JohnK6404

If you had several different servers, and did not really connect with any of them, I would not feel too guilty about not leaving additional gratuity. In our case, we were fortunate each of the last 2 cruises with MTD to have the same team throughout the cruise (just sometimes a different table in their section depending on the time of our reservation). We really liked them so we gave them an additional amount on the last evening (and the cabin attendant). Our head waiter for our last cruise was outstanding and each night he would always ask us what our plans were for dinner the following evening and told us to make sure we asked for him when we checked in upon arrival to the MDR (if we had a later reservation than usual).

We usually choose MTD because we want to schedule our dinner around the activity of the day. On sea days, we prefer 6:00 PM, BUT on days in port when we are coordinating with excusions, we choose other dining times (7:15 PM, 8:15 PM, whatever you want to fit your need for that day). You can book MTD reservations online (which we do after we plan our excursions), but you can also book once onboard and can change "on the fly" if your plans change during the cruise. We like booking it in advance so that the reservation is set and coordinated with our excursions and evening entertainment/shows and we only change it if something comes up. We also like to book our specialty dining online... less to plan while onboard and we never have any issues with time slots not being available, etc., and we never wait for a table. You can link your dining reservations with other parties with MTD as well. We've done that every time we've cruised with family. The only potential inconvenience of MTD reservations that are not consistently scheduled (eg. 5:30 PM one night and 8:45 PM the next) is that you may not always have the same waitstaff since their section could be full at the time you selected on any given evening. We have been lucky the last two cruises and they were able to accommodate us in the same section with the same waitstaff (sometimes at a different table in the section, but always seated with our family).

Our (my wife and I) very first cruise was on the Disney Wonder back in 2004 (honeymoon). We were blown away with the service, cleanliness and atmosphere and naturally have always compared our subsequent cruises with that first experience (of course it holds a special place in our hearts). Our last 3 cruises have been with RC with our 4th RC cruise was just booked on Allure for April 30, 2017 (Western Caribbean too!)... we have (knock on wood) yet to be disappointed with Royal Caribbean. One day we will cruise Disney again, but for us the huge price difference and severely limited cruise itineraries (just four ships compared to RC's 24+ ship active fleet) have kept us away. We've loved everything on RC from the entertainment/broadway shows, dining/specialty dining choices, CASINO, on-board activities... on and on... and for the kids and fun adults :) they have all of the Dreamworks characters (Shrek, Puss in Boots, Penguins of Madagascar, etc.). They have by far the newest, largest and probably the most innovative ships in the industry right now. If size matters, I believe RC has the 9 largest cruise ships in service (Freedom, Quantum and Oasis classes)... If your not necessarily a fan of big, then they have 15+ smaller ships in the other classes (Voyager, Radiance, Vision and Sovereign)! They also lease/own not just one (Disney: Castaway Cay), but 2 islands (Coco Cay in the Bahamas and Labadee in Haiti). Bottom line, I'm confident you will have an amazing time! For us, RC is the best bang for the buck without any sacrifice (Carnival, NCL, etc.) bar none. Many of the other competing smaller cruise lines have not launched a new ship in years!

OK, booked one last night... Allure of the Seas (April 30, 2017)... can't wait as this will be our first on an Oasis class ship!

OK, we booked last night an went with the 2nd set of dates (4/30/17-5/06/17)... the wife wanted it to be a little warmer for swimming and a little less crowded since that week in FEB is a school vacation week/recess in many places and will probably be a little busier than the first week in MAY. We went with a nice oceanview balcony room mid-ship (starboard/right side) in the center of one of the bump-outs with the larger balcony... settled on deck 11 as we like to have multiple cabin decks above and below us (not a fan of being near common areas). As always, thanks for the advice! :)

Thanks for the advice! I do see that FEB is generally cooler and drier than MAY-OCT... I think we may look at the first week of MAY as we do want to have the option of going in the water at the beach. To date, we've always cruised in JUNE (honeymoon and work recognition cruise) and OCT (last 2 RC cruises due to cost benefits). The rates are almost identical so that is not a factor... FEB is only $100 cheaper than the 2 MAY dates...

