Todd W

not one of your questions but from one parent to another... our boys loved their first cruise.   they were 12 & 14 at the time and had a blast.   we gave them quite a bit of responsibility to be on their own but it came with conditions that had to be followed or they lost the ability to be on their own and were going to be attached to our hip after that. We gave them watches and had set check in times every couple hours or so.   We made sure they knew where they could find us or if we weren't sure where we would be, they had to pop into our room and leave a sticky note on the mirror to let us know where we could find them.   I was nervous at first but they did surprisingly great!!     

I second @michelle,   she's had my first reservation with MEI for almost two years now (leaving in 41 days) and has my second which i booked with her about a year ago, leaving April 2020.   I've in the works on a few more which she will definitely handle for me as well.  Very personable and has been able to rebook my reservations to save me money and/or get me more OBC.   Many folks here on the blog us her along with others at MEI.    While I'm biased since she's the only one i've used,  I would venture to say you can't go wrong with anyone at MEI

LOL I just turned 50 in November, old skater punk from back in the 80's.   As my wife always tells me, i'm a kid at heart and never act my age.   Thats a good thing right?  ?

but are the other lines really doing anything differently ?      seems to me this is a common trend.    while i've never cruised a "luxury" line and never will,  just not our style,  from what i've read they are still catering to those who want all the perks, bells and whistles but it comes at a cost.  Royal is considered a family value cruise line these days so i'm not really surprised they are scaling back on catering to the "elite".    no disrespect to the OP but those changes aren't happening on a whim.   A simple call to RCCL or reading these boards can provide all with more than enough information to preemptively know of the changes rather than running a risk of disappointment once you board.    While we only cruise one a year, i'm constantly reading and researching about it all.   I find it hard to believe that someone who has spent " $$$ thousands" over the years cruising wouldn't take to the time to do a little research on the constant changes that are going on within the industry before spending $$$ thousands more on their next cruise...   and welcome to the blog!

it's really hard to recommend based on not knowing what you will come across while in Cuba or the pricing you will see when you get there.     I'm unaware of what your cigar palate or previous smoking history is but just know 99% of the Cuban's i've smoked are very mild cigars.    That being said,  I only smoke cigars now that pack a punch so what i like in a Cuban may not be relevant to your tastes.  That being said, my favorite Cubans in no special order are Trinidad Reyes,  Hoyo De Monterey petite robustos,   Romeo y Julietta short churchills,  Diplomatico #2,  Montecristo #2,  Partagas serie P,   Ramon Alones special select,  H Upmann Mag 46 and Cohiba Behike $ Cohiba Siglo Vi.    assuming what you find are legit Cuban's, you can't go wrong with any of these.

We had a good time overall. 
I know my thoughts may seem a little overly critical.  Just giving my honest feedback.  Plenty of awesome things also.  My 12 year old had at least 20 ice cream cones.
We were deck 8 ocean view balcony.

I rented a car from Hertz, Hotel is Residence Inn Cape Canaveral Cocoa Beach, Hertz has a drop off in the same parking lot as the hotel. Then I will either Uber or taxi to the port the next day.
A lot of people on the boards will stay at the airport and then there is a shuttle to the port.
I decided to stay close to the port so that is why I made my decision.

but are the other lines really doing anything differently ?      seems to me this is a common trend.    while i've never cruised a "luxury" line and never will,  just not our style,  from what i've read they are still catering to those who want all the perks, bells and whistles but it comes at a cost.  Royal is considered a family value cruise line these days so i'm not really surprised they are scaling back on catering to the "elite".    no disrespect to the OP but those changes aren't happening on a whim.   A simple call to RCCL or reading these boards can provide all with more than enough information to preemptively know of the changes rather than running a risk of disappointment once you board.    While we only cruise one a year, i'm constantly reading and researching about it all.   I find it hard to believe that someone who has spent " $$$ thousands" over the years cruising wouldn't take to the time to do a little research on the constant changes that are going on within the industry before spending $$$ thousands more on their next cruise...   and welcome to the blog!

Let me get my disqualifications out there first.  I'm a lowly Platinum member with RCL and we've only been regularly cruising for about 10 years.  Part of the reason our club status isn't higher is because we have cruised on other lines.  I still feel like Royal's loyalty program is very good.  Compared to other programs like frequent flyer for an airline it is not time limited.  You simply continue to accrue points as you cruise even if it takes you years to get to the next level.  There are shortcuts to the top if you want to spend the money to get there.  Nobody guarantees that benefits won't change but I think their system is pretty straightforward as to what you can expect at each level.  Maybe because we're still newby's we don't have as high of expectations.  We enjoy the little "welcome back" statements from the staff when we join the line to board or the loyalty reception that we now get to attend.  Ok the drinks are watered down at the event but we're still pinching ourselves that we're on a cruise.  As far as food and service 20 years ago that isn't in our minds as we felt that the cost of a cruise was beyond our reach back then.  While we have cruised others so technically we have loyalty points with them we continue to look at Royal first because we think their ships are newer and better, price is fair compared to other vacations we might take and generally we love the people on a cruise.  I think this is a little like reading after cruise reviews. You read about someone's terrible experience on a cruise you were just on and had the time of your life.  Any you wonder were we really on the same ship?

Have to look at Royal's main competitor, Carnival.  They have been offering Faster To The Fun passes for years now.  If people are basically throwing money at you for access, you can only say no for so long.  Especially when they have shareholders to answer to. 

