twangster

Welcome to the message boards! The best way to learn of cruise planner sales is to follow Matt and his blog on social media. He usually posts to Twitter and Facebook when sales are occurring.

Yes it is! Assuming your flights meet the criteria. Make sure to turn in your forms by the deadline.

I hadn't thought about it until you mentioned it. This is probably the least I've experienced a CD/AM team on any cruise. That's not to say they weren't doing their job, more that there was so much else going on, especially in the evening hours walking the outer decks looking at the amazing scenery, that I didn't attend a lot of CD type events or I'd venture into a show after it had started and I missed the CD bit at the beginning. From that sense they didn't exist for me, like they weren't even on the ship. I couldn't tell you if they are young or old, male or female - I don't recall seeing them even once.

I think it's still preliminary. Here is what I'm seeing for the thermal spa pass. Radiance {but not Brilliance, Jewel or Serenade) $102 for 7 night cruise, $154 for 10 night cruise Oasis (but not Symphony} $99 for 14 night cruise Ovation (but not Spectrum} $150 for 7 night cruise Not offered on any Voyager, Freedom or Vision class bookings I have. However in all cases I can't buy it. When I try to reports "No offerings found" and I can't select any guests.

I got a rock. Many of mine are solo though so maybe being solo I don't see the price breaks.

Are you active and enjoy activities that involve water sports? Beach person? Looking for some culture or history? Shopping?

I bought a Rolex a couple of years ago. They are quite affordable but I hardly wear it and it's a bit bulky. It was $36 on the streets of San Juan. Still not sure what all the fuss is about.

Compared to Harmony or Symphony, Explorer doesn't look brand new. However I never thought to say she is old and tired. The only thing that caught my eye the whole week was the bar in the pub. It's different compared to other Royal pub bars. The pub bars that I have experienced before were along the back wall leaving the bulk of the pub space open. On Explorer the bar is near the entrance, triangular shaped and occupies a lot of floor space in the pub. As a bar this worked okay with good access to bartenders. When the pub singer was there, I didn't feel there was a lot of room to sit and listen to the music. That's not "old and tired", it is just different. Keep in mind I was on sister ship Adventure in May a month before Explorer. Adventure was refreshed earlier this year. I was pleasantly surprised to see newer carpet in our Explorer Interior cabin, just like Adventure. The chair at the desk had been replaced just like Adventure. I noted the same on our brief cabin crawl. Their were large flat panel TVs in the remodeled "Tavern" bar. I was very pleased with Explorer over all. No water slides, but that isn't "old and tired" either. It may not be new like Anthem which has decor like Harmony, but I was quite happy with the appearance of Explorer. I suppose if someone has only sailed Voyager class and they are longing for something different, only then might you say that you are tired of her. However that doesn't make the ship "old and tired".

CocoCay up to today has used just one end of the island. The middle of the island and the majority of it is service area or unused. Looking at the plans, much of the the existing CocoCay guest areas will remain the same, even long term. The Perfect Day expansion takes place on mostly unused areas of the island except where old meets new. Eventually they will need to blend the old and the new. For example, years from now it will have a large beach area for guests that just want to lay by the ocean. That will remain the existing beach area. I expect what will happen with existing cabanas is that they will remain where they are. New overwater cabanas will be built along the unused shore North of the new pier. Once those cabanas are ready and taking guests they might do something with the existing cabanas or they might not. I do not see them eliminating existing cabanas before new cabanas are available. As you know Royal follows the money and they won't do anything to kill a revenue source with nothing else to replace that money. If new features are ready, you bet they'll make them available to book such as the balloon. I expect the existing beach and snorkel area will largely remain the same, even in the long term. Once upon a time Labadee didn't have a pier and it has morphed over the years. CocoCay will evolve as well.

60 days after booking and before final payment due date. It never hurts to reach out and ask. If nothing else it gives you a contact to use if something pops up and you want a quote on a cruise.

In July you will be competing with land cruisers since kids are out of school. Certain popular tourist things may be very busy. May is nice but I like cool nights and warm but not hot days. Same with October. Canadian Thanksgiving is Oct. 12, 2020. Canadian Thanksgiving isn't the massive travel week it is here. However if a port of call falls on Oct. 12, 2020, that port may see closed stores and venues. If wearing a light jacket or light sweater at night is out of bounds for you on a cruise, May/October may be like that. Personally I like that kind of weather. I'm doing Adventure in October on the "Snowbird Migration". It boards on Canadian Thanksgiving this year. It's a one way from Quebec City to Florida as a repositioning cruise. I'll probably be live blogging it here. This cruise starts with an overnight in Quebec City which I really like. Check in, go to cabin, then go explore this historic city. Sleep on the ship and have a full day the next day to do the same before sailing many of the standard Canada ports, then 2 in Maine, Boston and then down to FL. The second day in Quebec City should work well since the first day is Canadian Thanksgiving. The first day I may just walk around and take pictures while self exploring. Bienvenue au Canada.

Keep in mind you don't have to use the app. Normal check in online at royalcaribbean.com still works too.

Thanks for the update. Glad to hear it's been working out so far. Keep the updates coming.

