 - Sea Day
• Day 8 - Sea Day

Have an adventurous mom? Royal Caribbean wants to give them a cruise!

Royal Caribbean launched a new photo contest to find moms who like to explore and get out there, where you can submit photos of your mom performing an adventurous activity for a chance to win.

Show us your adventure mom. Enter the #MMDcontest + she could win a #MothersDay trip. Rules: https://t.co/iWY3e6hwZ2 pic.twitter.com/3YqIPP69aI

— Royal Caribbean (@RoyalCaribbean) May 2, 2016

Royal Caribbean’s Adventure Mom Photo Contest is open to people who can enter by uploading  a photo or video to Twitter or Instagram. Each submission must tag @RoyalCaribbean and include the hashtags #MMDContest to indicate that you have read and agree to the Contest’s Terms and Conditions and acknowledge that entry via Twitter or Instagram will result in the submission of your photo/video. 

The grand prize is a 4-5 night Eastern Caribbean cruise for Winner and one guest onboard a Royal Caribbean ship offering 4-5 night Caribbean sailings in an interior double-occupancy stateroom. 

You can read all the rules here, but the basics are the contest is open only to permanent, legal residents of the fifty United States and the District of Columbia who are at least eighteen years old at the time of entry.Judging will take place between May 16, 2016 and May 25, 2016.

Royal Caribbean designed its newest cruise ship, Harmony of the Seas, to be an entertainment mecca that offers it all. The ship is also shaping up to be the premier cruise ship for Broadway fans all over.

Royal Caribbean has had a strong relationship over the years with theater and Broadway, but Harmony of the Seas is taking it a whole new level.

Broadway fans will appreciate these three aspects of the ship that offer the most Broadway connections of any Royal Caribbean ship to date.

Grease

For nearly a decade, Royal Caribbean has been offering Broadway shows on its ships and Harmony of the Seas continues that tradition with Grease.

The all-new, never-before-seen stage production, specially adapted by Royal Caribbean Productions, will boast a soundtrack of crowd favorites such as “Summer Nights,” “Greased Lightnin’,” “Look at Me, I’m Sandra Dee,” “Born to Hand-Jive,” “Beauty School Dropout” and more.

Grease is an established Broadway show that has played on The Great White Way, and all over the world. Its songs are classics and the story has become so well-known that it transcends its stage roos.

Columbus, The Musical!

Harmony of the Seas will see Royal Caribbean venture out to create its own original production musical, which aims to be just as entertaining as anything on 42nd street.

Columbus, The Musical! is a new Royal Caribbean original production that tells the tale of Christopher’s luckless distant cousin, Marvin, on a madcap voyage to the Caribbean.

Royal Caribbean created the show in the spirit of “Spamalot” and “Something Rotten." With inspiration like those two shows, this new musical is headed in the right direction.

Marvin Columbus is the very, very, very, very, very distant relative of Christopher and spent his entire life ‘neath Chris’ shadow. Marvin’s disappointed nobleman father, sends him on a voyage to find his destiny. Storms, pirates, and even flying sharks – all lead Marvin to his greatest discovery; himself. Romance, adventure, and ‘happy ever after’ are on the map, as Marvin Columbus finally finds his destiny.

Away We Go!

One of the funniest and heart-warming musicals of all time is Avenue Q, and its creator has created a brand new show just for Royal Caribbean.

Tony award-nominated actors and imaginative producers John Tartaglia by and Michael Shawn Lewis of Gable Grove Productions created, Away We Go! just for Harmony of the Seas.

This is a family show, that is meant to be seen by kids and their families.

Away We Go! is aimed at 3- to 11-year olds and follows up Tartaglia's previous creation for Royal Caribbean, ImaginOcean. 

With all the anticipation of a Royal Caribbean cruise, embarkation day is the day we all look forward to the most because it is the first day of the cruise, but the first full day onboard is truly when the cruise begins.

I certainly count down to embarkation day fiendishly, but there is so much going on in those first few hours that it is that odd day that differs from the rest.  

With our first full day and a sea day, today is when we really get a chance to experience Navigator of the Seas.

