WesKinetic

Every kid is different, so your mileage may vary. But for my kids, it really wouldn't be worth it. They don't drink coffee and might have just one or two virgin drinks throughout the cruise. I just got them the soda package and they were happy campers. Unless your five-year old is drinking lots of specialty coffees (not judging! ?), my hunch is that it probably wouldn't be worth it. But @Grenadyr has created a great drink plan calculator that might help provide some guidance on if it would work for you. https://connect.calcapp.net/?app=9tts3#/

I personally prefer My Time, but I was on a cruise once with some friends who wanted to sit together at traditional dining. I went to the MDR to inquire about getting a traditional dining time. They said they would check on it and, later that night, I had a note in my room with my new assigned dining time. So you may have luck going that route if you still want to try for a traditional dining time.

I've had ones change names before, but usually it was just a minor tweak in the wording. Yours makes it sound like something completely different. I'd definitely check on it.

Kind of depends on what you plan to use it for. If you're just looking for snapshots and a few family photos here and there to share on social media, you're probably better off asking a fellow passenger to take a photo of you. But if you're hoping to use these as more "professional" photos for framing and such, it might be worth your while. I got the photo package on my last cruise because we had extended family with us, it was probably the last time we will all be together and some wanted to use them as family keepsake photos and/or Christmas cards. So in that case, it made sense for us to go ahead and pay for the package.

Will see you on board! ?

I'm personally not a fan of the matching shirts. My wife loves them. So we compromised and wore matching shirts. ? Seriously, though, you'll see plenty of people who do them, so you certainly won't be out of place. So enjoy celebrating with your grandpa.

The water in the sink is filtered and drinkable, so it should be fine to wash with.

Barring some kind of weather or mechanical delay, the arrival times are fairly accurate. That said, @Atlantix2000 is correct--the actual time they start letting people off is in the hands of the port inspectors and customs officials. Usually its only an hour or so, but there's no guarantee in that.

I've seen a lot of people use colored silicone wristbands on their cups. Seems to work well if you can remember who has which color.

Odd question, but does anyone know if the Black Friday sales are posted on board? I'm assuming maybe at the Next Cruise desk? I will be on Adventure of the Seas the week of Thanksgiving and hadn't planned on getting an internet package.

Last cruise, my daughter had the spaghetti bolognese on our second night and loved it. She started asking for it every night. But the end of our cruise, she didn't even have to order--our waitstaff would just have it ready for her. Now, granted, that is a relatively simple dish, so your mileage may vary if you're asking for something more complex. But I know it is fairly common to order off menu things and it's usually not a problem.

I wish I had done more research on the variety of offerings and everything to do. The first time I went, I truly didn't want to go--I thought I'd be bored staring at the water for a week. I have never been more wrong about anything in my life. ? I was blown away with how much there was to do and, because I hadn't done any research, it was almost overwhelming. Now whenever anyone asks, I tell them a cruise is the perfect vacation. If you want to party 24/7 you can. If you want to do nothing but lay in a deck chair for week, you can. It is a choose your own adventure vacation.

I got lucky and had already gotten a cheap deal on the South Beach bungalows. So for me it's definitely not worth the upgrade price. But you're right--if I was just now looking at it and I had the money, there are worse ways to splurge.

Just looked at cruise for next Spring Break. Looks great, but I think I'll pass on this one. ????

We did that excursion a year ago. Was nice in that we got a little scenic tour of the island but, if you're just looking to head straight to the beach, you'd probably be better off just getting a taxi to head straight there. The "return at your own expense" is in reference to where it stops on your way back. A lot of people want to go shopping so the bus will stop and let people off in Charlotte Amalie if they want. If you choose to get off there, you would have to arrange your own transportation back to the ship.

We did this a couple of years go and, yes, at that time you could buy an observer pass. I want to say it was $30 or so, but don't quote me on that. If it's not available through RCCL, you should be able to book it directly through the company. However, you'd want to double-check on if the observer pass would still let you have access to the beach day amenities.

There really seems to be no rhyme or reason to the pricing. We're going over next spring break. When the excursions first became available, Chill Island and Oasis Lagoon were both showing $999. But for some reason, South Beach was showing $399 so I booked it. I'm really glad I did because, within a couple of hours, it was showing sold out. That is until a couple weeks ago when it suddenly showed up as available again--for $999.

Nice. Do you by chance know the name of the beach? I'll be in Nassau in a couple months and hadn't planned on doing any excursions, so that might be right up our alley.

We will actually be on a cruise over Thanksgiving. Am I correct in assuming the Black Friday deals available there would be the same as what is offered online?

In the past, it was 16. Someone else please chime in if that has changed.

I just learned a valuable lesson--don't always assume booking an excursion through Royal Caribbean will be more expensive than booking with a local company directly. ? We're stopping at Key West on a cruise next spring. My wife wanted to get one of the trolley tours. RCCL has it for $25/adults and free for kids. But when I looked at the exact same tour through the exact same company's website, it was $37.75/adults and $14.18/kids! It may not happen often, but I'm definitely glad I at least checked RCCL's prices before booking third party.

Have done a spring break cruise the last two years (once by myself, once with family) and have another one booked next spring break. You might have a few more kids/college students than usual, but otherwise there's really no difference in the experience.

I'd never tell someone NOT to do more cruises. But maybe start with that initial goal of one in each class. You may discover that certain classes just don't appeal to you that much and you'd rather spend your vacation time/money on other alternatives. Either way, definitely report back on your experience!

We loved it when we did it on Allure last spring. Enjoyed the interactivity and we felt like it was a pretty good value with all the sushi you will get to eat. I can promise you won’t leave hungry. We just booked to do it again on an upcoming cruise on Adventure

They don’t (to the best of my knowledge) generally keep any back. However, it is not uncommon for people to book one “just in case” and then change their minds and cancel at the last minute. So I would definitely head to the shore excursion desk on the first day of your cruise and see if there are any available. Good luck!