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There are all types of people who cruise with all different levels of disposable funds to spend on their vacations. Some people have arrived at the point where a suite is a must have to cruise. Many people, the majority, don't cruise several times each year. For many it remains a special annual event or every two year event, something worth spending a bit more on. Some people are retired and have some money for cruising but need to be more aware of how they spend their retirement to make it go the distance. There is no wrong way to cruise. At the moment I am willing to go in an interior cabin sometimes if it means I can get in an additional cruise given my annual cruise budget being near it's limit. I've gone from a loft suite to an inside guarantee cabin a month later. I certainly enjoy the good life in a suite but it isn't a requirement for me. Same goes with a balcony. If it's close in price, why not. If the balcony upgrade is the cost of another whole cruise, nope. To each their own. My "lifetime" stats: Interior: 19.7% Ocean View: 11.5% Balcony: 44.3% Suites: 24.6% Twice in Alaska in interior cabins that saved me thousands which I put into expensive excursions including a helicopter flight so I could walk on glacier. That remains one of my best cruises and most memorable experiences. Over five Alaska cruises I could have put more money into my cabin and cut back on excursions for the same budget. So glad I didn't.

Double book people in the same cabin? That would only happen if Royal IT made a mistake. On the flip side maybe I could get lucky and booked into the same cabin with a hot, single woman. And I mean hot, not one with hot flashes.

Less desirable location is a relative term. As long as I am on the ship there is no undesirable location.?

Not sure if there is a way to organize it but if you go the Roll Call forum and look to the top right corner, you can do a "sort by title" and it will sort it for you by ship name (alphabetically).

These quotes work well together.

Most at this point are making final, but not all. I don't have a percentage.

Oh and tip your cabin steward well. Sounds like he/she will need it!

I like it better than being a sub category. Good job Admin's

Welcome to the message boards! Any cabin with 5 guests can't be done on the website so engaging a travel agent can help you with options. Five in one room is going to be tight but the Ultra Spacious Ocean View category 1K and the Spacious Interior category 1R are larger than regular cabins and can take 5 in one cabin. The Ultra Spacious Ocean View category 1K can accommodate 5 guests but the bunk beds may be more suited to kids and not full grown adults so if you are all basketball players that could be interesting. The main bed separates into two single beds, then the sofa pulls out and the two bunks gets you to five. There is a junior suite that can take 5 guests but it has a balcony and will be several thousand more (~$4-5k more) The next choice would be two cabins, one triple and a double. Travel agents have tools to find cabins close to each other or connecting. The benefit of two cabins is two bathrooms. If you are considering the drink package if all 5 are in one cabin you all have to get the drink package if anyone buys it. By going with two cabins if you have any non-drinkers you could put them in one cabin and the drinkers in another cabin so this can save a bunch if not everyone wants the drink package. There aren't a lot of 1R or 1K cabins so availability isn't great and some dates are already sold out in June 2022. There may be group rates available to travel agents to help with the cost a bit compared to direct from Royal. There is only one 1R spacious interior cabin for all of June and that's on June 11,2022. There are five 1k spacious ocean view cabins but only on June 4, 2022. Any other dates and you will need two cabins. I'd highly recommend using a travel agent.

Hey all! Clearly the Roll Call sub-forum is something that had a lot of pent-up demand! In the interests of making it easy to search for a particular roll call and add new ones into the forum with a consistent format, please be sure to follow these guidelines: First, always search for your sailing to see if a Roll Call was already created Easiest way to search is use the first word in the ship's name, the word AND, and the date enclosed in quotes (e.g., Vision AND "Aug 14, 2021"); this should properly limit the search and not give a lot of false matches on just the ship or date Don't worry about searching on the full ship name since every ship ends with "of the Seas" If you don't find it through search, try sorting the forum by title (see later posts in this thread for screen shots); it's possible your sailing is there but the entry was created with a different style subject line. If you don't find your sailing in the search results or after sorting, go ahead and create a new topic. Please try to use the following format so it's easily found through search: Ship Name a hyphen Departure date using the format month name (3-letter), followed by the day, then the year; this should help avoid confusion for members from countries where an all-digit date usually puts the day before the month. Examples: Aug 14, 2021 Jun 12, 2021 Jul 22, 2022 An optional itinerary name / description in parentheses This should let anyone easily find any sailing here, without having to guess what date format got used or which ship it's on. Examples: Adventure of the Seas - Jun 12, 2021 Vision of the Seas - Aug 14, 2021 (Bermuda and Perfect Day) Radiance of the Seas - Jul 22, 2022 (Alaska Southbound) Forum moderators / @Matt, if possible can you update the existing topics that include "ROLL CALL" or use a different date format so they're consistent? I figure better to ask this now while we still have a relatively limited number of sailings posted. ?

