Final Thoughts

We had a great time.  As expected, it just felt great to be back onboard and know that there were very few decisions we had to make, and that none of them were critical decisions.  We quickly realized that we could carry our tablets with us, so we could always fill time wherever we were with quiet reading, and we weren’t shy about simply going back to the cabin and reading there when we wanted more quiet time.  We could also go early to events and grab nice seats and simply chill out until the actual event.

As a dress-rehearsal for the TA coming up in August, it was nice to validate our ability to function well on a 2-device internet plan.  Further, the new fit-out of cables, particularly the USB splitter and 10’ cable for running behind the bed, worked EXACTLY as I’d hoped.  I used my side table fan and felt like it helped keep the room from feeling stuffy.  The packing cubes, as noted, turned out to be surprisingly handy.  And, finally, we need to carry MORE OTC drugs for cold and flu.  Our intentional decision to NOT bring DayQuil was a mistake.  We’ll likely pack a 3^rd toilet kit of misc pills next time.

From a clothing standpoint, particularly when thinking about a 21 day trip out of a single suitcase, it was clear that I managed to overpack.  I could have easily worn shirts onboard multiple times.  Given that we both still had room to pack more stuff I'm pretty certain that I (at least) will be able to handle the longer trip with ease.  I'll probably buy us some additional packing cubes, however.  They do make it so easy to Tetris things around!

Despite our worries on the first night, it turned out that MTD at 6:45P did NOT significantly impact our ability to see shows or go to events.  I think the first night issues are probably specific to all first nights.  On subsequent nights the later eating time actually allowed us to a) optionally grab snacks at Cafe Prom in the 3:00P to 4:00P window and b) opened up the 5:00P Schooner General Trivia session that we would have otherwise missed.  The MTD time DID prevent us from taking in 7:00P events, but for the big shows it simply meant that we had to select the later offering a couple of time.  Doing so didn't keep us out "too late", however.  

The new Royal App also turned out to be pretty nice, once I figured out a few UX issues.  Certainly the ability to be able to see ALL the instances of a given event removed the FOMO aspect of scheduling stuff.  Previously, if there were events with conflicting schedules it wasn't possible to peer into the future to see whether we could catch one or the other at another time.  With the app it was much easier to see more than our usual share of stuff because we could often find an alternate time in the future.

Cruising out of San Pedro was GREAT.  A quick 60 minute flight from SJC to LGB is incredible.  A thrity minute drive from port back to hotel (and quicker for hotel to port) is awesome.  The port itself was efficient, and there was ample transportation available on debarkation day.  I'd probably look into staying downtown next time rather than out by the airport so our pre-cruise restaurant choices would be better, but Homewood Suites was a comfortable stay.  

We never found out how our new inflatable mattress pads worked, since we were able to get a mattress pad from our stateroom attendant.  I think what we got was either just a normal bed mattress pad or perhaps a comfortor.  We'll likely break out the new air mattresses on the TA when we sail Brilliance.

On the down side, Royal’s food is borderline “poor” these days.  The variety is just a shadow of what it was even five years ago, and so many things are just “item in brown or white sauce” and lack interesting flavors.  Snacking via Café Prom is particularly hurt by the lack of variety.

There was a house band onboard, but we missed them several times – maybe this was scheduling, but maybe this was because they didn’t feature a band on the Prom like they did on Mariner (in the same ship class).  The “production” shows were uneven – we thought the “Showgirls” show was much stronger than the “Dance” show and, once again, the vocalists were a mixed bag.  The comic was awful, the comedy juggler was…well, a comedy juggler.  MO5AIC would have been excellent if we hadn’t already seen them doing the exact same act 11 years ago.