kadmgs

I agree. Central Park is pretty busy on formal night. The reverse thinking on this is that there will more than likely be a ship photographer near by that you can take pictures with. You could even speak with the photo people to see if they would be in on it with you. There is an option to buy a private photo session with a photographer. You could tell you're girlfriend you won a free session and you thought pictures together in Central Park would be nice. You could do the whole, "Oops, I dropped my seapass card" drop to your knee to it pick up trick, all while the photographer is snapping away. 

I agree. Central Park is pretty busy on formal night. The reverse thinking on this is that there will more than likely be a ship photographer near by that you can take pictures with. You could even speak with the photo people to see if they would be in on it with you. There is an option to buy a private photo session with a photographer. You could tell you're girlfriend you won a free session and you thought pictures together in Central Park would be nice. You could do the whole, "Oops, I dropped my seapass card" drop to your knee to it pick up trick, all while the photographer is snapping away. 

I agree. Central Park is pretty busy on formal night. The reverse thinking on this is that there will more than likely be a ship photographer near by that you can take pictures with. You could even speak with the photo people to see if they would be in on it with you. There is an option to buy a private photo session with a photographer. You could tell you're girlfriend you won a free session and you thought pictures together in Central Park would be nice. You could do the whole, "Oops, I dropped my seapass card" drop to your knee to it pick up trick, all while the photographer is snapping away. 

I agree. Central Park is pretty busy on formal night. The reverse thinking on this is that there will more than likely be a ship photographer near by that you can take pictures with. You could even speak with the photo people to see if they would be in on it with you. There is an option to buy a private photo session with a photographer. You could tell you're girlfriend you won a free session and you thought pictures together in Central Park would be nice. You could do the whole, "Oops, I dropped my seapass card" drop to your knee to it pick up trick, all while the photographer is snapping away. 

I agree. Central Park is pretty busy on formal night. The reverse thinking on this is that there will more than likely be a ship photographer near by that you can take pictures with. You could even speak with the photo people to see if they would be in on it with you. There is an option to buy a private photo session with a photographer. You could tell you're girlfriend you won a free session and you thought pictures together in Central Park would be nice. You could do the whole, "Oops, I dropped my seapass card" drop to your knee to it pick up trick, all while the photographer is snapping away. 

I agree. Central Park is pretty busy on formal night. The reverse thinking on this is that there will more than likely be a ship photographer near by that you can take pictures with. You could even speak with the photo people to see if they would be in on it with you. There is an option to buy a private photo session with a photographer. You could tell you're girlfriend you won a free session and you thought pictures together in Central Park would be nice. You could do the whole, "Oops, I dropped my seapass card" drop to your knee to it pick up trick, all while the photographer is snapping away. 

Hello everyone,
I've been cruising with Royal Carribean for about 12 years now and absolutely love the cruising life. I plan on proposing to my girlfriend on our planned cruise in September 2022. I was thinking of doing it in Central Park near the flower wall. Does anyone have any suggestions or advice on ideas? I'm open to anything but changing location as I'd like to propose on the ship. I have tried contacting RCCL for help or advice and they haven't been of much help. I appreciate everyone's input. Thanks in advance.

Not to be a matt suck up but when looking at cruise ship content on YouTube , his is heads and tails superior to anything else out there. Matt’s are polished and efficient and not annoying like some of these vlogers. Also kudos to some of the staff writers like Jenna who add helpful articles as well. 

I purchase the arcade every cruise. The purchase is made in cruise planner under my teens name, she knows it's a 50.00 limit and it's tethered to her sea pass card. She keeps track and asserts there is a clear way in the arcade to see your balance. Now. IF she goes over the charges are there on her seapass card, I keep an eye for this also. 
We pay 40.00 she gets 50.00 of play and if she goes over it's usually 2.00 to 5.00. She is 15 and enjoys the independence of it. Our last sailing she was with a friend so we did the 80.00/100.00 play package. 
She struggled to spend the credits on the Odyssey she didn't like that arcade.  We always purchase before we sail.
OMG I asked her how she finds out her balance. " I GO TO THE CASINO!" Oh brother I had no idea. Now I'm going to look into this arcade credit promotion above!🤦‍♀️

Awesome info! I’m not sure if I have a euro plug adapter but I definitely have one for the UK, if these are the same or if there’s also a UK plug. I know all about the voltage requirements, having fried a blow dryer in the past when traveling abroad! 🙂 And I already got a nice set of binoculars ready to go. Thanks again you guys! The information about the Internet and phone usage is especially helpful.

I agree with Andy. The bathroom really is a big upgrade for us compared to non-suite rooms. Not tripping over bags and/or anything else because of the closet is a bonus as well. 

I agree with Andy. The bathroom really is a big upgrade for us compared to non-suite rooms. Not tripping over bags and/or anything else because of the closet is a bonus as well. 

I agree with Andy. The bathroom really is a big upgrade for us compared to non-suite rooms. Not tripping over bags and/or anything else because of the closet is a bonus as well. 