When my wife and I started cruising, we were young and were always trying to save money, so the first few cruises where in an inside stateroom. I know everyone says that they don't spend much time in the stateroom anyway, so it doesn't matter. But after a couple of times of being in a CAVE, we moved to a balcony and have for all of our cruises since. I love being able to come back to the cabin and relax on the balcony in the afternoon or any time at night.

I connected in Frugal city once. My award tickets were so cheap I ended up connecting in multiple Frugal cities.

On Navigator they have begun dry aging the ribeyes for Chops. If a new premium beef jerky appetizer is offered, we will know Royal got impulsive.

Just reading an article and a Public Health and Law Professor from USF, Dr. Jay Wolfson, stated that the new law won't stop most cruises from sailing from the state. He stated that "the cruise lines can legally ask you for proof of vaccination and that they are not a Florida company, I don't think any of them really are. I don't think the governor would stand in the way of that happening". I believe that this new law pertains to the things that we do every day here in Florida.

We are looking to cruise again in February of 2022. However, I am not going to even think about having to wear that stupid mask while sitting in the sun on deck. Can you imagine what kind of a tan line that would make and how uncomfortable the heat of the sun would be under that mask? The whole purpose of the cruise is complete relaxation in the sun and fresh air and that won't be possible under a mask. The entire thought process behind this makes no sense...we can sit in an enclosed dining area WITHOUT masks as we eat, breathing the entire time. We are not supposed to wear them in the pool, where we will be in close proximity to others, breathing the entire time. We are not supposed to wear them when doing anything strenuous, where we will be more laborously breathing the entire time. Yet, we must wear them on the deck, even if we are the only ones there. There is no intelligent process of thought to this entire mandate. And why do we need them if we are all fully vaccinated?? It's about control, folks...not safety anymore. This is completely out of hand.

Navigator in town for their vaccines

Teenager I used to bring once in a while prefered interior because they were dark and she could sleep in until noon.

Doesn't that disqualify him from working for them...?

Adventure of the Seas June 12, 2021 Odyssey of the Seas November 19, 2022 Like @JLMoran stated above Adventure for us was never going to happen, but hubby snagged subsidized flights at a cost he found agreeable, and that's saying something because he is frugal city!

One of the things I found interesting when I was in Florida last week was the number of people wearing masks, not because they had to, but because it was what they chose to do. When I was in a Winn-Dixie, I'd say it was about 50/50 mask vs no-mask. I think government, in general, doesn't give the general population enough credit to make the right decisions that are right for them.

@twangster That was a super impressive rundown of pretty much everything! You are like a cruise genie!

It's ALL about GIVING PEOPLE OPITIONS!!! Thank you for bringing some common sense to this topic. Although, common sense now a days is gone.

When does a joke turn into a dad joke? When it becomes apparent.

Bad dad jokes with Michael Bayley

I’m going to the eye doctor today in north Florida and they require a mask. I’m going to Publix afterwards and I’ll see if masks are still required. My daughter is getting married in central Florida in 3 weeks. As far as we know, masks are still required in the chapel but not at the reception venue.

His issue is you should not have to prove you’re vaccinated to go to a baseball game or walk into a grocery store. He’s talking about participating in everyday life should not require proof you’ve been vaccinated.

Have to agree. In so long as the bottled water craze has been around Dasani has always tasted terrible to me. How do you mess up water? What nasty river are they using? SMH.

This is an idea I can get behind with a few small additions, for those who are not vaccinated but present a negative test no more than 72 hours old they must submit to a rapid antigen test pier side before they board the ship. If that test is also negative they are then allow to board and perhaps a second rapid antigen test on day 2 or 3 of the voyage.

My wife and I were actually talking about just that the other day. I can see a scenario where they say, in order to cruise, you must either show proof of vaccination or have a negative PCR test within 72 hours or something like that.

I went down that path. i also looked over the state records of business corporations and found most Royal Caribbean entities are inactive although the corporate group is active. Do all child corporations under the parent corporation qualify if the parent corporation does? Each ship is it's own company but none are registered in Florida. How does that work in terms of being a Florida business entity? If a foreign airline picks up passengers in Miami then flies back to South America is that considered doing business in Florida? I gave up trying to figure it out. Figure time will tell.

We have been making final payments as well since we had non refundable deposits and don’t mind the options offered when the cruise gets cancelled. We have taken full refund on one cruise, Lift and Shifted 2 others and more recently took the FCC on another because knowing it was going to be cancelled (8 night southern supposed to sail in June) we booked the same itinerary for next year out of a more convenient port for us. I don’t have any faith in our 9 night cruise in October sailing so booked a replacement for that for late 2022 this morning and will just plan on making final payment, taking the FCC and applying that to the new cruise. I do also like the fact that my TA will at least get commission when we make final payment and Royal then cancels. She works so hard and deserves every dollar during this crazy mess.

I have always had a balcony or suite but I don't get many vacations a year so it has been 1 to 2 a year. I am increasing my cruises as I near retirement and I have it on my list to try an inside. If I can get the wife onboard, it will mean we can cruise more often.

