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I think it is arrogance, but I'm also convinced they think the world owes them a living once you reach a certain age. I can safely say for myself, both my husband and I are "there" not quite yet but we see it all the time in grocery stores etc. My husband (hoping it's temporary) has mobility issues due to disc and hips. He apologizes all the time to people for holding up the line, or walking through a parking lot. We don't have a handicap sticker for the car, we are thinking of renting a scooter for him on our Grandeur cruise in May, but I can assure you, that's only when he gets tired that he will be using it. Having any handicap does not make it a right to infringe on others who are not and trust me, many play it up to the hilt!

They abandoned the iPad idea and are instead designating 1 out of every 3 elevators "Express." On the Express elevators, the elevator buttons have been replaced by card swipes. They'll cost $1.99 per ride, or you can buy an unlimited package for $10.99 per person per day, plus 18% gratuity. Suite guests will have access to their very own golden elevator with TV screens that let them watch all the people who have to wait for the regular elevators and laugh at them over the ship's loudspeakers. I kid . . . I kid . . . (I actually have no idea what happened to the ipad experiment, but it sounds awful and I hope it fails.)

Seapass cards show up in the staterooms around 1pm. You can pre-print a paper set-sail pass at home to use before you get to your room, or they'll print you one at the port before you board. I didn't try to use a free lunch perk (had an ocean balcony, not CP), but the drink package worked fine on the temporary pass and I set up all my specialty bookings with just my name and room number. I highly doubt you'll have a problem using your lunch credit before getting your physical cards. They should be able to see it in the system when they look you up.

What's amazing about Baltimore is its proximity to multiple major markets (Baltimore/Washington/Philadelphia) and the ease of getting there from points west (Pittsburgh, the Ohio River Valley).... Imagine if the state could invest the money into a new port just below the Bay Bridges (Annapolis) --- Of course, the trade-off would be losing the thrill of going under them and the Key Bridge (I-695)

Hey @twangsterisnt the "An ULCC (Ultra Low Cost Carrier) in the cruise industry could have the same effect eating into a portion of cruise customers that seek the low cost getaway cruises." already called Carnival? :)

On Allure last Thanksgiving we were in a "hump" balcony on 8. I loved being on Deck 8. We were also on 8 when we had our first 2 BR ATS. 8 is great because of its proximity to Central Park. I will not, however, stay in one of the hump balconies again. While the extra deep balcony was lovely, it is a LONG walk to get to those hump balconies. Because the hump balconies are located "behind" restaurant row, you must go either all the way forward or all the way aft to get to the hallways and then walk all the way back to the hump area. I have the same aversion to the ATS now. If you don't mind walking, they are great rooms but for me. No thanks.

Day 3: St Kitts Today our RCL Kayaking/Snorkel Adventure left at 8:30 am. We met just outside the ship and loaded in a van for a short drive through town, the airport, Timothy Hill and to Friar's Bay. We received a short tutorial on kayaking and kayaked towards a floating dock. There we switched into snorkel gear and spent probably an 45 minutes or so snorkeling around. The water was a little murky from the last storm, but there was still much sea life to be seen. Our guides were lively yet professional and I thought they did a great job with our group. They even offered to take a girl in the water who didn't know how to swim. She did great! After snorkeling, we got back in the kayaks and headed towards Frigate Beach where we exited the water and returned the kayaks. We could either return back to ship with the tour buses or stay at the beach and take a taxi back later. We opted to stay and enjoyed ourselves at the beach. The weather was hot and the water just right. They had fun music playing and bars and food available for purchase . Two chairs and an umbrella cost us $15. The taxi back was $3/person if you have a group. The rest of the afternoon we spent shopping , eating at the Windjammer and relaxing to the live Caribbean music by the pool. I love that live music in the afternoon! Dinner tonight was our first in the main dining room for this trip. We always enjoy the main dining room and look forward to it. Tonight, I noticed they offered the new menu that people have been buzzing about. I was really disappointed to find only 1 GF appetizer and 1 GF entree--shrimp cocktail & chicken breast and a baked potato. I know I can't be picky, but on the old menu I was always able to find two or three options of each. The food was definitely served more quickly and we didn't spend much time waiting. Our gluten eating members seemed happy with their meals and options. Tomorrow's menu offered the same chicken breast for dinner, but the head waiter offered to see if they could make something else off of the menu for us, so we'll see that goes. Entertainment in the main theater was a Spanish gentleman who did a combo act of guitar, comedy and swirling these ball type things ?I have no idea what they were called. He was pretty funny and his skills were impressive. He also incorporated the orchestra into his act. Adult comedy and a game show were also on the schedule for later, but we called it a night after being in the sun. I'm saving the Cruise Compasses to send to Matt. I'm writing from an iPad while kids are asleep, so I apologize for not being able to interact more or be more detailed. Here are some pictures from today. I'm looking forward to a Sea Day tomorrow!

