Dawn T.

So sorry. I meant to address that in my post. We have never had a problem with the items coming back from the ship laundry. I only have to "refold" everything. ?

First, apologies to @tiny blonde for another post about laundry. Now @mom2mybugs and @Baked Alaska, in March, my husband and I flew from Orlando to Sydney, Australia for 4 days, then cruised on Ovation for 9 days. I specifically booked a pre-cruise hotel that had guest laundry facilities. We washed all our clothes before boarding the ship. We are D+, so we also each got a free bag of laundry while onboard, which we used. We had to stay an extra day due to flight availability, and I had planned to do laundry again at the hotel post cruise, but that didn't happen. ? P.S. I also vote for using the OBC in a restaurant!

I always use mine as a reduction to the cruise fare. We almost never have a balance due onboard, so it wouldn't make sense for me to use it for OBC.

I can add my own D+ boarding experience on Harmony on the 3-night cruise right before @Matt. We arrived later than usual for us, probably 11:15 - 11:30. When we got up to the boarding area, it looked like they were boarding the masses already. There was a large crowd of people boarding (maybe 200+ people). My husband went up to a RC employee standing behind a roped off area and asked her if there was a line to board specifically for D+. She let us into the roped off area and told us to follow behind the family currently boarding. I think they were suite guests. I have to say, it was really nice not to have to wait with that crowd to board. ?

We like a post holiday trip. The wind doesn't bother us. It isn't noticeable to us while on the ship. It has been such a nice getaway for us that we keep doing it. ? We love the Brilliance, and we love sailing out of Tampa. We did switch it up for January 2020 though. We are sailing out of Port Canaveral on the Mariner.

Hi @tiny blonde. My husband and I have cruised every January to Cozumel from Tampa for the last 4 years. This year it was upper 70s to low 80s in Cozumel. This picture was taken with the Brilliance in the background on 1/19/19. It was a beautiful day! We have run into "wind" issues on the way there or back though. There have been times when the pools were closed due to the ship rocking. I would say it has been hit or miss with smooth seas for us in January. I would think in late February, you would see these same temperatures, maybe even a little warmer.

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My husband and I just cruised out of Sydney on the Ovation last month. We pre-paid our gratuities and used US Dollars on the cruise for extra tips.

Thanks for all the replies. I really wish I had thought to leave cash on the table at our individual meals. We have been seated at different tables most of the time with a few repeats. We have been served by at least 9 of the 10 servers in CK. They have all been wonderful, and even stop to say hello when the are not serving us. We are going to give cash to the manager to distribute, as suggested by Bing, our concierge.

We need help! We are on the Ovation in Australia in a grand suite. We haven’t had a full suite for several years and this is our first one on a Royal Suite Class ship. We are pretty much eating all meals in the Coastal Kitchen. We always prepay our gratuities and give extra to cabin attendant and MDR servers, which is easy. What do we do with tipping in CK? Our wait staff varies, so we’re not sure how to tip extra. Any guidance or suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks!

We booked The Key for 2 cruises this year. We paid the sale price of $19.99 pp/pd for each cruise. (We always get VOOM anyway.) Both are now in the cruise planner at $31.99 pp/pd. The first one is next month on Ovation for a 9-night, but I ended up cancelling The Key. Last week, we upgraded from a junior suite to a grand suite. The price was shockingly good, especially when we considered that we could cancel The Key because of the grand suite perks. The other cruise where I booked The Key is this October on a 9-night Anthem. I debated booking it so early, but now I am really glad I did! We are only in a balcony cabin on that one, because the junior suite prices were/are ridiculous. I keep checking those prices. Looking forward to having The Key on that trip. ?

