Jerel

Im really excited to hear this. When we recently booked we were very close to the Majesty, passed it up worried about ruff seas in November (wife). Now ill get another chance, thats awsome, I really want to give it a shot. Its hilariously small but it looks like fun, really want the model too. Good on Royal for the upgrades, looks like allot more than just carpet and tv's.

Thanks for your advice everyone, I totally agree, with risky excursions your better off booking threw Royal. Especially after hearing of some of your close calls, I tend to worry about those things. As for needing a cruise to tide me over, it really is hard to wait. I thought one a year would be enough, but now its looking like I need one in the fall aswell as the winter. Thats all well and good, its just the money. Flight and hotel cost just as much as the cruise, sometimes more. I guess ill just have to work a bit harder. Thanks again.

Reading back I probably came across more p'd than I actually was. While I do think its overpowering its definitely no deal breaker. Its probably more of a problem with the air circulation than it is with the smokers. I remember it being allot worse on the Enchantment than it was on the Adventure, maybe the Adventure just had better circulation. With good circulation I can see people staying in the casino longer and still have content smokers, win win.

I agree about the smell of smoke in the casino, I cant stand it. Not for health reasons, It just stinks. I wish they wouldnt allow it inside, its one of my soar points with Royal. I cant really stay in there for long, the smell of hundreds of people smoking is awful, it really gets into the carpet and other things, I even smoke from time to time and I still cant stand it in mass. In my city you cant smoke inside anywhere, bars or casinos (they are still full), dont even have those glass smoke rooms. We also have laws against cologne or perfume, if you were too much at work you will get sent home or atleast get a 'talking to'. As you know it really does bother many people, hopefully one day Royal will stop smoking inside.

Me and my wife have one booked for February on the Allure, but thats sooo far away. We couldnt take it so we broke down and booked one in November on the Independence, Belize and Cozumel. This one we're trying to do for cheap, on the Allure we splurged with a balcony, drink packages, 150 central park dinner, and going to try for a cabana at Labadee. This one will be no drink packages (not even pop) with very little money spent, its really just to tide us over to our big cruise. We still have to find some affordable airfare aswell, which takes time and effort. One thing I am looking forward to is Belize, I really want to see some Mayan ruins, we're thinking of doing the Altun Ha excursion at about 97 dollars. Its a two hour boat ride threw jungle then a short bus trip to ruins, 6 hours in total. For excursions I never book threw Royal, too expensive compared to the same thing privately. But because of the long amount of time it takes and the distance, I want assurances ill make it back to the ship without it leaving, which apparently Royal excursions guaranty (?). Also from what I read Belize is a long tender and im at the tail end of hurricane season, so the port stop could be canceled for all I know. Id be interested to hear people thoughts on Mayan Belize excursions, Even Cozumel, would I have time to make it to some mainland ruins? On a side note my Allure trip in February is the same sail as the group cruise. Total coincidence, we booked it long ago for my wifes birthday on the 22nd. So if you see a sunburned ginger wearing tacky Hawaiian shirts, thats me!!

I havent been on the ship but I heard of a 'secret' balcony on deck 11 that overlooks the Aquatheater.

Matt just posted 7 drink of the day recipes on the blog, looks like good ideas are contagious. Last week I bought all the ingredients for a labadoozie, cost me 80 bucks :), oh well, I have enough to last me awhile. I had to make a couple of substitutes though, couldnt find Papaya concentrate so I got Mango, and i used Pineapple juice instead of concentrate, and I used a Cococay cup instead of a Labadee one. I guess that makes it a Coco-loco (same recepie). I think ill try a Blue Ed next, making drinks with a blender is fun.

Thats a tough one. I guess it depends on how soon you can get off the ship, how long it takes to get to airport, and where you have to do customs, there or at home. It may make your disembarking frantic, if you got a later flight you can have a big breakfest and coffee before leaving the ship with no worries.

He certainly is spreading allot of his crap around. You would think a small forum like this woulnt be worth the hassle, cant imagine he'd get any business off of it. Maybe its a Carnival guy :)

Thanks, I thought the Nellie's beach ones were for everyone. I guess ill try to get on early and go straight to the desk.

And before you say something Matt, iv seen you blog on the beach beds, not going to cut it :).

Iv done some looking into it and what iv learned so far is... The Barefoot beach cabanas are for suite guests, on ship you can put yourself on a waiting list and hope for the best. Nellie's beach cabanas are available to anyone and you can book online. My question is how do I book Nellie's online? Do I have to wait for a certain amount of days before the cruise? They arnt on the RCCL website under Labadee excursions.

It can be, people do it. But for me time is a big factor. Taking time off of work can be hard, id have to add two more days onto my trip, and I HATE driving. Stepping on and off a plane is awesome, ill never take it for granted. Montonguy is closer to the border, if he doesnt mind the drive he may be able to make it work, but he'd have to factor in gas and time.

I hear ya, last winter was the worst, iv never seen one like it. I made the mistake of cruising in January, got home just to see the start of the dumping. It wasnt much of a 'winter break'. Next year its going to be late February. Prices can be crazy, you really have to keep a eye on deals. Me and my wife each have Aeroplan credit cards witch helps. Every year we earn enough points to get us atleast one trip anywhere in North America, just off of mainly gas and groceries. You end up paying around 300 in airport taxes and fees but still worth it, although you do have to book early to get a decent flight. Last year we didnt use them because we went out of San Juan, being off of mainland NA it cost too many points. We found it very cheap to fly to San Juan, 585 total return each. I flew to Boston a few months before and it cost over 600, it still confuses me. Lots of cheap flights all the way to San Juan but Boston (a 12-14 hour drive max) costs more, same with Toronto. It is easier for me in Halifax though, short drive to airport and we have many flights options.

FYI you can leave messages on the phones and they also have phones throughout the ship to call the rooms.

Thanks everyone! I think you will have a good time Steve. I cant help but recommend Peggys Cove, really amazing coastline with rolling rock hills. Got a few cool old forts too, Citadel hill is walking distance from ship. In Saint John the city market is a must. Also I cant say enough about the Bay of Fundy, there may be some excursions available from Saint John. It was on the short list for the new seven wonders of the world, truly amazing place. The highest tides in the world completely transform the coast every 6 hours. Hey Montonguy, I was wondering if the were any Canadians here, looks like there is, and a Maritimer ta boot. I wish we could sail from here too, I think its possible to get off here though, I forget the details. We got the Anthem comming in next year, very tempting.

I keep mine on the ship because of my history of loosing things, even lost my seapass card once. I have heard that a photocopy can help in many situations.

Hey everyone, new member reporting for duty. From the city of Halifax, Canadian Atlantic coast (cruise port). Me and my wife Jessica took our first cruise a couple of years ago and have been hooked since. We have been going once a year, the Enchantment, the Adventure, and the Allure next Febuary. They seem allot more fun and easy than our other vacations. We spend allot of time researching RCCL and watching youtube videos, podcasts too ;). Sometimes I think we book just so we'll have something to look forward to and dream about. See ya around, Jerel