KathyC

Since I'm in NJ I can't offer much coming from NYC to NJ, but @JLMoran or @josepena12 can definitely help you more. I can tell you traffic will depend on the day of the week and time of the day. If you are doing a POST cruise trip into NYC it will be worse than a pre-cruise trip. It will be expensive, but there are lots of tolls that increases the costs.

Don't forget, Anthem has a lot of indoor activities that you can participate in, including a covered pool, so you are not really missing out on anything other than getting a tan.

CookingYo did a hot tub scope, and it was filled with group cruisers. He went around the tub, asked everyone to introduce themselves, and tell us what they did in port today. I believe @iluvwineandtravel was one of those on the scope. ?

I think you two were just in a hot tub, yes?

Honestly - it wasn't an issue. We didn't really need to be in both sides at the same time.

Here's my periscope of the room https://www.pscp.tv/w/1OdKrLvldneJX

Our doors were sliders

Head over to the live blog section of these boards. There are some great posts on Empress.

I haven't been on Allure, but I did just have a balcony on Oasis and I think I get what you are referring to. There was enough of room between the bed & the closet to access the whole thing.

Check out way.com for cheap parking. You may have to pay for an Uber to get from the offsite parking to the port, but overall can be way cheaper than $22 a day they are currently charging. You have to be willing to put in the extra time and effort but the cost savings can be worth it.

We stayed here: Holiday Inn Express Baltimore at the Stadiums, 1701 Russell Street, Baltimore, MD 21230 410-727-1818 We had a package that included parking and a shuttle to and from the cruise port. We drove down from NJ so we needed a place to park. It ended up being a bit cheaper to drive down the night before, stay at the hotel & park there than it would've been to drive down that morning and pay to park at the port. Go figure. LOL We were happy with it - and would stay there again if when we sail from Baltimore in the future. Wasn't super fancy, but we weren't looking for that. Easy Uber ride into the Inner Harbor, and they have a complimentary local area shuttle. https://www.ihg.com/holidayinnexpress/hotels/us/en/baltimore/balrs/hoteldetail?cm_mmc=GoogleMaps-_-EX-_-US-_-BALRS

We've cruised in September, and as long as you go in with an open mind, you'll have a great time. If you're okay with the possibility of your itinerary changing or your cruise getting shortened or lengthened, then go for it! I'd recommend travel insurance, or book flights refundable or reuseable. Don't pay for pre/post- cruise hotels in advance, book them pay on arrival or cancelable up to day of arrival. Make sure your jobs are okay with the possibility of your cruise getting extended, and bring a few extra days of medicine (which you should always do no matter when you sail.) If you pre-book third party excursions, make sure they have a cancellation clause if your ship misses the port. Not trying to scare you, but just being realistic. Chances are everything will be fine and your trip will go off perfectly. But when Mother Nature decides she wants to take charge, well, she's the boss and we just need to take it for what it is and enjoy the cruise we get. LOL

You can request to sit at the same table each evening with MTD. Once you get seated the first night, see what you think about your waiter. If you're happy, when you arrive night 2 ask to be seated with them again. We had 12 nights on Serenade last year, and had the same table 11 of the 12 nights. Only night we couldn't sit there was because we changed our normal eating time to later because we had a late day in port.

We did the Amazing Race one year and our kids loved it! It was so much fun running around town. The main town area is very walkable. Visit Coz Coffee while you are there.

Surf means just your basic "surfing" like checking email, reading social media, posting photos. Stream is for your "streaming" needs, like watching youtube videos, or uploading/downloading video content. If it's a moving picture, you'll need to stream.

We love the app. It scans the passport, easy photo upload.

Great pictures! It was fun sailing with you. Rather than comment on individual pictures, I can offer a few comments: - noise from above. One of our group was in deck 14 under the cantilever hot tubs. Noise day and night from the jets. She has a video of the sound around 2:30am on her FB page. Do not book those cabins! -did you notice the incorrect signage for Portside & El Loco Fresh in the stairway? They point you in the wrong direction for each. Tony & I were laughing about it when a ship's officer was nearby, and he was so annoyed they missed it! I think he was one of the proofreaders of the signs... ? The outdoor solarium deck can be super windy. One day we watched loungers & stools go flying. Within minutes of a passenger reporting it to bar staff, there was multiple crew members stacking and securing everything. The app games in the posters outside of Playmakers were fun, definitely a learning curve to do well.

The plain simple syrup is available, but I haven't noticed lemon or lime juice. Just the sliced fruits they use as garnish or to spread around the rim of a glass.

Off Oasis yesterday. The excursions did go for us. There was French royalty there that day, which added extra problems, but there were barricades up that were taken down as quickly as they were put up.

@Dan CurtisRoyal Caribbean Blog merchandise can be found here: https://shop.spreadshirt.com/royalcaribbeanblog/

We visited the Hilton in 2018 and weren't wowed either. It was fine, but the weather didn't cooperate with the water sports so our two college boys were a bit bored. Not sure we'd do again.

Welcome @JetlaggedAgain, and see you on Oasis! There are a bunch of us crazy Insiders on this sailing, so you will see quite a few RCBlog t-shirts around the ship. Please feel free to stop any of us and say hi!!

Boston is a seasonal port. Since it gets so cold up north much earlier, the amount of sailings from there are very small. Some of the sailings from Boston are one way to Quebec City, so the returns will not show up in your search. We did the 12 night repo from Boston last October - great sailing, unique itinerary. I may look into the 2021. Here's what was offered in 2019: http://creative.rccl.com/Sales/Royal/Deployment/2019_2020/2019-2020_SR_Deployment_CanNE

@Mrs. RoyalMoyal We're on Oasis with you - you'll find quite a few of us in RCBlog shirts over the course of the week. If you see someone wearing one, please say hi! We'll also be in Cruise Habit and RC Periscoper t-shirts...LOL

@Matt is on Oasis right now; when he gets home he will upload the daily Cruise Compasses and you will be able to see exactly what was offered each day and when. To be honest though, the shows aren't really geared towards children. While they are family friendly unless labeled "adult" (like comedians, Crazy Quest, Love & Marriage Game Show), young children aren't always entertained by them. They will be expected to sit in their seats quietly which can be very hard for the littlest ones with you. Matt has young children, so he will be able to tell you what shows were appropriate for them and which were not.