Although Royal only did it once and I believe said it was too costly an under taking to do on any other ships after they completed it on Enchantment. But looks like at least one other cruise company is going to give it a try....but wasn't the Enchantment one bigger? http://www.foxnews.com/travel/2018/03/21/silversea-luxury-cruise-ship-cut-in-half-for-massive-49-foot-expansion.html

I thought I'd share this here for those who may not have seen Matt's blog from March 14. Very ambitious program to say the least. What stood out to me, since we are sailing Adventure soon, is that she just completed a refurb and is now scheduled to go again in 2021. Matt's blog: https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2018/03/14/royal-caribbean-announces-massive-expansion-private-destinations-and-new-ship-upgrades Complete .pdf: http://creative.rccl.com/Sales/Royal/RoyalAmplified/18061322_RoyalAmplified_Trade_Flyer.pdf

Yup. The Windward and the Dreamward, sister ships, were actually designed in a way that made their lengthening easier. In 1998 they were both lengthened from 623 feet long to 754 feet long, bringing their GRT from 39k to 51.3k GT. Others have done it as well, though I'm not sure who the first was. It's also worth noting that several ships have been built in two pieces so that construction can begin simultaneously at two different shipyards. One section is then floated to the other and they're attached.

No no no. They were going to be given a great glass elevator, that goes in all directions and not just up / down.

The Orlando courthouse has one of these systems. I hate it. While it could theoretically work on a cruise ship, the system falls apart if people don't board the elevator the system tells them to board. As folks have brought up a few times, many of our fellow cruise passengers cannot grasp the concept of waiting for people to get OFF the elevator before trying to shove their way ON. I think computer designated elevators are a bridge too far. Any smarts built into the elevators has to be totally automatic and not depend on people following instructions. I suspect some of that is happening already. When I was on the Allure, I noticed several elevator cars pass right on by after pressing the button when I was waiting in an elevator lobby. I think the system can recognize when an elevator is full and only stop at floors passengers were exiting on. I'm sure smarter people than I could program in fancy logic to squeeze out more efficiency that would account for dinner times, show times, port arrivals, etc.

We sailed on Allure over Thanksgiving last year and Giovanni's was open on embark day. We will be on next month, again. I would think that they would LOVE for you to use your booking perk for lunch. I'm sure it would save them money as the lunch menu is somewhat smaller than the dinner menu. I think it is a GOOD idea though. I may do this myself ! I don't have the CP perk but lunch at Giovanni's on boarding day sounds really good. The last couple of times we have gone to Sabor but I have been consistently disappointed in Sabor on the O class. I really am NOT a fan of Jaimie's so maybe we will go and enjoy Giovanni's. Great idea !

Which ship is this for? And is this is a free upgrade, or paid? And if paid, how long is your trip? Depending on the answers to those questions, that drives a lot of what makes an upgrade "worth it". On all but the Oasis Class and Quantum class ships, the only real benefit to a JS room (apart from the appreciably larger living space and balcony) is that you get double Crown & Anchor points, plus priority boarding ahead of other passengers. On the Oasis and Quantum, you also get access to the Coastal Kitchen restaurant for dinner; a lot of the people here really like Coastal Kitchen and consider it a great perk with a JS room. If this is a free upgrade you're being offered, regardless of the ship, I'd say take it so you get that better living space and balcony space. If it's a paid upgrade -- well, look at the ship and what you'll get with the upgrade on that ship, and decide if the extra cost is worth it to you. Generally, for typical 6-8 night cruises you don't want to pay more than a few hundred dollars to upgrade, maybe $500 tops. Certainly $1,000 or more is far too much. You can read this article from Matt to learn more about the perks of Junior Suites.

