twangster

No free soda. Free beverage options include water, lemonade, usually another juice that varies day to day, tea and coffee. Buffet has milk as well, orange juice at breakfast. If your kids like a particular juice that you can bring in powder form you can make your own. I often bring Gatorade powder with me.

You're welcome hubby!

When Quantum is in China the Solarium has been reported to be suites only so no surprise really. China is such a different market and lacks the die hard decades old volumes of C&A so it works there. If/When they try that here there is likely going to be a mutiny.

This exactly why you can't give a lot of attention to bad reviews.

Apparently it's better for sex due to cabin layout when sailing with children according to one user who compared RCI to DCL. That had several of us scratching our heads.

I try to avoid connecting rooms. Yes you can hear your neighbors. On Freedom I heard cackling laughter or what at times sounded like noises an animal would make, like a random screech a large bird might make. I was somewhat surprised to see a young couple exit the cabin one day as I was returning. I'm a sound sleeper so it never bothered me. I've often wondered if they hold back a couple cabins from inventory to deal with issues on board, much like a large hotel would.

I'm leveraging Singapore for that purpose. YOLO!

They could have created a new Cruise Line, marketed it under that brand and the same would be true - the ship would be locked into that region. There is a lot of effort moving a ship into or out of the Asia region. Gambling is very big and more space is dedicated to that. Signage, restaurants, etc. If the booking support it, I wouldn't move ships into and out of the region either, it costs too much and to what end? There is another Quantum Ultra coming and Oasis #5 plus a whole new class of ship over the coming years. Plenty of new ships for other regions but this move is designed to generate revenue and I suspect it will.

I guess we'll have to wait to see how it plays out on board, but China is a developing cruise segment and given the population has the ability to become a significant cruise market. I believe the intent is to create a ship designed for the Asian segment, not simply another western based ship visiting the area. That I think is part of the marketing they intend to use in the region. "We built this ship for Asia and it's staying here, it belongs here". My expectation is find it much more immersive compared to sailing a western ship that part-times in the region. I'm hoping for that actually. I have cruises booked on Voyager and Quantum later in 2019 so I'll see first hand eventually. I noted no Diamond club on the deck plans. I suspect Crown and Anchor doesn't have the same volume of Diamond and above members in the region so they've used that space for better purposes. Pure speculation on my part.

Totally based on Asian culture I suspect. Note that it's "Golden" not simply 'gold'. A subtle difference but also cultural I suspect.

I saw those as well and that's what I am assuming. Silver Junior is three times the price of my current bookings. I can't justify that when I'm solo. If I didn't have all my other 2019 cruises I might. Sticking with steerage. Just call me Jack Dawson and maybe I'll get lucky.

Just imagine the stories that don't make the headlines. The hotel industry is also the source of many great stories. The things a front desk clerk has seen... oh my.

Eastern transatlantic, FL to Spain. Oasis is heading to Europe for the summer (and a dry dock).

I've got some of them booked later in the year on other ships. Hong Kong and Vietnam will be first time experiences. I would have jumped on an earlier sailing but I'll be on the Oasis transatlantic then.

Having lived in the Arctic I always got strange looks connecting on flights in Ottawa during the spring and summer hauling a winter coat on the plane with me.

Also note that there appears to be forward facing balconies on deck 8-11. If so those would be amazing. EDIT - reported to be Ocean View, just deck plan graphics being odd.

If you can't add it once the deposit is made, then I'd call to talk to them about it. I've never tried to add a 'hold' to my cruise list but suspect that is the issue.

Last night I got home late and saw @Matt's blog post about Spectrum of the Seas https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2018/06/11/royal-caribbean-reveals-first-look-spectrum-of-the-seas YOLO! Booked it! Given that it is just released the website is acting strange. I couldn't book a suite, it would return me to the main page as I stepped through the pages so I grabbed a studio balcony as plan B. Steerage here I come. The website would allow me to enter my C&A number for the balcony discount but when I tried to pay the deposit it reported my C&A number was invalid. Given the website weirdness with Spectrum and the late hour I booked her without my C&A number. A quick call to the C&A desk this morning solved that and they re-priced it with my C&A discount. That saved me $56 for a 4 night studio balcony and $93 for a 9 night studio balcony on the B2B. Booking are refundable so why not! YOLO! Looks like the current plan for her initial sailings is: April 18, 2019 - 16 Nights Barcelona to Dubai VIA the Suez Canal May 4, 2019 - 14 Nights Dubai to Singapore May 18, 2019 - 3 Nights Singapore to Malaysia May 21, 2019 - 4 Nights Singapore to Malaysia May 25, 2019 - 9 Nights to Vietnam, Hong Kong, Shanghai By this point she has reached her home port of Shanghai where she begins regular service for several months. I'm booked on the 4th and 5th sailings, May 21 and May 25. Deck plans are interesting. While it is not immediately clear which areas are suite only, the forward areas of the higher decks are very different compare to other Quantum class ships. Decks 14, 15 and 16. The jogging track now wraps around NorthStar where on other Quantum ships the jogging tracks approaches the front of the ship around the indoor pool and the spa treatment rooms which now appear to be suite cabins. Several new areas on decks 14, 15 and 16 forward. The big question is, which of these are suite only? There appears to be at least two levels of suites. Silver and Golden. Each has their own dining areas. Junior suites are available in both Silver and Golden. No Diamond or Concierge lounges that I can find on the deck plans.

I did 19 nights on Anthem (7+12) and I used the laundry special on the 2nd cruise. It's a small bag but I only washed small items. Most of the time I was in shorts. Formal wear was used for dinner only then I changed. I made a plan before sailing and packed accordingly. It wasn't too bad. By not over packing but taking a few extra items it wasn't too bad at all. I have several long cruises next year (10, 13, 14 and 16 nights) and will do the same.

You know what that means? YOLO! Book it!

The app is a work in progress. For now continue using a PC browser to complete online check in. Some elements of the promised 'future' check in process I think will wait until Symphony is based and sailing from the US but that is just speculation on my part.

Just to be clear, are you talking B2B or a proper 14 night voyage? If B2B then dinner menus will repeat one voyage to the next. However with the variety offered you are welcome to try something different from the menu on the 2nd go. As far as breakfast repeating, when at home do you eat a different meal eat day for weeks? I'm guilty of eating the same thing day after day or mixing it up a little bit, but not much. When people notice that breakfast choices are often similar day to day, I often wonder what I am life I'm missing, because on land, my breakfast doesn't vary so much day to day, week to week.. As far as dinner, I sometimes struggle between two choices. Repeating the menu 7 days later lets me resolve that which I noted the 1st time around as a strong option. "This time I'll try the duck but next time the chicken sounds great too".

It's quite a bumpy ride, very fun, but bumpy. I don't recall seeing anyone being weighed or challenged but given the forces involved I can see why there is a limit. I'm not sure how accommodating folks would be having paid full price to have a surprise buddy hanging onto them. I think that option is really for family and friends. Nothing personal but I enjoyed being by myself and having the freedom to run full out - I wouldn't accept having a stranger bundled onto me. I cruised with my friend's 19 yo daughter who is petite but I paid for her own jet ski because I wanted to go solo. I didn't even want her riding with me and she is my scuba diving buddy.

Valid point, I forget what its like to cruise without cell service in port.

@Pippa_OceanTime (aka Pippa Madden) from OceanTime.com.au was just on her not long ago out of Sydney. She did some periscoping from Explorer. You can find Pippa on Facebook and Twitter as well.