Vwjo

We always bring more than we need but its no big deal because we just bring what we don't spend it back home.   

Frozen options:
  Frozen mojitos are good if you can handle lime..
  Strawberry/mango/banana daquiris...
  BBC/mudslides on the milk-based side of the spectrum.
Royal has a Tokyo Tea which is a long island iced tea they they replace the Coke with Midori, so it gives it a fun, green hue.
Rum swizzle uses grapefruit juice. 
Dark and stormy is rum and ginger beer.

We are first time cruisers as well and were debating whether or not to purchase the Key.  Originally we were looking at getting the internet package, but decided to go to the Key b/c it includes internet.   The total price difference for both of us was $85.  Decided the $85 extra was worth it to get on the ship early and having the Chops lunch.  We cruise on October 7, and can report back!

We normally tip the recommended and usually not addition. The one exception was our main dining room staff last year on Symphony. My daughter really likes strawberries and every night for dinner she got the fruit as her appetizer. The fruit was a mix of melon, and 1 or 2 pieces of strawberries. We mentioned it to the staff after our first dinner and every night after, she received here own bowl of strawberries and after each formal night and on the last night of the cruise, they provided her with her own plate of chocolate covered strawberries to take back to the room each night. She was very excited and it really make her dinner experience a memory.

We just got off Serenade.  We had the drink package (with 18% gratuity added).  We also prepaid the gratuities.
Our general rule of thumb is that the tips have already been added, but we'll give a cash tip for exceptional service.  This most recent one, we had one server that we really enjoyed, she always had a smile, a simple thing which far too many servers don't do, learned our likes and would always get to us as soon as she saw us walk in.  We gave her $20 in cash at the end.  Our stateroom attendant was very good and we gave him an extra $20.  Our MDR staff was average at best and we didn't give extra.

We tipped the porter $5 on embarkation day - my wife and I shared one large piece of luggage.
We did prepay gratuities on our last cruise. While I'm not sure if this was the spirit of prepaying gratuities (we also got the deluxe drink package, which included gratuities as well)...I must admit, it was nice walking around the ship without having to worry about carrying a wad of cash for tips. For most of the time, I walked around the ship with literally just the clothes on my back and my Seapass card on a lanyard. It made the experience that much more relaxing.
I'm certainly no cruise expert, but after perusing through the boards, doing some online research, and asking my TA for advice...as long as your pay the gratuities (prepaid or daily charge), whatever you decide is going to be the right decision. I have come to accept the fact that cruise tipping will probably be one of those controversial "GM vs. Ford"  topics for the rest of time!

Honestly, after many many cruises, I find that the tip "a lot" advice you get on any of the forums is very exaggerated.
You pay your gratuities that are charged daily or prepaid.  This also covers the buffet, Cafe Promenade and El Loco Fresh who area all in the tip pool.
You pay18% per drink or via the package purchase that added the 18%
You pay an 18% gratuity for a specialty restaurant, or if pre-purchase before boarding it is included in the price.
Really about the only time you have to worry about extra tipping is when you finally reach a C&A level where you are getting free drinks, or use the services of the concierge, then it seems more appropriate.  Then again if any service is way over the top, then you might consider a little extra. 
No one on the staff is going to label as "that cheapie" , they reserve that for those that remove their daily gratuities .... ?
 
 

I got the key for $24.99 for our September 13th 2019 sailing on the Navigator. I'm cool with that ? We spend exactly how we feel like it within our budget (usually)

When a group "takes over" a table that I was using by myself, I just pull up a chair, sit down, and start eating.
"Oh, sorry. Didn't notice that you had joined me."

I started checking on Thanksgiving Day, and found deals already that day.  But I'm the one who checks several times a week throughout the year.

Many years ago, I cruised with a couple of girlfriends and our motto was "What happens on the cruise, stays on the cruise".?
Much older, wiser and married now. 
Taking my first cruise with my husband in February.  ❤  Looking forward to making many happy memories with him❤?

Many years ago, I cruised with a couple of girlfriends and our motto was "What happens on the cruise, stays on the cruise".?
Much older, wiser and married now. 
Taking my first cruise with my husband in February.  ❤  Looking forward to making many happy memories with him❤?

Radiance of the Seas, 2003 in Alaska, roundtrip from Vancouver. Ship was 3 years old and we were blown away with how upscale we thought this ship was. First balcony cabin 7154.  

Many years ago, I cruised with a couple of girlfriends and our motto was "What happens on the cruise, stays on the cruise".?
Much older, wiser and married now. 
Taking my first cruise with my husband in February.  ❤  Looking forward to making many happy memories with him❤?

