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This has been my night at work. Nothing like using company time, company equipment, and company ink to get ready.

-Day Five Morning- Today I Got Up And Went To The Windjammer And Saw This. A Waterspout

Hi there, @A_perfect_Storm, welcome to the message boards! I'm not aware of any specific planning timelines like you mention, but here are some general guidelines I think work for any cruise. I'm sure I've missed some things, others here will fill in the gaps Starting right now Think about making monthly payments towards your cruise balance; this is a great way to spread out the cost over as much time as possible Put a reminder in your calendar for 3 days ahead of your final payment date, and make sure the cruise is paid off then -- if you miss final payment, you lose your cruise! No backsies, no mulligans, no second chances! About 12 months before sailing -- start checking your Cruise Planner for any items you may be interested in purchasing, like shore excursions, internet packages, beverage packages (alcoholic or non), specialty dining, etc. @Matt, who runs the site, is very good about posting in the main blog when new sales start in the Cruise Planner; you can re-check for things each time a new sale / promotion is announced Try to space out your purchases, to spread out the payments and avoid having a painful credit card bill in any one month Know that you can always cancel something you bought, and then re-purchase it, if you find later on that the price has dropped 8-9 months before sailing -- check your passports and make sure they will still be valid for at least 6 months after your cruise ends; if not, get them renewed now so they're in effect for about 6 months prior to sailing Also apply for passports for any family members who don't yet have them; while you can sail with just a drivers license and birth certificate, having a passport is generally better 90 days before sail date You had that reminder fire off and you took care of final payment, right? If not, do it on this day or lose your cruise! Do your online checkin and complete all forms, print your set sail pass 45 days before sail date -- start checking for your eDocuments on the web site (available under the View More Details link for your sailing after you log in) When you have your documents, you can also print your luggage tags 1 week before sail date Get all documents and papers together; passports, set sail passes, luggage tags, etc. If you haven't yet, put a travel alert on all credit cards you expect to use abroad 2+ days before sail date -- get cash for tips and other small expenses, souvenirs if you don't want to use your credit card, etc. 1+ day before sail date -- fly down to the port; never do this the day you sail away!! Hope this helps! The next year and two months is going to be a blast as you prepare and plan and eagerly await your vacation!

It tells me you ought to read that cruise contract you agreed to when booking a cruise. You agreed by booking the cruise that RC is under no obligation to actually go to any of the ports advertised. I get that you're upset your cruise isn't going to CocoCay, but unfortunately things happen. Sometimes rides at Disney World have to close due to maintenance or the Space Needle is not open to guests due to a private event, refurbishment, etc. Nature of travel sometimes. But it's not a deliberate plot to fool guests into booking a vacation under false pretenses.

Good man, do this myself and then... "borrow" a document folder so I have all my hard copies together, in order and right where I can grab them when I need them. I'm a delight to travel with lol

This cruise addiction is bad isn’t it? I know that the closer that I get to my cruise the more useless I become at work. I’m just glad that the firewall at my jobs allow this website as well as RCCL through otherwise I’d be in trouble!!??

Actually, for a "modest" investment in RCI you get to name one of the new islands. Sorry, I can't divulge that amount nor the name of the island I came up with.

Did a little picture taking on the boardwalk before it was time to get ready for dinner. This I think is one of the best views on the ship I kept saying I wanted to ride the carousel and never did. I’m just a kid at heart Johnny Rockets If you need a sugar rush, this place will take care of it for you We were going to zip line, but never got around to it before our zip line excursion in St Thomas. After that it seemed a little less exciting Playmakers was packed for the football games. Other than that it seemed like you could get a seat there whenever you wanted. I was going to try it for lunch one day, but never got around to it. Dinner tonight was also in the solarium. We weren’t overly impressed with the main dining room the first couple of nights so we decided to try something different. Most of our group really enjoyed the dinner here. For me it wasn’t really my thing. The food was fine, I’m just more of a meat and potatoes kind of a guy. After dinner we had reservations for Hiro. I was a little nervous about the show being cancelled as throughout the day we had some motion on the ship. After all the shows being cancelled on Harmony last year I really wanted to see this. It didn’t get cancelled and I thought the show was awesome. I didn’t get very many good pictures, but here are a few