I have cruised for many years and I still disagree with you. My honest question is if you don't like it, why do you go, why do you post and complain? Since your moving on with your friend,  i guess you will not be posting here anymore since this is the Royal Caribbean blog. I wish you good luck finding something you enjoy.

holy..120oz of water a day? I don't drink that in a month...not maybe a in a year....seriously!!....if your talking just pure water...
 
now 120 oz of booze/mix...yeah....every day on a cruise!..
 
 

just got back from our first trip on Liberty and everyone loved it (including 4 who had never cruised Royal before).   we wouldn't hesitate to cruise her again.

just got back from our first trip on Liberty and everyone loved it (including 4 who had never cruised Royal before).   we wouldn't hesitate to cruise her again.

ok so we were hesitant that anyone would be participating in the 70's Disco Inferno party but life is too short, so our group jumped in head first and had an awesome time!   For reference, i was going for a Disco King look and ended up looking like a 70's porn producer  LOL    we made our entrance down the aft glass elevator dancing the whole way.  by the time we hit the promenade, crowds were cheering us on.     had many onlookers grab us for photos and chat about our outfits.   great time had by everyone and we even made the RC TV loop for the remainder of the week.    most fun we've ever had on a cruise!
our group - me, my wife, sister in law, sister in law and brother in law


my brother in law killed it with his acrylic goldfish heels!




 
who loves ya baby?

 
 

Custom creations! Mudslide Lavaflow style. With the master creator in the background.
 

magnetic & remote controlled (3 in 1, red/blue/white) LED puck lights for those brown chicken, brown cow kind of moments?   each one can also turn on and off individually by touch or by remote.   works great as low light night lighting as well.

 

On Oasis, I went in my T-Rex costume.  People stared.

ok so we were hesitant that anyone would be participating in the 70's Disco Inferno party but life is too short, so our group jumped in head first and had an awesome time!   For reference, i was going for a Disco King look and ended up looking like a 70's porn producer  LOL    we made our entrance down the aft glass elevator dancing the whole way.  by the time we hit the promenade, crowds were cheering us on.     had many onlookers grab us for photos and chat about our outfits.   great time had by everyone and we even made the RC TV loop for the remainder of the week.    most fun we've ever had on a cruise!
our group - me, my wife, sister in law, sister in law and brother in law


my brother in law killed it with his acrylic goldfish heels!




 
who loves ya baby?

 
 

magnetic & remote controlled (3 in 1, red/blue/white) LED puck lights for those brown chicken, brown cow kind of moments?   each one can also turn on and off individually by touch or by remote.   works great as low light night lighting as well.

 

we all got ours for $43 (Buy one, get one 50% off) on the LOS that we just got back from

ok so we were hesitant that anyone would be participating in the 70's Disco Inferno party but life is too short, so our group jumped in head first and had an awesome time!   For reference, i was going for a Disco King look and ended up looking like a 70's porn producer  LOL    we made our entrance down the aft glass elevator dancing the whole way.  by the time we hit the promenade, crowds were cheering us on.     had many onlookers grab us for photos and chat about our outfits.   great time had by everyone and we even made the RC TV loop for the remainder of the week.    most fun we've ever had on a cruise!
our group - me, my wife, sister in law, sister in law and brother in law


my brother in law killed it with his acrylic goldfish heels!




 
who loves ya baby?

 
 

ok so we were hesitant that anyone would be participating in the 70's Disco Inferno party but life is too short, so our group jumped in head first and had an awesome time!   For reference, i was going for a Disco King look and ended up looking like a 70's porn producer  LOL    we made our entrance down the aft glass elevator dancing the whole way.  by the time we hit the promenade, crowds were cheering us on.     had many onlookers grab us for photos and chat about our outfits.   great time had by everyone and we even made the RC TV loop for the remainder of the week.    most fun we've ever had on a cruise!
our group - me, my wife, sister in law, sister in law and brother in law


my brother in law killed it with his acrylic goldfish heels!




 
who loves ya baby?

 
 

ok so we were hesitant that anyone would be participating in the 70's Disco Inferno party but life is too short, so our group jumped in head first and had an awesome time!   For reference, i was going for a Disco King look and ended up looking like a 70's porn producer  LOL    we made our entrance down the aft glass elevator dancing the whole way.  by the time we hit the promenade, crowds were cheering us on.     had many onlookers grab us for photos and chat about our outfits.   great time had by everyone and we even made the RC TV loop for the remainder of the week.    most fun we've ever had on a cruise!
our group - me, my wife, sister in law, sister in law and brother in law


my brother in law killed it with his acrylic goldfish heels!




 
who loves ya baby?

 
 

ok so we were hesitant that anyone would be participating in the 70's Disco Inferno party but life is too short, so our group jumped in head first and had an awesome time!   For reference, i was going for a Disco King look and ended up looking like a 70's porn producer  LOL    we made our entrance down the aft glass elevator dancing the whole way.  by the time we hit the promenade, crowds were cheering us on.     had many onlookers grab us for photos and chat about our outfits.   great time had by everyone and we even made the RC TV loop for the remainder of the week.    most fun we've ever had on a cruise!
our group - me, my wife, sister in law, sister in law and brother in law


my brother in law killed it with his acrylic goldfish heels!




 
who loves ya baby?