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Long time Royal Caribbean fan here.. super proud and excited that my daughter will be performing as part of the next cast joining Wonder of the Seas for the shows Voices, Effectors II and Tap Factory. We are from Australia and she has recently travelled to FIU in North Miami for rehearsals. Her name is Chloe, so if you see her on there from May-2023 onwards say 'Hi' to her for me! Currently planning several trips over there to see her! Can't wait!!!

20 days to go........ I love that there are so many blogs about people cruising in April. I've received my refund for the Premier pass and the OBC is still there. I'm really debating if I want to get Giovanni's Italian kitchen for embarkation lunch. The garlic knots and meatball Gigante are really calling my name. I ordered the new carry-on and I love it. It's a lilac/lavender color. I normally get eggplant colored luggage but I really loved my brother's carry-on so I am happy. It also holds a lot. I have a really hectic two weeks so I'm sort of pre-packed.

Don't have a clue if you can or not but we have seen a group people bring their Harley Davidson's motorcycles on a cruise and ride them in the ports.

Lol, just imagine sharing status all will nilly like that. Imagine breaking the relationship up and that person getting your hard earned perks because they roomed with you that one time........at band camp.

lighter toiletry bottles came today! https://www.amazon.com/Leakproof-Refillable-Containers-Essential-Toiletries/dp/B08613DL34/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=AA9&qid=1680048424&sr=8-1 i already have a set of these and they work surprisingly well. it may come as no surprise that i use my label maker and put labels on my bottles, so i'll be excited to fill these up with the necessary liquids/gels for the trip. this morning, i realized that i'm going to have to pack on the sunday before we leave since our flight is at 7am saturday and i will be working all week. we are kicking around the idea of staying at one of the hotels near the airport so i don't have to get ~weird again with that pre-4am wakeup call. it would save us the hour of travel time but also (hopefully) mean that i could actually sleep and not lay awake all night long. this would be a godsend, especially with the same day flight and sail. i am also super grateful we don't get crammed in like sardines for the muster drill anymore -- a same day fly + sail and then an in-person muster with people stacked around is not a great combination for me. not sure if anyone else gets this way?? J, thankfully, is not phased by any of this and my usual calm in the storm (no pun intended) when we encounter these and other potential roadblocks. this will be our last flight in and out of MIA, i can promise you that. even though @Lovetocruise2002 was cursed with the FLL flight, i just can't stand miami airport maybe this particular flight will be a breeze and we'll get our luggage lickety split. (last time, it took FOREVER.) 32 days to go!!

It's Capt Johnny Faevelen on Harmony Of the Seas

Agree with you 100%, @Neesa We are Platinum as well on DCL and made some great friends on there because we used to pick the same cruise week every year. DCL gets so stale that one time i joked with the husband of one of our couple friends that the 2 of us could pretend to be married and kick some serious bum at their version of the Love & Marriage show. Their questions varied very little, and there was even one year that a lazy cruise director for the adults did the L&M show twice in one week ... with the same questions. Trivia was rarely changed as well. And with how elaborate their stage shows are, they didn't change much either. We stopped sailing DCL in 2017 because their pricing just got stupid and it was the same old, same old. They're probably looking in a fresh market for new suckers, err, i mean a new batch of first time Disney cruisers who want to give the novelty a go.

I have a difficult time seeing much cruising in that area 2yrs+ from now; because of the brewing East-West conflict.

I'm really sorry for your experience @Karie. The disconnect you are having is that your room and your brother's room are not "the exact same room". His is in a more rare cabin that can accommodate more passengers. I think your assumptions were natural as people often relate to cruise cabins the way they relate to rooms in a hotel. They aren't the same in that way. As a cruiser with a 12 year old, I can promise you that KSF is a real promotion and provides real savings. When it is not running, my son, as the third guest, would have a fare about 1/3 of the first 2 (which are always higher for that room type). When KSF is going on, he is $0. Again, I hate the real trouble this is causing for you and I understand how you would equate Kids Sail Free to I can add a kid for free to the fare I have on my room booked for 2 (that only accommodates 2). The real math however is choose a room that accommodates 3, price it up for 2 people and then price it for 3 with the third being 12 and under. You will then see what was easily missed initially.

