Rene Desmarais

@Zacharius and @cmich068 have it right.  It’s about volume/frequency and $$.  Back when I traveled a lot for work, it made sense and cents to stick with particular brands and the rewards were great.  Now that I have retired and my statuses have all lapsed, I have no incentive to stick with anyone in particular.  Now it’s all about price and convenience.  Whatever works.
I guess the one piece of advice I will offer is do NOT chase loyalty points for the sake of discounts/perks.  Unless you plan on traveling a lot, the frequency programs are probably not going to help you that much.  

If you travel enough to get a higher loyalty status, then sticking to one brand can be smart. 
If you don't, then price is king. 

I guess it depends on how much you plan to travel. I practically live out of a suitcase, and loyalty is very rewarding to me (airlines, hotels, and car rentals). But even if you travel just a few times a year, you're unlikely to reach a level of meaningful loyalty unless you're spending a lot of money. 

We are also Canadian as many here already know. However, because we live in Southern Ontario, and we are really close to the border, we almost always fly out of Detroit. Because DTW is a hub for Delta, we mainly fly Delta. Delta also has the most non-stop options for us for Florida and we hate to make connections so that is another reason why we stick to that airline. Do we fly enough to rack up a ton of Skymiles? No way. But that airline makes sense for us because of where we are. 
Hotels are a bit trickier to build up loyalty. There are certain hotels that I gravitate to in each of the places we visit, but they are not necessarily the same line. I collect loyalty points wherever I can for hotels. After a few years, I finally have enough IHG points for 2 free nights 😂
As for credit cards, we love our RBC Signature Visa Black. It is a US visa. It bills in US dollars and we pay in US dollars. We use this card for all travel in the US. Because all hotels, air, cruise fares go on this card, we rack up quite a few points. This card has cash back. Every 10,000 points is $100 cash back. You can also redeem points for merchandise if you want. But we always use it for credit back to the card. 

I don’t think it’s necessarily the Canadians because they are a massive source of tourist dollars in SoFl. I think we love their money but could do without their driving. The locals know to steer clear of a Quebec license plate at all costs. 

I have been seriously considering living in Florida for 6 months(retirement).    yes..   Snowbird (I'm aware some Floridians don't like Canadians temporarily moving on their turf)..   Lots of my family avoided the Canadian winters to enjoy amazing weather in Florida. They enjoyed it, loved the people, made lots of friends.  I do have family that live in Florida "Gulf side"  and they're encouraging me to do it.  (lol  mind you ex Trauma nurse now real estate agent)

The whole "COVID" explanation is just an excuse.  Inflation is real so that certainly factors in but it is mostly just price gauging....with all things, including cruising (JMO).

Became an insider just now.     Matt, your blogs are invaluable to future and existing cruisers.
 

I booked at Pinnacle  "Harbourfront" Hotel  for our Oct 2nd cruise on Quantum..
If they offer a shuttle service, awesome, if not then cab it.

Became an insider just now.     Matt, your blogs are invaluable to future and existing cruisers.
 

Norway. 100%.
There are several reasons for this but the most compelling one is that the Norwegian government is in the process of implementing measures to severely restrict large cruise ships in the deep sea fjords (Olden, Flam and Geiranger) due to environmental concerns. The current time line suggests these measures are likely to be brought in in 2026, so if a cruise to Norway is on your bucket list it needs to be done NOW.
The 7-night Oasis itinerary in the Med is a standard route that an Oasis-class ship sails every year, just depending on which one is due to come across the pond for its dry dock, so that's likely to be an option for years to come.
Secondly, there's the convenience factor. Why fly to Barcelona to join Oasis when the Anthem sails from the country you're already in? Plus, you'd need to factor in the additional cost of getting your family and your luggage (assuming you're not travelling just with hand luggage the baggage fees will cause sticker shock) to Barcelona.
Thirdly, things to do on the ship. Well, in my opinion, if you're coming across the pond and planning on doing a cruise your primary interest is going to be the ports rather than the ship itself. This is because by the time you get back on board after your day's sightseeing you're going to be too tired to want to do much more than eat and sleep. You probably experienced this on your Odyssey sailing. And with that in mind, there is actually plenty to keep you and your kids occupied during your time on board Anthem. It is actually an earlier version of Odyssey and, admittedly, to my mind, not quite as good. The Seaplex, in particular, is far better on Odyssey than it is on Anthem. However, Anthem does have a family-friendly heated indoor pool if the weather decides to be less than friendly.
Consequently, I see no point in choosing Oasis for bells and whistles you're unlikely to use. Save the Oasis class cruise for a sailing out of Florida when you're more likely to be able to take advantage of everything the ship has to offer.
On now to the ports. I did a Norway cruise on Anthem just this past July and it was fantastic. We stopped in Bergen, Olden, Geiranger and Haugesund, so not all the same ports as you, but I can tell you that you don't need to buy Royal's expensive excursions in either Bergen or Olden. The funicular in Bergen is in walking distance from the port and you can buy tickets here: https://floyen.no/en/floibanen
Do buy the tickets in advance and go as early as you can because the queue was massive when we got there at about 11 am. Full disclosure, we did not ride on the funicular; we walked up and then back down. It is also possible to ride up and then walk back down. It was very busy at the top but we then walked a little bit farther (5-10 mins) to reach Skomakerdiket, where there is a lovely quiet lake with a cafe and you can sample a typical pancake with jam and/or traditional Norwegian brown cheese. https://floyen.no/en/activities/walks-hikes-floyen/skomakerdiket/
Here are a couple of my pics from the top to whet your appetite:


