JimnKathy

I agree. We've enjoyed sailings on Allure, Symphony and Wonder and never felt the ships were any more crowded than experiences on smaller cruise ships. The Oasis class design is on point for managing crowd flow.

Sounds like a techy limitation in their reservation system. Sorry you had to go through all that to accomplish something that should be a simple thing to do.

Make sure you get the Internet package. Our experience with NCAA Tournament games is that Playmakers carries the ESPN International package. While you'll get a few games here and there, they may not carry the specific games you want to see. You may find you'll want to stream your preferred game to a personal Internet device, thus making the Internet package a big deal.

No way I'd take an excursion with that tight of a timeframe to make the all aboard time....simply zero room for error if it was a non-RCL promoted excursion. Just out of curiosity, how far away is that museum from the ship?

Travel outside the country? Get a passport...end of story. The one time you really need it (medical emergency, miss your boat, etc.) will pay for itself in spades.

Been to Perfect Day 4 times...the balloon wasn't operational any of those times.

Yup.

$2 bills are a pain in the backside for retail establishments...no place to put them in the cash drawer.

Having been a bartender back in my younger years, I always add extra $$ to RCL's amazing bartenders...it makes a HUGE difference in service quality.

One hack I use to upgrade the Creme Brule is to ask the waiter to give me different fresh fruit slices on the side...blueberries, raspberries and cantaloupe are my favs. I just ask the waiter to bring out what he/she thinks is the most in season option and away I go.

Over several decades I've had several land vacations throttled/disrupted/scuttled by hurricanes, and while each time was highly irritating in the moment, I looked back after getting safely home and was extremely thankful I didn't live in a place where lives and property were demolished. This disaster in Maui is unprecedented in nature and scope. My prayers go out to everyone who lost family and friends in this devastation.

One bottle of wine per person...we always haul it in our carry-on bags during embarkation...easy peasy.

You just have to buy an annual plan covering your travel partner(s) and you.

As others have already posted, get an annual plan from Allianz (or another solid provider). The many benefits are great, but the medical evac coverage alone will actually cover ALL of the costs of having an emergency helicopter get you air-lifted back to a 1st-world country. The devil's in the details.

What could possibly go wrong with the combination of the DBP and axe throwing on a sailing (bouncing and moving) cruise ship?

Everyone knows that Sorrentos offers nothing close to the delicious wood-fired pizza found in thousands of pizza joints nationwide. I'd like to think these survey questions are merely being test-marketed to gauge guest response...hopefully the RCL marketing/finance folks hear the responses loud and clear.

Several nuclear scientist folks I've followed for years all state that the type of uranium used in modern reactors isn't the fissionable material needed to make weapons...the terrorist angle doesn't seem to be an issue.

We're all here to talk cruising on RCL...we haven't a care in the world other than helping one another get the most out of their sailing vacations! Happy Sailing!

It's a savvy move to tag everything you carry on...no tellin' how quick those embarkation day cocktails can kick in.

We love the privacy of the Solarium whenever we've sailed in the Caribbean. The only cold weather cruise we experienced (Maine, Canada in October) was too cold to go outside anywhere, so the Solarium exception didn't affect us....we were enjoying views from the heated enclosed lounge on the top deck outside of Izumi.

Pontificating as a Southerner from the great state of Tennessee, the rendition of pork belly found at Chops is an insult to "low and slow" meat smokin' readily found in backyards and great BBQ restaurants in our part of the country. They should stick to filet mignon and other cuts of meat that don't require "low and slow" techniques. Happy Sailing!

We sailed on Allure in May...my 4 & 5 year old grandkids loved that slide!

The good news is that Symphony is an awesome ship with tons of amenities to enjoy no matter what kind of room you have. We've sailed her twice and loved the experiences on each trip! Happy Sailing!

Speaking as a retired restauranteur, an expired passport and/or driver's license is not a legal form of ID in the U.S., full stop. You may get lucky and have a employee in a particular venue allow it on a one off basis, but to rely on it consistently is a big mistake. Happy Sailing!

I 2nd that motion. On our last cruise, there were a few "stragglers" the captain announced by name as holding up the ship leaving the port...needless to say, things were on their way within about 5 minutes. No doubt those scoundrels were properly embarrassed when they approached their muster station.