Anditoo72

Muster drill is typically held once everyone is onboard and the ship has been cleared to leave the port. We have been on the Allure a couple of times and the muster drill happens as they are untying the ship and moving away from the pier. Muster will always happen in port before the ship actually makes it out to the open ocean/waterway. 

Things we have to bring with us:
Laundry hamper, magnetic hooks, battery powered alarm clock, charging USB hub (since almost everything charges via USB, and this won't get taken by security as a "power strip").  I also prepack all of my pills using a pill suite pill organizer from Amazon.  It seals each dose in a little plastic bag, which is great if you have a lot of pills/vitamins you take throughout the day.  
We also swear by the over the door travel dop kits as it saves a lot of space in the bathroom.  Double-zip compression packing cubes are great.  And the last thing I always take is a travel luggage scale, that way there are no surprises at the airport when I repack.  

My husband and I are going on this same cruise May 5-17!!  We are so excited!  I had already read several of these tips but am seeing some new ones to make note of.  We are flying in to Honolulu 5/4 and spending the night in a hotel so we can have an extra day on Oahu.  It is literally like next week! 
 

Go to WJ when it opens for dinner.  Make a plate for your late night snacks and take it back to your room.  Place it in your mini-fridge.  So much better than their pre-made selection at midnight.  My husband is Italian, so we usually make an anti-pasta salad.  Deli meats/cheeses, olives, veggies, etc, with breads. I on the other hand like to hit the carving stations and add that to the plate for me.  We than get some sweet treats too.  
We always now take a balcony.  We are early risers, 7 a.m. is late for us... I blame that on my Husband working in No VA.  We go to the gym, walk the track or ship when we wake up.  We love doing this because nobody else is out there, it feels as if you own the ship.  The night before we place our continental breakfast request on the door with our requested time for delivery.  IT IS FREE...no delivery charge.  Again,  we go to WJ before returning to our cabin.  We get omelets, hash browns, and whatever hot items catch our intention.  We try to time it right, so within minutes of being back in our cabin, the continental breakfast, with coffee is delivered.  We get the best of both worlds and more.  We don't have to scrounge for a table in WJ.  We can eat on the balcony.  We are able to have a very leisurely breakfast, while at the same time get ready for the day in our room.  Nothing like having the last sip of coffee while you are applying your makeup as you pull into port.  No need to run back to your cabin bc you realized that you forgot to pack something in your beach bag.  We did this with an ocean view, but it feels more cramped since you don't have the balcony.
If you have the DBP,  always ask for a bottle of H2O when you order an alcoholic drink.  You will need to hydrate.  Plus, at the end of the night or go on excursions you have them on hand.
Take a flat iron (hair) even if you don't need it.  Traditional irons are not allowed, but hair flat irons are.  The beauty of a flat iron is you can use it like a traditional iron for shirts and pants.  I don't take downy release because I take a flat iron.  Look at a flat iron, and you can see how you can use it to iron out wrinkles in the sleeves of a shirt, or crease the pant legs.  It takes up little room, and you don't need to worry about any liquids leaking on your clothes.
Think before you pack your carry on board suitcase or any suitcase.  1 of our cruises we didn't get our last bag of luggage until after 7.  Hubby's bag was delivered at 1.  Mine...7 pm..  We physically walked up and down the hallways to see if it was dropped at the wrong cabin...nope.  Luckily,  on my carry on I had packed a dress for dinner just in case.  After that cruise, we now make sure each bag has clothes for both of us.  
Go on FB and search to see if there is a group set up for your cruise.  IE for my cruise in July, we already have a FB page and will be doing a bar crawl on day 3 starting at 10 p.m.  I want to say the number of participants are @ 25 passengers.  
Finally, I don't know about Radiance lunch in the MDR, but, the Tutti Salad is a must if they offer it.
 
 
 

Stocking up on bacon; best tip of the entire thread!

Small food containers are good for bacon for your hamburger at lunch.

Please don't forget a small sewing kit. Believe me it comes in handy.

Have to agree with this - it's vacation, enjoy yourself because be you know it it'll be 365 days before your next cruise ? and you'll be counting down all over again.  Also, be nice to the staff - cause, yeah, they might be slightly moody but remember there have probably been other not so nice to them.  

For shirts you want to bring and keep them without wrinkles  - A week before the travel  , I give some shirts to the dry cleaning , ask them to iron it , fold it and pack it in nylon bag with the tick paper inside. Yes it cost money but it saves allot of time later on.
Shampoo - bring with you small bottle of your favorite Shampoo/conditioner the one they have on most of the rooms are OK to use but not everyone like them (its one dispenser which being used for all three functions)  
But the best tip I can give is to remember . you are on vacation , do not rush  (well maybe only when its close to all aboard and you are still on the peer) , do not get mad on other people behavior and just let yourself enjoy the  cruise.

