vanelli56

We end up doing a Pub Crawl, Poker Run ...... All participants put in $5. At every bar, not only do you have a drink, you draw a card ...... at the last bar, you find out who has the best poker hand - that person wins the cash ..... I was fortunate enough to win two years ago w/ 3 Kings ... Nice .

I typically start at the coffee bar for a little baileys ?
You can also get mimosas in the WIndjammer 

1. Dont over pack. (You'd be surprised how much people pack, then dont need, use, or wear half of it)
2. Do your research and have reasonable expectations. 
3. Make new friends. Cruising can be and is a very social atmosphere. Enjoy the company. 
4. Sanitize your cabin. I know the cabin stewards clean pretty well... but a small bottle of bleach water, lysol wipes, and 5 mins of your time really can make a difference. 
5. Its your vacation.... do as much or as little as your want!
Cheers

Have not sailed on either... yet. (Going on Harmony in 31 days) But... we have sailed on both the older sisters, Oasis and Allure. From everything I have gathered.... other then the obvious differences such as some dinning options, shows, slides... the ships are basically the same. So if you are looking to stay in the Oasis class... I would just weigh all your options, such as price, travel distance to port, itinerary, etc. 
We most recently sailed on Mariner of the Seas.... she might have a few years on her, but also worth checking out. She's no mega ship, but she's not small either.
The good thing about Royal is you are not lacking for options when it comes to ships. 
 

Welcome.
Not sure about the Military question... sorry. 
 
As far as tipping goes. If you have pre-paid your grats, you are good to go, and anything beyond that is completely up to you and the level of service you feel you have received.
Same for if you have not pre-paid your daily tips. I have always kept the daily grats on my account at a minimum. On 6 cruises I have left additional cash tips on 3 of them. Some to our room steward, some to specific bar tenders, etc. Those extra tips have varied from $20 to $50 per person. So its really up to you. Don't sweat it too much. You will learn real quick which staff are going above and beyond, and which ones are just going through the motions. 
Cheers

On my previous cruises, typically they would not make 'whole' pizzas for folks. But that could be just like everything else with Royal... it just depends. lol. 
BUT..... our 'hack' around that was we would order a 'Gluten free' pizza.... which, BTW is actually pretty darn good. If you ordered that.... they would cook you the whole pizza and give it to you. But it came on a foil like tray; and not in a box. So had to try to sneak it back to the cabin ASAP so the late night drink package folks didnt stop and ask me a million times how we got a whole pizza. lol. 
So, perhaps if you tell them you have a 'dietary' restriction, they will make you a whole pie how ever you would like it. 
Give it a try either way, never hurts to ask. 
 

32 days until our Harmony of the seas. Or... if you want to make it sound even better.... one person in our group only counts 'working days'. 
Either way... yes, the 30 day mark really starts the excitement and anticipation... along with more preparations and final planning, which in turn builds more excitements and anticipation, etc. etc. etc. Its a vicious circle.  

Imagine he still ended up losing the tournament hahah *disqualified for abusing substances and cheating*?

On my previous cruises, typically they would not make 'whole' pizzas for folks. But that could be just like everything else with Royal... it just depends. lol. 
BUT..... our 'hack' around that was we would order a 'Gluten free' pizza.... which, BTW is actually pretty darn good. If you ordered that.... they would cook you the whole pizza and give it to you. But it came on a foil like tray; and not in a box. So had to try to sneak it back to the cabin ASAP so the late night drink package folks didnt stop and ask me a million times how we got a whole pizza. lol. 
So, perhaps if you tell them you have a 'dietary' restriction, they will make you a whole pie how ever you would like it. 
Give it a try either way, never hurts to ask. 
 

I can see that.  Guess it has to do with the value the individual places on the activity.  Wife and I have done a few escape rooms on land, of course they have a cost, the one thing i can say is they are a lot more fun in my opinion if you are with a whole group of people you know.

Haha, not as disastrous as the $18 Deluxe Package "sale" has been. Have sales been decreasing on the Escape room then?

On our upcoming cruise on Harmony in Sept. 3 night DP is $99. or Chops +1 for $75. 
UDP has varied from $46 to $49 to $56 to $59. We originally snagged it at the $49... but repriced when it went to $46. 
Surf and steam for 4 devices, I have seen rates from $27/day to $34/day if I remember correctly. 

