MikeK

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.

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.

I can give you the same advice someone gave me a while ago..... Book it and don't go back to see if its cheaper...

Congratulations !  I can't think of a better honeymoon for anyone.  You are going to love it !
 
Formal night can be as formal or NOT as you want it to be.  You will see everything from shorts to full length evening gowns and tuxedos.  In fairness, most of the ships will turn you away from the Main Dining Room if you wear shorts there on formal nights (justifiably, IMO) but most people just wear slacks and a nice shirt.
 
Since it's your honeymoon I'm sure you will want to dress up a bit so do whatever you are comfortable with.  Things are not nearly as formal as in the "old days" when everyone dressed to the 9's for dinner (every night, not just on formal nights !).
 
Cruising is about having fun so do what makes you happy !

My husband will be soooooo happy to hear that he can wear his slacks, dress shirt, and dress shoes and that be good enough for the formal night! He is a blue collar worker and anything more than that makes him feel like a stuffed sausage (his words lol). I am looking forward to wearing my dress that I never really have an occasion to wear otherwise.

Rob,
 
There is a Margaritaville in Gerogetown GC. Pretty decent hamburgers and other food, balcony seating overlooking, the port and lots of Jimmy Buffet music & videos and shade. 

It is allowed, but I've never seen it there probably because it's so crowded with tourists. I have seen it over at Orient Beach, however. And in reality, really young kids don't send to be concerned by it.

If you do not have a passport we can explain further but I would strongly suggest you and everyone your traveling with to get a passport.  The process for getting a passport is not that difficult

Hey all. RC website now shows the WOW sale is going on -- 60% off second guest, bonus OBC, and $50 off deposit.
 
Just got an email about this from my TA. Saved us a TON as the sale knocked just shy of $800 off each of our state rooms (having originally booked during the end-of-year sale) as well as giving us $100 in OBC.
 
I know there's been a lot of discussion here lately about how the rates really are best if you book 18-24 months ahead, and that they just don't get any better even with promotions; but seeing as we could "only" book 15 months out, I'm really glad our TA Heather at MEI Travel was able to get us these savings!
 
And THIS is why you use a travel agent.  :D 

Based on everyone's feedback, I do see the value at $250 or $300, but I think I will still pester people to take our picture and spend that money on drinks, food, and other non-essentials.

Try and get your reservation transferred to a Travel Agent, (MEI is really good) then you just work with your agent.
It really simplifies the process and the Agent can take care of lot of things for you, and for free.

We just returned from Freedom of the Seas eight night cruise....which has two formal nights.   I saw everything from full length evening gowns and tuxes to nice dresses, slacks and tie to shorts and flip flops in the Windjammer.  Frankly, it looks like anything goes...and I have decided I will NEVER take a sport coat again.  The first formal night I wore my sport jacket and the second night I wore a LL Bean two button Polo Shirt.  Never felt uncomfortable or out of place, including dining at Chops.  I am getting the impression the "prom date" formal dress night is becoming a thing of the last century.   

The only music I want to hear in my room is the kind my wife and I make!! :)  :)  :)

Voom, smartphone, Bluetooth speaker. Or do what I do and sit out on the balcony and listen to the sea against the ship. That is music to these ears.

I wouldn't have brought it up, but since we're on the topic of music,,, maybe its me, but someone mentioned "their audience".  I realize they're doing all they can to attract younger cruisers/families, but i still have to believe that their bread is buttered by those 55 up.  One thing I DON'T look forward to each cruise is 24/7 Beyonce, Katy, Ferrell, Justin, and all that hip hop crap they pipe into every common space on the ship, and I can't imagine how annoying it must be for the truly older folks.  If it were me, I'd just keep it strictly instrumental, preferably island sounds, Caribbean stuff, etc.  One man's opinion.  :-)  

Like the majority of the experienced cruisers will tell you on here,  dragging your luggage around the ship until the rooms open will be a royal pain in the tush.  Most everyone getting on the ship will be exploring so all the public areas will be somewhat crowded.  If you dont mind sitting somewhere until rooms open then go for it.   When the rooms open around 1pm your luggage will be waiting for you or will be there shortly there after.  If you decide to check your luggage make sure to take a small one with you to keep your documents, jewelry , money or anything of real value.  Have a good time and relax (you re on vacation)

My taste in music is basically blues and classic rock and I have learned to tone out most background music.  Country music is okay is long as it is the newer stuff as opposed to the old "cry in you beer" country.  There is one music I cant tone out,  that is rap music.  Rap music is an oxymoron

Like the majority of the experienced cruisers will tell you on here,  dragging your luggage around the ship until the rooms open will be a royal pain in the tush.  Most everyone getting on the ship will be exploring so all the public areas will be somewhat crowded.  If you dont mind sitting somewhere until rooms open then go for it.   When the rooms open around 1pm your luggage will be waiting for you or will be there shortly there after.  If you decide to check your luggage make sure to take a small one with you to keep your documents, jewelry , money or anything of real value.  Have a good time and relax (you re on vacation)

If I plan on playing in the casino, I figure about $100 a day. I get plenty of smaller bills for tips.  I don't like to use a credit card unless emergency. 

The only argument that has ever made any sense to me for reducing standard gratuities is for those who eat in specialty restaurants every night of the cruise, however even at that, these same crew members serve us in the windjammer and other areas for lunch and breakfast. I agree with Billy, no reason to adjust the income of a crew member.

I could be wrong on this, i havent done it but...
I've read they will only drop a percent of your grat determined by your issue.
For example, if you really didn't like your room attendant they will adjust your tip within the amount that is alloted to your room attendant, and not your servers ect.
So the alloted amount of your tip that goes towards your room attendant will go down but not the rest of the tip.
 
I would use this ability as a worst case scenario option, when all else has failed and you still aren't happy with the service you recived.

You're able to adjust gratuities at guest services.  I'm not sure if it would be any easier or more difficult at any given point during your cruise.
 
That in mind, I must editorialize for a moment and point out (to anyone reading), that regardless of the name (gratuities, services, charges, etc) or one's opinion on the way gratuities are handled, these gratuities represent the lion's share of the income of the hard-working people that receive them and work hard to make your trip enjoyable.  As such, I see them as the "price of admission" for a cruise.  If there is anything during a sailing that is not up to snuff, speak with guest services or the appropriate supervisor to see if it can be worked out before reducing gratuities.  
 
If you care to tip on top of the amount automatically charged to your onboard account, you can opt to do that with guest services, or simply provide cash to those who make your trip more enjoyable.

Most of the port stops were too far away to walk.  Oslo was close enough to walk around the city but we also took an excursion to the Viking museum.  Copenhagen was too far and we took a shuttle which is a small fee.  From where the shuttle dropped us off we walked to a nice park that has a beautiful castle that holds the Denmark crown jewels and is well worth the cost of admission.  Tallinn was somewhat close but we paid for the shuttle and glad we did.  They drop you off right next to the old walled city which is what you want to see.  St. Petersburg Russia was nice to see but I wouldnt do it again.  We went on excursions to the Hermitage one day and Catherines Palace the next day.  I m not sure if it was just the wrong time of year but the lines were long and they seemed to rush us through the tour.  When you get off the ship to go on your tours the lines are long just to get through the passport checkpoint.  You will not be able to just walk around in Russia. Helsinki Finland is another port you will have to use the shuttles.  We walked around and found a nice place next to the water where they had a flea market and some good places to eat.   In Bruges Belgium you will definately need to catch the shuttles.  Get the tickets ahead of time.   There was a lot of walking on the tours in Russia.  I m not trying to paint a bad picture here but its just the experience we had and yours could be entirely different. Also the shuttles are round trip so make sure you remember where it leaves from to go back to the ship and the times.  It should be where they drop you off.

My biggest pet peeve with Royal is when they take something that was once complimentary and then start charging for it (e.g., room service after midnight, Johnny Rockets, etc.). In fact, I stopped sailing with them for a decade partly because of this before coming back. I also think that what they charge is higher than the competition for similar items, especially the specialty restaurants.

it is becoming the norm.....or at least to have to pay for everything besides the bare basics......
 
royal seems to be going the way of the cheap airlines where you have to pay for everything extra besides your seat and seatbelt on the plane.....lol
 
While  a lot of the other cruise lines and ships seem to be going the way of including more or letting  you choose some extra add-ons for free, Royal seems to want to make you pay extra and more for everything.
 
I wouldn't be surprised to start to see fee's and charges for things like the Flo-rider, premium seating at their shows and musicals, room service, maybe even for preferred seating times in the MDR as well in the near future.
 
Sounds crazy you say? I bet 5 years ago a lot of the things we pay extra for now would have sounded crazy.
 
Such is life in the travel/tourism industry.