AshleyDillo

Yeah those folks are crazy ??

Brother sister tag team til the DX package kicks in and I lose all attention span!

I've been watching and my Thanksgiving cruise hasn't gone below $49..but it's been as high as $52.

Park Cafe is included. That's where you will find salad and sandwiches and lighter fare..tends to be less crowded than the Windjammer.

Yeah..I meant paper..oops..if you aren't a guzzler then you need different straws.

This brings out my inner math nerd..love it!

I believe that was one of the MyVegas 2M point cruises that was offered..and since those are booked through Casino Royale's program they are probably all GTY rooms as well..so they may be waiting for people to upgrade and place RoyalUp bids before closing up the rest of the GTY assignments.

Not sure about the audio and lighting folks..but I know that IT is part of the staff tier..I know they can be promoted to Officers.

For solo cruisers when you hit that 340 points finally and only have a 150% supplement discount..that can be good savings. With that discounted solo supplement it can also make a C&A partner sharing status book a combo of 2 rooms for the lowest price..can end up cheaper to book a solo JS with that 150% supplement and put the other D+ in a solo inside than it would have been to put both of them in the same JS room.

Just put a retractable roof on the indoor pool deck area and climate wouldn't matter as much.

Be aware that Royal now uses paper straws..so bring your own from home if that will bother you...they get soggy really fast in frozen drinks!

Absolutely. If you find the Windjammer is too crowded Park Cafe will also be open as soon as you board the ship.

If Voom works on the island, then I assume you can still connect to the Royal wifi which would give you access to the app. It may be helpful to find the map before you leave and save it to your phone so you can access it even without any connection. https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2019/04/10/view-the-perfect-day-cococay-map

We did the morning train on our own (we diverted from the cruisetour land portion which was taking a motorcoach to Seward in the afternoon). They had a drop-off tent at the train station for cruise luggage which they loaded into the back of a box truck. You will have your cruise luggage tags attached to the bags, of course. The truck took the luggage to the port. We then took the train to Seward. The morning train doesn't go all the way to the cruiseport, so when you get off the train you have to take a shuttle bus to the port. We checked in and got onboard and then got off again and explored Seward.

Looks like there is a suite sun deck for sure... Suite Sun Deck Periscope - Ken Jarvis

Yes..it was just a walk-up counter on Anthem..a very, very slow walk-up counter too. No breakfast..but $35 will buy you tons and tons of food if you have the unlimited dining plan ?

One of the most affordable times to cruise are the weeks around, but not including, the major US holidays. The first few weeks in December tend to be priced very affordably and it will still be warm enough to enjoy the Caribbean and the Bahamas. October cruises can also be very affordable. Whichever you choose, you want to plan to arrive the day before the cruise and I would highly recommend that you purchase travel insurance. This time of year is also hurricane season and while that will have little to no impact while you are on a cruise ship, it would affect your travel plans overall. Cruise prices tend to be the most affordable the earlier you book them. If you use a good travel agent, they can help you find what you want and also will assist you in repricing the cruise if there is a price drop after you book. As mentioned, MEI Travel that sponsors this blog is an excellent agency to use and there will be no additional costs to you for using them. Also there is zero obligation if you have them help you pick out a cruise that works best for you. Flights tend to be cheapest at around the 45-60 day out mark which sometimes makes it difficult to pick your cruise so far in advance as you don't know what to expect for flight prices. You can use Google Flights to easily play around with flights to get an idea of what price ranges can be. You're looking at flying into Miami, Ft. Lauderdale, or Orlando depending on which ship you end up taking. As for ports, if you have absolutely no preference then just pick what the cheapest cruise that works. All of the ports on the standard eastern/western routes are good for first time cruisers. Oasis class ships are also so big that you could just stay on the ship while it's in port and enjoy an empty ship.

Yeah..there was no way to politely escape..we were almost in the middle of it.

Yes...of course in Royal fashion it's still as confusing as ever. They throw us a bone with the confirmation of Playmakers, but while they had been saying hibachi was covered in the Unlimited plan, this new message doesn't mention it. It was never covered in the prior Ultimate plan, but sometimes the restaurant would allow it. But it's always been an ask onboard thing. But if they consider the hibachi a "dinging experience" or a "Culinary Experience" then you would get the 20% discount on it when you book it onboard as the latest letter states. I'd imagine the other other Culinary Experiences such as the guacamole, sushi, and cupcake classes are also 20% off..but only when you book them onboard.

When you book on the CP you are locking in your reservation, so you potentially end up not getting the discount because of that guarantee. Kind of the same thing with the dining packages where you can't reserve ahead of time. You're giving up the guarantee for a reduced price. The CP planner price could very well end up being less than it is on board even with the discount..you never know when they will raise prices.

$35 per person is a lot of food at Playmakers! But now everyone with the package can do the Playmakers burger vs Johnny Rockets burger challenge. #teamJR

For my cruises I've always found it under the Internet & More tab..you have to click on the words circled in purple and scroll ALLLLL the way to the bottom:

Kids Sail Free is a great way to cut the price and if you aren't against pulling the older one out of school for the trip you will find prices can be very reasonable during the off season. This also makes the cost of airfare more reasonable. Considering a travel agent doesn't cost anything and you can get them do all the legwork of finding the prices and availability for what exactly you are looking for. MEI Travel (http://mei-travel.com) is the sponsor of this blog and they specialize in Royal cruises and could help you if you wanted to do a Disney land portion as mentioned in above posts.

Check your travel insurance policies..some of them have pre-departure port of call change prior to departure clauses which will pay out a set amount for each change in itinerary. I know it's definitely not available to Florida residents, but some others may benefit.

You get the 20% discount when you book onboard. I would assume that the 20% is taken off the bill..so you're getting 20% off the onboard price..it may or may not have been cheaper in the cruise planner. However, I was under the assumption that the hibachi was covered and reports back on CC are confirming that it is..so you wouldn't have to pay at all.