WAAAYTOOO

We just sailed on Freedom in April and had a lovely cruise. Don’t give CC reviews too much credence. Truly, those are angry and unhappy people over there ! ??

Yikes !

I recall that. Must have been a serious emergency !

I don't see why not. I have never seen any kind of dress code enforced for the CK but I will also say that I have never seen anyone who looked like they needed to be turned away.

Hi, kjhgarden ! Welcome to the blogs. First off, not all ships have helipads and even for the ones that do, sometimes it's just not safe for a helicopter to land. There are rare situations where they will air evac someone without landing the helicopter but those are very, very rare. I think that, as a matter of safety, if time permits, it is just a safer and lower risk situation for Royal to try and make a port evacuation vs a sea evacuation. They only attempt an at-sea evac in extreme emergencies where time is of the extreme essence and the risk is worth it. Good question though !!

I love the kitty plate !!

We're going on NAV on 6-28 and I haven't heard from our Concierge yet ! ?

The max on cabanas is usually 6....I think the bungalows might be 8.

How's it goin' ??? The cruise, I mean !

I found it on the internet so it must be true !

Never apologize for asking questions. That is what this forum is all about and guess what ? We were all "new" at some point !

The most interesting part of the OP is that US News & World Report is even still publishing ! I thought they went away years ago !

If booking under North American rules, you can reprice your cruise up until final payment which is normally 90 days prior to sailing. I'm glad you asked about checking prices when you have booked through an agent. While my TA is priceless and performs near miracles at times, there is literally NO WAY that she can check prices daily on all of the bookings that she has. The responsibility for making sure you have the lowest possible price is on YOU - even if you are booked through the greatest travel agent on the planet. Now agents will often check prices when a new "sale" comes around but as we all know, cruise lines' sales are really more illusion than substance. So while it is POSSIBLE for the agent to happen up on a price reduction for you, I would NEVER wait and hope that this happens. It's not reasonable or expected. I check my cruise prices EVERY day. Sometimes I will find a small or even sometimes not-so-small price reduction, contact my agent and have her check into it. Because all of my bookings are through the casino, sometimes what is perceived by me to be a price reduction turns out not to be, in reality, due to bizarre casino pricing rules. But if the casino agent tells Michelle that the current price that I have is still the "best" price, she will always call back and double check with a different agent b/c even travel agents get different prices from the customer service agents. Go figure !

Not entirely sure that the Solarium Bistro is open for lunch on embarkation day but I could well be wrong about that.

I have not sailed on Mariner so their rules may differ but in theory, your UDP should cover the cover charge at Johnny Rockets and your refreshment package should cover at least sodas and perhaps shakes as well. If you go to one of the specialty restaurants first thing once you board you will be able to make your dinner reservations and will have no problem getting your first or second choices for locations and times. It is usually only later in the cruise where the dining options begin to narrow. You should also be entitled to lunch at whatever specialty restaurant is open on embarkation day so don't forget about that one. Welcome to Royal Caribbean cruising and to the RCCLBlog boards !!

I believe that all of the Radiance class ships still have their indoor cinema. I HOPE they never remove them. I loved going to see a film on some of the long sea days. We did a TransAtlantic on Jewel once and it was really wonderful. Get there early though ! The place fills up fast and it's pretty small.

I love the way you handled this and that you stuck to your agreement with your boyfriend's parents. Rare these days. Nice.

I think so. The one on Anthem is not a full service restaurant for one thing...it is a store front kind of counter service thing. Was not impressed. Also, it is in a TERRIBLE location...almost as bad as the location of the Dog House on Anthem which is REALLY bad. I love the JR location on the O class ships - right on the Boardwalk. It's a fun place to sit and have a bite.

Congratulations ! What a swell place to have a wedding !!!

For $90 ? You betcha. Michelle repriced one for me recently that saved me $17. Now, in fairness...I did not realize that it would only be $17. I would not have bothered her with that...but she did it. $90 is definitely a reasonable reprice.

I know that most of the ships have been screens around the pool area. Not sure about the very small ships but most of them do.

I will tell one story at Dan's expense... (he won't care, anyway). MANY years ago we were on Radiance and for whatever reason (I can't remember but I think we had just gotten back from an excursion or something) we went to the MDR; Dan had on shorts and I can't remember what I was wearing but I am SURE it wasn't "dressy". The Maitre d' stopped Dan and told him "no shorts in the dining room". I went and sat down at our dining table and waited for him to come back. I will tell you this. Dan has NEVER EVER shown up in a dining room of ANY kind in shorts again since that day. He does not get dressed UP (unless it's formal night. The man loves his tux !) for dinner but by GOD he does not wear shorts EVER. He has been known to wear jeans on occasion but never shorts.

You mean al-u-minium ? ? [Not laughing AT you, laughing WITH you]

Unfortunately, the sad truth is that you will not know what the schedule of your particular cruise is going to be until you board. If you were on a ship with a reliable app (I don't think there is one of those in existence yet !) then you could be reasonably sure that you have a pretty good idea but there is just no way to know until you board - and even then sometimes they make last-minute changes. Old Cruise Compasses from previous similar sailings is a very good tool and probably even more reliable than any app at this point...but it's still not going to be exact. To me, that is why My Time Dining is such a wonderful option. You can make a reservation on a good faith estimate of what you think is going to occur, but if you find out, once you board, that your estimate was off slightly, then all you have to do is change your dining reservation to work around your entertainment schedule. I know that it's frustrating not to know exactly what your schedule will be but it also adds a pinch of spontaneity to the whole thing. ...and just remember that everyone is dealing with the same lack of information !

She knows I'm kidding...