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Saturday, November 2, 2024

Rachel's Bachelorette Cruise | Allure of the Seas [Day 1] Welcome to STAR CLASS!

It's embarkation day!!! We spent another night at Disney's Yacht Club Resort. Rachel, Meredith, and Kayla went for a morning run around the Boardwalk while Megan and I hung back to get ready. We were also joined by Sara who flew in on a redeye from LA (the same Delta redeye that I had flown a few days earlier). The runners got breakfast from Boardwalk Deli while they were out, so when they returned, I went to get breakfast with the non-runners. We ordered our food from Boardwalk Deli to go, and unfortunately, didn't notice until we were back in the hotel room that we were shorted one breakfast sandwich. I tried to get a refund via messaging guest relations on the app, but they said I would need to call billing.... and I decided it wasn't worth my effort in that moment to get $12 refunded.

We were also on the hunt for an ATM machine because we wanted more cash for tips. There are Chase ATMs in the lobby of both the Beach Club and the Boardwalk.

Before the trip, I printed out bag tags for everyone and slipped into reusable clear luggage tag holders so we could quickly tag our bags. Sara was booked in an inside cabin, so instead of tagging her bags to go to that room, I made sure to make her a bag tag for the suite.

We were running a little late that morning - to be expected with six girls all getting ready in one room. I was a little nervous because I hadn't heard from our limo driver from Backstage Limo. However, once we were out the door, he was waiting for us under the Porte Cochere.

Meredith in the background falling out of the limo with the popcorn bucket is everything -

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Our driver's name was Charles, and he was very nice and accommodating. He helped us get hooked up to the sound system and also took our photo. We really lucked out that it was not at all crowded at the Yacht Club Porte Cochere that morning.

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Our first stop was to MCO to pick up Kristi who was the last of the group to arrive.

Thursday, October 10, 2024

Rachel's Bachelorette Trip | Disney [Day 3] Hollywood Studios & Epcot

Today was truly Rachel's Disney Bachelorette day! Three of Rachel's friends joined us for a fun day at Walt Disney World before our cruise.

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We started the day at Hollywood Studios. Rachel has been to a couple of Disney Bachelorettes, and they've always spent the day at Epcot, so she really wanted to show her friends another park. Rachel also really wanted to prioritize rides that morning, so I purchased Genie+ for everyone in an attempt to maximize our time.

Saturday, October 5, 2024

Rachel's Bachelorette Trip | Disney [Day 2] Magic Kingdom

Good morning from the Contemporary Resort! I woke up to my bed shaking.... earthquake?! No, it was the building shaking as the monorail passed through. Rachel couldn't feel it, so I think my shakey senses must be heightened from LA earthquakes.

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Rachel suggested that we get up early and rope drop Magic Kingdom for resort guest early entry at 7AM, then come back to the Contemporary before check-out.

Wednesday, September 4, 2024

Rachel's Bachelorette Trip | Disney [Day 1] Animal Kingdom & Steakhouse 71

As Rachel's sister and Maid of Honor, planning Rachel's Bachelorette Trip was the MOH duty that I was most looking forward to. Rachel knew exactly what she wanted to do for her Bachelorette - a 3-Night Cruise and a day at Disney with her girls.

On our Christmas Cruise on Jewel of the Seas, Rachel and I decided to go to Walt Disney World a few days earlier to have some fun sister time on the front end of her Bachelorette.

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Since I live in California, my preferred flight to Orlando is a red-eye so that I arrive early in the morning and don't miss out on any fun (otherwise, the soonest I'd get in would be around 4 PM on a flight that leaves at 7 AM). I have Idiopathic Hypersomnia, so I can fall asleep anywhere, but to get better quality sleep, I travel with a travel pillow, eye mask, noise canceling headphones, and a foot hammock (because my legs are so short!).

Thursday, August 29, 2024

Planning Rachel's Bachelorette Cruise (and Disney World!)

