twangster

3 night cruises can have a more active party vibe but even so on Royal Caribbean it’s pretty tame in contrast to a 3 night Carnival cruise.  
5 night cruises tend to consume weekdays so for working class that means time off work which is why they don’t always suffer from a party vibe.
I’ve done many 5 night cruises.  I’ve never thought it was a party vibe.  

I think it is more offensive to attempt to force others to wear clothing to meet your personal preferences than anything I’ve seen before worn in the MDR.
Royal does’t have a dress code.  They have suggestions that are just that, a suggestion that can be followed or ignored.  
People on vacation may desire to take a break from dressing up for work every day of their life.  Some people don’t want to bring formal wear or don’t have room for it when paying for luggage on a flight to a cruise.  Whatever someone’s reason to not dress formally is, that is well within their privilege to exercise on Royal Caribbean.
There are cruise lines that do have strict dress codes.  If that’s is your thing that’s great.  Cruise on those cruise lines.  Don’t expect a family friendly mass market cruise line to have or enforce a dress code.  

It can also depend on the ship itself and whether or not your sailing offered "kids sail free".    I've found the demographics on the older, smaller ships to be more children and families than the makeup of the bigger ships on non-KSF itins.  The reason is simple - price.  A while back we sailed on Grandeur on a shorty and I said NEVER AGAIN.  In reality, it had more to do with the fact that the kids sailed "free" than it did with the length of the cruise.  I sucked it up and tried Grandeur again last month, after saying I would NEVER sail on her again and it was a REALLY different experience. #1 it was a 9 night cruise, and #2 it was considered a holiday sailing (even though it departed the day after Thanksgiving), so no "kids sail free".  It was a marvelous cruise.

I think it is more offensive to attempt to force others to wear clothing to meet your personal preferences than anything I’ve seen before worn in the MDR.
Royal does’t have a dress code.  They have suggestions that are just that, a suggestion that can be followed or ignored.  
People on vacation may desire to take a break from dressing up for work every day of their life.  Some people don’t want to bring formal wear or don’t have room for it when paying for luggage on a flight to a cruise.  Whatever someone’s reason to not dress formally is, that is well within their privilege to exercise on Royal Caribbean.
There are cruise lines that do have strict dress codes.  If that’s is your thing that’s great.  Cruise on those cruise lines.  Don’t expect a family friendly mass market cruise line to have or enforce a dress code.  

I think it is more offensive to attempt to force others to wear clothing to meet your personal preferences than anything I’ve seen before worn in the MDR.
Royal does’t have a dress code.  They have suggestions that are just that, a suggestion that can be followed or ignored.  
People on vacation may desire to take a break from dressing up for work every day of their life.  Some people don’t want to bring formal wear or don’t have room for it when paying for luggage on a flight to a cruise.  Whatever someone’s reason to not dress formally is, that is well within their privilege to exercise on Royal Caribbean.
There are cruise lines that do have strict dress codes.  If that’s is your thing that’s great.  Cruise on those cruise lines.  Don’t expect a family friendly mass market cruise line to have or enforce a dress code.  

Serenade balcony chairs are just that, chairs that can't recline.  

Yet they have been labeled with stickers.

Cartagena.  Love the old town and aviary at the port.  

There are two schools of thought.  
1. Cruise the newest and biggest and boldest since it has everything imaginable.
2. Cruise a smaller, older ship to see if you like it. If you do like cruising, you've got room to grow on future cruises on something bigger.
If you start on the newest and biggest you may never be tempted to go on something smaller. It's hard to grow when you start on the biggies.
If you start on an older, smaller ship, there is always the bigger ships for next time. It only gets better.
The truth is none of us are you.  We don't know you, we only know ourselves. 
There is no wrong way to cruise.  I have my personal thoughts and preferences but they apply to me so I won't inject them here.
The US Visa required to sail from the US is an interesting twist.  If that is proving to be time intensive I'd be very tempted to sail from somewhere other than a US port.  
I'm the kind of person that can sail on any ship and have a great experience.  Some people need more.  Nothing wrong with that until they book the wrong ship and then go on social media to complain that ship didn't meet expectations.    
This site has some great ship tour videos so watch some and then decide if you could enjoy a cruise on that ship.  

There are two schools of thought.  
1. Cruise the newest and biggest and boldest since it has everything imaginable.
2. Cruise a smaller, older ship to see if you like it. If you do like cruising, you've got room to grow on future cruises on something bigger.
If you start on the newest and biggest you may never be tempted to go on something smaller. It's hard to grow when you start on the biggies.
If you start on an older, smaller ship, there is always the bigger ships for next time. It only gets better.
The truth is none of us are you.  We don't know you, we only know ourselves. 
There is no wrong way to cruise.  I have my personal thoughts and preferences but they apply to me so I won't inject them here.
The US Visa required to sail from the US is an interesting twist.  If that is proving to be time intensive I'd be very tempted to sail from somewhere other than a US port.  
I'm the kind of person that can sail on any ship and have a great experience.  Some people need more.  Nothing wrong with that until they book the wrong ship and then go on social media to complain that ship didn't meet expectations.    
This site has some great ship tour videos so watch some and then decide if you could enjoy a cruise on that ship.  

The ability to change guests in cabins can vary ship to ship.  Ask for sure, but if they say no then ask for extra key cards.  
If you get extra key cards make sure everyone uses their original keycard at each port of call to get off and back on the ship.  

There are two schools of thought.  
1. Cruise the newest and biggest and boldest since it has everything imaginable.
2. Cruise a smaller, older ship to see if you like it. If you do like cruising, you've got room to grow on future cruises on something bigger.
If you start on the newest and biggest you may never be tempted to go on something smaller. It's hard to grow when you start on the biggies.
If you start on an older, smaller ship, there is always the bigger ships for next time. It only gets better.
The truth is none of us are you.  We don't know you, we only know ourselves. 
There is no wrong way to cruise.  I have my personal thoughts and preferences but they apply to me so I won't inject them here.
The US Visa required to sail from the US is an interesting twist.  If that is proving to be time intensive I'd be very tempted to sail from somewhere other than a US port.  
I'm the kind of person that can sail on any ship and have a great experience.  Some people need more.  Nothing wrong with that until they book the wrong ship and then go on social media to complain that ship didn't meet expectations.    
This site has some great ship tour videos so watch some and then decide if you could enjoy a cruise on that ship.  

Points are calculated on cabin booked, not cabin berthed or occupied.  
This is why Royal Up from a non-suite to a suite doesn't gain any additional points.  With an RU the cabin booked doesn't change, only the cabin berthed changes.

Points are calculated on cabin booked, not cabin berthed or occupied.  
This is why Royal Up from a non-suite to a suite doesn't gain any additional points.  With an RU the cabin booked doesn't change, only the cabin berthed changes.

If this is something you NEED, I would not leave it to Royal to provide it.  I would suggest bringing your own.  I believe there are disposables you could pack.

The ability to change guests in cabins can vary ship to ship.  Ask for sure, but if they say no then ask for extra key cards.  
If you get extra key cards make sure everyone uses their original keycard at each port of call to get off and back on the ship.  

Is you true you had to cancel a live because it was so dark?

Serenade balcony chairs are just that, chairs that can't recline.  

Yet they have been labeled with stickers.

Cartagena.  Love the old town and aviary at the port.  

And probably the art auctions.

And probably the art auctions.

Slots are open, table games open later in the day.

Serenade balcony chairs are just that, chairs that can't recline.  

Yet they have been labeled with stickers.

Is you true you had to cancel a live because it was so dark?

Serenade balcony chairs are just that, chairs that can't recline.  

Yet they have been labeled with stickers.