kadmgs

I would keep your cabana booking because that's a great price. Going to Barefoot Beach for lunch is really a personal call. Are your kids picky eaters? Do you want more than a burger or hot dog type option for lunch? The suite lunch buffet at Barefoot Beach has more options, but it also depends on if you want to leave your cabana and walk over there to eat. I would do it since its included, especially since you got the suite for a great price. However, the kids may be your deciding factor.

That's a great brunch menu! Is it Saturday & Sunday or just Sunday?

You must not be a teacher. These types of gifts are exactly what we are given as a reward for excellent work. We are lucky when we get a "Jeans Day" and can wear them during the week in addition to Friday. I have literally been given a pair of socks with a motivational quote on them, not once but twice for my hard work on writing curriculum. Btw, the snacks we gave our stateroom attendant were in addition to cash. We purposefully asked her what she wanted, if anything, and she told us. So, yes, it was sincerely appreciated.

CK, if it's an option or MDR/Key depending on if we have the Key for that sailing.

I cut the tails off mine. I was surprised how fast it dried after getting wet. Mine was loose enough to slip off at night and when showering, but it would get wet when I washed my hands. I really like the cord lock idea.

Yes, you can. You're welcome. Most of what we purchased was for her, but we also grabbed a few things for ourselves as well to have in our room. Yes, chips are good as well. Now that you say that, we also got a few individual bags of chips as well.

You are going to get a ton of varied answers on this topic. When we were on Oasis in December, our stateroom attendant could not get off the ship. The only time they were allowing crew off the ship fell during her work hours. We asked her if there was anything we could pick up for her. We specifically asked about snacks they couldn't get on board and she said chocolate was always nice. We bought a variety of candy in St. Thomas including some that is made about 2 hours from us and gave it to her. She said she would share with her friends. Knowing how small their cabins are, I wouldn't get anything that isn't a consumable.

We've only sailed once on a ship with a CK. I really enjoyed breakfast in CK, especially the chorizo and egg flatbread. The food was good and still warm, if not hot, when it came to the table. The same cannot be said for the MDR's sit down breakfast. We only ate dinner the first night in there because we had the UDP. Everyone raves about the filet, so we decided to try it out. Plus, we wanted to see if we liked it enough to eat in there again during the sailing. The filet was excellent. In fact, it was the best filet we had all week to include Chops and 150 Central Park. However, I'm not on the "everything needs truffles/truffle oil" bandwagon. I don't like them and think they have a petrochemical flavor. The truffle potatoes permeated the bottom of the steak to the point that I couldn't eat a full slice and had to cut it off. DW on the other hand, absolutely loved it. They did bring me some regular potatoes which were delicious. I know next time to order the filet w/o the truffle potatoes. We also tried lunch one afternoon and it was good. Same as breakfast... food was hot when it came to the table.

Yes! The walls & doors of your cabin are magnetic, you can stick them anywhere. I also have magnetic clips that I use as well for stuff that won't hang on a hook. If you have a balcony, chair clips are great for drying their swim gear. I clip my rash guard to one of the chairs and its dry in about an hour. There is a clothes line in the bathroom that goes across the tub, but that can be cumbersome with multiple people trying to use the shower/tub and you needing to hang wet swim gear.

This. However, you chances of a storm interrupting your plans is less likely in early summer because the Gulf & Caribbean haven't reached the water temps that really promote development and strengthening. It's not out of the question to see a tropical storm develop in June or even a Cat 1, but the big storms are usually later in the season. Humidity will definitely be higher in the summer than what you experienced in Oct-Dec. If you are sensitive to it, that's probably what will be more of a faction that the heat per se. 90 degrees with 20% humidity is way different than 90 degrees with 80% or 90% humidity.

