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....or might act like a flame thrower and incinerate everyone within 25 feet ! Either way, it will be exciting !

If they really took surveys seriously they would have removed Nassau completely by now... :)

This January the night before my flight to Vision of the Seas my iPhone 7 Plus just died. One minute it was working, the next time I grabbed it it was dead. Too late to get it fixed I flew to NOLA without a working phone. Last year boarding Symphony I used my phone to check in but once the ship started boarding and they needed to scan it, the Royal app froze and crashed. I had a screen shot but it was buried in photos from a few weeks prior. It was easier to reach into my pocket for my paper copy which is what I boarded with. As a frequent flier I gave up using my phone as my boarding pass a long time ago. So many times a paper copy works out better, a lesson learned from that time the gate agent dropped my phone, or it wouldn't scan, or Apple's infinite wisdom that when you turn your phone over it should kill the screen, except you have to turn it over to scan it to board the plane. I use paper always now. Phone is a backup. It's safer and easier. Whether a plane or ship my paper boarding pass is always in my left pocket. Plus once I'm on board and want to buy a drink handing a paper setsail to a bartender is a lot better than handing over a $1,100 smart phone.

I don’t doubt that they believe this to be true but if IS true then Royal needs a new ratings strategy. Many people (myself included) rarely give a “perfect” score to anyone...b/c where do you go [up] from there ? That’s one reason I really dislike these kinds of surveys. If everyone is perfect (and NObody is) then there’s no need to ask and the surveys are a waste of time and resources.

I booked with Maya Chan already. They stated that they clean the beach each morning and if it really is that bad they will refund money spent to stay with them. That convinced me to at least try with them and see how it goes. I haven't heard that about Nachi Cocom. I don't know, see how things go. I think it would still be nice to get off the ship for the day. see-see what happens :) UPDATE: I shared this live blog with my wife and she sent me a message 3 minutes after I made this original post and said "That place looks amazeballs even with the seaweed" hahahaha! So I guess we are going

Royal's new policy is blackjack pays 3:2 on tables that are $15 a hand and higher.. Anything under $15 a hand pays 6:5.. Also on Holiday sailings they make the tables $25 and over for 3:2 which is annoying but as we know they make up the rules as they go along lol.

Spray it on in the smoking area on deck. Might help the aroma in the area.

Hi all, We are in the top 1% of the world's population that has a house, inside toilet, and enough disposible income to take a cruise. This is my mindset going on any holiday. Any problems we have are very minor first world issues. Firstly a bit of background. We were on a 2.5 week extended vacation visiting Boston, Cape Cod, Orlando then the cruise from Port Canaveral. Travellers were myself, my darling wife, sis in law, niece (16) who thinks she's 21 and son (14) who would prefer being on the PC than on vacation. We hired a car in Florida so got up late around 9am sunday went to IHop then drove the hour or so to the Port. Filled up with gas before hire car drop off. I dropped the car off first then arranged for my wife who has mobility issues to get a wheelchair then drove back to the car hire place. Point of note, the supervisors at the drop of point do not have a lot of patience for those lingering after bag drop but once I explained the situation with my wife they were ok. We were escorted through the process by the person wheeling the chair and we were on the ship after 15 minutes of checks and photos. Once we thanked the chair person we made a bee-line for the rising tide bar to sip our chocolate martini's until the cabins opened. (Time was around 12.30 so not long to wait.) We hired an electric chair for the duration of our cruise from special needs at sea. The process was painless and we thought it was good value at $185 for the week. It certainly afforded my wife much more freedom during our cruise. We even took it off ship for excursions. Day one evening was chaotic, we had to do windjammer as MDR mytime was just too long a line (stretched past the elevators) and we were peckish having not had lunch that day. We were enjoying the atmosphere and exploring the ship. We were going to turn in early as it was an 8am start in coco key. However due to a medical emergency we were back at Canaveral at 1am and so we didn't get to coco key until lunchtime which actually suited us as my wife isn't great in the morning. Coco Key was great, we hired the snorkels but at 47$ they were a lot more expensive than the 10$ we paid in Costa Maya and Cozumel. I wouldn't hire them again at the key as there isn't a whole lot to see but it was still fun. We ate the mozarella sticks and crispy chicken recommended by @Matt but didn't get the "secret sandwich" ? There was no shortage of chairs and my wife could easily take her chair to all places. There were even beach type chairs with big wheels available for free. Highly rate Coco Key for travellers with mobility problems 5* for RCI. That evening we choose to reserve the Bistro. I really enjoyed the entrees but the choice was too limited for some members of our party so we decided the next night to try for MDR. There was no shortage of food options on the ship anyway. ? The next day was a sea day and so relaxing on our balcony, this was our first balcony cabin and I would recommend it 100% it will be hard to go back to an inside. My niece met some friends the first night but my son didn't so he spent a lot of time in the cabin and hanging around with me which I really enjoyed we had some checkers games in the games room (Deck 14) and did the perfect storm slides together. We didn't do rockclimbing or bogeyboarding due to the 4 days at port we were off the ship alot. To be continued..... First sight of ship after hire car drop off at Alamo. First photo on Deck 16 Had to try the bridge glass walkway ? Isn't she a beut.... Courtesy Coco Cay photo lol I love this photo it's my fav. ? Back on the balcony about to go for early dinner. One of many fun checkers games. Final score that day 2-2 ? These biscuits are my fav.

