Marc

If you visit the Royal Caribbean web site when its down, your browser may get that stuck in its cache. I've had success emptying the browser's cache to be able to get to the web site again.

I'm a big guy and have shopped in the Casual Male XL shops. One summer, I was quite surprised to see that they had XXXL-sized Speedos (the real brand item) for sale.

The current guideline from Royal Caribbean is that the ships that are staying in the Caribbean will be getting VOOM (no "R", despite VROOM sounding better :)). Independence of the Seas will be going back to Southampton next year, so she probably won't be getting VOOM.

And I thought he was suggesting that there was a Hotel Director who's a biker. The only biker of note on a Royal Caribbean ship that I know of is Captain Johnny.

Generally, Royal Caribbean releases their next schedule update during the spring. Looking at this page as a reference, the Alaska itineraries for 2016 were released during the week of March 16, 2015. I'd guess that sometime in mid-March 2016 is a rough time when you'll be able to find the schedule for 2017. Keep an eye on this site early next year for information about when the schedule is expected to be released.

I'm happy that Grease was selected, and that does make me more interested in booking a cruise on Harmony of the Seas in the future. The other two Broadway shows I've seen onboard were Hairspray (loved it!) and Chicago (hated it!). The difference between those two was the upbeat, happy music that I really enjoyed. Chicago's music wasn't as appealing to me.

To be fair, the items mentioned in that article about NCL are also somewhat true about Royal Caribbean. RCI has had upcharge items on their main dining room menu for a couple of years now, and a la carte restaurants aren't something new either as they have them in some venues on some ships.

There are no discounts on suites, per se, but there are graduated discounts for all balcony cabins, including suites. The best resource I've found that details the various dollars-off discounts is in this Cruise Critic post.

I use a cruise price monitoring service (CruiseFish.net). They do charge a small fee to monitor a sailing and email you upon price/availability changes, but I've found it to be very worthwhile. In fact, just tonight I found out that my March 2017 cruise dropped $47/person!

I'm looking forward to sailing on Freedom of the Seas out of Terminal 1 next March. I can't wait to try Sabor! Well, except for that woman hanging down from the ceiling on the Royal Promenade. She sort of freaks me out.

More than that, they've both had regular sailings in Europe, where the US audience isn't as prevalent. I've noticed similar comments at Cruise Critic about non-US sailings; they just don't get the roll call activity that a US-based itinerary does. It seems that we domestic cruisers don't talk much about the ships that aren't in our own backyard.

Yes, they do. Take a look at this PDF to get an idea of what you'll get based on your Crown & Anchor status.

Not exactly. Royal Caribbean's casino doesn't offer free drinks to players unless they're members of their casino program (Club Royale) or are recognized as a "Gold" or higher status M life member (from land-based casinos). Club Royale is an invitation-only program. For slots players, one needs to earn about 2,000 points during a week-long cruise to be invited in. Note that Club Royale will be transitioning to a new, tiered program at some point in the next few months, probably in early 2016. No details about what this new program will look like or what benefits it will offer players is known yet.

ATM withdrawals were $6 on the past couple cruises. Taking money from your SeaPass account at the casino has a 5% fee. So, if you want less than $120, you're better off getting the money in the casino, otherwise the ATM fee is less.

