Matt

To get your shareholder credit, try calling whoemever you booked your cruise with and asking about the benefit.  

Have a great cruise!

Regarding shore excursions, I recommend using TripAdvisor and CruiseCritic as good ways to find popular and under-reported things to do there.

 

For the premium drink package, soda and juices are included (but not the fresh squeezed OJ in the Windjammer).

 

Regarding dance, live bands can be found onboard quite often.  In fact, most music is live so check the Cruise Compass for what's available.

Secret River in Cozumel. 

What is this secret river?

More info: http://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2013/10/09/royal-caribbean-will-give-double-crown-and-anchor-points-solo-cruisers

 

Makes sense to me since solo cruisers pay double usual rate (single supplement fee) so why not get the points for 2 people?  

I learned something today!

Makes me think actually, they've never really had this many new ships on the go at once, have they? In this age of YouTube and what-not, where we expect videos and pictures and as much info as we can get, it's probably a pretty tough balancing act with regards to what info they release and when they release it.

I cant recall a time when multiple classes of ships were being built at same time.  In the past, it's been a class at a time so overlap like this isn't something I remember occurring.

I just wanna do a back-to-back Eastern and Western Caribbean on an Oasis class ship. That's at the top of my bucket list. Closely followed by cruising into Venice and the Greek Isles.

In terms of bucket list items I think I have a realistic chance of doing, this is one of them for me too

As long as I can get me some streaky bacon, I don't really care what else is available for breakfast! :P

Okay, this might be an Australian slang term but what is "streaky bacon"? :)

Hmmm, if they position the Anthem of the Seas in the UK, I wonder if they'd consider moving the Independence to Asia/Australia...

I do believe larger ships will make there way to Asia/Australia just because all these new ships coming online are going to force other ships elsewhere.  So question is will it be Independence or maybe some of the other Voyager class ships.

Do we know when RCI are likely to announce the name of this beauty? Surely it can't be too far away...

Good question, as well as the name for Quantum 3.  Both Oasis 3 and Quantum 3 are scheduled for "mid-2016".  

 

I believe the problem is from a PR standpoint.  Royal Caribbean wants to maximize exposure for all its new ships so it can get he most press possible and right now it's all about Quantum of the Seas.  I'm sure they are waiting for an opportune time to make name announcements.

I've read a few things Mr. Frommer has said over the years. I know his idea of travel and cruising is not exactly the direction travel and cruising is currently going. But obviously Royal Caribbean is doing something right and people are responding with booking cruises onboard their ships. You can't help but smile when you read something from a person from a different era who is just slightly out of touch with today's world.  :)

I tend to agree with what you said.  When it comes to how to tour places, I like his advice of not settling for super-touristy stuff but his view on cruising is certainly dated, to say the least.  

I found an interesting blog post by Arthur Frommer (author of many guide books) where he wrote about Royal Caribbean's Quantum of the Seas' entertainment innovations being essentially bad ideas.

 

 

 

Groucho Marx once said the he would not join a club that would have him for a member.  I frankly feel that I would not want to sail on a ship whose passengers have been persuaded to book aboard by roller skating rinks and circus schools.  I somehow prefer mixing with people of a bit more substance.    

 

Obviously I don't agree with Mr. Frommer and having listened to his weekly radio show often, I know he's a bit of a troglodyte when it comes to new trends in travel (especially cruises).  

I really feel that while not everyone may absolutely want to go roller skating or go to circus school everyday, I do think offering more choices is always a good thing for us (consumers).  Plus the fact Royal Caribbean (and the cruise industry) continue to push the envelope in terms of what can be on a cruise ship is always a good thing for us.

The one chain I am willing to stop in anywhere I cruise to is Starbucks!

"Slightly bigger" as in the 5 inch difference between Oasis and Allure? On a ship that big that's just a rounding error. :)

Couple inches is all that matters.  Plus, Royal Caribbean can boast they have the 3 largest cruise ships in the world.

New to RCCL and these boards (thanks in advance for all the advice)...but wondering, I've already booked my March 2014 cruise, but then if I transfer the booking to a TA, would I still get the OBC's offered? Seems to me that would be a big incentive!

Welcome!  You should ask the TA if they can help.  Often what may be required is to cancel the existing reservation and then re-booking.  However, they may have a way to get around that.  But I'd get confirmation about transferring the reservation to them first.

I'm with you, Matt. The two deciding factors are work and airfare. I'm not going to pay for airfare for a 3-night cruise. If I pay for airfare for a 5-night cruise, I'll just book a 7-night for the same amount of time off work.

That's pretty much my exact thinking these days

The issue with most 4 and 5 night cruises is they usually take up 4-5 business days so if I'm going to essentially take off a whole week basically from work, may as well go for the 7 night cruise and get more cruise for same time off work.

Although RC doesn't do them up here in Bayonne, (not sure about anywhere else) I would do a 2 night "cruise to nowhere" like the ones NCL does out of NYC...

There's at least one on Quantum of the Seas being offered

Never saw this type of game before but I would be tempted to try it if it is on my ship.

They had groups of $10, $20 and $50 bills.  You could easily win a couple hundred dollars but it is really difficult to thread that needle

I like that game where you put in a $20 bill and it spits out 80 quarters... winner EVER time!!!

Hahaha!

 

I played in the casino quite a bit on Jewel.  Did anyone play the Key Monster game in the casino?  If you don't remember the name maybe this will jog your memory

 

 

I pumped way too much money into this in a failed effort to win.  Fun but soooo frustrating

Great! Hope you will enjoy the podcast :)

All you need is the RSS feed for the podcast which is this: http://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/showfeed.xml

 

You can just add them to doggcatcher via the 'add by rss' and then run the recommendations. That'll get them indexed.

 

Let me know if that doesn't work

Now that I'm back from my cruise, I wish I was back on a cruise. It was a much simpler time, even if it was just a week. Does anyone agree?

Same here. I got back from my cruise on Saturday and life was easier as you said....and more fun!  Just not having to worry about what to make for dinner was something I could use in my everyday life.

Last I heard Royal Caribbean was offering other excursion ideas due to the closure.  

 

If no one can help you Don, I'd suggest checking Yelp and TripAdvisor for other ideas in Bar Harbor.  It's a beautiful town but I haven't been there in probably 10-15 years now.