IRMO12HD

Tiramisu Martini. We seriously skipped dessert the last 4 nights of our Oasis cruise and enjoyed drinking dessert. Yes, they are slightly over the drink package limit, but we thought they were well worth it. The Chocolate Martini was was covered in the package so we indulged on those other times.
 
Have a great cruise!

I've recently renewed my love of whiskey.   I can't get enough Bulleit Rye Old Fashioned's   with raw sugar instead of syrup, luxardo cherries if available served neat.

An añejo margarita, of course!

Cucumber Martini! 

Sailing Oasis of the Seas Transatlantic April 21 (14 Night), and the price for the DBP has been $44 (30% off) for about a week; finally decided to go for it.  Called RCL as my husband wanted the VOOM/DBP and I just wanted the DBP, and Cruise Planner wouldn't let me separate them.  It worked out well calling RCL; end result was $726 for me, and $888 for him.  With 10 sea days, I think we'll be able to effectively and efficiently use our purchase!

Thanks to the contributions of twangster and KristiZ, and the recognition that we will have 10 sea days, I took the plunge (so to speak) and got the DBP!  I called RCL, as I only wanted the DBP, and my husband wanted the Voom+DBP;  no way to do that on Cruise Planner, but no problem with the RCL Customer Service agent.  I'm ready to start on my next DBP Exploration List . . .

Thanks to the contributions of twangster and KristiZ, and the recognition that we will have 10 sea days, I took the plunge (so to speak) and got the DBP!  I called RCL, as I only wanted the DBP, and my husband wanted the Voom+DBP;  no way to do that on Cruise Planner, but no problem with the RCL Customer Service agent.  I'm ready to start on my next DBP Exploration List . . .

Thanks to the contributions of twangster and KristiZ, and the recognition that we will have 10 sea days, I took the plunge (so to speak) and got the DBP!  I called RCL, as I only wanted the DBP, and my husband wanted the Voom+DBP;  no way to do that on Cruise Planner, but no problem with the RCL Customer Service agent.  I'm ready to start on my next DBP Exploration List . . .

Wow...I had no idea about this one.  Thanks for mentioning this.

But the bottle I buy on the ship provides a stronger pour since I am the bartender   :)

And watch for (or ask, I have had them do it for me even if it's not advertised) the punch card offers once you're onboard. They make my call drink of choice (Patron and Grand Marnier rocks margarita) only ~$9 instead of $14! 
IMHO, the drink packages can be worth it if 1) you have a lot of sea days or 2) you can catch a big sale on the price. Otherwise, I can drink a lot of tasty things for less money overall. And trust me, the DH and I have done extensive testing and cost comparisons! Haha!

Just back from a 3-night cruise to the Bahamas on Enchantment OTS. Some highlights and lowlights...
Highlights
The Key has it's benefits. We got from the car to Chops in record time for a great lunch. I had the branzino (Friday in Lent) and my wife had the filet. It was excellent! We were asked 3 separate times to make reservations for dinner at 20% off and since it was a special weekend we went for it. Nassau - we booked a TruBahamian food tour (not an RC excursion) that was great! You get lots of cultural information and stop at 6 different spots for food and drink. We had a great time! When we got back on the ship and to our cabin we had a nice bowl of fruit waiting for us with The Key logo with it. An unexpected perk. We ate in the MDR twice and had Aries and Mark as our waiter and assistant. They were excellent. They gave my wife a discount on the surf & turf without an explanation.... Disappointed that we wouldn't make it to CocoCay, we booked the "Family Beach Escapeause we wanted a beach and chairs. This was the only excursion that listed chairs and was all my wife wanted for this cruise was a beach and a chair. Food was okay... fruity drinks (non-alcoholic) were refreshing. There was plenty to do (jet-ski's, parasail, floating mats, etc.) It was Bahamas  Adventures over near Lucaya Lowlights
When we called Chops on Sunday around 5:00 to confirm our dinner reservation we learned it was never recorded. Turn out we had no reservation and couldn't get one before 8:00. We passed on dinner and ate in the MDR. On the beach adventure we were told we had to be back on the bus at 1:30. Apparently there were later buses going back to Freeport since there was another ship (Grand Celebration - Bahamas Paradise) that had an excursion here. We could have stayed at the beach another hour or two. Only issue we had with The Key was with our luggage. You get special tags to put your luggage out the night before. We got up early and had our breakfast in the MDR (complimets of The Key). We got off the ship and to where the luggage should have been a little before 8:00. I re-read the fine print on the letter that was with the tags and it did say luggage would be available at 8:15 - my bad! Luggage was there around 8:25. Windjammer on Enchantment was subpar. Maybe we were spoiled with WJ on Brilliance and Radiance. It was smaller, more cramped and the layout made it hard to maneuver. Update: and food not nearly as good as Brilliance and Radiance. All-in-all we had a great trip. Good enough that my wife booked another junior suite on Mariner next February going to Nassau and CocoCay!
Another non-cruise highlight was a short trip to Merritt Island where I went bird watching. It was absolutely incredible So many birds, so little time!
Couple Updates:
The RC "Family Beach Escape" was with Bahamas Adventure. Trip Advisor has this page for all of their excursions (https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g147420-d8728057-Reviews-Bahamas_Adventures-Freeport_Grand_Bahama_Island_Bahamas.html ) and only 3 reviews, including mine when it gets approved (https://www.tripadvisor.com/AttractionProductDetail-g147420-d12939450-Family_Beach_Escape-Freeport_Grand_Bahama_Island_Bahamas.html?from_tpa=true )
Here is the Trip Advisor link for the TruBahamian Food Tours: https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g147416-d3701058-Reviews-Tru_Bahamian_Food_Tours-Nassau_New_Providence_Island_Bahamas.html