Only if they schedule it for the Catalina wine mixer.

NEVER TRUST TECHNOLOGY, completely. Ive had too many phones go out for no reason to trust anything to JUST my phone. I use my phone for tickets to EVERYTHING, but still always have backup printed in my pocket. I have this ridiculous fear that on my way into an event, or getting on a plane, or something....THAT is the moment my phone will get stuck in a boot loop, or something.

I only do it for convenience. Last June, I printed my Set Sail Pass for a cruise on the Mariner. But I left it on the printer ?

This is exactly why I RARELY give 10's on ANY online surveys. No matter how good a product or service is, I say there is always room for improvement. It's not that I'm hard to please, it's just fact.

Really looking forward to our next Royal Caribbean cruise and first out of the US. February 2nd Feb 2020 - Harmony of the Seas

Just a couple of comments for this thread.... I'll start by clarifying that I have never worked for RCI, but I did work in the casino game for twenty years, with some of that time on another cruise line. Your buy in will make zero difference to your rating. Your win/loss will make zero difference to your rating. On table games, the only thing that counts is average bet and time played. Depending on how they actually work out the average bet, you should increase when you see the inspector or pit boss watching... that's if the figures are entered manually by the staff. In some cases, casinos base the rating on the table minimum you are playing, so playing $25 per hand on a $10 table will not earn you the same points as playing $25 per hand on a $25 table. I don't know if RC is one of those or not.

Received eDocs today after 2 calls to AARP, 1 to RCCL, and an email to RCCL. It seems that when you have included Air2Sea that those docs are not released outside of 30 days. Am happy now!!

They can scan it from your phone or your printout. I carry a paper copy just for my own reference in case my phone croaks. Even if you show up without a paper copy or an electronic pass on your phone, you'll just present your ID at check-in and they'll just look you up and you'll be on your way.

Ssssshh Don’t be giving away info on Blanton... its nasty..don’t buy any!

We're back and I have pictures uploaded to my computer. I'll be sorting through them and posting over the next few days. Here's the rest of our cabin and balcony. The master bath was the same as a Jr. Suite bathroom. We loved the space and separation of the living room, and two full bathrooms made getting ready for dinner pretty quick. The balcony was amazing, my kids even had room to practice their tae kwon do forms out there. It would have easily fit two more loungers. The view wasn't too shabby either. We really enjoyed this room. We have the same category booked for our February sailing on Enchantment, and we booked the exact same cabin while onboard for Liberty again in November, 2020.

So, a while ago, while roaming the internet, I stumbled across this awesome list of which activities were on which ships throughout the Royal Caribbean fleet. It was perfect! Maybe I lost it, maybe it was taken down, but I couldn't find it any longer. So I set out to make my own. After going through every deck of every Royal Caribbean ship's deck plans, I noted everything I could find onboard. Bars, dining, entertainment, I listed it all. Here is the result: View in full screen I find it incredibly useful and I thought that I'd put it here because you all might like to use it too. I hope you enjoy and let me know what you think. Disclaimers: This is my own creation and all information used is from https://www.royalcaribbean.com/cruise-ships/deck-plans (unless otherwise referenced) Therefore, there may be certain inaccuracies because of either certain things missing on the deck plans, or me missing something out If this is the case, please feel free to let me know and I will update it to reflect these. As said, I have not been on all these ships so do not have first hand experience for all these venues and activities, so please do let me know of any errors I may have made. It is quite large so it may take a moment to load, and you will need to zoom out. I intend to update it as new ships debut, or as ships get refurbished/amplified so it is hopefully always an up to date reference point. Thanks for reading and hope you enjoy!

