AshleyDillo

You should be able to connect to the ship's wifi from the terminal. Although the boarding process is so efficient at Terminal A you may not be there long enough to bother. Check with the dining kiosk when you board to make sure the reservations are there already if you don't see them in the app on Sunday.

MEI I believe is based out of Washington state, but my MEI agent is in North Carolina. We communicate via email and text message which I prefer since I hate the phone. That's the big plus for having a TA for me -- she has to call Royal and I don't. I have been fortunate enough to meet her since I went on one of the RCLBlog group cruises that she also was on!

Yup..it's on my list to pack for Sunday!

Only thing I can think of is they don't want a room too far from that deck so they don't have issues debarking due to stairs/elevators and perhaps needing to escape the ship early to catch a flight. I've seen the debarkation lines wrap around the ship and on ships that use cabin decks for debarkation, the lines would sometimes creep down the cabin hallways.

While not from Mariner, you will find activities tend to be similar across the fleet. Here's an example of AO activities from Allure: https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/cruise-compasses/allure-of-the-seas/sun-2017-10-22-0000-1

The signs I've seen it's actually $x for no alcohol, $y with alcohol, $x with beverage package. ?

I wonder if anyone is able to see into the windows of those panoramic suites...asking for a friend.

They seem to be pricier (IMO) on the shorter cruises. I haven't noticed a difference when the private islands are on the itinerary.

I will report back from Oasis what their policy of the sailing is..I do have one in my party who will fight it if it isn't allowed, so that should be entertaining.

Usually they use deck 5, the promenade deck at Port Canaveral.

Ahh..my bad ? I have one of those UPs booked for Nov 14, 2021. Love the refundable deposit option they give you for those rooms.

Enjoy Star Class! ?

30% off the onboard price. It's usually still cheaper to go through the Cruise Planner. You can't use the D+ discount until you are onboard the ship.

If you want any compensation you have to keep on them at Guest Services. Tell your room steward and keep escalating. Once you leave the ship they really can't do anything for you.

Go big or go home! Totally get it!

My flight options were Heathrow or Gatwick for the trip I just booked. Flight times and pricing were all dumb so I gave in and booked from my local airport using miles. To fly out of Orlando it routed me through Atlanta. The same flight direct from Atlanta was 2.5x the price of the Orlando trip with the layover. You will drive yourself crazy over the next year watching the flights, I promise!

They check for the pass at a main entrance, so you won't be able to access the slides and pools to check on the kids without purchasing waterpark access.

I have read this catching others by surprise before! They also don't do ice in their drinks.

I don't believe they offer the half day waterpark deal any more. Best thing to do is by the all day pass and keep looking for price drops. You can cancel and repurchase as many times as you like until 72 hours prior to your sailing, so hopefully can snag the lowest price possible for your sailing.

I will share anything that I learn (from a US traveler perspective). It's going to be a little bit of a difference as I'm planning to pack for this week in just a backpack ? Should be quite the challenge as we're talking February in the UK..but I don't want to be dragging a suitcase around as I hop trains, planes, and buses to get around. I feel like the Fjords cruise travel will be much more relaxing and less logistical coordinating. FYI for air travel, I just booked my flight to London. The prices dipped to their lowest point about 45 days ago..so that makes it at about around 120 days out that I saw the lowest prices. I didn't jump on it then and regret that, but fortunately the prices haven't gone up too much.

Thanks for asking this! I have a (non-cruise) trip to the UK in February, so I've been working on trying to figure out how to manage hitting five different cities in five days. I was recommended Premier Inns by lots of folks as it appears to be the equivalent of our US Holiday Inn but I'm also traveling with a party of four, so that makes finding accommodations a little more difficult as most double bed rooms I am finding are just two twins over there! I haven't traveled outside of the US apart from cruises before, so this is all new to me as well. At least by the time the group cruise rolls around I will have experienced it once and have a bit of an idea what to expect!

I've done them for the RCLBlog group cruises! @Matt makes them available in the blog merchandise store. https://shop.spreadshirt.com/royalcaribbeanblog/ I see them all of the time on my sailings, though. Don't be embarrassed ?

Leave everyone in the car and park in the garage. They have porters by the elevators when you drive into and you stop and unload your luggage in the parking garage before parking. Really easy. On return day however it is a mess. Line for the elevator to the garage with everyone and their luggage. It's almost easier for one to run and retrieve the car and return to do the pickup of luggage and passengers, but the people directing traffic in there try to push you towards the end of the pickup area where it's very congested with all of the other pickups, taxis, rideshares, etc. If you can get away with leaving the ship as late as possible and taking your sweet time exiting the crowds may have dissipated a bit.

I figured it would be either Allure or Oasis since they added the BBQ on those ships. Not sure if that's the best move in the world since TX BBQ is phenomenal, though!

Not paying customers. They will invite Royal shoreside employees and media most likely. They aren't allowed to have a revenue cruise to nowhere.