CruisinUpinLife

It is extremely challenging to know what the running full price rate of a beverage package is and I think Royal does that on purpose. Unless you are D+, buy the drink package beforehand. If you are D+ buy it onboard is generally cheaper.

I've found it to be key to get the electronic cards if you are playing. I also do not like that because I just feel like the electronic cards are like the slots-they are programmed. I prefer bingo with only the paper cards. I'm also annoyed by the price of bingo on a ship when it's half that at home for 3 hours of fun.....on a ship it's a waste of money. OK I know no one cares about that last point except me and my frustrations with it. There are so many other fun activities for me so it doesn't really bother me too much. I'd rather be on a ship right now frustrated about bingo than being at home in this nasty rain/freezing rain/sleet/snow junk we've got going on.

I have only seen it on one of my cruses-FOTS last sailing before amplification. It was offered on Day 6 of a 7N sailing. I was not overly surprised to see it offered since this sailing was port heavy (5 ports for 6 days), after the Holidays (1/5 sailing), lots of families, and out of SJ PR. I felt like quite a few people were still getting drinks but of course there is no telling if they had the package or not.

You should review the list of benefits, analyze the price, and decide if you feel the benefits are worth the price. The price is per person per day so I suggest you add it to your cart and see what the total is. Many people who are already looking to get an internet package sometimes find it's worth it to just go ahead and get the key....other's do not. I think it also depends on the ship you are going on, number of days, etc. What can be challenging is that sometimes (not always) the times for the activities such as Flow rider for the Key is right before a meal time or during a meal time. On some ships with some shows, reserved seats for the Key can be necessary if you do not want to go at least 30 minutes ahead of time whereas other times you can go up to the last minute and find a great spot. My husband have never found the Key to be worth spending money on but every cruiser is different.

Also depending on your location, you could be in direct view of a ship camera like we were...but everyone has different comfort levels with their own bodies.

Not to burst your bubble-but I hope you've looked into flights already. I am not sure when your cruise is but the flights from the US to SJ generally run high with several people complaining on the FOTS FB group that they see flights costing as much as their cruise. We got lucky with our recent FOTS cruise out of SJ-my recommendation is to check early and check often. I just wanted to warn you and your group of this so you can be prepared. I will say the Southern Caribbean itinerary is well worth it and Freedom is a wonderful ship.

This blog is probably one of my favorites of yours to date. I enjoyed seeing the pictures of the ship and am glad it has fewer pages (thank you to those who didn't repost your photos when replying to one of your posts). You went home?? I didn't know you ever went home-thought you basically lived on a cruise ship lately. At any rate, keep enjoying those cruises. I cannot wait to try a Quantum class ship sometime.

When people are trying to leave the ship, usually when food venues are open-particularly WJ, you will find that it is difficult to get an elevator down when people are all heading up to the floor WJ is on. Depending on your ship and being on deck 10, you may not find this to be an issue. However, those on say deck 6 are likely to find this to be more of an issue. Once WJ is closed, this tip is less of an issue but still good to keep it in mind in case you struggle to get an elevator that isn't full.

These have been around since Dec 2018 when I first was a C&A member on a second cruise. They are offered on all ships from what I understand. You should get a letter in your stateroom when you board or shortly after with this information. If you do not, ask your stateroom attendant or it's possible for the bar's to print them out for you on a receipt though it's less clear what they are compared to the letter. What twangster posted for Gold is what we saw on our 1/5/2020 FOTS sailing.

Please make sure you check this situation out when you get onboard to ensure your table is set up as desired. We had a large group next to us that did not do this nor did they make mention of it until night 2 when all of them were going to dinner at the same time at a table that did not fit them all. I really did not understand why they did not think of this on night 1 but they did not. Therefore, after dinner service started on night 2 they created a challenging situation for the dining room staff to find them a new location for their rather large group-not 14 but probably around 10 or so. Just some advice to make your dining experience better for your group. I would also recommend you do traditional dining to ensure you are all dining together every night at the same table that will fit all of you.

What do you mean by updates? As in what is going to be done? She just started her journey earlier this week heading across the pond to get her dry dock performed.

My GTY OV room for FOTS 1/5/2020 showed up in September 2019 I believe. I booked in June 2019.

We had it on our FOTS cruise on 1/5/2020 but I didn't see it on my other two cruises. It was offered on Day 6 of a 7 Day sailing. We were a port heavy sailing (5 stops, only 1 sea day).

I find that to be true so often-not just in cruising but in all aspects of life.

To further explain why the elevators can be a challenge....a lot of people are heading up to the WJ that final morning around the time you are attempting to go down to disembark. If you ride up with them a couple of floors to the top, then you can ensure you will get down where you need to go.

Freedom of the Seas 7N Southern Caribbean (Not ABCs) January 5, 2020 Allure 4N Glaveston Inaugural Nov 10, 2021

Just a general note about self disembarkation-it can be challenging to get an elevator that is NOT full to go down. You may need to go UP to go DOWN to the level to leave. Just be prepared for this or be prepared to take the stairs. If you are only a few floors above where you need to be to disembark I would suggest you take the stairs. I'm not sure of the answers to the questions so I'll leave that to more seasoned cruisers on here to help you.

I think asking others if they think you will like the Empress is challenging for others to answer. A lot of why you may/may not like a ship will depend on what you are looking for in a ship. Empress is very different than Oasis of the Seas. There are some great blogs that highlight what makes Empress great and how it's different than the larger class ships. I'd look for @twangster blogs because he does some great pictures and writing. I'm sure he'd answer any questions you might have. One of the best things about a smaller ship is what you've already highlighted-itineraries to places larger ships cannot get into or places that cannot support the volume of visitors that larger ships would bring.

Sorry, I see your answer. No matter what you get time wise prior to the cruise, once onboard head to the dining reservation station to look into making changes.

When is your cruise? You can usually wait list for the MDR early seating. You could also do my time dining for MDR and make reservations in advance in the cruise planner.

@MomDaze https://www.royalcaribbean.com/faq/questions/food-drink-onboard-policy It doesn't give specifics on amounts so you may want to reach out to your TA or call Royal to clarify.

Thank you @Jill and @twangster for the video. And @twangster those pictures are amazing! You were in a great spot for that.

@twangster I almost commented that you had done a live blog recently but then my brain was questioned when I kept thinking "or was it Empress of the Seas" so I just stayed quiet.... Glad you DID have a live blog to share.

@bretts173 This is a wonderful review. I feel you didn't just complain to complain but gave some background to help one understand what was going on. I hope your next cruise has a lot less whining going on.

It looks similar to Dec 2018 from what I recall. There were definitely high tops then but I think the high tops are the same as those or they were black.