Matt

Great job with the photos Loopner!

One of the best quiet spots is deck 5 on the outside deck. Always quiet and barely any people. There are lounge chairs there that are perfect for sleeping, reading or just relaxing.

If you add the drink package in Cruise Planner and then go to your cart and expand the item, you will see a charge for the package and then a service charge item. The service charge is the gratuity

Liberty of the Seas will be in Cape Liberty between the two

Thanks all for the kind words! Next group cruise info is posted. Would love for more of you to be able to join us: http://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/royalcaribbeanblogcom-cruise-aboard-allure-of-the-seas

Just keep thinking about the money you will save. I can't blame you for the decision.

I'd love to meet you guys, but I'll be off the ship well before then. Have to get back to real life unfortunately!

Welcome Jill! It's true you do not get any Crown and Anchor benefits on your first cruise. After your first cruise, you can sign up and become a member. If you're doing back to back, talk to the loyalty ambassador about it and on your second cruise, they should be able to hook you up with gold status for that sailing. Oasis of the Seas hasn't quite converted to dynamic dining yet. They did the work in terms of construction but the actual Dynamic Dining program has not been rolled out there, but by the time your cruise comes around, that may change. So you may have to wait and see how dining is on Oasis closer to your sailing. For the casino, there is a program for those that spend enough money. One of our board members, Stephanie, can explain it far better than I can. I believe you have to spend a certain amount of money per day in the casino to qualify for it.

March 2015 19 - Superwoman10 (Brilliance of the Seas) 21 - Matt (Quantum of the Seas Royal Caribbean Blog Group Cruise!) 21 - RCKRZR (Quantum of the Seas Royal Caribbean Blog Group Cruise!) 21 - pnyxprss (Quantum of the Seas Royal Caribbean Blog Group Cruise!) 21 - Jamie (Quantum of the Seas Royal Caribbean Blog Group Cruise!) 21 - ncbn0902 (Quantum of the Seas Royal Caribbean Blog Group Cruise!) 29 - ian91 (Quantum of the Seas) April 2015 4 - bcarney (Jewel of the Seas) 5 - FloatMe (Adventure of the Seas) 5 - NYCruiser19 (Quantum of the Seas) 10 - CaribbeanPirate (Grandeur of the Seas) 11 - markinct (Oasis of the Seas) 19 - capitalkyle (Adventure of the Seas) 20 - monctonguy (Enchantment of the Seas) May 2015 10 - RCL lover (Independence of the Seas) 11 - ian91 (Allure of the Seas) 17 - sulross (Navigator of the Seas) June 2015 7 - JasonD (Freedom of the Seas) 13 - Shocked (Anthem of the Seas) 19 - turtleclanscott (Jewel of the Seas) 21 - TheMays July 2015 26 - Matt (Freedom of the Seas) 29 - DocLC (Brilliance of the Seas) August 2015 1 - Marc (Adventure of the Seas) 8 - Dan (Liberty of the Seas) 10 - jlynn222 (Enchantment of the Seas) 17 - Bryce G. (Enchantment of the Seas) September 2015 13 - Shocked (Allure of the Seas) 18 - ian91 (Brilliance of the Seas) 19 - MarriedonRRC (Oasis of the Seas) 26 - RCKRZR (Jewel of the Seas) 27 - Steve (Brilliance of the Seas) 27 - sulross (Navigator of the Seas) October 2015 18 - bkirkham (Navigator of the Seas) 24 - greenline627 (Grandeur of the Seas) November 2015 1 - sulross (Liberty of the Seas) 3 - rekkie (Explorer of the Seas) 13 - rekkie (Explorer of the Seas) 13 - Steve (Liberty of the Seas) 13 - sulross (Liberty of the Seas) January 2016 2 - Dan (Oasis of the Seas) 3 - DocLC (Liberty of the Seas) 10 - Michel (Allure of the Seas) February 2016 7 - jlynn222 (Freedom of the Seas) March 2016 4 - Dan (Anthem of the Seas) 13 - Marc (Freedom of the Seas) 13 - Cowcrazy65 (Grandeur of the Seas) June 2016 12 - Shocked (Harmony of the Seas)

I was searching by month the other night and didn't have a problem. Which browser were you using?

If anyone knows the info, it will be Stephanie. I'm sure once she finds this thread, she'll comment!

I'm not familiar with this event but in general, large groups can reserve spots on the ship but it's not like "most of the ship" will be closed. There may be lounges or venues closed off for an hour or two here or there but it won't be like you don't have access to a vast majority of the ship.

