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It is. We'll still.be getting a taxi to the port in the morning though because a) it's included in the cost of our deal and b) husband says there's no way he's hauling 'all my luggage' on foot! ?

While clearly not the case in the original photo of this post, one challenge is that people will place towels on a lounger and then jump in a pool or hot tub. On a hot day floating in the pool for a while is quite normal. This isn't meant to defend the chair hogs of the world. Clearly dropping towels at 7am or when pools aren't even open yet is not an example of someone who is actively using the pool deck while also consuming a lounger. It's easy to just say "Royal should do X" but Royal isn't in the business of alienating guests and aggressively enforcing the rules will likely catch some innocent people in that net. Royal publishes many rules for guests to follow on board and they hope guests will follow them. This isn't the only example of guests ignoring the rules at the expense of those guests that do. Unsupervised children who are misbehaving is another rule breaking item that irritates me. Well behaved children are always welcome. At the end of the day we all have to get along onboard and be aware of our impact to other guests in the actions we take. Like in all things in life, some people are more considerate than others. Just ask anyone who commutes the same drive everyday.

Me also because my windows need washed and being a true scotsman theres no way im paying to get it done when mother nature can do it for nothing ?

No early booking discount but they did get $100 obc ( On Board Coke )

I resemble that remark. Book as early as possible through a cruise specialist travel agent (like MEI travel). They check all the subsequent deals for you. Just got an email from Sharla last month about saving me $250.

On-board Activities Despite having the drinks package, we’ve booked a wine tasting for our first sea day as we both enjoy wines and have participated in several wine tastings before and found them to be informative. There were a few dates available, all sea days, but we decided to go for the first day so that we’re more educated about the wines on offer on board and can then take full advantage of the Vintages wine list throughout the rest of the cruise! We’ve also booked a ‘behind the scenes tour’. This is more for my husband than me due to his nautical background. I had the idea of buying the experience as a gift for his birthday but I foolishly told my mother about the idea. She then hijacked it and bought it as her gift to him so I had to go back to the drawing board! Oh well, he’s very excited about it. I’ve also booked chef’s table for us on what I think will be our final formal night. Husband doesn’t know about this – it’s my thank you to him for paying for the cruise. I hope to also try Giovanni’s Table as we didn’t try this restaurant on Navigator. We may well try it for lunch on a sea day as lasagne is possibly my favourite food (if it’s possible to choose just one!) and I’ve heard so many good things about it from Matt that I’m keen to try it. I think that’s enough for the pre-amble. Time to go to bed now ready to drive down to Southampton tomorrow before sailing on Saturday. I’ll post again tomorrow and will attempt to periscope the ships leaving port (weather permitting – our 50 day heatwave is threatening rain for tomorrow afternoon) but I don’t have a fancy mic and have never scoped before so please bear with me…

I don't speak bot (or dweeb-geek) but I'm sure this is something utterly cerebral and profound. ...or maybe I've just been told to F* off. Either way, I'm good with it. ??

This is the result of the unnatural integration of bots and dweeb-geeks. Just sayin'.

C minus 1 day One day before we embark upon our second RC cruise on Independence of the Seas. Packing’s all done, documents are good to go, so I thought I’d kick off my first Live Blog with a bit of a pre-amble: Our History I’ll be sailing with my husband, we’re both in our 30s (just about for one of us!), from England and this will be our third cruise in total. My husband used to be in the Royal Navy and loves being at sea, but since leaving the Navy, had always fancied sailing in a bit more luxury than on a warship. My mum had always wanted to try a cruise so we booked a family one – me, husband, mum, step-dad – for her 60th in 2016 on Navigator of the Seas doing a 14 Night Western Med from Southampton. Long and short of it, we all loved it! Husband and I loved it so much we went on another family cruise in 2017, this time with my dad, his wife, my sister and my auntie. It was a 7 night Scandinavian itinerary on Crown Princess from Southampton. It too was a great cruise and whilst there were some things we felt were better on Princess (pool deck layout, rooms ready on arrival at 11am, more large lounges), overall, my husband and I preferred the experience on RC. We have this cruise booked on IoS and then we have another family cruise, this time with mother-in-law booked for next year on P&O’s Azura.

I saved nearly $300 by repricing my October cruise on Brilliance. Thanks Matt! ?