Right. Plus the new terminal will handle one ship at a time, like terminal 18 in Port Everglades which was built for Oasis. While Symphony might be reachable for guests, others ships not so much. Allure, Empress, Explorer, Jewel, Mariner, Navigator, Oasis and Vision all home port in Miami at times in 2019. Not all will use the new terminal (mostly OA class only). I imagine 2020 will see something similar, just different ships. This is also Carnival's busiest port and MSC Seaside uses it too, on weekends. Symphony and Seaside combined are over 10k guests. Fuel trucks supply ships with alternate fuels beyond bunker for the main engines and some others like the ones carrying cooking oil might not be able to use the tunnel due to Hazmat laws. If they can't use the bridge, what happens to them?

You can explore POM on the PTZ webcam this weekend. It will display all the ships from various lines that use it on a typical weekend. You also see some of the road and bridges that the tentative course would use. http://www.portmiamiwebcam.com/ Mariner is in port today. At the bottom the map from marinetraffic.com identifies the ships at each terminal. Pretty light day today being a Friday, only 3 ships in port. Check it when there are five or more ships there. Imagine the havoc that closing port roads and grooming traffic onto side streets not meant to handle the volume would have. It's not like cruise ships who embarked their prior to the race could disembark somewhere else and bus people back and forth to POM, then deal with that for newly departing cruises race weekend. When they close roads in Toronto for Grand Prix it's the weekend and city traffic is lower because its the weekend. In the case of POM, the weekend is peak time. Closing roads then would be chaos.

I recently noticed this in the cruise planner as well but it varies by ship it seems. "Relaxation Areas" and "Relaxation Features" - two new categories under spa.

Coki Beach on St Thomas is great for snorkeling with kids. All of the Oasis shows are good for kids except the comedians. They often will do a family friendly comedian session so watch for that. I'd make reservation for all of the shows as soon as you can, generally 90 days out but sometimes sooner. Cats is very personal. Some love it, some not so much. It's a Broadway caliber show so ask yourself would you take your kids to see it on Broadway? The general consensus is that the kids programs are pretty great. Get them involved on day one so they become part of the kid's crowd and aren't trying to join a group on subsequent days that has already bonded. Check out this blog on Adventure Ocean: https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2017/09/25/six-things-know-about-royal-caribbeans-adventure-ocean and https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2018/01/09/cruising-kids-royal-caribbean Flowriders will have lines at times but sometimes near dinner time towards the end of an open flowrider session lines are smaller. If you stay on a ship or return early on a port day sometimes lines are smaller. Rock climbing usually isn't that busy but this can change sailing to sailing. Loungers in prime spots like front row or close to pools will go first but often loungers one deck up are available depending on group size. Reserving loungers by placing something on them and leaving is against the rules and should be avoided even if you observe others doing so. The first two nights can often see cheaper prices on some of the specialty restaurants but I often cruise without going to them. Food is very personal but I enjoy the MDR food and sometimes do dinner in the Windjammer. Check out this blog for first timers on Oasis: https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2017/01/31/first-time-cruisers-guide-royal-caribbeans-oasis-of-the-seas

This webcam has been focused on Mariner all day as she gets ready to set sail later today. http://www.portmiamiwebcam.com/ Pick some future Mariner sail date and watch her depart with your daughters. It's hard not to get excited anytime I watch a sail away.

As I've thought about this and in particular your last sentence in reference to your daughters accepting this: I can safely predict that won't be an issue. You have displayed great patience and resolve as this has played out. Sure at moments it has gotten to you, and how couldn't it? In the end you let it play out, maintained faith in Sharla and MEI Travel and worked towards a resolution. That is commendable. Our children watch and learn from us in subtle ways none of us appreciate from their early years to later in life. My kids have endured flat tires, locked up brake calipers, hotels that didn't come close to the brochure, flights delays, lost luggage, pets pass and so on. It didn't take me long to learn that their reaction mirrored my own during life's challenging moments. This is a process for them too but I'm confident you will find they handle it with as much grace as you have despite how frustrating it has been. After all, they learned that from you.

If I recall Matt recently scored an upgrade to a suite at little or now cost by checking just before final payment due date. Definitely pays to check.

Awesome news!

Welcome to the message boards! The overall area near Old San Juan and New San Juan where the airport is located isn't very big compared to Miami or Ft. Lauderdale. Virtually any hotel in the general vicinity that has decent reviews within your budget will suffice for a night. There are no hotels where you can walk from the hotel to the ship. Uber can't pick up at the airport but works pretty well around the rest of San Juan. Ask your hotel if they have late check out or consider dropping your bags at the ship at 10am and then head to Old San Juan to explore the old city. It's a great city rich in history. Consider it another port on your itinerary and explore it, don't just board the ship there like you might in South Florida.

You'll love the loft suite - from the minute you first open the door to your final departure. Thanks for blogging!

Haunted by the @hayley_bopp at the moment. Here is her Indy live blog https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/boards/index.php?/topic/6830-independence-14th-28th-july-med-liveish-blog/

Could be... I have relatives in Jolly Olde England.