Day 3 on Royal Caribbean's Independence of the Seas found us docked in Cozumel, Mexico for a full day of.... well, for me not much. The ship pulled in around 7:30am and passengers were cleared around 8am. It was a beautiful day, albeit a bit on the breezy side. Overnight…

It's Day 2 onboard Royal Caribbean's Independence of the Seas and this is our first full day at sea as we travel to Cozumel, Mexico, the only port-of-call during this four-day western Caribbean cruise. The sea overnight was flat calm and made for a restful sleep. I mentioned yesterday that…

Last Thanksgiving, I was onboard Royal Caribbean's Quantum of the Seas for the ship's inaugural sailing out of Bayonne, NJ. Quantum, at the time, was Royal's newest and most technologically advanced ship with a price tag of one-billion dollars. This Thanksgiving, I'm on another Royal Caribbean ship, Independence of the…

Unless you're very, very good friends with the Captain of the cruise ship you're on, chances are you're not going to get the opportunity to check out the Navigational Bridge or other parts of the ship that are labeled as “crew only” during your cruise vacation. A few lines like…

Last Thanksgiving I was on the inaugural sailing of what was then Royal Caribbean's newest ship, Quantum of the Seas. This year, I'll be celebrating another Royal Thanksgiving on Independence of the Seas on quick four-night Western Caribbean cruise out of Fort Lauderdale. Independence of the Seas is one of…