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Ill keep this short. I just sailed my first cruise ever back in September on the Navigator. I must say I had a blast and was by far the best vacation I have ever taken. My wife also had a fabulous time. Perfect Day at Cococay was Perfect. Nothing to complain about. I say all this to say Thank you for this blog site. The message board and videos has helped us so much. I already booked another cruise and in the process of booking two other. I'm a Royal Caribbean customer for life. Thank you everyone!

Make that the “tongue-tied” Stalker Bot... ha ha

Challenge met... friends, HE is not a bot

Great to hear you had a fabulous cruise, and are coming back for more!

Congrats on booking your first cruise. Warning it can be addictive. Best way to pass the time is to go ahead and book additional cruises that sail between now and June 2021!! Trust me !!!!!!!!!!!

My flight options were Heathrow or Gatwick for the trip I just booked. Flight times and pricing were all dumb so I gave in and booked from my local airport using miles. To fly out of Orlando it routed me through Atlanta. The same flight direct from Atlanta was 2.5x the price of the Orlando trip with the layover. You will drive yourself crazy over the next year watching the flights, I promise!

As an example of how complicated the whole thing is, here's what just happened to me: I'm in a Jr Suite on an upcoming cruise. All suites of all types have been sold out for 6 months. At 58 days, RoyalUp became available and I bid the minimum for a GS. At 49 days, my bid was accepted. I can guarantee it wasn't my piddly bid money they wanted. They obviously wanted to free up my cabin, perhaps for someone who had bid the max for a Jr Suite. Or to accommodated an oversale or special passenger or something. Regardless, there is movement in inventory *all the time* Personally, I always bid the minimum. If I don't get the upgrade, no worries -- I'm in a cabin I already like. If I do, I got a steal. I'm averaging 40% success so far!

We're doing our first B2B in December. We originally had the same Jr Suite cabin, but you better believe I gave that up in a hot minute when my RoyalUp got accepted for a GS on the second leg! #priorities

Of course that's what Stalker Bot would say... 😉

I think that's what's going on with Rhapsody as well. She's arriving from a repositioning cruise from Barcelona. We are so excited about this cruise we can't stand it! We first sailed on RCL in November 2017 (Empress of the Seas to Cuba), and loved it. Earlier this year we sailed on a Disney cruise and really didn't enjoy it nearly as much, though it was more than 2-3X the price. So being back with RCL this week is awesome, and we already booked another 3 night cruise on Mariner in January. Thanks for your perspective!

We are on our way! 😁 Our local airport is very quiet at this time of year. It mostly serves summer holidaymakers coming to enjoy our beautiful beaches.

Just arrived! Waiting to sign-on the ship.

Coconut water is gross. Gimme any other part of that coconut but blehhhh about the water.

We booked the OV room on Empress last night through MEI Travel (first time using them). Told our agent to keep an eye out for JS deals. Most likely we will book a JS on a different cruise where the price difference is not as significant. Based on our 7-10 nights a year we book on RCI, we are probably 5 years away from reaching Diamond but I would love to "double up" sometimes and get there by Summer 2023 for a BIG anniversary Alaska Cruise!!!! Thanks everyone for your input.

Could be some final negotiations are in play. Once Royal makes cruises available to book they lose some bargaining leverage. Right now if they can’t come to terms they can keep Allure in Florida.

Already there! Since we may never go again this a no holds bar trip. Looking at Star class, several days in London before or after the cruise.

Our flight to Lisbon was on time and uneventful. We checked in to the hotel where we found everything to be as expected, having stayed here twice before. The rooms are small but are fine for an overnight stay. Ours is the door on the right at the far end of the corridor. The lobby is already decorated for Christmas. And there are vending machine and a scale so you can weigh your luggage before heading to the airport.As I mentioned previously, the hotel is less than 5 minutes walk from the airport and there is a metro (underground, subway) station at the airport making it very easy to get into the city centre. Tickets cost just €1.50 each way. Very convenient. That's it for tonight. Tomorrow morning we will board our trans-pond flight. Goodnight and thanks for following. 😊

Finally won at the trivia games

Oh okay that makes sense. Seems like a weird and slightly misleading way to advertise sales. Never-mind then. Thanks for the reply.

I’ve usually had great experiences at Heathrow. And now US citizens can use the e-gates as long as you aren’t traveling with children, which has sped up going through passport control a lot.

For me it's more about not loosing our luggage that's why I looked at July 2020 nonstop flights. Still pricing everything before we commit. Hopefully we will be able to go. It's so expensive there.

