berkeleykel

I love Bellinis because they are quick and easy to make but feel more indulgent that a regular glass of wine.

me too!! I had 15 cruises all favourited and looked pretty much every day to see price changes.
 
now nothing ?
 
very poor change to the US site which is trash!!!

Power adaptors. 
Make sure 6+ months left on passport after end of trip. 
Have a plan for acquiring some cash (I would typically go to an ATM once in country). 
I wouldn't buy the wine until you get there; can't tell if that's what you already planned to do or not.

This latest article I read seems to have more specific numbers that the earlier articles I saw.  Sounds like most people were able to get off the island -- 8 people left unaccounted for and presumed dead in addition to the 5 that were rescued but later died.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/new-zealand-volcano-eight-still-missing-after-eruption-on-white-island-which-left-five-dead-and-injured-34/ar-BBXZX7w?li=BBoPWjQ

I love Bellinis because they are quick and easy to make but feel more indulgent that a regular glass of wine.

I found it really annoying not to be able to hear announcements from the room. First world problems but in a 2 bedroom GS by the time I realised there was an announcement and made it from the en suite bathroom all the way around to the door to hear the announcement, I would have already missed a decent chunk of it. It was most frustrating when it related to announcements like whether tendering was starting, whether we could disembark at a port etc.  Big difference between “we are docked and anticipate you can deboard in 30 mins” vs “you can get off the boat right now”. 

I found it really annoying not to be able to hear announcements from the room. First world problems but in a 2 bedroom GS by the time I realised there was an announcement and made it from the en suite bathroom all the way around to the door to hear the announcement, I would have already missed a decent chunk of it. It was most frustrating when it related to announcements like whether tendering was starting, whether we could disembark at a port etc.  Big difference between “we are docked and anticipate you can deboard in 30 mins” vs “you can get off the boat right now”. 

+1 for this. We did the Med in October a few years ago. It was sunny, but two of the days were very chilly (like 3C). We still had a great time, but wore a lot of layers those days ? 

It was very nice - the ship wasn't too full of families and I enjoyed it. The only problem was the weather - Oasis Class just aren't designed for colder climates. We were on Harmony (her last Med cruise before the TA) and the Boardwalk was closed for a while on the at sea day due to rain.
I say go for it but do be mindful of the weather.

I’ve usually had great experiences at Heathrow.  And now US citizens can use the e-gates as long as you aren’t traveling with children, which has sped up going through passport control a lot. 

I can't answer that one, but in guessing it will be scrutinized.

I can't compare to other RCL ships as Rhapsody is the only one I've been on, but here are my thoughts on our 7 night trip from this past September:
Ship is older but well maintained. Smaller ship with not many activities.  I thought it could have used one more family activity like mini golf or something.  However,  the activities staff is top notch and makes up for it with excellent activities.  We had a lot of fun at the trivia events, game shows, etc.  We would go back just for the activities staff.  We only had one sea day though.  Maybe we would have felt the lack of activities more if we had more sea days. MDR was excellent.  We loved our meals and service.  Same for Chops.  My husband loved his food at Giovanni's but my stuffed chicken entree was nearly inedible. We had some issues with Guest Services not knowing what they were doing, giving out incorrect information, being generally incompetent.  Loved the bar staff for the most part; Schooners was our fave. Spa was mediocre.  Long waits despite having appointments booked. Food in Windjammer was good and generally kept well stocked.  There were issues with getting seating sometimes, especially at breakfast. Our room was in the forward part of deck 8.  There were some nights where the noise from dancing on the pool deck was kind of ridiculous--constant, loud thumping on our ceiling until 1 am.  Would avoid a cabin in that area. We were pleasantly surprised by how entertained we were the whole time.  I had been wanting to try an Oasis class ship but after our experience on Rhapsody I started thinking that it might be too much for us to jump up to such a big ship.  It was nice seeing the same groups of people over and over again.  The cruise felt like a true shared experience and we were all in it together.

The Adventure sailings are listed in the blog as going to St. Petersburg, Russia and I would assume that's the St. Petersburg that the OP wants to go since they called it a bucket list destination!

I spoke to a Royal rep today Odyssey sailings out of Rome won't be out til week of Dec 9th ?

I did not see many tuxes or full gowns on my Greek isles cruise a couple months ago.  I would not stress.

Disagree completely.  Why can't they do something now? It's their choice how to respond.  These complaints are easily verifiable.  It's not like complaining after the fact that the food was served cold in the MDR or something.  I think it's reasonable not to want to further negatively affect a vacation by wasting time and stress by logging complaints while on board. I also don't see a tantrum here and comments like that are unnecessary.

Per the link above: "This is a whole new perspective on some of Europe’s most legendary shores, onboard the region’s first Quantum Ultra Class ship. Scope out Santorini’s seaside cliffs from 300 feet above sea level in the North Star℠. Or gaze at crystal blue Mediterranean waters through the panoramic two-story windows in Two70 on your way to Ephesus, Athens, Mykonos and more."
Depending on the ports for the 7 nighter I might cancel my Allure 2020 med sailing and switch to Odyssey in 2021.  I like the idea of Rome as a home port much more than Barcelona.  Rome as a 1 day stop on a cruise seems like an exhausting day with it being so far from the port, so it would be nice to embark from there and be able to add on a few nights before the cruise in a hotel in the city. 

Cheapest rates are almost always to be had from withdrawing euros directly from an ATM once in the EU.  Use euros in the ports; on board you can use dollars, for instance the casino is dollars only and I wouldn’t hesitate to tip in dollars if more convenient for you. 
Fyi if you need to break euros on board you can do so at guest services

Cheapest rates are almost always to be had from withdrawing euros directly from an ATM once in the EU.  Use euros in the ports; on board you can use dollars, for instance the casino is dollars only and I wouldn’t hesitate to tip in dollars if more convenient for you. 
Fyi if you need to break euros on board you can do so at guest services

Random observation but it's because all of the other letters in Manitoba besides "b" are used in US state abbreviations!

Random observation but it's because all of the other letters in Manitoba besides "b" are used in US state abbreviations!

Random observation but it's because all of the other letters in Manitoba besides "b" are used in US state abbreviations!

There have been a few recent live blogs for Med cruises:
 
Agree that you wouldn't want to fly all the way to Europe from the States (if that's where you are) just for a 7 night cruise, but if you add a few days for a land vacation then I think a 7 nighter would still be worth it.  
I recently did a 7 night Greek Isles cruise on Rhapsody (Venice, Kotor, Corfu, Athens, Mykonos, Argostoli,1 sea day) and liked it a lot.  I thought Venice was worth at least 2 extra days, probably 3.
Also agree that Oasis class isn't necessary on a Med itinerary.  We had plenty to do on a smaller ship (not that I've sailed Oasis class to compare).

There have been a few recent live blogs for Med cruises:
 
Agree that you wouldn't want to fly all the way to Europe from the States (if that's where you are) just for a 7 night cruise, but if you add a few days for a land vacation then I think a 7 nighter would still be worth it.  
I recently did a 7 night Greek Isles cruise on Rhapsody (Venice, Kotor, Corfu, Athens, Mykonos, Argostoli,1 sea day) and liked it a lot.  I thought Venice was worth at least 2 extra days, probably 3.
Also agree that Oasis class isn't necessary on a Med itinerary.  We had plenty to do on a smaller ship (not that I've sailed Oasis class to compare).

That’s generous. My kids would be taking turns sleeping on the floor!