MustCruise

We felt the same way our 5th, 6th, 7th time to Nassau... Then we discovered RESORT DAY PASSES. My favorite was the Hilton Colonial. They used to include drinks with their day pass for a really good price. Now, it's just access to their pool and chairs. But, it's great because it's walking distance. We've tried a few of the options found here and have never had a bad experience.

Lanyards are great to have. You'll be changing clothes often, and your "available pockets" will fluctuate throughout the week. That's why so many people use cruise lanyards to create some consistency. You'll always know where to put your cruise key card and will be much less likely to lose it. However... some people HATE wearing something around their necks constantly. We're a "cabin divided" - half wear lanyards and half use this brilliant little invention below. You'll never be without your phone and this creates next to 0 extra space. Your key card can piggy-back your most protected item all week long UPDATE: i've been asked for the link where I bought this on Amazon. You can find this cruise key card holder here.

Please note - most of the recommendations below include devices with an extension cord. Royal Caribbean explicitly prohibits extension cords. You can risk it and possibly get the device on... or, you might end up in an embarrassing altercation with ship security. But, there's no reason to risk it. There are perfectly good options that are fully compliant. We've taken this one on dozens of cruises. It worked perfectly! You can find this one here on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Cruise-Power-Strip-USB-Outlets/dp/B07BHVKPC3

We've been using tag holders for a decade plus. We've gone through a few cheapies and have found these below about five years ago. They're the same as mentioned above and far better than the alternatives. They'll last for longer than we will You can them on Amazon here: Royal Caribbean Luggage Tags

We booked the Element last time and it was great. Here's a map with that and some other good options. The map and post also shows distances to and from Miami Cruise Port. I found it here: https://gangwaze.com/blog/hotels-near-miami-cruise-port-parking-shuttle-package

I have this same one. I've taken it on half a dozen RC ships. It was always allowed and worked great each time. It adheres to all of Royal's current policies. Have a great cruise!

I bought this cruise tote bag a couple years ago and it's worked really well... it folds up nicely so I keep it tucked away for my port purchases!

I use a mobile app called "cruise deals app" to track prices both before and after booking. You can set it to get a notification when the price goes up or down. It's a free app.

Thanks for the thoughtful feedback, Joe! I have no doubt that RCCL will survive the long term. And I have no problem holding stock for years or even a decade. My only concern is that they'll need to wipe their balance sheet to stay alive and my stocks will go the way of the Titanic. Like you, I'm very comfortable with the items you mentioned other than the financials. Those I just don't fully understand regarding long-term financial implications. Again, thanks for the helpful thoughts!

Thanks @ted52 - I guess this is part of my process to determine my comfort level. I'm reading as much as I can online, but value the feedback of this community as well.

I hate trading public equities but love Royal Caribbean. With stock prices so deflated, I picked up a decent amount (for me) of RCL shares. My initial thought was to keep buying up more here and there to cost-average myself into a decent position. Then for the first time I thought, "what if RCCL goes Chapter 11?" What are the chances? Any thoughts will be much appreciated!