Cactus527

I live in southern Arizona and keep my AC at 80-82° in the summer. When on ship, I think my temperature thing is always more on the warm side. All this "cold" and "meat locker" talk makes me shiver. Warmer is better!

IS YOUR BROTHER OKAY? IS HE FEELING WELL?!?!?!?? I'M WORRIED ABOUT HIS APPETITE!

Your mama needs a healthy dose of karma. Ugh. Thank goodness you're on Wonder and SHE'S NOT!!!!!!

We did Turquoise Bay Resort in July 2023, which is offered through Royal Caribbean. It's on the north side of the island, so it's about a 40 minute drive from the port, but we liked being away from the hustle and bustle of the port area. There are various "excursions" that go there with various price points, and it's essentially so they can divide you up into certain areas of the beach and schedule your activities. The beach is fine, there is a very gentle slope into the water, and you can walk out quite a ways before it even gets up to your waist as an adult (maybe 25 meters?). There's even swings in the water if the kiddos want to play (mine LOVED this, ages 12 and 14 at the time). There's a supervised kids play area too (think under the age of 5) with a ship and more, we got plenty of games of corn hole in. Plenty of loungers either in the sun or more shady, and our portion of the beach also had a few palapas that were claimed pretty quickly. Buffet lunch was served only at one time but was decent, the restrooms were questionable, but we loved the narrative provided by the guide on the bus going and coming back. I know everyone recommends Little French Key, but we really wanted NOT CROWDED. The price was right too! 1. Plenty of seating (smoking area too in the back). Some of the loungers were completely under the tree on the left. 2. View from water's edge. The forested islands in the background were part of the kayak excursion we did - mangroves, jellyfish, urchin, starfish, and super cool fish! 3. View toward the main part of the resort and beach area. 4. Kids on water swings. 5. Kids play area (you can see the attendant sitting in the shade).

Is that once daily at the no-reservation places (e.g. Playmakers and that's it for one day, Johnny Rockets the next day and that's it for the day), or is it once daily at EACH of the no-reservation places (e.g. Playmakers & Johnny Rockets in one day, same the next day)?

The ship will be departing from Terminal A on March 11th. It appears it will also be returning to Terminal A on March 15th.

Finally caught up on this blog. All the photos of your brother make me so happy- he looks like he's having an incredible amount of fun, and I'm so glad he is!

I feel like I need a dictionary to understand what you posted here. I'm definitely not a casino person, LOL!!! It'd be interesting to learn though. What are these "clandestine washrooms" as well?

I think I've been brain Icon-ed as I think I know the answer to this (too much Icon binging!). I think @Matt said he's on again on 1/19. He mentioned in the YouTube live broadcast this week that there were two preview sailings and he was going on the first. I also seem to remember him saying something about photos and videos down in the casino were restricted in some way. Don't ask me how, I just seem to recall that bit of info, but I don't know if that just applies pre-revenue sailings or always.

The photo above is definitely not from Icon - that looks like Oasis class decor. Maybe Quantum? As for your question, @Carol G., @Allie Hubers of RCB has already posted photos and a photo tour of a balcony room from Icon. Look at it here and you'll see why the photo you posted couldn't possibly be from Icon: https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2024/01/16/royal-caribbean-icon-of-the-seas-cruise-ship-balcony-cabin-room-photos

I'm pretty certain there's some crazy rich fan on the inaugural sailing that will buy it. People are INSANE. I'm also thinking that if that cup is worth $100K, the real one is in the back somewhere and the display is just the replica.

I am DYING to see someone toting this on to their next cruise so they can have their free drinks.

I too was wondering if the RC logo discount would apply to this.

https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2024/01/17/royal-caribbean-has-100000-cup-its-new-cruise-ship-includes-lifetime-drink-package Just...WOW.

My teens absolutely loved Oasis class over Freedom class. So, I'd go with Allure or Oasis. Enjoy!

We saw it in July and LOVED it. So well done! Glad you enjoyed it too. The only place I have ever seen a cast list is the scrolling photos/names before the show begins. Sorry I can't be more helpful there.

I'm glad you said it wasn't too bad - I figure I'll just keep my usual early riser/early bed time schedule and I should avoid most of the crazy.

December sailing!

It appears there are a few in the area, but definitely one along the freeway. I remember passing it this summer and thinking what is that massive place?!??

Oh, @recogneyes, I found it: https://collegepartycruise.com/. This will definitely skew the average age a little younger!

I use them every trip now. I've had them for...2 years? For both business and pleasure. It's so nice to just open my suitcase, pull out a cube, and throw it in a drawer. It also is incredibly helpful when looking for something - it's not just in the depths of my suitcase and now I have to root around for it. While I have the compression cubes, I don't usually use that feature because I overfill (guilty!). EDIT - They are also great for laundry packing!

Ugh, I think I'm *definitely* going to cancel my Hideaway Beach reservation then...that could get scary!

For me, cheap won out when we went to Galveston in July 2023. We stayed at the Best Western near HOU. I have no idea if the area is safe or not - we literally took the shuttle to the hotel, DoorDash-ed dinner, and stayed in until our prearranged shuttle picked us up the next morning. Hotel and staff were terrific. Just my two cents! I would absolutely do this again too.

My kiddos use lanyards when we cruise - while one does tend to try to push the sugar coma thing with drinks, the other just likes having it so she can access the room whenever she wants. They are also older than 5 or 9. I agree with @DoomSlayer that the 5 year old would probably do best with someone keeping their card, but the 9 year old would probably love the responsibility of having to keep track of their own card (via lanyard).

THIS IS SUCH A GREAT TRICK! Thank you for the information!!!!