KristiZ

They can likely at least seat you at tables next to each other. To be honest, 2-3 tables might be preferable -- it's too hard to talk to people if you're all in a long line at one table! You could rotate each night so you get a chance to visit with everyone at least once. Just my opinion ?

Personally, I ask the staff what they recommend -- sometimes the specific bartenders have a "specialty" or two. If you like sweeter stuff, go for things like Midori Collins or rum & coke. Also, the wine isn't that bad ?

So many variables can factor in, but here are a few: The ship itself might arrive at port earlier or later than planned -- things like weather, availability of a pilot, delayed departure of a prior ship, etc, etc -- so the arrival times noted are always just a plan, not a promise If the ship has to clear customs in the port, getting off the ship can be delayed (or not -- if the ship arrives early, that helps sometimes) The bigger the ship, the longer it takes, generally if they can use more than one door for disembarking, that speeds things along Tendering will always take longer than walking off. Especially since people with Royal-purchased excursions will have priority for spots on the tender (as will some others like Key or Pinnacle or Suite guests, usually). Plan an extra 20+ minutes at least if you have to tender. The Cruise Compass will often give you an estimated time for the tender process Returning to the ship, you "must" be there at least a few minutes prior to All Aboard. HOWEVER, because things happen, most people plan to be there 15-60 minutes prior depending on their personal stress tolerance ? I'm sure others will have more to say!

Cons: Often a bit more expensive, sometimes crowded Pros: Super easy -- no searching out the meeting spot somewhere off ship, sometimes exclusive access (like to a museum that is closed to the general public that day)

Hi! Welcome to the boards! I was on a similar route last March, and I know there are several others on the board who have done those islands. We took Royal excursions on our trip, but I think it would also have been easy to do your own thing in all those places. My favorite thing was the Advanced Snorkel on Mystery Island. One bit of advice, in case you're not Australian -- all those islands will take AUD for buying things, but very rarely will they take USD. Didn't occur to me until we were already on our way. Oops! ?

When is your cruise? If it is soon, your cruise documents will tell you which terminal will be used. If you're farther out, you may need to do some sleuthing on the various port websites. Likely it will be the new international terminal, but it will depend on the other ship traffic on the specific day.

Your paperwork/receipt from Air2Sea will show your actual airline confirmation number. Use that to access your reservation directly with the carrier and confirm you have seats (you probably do). Then use it again at 24 hours prior to actually check in and print your boarding passes.

I have done some recent cruising around the region, including S Pacific last March. I find there are cruise planner discounts offered, often (but not always) around the same time as they come up in North America. As for drink package pricing -- right now seems to be one of those times Royal is doing an across-the-board increase in prices ? I'm not sure we will ever see $49USD per night again. I hope I'm wrong. The "new normal" should shake out in the next 3-4 weeks. There is often a sale the first week in September so watch for that!

Yes, unfortunately the rule is pretty opaque and I think it has changed over time. Your nationality and country of residence definitely impact how it is handled. For example, in my case I flew in from South Korea and out to Japan and it was allowed. Your flight connection city can also impact this — if you make a connection on your way home it is easy to meet the transit requirement. To be honest the whole thing was stressful, not knowing for certain if it would work!

I have done the visa-exempt thing in Shanghai. The kicker (at least for Americans) is that it is a “transit” visa — you cannot, for example, fly in from the US, stay 2 days, and fly back to the US. You would have to go somewhere else upon departure, like Japan, South Korea, etc before returning to the US. Hope that helps!

It's vacation, and that's what the babysitting services on Royal are for! ? You can have "date night" there!

Personally I would spend all your time in Rome — there is plenty to see in such a short time and then you will save on transportation costs.

When we have traveled with a group, we usually spend a few minutes after dinner each night looking at the next day’s cruise compass and discussing plans. Usually at least one person has a strong desire to do one activity or another. That activity becomes the focus of our meeting times. Not that everyone does it, by any means, but we schedule checkins around it. Does that make sense? Sometimes on sea days we just plan to meet at dinner. Also, you’d be surprised at how often you run into one another even on the big ships!

Unlikely in Ho Chi Minh. Nha Trang will be your best bet. Are you wondering about Royal excursions, or just diving at all with a third party tour?

This is my favorite suite benefit!!

Personally I regularly use Next Cruise and have been very happy with the results - The past few years I've been sailing almost exclusively in Asia and Australia/South Pacific. These regions have far fewer sales and promotions, so Next Cruise is sometimes our only shot at either a deal or decent OBC. (Also no kids, so the KSF promotion doesn't help us anyway) - If you go to Next Cruise after having done some research, with specific requests, they are always pleased to help you -- every single time I get "wow, you really know what you want! That makes it so easy!" and then they're super helpful with the small details. - Once, we actually won the $500 off our current cruise bill that they offer for booking early! After that, they pretty much have you hooked into booking the first day! haha!

You're just still to early for your second one. There are rarely any sales more than 6-9 months out. It will happen! ?

Me too! ?

DH is a rum snob. From *extensive* research on his part, he would say that the definition of good rum depends completely on what kind of drink you're going to put it in. His personal favorite, for drinking neat or with coke and lime, is Ron Zacapa 23. In a frozen drink, a spiced rum holds up better, and he likes Kraken or Bayou Spiced. In a mojito, a clear rum is best, like Flor de Cana 4 or Mount Gay Silver. I could go on... but that's already probably more than you wanted to know!

One thing to think about with the connecting rooms and the tiny humans -- if one is trying to nap you can be in the other room with the second (likely completely-uninterested-in-napping-at-the-same-time) child and everyone will be happier. Also, the second bathroom is worth at least $500, in my opinion ?

Sneakers were totally fine, although it might matter more if you’re very early or late in the season. More likely to be a bit muddy in spots.

Yes, two summers ago. It was lovely, and not difficult.

Yes, the only way I would do Chichen Itza on a cruise is if I flew from near the port. Sometimes there have been excursions that offer this option but it is certainly more expensive. If you have not seen many Mayan ruins before, Tulum is quite impressive.

You are correct -- just pick one person. Then you'll be able to log in with two devices at a time and it won't matter who they belong to.

Yep! (Same as the drink card that gets offered sometimes onboard)