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Those are some very impressive ellipticals you drew there...are you suuuuure you ain't a bot?

Good thing the Sabrina-bot routinely indexes the forums!

Steaming is simply blowing hot steam through a garment as illustrated in this photo. Note t-shirt being steamed. Clothing is placed onto blue apparatus and hot steam then blows from inside the blue thing and through the garment. It takes about 15 seconds. In the far right you can see a crew member's head as he operates a pressing machine. Clothes are laid on it, press is closed to complete the job. For pants and shirts a crease is created that you won't get when steaming.

We spent a couple of years gifting each other with various pieces of Briggs and Riley luggage. The larger pieces came with removable mini garment bags that fit into the lids of the suitcases. That was over 10 years ago. Now they build the garment bag into the suitcase. Not cheap but it comes with a lifetime guarantee against ANY damage, just pay the shipping to return it to the manufacturer. I used that guarantee before our cruise earlier this month when a corner of the suitcase blew out on a previous trip . I discovered it a couple of months before the cruise date. They turned it around to us in under 3 weeks! My tux was immaculate when I unpacked it aboard the Jewel.

Grand Suite and above can go sideways. Junior Suite guests are only allowed to go up and down.

Actually, it is very similar to deportation because if you don't disembark they will force you off the ship. :)

SUCCESS!!!!! $450 taken off the June, 2019 Cruise!!!!! YAY! Okay, now does anyone know how I can view payment history in the new My Cruises website so I can confirm it was deducted?

Yesterday we got an email from RCCL saying we could be eligible for an upgrade to a balcony cabin on our May 5th Adventure of the Seas sailing . The cost was $100.... My question being, has anyone else ever gotten this? Did they actually get the upgrade? We have cruised 7 times with RCCL and this is the first time we've gotten this. Just curious, I'd be happy with either cabin.

First, I’ll introduce myself, I’m Mel and traveling with my DH, DD18, DS14, DS11, DD6 and MIL (MIL first mass cruise ship). Staterooms This trip we have 3 Spacious Oceanview Balconies on Deck 12 (category D3 and D5). DD18 and MIL in one, next to ours with our room connecting to the 3 younger kids. All 3 in a row and hopefully we can open all the balcony dividers. Why we booked: This is our fourth family cruise all on RC. We’ve only cruised during Spring Break as that is a good week for vacations for us. DD18 just had a birthday and will graduate high school in May, MIL celebrated 70 last summer and we were not able to go on a trip with her then, and DS14 will celebrate a birthday on this cruise. DH loves the fact it is a Sat-Sat cruise. He hates going to work the day after we get back. I appreciate that we can get back on Saturday and still celebrate Easter as last year we were home very late on Easter. Our schedule: Day 1: Embark at Fort Lauderdale Day 2: Sea Day Day 3: Sea Day Day 4: St. Maarten (private island tour) Day 5: San Juan (walk around forts) Day 6: Labadee (Beach bungalow and zip line) Day 7: Sea Day Day 8: Back to FLL What we are looking forward to: *Large ship – first time on an Oasis class ship *Different entertainment (AquaTheater and Grease) *New things to do (Ultimate Abyss) *Zip lining *Large outdoor track *DD6 should be tall enough for the big water slides Concerns: *DD18 just turned 18 a few weeks ago and worried about meeting other young adults without teen club. *Is the ship just too big? *Will the staterooms be too small? They will be the smallest (square footage) we’ve stayed in. *Is it worth the extra “surcharge” for this class ship? The price per person per night is significantly more than other cruises...even staying in a JS on Liberty last year the week before Easter. We’ll see if we feel it is worth the extra cost. Even with those concerns, we are easy going and we always have a great time. I’m sure there will be things we love and things we don’t but usually the good outweighs any bad. After all we’ll be on a cruise and we can’t wait. Right now, I do not have any specialty dining planned. I did buy the drink package during the Black Friday sale. This will be my first time with the drink package but I didn’t want to deal with buying wine in FL when we get in late Friday. I am hoping to take a break in the afternoon from the family to come back to this page so feel free to ask questions.

and the fact remains, does anyone know what @twangster real name is?? Hmmm, and notice no pictures ever of him (or could it be a HER!!) LOL. I'm telling you, it's witness protection, just sayin!!

Takes one to know one!

The real issue with Bermuda is, it's bigger than you think ..... once you fall in love with the island, which you will, you will want to see the whole thing (with a Rum Swizzle in hand). Horseshoe Bay is as stunning as they say, there's tons to see and do around dock area. That one picture of the building with the two clock towers is the Clock Tower Mall. When we go back in October, we're dedicating the full day there to St. George....it's the one part of the island we haven't made it to. Bermuda is incredibly easy to get around in .... especially with the famous Pink Buses

We Love, Love, Love Bermuda ....... And, as you look at my signature, Grandeur ..... in fact, we'll be going back again in October for the 7-nighter (3 Days in Bermuda). Instead of going into something wordy, here are a few pictures ....

Hi! I'm Lori, and live in MN. So much good information here! Our first cruise was on RCI Monarch back in 2005. It was a trial run to see what we thought. We all had a blast, the kids were ready to get back on and never leave! We have also cruised NCL around the Hawaiian Islands - loved the ports, but the ship wasn't as much fun as the Monarch, although our kids thought it was amazing. Then life got in the way, and finally 11 years later we are cruising again. We are heading to Alaska in August on the Explorer! It's a big family vacation with our two (now adult kids) plus their SO's and of course our teenager. Great way to kick off cruising again!

We booked them right when they became available, a little more than 300 days out. However, we were able to book "flexible" airfare through the cruise line we're on, so we can cancel up until final payment without any penalty; that's also when payment for the flights is do. I wouldn't say we got a deal, but we did opt for nonstop flights as all of the connecting flights just made the trip too long. We're also traveling during the holidays, so that may have affected prices. For economy on Quantus, we're paying $1750 r/t per person.

Yea, I'm sure I will also, haven't really tried to wrap my head around it yet, I', still over a year out, I started using MEI for my cruises but my airfare I've still been booking myself, on this Sydney trip I'm going to let them handle everything, Cruise, Flight, pre-post hotel and transportation, I'm sure I will still be OCD and know 110% of what is going on, but I'm letting them plan it.

Can confirm. It was $9.95 on the Allure a few weeks ago. I asked about that. You can go for just milkshakes and they won't charge you the cover if you don't order food.

We're sailing out of Sydney in December and the flights are the biggest problem. Not only is it more expensive to fly to Sydney than to Europe, but you have the international date line to contend with, so you lose a day going. We leave on the 27th and arrive on the 29th, but fortunately it's a direct flight. My son is still weirded out by the fact that we arrive back to LAX earlier and on the same day that we leave Sydney. :) We leave Sydney at 11:30 am and return to Los Angeles on the "same day" at 6:20 a.m.

Another thing is that sometimes the "new cruisers" line is actually shorter than any of the C&A lines, depending on when you arrive. So even if they can't board with you, it's entirely possible they'll be on the ship before you! ? "I'll take the newbie line, and you'll take the Diamond line, and I'll be on board the ship befoooore you!" ?

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.)

I LOVE the port at Baltimore. I completely agree - so close to so many population areas - including mine ! The PROBLEM with Baltimore is....where do you go ? We have gone to Bermuda sooooo many times now. I love cruising so I don't mind going to Bermuda over and over....and over and over again. But unless you have at least 9 days to cruise, you cannot get anywhere else. Once we're retired, if we are still in the Metro DC area (which I pray we are NOT !) then I will take FULL advantage of the longer trips on Grandeur (or whichever ship is here) but until then, I guess it will continue to be Bermuda. We do have a Christmas/New Year's cruise booked for this year and it will be our first out of Baltimore (12 nights). Looking forward to that one ! ...and one day we will take the New England cruise too. We are primarily winter cruisers so the options out of Baltimore are very limited this time of year.

I feel you. My first ever cruise is in just 12 more days, only 9 until I get on the plane down to Florida. My family is as excited as I am but really tired of me going on about every little update I found. "Hey, I just discovered this on the boards I follow...", or "You've got to listen to this podcast episode!", are becoming phrases that evokes fear and dread in my home. Well, either that or the feeling that an intervention might be necessary.

first night was Thursday and first sea day was yesterday. We are waking up to a beautiful sunrise in Charleston today! So far we are having a fabulous time and our sea day yesterday was nearly perfect! I love the quaintness of the grandeur and the feeling of always being connected with the sea. I had gotten the BOGO dining package when it was still $30 per person. Night 1 we ate a CHOPs and last night we ate at Giovanni’s. We went earlier than our reservation and were able to get a great window seat at both locations. At CHOPs, I ordered the lamb and DH got the filet, but we split them. The filet was my favorite, but both were good. I also got the crab cake, lobster bisque, and the red velvet cake. At Giovanni’s, we got the filet and veal to split and then the crab ravioli for the table. Again, the filet was my favorite. I may have even liked it better than the one at CHOPs. We loved our waiter at Giovanni’s, and realized it was our favorite waiter Kicki that we had when we sailed on Grandeur in 2016. We also loved the baked mozzarella appetizer, and the kalamata bread and dipping sauce. I had purchased the sushi class and it was originally scheduled for later in the week, but it was moved to yesterday at 11:45. We started off in the MDR for check in and then proceeded on a tour through the galley. I had not toured the galley in a while, so this was a fun experience. We then went up to the Viking crown lounge and had the class in Izumi. It was a lot of fun. We made two full rolls, a hand roll and a sushimi. We then got to eat hat we made. I would recommend the class and recommend pre-booking in the cruise planner. While, it is not discounted in the planner, you do save the added 18% gratuity that is added if you purchase the class on the ship.

I'm a "no quote" on Bermuda, have not been there, will be on my 2019 Anthem cruise.

Me personally, I would choose #1

I missed it! As usual! thank you Sabrina!!

