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As mom always said when we were young be careful who you hang out with. Hanging out on the messag boards with Matt “Yolo Book It” Hochberg, Mrs Star Class @Lovetocruise2002, and “Upgrade Math” @WAAAYTOOO has led us to our first Star Class booking. We decided to go from our Grand Suite Up to the Aqua Theatre 2 bedroom November 2020 on Oasis. We’ll be bringing around my brother in law, his wife and their 2 kids. They better not decide to discontinue the Royal Genie program between now and then. #YoloBookIt

Hello Fellow Cruise Lovers out there. My wife and I went on a vacation of a lifetime and got a spectacular rate on the Liberty of the Seas Royal Suite #1640. Since we were with a group of our friends, we decided to go all around the ship and in our cabin and shot a music video. I hope you enjoy. If you have any questions about the experience or anything Royal Suite, I am happy to answer them. Cheers! YOLObookIT

Indeed. I first saw it as a kid and later took my own kids. Just unbelievable. As simple as it may be, Alaska is a destination I kept on putting off. Sun in the Caribbean seemed better than jackets in the North. When I finally said YOLO and booked it, after my trip I asked myself why? Why did I wait so long to visit Alaska?

Just got done dining at Eden Restaurant. Was a very interesting meal to say the least, in a good way. Eden Restaurant is located on the lower level of Eden. Access is via set of stairs from deck 5. Note there is a wheelchair lift for those that might need it. When being seated you'll pass by the open kitchen and offered a welcome beverage. The menu is divided into five courses, each course having two options. After ordering you're brought a small little taster. Appetizers Raindrops Descending Frost First Entree Blue Velvet During the meal are small little acts performed by the Edenist --Note, the pictures showing the acts are not in any proper order or within the proper course timeline.-- Second Entree Tidal Pool Cove Another random performance Also if you want to have a perforer get a bit more closer and personal with you they can be summed. Just hold the summoning stone and make eye contact. Yes, that is a real candle Third Entree Life After Death (Sorry about not having a picture perfect plating. The beef had been a touch under cooked and was "attacked" before the shot could be taken.) Mangalitsa Yet another performance Dessert time Looking Glass Forbidden Fruit In addition you also get Eden Restaurant's rendition of The Globe Overall if you like Wonderland give Eden Restaurant a try. Keep in mind the menu does seem a bit seafood heavy. So if you're not a big fan, might want to pass. Now me personally, I could go for another few rounds of the Descending Frost and maybe another Cove. Side note: Pleasant having a dining package and not being presented a receipt at the end of the meal. I'm sure if one desired to leave extra gratuity they could request one. Overall, have yet to get one with any beverage package purchase. --Note: At ~10:30 EDT this post was edited enhanced/edited pictures--

I went to Europe for the very first time last summer and the first thing I saw when I climbed out of the metro was Notre Dame. We sat at a cafe across the seine from the spire with our best friends and drank wine while waiting to climb to the top. We spent hours exploring the beautiful chapels inside. I’m heartbroken at the loss today of so much beauty and history. It took me 50 years to get to my bucket list trip to Paris and I’m so thankful we got to see this beautiful church. I laugh about the yolo trips but truly thankful for the ability to travel. We will be in debt but life is short! What places are you all so glad you yolo booked and saw it? Jane

My rule is half a normal suitcase for me, the other half for my daughter who is 5. My wife will have a full suitcase for all her crap (I have learned not to question anything she packs). I just make sure it weighs under the airline limit. We will each have a carry on In case luggage is lost.

Need I post more...

I'm going to Alaska, why push Perfect Day Coco Cay excursions on me in Alaska? I'm going to Hawaii. No where close to Coco Cay: I understand that nothing else but Perfect Day matters to Royal Caribbean, or is that "Perfect Day Royal Caribbean"? Next ship... "Perfect Day of the Seas"! I was looking forward to Ovation of the Seas but not sure how I'll feel sailing the newly named "Perfect Day Ovation" Will Michael Bayley rename himself to "Perfect Day Bayley"? Perhaps the Key should be renamed "Perfect Day Key". Should I get the Unlimited Dining Plan or wait for the "Perfect Day Unlimited Dining Plan"? Enough Perfect Day! Seriously thinking about cancelling my 3/4 night B2B on Navigator to Bahamas. Or should I say the "Perfect Day Bahamas". /rantover

Glad To Have Both Of You Along For The Trip!

Not “mean”. Just “truth”. ?

