Marc

Navigator of the Seas does not have pre-reservable entertainment. That's pretty much for the Oasis class ships only at this point.

We are suffering from a lack of "shock and awe" that we got from the Oasis reveals. I feel like I don't know much about these ships and they are nearly ready. Also I feel the advancements and innovations are less thrilling this go around. 

There is one small exception to what Matt said about this. It may be possible to purchase more expensive items such as jewelry directly onto a credit card. It's been a few years, but I did buy a Citizen watch onboard Majesty of the Seas and was able to purchase it directly onto my MasterCard instead of having the purchase flow through the SeaPass. (I was thinking that this would help for warranty issues if the purchase were direct.)

I have Allure of the Seas' webcam of the Royal Promenade as my desktop wallpaper. I remember being excited to see what would happen for New Year's Eve. I saw they had large bags filled with balloons hanging from the ceiling.
 
Unfortunately, the webcam feed stopped for about twenty minutes right around midnight. By the time it was live again around 12:20 AM, the Royal Promenade was practically empty and there was pretty much no sign of the balloons anywhere. I was surprised just how quickly it all wrapped up.
 
Still, it would have been quite exciting to be there.

I remember that feeling from our very first cruise (on Celebrity Century back in 1998). We had just boarded and were led to our cabin by a woman wearing white gloves. It felt so elegant. Even though we had a cabin on a lower deck, we were made to feel special.
 
Anyway, after arriving in our cabin, I remember using our cell phone to call a friend of ours. I was absolutely giddy with excitement, knowing that we were going to be taken away from everything that we knew of the real world for the next 7 nights.
 
Now, I always get the internet package and I'll often call home (using Skype) regularly throughout the cruise. So much for any sort of disconnection any longer. :)

cruisett.com, cruisetimetables.com, and cruisecal.com can provide this information. I mention all three since the user interfaces are different, so you may prefer one over another. Some have pay-for features and some may not necessarily list all the ships in ports.
 
I generally prefer cruisett.com, but was disappointed last year when I noticed that a number of ships didn't seem to be in their database and weren't showing up in the ports when my cruise was going to be there.

Nope, no other liquor is permitted.

Nope, no other liquor is permitted.

I don't believe that there is a restriction on bringing AC adapters. According to this page, the only prohibited electrical item are extension cords.
 
References to "transformers" would likely be talking about much larger devices than the little "bricks" we use to charge/power our electronic devices.

You can have your gratuities included with your final payment, if you wish. (It's required to do so if you have My Time Dining.) Simply contact your travel agent (or Royal Caribbean, if you don't have one) and ask that they be paid in advance.

This is an important tidbit. Onboard credit can only be spent onboard. You cannot use it to pre-purchase things through the online Cruise Planner (such as specialty dining, excursions, drink packages, etc.) before the cruise; the Cruise Planner purchases must be paid with a credit card.

I heard that Len mentioned interest in tapas when you were discussing Boleros. He'll have a treat if he goes to Vintages as they do serve yummy tapas in there (a la carte).

Congratulations!

I love Portofino's Tartufo al Cioccolato. I'm sorry to see Portofino going away in the fleet.
 

I love Portofino's Tartufo al Cioccolato. I'm sorry to see Portofino going away in the fleet.
 

I like the Promenade cabins on the Freedom class ships, but I didn't like the one we had on Allure of the Seas.
 
First, it bugged me that the only connecting Promenade cabins connected to regular inside cabins; you couldn't get two connecting Promenade cabins.
 
Second, I didn't like that the cabins were so close to the ceiling, and the way the lighting is in the Royal Promenade, it's prominently visible when looking out the window as seen in this photo (plus you can see a platform slightly obstructing the lower right-hand view):
 

 
Granted, if you look downward, you don't see the lighting:
 

 
It was otherwise a perfectly comfortable room and still good for people watching on the Royal Promenade. I just wish they had more of them on the Oasis class ships so you could have a better choice of where you wanted to be along the Royal Promenade.

Next year will be our third year in a row sailing on Independence of the Seas for spring break. It also marks a milestone birthday for my friend with whom I've been cruising.
 
Last year, we had the Ben & Jerry's "Sweet" which was fun. For those who don't know, it's a unique Promenade cabin (6305) that's above the Ben & Jerry's shop on the Royal Promenade. It's only on the Freedom class ships.
 
Because of the cows that overlook the shop on the Royal Promenade, you have an obstructed view from the cabin's window that overlooks the Royal Promenade (you get to look at cow butts!). In exchange, you get a room that's decorated in a cow theme, free Ben & Jerry's ice cream for the cruise, plus access to the "Cow-cierge" Lounge.
 