Oh my, that's another good "problem" to figure out! Hmm, I will have to think about that too

In terms of picking a ship, I think it's a safe bet to choose from any of the Freedom, Oasis or Quantum class ships. They are all relatively new and offer among the very best in terms of restaurants, onboard activities, features, tech, etc. They would also stack up favorably to Disney's ships. For the drink packages, the alcohol packages have no comparison to DCL since Disney does not offer drink packages. RC offers soda packages, which as you know, soft drinks are free on DCL. It's true, no self-serve laundry. You can have clothes pressed and/or cleaned via the ship's dry cleaner for a modest charge. Please feel free to post as many questions as you want!

Never had a cruise cancelled but as an example, the group cruise on Quantum of the Seas that I and some others from the blog are going on was booked back in 2013 and since then, the itinerary has changed quite a few times. It sounds like you had a real extreme change in itinerary because your cruise length changed too.

That is correct. She will have her inaugural and a few sailings after that in Europe but then will come back to USA in winter.

Originally Quantum was listed as going to Bermuda but that never happened. Glad the idea wasn't lost too.

This thread scared me enough to go find my passport and make sure it wasn't expiring. :lol: I'm happy to report no problems with either

Welcome Jennifer! I will recommend two resources to assist you: First is our DCL vs RC comparison blog post: http://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2014/12/22/first-time-cruisers-comparing-royal-caribbean-disney-cruise-line And we also recorded a podcast episode with the author of the Unofficial Guide to Disney Cruise Line comparing the lines: http://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/podcast/episode-50-royal-caribbean-versus-disney-cruise-line

You can try going back through the online check-in process. Part of that process is entering your passport number. If it all works, you will have to re-print but using the passport is safer and simpler! So glad you were able to get it back in time!

Not sure if you were aware of the changeover on Oasis to Dynamic Dining. Well, half-change. The full change has been postponed but during the ship's refurbishment, they converted the MDR to prepare for Dynamic Dining. Wondering if that change contributed to your dining troubke.

March 2015 13 - AGSLC5 (Quantum of the Seas) 14 - Marc (Independence of the Seas) 14 - Don (Serenade of the Seas) 15 - doanej (Allure of the Seas) 19 - Superwoman10 (Brilliance of the Seas) 21 - Matt (Quantum of the Seas Royal Caribbean Blog Group Cruise!) 21 - RCKRZR (Quantum of the Seas Royal Caribbean Blog Group Cruise!) 21 - pnyxprss (Quantum of the Seas Royal Caribbean Blog Group Cruise!) 21 - Jamie (Quantum of the Seas Royal Caribbean Blog Group Cruise!) 21 - ncbn0902 (Quantum of the Seas Royal Caribbean Blog Group Cruise!) 29 - ian91 (Quantum of the Seas) April 2015 4 - bcarney (Jewel of the Seas) 5 - FloatMe (Adventure of the Seas) 5 - NYCruiser19 (Quantum of the Seas) 10 - CaribbeanPirate (Grandeur of the Seas) 11 - markinct (Oasis of the Seas) 19 - capitalkyle (Adventure of the Seas) 20 - monctonguy (Enchantment of the Seas) May 2015 10 - RCL lover (Independence of the Seas) 11 - ian91 (Allure of the Seas) 17 - sulross (Navigator of the Seas) June 2015 7 - JasonD (Freedom of the Seas) 13 - Shocked (Anthem of the Seas) 19 - turtleclanscott (Jewel of the Seas) 21 - TheMays July 2015 26 - Matt (Freedom of the Seas) 29 - DocLC (Brilliance of the Seas) August 2015 1 - Marc (Adventure of the Seas) 8 - Dan (Liberty of the Seas) 10 - jlynn222 (Enchantment of the Seas) 17 - Bryce G. (Enchantment of the Seas) September 2015 13 - Shocked (Allure of the Seas) 18 - ian91 (Brilliance of the Seas) 19 - MarriedonRRC (Oasis of the Seas) 26 - RCKRZR (Jewel of the Seas) 27 - Steve (Brilliance of the Seas) 27 - sulross (Navigator of the Seas) October 2015 18 - bkirkham (Navigator of the Seas) 24 - greenline627 (Grandeur of the Seas) November 2015 1 - sulross (Liberty of the Seas) 3 - rekkie (Explorer of the Seas) 13 - rekkie (Explorer of the Seas) 13 - Steve (Liberty of the Seas) 13 - sulross (Liberty of the Seas) January 2016 2 - Dan (Oasis of the Seas) 3 - DocLC (Liberty of the Seas) 10 - Michel (Allure of the Seas) February 2016 7 - jlynn222 (Freedom of the Seas) March 2016 4 - Dan (Anthem of the Seas) 13 - Marc (Freedom of the Seas) 13 - Cowcrazy65 (Grandeur of the Seas)

If they had them on Quantum, I didn't see any back in November

It's going to be interesting to see how Oasis does in Canaveral competing now directly with DCL

We sailed on Jewel of the Seas from San Juan and you will have to leave by 9am or so. We had a flight to catch so we were among the first off the ship.