It can be done, but then you will find yourself befriending the Genies or trying to steal your friend's Genie to "pretend" that you sailing Star Class. 🤣

Hi all. It's Melissa here. I am going to try and do something that I have always wanted to do...A Live Blog of our Symphony of the Seas cruise. Let me first introduce myself. If you watch Below Deck on Bravo then you will understand that I am the primary! AHHHHHH. I love being in charge...lol. Joining me will be my wonderful husband, Axel (6) and Emily (3), my parents, my grandmother, and rounding out my motley crew is my brother. You can probably tell by the name of my blog that we are a family that loves Disney. But a close second would be Royal Caribbean. We will be lavishly living it up in the Villa Suite on November 30, 2019. I know what you are thinking...why start a blog so early? I guess I am just too dang excited not to get my thoughts down. My hope that you all enjoy yourself while reading this, and it may help future cruisers.

First Off Congrats On Getting Diamond. I Personally Love Being Diamond. The Diamond Concierge In The Diamond Lounge Is Always Very Helpful To Get Show Booked Or Dining. I Also Really Like The Perk Of Free Wifi For A Day. The Free Drinks Are Pretty Great Too.

Hey Bobroo.... I just thought of something of something else. This "DL Culture"....they isn't any kind of initiation rite is there? Like having to down x number of tequila shots after consuming x number of ghost pepper hot wings, or arm wrestling or getting a commemorative tattoo? Is so, we're in!

I sailed Serenade's first sailing after her transatlantic in September, meaning they day I boarded was the ship's first arrival in an American port in months. Because of this, There were a number of inspections going on, including coast guard. We were not delayed at all in boarding, and boarded around 11AM. The inspections seemed to be being performed amidst the guests -- I think most things that they are inspecting aren't in guest areas anyway. I wouldn't change your arrival plans, I think it's likely you'll be allowed to board while inspections are ongoing.

I did this excursion last month. To be honest, we didn't enjoy it and I would pass on this one. Once in the water, we felt very crowded and didn't have room to swim. Everyone was kicking each other and I felt unsafe. Plus, there were 3 other boats filled with passengers entering the water as well. There also wasn't much to see in the water, very few fish and dead coral. They provided noodles if you wanted extra flotation in the water, but quickly ran out. Even the boat ride wasn't too exciting. We thought it would have more of a pirate ship feel, but it was just men operating a boat with a sail. You also couldn't walk around since the boat was stuffed with people and the snorkeling equipment took up a lot of space. I am typically not a negative person when it comes to cruising and excursions, but we have done other snorkeling and catamaran excursions in the past, and they were all far superior to this one. We left this one rather disappointed and wish we chose something else.

Well said.

April is a long way off and to be honest, there is a lot more to the proper use of a Diamond Lounge than we’ve talked about here. It’s more than drinks and coffee. It’s a place of solitude. The computer terminals are very helpful and likely there is one unoccupied. It’s a place to grab a light bite to eat if not pig out on favorite hors d’ ourves. It’s learning the power of the concierge and what they can and can not do. It’s the skuttlebutt and rumor mill. But in my opinion, the best part of all? It’s the other like-experienced people that you will meet there. It’s the sharing of stories, ideas, and advice; much like this blog and the contributions here. If I were you, I’d jump on an el cheapo 3 nighter to the Bahamas before April. I’d hate to see you go into a b2b blind and oblivious to DL culture. <wink, wink> Congratulations, it’s great to have you aboard! OH! And one other thing! When you leave the DL, they gotta buzz you out. Don’t make the rookie error of trying to open that locked door, you’ll look ridiculous.

Glad you had an awesome time, and just like us, we started cruising about 15 years ago on Royal and just keep booking with Royal, my theory is, if it's not broke, don't fix it, yes this board is great even for,veteran cruisers glad you enjoyed and keep cruising.

Okay guys...10 DAYS till Symphony!! I am currently looking at my schedule. Only 6 more workouts, 9 more sleeps, and 5.5 more working days. I am a sucker for countdowns. My hair appointment is for Friday, getting my nails done Tuesday. I am just so excited to relax!!! We heard from the Genie on our schedule. I am not too pleased with it, rather disappointed. So to turn a negative into a positive, I am making my own schedule! Forgot to mention, on Day 2 we are doing a cabin crawl. I am excited to host this. We are the second to the last cabin because someone has a crown loft suite. I talked to the Genie about having so planks and appetizers so we are all set on that! How am I ever going to cruise again with out Star Class? Please tell me it can be done...

Yep. You've got it !

