LetsTryThisPlace

Plus you got people like us and RCperiscopers who all want to share cruising with the world. 

Seaside was very good. We were in a Yacht Club cabin and enjoyed the experience, was our first time trying the Yacht Club. The private dining room was great with many higher end offerings. The pool grill had prime rib, lamb chops, lobster, filet mignon, shrimp, etc, grilled for lunch. Free drinks, gelato, etc. ship wide.......Interior cabin was tight, but doable with storage. Great private lounge at the front with panoramic views.
We did "snoop" the buffets to compare the items available. We tried to compare the MDR menus with the YC, but we could not find where the dinner menus were posted like RCI does daily. The rest of the ship was very nice , but the UBER MODERN decor was not particularly my cup of tea. 

I am hoping it is still available on Freedom. I heard so many good reviews and it's the main reason I booked chops lunch,  just for the cake lol.

Cue the Genie doing a Google Image search for the Stanley Cup and printing out a photo.  Dunzo!

It makes disembarkation easier, knowing that you have another to look forward to.  Have a great time!

The cruise I booked for their 40% off sale is cheaper than their current promotion of 45% off even though there are heaps of cabins left.
To be fair they always state “up to” but I always immediately assume my cruise will have the maximum discount applied?
I don’t get to see my C&A discount on the NZ website but it is now with IT to investigate.

Bottom line - Joe Nobody booking on the internet with OBC and all else factored in would be $100 more than my deal with all OBC factored in as an Emerald, booking a balcony on a 12 night sailing more than six months out.  Call it Next OBC, call it 6+ month OBC, call it C&A savings, call it a shell game.  At the end of the day I did exactly $100 better than Joe Nobody.
This is why I take my laptop with me and run my own pricing as Next runs theirs.  "Your discounts are $300"  (but with a higher non-promo base fare). 
You can not take the rate you see on line and expect the discounts to come off from that.  The discounts come off an unpublished fare that you have no idea what it is.  Royal math.
It's like drink packages.  One sale it's BOGO 50%.  The next sale is 25% off.  The next sale is 30% off.  Yet when you add it to the cart it's still same amount each time because you don't know what the base amount they are starting from.  It fluctuates which is the founding logic of Royal math.
Just like 30% off second guest.  Great, my total should have gone down, but no, base fare for guest #1 went up by the same amount as the 30% off discount for guest #2.  Royal math.  
They told me to come back once the system was showing me as Diamond to have it re-priced.  I did.  No change.  Same price.  Royal math.
When I booked Liberty as an interior 7 night cruise Next OBC should be $50.  Not with the current promo.  I got Next OBC of $0.  So much for the advertisements on the TV system , in cruise documentation, during the NextCruise presentation.  Royal math.
All you can do is listen to their total all in price and compare that to direct or through an agency.  That is the only way to know what your true loyalty discount really is.

So when I 1st visited Next they told me I'd get $400 in OBC.  The standard website offer at the moment was $200 OBC (I still have the screen shot).  Booking a balcony on a 12 night cruise is supposed to get you $200 in OBC.  Booking 6+ months out is supposed to get you $100 in OBC.  Great, let's do this, $400 OBC is pretty good.  Paper comes out and it's $300 in OBC. 
What happened to $400? 
"We gave you a Diamond discount. " 
But I'm Emerald. 
"We took $100 off the cruise fare". 
Uh, no you didn't, the paper works matches the fare online exactly. 
"With the C&A Emerald discount and NextCruise OBC you got more than $400". 
My fare matches the website and my OBC is $300. 
"Yes, that's more the $400".   
How is that more than $400?
"Because of we gave you a Diamond discount knowing you'll be Diamond soon".
What Diamond discount?
"The fare is cheaper for Diamonds"
No, the fare is the same as anyone on the internet can book as a nobody.
"You got more than $400".
But I didn't.
"Let me email Miami and ask them, come back tomorrow"
Tomorrow
Have you heard from Miami?
"Yes, you can't combine discounts, it is priced properly, no more OBC is available" 

