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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. ?

YIPPEE !!! That's great news ! I thought it SHOULD work but hadn't actually tried to do it yet. Doin' the happy dance !!

This probably isn't what you are referring to, but this is on my Cruise Planner for a sailing on Allure and it would shock me if this wasn't held in Vintages.

Funny you mention this. Someone recently posted that they saw an offering akin to Chef's Table, but held in Vintages. Can't remember who or what ship, or even what to search for to find it. I think it was four courses instead of the five offered at CT, but otherwise the same concept of a meal focused on wine pairings. So maybe Royal is trying to find new uses for the space, rather than scrapping it like they've done on some of the newer ships. And I may be an outlier, but I actually like sipping a glass of wine while sitting and chatting with friends or family. Do that all the time at holiday gatherings and such. If my wife drank wine, or I was cruising with friends or family who do, I could see being there a lot in the evenings. Especially if they added some live music of a quieter nature so we could have conversations without shouting. (I'm looking at you, Schooner Bar on Anthem!! Why do you have a piano and its singer's mic amped as loudly as a lead electric guitar?!?)

Really stupid. How about the kids watch his stupid video and decide to do it? I hope Royal find some way to take legal action on this man. ?

5 new islands? I guess thats where my blackjack "investment" is going. eric reeves

I Was On My Last Cruise And Was Talking To Some Who Is Big In The Industry And He Said With More Ships The Cheaper The Cost Of Going On A Cruise.

Thank you all so much!!! I haven't had the chance to read through yet, but wanted to say thanks for being so welcoming!! Looking forward to learning all about royal and planning our vacation ?

Just an update on this. I received an email today that our reservation for The Fine Line on Super Bowl Sunday has been moved to night 4 so that they can show the Super Bowl in the Aqua Theatre. We plan to rebook the show for an earlier showing in case it gets cancelled due to weather.

In the 70’s, the hot place for spring break during high school and college in the Atlanta area was Daytona Beach, FL. Almost every year there was someone who died from trying to cross from one balcony to another (as with the 16yo boy that just lost his life doing this on a RCL ship). I think at that age it just doesn’t occur to you that you can die, they feel invincible. Such a sad ending and such a horror for his family.

Love This Blog @FlowBro Ty. Cant Wait To See You On Harmony

Nice job! Love Majesty!

After Shopping We Went To The Schooner Bar.

Day Three Cozumel I Got Up And Went To The Windjammer For Breakfast Then Took This Great Photo. Then We Went And Got Of The Boat. To Go Shopping.

Room Tour Ocean View Cabin #3086 The Bathroom The Smallest TV At Sea The Bed.

-Day One - Port Everglades Went To Denny's For Breakfast The Did The Three Hour Drive To The Port. Got To The Port Around Twelve And Board The Boat By Twelve forty-five. Then We Went To The Windjammer. Boy It Was Packed. For Lunch I Had A Hamburgers With Chesses.

Call me weird....but I don't like the look of some ultra modern NYC fufu hotel for a cruise suite. ?

One thing to do right now if you haven't already is check into getting a travel agent. Even if you booked your cruise directly with RC, if it's been less than (I believe 60) days, you can still have your trip assigned to the TA so you'll have a knowledgeable planning partner at no cost to you. A lot of us on this site use MEI Travel, and you can reach out to them for an agent. Also start doing research on your ports of call to get an idea of what activities you might like to do for shore excursions. Some islands have better beaches than others, some are good for self-exploring, where others are advised to stick with something more organized, etc. You might see some excursions already available for booking in your cruise planner, but others will definitely be added later, so you can keep checking back for more options. Don't be afraid of independent excursion operators either - just do your homework to make sure they're reputable and offers refunds if your ship docks late or has to route to another island, things like that. In my experience, RC seems to offer the best discounts overall on Black Friday, so definitely watch for those and reprice any purchases you've already made that are cheaper then. Have fun!!!!

We don't mind driving if we had the time but it adds 4-6 days of PTO, which we can't always get approved.

According to "my bartender": - mandatory tips (famous 18%) are shared among entire food and bar division - cash tips (in the jar) are shared among particular bar stuff - additional tip on the receipt goes directly to the person who serves you

No, No, unless you have an international plan on your cell you should place your phone in airplane mode. VOOM is a WIFI service not cellular and airplane mode shuts off your cellular service so you don't receive roaming charges. You can communicate with your parents using a messenger service like whatsapp if they have a device with the app installed. Whatsapp allows you to text, call and video chat with others, I hope this helps.

The end of a cruise is just the start of a new countdown -- 101 Days till Brilliance. See what I did there?