Day 3 continued: not sure how some of those last photos got on there, sorry about that. Just my uncle and I went on the tour so after that we met up with the rest of the family. For lunch this day we decided to eat in the Solarium. This was the first time eating in the Solarium on either of my cruises and have to say it was really good. While the choices weren’t as expansive as the buffet, I thought the food was pretty good. It was a pretty nice day out so it became a lay out by the pool and spend some time on the flowrider kind of day. Not sure what’s going on here: Last year wife tried the stand up flowrider and failed miserably. This year she decided to try the kneeboarding Not sure if this video will work, but if it does feel free to laugh. It’s my wife and I laughed so it’s ok. Lol. And if not, you will notice there are no pictures of her actually on her knees on the flowrider so she failed at this as well. F0834FAC-26FD-436E-9849-A7E323AC8C9E.MOV

Hubby got me in here ? I would say we are both a bit cruise obsessed. Obviously I haven't posted/commented much yet --

A few extra details possibly not heard before: http://www.travelweekly.co.uk/articles/321371/royal-caribbean-to-open-five-private-islands Royal Caribbean International will open five ‘Perfect Day’ private islands over the next five years and has revealed that its yet-to-be-named ‘Spectrum 2’ ship will sail in Europe. The line will open ‘Perfect Day at CocoCay’ in the Bahamas in May. It will be followed by private islands in Asia, for the Chinese market, one off the coast of Australia and another in the Caribbean. Speaking at a Travel Weekly Executive Lunch, the line’s president and chief executive, Michael Bayley, said: “We have been busy acquiring land around the world and each one will have a slightly different concept, depending on what each market’s idea of a perfect day is.” Ten Royal Caribbean ships will feature CocoCay in itineraries this year, and in 2020 ships will stay later into the evenings. In 2021, vessels will stay overnight. Royal Caribbean is also building “limited overnight accommodation” on the island, which will offer “a suite-class experience”. A pier that can accommodate two ships, including one Oasis-class vessel, is being constructed. “You could go on one ship, spend a few days at CocoCay and get back on another ship,” said Bayley. Royal is preparing to launch Spectrum of the Seas, its first Quantum Ultra-class vessel, in Shanghai in April. Bayley hinted that the second Quantum Ultra-class vessel, currently known as ‘Spectrum 2’, will sail out of Barcelona after its launch in autumn 2020 and will visit the UK. Royal is poised to announce a major investment in port infrastructure in Barcelona. Bayley confirmed Royal was likely to exercise five options for new-builds it has registered with shipyards. This would be in addition to five ship orders set to be delivered in the next five years.

Just wait until it's your turn to pay for the next wall.

Without getting into a greater discussion of the business practices of Park West, I'd say it should be a very low priority to do. Personally, I would not waste my time.

With this many ships on order, I feel it is inevitable that the smaller ships will be sold to another line (or possibly they create their own separate line for small ships). The Royal brand will be all mega ships sailing to their own destinations and the few places that where these ships can dock.

Ah-ha! There's your answer @twangster, it's @Lovetocruise2002 fault!

Just saw this posted over on CC as well....doesn't surprise me at all. But what does surprise me is the amount of money this must cost and how much higher cruises fares will have to go to finance all this. I like the idea of switching ships in some cases..but that sounds like it will be only for the suite guests which wont include me. And up to 10 more ships to be ordered??! I don't think that kinda demand is there...especially when all the cruise lines are building these massive ships. I still say that at some point all this spending and increase capacity is going to come back to bite Royal. Everything goes in cycles and when it turns back down, that's a lot of islands and boats to pay for.....

Here You Go @Twangster Fan.

The first few pictures look like daycare for older kids. . . No sharp edges, just alcohol and showers. . . hmmmm

Getting the itch to add #8 now, trying to restrain myself. And nevermind being productive after the cruise, try the last week before. Got 4 days to go, at work now, and all I'm doing is sitting at the desk, looking at the cruise schedule. Spent the last few work nights sitting at the desk browsing excursions for what I already have booked.

Spending time with your grandparents is very special.

That is great if I can book and cancel later on (if needed) ! Very helpful infos I am geting from you people !

