KLA

I agree, totally unempressed with Indy logo gear. On Allure however they have lots of nice gear, clothing, mugs, magnets, bags and such. Quality is subjective but the hoodies felt soft and nice to me. 50 dollars seemed like a good price for them.
Really wish I could get good gear online though.

I have not been to Chops yet....but reading their menu offerings, Chops would be a great steakhouse choice.   Other Chef's Table experiences lend itself to "adventurous" dining. Probably will have wine parings with each course.  The Chef's Table usually is a group dining experience, discussing all the flavors, etc.  Personally, I would want to celebrate a birthday in a more intimate setting and your husband deserves a big steak...and that most likely wouldn't be served at The Chef's Table.  Go to Chops.  

If you look at the top of the page, you'll see a link to Cruise Compasses, so you can get more specific information there. Generally speaking, if there is only one show, it is at about 7 to fit between both dinning times and then 6-7 and 8:30-9 when there are two shows. A late night show then follows at about 10:30.

Am on the Allure now in 11330. It is even more amazing than I thought it would be. Like you, I was concerned that the photos may have over hyped these rooms but I assure you, that is not the case. My absolute ONLY complaint is that there are NO cabinets in the dressing area in the bedroom. NONE. There are 2 shallow drawers that are useless. Other than that, the room is perfect ! 8 chairs and 3 tables on the veranda (Matt).
 
As for the noise, with the doors closed (there are sliding glass doors to the balcony in both the living room and the bedroom), it is minimal, even during the Aqua Theater shows. The view is incredible. 270 degrees. I cannot recommend these rooms enough ! Next year I am in 8330 on Harmony. Can't wait !

Is rather spend my money on RoyalCaribbeanBlog.com merchandise myself. ;)

There's another thread going about this - My personal guess is that there are going to be small water slides for kids, but not the same type of large slides that are on other ships or like what was just placed on Liberty of the Seas. 

My guess is that portion of the website simply hasn't been updated as Royal announced months ago the elimination of a coated fee.

I hope that someday I will be able to afford to answer your questions

One other thing pushing my interest toward Harmony of the Seas is the EAT.DRINK.PLAY promotion that Royal Caribbean is offering on Central Park or Boardwalk balcony cabins (including a free dining option and a free beverage option, depending on your cabin choice). That little bonus may help make it slightly better, especially if I can combine it with the Diamond balcony discount.

Well. I have some shopping to do.  :D

Perfect! I can wear it on Harmony of the seas

Well. I have some shopping to do.  :D

I used Spread Shirt to create my own personal cruise T....ship name...date...etc.   Very easy to do on their website.    Finished job was less than $50 for two shirts.  

I've heard Matt say that there is some Royal Caribbean blog merchandise to buy, does anyone know where to find it? I've searched the website but can't find anything.

This has been super helpful to me - we're sailing out of Miami in Sept but are flying in to and staying in Fort Lauderdale the night before. Definitely looking for something quieter as opposed to Miami, and I know that area a bit better as far as restaurants. Good to know that a taxi is still a viable option, and that transportation options are readily available, as I was a little nervous. 

Most airlines don't allow you to book more than 330 days out, but you can get some killer deals if you book way out. We're flying to Europe from LAX for under $700 round trip, but we booked right at the 330 mark. Last year we paid $1100 which was still about $400 below normal.
 
JetBlue and Southwest allow bookings about 4-6 months out, but I find the best fares when booking right when they open up.

I'm not huge on cocktails and generally stick to beer.. but on my last cruise, I tried the Grand Sangria from Boleros. Yumm!

Your group is too big for one table, but you should be able to fit at two tables (either two of 8 or one of 8 and one of 6 with an extra chair squeezed in somewhere).
 
If you have a travel agent, I'd suggest that you ask them to help take care of these arrangements. On our past two group cruises, our travel agent did very well at getting our group of 30+ at tables together, even by the window.
 
Alternatively, you can send email to [email protected] about 4-6 weeks before your sailing and explain your group to them, giving them the ship name, sail date, and the booking numbers for those in your group. People have reported positive results by contacting them in advance.

Just off of Indy today - this actually happened to me in Labadee a couple of days ago. 
 
It rained just about the entire day we were in Labadee, aside for a couple of sunny patches where we checked in to see if we'd be able to do the zipline (we were scheduled at 10 AM and we were cancelled due to rain) - it was shut down frequently during the day due to rain. So, a couple of hours before the ship left Labadee, we tried our luck and were able to successfully complete the mini zipline, and headed up the hill to the main attraction. 
 
On the way up the hill, it started raining again so we weren't sure we were going to make it down. In a combination of nerves and adrenaline, I volunteered my fiance and I to go down the zipline in the first group. As we stepped up to get strapped in, it started pouring. Despite this, the attendant pulled the line and we were off! 
 
It started out really fun, the view is GORGEOUS... though, the rain started feeling pretty painful and it became difficult to see as we picked up speed.. and then the wind started. I could feel myself being blown sideways due to how much the wind had picked up.... and then realized we were quickly losing speed. All five of us on the zipline stopped short of the end, and wound up dangling over the ocean... in a rainstorm, with the waves picking up beneath us. 
 
At this point, I wasn't really sure how they were going to get us down... but I was wet and cold and didn't know what to do. I started yelling 'HELP' at one point and then quickly realized that was an unreasonable reaction. We found that swinging in a particular way would inch us along the line towards the end, so we tried that for a little bit. Eventually, the workers who were waiting for us at the end grabbed a rope, and dove through the waves to toss it to us - they got pulled under the water quite a bit in this process. We tossed the rope in a line between all five of us, and three or so workers helped pull us to safety. The whole ordeal lasted around ten minutes. 
 
SO - that's my super exciting vacation story! The employees who helped get us down were fantastic, and it was really appreciated. We were also given a full refund for the experience. Evidently, this happens once or twice a year. After this whole experience, I was "Laba-done" and pretty excited to get back on the ship and in some dry clothes. 
 
I would definitely do this again, and am looking forward to trying again sometime -  I was freaked out, but I can't say I ever felt truly unsafe. Now, if there is rain in the forecast, I would definitely recommend maybe saving this activity for your next Royal Caribbean cruise. I'm planning to write up a full review of my experience on the Independence of the Seas in the next couple of days. 
 
On a side note... there was a pretty large crowd that had gathered to take pictures of this as it was happening. If anyone happens to have any of those pictures... please let me know. :D

Just off of Indy today - this actually happened to me in Labadee a couple of days ago. 
 
It rained just about the entire day we were in Labadee, aside for a couple of sunny patches where we checked in to see if we'd be able to do the zipline (we were scheduled at 10 AM and we were cancelled due to rain) - it was shut down frequently during the day due to rain. So, a couple of hours before the ship left Labadee, we tried our luck and were able to successfully complete the mini zipline, and headed up the hill to the main attraction. 
 
On the way up the hill, it started raining again so we weren't sure we were going to make it down. In a combination of nerves and adrenaline, I volunteered my fiance and I to go down the zipline in the first group. As we stepped up to get strapped in, it started pouring. Despite this, the attendant pulled the line and we were off! 
 
It started out really fun, the view is GORGEOUS... though, the rain started feeling pretty painful and it became difficult to see as we picked up speed.. and then the wind started. I could feel myself being blown sideways due to how much the wind had picked up.... and then realized we were quickly losing speed. All five of us on the zipline stopped short of the end, and wound up dangling over the ocean... in a rainstorm, with the waves picking up beneath us. 
 
At this point, I wasn't really sure how they were going to get us down... but I was wet and cold and didn't know what to do. I started yelling 'HELP' at one point and then quickly realized that was an unreasonable reaction. We found that swinging in a particular way would inch us along the line towards the end, so we tried that for a little bit. Eventually, the workers who were waiting for us at the end grabbed a rope, and dove through the waves to toss it to us - they got pulled under the water quite a bit in this process. We tossed the rope in a line between all five of us, and three or so workers helped pull us to safety. The whole ordeal lasted around ten minutes. 
 
SO - that's my super exciting vacation story! The employees who helped get us down were fantastic, and it was really appreciated. We were also given a full refund for the experience. Evidently, this happens once or twice a year. After this whole experience, I was "Laba-done" and pretty excited to get back on the ship and in some dry clothes. 
 
I would definitely do this again, and am looking forward to trying again sometime -  I was freaked out, but I can't say I ever felt truly unsafe. Now, if there is rain in the forecast, I would definitely recommend maybe saving this activity for your next Royal Caribbean cruise. I'm planning to write up a full review of my experience on the Independence of the Seas in the next couple of days. 
 
On a side note... there was a pretty large crowd that had gathered to take pictures of this as it was happening. If anyone happens to have any of those pictures... please let me know. :D

Just off of Indy today - this actually happened to me in Labadee a couple of days ago. 
 
It rained just about the entire day we were in Labadee, aside for a couple of sunny patches where we checked in to see if we'd be able to do the zipline (we were scheduled at 10 AM and we were cancelled due to rain) - it was shut down frequently during the day due to rain. So, a couple of hours before the ship left Labadee, we tried our luck and were able to successfully complete the mini zipline, and headed up the hill to the main attraction. 
 
On the way up the hill, it started raining again so we weren't sure we were going to make it down. In a combination of nerves and adrenaline, I volunteered my fiance and I to go down the zipline in the first group. As we stepped up to get strapped in, it started pouring. Despite this, the attendant pulled the line and we were off! 
 
It started out really fun, the view is GORGEOUS... though, the rain started feeling pretty painful and it became difficult to see as we picked up speed.. and then the wind started. I could feel myself being blown sideways due to how much the wind had picked up.... and then realized we were quickly losing speed. All five of us on the zipline stopped short of the end, and wound up dangling over the ocean... in a rainstorm, with the waves picking up beneath us. 
 
At this point, I wasn't really sure how they were going to get us down... but I was wet and cold and didn't know what to do. I started yelling 'HELP' at one point and then quickly realized that was an unreasonable reaction. We found that swinging in a particular way would inch us along the line towards the end, so we tried that for a little bit. Eventually, the workers who were waiting for us at the end grabbed a rope, and dove through the waves to toss it to us - they got pulled under the water quite a bit in this process. We tossed the rope in a line between all five of us, and three or so workers helped pull us to safety. The whole ordeal lasted around ten minutes. 
 
SO - that's my super exciting vacation story! The employees who helped get us down were fantastic, and it was really appreciated. We were also given a full refund for the experience. Evidently, this happens once or twice a year. After this whole experience, I was "Laba-done" and pretty excited to get back on the ship and in some dry clothes. 
 
I would definitely do this again, and am looking forward to trying again sometime -  I was freaked out, but I can't say I ever felt truly unsafe. Now, if there is rain in the forecast, I would definitely recommend maybe saving this activity for your next Royal Caribbean cruise. I'm planning to write up a full review of my experience on the Independence of the Seas in the next couple of days. 
 
On a side note... there was a pretty large crowd that had gathered to take pictures of this as it was happening. If anyone happens to have any of those pictures... please let me know. :D

Independence of the Seas - Feb 8 2016
Enchantment of the Seas - Sept 9 2016 
Brilliance of the Seas - November 5 2016
 
Will be booking 2 cruises for my honeymoon as soon as the schedules are released in early March for October 2017! :D

Here's a video of my wife doing the zipline at Labadee. ( I have one of her on the one at Alaska's Icy Strait Point too ).
 

J, beer drinkers can get the beer package. Less expensive. Perfect for those who drink beer exclusively.

HAHA! I love this!!!! Mine somehow always ends up at, "Get it." Huh.  :D :lol: