SwissMiss USA

Andrew, it was clear and now back building

The thunder is rolling ... as is the wine!

Hang on, could be bumpy

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We made it!!! The hotel is great and they let me continue to use my card cause I had checked in on the Mobile app. One down

Here is the room at the Marriott harbor beach resort

We are waiting for the weather to clear up and then down to the pool. We can smell food from somewhere and haven’t eaten yet today..

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Update: we are moving. I guess they cannot have a certain number of lightening strikes in a 3 mile radius within 4 minutes

1 more minute (I think it’s up...)...

On another note, I called the nail joint. They have the card! Dad is en-route.

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The girls

Mom, Layla (middle) and me (right)

Lots of ☔️

Please let me know if you cannot see my pictures for some reason. This is my first time using this app to post.

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And we wait ... we are on the tarmac and waiting for the storm to end. The ramps are closed and thus, we are waiting to park. But bumpy coming in. It’s ok; I had a wine voucher... don’t hate.. ha

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I'm from Hutchinson but I've been in TX since 1986. Hutch will always be home but I love TX. I'll always be a die hard Jayhawk when it comes to men's college basketball though. ROCK CHALK JAYHAWK! [emoji173][emoji170][emoji173][emoji170][emoji173][emoji170][emoji173][emoji170]

 

Have a great cruise! 2 live reviews! YES!!! 50 days until I board the Allure!

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Oh no! EMAW!!! I am a Kansas state grad..... Layla and Brad are Jayhawks fans. My daughter? Whatever I am not! Ha

Layla used to live in Hutch. I work over in Hesston... Halstead is our home town.

Thanks for following!! I know - cannot believe Andrew is on the same cruise. Awesome!

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It's not raining now but our daily thunderstorms are predicted for this aftermnoon right around the time you are supposed to land. But don't worry, if you don't like the weather just wait 5 minutes, it will change. Have a safe flight. Can't wait to follow you on your adventure.

Thank you! We made the first leg and are taxing to the gate. We really want to be able to sit poolside and maybe watch some boats leave tonight!

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Are you going to call the bank and cancel the card? Might be the better decision. At least you can stop at the bank tomorrow in FLL, to get extra cash before you board the ship. Another advantage of flying the day before. As for the little piggies, that one went to market.

 

If you need any cabin hacks, let me know. There are a few tricks we have for your room.

No, I’m not. I actually know exactly where it is and can see that nothing has been charged. If my dad gets there tomorrow and they don’t have it, I will cancel at that point. I go to that place often enough to know they are quite honest. Yes, I cannot advocate enough flying in the day before!

Ok, we will be in touch about the room. Have a safe flight.

For the record: this is too early to get up on a Saturday to catch a flight to a more-than-likely rainy destination [emoji58][emoji42]

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We made it. And along the way, i had a major helping of humble pie.

So after waiting for Layla and going through the check list with those two, (mind you! I also cleaned my wallet of excess), we were on the road. We had about a 40 minute drive. Stopped to buy a Pepsi for my mom (she’s addicted) and then I went to get a bottle of wine while on the way to Village Inn. Why Village Inn??? Nothing better than a greasy Rueben.

Anyway, I get the screw top bottle of wine; we had to make sure we could open it at the hotel. I go to pay and .... no credit card. I pay using debit and think “where did I use that last”? People .... this is a card that I put everything on!!!

Yep, paid for those piggly wigglies and then this little piggy didn’t come home.

What to do? Well, you feel stupid while your mom says “I told you to go through your own checklist”. You call your dad to check if maybe it is on the counter. You ask your peeps if they have a card. You transfer money on your bank app so you can take our money in Atlanta airport tomorrow. And then you remember ....

You can set up Apple Pay. Again, using the same credit card. We get to Village Inn and I set up Apple Pay for the first time ever. I knew my security code folks!!! Thank goodness I use that card all the time. I then set up Uber again (as I had it on another phone previously) and enlisted Apple Pay.

That said, target and Village Inn do not take Apple Pay. Anyone know if the boat accepts Apple Pay for the onboard account? You got It! That card was setup for us. Guess I will give them cash. We have our tip with us, so I am not expecting anything to really be on our account.

So here we are. I have a glass of wine.

I’ll call that strip mall nail joint in the morning and .... well, the next time a work colleague calls and I get to pay as fast as I can as to not bother the other clients...well, I’m just going to put the phone down for a second. Be careful with those card readers behind the counter! So easy to walk away without a card.

Night all. We are back up in 5 hours

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So here we go! We are off to the hotel. Mom is in the car and we are waiting on Layla. Her husband isn’t home yet so we need to wait and say goodbye.

We are off to the Hilton garden inn at the airport. I would normally never spend money on the hotel, but for a 5:55 am flight it is a good investment. No worry about a flat tire or car issues.... über doesn’t work in these rural parts of the world... lol

Let’s see how long my brother-in-law takes to get home. Maybe we get a full 4 hours of use from the hotel. Good thing Layla is at least paying the hotel.

I have to go!

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We are also in a Star Class suite on the TA. I have been in contact with our Genie from last December who is now on the Symphony. We are hoping to have her again! She has said to not worry about dining. I think this is one trip I will be grateful for having a Genie (not that I'm not thrilled to have one at any time :) )!

I will ask and find out if I get the same message!

Swiss Miss, safe travels and enjoy our cabin. ;)

 

 

 

See you onboard.

You too! We are just underway

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So today is final prep day. I have one more phone call this afternoon and waiting on a document for review, and then I can officially put away my computer and phone. This is the one week a year that work doesn’t follow me.

