KathyC

Thanks for live blogging! We're planning Alaska in 2020 and will be using all these reports to plan our trip. Have a great cruise!

Can't wait to follow along with you again!! Have an amazing trip!

Have an amazing cruise!!!

All reservations start out now as non-refundable; one you start the booking process, there will be one screen that you can check a box to add a "refundable" option. There will be a dollar price next to that box which will tell you how much more it will cost. But you can't see that until you start the booking.

The luggage tags are one page in your cruise documents. That page was missing?

The last time we sailed out of Tampa there was a big storm and the port was closed to our arrival. So the ship took a detour and docked in Port Canaveral, and they bused those of us with cars at the port back to Tampa to get them. The port opened just for cars; we took a bus to get our car, and those getting on the ship left theirs there and took our buses back across the state to get on the ship. Passengers who were flying had to reschedule from Orlando or other Florida airports, as the Tampa airport was closed as well.

We'll be on next April - can't wait!! Haven't been on a ship that small since the mid-90s. LOL

The Solarium looks pretty small...and only one entrance? The other side is the Silver Lounge. Or will the Solarium be private to suites only?

Yes you should!!

It will vary by ship, but on Adventure in May, one of the Main Dining Rooms (deck 4) was the official "Crown & Anchor Debarkation Lounge." It was up to us if we wanted to wait in there, or in one of the regular lounges. We went to breakfast in the main dining room (deck 3) and by the time we finished our number had been called so we left. We noticed they had already taken down the C&A sign by the time we walked by, as all the C&A departure numbers had been called. Here is a picture of our instructions: if you notice, Gold is NOT included in the C&A departures. I'm not saying it's this way on every ship, but on this one, it was Platinum & up. Gold may have been in Studio B, while everyone else was in the theater. Maybe.

Ummm...I seem to remember multiple shots being ordered one after another in that photographic evidence I posted...not by me, of course. ?

One of the benefits of Resort For a Day.com is that they guarantee you a spot, and they also automatically change your date or refund your deposit if your ship doesn't make it into port on your reservation day.

Do not do it. You will be late. It took us 10-15 minutes to walk back from the Hilton in May, and that is assuming you know exactly where you are going and what route you are going to take. Then you have to go through the port, go through "customs/security" and then take the long walk on the pier to the ship. All aboard is 30 minutes prior to sailaway, so 5:30 you must be back on the ship.

My sailing July 2019 has a few excursions but not a lot. We're going to one of the same destinations in April 2019 and there are a lot more excursions available for April than July. Be patient, they will eventually show. I know it's hard, but there is no rush to book anything yet, as your sailing won't be eligible for sale prices for awhile. Spend the time now researching the islands, getting an idea of what you'd like to do where, then when it gets a lot closer start watching for the cruise planner sales. My April 2019 sailing hasn't been eligible for any sales yet, so your's should be awhile.

Photographic evidence here: https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2017/09/17/harmony-of-the-seas-live-blog-matts-day-2-sea-day ?

Platinum gets you a few things, but the balcony discount is not huge at that stage. It is more than $1. BUT...crown & anchor discounts are not always compatible with each sale. Sometimes you get both sale & benefit, and other times you have to choose which is the better deal. Your TA should be able to tell you pricing on both and you can decide which fits your need better, when they are not combinable. Here is the link to the Crown & Anchor benefit pdf: https://dlxffu6hwewxp.cloudfront.net/cas/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/CAS_Member_Benefits_Grid_11.6.17-1.pdf You'll see you have a few extra dots filled in for Platinum over Gold. Next step is Emerald which doesn't get you much more at all. But once you reach Diamond you get a lot more.

We'll be on Grandeur for the first time in April 2019, Bermuda & Charleston. Can't wait! Haven't been on a ship that small since the 1990s. Will be an adjustment, for sure!

Manhattan is actually north of the cruise port; Brooklyn is on the other side of the river. Best views of Manhattan will be from the front or back, depending on which way she's pointing.

On Adventure last week, we were not able to book the sushi making class in advance through the cruise planner, only on board. Maybe Liberty is the same? It was offered three times on our sailing, and we had no problem getting in a class. It was a lot of fun, tons of food!!!

Ugh I wish we could! We'll have our oldest graduating college that May, so we'll be busy with that. We're planning on Ovation to Alaska in 2020.

I'm trying very hard NOT to book another cruise. We've got one more this year, a 12 nighter, then two for 2019. We've been looking on and off at Nov/Dec 2019 but also want to keep $$ available for a possible small group cruise or something more last minute. It's so hard!!!

Maybe is was Barbados? Pier/port construction, something like that? Are there other ships going there during the same time? Did RCCL change the itinerary the week before or after so they had to shorten this one to make it fit?

We had one on Adventure last week and was told we cannot choose our bungalow, that it will be assigned to us. Not sure if every ship does it the same way, or if WE didn't get the choice since we were only in a lowly junior suite and not special. LOL I honestly do not think there is a bad one. We were in #31; second row, but they are spaced staggered so you still have a view of the ocean. Ours was kinda in the middle, so the bar was close, the concierge was close, and the bathrooms were close.

I really thought I wouldn't like the cave-ness of the balcony on Adventure last week...but I gotta admit it wasn't that bad. Very private, and it kept the winds out. The weather wasn't agreeable at one point, yet we could still be on the balcony. Definitely better than I thought it would be.

If you are looking for someone who stayed in the new ones on Adventure, Cruise Life Rick did.