I don't know about the CP perks but I believe the seapass cards are issued at check in still on Allure.

when on her in jan wow she rocked and they closed down the decks above the pool mostly at night it didn't bother me but my son was complaining constantly I actually sleep better with a little rocking

Well then I'll save some deposit money then, as I am all booked up to January 2020! LOL

Not sure what's going on there ..... I know Lady G was just in Drydock last year so it's possible she, and the other Vision Class ships will be upgraded later on......

Awwww, thank you so much. That comment made my day.

Oh, don't be coy with us; we know there's no way you can be that good-looking without a lot of "pretty-up" time!!! HOOAH

HI V! I would advise not using your debit card UNLESS you don't have an issue with a hold. The reason they hold Debit cards (and hotels do too) as it's attached to a Checking or savings account and they don't want to end up "eating" the charges in case someone runs out of money. You may see those charges up to a week or so even once you are home.

I always link a credit card, but I did notice nightly holds on my credit card account in the $50-$75 range that were cancelled and replaced with the total seapass balance at the end. I imagine there would be similar holds placed on debit cards.

Typically a ship undergoes refurb every 5 years but the Adventure one is intersting..... This is why I am excited for my Oasis 2020 sailing. Not wanting to sail the shorter sailings on Mariner (and worried that it might be more of a party ship atmosphere) and it's been a long time since I sailed Oasis, I'm really interested to see how they change that ship in 2019. I booked that sailing for that very purpose because I expect some big changes for that ship and it's Oasis class (which I love). And I grabbed it now before they announce their plans in case they decide to sky rocket their prices afterwards.

I have found that on the monster ships believe it or not the higher up you go the more you feel I was in the mdr after a pretty rough and windy night I was talking to the head waiter who I got to be friends with over the 8 days and he told me something I hadn't considered the ship is so large that the 20 knot speed and the 20 knot wind cause a 40 knot wind capable of rocking the ship with out the waves and if I want a far less rocky experience go to a lower deck so I went to my daughters room on level 3 o/v it was in fact much much calmer than my 12th floor balcony room her ocean view window was huge I actually sat in her window I don't get affected often by motion having sailed crew on my uncles schooner (83) island hopper but sometimes I get it . my suggestion is to look at the deck plans and decide which areas are closest to the things you like most (theatre schooner bar elevators spa etc. and book what you think will do you the most good

It also depends on the type of debit card. Here in the Cayman Islands, we have been using the visa debits for a very long time. Whereas, in the US they are relatively new. If you a visa debit as a visa card (ie they process it as a credit card) it will have the same holds that they would have put on a credit card and not an overestimation. This is what we have done in the past when using our debit cards at hotels and have never had an issue. I would confirm with your bank, however, to ensure they don't have any fees (I have a Canadian card that charges for this). Also, they hold purchase by purchase from my experience. So I do agree, make sure you have double of what you plan to spend so that you can handle the holds. I am not sure what your spending habits are but at least for onboard 1000 should be enough but don't know about at the stops.

HEY!!! Don’t look at me - if it was my call it’d be open bar all the time!!

Good luck with that. I'm into 96 hrs and still nothing.

And from your posts, it sounds like Mom raised you right! I think that the rudeness being talked about is more about arrogance, which is a horrible trait at any age.

Aaaaaaannnnd the conversation came back to Sorrento's. BOOM goes the dynamite!

Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

Women don't need to talk or text. They communicate with each other at a level us guys will never understand. Even a bot can't decode it.

Funny thing about that...that is exactly what my daughter wants to do! Have you been talking/texting her?

I just got off of Majesty on the 26th of December before the dry dock, Oasis class is one of my absolute favorites. That being said if I had the option to cruise on Majesty again I would gladly do it. I would not want to spend a full week but for a quick 3 or 4 day cruise I would gladly sail it again! There were a few small issues that I am hoping that they fixed in dry dock, but the crew was great, and truly tried to make us happy. As long as you understand that it is an older ship and that it does not have all of the new and greatest things that the newer ships have but it was definitely worth my time. If you go expecting a Quantum class or Freedom class experience you will be highly disappointed, if you go just expecting to get on a boat, be entertained and catered to and have a great time then you will be very happy.

OR... pick that night for a birthday splurge and schedule a later dinner at Chops or 150 Central Park!