A table across from us had a woman who was dressed to the nines and looked fantastic. Her guy was wearing dirty jeans and an AC/DC t-shirt. There are varied opinions on what "your best" is.

There has been Kraken available on all my sailings within the last year. I think you'll be safe, unless you are on a cruise with @twangster. Just ask @Matt. ?

I understand what you are saying. If the survey was to actually improve I would be a bit more critical. But the questions in the survey are very vague. You can tell it is basically a pass/fail test for the employees. It is the same type of surveys sent after you make a call to your cell phone provider. I still input any areas of improvements in the appropriate sections of the survey. Any corrective action is best dealt while on the cruise with the employee and if necessary, escalate to the manager.

Great view of Seattle from the Ovation

I approach surveys like I do the yearly appraisals I do on people who work directly for me.....there should be no surprises. I'm not going to wait to address inappropriate behaviors. If I have a problem with an employee during my cruise, I'm not waiting until it's over to address it. Problems are best corrected in the moment If I feel the problem is systemic, then I may relate that info on a survey (depending on the response I get on site), but otherwise I'm not going to play the corporate game of "anything less than a 10 is a fail". I've experienced that mindset enough in my career over the years as my small regional company was slowly taken over by an international conglomerate. It's not fair to employees. Royal Caribbean employees are judged based on this pass/fail system....sure as customers we get the illusion of multiple choice...but the reality is, the employees don't. If someone I interacted with was doing their job correctly, then in my mind, they passed. If they did extra credit work, then I will reward that with a cash tip and special mention. Disclaimer: I've worked retail since November 1983. I may be slightly biased. ?

Me too! I would rather have it and not need it than to need it and not have it!

This was fun to read through. We will be in this same cabin in 158 days and we can’t wait!

Easier to have one booked and decide later to cancel it than to decide you want one and have there be none to purchase !

Remember to protect our reefs and choose a sunscreen without oxybenzone or octinoxate if you plan on going into the water. Google: Reef-protecting sunscreen. I am also an Irish ginger by heritage and have just begun to research this topic since we go to Hawaii every year and beginning in 2020, proper sunscreen must be used. Sure is expensive, though. If you find a less expensive solution, please let me know.

Oh ,I almost forgot, my son and I went to deck one after dinner to get my bag. They had the bag marked as possibly having an extension cord in it, which I didn't have in there of course. I told them that they were more than welcome to open it up. They ran it through the x-ray machine again, and it must have been someone else looking at the bag while I was there because he said, "that's not an extension cord, it's just a long cord on the curling iron." So I guess the images are pretty subjective. We were down there all of 2 minutes and most of that was waiting on an elevator to pick us up.

Day 1 - after lunch in the Windjamer we registered for Adventure Ocean, explored the ship a little, and wound up in the Star Lounge to wait for the rooms to open. We were only there about 15 minutes. The day one menu was waiting for us in our cabin when we arrived. We dropped off our carry on bags, put on our swim suits, and headed to the pool. We stayed mostly at Splashaway Bay, and visited the main pools as well. Both areas had lots of people, but I wouldn't call it crowded. The vacation had officially begun! We went back to the room around 3pm to change into dry clothes for Muster. 3 of our 4 bags had arrived by this time - mine was missing. After Muster, we went topside for sail away. We saw several jelly fish and birds, but no dolphins. With a 5:45 MTD reservation, we went back to the room about 5:00pm to get ready for dinner. I still had no bag, so I knew I would be visiting deck one before the night was out. Not a problem, but is was no fun drying my hair with the dryer provided in the room. After dinner we went back to the room and crashed. We planned on getting back out, but everyone was just too tired.

May 2, 2020 - Independence of the Seas

100% agreement on this. I default to a 7 out of 10 if you do what I expect. If the survey had 100 questions, it would be (pleasantly) surprising for me to give as many as 10 of them a 9 or higher. My favorite thing to do with online surveys that ask a range of "highly satisfied" to "highly dissatisfied" is to answer the follow up question "Please tell us why you were not highly satisfied" with the following: You should be happy with a rating of satisfied. That means you have done at least what is expected. This is the real world, not an "everybody gets a trophy" utopia. A rating of highly satisfied requires something special - which may become my new expectation - and chances are very good that your next rating will be neutral at best because you won't be able to meet that higher level of expectation.