OK, planning a cruise on Allure for next year (Western Caribbean itinerary: Cozumel, Labadee & Falmouth). We had to cancel our original reservations, but now we are ready to book a new cruise. If you had to choose, which departure date would you choose and briefly why? (1) 2/19 - 2/26 (2) 4/30 - 5/6 (3) 5/21 - 5/28 Any significant weather concerns? Assuming it's marginally cooler in FEB and I know hurricane season is not a concern until the mid-summer and into fall. Is there another "rainy" season in the Caribbean in April? Crowds a concern in FEB? Thanks!

These sales are nice, but your still need to monitor promos after you book until you make that last payment to RC (I book through RC online and simply call them for an immediate adjustment if the current promo is better). I also strongly agree that the earlier you book (a year in advance or more whenever possible) the better as you tend to get the absolute lowest base cabin rate and of course the best selection of available cabins in any given category. The closer you get to departure date, the base rate starts to climb as cabins in any given category become scarce. So, a better promo at face value down the road often is not nearly as good as the original BOGO or 30% off rate you booked in the first place. Even using the 30% or BOGO sales as an example... 30% or 50% off what underlying rate? If you raise the cabin rate 25%-50% over time and then offer a new promo, have you really gained anything (most likely more expensive)? I'm probably going to book a cruise for May 2017 tonight before the sale ends and of course just leave the deposit... absolutely no worries because if a better deal comes along I just pick the phone up and in literally 10 minutes or so I have the new promo rate applied and updated reservation confirmation (if it is actually better on the bottom line). It just can get confusing when they throw in OBC or free wi-fi when trying to compare deals! Just some food for thought!

Generally speaking (when you are just looking for a better rate on the same cabin/cruise), if you booked online or in the Next Cruise office (basically directly with RC in both cases), you can simply call RC and they will check the current rate and let you know what the new rate will be... you then make the decision at that point if you want to have them adjust the fare. They are very, very friendly and I've literally never spent more than 10 minutes on the phone for any one call. You can do this as many times as you like until you make the final payment. Just be careful when you're dealing with more "complex" bookings with promos like OBC, free internet, etc., and make sure the adjustment is truly saving you money! I've had about 5 adjustments made for the last 2 cruises (I book at least one year in advance) and they make the adjustment immediately and also send you the new reservation paperwork showing the adjusted rate immediately via e-mail. It could not be easier!

We have cruised twice out of Cape Liberty, NJ in October recently on Explorer (2013) and Liberty (2015) with Anthem booked for FEB (2017)... this does not phase me in the least. Especially for a Bermuda cruise or a longer cruise (10-12 nights like the 10-night Liberty cruise we just took last OCT and the upcoming 12-night Anthem cruise), we will go out of NY/NJ for the convenience of not having to pay the airfare to fly down to Florida. A day or so of cool weather (in the fall or winter) each way does not bother us on such a long cruise... gives us time to explore the ship and settle in! The only time we had rocky seas was back in 2013 on Explorer on our last evening returning home. My wife and mother-in-law actually liked it and compared it to the rocking of a crib which helped them fall asleep. :) For shorter (7-nights or less) cruises, of course we'll have to fly down to Florida as we did in the past (don't want to waste days coming down the coast in this case), but for now we enjoy the convenience of the short drive to the port (about 60-90 minutes max). Some people asked me if we were going to cancel our Anthem cruise booked for next FEB because of what happened! I just tell them I think one year is long enough to tidy up the ship for us!

I use the ShipMate app too, plus I check this forum and the RC site... I don't chance missing anything! :)

