MorganMichelle2001

If you bring and use your own corkscrew, then it's not even a charge for them pulling the cork out.
The correct name of the fee ought to be, "Hey, we're trying to sell wine here, okay? If you insist on bringing your own aboard, okay, we'll let you, but we have to make a little money on it, okay?"
Hmmm... I guess I was a little heavy on the "okay"s. Sue me, okay?  ?
(On the other hand, I have to be honest. When I was on Mariner in July 2018, they opened both bottles (one each on two different nights) and didn't charge me for either one.)

Testing how to add photos from my phone. This was me and the hubby on Reflection in Aug 2018!

While I am a new Royal Caribbean Blog poster, I have been a quiet voyeur on the page for almost one year! We booked our Spring Break family cruise back in May of 2018 during a Kids Sail Free event. Man, did we score an amazing deal! Oasis Class was not in our price range, but the sale was too good to pass up. We are anxiously awaiting (T minus 12 days) our first family vacation (excluding Disney with the whole extended family 2 years ago). 
About us: My husband and I are in our mid/late thirties, and we love to travel. We’ve been on vacation together almost once/per year since we started dating almost 13 years ago. We enjoy going to warm, tropical locations (since we live in a frozen-tundra: Minnesota). I cruised with my family when I was in college and absolutely fell in LOVE with cruising, but, ironically, haven’t been on a second cruise until August of 2018. We already had our March 2019 Spring Break booked and, Surprise! My husband earned President’s Club through his work, and we were treated to a 5-night Italian Cruise on Celebrity Reflection (ADP chartered the entire ship- it was an absolutely unbelievable experience). That was my husband’s first time cruising. He is a rather tall/big drink of water, and his hesitation with cruises in the past was the size of the room/bathroom and feeling claustrophobic. He had NO issues on our Presidents Club cruise and really enjoyed the experience (though it will be very different cruising on a 100% booked Mega Ship @ Spring Break).
We have a seven-year-old son who will be celebrating his eighth birthday on the second day of the cruise, which he is rather excited about. We also have a five-year-old daughter who is an absolute joy, a social butterfly if there ever was one (don’t be surprised if she befriends you and your children at the pool or Adventure Ocean). We normally do adults-only vacations- when our kids were little it was imperative for us to take time to connect as a couple, and we are blessed with amazing parents who BEG to take their grandkids for the week! During our last AO trip in March 2018, I found myself missing the kids like crazy! They are not babies anymore, much easier to go out and do things with (plus SO MUCH FUN to hang out with), and decided that they are old enough to start taking on our “relaxation” vacations. We know this vacation will be more “work” than AO, and we will have times of stress and chaos, but I know we will have an amazing time as a family.
We are flying into Miami on Saturday, March 9th. We booked The Key, so we plan to be at the port as early as possible to board/start enjoying the ship right away! We do not have any specialty dining plans (other than Chops with The Key), and only a beach excursion booked for St. Maarten (Orient and Maho beach). Other than that we plan to hang out as a family by the pool and around the ship, hopefully the kids will enjoy some time at Adventure Ocean, check out the cruise activities (my son is ALMOST heavy enough to try the zip line!) and eat, drink, and play!
With The Key, we have internet access so I will try my best to post updates LIVE. If nothing else I will update you all when we get back. What else will there be to do in the remaining frozen months of MN winter (no more Cruise planning/daydreaming…might as well reminisce with pictures/write-ups of our adventures!)

Have a blast and I look forward to following along! I will have the Key on Allure in May so I'm especially interested in how you like it on Allure and what to expect (seems certain things are a bit different ship to ship). If you could snap a picture of the Allure Key Chops menu that would be fantastic but no worries if you can't ?

Would love to hear about your experience or tips once you get home! Our kids will be in different age groups for Adventure Ocean but I already asked if it would be possible for her to bump-up to his grade (in case they want to be together; they might enjoy forming their own social groups/circles ?‍♀️) They said they can certainly do that after observing for a while and feeling confident she would do well with the bigger kids. 

