AKM

We sailed on Explorer last month and booked Royal's shuttle from Marco Polo.  Super easy to find - at the arrivals area you will see reps holding RCCL signs.  Approach and give your name and you will be put in a line up and then walked to the buses.  We were there for 11AM and boarded our bus shortly after.  There were lots of buses so I imagine this goes on for a good hour.  We stopped to stretch our legs and use the washroom if needed (bring euros to pay to use - less 1 euro).  Then we carried on to Ravenna - your luggage is taken from the bus right to the ship so make sure you put your luggage tags on before boarding the bus.  Enjoy your cruise!

Great post and pics are amazing. We are on the same itinerary starting this Sunday and after reading a lot of comments about poor food in MDR it was good to hear some positive comments. 
 
This will be our 5th cruise with RC and our first in a Grand Suite (via Royal Up). Seriously got us in the mood after reading this post.

Great post and pics are amazing. We are on the same itinerary starting this Sunday and after reading a lot of comments about poor food in MDR it was good to hear some positive comments. 
 
This will be our 5th cruise with RC and our first in a Grand Suite (via Royal Up). Seriously got us in the mood after reading this post.

Great post and pics are amazing. We are on the same itinerary starting this Sunday and after reading a lot of comments about poor food in MDR it was good to hear some positive comments. 
 
This will be our 5th cruise with RC and our first in a Grand Suite (via Royal Up). Seriously got us in the mood after reading this post.

We just got off Freedom and my wife and I had a wonderful time. 
We eye witnessed 3 marriage proposals and they were all accepted. Can anyone beat that record on a single cruise?
It was our 1st time with the UDP and that was great, Giovanni's being our favorite. The amount of food was staggering though! The wings at Playmakers were top notch but the loaded nachos not so much.  
PD@CC was as usual a great take. Our 1st time in the "Club" and it was fine but probably a one and done. We also watched the lifeguards save a drowning man's life right next to the swim up bar on South Beach. The life guard was amazing and without his immediate action I don't think the victim would have survived. The free snorkeling was just OK, they need to put in more artificial reef structures to attract and build up a reef. 
We didn't eat in the MDR or Windjammer, so no comment.
The "Battle of the Sexes" and "Crazy Quest" shows were really fun. The Freedom on Ice show was also very enjoyable. 
We thought the ship wasn't too crowded or over run with poorly behaving children as is often posted. 
We tried Bingo another first and it was just too slow. Not our cup of tea. 
The ship was in good condition and the slides and other pool side updates significantly improve the overall experience. 
We have mainly sailed the bigger ships and would gladly go again on the Amped ships in this class. 
  

We had the key last Sep (paid a little more than wifi which is included with the key) on Harmony last year.
For the cost difference we thought it was well worth it. So much so we have the key for Symphony on 7th May and again for Explorer 8th Sep. On both occasions we purchased it in a sale for a couple of pounds more than the WiFi package. Not sure I’d pay full price for it though.

Less than 3 weeks to go 🤩

And I'm in between you both leaving from Barcelona May 7. Happy cruising
 
 

Lucked out on the Covid double points promo.  15 days in suites = 60 points. From 22 points (gold) to 82 points (diamond) in 2 cruises.

Photo of the newly completed cruise terminal building at Greenock, Scotland 👍🏻😄

Ah.  I've only visited Scotland by air using Glasgow as my airport in and out.  
Beautiful area.  I look forward to returning one day, perhaps on a cruise.

Getting excited now as less than 6 weeks until
May 8th 2023 Symphony of the Seas - Western Med
then
Sep 10th 2023 Explorer of the Seas - Adriatic and Greece
Sep 4th 2024 - Freedom of the Seas - Western Caribbean

I misread the typoed thread title and thought it was going to be a far more exciting thread. Perhaps one of those stories of someone who forgot to close their curtains in an inside-facing room with a balcony or window. 👀

They were very liberal with the wine on Jewel of the Seas in February. 🍷🍷🍷😁

We currently have 3 (Symphony, Explorer and Freedom) in our planner. Most we’ve ever had 😀.
We love the buzz of embarkation day, the food, entertainment, crew and chatting with others…… A little over 4 weeks until cruise number 1.

Obsessed? …or addicted? 
Of course not. I have a reason.
@Matt previously commented about a possible risk of frequent cruising. How it’s possible that cruising too often may take away some of the enjoyment of planning, and the anticipation that comes as the cruise date gets closer. Interesting hypothesis. Challenge accepted! 😂

Part two: I forgot to buy travel insurance.
 
so what happened with my British Isles cruise is, after realizing I'd be spending the night at Heathrow (provided I could find a taxi on the day of the Queen's funeral… Good luck… ,) I thought, "hey, why not stay on the ship and just take the transatlantic back to the United States?" Sounded like a great idea. I went to guest services to do so and I forget why, but for some reason they just directed me to do it all on my phone. So I booked the cruise on my phone while standing in the atrium of the ship. Somewhere in the process, I either overlooked the offer for travel insurance, or it wasn't offered. (possibly because the cruise was only four days away.) And though I always buy travel insurance,  in the rush to get everything booked and settled, I forgot all about it.  
 
