darketower

We've only been on four ships so far - Freedom in 2007, Anthem in 2016, Harmony in 2018 and Navigator in 2019.  Because she was our first, Freedom will always hold a special place in our hearts. We loved the cantilevered hot tubs over the sides of the ship. As much as we loved Freedom, Harmony was truly amazing! There was so much to do and see and we never felt overly crowded for a ship with so many people on it!  We enjoyed the newly amplified Navigator, but, we didn't think it compared to the Freedom or Harmony.  Anthem has been our least favorite ship so far. The promenade area seemed narrow compared to the other ships. Whenever we walked through it, we always felt crowded. The one thing we did enjoy on Anthem was the Solarium - we felt that it was the best of all the ships so far. Looking forward to Mariner and Oasis next year.  Would love to go back on Freedom soon as well.  

US Citizens are taxed on all income wherever it is earned. Obviously there’s more to the tax code than just that, but it’s the starting point. 

US Citizens are taxed on all income wherever it is earned. Obviously there’s more to the tax code than just that, but it’s the starting point. 

We had a JS on deck 10 on Navigator in August. We loved the view. I will say that when we were at our railing, we could see all the balconies below us, so if that is something you wouldn’t like, I would recommend getting a cabin on the highest deck. We didn’t notice any of the noise issues that were mentioned by others  

That is correct.  We always have our cc set up and then just review the charges throughout the cruise to ensure no issues.  

That is correct.  We always have our cc set up and then just review the charges throughout the cruise to ensure no issues.  

Like @Lovetocruise2002, my wife is also a school teacher and I'm a CPA, so we are entirely restricted to cruising in the high premium summer season between late June and early August. We had a 9 year gap between our first cruise on Freedom of the Seas in 2007 and our second on Anthem of the Seas in 2016.  However, since then, we have gotten hooked (the wife says I'm addicted) and have been on 3 cruises, including a B2B on Harmony of the Seas in 2018, in the last 3 years and have two scheduled for 2020.  We are fortunate that we are now empty nesters and also have the means to afford going on cruises, but as a CPA, I'm still very conscious of how much we spend on vacations and am always trying to make sure we don't overspend. We try to book as early as possible and scour the website regularly for any deals. Also, we both feel like the ship is our vacation destination, so we are able to keep our costs down by not doing a lot of excursions.  When we do decide to try an excursion, we search the cruise planner for sales/deals on extras that we would like and we only buy them when we feel they are at a price-point we feel is worth it to us. On our last cruise on Navigator of the Seas, we won our royal-up bid for a JS and got the drink package for the first time ever, and we loved it.  Now, i'm fighting an internal battle between my inner cost-conscious CPA and my new found desire to just say YOLO when it comes to cruising.
maybe the wife is right - i need help.....

Like @Lovetocruise2002, my wife is also a school teacher and I'm a CPA, so we are entirely restricted to cruising in the high premium summer season between late June and early August. We had a 9 year gap between our first cruise on Freedom of the Seas in 2007 and our second on Anthem of the Seas in 2016.  However, since then, we have gotten hooked (the wife says I'm addicted) and have been on 3 cruises, including a B2B on Harmony of the Seas in 2018, in the last 3 years and have two scheduled for 2020.  We are fortunate that we are now empty nesters and also have the means to afford going on cruises, but as a CPA, I'm still very conscious of how much we spend on vacations and am always trying to make sure we don't overspend. We try to book as early as possible and scour the website regularly for any deals. Also, we both feel like the ship is our vacation destination, so we are able to keep our costs down by not doing a lot of excursions.  When we do decide to try an excursion, we search the cruise planner for sales/deals on extras that we would like and we only buy them when we feel they are at a price-point we feel is worth it to us. On our last cruise on Navigator of the Seas, we won our royal-up bid for a JS and got the drink package for the first time ever, and we loved it.  Now, i'm fighting an internal battle between my inner cost-conscious CPA and my new found desire to just say YOLO when it comes to cruising.
maybe the wife is right - i need help.....

Can't wait to hear about the "new" Oasis - we are scheduled on her for next August!

You're lucky i'm not in charge, i would ban smoking indoors (to include the casino) and make the only place for smoking, in the aft (designated section) upper decks.  If you get caught smoking in a non-authorized location, you would be dropped off at the next port.  I'm surprised that Royal Caribbean hasn't been sued yet, by an employee that has been diagnosed with cancer from second hand smoke due to improper ventilation in the casinos.

Unfortunately, you don't get double C&A points when you upgrade via Royal-Up. We went to a Junior Suite from a balcony and they made that clear up front at least.  

Unfortunately, you don't get double C&A points when you upgrade via Royal-Up. We went to a Junior Suite from a balcony and they made that clear up front at least.  

You know there’s no CK on Brilliance right? ??
kidding...went with the group on Anthem and we had a blast. I would have gone on Brilliance too but the timing doesn’t work out.

You then, are part of the problem .... and if you can't see that, then I can't help you.  for all those times you were in the restaurants, in your cabin, someone else, who also paid their cruise fare, could be enjoying the lounger.

We got our assignment several weeks ago for our April '20 Mariner of the Seas sailing

We got our assignment several weeks ago for our April '20 Mariner of the Seas sailing

This just happened to me and I lost my 150.00 OBC BUT I saved an extra $500.00 so at the end of the day I was up. My TA keeps an eye for me and when there are more savings to be had well she gets it done. I am sure before February 2021 you will see additional flash sales but I do think every sale is inclusive of themselves and can't be combined, I believe. I am sure some wonderful other cruisers will chime in shortly. Good Luck and happy sailing!!

Not Chris....but....All of the ships will have some kind of No limit poker game. All of the electronic machines are gone now (thank goodness).  The problem with the poker games is the rake is 10% of all called pots (max $15 per hand).  They will either play a $1/3 or $2/5 game. The rake sucks up any chance of winning anything. We used to play but almost never do anymore.  They also have some satellite tournaments for the Royal Poker Tour.

Yes, my contract is scheduled to finish in March. Thank you for watching my vlogs!

The free champagne has been around at least since we booked our last cruise to Cuba in Nov 2018 on RCCL. On this November sailing we got and extra $200 OBC just for using the AMEX, PLUS the champagne. You DO have to purchase either through the AMEX Travel website, or an affiliated TA. This offer applies to AMEX Platinum and Centurion card members. We booked all our travel through our AMEX Affiliated TA who secured us the benefit. 
https://thepointsguy.com/guide/amex-platinum-cruise-privileges-program/
The other option is to pre-purchase the bottle in your cruise-planner before booking. Usually you can save 20-30% off onboard prices. It's still 3x the offboard prices... but I suppose if you're not getting the drinking package (or don't want to go to the bar and don't want to pay for room service as the OP indicated) it may not be the worst option!

Maybe it's an AmEx Travel thing when you book through their travel portal which effectively makes AmEx your TA.

We went on Navigator 8/19 to 8/23 and initially had an oceanview balcony.  We bid $250 (I believe the minimum was $150) for the junior suite about 6 weeks before the cruise and it was accepted within 24 hours.  We got deck 10 JS Aft with a monster balcony for $500 more than our oceanview balcony, which if i remember correctly was slightly more than $1600. 

Thanks everyone for the info. I will just carry them on? 

That's correct - we had three rooms booked and we were able to bring 6 bottles of wine in our carry-on luggage and we had no problem.  Definitely worth doing if you can.

Really hoping that this won't be the case with Oasis as well....