Sailing with the Scotts 2018

Let me start off by saying I had a great time and would consider a future Sailing with the Scotts trip. This post is my review of the adventure. I’ll write a separate review of Royal Caribbean and Mariner of the Seas.

The Decision to Sail

I had been looking at cruises for a while and knew a cruise was my next vacation. As a Property Brothers fan, when Sailing with the Scotts was announced, I thought it was the perfect opportunity. I read lots of reviews of the 2015 cruise and everyone had only wonderful things to say. It was my understanding that the 2018 cruise was set to be bigger and better with lots of design workshops and, I thought, some other HGTV personalities to help lead those sessions. What I expected and the reality of the cruise was a bit different, but based on what the brothers said, Sailing with the Scotts will become an annual adventure and next year they plan to do what I expected this year – more workshops, lectures, and other HGTV personalities.

The Booking Process

I booked very early for this trip, shortly after the adventure was announced. I called the original travel agency in early spring and had my questions answered. They were very helpful in recommending a cabin type and location. A balcony cabin came highly recommended – and was worth every penny – giving me some extra room, a chance to have quiet outside space, breakfast watching the sunrise, and fresh air in case I was seasick and/or confined to my cabin. They also recommended the location on the ship to try to minimize the risk of motion sickness. I was in the middle of the ship both horizontally and vertically and it was perfect in so many ways!

I was booked in April and then waited. And waited. And waited for any updates or details. I thought we’d have a chance to log in to the Royal Caribbean account and start booking reservations, beverage packages, and excursions, but every time I tried it said my reservation did not exist. I thought it might take a little time to set up since I booked through the agent rather than directly with Royal Caribbean. Then more time passed and I contacted both the travel agent (no response) and Royal Caribbean (they kept trying to get me to reset my account password). Finally after several months, I heard from the original travel agent saying they were no longer working on this cruise and Royal Caribbean Customer Service. Bottom line, my name was misspelled on the reservation and that was why my reservation was never recognized.

Special excursions were supposed to be announced by July, but when July came and went without an announcement of any activities, I just went ahead and booked some excursions. At about the time final payment was due, we finally had some more, but still very limited, details on the schedule of events and excursions.

About two weeks before the cruise, we received an email with some additional details about parties, what to wear and a door-decorating contest. Of course, by that time, I was already pretty set on what I had planned to bring.

The Scott Family

I came on board very much a dedicated member of #TeamJonathan. I always felt a stronger connection to his work ethic, style, and approach to life. Plus who doesn’t love plaid? While I still love Jonathan, Drew really impressed me. He did an amazing job of talking with all of the Sailing with the Scotts guests and made you feel like he was genuinely interested in speaking with you. Post cruise, I am firmly in the Team Mrs. Scott camp! The way she worked the room was incredible. She approached people to welcome them and asked about our lives. She also gave me a great tip of finding motion sickness medicine in the medical bay. It certainly came in handy. She also fully participated in everything and was just such a good sport. I would have loved to talk with Mr. Scott about his cowboy days: maybe next time.

Everyone was very gracious, friendly and welcoming. I wish I was a little more bold and felt comfortable just asking for pictures with them or approaching them with questions, but I wanted to be respectful of their time and personal space. I was in the elevator with all of them and just let them be. Now I kind of wish I asked for a photo. Next time!

The Sailing with the Scotts Adventure

DAY 1 – December 3

2:00pm – 4:00pm: Pick up your badges @ the SWTS Hospitality Desk in the Caribbean Conference Room – This was a disaster. I waited in line for about an hour with very little movement. Then I was about 30 people back and it was time for the mandatory safety drill. I was given a number to come back and check-in at the Sail Away Party and was told to go to what ended up being the opposite end of the ship to pick up my VIP Pass. I missed about half of the Sail Away Party trying to find the right place to check-in and checking-in. Sadly, there were many people who missed even more of the party.

4:30pm – 5:30pm: SWTS VIP EVENT — Sail Away Party @ Mariner Dunes
This was a fun chance to meet the Scott family and fellow travelers. It featured a variety of drinks, music, and lots of selfies for those who were bold enough to ask. Since it was the first day, I thought I would wait for pictures. I wanted to let others get their pictures in so that, I thought, it would be easier to get pictures later. Sadly, this would have been my best and only chance for a selfie with the Scotts. Now I know for next time.

10:30pm: ’70s Disco Dancing in the Street Party @ Promenade
This event was a ship-wide event and not limited to just the SWTS group. It was also past my bedtime so I decided to skip it – plus I didn’t have enough notice to find a 70’s outfit. From the pictures and video I saw, it looked like a fun time, though not a huge crowd.

DAY 2 – December 4 At Sea

10:00am – 11:00am: SWTS VIP EVENT – Keynote: Behind The Scenes of Property Brothers + Q&A @ Royal Theater
This was actually open to the entire ship. At first those SWTS had priority seating, but as the keynote was about to start, they allowed anyone to sit near the front. The brothers did a great job with the keynote sharing some stories super fans have heard before, but also including some new details. They are incredibly witty and engaging. Since the event started a little late, we ran out of time for the Q&A.

11:00am: SWTS VIP EVENT – Fan Photo Session @ Royal Theater
The photo op required that we leave the Royal Theater to reenter it through another entrance. This of course resulted in a very, very long line. Thankfully, I was near the front so about 30 minutes later I was on my way to lunch. I’m not sure how those at the end of the line had time for lunch before the 1 pm design workshop.

