WAAAYTOOO

I can't imagine your reaction going from Majesty to Oasis ! I think you might be right ! I'll be your could almost fit Majesty in the Promenade ! Bummer about Coastal Kitchen. Honestly, this is the first time I have ever heard anyone say that the CK was only for Sky, Star and Pinnacle or that it was "off limits" the first part of the cruise. If this is true, I think it is a new development and not one that is likely to go over well. While I think that the food in the CK is a bit overrated, it is a lovely venue with a nice, relaxed atmosphere and you should be able to go there as dinner at CK for Sea class was one of the perks that was advertised. I would probably cause a semi-scene if I were barred. Special situations like crossings or otherwise extra long cruises where there are tons of the upper tiers and Pineapples is one thing but a run-of-the-mill 7 night Caribbean sailing is something else completely. Good luck. I hope you are able to report back later that you were able to get a good reservation.

We will probably eat in the MDR on Thanksgiving (NAV). Since there were no dining packages available I bought 2 Chops meals when they were 20% off but they would not let me book either one for Thanksgiving night which leads me to believe that they will be charging an up charge for Thanksgiving night. I refuse to pay it so it looks like the MDR it will be. We sailed last Thanksgiving and the MDR meal was just fine. same scenario for Christmas and NYE on Grandeur.

Thanks, Twangbot. Great blog as always. Disappointed to hear that the vending machines are closed while the ship is in port. I understand why...it's just that I thought that the entire reason for having the vending machines was to make these much-needed items available when the ship's stores were otherwise closed. Thanks for making that clear.

I have never had any problem bringing scissors onto the ship. I have them in my jewelry bag. I do not, however, try and take them on the airplane.

That's very interesting !

I have been in both 1718 and 1720 (although we didn't stay in 1720....just visited). 1720 definitely seems a little bigger and the balcony is DEFINITELY bigger but it also faces aft and your view is of the basketball court and the putt-putt golf. Sabrina, you are right. Both of these suites are really just bigger Crown Loft Suite but that's fine with me. In 1720, the balcony is 90 degrees to the bedroom and living area while 1718 the balcony simply extends directly in front of the bedroom and living area but I prefer the ocean view to the view off the aft. Trust me, the balcony on 1718 is plenty big ! There is a nice, big table and chairs out there and plenty of room for dining on the balcony and lounge chairs and tables.

I'm sorry. I shouldn't laugh but that story about your daughter is the cutest thing I've heard all week. She must be a hand full. JUST W.O.W on the weight loss. I don't know what else to say. ?

Interesting new set sail pass. I have been reading a lot of variations for SSP's lately. The ones for our upcoming NAV Thanksgiving and Grandeur Christmas/New Year's cruise looks very much like yours above. They just says "Suite". It's too far out yet for my next Star Class (Feb 15 - 98 days away) so I don't know what that one is going to look like. Regarding the emails from the Genie...it seems to me like the questionnaire comes out fairly far ahead. I think you should be getting that in the next few weeks..but the questionnaire does not come from the Genie. The first comm you will get from the Genie is at about 4 weeks where they will give you a link to an app called "Loop" which is pretty useless, in reality. But at that time, whether you use email or Loop, you will start to get specific questions answered and plans made. That's when the excitement really starts ! Once you get on board, you will get a phone number for your Genie which is by far the fastest and easiest way to contact them. Honestly, if you do not get the questionnaire, I would not worry about that in the least. It's stupid and useless, IMO. Then if you do not hear anything from your Genie by week 4, then I would probably use Sabrina's suggestion and contact the Concierge and have them ask the Genie if they have your correct email address. I have now been on 4 Star Class cruises and I have never had the Genie fail to contact me right on time. What stateroom are in on Allure ? We were in 1718 and it was incredible. I loved the Aqua Theater Suites (the previous 3) but being on 17 was so much more convenient. We had Charlie as our Genie on Allure. He was the best Genie we've had and I loved him. I know you'll get someone GREAT.

