KenCP

@dAnleighw You will want to arrive in Barcelona a couple days before your cruise to get used to the time zone. I found that was very good, and Barcelona is such a great city. Cannes you can do on your own no problem. Rome I did excursions with Royal, just because if logistics. The port is actually very far from Rome approx 1 1/2 hours drive. La Spezia was also with Royal for logistics. I did the 12 night med cruise last year so some of the ports were the same. Have a great trip!

@cam_blev I went early in October last year it the weather was very nice. It may of been a little above average from years past. Croatia it was 98 degrees and the same in Positano and not a breath of wind. The waters in the med were still nice and warm so swimming was great in the oceans. The cruise is port intensive but the drink package was still worth it. When you got off the ship I took a couple bottles of Vitamin water on the way out at the drink station they set up as you get off the ship every time. Once back on the ship after a long day it is no problem to have a few drinks before you go back to your room. Then before dinner, during and after etc.. It was well worth it. It was a bust cruise but worth it and the last couple of seas days was great to really relax.

@WAAAYTOOO Thanks! The four nights in Miami in a hotel is a lot more than the 3 night cruise so even if they do not offer it cheaper it is still a win. I may check it out on the first day or two of the cruise and see what they offer. Still 90 days away I may just keep an eye on how many rooms book before I depart for Miami.

Just wondering if anyone has booked a cruise at Next Cruise for the day you arrive back in port. I arrive back from a cruise on May 1, 2020 and will be Miami for 4 days afterwards. I looked on line at RCCL and there is still a lot of rooms available for a cruise departing on May 1, 2020 for a 3 night cruise. I have a hotel booked for when we arrive back in port but I can cancel up to 24 hours in advance if there happens to be a room available on the May 1 cruise. it actually works out to be cheaper to do another cruise than it does to book a hotel.

There are complimentary lockers on the island.

@Matt I am looking at booking Jetline Simulator in Nassau, how much time did you book for the simulator? Is an hour enough? You highly recommended it and I said if I ever to get to Nassau

@Kris10May https://www.royalcaribbean.com/faq/questions/which-ships-have-freestyle-machines Does not look like Liberty has one. I used my 20oz Rambler Cup most of the time. I only took my Big Rambler when I went off the ship on excursions to make sure I had plenty of ice for the hot days in the Med.

You can take your Yeti cups but the drinks are made in plastic cups then you have to pour them into your yeti cup. also when you go to the water station and you want to fill you Yeti you have to use the re-usable plastic cups to get your ice and water. They do not allow you to put your cup under the spout. This is to prevent germs and bacteria from spreading. Having your cups are great because your drinks stay cold and do not get watered down like they do in the plastic cups. Also if you are using the Freestyle machines you need your drink cup with the RFID chip to get your drink anyways.

@Tigerlaw The cruise line will make your first reservation for you for the first night. Once you board you can change the reservation for the first night if it is not the restaurant you wanted. Just head to the nearest specialty restaurant and they will make your change and also do you other bookings for you. The first time I had a bit of a panic to get on board and get 11 more nights booked. That was not the case, there was no panic and I just sat down with the APP and did all my reservations once I was on board . Also if you have reservations at a restaurant and need to change the time because something came up. Just drop into one of the specialty restaurants and see if they can change your reservation for you. I never had a problem getting reservations, or changing one. They are there to help you and if they can they will be more than happy to do it. Enjoy your cruise and don't panic.

On Vision of the Seas in October our water was in cans or in glass bottles. Only had plastic when I had Vitamin water or Powerade. I wish that they could make drinks in metal cups and if you have a reusable cup such as Yetti, Hydroflask etc.. they could pour it in there. Then they could rinse out the metal cup and reuse it. In stead they give you your drink in the plastic cup and you pour it in yourself and the plastic glass just goes into the garbage.

I just booked Empress of the Seas and also booked Anthem of the Seas. 1840 PAX vs. 5494 PAX! I love smaller ships and seeing the same crew all the time and even the passengers, can't wait to experience the difference in the two ships. Empress only has Cops Grill so, I guess I will be doing the main dining room for the first time on a ship. I think the small size of the MDR on Empress will be ok and not to overwhelming with activity and noise like on the larger ships.

@Tigerlaw Most likely the cruise line will make a reservation for your first night for you. Once your board you will then make your next 2 reservations. If you do not like the time or restaurant just head to the nearest specialty dining restaurant and ask them if you can change it. It should not be a problem. I thought when I had 12 nights to book it was going to be a problem, it was not at all. Some nights depending on what we did that day we changed the times if available at the restaurant and we never had any issues. Don't worry it will be fine. I thought the first time it was going to be a madhouse trying to book restaurants, it was far from that. Enjoy your trip!!

