SpeedNoodles

Impressive. I don’t even know 14 people. ?

I pulled this photo off of Cruisedeckplans.com and it it appears that the bed is along the forward wall. Honestly, I really can’t say that I’ve ever been able to tell what direction the ship is moving unless I’m looking out a window.

I believe this is still one of those mysteries of Royal Caribbean.

+ ? are we up to about 5? lol - love MEI!

Even on Mariner and Ovation the machines were only available at very limited times. I didn't personally find a problem with this.

YouTube is a great place to get actual video of the ship and its cabins. I can't wait to sail on her!

I'll be on the Dec 2nd sailing of Navigator. I cannot wait!

In the end, the only person to whom you need to justify your purchase of anything is you. If it makes sense to you, then you've made a good decision.

You may not find out if you won your bid until 24 hours prior to sailing. That's what happened the two times I submitted a bid.

Yes, you still need to make the reservation. The Key will allow seating in a specific area, but you still need to have the reservation.

You can go to the Royal Caribbean website (or one like CruiseDeckPlans.com) and see the exact location of the various categories of rooms - On Royal's site just go to the main page, choose "Ships" at the top, choose your ship, then you can scroll down the page until you see "Deck Plans". They are all color coded. I do this all of the time.

I'm booked on the October 2020 GC - since this will be my first, I can only share what I know from learning from others. There are no discounts on things you can purchase in the Cruise Planner (drink packages, "Eatin' Packages" - Mr SpeedNoodles' term!). I think they usually plan at least one excursion that's complimentary for those who book with the GC through MEI. I know the price that I paid through MEI was lower than the listed price at the time that I booked. I've heard of various activities, but I'm sure those who have already done one (or two, or three) will have more details.

Stay away from Travel Leaders in MN. They charge a booking fee (lived it, learned it).

The value of a travel agent is really what service they provide you. My first agency charged a $100 booking fee, and likely would have charged if I needed to make any changes. I switched to MEI travel, and they do not charge for their services (most don't, but check FIRST). You want an agency/agent who will work with you the way you want. Do you want someone who will address your questions/concerns quickly? By phone? Email? Text? Do you want an agency who will check for price drops for you (and be willing to reprice if they do - my first agency didn't even know this was a thing and said I 'wasn't eligible". Not only do I not believe she understood cruising, we didn't click on a personal level at all and I just couldn't stand her). I personally want someone I can contact if something goes wrong, if I need to make a change, if something goes wrong, she'll advocate on my behalf. I wouldn't change my new travel agent ( @michelle from MEI Travel), for another agent, even if I might be able to get some OBC somewhere else. I wouldn't want to risk losing the great, personalized, service that I get from her!.

and ME! I have 5 cruise spreadsheets for various purposes, lol.

If you mean the pier that Royal Caribbean uses (Smith Cove), it's a 2.7 mile walk (about an hour, depending on your rate of hoofing it). I'd Uber it.

Yeah, we're blocked on some things. That wasn't the issue last night. It was just a Royal Caribbean glitch. Luckily it didn't last too long, as I feared, because it's been one .... ridonkulously....slow....night.

Welcome to the boards, you've come to the right place!

Ha, yeah, it didn't last long, and I'm pretty used to glitches. I did try different browsers from private mode - it wasn't me, it was Royal (as is typical). I knew it wasn't me because I log on every night at work and never have an issue. It's just a matter of patience! :)

if I can't stalk the website looking at cruises/cruise planner!!!! FOILED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Honestly, I last year noticed things going on sale as early as Wednesday night and Thursday afternoon before Black Friday, even before the "sale" banner was put up. I've found price drops on various things in the cruise planner in between "sales". I just check the planner frequently and never rely on posted sales.

It's available to book with 2 people, and I don't find the prices to be that way on any of my other sailings (or any others that I've looked at, other than Rhapsody). It's a strange anomaly on Rhapsody, it seems, that might benefit someone who really would like a 2-bedroom suite!

Yay!!!!!!!!!!!!

It happens. On the Rhapsody sailing that I was booked on in Feb 2021 the 2 bdrm Grand Suite has always been cheaper than the 1 bdrm Grand Suite (even with less of them available). It''s been that way since last Feb.

And that was me explaining why I'm a dolt.