JimnKathy

The missus and me are taking one of our daughters and 3 young grandkids on this sailing...gonna be fun times for all!

Lots of good comments in this thread and here's our 60ish-years-young perspective: We're light drinkers during the day (a glass or two of wine with dinner most nights) with an occasional daytime cocktail by the Solarium pool. We also enjoy good coffee in the morning with breakfast. In total, we drink about 2 or 3 cocktails each day with one or two cups of great coffee in the morning (we don't drink juices). We pack two bottles of delicious wine in our carry-ons along with insulated tumblers to enjoy free ice water (we're not soda drinkers) from any bar during the day. We'll typically buy an inexpensive bottle of wine with dinner later in the week once we finish our carry-on bottles. To fund our tasty coffee addiction, we purchase a coffee card or two (each card runs you about $33 bucks for 15 specialty coffees and you can buy an extra card on board if your addiction really kicks in ). We've tried may different combinations on past sailings, but really comes down to doing the math based on one's individual preferences. Happy sailing to all!

We enjoyed the town of Bar Harbor last month on our Voyager sailing. Acadia National Park was beautiful, but the Park Service only allows tour buses a limited amount of time to spend driving through the park. We were able to get out of the bus for about 15 minutes to take a few photos, but the remainder of the photos were quick snapshots on a moving bus. I really felt like the whole deal was a bit of a rushed ripoff for a paid tour, even though our tour guide was very knowledgeable. Bar Harbor would be an interesting place to spend a few days, but they seem to be a little put off by the cruise crowd.

We've used both in the past. Regular Voom works pretty well if you can tolerate some latency in video-heavy apps.

I'd recommend it for anyone who wants to see some behind-the-scenes perspective of the galley operations...it's pretty amazing. The food was better than MDR quality on our Symphony sailing 3 years ago and we also had the opportunity to meet some nice folks while seated for the lunch.

We went to the event on our Voyager sailing two weeks ago...free champagne mimosas were the deal.

We'll achieve Diamond status late next year. The only reason I'd wear a pin is if it worked like a Star Trek communicator so I could speak with my fellow cruisers and/or get transported immediately to one of the specialty restaurants on command. "Make it so, Number 1!"

Elegantly explains why we always use a TA when booking a cruise or other potentially complicated vacation...I can't add up the number of hassle hours my TA has saved me when crazy things pop up out of nowhere.

True story. The one time I felt a little nausea on my first sailing 30 years ago, a shot of whisky did the trick for me. I now start every cruise with a quick drink at the bar the moment I board and have never had a problem since then.

Same issue for me today...glad it's a website issue and not my usual fat fingers on the keyboard challenges.

If it's working for you, I can only wish you Happy Sailing!

This is also yet another shining example as to how a great TA can make cruising life better without having to lift a finger!

We receive more bonus dollars with our Costco Visa than the Royal branded credit card...no need to own the stock from our perspective.

If we lived within driving distance in Florida, we'd be copying your Coco Cay strategy for sure!

While we normally don't do GTY bookings, we took advantage of a great deal for double points in a Junior Suite GTY (slightly obstructed) for a 9-night Eastern Caribbean Nov 2023 sailing on Explorer. Two days after booking, Royal pushed the sail date to mid-Dec and gave us the option to move or cancel with no additional fee, My travel agent was able to score us a great Junior Suite without an obstruction and closer to the elevators. Lucky day for sure...and what a terrific way to obtain Diamond status, too!

Right there with you...Diamond in December 2023.

Me too. It's pretty strange to make a negative comment lacking details if one is hoping for feedback from other cruisers. Some folks are just quirky, I suppose.

You will receive a bottle of the basic house red or white depending on which you prefer.

We do the same for both Specialty and Main Dining Room meals. The level of "above and beyond" service we receive is amazing because of this strategy.

Did it on our Symphony B2B last fall. If you're a cheese fan, I'd recommend doing it if you don't have the Deluxe Beverage Package.

We do the annual deal with Allianz as well...it covers ALL travel and has benefits for folks like us who are more "mature" in age.

Cruising during hurricane season is mostly a non-issue other than possible changes to the itinerary. The ships simply sail away from developing storm systems to adjust.

The Beach Club is an amazing experience I suggest everyone try at least once. The trick is to snag a good price for the venue. We always purchase it right after booking a cruise to save our spot, with the intention to cancel and rebook at a lower price during the sales...the Black Friday sale around Thanksgiving seems to offer the best deals.

We enjoy all of the food on Coco Cay...it's all about relishing each moment and making the best of this amazing private island with incredible amenities. We've enjoyed the Beach Club lunch the 3 times we chose that option and we also loved the Snack Shack and buffet food found on the island on a non-Beach Club visit. Happy Sailing to all!

My personal experience is that the Black Friday sales around Thanksgiving seem to offer some of the best discounts as opposed to other sales offered throughout the rest of the year...I've saved a lot of money buying/rebooking packages during that week pretty consistently. For the above reason, I always attempt to book a sailing in a timeframe that allows the Thanksgiving sale to occur before the cruise departs. Happy sailing everyone...and don't let the goofy RCCL "math" make you crazy, just use the sales to your advantage.