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Still too expensive. Should be included in the cruise price. I'm not going.

especially if the cash you brought got donated in the casino

Yes, theft does tend to save people money.

Oh, he is well aware. He is too cheap to do it. Private Flowrider rental is on the "no" list along with cabanas, and NYE tables lol

The only time and place you're guaranteed to find me on a consistent basis is at or near the front of the line waiting for WJ to open for breakfast. The first available real food in the morning happens far too late for this early riser.

Two weeks worth of cruising draws ever closer. Can this really be happening? Is it terrible that I am more reluctant to leave my cat than my husband? To be clear, I will most definitely miss my husband and we will text and FaceTime every day. But I mean, my husband will be 100% fine without me. Bodie, not so much. I booked these trips so long ago, I just kind of forgot about them. Now that it's all getting real, I am ready. One thing standing out for me is how many fun firsts will happen on these cruises. Here they are: First Time: -On Oasis -Sailing with Celebrity -Doing a same day back-to-back in different ports -using "The Key" -having a Central Park balcony -having a solo cabin (on Ascent) -experiencing an "infinite veranda" -buying an actual (non-alcoholic) drink package -visiting Grand Cayman -seeing Nassau since the port was finished (I remember it as piles of rubble and miles of torn fencing) -porting in Jamaica -doing a "behind the scenes" ship tour (on Ascent) -cruising in 2024 Very much looking forward to all of it! If anyone has any words of advice on any of those things, it would be welcome.

I’m shocked ! I tell you….SHOCKED ! This can’t be true !

On Allure. Sailed by Icon. I wanted to jump off Allure, swim towards Iconand be rescued. My wife took off her wedding ring. I climbed off railing.

Just wanted to report on my experience with this since I asked the original question. We had booked the 2 bedroom grand suite for myself, my wife, and my daughter's family which included a recently turned 2 granddaughter. The waiter went out of his way to take care of her and help keep her entertained and quiet during dinner (and other meals). However, I did find myself excusing myself early after the main course on most nights to take her down to the merry-go-round while everyone else finished deserts and after dinner drinks. Her attention span was just not there for the duration of the courses. For me, as a grandpa that lives in a different state from my granddaughter, this worked out because we spent some quality one-on-one time together. But for others, I could see them getting frustrated if they felt they wanted the "whole" costal kitchen experience.

Love the cat, he/she is absolutely adorable. I just realized that what you are doing is not really a back-to-back, you are doing a line to line, which is on my bucket list, and I will hope to achieve in 2025. Actually, you are hitting the trifecta in you are side to side (two sailings on different ships in a short period), line to line (from Royal to Celebrity) and port to port (port of Miami to port Everglades). I don't know if you sailed port Everglades before but do allow a little extra time because they do security checks. Your transportation will have to provide documentation, open the trunk and they usually ask for your ID/passport before they let you through. It's also about 35-45 minutes either way when traveling between the ports but traffic/events can make it longer.

During this exhibition I also dislike the folks that insist on waving their napkins in the air flinging whatever morsels of food from dinner are on them to all the neighboring tables. Please don't.

Just an FYI for anyone interested. Sale runs through tomorrow & is pretty cheap for my March Wonder cruise. It was under $30 during Black Friday too but I forget the exact price (no personal interest).

Galveston is a perfect place to base a ship that people are expected to sail for the ship, not the itinerary.

Yes sir. My main studio is with id, but have done some work with other Bethesda / ZeniMax studios whenever they needed a hand.

Of course. If it wasn't clear, I was pointing out that it's literally stealing, not endorsing or recommending it.

However it costs us all in the end.

This is another "it varies" situation. Ask for whatever you would like and see what they say. I can't imagine so. That would be some pretty terrible management and customer service by the CK manager. Additionally, Sky/Star class cruisers are able to make reservations with the concierge/genie pre-cruise so many spots will already be filled in by the time you board, giving the CK manager an idea of how full it is. That's not to say no one in a full suite makes CK reservations onboard, just sharing some additional info.

