Matt

Life in general is easier to cope with when another cruise is imminent

What were your favorite activities onboard?

We found the cashier will charge you less of a service charge than the ATM to get cash

Interesting. I know in North American cruises I've taken, you could leave but you would have to go back through customs/security again. I've never tried it

It's a pretty neat tour to be able to see these areas of the ship. I've been lucky enough to see them for free as part of media events but I'm not sure I'd be willing to drop $400 (for me and my wife) to see it. That being said, sounds like you might find it fascinating and perhaps it's best to think of it like an onboard shore excursion.

I printed my baggage tags and cruise docs yesterday! Great feeling!

We're usually off before 9am. I do agree flights noon or later are fine. Earlier flights are possible but prepare yourself for a lot of anxiety.

Welcome to the boards Samantha! Only two cruises? Geez, you've got some planning to do! ;)

Great news!

Thanks for the info!

Nailed it. Actually, everyone in this thread nailed it. Book as far in advance as you can. You really have nothing to lose.

Royal Caribbean isn't stupid. They've been moving towards this new pricing structure because they can. They've seen bookings get better and better and onboard spending increase every quarter. But if bookings stagnated or fell, they'd have to respond, regardless of their pricing initiatives. They can't send half full ships out, regardless of how much people paid to be on them. I hate to say it as a consumer but we were lucky for many years with basement pricing on cruises, thanks to an economic downturn. Times are getting better by many economic measuring sticks and thus, Royal Caribbean is reaping the benefits. I don't think the product is going to get to a point where it's out of any of our prices ranges any time soon but I do think the days of sub-$100/day cruises are numbered.

I agree it's largely a gimmick.

That's exactly what RC wanted. They put out a promotion and lots of folks jumped to book it, thus inventory was reduced and prices increased. I know lots of folks believe the BOGO (and perhaps KSF) promo come with inflated base prices but I think you're giving RC too much credit for having some evil plan :)

It's all marketing. Mini suite sounds a lot more enticing than "really large balcony"

I've heard of many issues getting to CocoCay and skipped stops. The good news (or is it bad news) is it can happen any month of the year. I don't think any one month is more susceptible to it than another. I wouldn't necessarily worry about it. It's a definite possibility you may have to skip CocoCay if the seas are too rough or winds too high, but there's a risk with any port you visit you may not be able to stop there.

I've heard Strongbow in bottles is available in the Globe and Atlas pub on Independence of the Seas, so you may want to ask for it. As for what's covered by the package, unless the beer sells for more than $10-12 per bottle, it's usually covered in the package. The exceptions tend to be the enormous sized bottled beer.

Haven't heard if it will return. I know many people enjoyed it last year (myself included). So one thing you have to understand is pricing changes daily (if not more often). Some people believe RC increases the price during these sorts of sales but I don't buy it. You can't compare the price today versus a few weeks from now if/when this sale is announced because prices change all the time. Last year I had a cruise booked and then KSF was announced and we re-priced and saved money on it. YMMV

From what I can tell, the free drinks package requires a special code of BEVERAGE to get it. I dont think the website supports codes but calling Royal Caribbean directly or using a TA, they can apply it.

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/contentWithGallery.do?icid=wvq1_2_tctclp_bgw_hm_cntntr_1903&pagename=february2015_bogo_wild_caribbean http://www.royalcaribbean.com/contentWithGallery.do?icid=wvq1_2_tctclp_bgw_hm_cntntr_6256&pagename=february2015_bogo_wild_europe

The Windjammer does have pizza usually. I know Serenade used to have a pizzeria but I believe it was removed in the ship's refurbishment (along with Sea View Cafe). There is Park Cafe onboard which has amazing roast beef sandwiches, among other snacks.

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Welcome to the boards Suzy! Any friend of Michelle and Beci is welcome here

So for my upcoming cruises I see the packages priced 35/49/55 and when you add it to your cart, the service charge is tacked on if you expand the details. They unbundled the gratuity in advertising the package price a little while ago but it is still being added after because if you do the math on the advertised prices, they are still less than the cart price.

Nicely done Mike!