Many years ago, I cruised with a couple of girlfriends and our motto was "What happens on the cruise, stays on the cruise".?
Much older, wiser and married now. 
Taking my first cruise with my husband in February.  ❤  Looking forward to making many happy memories with him❤?

Many years ago, I cruised with a couple of girlfriends and our motto was "What happens on the cruise, stays on the cruise".?
Much older, wiser and married now. 
Taking my first cruise with my husband in February.  ❤  Looking forward to making many happy memories with him❤?

First ever cruise for me was just last these, on Freedom of the Seas for an 8-night Eastern Caribbean sailing. It was a celebration of many milestones: our 20th anniversary, our older daughter graduating high school, and our middle one graduating middle school.
I think my happiest memory was the four of us getting to swim with the dolphins in St. Kitts. It was a bucket list item for my wife, and it was the happiest I remember seeing her.


Paid a real premium for that full photo disc, but worth every penny for that memory.
Apart from that, my favorite personal experiences were sitting on my balcony and watching that incredible cobalt blue of the deep ocean going by, and going to the helipad at night to see the stars. That in particular was just stunning!
 

My first cruise was a TA on the Jewel in 2007.  We paralleled a small hurricane for a couple days.  A third of the crew was sick, the Shops On Board were closed because a lot of the bottles in Duty Free had broken and it smelled like a distillery on that entire deck.  It was hard to walk in open areas because of the pitching and rolling.
So I thought it would be a good idea to see if the little snack bar on the fantail (up a flight of stairs from the putting green) was open.  I was surprised to see the crew and the feeling was mutual.  It may not have been a good idea to climb an outside staircase in a hurricane for a chili dog and onion rings,  but it seemed like an adventure at the time.  Then I went back to the cabin and looked at the weather conditions.   Judging from the quality of the photo, I took a picture with a potato.  It shows the wind at 94 MPH almost directly at the port side of the ship.
Meclizine saved me from hugging the toilet, but anytime I sat down for more than a couple minutes I fell asleep.
I  knew cruising was for me.

Not very many, maybe 50

I’m having a severe episode of post-cruise blues... so I decided to watch a movie on Netflix - “Poseidon”

Since the never ending question of whether or not the Key is worth it, I thought I'd add to the discussion with my review of the program.
This was a weekday 4 night sailing that my beautiful wife and I did without kids. So just 2 of us and we got a good price of $19.99 per person/per night(total of $159.92).
We were going to get a 2 device internet package already so this played a major role in trying out the program. If we weren't getting the Key we would have paid $23.99/night (total of $95.96) for the 2 device package, so that would have put us at the Key being an additional $63.96
Embarkation day - we got to the port at 10am so we got a private seating area to wait for the ship to be ready. We were 2nd group to board the ship after the Pinnacle and Suite section. Pretty nice to beat the big groups of everyone else. This ended up being a really relaxing start to vacation which is nice because embarkation day can tend to be kinda hectic.
Once on the ship we stopped at the dining room for a Key luggage drop off, also super nice to counter the busy first day. After dropping off our extra luggage we sat down for a "Chops lunch by the MDR". This was a big disappointment as they set expectations too high calling it a Chops lunch. While the steak was good, it was not the same as a Chops steak. The biggest disappointment was from the much different atmosphere and lacking service. I don't blame the staff for the lacking service though, it's gotta be so tough to try and turn over the ship all in a few hours and also try to provide yet another service. Lunch was very slow and I feel like I wasted the early arrival waiting around for a lackluster lunch that went on for almost 2 hours. While this was much less hectic than the windjammer, it's advertised as something that it's not. I wish I'd of just grabbed windjammer food and jumped on the flowrider and took advantage of the small crowds. Key "Chops" lunch was a major dud.
No tenders on this sailing, but if there was I bet this is where I would be raving about my favorite part of the Key.
Special Key only activities:
Rock climbing wall - Not necessary since the lines are never very much
Ice skating - We didn't feel like iceskating so we didn't utilize this, but if you like ice skating this is a very nice perk. We have done the Open skate before and it's crazy! It's overcrowded and super hectic. Having this private skate time is the way to go!
Water-slides - Love the waterslides and during our 1 hour key time we went over and and over and over until I couldn't handle the stairs anymore. A nice perk to avoid lines for sure.
Skypad - I was very excited for this as I thought it looked very cool. Turns out you can always go with no lines because the Skypad is a complete fail by Royal. I only did it once and once again I wish I'd of just done another ride on the Flowrider. Sad to say the Skypad is a huge dud, it's not every worth doing once. You aren't missing anything
Flowrider - Yes please, love love love the Flowrider! Only problem here is you only get 1 hour of Key only and it seems every Key member took this opportunity to try it out. The line ended up being just as long as the open ride times. Still, anytime I can go on more of this, sign me up.
Special Seating at shows - This is especially awesome for the Ice Show. The Ice show is so A MAZ ING. We waited in line early for the first showing because even though we got private seating my wife wanted her first pick of front row seats. We loved the Ice show so much though that we went last minute to the second showing and sat in the Key/suite section. Nice seats, totally a great perk of the Key, but the show is so fun and interactive that I do recommend trying to go early and get front row seats at least once. If you don't know, the Ice show is super popular for good reason and you need to make it a priority on your cruise! We also used the Key/Suite seating for a couple of the headliner shows, center stage on balcony level. My wife prefers front row seating, but I was perfectly content with these seats as I won't get scowled at if I fall asleep. Still if you don't want to show up early for prime seating it's very nice to have the option. Only problem is other people used this seating as it isn't labeled very well and no one regulates it.
Disembarkation day we got a private breakfast in the MDR. The wife and I both got NY steak and eggs. This steak was better than the lunch steak, as was the whole experience. This was by far the best breakfast we had all cruise. They also hold your luggage while you are eating, if you kept your luggage for a self assist disembarkation as we did. The Key does offer a special luggage checkout system, but we like to self assist if we don't have the kids. After breakfast we met up with a Key disembarkation staff that lead us to the front of the line to exit the ship. Pretty cool, but we definitely got some dirty looks from the other guests.
Overall the Key was very much worth it for just the 2 of us. $63.96 was a steal for all the extra perks we got. $19.99/person is a steal of a deal though as we've seen it as high as $35/person. What's the highest I would go for the wife and I??  Well that depends on the ports and ship. Tender port on an Oasis I might go as high as $29.99, but a simpler ship I wouldn't go over $19.99. I'm not sure if we'll try it on our upcoming sailing with the 3 kids as this is a lot of extra money. I would probably have to find another $19.99 deal to keep the total cost down. I hope this review finds you well and my rambling didn't get too confusing. Nevertheless I am ready for another cruise, February can't come soon enough!
 