My teens have been wandering the ship on their own since they've been in the teen club.  My now 12yo is a bit immature and will have more boundaries whereas my now 15yo didn't have as many boundaries at that age.  Each child is different and so you need to decide what is right for you. What do you do at home?  Can they go to the movies or mall by themselves?  The ship is a relatively small place and as safe as anywhere with some common sense.  Here is what we do:
1.  We have the Voom on everyone's phones (kids and adults).  They check it enough and if you want you can tell them that they need to tell you where they are and tell you when they change locations.  There are places like the slides where they won't have their phone but you can make allowances.
2.  They are never allowed in another person's stateroom.  NEVER!  I don't care if its their new best friend of the same gender on the cruise.  And no one can come in their stateroom.
3.  Never allowed to climb on furniture or lean over the railings.  I get an eye roll when I remind of that rule and they tell me they aren't stupid.
4.  They may not break curfew (whatever you decide curfew to be).  My older kids (not my immature 12 yo)  stick to the ship curfew which is 1am unless we have a shore excursion planned and that is usually midnight.  They need to wake their dad up to say they are back (yes we are lame and can't keep up).  Sounds late but you'll be surprised at how many friends push the curfew.  Many younger teens (12/13 yo) will have an 11-midnight curfew.
5. They need to get their own drinks (water, mocktail, soda).  Teenage girls know why and they should have that rule at home too. 
I think the teens just like to hang out.  They'll meet their new friends at the teen club and wander the ship and talk.  

Following & looking forward to your vacation! ?

Welcome and glad you are going to give a live blog a try!
Having done my first live blog on these forums earlier this month, I found it quite easy, even from a phone.

Will be following from Harmony!!

Just booked Allure yesterday so I will certainly be following. Hope you have a great time

Fellow Minnesotan will be following!!

We'll be getting off Allure as you are getting on!  I'm sorry we'll miss you, it sounds like our 5 year old daughters would get along very well, we have a social butterfly too! She is very excited about Adventure ocean! 

Testing how to add photos from my phone. This was me and the hubby on Reflection in Aug 2018!

While I am a new Royal Caribbean Blog poster, I have been a quiet voyeur on the page for almost one year! We booked our Spring Break family cruise back in May of 2018 during a Kids Sail Free event. Man, did we score an amazing deal! Oasis Class was not in our price range, but the sale was too good to pass up. We are anxiously awaiting (T minus 12 days) our first family vacation (excluding Disney with the whole extended family 2 years ago). 
About us: My husband and I are in our mid/late thirties, and we love to travel. We’ve been on vacation together almost once/per year since we started dating almost 13 years ago. We enjoy going to warm, tropical locations (since we live in a frozen-tundra: Minnesota). I cruised with my family when I was in college and absolutely fell in LOVE with cruising, but, ironically, haven’t been on a second cruise until August of 2018. We already had our March 2019 Spring Break booked and, Surprise! My husband earned President’s Club through his work, and we were treated to a 5-night Italian Cruise on Celebrity Reflection (ADP chartered the entire ship- it was an absolutely unbelievable experience). That was my husband’s first time cruising. He is a rather tall/big drink of water, and his hesitation with cruises in the past was the size of the room/bathroom and feeling claustrophobic. He had NO issues on our Presidents Club cruise and really enjoyed the experience (though it will be very different cruising on a 100% booked Mega Ship @ Spring Break).
We have a seven-year-old son who will be celebrating his eighth birthday on the second day of the cruise, which he is rather excited about. We also have a five-year-old daughter who is an absolute joy, a social butterfly if there ever was one (don’t be surprised if she befriends you and your children at the pool or Adventure Ocean). We normally do adults-only vacations- when our kids were little it was imperative for us to take time to connect as a couple, and we are blessed with amazing parents who BEG to take their grandkids for the week! During our last AO trip in March 2018, I found myself missing the kids like crazy! They are not babies anymore, much easier to go out and do things with (plus SO MUCH FUN to hang out with), and decided that they are old enough to start taking on our “relaxation” vacations. We know this vacation will be more “work” than AO, and we will have times of stress and chaos, but I know we will have an amazing time as a family.
We are flying into Miami on Saturday, March 9th. We booked The Key, so we plan to be at the port as early as possible to board/start enjoying the ship right away! We do not have any specialty dining plans (other than Chops with The Key), and only a beach excursion booked for St. Maarten (Orient and Maho beach). Other than that we plan to hang out as a family by the pool and around the ship, hopefully the kids will enjoy some time at Adventure Ocean, check out the cruise activities (my son is ALMOST heavy enough to try the zip line!) and eat, drink, and play!
With The Key, we have internet access so I will try my best to post updates LIVE. If nothing else I will update you all when we get back. What else will there be to do in the remaining frozen months of MN winter (no more Cruise planning/daydreaming…might as well reminisce with pictures/write-ups of our adventures!)