Your blog was wonderful. I can't believe it's over ! Safe trip home.

WOW ! Congrats on the weight loss. That's incredible ! 200 pounds in a year !

So excited for y'all. This is going to be a great blog. I can tell already ! Safe travels

This has been my experience as well. For the difference in age and location (also being from NOVA Baltimore is closer for us as well) I don't find Grandeur to be THAT much less. I actually find Grandeur to be fairly expensive for what it is. I expect that this has to do with the fees for porting in Baltimore more than anything else.

Let me say up front that I have not yet sailed on Anthem. I am going in Feb but that doesn't help you now... I love Grandeur...but if I were a 20-something I think I would prefer Anthem. It's a bigger and newer ship and there are by FAR more activities - especially activities for children and young adults - on Anthem vs Grandeur. Grandeur may be a little less expensive, but there is a reason for that ! As I said, Anthem is a newer, bigger and more "equipped" ship than Grandeur. If it were just you and your wife I would say Grandeur would be very nice, especially at a lower price...but thinking of the children and young adults, I would have to say that I BELIEVE they would find more to do on Anthem. The advantages of booking with Next Cruise have been dwindling so I would say to go ahead and book with MEI and get the free grats. Also, if you find any price drops on whichever ship you choose, MEI can help you take advantage of that. If you book directly with Royal, you would have to do all of that yourself. It's just nice to have a good TA on your side !

WOW ! That 150 menu seems very "skimpy". 150 has been one of my favorites in the past. Not sure it would be anything of interest with this menu. Thanks for posting it !

Twangbot strikes again !!

San Francisco beach is only a short taxi ride. It is free. I've only been there once but had a great time. There is a swim-up bar which wasn't the greatest but it was fun.

Yeah, I know. I was kidding

Welcome to the Boards, Pat ! Harmony is AWESOME !

Where's the whirling dervish ? LOL

No. Soda is always extra.

I have a few answers...and some I have no idea. 1. No, neither the Galley Brunch nor the cupcake decorating class are included in the UDP. These are considered "entertainment" events and not dining events. 2. No, there is no option to included these 2 events with a dining package. 3. To be honest, I don't know if Johnny Rockets is included in the UDP or not. I think not. I could be wrong about this one. I know that the milkshakes are included in the Premium drinks package but I don't think they would be included in a UDP even if the meal was included. 4. I'm not sure about the 12 year old. I don't know if a 12 year old is considered a "child" or not (for dining purposes). I think you are correct...if you prepaid for the 12 year old and it turns out that there is no charge or a reduced charge, you would get any rebate back as OBC. The only reason I can think of to prepay for the 12 year old would be that you MIGHT be charged an 18% gratuity if you have to purchase a specialty meal on board. I really don't know about this one... 5. As far as coordinating eating and shows, it is always a guessing game unless you are very familiar with the ship's entertainment schedule. My solution is always to eat as early as possible and schedule entertainment for later. It almost always works out for us but that may not be your preference. 6. I would anticipate that you will have 1 formal night on a 5 night cruise and it is USUALLY on night #2 but that can certainly change. If you have a sea day on day 2 then that will almost certainly be your formal night. Whether or not lobster will be served is a toss-up. Even on the same ship that can change from cruise to cruise. On our last Grandeur cruise I was shocked to find out that they were serving both lobster AND lamb shank even though on our previous 5 night Grandeur cruise they served neither. You will probably not know until you get on board. 7. No idea about the sauces at Izumi. I never use anything except high test soy sauce. 8. I'm no help with suggestions for Labadee or Falmouth as I never get off the ship at either of these stops anymore. Just a short discussion about the UDP. I have completely changed my opinion of specialty dining plans from a few years ago. In the past, we never ever paid extra for a specialty meal. Then we started cruising Star Class which has ruined me in SO many ways. Specialty dining is one of them. We now almost always purchase the UDP b/c I love the option of eating any meal I choose in the different specialty restaurants. As a matter of fact, I am now very pissy b/c neither my Thanksgiving (Navigator) nor my Christmas + NY (Grandeur) cruises is offering ANY dining packages. I was able to prepurchase a couple of Chops meals at a discount a few weeks back and I am hoping to be able to use my D+ BOGO perk on nights 1 and 2 of these cruises but for the rest, we will be eating in the MDR or maybe a couple of paid trips to Izumi as I will not be able to keep Dan away from Izumi on Grandeur. But trust me, when we have the UDP, we take FULL advantage of Izumi. So I am an advocate of the UDP. I think it is a good value if you enjoy the specialty restaurants. AND if there are any meals (or dishes) that you particularly like (such as lobster and/or lamb shank) you can ALWAYS get them, even if you are in a specialty restaurant ! This is something that not everyone knows. If you are dining in Chops on lobster night, [and you want a lobster tail but don't want to pay the upcharge for the Chop's lobster tail !] ask them to bring you a MDR lobster tail. They will ! On our last cruise (Grandeur), Dan wanted the lamb shank but we were eating at Giovanni's. They brought him his lamb shank PLUS whatever he ordered as his entree from Giovanni's. I always get cream of mushroom soup as my appetizer even when we eat at Giovanni's. Want red velvet cake for dessert but Giovanni's doesn't have it on their dessert menu ? No problem ! They will go and get you some from Chop's (unless they are one of the evil ships that have gotten rid of red velvet cake !). So the bottom line is...you do not have to "miss" your favorite MDR dish just b/c you are dining in a specialty restaurant. That's a GOOD thing !

