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HI there! I'm sailing on Adventure out of San Juan on Saturday, stopping in St Thomas, St Kitts, Curacao & Aruba. I'm kind of silent member, I listen to all of Matt's podcasts, and peruse the blog and forums quite a bit, but dont speak out too much. :) I've learned so much here and would love to help pay it back and help contribute. I'll possibly blog here each day, if there is anything you want to know, feel free to post here and I'll see how I can help. **5 days and 23 hours, but who is counting?!**

Don't forget about that time on the helipad...

Back from rock climbing. Hubby and kids got there at 1:30pm for a 2:00pm start. They were first in line. By 2pm when I got there the line was very long. I did not get a pic in the frenzy but the line started to the left of the wall and it was past the giraffe (not my pic...credit to google search). You are required to wear socks. They provide the shoes and harness. No helmet for this activity. Beginners: He's done it before: Ever wonder what happens if you lose your seapass card? After rock climbing hubby could not find his. He went back to rock climbing to see if he dropped it. No luck. Went to to guest services and they basically deactivate your card and WOW band and issue you a new card. Pretty easy. Then D1 found hubby's card...location? In the slot for the lights! ?

I finally got around to editing some pictures and thought I would post a live blog style review of our day in Cozumel from this February even though it’s not so live anymore. I made a video but the image quality is so much better in the pictures. All of the pictures were extracted from the GoPro footage. We were cruising with some friends and didn’t have any plans for the day except that we wanted to check out the East side of the island. We had heard that it was beautiful and since this was our third trip to Cozumel we wanted to try something a little different. We decided to rent some scooters by the cruise port and headed East. It was $55 for the day including full insurance coverage. I think it took around 20 minutes or so to get to the East side of the island but I did not actually time it. Once you get out of downtown there is a side road that is for designated for scooters and bicycles. The ride down the coastline was beautiful and the pictures don’t even do it justice. We had pulled over to check the map, but we saw this little beachside bar and decided to check it out. The place was called Rasta Bar. It was free to enter and they had a full bar and menu. We weren’t that hungry so we just had some chips and guacamole and a few beers. The chips and guacamole were around $6 and the beers were $3 each. There were miles of untouched beach and coastline in either direction of the bar. There was plenty of white sandy beach, hammocks, and a beach volleyball court. We had planned to just stop for a few minutes but we decided to stay a while because it was exactly what we were looking for. I can’t say enough about how beautiful the undeveloped beaches on the East side of the Island are. Our only regret about the day was that we hadn’t brought anything for the beach like flip flops or beach towels because we didn’t know what we were going to do when we set out. It was a great day and it was probably our favorite thing that we have experienced in Cozumel. We went downtown afterwards to our favorite spot called the Thirsty Cougar. We didn’t take any pictures but it was great as usual. Overall the day was incredibly affordable coming in at under $100 total for the two of us. I would highly recommend renting scooters as a fun way to explore Cozumel. Not only was the ride exhilarating, but it was also incredibly convenient to be able to travel anywhere you wanted on the island without worrying about transportation costs adding up. One tip I would give to anyone who decides to rent scooters is to take pictures of the scooter before you leave the rental place. When we returned them at the end of the day they tried to charge our friends for a scratch that was already there. Luckily, he had taken pictures and we were able to resolve the issue without any problems. Rasta Bar was great and there were several other beachside bars on the Eastern coast that looked great as well. We look forward to seeing more of the island on our next trip to Cozumel.

Kids are having Sorrento's pizza and chips on the balcony and I had some time to put this together. This was probably the coolest sailaway I have experienced. After putting this together I had to laugh at myself, I am the whimpiest Canadian. Can you tell I hate the cold? Lol. Hence the retirement plan to move to Florida.

