CruisingKitty

Matt's podcast is great on remembering or knowing what to take for a cruise. we also pack "door art" to liven up the hallway walk and be able to find the room easily.

I decided to celebrate my 40th birthday with my first ever cruise! My birthday is in August, but I decided to go in June. Oasis of the Seas, leaving June 7th from New Jersey. Anyone else going?
I appreciate Brock with M.E.I. Travel for helping me. He'll probably be sick of all my questions by cruise time! ?

I am far from being a water snob but I will have to say that it is actually pretty good to me.  The wife did not want to go the YETI route the last few cruises but after she saw the ease of it all, she quickly became a fan.  

Would have to be a hell of a defect, he stuck his head though the opening a minute or so before holding the child up to it
If his short term memory is that bad I wouldn't let him watch over my pen, never mind a kid

I'm reading an essay in The New Yorker by Atul Gawande about brain function, and it says, ". . . visual perception is more than ninety per cent memory and less than ten per cent sensory nerve signals." Also, "The mind integrates scattered, weak, rudimentary signals from a variety of sensory channels, information from past experiences, and hard-wired processes, and produces a sensory experience full of brain-provided color, sound, texture, and meaning." and the bottom line, "Perception is inference."
We know this to be true. "Green" is only what our brains tell us, not necessarily what's out there. Maybe Grandpa really thought there was glass there, because of a defect in his neuro-perception or the information stored in his brain. 
Still, that's not RCCL's fault. RC cannot know what defects of thinking a passenger might have. So maybe it was just an unavoidable tragedy that's no one's fault. In time the family will catch on to the fact that Grandpa often doesn't know what's in front of him.
Poor Grandpa. Poor Chloe. Poor family. It's just sad all around. But certainly not RCCL's fault!!!!!!!!!!!

I hope so – I love Dateline! One of the things I love about it is the guilty party is always found out and pays the penalty.

Knowing what I do about the legal system and the way people's minds work, I predict that if Grandpa is found guilty in the criminal trial (and I hope he is), the family will cry, "Unfair!" and they'll appeal, and forever believe that it was RCCL's fault. It's far more comfortable than accepting the truth, which is too horrible.
I wonder how Grandma and Grandpa's marriage is doing, and how it was before this. If I felt like spending a couple of years writing a novel, I can cook up a terrific backstory here!
 

Based on the height of the railing I would say one of the reasons it is there is prevent adults from leaning out the windows and falling out. Reason enough not to put a child up there.
Also when the window is open you can see all the window runners so I suspect if you asked 10,000 adults 9,999 would be able to tell it was open.
 

This information accompanied with the video, and the photo from @F1guynz reminds me of how much room is there!  I never doubted that RCCL was not at fault especially when you are able to see the tinting to the windows, and decipher which windows are open or closed even from being on land.  As has already been mentioned it is not hard to tell which ones are open or closed when you are onboard due to the noise level as well as the wind.  Both which the grandfather should have heard, and felt prior to him even sticking his head out of the window as the video shows.  At this point there is NO justification for what he has done and he and his family need to come to the realization that none of this is going to bring their precious daughter back.  They need to spend as much time healing from this horrible tragedy as they are putting into trying to defame/blame RCCL!!!  

This is a photo I found of the railing in relation to the window.

 

So now the family wants the CCTV recorded images of the tragedy dropped because the CCTV camera lied! They want to continue to insist that window ledge on the 11th floor of the ship is a baby play area! And the grandpa who is supposedly working as IT man and drives cars, cannot tell whether the window is open? If the video gets thrown out and he gets acquitted, I think our justice system would need total overhaul. They are all for the money before even the child body turn cold. He should go to jail and the parents should get nothing!

Agreed, grasping for straws when there are none...

It just checked the schedule for the entire year and there are two days where they have 4 ships scheduled.  I have never been there, but logistically, how can they do this?
Here is a list of 3 and 4 calling ships at Coco Cay as of 1/17/20 as provided by https://www.cruisetimetables.com/cruises-to-coco-cay-bahamas.html
27 January 2020
24 February 2020
02 April 2020
09 April 2020
16 April 2020
30 April 2020
20 May 2020
27 May 2020
03 June 2020
17 June 2020
30 June 2020 - Four ship.
07 July 2020 - Four ship.
14 July 2020
28 July 2020
09 September 2020
07 October 2020

EXACTLY what I was thinking.

Have you considered using a good travel agent who can fight these battles for you?

Welcome to the forums!
Every insurance policy is different, so you have to decide what you want and find a policy that covers what you expect it to cover.  If I recall, the insurance you purchase through RCCL does not cover your flight, etc, which is one reason I go with someone else.  I have a good working relationship with tripinsurance.com (the poor owner has held my hand through several purchases when I didn't understand something), but there are many places to get trip insurance.  Just be sure you read it and know what it covers and what it doesn't.
Also check out @Matt's podcast about trip insurance here:
https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/podcast/episode-315-travel-insurance-101

You might as well try it if you have the UDP.  It can be quite the food adventure if you're into that.  Make a super early reservation for Wonderland and a super late reservation somewhere else..then you have a backup if the food isn't to your liking and you need something more to eat  ? 

Good point, @DBeas0106!  That personal touch/contact counts for so much.  On our last cruise, it was a full ship charter (on the Brilliance), and the bartenders (and wait staff, and stewards) were all sporting Harley Davidson shirts by the second day of the cruise (it's one of our traditions to bring shirts for the crew) -- and they loved it!

I’m with @KenCP being a creature of habit myself, I know the bars I will be frequenting and always treat the bartenders in those location(s) well earlier in the cruise and have a conversation with them. Afteralll, they are humans - not to hijack the topic, or get on a soapbox - it’s good to remember.  
 
I would also say not to forget the non-alcoholic perks of the unlimited package the fresh juice in the morning, the premium coffees, and always add a water to your drink order. I extras can be taken back to the room or on excursions 

I usually asked for less-the bar tenders used to laugh at me!  I guess I am somewhat of a lightweight, but I do like to at least see the color of the mixer!  I had a couple of Mimosas and if the bar tender waved the oj over the glass, that was all he did!  I also had some daiquiris that were VERY pale.   

I had the deluxe drink package and I always asked for double jack and coke without ever paying for anything extra.

In my experience the pours are generally very generous 

i found on my last cruise that I tipped the bartenders at the start of the cruise and I always got more than one shot without asking for it to be strong shot.

We just had a similar situation - Booked  Harmony for Feb 2020 and nothing available but MTD.  Not to worry, Its not the end of the discussion.  I called Royal Caribbean's 800 number a couple of times a few days apart, and the 3rd time I got an agent that said, wait a minute, let me see if I can get that opened up for you.  Came back on the line a couple of minutes later and said I got it for you! 
I suspect you should call a few times, making your case.  Be specific about what you want, and maybe an agent will go the extra mile and help you.  It worked for me.  By the way, I always ask RC's agent to send me an updated copy of the "Cruise Vacation Receipt" because it will show the updates. 

I wonder if grandpa has ever come back to his car in a snow storm and found his car full of snow because he didn't know his window was open?
Probably has a wicked air conditioning bill in the summer when the windows in the house are open.  
Drive through restaurants must be a PITA for him.  Is the window open or not?  So confusing.
Is he a Mac IT professional because Windows seems to give him a lot of trouble.