While I am a new Royal Caribbean Blog poster, I have been a quiet voyeur on the page for almost one year! We booked our Spring Break family cruise back in May of 2018 during a Kids Sail Free event. Man, did we score an amazing deal! Oasis Class was not in our price range, but the sale was too good to pass up. We are anxiously awaiting (T minus 12 days) our first family vacation (excluding Disney with the whole extended family 2 years ago). 
About us: My husband and I are in our mid/late thirties, and we love to travel. We’ve been on vacation together almost once/per year since we started dating almost 13 years ago. We enjoy going to warm, tropical locations (since we live in a frozen-tundra: Minnesota). I cruised with my family when I was in college and absolutely fell in LOVE with cruising, but, ironically, haven’t been on a second cruise until August of 2018. We already had our March 2019 Spring Break booked and, Surprise! My husband earned President’s Club through his work, and we were treated to a 5-night Italian Cruise on Celebrity Reflection (ADP chartered the entire ship- it was an absolutely unbelievable experience). That was my husband’s first time cruising. He is a rather tall/big drink of water, and his hesitation with cruises in the past was the size of the room/bathroom and feeling claustrophobic. He had NO issues on our Presidents Club cruise and really enjoyed the experience (though it will be very different cruising on a 100% booked Mega Ship @ Spring Break).
We have a seven-year-old son who will be celebrating his eighth birthday on the second day of the cruise, which he is rather excited about. We also have a five-year-old daughter who is an absolute joy, a social butterfly if there ever was one (don’t be surprised if she befriends you and your children at the pool or Adventure Ocean). We normally do adults-only vacations- when our kids were little it was imperative for us to take time to connect as a couple, and we are blessed with amazing parents who BEG to take their grandkids for the week! During our last AO trip in March 2018, I found myself missing the kids like crazy! They are not babies anymore, much easier to go out and do things with (plus SO MUCH FUN to hang out with), and decided that they are old enough to start taking on our “relaxation” vacations. We know this vacation will be more “work” than AO, and we will have times of stress and chaos, but I know we will have an amazing time as a family.
We are flying into Miami on Saturday, March 9th. We booked The Key, so we plan to be at the port as early as possible to board/start enjoying the ship right away! We do not have any specialty dining plans (other than Chops with The Key), and only a beach excursion booked for St. Maarten (Orient and Maho beach). Other than that we plan to hang out as a family by the pool and around the ship, hopefully the kids will enjoy some time at Adventure Ocean, check out the cruise activities (my son is ALMOST heavy enough to try the zip line!) and eat, drink, and play!
With The Key, we have internet access so I will try my best to post updates LIVE. If nothing else I will update you all when we get back. What else will there be to do in the remaining frozen months of MN winter (no more Cruise planning/daydreaming…might as well reminisce with pictures/write-ups of our adventures!)

Testing how to add photos from my phone. This was me and the hubby on Reflection in Aug 2018!

