perfect match

When we first started cruising we were cruising on Disney. While it’s not a marathon, they used to do a Castaway Cay 5K when they stopped at their private island. I think they used to hand out some sort of medal to those who did it. That was about 12 years or so ago so I have no idea if they’re still doing it. I never tried it myself because I spent my time at Castaway Cay in the water. I’m way more a swimmer than a runner.

After a couple of internet blips, videos are playing! All I could hear at Hideaway beach was the wind and the waves! Yikes! No wonder you’re stuck at the pier! Hope you have smooth sailing once the ship is able to get away from the dock.

Was Hideaway Beach a loud party place while you were there? I bought it at cheap BF price but am seriously considering canceling it. I couldn’t get your videos to play on my iPad tonight. We’ve been having internet problems in the neighborhood lately so that’s probably why. Land line phones for those who still have them aren’t working either. The problems all started with the most recent Xfinity upgrade! Can’t wait to see what happens in two days when they come to fix it! 😂 If it makes you feel any better about being stuck at the Coco Cay pier the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launch 🚀 that was supposed to go up from KSC was scrapped tonight, postponed until 1:33 Thursday AM.

I’m going to have to show your photography stats to my DH. Maybe then he will realize that I truly don’t take that many photos! 😂 I don’t even come close! I’m very grateful that you do take that many photos since I enjoyed every single one of them!

I’ve finally made it to the end of Antarctica and I’m so very glad I found my way here! Your photography, as usual, was breathtaking. Your descriptions of your cruise were very informative. I hope that at some point I’ll be able to do my own Antarctica cruise, preferably before I get too old to enjoy it! 😱 For now I can’t recall a cruise trip report I’ve enjoyed more than this one. I will be moving on to your Galapagos review soon but I’m going to take a little bit of time first to let my memories of this one settle in. I’ll see you on your Galapagos thread soon. Thank you very much for sharing with us.

The crystal block is a loyalty recognition from C&A. We get our first one on our next cruise. Below copied from RC website. How do you get crystal blocks on Royal Caribbean? You will earn your first block on the sailing you reach 140 Crown & Anchor points. You will receive the block for the ship on which you reach the milestone. You You will receive additional blocks for every 70 Crown & Anchor points you earn after that.

Great pictures! Thank you. Now take care of that not too happy looking foot or you won’t be wanting to walk on it, never mind run!

I’ve been here and definitely enjoying the journey. I appreciate the time you have taken to share your cruise with us. You have been to a lot of my bucket list destinations. Hopefully I will be able to make it there at some point but for now I’m enjoying virtual cruises with people like you. Thanks foe taking me along!

Harry, glad you and your wife were able to get your awning down before if caused any serious damage and didn’t get hurt doing it. Here in Florida we always go out and secure or move indoors any loose items that might get blown away or cause damage. I did learn not to bring in any of my outdoor plants that are in pots though since they frequently come with little stowaways 🦎 🐸 that keep our cats 🐈‍⬛🐈‍⬛ amused until I come to their rescue. I hope that the worst of the weather is over in your area and that life will be back to normal soon.

To me 8:30 AM is NOT brunch. The whole point of brunch in the world of this night owl is that I don’t have to get up that early to get breakfast food! As for the 12:30 ending time, well that’s about the time I’d be wanting to show up for brunch! Looks to me like that would be a great time to go and take pictures by the Christmas tree 🎄. That way you wouldn’t have strangers crashing your pictures and the Christmas tree 🎄 wouldn’t be left feeling sad, lonely and unloved. That sounds like a win-win situation to me. 😁 A friend of ours once chose to disregard that advice on one of his cruises. It was a decision he came to regret! 🤣

We booked Hideaway Beach during the BF sale. We were hoping for a quiet adults only beach. Sounds like we’ll end up canceling since it seems like it’s going to be more of a party area. Nothing wrong with a party area for those who enjoy that. It’s just not what we’re looking for so we’ll leave it for those who are.

Good for you that you got out for your run. You got some training in and also got to see a lot of South Beach! That’s a double win in my book! Loved the Icon picture!