Unfortunately, @Karie this is the way that Royal (and I suspect, all of the Lines) price the Kids Sail Free offers. Essentially, b/c your brother will have to be in a cabin that accommodates 4 people, his room rate is higher than those that do not need accommodations for more than 2. It's a cabin classification issue, not necessarily a per-person charge issue. Is it a sham ? Maybe, in a way. I understand your frustration. You worked out the price (prior to booking) based on the wrong cabin category, unfortunately. Then, when you got the actual booking confirmation, the pricing was completely different from what you assumed it would be. Perhaps it's a good lesson learned. Be sure that you confirm the final price BEFORE you allow anyone to book the cruise and make a deposit. I have read many accounts of how the KSF promo has saved many people money...so it can and does...but it looks like it is a big disappointment in your case.

I've seen youtubes with both of these too. I feel a little more prepared than the people in the videos now - I know where to put our bag on the shelf (I think) and to bring wipes and a second shirt at least. I haven't heard back from Smitha yet, but I emailed her on Sunday (Allure's turnover day) and today is her first port day this week. DH and I need to look at the menus together. Since we've only sailed in Freedom class or smaller ships we've been fine with the MDR and an occasional visit to Chops. He said the other day, "You want to eat in all the restaurants? What's wrong with the MDR?" Nothing, but we've paid for them, so we might as well try what looks good! 150CP has my name written all over it, and I would eat there several times. I tentatively asked Smitha to reserve Coastal Kitchen on night 1 (have to try that filet everyone talks about!), and 150CP for night 2. We have Chef's Table on night 3, so I asked for Johnny Rockets to be delivered to the room for the kids so we can make sure the kids eat before they run off to the teen club/AO. I think I will get pushback from the kids if we don't go to the WJ on day 1 for lunch, but I would like to sway us toward Sabor or Giovanni's I think - I hear I need to try the truffle pasta too.

Royal is not known for accurate and reliable system platforms. Their technology challenges are stuff of legends. There is a difference between was is supposed to happen and what can actually occur. That doesn't make it policy. He would be wise to say nothing about it, as would you, else it could be fixed. The first rule about fight club is...

Following! We just got back from this itinerary on harmony and it was a great time. I thought PDCC on the last day would throw us for a loop but we actually enjoyed it, great way to end the week… as an aside, we had literally never found a duck before on all our cruises and they were plentiful on this ship. Have the best time!

I can confirm that room service was included with The Key just this weekend on Liberty

@DoomSlayer, we will definitely pitch in. I will not let my sticker shock ruin any vacation! All of us going together was important to me, so we will definitely make up the difference. I just mainly wish I would have realized. I thought all of the ocean balcony cabins had a sofa pullout so I did not realize he would be in a different classification with a cabin of 4. He is a family of 5 but his teenage daughter I put in a room with my adult daughter. And then I requested the girls' cabin just be in between our cabins. Even with price ring higher than i originally acvounted for, a cruise is the most affordable/inclusive vacation I've ever been on and the service is definitely worth the price. I just felt a little mislead and really even that's on me.

@Villageidiot, yes we absolutely can pitch in, that is exactly what we will do! There's nothing that will stop me from having a good time on vacation! My frustration mainly comes from feeling like I did my due diligence and then I still missed an important piece. We did the same thing with our airline miles. The rest of just pooled our miles together to make sure we had enough to get his family to Florida. This particular brother is very focused on saving for a house, not going on vacation. I'm very focused on our families making memories together having adventures! So we do whatever is needed to accomplish both!!

Embarkation lunch is how I got completely hooked on the UDP many years ago. It felt so decadent to eat a steak in Chops while everyone else was dodging elbows and slinging food at each other in the WJ. It is probably the only thing I miss about NOT doing the UDP anymore. I guess we could use one of our D+ BOGO....

Can the family in the other eight cabins chip in to help the one brother with the higher cost? It would be about $125/cabin based on what you wrote. I would propose this if it was my family going on a great vacation. Hope it all works out and you enjoy the cruise.

