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Finally bought insurance for July cruise last week...no chances taken.

Just seeing this article now. Love women like this...she's a ship captain yet "rainbows send her off the edge".

Yes! I don't think I'm the pickiest person but I hate their free coffee.

That red velvet had the best ratio of icing to cake I've ever seen. WHERE DID YOU GET THAT?

I'm so sorry - for you, for the kids, the parents, the other teachers, for all of us...

I'm in NY so there is a convenient port nearby but I'd prefer not to leave from up north because of the amount of sea days an the general rockiness of the ship (my first cruise left from NJ). I'll fly to Puerto Rico if the price is right. My next cruise is in Florida which is acceptable but again price factors in - leaving a day a head of time, hotel, etc. The other ports are so far not a thought because of their locations and ports.

YES First dinner.

These Windjammer pictures are making me want to skip the MDR for dinner..too bad my travel mates are stuck on the MDR at a time that is too early for me on vacation (first world problems).

i booked about a year in advance and the price never went down once for me, it has gone up several times, though.

I wish I found this site before my last cruise. So many things changed in between then and my first cruise. I was surprised at what wasn't included anymore. I didn't know about the gratuities not being automatically added to my bill (I replaced someone and their preferences were to pay gratuity daily). I wish I knew about the cruise planner sales and how everything, for the most part is affordable but you need to be aware.

Best thing about the drink package is you can test out wines..start at the covered wines and only pay the difference if you are not happy with what is completely covered or if there is something you're dying to try.

I linked all of my travel mates and reserved dinner for my time dining at 6:15. So far there are 5 of us. My plan is to check with RC before trip. We all decided on a time (6:15 though I'm not thrilled, I like a late dinner for my vacations) so that saved a lot of heartache. We assume we may have 3 or 4 extra people on some nights - we will call ahead of time those nights.

I'll try later. I'm not concerned, in the last few months I've seen it change back and forth. RC's IT is very interesting. I wonder if it's bad management or not enough funding/staff for dept...I have trouble believing anyone is that dumb. There's got to be a real reason the site sucks. It does look pretty now though. EDIT: it's back and correct.

Except for saying I'm pre Gold it looks nice.

I'm loving this blog so much. My Harmony trip is in 57 days!

+100

Has your friend been on a cruise before? This may not help you at all but I'm claustrophobic - packed elevators freak me out, I can't watch movies or shows with people being buried alive (I watch movies and tv for a living, you have no idea how much this comes up), I won't do an escape room, so many things to list - Saying all of that - beyond some elevator issues I've never had an issue on a cruise. Everyone's different so I get this may not be helpful...

Whatever you decide - It's super easy to renew.

I noticed the same exact thing. I'm glad I purchased way back. I bought the Deluxe Package on Black Friday and bought the internet package during another sale but if I bought today I'd be spending more. Never saw it as low as Black Friday.

I'd be more concerned on HOW it moved it's head..

A cocktail and a run around the ship to be wowed. I try to get my bearings of where my room is and where are the places I will be at the most.

None of my previous points are there either. Not really concerned since I'm only gold.

Yes to all of this. I couldn't agree more. I think once you've had to penny pinch and even when you don't - if there is any slight OCD in you are forever counting your pennies. It's not a bad thing but it does take the fun out of things. This is the first cruise where I bought the package in advance even though I'm not a huge drinker just so I'm not counting.

100% possible. It's the extras that can add up but only if you let them. If you're not big drinkers alcohol shouldn't be a big expense, you can pre pay all of your excursions if you want to. If you want to skip excursions from RC you can find private tours online or just taxi to beaches. The food/drink/lodging is paid for so unless you want extras or anything off of the ship you technically need not spend another penny. It's entirely up to you. Check the site for what's available and see if there are any extras you may want.

I have one booked for July on Harmony. I've done a ton of research and there isn't that much on the studio rooms but there aren't a lot of complaints.