I'm glad that we managed to get it again next year. It's a lot of fun, and Concierge Lounge access is pretty cool, too.
 
You can see a YouTube video tour of the cabin that I made last year here: Ben & Jerry's "Sweet" - Independence of the Seas (March 2013).

Next year will be our third year in a row sailing on Independence of the Seas for spring break. It also marks a milestone birthday for my friend with whom I've been cruising.
 
Last year, we had the Ben & Jerry's "Sweet" which was fun. For those who don't know, it's a unique Promenade cabin (6305) that's above the Ben & Jerry's shop on the Royal Promenade. It's only on the Freedom class ships.
 
Because of the cows that overlook the shop on the Royal Promenade, you have an obstructed view from the cabin's window that overlooks the Royal Promenade (you get to look at cow butts!). In exchange, you get a room that's decorated in a cow theme, free Ben & Jerry's ice cream for the cruise, plus access to the "Cow-cierge" Lounge.
 
I'm glad that we managed to get it again next year. It's a lot of fun, and Concierge Lounge access is pretty cool, too.
 
You can see a YouTube video tour of the cabin that I made last year here: Ben & Jerry's "Sweet" - Independence of the Seas (March 2013).

Next year will be our third year in a row sailing on Independence of the Seas for spring break. It also marks a milestone birthday for my friend with whom I've been cruising.
 
Last year, we had the Ben & Jerry's "Sweet" which was fun. For those who don't know, it's a unique Promenade cabin (6305) that's above the Ben & Jerry's shop on the Royal Promenade. It's only on the Freedom class ships.
 
Because of the cows that overlook the shop on the Royal Promenade, you have an obstructed view from the cabin's window that overlooks the Royal Promenade (you get to look at cow butts!). In exchange, you get a room that's decorated in a cow theme, free Ben & Jerry's ice cream for the cruise, plus access to the "Cow-cierge" Lounge.
 
I'm glad that we managed to get it again next year. It's a lot of fun, and Concierge Lounge access is pretty cool, too.
 
You can see a YouTube video tour of the cabin that I made last year here: Ben & Jerry's "Sweet" - Independence of the Seas (March 2013).

Next year will be our third year in a row sailing on Independence of the Seas for spring break. It also marks a milestone birthday for my friend with whom I've been cruising.
 
Last year, we had the Ben & Jerry's "Sweet" which was fun. For those who don't know, it's a unique Promenade cabin (6305) that's above the Ben & Jerry's shop on the Royal Promenade. It's only on the Freedom class ships.
 
Because of the cows that overlook the shop on the Royal Promenade, you have an obstructed view from the cabin's window that overlooks the Royal Promenade (you get to look at cow butts!). In exchange, you get a room that's decorated in a cow theme, free Ben & Jerry's ice cream for the cruise, plus access to the "Cow-cierge" Lounge.
 
I'm glad that we managed to get it again next year. It's a lot of fun, and Concierge Lounge access is pretty cool, too.
 
You can see a YouTube video tour of the cabin that I made last year here: Ben & Jerry's "Sweet" - Independence of the Seas (March 2013).

I really liked Hairspray and would be slightly saddened to see it replaced by something else, but that said, I think it's more important that Royal Caribbean do what's necessary to keep the entertainment fresh for repeat cruisers.
 
That said, I really didn't like Chicago, and now I'm hopeful to see it replaced by another Broadway production when Allure of the Seas goes into drydock.

I really liked Hairspray and would be slightly saddened to see it replaced by something else, but that said, I think it's more important that Royal Caribbean do what's necessary to keep the entertainment fresh for repeat cruisers.
 
That said, I really didn't like Chicago, and now I'm hopeful to see it replaced by another Broadway production when Allure of the Seas goes into drydock.

My next cruise is in October on Allure of the Seas. I'm traveling with a bunch of friends from an online forum. This is the second official group cruise from our forum. We've been planning this cruise since April last year (when it was 17 months out).

If you want a cabana, you should book it (under shore excursions under Labadee, Haiti) as soon as possible. They tend to get booked up quickly.
 
All the cabanas are already reserved (the ones that were available online, anyway) for our upcoming Allure cruise in October.

We've been lucky to get a cabana onboard. We got to the terminal early so we were among the first to board the ship. We immediately went to the shore excursions ("Explorations!") desk and inquired about a cabana. They did have one available and we got it!