Hi Everyone, We are leaving Wednesday evening to fly to Baltimore for a 9 night Southern coast/ Bahamas Cruise on Grandeur of the Seas. This will be our 3rd time on Grandeur, but our first time on this itinerary. We have an large outside guarantee cabin for this cruise and were reserved a room right away after calling for a price drop. All in all we got a great deal on this cruise for less than $1300 total for two people including port fees and $135 onboard credit. We turn diamond on this cruise, so we did go ahead and pre-purchase a drink package. Initially, I got it for $41 per person on black friday, but two weeks ago it dropped to $38 per person per day so I cancelled and rebooked saving over $42 total. I also pre-purchased the BOGO 2 night dining package for $30 per person prior to the price increase to $40. Grandeur only has 3 specialty restaurants. CHOPS, Giovanni's table, and Izumi. I also pre-purchased the sushi class after Matt's review. Our pre-cruise hotel for Wednesday is the Hyatt Regency, Baltimore inner harbor. I have points with hyatt and utilized a free night coupon for the stay. The blog will be "Livish" as I did not purchase VOOM for this cruise. Here is our itinerary and plans: Wednesday, March 14th Fly to baltimore Uber to at Hyatt Regency Baltimore inner harbor Thursday, March 15th Coffee at Filicori Zucchini Top of world ( purchased on groupon) Board cruise ship- departs at 4pm Dinner @6:30pm (specialty restaurant #1) Friday, March 16th Day at sea Dinner @ 6:30pm ( specialty restaurant #2) Saturday, March 17th (7am to 3pm) Charleston (St. Patty’s day) Walking tour (Charleston in a nutshell)- 10 am -12pm Purchased on groupon - Tour departs at 10am next to the large water fountain at Waterfront Park Lunch and beer flights at craftsman kitchen and tap house in french quarter 12 Cumberland StCharleston, SC 294 ( opens at 11:30) MTD Dinner reservation @7pm Sunday, March 18th (10:30 to 9pm) Port Canaveral Kennedy space center ( pre- purchased tickets on a discount site- will take uber or lift there) Beer flight at Florida beer company??? (hours 1-6) Dinner @ 7pm Monday, March 19th (10:30 to 8pm) Miami Catamaran tour 2:30- 5:30 pm ( groupon purchased )— leaves from Bayside marketplace Tuesday, March 20th (10 to 11:59pm) Nassau Bahamas food tour 11:30 to 2:45pm Bites of Nassau Food Tasting and Cultural Walking Tour Beer flight/wifi at Pirate Republic Brewing MTD Dinner reservation @ 7pm Wednesday, March 21st (8 to 5pm) Cococay MTD Dinner reservation @ 7pm Thursday, March 22nd Day at sea Sushi making class 11:55am to 12:55pm ( izumi) Friday, March 23rd Day at sea Saturday, March 24th Disembark Fly home

I saved $3,000 rebooking my Ovation transpacific for April 2019. Was previously $10,000 for the 3 of us. Now $7,000!!!!

CK Night 3 Menu Dinner tonight features another two of my favourite CK dishes. Spinach salad: Fresh, healthy. Not much more to say. Rating...A Scallops: Hubby's dish. It is raw. He did not expect that. I don't think he liked it. He said he cannot rate it because it wasn't his thing lol. Braised Beef Gnocchi: Love this dish! Braised beef is tender and falls apart. Excellent flavour. Rating A, not + cause it was slightly cold. Veal Cannelloni: This came with Balsamic dressing. D1 did not like it. She thought it was chocolate sauce...oops ? No rating here. Moroccan Spiced Chicken Breast: Hubby's dish. He said it had full flavour. I had this one on Harmony. The couscous is very light and tasty. Rating: A Grilled Tofu: I adore this dish ? I like tofu. I've been eating it since I was young. I know fresh vs. not so fresh tofu and this one is perfect in texture and freshness. Even if you are not a tofu lover, you need to give it a try if you ever find yourself in CK. It is dressed with a sweet chilli sauce that is simply delicious. Dessert! No dessert pics tonight...sorry. They were all repeats. Hubby and I got apple pie. It had raisins in it. D1 had ice cream (for the 3rd time today) and D2 skipped dessert cause she was too tired ? The head waiter here in CK continues to amaze me. He stops at every table, every night to have a chat. Not just a hello, but a real chat. So personable. On top of this I have also witnessed him do things that I have never seen a head waiter too. He refills water and buses tables while making his rounds. Super hard worker! In a chat with him last night we spoke about the pier at Coco Cay. He mentioned in passing that it might be slated for a late 2018 completion now. After dinner we headed to Spectra's Cabaret in 270. I had pretty much no expectations for this as I have read very mixed reviews about this show. I loved it! I find it hard to describe. It was a variety show of sorts. There was singing, music, acrobatics, dancing, and course the amazing technical and special effects in 270. It was psychedelic, futuristic, very Cirque du Soleil-ish at times. I loved the percussions and the musicality of it as well. Really well put together. Wrapping it up tonight as we have a pretty early start tomorrow. Meeting time for KSC is 8:15am. That is way too early for us. Probably won't update much tomorrow until I get back on board. Canadian in the US without data. Good night all.