We really enjoyed brunch on our last couple of cruises. However, brunch ran until 1:30 PM and they had options for both breakfast and lunch foods, so you could have whatever meal you wanted. I always chose breakfast while DH frequently chose lunch. We were both happy. I hope it is the same way when we board Allure in a couple of months. Actually, since we’re doing two short sailings I don’t think they will be doing brunch on the second leg of our B2B, the three day sailing but there are two sea days on the 4 day leg so I’m hopeful for brunch on the sea days that runs until 1:30. I have been watching the weather that’s heading your way. Hope you and your family stay safe through the storm.

Thank you @cruisinghawg and everyone else who has contributed to this wonderful and very informative thread! I have really enjoyed cruising along with you! Congratulations to Toby for winning Best of the Best on the Icon Flowrider! I was not particularly interested in sailing on Icon before reading this thread along with a couple of others from both this sailing and the non revenue sailings that preceded it. You have won me over. I am now trying to figure out when I can fit an Icon or more likely a Star sailing out of Port Canaveral into our schedule. 🤩

I’ll be following! Oasis should be fun. 🤩

I got some of the Effectors videos to play just now, but after the first two or 3 it didn’t work any more. Perhaps my so called high speed internet isn’t up to the task. I probably should do a speed test, but I have absolutely no idea what the numbers they give me mean…. My iPad is getting old, 6th generation (I just had to go look for that) but it has had all of the latest updates. I don’t know if it’s age would make any difference.

I have a pet peeve with the roving piano player. For the most part, I think having him or her on the ship can be a fun encounter. However, when that piano player moves into an elevator or into an already busy, congested hallway I’m not so amused! Elevators are always a wait at best. Adding a piano into that elevator takes it away from its intended purpose which is to transport guests from one floor to another. There are many cruisers who are in wheelchairs or scooters or on walkers for whom taking the stairs is not an option. There are others, myself included who can manage the stairs just fine some of the time, just not all of the time. Falling down the stairs is not something I want to do, but has been a risk I have had to take so someone can play a piano in the elevator. Crowded hallways, like right after a show lets out and people are all pushing and shoving to get to their next activity = not a good location for a piano player either. The acoustics in a cruise ship elevator are, let’s just say, less than ideal for listening to piano music! I wish that better, safer places could be found for the piano player. Ok, rant Thanks for listening. Let’s get back to Harry’s excellent review! By the way, Harry, I couldn’t view your Effectors videos on my iPad. I could see your other videos, but for some reason not these. I have no idea why. 🤔 Edit: Harry, I forgot to say that I’m glad that you, your family, and your home did not suffer any damages from all of the rain.

We sailed on Odyssey in April, 2020. On our sailing the price for the paid version of iFly was $29/pp and for North Star was $19/pp. What a difference a year makes!

I loved the sunrise shot of the Opera House! The view of it from North Star wasn’t bad either. 😎

What an incredibly special time for you and your family! Thank you so much for sharing it with us!

Twangster, I’m halfway through this review and I’m totally blown away! The wildlife pictures are spectacular. The penguins, especially the parents sitting on their chicks are probably my favorites. Then there’s the Rockhoppers, I’ve always loved them. Then the various seals, the birds in flight, I’m at a loss for words….. and I haven’t even mentioned the 360 degree camera and the commentary that accompanies the photos. When I finish here I’m going to have to go and find your Galapagos thread. While I’d love to get to Antarctica some day, the Galapagos are at the top of my bucket list. Thank you for sharing your travels with us.

Great set of pictures, Harry! I don’t think I ever took any pictures there, or very few at best. We were always hurrying off to get somewhere or the area was so packed with people that I didn’t bother. It’s nice to see your pictures.

Thank you. You’re right, of course. I just realized that I was mixing up Icon and Utopia and came back here to correct my mistake. Add in Star of the Seas to the mix and with all of these shiny new ships coming out I can’t keep them straight.

All I can say is WOW! I am loving seeing Icon through your eyes! I had no plans to book this ship. At her current prices I still don’t. If the prices come down enough then I’m in. I hate that Icon is only sailing short itineraries now. There’s way too much to see and do on this ship for 3 or 4 day cruises. Yes, I know I can do a B2B like we’re doing in a couple of months. I’d rather have a 7 or 8 day sailing so I didn’t have to deal with a turn around day. I can’t wait to read the rest of your review!

Yes, basically the same deck plan. I think the specific one I saw and haven’t been able to find again was for Ovation. As long as the room numbers are the same it should be the same with any of the Q class ships. In Harry’s case, the angled balcony is a perfect reference point. Thanks for posting this.