 
 
 

Our first cruise was on Radiance of the Seas in 2006 (our 25th wedding anniversary).  We remember two things vividly:
1).  Our first date was at a restaurant in Montreal called Portofino.  We were pleasantly surprised that Royal Caribbean took this into account and named a restaurant on Radiance Portofino as well.  It made us feel immediately "at home".
2).  We loved watching the guests dance all over the ship.  We were both quite envious.  When we returned home, we immediately started dance lessons.  You will see us on a ship someday.  We are not good, but we are not bad.  You will immediately notice who we are ... we will be the ones having the most fun on the dance floor.  Our favourite places on Royal Caribbean ships to dance are:
Any Centrum on any night. The Schooner Bar on Anthem (the floor just beside the piano is a dance floor just made for two). The entrance to the Schooner Bar on Harmony (we know it's not really a dance floor ... hasn't stopped us yet). Every Central Park (at night under the stars with slow music) Every Promenade (crowded or just us) The lounge forward on deck 5 on Voyager and Freedom class ships. Every Elevator that has the Stowaway Piano Player. Curt and Sue from Canada

My first Royal Cruise was 11 years ago.
Three weeks before my x decided to become my x.
The cruise was awful. Why? Because all I remember from that cruise was him being drunk, a jerk, and not wanting to do anything at all. His drink of choice was "Grey Goose Martini with Six *&^%$ olives". Six. Never understood why SIX? To this day.... if I hear anyone say "Grey Goose Martini..." I cringe and hear in my head "with six olives".
This December marks 10 years free of my x. I wanted to celebrate with a "do over" and in 217 days, I board the Grandeur of the Seas (same ship) and I will indulge in all the cruise ship vacation fun and experiences that I wanted to do all those years ago but instead listened to a drunk jerk complain for seven days.
I am going to go do all the things and take excursions and dance and see the shows EVERY night! I am going to have so much fun and I am going to do it right this time!
?

Our first cruise was on Enchantment back in 2014. While there were many great memories made on that cruise, I think my favorite memory was having drinks with my buddy in the schooner bar, which on that ship, has a great view of the sea. We just sat there drinking scotch, and as firefighters do, discussing how we were going to solve all of the world’s problems while watching the sea go by. 
 
What also sits in my memory is that this was before dinner. After eating dinner, my buddy and I went back to the schooner bar. The same bar tender was there. She saw us walk in and immediately poured what we were drinking.
it was a great day.

One of my most favourite memories from our first cruise was how “in awe” I was of the Royal Promenade. At the time, I could not wrap my head around how something like that could even be on a ship!  
To this day, on embarkation day, I still walk onto every ship and take a moment to take in that feeling. 
This was the Royal Promenade on Adventure back in 2002. She was Royal’s biggest, newest, and brightest at the time. ❤️