mom2mybugs

I find the more dinners you book, the more the pkgs make sense. However, it you book a lower cost restaurant like sabor, the value goes down. It's a tradeoff--if you want exact plans ahead of time, then you need to book separately. If you can be flexible, and don't mind handling reservations when you get on the ship, then you can totally save with the pkgs. My understanding is that you pretty much can get what you want onship if you board early and go right to dining to book stuff. Make sure you have a list of the shows you have booked so that you don't schedule conflicts with dinner. Have a great cruise...I had oasis booked for march and switched to freedom....look forward to trying the oasis class restaurants sometime! Jane

and this is why food is so hard to judge by other people's opinions.I I love outback lol!!! Haven't been to Ruth Chris but I hear it is excellent. However, I will put that giavannis steak up against anyones! Jane

You will fit right in here!!! There are many of us that pretty much are right with you (myself included). I don't know anything about enchantments dry-dock, but it is supposed to be a great ship. It is smaller and older, but it still has things. I sailed on her smaller sister ship vision for my very first cruise in 2015 and had a terrific time!!! Welcome to the site! Jane

He did--I just read the water beach review and in it, there is a link to the Hilton rose hall, which matt seemed to like a lot better. Jane

I take so many pictures its scary. I need organization lol! I take a ton on the cruises, but you should see how many I take for each Disney trip...1000s! Jane

I desperately need a photo backup...I finally got an external hard drive. Do you find (not to hijack the thread but...) it better than amazon primes (which we have as well). I absolutely have not had good luck with dropbox. Jane

Thanks so much----loved your pictures. They were so easy to scroll through and I liked having the maps, because I'm very geographically challenged! My fave pic is the unhappy last picture--whis is how I always look leaving the cruise! Thanks again :) Jane

Our steak in giavannis was one of my best meals ever. Service was wonderful. I like the mdr...im not picky...but to have a specialty meal or 2 was really nice. It was a little "special" thing that made the trip better. We could have survived without but im really glad we did giavannis and chefs table. Jane

I have done small (vision) as well as adventure and freedom. We loved adventure and we went before the refurbishment. But someday i would love to do jewel for all the connection to the ocean. Adventure will have more bells and whistles but is still not overwhelming, jewel will have the small feel. I think it's a win either way. Jane

Maybe you guys can just be sure to try some of the more varied windjammer options as a "predinner" together (as matt world call it). Then you still have that bonding experience. Judging from my last cruise, we will be lucky if we see my 15 year old at all! Jane

I like to try things but what we found on our last cruise on adventure was that the mdr was disappointing. My first cruise i had amazing service and the food was always well made. The staff cuts in the dining room have made it a very haphazard event. If i didn't bring a class of wine with me, i didn't get one until halfway through dinner. My husband likes coke and a cocktail and would inevitably only get one. We often waited a very long time between courses. The specialty restaurants served us promptly with food and drinks, and the service and quality was incredible. In addition, as ive mentioned before, specialty dining plays havoc with large group tables, and often there were only 2 people at a table for 8. We just aren't enjoying the mdr as much, and if the variety is meh, im thinking we will focus more on windjammer and specialty. We are going to try mtd, and that isn't chaotic and slow as well. Jane

So i just read in my newspaper that a 57 year old woman died while trying to cling to the fence to watch the planes at st. Maarten. Apparently she was knocked into a wall when the jetliner took off. Just a reminder that the warning signs are there for a reason.. don't put yourself in danger unnecessarily! Jane

Im so glad you are going for it. It truly was one of the highlights of my adventure cruise, although for me the wine pairings were amazing as well. Please let us know how she enjoys it. I wish we were cruising a week later...it would have been fun for our teen girls to meet! Jane

Thanks so much for the comparison. As a self-proclaimed mickey and disney freak, i hope someday to try dcl. Until they do process significantly (haha) or my teacher husband retires and we can go during hurricane season, i will enjoy my rc cruises. I love hearing how the 2 lines compare though! Jane

I think if your daughter is a foodie and mature enough to sit for a long meal (it is usually a couple hours) then she will love it. My oldest would have enjoyed it, my other 2 would have been bouncing off walls. It is definitely an older crowd, but the food was great. I think freedom includes a galley tour, which I'd think she'd really enjoy. Its easy to check the age requirement...just try to make the reservation in the cruise planner. It knows how old she is so if it's a problem, it won't let you reserve. Have a great time...we are doing it the week before! Jane

I always just throw a few in my suitcase...light weight and then i have them...of course i forgot to bring them home last trip!! Jane

I bring a 3 or 6 (camt remember which offhand) adapter that plugs right in and had 2 usb outlets. That lets us charge the cameras, ipods, and phones (that i only use for apps and camera and alarm) . I use a tiny battery click to have just for quick reference. Jane

I did not go to disney until 1992, when i saved babysitting money while my dh was in grad school. I hyperventilated when i saw the castle and have now been 17 times! It is my happiest place on earth, and only rc ships keep me from going every year. I have been to universal once to take in harry potter and that was amazing. I think doing it on your own if you fly in and out of Orlando is very doable and easier than packaging rc. We flew into mco, and didn't do disney, but you could do disney bus service and then find an uber or shuttle to the airport and then transfer, or even easier, rent a car and drop it at port canaveral. Jane

Lalalalala...im not listening! ?? Jane

Its minor and silly, but i had a pool waiter that learned my name, constantly came to my deck chair to check on me (during a busy sea day), and let me run a drink pkg tab until the very last drink (i didn't have to keep signing every drink). It was just a nice day that he made nicer! Jane

Ooh...those are really good...especially because they are so light compared to all the heavy food and drink all week. Jane

Hey, there was a Johnny rockets at six flags great America today (local amusement park), but it wasn't nearly as much fun to eat at as on a cruise ship! Jane

Except that rc won't do this at the price you usually can buy them on day 4. They make a lot more money on the pkgs, and the cards are a way to make up revenue on sailings where alcohol purchases have been low. My guess is that if you sell the punch card for 120 ($12 a drink), people won't buy them. Maybe I'm totally wrong...they pre-sell the coffee cards now. And if someone still wants the unlimited drink pkg, then you still have the sharing issue. Jane

Its going to be a pretty moot point for us...i definitely get the drink pkg, my husband wasn't going to for freedom in march, and was going to ala carte and buy the drink and coffee cards. Prob this will cost 5 to 10 a day extra for us. I agree, the sharing is awful, but over the past year royal seems to be aligning itself with other cruise line policies (room service fee, corkage fee, now drink pkgs). Will this make me jump ship so to speak? No, but it does make me think that if my bar tab is half my cruise fare, then i need to drink less or possibly try a line that includes it. But i have loved my royal cruises...all 3 of them...and drink issues or no, look forward to the next! Jane

Labadee is included in the drink pkg, including labadoozies (just not in any sort of souvenir cup). Jane