@JLMoran I agree breakfast in the MDR on Anthem is my least favorite. We did late seating and felt the service was excellent. We had a group of 10 and our wait staff was on the ball. By day 2 he knew that my cousin only eats fish due to medical issues, I swear anything and everything served in any restaurant as appetizers that was seafood was placed on our table while we were perusing what to order for dinner. We all were shocked. I enjoy the wedge salad, every night he would ask if I wanted it for the next night and it was there. I eat to live, and I become full after 2 or 3 bites. The 1st 2 nights he thought I just didn't like the food so he would bring out another entrée thinking maybe I would care for that instead. My husband had to finally say, stop, whatever she doesn't eat, she makes me eat so as not to offend. That was the only cruise we have done only the MDR. We did so bc several in our group feel no need to pay for specialty dinners. They are people that cruise typically 2x a yr. and have done so for 20 yrs. I believe that there are 4 things that makes eating in the MDR a great option over specialty Expectations for day 1. Day 1 always has its hiccups. Staff change over can be a factor. Just be prepared, day 2 will run smoother New cruisers do not know you can go off menu, just give a days notice. Instead, they feel that they have to stick with whatever is on the menu. Frequent cruisers know you can request something off the menu. My opinion, if you can do the late seating. We have done the early, we have done MTD, but our very favorite is late traditional seating. We have found the vibe in the restaurant to be really laid back and that the servers are more efficient because it is not as crowded. I have children, but they are adults now, and I think that is also why the vibe is more laid back....no flaming, but it is rare to see any kids at the late seating. Many people now buy the specialty packages so those restaurants are filling up more and more, with less people in the MDR, but they still keep that table for you regarding traditional seating. For waitstaff they do get the grat added in whether or not you eat there, but I am sure that the MDR staff is seeing loss of money now, i.e. end of cruise tipping. Thus, I have found they have upped their game, so that those that eat there nightly will tip them out. We enjoy the specialty restaurants, and feel for the cost, it is worth buying the 3 night (we use a TA, so she gifts us a 4th night). I am on the fence regarding the ultimate, because at the cost it becomes buy the 3 night + the TA comp + Chefs table @ the same cost as the ultimate. This is when it comes down to the ship. I am not a fan of Wonderland (been there, done that, paid the check), I am not a sushi person so if Izumi does not offer hot rocks or teppynaki I could do a pass on it. Thus, the specialty + Chefs is a better option for us, and that means we will be in the MDR 3-4 nights out of the cruise. I will say like everyone else that I think RCL MDR does an amazing job regardless of the ship for their lunch on sea days. Can we all say tutti salad? If you have not had their spinach gnocchi at lunch, you are missing a treat. Trust me, being married to an Italian family from NY/NJ, when they all look like they have found nirvana after the 1st bite, than you know it is good.

paper is much easier and never fail.....we rely way too much on our phones for everything and anything( I do not, but society in general) Putting all your eggs in one basket.... I still print boarding passes for flying and sail passing for cruising..I still even print out hotel reservations...

It's basically a chicken parmesan sandwich on a bun. They have the marinara sauce that they serve with the mozzarella sticks, so that's why it can be made even if it isn't a menu item. You can DIY it by ordering the plain sandwich and an order of mozzarella sticks. Heck, put the mozzarella sticks on top of the chicken in the bun, even!

I'll have both, you can never be too prepared.

We always bring both a paper copy and the app just incase. We cant relax until we are on the ship...Lol

If you search live blogs, a member here did a fantastic review just recently, I immediately wanted to book that ship ?

Next RC cruise is 04/26/2020 on harmony Previous RC cruises: 09/12/2013 on Enchantment, 11/30/2014 on Enchantment, 12/02/2018 on Oasis, 04/28/2019 Harmony.

All have been updated. Thanks guys!!

@Jolly Ogre refer to the words in bold above....??

We left our phones in airplane mode and never enabled WiFi calling. Instead we called through Snapchat and messaged through FB messenger.

Cruise #23: Harmony of the Seas, October 13. Almost a month out!

