whitsmom

Hyper conscious and spreading stories of getting sick on social media are my guesses.  I honestly don't think the frequency of illness has changed on cruises, we just hear about it more.

We like the Key.  If you don't carry our luggage off you will have your bags all in a separate area from the rest making it easier to get your luggage.

We like the Key.  If you don't carry our luggage off you will have your bags all in a separate area from the rest making it easier to get your luggage.

We like the Key.  If you don't carry our luggage off you will have your bags all in a separate area from the rest making it easier to get your luggage.

It seems to me if you've been booking your own stuff for a long time, then you probably have a good idea what is involved in any change you might need to make. Some folks have a very detail-oriented personality and don't get frustrated very easily. So far I've never had a problem with any cruise I've booked, but if I did, I know I would not have much patience in dealing with third party customer support. So for me it's worth using a TA just in case. It's no more money and its no more work on my end. And I occasionally get some surprise OBC. Which is nice.
This is a similar discussion to the question "Do I need a passport?" and "Do I need travel Insurance?" You don't need it until you need it.

We have a customized magnet that we put on our door.  I like to use it so help find our door easier (in the beginning).  I just bought a new one and it is currently on our refrigerator just waiting until October....

We have a customized magnet that we put on our door.  I like to use it so help find our door easier (in the beginning).  I just bought a new one and it is currently on our refrigerator just waiting until October....

I haven't been on a cruise in almost 40 years (I would have been 7 or so my only other cruise I've taken). So this may as well be my first time. My wife and kids had never been on a cruise previously. 
 
We sailed on Indy over the weekend and some things stood out in relation to a lot of what I've read here and other places, both things that I felt lined up with what everyone said, and things that I thoroughly disagree with a lot of posters I've read. 
First - what an INCREDIBLE ship! I know it isn't the biggest anymore, but WOW what a lovely vessel to sail on! My family all agree, we loved her! The crew, the captain, the ship overall, just an absolutely fantastic way to travel. Really hard to believe there are much larger ships in regular use!! Lol she absolutely did not feel small. LOVE the promenade deck, LOVE being able to go to the bow. 
 
The third night we sailed through fairly rough seas and she rocked and rolled. My youngest (13) got seasick. But none of them were afraid. Some of us actually enjoyed watching the waves hit our porthole as the ship got tossed around a bit. 
 
Food - I read a lot about the desserts not being anything to write home about. I gotta agree on that one. Even the cheesecake, which is one of my favorite things usually, was just "meh". But aside from that I really do not understand the people that complain about it. We didnt go to any specialty dining and we NEVER went hungry and were never in a situation where we couldn't all find something we really liked. My prime rib in the MDR was tender and delicious and probably one of my favorite things I ate. (I've seen multiple posts staging the prime rib was bad). 
 
Windjammer was hit or miss. There was always at least a portion of what was being served that was really good. The roast turkey was delicious (I always go dark meat though so maybe the white meat wasnt). Even the steaks on the WJ were perfectly edible and tasty. I saw a lot of comments before I sailed that the Indian food on board was good and it REALLY was. But plenty of other offerings in the WJ were quite tasty as well. It IS too busy which can be frustrating but I expected that. 
 
Cafe promenade was impressive. Always open and always quality, tasty snacks. Sorrento's was perfectly tasty as well and my wife, who is gluten free, also liked their GF pizza. Fish and Ships was GOOD!! The only extra we spent on food was Ben and Jerry's and we all enjoyed all of our dining the whole time. 
 
The food on Coco Cay was, we all agree, really really good! The shaved ribeye sandwich was probably my favorite. The Cuban was also good. Of course the taco bar was great and most of my crew said that was their favorite on the island. 
 
Coco Cay itself is, in a word, fantastic.  Just beautiful beyond description.  
 
The crew was, without exception,  top notch. All of them. 
 
My nitpicks:
I really wish they had more freestyle machines. Having to wait in line everytime and hope it has ice was a little frustrating especially when you're REALLY thirsty. (Matters more to me than most probably because I dont drink alcohol and Im a bit of a soda fiend) 
 
The elevators being so full so often got annoying when we were trying to get somewhere. Minor and expected. 
 
The wifi signal in our stateroom wasn't very good. Nothing I couldn't live with, and on higher decks it worked really well. 
 
Overall, I, and the rest of my family, absolutely loved our experience.  My wife wanted to start with a short one to see how she and our kids would like it. I think the best way to summarize how we all felt about it is the fact that we went to NextCruise on our final night and booked a 9 night to Canada for 2024. (On Indy's sister ship, no less).  Cannot wait to sail again!
 
 

We have a customized magnet that we put on our door.  I like to use it so help find our door easier (in the beginning).  I just bought a new one and it is currently on our refrigerator just waiting until October....

Invariably I will have a morning during a cruise when I will wake up way too early. On that morning I head to Cafe Promenade to grab me a cup of coffee and begin to do my daily walk but rather than use the walking track I walk the halls of each deck. The only reason I do this is to view the various door decorations. Some of the better or more interesting I will take a quick pic of. Perhaps due to the well used drink package there will be a number of doors that aren't completely closed. The most unusual thing I have ever seen was a pair of lace panties hung on a door knob.

We definitely want paper compasses. One of the reasons we like cruising is to unplug from our phones. I’d like to stow my phone in the safe and only bring it out to check it while in port.

I like the paper version also.  We like to plan ahead and go thru it together each night before bed.  We don't cruise until October (Jewel) but you can be sure that I request them as soon as we meet our cabin steward.

We always pick our cabins at booking to avoid this exact thing. 

We always pick our cabins at booking to avoid this exact thing. 

We always pick our cabins at booking to avoid this exact thing. 

Long time Royal Caribbean fan here.. super proud and excited that my daughter will be performing as part of the next cast joining Wonder of the Seas for the shows Voices, Effectors II and Tap Factory.
We are from Australia and she has recently travelled to FIU in North Miami for rehearsals. Her name is Chloe, so if you see her on there from May-2023 onwards say 'Hi' to her for me! 
Currently planning several trips over there to see her! Can't wait!!!

There’s a couple posts on Cruise Critic about it. 
 
I really hope this doesn’t become the norm on Royal. I hope they nip this kind of behavior in the bud. Fast. This ain’t carnival 

My first RC cruise, I forgot to change my phone settings to stay on ship time. I enjoyed my day on Labadee, looked at my phone and thought I had a little over an hour to get back on the ship. So I had time for one more drink. I get my drink at the bar, just sitting there chilling out. I start looking around and realize I'm the only one around and all the crew members are busy folding up beach chairs, closing down the bar, etc. My error suddenly dawned on me and realized I had ten minutes until all-aboard. 

I'm pretty sure they wouldn't have left me behind on Labadee, but definitely don't want to take that chance again. 

for what it’s worth; i do my muster drill while we’re waiting to board 😂 then all i have to do is mosey on over to our station for the check in. piece of cake!!

Symphony Of The Seas has just set the record for most people crossing the Atlantic on a cruise ship!
 
Here's what you can expect to do with 9 days at sea, crossing from USA to Europe, on one of the largest ships in the world!
 
 

Even a day early won't guarantee the you make the ship, but sure helps.
Even if everything goes perfectly on a same day flight, the stress is excessive. Fly in a day before if at all possible. 

Flew 2 days in early once because it was cheaper to fly that day, we saved more money on the 5 plane tickets (3 kids) than an additional night in a hotel.  Got an extra day in Fort Lauderdale for less money.
 

Either early or late
Once/day is fine with me
As far as I'm concerned, what I need from the room attendant every day is a refilled ice bucket and clean towels.  I usually make my own bed and pick up after myself anyway; turn down service is not necessary. 

Just use WiFi calling.  You need to buy the Wifi package, but it is super easy.  We have T-Mobile and had no issues using Wifi calling onboard and then standard calling (we were in Canada).
Another option is WhatsApp.  It is a Wifi calling app.  Again, really easy to use, but you need a wifi package on the ship. You don't need to do anything to your phone with WhatsApp.  It is a free download.
Most phones have Wifi calling as an option and if you are using T-Mobile it is probably on your phone. I use wifi calling from our house 24/7.  We have no cell signal where we live.  So, 100% wifi calling from the house and standard cell service when we get about 5 miles away from the house when heading to town.
On my Android phone from T-Mobile (Galaxy F20 FE 5G).  Put your phone in airplane mode. Then follow below:
Settings==> Connections ==> Wifi =on ==> WiFi calling = on.  And you are now using a Wifi network to make calls.  The phone will automatically flip to the cell network when in network area.