Well I went from not cruising for 8 years Jan 2011 to booking a cruise in Dec for Jan 2019. Than I put a deposit down on 1/9 for a cruise in Aug 2019 & today I put a deposit down for one in Feb 2020. My wife asked was I getting carried away all of the sudden LOL but she didn't say no. Upcoming cruises Allure 1/27/2019 Ovation 8/9/2019 Adventure 2/1/2020 Guess I'll just work on planning excursions ect.. for the last 2 & hold off booking anything else for now. Thanks to Michelle - MEI Travel.

For us, we have always found our pins waiting in our stateroom when we arrive. We never got platinum pins but the emerald and diamond were waiting for us in little plastic bags attached to a congratulations note from the Loyalty Ambassador on 1st cruise after obtaining the required points.

Day Three Costa Maya After Breakfast In The Windjammer We Got Off To Go Shopping. This Was There Frist Time In Costa Maya And My Second Time. Today We Where The Only Ship In Port.

After Muster I Went To The Centrum To Hear Some Music. The Music Was Prerecorded

@Matt See My Grandma Supports The Blog.

Pool Deck Tour.

Maybe, but you're the one with a cruise plan for 2019 that rivals what @twangster usually has lined up. ?

Best to visit the casino host on the last evening of your sailing to get your cruise certificates based on your play.

I won this on the pennies machine.

That's the only silver lining for me!...when the CAD is about 40% less than the USD..its making cruising very expensive for us Canuks.,....drink package alone for a cruise is almost $1400 for the 2 of us...

Judging by his comments I suspect he has advanced to at least an age 21 mentality through this life lesson.

Saw it. No words. #timetogrowup

FloBro Ty Thanks for the review we sail on her in April. What pier/terminal does Majesty sail from in Port Everglades?

Really?....I don't see that making sense at all...unless demand drops and they cant fill the ships. That being said, I am ok if they want to drop the prices of the cruise and charge more for the add-ons...as long as if you don't pay extra for the add ons you aren't treated and feel like a 2nd class citizen while cruising.....we are heading back to Titanic days if that happens.

My sister works for US customs and she said I could bring back as much vanilla as I wanted.

We did the Northbound Radiance and 3 night cruise tour at the end and we did Denali. The cruise tour thru Royal Caribbean was awesome. It was a perfect ending to a perfect Bucket List vacation. They have longer cruise tours if you can stay longer.

@FlowBro Ty Can You Take Some pictures of the Windjammer and Johnny Rockets

54 weeks. Luxury! I've got a bit less than 81 weeks until the cruise I booked this past Monday!

Never cruised until after I turned 57 and only when suggested by my in-laws. We did Alaska in June and subsequently booked Caribbean a couple weeks ago, Bahamas in March and Bermuda in July. A couple moths ago my spouse said "No more!". After a visit with my father in Florida after the Caribbean cruise we showed my father pictures of our Alaska. He was stationed at Ft. Richardson in Anchorage in 1959-60. After seeing the pictures it was my wife who told me to look into 2020 return to Alaska!

I absolutely agree with this one (as well as all of @JLMoran suggestions he mentioned). This is an often missed step and there's nothing worse than being on vacation out of the country and needing to use your credit card only to find it has been temporarily blocked for "suspicious activity" . Seems to be common practice for most of the larger CC companies and/or bank cards to flag sudden overseas activity as suspect.

Day 3- Sea Day Had to get up early today as had the all access ship tour at 8am. Had a quick stop for breakfast in the windjammer. Saw this cool picture of a watermelon carved with good morning. Tatiana was our tour guide and she was awesome. She joked around quite a bit, but was also very informative and answered lots of questions. The tour started in the kitchen galley where they make all the soups and appetizers. We then headed to the engine room. The chief engineer was pretty entertaining. Someone asked him what his biggest fear was and he said having to do all access tours lol. We then headed to the galley where all the food is stored. It was massive. They have 19 different coolers or freezers for items. I asked about how much their weekly food bill was and he said over $600K. Me being in the restaurant business this part of the tour was interesting. They took us into where they store all the alcohol as well. They said that wasn’t usually included but we were special. Who knows if that was true or not. Was interesting to know that Corona is the most popular beer. Guess everyone gets into that Caribbean mode. After that it was to the garbage area. It was neat to hear about how they separated everything and what they did with it, but boy did it smell bad. They truly waste nothing. All the food that isn’t eaten gets ground up really fine and dumped to feed the fish. Then it was on to laundry. Probably the coolest part here was seeing the massive machine that dries, irons, and folds everything. Everyone needs one of them at home. Then it was on to the bridge. While it was neat to be up there and see the view, I was a little disappointed the captain wasn’t there to talk to us. a video was playing of the ship being built. I’m not sure why but they wouldn’t let me drive the ship Captain Rob and Captain Rick. We had Captain Rick. all the plaques from the different ports symphony has been to the lookout is looking the wrong direction. Luckily we are in the Caribbean so no icebergs!

