Washey! Washey! Washey! Indy Cruise 10/25

[Goodtime Cruizin]

It all started back in the first week of May 2014. The original, the real one & only BOGO. Then toss in a first for us, our Travel Agent's Special Group Cruise w/ nice pricing and you have yourself a pretty Good Time planned. The choice of this date & itinerary was EZ-PZ as a margarita.

 

Start w/ the beautiful and ageless wife's BD (Oct 25th embarkation day),

Mix in a festive holiday of Halloween,

Shake, Rock, & Roll'em w/ stops in San Juan, St. Maarten, & St. Kitts

and you have yourself the sweet taste of a margarita, Good Time flavored.

 

Time to meet the culprits. The wife & I are from Houston, this was our 4th cruise all w/ RCL gaining us to the whopping loyalty class of Platinum. We were excited to be joined by two wonderful, spirited cruisers from Dallas. Ron Don & his lovely wife are of the D+ category, so they promised to keep us in line. :D

 

Our bags are packed and we're ready to go, but first we're going to have our last FaceTime w/ the grandson. So grab your imaginary Sea Pass & we'll see in in FLL tomorrow morning. It's going to be a blast, so Washey, Washey, Washey as we hope you can join us!

 

Edited November 10, 2015 by Goodtime Cruizin

[Goodtime Cruizin]

Well we made it Ft.L. It was an on time uneventful United non-stop flight. It was great to leave Houston Friday morning as the weather forecast was projecting 6-11" of rain over the weekend beginning friday night. We selected to stay at the Hilton Marina. We booked the hotel in February as we read on CC that this was a great spot. We landed a great room for the weekend. A Tower room on the 12th floor, and it was a great corner room w/ a large wrap around balcony.

 

Once settled in we went down to the pool bar and the place was rocking. This is where we met people from the first of many different groups on this cruise vacation. The Blues Cruise group based here and they were already in the mood. A couple recognized us from our flight and asked us to join them at their table. We quickly obliged. The Blues Cruise was sailing on HAL Sat. morning w/ Buddy Guy as the headliner. The stops was Key West, New Orleans, and Cozumel.

 

The Hilton Marina was beautiful. Room was perfect. Service and cleanliness was great. We used our points for the two night stay so price wasn't too much of a concern. Location could have been better to enjoy the Ft.L Beach as we taxi'd to the beach front. So we give the Hilton Marina a 9 out of 10 Good Times.

A few pics of our view from the balcony... did I say the balcony was over the top?

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We enjoyed dinner at http://coconutsfortlauderdale.com I'm not into food porn so there will be no images of our meals but wowza, the Crab Cakes were unbelievable. Also, not on their menu, but definitely delicious, is their Scoobies for an appetizer. If you go to Coconuts, you must try their Scoobies!

 

After breakfast on Saturday, our plans was beach time and then watch some College Football at a beach bar. It was a fun day and we eventually hooked up w/ Ron Don and wife Jennell. It was great to see them again as we had not shared company since our last cruise! There was a lot to catch up on. We all had dinner Saturday night... at, you guessed it, Coconuts. I know, I know, but this waterfront spot was perfect and the food was literally incredible w/ a tripadviosr rating of 5 stars.

 

Coconuts gets a whopping 10 out 10 GoodTimes.

 

Next up is Day 1 on the Independence of the Seas. :D See you there!

Edited November 10, 2015 by Goodtime Cruizin

[bookemdano1]

Nice Pics! Looking forward to the review!

 

Ok, I'll bite (figuratively), what is a scoobie?

 

Dan

[clochette]

great review so far, I look forward to reading more

[ddebaets]

Great so far! Can't wait for more!

[Goodtime Cruizin]

It's nice to have a few followers! Welcome and I do hope that you enjoy yourself as much as we did.

 

Dan, a Scoobie is an appetizer that is actually not listed on thier menu. The wife read about them on TripAdvisor. So we questioned our server and she said, "You won't be disappointed!" She was correct. I would have to describe a Scoobie as a soup as it was served in a bowl. It consisted of crab claws in a spicy garlic and oil mix....served with bread. Yummmm! And it is spicy, so for those that do not wish for too much spice, perhaps a scoobie is not for you. But we thought is a great start to the meal.

 

I need to go to pay for the next cruise but before I do, perhaps you need to know some details.

 

This is a 7 day cruise and our first in a JS. Ron Don and myself did most of the planning and the wives just kicked back and enjoy themselves. The four of us had the MTD dining plan and we all planned for one night at Chops Grille, and the Mystery Dinner at Giovannis. Ron Don & Jennel took a 2nd dinner at Giovannis. On that night,we opted for the WJ. All of us had drink packages. Myself and the DW bought the Ultimate, while Ron Don & his DW enjoyed the Premium Package.

 

Our ports plans consisted of a self guided tour in San Juan, a guided tour of St. Maarten, and our TA's group excursion in St. Kitts. (Catamaran, Snorkeling/Beach time)

 

The cover of 'the' cruise notebook. I say 'the' notebook as I took a bit of ribbing from the group. But eventuallly, it became, 'Hey! What's the notebook say about so & so" It's not that I'm OCD as much as I like to be prepared. :) I simplify things by placing the travel details by day needed. So the first page is the parking reservation at the airport, the last page is the boarding pass for the flight home. In between are the details of the GoodTime ahead.

 

 

We'll board the Indy on the next post as I need to make a few calls etc. Until then... Washey, Washey, Washey!

[Setting sail for fun]

Enjoying your review! We did the same cruise the last of August!

 

We enjoyed staying at the Hilton Marina last March for 2 nights before a cruise. Love the tower rooms, we were facing the port and enjoyed the sail aways.

 

Agree, their pool bar is a good place to relax and have some good food.

 

Look forward to more of your review....

 

P.S. Like the grandbaby pics as well!

[blonde375]

Can't wait to read your review of the Indy!

Lovin' it so far!

 

P.S. "the" notebook is totally something I would do!

[CruisinBarb63]

Following along...my crew was on this cruise as well!

[dizneefreak28]

Leaving on the 21st! Anxious to hear all about your trip!

[widallas]

 

The cover of 'the' cruise notebook. I say 'the' notebook as I took a bit of ribbing from the group. But eventuallly, it became, 'Hey! What's the notebook say about so & so" It's not that I'm OCD as much as I like to be prepared. :) I simplify things by placing the travel details by day needed. So the first page is the parking reservation at the airport, the last page is the boarding pass for the flight home. In between are the details of the GoodTime ahead.

 

 

You sir are a genius.... :D

[Cupcrazy]

Looking forward to hearing your views of our cruise. We loved the Washy washy. Especially my 2 young nieces.

[crusinot]

Thanks for the review! Loved Indy!

[Goodtime Cruizin]

Enjoying your review! We did the same cruise the last of August!

 

We enjoyed staying at the Hilton Marina last March for 2 nights before a cruise. Love the tower rooms, we were facing the port and enjoyed the sail aways.

 

Agree, their pool bar is a good place to relax and have some good food.

 

Look forward to more of your review....

 

P.S. Like the grandbaby pics as well!

 

We didn't have enough points for the port side of the Hilton! :D But the stay was wonderful nonetheless. And Thank you for the grand baby comment. He's our first and we are eating it up and feel blessed to have him around.

[Goodtime Cruizin]

Can't wait to read your review of the Indy!

Lovin' it so far!

 

P.S. "the" notebook is totally something I would do!

 

Hi Dana, Yep the book is now a function of our cruise life. It also feeds the cruise monster I have. It was enoyable to put together between the 17 months of reserving the cabin to actually boarding the ship.

 

Glad you're enjoying the review!

[Goodtime Cruizin]

Following along...my crew was on this cruise as well!

 

Aww! A roll call follower. Cool. I hope you enjoyed your Indy cruise as well as we did. I don't believe I had the pleasure to say Hello while on the cruise and I'm sure I missed out. So glad you're following! Please feel free to add to something along the way!

[Goodtime Cruizin]

Leaving on the 21st! Anxious to hear all about your trip!

 

You'll like the Indy. She's good to go. Great vibe on the ship and quality staff members. Enjoy!

[Goodtime Cruizin]

Looking forward to hearing your views of our cruise. We loved the Washy washy. Especially my 2 young nieces.

 

Cupcrazy, another roll call member and I did ask about you but never hooked up. Was hoping your Blue Jays would have come through for you. Glad you're here!

Edited November 10, 2015 by Goodtime Cruizin

[Goodtime Cruizin]

Nice notebook!

 

Here's mine (same for every cruise).

 

 

Nice! I'm not into citrus pies but it's wife's fav. :)

[Goodtime Cruizin]

You sir are a genius.... :D

 

Genius? Well Thanks, I'll take it. But if you knew me, you'd know that it's actually a product of necessity. ;) I try not to be too rigid while planning a vacation. In fact, the book included a variety options if we decided to do something else instead of what was scheduled or planned. In addition, it also included emails, documents, etc from RCL to United and all in between. Just in case they were needed.