We're in the bigger and newer is better group right now. My first RC cruise was on the smallest (Majesty) in the fleet, the next was on the Explorer, my last was on Liberty and the next two will be on Allure and Anthem. We (my wife and I) are now craving a more modern, clean decor and lots of activities/entertainment and dining choices so the newer, larger ships are for us. Although the Majesty was nice, we felt it was badly outdated for our taste in all aspects (decor, amenities and condition). We also had been on a Disney cruise prior to that sailing (honeymoon cruise), so it was a little bit of a downer and an unfair comparison. It was a free cruise for us as it was a recognition cruise paid for by my employer (the Majesty is often booked by corporations for recognition events due to it's small size). My company had booked the whole ship. Bottom line, we still had a nice time (free is nice) and it obviously did not affect our decision to start cruising with RC. I can say that bigger does not equal more crowded in our experience. As we continue to go up in class (size), we notice that the ships seem to be so well designed for traffic flow. The only time we feel crowded (which is probably the case on all of the ships) is on the pool deck on a day at sea, parades/events in the Promenade, or when piling out of the theater (of course) after a show. As we go up in class we also notice that due to sheer size of the vessel, you often find more areas that are quiet/uncrowded. My wife's coworker loves RC and has been cruising 2-3x/year for many years mostly on RC (she is approx. 60 yrs old)... she finally went on Oasis two years ago and said emphatically that it was her favorite cruise of all time to that point. She too assumed that a ship that large with so many passengers would be crowded, but she was so pleasantly surprised! I guess the question is do you want an intimate cruise with more limited activity, etc., on an older, smaller vessel (they are all refurbished periodically) or do you want to be blown away with the sheer scale, technology and amenities of the newer ships? Of course many itineraries cannot accommodate the larger vessels so you will have a limited choice in those situations. One thing to consider is the length of your cruise... my gut feeling is that anything less than 7-nights and you will not have the opportunity to fully explorer the larger Quantum or Oasis class ships (even 7-nights might be too short :)!). I wish they offered a 10-night cruise on an Oasis class ship on a somewhat regular basis! We elected to book a 12-night cruise in FEB 2017 on Anthem (just because a cruise can never be too long!). I'm starting to like being the biggest ship at port (started with Liberty)! Enjoy your next cruise!!! :)

Here's a recap of my experience on Liberty last OCT/NOV... things may have changed since then on various ships... this is for the standard wi-fi, not Voom. (1) $20 / day for unlimited access for ONE device (any ONE device at a time... you do not have to select a specific device to use exclusively... I took turns with my wife logging into our own iPads), (2) $30 / day for unlimited access for TWO devices (same as above - you will see advertising for $15 / day... that's effectively the price per device when you select this plan... very misleading advertising). and (3) $40 for 24 hours unlimited access for ONE device (NOT minutes, but clock time... once you purchase and login, the access expires 24 hours later) * PS - With the first 2 plans, you can sign up at any time during the cruise (pro-rated from remaining days of the cruise at same rate). I refused to pay $200 for one device (10-night cruise) at the start of the cruise, so I waited until the mid-point of the cruise and then signed up (pro-rated for remaining days of cruise - last 5 days for $100). You are charged from the point of sign up to the last day of the cruise at either $20 or $30 / day rate based on plan selected. So I remained off the grid for the first 5 nights! :)

I was just on Liberty at the end of OCT... We cannot make reservations for entertainment/shows... the ice show had a suggested (they do not check) seating date/time based on your muster station (schedule comes with your initial Cruise Compass package) and the Broadway show (Saturday Night Fever) just had multiple showings (3) which were "first come/first served" seating. All other evening shows were also "first come/first served" until capacity. Most evening shows have 2 performances to accommodate early and late dinner seatings. I found that generally arriving 20-30 minutes before show time usually guaranteed a decent seat (the earlier, the better of course!). You can make advanced reservations for spa treatment, wine tasting, cupcake cupboard classes, dining (My Time and Specialty), excursions, etc.

I agree that ordering the package earlier is just more convenient. My last cruise was this past OCT/NOV and I had the Coca-Cola logo printed (no sticker) on my Sea Pass (I've never had a sticker on my Sea Pass). Unless you have significant OBC, I just find it easier to pay ahead of time so that my "tab" only consists of charges incurred during the cruise that were not pre-planned. One exception we made was for the wi-fi package... I refused to pay $20-$30/day so I waited until the middle of the cruise and signed up for the balance of the cruise (it was a 10-night cruise... no way was I going to pay $200-$300 for sloth-like internet connectivity... we survived those first 5 nights!).

