OurTimetoCruise1128

Great idea for a topic. I have really enjoyed reading of other people's experiences.
For us, our first cruise was a 4 night cruise on Carnival Ecstasy. We paid, what seemed at the time, an extravagant amount of money, to upgrade to an ocean view room. I think they put us into a broom cupboard by mistake! The port hole was small and we had to kneel on one of the twin beds (they couldn't put the beds together for us) in order to see out of it. The TV was mounted high up in one corner, virtually guaranteeing a pain in the neck. Disembarkation was an absolute nightmare; we were held on deck for hours under the heat of the LA sun, with no restrooms in service, and no refreshments. We then flew back to the UK and both of us were ill for the next couple of days. It was, in short, a disaster.
We were put off cruising for the next 9 years until, almost on a whim, I booked the Explorer of the Seas in 2009, as a way of celebrating my wife's 50th birthday - mostly because it was sailing out of Port Bayonne and my wife had always wanted to see New York. Anyhow, without knowing any better (or the significance) we booked an Owners Suite. I was booking by price and I think the £/$ exchange rate was good at the time. Suffice to say, we were blown away when we entered our stateroom - all of that space, just for us! We had a superb cruise down to the Caribbean, which was a new experience for us, and we fell in love both with the destination and cruising. We haven't looked back since then (apart from reminiscing on happy memories).
 

Our first cruise was on the Monarch of the Seas in 2005.  It was a 4 night cruise from Long Beach, CA to Baja, Mexico.  We had driven from San Diego to Las Vegas to drop our youngest child off with family and were heading to the Long Beach port the day of the cruise.  We got lost and were cutting it super close to time of departure.  When we finally got there, the rep checking us in, asked where my husbands birth certificate was.  I had grabbed our youngest child's birth certificate instead of my husbands. (the child we dropped off in Las Vegas)  The rep was awesome, asked some questions, and my husband was able to use his military id instead of the birth certificate. 
First thing I did once on board... had a drink!
We had a great time!  Our two older kids (10 & 14) loved it and ditched us quickly.  On the last night the party was on the pool deck - one of our favorite memories is dancing under the stars!  
 
 

My first cruise was on Grandeur. I was on the ship with my Mom. It was a graduation from college cruise. The memories flood me every time I get on the Lady G. I will be back on her in 18 days with my parents, husband, brother, niece and nephew. I also will be getting my third block.
 
 

Hi! My husband and I are new here and are sailing on Harmony 9-15-18. We live in Southwest Florida. Second cruise but the last one was in mid 90's so we are kind of considering this our first cruise.  This will be first with RCCL, but I'm sure not the last.  You all seem like a wonderful group and we enjoy reading all the helpful posts.  
We are Lori and Larry

We were there this past April 5th. The beaches and water were great in spite of the devastation. At the port the vendor shops did not have any power, so they set up little vendor booths in the covered walkways in front of their shops. I was AMAZED at the number of cruisers that were haggling over the price of stuff they were trying to buy. I became so pissed off at this one lady who was trying to buy a $20 necklace for $10 and kept arguing with the vendor, who came down to $18. I butted in and told the vendor I'll take it for $20 and gave her $30. Hey, she could use the money and it didn't break my bank. Needless to say the cheap skate lady had some words for me, but I just smiled and joined my group. 

Hi! My husband and I are new here and are sailing on Harmony 9-15-18. We live in Southwest Florida. Second cruise but the last one was in mid 90's so we are kind of considering this our first cruise.  This will be first with RCCL, but I'm sure not the last.  You all seem like a wonderful group and we enjoy reading all the helpful posts.  
We are Lori and Larry

Check out this thread:
A guy posted a work around on how to make MTD reservations on HOTS.  I was having the same issue, and his solution worked for me.  
Hope this helps.

A trick when booking MTD for the first time is to use the "Plan All Cruise Dining" button.
Using this presents a page where you can make all reservations at once for each night and "purchase" them only once.  You do have to scroll past all the other dining options to find "My Time".