sk8erguy1978

@Richk  Hi and welcome to the RCB forums!
I agree with @sk8erguy1978 that 7 days is the sweet spot if you are still working.  But if retired, I would say 14 days is right.  My favorite itinerary is Southern Caribbean, I doubt that you will be disappointed.
 I also very much agree with @rjac items 6 & 7.  Get the luggage tag holders and do the cruise planner book/re-book to get your lowest price on items you're interested in.
Enjoy...
 

Welcome!
Our first cruise was themed and 3 days, it was so much and so overwhelming I barely remember it. Our second cruise was 5 days and just when we got into it, it was over. I think 7 is a sweet spot for a first cruise, but with friends on board the 11 days will fly by, don't even sweat it. 
There will probably be a New Years celebration!

That's exactly why I'd never wear one, no matter how great my body looks. However, whether you have the everyday gym bod, dad bod, or even a bit more 'fluffy' there is nothing wrong with owning it. 

You said it, I was thinking it! Ha! 
I bought a pair of speedo brand bathing suit (but it's a regular man's bathing suit) just so I can do this joke: "be right back, going to put on my Speedos!" ... They are usually relieved to see a "normal" bathing suit when I return.

I have, on occasion, seen men wearing speedos. 

Welcome!
Our first cruise was themed and 3 days, it was so much and so overwhelming I barely remember it. Our second cruise was 5 days and just when we got into it, it was over. I think 7 is a sweet spot for a first cruise, but with friends on board the 11 days will fly by, don't even sweat it. 
There will probably be a New Years celebration!

I leave my passport in the safe, it would be a pretty bad situation if I lost it while in a country, I wouldn't be allowed to enter the United States at disembarkation. 
This is why you should cruise with a passport though, and as stated, the ships officers will leave it with the country officials at port. Otherwise, with just a birth certificate in hand, you'll be having a fun afternoon at a U.S. Embassy.
I suspect some of these rules will apply in the situation of missing cruise ship and only having Birth Certificate & Government issued ID
https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/international-travel/emergencies/lost-stolen-passport-abroad.html

I am headed straight to Royal's site to check on prices! I would LOVE Symphony & two private islands! Take my resort to two private islands for relaxing easy peasy beach day? I'm in.

This happened to me with an excursion, I put it in the cart and got distracted. Went back the next day and it was about $10 dollars less (for both) so - hey win! I try to make it at least a weekly habit to check prices.

This happened to me with an excursion, I put it in the cart and got distracted. Went back the next day and it was about $10 dollars less (for both) so - hey win! I try to make it at least a weekly habit to check prices.

I've never seen the base price for something on sale for a particular sailing increase. For my up coming cruise, when the 30% off drink package sale happened, it was the exact price I expected from the base price I calculated from previous sales.
The marketing will definitely make it sound like it's a great deal, when in reality, (drink price example) 20%, buy one get one 1/2 off (aka 25%), and 30% really aren't that different from one another. My next cruise, the difference between 20% and 30% is $7 dollars a day per person. Sure, that adds up, but it's not as big as marketing makes you believe. 

We sailed aft on a different cruise line from NYC to Caribbean, wife got sick and had trouble shaking it. It wasn't until I dragged her out of the cabin to a lower deck mid ship did she recover. On another cruise (forget if it was Liberty or Explorer) we had some rough-ish seas and I decided to use the elliptical in the gym (all the way forward) and almost fell off a few times.
So, not too much help, but personally feel either way you're feeling it more, might as well take aft for the views.

I am headed straight to Royal's site to check on prices! I would LOVE Symphony & two private islands! Take my resort to two private islands for relaxing easy peasy beach day? I'm in.

I am headed straight to Royal's site to check on prices! I would LOVE Symphony & two private islands! Take my resort to two private islands for relaxing easy peasy beach day? I'm in.

This happened to me with an excursion, I put it in the cart and got distracted. Went back the next day and it was about $10 dollars less (for both) so - hey win! I try to make it at least a weekly habit to check prices.