Best thing we do is always fly into port the day before our cruise and find a hotel close to the port with a shuttle transport.  Less stressful for us, plus IF we forget something (#cough like undies) we can find us a store before getting on the boat the next day.

I’ve seen those ships when several singles are sharing a cabin. It always reminds me of college back back in the olden days before cell phones when there was a pay phone in the hall and people used the one on your door to let you know who had called ???

Oh gosh, there are so many “musts” I have now (so many that I keep a permanent list of them and it definitely includes some of those shown above {like the wrinkle spray and a mesh bag for dirty clothes to hang inside the closet}).. But here are the ones that I have added to the list in the last year::
1. small sissors (small, blunt ones such as the type for nails or the small ones used for needlework and tip cover that comes with them).  I am always shocked at the number of things that I need to cut when I’m on a cruise!
2. Moisturizing eye drops (I have spent my life near water, including the Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico, but the water in the Caribbean seems 50x saltier and my eyes really hurt after a dip!). So, I now always carry this if I am headed to the beach or snorkeling and it really makes my day much nicer.
3. 1-2 disposable food prep containers - sometimes I want a small snack at night, but the room service menu is almost solidly very greasy foods and that is the polar opposite of what I want in the evening. So when I get a chance I sometimes squirrel away a roll and a small slice of cheese or a less sugary pastry into my lidded, thin food prep container that I can toss at the end of the cruise).
Happy Sailing! ??‍♀️??‍♂️

Ok I know that this is more than one, but the cheap over the door shoe hanger is an absolute must!!!  Saves quite a bit of space in the bathroom, and while I am on that subject Poo-Pourri is another absolute must!!! Not going to go in great detail about that product but the stuff absolutely works and the stuff is a game changer.  Strong magnets are another wonderful item to add because the walls are metal, and it is wonderful to have the extra hooks from time to time! 
 

I never buy the Voom package  since it gives me a chance to unplug from the world.   I always take dry erase markers that we use on the mirror to put where we are going to be.  Its an easy way to keep up with kids and husband.  If we travel with a group we put a dry erase board on the outside of our cabin door.  

We have nine cabins on Navigator in June. We have mini white erase boards for each door. We also have magnetic dry erases for each door. We give each cabin a list of everybody's cabin number.

These are such great ideas! Making notes! ?

Forgot to mention this before, check this link out. https://www.royalcaribbean.com/cruise-ships/radiance-of-the-seas/deck-plans/1829/02. Deck plans for the Radiance, study them before you get on board. That way you will know where everything you are interested is once you board the ship. Some folks like the idea of wandering around aimlessly looking for a particular place. I prefer not spending my cruise time like that. 
Bring a highlighter. Every night your cabin attendant will place a copy of the Cruise Compass on your bed. The Cruise Compass has all of the next days activities, shows, etc. listed. We highlight those we are interested in. Take a look at the Cruise Compass heading at the top of the page and you can see exactly what this thing is.  When is your cruise? 

Another one of our favorites is Brining a 3oz size bottle of the dish soap to keep the cups clean. After seven days of being all over the ship no water is going to do that job. 

Someone here mentioned they bring a spray can of  Downy Wrinkle Releaser,   https://downy.com/en-us/fabric-softener/downy-wrinkle-releaser. to use on wrinkled clothes. 

There are so many!!  Definitely read past threads as they will have a wealth of info!  I would say board early and enjoy as much of day 1 as you can.  I always bring 3m or metal hooks for hanging things on the wall.  No fans in the bathrooms so bring little air fresheners.  I like to bring a small clothes hamper...they fold flat in the suitcase and as it fills then you can dump clothes in the empty under the bed suitcase.  A little battery travel clock is nice as there usually aren’t any plugs next to your bed.  Don’t forget towel clips for windy deck chairs!   Ones or small bills for ports and tipping, though less an issue with your ports.   Have a wonderful time...the radiance class is one of the very last one for me to experience!   Jane

Just bought this one. Going on the 13 June cruise on the Grandeur out of Baltimore. Fingers crossed !

We were in the process of docking in Bermuda, everyone is standing at the rails looking out and talking when one passenger asks another "Why are we docking here way out of the way at the end of the island, doesn't go all the way around the island" ?    The other passenger couldn't help themselves, and said no the water is just on this side of the island ! 

I remember in 2017, on Grandeur as we were heading to Bermuda around Hurricane Jose, this dude, who was hammered, no shoes on, was called up to the Centrum to attempt Michael Jackson's Thriller.....
......No Wait ..... That was me ..... ?
Oh Dear Lord ..... it was as ugly as you could imagine, good thing Tyna recorded it so I can keep reliving it every year.

Old school flat iron for clothing...no heating element, so this form of a flat iron would be allowed too ?

This would really bother me as not only am I a planner...I'm an over planner! 
Hi. my name is Fred. I'm an over planner. ?