Zambia-Zaire

My wife & I really enjoyed Dunn's River Falls...love the energy from the people chaperoning the tour, which what made it so fun & enjoyable. The Grotto Caves was also part of the excursion...the tubing excursion was sold out at the time we booked the excursion. However, I must say, the guide we had was not only just informative & presented a wealth of knowledge about the history of the Grotto caves; he was tremendously hilarious & entertaining with impressions & sense of humor.  

My wife & I really enjoyed Dunn's River Falls...love the energy from the people chaperoning the tour, which what made it so fun & enjoyable. The Grotto Caves was also part of the excursion...the tubing excursion was sold out at the time we booked the excursion. However, I must say, the guide we had was not only just informative & presented a wealth of knowledge about the history of the Grotto caves; he was tremendously hilarious & entertaining with impressions & sense of humor.  

The more I thought about it today, the more I can see the point of those that booked 2020 sailings and getting just $50 in lieu of the perks. Yes, $50 is better than nothing, but it would have been a better transition away from this if they just said "okay, everyone that booked as of today gets it and that's it."

These boardwalk/central park view staterooms are nothing but glorified interior cabins. Without the perks, they should cost just a little bit more than interior rooms.
Like @elizbit said, privacy is a major concern.  At least in an ocean view stateroom, the curtains can be left open most of the time.

Going on the Symphony of the seas, end of October. Where is your favourite place onboard and why?

WoW....Pink Flamingos! Odyssey really stepping it up. ?

Any RC ship sailing Mexican Riviera is welcome!!!!!!!!
3&4 night sailings even better as it would give us Westcoast peeps an opportunity for short getaways that the Floridians enjoy!

Well, I'm not gonna lie...I prefer they replace it with the Bamboo Room.
@CGTLH looks like all 4 cabins 14126, 14128 & 14526, 14528 will share the wings as balconies. 

There is a lot going on around the ship but I'll be back soon enough so I'm not doing the ship's entertainment staff justice.  I'll post the Cruise Compasses once I get home to scan them in properly.
Outside for a walk on the Promenade deck there were a lot of stars visible.  That made me pull out my night sky photography app and see where the Milky Way might be tonight. Sure enough...
Majesty has these shelves along the forward section of the Promenade deck that worked great for my little tripod.

While we were well past sunset the long exposure catches enough light coming over the horizon to make it look like a sunset.  The lights of a city were on the horizon to starboard.
The big dipper was very prominent tonight.  It stood out more with the naked eye compared to this 10 second exposure.

In this one I caught a passing airplane with it's strobe light flashing every second.

For this one I setup on the floor of the deck trying to get into the shade of those Windjammer lights.  In the darkness of the forward deck I got some strange looks as random guests walking past were wondering what I was doing crouched down low in the dark.  Oh well, all in the name of taking a picture.

All in all not bad.  Majesty like Empress is also a good ship for stargazing with it's dark forward Promenade deck.

I guess that's their way of justifying not taking a cruise....
You will be able to give them first hand info when you get back!
Enjoy your cruise!

Surprising, a bunch of preconceived opinions with little basis in fact.  Did you ask them if they'd like to join you?

If they mention getting sick from the food... ask them where they last went out to eat at. (then look at them with a very judgmental look)
If the mention getting stranded... tell them, you would much rather get stranded on a luxury cruise ship than stuck on the Tarmac of an airport. 
If they mention people missing... tell them happens everyday on the city streets. Rarely on cruises. 
If they mention crime and sickness... same as walking into a Walmart. 
Stuck in a storm.... Cruise ships will avoid storms... they have something called navigation. lol
 
Finally... ask them how many cruises they have been on. Then stare at them in judgement again. :-)

Different people have opinions about everything, thats whats great ,we are allowed to have opinions.  Personally I have opinions about certain types of travel, hotel brands, specific places in the world etc.  The great thing is they are just that, my opinions and other people can have their own and we should all be able to get along happily ever after. :)

You should share with them Matt's podcast #284 - Reasons people avoid going on a cruise (and why they are wrong)   
I'm assuming people who say things like that have never been on a cruise themselves (like my brother in law!).  Don't let them get to you and have a fabulous first cruise and many more to you!

We sailed to Key West and the Bahamas several years ago, only it was on a big Carnival ship (the Magic, I believe) and we sailed from either New Orleans or Galveston.  I enjoyed the change-of-pace from Cozumel, Roatan, and Belize, and since then, I have been rather hoping to set sail to visit Key West again, without having to fly to Florida.  We will also get to see Coco Cay - I doubt that we will pay extra for the water park (we are 2 ole fogies, lol) but it will be fun to explore the island, having never been there before.
So, yesterday I booked a cabin for myself and hubby on the Majesty of the Seas.Technically not a new ship, but definitely new to us, and we have enjoyed cruises on smaller, older ships. 
We are set to sail from New Orleans in December 2020. 
 

Normally you will find Jodi and I at the Schooner, but this time just look for us at Playmakers.  Very excited about that.  

I really like the Playmakers bar, I hope that becomes a standard on all ships.  One thing I always felt was lacking on my cruises was a good setting for watching games.  We usually cruise during the NFL season, but the accommodations haven't always been the best for watching.  There's nothing like a great sports venue with fans from many teams watching with each other.

Thanks dude...you take some amazing pics...big fan of your twilight pics. ?

10 seconds with a small tripod. 
Full details here:
https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/boards/index.php?/topic/14213-empress-b2b-14-nights-on-the-biggest-little-ship-july-2019/&do=findComment&comment=144333
 
 

Most of us are rather disappointed with the addition of the Bionic Bar. However, I sincerely wish Royal would have swapped the Champagne bar to the Bamboo Room. I like the atmosphere & modern Tiki style...that I think bold well with the overall ambiance of the Promenade.
As far as Hooked...I agree with WaaayTooo, that would be my new favorite specialty spot. Missed opportunity by Royal, imo.

I’ve seen the 20oz powerades and yes they are included with the drink package. We usually get one of those and a water when getting off the ship. 

My wife drinks I don't, so I have to call Royal and book hers and then I get the refreshment package so I can get mocktails.
If you try and do it online it will try and force you to get it for both, thus the telephone call. 

This refurb seems oddly similar to Adventure of the Seas refurb... interesting that Nav and Mariner got such exquisite upgrades and Adventure and Voyager not as much...

Well one thing for sure...it would be wonderful news to truly hear Liberty ots, based on the West Coast. 

Well one thing for sure...it would be wonderful news to truly hear Liberty ots, based on the West Coast.