PRebecca

First time I’ve ever spotted a helicopter on the Labadee pier.  It was there before we arrived. 

Thanks so much for your support. The only service you should have signed up for is Patreon, which is at https://www.patreon.com/RoyalCaribbeanBlog

Hi Matt, thanks for doing this, the info provided here is invaluable for a new-ish cruiser! I happily signed up and made a monthly pledge, and was rerouted to a couple different sites, one of them Disqus I am not sure is related to this blog or not and was hoping for clarification, I will cancel that account if it's not related to this blog. I see that Patreon is related so I will leave that one as is, just asking about Disqus. Appreciate all you do!

Navigator September 13th, in 44 days!
Preparing/researching for this has provided me with so much excitement and joy! I can only imagine the blues when it's over but it's not dampening my spirit ? I think a good solution is to try to always have one booked; I would be happy if cruising is our forever yearly vacation plan. Wondering (sorry if this isn't the right place) the routes people take to book future cruises? It seems like I may get more benefits (OBC, less deposits) by using a TA (I have reached out to the website's sponsor a few minutes ago) and wondered if there is a method that anyone else uses, or if it's strictly on personal preference for booking?

Prompted me to reach out and get a quote for my next cruise, I'm not a shopper so that's where I landed because of the quick response ? 

Not an MEI customer (not yet anyway),  but I was pretty impressed on how fast annette@mei-travel responded to the initial question

Goslings is the only choice, unless you're looking to make a "froo-froo" version of the D&S. Might as well put an umbrella and a slice of citrus fruit in it if you use Kraken.

I usually establish a relationship with key bartenders early in the cruise by offering a single with my SeaPass card when ordering drinks with DX.  Pool bars for example.  
They get to know you and remember your drink orders.   At busy times this can work in your advantage.  
I was on Navigator in December.  Shortly after the ship went into dry dock and months later I was back on in March.   Bartenders not only remembered my name but also my drink preferences.   The very moment I walked up on boarding they they welcomed me by name with a smile on their face months later.  
A extra tip, a smile and patience when they are slammed goes a long way.
You don't have to tip above the 18% you have already paid.
PS - I still remember his name too - Edgardo, a great bartender.    Then there was Zoltan in the Bamboo Room, then...

I always tip extra. People have differing opinions on this of course. I don't know if it improves service, since I always do it, I have no point of reference. I think even though tips are distributed equally, if you feel that a server or anyone for that matter is providing you above average service, you should show your appreciation with a little extra $.
Thank you's and compliments are nice, but they don't pay the bills.

Another point is that your prepaid gratuities for the deluxe beverage package (factored into the price you were charged) are for a hypothetical number of beverages at the rate of 18%.   If you drink less than the assumed amount (which depends upon the value of the drinks you consume), you are in effect prepaying more than the 18% in the DLB total price.  If you consume more $$ in beverages, then you are prepaying less than you would be paying "a la carte".   Then you consider the "rate" of the gratuity, like 18% versus the number you expect to pay for good service.  We assume 20% for good service, so even when I buy a drink a la carte, I normally "round up" on the receipt I sign for my Sea Pass.  Other travelers assume a higher or lower rate (15%-25%).  All of this means that the advice of @DandA is sensible, and also applies to restricted lounges, like the Diamond lounge where "free" drinks are offered during happy hour.  Since one isn't buying the drink, the waiter isn't really getting a gratuity unless you offer cash at some point (along the way or at the end of the voyage).  
Remember, we aren't talking official RCI policy here, just the practice of other travelers who are trying to make sense of the system and understand that the crew depend upon gratuities as a major form of compensation.

Hi welcome to the forums, you can find a wealth of information here to make your cruise much more enjoyable.
Many here tip the bartender/waiter an extra $1 or $2 per drink in cash.  I find that it helps them to remember you, and your usual drink if you have one.   A funny story on the Majesty this past April, we asked to share a table in the Schooner bar and this lady started saying that we would have to go to the bar to get our drink, basically complaining about the slow service.  As she finished telling us this one of the waiters saw us and came to take our order, I chuckled to myself as we had never had that problem, thinking well maybe that extra buck really helps.  I don't think you are singled out for poor service if you don't tip extra but an extra buck never hurts.  I take a bunch of ones with me, and will take what ever amount I think I'll need for the day/evening with me to hand out as needed, the rest stays in the safe.  I also bring larger bills 5, 10 and 20's to tip others in cash like porters, MDR waiters and tour guides and the such.
The MDR is open for breakfast, but only open for lunch on sea days.  Breakfast in the MDR is made to order and they also have a small buffet.  The MDR has an item called a "tutti salad" for lunch that is really good.  It's a buffet station where you choose your salad ingredients, they chop and toss it for you.  It's one of the better salads I've ever had, and eating light for lunch, makes you feel better when you have that desert in the evening. :)

@PRebecca  Welcome to the RCB forums!  YOLO!

Awesome, thanks for clarifying!

