Matt

Better to ask for forigveness than permission ;)

I'd characterize it as "better than nothing"

You should listen to our podcast episode about cruising with young kids https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/podcast/episode-180-guide-cruising-young-children-royal-caribbean

Only option if you are out of the country and no wifi is to turn your cellular antenna back on (meaning turn off airplane mode) and place a call while roaming. It will be rather expensive.

Tagging @Wilson, @Michael Vitale & @Christie

Once onboard, go to Guest Services or any specialty restaurant. They can make the change for you.

You should see the tour offered in your Cruise Planner prior to the cruise. That's the best opportunity to book it.

Regarding shore excursions, if you book almost any shore excursion with RC, they are group tours. So you will get to tour with others.

In general, the old Cruise Compass' offer a ballpark idea of what to expect. I'd say if you have two ships doing similar itinerary in the same class, it will be close ( like Oasis and Allure).

Don't waste your money on that AT&T package. Here's what you need to do... Before your cruise, activate Wi-Fi calling on your phone. Here's an overview from AT&T on how to activate. Purchase a Royal Caribbean Voom internet package (preferably before the cruise so you save money). Once onboard the RC ship, place phone into Airplane Mode Activate WiFi, but leave phone in Airplane mode Connect to Voom Shortly after connecting, your phone should say "AT&T WiFi" in the top left corner That's it. Now as long as you are connected, you can call your son or your son can call you.

Here is John's from February 2017: https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/cruise-compasses/majesty-of-the-seas/mon-2017-02-06-0000

I've noticed that too. It's also why I never believe that traditional dining is ever truly "full".

Yes, I wouldn't be too worried, and the cost savings is tremendous. Also keep in mind that a vast majority of people on your ship do next to no advanced planning.

@JLMoran Excellent explanation

I've had similar thoughts and then you get onboard and realize, "Oh, this isn't so bad." Obviously the larger rooms are nice, but nothing wrong with an inside room (especially not the price)!

Yes, you can change it to any participating restaurant (As an example, Chef's Table isn't valid for it) and the price remains the same. I think the key is understanding two things: You may need to be flexible with times (might not be able to get 6pm, but 8pm will be available). You need to make the change as early as you can once onboard. If you are dead-set on eating at Chops Grille at 6:30pm and anything else will be a disappointment to you, then skip the package. If you are okay with eating at Chops at some point, or Giovannis as a back up, then it's good to get.

https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2017/04/22/spotlight-first-night-specialty-restaurant-discount

The Cruise Compass will be delivered to your stateroom when you are onboard. It's like a daily newspaper of events and things going on. While Royal Caribbean will not provide that information ahead of time, the old Cruise Compass' we have on this site are a pretty good indication of what to expect. You might find this podcast episode helpful in explaining the in's and out's of the Cruise Compass: https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/podcast/episode-47-cruise-compass

Freedom, hands down.

Absolutely not. Just like on DCL, the specialty restaurants on RC augment the fabulous complimentary dining. Nearly all the former DCL folks that try RC remark something along the lines of, "the food was WAY better on RC than on DCL". You can very easily enjoy just complimentary food on your RC cruise have a a satisfying experience. I love the main dining room, and the Windjammer buffet offers a very wide assortment of choices. Generally, I recommend trying a specialty restaurant or two to spice things up a bit. It's not absolutely necessary, but I think it helps. Think of it like going to Disney World and sprinkling in a table service restaurant among a trip filled mostly with counter service restaurants. It's just a nice way to make a night or two extra special.

Here's the answer from Royal Caribbean's CEO Michael Bayley why RC is not cruising from California anytime soon

Did you by chance figure out how much the package would be on a daily basis after that discount is applied?

This is a good question for @monorailmedic, since he has had success in requesting liquor not normally carried onboard.

I don't think it's a matter of costs. On any cruise, there will be a portion of guests who want Traditional Dining and another portion that prefer MTD. On some sailings, the numbers skew more in one direction than another. I've seen Traditional "full" also, only to have my waitlist come through with seats.

Great, so you will have two formal nights. First is on night 2, the other will be on night 5 or night 6. It depends on your itinerary. The Cruise Compass will let you know each day what the dress code is for that evening.