ThyriC

@Matt really runs a class act here. People here are wonderful and welcoming. We dont care if there are 450 questions about the drinks package, or shore excursions or the Royal Up program. We dont care if newbies to cruising ask what ships to avoid, or which ship is the "good one". People here are so kind and opening. I've never felt the need to go to the "other" place when all I need really is right here.

Oh come on its not like we're going to recommend Mitch a sky loft suite with overflowing bottles of champagne, every package under the sun and all sea days taken up with gambling and spa days. What kind of monsters do you take us for?! ? But seriously, a bottle of bubbly is always nice, maybe dinner at Chops, maybe a special excursion. And plenty of relaxation.

If you wouldnt be willing to accept one of those 4 remaining JS, then I'd honestly go in with the expectation that you'd receive the least attractive one to you. You might get lucky and get the best one of the 4 remaining but if there's one that's a definite NO to you, no at any price despite the extra space, then I wouldnt try for the RoyalUp. Because what happens is if there is more of a demand for your ocean view balcony, they may try to entice you into the least desirable JS in order to make space in the balconies. Or if this isnt the case, they may wait until the 24 hours in advance and if the JS doesnt sell out, then the person who bids the most on the JS would receive it. It really comes down to supply and demand on these. If the supply on the JS is just too great, your chances are higher. But consider that your ship has a bunch of outside balcony cabins, and only 4 junior suites left. And they're sending upgrade emails to everyone trying to entice the upgrade. Your chance on the upgrade at 200pp is rather slim. Not saying it couldnt happen, but at the bare minimum, its very unlikely. Plus its also possible that for your sailing, they're running out of outside balcony cabins and are attempting to entice people into the upgrade because their supply of the one you're in might net them more money than the cost of the JS. If you're in love with the cabin you've selected already, there's also that to factor in. You have a good idea you'll like the current one. There's the gamble out there that one you dont like is the one that you'd be assigned, and you'd be paying more money for a cabin you dont like.

I like the idea of utilizing the free continental breakfast to get a few sweet snacks (like pastries) and maybe a beverage or two like milk or juice. Then from the WJ, I like to make a club sandwich and a small fruit plate to go and that can be my late night snack. I dont usually stockpile more than that in my room since the fridge is more of a cooler, not a refrigerator. Usually I am one of those suite snobs and if for some reason I have a 2am craving I can order something from room service for no fee. Usually this doesnt happen though. There's so much to do onboard that I'm completely zonked out by 11. And I'm a nightowl.

Most ships do offer a by the glass Riesling in the MDR and most specialty restaurants (likely exception being something like Johnny Rockets) I'm partial to Sauvignon Blanc and was delighted when I saw not one but 2 offerings. One goes slightly over the cost of what's allowed in the deluxe beverage package but I'm more than willing to spend a little more to try something new. Not to mention if I happen to love the wine, I can buy a bottle of it at a reduced price with the deluxe beverage package. Also keep in mind that you can bring 2 bottles of wine onboard. So if there's a particular Riesling that you prefer, bring it in with your carryon luggage! You can ask to be served that for dinner and they will store your wine for you. A corkage fee MAY be imposed but if you're particular about your wine, its a small price to pay to have your preferred wine (imo) Also tell your waiter, the maitre d, your room steward, anyone who may serve you more than once, that you're celebrating your 25th wedding anniversary! That corkage fee may magically not appear on your bill, that 20 dollar glass of wine may magically become part of your deluxe beverage package. You never know. But it never hurts to say something.

And just to reiterate the importance of booking something like this when you see a price you're comfortable with. On my Grandeur sailing in October, the price went UP! To $75! So now I'm watching and waiting for it to go back down and then definitely snagging it. I love the ship tours. Especially the bridge. And seeing the bridge on different ships is awesome too. Like seeing it on Allure is very different from seeing it on Grandeur, how everything is laid out.