You are welcome, it was my honor.

Day 4 - Port Canaveral Good morning all! Happy Monday? ? This morning we arrived in PC to cloudy skies and light rain ? Majesty of the Seas is here with us today but she's not in view. Had room service delivered for the first time ever today since it was easier and faster for the kids. Room service arrived with half our order missing. Not sure if inaccuracies are the norm but I was slightly disappointed by that. Hubby ended up taking the room service tray (thanks to our previous discussions here) up to the WJ to get us the remainder of breakfast. He reported that while he was there he was approached by other passengers as to where he got it from. Apparently, others think it's a great idea too lol. Checking out now. Time to get my kids moving. Off to Kennedy Space Center. Will not be updating until I get back on board. ?

Quick post before dinner. Hubby and kids went roller skating in the SeaPlex. I did not go. I avoid that place like the plague. Too much like work lol. ?: Hubby After that it was soft serve ice cream time. It was nice that there was a hand washing station right near it. Dinner time! CK and Spectra's Cabaret tonight.

Day 3 - At Sea Good morning/ afternoon all. We totally lost time this morning as we did not wake up until an hour ago. Interesting observation as I have never done daylight savings on a ship before. My phone said 10am when I woke up as did all our other devices, but, Royal IQ, wonky as usual, looked like this: Threw me right off as I did not know if being on Airplane mode affected my phone's ability to change time on it's own. So I texted my sister back at home to see what time it really was. Phone was right. Royal was wrong. Down here on Deck 4, the big clock on the Esplanade also says 11am. Maybe this is cost savings by RC to ensure that some people become pier runners tomorrow ? It's bit warmer today. And since I cannot cannot compete with @twangster's tech skills here's another view from the balcony to show where we really are ? I am not a bot, fish, or a man in short sleeves lol. Currently siting in La Patisserie waiting for WJ to open for lunch, since we missed breakfast. I can't remember if @twangster included this in his blogs but here is the menu: Nice place to relax and blog ? Going to check on Hubby and kids back in the cabin. Hopefully chaos did not break out while I was here.

Cabin Photos: This is a Family Junior Suite (FJ). The FJ on Anthem can sleep either 4 or 5. The ones on Deck 8 and 9 can accommodate 5 and the ones on the other decks only sleep 4. Powder room: Toilet/sink Full Bath: shower with curtain ?, sink, toilet. One complaint is that there is a lack of storage in here. Shelves on the wall would have been great. L'Occitane bath amenities in suites for anyone who is wondering. Room: Balcony: Storage: At night with the Pullman:

Who hasn't experienced the death grip syndrome holding a phone near or over the railing of a ship to take a picture? I took a wrist strap from an old relic point and shoot camera that was collecting dust and I found a way of modifying a plain phone case I bought at a local discount store for $10. It's a Speck case and does a decent job protecting my phone but it didn't come with a wrist strap. I simply drilled two holes in the corner of the case and using the strap from my old point and shoot camera I now have a wrist strap for my phone. Now when I take a picture I can hold my phone over the railing and I am relaxed without any concerns I might drop my phone in the sea. If you don't have access to a drill, you can loop the strap through one of the slots on the case that is used for the microphone or speaker on the bottom of the phone. This approach isn't as strong but it works in a pinch. If you don't have an old wrist strap you can buy them for a few bucks on Amazon. It's amazing what a difference it makes knowing your phone is safe. I've grown to like it so much it stays on my phone now and it does a great job when walking the dog! Buying a cheap case and strap is a small price to pay compared to losing your phone even if you only use it when cruising.