I want to be clear on this, though. I did not feel that the staff overall was an issue. Overall, I felt like the staff was relatively plentiful. I can think of several examples (guest services, Coco Cay bars and food stands, rock climbing wall, Adventure Ocean, bingo, just off the top of my head) where I was honestly surprised to see so many workers there. And I felt the staff was honestly very friendly and enthusiastic. At no point did I get the impression people were unhappy or unhelpful or rude.
My primary complaint was about the food. .But if I did have one complaint about staffing it's that specifically in the MDR, both our waiter and our server's assistant were less interactive and attentive and, frankly, didn't speak great English. 

WJ has been closed for a couple afternoon hours on every cruise I’ve been on🤷‍♀️.  3-5ish they close for turnover.  If you want food at that time, we’ve always had to hit one of the smaller snack venues.

I thought the Windjammer always closes a few hours. It has been that way on every sailing I did since restart. It would close around 3:30/4 and open for dinner at 6pm to 9ish

During a live blog on YouTube in January, I asked Matt what kind of boarding/disembarking assistance Royal had for those with physical impairmentsI. I asked because I was scheduled for (and had) a total knee replacement on Feb 8th. But we were also scheduled to board Allure in Fort Lauderdale on Mar 13
Matt advised to contact Royal and ask for Pier Assist. So I did that through my trusty MEI travel agent (shout out to Kelley Hardy)
What I can tell you is it was a true revalation in customer service. We found the Pier Assist spot very easily and I was promptly popped into a wheelchair for boarding. My "driver" couid not have been better.  Sheryl and I were whisked through the security process in record time, and were quickly taken to the transition point. This is where a member of Allure's crew took over and had me onboard in a few moments, depositing me outside Cafe Promenade until our cabin was ready.
Shortly thereafter, remembering the words of my physiotherapist (motion is lotion), although I had the option to retain the wheelchair for the whole cruise, I made the somewhat erroneous decision to return the wheelchair to guest services. (I can be an idiot if I want to and this occassion was no exception).
Prior to disembarking, we confirmed with guest services how pier assist worked for ship to shore. On the day we arrived at the appropriate spot on the promenade, once more deposited into a wheelchair. This time it was down to the transition point with a member of crew, and picked up by a wheelchair driver from the terminal who zipped us through customs and immigration and all the way to the car.
Huge Kudos to all involved. From Matt to Kelley, then the staff at the terminal and of course, the ships company of Allure. I thank you one and all for enhancing what was a difficult time for both myself and Sheryl.  Sheryl of course takes the prize
 

Like a Grand and Miraculous cruise ship, our passengers has sailed through the universe of fun; and for a brief moment we have been among it’s passengers.

NCL is far from all inclusive.  It may appear through their marketing tactics that they are much competitive than Royal but that is only until you get onboard. I've cruised with NCL several times and I've found they nickel and dime you a lot more once onboard than Royal Caribbean does especially on their newer ships.  Things that you think are included in the base cruise fare you find out are not included and you have to pay extra to enjoy them once onboard.  I know Royal does this as well but NCL takes the cake in my opinion with it comes to onboard hidden charges. Free to Sea may seem like it is a great deal before you get on the cruise it isn't until after you on the ship you realize what Free to Sea covers and what it does not and believe me there is a LOT free to sea does not cover or is excluded from free to sea and you have to pay more and most times you don't find out until you are there at the venue. And don't be fooled by the free Wifi that free Wifi basically only lets you check emails, send emails, look at very basic websites. If you want Wifi like what you find on a Royal Caribbean ship you have to pay extra but if you don't know that before boarding the ship and you need "real" Wifi not the free Wifi now you have to pay full price for "real" Wifi once onboard the ship. The free to sea program a great marketing tool in my opinion but nothing more than that.
Royal in most cases charges more up front than NCL but in my experience I've always ended up paying for it on the back end on a NCL cruise. I'd rather pay more upfront and know what I'm getting than pay less and be nickeled and dimmed once onboard. This is just another reason why I'm more loyal to Royal than NCL or other cruise lines as well.

I would stay in the Clear Lake/Webster area. It is much safer and about half way between Hobby and Galveston. Uber/Lyft from Hobby to this area isn't bad at all. 

Mmmhmm. Helpful. 😐
But for those that want to hit the hot human marinade tubs (and or/pool?); does anyone have experience with how chemical-y they are? 

A couple weeks ago some Galveston based hotels were pretty reasonable.  There are also towns about halfway between Galveston and Hobby that have decent hotel options.

I appreciate your candor.  I think we all can only assume, guess, whatever until they, Royal, actually publishes it's detail plans or until the first guest is allowed into the area.  As I've stated earlier, I don't think this beach will have as much of an impact as anticipated.  Families will still flock to the waterpark, the very popular snack bars and the most popular attractions/locations on the island.  I can only imagine what the island will look like, during a time when kids aren't in school, when two Oasis Class ships or One Oasis Class and one Quantum Class ship are at the island on the same day.  That's potentially, in the neighborhood of close to 13,000 people on the island.   
But, again, thanks for your candor.
 

As Ashley said, an additional food option is an assumption. I would expect them to increase food options with another snack shack location or the like due to increased capacity. I thought I read the area would include a pool, but I may be confusing it with something else. Regardless, it would still give a more quiet location without kids and increase capacity of the island.