Day 3 My daughter went to part of both AO sessions and loved it. Yesterday after lunch we watched the sexiest man contest at the pool so today after lunch my daughter wanted to run down to the pool to see if there was another contest. I was about to tell her there wasn’t but it turns out there was a belly flop contest. We sat on the edge of the pool and cheered people on. After that it was adventure ocean time and then finally relax time for an hour. At 4 we picked Delilah back up and went To use the private key hour to climb the rock wall. My daughter was the only one that wanted to try it and she got really high. She was too scared to come down though so the guy had to go up and get her to come down. She was too scared to just let go. We spent a lot of time walking from place to place. AO is on one end of the ship and food is on the other. We also spent a lot of time waiting at elevators. My husband discovered that there was no 13th floor so that helped the elevator waits. We’re on 12, AO is on 14, we just walk there now. We saw hairspray at night, it was amazing, my favorite show so far.

I'm on Ovation May 13 for her first trip to Alaska. Keep an eye in the live blog section on these message boards as we get closer.

Let me pose an alternative thought for you. One of the reasons we love to cruise is we feel like it is the one vacation we can over pack. We start with if we are flying to the port then the restriction is really just what airline we're on and it's baggage costs. We enjoy unpacking one time when we fist get our room. Then changing depending on the activities and ports from there on out. We consider the evenings our date nights so we probably dress up a little more than we would normally do. So yes we over pack but we think that is part of the fun. Enjoy your cruise. There is no right or wrong answer as long as you have fun.

For anyone's first cruise it's hard NOT to overpack. Fifty cruises later and I still pack things I never wear, just fewer of them. In some ways packing for a European land vacation where you'll ride trains and use taxis can be harder to pack for. Several big suitcases for a family and it will take two elevator rides at many hotels. As long as your luggage is within weight limits for your airline don't put too much energy into thinking about. Enjoy your cruise!

This is pretty much the same way I pack, I wear slack and shirts multiple times to cut down on what is needed. As stated, if something were to get dirty or a stain, we will use the laundry service.

I've figured out that shoes are a menace. They're heavy and difficult to pack. I've been able to reduce my footwear to one pair dress shoes that will work with suits and slacks for dinner. A pair of tennis shoes, and a pair of sandals. I wear Chaco sandals which can be used at the beach or walking around just as well. For 7 nights I'll bring my suit or a jacket for formal nights, two pair of pants, and 5 shirts. If I wear a shirt with a suit/jacket then I figure it's clean enough to wear again. Shorts/tees/swimsuits are all small and easy to pack so I don't worry about over packing on them much. We'll also use the bag-of-laundry deal on day 4 or 5 if needed for tees and socks and what-not.

"Hi, were checking into Hotel Cadiz, we have a reservation. I know we are early but wanted to see if it's possible our room might be ready?"

You mean you’ll “Sea” yourself out

More like Pier Pressure ? ........ I'll see myself out

I gamble a lot and have never received a free cruise. Guess I better move up to the nickle slots! ??

Agreed.

He's young - might still happen in his lifetime - just remind him to not hold his breath.

We cruise June 9th. I really hope this doesn't cause any issues. This is our first cruise and I've pretty much been counting the seconds since I booked it over a year ago. 54 days to go!!!

I’ve been really thinking Alaska looks so amazing and I keep grabbing the Caribbean because I freeze all winter. I will have to remember this! Especially with the glaciers melting..... of course then I started thinking about Iceland and Russian cruises.....arghhh...so many places! Jane

It won't cause motion. That's the luck of sea swell. One azipod can't run at full speed. That takes a few knots off her top speed. It should have no other effect in terms rocking or motion, simply slowing her down a bit.

Can anyone do this? I’m also sick to death of the perfect day tv commercials! Pleeeaaase stop lol!! Jane

I’ve never had a bad Genie. They are all very good at their jobs. You will love it !

Two out of three isn't bad...

Sorry, but I think that thing is hideous. I don't use any of them so it's no problem for me but....really ? UGH

Thank you both. @Matt love the podcast also! I've found a wealth of information. I wish I had found this site before my first cruise. I'm definitely going to be posting a review after I get back!

Solarium at night Nice being trusted with towels and not worrying about being possibility of being charge $25 for one...

Yeah, but great turnaround after the Blues Entered the January game with the Caps dead last in the league in points.

... and we're on the sailing after you!

On Ovation Pixels is the only bookable show. It does not have a broadway show like Oasis or Freedom class. All main theater entertainment will be first come, first seated.

Nothing about Royal's "point system" makes much sense lol but, thank you for the tip. I am going to try this and see if it helps me gain points.. Really I just want to make sure I get another 2,500 points to keep my status and after that I don't care as much.

Alaska was our first big bucket list check off and #2 is our trip upcoming (January 2020) to Iceland for the Northern Lights tour.