I don't think it's too late. You may have to pay slightly more than normal because it's last minute but I don't think it's too late. I buy my insurance through Allianz. I go to their website and shop around for the amount of money I want to spend and the amount of coverage I would like to have and then I choose whatever I want from what they offer me. Last year I bought an annual insurance plan instead of a trip by trip plan, it was $510. And it covers all travel in one year and it covers everything I want it to cover. By the time it expires I will have used it for six or seven cruises, some of them international and there's plenty of medical evacuation coverage in there.

For adults? Beaches, pools, plenty of food. For kids there are a few toddler-sized slides that are free as well. But here's the thing...I thought that so little free to adults would make it boring and a let down but it really wasn't. I brought my own snorkel gear and spent like an hour just playing with the fish and then another hour just enjoying the water. Actually never made it to the pool lol

Definitely depends on sailing. We did our first jr suite last year and booked CK for dinner on boarding night. It was crowded and we weren't able to get a seat until I think 8 or so. BUT on the flip side, on the second to last day we got a call inviting us to have lunch, comped, for no other reason than the CK host wanted to. I can only assume they had lower-than-normal numbers eating there and therefore opened it up to JR suite guests.

There's a video on YouTube by Allison from let's go travel tips that covers this very well. I went to Celebrity and did some mock bookings. Same cruise, same cabin, I'm finding that solos are being charged anywhere from $400 more to over $1000 more. Royal has been doing this for quite some time but on a much smaller scale, solos are generally charged $75-$200 more than a couple for the same cruise, same cabin. Also, sometimes when I search Royal Caribbean cruises I will be told that a cabin category is sold out when I'm searching as a solo, but if I go back and search as a couple, all of a sudden those cabin categories are open. One of the questions raised on the chatter on the video I saw was, if we all start booking a phantom guest and then that guest is a no-show, is celebrity going to do some sort of penalty charge for no-shows to make up for the workaround. I totally get being charged a single supplement fee and paying the same as a couple but being charged several hundred dollars more? That's just not right.

I agree with @FionaMG…stick to complimentary dining places for this first cruise…especially since it’s just 4 nights. Also choosing your dining time is much better than MTD. As far as the room…2 bathrooms for 5 is absolutely necessary (in my opinion) so best to book 2 balcony rooms and the different options suggested above are great ones!

The picture is nowhere near as bleak as that. Yes, the Windjammer (which is the main buffet) can be a mad house, especially on embarkation day and at peak meal times but on a ship like Utopia you're going to find plenty of other alternative eating places scattered around the ship. For dinner, I'd suggest you get traditional seating (early will be around 5.30 and late around 8 pm) rather than choosing My Time Dining (MTD). That way you'll have the same table reserved for you every night and you can just walk straight in without having to wait in line for a table. Another strategy could be to buy the ultimate dining package, which will let you eat at the speciality restaurants for dinner every day and lunch on boarding day and sea days. The amount you save by booking two standard rooms rather than a suite will probably cover this and you'll likely still come out on top. However, since it's your first cruise, I'd be inclined to suggest you stick to the included venues so you can see what's what and what you like and dislike. Then you'll know what works for you on the next one!

If we can get from Miami to Tampa for a same-day S2S, you can DEFINITELY get from PC to PE ! It was not nearly as much stress as I thought it would be but I do realize that you would not have a car waiting for you in the terminal parking lot. That would add a bit of complication.

Tell him how cool it will be to cross it off your list I am doing Symphony out of Miami and then the Ascent out of FLL in 2025. Luckily, they are both Sun sailings, so hopefully traffic won't be too bad. But I tend to fly into FLL over Miami, so I know it's not a bad commute.......unless there is a marathon.

I’m trying it for my February Wonder cruise. The fact that it’s a heated pool is reason enough for me to book. Music doesn’t bother me, and if it did I’ll put in my noise cancellation AirPods. Under $30 is a great price to try a new experience IMO.

I’ve raised this to a few people and opinions are mixed - just on a 7 nighter Anthem cruise and we’ve already had two nights in the MDR where the staff do their appreciation parade and announcements. It stops the evening dead. Service grinds to a halt, and it’s usually before dessert has been served, so it takes a few minutes to wind things back up again. I am aware by some reactions during the event that people really love it, but do we really need two or (I fear again tonight) a third? I appreciate the staff and display it through additional gratuities, but I think I’d rather see this tradition come to an end.

See this is one of those bent/broken rules it's best not to talk about. Per the rules of the package, no the bar tender is not to give you a drink if it's not your card. That said, it can get busy and there's not always a foolproof system to verify who is using which card. It happens and I'm sure the increasing cost in the package is reflect that royal knows that. BUT if at any point you get caught...they will penalize you. Period. Probably by either taking the package from your partner OR by adding the cost of one to your card. Of course all of this is moot if you're planning to get the Deluxe Beverage Package because, in an effort to avoid this, royal requires all adults in a room to buy the package and even if you call for an exemption (medical, religious, AA etc) you will be told to buy the non-alcoholic package. So.....there's really no way around paying for it.

Well that sounds like permission to me

We've stayed at both the Country Inn and Hampton. both good. as far as dinner you can always order takeout/delivery. Zarrella's is good. which we did when we stayed at the Counrty Inn , got a lot of food. you could share an entree . When we stayed at the Hampton Inn, there is a bar in the pool area and it has a few takeout menus, we got pizza (not sure from whom, got a couple of drinks and ate at one of the tables on the deck.

That was my first post in this blog! @She Sails Away is doing what I have been bugging Hubby to do since @AshleyDillo sailed Apex. For this coming July (2024), I really want to do a S2S/line to line/port to port, except if we did ours, it would be a bit more challenging as we would have to get from Port Canaveral to Port Everglades on a Friday morning Hubby has not agreed yet, but he also has not said no lol

@foxrunner Great suggestion! My first cruise with my husband was 5 nights but it was on the Brilliance so not really a huge ship by any means! It was a decent amount of time for that ship. I think Oasis came next and it was 7 nights…awesome! 4 nights is really short for a larger ship…in my opinion…especially as the first time cruise and paying the price for the Utopia!

I'm late to the party, but have caught up on this amazing blog. Thank you so much for sharing this huge adventure with us, the photos are amazing and I feel like I was there every step of the way. I've always wondered what this kind of cruise would be like. Looks like the adventure of a lifetime.

"Version" is the operative word given that it's a blank room with bare walls and puzzles on tables (some still geared towards the Asian market). That said, it was very difficult, we enjoyed it, and the price is right! We finished with one second left and the crew member running it said a very low % of groups actually "escape."

Do you have the time to move up to a 7 night cruise on an Oasis class ship? I have been one one 4 nighter and it is like you get on board have a blast and it is time to go. 7 nights really gives a much better feel for the whole cruise experience. Normally I'd not suggest moving to the longer cruise due to cost but because Utopia is new and the overall cost of short cruises are more per day, you might find the cost in the same ballpark. Very few people get off their first cruise and say "I wish that had been shorter". Again a good travel agent like the site sponsors here are invaluable. Unlike other styles of vacations cruise TA don't cost you anything, they are paid by the cruise line. You might get OBC as well as a better fare going through the TA but never a higher fare. You can use the good folks here as your TA and just post questions, we really don't mind. The TA will always get back to you almost immediately and if you have a problem we can't advocate for you like a TA.

we have cruised many times with our teenage and now young adult children. We almost always get connecting ocean view balconies. The price is right and the balcony dividers can also be removed by your stateroom attendant. We have also tried an oceanview balcony for us and a boardwalk balcony for the kids across the hall. For the money 2 balcony rooms beats 1 suite for us.

Welcome to the boards. I say the biggest factor will be price....at least in my opinion. This is only a 4N cruise, so you need to come to a realization of what an acceptable price is for you. You can assign a value to having the perks of Sky class and then what it might cost to get those benefits on their own. I want to assume it will be 5 people and with 5 people you will need at least two bathrooms. So maybe two rooms, they don't have to connect because connecting room sometimes cost more than two rooms just next to each other. It also might be possible to have the cabin attendant open the balcony dividers and then you have access to each room. I would suggest getting a TA, they can help you figure out the best pricing options and, in the event, something isn't right, they can assist.

No cruise in January for me, but check-in opens Jan 30 for my next cruise so I'm relishing in that.

You may not be too late. When my Dad became ill in early December, we scrambled to purchase insurance for our next 3 cruises that final payment was already in for. It was not too late. We bought our insurance through Allianz and they said the better way to do it is after final payment. As far as cost, it is going to depend on how much you want to insure and your age. But call them. We literally bought insurance for Odyssey two weeks before sailing.

Omg! I did not find out until dinner on that last night that he joined the “Best of the best” competition! I heard that you were there too. They introduced him as the guy who saw “Charlie” (another FlowRider guy) more than his own wife on that sailing!

I just mocked a booking for Celebrity and it seems that the issue is that they aren't applying their "75% off 2nd guest" discount on the solo supplement. Easy fix - book the cabin with a phantom guest who - oh no! - missed their flight.

I'll add one: people who are rude to the crew for no good reason. I can't STAND when I hear (usually elderly, surprisingly) people talking down to or making unreasonable demands on crewmembers just trying to do their job - and a lot of times with a language barrier. It's just really uncalled for and there is NO good reason not to treat crew with respect.

we will be sure to hit portside for you!! happy to have you along, although i am MORE excited about your upcoming cruises!!

If only Matt would allow use of the RCLBlog private jet to take everyone to Southampton.

Agreed, it's an old cruise tradition that can go away IMO.

I forgot to mention, that Hubby never made it into the WJ all cruise! Not even once. He was too preoccupied by the FlowRider

While I see your point, that's not at all an example of bait and switch. Royal advertises that you get free drinks in the lounge. You got free drinks in the lounge. Believing or assuming you should also get free drinks anywhere else is on you.

Back when I started cruising, hubby was a Colonel in the Army, and treated the cruise as a mission. His mission was to make sure “my ass” didn’t knock over table lamps on my way off the ship. We always walked up and down the stairs, even up to the 15th floor from level three. Never gained weight, heck….I left the cruise feeling like I had done lunges continuously. Then he retired and was a director at Lockheed Martin. Ten floors up stairs was my limit. Maintained weight. Years later, hubby still runs every morning, but to the human eye it’s more of a jog. His ankles, from years of jumping out of an airplane, makes a funny cracking sound, even when he walks, He no longer “pushes” me more than a few floors of stair taking. He does continue to “roll his eyes” when I push the elevator button to go up, but he jumps in fast right behind me. The last cruise I gained three pounds. I call it “elevator” weight. This coming up cruise I’ll be happy with a three pound weight gain. I will say after years and years of gambling on cruises I have really strong hands, fingers in particular. I can sit 12 hours straight continuously hitting a button. All that exercise has left me with long thin fingers.

Dinner in the MDR, desert in the Windjammer. Cuts dining time down to do other fun things

This morning while waiting to debark I stopped at the photo studio to inquire if I could post the video from the ship's videographer Justin Duncan. They indicated it was okay to post the video but suggested I remove any segments that show a guest's face that would be easily recognizable. I have done that and also removed the sound track which would likely cause a copyright issue on Youtube. This video contains content that was all captured during this voyage. There was no stock footage used or content from another ship or sailing. No sound: