MikeK

I agree with Floatme, I just called my TA and she calls Royal and they will give her the current price with promotions to see if it is better than what I have now. Just remember if you rebook and you have Onboard Credit, you will lose it. So you have to weigh that in to the rebook price. In other words, if you rebook and save $100 total but you lose $100 OBC, it is not worth rebooking the cruise.
 
You keep the same booking number every time you rebook. I had one cruise that I rebooked three times and the same number applied each time.
 
Candie

I've been everywhere in the Caribbean so always, always want to find a new port.  Back in the early 90's, while we were in Jamaica, I was ready to book an illegal helicopter day trip - but my husband and son talked me out of it.  Because it was forbidden to U.S. citizens, Cuba is definitely a place I would love to go.  But I will probably wait until the novelty wears off a bit.  It will get cheaper as time goes by.

Considering how far off your cruise is, I'm wondering if fully paying it off in the next few months makes sense. If a promo comes along that reduces the cost of your cruise, and you've fully paid it off, there's no way to reduce your final bill since it's already paid off. I think I read elsewhere that if that happens, Royal just gives you the difference as onboard credit, and this may be acceptable in your case since you want OBC pre-applied for your trip.
 
I kind of look at that the same way I look at overpaying my taxes and getting a refund -- that's an interest-free loan you can't redeem until your trip, and in the meantime you might want / need that money. Might be better to hold off fully paying off the trip and putting that OBC money on your account until just a few months out, rather than over a year out.

This is when a TA comes in handy!

Jennifer,
 
Need more info. Which ship, when is your cruise, which ports, etc, etc. Having been to both Italy and Greece "back in the day", I would now be very reluctant to venture out on my own to explore the local spots. What with all the terrorist stuff going on, I would strongly recommend you and your newly web stick to the excursions offered by Royal Caribbean. Those will be safe and get you back on board well before boarding time. Of course if you are in a port and a nice little bistro is within walking distance of the ship, and you can see the bistro from the ship go for it! But, please, think twice about getting into a taxi with a driver who can show "all the sights for a few American dollars". 

During peak times one has to wait a little bit longer for an elevator, so what? I am on vacation and have all the time in the world and who cares if I am coming 1 minute too late? I will never understand why people are on stress mode when being on a cruise ship. So, when you have to wait make the best of it, gives you time for some social studies and people watching :-)

First off, thank you for your service Bob!
I agree with what everybody has said about etiquette. It goes beyond just the elevators of course. The world would be a much better place if everybody just cared half as much for each other, as they care about themselves. A little goes a long way.

From what I've read you should dress as you like and not worry about what others might think. Easier said for me. Not so much for my wife!

Maybe it's just me and I don't like change and there's probably a really great reason for this... but this strikes me as a really annoying process. 

I have cruised solo for the last five years and I love it. I do what I want, when I want.
 
Most of my meals are in the MDR. I ask for a table if 10 so I can meet new friends.
 
When passengers find out I am a solo cruiser I usually get one of two replies "Good for you, doing your retirement your way" or "Aren't you afraid to cruise by yourself?" I am on a ship with 4000 other passengers, what happens to me will happen to them.
 
My advice is always be aware of your surroundings when doing shore excursions or getting off the ship. Try to stay in a group.
 
Relax and enjoy, you will make new friends and have a ball.
 
Candie

Jerel you are breaking my heart! Let me explain....
 
A couple weeks ago on Harmony I was walking on the pool deck on a sea day at about 10am. Quite frankly I have never seen so many towels and so few people at the pool. And then I saw the biggest chair hog in the history of Royal. This person had taken three towels and put them lengthwise across 9 lounge chairs. A gross showing of chair hoggyness.
 
As I stood there trying to figure the audacity a person would have to do that, a pool attendant was close by so I called him over. I told him "ummmm, are we doing anything about people reserving pool chairs today?" He said " If a guest isn't at there chair in a half an hour we remove them." Staring at about 20' of obviously reserved chairs "if you don't remove those towels, I am going to take those towels and throw them out that window, this is stupid.".....and I was serious. The pool attendant removed the towels and there was applause when I continued walking across the pool deck.
 
While in the elevator I thought after doing my good deed for the day "Gee, I wonder if somebody is going to get charged $75 for reserving pool chairs because they didn't get credit for reurning the towels? GOOD! I hope so!"
 
......and now you tell me this and it makes sense. <shakes head>

May I ask what aspect of the service has not been to your liking? 
 
Personally, I like having a TA for things like
Quotes for possible cruises to take Repricing when new sales come out so I don't have to Dealing with RC when there is a billing problem (this is a big one)

Minus morning coffee on the balcony, we did not use room service much.  Even with two teen boys, we ordered a burger and pizza one night. The food was mediocre at best and took FOREVER to arrive.  Also, on our last November trip, trays of half-eaten food all over the halls with so many kids on board.  Maybe the cruise lines are discouraging people from using room service -- it just jams everything up and has people scrambling to deliver food, not get tipped half the time, and have to pick up dishes left and right.  If they up the quality I might not mind the up-charge, but free wasn't even worth it for us last time.  On a side note, if you DO order room service, don't stiff the delivery people of their tip -- you are not punishing RCI at all, rather the poor person who did their job.  If you've just paid a couple thousand for a cruise, I don't think they can relate to your expressing anger at the policy change by not giving them a $2-3 tip.

I guess to me, the charge for room service outside of morning coffee delivery really just isn't a big deal to me. If I want a snack, I'd be more compelled to make a quick Windjammer or Cafe Promenade run rather than sit in my room and wait for something from a very limited menu to be brought to me. I can grab a drink while I'm out, too! 

Good point.  When in doubt, if it's fried, it will taste good. I mean, I dare you to find anything fried that doesn't taste good!  :P

We had something similar happen to us on our Med cruise in 2012.  A cruise tour for Venice, Florence and Rome was set up when we purchased the tour a year ahead of time.  Thirty days before the tour RC cancels out due to not enough people signing up.  Luckily our TA got wind of this before us and had a tour that mirrored the RC tour already set up when I called him with smoke coming out of my ears.  The one our TA set up was quite a bit cheaper and much better with personal guides on the excursions for just the two of us.   So a TA does make a difference
 
If  something happened to me like happened to Jlwrinkle i have a feeling that would be the end of RC for me

I don't believe you should choose to bring or not bring a passport with you solely out of fear of theft/forgetfulness. It is useless to you in your stateroom safe, should you be marooned somewhere.
 
I agree I would not want to lose my passport, or my wallet, or pretty much anything I own.  No one wants to, but I still take my wallet, passport and other valuables on shore with me because the benefits of having them with me far outweigh the concerns over losing them.

Here's another thing we learned..
 
Some may say 'duh, no kidding dude'...but, on the other hand we walk by many open staterooms when they are being cleaned and there are folks who haven't clicked on it yet.
 
Unpack your suitcases. Empty suitcases go under the bed so they don't take up floor or closet space. Use a mesh laundry bag and put your dirty laundry in the suitcases under the bed.
 
Assuming of course...you're not bringing a travel trunk(s) for a suitcase most should fit. :)

My first few cruises with my kids I would re-learn this lesson: you have to slow down and let some aspects of the cruise go on its own time.  Meaning, while I might want to do 4 other things, with family cruising, sometimes you just have to slow it all down and let things materialize on their own.  
 
There is absolutely room for planning ahead, and I firmly believe research ahead of a cruise only serves to save you time and money.  But it's also important to let vacation happen too.

In 1971, Dave Scott, Commander of Apollo 15, fought for and won approval for a "stand up EVA" where right after landing on the moon he would open up the top hatch and take a look around.  His argument was that you need a good view of the "big picture" so that the details will make sense later.
 
Take time to just enjoy being there.  As I mentioned in the thread Gears mentioned, be sure to enjoy the sea from the ship, not just the ship on the sea.  The memory of that big picture will likely last longer than a lot of the little details...

Aim for excellence instead of perfection. Punch out a reasonable list of things you would like to do and discuss it. Trying to do everything and schedule every moment will just result in stress...and what I have experienced to be the "non-vacation".
 
The vast majority of first time cruisers are repeat cruisers. That's why RCL has built a fourth Oasis class ship. Something you didn't get to...next time!
 
Have a look at the thread 'Things We Have Learned To Do On A Cruise'. There are some experienced wise words in there with respect to relaxing and not trying to do too much.
 
Have an awesome trip!

Not only is it poor customer relations, but I think RCL is taking a big risk with this kind of thing. If a charter is done prior to publishing a deployment schedule, sure. Or, there’s a charter request and the requesting organization can have access to all staterooms not currently booked, then fine too.
 
In this day in age with social media and the news media drooling over abused customer stories, RCL risks some serious brand damage. Vacations are a huge issue for people…tick off a few thousand and it can cost some serious dollars beyond any revenue gained from a charter.

I book 6 to 8 cruises a year when they first come out. I will cancel 2 maybe and take the rest.
 
I just finished booking two just now for 2018.
 
If your cruise hasnt gone to final payment you can drop the second room.
 
Candie

We all need to remember when we sail on RCL ships they cost anywhere from 500 million to 1.5 billion dollars to build.  This is a publicly traded company that needs to make money for its shareholders.  They have every right to perform market analysis to determine pricing for everything they do.  One might argue why some nightclubs can get 300 - 400 dollars for a "bottle" of 25.00 liquor.  Some might say thats crazy that people pay it but those prices keep rising so there are people that find it valuable.  The great thing is we all have choices!

I have been all over the Caribbean, the Mediterranean,  and last summer on the Baltic Sea cruise.  There has been only one port that required a passport to leave and come back and that was St. Petersburg, Russia.  With that said I think you are right on taking your passport whenever you leave the ship.  From now on I will be taking my passport with me.  Thanks for the good advice.