EDIT - Title should read "When to sail to get the best price". This is for folks who have flexibility to sail anytime. Booking cruises far into the future almost always will secure the best prices and best choice of cabin. I've often thought of plotting this myself but then I found someone who already did. This is from 2012 and it is specific to interior cabins to the Caribbean but in my experience most other cabin categories track this and it repeats year after year. Want to sail when its cheapest? Want to avoid cruises with a ton of kids? Avoid those peaks. Source: https://www.cruisemarketwatch.com/articles/category/cruise-lines-market-share-marketing-research/page/2/ This research tracks my own experiences very well. Who doesn't like to save money on a cruise? Suite cabins can be an exception but often suite deals can be found in the same low periods simply because demand is lower.

Pre-Embarkation Day So today we travelled down to Southampton from our home in the Midlands. Blogging will now be done via my phone so please excuse any typos! Although it's only a 2.5hr drive, we decided to book a 'stay and park' with Holiday Inn for a more relaxed start to our cruise than driving down on embarkation day - we're doubly glad we did as there were a couple of accidents and very heavy traffic that made our journey over 3.5 hrs long today! At one point Waze diverted us around a gridlocked motorway down an unclassified road. Cleary we weren't the only ones making use of this diversion and we ended up in a traffic jam on a single track road! When we finally arrived, I was extremely excited about the view from our room as Cunard's Queen Elizabeth was there to greet us. After unloading the car, we went to get a drink and some food as we were famished after our drive. My husband enjoys craft beer and I'd found a brewery near to the hotel called 'The Dancing Man' . Unfortunately they weren't serving food so we just had a drink and some bar snacks - IPA for him, lager for me. As we were leaving in search of more substantial food, we noticed that QE was just pulling away so I took the opportunity to do my first periscope! Thanks to @Lovetocruise2002 for tuning in. After watching her sail away, we found a lovely traditional pub for food, The Duke of Wellington. The prices were good, the portions were huge and the service was friendly. It really hit the spot. Feeling stuffed, we took a stroll down to the Ocean Village Marina to walk off dinner and have a look at some not-too-shabby yachts. I've yet to spot the newly launched super-yacht Elandess which has been in the area today but I'll keep an eye out tomorrow. We're now back at the hotel bar having a quick drink before getting an early night and hoping that excitement doesn't keep us from sleeping! Hopefully, when we wake up in the morning, we'll be able to see Independence from our window...

This is literally the first time I've logged in in months, and this is the first "live" notification I get?!?!? Good grief! LOL Your "Oasis Class Denier" tag has me LOLing, @JLMoran!

Soooo... how much was the drugs package, and did they get the 20% early booking discount? ?

Just went to RCCL.com to check on current booking prices. Primed for Adventure Sale is up. Booking prices are down a tad after applying discounts and credits (not OBC). My July 2019 Southbound Alaska Grand Suite went down by a whopping $8. My Dec 2019 Holiday Cruise to Easter Caribbean Junior Suite is still higher than when I booked about two weeks ago. It has a flash sale credit on it, but pricing was still better 2 weeks ago. As @Matt says, "Your mileage may vary." <- yes, I'm an Oxford quote kinda gal.

Ship & Itinerary Husband was adamant he wanted to go from Southampton as it’s so much less hassle than flying, and that he wanted to go somewhere hot. We also wanted a good balance of sea days and port days so that we’ve got time to relax and enjoy the ship as well as to explore the ports. We also wanted to try a different ship and needed to sail during my holiday from school (I’m a teacher) so Independence fits the bill. We booked it before we knew about the refurb it was getting so it was a bonus to hear about the new added features. The ports we’ll visit are: Gibraltar – having done the tour of ‘The Rock’ last time, we’re planning on visiting the siege tunnels Ville Franche – our only tender port. Last time we visited Monaco, this time we’re heading for Nice and have booked a transfer with RC Civitavecchia – we don’t plan to visit Rome as we’d like to go for a weekend to see all the sites. Last time we went on a wine tasting tour which was ok but not something we’d want to repeat so we’ll be staying on board to make the most of the slides with no queues, although we might take a stroll to the nearby beach. Livorno – last time we visited Pisa so this time we’re heading for Florence and again have booked a transfer with RC. Toulon – We don’t have any firm plans, we’re just going to get off the ship and explore the port. Barcelona – I’ve been to Barcelona twice before and my Husband once but not as a cruise port. It’s a beautiful city and we’re looking forward to going back. Again we don’t really have any firm plans, although I’m keen to explore the gothic quarter as I didn’t see much of this when I visited before. We may or may not book a bike or Segway tour. Lisbon – We visited this port on our first cruise and loved it so we’re looking forward to returning. We did a tuk-tuk tour last time which was great fun so we’ve booked another but this time it’s a food tour with stops to try different local delicacies! Vigo – our final port and again we plan just to explore the town. We booked a GTY Balcony as it was quite a bit cheaper than choosing a balcony and our room was allocated a week or so after final payment – we got 6666: apparently lots of people are reluctant to book the 666 cabins but it doesn’t bother us and we’re happy with the overall location. It’s above the top floor of the MDR so I don’t anticipate there being much noise when we’re sleeping. On our previous 2 cruises, we had MTD with the same waiters each evening which we enjoyed. This time, as it’s just the two of us, we’ve opted to try the traditional dining so that we’ve got other people to talk to! We’ve gone for the late sitting as we usually eat quite late and wanted to have enough time to get ready for dinner after days in port. We have both bought the Ultimate Drinks Package. We definitely got value out of it before – it will interesting to see if we still do with it just being the two of us. We’ll certainly give it our best shot!

