Jedi Jason

You would have a great time on that cruise.  There aren't hidden costs that are going to make up that price difference.  The only additional cost would be sodas are not included on Royal.  Otherwise, enjoy the value the you will find on RCCL and book that cruise.

Matt actually referenced this in the most recent podcast for Brilliance.  It cant hurt to ask.  Go in expecting the no but be delighted if they say yes (in regards to the embarkation lunch).  Simply state "I have the ultimate dining package, am I allowed to eat here for lunch" and see what they say.  Some may be very strict to their rules and say no, but some may be rule benders and say yes without hesitation.  

I buy the Ultimate dining package for every sailing including 3 night Mariner sailings. They always let me use it for lunch on the First day as long as the restaurant is open. There was one time when oddly the restaurants weren't open for the first day. 

Hi,
My wife, Sacha, and I have enjoyed Royal Caribbean and cruising dating back to 2012 when we first sailed on Explorer of the Seas.  Currently we are Diamond members after 15 cruises and all but one with Royal Caribbean (the other on Celebrity).  We have sailed on a variety of ships and itineraries.  We have been on an Alaskan and Mediterranean cruise in addition to our numerous Caribbean cruises.  We slowed down a little on cruising to have two kids because they didn't have nurseries widely available then.  Since then our kids (Logan almost 7 and Makenna 9) have enjoyed the adventure ocean program.  Our kids enjoy cruising as much as we do now and ask about when is our next cruise.  We are looking forward to our couple's cruise in July on Mariner and our family cruise in October on Harmony.  The blog, podcast, live cruise blogs,  live broadcasts etc by @Matt and others have had a positive impact on my cruising.  We now have 4 future cruises booked (a record for us).  We live in the Orlando, Fl area so cruising is a great vacation option for us since we don't need to fly to the port and have multiple ports within a reasonable drive.  We enjoy visiting Disney World when we are not cruising and we are annual pass holders.
Jason Peterson

Thanks so much, Jason!

Very willing to be an insider.  I just joined last month.  There is so much great content here and a great community of people that enjoy Royal Caribbean cruising.

We are all jealous of @Matt  He is on a cruise without his kids, day drinking and napping and we are not.

Very willing to be an insider.  I just joined last month.  There is so much great content here and a great community of people that enjoy Royal Caribbean cruising.

Royal has a really good sale going on now. 
 

We are all jealous of @Matt  He is on a cruise without his kids, day drinking and napping and we are not.

I think @Matt‘s live blog has convinced me to seriously look into this cruise as an option for a short getaway for just the wife and I. Living in Orlando makes this an attractive alternative to the Bahamas weekend cruise or any other short vacation. 

You gotta try it. Find a sailing that’s reasonably priced and go for it.  If you book more than 9 months in advance, prices are usually very low.

I can’t say enough good things about being able to enjoy a weekend getaway cruise just to mix things up and be a good buffer between true vacations.  Really helps in the notion of “getting away from it all” for a bit.  

Also got a family cruise booked for October 20, 2019 on Harmony 7 night Western Caribbean.  We have 11 total people going.

Did run up for a few shots between servings at dinner.

Drink card is alive and well!

We have not decided to afford a suite.  It always seemed to be a significant cost increase from our typical balcony room which we book mostly for the extra space and a space for the adults to hang out when the kids the asleep without having to be too quiet.  I haven't been lucky enough to find a suite at what I thought was a minimal cost increase over a balcony room.  

We are all jealous of @Matt  He is on a cruise without his kids, day drinking and napping and we are not.

next cruise is July 12, 2019 on Mariner 3 nights,  our 18th anniversary the day we return July 15

Great sunset photos, @Matt  Thanks for sharing