My three faves are hyperlinked below so you can click and check out menus/atmosphere. You can watch cruise ships leave from Rusty's..I know lots of folks like Grills or Fishlips, but I like the food at Rusty's better than those two. Florida's Fresh Grill Jazzy's Mainely Lobster Rusty's Seafood & Oyster Bar

Cruise Day 3 Today We get to go to a new port that we have never heard of before this booking let alone been to. Progreso Mexico!! Breakfast was at the WindJammier as usual. I have never done breakfast in the MDR. Breakfast is more of grab and go type situation for me. We docked later than a typical port. So we had plenty of time to eat and get down to Deck 1 to disembark the ship. As previously mention Progreso has a FOUR MILE long pier. It is not a typical wooden/cement pier. It is land extended for four miles into the Gulf Of Mexico. Two lane road and multiple turn offs and building along the way. Progreso offers and free shuttle to the downtown area and then you are free to explore. Right where the ship docks there are some chatzky stores and the usual Duty Free shops offering free tequila shots. The shop owners and hawkers are relentless everywhere here. Worst I’ve seen. A simple No thank you does the trick most of the time. The heat was unreal. 88* F but is felt like 110*F. Oppressive is putting it lightly. The bus drops you a central bus depot and it is a 4 block walk to the beach area IF you can find your way out the maze of shops. After doubling back 2 times we found our way. RCCL offers an excursion for the public free beach. $35 pp will get you a bus ride, access to the beach and two loungers and a palapa. Umm, bus is free for everyone… beach is free for everyone…lounger and palapa you can haggle to $10. Am I missing something?? Along the beach are mostly restaurants that offer seating on the beach. We have a simple beach tent to protect us from the sun. This ‘tent’ folds up into a sack that is ¼ the size of a shoe box. Quick set up and tear down. We bought is on Amazon real cheap. https://www.amazon.com/Venustas-Umbrella-Outdoor-Shelter-Lightweight/dp/B07PNW1WPB/ref=pd_ybh_a_1?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=7MGHW9HQSFG72NJ0BKZQ I hit up the convenient store across the street for some soda and water. I was thrown off for a moment when saw a 1.5 Lt bottle for water for $14.50….Yes with a dollar sign. BTW the Peso uses the dollar sign also. Easy translation 20ish pesos to a dollar….so 85c. The diet Pepsi Black was .5 Lt for 40c. Prices for locals are amazingly inexpensive….Tourist areas not so much!! We spent about two hours at the beach and headed back to a restaurant that was handing out little flyers on the way to the beach. Barlovento Restaurant and Bar had little dollar margaritas so that peaked my curiosity. Since my wife is pregnant I had four, two for her and two for me. Quesadillas and fries for me and the baby, enchiladas for the Mrs. she also had some Mexican flavors fruity water. $47 DOLLARS!!! Return bus ride was quick and painless for I hate shuttles and waiting on them to fill up to capacity. This one filled up quick. We were back to the ship by 1:15. That's the NOT the ship in the distance....that not even the half way point to the ship!!! Check out this old school high chair!! One question I had right off the bat was will the casino be open while in port? The ship is docked 4 miles for the coast of Progreso….essentially International Waters? Nope not open. Upon return it was nap time for the baby and mommy. I walked around a bit, then before you knew it was time for dinner. Dinner Me French Onion Soup Caesar Salad Chicken Parm Royal Chocolate Cake Wife IDK Zander Fruit Cup Steak off kids menu NY Strip After dinner walk led us to the ventriloquist show at the theater. I was a little hokey and nice and lighthearted. Zander being your typical 20 month old got bored real quick and we made our exit to explore some shops and head to the room. I then headed to the roulette table to turn $40 in to $240. Now I’m even. Of to bed. Tomorrow Cozumel and Nachi Cocom!!! 1st timer here someone is sleeping. this is part of the dock/pier in Progreso Zander waiting for steak!! These were cool. Fold on this sailing's FB page talked about hiding Rubber Duckies around the ship. They had dozens we found one for Zander. It took us to day 4 to find one, but we did!! Enchantments "added" 70+ feet of ship that was added after the original build

My next cruise is 06/22 on Brilliance...Baltic Sea

Don't miss the pier runners. It's an additional show that is complimentary.

...the artwork around the ship. Take a different staircase, visit a floor you wouldn't normally have to go to (the artwork is unique to each ship). ...an opportunity to connect with a crew member . Yes, they are busy, but many enjoy the opportunity to share with you something that they are interested in or love.

The view of the ocean at night. I love to go out late at night when it is quiet and there is no land within site to see the ocean. That is the best feeling in the world to me.

I'm more of a forward person. Some ships do shake in the aft depending on ship speed but more importantly when I'm forward I get to where we are going first.