This is exactly my experience when booking the Symphony TA.  
On this occasion NextCruise was involved to further complicate matters.  The loss of OBC when using C&A balcony discount plus booking 6+ months away left me rather displeased.  They actually told me that $300 OBC is really more than $400 OBC.  Royal math is very different than the math most of us learned in school.
That's when I learned you can't use the C&A discount with most current promos and it impacts how much NextCruise OBC you get as well.  It's very misleading when words like "Combinable with most promotions" really means "few if any" and "Combinable with Crown & Anchor exclusive savings" isn't either.
Going to the NextCruise desk is right up there with doing taxes.  Like a cheating girlfriend I go back each cruise expecting different results only to be let down once again.  I take my laptop with me now to the NextCruise desk because you can't believe anything they tell you.
There used to be more meat in cruise fares so C&A and Next discounts used conventional math.  To be competitive they've cut some of that meat out of cruise fares leaving no room for loyalty discounts requiring the use of Royal math.  
It comes down this - what you get is what you get.  You will never be able to figure out Royal math.  Run the numbers with C&A discounts and without.  Which ever is cheaper is cheaper.  Don't take offers like NextCruise or C&A savings at face value.  

45 hours?!?!? Ay ay ay!! I hope they cater meals and coffee! 

Judging by all the jackets, that looks like Cape Liberty.
Regardless, stick me in that mess any day if that means I'm getting on a cruise ship shortly thereafter!!!!

I am a payment girl too but I make payments to myself and not RC.  I don't like the idea of RC holding on to my money for any longer than necessary.  I have a separate savings account that I've labeled vacation fund where $X amount goes in every payday.  When it is time to make final payment, I put the balance on my credit card. When I get the bill for my credit card, I transfer the money from the vacation fund to the credit card.  No huge hit and no worries about getting money back from RC if I need to cancel the cruise prior to final payment.  The vacation fund also covers things like airplane tickets, shore excursions, etc.  Just another idea if you are thinking about payment plans and it is my easy way to save small amounts every month to cover a large expense.

I was on a cruise once and on the deck above the pool deck at 6am walking when I heard a crew member start yelling then punch an officer.  

The cruise in question was a 10 day.   Italians I heard, but residents of Melbourne.  
Bad stuff happens all over the place.  At a NYE dinner on land in the 90's one table got into it with another over something stupid I'm sure but it ruined an expensive NYE dinner for the whole restaurant.  Fists flying, tables knocked over,  police, etc.  Grown men in tuxedos.  We left and made it home in time for the ball drop.  Complete waste of $300 ( and that was the 90s).  
On Anthem in December a kid was running amuck and literally ran into the Staff Captain.  Staff Captain told the parents who were present it isn't acceptable.  Parents fly off the handle, threaten the Staff Captain -  "you don't talk to my kid that way" and escalate it into a threat against the Staff Captain's family.   "I know where you live and I'm coming for them".  Instant cabin arrest with guards stationed outside their door.  Upon arriving in San Juan a family of 12 were put off the ship.   All because they thought their little angel should be able to punch people, run in crowds, knock people over,  etc.  
It's amazing how some people believe their cruise fare entitles them to be above the rules or be better than every one else as if they are the only people who paid for the cruise. 
Fortunately these people are in the minority, so far. 

We cruisers call them "pier runners" or apparently (according to @twangster) there are "pier swimmers" too lol.  And there are almost some every cruise!  Don't be nervous.  Just check the cruise compass for the all aboard time and make sure you leave enough of a cushion.  To be really safe, do excursions through RC.  That is what we did our first few cruises until we felt more comfortable on our own.