Last year, my wife and I embarked on our first cruise.  (You may have inferred, correctly, from my username and icon that I am a U.S. Naval officer, retired now; so, yes, I have many cruises of the haze-grey underway kind under my belt, but not, until last year, a pleasure cruise.)  For all we knew at the time, it would be the only cruise we would ever take, so we went as all out as we dared, a cruise to Alaska (the top destination on our list) in a Neptune suite on board Holland America's Nieuw Amsterdam.  (Never fear, this post will turn to Royal Caribbean quickly enough.) 
When you drop that kind of money, you want to make sure things go seamlessly.  The Good Mrs. Benson will attest that I don't buy so much as a stapler without gathering as much intelligence as possible and doing research.  After making a travel agent aware of our budget, preferences, and schedule, I spent a week vetting her three recommendations.  And once she had booked our selection, scheduled for a year later, I spent that twelve months scouring every cruise-related web site I could find (you know the ones), with particular attention to any Holland America fora.  The interesting thing was that I never had to post any questions in any of those fora or on any thread, for I discovered that all of the questions I had, and some I hadn't thought of, had already been asked by another poster and thoroughly answered by the experienced cruisers so willing to help.  Thanks to them, during our Alaskan cruise, we suffered only one or two oh-so-minor glitches, and those had been things outside of our power to anticipate.  All of my "homework" had paid off.
We had a marvelous time!  We had barely disembarked when we knew another cruise lied in our future.  Next destination:  Canada/New England.
(O.K., now we get to Royal Caribbean.  Thank you for your patience, folks.)
We had gotten used to suite living.  That would be the standard for our next cruise, and with our budget, that set the time to the autumn of 2020.  Now, I hadn't intended to start seriously exploring our options until the fall of this year.  (While we enjoyed Holland America, that didn't rule out the other lines for our next sailing.)  However, four months ago, on a free morning, I decided, what the heck, let's see what's out there now for a fall, 2020 visit to Canada and New England.  It turned out that there were quite a few, but the one which presented the best bang for the buck, with a ship that seemed to best fit our own personalities, was one offered by Royal Caribbean.  That early, some nineteen months ahead of the sail date, the fare offered was too good to pass up.  I called our TA and booked the 18-25 October 2020 cruise to Canada/New England, in a grand suite on Brilliance of the Seas.
And that's why I'm here.
From the moment our TA confirmed the booking, I've returned to the research mode and buried myself in Royal Caribbean-related fora.  About a month ago, I discovered this site, and what a treasure trove it is.
We've got Cruising 101 down pat.  What I'm here to discover are the things intrinsic to Royal Caribbean and Brilliance of the Seas.  From the short time I've spent prowling the various threads here, it's apparent that, just as before, I'm not going to have to ask any questions.  I'm learning more with each visit here.  By October of 2020, I'll probably know everything I need to know---thanks to you veteran Royal Caribbean cruisers.
However, please don't let that dissuade any of you from posting your own nuggets of advice or helpful observations.  We welcome any input.
I have to say that, even with what little we've found so far, the Good Mrs. Benson and I are getting more excited about our 2020 voyage!

Awesome, thanks for clarifying!

Navigator September 13th! ? 
My wife and I are SO VERY ready for a vacation with just the two of us!

Awesome, thanks for clarifying!

Navigator September 13th, in 44 days!
Preparing/researching for this has provided me with so much excitement and joy! I can only imagine the blues when it's over but it's not dampening my spirit ? I think a good solution is to try to always have one booked; I would be happy if cruising is our forever yearly vacation plan. Wondering (sorry if this isn't the right place) the routes people take to book future cruises? It seems like I may get more benefits (OBC, less deposits) by using a TA (I have reached out to the website's sponsor a few minutes ago) and wondered if there is a method that anyone else uses, or if it's strictly on personal preference for booking?

Our first vacation in 10 (yes, TEN) years!!! We are beyond excited!

Navigator of the seas Jun 10-14. First cruise and first longer than a weekend vacation with hubby in 28 yrs of marriage. 

Usually a month out the wife starts planning as for me a few days prior.  This year will be hectic. We are listing our house in mid August and going on a cruise Sept. 12.  No more suit packing just a blazer and that works great for me.  Heck the day I got married I packed for the honeymoon and forgot nothing and still that way to this day.  That was only 43 years ago.  HA HA.  No pressure.  Also leave room in your luggage and split items up. Room for purchases.   Luggage loss does happen unfortunately.  

Totally not crazy! I'm on the same cruise as you except later, over Thanksgiving rather than Halloween, and I have already pretty much packed everything in my head! ?
A couple of weeks before the big day I usually draw up a table with a box for each day - where we'll be and what we'll be doing - and then jot down the outfits I plan on wearing in the relevant boxes. I find this to be especially helpful if I'm planning on mixing and matching because I can see it all at a glance. 

SAME! So glad I found this site and that others are as preoccupied with their future sail dates as I am ? I am considering changing my mindset from  "BUY/BOOK <upgrade room/extra excursion/over the top decorations/etc>, you only live once" to "hmmm if I scale back the unnecessary costs on this cruise I can justify booking another while on board"  That may be the way I go!

Can you share this advice with my wife and daughter? They’re still convinced that each day needs three outfits. 

Waiting when we got back to our room.