I like martinis and classic cocktail drinks with dinner. Depending on the meal, I could have a cosmopolitan, an appletini, even a manhattan (a long lost art that not enough people appreciate) or something interesting from their custom martinis. Otherwise its white wine As for bar drinks on a mission, find your favourite bartender, and ask them to make you what THEY like to drink. Its almost always good and boozy. .Or after making friends with your friendly neighborhood bartender, ask them to make you something for you special. Tell them what you like, and what you avoid. I've had some amazing drinks that are totally new and unique and in my experience asking bartenders to do this for you, they really like doing it. Most are making strawberry daiquiris and pina coladas all day, it lets them really use their bartending skills. I know in my job I like actually using my job skills rather than the mundane.

In regards to the drink packages, I'd look in the various threads for drink package discussions and find the average sale price for your particular ship and length/destination of the cruise. Then you can get a ballpark figure of how much would be a good price for the drink package. They vary based on ship/sailing so someone who gets a drink package for 42 dollars might be different from the ship/sailing whose bargain drink package price is 52 dollars. Set your own "good price" that you see in the cruise planner and when you see that price, snag it. If you see a better price, you can always book the new good price and cancel your old one. Wifi (along with everything else really) is worth it if you plan on using it. If you dont intend to be in contact with the shore, browsing twitter, being connected to social media and friends/family via text.. then its not worth it if you dont use it. Its like the drink package. Great if you plan on getting your drink on, not so great if you only intend to drink rarely and have nothing but water on your cruise. As for newbie tips, my best tip is.... wear comfortable shoes. In the excitement of the cruise, a LOT of us are like "I need new sandals, I need new sneakers, I need new pumps" but if you wear brand new shoes, your feet will hate you if they're not broken in properly. So that means wearing your new sandals around the house. Wearing those new pumps to work. If you MUST wear new shoes (ladies I'm looking at you mostly on this one) for formal night (we rarely wear these shoes, and often times we buy new ones for the cruise) if you have a cobbler you trust (shoe shop at local malls tend to have a cobbler store) ask them to stretch the shoes. It takes about a day or two but that can simulate some wear in the shoe. Use blister pads or moleskin on the pressure points of the shoe to prevent rubbing (the back of your heel and inner and outer bunion points tend to be the most rubbed). I speak from experience here doing a lot of conventions and a LOT of walking in new shoes. Trust me when I say, go for comfort over fashion when it comes to your shoes. Flats are better than heels. For the gents, use the moleskin technique if your formal night shoes are barely or never worn. Sneakers are better your old grubbies rather than a shiny new pair. Wear comfortable socks as well. Your feet will thank you. A blistered foot can nearly ruin your amazing cruise. Also get used to walking. A lot. Another foot saving tip here. But also the rest of your body. These ships are LARGE and likely you'll be doing a lot of walking from your room, to an activity, to a meal, to a shore excursion, to your cabin, to a meal... walk walk walk. If you're not accustomed to being on your feet a lot, you'll want to get even slightly accustomed before you cruise. Walk about a mile a day until you're accustomed to it, then increase the distance to 3-5 miles. I've worn a fitbit on a cruise before and I walked over 10 miles in a day onboard a ship. That's a LOT of walking. And those not accustomed to it will be SORE. If you dont feel like preparing, if you have a suite or room with a bathtub. Soak your feet every night in as hot water as you can tolerate. Soak in the hot tubs onboard. They are your friends. Men this goes for you too. Protect your feet! Dont be too proud to soak. If you walk a LOT in a day and you know you've pushed your body, take a motrin or ibuprofern if you can before you go to bed. This will help reduce the swelling in your feet and sore muscles associated with a lot of walking. Yes I may seem a little obsessive about foot care but so many very simple foot issues can be very easily addressed by just a little foot prep beforehand and taking care of your feet during your cruise. Dont be afraid to ask questions. There are no stupid questions, no redundant questions, no questions that are embarrassing. Please ask questions. We're a very friendly group here with many decades of experience cruising and cruising on RC

I use Pam Richter from MEI and she's been amazing for me. She's in my same timezone and puts up with all of my questions and swapping of credit cards to make payments.

I think favourites are incredibly subjective and I'm unsure anyone here will say "this is a BAD ship, avoid at all costs" Some people favor the larger Oasis and Quantum class ships. Others dont like the big ships and they like the smaller ships (and by smaller, you're still looking at a 900+ foot long ship holding 2k+ passengers) Some people favor the older ships and older crowds. Others love the latest and greatest ship and a young crowd. Some like partying the night away in discos and bars with flowriders and escape rooms and sky diving simulators. Others like serenity and quiet, spending their time in spas and relaxing by a quiet adult only pool. Some like a ton of entertainment with aqua shows and broadway shows and headliner entertainment on board. Others just want a comedian or magician and smaller musical acts. Some like a myriad of dining options with numerous specialty dining options, starbucks coffee in addition to the standard MDR, Windjammer buffet and room service. Others are fine with one or two specialty options and the standards. Some like destinations like Alaska or the Fjords of Norway where a smaller ship can get places a larger ship just cant access. Others like the Caribbean. Some like Bermuda. Others like Hawaii. Some like transatlantic, some want a 3 day getaway. So if we knew what your "perfect" cruise destination and "perfect" amenities are, then we might be able to suggest a ship that might match your needs. Because RC doesnt really have a "bad" ship. But there may be some ships that dont match your needs and any cruise line if you dont match your needs to a ship, you're not going to enjoy your cruise. It would be like expecting a flowrider or sky diving simulator and dining in flip flops on the queen mary 2 from cunard. That person would have a terrible time if they were expecting that from Cunard. Same with RC, if you're expecting white gloves and tuxedos for every dinner and an expansive library with a rare book collection, and you get flowriders and escape rooms, and multiple pools and smart casual meals except on formal night... you're going to have a bad time.

A lot has to do for me with how long you're in your destination where the shore excursion is. If you're only in port for that day, I recommend going with the RC excursions unless you're absolutely 100% confident that you can get back to the ship on time in case of someone on your 3rd party excursion is late back to the excursion, if your tour vehicle breaks down in the middle of nowhere, etc. If you're confident (ie excursion leaves in the morning and returns 2-3 hours before back on ship time) then go for the third party (as long as it has good reviews on trip advisor, yelp, etc. If you're in port overnight, then you're a little more flexible on your first day. Feel free then to take advantage of those well rated third party excursions! Just the biggest thing is, if your back on ship time is 5pm, and your excursion has you back at 4.... that's a pretty narrow window considering how many people on excursions do the "just 5 more minutes!" If the tour vehicle breaks down, is delayed by traffic, ferries, bridges, etc then you either become a pier runner, or worse, miss the ship altogether! But if your set sail time is 5pm and your excursion has you back at noon, that's a pretty decent window for even the absolute worst case scenario to hail a cab or for the tour company to obtain alternate transportation to get you back on time. An option is to see who RC has contracted for the shore excursion and book the same excursion through the third party directly rather than RC. That way you know the ship will wait since your fellow passengers are on that shore excursion and the ship will wait for them!

I dont buy any cruise line's claim of food waste being the reason for a fee increase. Increase the fee for the cabin if you need to raise prices. With two entrees, what if you didnt like what was brought to you first? What if you want to try something new and then you dont like it? They're going to charge someone for going outside of their comfort zone? They'd better be prepared to make a lot more safe dishes and thus disappoint those with more adventurous palates. And in a way to make things even safer, say goodbye to any spices or unique ingredients. I get it, food waste stinks. But until buffets go away due to food waste, I dont buy their food waste excuse for extra fees for entrees, for ala carte room service, or any other food waste excuse. I mean by Holland's logic, 2 entrees bad and cause food waste, but 20 appetizers totally fine and dont cause food waste at all.

Actually speaking of cigars figured this would be a friendly place to ask the question. Do they sell cigars able to be consumed onboard or is it like liquor that they must wait until you're off the ship?

Nope, October 26th sailing for me. I'll give you a wave as you pass under the Bay Bridge!

Grandeur of the Seas: October 26 The waitttting is the hardest part!

I think it depends on what you're looking to do spa-wise. If you're looking to do multiple treatments in a single visit, waiting until you're onboard is probably a better bet. There is a CHANCE that if the spa doesnt get a lot of appointments on port days, you may see a port day discount on single services but if the spa is booked, you wont see the discount. On sea days there are rarely discounts except on the multiple treatment deals. Some are good, some arent so good. So it depends on your comfort level with waiting. If you're looking to take care of paying your services in advance and not having to think about it later, book now. However if you're willing to gamble a little, then waiting until you're onboard is OK. The worst that could happen with waiting until you're onboard, is your preferred spa time is not available. If you're looking to do your spa treatment on the last sea day or before formal night, its HIGHLY likely the spa will book fast. But if you're flexible with the times and days for your spa treatment, then waiting can net you some savings sometimes.

I have to concur with @JLMoran the corkage fee isnt a "removing a cork" fee. It covers them storing your wine in their wine cellar, serving it to you instead of their wine thus losing their profit on wine service (you cant bring your own alcoholic beverages of any other sort, just wine, so they dont lose profit if you want beer with your meal), it covers them being able to not just serve you wine from the MDR but from a specialty restaurant as well. Most restaurants charge a corkage fee if you choose to bring in your own wine The wine I like to enjoy they dont serve this onboard (I cant expect a cruise line to carry some obscure Napa wine, especially a pricey one). They serve the same kind of wine, but this one particular one I just like. So for me letting them store the wine and then serve it, its well worth it for me rather than having to buy a bottle of a wine that I dont know I'd even like.... at the cost of about 70-80 dollars for their wine. Not to mention if something were to happen to the wine (they manage to cork the wine, drop the wine, etc) its on them rather than being in my stateroom, if the seas are rough, and the wine took a tumble. End of story, expect the corkage fee, be delighted if they dont charge you.

Mannn you guys with your views of ice and pretty cruise ships.... I have a view of a parking lot. Course its the parking lot of my apartment but details details!