I am 100% with you on that. I love sitting on the balcony to have a morning cup of joe!

Oh this Sort feature worked out nicely, thank you! I was trying to find some Roll Calls and I thought the search function/results may have been a bit wonky as it dug into random threads but this works out well as an alternative. Appreciate it!

Agreed but it could also shift the assignment date even closer to the sail date so they can optimize everything.

I'm guessing a spreadsheet will be made to compare jewelry prices.

Nerd alert! Seriously, thank you for sharing and your fourth observation is important.

Whether you carry your own bags off or put them outside your stateroom, a porter can be extremely helpful. They can help locate your bags in the terminal as well as get through security, load them into your car. Just tip them well, at least $2 a bag IMO. They work for tips and they work hard!

And to follow up on what @JLMoran was saying about the waters ..... our experiences were on Grandeur when it came to heading to Bermuda..... could we feel slight rocking at times? Yes. My wife is def. more sensitive to the motion than I. She found that wearing those patches (that go behind the ears) worked tremendously...... In 2017, for our second trip out there, we ended up having to go AROUND Hurricane Jose --- Jose was just meandering in the ocean while Irma and Maria were laying waste in the Caribbean. Was it rough? Yes? --- As Jose was moving north, we went further north as we exited the Chesapeake Bay to go around the storm, then, on the way back, we went way south below the storm as it was moving northward. The ship def. rocked. A lot of events were canceled due to the weather (belly flop contest for example, and, on the island, pretty much all snorkeling excursion were canceled) --- but hey, we were on a cruise vacation .... we ended up going to the Crystal Caves and still had an amazing time.... you just need to flexible with your plans and "go with the flow" --- makes for more stories when you get back home. Below are a photo from the caves, the route that we took going out and coming back that year -- and a shot of Lady G - the weather you see was pretty much what we had the whole time there, but, at the end of the day, we had an amazing time. The island is gorgeous beyond anything we've ever experienced, and the people are the friendliest you'll ever meet.... Can't wait to get back there.

Didn't know that!! Thanks!

Desantis was asked about cruising from FL ports if cruise lines require vaccinations today. His response was, "I don't think its a very good idea for people to have disclose health information." A non-answer if there ever was one. Moreover, we've had this discussion already. Proving you were fit-to-sail using one of those forms from your PCP a year ago when the pandemic was just getting underway was deemed to not be disclosing personal health information publicly as that information was being collected by people authorized to collect it and held by health care personal on the ship. Proving that you've been vaccinated to board a cruise ship will be addressed in the same way and I feel pretty confident that Desants' people have already prepared statements for the Governor that will allow cruise lines to obtain and hold vaccination information privately and legally once there's calrity on if and when this will actually take place. No reason to start a fire-storm over this now. It will work out regardless of which path the cruise lines take on this issue. Desantis is not going to put barriers in the way of a cruise ship restart. If anything, he's removing them as we speak.

I started making final payment for June & July (2021) sailings because now I can stack my FCCs, I see it as a short term investment with a guaranteed 25% return. But again, my example is not always best to follow lol.

ok I am not a lawyer but this is how I read it. You can't ask for documentation of vaccination to allow entryway to Florida business, but that does not stop you from asking "Are you Vaccinated?". If they say yes, great, if not you are still within the letter of the law to prohibit entry. I mean people can lie but then what more can you do, their hands are tied now, unless them flying under another countries flag circumvents this?

What do you call a boomerang that won’t come back? A stick.

I saw the live stream earlier today and was so happy (I love Royal but I am a cruise fan first!) and kinda got emotional to be honest. I think many of us will be emotional when we first step foot on our next ship or see Adventure sail away or the first ships from the US. It's been a long time coming...

I've come to realize I'd make a bad TA. Everytime a client asked for a cruise booking I'd be like... "That's a nice cruise. I better book that one too!". Then I'd be on cruises all the time and never available to service my clients.

Now, if only the $18 deluxe beverage package would make a comeback!

Why has the board become so political? It wasn't this way when I joined, it's so negative. Guess it's time to leave again. @twangsterthanks for all your help you truly know a lot and have helped me. Take care all be nice and help each other instead of picking on each other. Peace out!!

If I ran a cruise line I would direct all effort to become certified under the CSO to cease immediately pending a revision that is workable. If a revised CSO was published it could be reviewed upon release to determine how viable it would be to seek certification. The more likely path to a restart is something occuring that takes the CSO out of the equation. Until that happens spending another dime playing along with the CDC is insanity. Much better to hope for something that eradicates the CSO. Basically we need a CSO vaccine. To that end I'd direct all efforts at having 100% of US operational capacity available to sail on Nov. 1 with no protocols in place, if I were king for a day. Nov. 1 = business as usual. Anything prior is only going to happen if the CSO happens to be wiped out.

Just joined tonight. I have no idea what took me so long. This site is so invaluable to me, and I check it frequently hoping for some positive news. Matt and the admins do such a great job, and this place is always so positive.