While I am a new Royal Caribbean Blog poster, I have been a quiet voyeur on the page for almost one year! We booked our Spring Break family cruise back in May of 2018 during a Kids Sail Free event. Man, did we score an amazing deal! Oasis Class was not in our price range, but the sale was too good to pass up. We are anxiously awaiting (T minus 12 days) our first family vacation (excluding Disney with the whole extended family 2 years ago). 
About us: My husband and I are in our mid/late thirties, and we love to travel. We’ve been on vacation together almost once/per year since we started dating almost 13 years ago. We enjoy going to warm, tropical locations (since we live in a frozen-tundra: Minnesota). I cruised with my family when I was in college and absolutely fell in LOVE with cruising, but, ironically, haven’t been on a second cruise until August of 2018. We already had our March 2019 Spring Break booked and, Surprise! My husband earned President’s Club through his work, and we were treated to a 5-night Italian Cruise on Celebrity Reflection (ADP chartered the entire ship- it was an absolutely unbelievable experience). That was my husband’s first time cruising. He is a rather tall/big drink of water, and his hesitation with cruises in the past was the size of the room/bathroom and feeling claustrophobic. He had NO issues on our Presidents Club cruise and really enjoyed the experience (though it will be very different cruising on a 100% booked Mega Ship @ Spring Break).
We have a seven-year-old son who will be celebrating his eighth birthday on the second day of the cruise, which he is rather excited about. We also have a five-year-old daughter who is an absolute joy, a social butterfly if there ever was one (don’t be surprised if she befriends you and your children at the pool or Adventure Ocean). We normally do adults-only vacations- when our kids were little it was imperative for us to take time to connect as a couple, and we are blessed with amazing parents who BEG to take their grandkids for the week! During our last AO trip in March 2018, I found myself missing the kids like crazy! They are not babies anymore, much easier to go out and do things with (plus SO MUCH FUN to hang out with), and decided that they are old enough to start taking on our “relaxation” vacations. We know this vacation will be more “work” than AO, and we will have times of stress and chaos, but I know we will have an amazing time as a family.
We are flying into Miami on Saturday, March 9th. We booked The Key, so we plan to be at the port as early as possible to board/start enjoying the ship right away! We do not have any specialty dining plans (other than Chops with The Key), and only a beach excursion booked for St. Maarten (Orient and Maho beach). Other than that we plan to hang out as a family by the pool and around the ship, hopefully the kids will enjoy some time at Adventure Ocean, check out the cruise activities (my son is ALMOST heavy enough to try the zip line!) and eat, drink, and play!
With The Key, we have internet access so I will try my best to post updates LIVE. If nothing else I will update you all when we get back. What else will there be to do in the remaining frozen months of MN winter (no more Cruise planning/daydreaming…might as well reminisce with pictures/write-ups of our adventures!)

Testing how to add photos from my phone. This was me and the hubby on Reflection in Aug 2018!

While I am a new Royal Caribbean Blog poster, I have been a quiet voyeur on the page for almost one year! We booked our Spring Break family cruise back in May of 2018 during a Kids Sail Free event. Man, did we score an amazing deal! Oasis Class was not in our price range, but the sale was too good to pass up. We are anxiously awaiting (T minus 12 days) our first family vacation (excluding Disney with the whole extended family 2 years ago). 
About us: My husband and I are in our mid/late thirties, and we love to travel. We’ve been on vacation together almost once/per year since we started dating almost 13 years ago. We enjoy going to warm, tropical locations (since we live in a frozen-tundra: Minnesota). I cruised with my family when I was in college and absolutely fell in LOVE with cruising, but, ironically, haven’t been on a second cruise until August of 2018. We already had our March 2019 Spring Break booked and, Surprise! My husband earned President’s Club through his work, and we were treated to a 5-night Italian Cruise on Celebrity Reflection (ADP chartered the entire ship- it was an absolutely unbelievable experience). That was my husband’s first time cruising. He is a rather tall/big drink of water, and his hesitation with cruises in the past was the size of the room/bathroom and feeling claustrophobic. He had NO issues on our Presidents Club cruise and really enjoyed the experience (though it will be very different cruising on a 100% booked Mega Ship @ Spring Break).
We have a seven-year-old son who will be celebrating his eighth birthday on the second day of the cruise, which he is rather excited about. We also have a five-year-old daughter who is an absolute joy, a social butterfly if there ever was one (don’t be surprised if she befriends you and your children at the pool or Adventure Ocean). We normally do adults-only vacations- when our kids were little it was imperative for us to take time to connect as a couple, and we are blessed with amazing parents who BEG to take their grandkids for the week! During our last AO trip in March 2018, I found myself missing the kids like crazy! They are not babies anymore, much easier to go out and do things with (plus SO MUCH FUN to hang out with), and decided that they are old enough to start taking on our “relaxation” vacations. We know this vacation will be more “work” than AO, and we will have times of stress and chaos, but I know we will have an amazing time as a family.
We are flying into Miami on Saturday, March 9th. We booked The Key, so we plan to be at the port as early as possible to board/start enjoying the ship right away! We do not have any specialty dining plans (other than Chops with The Key), and only a beach excursion booked for St. Maarten (Orient and Maho beach). Other than that we plan to hang out as a family by the pool and around the ship, hopefully the kids will enjoy some time at Adventure Ocean, check out the cruise activities (my son is ALMOST heavy enough to try the zip line!) and eat, drink, and play!
With The Key, we have internet access so I will try my best to post updates LIVE. If nothing else I will update you all when we get back. What else will there be to do in the remaining frozen months of MN winter (no more Cruise planning/daydreaming…might as well reminisce with pictures/write-ups of our adventures!)

