twangster

One benefit of pre-paying ship gratuity is in the event they increase in 2019.  If you add them now to the booking, they are locked in at current rates but they aren't actually paid until final payment due date, typically 90 days prior to sailing.

If the OBC is Royal OBC, then as @CGTLH eluded to, you will have the ability to apply that OBC towards cruise planner purchases such as shore excursions or drink packages.  If the OBC is offered by a travel agency, it typically appears on your SeaPass account around day two of the cruise while on board.  If the latter then using TA OBC to cover gratuity charges can be a smart way to use a large OBC so don't pre-pay gratuity in that event, but if there are increases in gratuity in 2019 you would end up paying the new 2019 gratuity rates.  

Maybe give Joy a call and ask her thoughts.  As an experienced TA she will know the best approach given your past purchasing trends.  

Port Canaveral (Enchantment) is different than the Port of Miami (Mariner).  More so in how you get to the port rather than the experience once you walk into the terminal.  Are you a FL resident and driving?

Enchantment is smaller than Mariner and will board faster.  Miami traffic is Miami traffic, not a lot anyone can do but sit in traffic depending where you are coming from and what time you are heading to the port.  It's not that bad but something to consider when planning your arrival to the port.

Since you are new to cruising, have you researched the ships?  While both are excellent ships, they offer very different experiences on board.  Mariner just completed a refreshment and since she is a larger ship there are more activities on board.   Mariner received some very new and exciting venues and on-board activities.  Other ships in the fleet will be getting some of these new refreshments in the years to come however Enchantment being smaller than Mariner won't be able to be refreshed in the same way.  

Make sure you research each ship on the Royal website before choosing which ship to cruise on.  I have cruises booked on both ships.    in fact in September I walk of Mariner and drive up the coast to board Enchantment the same day.    I look forward to both equally but I know both ships and have researched both well so my expectations have been set for both ships knowing they will be different experiences.

34 minutes ago, Mljstr said:

I talked to Air2Sea and asked about getting notifications of schedule changes (I have had 3 so far.) The rep said they send them out close to departure-a week ahead. That's useless if you need time to work through an issue. Also, he said since the time to get to flight is 30 minutes in Atlanta, then if I want to change flights there would be a charge. He never offered to even put in a request and give me a price to change. I called Delta who told me it has to be a 90 minute change and this one is only 40 minutes. Also they can't make any changes; I have to go back to RCCL. So tomorrow I will continue climbing the chain of command until I get an acceptable solution. 

Let me make sure I understand.  Time between posted arrival and departure is 30 minutes?  What time do you land in ATL and what time does your connecting flight depart?

I assume it's related to the message board area being a separate software engine compared to the main blog site.  

Matt has done a good job blending the two but under the covers there are some subtle differences. 

Welcome to the message boards!

Check in at the cruise terminal usually opens at 10am, depending on the port.  For many US based cruises that target a 4pm to 4:30pm sail away they often board around 11am and occasionally if you are lucky as early or even before 10:30am.  US Customs controls this, it's out of the ship's hands.  Sometimes there are other routine inspections or maintenance that can delay boarding but 11am is an average time to start boarding.  They'll start with consecutive cruisers, wedding parties, suite guests and then frequent cruisers who get to board before less frequent cruisers. 

Food access on the ship usually starts somewhere around 11 to 11:30am depending on the ship.  Most cruise terminals do not have food or beverages for purchase.  There is usually a water fountain or water station with paper cups available in the terminal waiting area.

Cabins are typically available from 1pm to 2:30pm depending on ship and port.  

Which ship and where are you sailing from?

Luggage tags often appear 30-45 days out.

Check back in a couple of weeks.

Just now, Mljstr said:

@twangsterI would like to know how you get a notification from Air2Sea?  I have had two changes to my air schedule and haven’t heard a word from them. I find it out by regularly checking on the Delta website. The first was resolved and now I have another schedule change which leaves me with a doable but sketchy layover. This is exhausting!  

Not sure, I didn't do anything extra during the booking.  In my case my flight departs and leaves a whole one minute earlier.

@CGTLH did a live blog on a Halloween cruise last year.  Different class of ship but it will give you an idea.  Many people bring costumes and get right in to it.

https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/boards/index.php?/topic/4902-liveish-7-days-on-oasis-halloween-10292017-or-29102017-better-yet-october-29-2017/&

From September 2017:

Cabanas

Cabanas have a thatched roof area with semi private walls (somewhat see through) and some have a wood deck and upgraded loungers in the front or on the side exposed to the sun as well as some standard plastic island loungers you can drag down to the water if you wish to. 