Thank you for your service @rjac !!

That is lulu! Just not the right Lulu!

Waiting for Spectra's Cabaret. Star class reserved seating directly in front of where I am. I could not tell where Sky Class seating was.

We have a reservation for We Will Rock You in a few nights. I will let you know about KSC.

Hand sanitizer?

I totally can allow for the complexity of migrating a database to a new architecture, especially if they were previously using an open-source system and now migrating to a proprietary / commercial / enterprise system. BUT... As @Traveler noted in his comment, part of any big migration like that also should include having parallel systems in place in production, or even entire redundant data centers, so you can migrate data to the new system / center while the old one stays online. Don't bring the new one online until everything is migrated and tested; if it takes longer than expected, have a process in place to do nightly transfers of new data from the old system to the new so data stays in sync. But above all else, keep the main system online and don't cut over until it's ready for cut over. For a big job like this, send out an announcement and maybe even plan for full outages that last a day or two. I realize this isn't a Wall Street financial system that requires five-nines uptime and has service level agreements to uphold. But it's still a system that thousands of travelers need reliable access to every single day when their trip is coming up. This rollout is nothing short of a gigantic bungle on Royal's part, and whoever was responsible for planning it and executing it needs to be disciplined at a minimum, possibly fired for the clear lack of process on display here.

CK Night 2: Formal night 1 For D2, my picky eater. At least it looks nice lol. Lobster Salad: A; on the small side but good flavours and fresh Zucchini Spaghetti: Interesting twist on Spaghetti in that the noodles are actualLy Zucchini and it is in a Marinara sauce. Not to my liking as the texture is off for me but hubby likes it. The flavours are good and it's a fairly healthy dish. Grade: A- Caesar salad: Fresh...interesting set up...other than that, it's Caesar salad. Grade: A Chicken leg: I did not try this on Harmony and wanted to give it a try tonight. Sorry to say that I did not enjoy it. The flavours were wonderful but the texture was weird. It's almost as if the chicken seemed ground up. Not sure if I am explaining this well but it was just strange. Grade: B- Pappardelle: Excellent flavours, pasta could have been a bit more "al-dente" but overall a good, solid dish. Grade: A Crab and Shrimp Crusted Pollock: This was Hubby's dish. He liked it enough to order it a second time (he had this on Harmony). He's not here right now to give it a rating. Living it up in the Seaplex with the kids. That's what cruising with kids is like ? Dessert! As mentioned before, D2 is a very picky eater. Our waiter is amazingly patient with her. She took it upon herself to create her own desser tonight. It's chocolate chip cookies with a cup of vanilla ice cream, whip cream, and chocolate sauce for dipping. She said it was delicious! So I guess the rating is A+? ? Valrhona Chocolate Bar: What can I say about this? It's rich chocolate, melts in your mouth, yum! Rating: A+ After dinner we went to see "The Gift" in the Royal Theatre. Set design, choreography, vocals, acting, dancing, all superb! Storyline...a bit strange. I almost want to see it again as I had a really hard time following this one. Currently passing time writing this as we wait for the late night comedy show. The comedian is Kivi Rogers. He did a bit on the Welcome Show last night. We found him quite funny so heading back to see his late night version. CD Clo continues to be very entertaining and amusing. This is our first time having a female CD. The vibe is definitely different, but a good different. Still have not had a chance to do WJ recon. ? Going to try tomorrow... Random stray observation: Star Class does not seem to be as "in your face" on Anthem. Other than the Theatre, I have yet to see a Genie walking around. On Oasis class, we saw them everywhere. Good night for now. Hopefully tomorrow brings warmer weather, and sun. It was cloudy and cold today. Then it rained...

Is it true there was, yet, another brawl at Royal? Not on one of their cruise ships, everyone was sober and cranked up on coffee/expresso and it occurred in their IT department!

How's this to satisfy your hunger? ?

