whitsmom

Oh thank you!  This is so helpful!

We cruise June 4th and I booked mine last week.

This blog post should be helpful: http://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2016/07/23/first-time-cruisers-when-can-i-prebook-entertainment-dining-and-more-my-royal-caribbean

Here is a good primer on booking entertainment: http://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2016/07/23/first-time-cruisers-when-can-i-prebook-entertainment-dining-and-more-my-royal-caribbean
 
It's only available on Oasis & Quantum class ships, and there are no physical tickets.  It's all on your SeaPass account and the crew member just scans your SeaPass card and you are good to go.

For what it's worth, even when I can't live stream video onboard, I've always been able to Facetime.  Must be something with the compression or something.  Hopefully it will work for you!

Hi Gingy5,
 
Navigator isn't known for having the fastest Voom, but I can't speak to whether or not facetime would work.  If you purchase Voom, you won't be needing cellular data (and in fact, you'll want to disable roaming or turn on airplane mode to avoid a giant bill).  Matt and I have some good info on what you'll need to know at the below link.  Give that a read and then let me know if you have any questions.  Hopefully someone can chime in and let us know if they had success with Facetime on Navi.
 
http://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2016/07/27/how-stay-touch-someone-your-royal-caribbean-cruise

I always just stay on board until they practically literally throw me off.  I'm never in a hurry to leave.

You can choose the option to take your own luggage off the ship, if you feel that you can do that. You will be the first passengers off when it clears customs. On my last cruise in November passengers lined up on Deck 5 starting at 7 am, the crew tried to stop them, but when you have a stampede, five crew members can't control them. The line started at the elevators (blocking them so passengers couldn't get on or off) and went around the whole ship, almost back to the elevators. What was funny, there was a problem with customs and the very first passengers in line stood there until 9 am before they could disembark. If I could drag my large suitcase I would do the self disembarkation.

From what I can remember, its about 9:30 am that the last "group" is scheduled to leave the ship.....so it defn wouldn't be later than 10am...and really its a madhouse that last morning trying to do anything or go anywhere on the ship.
 
If you have a rental car waiting, I would get off the ship when its convenient for you and then take 3 or 4 hours to enjoy some sightseeing or an excursion to kill the time till you need to show up to the airport.

I agree with everything that Matt said. Regardless of the last time off the ship they want you our of your cabin as early as possible.  It is a daunting task to clean and prepare all the cabins on turnaround day so they want as much time as possible.

I don't know if there is a universal time about when you have to be out of the room by.  Usually it's all communicated in the final day cruise compass that will be in your stateroom.  
In my experience, they are pretty adamant about getting you out of the room.  If you don't put up a Do Not Disturb sign on your door the night before, expect a lot of knocking to see if you are still there.

Totally understand being a planner. There is so much to do on Oasis, so make sure you plan "exploration" time.

I can easily relate to the "were all set" feeling you are describing. I felt exactly the same way one year ago for my Allure cruise in Port Everglade. 

It's getting real folks!  Flights are booked (got to use Skymiles for everyone), Pre-cruise hotels booked, rental car booked from airport to hotel/port and from port to airport.  Our first night pre-cruise hotel is the night before our flight and we can keep our vehicles there and they will shuttle us to airport and then the other hotel will be in Orlando and we booked two 2-bedroom suites using my son-n-law's points.  There are 9 of us going so it takes some planning to get everything organized.  Needless to say, we are all getting super excited.  This will be the first cruise for my four Grands, and it will be the first airplane ride for 2 of them. 
 
Now we just need to start looking at all the excursions.... :)

https://www.amazon.com/Cruisetags-Cruise-Ship-Luggage-Tags/dp/B007UXMQXO/ref=sr_1_6?s=apparel&ie=UTF8&qid=1482459665&sr=1-6&nodeID=7141123011&keywords=cruise+ship+luggage+tags
These are the clear luggage tags I bought on Amazon, they have the loop. A set of 8 for around $9 and I have been using the first two for over two years. They fit all cruise line luggage tags. I have never had a problem with them and I wait until I hit port to put them on, so less chance of them getting ruined.

We have cruise many times, however for our next cruise (July Oasis), we are flying in the day before and will be carrying on our luggage.  I will print out our luggage tags so with that done, can we leave them with RCI at port and they take them to our cabin or will we have to lug it all around until our cabin is ready?

I've only done it once, and I know my cruise buddy never has, which I'm sure is why she seemed so excited about it. We'll see if she actually goes for it. The comedian better hope he's up first, cuz ours will be a tough act to follow...

I do agree showing up early is important. Not sure about 30 mins early, but I do agree show up a few minutes before opening to ensure you get in first (and don't have much of a wait).

They do have open skating, but it fills up fast. If recommend getting there about a half hours before opening. In the Liberty, it was only offered once.
 
Note that you must have long pants and socks to skate.

I've never taken extra hangers.  There have been a few times when there weren't enough, but I just asked the cabin steward for more and they magically appeared.
 
My "go to" list is as follows:
 
Collapsible backpack for excursions Light, water proof jacket for rain Power strip without surge protection (you may find the number of outlets limited) Hanging toiletry bag for the bathroom Highlighters to mark events on the Cruise Compass I also recommend getting to the port early rather than late.  I always aim for the 10:30/11 window.

I bought and used these tags on Anthem specifically because they are sized for RC and used them on a recent Anthem trip and they were perfect. For $6.50 for a 4 pack I honestly didn't expect much but the reviews were great. They have metal tag holders and the plastic is good and thick. I will be reusing these over and over. 
 
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01E4SQNLS/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1 

Glad to hear that.  We will have a small bag with stuff we will need but I sure didn't want to lug around all that other stuff!  We are taking the grand kids so I can enjoy their first ever exploring the cruise ship without added "baggage"  LOL

Glad to hear that.  We will have a small bag with stuff we will need but I sure didn't want to lug around all that other stuff!  We are taking the grand kids so I can enjoy their first ever exploring the cruise ship without added "baggage"  LOL

Yes, you have the option of checking any of your luggage and Royal Caribbean will deliver your luggage to your stateroom later that day.  The benefit is you do not have to lug it around.  The negative is that it may take several hours for your luggage to arrive (so do not check anything important that you need between embarkation and dinner).

In my experience you'll find no lack of porters.  Be sure to bring cash to tip the porter, a couple of dollars per bag, maybe more if they're cumbersome.