GlowTheWeird

I thought the same thing but apparently this cruising ducks thing is pretty big, staff are aware and typically leave them there.  

Not even sure why, but that made me laugh out loud (in a good way)!

Hi all, we did the once in a lifetime cruise on HOTS in June. As a newbie i had a difficult time finding the sizes of the wow band and seapAss. Uploaded photo, wow band ALL the way. Women’s clothing has absolutely NO pockets, let alone wearing a swimsuit and cover 60% of the vacation, NOWHERE to put tge pass.  In addition to not digging through your entire sun bag to find a seapass to get in your room, you just scan your wrist for drinks at bars(there is a scanner right where you order),  and at towel stations, when getting on / off ship and ALL over CocoCay. Worth every penny of the $4.95 get it the first day as mentionedat Boleros. Also, if you need to get into a second room you booked, have tgat room get the same color since no names on them. Hope this helps the first timers. 

I always wear sundresses... Hate shorts... So no pockets!  But that's why I like lanyards.  Not being able to punch is a pain though!  Jane

Those are acceptable for your guys. In the end dress for yourself, not for others. If it's allowed by RC, others have no right telling you what to wear. If others can't enjoy their meal because people are not wearing what "they" think they should, that's on them.
Happy cruising!

I LOVE it and can not wait to go back.   I travelled with several others in a very large group, and we are discussing going together again with a main requirement being visiting Coco Cay.  It truly was our perfect day.  

I have yet to be to  Perfect Day at CocoCay but this pic is my desktop background.  I have high hopes of the time we get to spend on the island.  I invite others who have been there to share their favorite memories there here.  I hope this doesn't sound too corny.  

Great memory!  This is all the group cruises - so far.
How does the GC get decided - Matt and myself work together to find a cruise that works with his schedule, my schedule, but more importantly has interesting ports of call - something different.  Sometimes there are several cruises that are held while we decide or wait to see what else is released by Royal.
If can look at times that the boards, insiders, and comments to him will help make his decision, but in all the years we have worked on these group cruises - that really hasn't swayed him.  Ultimately, he will do two GC a year, and he decides when he has all the factors that he is waiting on from Royal on ships and where they will be sailing.

The article has since disappeared, I’m just going to take that as a good sign ??‍♀️

I suspect the intern is triple checking everything, potentially at their new job somewhere else.

We had a chance to visit CocoCay on TH 6/27 off of the Mariner of the Seas.
Summary
- Amazing, outstanding, a true game-changer.
- Flexible enough to meet the needs of everybody. 
- You can have a great time with excursions or without. 
- Thrill Park is great.  If that is your thing. 
- Overall, highly recommended. 
Our group
- 2 families with children (11, 8, 7 years old)
- We booked the full day Thrill Park via Cruise Planner at $47/adult as well as the kid rate (I forgot the total).
- 2nd RCCL trip (1st was Harmony)