While not part of our party, there was another person at the table who didn’t eat meat, they stuck to the fried rice and vegetables. It’s really more of an issue of avoidance or allergy. If you’re allergic, it’s a bigger issues as the grill is a big co-mingled space. 

Sounds like you’re so much fun out. Maybe chef’s table is for you, Teppanyaki is meant to be fun. Not a very good way to make a new member feel welcome either. There’s room for that over on “that other message board”
 
SLJ- I’m sure your kids will love it, make sure to get the Mochi for dessert. 

I have had 100 shares of stock since my second cruise with Royal.  Since I usually book inside staterooms, I have gotten the OBC many times as these cabins usually don't offer any OBC when booking.  Up until a couple of years ago, when I submitted my request for stockholder OBC, I would get a response that since I already had some OBC, I would have to have that removed (either by calling Royal or contacting my travel agent) and then resubmit my stockholder OBC request.  However, for the past two or three years, my stockholder request automatically applies the difference of the the two OBC amounts without me having to do anything.  For example, if I already had $50 OBC for a 7 night sailing, I now get the $50 stockholder credit ADDED to the original $50.  Previously, I had to remove the original $50 credit and then have the stockholder credit of $100 added.  
I have gotten the stockholder credit about 90% of the time since I usually only have travel agent credits.  It has been well worth the investment for me.
 

I do enjoy the occasional Mo-jito while cruising. Now that I've gone keto, my plan is to order a Mo-jito at Bolero's, and ask the bartender not to use the simple syrup (sugar water). I'll ask for Club Soda only, along with the rum, mint and lime. Next I'll squirt some liquid Stevia in the glass to take the place of the missing syrup. I hope this works... then I'll have a Keto-jito.

Also remember that if you are dining in a specialty restaurant but there is something on the MDR menu that night that you really want (lobster tails or lamb shank comes to mind), you can always ask the specialty restaurant waiter to bring you something from the MDR.  We do this often. No need to miss your favorite MDR dish just b/c you are dining in a specialty restaurant that night !

I‘m also new to RCCL but this menu is really underwhelming compared to NCL which have daily special features and even Carnival which looks a lot funkier and which also has seaday brunch specials...

Here you go:
(from Navigator March 2019)

 

Show up whenever you like. With Royal Caribbean, the boarding times are suggestions. So you can definitely go straight to the cruise terminal.

1.  Eat salad first if you're in the buffet; only eat dessert every other (or every 3rd) day
2.  Take the stairs at least five times a day
3.  Go for a "dawn walk" every morning -- at least two laps of the ship's promenade -- if you're early enough to catch the sunrise, you'll find it pretty open, 
4.  Drink water with every meal, and DON'T get the Deluxe Beverage Package!!!
 
 
 
 

I think the bed is by the balcony in 12306.  So the sofa is closest to the door.
The trick is to look at the connecting cabins nearby.  If you look at the connecting cabins from the hall, the cabin to the right has the bed by the balcony and the cabin to the left has the bed closest to the door.  This pattern continues with each 2 cabins.  

1.  Eat salad first if you're in the buffet; only eat dessert every other (or every 3rd) day
2.  Take the stairs at least five times a day
3.  Go for a "dawn walk" every morning -- at least two laps of the ship's promenade -- if you're early enough to catch the sunrise, you'll find it pretty open, 
4.  Drink water with every meal, and DON'T get the Deluxe Beverage Package!!!
 
 
 
 

1.  Eat salad first if you're in the buffet; only eat dessert every other (or every 3rd) day
2.  Take the stairs at least five times a day
3.  Go for a "dawn walk" every morning -- at least two laps of the ship's promenade -- if you're early enough to catch the sunrise, you'll find it pretty open, 
4.  Drink water with every meal, and DON'T get the Deluxe Beverage Package!!!