I’m currently working and well... writing this ... and focusing on the most important part of a vacation: pretty toe nails. I love a good pedicure, but I just don’t have time every few weeks. Knowing, however, that my piggly-wigglies will be exposed often, I want to get them professionally painted.

Mom and dad are showing up around 4pm. Layla has to finish up last minute shopping as if she didn’t know about this trip 9 months ago! I think anxiety is getting the best of her. She’s still concerned that she won’t be let back into the USA. How she comes across that thought - who knows.

I gotta relax and enjoy this pedicure! Be back shortly

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Can’t wait for your review! We’ll be sailing Star class on 9/16/18 and cannot wait!

Yea! This is such a great site for holding out one the wait huh?

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So I started the dreaded monologue with my vacation clothes last night.

“do you still fit?”

“Should I take you?”

“Will I really wear you? You are white, and I drink red wine...”

I finally found my clothes while my mom sat there. I put on a load of laundry that had the other black shirt I was trying to find and I went to bed.

I actually packed most of those clothes tonight. Not sure about you guys, but I make a list. I make a list cause in the excitement and the rush (that’s Layla’s fault ... I always say she would be late to her own funeral), it is so easy to forget something like a charger cord or a swimsuit. I make the list and then send to my mom and sister so that they can prep.

The final thing to bring????! Excitement and energy! We have a lot of wine to drink and food to eat :-) mainly wine to drink.

Ok, that’s about as much excitement as my otherwise boring life can handle.

I’ll be back tomorrow or latest Friday as the fun kicks off. I’ll get you a few pictures so you know who we are, and I will start detailing more “stuff”.

Later.

Leanna

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We have had Star Class a couple times and we have it again on Symphony's TA. It's too soon to be talking with our genie. Would you mind asking yours a question? Since the TA will one of those cruises where tons of C&A onboard, should we pre book out dining and them have it reimbursed once we are booked through genie? Does that make sense? lol

Hi Croosieloosie,

That does make sense. I will try to ask on day 1 or 2; should you not hear from me ... please remind me!! Sometimes, there is wine involved. Guilty

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Tell me how Phillip treats you. As we will be sailing on 9-16 in an Aqua theater suite 10730

 

and he is our Genie.

Will do! He has been very timely answering emails (then again, I have only sent 2). We don’t plan on being too difficult :-) so he should be able to keep up!

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Thanks to all who are following!

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My name is Leanna, and this is my third cruise on Royal. My first ever cruise was on NCL Epic. I am 38 and traveling with my sister Layla, and my mom Susan (I cannot get the abbreviations correct, so you have to deal with actual names!). I have a 6 year old; Layla has a 12 year old and also a 6 year old. I work in HR and love to travel. The girls are on the loose and the men (my dad Phillip and Layla's husband brad) have to be single parents for the week.....watch out fast food joints!

We have never taken a trip with just the girls and are super excited! We are from nowhere Kansas and staying in the airport hotel Friday night. Our flight is Saturday at 5:55 am, landing near 1pm in Fort Lauderdale. From there it is off to the Marriott Harbor Beach resort....as my sister puts it: spring break hotel for old people.

We will board on Sunday around 11, meeting our genie Phillip at the entry doors. We are in 1720. We were in a two bedroom aquatheater in 2016 and a crown loft in 2017. I'm not going to lie ....We squeezed 8 people into the aquatheater and got an awesome deal. We would do it any day again! We have another crown loft later this year in November.

Yep - I am a deal seeker. We don't do excursions, mainly as dad's health will not permit too much walking. Plus, I'm happy to sit, relax, drink, read, eat, stir and repeat.

I welcome any questions you may have. I don't do periscopes or Instagram, but I will try to check this once daily. Looking forward to cruising with you!

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Hi all,

I have been following Amybk27 and mac_tlc this past week on their star class adventure. It was a wonderful bridge losing up to our upcoming cruise this coming weekend. Thank you!

I hope you will join me on this trip!

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I have a 6 year old and they have always been great with her. That said....if she is hangry or tired, we kindly ask if they can bring out a fruit plate fairly fast. They have yummy kid food that she loves! No worries!

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We enjoy the aft CLS yet this next time we are taking an ocean facing view. We also considered a GS but for the near same money, we chose the CLS due to proximity to the CK. Honestly for the price variance you are quoting, take a GS. You can see the ocean, get all the perks and enjoy a quiet night overlooking the water. We did find the aft looking CLS a bit loud and didn't enjoy the view as much. It be honest though ... I look at best price for a suite, so I don't blame you for any choice. End of day, it is a suite, on a great boat, and it will be lots of fun!

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My daughter has albinism .... which means we must use sunscreen daily. Unfortunately we are well acquainted with sunscreen.

We use equate and Coppertone. The thing about spray is that it doesn't cover as well; it may be fine for you kid, but it works well as a second coat ... not base cost.

If you are really concerned, one of the best out there is Blue Lizard, but quite pricey and intended for extremely sensitive skin.

Our best approach is a cover up and a swimsuit that has UV protection built in. Don't forget ears, lips, top of hands and feet and a hat!

All the best!

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I've looked at this ship before because it has great ports and slides for kids... but we like the SL and rooms. Maybe they will extend that program to this boat! Have to follow this and see. Thanks for that update!

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Thank you so much for those photos!!! Have a good day.

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Andrew, you look to be having a wonderful time! If it isn't a bother, may I kindly ask you to take a picture of your "ocean"view from the Balcony? I know the primary view is over the mini golf/flow rider and want to reassure my mom that one can see the ocean ...

Also, Starbucks is still included, or??

Thanks! Leanna

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