That would be funny. Sit on their towel. Put on their flip flops. Read their magazine. Wait for them to return. That might be scope worthy.

There is a system. If I see an unattended lounger for 30 minutes while I am waiting for one, the stuff gets moved, by me. They can take it up with me when they return. SImple. ?

30oC in Naples today. Still very warm in the Med. Hoping that Glasgow gives me some rain on Sunday. Enjoy your cruise!

While Puerto Rico is a US territory there is a law banning the import of agricultural items to the US. Companies that import agricultural items on a commercial basis have an established process to do so. This process is for the average person flying to the US on an airline. https://www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/ourfocus/planthealth/sa_international/sa_travel International arrivals to any US mainland airport are handled on an international basis. Luggage is scanned and all person must meet US customs officials who ask questions like "Bringing any fruit?". Since PR is a US Territory planes landing in the US mainland which departed from Puerto Rico are treated like a domestic arrival and are not handled like international flights are. While it is a US Territory PR is very different from an agriculture perspective and there is a desire to protect the US mainland from potential threats in this very different 'foreign' eco-system just like other foreign regions. Consequently all luggage is scanned in Puerto Rico looking for agricultural items that individuals may have placed inside their luggage. Those mangos you picked on the roadside are not allowed to be brought to the US mainland. It's done in PR so that it doesn't have to be done upon arriving in the US mainland. If you proceed directly to the airline check in counter in San Juan they won't allow you to check your luggage if it hasn't been screened at the agricultural inspection station.

Voom Surf and Stream for $11.99 on Symphony. Haven't seen it that cheap again. Best I've seen the deluxe drink package this year is $42. Last year I saw it cheaper than that but keeping this to 2018 deals since many things have increased from the past. One thing I've observed is that often US Thanksgiving has some good sales but not for every sailing. You really need to look often, buy low and keep monitoring extras. If they drop even lower, refund and repurchase. Waiting and hoping for a cheaper price without ever buying it usually leads to disappointment.

I totally agree. As for the misbehaving unsupervised children I just don't get it. I was on Harmony a week ago, on Grease show you are supposed to have a reservation, that means that the kids inside should be with their parents. There were like 5 kids in the front row throwing popcorn to each other... Ok, that is a normal behavior for a kid, but when they ran out of popcorn the started to throw their beverages each other spilling all over the chairs, other passengers and the floor. At this point I was expecting a parent to show up and put some order. Nothing happened, not even a RC staff did anything, they kept screaming, running, and hassling each other and other passengers until they got bored (obviously) and got out. ?

What a wonderful itin. One day.... Enjoy everything !

2 to 3 hours with a fair wind behind you.

Following! Have a great trip, both of you! I hope you really enjoy Chef's Table, and discover some great new wines!

Thank you! I appreciate everyone's thoughtful responses. Looking on past 'Compasses', I see that there will likely be an 18-21 Meet-n-Greet early on. This will be a good start! - Susan ?

The peak summer sailing dates probably skew a little to the right of this when sailing out of Europe, as most European children have summer holiday from around mid July to the end of August. And many European businesses take the month of August off.

Just like" vote early and vote often," I book early and book often WITH A TRAVEL AGENT. . . rinse and repeat. That's the nice thing about RCCL versus Disney, is that you can do that. Since prices are not necessarily on a linear upward slant (hello specials/sales), like they are with Disney (rarely a sale or special unless you live in Florida, Canada, or Timbuktu), we actually have the opportunity to re-book, not only the cruise itself, but port excursions, spa appointments, and specialty dining. Definitely not on option on the all-inclusive, whether you want it or not, pay through the nose, Disney Cruise Line. Don't get me wrong, we last sailed concierge with Disney just 3 weeks ago and loved it. But man, it wasn't worth the price because we didn't do or use everything little thing we paid for in the "all-inclusive" Disney price. So yes, book early! And book/re-book often because you can! And yes, I check RCCL throughout the week. . . because it's like I take a mental cruise every time I log on. . . and it has paid off! ?