Just to close this out, the pack and play, though smaller than he's used to, was large enough for him to move around. We pulled the sofa forward and put the crib between it and the wall. The cabin steward congratulated our layout, saying that despite his recommendation to do it like that, most folks ignore him and put the crib in front of the sofa, rendering it unusable for seating. The room darkening curtains attached to the ceiling with small, strong magnets from Amazon and clipped to the wall with (barely sufficient strength) dollar store magnetic clips, create a tiny bedroom for the little guy. We had to pull down an opening at the ceiling and aim the back panel inward whenever he was in the crib so that all of the AC didn't blow directly down into the crib. Otherwise, sweet!

Pre-cruise report: Sailing: March 9-17, 2018, Anthem of the Seas, 8 Night Bahamas cruise Sailing with: Hubby and daughters, ages 11 and 9, who I will refer to as D1 and D2 from this point onward. Flying from: DTW to EWR via Delta. Pre-cruise hotel: Embassy Suites in Elizabeth, NJ. We chose this hotel based on several factors. When travelling with the kids, I like to look for hotels that provide a complimentary breakfast. It is one less thing to worry about. Also, this hotel came highly recommended by another site that I like, EatSleepCruise.com for value, space, and ease of getting to the port. Also, being the hotel/cruise snob that I am, this was one of the few in the area that looked relatively clean and modern. The itinerary is as follows: Day 1 – Cape Liberty, NJ Day 2 and 3 – At Sea Day 4 – Port Canaveral Day 5 – Coco Cay Day 6 – Nassau Day 7 & 8 – At Sea Day 9 – Cape Liberty, NJ We booked the Kennedy Space Center guided tour through RC shore excursions. Got a great rate on it during the Cruise planner Christmas sale. At Coco Cay, we have the Aqua Park and Slide combo purchased for the kids. And Hubby and D2 are going to do the Blue Lagoon Dolphin Encounter in Nassau. We are lazy cruisers. The ship is often our destination. So, going on 3 excursions (only two for D1 and I) is actually quite the splurge for us. Cabin: Unless the last-minute upgrade fairy strikes it’s going to be a Family Junior Suite (FJ) this time around. Initially, we went with 2 connecting balconies, but then KSF came up in November and we switched it to the FJ so that I could get my dinners in CK. Picking a cabin with our kids is a bit more difficult. No one sleeps well when the girls share a bed so we needed a room that has a Pullman or can accommodate a rollaway. Also, with 2 girls and myself, a 2nd bathroom is becoming a necessity. So, the FJ fit those requirements as it has 1 ½ baths, and we have one on Deck 9 that has an additional Pullman. Our plan was to book the FJ and then wait for the 45-60 day price drop (as I have seen on many sailings) and upgrade to a full suite. However, this was one of the few times that this did not work out. The price did drop around the 60 day mark, however, KSF ended by then so it was not worth it to upgrade. Random Pre-cruise thoughts: - It’s our first time: • Bringing our kids on RC. We have sailed DCL with them 3 times in the past. • In a Junior suite. We’ve done interiors, ocean view, regular balconies, and full suites but never Sea class. • Sailing Quantum Class. As many of you know, I am a huge Oasis class fan. I also tend to favour the newer and bigger ships. However, Hubby does not like to sail the same ship twice in a short time span. That’s where Anthem fit the bill. It also worked out nicely that this sailing just made the cut off date for KSF. I must admit that I do feel some apprehension about this sailing. As a creature of habit, I will miss my morning coffee and nightly strolls in Central Park and the amazing shows in the Aqua Theater. In addition, sailing out of NJ in March makes me a bit nervous. The weather and seas are always up in the air and sailing out of cold weather (and snow now, thanks to Nor'easter) doesn't quite sit well with me. • Doing a Live Blog! I can’t say enough how much I love this RC Blog community and how much I have learned and benefited from all of you. I see this as a way of contributing back. - We plan to eat most of our dinners in Coastal Kitchen. We were able to make reservations in the Cruise Planner this time. This option became available in the Cruise Planner around 170 days out. Disappeared for a while and then came back again. When we sailed on Harmony, we had to wait until we got the Concierge email or book on board. Going from what others have reported on other boards, it seems that you can make reservations ahead of time on Quantum class ships but not Oasis class. We also made reservations for dinner at Jamie’s for one night. The pasta was calling, and we could not turn away. - We purchased VOOM for 2 devices. Too bad for the kids but @twangster saved the day for them. - All other entertainment reservations (shows, iFly, North Star) have been made. These all showed up in the Cruise Planner about 160 days out. - This cruise sold out over a month ago. It reached the ¾ lifeboat capacity back in November! It’s March break in Ontario and according CC roll call and FB pages for this sailing there will be lots of kids and many Toronto Maple Leafs fans! Hubby will be in good company! - The teacher in me is hoping that this can be an interactive live blog. Meaning, if there is anything you would like me to find out please do not hesitate to ask away. I will do my best to check back regularly and find out for you. - Lastly, I will likely be doing most of my blogging from my phone, so if you are replying to something that has pics attached, please do not include the pics in your reply. Thanks! ?