Mark, you and Tyna look GREAT ! Sounds like it was a blast. On our last Grandeur cruise, they held the sail away in the Centrum, too. It was...well....different. We will be back on her over Christmas + NY. Can't wait !

Personally, we have found the "dollars off" certificates to be fairly useless. We haven't used one of those since the new program started. The "free" cruises, however, are a great deal as long as you stick with the list of cruises that they offer. I got an offer for a complimentary cruise in the snail mail last week out of the blue and we booked a cruise from the list on Freedom in April 2019. When I called to check on this offer (using the Prime number that I mentioned above) I asked specifically if this offer had anything to do with our "free" annual Prime cruises and the rep told me "no"....that this was a "monthly" offer. I was surprised as this is the first offer of its kind that I had ever received. I got the offer but Dan did not even though we are both Prime members. So we have decided that we will no longer do ANYthing except for the free cruise offers. If we get any "dollars off" certificates from the casino we will just throw them away. We are both still working too so we don't have unlimited vacation...but one day.....

These casino cruises can be booked on any cruise 8 days or less. The holiday blackouts are somewhat ambiguous. I expect that there are strictly prohibited for the obvious "big" holidays - Christmas, New Years, 4th of July etc. but we were able to book one of ours over President's Day of 2019. I have read of others who were not permitted to book over ANY federal holiday so I don't know if we just got lucky or if it - like most other things - depends on who you get on the phone. The best part of the "free" casino cruises (whether they are status-based complimentary cruises or casino-awarded certificate cruises) is that they are very easily and affordably (IMO) upgradable. Dan and I were able to upgrade our annual "free" Prime cruises (which start out as the lowest category inside cabins) all the way to Star Class on Anthem for next Feb. Thanks to Michelle Cunningham for making these happen ! We have also upgraded 2 award certificate complimentary cruises to Owner's Suites on Navigator and Freedom. So free is GREAT but upgrades for very little money (relative, of course) are even better. BTW, in case you do not have it, there is a special phone number for Prime members. 866-213-3116. I was never given this number by Club Royale. I only stumbled upon it when I received a snail mail flyer which had it on the bottom of the flyer in tiny print. Not sure how they ever expected Prime members to get this information ! Such a poorly advertised and executed program in some ways !

It's very refreshing to see someone so excited about their upcoming cruise - even if it is almost 600 days away ! So excited FOR you.