I wish they were building new fuel efficient ships in the Vision to Sovereign size range. Comparing the Allure and the Majesty, I like aspects of both and the ability to chose between them. They each bring things to the table I like. The Allure had the gee whiz factor, nonstop entertainment and hustle and bustle, the Majesty had a friendlier more casual feel. Sometimes we want an action packed vacation, sometimes we want something more relaxing and personalized. It's nice to have both options.

The flight is from Orlando to LA, then from LA to Sydney. I completely agree with the extra time pre-cruise in Sydney to re-adjust. We are now thinking of leaving a day sooner too, because of the lost day thing. I couldn't agree more with your last comment! I am counting the days, and it doesn't hurt that we have 3 cruises before that one!

Good for you! Smart planning. I do not recommend any of the Atlantis excursions in Nassau. EXPENSIVE and really not worth it in my opinion as well as others here. Get off the ship, walk around some, get back on the ship (which will be pretty empty, be the way) exercise your drink packages and have fun!

The holds are placed per purchase and aren’t applied until disembarkation (in case you dispute anything or have any credits applied). For this reason, you want to be sure to use a credit card and not a debit card when setting up the account. You can ask to make it a cash-only account if you would rather not have a bunch of holds on your card, but you then need to be sure to have enough cash to pre-load it when you board. If you run out, you won’t be able to buy anything more on the ship until you put more cash on your Sea Pass card.

A year or so ago, we received slippers as a Crown & Anchor gift. I have no idea what size they gave us but I ended up wearing Dan's [mens] slippers and he ended up with none. I wore my slippers around once I got home and in a very short time they self destructed. I think they are fine for wearing around the ship for the duration of the cruise but they are definitely not long term material. The price was right for us - FREE !

Great idea! We were in a JS, so we had the robes waiting for us (I'm not a suite snob yet, maybe just a robe snob, lol), so having the slippers just completed the look. We'll definitely take them with us next time.

Have a great time!! Will be following along. We're on Serenade in October for a 12 night repo. Will be our longest sailing ever, with 10 nights currently holding the record.

Just saw the details and had much the same reaction. We did CocoCay twice last year and actually booked the second trip because we had such a great time just relaxing on the nice quiet beach and enjoying the peace and quiet on the first trip. Liked the pier idea but concerned that this is too much ... but we shall see.

Just off Allure last week; it did not make a difference how many stairs I traipsed, lengthy walks on the jogging track, rock climbing, wave ridering, or asking my wife overnight how exponentially high her Fitbit recorded steps compared to her normal day.....our cruise was a glutenous indulgence of food and drink. We both still ended out a pound of weight gain per day. Bring sweatpants for the trip home.

On the contrary - I prepare for the increased opportunities to eat by upping my caloric intake leading up to the trip. Stretch the stomach a little ahead of time so that it doesn't rebel at the sudden significant increase in volume.

I have the Cruise Compasses from the 2/24 sailing that I'll be sending in this week! Sounds like ours was a different itinerary, but it might help give you an idea of how things look. Our formal nights were days 2 & 6 and our only sea day was Day 7.

I saw your original post - I'm not surprised you received a different response when you called back. Yes, this seems typical. My mother-in-law does not drink at all, and my father-in-law was interested in purchasing an alcohol package. After discussing with Royal, they told my MIL that she would have to buy the Refreshment package if her husband bought the Deluxe drink package. I agree - I'm disappointed by the changes to the drink packages. However, it seems that due to the amount of people sharing the packages is basically the reason we can't have nice things. I do know many are frustrated by this policy change, but I get it to a point.

After a night of exercising my drink package, I think it taste good...

Mine are not chronological. When I 1st logged in back one day 1 of the new website it only had 2 of my cruises, the next two. I added all the rest manually. They all got inserted in between my next and the one after that. Next is #1 4th next is #2 5th next is #3 Even my 2019 cruises are before my 2nd and 3rd next cruises which are at the bottom of the list. 3rd next is #10 2nd next is #11

Kindof-but-not-really off topic question. What ever happened to the elevator testing RCCL was doing? With the iPads, that you put in what floor you were going to and it assigned you an elevator?

I see the website is evolving. Has anyone determined what the sort order is of upcoming cruises? I have 4 cruises listed and they do not appear alphabetical by ship, chronological by embarkation date, or numeric by reservation. My OCD is triggered