Matt

You have picked a great first cruise , I love all three of those places. The sail out of St Thomas in the evening is fab. Just as the sun is setting and the town lights up its gorgeous.  
I guarantee this won't be your last cruise once you've done one you'll be hooked :)
 
My wife and I are going on the independence round the Canaries in October and this will be our first Royal Caribbean Cruise and thanks to all the info from the great bunch of people on this blog I think that RC will be our cruise line for quite some time.

Nice! I hope you come to enjoy cruising with Royal Caribbean as much as the rest of us.  For me, I really love the balance Royal Caribbean offers of good prices and good service.

Cozumel -- Mayan ruins @ Tulum, best tour guide evera! 2nd & close Zip Line Icy Strait Point, Hoonah AK.

23 days for me!

On our last time on Freedom of the Seas in February, I came away preferring Portofinos.  Both restaurants are very good but I just liked the food selection a little but more at Portofinos.
 
That being said, I don't think Chops is a bad choice either.
 
So easy solution is.... eat at both! :)

I almost always order multiple entrees and appetizers.  I love trying different foods and cruising is a big part of that

I almost always order multiple entrees and appetizers.  I love trying different foods and cruising is a big part of that

Europe is such an odd market.  Royal Caribbean put a lot of their eggs in the European basket and got burned in last few years with less revenue than they expected so they pulled a lot back.  And now it looks like Anthem is going to Europe and I agree with Tyler I wouldn't be shocked to see an Oasis-class ship there either in the near future.

I like the idea of a 24 hour gym.  I think it makes perfect sense to offer gym and Windjammer 24 hours.  I suspect in both cases it's a personnel issues more than any lack of imagination.

You don't NEED passports but it's strongly encouraged that you do.  If you do not bring passports, then you do need to bring birth certificates.  
 
The reason why passports are better is because if you get stuck in another country, for whatever reason, you can easily fly home with passports.  It's a much bigger problem when you don't have them.

Best bet is to get to port as early as they will let you.  Not sure about Southampton, but here in USA, that's usually between 10:00 - 10:30am

Europe is such an odd market.  Royal Caribbean put a lot of their eggs in the European basket and got burned in last few years with less revenue than they expected so they pulled a lot back.  And now it looks like Anthem is going to Europe and I agree with Tyler I wouldn't be shocked to see an Oasis-class ship there either in the near future.

You can order from the regular room service menu or from the main dining room menu.  It's definitely a great option if you want to enjoy an evening in your stateroom, especially balconies or suites.

Just please get a passport. It is an official document that everyone should really have.

Looks like this rumor is moving closer to being a fact: http://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2013/09/02/more-proof-anthem-of-the-seas-sail-out-of-southampton

Hello everyone. My name is Gloria and I'll be taking my very first cruise in November. I live in Atlanta, GA and going on Eastern Caribbean 7 day Oasis of the Seas cruise out of Ft Lauderdale, FL. I am so excited that I am ready to start packing even though I still have a couple of months.

Yes, placing the phone in airplane mode will prevent it from trying to use any cellular data or coverage.  That is exactly what I do on all my cruises to avoid charges.

Hi everyone my name is Dave and I have been married to my wife Samantha for 8 years and we have been together for 28 years. When we married in 2005 and as we love Disney we got married at Disneyworld in Orlando at the Magic Kingdom and even had Mickey and Minnie at the ceremony and reception it was the most amazing day of my life.
 
We began cruising in 2001 and have been hooked ever since. Our other favourite things to do are going to the gym and playing golf and going to Disneyworld as much as possible.
 
I own a small Chauffeur company in the UK which offers a personal and reliable service.

If you are going on a cruise soon I thought it might be fun to know what you are doing while on board and what places you have visited or even post a restaurant review.

All RCL ships are fantastic so it has to be itinerary! That's why we picked Rhapsody out of Barcelona next Spring -- it just doesn't get any better.

I think that most of the time now when we book a cruise the ship is probably first on the list because they all have such great things on board these days BUT if there is a destination we really want to go to then that comes first.
 
Thankfully most of the time the ship has the itinerary we want :)

The next one is always the dream cruise--wher ever & when ever.

I haven't had a shake at Ben and Jerrys yet.  Sounds like I need a "research trip" to find out ;)

You don't NEED passports but it's strongly encouraged that you do.  If you do not bring passports, then you do need to bring birth certificates.  
 
The reason why passports are better is because if you get stuck in another country, for whatever reason, you can easily fly home with passports.  It's a much bigger problem when you don't have them.

You don't NEED passports but it's strongly encouraged that you do.  If you do not bring passports, then you do need to bring birth certificates.  
 
The reason why passports are better is because if you get stuck in another country, for whatever reason, you can easily fly home with passports.  It's a much bigger problem when you don't have them.