Hi everyone! Thank you for the responses! I have only been on 1 cruise but I watch a billion cruise videos and I had never seen anyone talk about this particular issue. I made several errors here! First, when gathering cost info for my family I entered myself and my husband into each room choice (interior, ocean view, balcony facing every which way and the guarantee) on the Royal site, wrote down the total cost for each selection and then for anyone traveling with children I added an additional $154 fees/ $116 gratuity per child and then relayed said total. I did not go thru each person's mock booking with their actual passengers. I did not realize that would alter anything. We will most definitely go on this cruise and have a spectacular time. I'm over the moon that my family gets to do this! I guess my frustration comes from just being surprised by it. I had one expectation in my mind, I voiced that expectation multiple times and at no point did anyone say hey FYI, I think what you think you're saving is not really gonna play out here. I would have booked him differently had I realized the error I was making! Bottom line, we will all pool together on this and its not the end of the world. Lesson learned for next time! I kept telling myself my math was too good to be true! Thank you for your feedback, it's much appreciated and why I love following the cruise community!

I once talked to a person in the casino who went on the monkey/sloth excursion and said not only did the monkey steal his wife's glasses but peed on someone next to them. I knew monkey were always up to no good but they sound crazy. Enough about crazy monkeys...... there is star class and delicious tacos to think about.

If you play table games, don't forget to visit the host on the last night and have them convert your table points into free play! You can access the free play automatically from your slots points, but they manually have to do it for the table play. They can add it to your account to use for freeplay on the slot machines or get you freeplay table chips. Using the points for freeplay has no impact on your points earned for the cruise or your annual points tally, so might as well take advantage of it!

When we visited we didn't go in the money cage, but I watched those little terrorists wreak havoc. One stole this guy's cell phone out of his front pocket and climbed up to the top of the enclosure with it and wouldn't give it back. They told everyone to leave their bags outside of the enclosure and I watched one reach through the enclosure and start unzipping the bags and trying to rummage through them as far as little monkey arms could reach. The sloth part is great, though!

@DoomSlayer really breaks things down. I never thought of it that way. I just know I generally play platinum hits and dancing drums; I noticed that by staying on one of those I can play for hours and rack up points. I also like a slot where on a smaller bet you can win because of the mini, major, etc. jackpots. I played hot stuff on Oasis and won mini and major jackpots on .80 cent bets. That meant I could play more for my 7 days, while not going through the bankroll too fast. I actually like to gamble, so I will keep a steady bet so I can do it for longer.

Booked and counting down to sail to the beautiful Mexican Riviera later this year. I greatly enjoyed my trip last year, and booked a repeat while on board (booking it as a B2B with the 4 day Ensenada cruise just before for Sept 25-29 to enjoy some more time sailing the Pacific). Hoping to enjoy another great trip and enjoy the company of all the others joining.

I don't think the Singapore market is competitive in the same way like some other cruise markets. It's a very different market so the dynamics are different. Disney is also an interesting option for a market that is highly influenced by gambling. Will gamblers without a family choose the Disney experience for a gamblers getaway? Will a gambling adult couple really care if the ship's whistle plays a Disney tune? Without kids how much of a competitive threat is Disney? They may be appealing to families with young children but what about families with teens or families where the kids are grown adults? With my kids grown and adulting now Disney has zero appeal to me. Disney at twice the price of Royal has twice the negative appeal to me. Disney's cruise line's biggest problem is their very narrow target market which nearly always involves children. Who goes on a solo Disney cruise as a grown adult? Kind of creepy really. Must love being around children, others people's children. Count me out. DCL may barely dent Royal's market in Singapore. Only time will tell.

On my last cruise I was having dinner with the hotel manager of Radiance and he was lamenting the whole rubber duck thing. So I told him, Ya' think rubber ducks are bad? Next time I'm back onboard, I'm hiding rubber mice! I'll keep you guys posted on how well this goes over....

i’m so happy when the crew get excited about things they work so hard!!

