YOLO

@andy If you are interested in the podcast, you can listen on your computer right from this RCB website. Here is the link: https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/podcast Also, good job on booking some of the shows in advance. With ~6000 passengers on board, not everyone can see the shows at the same time. I usually book the best show times first, and then make my dinner reservations second. Sounds like you are off to a great start!

@Lovetocruise2002 Love your signature quote! And thanks for explaining the list requirements...

Hi Andy - Welcome to the RCB! I am guessing you found @Matt 's podcast too. I use Player FM to auto download it and listen when I have free time. I haven't been on the Symphony yet, but have sailed on Oasis & Allure sister ships. Personally, the Oasis class ships are my favorite. Ceil and I make sure we take a walk through Central Park every night we cruise them, usually right after dinner. I think you and your children will love it. It often pretty difficult to plan your shows and dinners in advance on the RCL website. But try your best to plan in advance. Since it's your first cruise you should try to experience all the shows. And on a 7N Symphony cruise it might be a bit a challenge to fit all you want to do in. Are you going Eastern or Western? ART

Hi Sarah. Welcome to the RCB...

Thanks! I'll give it a try...

Is there a way to post a picture in-line with this text? Maybe that will help with the necessary file formatting...

Yeah, it has to be a small file size. My dog Kuka was the only pic I had that worked for me. I guess I will need to use a photo editor to reduce the file size and resolution.

Hi Dan, Diane, & Dave !!! Welcome to the RCB family. @sk8erguy1978 @CoupleOfCruisers I am new here too and also lurking for years... We started on the Carnival Inspiration in 1996. Last cruise was Anthem in June and next is Anthem in October. Next year's Harmony will be our 30th cruise. Art (& Ceil)

Hi Joe, Welcome... If you are still looking you may want to check out CruiseBrothers out of RI. Years back I booked a great transatlantic cruise through them and used them often. These days I compare all of my quotes to BestPriceCruises. You can get quotes directly from their website, which is getting to be somewhat rare these days. And BPCs prices are often the best I can find. Also, I plan to check out MEI going forward too. ART

Good point. I like to try to boil down my rate to a per person per day calculation (apples to apples). When I do I always add in all the perks like OBC to be consistent. Also, I have been excluding gratuities, pre paid or otherwise. I probably should reconsider that though. It's nice to be under $100 per person per day for an inside. Of course other room categories will be more. Usually I find that Celebrity runs a bit higher than Royal. Sorry, getting off topic with this...

So if twangster is correct, I should occasionally see discounted rates for cruises out of the Boston terminal since I live in MA. I'll have to look...

Anthem of the Seas 9N NE & Canada on October 24, 2019. We just came off the 9N Anthem which sailed on June 6th. It was our 40th High School Reunion Cruise. We like Anthem - this will be our 3rd time cruising her... [ I forgot to mention when we "YOLO booked" the Anthem. @Matt ]

Thanks for the Welcome ! @WAAAYTOOO @JohnK6404

Hi Matt and RCBers! My name is ART - already taken on this blog. My wife and I started cruising in 96 for our Honeymoon [Southern Caribbean on Carnival Inspiration] and have completed 27 cruises since. We were on the Anthem in June and unfortunately missed the recent group cruise. I enjoy the podcast and hope to learn more from the blog and message board. Happy Cruising All...