Get to know your crew. Say hello, make small talk (it fascinates me hearing about their home countries), it might not get you anything extra, but it cant hurt. If you're alcohol inclined or even mocktail inclined, get to know your bartender. Be kind to your bartender. Keeping these in mind may not get you anything extra as well, but, they potentially can get you something nice (like an extra shot in your drink, a drink magically not appearing on your bill, etc) I like asking my bartender to make me their favourite drink. I almost always get an amazing story out of how they came to love their particular drink. On one of the last days I also like asking my bartender for a recipe for one of the signature drinks. Most have recipe cards or they'll even write it down on a cocktail napkin for you. Get to know your ship! Time to put on those walking shoes and explore. Allow yourself to get lost! Speaking of walking shoes. BREAK IN YOUR SHOES BEFORE YOU CRUISE. Do not, I repeat DO NOT wear brand new shoes on your cruise. Your feet will curse your existence if you wear brand new shoes on your cruise. From blisters to raw spots to just general foot pain, break in your shoes ahead of time. Noone's going to care if you wear your old grubby sneakers, or a pair of well worn pumps. Your feet will care if you wear a pair of brand new stiletto heels. Speaking of high heels. Especially if new to cruising. Explore the wonderful world of "dress sandals" or "dress flats". You're on a ship. Ships move. If you're not accustomed to walking on a moving, rocking, pitching vehicle in sky high heels, just leave your Jimmy Choos at home. And speaking of walking. If you're not accustomed to a fair bit of walking, start getting accustomed early. Walk a mile a day and then start increasing your distance until you're up to about 5 miles a day. A fitbit can help keep track of distance walked. That way your feet (and body!) arent screaming at you after your first day of going from your cabin to the pool deck to the MDR, to a stroll along central park, back to the pool deck, back to your cabin, off to the MDR.... yah you're going to put in some walking. Might as well not walk in agony! Create a nice folder for your cruise documents. Have any checklists you want to use to keep yourself organized (I'd be lost without checklists) and include copies of your credit cards you plan to bring with you, copy of your passports (yes another tip, get a passport, you "can" use a birth certificate and drivers license for most caribbean destinations but the passport just makes your life so much easier) copy of your itinerary, copy of your cruise tickets, copy of any purchased in advance items (beverage package, shore excursions, etc) copy of any medical documentation for controlled substances (note, medical cannabis is NOT allowed, even with a valid prescription) just in case of customs, copy of emergency contact information. Once you have these copies, make copies of them. And keep them in 2 separate locations. So your original documents go in a folder with you. The copy folder goes with your travelling companion or spouse, the third copy goes in your carryon luggage (because of the sensitive information associated with travel docs, dont put it in checked luggage) If you're a solo traveler, you keep the originals and the first set of copies, the other copy goes in your carryon. Want to be super neurotic like me? Have a 4th set of copies, but digital and stored in an encrypted cloud storage solution (again I'm neurotic about security, so I dont trust just slamming something into dropbox, I live for encryption). Kids can also take a part in the decorating of the cruise document folder with stickers and drawings! Watch a lot of cruise videos. Matt does an amazing podcast and videos where he answers common questions as well as additional questions. They can really help with packing tips, shore excursion tips, stuff to do on the ship tips, tips about the ultimate dining package and deluxe beverage packages, travelling with kiddos, travelling without kiddos, etc. Ask questions. The cruising community here is absolutely delightful and its like having an extended family you can ask questions of. Ask more questions. No question is too stupid and noone gets horribly offended or upset that there are 20 questions about travel documents or the beverage packages. Ask even more questions. We wont get sick of hearing from you. To echo the sentiment of many. Take things easy and be flexible. If you book shore excursions and onboard activities and meals all on top of each other, you're going to need a vacation from your vacation. Not to mention if you book back to back to back like that, if anything winds up running long or off schedule, it has a domino effect. I like to list things in terms of "NEED to do, WANT to do, and 'it would be nice' to do" Have one need to do taken care of every day. Then fill in with the wants, and then fill in further with the "it would be nices". This leaves you flexible to just crash by the pool or in your cabin if you want to or if something goes off schedule, then you can shift accordingly. Or if a NEED appears at random, you can do that and flex the wants and nices away from the NEED. Do not book flights on embarkation or disembarkation days. Book a hotel at both ends of your cruise. 1, this extends your vacation! And gets you some much needed sleep before flights. It also allows for travel delays, cancellations, and just general weird stuff. It keeps you flexible and relaxed in case of fog delay, rough weather delay, customs delays, cancelled flights, delayed flights, etc etc etc. Remember to remain flexible. If the ship needs to change its itinerary due to weather or port issues this is for your safety and security. Can it be disappointing to miss a really wanted to visit port? Sure! But if you're staring down a Category 4 hurricane, I think you'd be much happier being safe and secure, rather than barrelling straight into a hurricane. Same with delays or itinerary changes due to someone needing to be evacuated from the ship for medical reasons. Be compassionate to the person who is in such a dangerous condition that they have to be airlifted from the ship because their condition couldnt wait for them to reach the shore. Get travel insurance. Stuff happens. And medical care onboard a ship or being airlifted off of the ship is likely not covered by your standard healthcare. Bags can get lost. Travel delays and cancellations can happen. Yes it can be pricey. But so can the tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of dollars associated with an emergency at sea. So can the cost of the cruise that had to be cancelled after your final payment date due to illness, family emergencies, and in some travel insurance cases, work! Often times we book our cruises years in advance, and job situations can change, health can change. And you dont want to be "that guy" who boards a ship hacking up a lung because he didnt get travel insurance and doesnt want to lose thousands of dollars potentially by cancelling the cruise despite being so sick that he'd call out of work. Dont be that guy. Get travel insurance. Another cruise can always happen, infecting an entire ship and you not being able to even enjoy your own vacation due to illness is just foolish.