My husband and I just returned from a quick cruise to Cozumel on the Brilliance out of Tampa. I just wanted to take a minute to post a couple of pictures to show some updates to the ship. I know @Matt is sailing on Brilliance next month. Last year (01/2018) and the prior year (01/2017), we sailed in JS cabin 1560. Here are a couple of pics from the cabin and the dining room: This year we couldn't get JS cabin 1560, so we had JS cabin 1568 just down the hall. Here is a pic of the cabin and the dining room: The dining room got new chairs and looks great. Sorry, I only took the photo of our table rather than the whole dining room. Of note in the cabin, new sofa (grey instead of dark blue), new chair (medium blue instead of burgandy), and new drapes (medium blue instead of burgandy). I really liked the changes. We both thought everything looked great! The cabin furniture in 1568 may not have been new, since we were not in this cabin last year. But we loved the different look!

Hi @NZCruiser. You can fill out this form and they will have the items you need waiting for you in the cabin. https://secure.royalcaribbean.com/allaboutcruising/guestSpecialNeeds.do

We took my parents on a 7-night Disney Cruise back in October 2007. It was booked over a year out, so we printed up a colorful announcement sheet that we wrapped for them for Christmas in 2006. I guess not a lot of fanfare here, but they were pretty excited when they opened their gift.

Hi @mom2mybugs. My husband and I have rented the beach loungers for 2 many times. We used to get the cabanas, but those are much more expensive now. We love the beach loungers. Yes, the chairs are included. The loungers are on Adrenaline Beach with a view of the people coming down the Dragon's Flight zip line. They are on the opposite side of the suite guest Barefoot Beach Club. Restrooms are conveniently close. I like the shade, but my husband always drags his chair into the sun. When you check in at the hut for the lounger area, they give each person (the 2 people) a wrist band. You can chose your clam shell based on availability. It is first come, first served. From our experiences, they don't seem to restrict people from walking into the area that don't have wristbands, so it shouldn't be a problem for your teen to come and go. Rob said there is a bar right behind the area. Once, we did have a problem with people just plopping down between the clam shells, and eventually the island attendant made them leave. Hope this helps!

I agree with all the replies. We cruise because it can be a great value, and there is so much choice. You can choose your ship, your cabin and your destinations. It can be as relaxing or as busy as you want. You can plan everything or nothing. A co-worker asked me once if my cruises are ever disappointing. I told her never! A bad day on a cruise is better than a good day at work. ?

Hi @ZOKUEL. Your per person JS price of $722 already has the BOGO60 and the $75 flash sale discounts included. The regular price for the JS is probably the $1,278 per person.

I typically book when they release new dates, 18-24 months out. I never get upgraded cabins. Not sure why your friend thinks that happens, unless maybe it just doesn't happen to me. :(

@Matt, I have friends cruising next June in Alaska. They booked 2 cabins, one for them and one for two boys (12 & 16). Can they take 4 bottles of wine since they have 2 cabins? Or does the second cabin not count since it just has kids in it?

Thanks so much @twangster! This is exactly the type of help I was hoping for. You are awesome! Also, a big thanks to @4ensic the for the initial tip on the prices! It is $19.99 per day for 2 devices on my next 2 cruises, so I'm going to book for both. ?

I just checked my upcoming Harmony cruise for the internet price. It is on sale for $19.99 per day for 2 devices. I don't think I have ever seen the 2 device plan that low (but I could be wrong). We are diamond plus. Is this cruise planner sale today better than buying onboard with the DP discount? I was planning to wait until day 2 onboard per @twangster's suggestion, but now I don't know if that is the best price. Please help.

Hi @Mialsa. I will be on Harmony next month. I checked constantly for the entertainment booking to open. I just checked for the date I booked the shows, and I was able to book mine at 138 days out.

Your docs should be available around 50 days out. I think mine just showed up at 49 days out.

I do use an agent, me. ?

I just wanted to thank @danv3 for thanking @Matt. This post prompted me to check the price of my January 2019 Brilliance 4-nighter. I originally booked a 2B balcony because the JS price was $900 more. After reading this post, I checked my price. The JS price had dropped and was almost the same price as the 2B/4B balcony category. I got a JS for a little less than $100 more than my original 2B price! We are so excited! Love those Radiance class junior suites!