If you follow my personal Instagram (@victoria.shing), you probably already know that something momentous happened this year - Rachel and Landon got married!

As Rachel's sister and maid of honor, I've been able to flex my design, photography, and trip planning skills to celebrate Rachel and Landon throughout this exciting season of life. In true Victoria on Vacation fashion, I helped plan their surprise engagement at Disney's Boardwalk as well as her Bachelorette Trip to Walt Disney World and - you guessed it - cruise on Royal Caribbean's Allure of the Seas!

Back in July 2022, Aaron and I were visiting Rachel and Landon in Austin when it somehow came up in conversation that the best time to book a cruise price-wise is usually as soon as the itineraries are released..... which led to us looking at February 2024 cruises and booking a Royal Loft Suite on a 3-night cruise on Allure of the Seas for Rachel's Bachelorette. At the time, Rachel and Landon were not yet engaged. But Landon was there, and he agreed that 2024 seemed like a good year to get married. So we put down a deposit and booked a cruise that was over a year and a half away.

Flash forward to October 13, 2023. Rachel and I were at Walt Disney World with our parents (Stove & Judy) celebrating Rachel's birthday. On the hottest, most humid day of our trip, I insisted that we walk from Hollywood Studios (instead of taking the Skyliner) to the Boardwalk for lunch when guess who comes peddling up on a Surrey bike - Landon!!! Landon proposed, Rachel cried that it wasn't fair because she was wearing a Hocus Pocus t-shirt.... then she said yes, and after the rest of our fun celebratory trip at WDW, I started planning Rachel's Bachelorette Cruise in February 2024!

Sunday, July 21, 2024

Jewel of the Seas - [Day 8] Disembarkation in San Juan

It's always a bittersweet moment, to pull back the stateroom curtains and find yourself back where you started. We had returned to San Juan, Puerto Rico. I snapped a few photos, then scrambled to get ready and pack up our remaining items.

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We had booked a San Juan Luggage Storage shore excursion through Royal Caribbean, but we received notification during our cruise that it was canceled. Which left us in a bit of a pickle. Our flights home weren't until later in the afternoon, so we were banking on being able to store our luggage while we toured San Juan before our flights.

Saturday, June 22, 2024

Jewel of the Seas - [Day 7] St. Maarten

On the last day of our Christmas Cruise, we docked in St. Maarten. We've been to St. Maarten many times over the years, and it's a great port of call. This was also the excursion that Stove was the most excited for. He booked The Best Catamaran Day Sail in St. Maarten through Viator, and it had rave reviews.

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Our tour left at 10 AM, and the meeting location was walking distance from the port.

Sunday, April 7, 2024

Jewel of the Seas - [Day 6] St. Vincent

On Day 6, we docked in Kingstown, St. Vincent. We did not have an excursion booked, but Aaron and I had read that we could take a water taxi to Villa Beach.

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St. Vincent is another port that we visited for the first time on this cruise. Since we've done so many Caribbean cruises over the years, it's rare that we visit a new port of call, which is why this Southern Caribbean itinerary was interesting to us - three new ports of call!

Monday, March 25, 2024

Jewel of the Seas - [Day 5] Tobago

On Day 5, we docked in Scarborough, Tobago. Today, we had an excursion planned that Stove booked through Viator - Tobago Bucco Reef Glass Bottom Boat Tour.

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I asked Aaron if he wanted to go up to the Windjammer to get breakfast before we left the ship, but he said he wasn't really hungry. Big mistake. We should've gotten breakfast.

Saturday, March 23, 2024

Jewel of the Seas - [Day 4] Trinidad

On Day 4 of our Southern Caribbean Cruise on Jewel of the Seas, we docked in Port of Spain, Trinidad.

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We ate breakfast in the main dining room this morning. The host recognized Stove and seated us at our own table of six. Throughout breakfast, several different dining room managers came over to our table to ask us how we liked our table last night. I'm not sure what Stove said or did to get this celebrity treatment, but I'm not sure I want to know.