Matt

I book with a TA. I'd rather not waste my time on the phone with Royal Caribbean to get things changed (big or small). I've done it in the past and I'd rather focus on other things and let someone else do that work for me. I will say it's important to use a good TA. They aren't all the same but I've been happy using one.

Finish this sentence: The one thing I am most excited about Quantum of the Seas is....

August 2013 9 - briffler (Radiance of the Seas) September 2013 21 - Matt (Jewel of the Seas)

I was browsing the Royal Caribbean site for my upcoming cruise and saw an option for the celebration dining package where if you book 4 or more people for a specialty restaurant (Chops or Portofino), you can get a $30 credit for wine. The downside is it must be booked on night 1 or 2 of your cruise. I don't like to miss first dinner in MDR because I want to meet server & table mates and second night is formal night, which I can live with skipping MDR for but would have liked to be in MDR for that. Anyone tried this package? Worth it?

That's a very good tip. Many people think they have to go to Guest Services and then wait in a long line but going to any restaurant is a good idea to get it done quicker.

Keep in mind that the Wi-Fi, while available nearly everywhere, is still quite slow. So keep your expectations (and uploads) low.

As Bryce said, you can opt out by going to Guest Services and asking them to remove it.

Depends on the cruise but generally you can get into the port in the 10:00 hour and onboard sometime in the 11:00 hour. Again, generally speaking.

Mark beat me to the punch, but the list of which ships are getting what and when is here: http://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/ship-upgrade-list-and-schedule

Haha. I sometimes wonder if they are ignorant and don't know any better or if they know what they're doing.

I've mostly cruised during hurricane season and it's been a positive experience. I've been lucky enough to avoid having my itinerary messed up but you should know that they can change your itinerary at any time if a storm is going to impact one or more of your ports. I feel like the cost savings for cruising this time of year outweighs the negatives provided you can handle a change in itinerary possibly.

Not to hijack the thread, but I agree with Freedom that it really does pay to be a C&A member

I saw the question and thought "Oh this is easy!" And then I thought about it some more and realized I keep going back and forth :lol: I think at the end of the day, I pick a cruise based on itinerary but the ship is a major factor. As an example, my next cruise is to Southern Caribbean and I picked that for the itinerary more than than anything. But when we sailed on Oasis and Freedom, we picked those cruises for the ship first. So I'll cheat and say "it depends" :P

Great idea! September 21: Jewel of the Seas

Yes, eventually we will see the "web cam" covering Quantum. Of course, Meyer Werft's idea of a web cam is rooted in 1996 (still images) :D

My question is do they keep Independence in Southampton as well? Or do they send her elsewhere? The British cruise market has been probably best aspect of European cruises from RCL's standpoint (financially) but considering we've never really seen more than a ship or two home ported there, that may be an indication of what the market can handle.

Great advice

I really enjoy drinks at Boleros, especially pre-dinner. Good vibe and it's hard to go wrong with a margarita

Sure that makes sense and that's why they force whomever orders the packages to order it for everyone in the stateroom. Regardless of how many people order it, it's still a lot of drinks per day to get your moneys worth.

Same here. I think I could make it worth my while but my wife drinks too little to justify the price.

We used to always do late but now we have a daughter (2.5 years old) so we do the early dining....for our sanity :P

Welcome Dawn and I do love that site. Every Sunday my wife and I love to watch Freedom sail away

Amen brotha! ;)

First night is always a "freebie" since luggage can sometimes be an issue, plus all the other things going on that need to be taken care of on day 1. I do agree it's frustrating to see some people clearly not even make an effort. Welcome rekkie!

For anyone that has purchased either of the unlimited alcohol packages that Royal Caribbean offers, did you buy it for the convenience of not worrying about paying for drinks/tipping? Or did you buy it as a means of saving money on alcohol over the course of your cruise?