Mike n Ky

When I got the email today announcing the new Star of the Seas and that it begins sailing in June 2025 I had to wonder how in the world can they continue to put out so many huge ships and where are they going.

Booked on this one with a group of 8. Looking forward to it!

Back in April, for the first time we booked, on Next, an OVBalcony guarantee on Symphony for Jan 2024. I thought, why not grab that cheap rate, watch for something close to it and grab a cabin of our choice. Today the same deal, OVBG is only $200 less PER person that our total cost for the 2 person booking. JIC that's confusing, it's almost double the price when we booked it 6 months ago. So we are sticking with the guaranteed and seeing what happens.

Back in April, for the first time we booked, on Next, an OVBalcony guarantee on Symphony for Jan 2024. I thought, why not grab that cheap rate, watch for something close to it and grab a cabin of our choice. Today the same deal, OVBG is only $200 less PER person that our total cost for the 2 person booking. JIC that's confusing, it's almost double the price when we booked it 6 months ago. So we are sticking with the guaranteed and seeing what happens.

The best thing in the WJ on Wonder is the kids desert section...they had chocolate covered chocolate chip cookies that were awesome. You either have to be limber to get down low or wait for a kid to help you.

The best thing in the WJ on Wonder is the kids desert section...they had chocolate covered chocolate chip cookies that were awesome. You either have to be limber to get down low or wait for a kid to help you.

The best thing in the WJ on Wonder is the kids desert section...they had chocolate covered chocolate chip cookies that were awesome. You either have to be limber to get down low or wait for a kid to help you.

No cruise ports here but Tennessee has no state income as well. I live in beautiful East Tennessee. Property taxes in my county are very low, less than 1K per year. Paid $5.25 to register my car this year. Utilities average around $200/mo. Weather is fairly temperate year round. We drive to cruises in Florida. Also consider Texas but the destinations from Galveston are still kind of limited IMHO.

I just want to give a big thank you to everyone that answered all my questions and offered advice, you really helped our first cruise experience. We had such a great time that we are set to book our second. Once again everyone, THANK YOU 😀

That's mighty impressive.

I can hear the MDR complaints from that ship already..."the food tastes like plastic!"

I saw this posted in another group and thought it was really cool. Didn't say how long the guy spent making it but it's over 5000 Lego pieces

We were on the Allure a few weeks ago when that happened.

After those two sentences there wasn't any desire to read the rest.

After those two sentences there wasn't any desire to read the rest.

Nothing.  Unlimited Dining Package is a misnomer.  They should rename it to Ultimate Dining Package.  There are plenty of limits.  In practice, the limitations won't impact most people being able to eat essentially all they want, but there are all kinds of limits.

For someone who claims to speak facts this is one of the most opinionated messages on here.

I haven’t been an MDR fan for a long time (personal preference like most things, especially food), but I absolutely love the Indian food onboard as well, wherever I get it (CK, WJ, MDR).
I don’t ever eat it at home (wife is picky and not a fan) but have some almost everyday while cruising.

For someone who doesn't care what anyone else says, you use up a good amount of space asking us not to say it.  Seeing as you have declared your wall of text to be facts, then I am meeting your demand and not commenting on someone else's opinion.  I will comment on your facts.
I hear 3 gripes hidden in your giant paragraph.  Whipped cream is bad, theme nights aren't strict enough to the theme and you can't stand even the presence of Indian food.  None of those things bother me in the least. 
I have no recollection of the whipped cream but if I ever didn't like it, I'd kick it to the side. 
I love the Indian dishes and get them every night as a second entre.  I love them.  India has the largest population in the world, but you don't need to be Indian to love Indian food.  Your logic that there aren't a ton of Indian people on your cruise holds little water.  The makeup of the sailings are overwhelmingly American.  Does that mean there should only be cheeseburgers, pork BBQ and chicken wings?  Of course not, anyone can and most people do, enjoy eating the food of other countries.
The themes are fine and are generally just reflected in the Chef's choice for the evening.  Nobody should be expecting cultural immersion.
You are doing the right thing by choosing the dining options that make sense for you.  You have those options and that is a great thing about cruising.  While I won't see you in the MDR on Icon, here's hoping you get stuck in an elevator with me after dinner so you can enjoy the Indian food smell oozing from my pores.

I think they're all seriously underwhelming.
I'd say out of the ones I've tried my favourite was the Asian night but that isn't one of the more common ones (it turned up on our 8-night cruise on Anthem out of NJ). I particularly liked the salmon teriyaki on that one.
Out of all the others I've tried, the ones I disliked least were Welcome Aboard, Caribbean and Bon Voyage.
I have yet to experience the Mexican and Taste of the USA menus, both of which look so bad to me that I would probably be tempted to pay for speciality dining on those nights.
Obviously it's all very subjective and others will inevitably love the things I've said I dislike.
 

As someone who also suffers from an irrational fear (fear of flying), I can tell you what works for me is reminding yourself of how many cruises go off without a hitch every day, week and month of the year. 
At the end of the day, if there's one day where your fear is beyond manageable, better to take the medicine and be calm than get value from a drink package and not enjoy your time.
Disclaimer: I'm not a mental health professional, just sharing what works for me. 

Last couple of cruises I was on board by 11:00am. Ideally that would be perfect.
I had one delay because of an inspection but even that took 30 minutes and I was on board by 11:30.
My main reason for wanting to get on board early is to make my dining package reservations and get my desired times.

The Diamond Club is limited to deck 11 since Covid. Deck 12 of the former two deck retreat is now the Pinnacle Club. The Diamond Club is my favorite place to work during the day as it is peaceful, the coffee machine is close with fresh ground nectar, I have a 220V plug that goes to my laptop and the view cannot be beat.

We're in the same boat... already planning our BOGO's for the cruises after that. We don't do much specialty dining but looking forward to the BOGO's.

Allure last week and we had the disc and it was about 90 minutes for us. However, it was a bit more difficult to get the sequence changed but I believe I was in part just a language barrier thing and frankly since you can refuse a serving I should not have tried to change the order. lol
Food was great and we dined there because it was a specialty restaurant we hadn't tried before even though we had been on the Allure 4 times before this sailing.

On the Allure last week every CK, as well as our specialty reservations, was on our daily planner.