[John&LaLa]

 

Genius? Well Thanks, I'll take it. But if you knew me, you'd know that it's actually a product of necessity. ;) I try not to be too rigid while planning a vacation. In fact, the book included a variety options if we decided to do something else instead of what was scheduled or planned. In addition, it also included emails, documents, etc from RCL to United and all in between. Just in case they were needed.

 

Get on boat

Eat, drink, gamble, repeat

Really not that hard

 

Laura said that's mean, sorry

Edited November 10, 2015 by John&LaLa

[Goodtime Cruizin]

It's Sunday morning. Embarkation day. It's that moment when you open eyes for the first time and you literally jump out of bed knowing your day is about to filled with a Good Time. Couple that with a birthday for the wife, soon we were up and eagerly ready for the day's beginning. A BD card and a cool Dollar Store BD button sufficed for the time and well into the day/night as she was greeted w/ Happy Birthdays from many.

 

Our hotel reservation included a great breakfast and a courtesy van to the port. We watched the zoo of the Blues Cruise folks attempt to not only get on a van, but to just get down the elevator. It was crazy. So we decide to take our bags down to the concierge and then do breakfast. Soon we were on the van for a short drive. Joining in the van were 2 Carnival Cruise couples, and another RCL cruise couple. All of us politely quite but each filled with anticipation. Within 15 mins we're at the port and passed the bags to the porter.

 

We experienced no issues at check in, as we for the first time were able to enjoy our first taste of suite life via the express of the suite line. The JS doesn't offer too many perks, so we enjoyed what little it offered. :) The doors did not open til 11am but soon we were headed onto the ship. I'll be honest here, one of the best sounds for me while cruising is "Boing" of my SeaPass when getting on the ship. It's pure sweetness to my ears.

 

We typically go straight to Guest Sevices to grab the show schedule, then to our assigned MDR to make reservations for MTD, but RonDon as a D+ and also with a GS had the reservations covered all week. Sweetness! So we head to Deck 11, the Pool Bar to get the Birthday girl a drink. She has a Pina Colada, I enjoyed my first & last Mudslide. It was delicious but I don't fancy that style of drink. We also met our newest best friend, bartender Del Roy. He's a good guy and it quickly showed throughout our time at the Pool Bar.

 

 

 

 

 

I must admit it feels strange posting pic of a toilet. But many may have a curiosity of the JS bathroom size/shape. They offer a fullsize bathtub/shower, which is roomier than the Star Trek showers, but never did we take a bath!

 

 

Hey but while we're here.... Washey, Washey, Washey!

[Goodtime Cruizin]

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The roses that RCL delivered for me for really nice roses. They lasted all week, in fact, she brought them home off the ship! The Champagne I brought with. We had decided to do Sail Away at the Olive or Twist on Deck 14 & had invited Ron Don & DW to join us for a glass of Bubbly. I went there before the muster and requested that the bottle be chilled on ice. I was quickly told that there would be a corkage fee of $25. I've read numerous times that RCL had waived cork fees so I requested that he verify this. He graciously did so but returned with the same result. This bothered me a bit as I was and still believe this was wrong information. As such I felt the fee was off base and as stubborn as I am, I refused to pay it. So I texted Ron Don to have them meet in our cabin after muster. He quickly reuturned the invite to their GS. He arranged for ice & glasses and the BD party went off w/o a hitch. The GS, Sail Away, BD, and company was absoluelty splendid.

 

A little more on the JS for those who wish to know. The cabin comes with a coffee maker although it was a poor machine. It had (2) robes, a nice walk in closet. Bathroom toiletries were there as well. A surprise to us were two loungers instead of one. It was a larger space than a D1 Balcony, as was the balcony. It was offered quite a lot of storage, drawers, etc. It did get very warm in the room in the late afternoons. We also enjoyed double the points for Crown & Anchor. I do believe our next sailing will be w/ a JS !!!

 

Junior Suite #9634 gets 9 out of 10 Good Times.

Edited November 11, 2015 by Goodtime Cruizin

[Goodtime Cruizin]

Get on boat

Eat, drink, gamble, repeat

Really not that hard

 

Laura said that's mean, sorry

 

It sounds like Laura plans your cruises. And I agree Laura was right! :D

 

I'm not much of a gambler, but Eat, Drink & repeat works for me!

[Boozebabe]

Hi Dana, Yep the book is now a function of our cruise life. It also feeds the cruise monster I have. It was enoyable to put together between the 17 months of reserving the cabin to actually boarding the ship.

 

Glad you're enjoying the review!

 

I am the "organizer" of our group. My folder is sometimes an inch thick with printouts, reservations etc. Organizing a trip is only the beginning of the fun for me.