Take a peak at this thread, hopefully it helps answer some of your questions at least regarding the wifi plans and cost: http://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/boards/index.php/topic/1245-wifi/ Here's a recap of my experience on Liberty last OCT/NOV: (1) $20 / day for unlimited access for ONE device (any ONE device at a time... you do not have to select a specific device to use exclusively... I took turns with my wife logging into our own iPads), (2) $30 / day for unlimited access for TWO devices (same as above - you will see advertising for $15 / day... that's effectively the price per device when you select this plan... very misleading advertising). and (3) $40 for 24 hours unlimited access for ONE device (NOT minutes, but clock time... once you purchase and login, the access expires 24 hours later) * PS - With the first 2 plans, you can sign up at any time during the cruise. I refused to pay $200 for one device (10-night cruise) at the start of the cruise, so I waited until the mid-point of the cruise and then signed up (pro-rated for remaining days of cruise - last 5 days for $100). You are charged from the point of sign up to the last day of the cruise at either $20 or $30 / day rate based on plan selected.

My experience too (2 months ahead, then 6 months ahead... no apparent rhyme or reason)! Unfortunately, you have to just keep signing in and checking...

Just to add IMHO... we loved Disney and will cruise them again in the future, but RC seems to have more variety and quantity of onboard entertainment... plus RC has casinos and more adult oriented/geared entertainment (Disney is family/child friendly to an extreme due to the brand - not that there is anything wrong with that!). I agree that Disney is excellent with the maintenance and cleanliness of their ships which is nice... always polishing handrails and painting the ship while at port, etc. We enjoyed their rotational dining and enjoyed the specialty dining (Palo) when we cruised with them on our honeymoon. Bottom line, RC's 29 or so ships offer significantly more and varied itineraries, plus the 35%-50% premium for almost an identical stateroom and itinerary with Disney is not worth it to us... as I mentioned before, we really do want to cruise Disney again, but not for a few years... need to try the Quantum (Anthem) and Oasis class (Allure) ships first!

A little belated, but Happy Thanksgiving to all!

It seems like (at least in my limited experience - 3 cruises with RC) it varies... that message you received is normal when the online booking is not available just yet. As an example, for our cruise back in 2013 on the Explorer of the Seas, the booking opened up around 90 days before sail date... for our last cruise (last month) on Liberty of the Seas, to our complete surprise, the booking opened up 6 months before the sail date! I'm not sure what triggers these time frames, but keep checking online and you may be surprised! Maybe someone else can chime in and explain the logic... enjoy your cruise! :)

Hopefully, they will lower the rates if Voom is less expensive on the newer ships! Also since they are "giving" the service away in these promos. I miss the old minutes plan too... when we were on Explorer back in OCT 2013 we used that plan... was not happy when we realized that Liberty did not offer that as an option anymore.

I was just on Liberty last month... no, you cannot purchase minutes anymore... we had the following options: (1) $20 / day for unlimited access for ONE device (any ONE device at a time... you do not have to select a specific device to use exclusively... I took turns with my wife logging into our own iPads), (2) $30 / day for unlimited access for TWO devices (same as above - you will see advertising for $15 / day... that's effectively the price per device when you select this plan... very misleading advertising). and (3) $40 for 24 hours unlimited access for ONE device (NOT minutes, but clock time... once you purchase and login, the access expires 24 hours later) * PS - With the first 2 plans, you can sign up at any time during the cruise. I refused to pay $200 for one device (10-night cruise) at the start of the cruise, so I waited until the mid-point of the cruise and then signed up (pro-rated for remaining days of cruise - last 5 days for $100). You are charged from the point of sign up to the last day of the cruise at either $20 or $30 / day rate based on plan selected. Also, Liberty does not have VOOM so it is painfully slow most of the time! If you do not want to use your own device, you can log in at the internet cafe (Deck 8)... all of the same plans apply (carry over) whether you use their machines or your own wi-fi enabled device.

Welcome!

That was actually a question asked on my Liberty of the Seas cruise last month (of course prior to this tragedy)... the captain said it takes one mile to stop the ship (Freedom class) at average cruising speed... probably a little longer for the Oasis class ships... I believe average cruising speed is in the 16-20 knot range (based on checking out the channel in my stateroom)...

I would definitely call and ask... it can't hurt...