I don't have a hotel recommendation, but I would still use Lyft for transportation to the port. Here's why I use Lyft... I agree with @SpeedNoodles about treatment of their drivers and that is the main reason for me. The secondary reason is they give discounts. You can get a promo code for $5 off your first three rides with Lyft (I think) when you sign up for an account with them. They also have a discount with Mastercard where you get a discount off a ride after every 5 rides. I don't remember how to activate that one, though. I got in the a notification from either my credit card or the Lyft app. I don't remember.

That statement is blasphemy in my part of the world, my friend.

Warning... unpopular opinion coming... I like lobster, but I don't like them onboard. They are tough and not great flavor. I would take the Shrimp and Grits dish on this menu all day over the lobster night lobster.

Depending on how they cook it, that lobster is going to be wrecked by the time it is served. When I make seafood gumbo, I cook my shrimp or crab separately and add it in per serving because it turns to mush if it sits in the gumbo for too long. Chicken and sausage hold up just fine, but not seafood.

As a child of the South who's ancestry is Cajun, the only thing on the menu that makes me say "what tha??" is lobster in Gumbo. Who tha heck puts lobster in Gumbo? Gumbo literally comes from people having to cook what they could get their hands on in a soup to make it palatable. As my people would say... There ain't no lobster in da swamp, sha.

150 Central Park would also be our choice as well. We've eaten at Chops on each of our 4 cruises with Royal and we enjoy it. However, 150 CP was amazing! While we've never had bad service at Chops, our server at 150 CP was outstanding.

My thought process never included working for the cruise line, but working (teaching in my case) online while onboard. I currently teach adjunct for a local community college and have 9 years before I can retire from my K-12 position. I would love to be able to continue to teach online while spending much of the year onboard. However, I don't think Texas Teacher Retirement System's pension will afford me that luxury... need to find another side hustle.

Living in Houston is not much different than Florida when it comes to climate and hurricanes. Our Generac is a life saver. Funny enough, the first time it was really tested was the snowpocalypse last February when the Texas electrical grid collapsed. I'm a Gulf Coast girl, so I'll take 90+ degrees and 100+ mph winds over snow and ice any day.

We didn't have any delays flying into Miami out of Houston, but we did have a delay flying back. You might look at flying into Ft. Lauderdale. I just looked at 4/15 and there's a 8:10 departure nonstop out of Love. It's a 40 min. drive from FLL to Port of Miami and Lyft estimate is showing about $100 for it.

I would highly recommend flying in the night before for a whole host of reasons, but the biggest being flight delays. You are taking a huge chance of missing the ship if you fly in the morning of your cruise. We were there in December and stayed at the Intercontinental Hotel on Biscayne Bay. You can see the cruise terminal from your room if your room faces the bay. We used Lyft to get from the airport to the hotel and then from the hotel to the terminal. We have also stayed at the Holiday Inn Port of Miami-Downtown. It's older, but was fine and just across the street from Bayside Marketplace.

We are looking at the Kissimmee area, eventually. We have to wait until I retire from public school in 9-10 years. We are also a military family, so being close to a "good" VA hospital and relatively close to an exchange is important. Besides cruising, Disney is big for us, so being close to the Mouse is a priority. I'm ready to get my Florida resident AP pass. Our timeshare program also has locations in Orlando and Cape Canaveral, so Kissimmee puts us close to both. However, if money wasn't an issue, we would buy in Key West tomorrow. LOL!

Oh my goodness, that Barbie stateroom made my eyes hurt and I like the color pink.

You do have the option of the Aquarium at the Kemah Boardwalk if y'all decide you want to do it. However, there are tons of food options near your hotel if y'all decide to just skip it this time. If you want something casual, I highly recommend Mia's Table @ Bay Area Blvd. & I-45. It's typical comfort food, but really good.

During shutdown, Stitch Fix ran a commercial using music very similar to the old, pre-COVID "Come Seek" campaign. Every time I had my back to the TV and heard it, I would turn around excited to see Royal. However, it was always followed with sadness and disappointment at just dumb clothes. "Stupid Stitch Fix!" was said many times in my house over those months.