Symphony is doing cruises with stops at both Labadee and Coco cay in January 2021. I jumped all over that one. Like @twangster posted earlier I am one of those who loves a nice relaxing beach day and being able to do it for free on 2 stops on the same cruise is extremely appealing to me
 

The majority of guests boarding Mariner have never been on a cruise before.  
Perfect Day is proving to be immensely popular for good reason.
Combine the two and I can understand why they are trying this.
If the feedback is positive they'll likely continue, if not they likely won't.
The idea of two stops is appealing.  That's taking me two cruises, one last week and another next week.  
 
Let's examine this concept that the new Perfect Day is a money grab compared to the old CocoCay. 
Thrill water park is a small section of the island.  Beyond the water park the same excursions are available that always have been at CocoCay, except...
Remember the old Aqua Park?  $37 for one hour.  That's it in the distance. Yep, that's what you got for one hour and $37 back in 2017.


Remember the old slides from 2017?  $26 for a day pass.  Not included in the Aqua Park.

Now for roughly the same price of the old aqua park and old slide you get an entire water park with wave pool and multiple slides that are incredible.
Thrill water park is $62 in most of my upcoming stops at CocoCay.  To me that represents pretty great value compared to the CocoCay of yesterday.
BTW - see all those loungers in the top picture?  Notice anything missing?  The $20 umbrellas!
Here is a Perfect Day picture from last week.  Now, umbrellas all over the place and they are free!

If you just want a relaxing beach day without spending a dime that describes 90% of Perfect Day including a free fresh water pool and now Perfect Day is so much nicer than the old CocoCay.  If you want a water park, the price today has so much more value compared to the old Aqua park and inflatable slide of yesterday's CocoCay at the same price.
Plus no more tendering!  Come and go from the ship as much as you want.  
What's not to love about Perfect Day?

This is really the only way to do it and as Spiralqueen noted, the % off is just a distraction.  Last week I was randomly checking (as I do daily) and noticed that the price of the Unlimited Dining Package on my Anthem Feb 7 2020 cruise had suddenly slipped to $176 PP.  Routinely, even on “sale” it never dropped below $199 PP so I snatched it and cancelled my previous $199 purchase.  It has never re-appeared at $176.  I think I caught an intern glitch !  

Absolutely, and cruise planner prices will be better than on board prices 99% of the time.  
If you don't watch it closely you might not get the best price you could have, but it will be cheaper than on board.  If you didn't score the best price, that's your fault, not deceptive marketing.

I see things differently.  
Once on board there are always new cruisers who have never sailed before lined up at Shore Excursion paying the full and higher price.  Look at the excursion books left in your cabin.  The on board prices are always highest.  The same can be said for Voom and other items like drink packages.
Anything discounted from on board rates is a sale price. 
Not all cruise planner sales are equal and not all ships and sail dates will get the same discounting but anything that is lower than on board prices is a sale price, not a marketing game trying to deceive guests.
99% of the time when you purchase something in the Cruise Planner you are getting a better deal.  Just ask the folks on their first cruise paying full price on board.  Once you tell them about the Cruise Planner, they won't make that mistake again.

I don't even try on board LOL. Goal: gain all losses during trip! LOL!
Our local beer selling guy has all different brands too, I grab whatever flavors I suspect my wife will enjoy ... I am the enabler LOL!

Yep, my "friend" has warned me of that too :). 

That's what we do, set it, forget it, cry when the statement comes last day.
If you're someone who doesn't like to charge your CC, you could put cash on the account but that becomes a hassle. Either you need to go retrieve it at the end or 'settle up' with them, both seem like a pain to me (waiting in long lines at guest services last day adding to disembarkation stress). What I've done in the past (before I started playing the credit card points game) is whatever cash I didn't use (or lose) I'd put it on my account to make my credit card bill less. I'd do that late at night while the lines are minimal. 

Just to add, besides tipping staff members, the entire ship is cashless (to the best of my knowledge) except for the casino, which, Royal Caribbean will allow you to use your seapass card to get cash from the cashier, for a percentage. 

I always start my cruises with the best intentions..vodka, soda with lime..but eventually I give in to the allure of the frozen drinks and then it's all downhill from there..might as well indulge in all the good food onboard as well, too! ?
But my fridge at home is all spiked seltzer..a variety of brands representing whichever was on sale recently or available at my local close-out store.
It is becoming more and more popular and more and more companies are coming out with versions of it.  I can also find it one variety at least on tap at a lot of my usual taphouses now.