AshleyDillo

@Matt is doing that route today..perhaps he will come and chime in with his experience when he gets back!

To piggyback off this, I would definitely NOT take it off the ship. While it is legal in the US, it may not be legal in the ports where you are visiting.

Are you asking if it's legal to take this prescription drug with you on a cruise or are you asking about the side effects?

Surf and stream will handle the FaceTime better. If your daughter is ok just with emails or using a text-based messaging program, you can go with just surf. When you get onboard and have your Voom access code, just switch your phone into airplane mode. This will keep you from roaming. Then you need to make sure that your wifi is turned on and you'll connect to the ship's wifi. You'll be directed to the login page to enter in the Voom access code.

For a first time cruiser with Royal, definitely pick the ship over itinerary. There's much more to do on the larger ship and you'll get a better idea of what the Royal product can offer. Besides, ports do get cancelled sometimes for a variety of reasons. If you pick a cruise for a specific port and that port ends up getting cancelled, there is going to be a bit of disappointment.

I haven't been to the Salem Museum, but have you ever been to Boston before? Do you think you will ever get back there on your own? I'm asking because it appears the Salem Museum would be a 45 minute ride each way, so likely this would be the only thing you get to do in Boston. And there is soooo much more you can see and do if you hang out in Boston for the day. If you're going to go back up there on a land trip with access to a vehicle I would definitely plan a trip up to explore the Salem area. Gives you much more flexibility that way. But if you've visited Boston before and the Salem Museum interests you then I would go for it..unless someone chimes in and says the museum isn't worth it, of course. Maybe read the reviews on TripAdvisor?

I find 45-90 days out to be the sweet spot for most of the legacy airlines. I use Google flights to track flights and monitor prices. Southwest typically has the lowest prices early on in the booking window, but at least with them you can cancel and rebook to take advantage of the lower prices without any change fees.

What I've been most impressed with is that I've seen Royal extend the offer to refund the May 5 cruise for the B2Bers that were using the TA as their transportation to the start of that cruise.

A lot goes into shopping for an insurance policy. They all have different rules for when you have to purchase and if they cover pre-existing conditions. There are even annual policies you can buy that cover all trips. Insuremytrip.com is a good place to start to compare different plans and see what they offer. You also need to look into your current policies for health insurance and also your credit card may have some travel insurance benefits. What coverages do you need? Do you want medical, medical evacuation, travel interruption, cancel for any reason coverages? There are a lot of different coverages to choose from out there. My personal thought is if you have the pre-existing conditions you want to get the coverage as soon as you buy the trip.

The benefit of being a shareholder is the gain on your investment when the stock price increases in value. The company performing well and turning a profit is how they answer to shareholders.

They do have sand wheelchairs available, but there is walking in sand required. There is a shuttle that takes you out to the cabanas, but you have to walk in sand a little bit to get to it. As of March you could not access anything at Coco Cay without going theough sand. This may change once the waterpark is open as there is a paved path, but I don't see that going all the way out to the cabanas either.

As soon as OP said history buff, San Juan came to mind..so I agree with this suggestion. San Juan will have a lot of history..Labadee is your beach day and St. Maarten has a lot to offer as well...probably will be the most difficult port to figure out exactly what you want to do!

Never personally done it, but have read trip reports numerous times about it. I think if you book for 4 people in a room you would even get 4 passes for the nightly price. I'm always shocked that this is even offered..maybe it's a lot more per night in the high season? This is definitely the way I would go if I was doing it..seems like the cheapest option and then you have the room to change and shower and store stuff in.

We took Uber/Lyft..they're very easy to use in Boston and then you are on your own schedule and time. Should be less $ per person than any shuttle that would be offered.

Windjammer had the soda gun on Mariner March 15..never saw it used at any of the other venues. Always cans or 2 liters.

Thanks for this excellent review. It's always interesting to see how the other half (folks that prefer this to cruising) lives. I will say that a land-based resort has always had zero appeal to me. A resort for a day on a cruise port stop is almost too much for me...and the price per night you quoted nearly made my heart stop.

Freestyle machines use Seagrams and offer a diet version. I've always seen the bars use ginger ale out of a can, but the brands varied.

Soda is not a complimentary item, so you would at least need a soda package for that. Complimentary drinks are the ones that @tiny260 mentioned. You can often find the soda package in the cruise planner on sale for $9.99 per day which would only take 3 sodas per day to break even on.

I'm debating booking this one as well...it isn't the first sailing after drydock so less of a cancellation risk. But the first scheduled sailing appears to actually be Thanksgiving..and that also has no solo supplement...whoa..that's less time off work for me..it's a little more expensive but not much!

When you try to research why Royal hasn't been doing Glacier Bay in nearly two decades it certainly pulls up some stuff doesn't paint them in a good light. Wasn't able to find anything official about permits being denied or revoked, but did learn a lot about EPA regulations in Alaska. Glad to see that they've cleaned up their act!

Not the first time. They had permission back in the late 90s/early 2000s I believe.

You may want to look into doing Atlantis on your own. You can easily take a taxi over and buy day passes likely cheaper than the excursion through the ship. You say you're a first time cruiser but since you're asking about foregoing the guaranteed transportation back to the ship anyways, you already understand you would be responsible for making it back to the ship by midnight. You can also book a room at the Comfort Suites which will come with wristbands for the waterpark with the price of the room. Bonus is having a room for the day while you are there.

My first thought would that it would be similar an Atlantis-type experience. The cruise ships have excursions to Atlantis because it has a lot to offer for day visitors despite being a land-based resort.

It's definitely there on Symphony. Perhaps the shuffleboard on Harmony is located next to the Solarium pool. ?

No problem..don't know what ship you are on but if you have the refreshment package make sure to take advantage of non-alcoholic versions of the frozen drinks, smoothies (for ships that offer them), and specialty coffee drinks and grabbing bottled water. Here's a good post about what all is included that you may not have thought about: https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2018/04/16/depth-look-royal-caribbeans-royal-refreshment-drink-package