Our youngest daughter woke up quite early (6:30am) and so we got an earlier start than we would have liked. Evidently it is quite difficult to explain to a baby that dawn does not mean it is time to get up.

I took this opportunity to check to see if Voom internet had been activated, with the ferocity and excitement of a young boy on Christmas morning. Alas, there was no Voom waiting for me under the proverbial tree, and I resigned myself to using the conventional internet for the rest of the sailing.

We got dressed and headed up to the Windjammer for breakfast and to witness the beautiful start to our morning.

Breakfast was your classic Royal Caribbean Windjammer breakfast, and the omelette station continues to offer my favorite choice.

We had no firm plans for the day. Our whole plan was to have the kids sleep in (or not) and then play it all by ear.

Following breakfast, we had some time before Adventure Ocean opened up. We walked around the Royal Promenade (grabbed a much needed Starbucks coffee), played mini-golf and otherwise explored the ship in the time it took before Adventure Ocean opened.

At 9am we promptly dropped my daughter off, while my wife took the toddler back to the room for a morning nap.

I took this opportunity to try my hand at morning trivia.

The trivia theme was general trivia and I joined a couple from Michigan. Lo and behold, we won! 

Next, I headed up to the pool deck for a little sun, figuring it might make sense to enjoy the Caribbean breeze and some sun.

Of interest was the pineapple drinks being served and Sabor did a guacamole demonstration (followed by guacamole sampling).

Surprisingly, the Sabor staff were offering dinner reservations for any night for $20 (a $5 per person savings) if you booked on the spot.  I booked Sabor for dinner on the last night as a means of enjoying "one last guac."

Some folks had requested photos of the Diamond Lounge, so I happily obliged.

For those keeping score at home, the coffee maker is working once again and the Diamond Lounge attendant is Jayeon.

Next was the Cruise Critic Meet n Mingle in the Cosmopolitan Club.

This was a rather large group, with over 120 members in attendance!  I did not win anything, but did enjoy the company and complimentary rum punch.

I collected my daughter from Adventure Ocean (they take a two hour break in the afternoon) and at her request, we all had lunch at Johnny Rockets.

I was concerned about a line to eat at Johnny Rockets because it was a sea day, but there was plenty of seating.

I recall cruises in the past where Johnny Rockets would be crazy busy on sea days for lunch, but my wife I think that has changed since the Crown and Anchor Society coupon changed from a BOGO cover charge to just a BOGO milk shake.

We did some more exploring after lunch, including seeing the newly redesigned NextCruise office.  I think it looks great!

With Adventure Ocean back open and one of our children off doing her own thing, I told my wife to go do something fun on deck and I would stay with the baby while she napped in the room.

One key lesson about taking young children on a cruise is not to skip naps.  They need them or the rest of the day will just end badly.

Following nap time, the girls all took showers while I took an opportunity to enjoy some "pre-dinner" at Izumi.

For those new to my live blogs, sometimes I ike to have something to eat prior to my second seating at dinner, which is at 8pm.  I am only human, so I need a snack...may as well be sushi!

I picked Izumi and had reserved it on the website.  I was seated promptly right by the window.

I make it no secret that Izumi is a favorite restaurant of mine and this time I went with my usual: miso soup and DX Sushi Combo.

The reason I pick the DX Sushi Combo is for the money, I believe it is the best value piece-for-piece on the menu and the selection is quite good and ample.

I also had to try this drink, the "Call a cab! Sakirita" just because of the name!

I returned to the room and dropped the kids off at Adventure Ocean and the Nursery.  At the nursery, my daughter was the only kid there, which I found peculiar given it was formal night and prime time (7:30).  We always suspected there are very few children on this sailing and I am pretty sure that is still the case.

Dinner was in the main dining room and it was formal night.

Great food all around and we have a great waiter (Vanju) and assistant waiter (sorry, I cannot think of her name at the moment).

We finished dinner ealier than normal, so we wandered the Royal Promenade.

First up was the Royal Caribbean logo store, where I spotted these new shirt designs, perfect for the Royal Caribbean fan.

