Matt

If someone is taking the time to drag chairs and umbrellas for me in the heat, the least I can do is toss him a few dollars. Just my thought

On Navigator they play nothing but country music for the same reason.

Close taxi ride, but definitely NOT walkable. I'd say 10-15 mins car ride

Thanks for the report Steve

I dont think the ship's name is on the lanyard, just "Royal Caribbean"

In St Maarten go to Le Galion beach. It's a little cove PERFECT for young kids. My 2 year old (at the time) LOVED it because she cant swim but she could sit in the water with no waves at all to bother her. I have a review of Le Galion here: http://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2013/03/07/excursion-focus-le-galion-beach

They drew the announcements out for Quantum so there were a lot smaller but more frequent reveals than Oasis. My opinion, anyway. Also Oasis was a huge gamechanger in terms of what a ship can offer. Quantum is more akin to Freedom class with Oasis touches, if you ask me.

There are cruises out of Boston but they are New England and/or Canada cruises. I've actually always wanted to try one, especially one that ends in Quebec City.

Guest Services will happily break bills. I always bring a lot of 1s for tips but otherwise combo of 10s and 20s is always safe. Maybe even a few hundred dollar bills for when you are eating in port somewhere and indulge a little.

Absolutely, there's lots of personalization. First thing to do is go speak with head waiter on your embarkation day in main dining room. Tell him/her what your wife and daughter would like and they can prepare special meals for them each night in addition to what's available. I always ask for indian food because I love it and it's always a vegetarian dish option. Otherwise, always ask if you see something that you want altered. You can have them take something out for what you need. It never, never, never hurts to ask.

I haven't done those exact excursions but check the description with Royal. They usually explicitly mention if food is included or if there's an option to buy food. Regardless, I'd bring cash for food. If you just want food, $20 per person should be more than enough. Depends which beach you are going to as to what activities will be available. Most beaches I've been to have locals offering jet ski rides and such. Never hurts to ask! In terms of cash, I'd bring around $100 just to be safe. I also always bring one credit card as insurance. A lot of bars do take credit cards, which can be better than using up your cash depending on what your bill happens to be. Visa or Mastercard is best for Caribbean.

At this point we know most of what they will announce. I'm not expecting any more bombshells

Welcome! Hope we can help you out..... Yes, cash is not accepted outside of the casino onboard. You can however go to Guest Services at any time and charge money back to your credit card(s) or apply cash to the account. If you reserve in advance online, you will pay the specialty restaurant fee then. If you book onboard you will get a bill after you finish dining. Gratuity is included in the price. There are a few juices for free offered in the Windjammer and main dining room. More juice is available in breakfast. OJ, apple juice, milk, water, lemonade, and fruit flavored waters. Guests eighteen (18) years of age and older can play in the casino except for Alaska cruises, where the age is 21. Allowed, yes. Up to you if appropriate for her. I'd consider watching clips from YouTube of the Quest to get a sense of what's involved. I always drive a rental car but Royal Caribbean offers a shuttle service too. Can't comment beyond that. Post back other questions you have!

Royal's website infrastructure really needs an overhaul. Murray's idea is what I would do: bring copies of all receipts on your cruise.

Sorry to hear you are having such trouble. First thing I would do is get some sort of written confirmation of the two "missing" excursions. You need some proof to show onboard your ship if/when they tell you that you do not have those 2 excursions booked. Some sort of booking number or ID that can verify you're included. You may consider also asking for a refund so you can immediately re-book into not the other system. I'd simply say, "Look, clearly there is a problem and it would make me feel better if we could just cancel the two that are seemingly missing and immediately rebook so it's all good and dandy". This wont help you right now, but this is a good example of why using a travel agent can be helpful because then this would be THEIR problem to fix :lol: Good luck and let us know what happens!

Glad to hear you got the price change

Don't be embarrassed to ask any question here. We're all here to help :) I carry my key in my pocket. I've seen some people keeping their cards in a plastic holder that goes around their neck too.

Good find Marc. I think either with Tylor's scenario or "reminding" RC of their policy Marc mentioned, you should be good to go.

The Seattle's Best Coffee is part of the Royal Replenish package. I think if you're a coffee drinker, you need to consider how much coffee you drink in a day to know. One cup might not do it but if you like a few cups, then it may be worth it for you. Of course, what's "worth it" varies from person to person. The Royal Replenish package is a good value overall in my opinion, especially if you like to have a few non-alcoholic drinks per day anyway.

We have our own collection of webcam photos along with a neat time-lapse feature: http://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/quantum-of-the-seas-webcam

Agreed it depends on the price difference. In most cases, the difference in square footage between inside and outside is negligible in my opinion. Granted it's nice to have a view with oceanview, but it really comes down to the price as well as how many people you're planning on fitting in a room. Every square foot counts when you're considering 3-4 people.

Locals will be all too happy to give you their local currency in exchange for dollars.

Yes, the dividers open and they usually are opened if requested to your stateroom attendant.

You can get cash advances that will be charged against your SeaPass card. There is a fee to doing this but it's generally cheaper than using the ATM onboard.

You definitely could have a pre-paid card and pay off your onboard account as you go. Onboard, SeaPass is the only form of payment accepted so you can't pay directly with your prepaid card or with cash. But you could pay off your bar tab at the end of the cruise with money you saved up for booze.