Well, I'm back from a wonderful cruise and now can comment on these points. depart from Cape Liberty Cape Liberty isn't a wonderful port. It's a bit tricky to get to, and you're driving around an industrial area, but it does bring about a bit of a surprise when you head down Port Terminal Blvd. and finally see a cruise ship peeking out above the structures. depart from a chillier port (compared to Florida and southern California) I stayed out on deck for sail away just long enough to record a video of us passing under the Verrazano bridge and then went inside to warm up my hands. I had a light jacket, but holding the phone (as camera) for the few minutes was a bit unpleasant in the slightly brisk and windy weather. Other than that, I spent the rest of the time inside, so the chilliness didn't bother me. :) enjoy a 5-night cruise I still prefer week-long cruises, but 5-nights was a good length for a shorter cruise. It wasn't like a 3-night cruise where you just start getting into a routine onboard and are suddenly thrust back into reality on disembarkation day. stay in a full suite I will say that the Grand Suite was very nice! There was tons of room and I felt very comfortable in there, something I really can't say about a typical cruise ship cabin. get an alcoholic drink package I can say two things about the Premium Package: I got my money's worth. I definitely drank more than I would have without the package. I can also say that I'm not sure whether I'd get it again, especially on a longer cruise where the package would be even pricier. go to Bermuda The trip to Bermuda was disappointing. It was very windy on the first day, so that made it unpleasantly chilly. We also had our sunset catamaran tour excursion canceled due to the weather. I did enjoy the Royal Naval Dockyard. I think that may be the best port I've experienced in terms of actually experiencing local culture (instead of manufactured ports like Falmouth). be docked in port overnight It was nice to be able to say "Gee, we didn't get to do this today, so let's do it tomorrow!" participate in a $10K slot tournament I enjoyed being included, but alas, I didn't win. I didn't even get a "Participant" ribbon! :( Sadly, this cruise is probably the last time that I will: enjoy dining at Portofino I'm glad that I got to eat at Portofino again, but when it came time to choose a repeat specialty dinner for the last night, we chose to do Chops Grille again over Portofino. Farewell, Portofino! It was nice spending time with you.

Of the nine cruises that my husband has been on, he could only remember three of the ships' names. Of course, the last one caught on fire, so that's ingrained into his memory. Meanwhile, I remember the name of every ship I've been on, and can remember much of the Royal Caribbean ships' features. Now, the islands we've visited? Much of that has blurred together over time. That's not a surprise as I do cruise for the ship.

If someone tells me that they've gone or are going on a cruise, I pump them for details. I'm always surprised when someone replies, "I don't remember who (which company) we sailed with." or "I can never remember the ships' names." I'll try to ask for bits of information that might help narrow it down. Did you sail from Florida? Did your ship have a Royal Promenade? etc. Out of the US, I have a general understanding of which ships are sailing from where and to where. That's part of my cruise nerd-dom.

My first was also Viking Serenade. Of all the cruises I've been on, it was my least favorite. I didn't give Royal Caribbean much of a second thought until years later when I saw a TV program that showed the Royal Promenade and the neat cabins overlooking it.

The price guarantee works for those who book after final payment is already due.

shows what the slot tournament may be like. (This video is from Freedom of the Seas.) The slot tournaments I've done on other ships (Independence of the Seas and Allure of the Seas) both simply required the button mashing. Having to tap the screen for the bonus points that pop up is definitely going to be exciting and stressful!

I'm pretty sure it's their own pricing that they consider. Yup, according to their Best Price Guarantee: They don't allow discounting, but it is possible for companies to have group bookings that may have received promotional pricing, or at least potentially lower pricing that's locked in from earlier. I have a group booking for a cruise next year. We established the group as soon as bookings for fall 2016 were published, so we have good pricing. This pricing is good for our group members until June next year, so even if public prices for the sailing go up, our group can join us on the cruise at the group's pricing.

Don't forget that Liberty of the Seas does have Dreamworks, so there would be character interactions that your 9 year old might enjoy. Royal Caribbean's kid's program is good, too; my boys have really enjoyed themselves in it and were sad when they outgrew the program. I would think that lower cost and more nights would win. Note: I've not sailed Disney before and am a very content Royal Caribbean cruiser.

Thank you!

After spending the past several hours driving around southwestern Pennsylvania, I came back to realize two things. First, I started this thread in the wrong forum (!), and second, I had stayed in a suite once before, long ago, and not on Royal Caribbean. It was our cruise on the Grand Princess (our one and only Princess cruise). We had booked a mini-suite, but got a free upgrade to a "grand suite". (Their grand suite was comparable to Royal Caribbean's Owner's Suite.) Still, I think I'm more excited about this suite than I was about the one on Princess. :)

I've got six days until my next cruise, and my mind is almost completely focused on the trip ahead. I was just realizing that I've got so many firsts, and one last, for this cruise. This vacation is the first time that I will: depart from Cape Liberty depart from a chillier port (compared to Florida and southern California) enjoy a 5-night cruise stay in a full suite get an alcoholic drink package go to Bermuda be docked in port overnight participate in a $10K slot tournament Sadly, this cruise is probably the last time that I will: enjoy dining at Portofino Anyway, these were all thoughts I've had today while pondering my upcoming cruise. Now I just need to find a way to pass the time between now and the end of the week when everything begins in earnest.