Testing how to add photos from my phone. This was me and the hubby on Reflection in Aug 2018!

While I am a new Royal Caribbean Blog poster, I have been a quiet voyeur on the page for almost one year! We booked our Spring Break family cruise back in May of 2018 during a Kids Sail Free event. Man, did we score an amazing deal! Oasis Class was not in our price range, but the sale was too good to pass up. We are anxiously awaiting (T minus 12 days) our first family vacation (excluding Disney with the whole extended family 2 years ago). 
About us: My husband and I are in our mid/late thirties, and we love to travel. We’ve been on vacation together almost once/per year since we started dating almost 13 years ago. We enjoy going to warm, tropical locations (since we live in a frozen-tundra: Minnesota). I cruised with my family when I was in college and absolutely fell in LOVE with cruising, but, ironically, haven’t been on a second cruise until August of 2018. We already had our March 2019 Spring Break booked and, Surprise! My husband earned President’s Club through his work, and we were treated to a 5-night Italian Cruise on Celebrity Reflection (ADP chartered the entire ship- it was an absolutely unbelievable experience). That was my husband’s first time cruising. He is a rather tall/big drink of water, and his hesitation with cruises in the past was the size of the room/bathroom and feeling claustrophobic. He had NO issues on our Presidents Club cruise and really enjoyed the experience (though it will be very different cruising on a 100% booked Mega Ship @ Spring Break).
We have a seven-year-old son who will be celebrating his eighth birthday on the second day of the cruise, which he is rather excited about. We also have a five-year-old daughter who is an absolute joy, a social butterfly if there ever was one (don’t be surprised if she befriends you and your children at the pool or Adventure Ocean). We normally do adults-only vacations- when our kids were little it was imperative for us to take time to connect as a couple, and we are blessed with amazing parents who BEG to take their grandkids for the week! During our last AO trip in March 2018, I found myself missing the kids like crazy! They are not babies anymore, much easier to go out and do things with (plus SO MUCH FUN to hang out with), and decided that they are old enough to start taking on our “relaxation” vacations. We know this vacation will be more “work” than AO, and we will have times of stress and chaos, but I know we will have an amazing time as a family.
We are flying into Miami on Saturday, March 9th. We booked The Key, so we plan to be at the port as early as possible to board/start enjoying the ship right away! We do not have any specialty dining plans (other than Chops with The Key), and only a beach excursion booked for St. Maarten (Orient and Maho beach). Other than that we plan to hang out as a family by the pool and around the ship, hopefully the kids will enjoy some time at Adventure Ocean, check out the cruise activities (my son is ALMOST heavy enough to try the zip line!) and eat, drink, and play!
With The Key, we have internet access so I will try my best to post updates LIVE. If nothing else I will update you all when we get back. What else will there be to do in the remaining frozen months of MN winter (no more Cruise planning/daydreaming…might as well reminisce with pictures/write-ups of our adventures!)