1:00pm – 2:00pm: SWTS VIP EVENT — Design Workshop with Jonathan: Simple Solutions For A Stunning Space @ Conference Center
The session itself was very interesting and a lot of fun. Jonathan is FUNNY! I also appreciated his candor. He shared some before and after photos that were great examples of simple design solutions. I wish there had been more sessions like this. Sadly, we ran out of time for lots of Q&A. Getting in the Conference Center was a bit of a nightmare. I’m not sure why they had us all (hundreds of us) waiting outside in lines that wrapped around and around (and then no one obeyed) until 1 pm.

2:00pm – 3:00pm: Love & Marriage Game Show @ Royal Theater
This Newlywed Game Show styled event featured four couples – two were Scott family members – Drew and Linda and Mr. and Mrs. Scott. It was a lot of fun and the other couples participating did a great job as well.

7:00pm – 8:00pm: SWTS VIP EVENT — Cocktail Party: SWTS White Hot Caribbean Nights
At first this was like a high school dance with people on opposite ends of the room, but once the party got going it was a ton of fun. Drew did an exceptional job of talking to the fans throughout the room. Jonathan seemed swamped with fans on the opposite side of the room. They served some wonderful cocktails and had some great music playing. It was a No Selfie event and encouraged lots of conversation. It was a great chance to ask all those questions we didn’t get to earlier in the day. My best question – If TV and lawyers were not a limitation, what would the ultimate prize or dare be on Brother vs. Brother – won a Casaza gift card.

10:00pm – 12:00am: SWTS VIP EVENT — Caribbean Dance Party & Limbo Challenge
Dancing continued poolside and included a conga line, limbo contest, and an amazing cake!

DAY 3 – December 5

CocoCay – Due to high winds and swells expected in the afternoon, this stop was cancelled.

10:00am – 2:00pm: SWTS VIP EVENT — Beach Party Olympics @ Private CocoCay Beach
Participate in some competitive games on the beach like Tug-of-War, Gut Busters, a Hula Hoop Race and more. Then kick back and relax on the beach and enjoy the water and lunch! This event was replaced with some “competitions” on the sports deck including SWTS guests. It was not very clear how to participate in the events. The games played were kind of weak. I think they could have and should have had some back-up events in place. The best competition was when each participant had to sing a line of a song that had not yet been sung. If you could not come up with a song in about 3 seconds or you repeated a song you were out. I think I may use this as an ice breaker event. It was tough, but so much fun.

#TeamDrew won the overall competition, but they cheated in one of the competitions and one of the other competitions was not counted…so I’m not sure we have an official winner!

10:00pm: Karaoke Night
This ship-wide event was co-hosted by Drew and Jonathan. While they sang a few songs, many of the cruise passengers did a great job singing as well. I would never have the courage to sing when professionals are also participating.

DAY 4 – December 6 – Nassau

SWTS offered two optional excursions. Since I wanted to see the architecture and history of Nassau, I went on a land and sea excursion instead. From what I heard, both add on adventures were a lot of fun.

9:00am – 2:00pm: OPTIONAL ADD ON – Atlantis Aquaventure with Jonathan @ Paradise Island
Make a splash at the Caribbean’s largest water park

10:45am – 12:45pm: OPTIONAL ADD ON – Graycliff Chocolatier Experience with Drew & Linda @ Nassau Historic District
It doesn’t get much sweeter!

9:00pm – 10:00pm: SWTS VIP EVENT — Ugly Christmas Sweater Party & Photo Op
This event resulted in a very, very long line of people decked out in amazing Ugly Christmas outfits. The brothers ordered a professional picture for each guest, which was so kind of them. It certainly made up for the disorganization of the photo op and the travel agents offering conflicting information.

Some Lessons Learned and Tips for Next Time

If you want to take selfies with the brothers, you have to be assertive and ask.
Be prepared to wait in long lines.
Prioritize what you want to see and do.
Get to know those traveling with the group. Everyone was very friendly.
If you want to have your picture taken, use a cell phone and not a camera. This is what happens when you give their staff a camera at one of the designated photo ops.
Be flexible and have fun.

Some Suggestions for the Property Brothers and Your Planning Team

Try to have as many of the details available when you announce the cruise.
Work with the cruise line to incorporate themed activities into the daily ship activities. For example, there were several trivia sessions throughout the cruise. Maybe they could have done an HGTV or home improvement trivia game where cruisers could participate, but the Scott Brothers may not have necessarily had to be there to lead the event.
Have us sign our waivers electronically BEFORE the cruise.
Have our VIP badges waiting in our cabins. Nowhere near enough time was planned for us to pick them up.
Make sure the entire team knows what’s going on. I received different answers and conflicting information from the travel agents and staff on board.
A rain or back-up plan should be in place for any outside activities. While it was great that you added the competition event when the beach day was cancelled, you could have been better prepared with the challenges and found ways to incorporate more of the Sailing with the Scotts guests.
If this becomes an annual event, have more topics and seminars ready. Most of us are super fans and know how you got your start. We are ready for more in-depth keynotes and workshops.
Ask your fans for ideas on programming and events. You might be surprised by their ideas.
Consider adding some kind of app that would allow Sailing with the Scotts guests to connect with each other. I met many wonderful people and wish I would have shared contact info to keep in touch until the next cruise.
For photo ops, consider assigning shorter time periods for groups so that you don’t have hundreds of people waiting in line for more than an hour. Each Sailing with the Scotts guest could be assigned to a specific 15 minute window. That way they can still get a picture and take advantage of the ship’s amenities.
It would have been nice if the door decorating contest entries were displayed in a carousel presentation so that we all could see your options. It could be running before one of the design workshops. Additionally, cruise guests should get to vote for their favorite door. Here are just a few examples: