Matt

Same, I hope it's not true

You should do this on all cruises but be sure to ALWAYS wash your hands after using the restroom AND before you eat. The disease travels via food so do your best to keep your hands clean. I always do this anyway but don't let the letter ruin your cruise!

Have a great cruise! Please share photos and a report when you get back (and how much you won from the casino)!

Which shows do you see available?

I think this is true

Essentially AmEx will allow you more time to pay off the cruise. This is from AmEx's website: So basically if you know you aren't going to be able to pay the amount in full it will likely save you some money on finance charges. Ordinarily they use they use the "Average Daily Balance" method of calculating the finance charges, which is the sum of your credit card balance each day in the billing cycle divided by the number of days in that billing cycle. With extended payments you only pay on the unpaid balance as opposed to the average daily balance.

Makes sense, thanks Marc!

RC has always done a health questionnaire and will continue to do so. Customs does its own screening even before people come to the USA. I don't mean to profile but odds are someone with Ebola would be coming from West Africa and Customs is already engaged in screening for that. I'd be more worried about catching the flu or a stomach bug as the odds are FAR more likely to get those than Ebola on a cruise.

Welcome! You should be able to get in by 10am certainly. That was my plan of action before fog delayed Navigator's arrival when I cruised in February. Keep in mind that is a very realistic delay you can run into that time of the year. As soon as the system will let you. There is no window that is standard. Sometimes it's well in advance (months to years) and other times it's less than 45 days. Best advice is to keep checking the site periodically. I've tendered from Grand Cayman a few times. It's slow but the key is to get out early. If you wake up at 10am and roll out to the tendering station thereafter you will hit prime time rush. Try to get out early to beat the crowd. In Belize, we arrived well before the tenders began and were on the first boat out. That's probably overkill for Grand Cayman as the lines there have never been that bad in my experience. Early bird gets the worm! In terms of time to explore, I'd say you should plan on spending the day on the island. Going back for lunch and then back to the island would probably take up too much time in commuting. I love exploring Cozumel on foot in the city and doing shopping and EATING but I've also had a good time at beaches like Paradise Beach. I've heard nothing but good things about Mr. Sanchos For Falmouth, I recommend the all inclusive Hilton Rose: http://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2011/09/15/excursion-focus-hilton-rose-hall-resort-spa-day-pass Grand Cayman, get to shore, find a taxi and ask to go to 7 mile beach. It's the place to be, no question about it.

Welcome to the forums! You are correct that not everyone in the stateroom has to have the drink package anymore. It was the original rule but Royal Caribbean changed the rule so now one adult can get an unlimited alcohol package and any other adults can abstain from purchasing one. As for sharing drinks, it's against the rules. If you're caught, you could potentially lose your package privileges and of course there's the moral conundrum of essentially stealing drinks.

It's worth it but as Marc noted, the bag is small. About the size of an average plastic shopping bag you would get from the grocery store.

Why do you say that?

Welcome Rich! 7 to 9-night cruises include two formal nights, one smart casual night and four to six casual nights.

Oh is the discount bigger depending on your C&A level?

October 2014 9 - Satkowitz (Explorer of the Seas) 12 - donalk (Liberty of the Seas) 14 - Darkcabbie (Independence of the Seas) 15 - ChrisTravel2114 (Oasis of the Seas) 15 - ian91 (Oasis of the Seas) 19 - ang73 (Freedom of the Seas) 20 - JasonDrahos (Sereneade of the Seas) 27 - Gwen (Oasis of the Seas) November 2014 3 - monctonguy (Enchantment of the Seas) 9 - RCL lover (Navigator of the Seas) 12 - Matt (Quantum of the Seas) 16 - Greg (Allure of the Seas) 22 - mactrio (Serenade of the Seas) 23 - Sheltie (Quantum of the Seas) December 2014 6 - Swazoo (Independence of the Seas) 12 - Cleo (Quantum of the Seas) 13 - Auburn14 (Explorer of the Seas) 27 - Islandspud (Explorer of the Seas) 27 - KeithnRita (Serenade of the Seas) 28 - AGSLC5 (Allure of the Seas) January 2015 3 - KeithnRita (Serenade of the Seas) 3 - DocLC (Jewel of the Seas) 8 - RCKRZR (Brilliance of the Seas) 22 - monctonguy (Brilliance of the Seas) February 2015 2 - Geoff (Quantum of the Seas) 12 - poider (Radiance of the Seas) 12 - NCguys (Explorer of the Seas) March 2015 13 - AGSLC5 (Quantum of the Seas) 14 - Marc (Independence of the Seas) 14 - Don (Serenade 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!) 29 - ian91 (Quantum of the Seas) April 2015 4 - bcarney (Jewel of the Seas) 5 - FloatMe (Adventure of the Seas) 10 - CaribbeanPirate (Grandeur of the Seas) 19 - capitalkyle (Adventure of the Seas) May 2015 10 - RCL lover (Independence of the Seas) June 2015 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) September 2015 26 - RCKRZR (Jewel of the Seas) 27 - Steve (Brilliance of the Seas) October 2015 24 - greenline627 (Grandeur of the Seas) November 2015 3 - rekkie (Explorer of the Seas) 13 - rekkie (Explorer of the Seas) January 2016 3 - DocLC (Liberty of the Seas) March 2016 13 - Marc (Freedom of the Seas)

Oh, interesting theory!

With these message boards, it helps to upload the photos first to a place like imageshack.com and then paste the URL in by clicking that little icon that looks like a tree in a photo: If it's too confusing, just email them over to me and I can take care of it for you.

It's official: http://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2014/10/11/royal-caribbean-removes-corkage-fee-bottles-of-wine

That would be great! Feel free to post the photos here or email them to [email protected] :D

Hearing that the $25 corkage fee to open a bottle of wine you brought onboard has now been removed. If true, that would be great. Granted, the $25 fee was rarely enforced. I brought many bottles onboard in last 2 years or so and only got hit with the fee perhaps twice.

Thanks for posting, keep the photos coming!

Great vid!

I suspect the shops that are replaced are gone. Cupcake Cupboard might be rolled into Cafe Promenade, which is what they did on older ships during their renovations. Also Pets at Sea might end up in the general Royal Caribbean shop in the Promenade, like they did on older ships.

That last week is the best, and worst, week ever. So close but it seems to crawl by!

There are 2 formal nights. Men can wear tuxedos but a majority will opt for suits or shirts with jackets. Don't feel obligated to go for a tux, although you are welcome to.