Our Day (Part 1:  Thrill Park)
- RC provided a map and a 1-page fact sheet the evening before.  We felt very prepared. 
- Checked out towels and then met the gang for breakfast at 7:30am.
- Left the boat at 8:30am.  It was very fast.  No towel check-out was provided at level 1.  You will need to get towels in advance at the pool deck.
- Trams were waiting on the pier to talk folks if desired.
- Less than 5 min walk from the boat to the entrance to the island and the Thrill Park.  Live music, dancers, etc.  lots of energy.
- Easy entry to the Thrill Park, use your sea pass.  RCCL staff is onsite.
- Locker to your right after entering the park (free).
- We divided into two groups.  One group went straight to the Devil's Tower.  They rode it once and had a very small line.  Within an hour of opening the wait time was 45-60- minutes.  Key point:  Plan ahead and arrive early.  The other group secured lounger chairs under umbrellas (between the Devils Tower and the other Slide section) and headed over to the Sling Shot (the half pipe ride), Twister, and Racers.  
- Easy to find chairs.  Lots available with lots of shade. 
- Easy to find beverage (adult) and water.
- All the water slides are strong.  Fun, thrilling, scaring, high energy, etc. 
- After the slides, we hit the wave pool.  Recommended as well. Make sure you watch the young kids.  The pool is crowded and life guards can see only so much.
- We also spent time on the adventure pool.  Both adults and kids were using the attraction.  Lots of fun. 
- After about 2.5 hours on the Thrill Park we decided to go to Chill Island.  One of the reasons was the wait on the Tower Slides was getting long and we saw storms in the distance and wanted to hedge our time.
Out Day (Part 2:  Chill Island).
- Relaxing.  Laid back. Really a different vibe and energy.
- Rented snorkel equipment. My kids saw stingrays and fish.
- After about 2 hours, headed to Chill Grill for lunch. Taco bar and grilled chicken wings were strong.  We also liked the fact you can pour your own beer (w Seapass Card).  Kids loved the ice cream.
- BIG ISSUE:  TONS of birds are seagulls are onsite at Chill Grill and are very aggressive.  They are swarming on guests and attacking their plates while guests sat at picnic tables.  I saw a bird swoop down and steal a chicken wing from a guest who was about to it eat.  This needs to be fixed.  Think the movie "The Birds".
- Went to Oasis Lagoon for the rest of the day and drank our share of Miami Vice, Kracken and Diet Coke, and beer.  The Pool bar is strong and the staff are fast.  
- The pool itself is very large and can accommodate a lot of folks.  Loud music.  Party atmosphere. 
- Some lighting delays throughout our day, but no biggie.  
- Took the tram home.  
General thoughts
- Great time.  Really strong move by RCCL.  Disney will have to up its game.  Huge contrast to other cruise private islands.
- Easy to navigate and everything is pretty much 10 minutes away.  Walk or Tram.
- Totally different vibes between the water park and Chill Island. 
- Even though we only were at the water park for 2 hours, it was so fun we still feel as though we got our $$$ worth.
- Staff was great. 
- The island and layout are such that the crowded feeling is likely to be minimized.  
- Easy to get food, adult beverages, water etc.  Lockers are free.
- We did not rent a cabana.  They looked very nice.  Our hesitation is that if you rent a cabana you may feel limited to stay in the cabana and consequently miss other areas of the island.  We liked our approach of spending time at the water park, the beach, and the big pool.
- Talked to a few officer types at the island and they shared that RCCL plans on building a hotel for guests on the island and back-to-back CocoCay stays will be offered in Jan 2020. 
- The day before we stopped at Nassau and stayed until 8:30pm.  I really wish we could have stayed that long at CocoCay and shortened our time in Nassau. 
- The birds at Chill Grill are an issue.
- Other guests we were talking too on the ship felt the same about the island - it is fantastic. 
- Have a high-level plan so you can make the most of the day.  You don't have to plan every minute, but at least consider where you want "Home base" and what you want to do on the island in some order.  Hit the waterpark early to avoid lines.
Hope his helps.  Have.a blast.
Andy
 
 
 
 
 

Ha ha! You beat me to it @FManke !
650 days til we go on a cruise... uggghhh!

St Thomas has screwed around with cruise lines for several years now.  The promised Long Bay pier has never moved forward when residents opposed it. I think it was supposed to commence in 2014 and would accomodate two Oasis class ships.  
If Royal called on St Thomas 28 times in June then 6 drops is relatively small (22%).
If those are Oasis class drops that is a pretty significant hit to the local economy.  Hopefully they'll get the point.
 

There are other forums and blogs???  ?
Congrats @Matt !

???
I have no idea who anyone else is! all of my recommendations come from this blog!

https://www.porthole.com/top-cruise-influencers-for-2019/

I just want to say that it is so awesome to have found you guys!  I feel like everyone here understands all of my questions and my general obsessing about my upcoming cruise!  I am VERY excited about starting a new type of adventure (I'm most sure this will not be my only RC cruise already... lol)... Just sayin' thanks ... I found my 'herd'... ?

I don’t even like alcohol very much but this list makes me want to try a whole bunch of these!!!

Awesome. Downloaded into my phone so it's always with me. In case of emergency you know?

This was posted somewhere on Cruise Critic.  Not sure where it came from but it's awesome!!
It's drink packages explained and for those that "already know this stuff" it's noted that any changes to the RCCL Drink policies are noted in red in the article.  This document ALSO contains Harmony's Bar Menu and Drink Listing WITH prices!! 
 
LAST BUT NOT LEAST...the last 4 pages documents the names of special drinks and how they are made so you can make them at home for yourself OR you will know what to order on your next cruise.  I love this pdf and wanted to share with you all.  Enjoy!!!
 
 
Cruise News Harmony 2019 Drinking.pdf

Yes.  Just show up whenever you want.  Those check-in times are fake news.  They do it to try and control the check-in crowds but they do not enforce those times.  I’d recommend arriving at the port around 10:30.  That will give you plenty of time to enjoy your Chops (or Jamie’s) embarkation lunch.  Happy sailing !

Poor intern 

@mpoole3 has done Fury I think.
https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2018/04/17/excursion-focus-fury-catamaran-cozumel-mexico
 

thank you!

We have had an amazing time!! We are so hooked on cruising, I’m ready to plan our next cruise!! 
Washy Washy!!