WesKinetic

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!

Wow. I just bought mine for March 2020 at $399. After seeing this, I'm definitely glad I locked it in when I did. UPDATE: Really glad I did, now. The cabanas weren't even showing up when I looked this morning. Took another look this evening, found them for $399 and booked them. One of my fellow cruisers checked two hours later and they're already showing as sold out. If you see them at a good price, definitely don't wait.

I'm really curious about this myself. They just posted the prices for my cruise next spring and South Beach cabanas are showing as $399, compared to $899 for Chill Island or Oasis Lagoon. Haven't visited yet, but I'm trying to imagine what would justify a $500 difference.

@12thman For what its worth, I was on Harmony a couple of years ago during the NCAA basketball tournament, and had pretty good luck using Voom to stream the games I wanted to watch. It wasn't perfect and had some buffering here and there, but it wasn't terrible.

The ESPN you get in the Caribbean has lots of cricket coverage. I wouldn't count on being able to watch a Seahawks game in your room. ?

Random question regarding the cabana assignments--if one person books two cabanas, will RCCL put those two together? We have a group of 14 going to Coco Cay next spring and we were thinking about getting two cabanas. But we are obviously hoping to get two side-by-side. I didn't know if just having one person book both of them would tell the system to put them together or not. They haven't shown up in the cruise planner yet, so this is obviously dependent on the total cost. But it is something we are thinking about. Thanks!

Random question regarding the cabana assignments--does anyone know if one person books two cabanas, will RCCL put those two together? We have a group of 14 going next spring and we were thinking about getting two cabanas, but were obviously hoping to get two side-by-side. I didn't know if just having one person book both of them would tell the system to put them together. Thanks!

I tell my kids the menus are, to steal a movie line, "more like guidelines than actual rules." ? If they want the normal kids menu stuff, that's fine. But I always encourage them to at least take a look at the adult menu and try something new. On our last cruise, the youngest discovered she didn't completely hate escargot and, by the fourth night, our waiter knew to bring her an adult order of spaghetti bolognese every night.

I'll be on that same cruise! I'll be sure to say hi. ?

We are stopping in St. Thomas on a cruise next spring. We've been there several times before so, just for something different, we're thinking about a beach day on St. John. Any recommendations for tour companies or excursions to take/avoid? Or should we just take the ferry over and catch a cab? Thanks!

Depending on the time of day, Schooner Bar, Captain Tony's or Hogs' Breath would most likely fit the live music option. There are a couple different trolley tour operators that will give you a tour of the island and let you hop on/off as you wish. A good way to sight see a bit. And you can get the obligatory tourist photo at the southernmost point. ? Duval St. is the main shopping/restaurant/bar area, but try to get to some sights off of there if you want the "real" Key West, IMHO. If you're a history buff, the Hemingway Home, shipwreck museum or Truman's Little White House are all interesting.

Also keep in mind the "quality vs. quantity" aspect of having the drink package. If I'm paying by the drink, I generally tend to stick to drinks I've already had before and know I'll enjoy. But if I have the drink package, I will be more adventurous and try new things. If I find something I don't like, it's no big deal and I just order something else. But I've found a lot of great new drinks simply because I could try new things with the drink package.

Just signed up as an Insider. It was the least I could do after all the money Matt just saved me on my most recent booking. ?

I'm pretty sure the answer to this will be "It can't hurt to ask," but I wanted to see if anyone here had any experience with this. My family and I are experienced cruisers. My elderly parents, who are going with us on a cruise in November, are not. They're a little intimidated by the whole experience and the boarding process can be overwhelming to new cruisers. I've already told them that I will stay with them to walk them through the process. But my question is has anyone had any luck with RCCL letting guests of a lower tier (or, in this case, no tier) board with the rest of their party in a higher tier? Or will I need to just hang back and wait with them until new cruisers are allowed on board? It's not a huge deal either way, just didn't know if it was worth asking. They are in their own room with their own reservation number, but our rooms are all linked under my online account.

You can do the math and certainly make it work for you. But there's also a "quality vs. quantity" argument for it as well. I love the drink package because, if I'm paying by the drink, I will most likely stick with drinks I've had and know I'll like. But with the drink package, I will branch out and try new things. Worst case scenario, if I don't like something I just order something else. But I've discovered a lot of really tasty cocktails I otherwise probably wouldn't have tried without the drink package.

Adventure of the Seas November 23, 2019 Majesty of the Seas March 14, 2020