On Rhapsody the difference in benefits is simply not worth $1,100 per person in my opinion. Put that money into awesome excursions and really enjoy your cruise.

Looks like they might be ready: https://www.instagram.com/p/BwUWv5fikp4/?utm_source=ig_share_sheet&igshid=16dqu7wjih5l3

I took your suggestion and checked a couple of compasses. It seems to be 5pm on all the ones I saw. Thank again

The beauty of having a travel agent gets us an extra $50 O.B.C. and a bottle of wine and a specialty dinner. All of that is in addition to R.C. on board credit. If you don`t have a T.A. then get one. No cost to you. And a good T.A. at a reputable company is so beneficial. If you booked thru royal just get a T.A. and transfer the reservation over.

I also found this on "the other" site: https://www.cruisecritic.com/ports/newport.cfm?ID=474

Assuming you still have to handle your luggage at the airport, the first thing you want to do when you get there is to run it through the agricultural scanners immediately to the right and left of the doors where you enter the airport. Lots of people skip this, and then are turned back when they try to check in. They'll put little stickers on your luggage to indicate they've been scanned.

Please blog the Vancouver to Hawaii cruise. I am looking at that cruise as one of my retirement cruises.

So today we explored the ship. We ate breakfast at the windjammer and then took my daughter to adventure ocean. She is not always the most well behaved, especially when there are lots of kids and things don’t go the way she wants. We got a phone for from them when we dropped her off in case they needed to call us, or she wanted to leave. I’m very happy to report she loved it and wanted to go back for every session. When I picked her up I didn’t hear 1 bad thing. They must have amazingly fun stuff and very patient staff!! We saw Hiro tonight, I can’t believe what they can do in such a small space. The show started at 8:30 and we got there at 8. I was worried when I saw the long line but when I got in they said the key people could sit in any of 4 rows, and they were the best seats. We must have been one of the first key people in because we sat right in the center and most of the 4 rows they told us to sit in we’re empty. They took formal Picts of us but I think we get them at the end. I asked a table mate to take a pict but it came out a little blurry. After dinner and the show we played the game Majority Rules and my daughter won a key chain because they thought her answer was cute. They question was if you were on a sinking ship and could only take one thing what would it be? The 2 answers that tied for majority winners were phone and life jacket, her answer was “teddy”. After the game my daughter made a drink at the bionic bar and we went back to the room. We’ve had a great time so far. I do have 3 little things that could be better. First, we didn’t get the flyer on how to get onto the internet until after dinner. I went down right after we got unpacked in our room but guest services was closed for the muster drill. Luckily a guy down in the lobby told me how because when guest services opened the line was long. Second, we got 3 cups in our room for the refreshment package and they were all the same color. Come on, with 3 people in a room why not give them 3 diff colors. My last issue is we have a horrible view at our table in the main dining room. After eating at the windjammer watching the waves out the window at lunch, i’m staring at a lifeboat at dinner. These are not giant issues, and they first 2 are easy fixes that seem just like poor planning.

Thank you! I didn't check today... just cancelled and re-purchased online... so did the couple we're traveling with... I'm not ashamed of taking another $16.52 off my bill! ? Cross your fingers it drops a little more!

So true!! I never get to dress up anymore. Nowadays I'm either covered in my kids' snot or milk, or food splatter from cooking. Alright, I'm gonna fancy it up like no one's business.

When I am cruising there are cruises where I do not go into the MDR at all. I do apply gratuities in advance to my reservation, but if I dont go to the dining room, I have them adjust where those gratuities are going to. I have elected for the MDR portion to go to the stateroom attendant, or a team of bartenders if I hung out in one bar more than the other. I do not mind tipping people at all with extra tips and love to give cash to them, but I do not like to tip for services I did not use.

Yes - it was around Sept/Oct 17 the azipod issue started, and it went in to dry dock in January 18 to fix the issue. We have her booked again this year in October and we're very much looking forward to it with how busy our schedules are lately, so reeeally hoping there's no impact. Also, hi everyone!

We're taking my 16yo DS and his best friend this summer and we told them about formal night and showed pictures of all different people from our past cruises, some super fancy, us just "dressed up" for "church"...some in formal formal attire, some in nice jeans...we're letting them choose how formal they want to be...they both said they'd like to get new "suits", to dress up.

Yes, you have to be a dedicated gambler BUT it does pay off...if you early the free certificates and are rated at least at the Prime level (a free cruise every year that you are eligible). As Traveler said, it's pretty straight forward for slots player but a little more difficult to quantify for table players (like we are). You just put your butt in a chair at a table and stay there for hours on end. Pretty easy ! LOL