Matt

Yes, it's an excursion you have to sign up for and it costs money ($95 per person). You can book the excursion in advance online or onboard your ship.

I'm curious what would a scan of your passport do for you exactly? Not trying to disparage your strategy, just curious what your thought process is on it :)

We've used the stateroom voicemail feature a lot to share messages with friends and family onboard

You can do either. When you book a Nextcruise, if you booked the cruise you are currently on with a TA, your Nextcruise certificate will be assigned back to them (unless you tell them otherwise). It would be better to book both cruises now because if you waited for your first cruise to get the Nextcruise for your second (and had already booked your Jan 2017 cruise), to apply Nextcruise for Jan 2017, I THINK you will have to make a new reservation, which would make you subject to whatever the prevailing prices were at that time. Hope that made sense.

I think for ladies, yes that is fine and frankly, fairly common.

You may find this link helpful: http://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/category/category/unlimited-alcohol-packages

Welcome Jerel and Jessica!

June, July, and August are peak, meaning more expensive and more families with kids. May and Sept. are colder but less expensive and mostly adults.

If it isn't, then it ought to be!

It's true. You can order a steak or lobster tail in the main dining room for an additional charge any night, but there are evenings when those items are on the included menu. It's essentially for people that want steak or lobster every/any night

I think it's great you want to give an agency a try. While I don't have anyone that can do business in Australia a try (Royal Caribbean prohibits American TAs from working with Australians), I would recommend doing an internet search for a few companies and send them each a list of questions. These should be questions about your expectations as your TA and even about RC. You might even ask questions you know the answers to just to see what they write back with. The point of this email is to see how quickly and knowledgeably they respond.

If there's an obstructed view, it means something will be partially or close to completely blocking the view. The advantage of these rooms is they are usually less expensive. So if you absolutely want a view, then change. But if you are okay with rolling the dice on not having a total view, then enjoy the savings!

If you leave your passports on the ship, you lose out on the very reason to have them. The most likely scenario where you would benefit from the passport is if you are off the ship and get injured or somehow detained and miss the ship. With a passport, you can leave the country you are in immediately and fly home or meet up with the ship. But if your passport is back in your stateroom, it does you no good. To that point, I always bring my passport with me when we go off the ship on an excursion. I'll stash them somewhere, just like I do with my wallet. Just my advice :)

In theory they are codes. In practice, they are suggestions. Certain rules are steadfast: no bathing suits, cover ups, tank tops or something else you will find on the pool deck in the main dining room. But the rules tend to be in-frequently enforced in terms of if shorts, t-shirts and other more casual clothing is okay. If you ask me, the issue is not the rules but Royal Caribbean's lack of consistently enforcing the rules.

You may find this blog post about dinner dress codes helpful: http://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2014/07/21/first-time-cruisers-the-truth-about-dress-codes

Oh, I assumed Terminal 1 was right near the old ones. I learned something today!

I've been to two inexpensive beaches in Cozumel: http://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2010/07/21/excursion-focus-paradise-beach-cozumel http://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2010/08/03/excursion-focus-playa-palancar Both require a short cab ride, but they're essentially what you want: somewhere nice to put your feed in the sand and be able to swim.

Not sure where to start with this one, sorry!

Yes, the terms of your purchase will be honored

You have a choice to get the credit on the current cruise or save it for the cruise you just booked.

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Some folks get a whiteboard and post it on their door. If you're on a Quantum class ship, you can use the Royal iQ app and it has built in messaging. If you get the internet package, you can use a messaging app.

Just noticed earlier this month, Royal Caribbean Blog had its 5 year anniversary! Thanks to everyone for helping make this site so much fun for me to work on for 5 years. It never feels like work because of all of your support. Thank you!

I think based on your preference for how Disney does dining, traditional dining would be the better fit. You have set times and the same waiters and tablemates. The only real difference is you do not change restaurants every night.

That is correct. If you are all under one account, each of your charges will pool from the same expense account.