I received my email yesterday for my January 24th sailing on Granduer. Instead of Coco Cay, we are doing Grand Bahamas. No email about the November 1st sailing on the Granduer. This itinerary already has a stop in Miami. I went to grad school there and lived in South Beach for years, so will say hi to friends and old colleagues. I am sorry for those who really don’t want Miami. I don’t blame you, it is def not a lazy beach day. You could grab a cab/Lyft/Uber and head to the beach. Stay south of fifth or go to mid Beach. Lincoln Rd runs perpendicular to the beach and is a pedestrian walk/mall with boutiques, lounges, cafes, eateries, art galleries, etc. I lived on the corner of Lincoln & Collins right on the beach across from the Ritz. Lincoln is much more local than touristy. Ocean Dr is a mecca for rip-off high prices. Walk along to see if you like, then at the end, between 16th & 17th, hang a left, walk west and do Lincoln. Collins & Washington (parallel to the ocean) has hotels, clubs, restaurants and stores.

Looking forward to following along!

You cannot bribe your will to a GC....but it can't hurt!

The fall? I am glad they are so specific.....

I am following. This will be my retirement cruise in four years. Let the countdown begins.

Following! Here and on Periscope ? Safe travels @hayley_bopp! I love that itinerary!

I believe in booking early for the best price. November and December 2018 come on so I can book more cruises for 2020. Woohoo!!!!!!

He's got waaaytooo much time on his hands between cruises!! LOL

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You pay for our cabins and be the odd stranger walking past on the snow covered pool deck... in your swim gear. Deal? You won't have to actually apply any sunscreen, we'll just catch your response before ending the scope.

My daughter turned 18 a few weeks before our spring break cruise. The first few days were tough. On previous cruises, she would meet new friends in the teen club and hang out with them so much that we rarely saw her except for dinner. This cruise she tried a few 18-20 year old meet ups as in the Cruise Compass but she said there was no one there. Once she got over the fact she may not meet anyone to hang out with, she hung out with us and she decided her parents were almost fun. We'd sit around the pub and just had a good time hanging out with our new "adult". During the day, she was willing to do things with her younger siblings. It was still a good cruise but just different than what she experienced in the past.

With 300+ days you are likely better to wait for a sale, US Thanksgiving comes to mind.

Welcome to the message boards! This is an awkward age for many things, including but not limited to cruising. I took my friend's daughter with me on Allure last year. She was 19 at that time. We've cruised together before several times but when she was younger. She is like a daughter to me and I've been in her life for it's entirety but it's been interesting. Just like my own children, things change at this age and they don't want to hang around us old folks or do the "kids" programs on board because... they aren't kids anymore. They are not kids and beside... they know more than us at this point. I get that. The challenge is one we all face as our kids grow up. When and how to let go but not let go so much. How to protect when they don't think they need protection but we know better. So, with much trepidation you let them explore more including more freedom on a cruise. Kids (ok not kids) have a way of finding each other at this age because they are all in the same boat (ship but let's not go there). That did happen and I put more than a few extra miles on my shoes keeping watch at a distance but in the end it all worked out. There were some events for this age group that I escorted her to but was not allowed to enter while keeping the requested distance away but they didn't meet the expectation so we moved on. I think it's different with girls but I shouldn't need to explain that here. Since, I have often wondered how she really felt about this experience. It came up in conversation last week and she talked about this cruise with enthusiasm. Perhaps she just wants to go on more cruises ?. I guess the point is, try to keep them engaged and involved to the extent that you know your son while not trying to be overt about it. You know him better than he does yet understand stuff is changing. Overall, follow your heart and let loose the reins a bit as you see fit, yet be prepared to be their safety net or comfort zone when required. This is a learning and growing phase for them too, even if they already know everything. Allure was a positive experience for us despite not having a structured program from the cruise line for this age group to depend on. I hope it matches that for your son.

Ended up getting the ultimate dining package for the three of us. Thanks for all the friendly advice. Ultimate dining package, soda and voom package and a bungalow on Labadee. Plus a day before and after in Miami. That's how you do March break.

Yikes ! Hoping you did not get sick. Nothing worse. Well, yes, there is something worse - being sick and NOT being on a cruise is worse.