I could never compete with @twangster. He's master blogger. Currently waiting for the bus back to the ship ?

I assumed that but threw it out there being the SD that I am sometimes...

Following! I love Charleston. A bunch of friends have moved there from NY and it's a great place to visit. I feel like it's going to be a lot of fun on St Patty's day there.

Disappointing trend. On Oasis class my room service orders have always been spot on. Enjoy your day at KSC.

I'm showing those pics to my wife...maybe she'll let me book another JS if we can curtain off a section ?

I don't care about the big cities, either (except maybe Heidelberg, which isn't really "big") - I just want to go back to my little village in the Pfalz and the surrounding area. I'm tempted by the river cruises, but then again, I want to be in control of where I go and they don't have that kind of flexibility.

Me thinks she's a bot like Twangster, Has anyone actually seen her or Twangster, or an actual pic of them....like in a drivers license? ? Pictures randomly get posted on here by the two of them...who's the wiser...sneak they are, real there not! ?

I look forward to following along!

thank-you everyone for the help finally got it

It's hard to describe, really. Best I can say is that it simply smells like relaxation. I sigh the biggest sigh of all when I cross the plank, get a squirt, and "smell the smell". Kinda like the warm, enveloping feeling when you sip a good whiskey or gluhwein.

Lunch in the WJ was uneventful. It was crowded again and people were not moving through it well. We got there at opening too...11:30am. I didn't bother taking food pics. It was too crowded but did get some dessert station pics. It's rock climbing time...

I'm not buying it (I see a guy in short sleeves). Nice try...? In other news, I hear it's rather cool in Labadee today...

Thanks @Floski. I've only learned from reading so many live blogs here and trying to include things that people might want to know if they are considering or planning to sail Anthem. That's the great thing about this community. Such a great platform to learn and share. ? I'll do one up on @twangster with this pic...I am not a bot or a fish lol (not techie enough to get the graphic ?) but I sure was freezing! @SeasTheDayNJ...note the attire...down filled Lulu jacket, Rulu base layer, gloves, brushed tights...still frozen! That's for my female audience ?

I am so jelly right now all of you so close to your cruise I have nothing booked till oct 18 then nov 24 but reading and feeling the excitement building in you all is making my mouse hand start to sweat I thought I could hold out till oct but at this moment in time its not looking to good for my budget I was just on the indy January but my mouse has taken control once again searching on its own for another adventure.I will sign out right now and hope you all have the greatest cruise of your life while I will now test my will as I search for extra money I didn't know I had in my budget THE FORCE IS STRONG PEOPLE cruise on my friends and say a prayer for those like me that will never get enough Royal cruises as I stare daily at livestream of my favorite cruise ships sailing in and out of ports my kids ask me daily if there is something wrong with me "possibly?"

Day 2 - At Sea Good morning all! Happy Saturday! Last night everyone slept quite well. No real motion. Woke up to grey skies but relatively calm seas... Air temp is 37 degrees Fahrenheit. Off to the WJ for breakfast! Love not having to find/cook food for my kids!

Oh yeah, I just saved $500, got a free upgrade to a JS, deluxe drink package for $35 pp/pd AND I get to drive the ship during a cruise day.........and then I woke up from my dream and realized that the website is still trashed!

