Brobbins246

32 minutes ago, JLMoran said:

And if / when Royal wins, you can bet the family will be paying the slime ball for all of his legal fees and related expenses. He will come out on top (financially, anyway) no matter what. 

I hope he took on the case pro bono where he won't get paid unless he wins.  Not that I want the family to avoid having to pay him out of pocket, but I want the atty to not be paid at all even more.

+1 for all the earlier comments about the pros for MTD.  I love it.

After you go thru the whole process of entering names and selecting refundable and pre-paid grats (if desired) to price it out, if you don't want to finalize the booking, I recommend clicking on the "change itinerary" link.  It'll ask if you're sure and warn you that your info will be lost, but this will keep RCCL from emailing you reminders for days to finish the booking.  

It played fine for me on Podbean.

Generally, you can do beach days much cheaper and just as well by cab than paying for an excursion to get you there and back.  If you're concerned about getting beach chairs, umbrellas, food, etc without an organized excursion, just do your research ahead of time so you know what to expect.

Be prepared for a steep charge on the shot.  I did this thinking a shot would be a lot less expensive than a cocktail, but with gratuity it was still about $14.

You can ask for your dessert to go if needed.  Save it for after the show to eat on your balcony or other nice place on the ship.

9 hours ago, CherHarr said:

My fist cruise is coming up, how would I request a fan? 

Ask your stateroom attendant as soon as you meet him/her.  They have a limited supply.

I haven't used dry bags yet, but I've used a beach lock with success to lock up and tether the beach bag to a tree.  Search beach lock on Amazon for lots of options. 

Start hanging out about 30 min before showtime.  They start letting non-reservation people in about 15 min before showtime.  I had reserved seats for 3 shows on my cruise for 6 people.  Two shows we barely arrived before it started, and could have been turned away if they were full, but we still got seats together.  Don't worry too much about not reserving beforehand.  

Last I knew, the Royal app still doesn't have push notifications on chat messages, so you'll want to use another chat method that works on wifi like FB or iPhone messenger, WhatsApp, or texting if your text plan is wifi enabled.  To test out your texting from home, put all cell phones that have a data plan in airplane mode (to block the cell service) and log into your home's wifi.  Everyone send text messages to make sure they go thru.  If they do, you can text on the ship with voom, if not you'll need an app.  

This is your graduation day from the School of Royalcaribbeanblog.com.  Enjoy!!!!! 

It's possible the connecting rooms are only designed for two people each.  

We're pretty adventurous so that sounds good!  

1 hour ago, AshleyDillo said:

I did this in Aruba in a 2-seater.  No helmets required.  It can get dirty and dusty when you go off-roading and even when driving out to the beaches since Aruba is a desert!  It is noisy and very windy but was totally worth it!

 

Did you self explore or caravan in a tour group?  I can definitely see how dusty the caravan would be, but is it similar even if you're not following others?  Maybe the front tires kick up a cloud too.

2 hours ago, SpeedNoodles said:

@Matt rented one in Bonaire last week.  You can read his blog here: 

https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2020/01/03/freedom-of-the-seas-live-blog-day-6-bonaire

Yep!  It's one of the reasons I thought about renting one of these instead of a Jeep, which was the original plan.  We want to go to the Natural Pool, but I'm starting to think a Jeep might not be enough for that.  But I also don't want to be too uncomfortable so I'm torn.

I'm looking at options for renting a 4-seater UTV in Aruba for self exploring the island (not in a tour group), like one of these things:

Any advice on who to rent from, are they very noisy or dusty, do you need to wear helmets, so many questions!!

I don't know this from personal experience yet (going to Old SJ in April 2021!) but I heard you can get a ride (cab or Uber) up the hill to avoid the up hill walking, then do all your sightseeing on the walk done.  I'm no where near 90yo, but totally plan on doing this.

The Jetline Simulator is great and so different from anything else you can do in Nassau or pretty much anywhere else.  Within walking distance from the ship too.

https://jetlinesimulationbahamas.com/

TWO magnetic hooks with a screwdriver to hold a very heavily stuffed hanging organizer.  The screwdriver was also used to tighten a loose hinge on a bathroom cabinet door on day one.

I have a cruise booked for April 2021 with MTD and was given the choice for prepaid grats, which I took.  There wasn't any mention that I know of warning me that I can't refuse the grats later.  Not that I read all the fine print mind you....

I could be wrong but I seem to remember hearing about a new unlimited dining option where you can eat at multiple specialty restaurants each night instead of just one.  That could be the difference?

Sweatshirts and jeans are nice to have on the upper decks at night.  It can get windy and chilly there while you're moving through the ocean.  If you want to dress down all week, I'd recommend sticking with dining venus like the Windjammer, Johnny Rockets (if that's on Symphony), Cafe Promenade, poolside grilles, and Solarium Cafe - places like that.

For beach towels on port days, you can try to check them out at the pool deck stations, but be prepared for the question, "are you staying on the ship" and the answer should be yes if you want to take them from there.  Or you can wait until you get off the ship and there's usually a towel check out station on the pier.  

I can give hugh thumbs up on these two private excursions, booked independently from RCCL:

Wild on Wildlife in Roatan

https://roatancruiseexcursions.com/excursion/roatan-wild-on-wildlife-tour/

Deep Sea Fishing and Snorkeling in Costa Maya

https://costamayacruiseexcursions.com/excursion/costa-maya-snorkeling-fishing-beaches-excursion/

After our fishing trip was done, we continued to hang out at the beach resort in Mahaual we sailed away from (40 Canones Resort) so it added unexpected beach time before we headed back to the ship.  They had shaded lounge chairs available and it wasn't an all-inclusive resort (we paid for our own food), so we figured we'd stay until someone kicked us out, which they never did.  I even got a massage on the beach for only $20 which was amazing.

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