Post cruise - we rented a car which was very convenient at the pier. We rented with Alamo - slight glitch with how much they charged - make sure that they charge the rate you got when you put in for the car! They straightened it out when I called them when we returned the car. If you plan to rent a car, do it before the cruise - there were no cars available if you didn't reserve one. We drove from Vancouver to Seattle - about 4 hours with customs and a stop for lunch in Bellingham. We stayed on the north side of Seattle (Shoreline) because I got a room with points at Holiday Inn Express. We went to the Space Needle and Chihuly Gardens and then took the monorail over to check out the the Public Market at Pike's. I had the biggest halibut fish & chips at Lowell's! We had a 3rd night to figure out where to go so we checked out Whidbey Island. We looked into Victoria but couldn't get reservations on the ferries so took a Ferry to Whidbey Island where we had a great breakfast in Langley before heading to the north end of the island - a beautiful drive! - where we stayed at the Wildwood Farm Bed & Breakfast. They have about 50 horses on the farm and offer horseback riding. I couldn't talk my wife into riding but I had a great time during my hour trail ride after a delicious breakfast. When I was finished we had time to get freshened up before getting in the car to head for the airport in Vancouver for our red-eye home. We stopped at the Granville Public Market in Vancouver for some shopping and lunch before heading to the airport. This was the best vacation we've ever had alone since it was the first vacation in 30 years without children! We love our kids but it was nice to have just the two of us for an extended period. We enjoyed it so much that we were going to book another Alaska cruise next summer and take a couple of the kids (17 & 20) but they have zero interest. Instead we booked a couple staterooms on the Brilliance at Christmas going to Cozumel and Grand Cayman (12/29-1/3). Thanks again to all those that provide such great information here so that it took away all the anxiety of a first cruise and helped us make the best of our time while on vacation. Happy Cruising! Ken

Day 6 - Ketchikan. We didn't have a lot of time in port so we took the duck boat ride around town and in the water in hopes of getting a good overview of Ketchikan. The duck boat was ok. I enjoyed it, my wife not so much. We had lunch at The Fish House before heading back to the ship. The halibut fish & ships were worth the wait. Back on board we caught the show which was really good - Chinese gent performing the act of face/mask changes followed by some magic and a balancing act which was really good. We had dinner at Cascades again that was really good.....

Day 3 - Juneau. Arrived in port on time. Weather weas overcast and a bit chilly. We dressed in layers for our excursion for got whale watching and Mendenhall glacier (see initial post for exact excursion). We boarded the bus at the pier for a short ride (15-20 mins) to the dock where the whale watching boat was. Driver provided lots of info about Juneau and had to throw in the Sarah Palin line when we went past the the governor's mansion. (Must have heard that one a dozen times). Many bald eagles in the area and seen from the bus. Once on the boat it was a bit chilly as we stayed outside on the deck. We saw 3 different whales as well as sea lions, a sea otter, the Herbert glacier (my father-in-law's name!). Over all the boat ride was good although we only saw 1 whale "tale" and none jumping. From the pier dock we took the same bus over to Mendenhall glacier. it's about a 10-15 minute walk from the bus to the the viewing point for the glacier. Got some nice pictures and then my wife went to the visitor center while I walked the trail over to a beautiful waterfall. We got back to downtown Juneau around 2:30 and met up with my sister-in-law and her husband for crab legs at Tracy's. I also had the chowder and the root beer on tap, all of which was delicious. After lunch my brother-in-law were going to take the tram up to the top but it wasn't running :-(. Se we walked around Juneau before heading back to the ship and watched all the planes coming in and out between the cruise ships. One in particular looked like he was playing "chicken" with the Explorer of the Seas as it was headed right for it at take off and banked right before reaching the ship. We had dinner at the Windjammer this night - not bad - and then went to the show with the Radiance of the Seas dancers which was good. Whale watching boat from back of upper deck enclosed. There was a 3rd completely open deck. That's not me in the picture Whale fins. I missed the tale. Should have videoed! Herbert Glacier Seal Lions on the bouy that wouldn't let the pup up. Mendhenhall glacier and waterfall Biggest crab legs we've ever seen at Tracy's Explorer of the Seas next to us in Juneau!

Terrible. Hopefully Royal will cancel this excursion and stop using this tour operator. Even if the husband went without being given the instruction to, that possibility shouldn't be allowed to occur and that is the zip line operator's error.

In one of the articles yes , Not sure how they can blame them , the operators are the one that tells you when to start, they are the one that suppose to know if the line is clear or not , very strange , but I guess they are trying to protect the tourism in the Island, very wrong way of doing so if you ask me

All cruise planner sale stop approximately 3 days before your cruise. If you log into your cruise planner it actually tells you this on the page. Here is an example for a July 30th sailing. It's well known and been like that for a while.

If so I bet no one was complaining about long lines.