Va4fam

We bring a half dozen each cruise and try to  think like a 5 year old when hiding them.  
My best tip is to have a duck handy and strategically place it when you see a child approaching.....point it out if you must.  The look on their faces when they "discover" the duck on their own is priceless. 

We bring a half dozen each cruise and try to  think like a 5 year old when hiding them.  
My best tip is to have a duck handy and strategically place it when you see a child approaching.....point it out if you must.  The look on their faces when they "discover" the duck on their own is priceless. 

We bring a half dozen each cruise and try to  think like a 5 year old when hiding them.  
My best tip is to have a duck handy and strategically place it when you see a child approaching.....point it out if you must.  The look on their faces when they "discover" the duck on their own is priceless. 

We bring a half dozen each cruise and try to  think like a 5 year old when hiding them.  
My best tip is to have a duck handy and strategically place it when you see a child approaching.....point it out if you must.  The look on their faces when they "discover" the duck on their own is priceless. 

We bring a half dozen each cruise and try to  think like a 5 year old when hiding them.  
My best tip is to have a duck handy and strategically place it when you see a child approaching.....point it out if you must.  The look on their faces when they "discover" the duck on their own is priceless. 

Just got off Utopia this morning, and I can report that everything @Hoppy2BHere posted last Sunday is still accurate.
No comedy club/attic, Crown Lounge still open on deck 4, Comedians were featured in the Royal Theater.
There also seemed to be hammering and construction going on next to the Focus Photo area on deck 6.  Not sure if that was regular maintenance or something new.
 

Just got off Utopia this morning, and I can report that everything @Hoppy2BHere posted last Sunday is still accurate.
No comedy club/attic, Crown Lounge still open on deck 4, Comedians were featured in the Royal Theater.
There also seemed to be hammering and construction going on next to the Focus Photo area on deck 6.  Not sure if that was regular maintenance or something new.
 

Just got off Utopia this morning, and I can report that everything @Hoppy2BHere posted last Sunday is still accurate.
No comedy club/attic, Crown Lounge still open on deck 4, Comedians were featured in the Royal Theater.
There also seemed to be hammering and construction going on next to the Focus Photo area on deck 6.  Not sure if that was regular maintenance or something new.
 

Last night, We snagged $50 pp savings on Omakase dinner for our Utopia sailing next week.  

Last night, We snagged $50 pp savings on Omakase dinner for our Utopia sailing next week.  

Not crazy.....but perhaps a small thrill seeker!!!
We caught a 10:10 flight out of FLL at end of March.   How did we do it?
1--Kept  our bags instead of leaving them outside cabin on last night.
2--Exit cabin and line up at appropriate queue before designated time.   This helps prevent the dreaded elevator waiting game (with bags!!).
3--Walk off ship, breeze through security, call an UBER/Lyft, arrive at airport terminal with plenty of time.
We also have TSA Precheck but sometimes that line is longer than regular security. 
4--Board plane on time and give ourselves high fives for another perfectly executed disembarkation plan.
 

Took forever and despite missing points we made it to diamond,,, Yeah yeah I hear you D+ and Pinacles sneering... 😄
My fiance' and myself don't drink. Not to be boring but I was a pro and needed to blaze trails to a future with my grandkids. The fiance gets migraines if she even dabbles. Neither here or there.  We do both like mocktails though. I take it that the 4 a day would cover them or sodas? Do they automatically load your card? Are tips automatic or do we need to fill in the blanks? What happens if you want one before you get your room key...?

Just got off Oasis on Sunday. Had a wonderful time! Tried the escargot and it was actually really good. The other food was really good too. The staff was wonderful! They were so accommodating to my dad who was in a wheelchair and understanding with my son who is neurodivergent. Even the now 16 year old had a good time. You can tell (in some spots) that the ship is 16 years old. If you wanted to list bad things, it wouldn't be hard to find something (like most things). However, you can also see that RCCL has tried to keep her in good shape and still looking good. For anyone who hasn't been on Oasis or it's just been a good while, I recommend giving her a spin. My next trip will be on something a little smaller due to the desired ports and it won't take me another 12 years.

I bring this all up for two reasons:
A) This is not a 'Look at me!' post, this is something all of you should be aware of. The Royal Caribbean system is faulty, you have to keep tabs on it and oversee it every step of the way. This is true whether you have one upcoming cruise or a dozen. There is a lesson to be learned here.
B) I do have an amazing travel agent and I am very lucky to have found @Sharla. The by far majority of my cruises have been trouble free but there has been that time or two where Sharla has stepped onto the stage and saved the day. You too need a good travel agent.

We sail May 5th-9th...I'll try to report back if they've made progress

We sail May 5th-9th...I'll try to report back if they've made progress

We sail May 5th-9th...I'll try to report back if they've made progress

I think they opened up about 4-5 weeks before cruise.   We were on Celebrity Beyond and I remember "reserving" Aqua Show and Ice Skating.   I keep checking on the Royal Railroad for dining but only once has a reservation been available....at 9:30 pm.  My wife said "no."

Agreed when you talking about comedy and specifically a comedy club environment you need an intimate small venue not the vastness of the theater.  

I think it's a mistake removing the comedy club and relegating the comedy shows to the theater. It sucks the audience out of the equation in that kind of a venue.

or take a page from Celebrity and don't allow smoking in the casino at all 

I'll second @twangster's motion to move smoking to the small area and create a bigger non smoking area in regular casino.
@OCSC Mike.thank you for the Utopia update.  We will sail her for first time in early May.  Hope the remodeling projects won't be an issue.
 

I'll second @twangster's motion to move smoking to the small area and create a bigger non smoking area in regular casino.
@OCSC Mike.thank you for the Utopia update.  We will sail her for first time in early May.  Hope the remodeling projects won't be an issue.
 

You would think it would be more efficient to flip the smoking and non-smoking casinos.  Give smokers a compact space to smoke and breathe each others smoke, give non-smokets an expanded space. 

Living in Maryland, we've primarily sailed Vision class ships (currently 6 times, adding the 7th next month). We flew to Fort Lauderdale to do the repositioning cruise to bring Vision to Baltimore. We've gone out of Bayonne twice so far (Adventure and Anthem), and will be sailing from there again in 2027 (Odyssey). Last year we flew to Miami and did Independence. The Vision class ships are like home for us. We know our way around and how things work. The crew is always wonderful. We're learning to enjoy the larger ships as well, but the cost of flying to Florida and paying for a hotel room adds a lot to the overall cost. When we sail by ourselves on the larger ships it's a totally different experience than the smaller ones, especially if we're sailing with other family members.