Independence of the seas dining venues: Included: Main Dining Room - Breakfast, Lunch (non port days), Dinner Windjammer Cafe- Breakfast, Lunch, Snacks, Dinner Sorrento's Pizza- Open 11 am to 3 am Cafe Promenade - Snacks 24 hours Soft Serve Ice cream station - Hours vary Extra Charge: Chops Grille Giovanni's Table Fish and Ships Playmakers Izumi Hibachi Izumi Sushi Chef's Table Johnny Rockets Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream Sugar Beach Candy store

You can also look at previous cruise compasses to see the hours for the various dining options https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/cruise-compass

DAY 6: Sea Day Bottomless Galley Brunch Note: Only the drinks, champagne and fruit punch, are bottomless. The brunch is pick one option per course - appetizer, main course, dessert. The guy at the table next to mine asked for a second main course, he was told he would be charged for it. This package should be renamed, “Bottomless Drinks Galley Brunch” Sorry, I was too hungry to take a picture of the Filet Mignon 😂

Each RoyalUP offer is unique and unlinked to any other booking. If you win your cabin could be anywhere. If the other cabin wins also that cabin could be anywhere. The chance of them being both upgraded it pretty slim and the chance that if both were upgraded and they end up next to each other would be very unlikely. If being next to each other is important I'd suggest you don't try to use RoyalUP.

^^ +1 ^^

CRUISING TIP: Using a Pullman bed with magnetic hooks for organization.

Not sure, but I looked at some of the Cruise Compass from ships that port at Grand Cayman. Its seems that tendering starts at 7:30am or shortly after. There are some special consideration should you depart after 8am (need to get a ticket). I suggest looking at the Cruise Compass section on this board to find your ship and a recent cruise compass for a better idea. Below is one example from Adventure of the Seas: https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/cruise-compasses/adventure-of-the-seas/sun-2019-01-27-0000

Day 3: At Sea Once again, we got woke up to breakfast delivery. We were sleeping hard and did not want to wake up, but we had a Star Class Galley tour at 10am, so we knew we had to start the day. We had breakfast on our balcony, and then headed off to the tour. The galley tour and meet and mingle were at the same time, so we skipped the meet and mingle. Steven and I decided to try out the zipline on the way to pick up the kids for the parade. The suite party and the parade were also at the same time, so we popped into the suite party and snapped a quick picture with Captain Ron, then headed to the parade. The parade was much better when it was DreamWorks. After the parade, we stopped in Izumi and ordered sushi to our room (well, technically our bed). Before we even finished eating, our daily snacks from Alan were delivered. We took the kids to the cupcake decorating class, and we made puppy cupcakes and then rode the carousel and went to the arcade. After lounging around for a bit, we had dinner at Coastal Kitchen for filet night. The two older kids wanted to have dinner in Adventure Ocean, so they did not join us for dinner. We asked Alan if we could have dinner delivered to our table expeditiously so the babies did not get fussy, since their nap was cut short for the cupcake decorating class. We were not let down. The food and service was spectacular. Alan also stopped by Coastal Kitchen to check on us. He played with the babies and then told us he was going to stop in Adventure Ocean to see Christian and Sophia. This made me very happy as Christian has been asking us all day about seeing Genie Alan. We are chilling in our room waiting for the Love and Marriage show. The Love and Marriage show is at 10:15pm, so hopeful we will get to bed before midnight for once. We told Alan that we wanted to sleep in tomorrow, so no CK or Starbucks breakfast delivery. Tomorrow is Cozumel, and we are going to take it slow and relax.

I am also going on Allure in January! From past experience, there is always somewhere to get food. Other than specialty dining, which is only open for lunch hours and dinner hours, most food places are open throughout the entire day. Sorrento's pizza is open until 2 or 3 am which is super helpful if you are out and about that late. There is also room service 24/7 but that has a service fee plus gratuity. If you download the Royal Caribbean app they have a list of the dining options and the times they will be open during your cruise. I don't know if you have my time dining or traditional dining but you can request a table for two for both. Some people choose to dine with other people in order to meet new people but if you rather have a table to yourselves then you can request that. If you do have my time dining you can make reservations for dinner every night through cruise planner that way you do not have to worry about making reservations once onboard.

Thanks for the review. We decided to book this one for our cruise on Oasis next week.

Or drive to FLL, have a great dinner and margaritas at La Bamba to start the vacation off the only proper way, then drive to Miami the next morning. 😁

So we are officially at 42 days to go!!! We had some serious rain from Nestor so my event was cancelled. I sell Dotdotsmile on the side so I was a little bummed because this is one of my favorite events!! In any case it gave me some extra time to go shopping! I grabbed my bff and on our way we went. I was thinking that I needed another dress and the kids needed some formal wear. I couldn’t help myself when I saw this. Introducing Axel...quite dapper I think.

Eating specialty restaurant food on the balcony is one of those perks that you canNOT get anywhere except Star Class. Take advantage of it while you can. Breakfast out there is positively decadent.

What a wonderful gift ! You are all going to have the times of your lives. They will never forget it ! The ATS are awesome ! Be sure you have at least one nice meal out on the balcony. Sometimes it can be waaaytooo hot out there, but it's so special. It's usually a little more tolerable while underway vs being in port b/c at least you get a little breeze.

That's what we did in March. When we do the Villa I am not sure what we will do with that since we have so many more people.

I just told my DH that I will be running away from home to jump on the Freedom from NJ. He just shook his head....does that mean he wants to go too?