We also stopped in a for a set at the pub and sang along to some favorites (Country Roads!).

Our entertainment for the evening was the Broadway revue show.  We had seen it the last time we were on Navigator and I am fairly certain it is the same show as on Brilliance of the Seas.

My wife loved it, and that is all that matters.

Tomorrow we are in Labadee, and that is our first port stop.  Our timing there is odd, as guests can disembark at 7am and must return by 3pm.  

Stray Observations

• I spotted another cruise ship following us and I think it is a Princess ship.
  
• I also spotted a baby splash pool for kids in diapers.  I will be investigating this further because....
• We realized we forgot to pack swim diapers.  They do not sell any diapers onboard, so part of our San Juan excursion plans now include a stop at CVS. Oh, the exoticness and pizazz that await me there!
• One team at morning trivia attempted to cheat, by saying they had more points than our team in trivia, until they were told the prizes were pens and keychains.  At that point, they folded like a cheap table.
• Weather has been great, with waves less than one meter in height.  My kind of cruise!
• Regarding Voom, I spoke to a few officers but have not gotten a firm answer on when it will arrive. Almost no chance for this cruise, but it sounds like for the transatlantic it could be activated.
• We were sailing really close to Cuba today. Much closer than I ever remember cruise ships going.  It was close enough you could see trees, not just land.
  
• There are few relaxing experiences as sitting on one's balcony and enjoying the view and breeze!

Live Blog Index

• Live blog introduction
• Day 1 - Embarkation Day
• Day 2 - Sea Day
• Day 3 - Labadee
• Day 4 - San Juan
• Day 5 - St. Kitts
• Day 6 - St. Maarten
• Day 7 - Sea Day
• Day 8 - Sea Day

Attention reality television fans, one of your favorites is enjoying a Royal Caribbean cruise vacation.

Real Housewives of New York star, Dorinda Medley, is onboad Royal Caribbean's Anthem of the Seas with longtime love John Mahdessian.

The couple is enjoying a Caribbean getaway, and has been spotted taking in panoramic views from 300 feet above sea level in Anthem’s iconic North Star; riding bumper cars in SeaPlex, the largest indoor active space at sea; lounging poolside in the ship’s adults-only Solarium; and previewing the new Royal Suite Class, launching May 2016.

Happy Sunday! We hope you are having a wonderful weekend and we cannot wait to share with you all the exciting Royal Caribbean news from this week!

There was a lot of news this week, but the story that stood out to us is Royal Caribbean's announcement that all ships in the fleet will offer Voom, beginning today!

Royal Caribbean CEO Michael Bayley made the announcement during an earnings call with investors.

The news came as a surprise to many, considering there was no indication Royal Caribbean had planned a fleet-wide deployment of Voom this quickly.

Voom internet is Royal Caribbean's exclusive high speed internet that allows guests to stream music and movies, upload pictures, video chat with family and friends using FaceTime or Skype, check their email, lookup their stock prices, surf the web and stay connected with work via VPN.

We have a lot to share with you this week, so let’s jump right in…

Royal Caribbean News

• Royal Caribbean reported impressive first quarter earnings.
• Royal Caribbean's next promotion will offer 60% off the second guest plus 30% off additional guests.
• We spotted a waiver for unlimited alcohol packages that guests must sign.
• First look photos of the refurbished Jewel of the Seas.
• Four new Ovation of the Seas sailings were added to 2017.
• We tried the Prohibition Party on Allure of the Seas.
• Royal Caribbean completed a new tender pier in Vanuatu.
• Our review of Johnny Rockets on Allure of the Seas.
• Royal Caribbean celebrated the end of its Australia cruise season.

Royal Caribbean Blog Podcast

The 143rd episode of the Royal Caribbean Blog Podcast is now available, where we answer your Royal Caribbean emails this week.

In this episode, Matt previews his upcoming cruise on Navigator of the Seas and talks about what he has planned on his 8-night adventure.

Please feel free to subscribe via iTunes or RSS, and head over to rate and review the podcast on iTunes if you can! We’d appreciate it.

We are LIVE on Navigator of the Seas!

All this week, we are live blogging from Royal Caribbean's Navigator of the Seas!

Every day, Matt is posting a brand new blog post that reviews everything he did during the week and you can follow along!

The Navigator live blog can be found at www.navigatoroftheseas.live and you are encouraged to join in the fun with your comments and questions!

99 Days of Harmony

To celebrate the countdown until Royal Caribbean's Harmony of the Seas debuts, we kicked off a brand new blog series, 99 Days of Harmony, that looks at what makes this new ship so amazing. 

We are posting new blog posts all about Harmony of the Seas, so here's what you might have missed this week.

• Away We Go!
• Harmony of the Seas' cruise director
• Carousel installation
• Infographic

Royal Caribbean Around the Internet

Moms of the Seas has a list of 20 must-do family Royal Caribbean activities.

CNBC interviewed Royal Caribbean Chairman & CEO Richard Fain about its first quarter results.

Royal Caribbean says the Sports Zone on Harmony of the Seas is not for the faint of heart.

Embarkation day is here, which is the best possible feeling for any self-diagnosed cruise geek!

Last night, we started our vacation a little early with a hotel stay closer to port.  We considered a hotel in the greater Fort Lauderdale area, but found significanty less expensive pricing about an hour away in Port Saint Lucie.

We stayed at the Holiday Inn Express & Suites Port St. Lucie West, which was about half the price of what we found near the port.  Our room was a king suite, which meant the kids had plenty of space to mess around.  The hotel was clean, relatively new and offered a decent breakfast.  It is the perfect kind of hotel for a pre-cruise stay!

We left the hotel at 8:30am and headed down I-95 to Port Everglades.

The drive was uneventful.  There was one bit of traffic in West Palm Beach, but otherwise an easy drive.

We arrived at Port Everglades at around 10:15am or so and proceeded to drop off the luggage and family at the port and then I went to park the car.

The parking garage at Terminal 29 is much further away than the parking lot at Terminal 18 (that is where the Oasis class ships dock).  Nonetheless, I was able to hop on the complimentary shuttle easily and made it back to the port to get in line with my family at 10:30am.

There was a bit of a line at check-in, but we got through the line relatively quickly. There were two lines: one for suites and any Crown & Anchor Society member and a line for anyone else.  

Being in a Junior Suite, we were in the Suites area, which meant we got to be among the first to get onboard. While the Junior Suite perks are not exactly amazing, priority embarkation is a really nice touch!

At 11:15am, we were onboard Navigator of the Seas and so many memories came flooding back to us from our 2014 cruise on Navigator of the Seas.

Our first stop was our traditional first stop on any cruise we go on: the Windjammer.

After sailing on Allure of the Seas earlier this year, it was so refreshing have a "normal" size Windjammer, given that the Oasis-class Windjammers are oddly smaller.

I enjoyed the Asian food spread available and we all had a very filling and pleasurable meal.  

We tried to do the spa tour after lunch, but they were not doing it until later, so we walked around the ship a bit to explore.

Our rooms were ready right at 1pm and we got our first look at the Junior Suite.

I was impressed by the sheer amount of living space in the Junior Suite.  It was much wider a room than I was expecting and with 2 kids, it is very welcome.  I wish there was a curtain between the bed and couch, but I think we will be fine.  Our issue will be when my one year old daughter needs to sleep. I think we will all have to wait her out on the balcony and then sneak back in after she falls asleep.

We registered the children for Adventure Ocean and the Nursery next.

The nursery on Royal Caribbean ships limits you to 20 hours of reservations, but by day 3, they open up space if there is availability.  Essentially, they want to ensure everyone has a chance to get their kids into the nursery.  

We have lots of experience with the nursery and it usually works out just fine for us.  We got our hours in and will wait for day 3 to nab some more time.

We attempted to do some more exploring but the kids were starting to get really cranky, so we headed back to the stateroom for them to nap.

My wife opted to stay with them while I did some more exploring.  Navigator is a great ship and it is easy to forget just how much she offers.

I checked out the Diamond Lounge, which marked my first time in the Diamond Lounge as a Diamond member.

I liked there was an outdoor seating section and of course, it is impressive to have a special part of the ship just for you.  With the kids, I am not certain how much time we will spend up there, but it is nice having the perk!

I realized at this point that I had not "christened" my cruise vacation properly yet and had my first drink of the cruise at the Viking Crown Lounge.

I chose the lava flow and it really hit the spot!

Speaking of drinks, all over Navigator of the Seas are these select drink specials, which are something I have never seen on any other ship.

They are not of interest to me, but I am sure some folks may find value in these deals!

Our muster drill was later than usual (5pm), so we proceeded to our muster station.  The muster drill was like every muster drill we have ever been to.  The kids were reasonably well behaved, so not much else we can ask for.  Our muster station was outside, so no seating unfortunately.

Following muster, it was time for sailaway, which I took in from the helipad.

The helipad on Voyager-class ships is a terrific option, and when you are doing sail away or sail-in, it is the place to be. 

I headed back to the room once the kids woke up and we all got dressed for dinner.  Adventure Ocean had limited hours this evening, so our plan was to feed the kids in the Windjammer and bring them to dinner with us in the main dining room without having them subjegated to the menu there.

It was around this time that my wife and I took advantage of our Diamond drink coupons for the first time.

One pretty big perk of being a Diamond member (or higher) is that you get three complimentary drinks per evening outside of the Diamond Lounge.  I did not think we would sneak the drinks in with the kids present tonight, but we totally aced the parenting thing by supervising our children while grabbing a drink from a bar we walked by.  Woot!

There was family time in the arcade tonight, so we brought the kids up to the arcade to enjoy some free video games.  What better opportunity to play random video games?

Dinner tonight was at the main dining room and we have a table to ourselves.  I do not mind sharing a table with others, but will not complain about a table to ourselves either.

As we sat down, it was around this time that my youngest daughter "hit the wall" from being over-tired. My wife decided to go up to the room to order room service and put her to sleep.

My daughter and I finished dinner, just the two of us and I brought her up to Adventure Ocean.

Being left alone to my own devices, I wandered the ship some more to do some exploring.

I may or may not have ended up at the casino and I may or may not have lost my money quite quickly.

Oh well, I wrapped up my evening watching Star Wars: The Force Awakens on the pool deck, after I had returned my daughter to the room.

Tomorrow is our first sea day, and that means plenty of time experiencing everything Navigator of the Seas has to offer!

Stray Observations

• The elevator keypads have been updated and I have not seen this "style" on any other Royal Caribbean ship.
  
• Adventure Ocean was only open from 9pm to 10pm tonight (with up to midnight available for an hourly charge).  My daughter in Adventure Ocean was literally the only kid there.  We kind of figured there would not be many kids on this sailing.
• Regarding Voom, there is no definitive answer if we will get Voom activated during our cruise.  My guess is that it will not be active tomorrow, but a man can dream, right?
• I saw another deal that I have never seen before. Johnny Rockets was offering a free milk shake if you dined there tonight
  
• Good night, sweet prince
  

Share your comments or questions in the comments section below! This live blog is meant to be interactive, so please feel free to comment!

Live Blog Index

• Live blog introduction
• Day 1 - Embarkation Day
• Day 2 - Sea Day
• Day 3 - Labadee
• Day 4 - San Juan
• Day 5 - St. Kitts
• Day 6 - St. Maarten
• Day 7 - Sea Day
• Day 8 - Sea Day

There is a new design for the souvenir Coca-Cola cups guests get with their unlimited drink packages.

The new souvenir cups are available on Royal Caribbean ships when a guest purchases one of the unlimited drink packages.

It is not clear yet when these new souvenir cup designs began being sold, but it is likely to have changed somewhat recently.

These souvenir cups are compatible with the self-serve soda machines on the pool deck as well as the Coca-Cola Freestyle machines. The Coca-Cola souvenir cup has a special chip in it which activates the machine.

Do you like the design of these souvenir Coca-Cola cups? Tell us in the comments below!