twangster

However when you book an excursion through Royal, it will return prior to departure.  
There are plenty of signs and announcements when the ship leaves and when guests need to be back on board.  Trying to say they looked at the app a couple months before sailing and one or two excursion came back at 5pm is a weak excuse for missing the ship.  

Oasis class make money.  Central Park continues to be the most popular feature of any ship, consistently getting favorable reviews year after year. 
Don't assume OA5 or OA6 will be clones of her sisters.  Quantum Ultra for example, is an evolution of Quantum.  Oasis Ultra may be in the works and innovate.  By maintaining the basic bones of the ship they save hundreds of millions by avoiding the cost a new ship design from scratch.   
Icon hasn't launched and is unproven both in terms of power plant and acceptance by consumers.  While both Carnival and Royal have massive investments in LNG it remains to be seen how that is going to work out in the long run.  Symphony is a huge success, record bookings for her inaugural year.   Gamble on investing into Icon 3 versus going with a proven design?
What if Central Park was covered so that it could function better in cooler climates year round?  Turn Central Park into a family friendly indoor space with all sorts of new activities.  Place them into regions that have never seen an Oasis class before.  So many possibilities.  
Vision class wasn't even a class in it's day.  Three pairs of sister ships that got lumped together into a class after the fact.   Vague copies of each other for the same reason - economies of re-using a proven design.  Smart decisions in the ship building business.
Quantum will soon be up to five ships.  Who knows, maybe QU6 is lingering just off the radar screen tying for greatest number of ships in a single class. 
Carnival does the same thing.  Horizon and Vista are built on the Dream class hull design, just reimagined use of the space.  Dream Ultra.
Voyager class was a huge success and they innovated by stretching it into Freedom class,  basically Voyager Ultra.  Maybe the rumors of a stretched OA class will come to fruition.  

I think this thread has served a purpose.  Cruisers old and new have learned the ship will actually leave without you when you don't return in time.  Of the 6,000 on board, 5,998 made it back. 
I was on a cruise two weeks ago and I saw 60 - 80 people slowly walking up the pier well past all aboard time.  None were in a hurry.  One drunk girl lay on the concrete pier and rested (or passed out) .   I had to check my watch thinking I was an hour off.  I wasn't.  Crew were waving to them to hurry up.  The bridge blew the ship's horn.  People are way too cavalier and just assume the world revolves around them. 
I tire at the muster drill waiting for the stragglers to show up.  I tire on an excursion waiting for people who show up late.  
Hopefully this video will serve to educate everyone that a ship will leave without you.  It is your responsibility to be on time.
The cruise community has a name for these types of people.  "Pier Runners" and it transcends all cruise lines.   
This is about personal accountability and yes, two ships full of passengers will make fun of you when you miss the ship.  
Lesson learned - don't be late.  

Suggest you read and follow this live blog in progress from @Lovetocruise2002.
 

Unlike a stop in most Caribbean ports you can't leave Labadee and go into Haiti.  Locals can't enter either, unless employed there.  Royal employees 500 full time positions in Labadee, the majority being locals. 
The village nearby is an old fishing village which has prospered because of Labadee while the rest of Haiti is pretty unfortunate.  Consequently it tends to be a different dynamic in Labadee.
Civil unrest and similar warnings have occurred many times over the years.  Labadee is typically not impacted by them.  Royal is not in the business of getting their guests hurt or thrust into the limelight so they would absolutely avoid it if they thought it was a danger.  

I typically stay in the Orlando area simply for the cheaper hotel options.  Getting over to Port Canaveral in the morning is easy with different options.  
Embarking early just maximizes your time on board. Lunch is typically available around 11:30am so that's one less meal to pay for.  You can start to explore the ship before cabins open at 1pm.  If you time it right you beat the peak line 11am to 1pm in the terminal.
With kids and a senior arriving during peak can be tough - lines and standing.  If you don't feel like going early (10am ish) then go after 1pm or 1:30pm to let the lines settle down some.  There will still be lines, just not as many, hopefully.  

Most Caribbean cruises don't require that you take your passport off the ship.  Ships are cleared based on manifests submitted to governments.  A ship pulls up, local immigration clears the ship as a whole and every one is free to leave.  You never see local customs agents in each country, it's done while you are sleeping, or eating breakfast, etc...
When cruising to Cuba you must present your passport to Cuban immigration in the terminal so you need your passport to get off the ship there.  
Other than Cuba you just need ship card and in some cases a gov't ID like a drivers license to get back on the ship.  Some ports want gov't ID to see the name on the ship card is a match.  

I typically stay in the Orlando area simply for the cheaper hotel options.  Getting over to Port Canaveral in the morning is easy with different options.  
Embarking early just maximizes your time on board. Lunch is typically available around 11:30am so that's one less meal to pay for.  You can start to explore the ship before cabins open at 1pm.  If you time it right you beat the peak line 11am to 1pm in the terminal.
With kids and a senior arriving during peak can be tough - lines and standing.  If you don't feel like going early (10am ish) then go after 1pm or 1:30pm to let the lines settle down some.  There will still be lines, just not as many, hopefully.  

Unlike a stop in most Caribbean ports you can't leave Labadee and go into Haiti.  Locals can't enter either, unless employed there.  Royal employees 500 full time positions in Labadee, the majority being locals. 
The village nearby is an old fishing village which has prospered because of Labadee while the rest of Haiti is pretty unfortunate.  Consequently it tends to be a different dynamic in Labadee.
Civil unrest and similar warnings have occurred many times over the years.  Labadee is typically not impacted by them.  Royal is not in the business of getting their guests hurt or thrust into the limelight so they would absolutely avoid it if they thought it was a danger.  

One more that I tried of on Carnival.  It seemed I could close my eyes and in some places would have no idea what ship I was on when I opened them.  Many things repeat over and over.  Dream class had some differences but the cabins were verbatim copies spanning 20 years of ships.  
Royal 'suffers' from that on Voyager and Freedom class to some degree, but one class to another usually has some big differences.  I like variety.  

Original poster Chesneygirl at CC posted this to youtube
 

Original poster Chesneygirl at CC posted this to youtube
 

I think this thread has served a purpose.  Cruisers old and new have learned the ship will actually leave without you when you don't return in time.  Of the 6,000 on board, 5,998 made it back. 
I was on a cruise two weeks ago and I saw 60 - 80 people slowly walking up the pier well past all aboard time.  None were in a hurry.  One drunk girl lay on the concrete pier and rested (or passed out) .   I had to check my watch thinking I was an hour off.  I wasn't.  Crew were waving to them to hurry up.  The bridge blew the ship's horn.  People are way too cavalier and just assume the world revolves around them. 
I tire at the muster drill waiting for the stragglers to show up.  I tire on an excursion waiting for people who show up late.  
Hopefully this video will serve to educate everyone that a ship will leave without you.  It is your responsibility to be on time.
The cruise community has a name for these types of people.  "Pier Runners" and it transcends all cruise lines.   
This is about personal accountability and yes, two ships full of passengers will make fun of you when you miss the ship.  
Lesson learned - don't be late.  

I think this thread has served a purpose.  Cruisers old and new have learned the ship will actually leave without you when you don't return in time.  Of the 6,000 on board, 5,998 made it back. 
I was on a cruise two weeks ago and I saw 60 - 80 people slowly walking up the pier well past all aboard time.  None were in a hurry.  One drunk girl lay on the concrete pier and rested (or passed out) .   I had to check my watch thinking I was an hour off.  I wasn't.  Crew were waving to them to hurry up.  The bridge blew the ship's horn.  People are way too cavalier and just assume the world revolves around them. 
I tire at the muster drill waiting for the stragglers to show up.  I tire on an excursion waiting for people who show up late.  
Hopefully this video will serve to educate everyone that a ship will leave without you.  It is your responsibility to be on time.
The cruise community has a name for these types of people.  "Pier Runners" and it transcends all cruise lines.   
This is about personal accountability and yes, two ships full of passengers will make fun of you when you miss the ship.  
Lesson learned - don't be late.  

Drat, now i have to cancel it.  At least it is refundable...

Okay, I don't often make this offer, but here goes.  I'll sail in your name if you pay for it next week.  Then you can be Diamond now!
Call my toll free number if you are interested in earning Diamond Plus status.  

Yes, you will enjoy Elite level benefits for life unless RCCL changes the program which is rumored to be in the works towards a more unified program but who knows when that might occur or what that means.  
Until then, welcome to Captain's Club Elite benefits.  PS - D+/P don't do any better.  It's capped at Elite recognition, for now.
https://www.celebritycruises.com/captains-club/exclusive-offers/loyalty-reciprocity-program

Okay, I don't often make this offer, but here goes.  I'll sail in your name if you pay for it next week.  Then you can be Diamond now!
Call my toll free number if you are interested in earning Diamond Plus status.  

I think this thread has served a purpose.  Cruisers old and new have learned the ship will actually leave without you when you don't return in time.  Of the 6,000 on board, 5,998 made it back. 
I was on a cruise two weeks ago and I saw 60 - 80 people slowly walking up the pier well past all aboard time.  None were in a hurry.  One drunk girl lay on the concrete pier and rested (or passed out) .   I had to check my watch thinking I was an hour off.  I wasn't.  Crew were waving to them to hurry up.  The bridge blew the ship's horn.  People are way too cavalier and just assume the world revolves around them. 
I tire at the muster drill waiting for the stragglers to show up.  I tire on an excursion waiting for people who show up late.  
Hopefully this video will serve to educate everyone that a ship will leave without you.  It is your responsibility to be on time.
The cruise community has a name for these types of people.  "Pier Runners" and it transcends all cruise lines.   
This is about personal accountability and yes, two ships full of passengers will make fun of you when you miss the ship.  
Lesson learned - don't be late.  

For sure.  Three to four years of speculation and rumors.  I'll start...
I hear they are building a port for her in Denver, CO.  

For sure.  Three to four years of speculation and rumors.  I'll start...
I hear they are building a port for her in Denver, CO.  

MIAMI, February 18, 2019 – Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE: RCL) today announced that it has entered into an agreement with French shipbuilder Chantiers de l’Atlantique to order a sixth Oasis-class ship for delivery in the fall of 2023.
https://presscenter.rclcorporate.com/press-release/25/royal-caribbean-orders-sixth-oasis-class-vessel/
https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2019/02/18/royal-caribbean-orders-sixth-oasis-class-cruise-ship