@DetroitLad The Europe cruises are usually port intensive so people tend not to be up late. We did a 12 night med cruise on Vision of the Seas and most of the night lfe happened in aft part of the ship. Most nights by 11 there is no one around unless the following day was a sea day there were a few people up later. The Congo room and library are pretty quite places I do t think you will any issues there.

@frank https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2020/01/21/video-why-you-dont-need-buy-royal-caribbeans-the-key I had the Key on Vision of the seas and it was not worth it.

This guy mainly reports on all the negative material he hears about cruising. If had seen his videos before I started watching @Matt videos and channel I would may never of cruised. When we see him show up on our feed at home we always say "what has Doom & Gloom have to say now". LOL

@David Bennett Water Taxi is the easiest. Trying to navigate with your bags and all the crowds in May is crazy. 4 People sharing a water taxi would be civilized.

i will try on Monday. I cashed in for $100 OBC to see what happens. I will send in my info on Monday.

I have been waiting for the 250 OBC but have not seen it for awhile, I have a lot of points accumulated and just booked a cruise a couple days ago for April 2020. Can I cash in coins and get more than one? Ha anyone done this. I have enough for a cruise but that has not come up for awhile for RCCL.

I suggest bringing in a drink with you as sometimes it does take a little while to get your drinks from your server.

i found on my last cruise that I tipped the bartenders at the start of the cruise and I always got more than one shot without asking for it to be strong shot.

Going from one of the smallest ship to the on of the largest ships, Anthem of the Seas. I really enjoyed the UDP on Vision of the Seas even though there were on 3 restaurants to choose from. I am not really into big crowds and loud dinning rooms when on vacation, and I like that there are portions when eating in a restaurant. I do like food, and that is why I tend to stay away from the buffet. Buy the time i try a little of everything I am overstuffed. Even in the restaurants the portions can be big, and I will usually refrain from ordering extra. Enough about my over eating. Do you think getting a 5 night specialty dining package on a 12 night cruise on Anthem would be fine? The main dining room on Anthem is split up into 4 smaller areas so I may try the dining room as well. There seems to be more food options on Allure and, with a 5 night dining package it may be alright. Has anyone done the 5 night package on a 12 night and they were fine with it.

@Cam044 I really enjoyed Vision of the Seas. I was a bit apprehensive at first but the ship was fantastic and we had a great time. The staff were great and because it was a smaller ship you got to see many of the same passengers over and over. After 5 days I felt like we were in a small town, people saying hello, no one i a mad rush to get anywhere. I felt I knew the ship very well and even the staff. I had thought after 5 days I could do a transatlantic on her but, after a few days of sea days at the end of a 12 night cruise, I decided I could not do 11 sea days because I could only relax so much. The ship was great for port intensive cruise like the med, as well other destinations. If you have anymore that 2 seadays in a row you do need a ship that does offer a little more. I have been looking for other Itineraries on the Vision that I can do because I really did like the ship. Possibly looking at Rhapsody as well. The staff really made the ship and the staff seem to like her smaller size as well. If you are in ports just about everyday then your teens may be ok with the ship. The ship does not have water slides and some of the stuff other bigger ships have it may be a hard sell to them. I guess it depends what they like to do.

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@Jamie A I did the med last fall and this is one of the excursions I did booked through Royal Caribbean. There were so many variables that could go wrong, between the ferries and the train and getting back to port. We had a situation where when we got to the station to get back to the bus that was taking us back to the ship there were more people than the train could take. Our group leader and the RCI rep were very nervous in the commotion that not everyone was going to get on. There was not an inch of space and the train personal were having to ask people to get off because there were to many people on the train. These are not big trains running this route and usually the next train is an hour wait, so it is very risky. Our bus made it back to the ship just in time for sail away, as there was an accident on the highway and a lot of traffic. Fortunately we were with the RCI tour. In Monte Carlo we had someone jump in front of a train and we had an hour delay which if we had not had enough time built in to getting back to the ship we would have made the "Pier Runner Club"

@berkeleykel Europe in October is great. I did Vision last season and the weather was great. Crowds are not as big in a lot of the cities, great time of the year to go. Some days the weather in some ports hit 98f or 38c. A great trip. Allure would be a great trip in the Med as well.