You will still have time to wander the harbour afterwards:


In Olden, don't take the outrageously expensive Royal excursion to the glacier. There is a company right there at the port called Olden Adventure that does the exact same excursion much cheaper. https://www.oldencruise.com/
As well as the glacier trip, they also offer the Loen Skylift, which you may like to consider as an alternative or even as a second excursion of the day. It should be possible to fit both of them in if you're really keen, although it might be a little bit of a rush.
We opted to do the Skylift and it was just amazing:



All of that said, if you ultimately decide to do the Med instead, for your Palma de Mallorca stop and depending on how active or chilled you want to be, you could take an excursion to the Caves of Drach, which are absolutely worth seeing (my pics are from a few years back now and don't do them justice):



Or you could simply make this a beach stop. There are several very good beaches nearby and although Royal are sure to have a "Beach Transfer" option, you're probably best just getting a taxi as that way you can go and come back on your own schedule (it will probably be cheaper too). In full disclosure, we are not beach people so I have not done a beach stop here myself but I have seen this one recommended to cruisers on another forum by an ex-pat Brit who lives on the island: https://balnearioilletas.com/en/
You can probably find others with the help of Google if you think you do fancy a relaxing beach day.
Sorry for the length of the post but you did say "any and all feedback"... 😂
Hope it helps. 😊
 

I started cruising with RCCL on board the Song of Norway which was a great little ship.  I've now been on 71 cruises and enjoyed all of them.  When my first wife (who I lost to breast cancer) first starting cruising in 1976 we could only afford an inside cabin on a deck with oars!  Image our glee when we got to the ship only to find we had been upgraded free of charge to a cabin with a porthole .  Wow we thought we were in tall cotton, just two young kids enjoying a cruise and being able to see the ocean from our cabin.  We then knew we'd never again sail without porthole.  Imagine our glee when we got to the ship and discovered we'd been upgraded free of charge to a cabin with a veranda!  Well you can guess we always booked veranda cabins after that.  Then we got upgraded to a Grand Suite!  You can guess our last 30 cruises have been on Grand Suites.  I find it kind of sad that current and future cruisers won't know the joy of being upgraded as better cabins today are sold to the highest bidder.  I think RCCL made more money giving out free upgrades knowing cruisers were apt to upgrade to the more costly cabins.  There is something to be said for the "way it was."
Bill

You don't have to assume, you've done the research. 🙂
No Covid restrictions or extra rules for your sailing.

MUSTER! Seriously get this out of the way as SOON as  you get on board because with so much to do it can be easy to forget. You don't want to be in the group the captain tsks tsks at over the PA. Book your specialty dining. There will be booths for dining, beverage, shore excursions etc all along the promenade. Find the one for dining, and grab your reservations. The popular locations and times fill up fast, especially considering people can book ahead of time. In fact, if you don't have a dining package or TA voucher, book ahead of time via the cruise planner. Grab your drink cups. You don't NEED them right away, but I like to have first pick of colors. Check out where you will be sitting in the Main Dining Room if you have traditional dining (5 or 8 ish). Just go to your assigned dining room and give them  your room number. This is how you can ask for preferred seating like a window seat or seating for just your party. NOTE that if you have My Time Dining you will get whatever seat is available but you will always only be sat with your party. Get the lay of the land ship. I like to walk the popular decks of the ship and get an idea of where things are so you're not too turned around throughout the week. Grab a drink or snack, a comfy chair...and people watch!

NO !!!!!!!!

Hi everyone, I know we get heated debating which dessert is the best one to order, or if a balcony room is worth it, but let's keep these basic rules in mind when chatting here.
No profanity No personal insults No political discussion This includes tropes about politicians and generalizations about political parties No debating religion Keep your posts relevant and accurate to each specific thread. We can all have our little fun within each thread but please make sure the information you're putting out there is correct and current.   Topics not related to Royal Caribbean may be removed. Posts or comments encouraging cruisers to break any Royal Caribbean policy is not allowed and will be removed.

Fantastic news! Just in time for our trip across the pond next month! What a relief!

hmmm  that's great news.    hmm   let me touch most of the food in front of me until I make a decision on which one I pick to eat....    ughhhh
 

“As a result of a court order, effective immediately and as of April 18, 2022, CDC’s January 29, 2021 Order requiring masks on public transportation conveyances and at transportation hubs is no longer in effect. Therefore, CDC will not enforce the Order. CDC continues to recommend that people wear masks in indoor public transportation settings at this time.”
– CDC.gov

Golf clap for @smokeybandit for beating me to post it here. 
I knew I shouldn't have taken a half second to scratch my nose!

A friendly reminder to leave political dogma and/or euphemisms out of these discussions.

You are correct. I've reached out to some of the ports for an update, and it appears we are waiting for the Coast Guard to update their directives.
I'll post if/when there's an update.
At the end of the day,  I don't want to jump the gun and assume anything until it's official.

As an epidemiologist, I can tell you that I am not only thinking about my own health and protection, but about the people around me. 
So, as you say, you do what you want to do and I'll continue doing what I want to do. By the way, you shouldn't be condescending to those who have different opinions than you.

The other thing to consider is the CDC has always been extremely hard on the industry.  Extreme is not an understatement.  Even this extremely biased and cruise ship hating agency has backed off and stopped warning against cruise travel for healthy individuals. 
The fact that the CDC is now given up it's anti-cruise position speaks volumes about what they see is going on with the virus.   It's gotta be safe or they would be still ranting like mad scientists to avoid cruise ships.