I'd skip the art auction personally. I'm not in the market for fine art and if I was, I'm not sure a cruise ship would be where I'd want to purchase the art. I like looking at the gallery, that's fun. But the art auction, not even the free champagne can get me to be interested in buying art. Skip the spa tour unless you're honestly interested in getting spa services. This goes for the "complimentary" 5 minute massages as well. The spa tour in my opinion is too pushy, and this is across almost every cruise line out there. This goes for the free acupuncture consultations, free collagen under eye treatments, free tooth whitening consultations, free hair consultations, etc. In my experience they've all been high pressure to sell products not even the services. Because their biggest profit margin isnt on the spa services themselves, but on the addon products. Also dont do tooth whitening on a cruise. 1. your teeth after a whitening are super sensitive, I dont like associating pain with margaritas! 2. After whitening teeth tend to stain quicker (just from my experience, I'm no dentist) so foods and drinks that are highly colored (more fun beverage restrictions!) will stain your freshly whitened teeth. 3. Its ungodly expensive for something that costs far less even from your dentist, much less some crest whitestrips. Skip the jewelry and purses and watches events. These are sales pitches. Unless you want to buy jewelry, watches and purses on a cruise, you can always browse the shop on your own time without someone trying to make a hard sell pitch at you. I'd do the same with the "liquor tasting". This is more sales. Unless you're planning on buying duty free booze, give this one a pass as well. They claim there are free samples but you're not walking away from these events buzzed, drunk, or even mildly amused. You'll see the most of these sales pitches on embarkation and your first sea day. That's when you have the most money and free time. They know this. If you have the disposable income or its in your budget to buy a purse or booze (that you cant drink on the ship) or overpriced skincare, by all means, attend. But if you have no intention on buying these items on land, just dont bother going. Instead, head to the pool deck or solarium and enjoy a tasty cocktail (even if its 14 bucks, its less than you'd spend on skincare and teeth whitening)

Welcome to the forums! There are never too many questions! I'm sure you'll have many more and the people here will be more than happy to answer. Radiance isnt an old/bad ship. I like the older ships personally. I like the smaller ship feel and the personal feel of the smaller ships. I wont discount an Oasis class ship because that's an experience in of itself, but Radiance is a wonderful ship. Look for reviews or stories about Brilliance of the Seas, its Radiance's sister ship. She was refreshed in 2016 with many upgrades and another refresh in 2012 that added a lot of the onboard restaurants. You're going to have an amazing time on Radiance. I get my lanyards off of Ebay, Etsy, or Amazon. Sometimes I'm feeling particularly bright and loud and want a lanyard to reflect that, sometimes I want to go super nautical, and sometimes I just want something to hook my danged seapass on. As for room service, you may order room service at any time. However lunch and dinner and late night usually come with a 7.95 charge per order (not per plate, but per order) as well as a charge for drinks (even with a drink package, it does NOT include room service so prepare for extra charges if you want a glass of late night wine, or late night soda) Continental breakfast is included, there are other breakfast options as well, but they may come with the service charge of 7.95, The most important thing is... You're Going On a CRUISE! This is AWESOME! You're going to have an amazing time on Radiance. You're definitely doing right by asking your questions now and preparing so all you'll need to do on your cruise, is relax

You can also see if Guest Services can limit the spend on each child's seapass card, just so you dont get surprised with a massive kid influenced bill at the end of the cruise.

I think it really depends on you if its worth it or not. If you want to see the galley, where the luggage is stored, how they manage to get so much luggage to so many people in such a short amount of time, the laundry, where all of the food for thousands of people is kept, as well as the bridge, then I'd say its a good use of a sea day. However if your situation is between a shore excursion in a place you've never visited before, and the ship tour.... I'd personally go with the shore excursion. There are several ship tours (usually with the exception of the bridge) available to watch on youtube, but shore excursions are usually experience based and you may have more fun with a shore excursion. If you've booked well in advance, you may even find you can do both! I think for first timers, the ship tour is a must to better appreciate the grand scale of the ship and how so much gets done on these floating cities! But I'm just a fan of logistics so seeing how everything works like a fine tuned machine is really exciting. But also if I had to sacrifice a shore excursion to do that, I would have to take the shore excursion first.

One of us... one of us... one of us

I'll be watching the webcams for your ship departing Miami tomorrow!!! Also that BBQ looks seriously legit.