I would say that if you're doing a Bahamas itinerary in just a few weeks, which presumably will already be stopping at Nassau and Coco Cay, then the Grandeur itinerary might be the least interesting unless you just want to experience Bermuda and what it's like on Grandeur. Certainly, an overnight in Bermuda is a big plus if you've never been; I'm finding out how much there actually is to do there and glad I have an overnight for my trip there in October on Anthem. Apart from that, I can't really be much help. The Freedom itinerary sounds the most interesting to me personally, as I'm more of a "ports matter more than ship" guy, so I'd go with that one myself. But I'm not you. How many times have you been to those ports, and how eager are you to see them again? Same with the Anthem itinerary, which also sounds pretty good to me even without an overnight in Bermuda.

If it's purely based on ports, go with #3. We did that exact itinerary about a month ago and it was INCREDIBLE. The islands are gorgeous, and the Freedom class is a great class of ship.

Haven't been on 1 or 2 yet, but 3 I have and that will be my vote, love that itinerary and ship. I will be on Freedom in October out of San Juan, going to Aruba and Curacao, have Anthem picked for July 2019 may be same itinerary and no plans for Grandeur yet. I'm also Diamond and have Grand Suite picked on freedom. Welcome to the form BTW.

I have seen it both ways. One time they said our newby son and wife could join us in line. Other times, we were told no for some friends. We will jump in what ever line is the shortest even though we are Diamond. But we always wait for them before getting on the ship...So we can get on together. We will be on the ship with you next week...Can’t wait to get back to the ABC Islands ?

I believe if you are booked in a Suite, that you will get free pressing for the first formal night. The wife and I were on Oasis the last week of Feburary in a ATS and we got the free pressing.

The only times I've flown with a suit have been on Delta and the flight attendants always took my garment bag and hung it up in the little closet they had up front. I had a backpack carry-on with me as well that I kept with me for the flight. We used the pressing service on the last cruise. Just laid the garments on the bed with the form filled out on top and gave our attendant a heads up as we left for dinner. They came back pressed the following evening. Make sure you leave the "make up room" card in your door in the late afternoon so they can deliver it before you want to start getting ready. Here's the price list: http://www.royalcaribbean.com/content/en_US/pdf/LaundryPriceList.pdf We had to ask our attendant for a form, but they sometimes leave a few in the closet.

For your wife and daughters...everything goes in a dress bag (they will know what that is). It's the last thing to get packed and the first thing to get unpacked. Then, let the steam take care of the rest! I have done this every time. I have never had a need to get anything pressed on board. Not sure how that works for a suit though....lol

Thanks for your response, The in laws would take the big bedroom, they're paying. My wife, me, and two kids would be in bedroom two, and another kid out on the couch. The cruise is fairly booked up and all the connecting rooms are taken.

@Lindsay, I got close, but no cigar. On the main page, instead of clicking Log In, click on Already Booked and then on Make a payment. That page will ask for your reservation number, etc. When I did that, mine came up with "paid in full" and the amount, but no payment history. The amount is technically incorrect because it did not include my prepaid gratuities (which I am not concerned about because I have the printed out proof of payment for that). However maybe it will appear differently for you, so give it a shot. Glad the FCC worked out for you.

Call them back and have them email you a new confirmation. Or go here, it is the UK site, still looks like the old site, when I logged in it showed all my cruises. https://secure.royalcaribbean.co.uk/mycruises/login.do?default=false&cS=MHDR

Thanks for the responses... the hard part is if I want to buy her a drink, how can I do it then? Her card is linked to her own credit card, so if I want to get her a drink on me, then it won't work because of the drink package... Well, it is what it is. Hopefully I'll find the right bartender to help me.... anything beats the foot of snow that fell last night! leaving tomorrow - on board Saturday... I can't wait!

With the old site I knew how to, new site, no idea ?

Thank you for your help.

We lucked out and got a somewhat direct flight to Sidney. We left Houston, did a quick stop in Brisbane to refuel, then on to Sidney. Our trip was right after the big Quantas strike was settled so they were bending over backward to make sure we were happy. We went directly to the ship but ended up staying an extra day after to visit with a friend there. Sorry, can't remember the name of the hotel but it was lovely. It was right by the Harbor. We walked all over...it was beautiful. All in all....it was by far my favorite cruise to date.

Yep, heard of this! $100 for a balcony is a good "upgrade"!

Adventure 2016 I was able to board with my friend who was Diamond.

No. We are Platinum and had the same thing this past summer for the Oasis. However, we did not have to wait long for them to get checked in.

I have decided to keep MTD. :) I think I made the right choice to begin with. LOL I can reserve the same time if I want or if I need to be late I can schedule late. Thanks everyone!!!

You are going to love freedom Joe. I'm the same way and I will be on my 4th in 4 days....my family is ready to strangle me (until they enjoy all the reservations and things I planned...nachi, chefs table etc... with this blog's help! ) Freedom here I come! Jane

Right.. because they have the "golden ticket (sea pass)"?

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)

Wait a sec - you've already booked 20 years out??? How may days is that???

We ate entirely in the MDR on our AD cruise in February, and we were quite happy with it! Food was always hot and I don't think anyone at our table had a complaint about their meal. Keep an eye out for the Grand Marnier souffle - almost everyone's favorite dessert!

Do you also like getting caught in the rain? ?