On my previous cruises, typically they would not make 'whole' pizzas for folks. But that could be just like everything else with Royal... it just depends. lol. 
BUT..... our 'hack' around that was we would order a 'Gluten free' pizza.... which, BTW is actually pretty darn good. If you ordered that.... they would cook you the whole pizza and give it to you. But it came on a foil like tray; and not in a box. So had to try to sneak it back to the cabin ASAP so the late night drink package folks didnt stop and ask me a million times how we got a whole pizza. lol. 
So, perhaps if you tell them you have a 'dietary' restriction, they will make you a whole pie how ever you would like it. 
Give it a try either way, never hurts to ask. 
 

I actually have one ARI from my first trip, but it was humorous rather than scary or annoying. I was sitting outside Vintages on Freedom ahead of the Captain’s meet & greet, enjoying a glass of red while waiting for the family to finish getting dressed and primped for first formal night. The line started forming and a live band was playing, one woman was clearly well into her cups, a martini glass in one hand and happily singing along to the music. I couldn’t help but grin since she was having such a fun time, had to ask just how many of those she’d had.
She held up three fingers, laughed, then left the line and came right over to me; told me I was really cute and asked if was I actually sailing by myself. I pointed to my wedding ring (that was in plain sight since I was holding my wine glass with my left hand) and politely told her sorry to disappoint, but I was actually waiting for my wife and kids. She pouted, then went back into the line to wait for her turn to meet the captain.
There was an older couple sitting at the table next to mine. I looked over at them after the woman had left, and they shook their head in wonder at the exchange. The wife asked how on earth she missed my wedding ring, I just shrugged and said, “Three martinis.”
Ok, it was funny and honestly kind of flattering too. Assuming I wasn’t on the receiving end of “beer goggling”. ?

Likewise, other than a few loud or annoying people.... have not seen any major incidents over 6 cruises. 
The good thing is if you are around some annoying drunks... the ships are big enough with enough things going on... you can usually find another place to go hang out with more of the fun drunks. :-)
 

no truer statement needs be made, at a certain point its all about behavior.
I have run into some 20 year olds that should be asked to leave the Gym.
Good luck to him with his workouts, enjoy your cruise

The best answer is... 'it depends'. 
Usually the trend has been that the farther out you can book... the better the price. The main benefit of using Next Cruise is the reduced deposit... most of the time, the price is the same as what you can book it for online or through a Travel agent. Best case scenario is maybe you get some extra OBC from the Next cruise desk, then you transfer your reservation to a TA that can add some more OBC on top. 
Others on here have said that sometimes they will find a 'deal' through the Next Cruise desk... but everyone's mileage may vary. 
Cheers. 
 

The Key just became available today for our Feb 2020 Harmony cruise and the price is $37.99 ?

Same here for a May cruise on Symphony.  It also specifically says the lunch will be in the MDR with the Chops menu.

I have the key on an upcoming Harmony Eastern cruise so I'm also interested to see if anyone has the activity schedule as well.
 
As for opinions on purchasing it I would not pay more than $20/day/person. $37.99 looks ridiculous.

Lol that's ridiculious! Still waiting on my Feb 16 2020 cruise to have The Key available. If it's any higher than 24.99 I'm not getting it! Hopefully the price drops...

I messaged them yesterday and was told the Key would appear 60-90 days before sailing. An hour later it was on my planner (250+ days out).  It's listed at $31.99. I paid 19.99 for an Oasis Class 7 night last May. This is a 12 night on a Voyager class...no way we will pay more than 24.99 for it.
It used to be that the facebook messenger group was very reliable. Lately it seems like they use stock answers whether or not it's applicable to your situation. Very unfortunate.

I agree. absolutely loved the Key on Allure back in May at $19.99... would likely go as high as $24.99. We wanted VOOM so it was an easy decision at less than $10/day for all of the other nice perks.

Agreed. I have done that already... and its really the 'intangibles' that are the cost difference; such as the early and easy disembarkation, and the special hours. Hard to put a price on those things. But you are spot on... that was the first thing I did.