It's always struck me that the Genting Dream is a bad fit for DCL and don't think it will be a big threat. Much has been said about it being the largest ship in the world with 9000 passengers. It may have a huge capacity, but is physically smaller than Oasis of the seas. How many of you call more people in less volume luxury? Further, DCL is known for family accommodations. But this ship is pretty far along to change the cabins. Therefore, it won't have the DCL cabin perks like a split bathroom. Will it do ok in Singapore? Maybe. Will it be a Royal killer? I doubt it.

park cafe is my favorite as well, although depending on timing, you may find it can get crowded to eat/linger after your meal. i too am considering embarkation day lunch as the cabins will be opening later than usual and we’d like to have somewhere to relax before getting into our cabins. this is thread is a great wealth of knowledge, thank you to all!!

Is this true for sure? If I was booking nine cabins with an agent, I would definitively ask the agency if they can throw a discount or some on board credit and then use the OBC to pay for tips or something. I had an agent that did this for just two cabins but lately I book all the vacations myself.

I did it for my Grandeur sailing and I was so relaxed. You eat at a leisurely pace and then the rooms are open.

im on that!

TRUFFLE PASTA!!!! (i swear i was summoned by this )

That half-built ship was designed for the Asian market to begin with, so no real surprise.

Super awesome ! I hope she is still there when we FINALLY get to sail Wonder in December 2024.

Congrats for your daughter and congrats for you being eligible for friends and family cruise fares!

This is DCL catching up, not they passing Royal. Royal has been in Asia cruise market for years and has Spectrum of the Seas there. That's a pretty new piece of hardware. Pre-Covid, the plan was for an Oasis Class ship there (Wonder) but the Chinese cruise market is still recovering in terms of re-opening.

We're going to try connecting balconies next spring on Harmony. I love the idea of cheaper fare so we can sail more, but we really love the suite lounge, and I think star is going to spoil us rotten. I'm not sure where hubby is going to go in the mornings either without a separate living room - that balcony door better be quiet!

You just reminded me I forgot to list our cabin number. We're in the ATS right above yours 9730.

No and of course not. How would keeping the status make any sense?? This isn’t like a divorce where she can claim maintenance of a lifestyle that she had become accustomed to!

Actually, I don't mind smaller portions. Always felt guilty waisting food . Plus if you didn't clean your plate, the waiter would feel bad because they thought you didn't enjoy the meal. So there's a positive side to things. Kinda solves two of my dilemmas.

yeah i don't know what they're on with these RU bid prices but i was clicking on that slider and laughing quietly in shock like who is paying this? (finally, a gif of someone i actually recognize!) i am excited for our little cabin and the double balcony, i think it will be fun (deck 11 notwithstanding). i'm hoping we'll be able to hear the music in CP too from our balcony and stay awake later than our typical embarrassingly early bed time i loved your serenade suite! (minus the hot water issues and that weird cabin shade) that ship is a real gem cozumel! i am vindicated i miss that dress, but past me was a bit smaller than post-pandemic me ah well, thank goodness for pictures!

I think the draw of Icon was to have more "regular" rooms for families as many cannot afford the suite life or more than one cabin sometimes. It is a situation where both things really cannot be had, and it seems like they made an executive decision. Give the families what they want but keep the suites as exclusive as they can be.

Don’t forget that breakfast at Johnny rockets is free on oasis class ships

I don't know that anyone on the outside has a solid inkling to the inner workings of Royal Caribbean revenue management. There is an actual department called "revenue management". Some of the actions we experience are the result or automated scripts that sweep individual sail dates and apply automated or scripted responses to sale trends. "Only 10 cabins in category XY left then adjust rate up by z%" sort of thing. "Less than 60 days and P% of category XY cabins available, then reduce price by m%". There are also the humans in this department that keep an eagle eye on the process and deal with one-offs and exceptions. Not all cabins always appear in the inventory that we get to see on the website. They hold certain space for contractors or when the entertainment cast is being replaced there is some overlap where they need to accommodate both the old and new cast on board at the same time. Guest cabin space can be used for this purpose. They keep some space in reserve but at some point it may become clear they don't need it so it can get released. That may go to GTY assignments so cabins get assigned that never appeared as being available on the public site. Between automation and humans in revenue management they adjust, offer or withdraw GTY options using historical knowledge and predictions. They also know with 6,000 guests involved historically some will cancel in the last X days. They might not always get it right leading to oversold situations. So there is a bit of voodoo magic & card reading involved.

I just did it on my last trip in March, did it last December, did it last September... (I could keep going). All on slots. Broke even last September, won a hand pay that more than paid for the trip in December, and lost about $400 in March. My wife and I are happy with free balconies, so to each their own I guess on that topic. Our next comped trip is on Allure in May to Honduras. I have another one in October on Voyager. I should get my voucher in a couple of weeks and will use it in December, and I expect to get a comp for a summer trip on my May cruise. Yes you cycle through money and get a multiplier -- the key there is to look for less volatile slots to play, stay away from pennies (PAR table changes with higher denominations), and play all features. There was a couple sitting next to me on Adventure last month in the casino. They must have had a huge bankroll because they were playing max bets and went from nothing to signature status in one sitting. I am sure the floor staff was a little annoyed because with bets so big, they were constantly getting hand pays. They were not US citizens, so they did not have the tax consequences with the hand pays. I am not sure how much they won or lost, but it was funny watching them squirm when they were losing and dancing when they were winning.

Disembarkation was a breeze. Tampa does not have the facial scanners but the attendants checking passports barely glance at them and you get through pretty quickly. We enjoyed breakfast in the WJ and were out of our cabin by 8:30. Back where we started. Got bird photo bombed by this guy! We snagged one of the $10 pp shuttles to the airport because Lyft and Uber were both around $40 but I’m not sure I recommend this mode of travel. They’ll be standing right outside the port doors when you exit. We had a while to wait until our 2pm flight out so we didn’t want to fully commit to going through security when we got there at 9am so we decided instead to hang at the Marriott that’s located at the airport. They have a cafe, great seating indoors and outdoors and an awesome view of the tarmac for entertainment. We sat here enjoying the beautiful day and played gin rummy for awhile before actually entering the airport. I definitely recommend this mode of time wasting! Final thoughts! We absolutely loved this class of ship which I never thought would happen after having loved our (albeit mid pandemic and way under capacity) cruise on Oasis. All of the bar spaces seem so much bigger than the interior spaces for these same venues on Voyager class and above. The Schooner bar took like 3 minutes to walk all the way through! I so love seeing the sea in all public spaces. Our favorite new venue on this class of ship was the Colony Club with the aft-facing view. This gets me super excited to experience the 270 in Alaska this September! We were only able to try 2 nights of the new MDR menus, but I enjoyed both of these meals. Royal continues to have a dessert problem wherein everything we try tastes like nothing! Why?! I see allll this chocolate and whipped cream layers and the bite is literally just like eating texture. WHERE IS THE FLAVOR!!! Main courses are usually corrected with some pepper application but desserts cannot be saved table side hahaha. I do highly recommend the ice creams available in Giovanni’s (vanilla, choc, strawberry) which I failed to mention above. This ice cream was decadent! As for the age of this ship, you can definitely see shabbiness if you’re running around looking for things to get upset by. When I stand back and look at overall venues, they are clean and aside from some outdated carpet and fabric patterns, look great! A real Negative Nancy could see this aging example (carpet edges pulling up in Starquest) and tell you the ship is trash but I would say you have to be looking pretty hard to find it. The junior suite had these bathroom amenities, I am not sure if they’re the same for all cabins but I assume so? The shampoo smells like peppermint, the conditioner like coconut and the soap smells like an AXE-laden teenage boys underarm. While I brought my own shampoo I really wish I had brought along my own body soap too so I didn’t smell like a high schooler after every shower! Because I have seen people ask this, the Brilliance JS has the combo glass/curtain where the curtain doesn’t stretch the whole way and leaves one end of the tub spraying water out onto the floor. Once again out here advocating the procurement of European travel adapters which greatly extend your charging capabilities. We went from having 2 outlets to being able to charge 8 items! Please excuse the untidy cable management. Goodbye JS 1078! You’ve been good to us. The furnishings in this room are more modern than the JS we had on Freedom. Aside from the ceiling crackling noises which happened every morning without fail, and the large overhang above our balcony from being under the wider 11th deck, I really liked this cabin. Only 167 short days to go until Quantum!

when i wished i was actually 6'2, and not just in my mind, for one of my favorite dresses. (note the evian in the background as we faithfully continue to drink water) better cozumel shot (IS this cozumel??? my mind is a blank.) J gave up the ghost on her lemongrass martini from our dinner in 150 CP, so somehow i wound up with both of them...