Bungalows

Bungalows have solid back wall and curtain sides. Each also has some upgraded loungers exposed to the sun.

1 hour ago, Dolores said:

I will be sailing on Freedom Of The Seas in Nov.  I am a Starbucks junkie, and know there is a Starbucks on board. 

There is no Starbucks venue on Freedom.    

Café Promenade serves 'illy' branded coffee or at least did in November 2017.

There are usually conditions such as the flight must have changed greater than 90 minutes to have change fees waived.

A one hour connection in JFK is tight but doable.  It is technically a "legal" connection.  JFK tends to start any day okay but as each day progresses delays are more and more common at JFK.  I've sometimes had to connect domestically at JFK and I usually avoid late afternoon connections.

If you miss the connection, the airline will try to rebook you on a later flight flight but you may not get great seats or be able to sit together.  At the first sign of the connection at risk, contact Air2Sea. 

Air2Sea has more skin in the game because they may need to get you to the next port so they are motivated to find you an alternate.  Most airlines are hesitant to sign the ticket over to another carrier since they lose revenue.  For this reason American might tell you the best they can do is a flight the next day instead of trying to transfer you to United or Delta.  

Most importantly, the age old rule applies - if you don't like the answer you get, hang up and try a few more times and maybe you'll get someone who can help you.

A couple of hours ago I got a notice of a flight time change but it's minor and doesn't really change anything.  Here is the verbiage they sent me:

Dear Travel Partner/Guest:

As part of our commitment to ensuring a smooth and trouble free travel experience, we would like to inform you that Delta Air Lines has notified us of a change to your upcoming itinerary. This notification is sent when Delta Air Lines makes changes to its flight schedules or when the passenger makes any type of change to the reservation.

Please find below your new Air2Sea itinerary.

We are happy to work with you should you have concerns about the changes; however, Delta Air Lines may charge the guest fees or higher fares for alternatives other than what they have currently provided in the itinerary. Royal Caribbean International, is not responsible for the air schedule changes, cancellations, rerouting, seat assignment(s) or any disruptions of scheduled service.

Interesting.  Normally I've seen 90 days on sailings of 7 nights, but I've heard rumors of shorter due dates for shorter cruises.  My short cruises all state 90 days.

Perhaps call RC and just make sure you will be good paying later on two of those bookings.

Yes, the name of the port in Ft Lauderdale is Port Everglades.

The port is mixed use for cargo, tankers and cruise ships.  Port Everglades is a major fuel port where fuel is offloaded from tanker ships and stored in tanks from where it is distributed throughout South Florida.  Because of this security is stepped up from other cruise ports where you can just drive to the terminal.  You'll need to stop at a a security check point, show ID and they'll likely ask to look in your trunk so be prepared to pop it open.  It's not a big deal but catches some people off guard.

The port area is pretty big with a number of terminals spread out.  They have overhead signs indicating which ship is using which terminal but there is also a Port Everglades app that can be used to learn which terminal you will be using.  There are a couple of different entrances and one has to cross train tracks that can be slow when a slow moving train is using the tracks.  

For clarification, the port in Miami is called the "Port of Miami" or POM and is located on Dodge Island.  Distinctly different than PEV or Port Everglades ~28 miles or so up the coast in between Hollywood, FL and Fort Lauderdale.

As a subscriber to Adobe's $10 per month photography plan they occasional publish guides and tips.  This plan includes Lightroom Classic CC which is one of the best software applications I've come across.  I'm not a fan of paying a recurring charge for anything in life but for this I've made an exception.

Today I received an email with a link to this tip showing how a professional photographer used Lightroom to create a dramatic image from an already pretty good photograph:

https://helpx.adobe.com/lightroom/how-to/create-landscape-photography.html

People often ask "What kind of camera do you have?" 

The camera is just one small part of taking good pictures.  The truth is the brand of the camera isn't as important as the tools available for any photographer.  Tools such as a camera, lens and software.  

When traveling you rarely have time to set up a tripod and make a series of adjustments while capturing dozens of images so being able to take any image and make adjustments later in software is probably the biggest upgrade anyone can do to achieve better photos.  This is best achieved when capturing in RAW format compared to JPEG.

If you have or are considering Adobe Lightroom, make sure you check out all the free tutorials they offer for beginner and advanced users:

https://helpx.adobe.com/lightroom/tutorials.html

One problem is the work to keep it up to date.  Time goes by quickly and with many ships getting AMPED soon it's equally important to keep any database up to date.

I've often used the link @accio7 provided, but even so I take it with a grain of salt knowing it too can become dated.

https://www.celebritycruisespresscenter.com/press-release/1115/a-revolutionary-new-terminal-for-a-revolutionary-new-ship/

“When designing the revolutionary Celebrity Edge, we knew we wanted to design a terminal that perfectly complemented the ship and matched its one-of-a-kind experience,” said Lisa Lutoff-Perlo, President and CEO, Celebrity Cruises. “With cutting-edge technology, in service of a gorgeous design, T25 is that perfect new home. T25 also happens to be Celebrity’s first ever brand-designed cruise terminal, which not only represents a milestone for Celebrity, but also presented us with the opportunity to set yet another standard in design and create the perfect guest experience.”

14 minutes ago, Nay said:

Thank you, cruising RC Freedom of the Seas out of San Juan. Have you been there?

Welcome and yes, many of of us have been on Freedom and have been to San Juan.  Both are great choices. 

San Juan is an excellent embarkation port because it's like getting another port of call on your itinerary and it's a great port to explore.  You don't need to book an excursion to enjoy San Juan, there is a lot to see just self-exploring around Old San Juan. 

But don't assume logic will have anything to do with it  

1 hour ago, jazzy031814 said:

The new terminal will be completed soon and I wonder which Royal ship will get the honors of being at the Crown of Miami on Nov 23.  Will it be a 9 night on Navigator of the Seas or a 3 night on Mariner of the Seas?

If they use the new terminal for non-OA class ships during the week, Mariner would be a better fit since her 3/4 routine keeps her away from weekends when Symphony and Allure will use the new terminal.  Mariner turns on Mondays and Fridays.  

Navigator departing 11/23 returns on Sunday 12/2 when she would have to use a different terminal to disembark her guests who had boarded at the Crown (assuming they had used Crown for embarkation).    That's happened to me in Port Everglades at terminal 18 which didn't impact me since I took a cab to the airport, but for all the locals who drove, it's a PITA to shuttle to another terminal to reach your parked car.  

Cool.  With all the new ships being built by many cruise lines, more ports is a good thing.

On Quantum class I'm going with a family junior suite for 3 adults.  A bathroom plus a 1/2 bathroom being the deciding factor.  Access to Coastal Kitchen plays heavily into it as well.  In my case with 3 adults, two cabins is cost prohibitive because of the single supplement for one of those two cabins.

Radiance class doesn't feature JS with 2 bathrooms and it doesn't have a Coastal Kitchen restaurant either.  In my opinion the benefits of a JS on this class are a little bigger cabin and double C&A points.  Four adults in a JS on Radiance class is doable but cozy.  Sharing a bathroom is possibly the biggest challenge.

As @Mljstr mentioned on deck 7 and 8 there are spacious ocean view cabins with views forward and/or to the side but no balcony.  If balcony is a must have then these cabins are out.  Some of these cabins like 7004/7504 feature a separate bunk area in addition to a sofa bed and room for a pullman.  There are video walk throughs on Youtube.  They are very spacious, but a single bathroom.

A lot would depend on pricing.    

54 minutes ago, Baked Alaska said:

Will you be live blogging or periscoping?

As Voom permits.  

Satellite coverage is weak in Alaska so Voom will be spotty and non-existent at times.

14 minutes ago, Kim&N8 said:

 I’m looking at feb break 2020 as maybe a future kids cruise 

Keep an eye out for a KSF promo (kids sail free)

2 hours ago, Kim&N8 said:

NJ only seems to get 5+ day sailings. 

Cruises must include an international port of call by law.  A disadvantage of the greater NYC area as a cruise home port is that there are no close international ports.   Bermuda is a sea day away so 5 night cruises are the minimum from NJ/NY.

Transportation from the North East is a wash, WDW or a 3/4 night cruise, fly or drive it applies to both equally.

When mine were little we took them on a Disney cruise but we also had our parents watch them and did a cruise on our own.  

IMO it's healthy to have kids learn the world doesn't end if you leave for a few days, provided you have taken the appropriate measures to have someone look after them.