Be sure to check to make sure your travel agent doesn't charge you. While possibly not the majority, some agents/agencies DO charge a service fee (I got stuck with a $100 service fee for booking my cruise with a local travel agent - she offered last week to book my flight for another $50 service fee - needless to say I've booked my next cruise with an MEI agent).

Yep, this website is DANGEROUS for the wallet. I went 17 years since my last cruise (I was 14) and found these boards and the podcast when I was researching for a May 2019 cruise. Suddenly I also had a November 2018 one booked as well as May 2020, Jan 2021 and Michelle at MEI is going to price out a November 2019 for me tonight or tomorrow. My M.O. is pausing the podcast in the middle of an episode to call my mom and go “.......so I was having some thinky thoughts. What are your feelings on a cruise for X?” My parents love that I plan everything out and reprice regularly which has saved us hundreds and I love that doing so makes me all the more excited and connected with the trip. Works out well for everyone! Now I just have to convince my brother to join us one of these times.....

It can be addicting. I cruised in late august for the first time in 18 yrs. Then cruised again in Dec And now am cruising again in April

I have cruised with Royal Caribbean 4 times and I booked on the phone with a royal Caribbean representative 3 times and 1 time online and I have always received the confirmation email along with the confirmation page and request pdf email page for all 4 of my past cruises. I even have 3 future cruises which I had booked 2 of my future cruises over the phone with a royal Caribbean representative and booked the third one on the royal Caribbean website and I even received a confirmation booking email with the confirmation page email pdf’s for all 3 of my future cruises soon after I had paid the deposit for each of my future cruises. If you would like a confirmation pdf receipt emailed to you then call Royal Caribbean and give them your reservation number (if you wrote it down) or if you did not write down your reservation number you can also tell them with your name, sail date and ship name so that they can lookup your cruise and tell them that you did not receive an invoice when you booked your cruise, and request that they email you a copy of that cruise’s invoice so that you have it for your records that the cruise has been paid booked and the remaining balance has been paid (if your cruise has been paid in full).

Full disclosure - I used to work in the restaurant biz and as such have a soft spot in my heart for waitstaff, or anyone that has to deal with feeding or cleaning up after the general public. So I tend to tip well. I will prepay, but still toss a dollar or two at the bartenders for my drinks as well as tip the room attendant (and concierge if in a suite) at the end of the cruise. I'm not convinced they see all that prepaid gratuity money, and the few extra bucks isn't enough to break my vacation and I feel it's noticed and appreciated. If I had a bartender or attendant that didn't seem to care much, I probably wouldn't tip them any extra, but I haven't run into that situation. I spoke to a bartender about it last week on Rhapsody. He told me that they see money from the prepaid gratuities but didn't go into detail and I didn't press. He said there are a few that don't tip at all so they notice and appreciate it no matter how the tips are covered. I did notice that my drinks got progressively more and more pale as the days wore on. My Cape Codders were barely pink by day 5 ? So to quote others, if you've prepaid, you're good and don't need to tip any extra. If you tip over and above, you'll probably be drunk by noon.

We need to form a winter need a cruise support group. The snow was pretty today but only because I have a cruise in March to look forward to! Jane

On our July 2 cruise on Mariner of the Seas, the executive chef came around and asked everyone how the food was. My son Brandon who is 13 said his steak was great but wanted to know when he could have a quesadilla. The chef told him it wasn’t going to be on the cruise menu and I thought saw son get very sad. Then the chef said just tell your waiter tomorrow “Chef McDonald” said I could have a quesadilla and we will make you one. It was awesome.