:some more background info: harmony is probably not my first choice for O-class ships (we like symphony and oasis the best) but i do prefer sabor to el loco fresh, especially now that ELF no longer serves breakfast. ...excuse me, i need to go into mourning now. i miss the days of el loco breakfast. i know you can go to the jammer and get all the pieces and do it yourself but it's just not the same!! #firstworld problems. this is the least planned of the three cruises we've had on the books from december 2022-now, so i am also going to try and challenge myself to pack less. ...key word being challenge. we are also very aware of the fact that the sun is going to be HOT HOT HOT. much hotter than our usual times of december/february, so anywhere we can find an umbrella when in the sun will be a priority for us. even we know our limits. dinner we have reservations at sabor one night and will probably go back there for dinner at least once more if J likes it. i am definitely going to try and get us into jamies for the truffle pasta one night as my love for truffles cannot be stated enough. since we are not in a JS, there will be no dinners at coastal kitchen for us - i have already made MDR resos for every night at 6:45 as a precaution, as our one glaring miss on odyssey in december was not having MDR or other dinner options and we felt it keenly. honestly, i could eat tuna fish (un)melts from park cafe each day close to dinner time and probably be fine, supplementing with pizza from sorrentos - but even i love a good salad and grilled vegetables at times. we'll figure it out as we go along. ports/excursions we are returning to the holland house on st. maarten!! i have already emailed the hotel to have us slotted in for a day pass (two chairs, umbrella, and 4 drinks along with wifi and bathrooms) for $25 plus tax. it probably isn't the cheapest of the beach chair options, but we love the staff and the white umbrellas and the peace of being there. we also feel safe there (since we've been there a few times) and that goes a long way, too. this is the second sailing that we scored beach club passes at PDCC on the BF sale, so we'll be going there on the last day. this time, we will walk straight on through instead of taking the tram and i'm hoping to score the seats we had again last time. (though i would definitely change up my lunch order) drinks we each ordered the water package when it was still the 24 oz dink dink bottles. since then, it has changed in the cruise planner to the 1-liter bottles of water... so i have no idea if we're going to get two 1-liter cases of 12 bottles between us OR FOUR 1-liter cases of water. STAY TUNED ON THAT. if we get four, there is absolutely no way we can drink all of that. i think someone here has returned/rejected a water package before - would be willing to fight for the returned OBC if that's the case. (more money for specialty dining!!) one of the things we did not do on symphony the last time was to grab a drink at wonderland. i am intrigued by their drinks menu and love that we could go for a quick diamond drink and then carry on to dinner. it's loosely on the agenda for us this time around, but we'll see how it goes. we will likely divert to vintages for champagne and call it a day. entertainment we have resos for the aqua show and for grease. we didn't make it to hairspray last time because that was the day we needed to change cabins, but i really WOULD like to make it a show onboard one of these days. the aqua show is always my favorite, so i am looking forward to that as well. we didn't (but don't usually) get tickets for the comedy or ice shows, but that'll probably be when we head to CP to play uno. lastly, we have a little bit of OBC that we will split and then of course, that extra $50 for the premiere pass fiasco -- perhaps we can use that towards jaimes. i've already printed out my packing lists -- don't judge, i have one for outfits (ostensibly so i don't overpack; it may come as no surprise that this doesn't work as planned ) and one for everything else. it is... double sided. (i am very type-A, guys.) given that we are in a CP balcony and not the JS this time, i know there's going to be a little less space than we are used to, so i am going to TRY to pack less. seriously. i swear.

Me...you've seen me I hate the idea of being without something I may need, so I always end up packing a variety just in case. Especially with cruising where I may actually change my clothes 3 times in one day! I need all the things!