Brobbins246

Sorry if my earlier post was confusing and made it sound like someone should wait until Black Friday to book things through the cruise planner. I definitely agree with the others above, book things ASAP and continue watching for price drops to rebook at the better rate. Last year, I found my best rates all year on Black Friday when I rebooked several things, so I was just suggesting that as one of the prime days (plus throughout that weekend through Cyber Monday) to check rates on anything you've already booked. That is if you don't price check every day of the year all ready. @sydney looks like you're sailing well before then however, so hopefully you'll see some other drops by March. Have a great trip - what amazing places to cruise from and to!!!

Yep, this is a good tip too. For Southwest, you can Google "Southwest release dates" and be directed to their site where it shows the travel dates they're currently selling for. Read the second statement that provides the release date for the next window of travel dates (usually about 6 months out), and watch for your window to be announced. Then literally set a reminder on your calendar to book seats that morning to snag one of cheap rates - often called "Gotta Get Away" rates, or something like that. They sell out of seats at this rate quickly. I like booking this way to get great rates (even if they might be a little cheaper at 90 days out), but more importantly, to get your pick of flight times.

Ugh, my son is 16 years old too, and going on his first cruise in two months. Unimaginable. ?

When are you sailing? In my experience, Black Friday deals are the best all year, so if you've got that coming up again before your cruise, that would be a good time to check prices on anything you've already bought for repricing, and plan on booking anything else you need to then. Otherwise, it's very hit and miss throughout the year. It's helpful to find a Facebook group to join for the cruise you're sailing on since sometimes the sales are trip-specific and not something that would be obvious to everyone fleet wide. I'm on one and we all share info about sales we run across. I'm not sure what price would be good for Voom on your sailing, but if you see it advertised at least 30% off on board pricing, that's pretty good. I snagged 40% off on Black Friday and haven't seen it go that low since.

One thing to do right now if you haven't already is check into getting a travel agent. Even if you booked your cruise directly with RC, if it's been less than (I believe 60) days, you can still have your trip assigned to the TA so you'll have a knowledgeable planning partner at no cost to you. A lot of us on this site use MEI Travel, and you can reach out to them for an agent. Also start doing research on your ports of call to get an idea of what activities you might like to do for shore excursions. Some islands have better beaches than others, some are good for self-exploring, where others are advised to stick with something more organized, etc. You might see some excursions already available for booking in your cruise planner, but others will definitely be added later, so you can keep checking back for more options. Don't be afraid of independent excursion operators either - just do your homework to make sure they're reputable and offers refunds if your ship docks late or has to route to another island, things like that. In my experience, RC seems to offer the best discounts overall on Black Friday, so definitely watch for those and reprice any purchases you've already made that are cheaper then. Have fun!!!!

thanks!!

Now today, my calendar on the app is completely blank, and for all the ship-wide info (non-personal calendar stuff) it shows me days 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7 and 8. I guess I'll just stay in my room on day 6. ?

Sounds good! They're both well up to speed on the birds and the bees and won't have any issues with a single mother, and (as I understand) confusion over who the father may be. Thanks for the info!

@Traveler I was reading through old trip blogs and saw where you said Mamma Mia! might not be appropriate for kids. I'll be on Allure in a couple months with my 16 & 11 yo kids and we plan on seeing this show. I know it's a long one (2+ hours)....is that why you don't recommend it for kids? Or is the content more on the PG-13 or R rating side of things? My older child shouldn't be too shocked by anything in the show (it can't be any worse than Grand Theft Auto that he plays at his friend's house), but my younger one is a little more sensitive to language and adult themes. However, she would probably love the music and dancing even if she doesn't understand the story line. If anyone else has opinions on this show for kids, please let me know. Just wanting to plan ahead in case we decide not to have them attend, or just need a discussion with them before or after. thank you!!

I'm sailing on Allure in a couple months, and I have the correct cruise selected on my mobile app. But the other day, it had Independence of the Seas shown as my ship in the app instead of Allure. (I have no cruises, past or future booked on Indep.) I only realized something was wrong when I didn't recognize some of the restaurant names and the big theater name that it was showing. It's back to showing me Allure info now. I think we all need to take any info on the mobile app with a grain of salt and just a "jumping off" point for information for the foreseeable future. ?

For 6 people try a rental house for the night on a site like airbnb. I've had great success with those.

I'm bringing a wine chiller from Pampered Chef called Bevs To Go that works really well. You put the bottle in the bag then fill it with ice water, and it chills the bottle from room temperature to cold in about 20 minutes. The only thing I don't like about it is if you have paper labels on the bottle, they can soak up the water and slide off, making the bottle look ugly. But otherwise I love it. It's great for traveling since it folds down when not it use. You can find these on Amazon or eBay. The current wine chiller sold by Pampered Chef isn't foldable.

Good to know, especially since the kind of wine I drink comes with a screw cap and costs less than what they might charge me in a corkage fee. Shaking my head over this one. Guess I'll be pouring it myself in our room.

Just watch for any independent shore excursions you might book in advance with meet up times to find the tour operator. If you're at a port with a different local time than ship time, the excursion operator will probably give all your meeting instructions in local time and you'll need to keep that straight.

I'm looking at this as a good sign that my cruise coming up in a couple months won't have noro. Like the Oasis cruise hit the statistical landmine and now the rest of us will be spared for awhile. Thank you Oasis travelers for taking one for the team!!! And I hope you feel better soon. ?

Ooo, I think I got it!! I had to paste the BB code, whatever that means. And now it's showing up in all my posts where I was asking for help. So confusing for others to read. LOL

Damn, that didn't work either.

I found my signature under my account settings and pasted the html there. Trying this again, fingers crossed.

I created a cruise clock ticker too, and copied the html code into my profile "about me" field, but I don't see it on my posts. What am I doing wrong?

I'll have to buy tent dresses in port to have clothes to wear home.

I've heard it helps a lot if you're flying home on a weekend as well - much less traffic between FLL and Miami on the weekends.

Thank you! Is that the deck we embark onto at the start of the cruise as well? I heard the Royal Promenade is the first thing we'll see when coming on board. If it matters, we'll be on Allure boarding from the new Terminal A in Miami.

Where do you board and exit Oasis class ships for shore excursions? (Deck # and location) thank you!!!

It might just be sold out, so it's no longer being listed for others to purchase.

Thanks!!!