Saved $200 today on the new sale....what a fabulous website...soooo easy navigating around, a much need upgrade.

I bet only VIP Diamond/D+ & Matt can login,,,

Us girls, root for the ultimate, and always classy Canadian player....Sidney Crosby!

Hi @diesel2512, welcome to our big family! You've already gotten a ton of great advice here. I'll add one little extra regarding your questions about the complimentary drinks, partly as a clarification on @melski94's comment: Regular coffee or tea is complimentary, but espresso-based beverages like lattes or cappuccinos are not and you will need to pay for those. If you buy either the Refreshment Package or Deluxe Beverage Package, these "specialty coffees" are covered and you won't be charged anything extra. Now on Allure, you also happen to have a dedicated Starbucks on board in addition to the Park Cafe and other venues that sell espresso-based beverages, and it gets a little more complicated. The Starbucks will not honor the drink packages if you purchased one, as on the Allure and other Oasis class ships the Starbucks venues are independently operated franchises. In fact, I think Starbucks even charges for their regular coffee, but I will leave it to others here to confirm that. Hopefully this small flood of information from all of us isn't overwhelming you! Let us know what else we can help you with. I was in your shoes 14 months ago, when I booked my very first cruise ever (which still doesn't sail for another 21 days!), and the folks here were great about answering the hundreds of questions I've had over that time. Haven't yet boarded a single ship, yet I feel like when I finally do I'm going to be totally confident about what to expect and how to enjoy it all to the fullest.

Below is a link to a past cruise compass for Allure. The cruise compass is basically a list of all activities, entertainment, and dining for the day. People save theirs and send them to Matt to post on the blog. While your sailing may not be exactly the same, this will give you a pretty good idea of what to expect on your cruise. https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/cruise-compasses/allure-of-the-seas/sun-2017-10-22-0000

I just have to add... I FEEL YA! This will be my 1st RC cruise, I have always been loyal to Carnival in the past (i know...i know ), but I was so confused and didn't know where to start. Also, I am new to message boards, so that's a double whammy. That being said, the members here are GREAT! and so knowledgeable! I haven't even cruised yet (10 days away on Anthem of the Seas), but I feel like an expert (woah now) already! Between the live blogs, and the menus, and the reviews, and the friendliness, and the answered questions of all sorts, my 1st timer anxiety has subsided and I'm ready to get this vacation started!! You've come to the right place!

Welcome to the message boards! @Matt who runs this site is a regular cruiser like us and he has kids. He has written several blogs that you may find helpful. In reference to cruising with kids on Royal: https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2018/01/09/cruising-kids-royal-caribbean https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2017/09/25/six-things-know-about-royal-caribbeans-adventure-ocean For first time Royal cruisers check out these blogs: https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2014/10/24/first-time-cruisers-dinner-royal-caribbean https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2017/05/08/ten-commonly-asked-first-time-royal-caribbean-cruise-questions https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2015/08/12/what-first-time-cruisers-need-know-about-oasis-and-allure-of-the-seas In terms of comparing Royal with Disney: https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2014/12/22/first-time-cruisers-comparing-royal-caribbean-disney-cruise-line Also check out this review from a Disney cruiser who went on a Royal cruise recently: https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/boards/index.php?/topic/5312-disney-dcl-royal-caribbean-rci-comparisonreview/

Child care will be offered ok port days and on sea days. Unlike Disney, though, the clubs close for a few hours on sea days. Opening hours are usually 9-12, 2-5, and 7-10. After hours care is available for the younger ones at around $7-8 per hour charged in 15 minute increments and did not need to be prebooked. Prebooking shows is helpful, but you can also wing it, but I wouldn't recommend this for the aqua or comedy shows. Dinner is either fixed or flexible depending on what you booked. Like Disney, you can go to specialty restaurants or stuck with the complimentary restaurants. A great complimentary option for breakfast is Johnny Rockets. Many are fans of the Park Cafe, too.

The other thought that just popped into my head... FOUR days of staring at the RCI website all. day. long. That sounds like a special kind of torture.