No need to dress "formal" all week and eat at the buffet every night.  I wasn't used to formal dining as a kid either, but that's just it, I was a kid, so if my parents told me to dress up I did, and that was the end of it, comfortable or not, vacation or not.  For packing purposes I understand not wanting to pack clothes you'll only wear once.  The Windjammer has some great dinner items.  The other 3 days are basically no pool clothes, shorts, torn jeans, or tee shirts.  I call it the "I don't give a ****" look (which is what my normal life attire is...shorts, tee shirts, and flip flops), that's what the Windjammer is for.
I hate dressing up, but out of respect for my wife, other cruisers, and the cruise line who actually set the dress code, I at least wear nice pants, a button up shirt, and tie (and I comb my hair, no hat).  The rest of the week is pretty much the same, I just lose the tie, or wear a polo.  If packing space allows I bring a suit.  Am I comfortable?  Not necessarily, but I can deal with it to make people happy for a few hours.  Yes, it's my vacation, but it's other people's vacation as well, and many people (myself included) were raised to dress up for dinner on a cruise.  So, dressing up for 1, maybe 2 nights is doable.  And how often do people really get dressed up these days?  Weddings and funerals seem to be it...if we're lucky...so again, I'm ok dressing up for the MDR.

The system knows how many are currently logged using the code.  If you purchase for 4 devices and a 5th login is attempted someone in the original four gets the boot.  
For this reason its ok to share a multi device plan with people you trust, but if you meet some internet people offering to share a multi device plan you run the risk of them over sharing the code and you getting the boot.   
Of course I'd never do that so please share your codes with me! 

I guess the biggest issue would be the other person kicking you off the network if too many devices logged in.

If I'm just using them for MDR I'd probably go with even just 2-3 polos max and maybe 1 button-up shirt for formal night. 

They don't know where the devices are with respect to cabins so it doesn't really matter where the devices are. You will receive the info in one room but could be shared between the others.

I still got my OBC. Plus additional from my TA.

I'm a little over excited, so I'm going to go ahead and start the thread and give a bit of a cruise preview. If you guys have any questions or things you'd like me to check out, post it here!
This is my first time on this ship (and class of ship!) and all of the ports are brand new to us, so this will be a very exciting cruise.  
My husband and I plus 10 members from his side of the family (!!!!) will be traveling to San Juan early in the morning on February 22nd, and finally arriving around 3:00 PM (San Juan time). We are staying in Old San Juan in an Air BnB that we are splitting with our siblings in law (two other married couples all around the same age). My in laws and others are staying at the Casa Blanca Hotel. We got a great deal on this AirBnB, so really excited that we were able to find something reasonable in the area of the city that we wanted to be in!  
The cruise doesn’t embark until February 24th, so we will be spending two days exploring the city prior to our cruise. I know a lot of questions have come up here regarding the condition of the city, so I will be sure to share whatever pictures and information that I can!  
Now for our itinerary, we will be visiting St. Maarten, St. Kitts, Antigua, St. Lucia, and Barbados – leaving us with only one sea day! VERY port heavy itinerary.  
St. Maarten – We will be taking a Bernard’s SXM Tour (Third Party Excursion) 
St. Kitts – We have an early afternoon Island History and Rum Tasting Tour booked through the cruise line 
Antigua – We will be taking a taxi to Valley Church Beach 
St. Lucia – We are taking a Jeep Adventure and Beach Break excursion that we booked through the cruise line (and swinging by a brewery “tap room” with great reviews near the port!) 
Barbados – We have chartered a private catamaran tour for only our group with two snorkel spots, lunch buffet, and drinks included (SO excited for this!) 
As I mentioned, each of these ports are totally new to us so really excited to see what’s in store.  
For our cabin, we started out in an interior cabin beneath the casino. However, thanks to some price drops, we were able to move up to a Deck 8 Interior Promenade Cabin! It’s our first time in this type of stateroom and we are really excited to check it out based on feedback we’ve had.  
I don’t anticipate we will be doing any specialty dining this cruise (unless we can convince some in the group to join us in the newly added Izumi!), so we will be going to the Main Dining Room with our group during traditional early seating. Additionally, we DID spring for a Deluxe Drink Package this cruise once we saw it drop to $39/pp per day – worth it to us, especially since we are not diamond and do not get the perk of the nightly happy hour (though, this is our first cruise as Emerald!). I did also purchase a single VOOM code to stay connected back home (I worry about our dog!), and also to share our trip with you guys of course!   
Thanks for reading – very much looking forward to sharing our upcoming ADVENTURE on the Adventure of the Seas!   

I could spend days in that hanging deck chair with my drink pkg.  Looks like an amazing suite.   Jane