JasonL

This is slightly off topic ...but.... I am sailing Liberty out of Galveston in February and I booked a rental car for 8 days. My hotel has free cruise parking. The convenience of the rental car for my family of 5 is totally worth it. Plus I don't think it's actually going to be much more than if we were to pay for transportation($328 for the 8 days). We went through costco, there isn't any extra cost for miles and you get an extra driver for free as well. Plus you don't have to pay until you pick up the car and I keep checking back to see if the price dropped.

The wife and I got a good deal on our first JS on Mariner. Call me crazy, but I thought it was an unnecessary amount of space for the 2 of us. If we had the kids with us, that would be totally worth it though

The best drink on a Royal cruise is the first one! Vacation is starting as soon as you get onboard and get your first drink!

Been wanting to book a thanksgiving cruise. Was about to book Oasis Nov 21 2021 when i heard about the Group Cruise that same week on Harmony. I looked into it, but I just couldn't justify the extra $2000 it would cost my family of 5. That said...I'll be on Oasis Nov 21st, 2021

Over planning may be unnecessary, but I think the excitement leading up to the cruise can be just as much fun

I love the big ships, but I'm kind of a kid. I like lots of fun new things to do at sea. I will only take my kids on an amped ship, but i prefer Oasis class. When the wife and I are cruising without kids we will do any ship especially if we are targeting ports, but I still prefer amped or Oasis. I probably represent Royal's target cruiser at this point

My usual cruise time of year is February. I live in Washington state and I like to escape the wet cold winter here. Coming from a cold winter climate, the weather is going to feel perfect. Being used to the cold I usually do shorts and t-shirt, but it is wise to bring a pair of pants and a light sweatshirt/jacket just in case

A good thing to pay off at this stage is the pre-paid gratuities! You can do it through your travel agent, or directly with royal if you didn't book with an agent.

Biggest mistake wasn't in my first cruises though, it was with my first cruise with kids. We knew what cruising was for us and we took those expectations into our first cruise with our very young kids. We love cruising with the kids now, but the first one we didn't enjoy because we didn't get our minds right that the experience is different with kids. #don'tfeelguiltydumpingyourkidsatadventureoceanasmuchaspossible 🤣

Didn't use to pre-purchase as much as possible before the cruise. Also didn't pre-book activities. Of course I didn't have any money for extras back then, but still it's a very common rookie mistake

thanks for the post, love the side by side @CGTLH

occupancy is pretty much always full on every ship these days. I am looking at thanksgiving sailings also and they seem to be pretty reasonably priced even on the oasis class

i was able to pre book in cruise planner on Mariner. When you do go to your reservation, show up 10 minutes early. We stressed out our group because we showed up just before our time

Sold. I like the Oasis class, but any ship is a good start!

Be friendly with all the crew. Ask them where they like to go in port, they often know some great spots that are off the radar