On day five of the transAtlantic, I thought to myself, "Wait....I never bought travel insurance." I figured it was too late and just hoped that would not need it.
 
On day six I needed it. I had all the signs of a detached retina and had to go to medical. We were looking at our very last stop on land the next day in Spain and then we would be at sea for a week. They arranged for me to go see an eye doctor in Spain the next day.
 
if it turned out I had a detached retina, they would need to do emergency surgery right away, and I would need to stay off an airplane for two weeks.
 
So I laid awake all night, picturing having emergency eye surgery in Spain, while the crew on the ship tossed my suitcases overboard onto the pier and sailed away without me. I was traveling solo and was wondering how much it would cost to have surgery, have my husband fly out to help me, and then how much it would cost to stay in a hotel room in Spain for two weeks and then find my way to the airport and then fly home. $$$$$
 
It turned out I did not have a detached retina and I made it back to the ship in plenty of time for sailaway and everything was fine. 

And now I never forget insurance or hotel reservations.
 The End

We cruised twice last year on Royal after not cruising for many many years. We recently booked a cruise out of New Orleans for May of next year. Unfortunately Royal is limited on New Orleans departure and not offering when we can go. We booked on another cruise line. I went to an unnamed message board to ask a question and received nothing other than rude or smart ass comments. I miss this message board where I have always received polite, informative responses to my questions. I just want everyone to know how much I appreciate how helpful everyone here has been to me, even when I asked stupid questions. 

A real gimmick, however I sure will have a big smile on the ninth cruise!
 

https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2016/07/26/royal-caribbeans-junior-suites-what-you-need-know
Yes, JS can board in suites line
On Oasis and Quantum Class ships that have a Coastal Kitchen, yes, they can go for dinner only.
On other ships, there may be a reserved spot for breakfast (usually Chops). Not available for JS guests

I have started tracking the Internet prices for our upcoming cruises.  I can't believe how the same product next month, bought during black Friday sale, could price out at $14.99 a day and by April 2024 the Internet is $24.99 a day.  
 
I think that RC is trying to keep the initial price low enough to get us interested and then slowly entice us with booking add ons.  Once we get us used to dining in the Specialty  Restaurants or having 24/7 Internet they have us hooked.  RC knows that many of us use a cruise as a treat and they are slowly increasing the cost of the drink package, gratuities and other price increases.

I love Greece and Croatia.   And more unique in my opinion.  With a couple days in Venice.   Venice is my favorite Europe city because there is just nothing like it.  I prefer newer ships but often go on older ones in Europe to get the ports I want. I just did B2B cruises last Sept in Greece and Croatia with 5 days in Venice prior.  One of the best trips ever.   I do like Barcelona also.    I would do at least the 7 night cruise.  Either one of those sounds good though.  Europe cruises are the best!!!  Have a great time.

It depends on what you want from your cruise both ship and ports. Are you planning on a stay before or after your cruise?
Symphony with its itinerary could be a “bustling” trip if you wanted it to be. All great ports of call with lots to see and do. We are doing this cruise in May from Barcelona. It’s a lot easier to get to the Port from the airport than Rome. Having been to both cities on a number of occasions we won’t be doing a before or after stay. We’re only a 3 hour flight away which helps.
Explorer which we are doing in Sept. We expect that to be a lot more laid back. Greece and Croatia are lovely places with a more relaxed vibe than the Western European tourist ports. Ravenna Port is quite a ways (a couple of hours at best) away from Venice. We will therefore stay at Venice beforehand (never been there before).
Hopefully these factors will aid in your decision.

The program has to be great revenue driver for RC. The perceived allure of the program is that it provides the opportunity to get a discounted upgrade to a better, unsold room. And sometimes that's what it is (and when that happens, it's a good deal for both passenger and RC, as it's still incremental revenue for them). But for popular cruises the recommended bids are often more than the difference would've been had the customer originally booked the room. So rather than a chance for a customer to snag a good deal on an unsold room, it becomes an auction for an upgrade. They're basically taking advantage of people excited for their upcoming cruise suddenly deciding they want to splurge. I don't blame them for doing it, but the perception that it's a chance at a last-minute bargain is often not the case.

Semi related topic.  I was at the airport 5 hours early for my flight (hubby had to drop me off so he could get to work) and I sat at my gate and watched the 3 gates near me for those hours.  Each gate had people who missed their flights. One couple screaming, "we are standing here now, you just shut the door, open it!" (nope).  Another woman who asked what she needed to do and was told to see Jetblue "just ask" people, she walked away crying, and then a fairly large family, who all walked away shaking their heads, I imagine some family member was to blame for that one.  I sit in wonder of those who arrive late to things and expect the world will stop for them.  I was raised to be early, hubby  not so much.  My stress level is very low when I arrive early, you'd think he would learn! 🤣  When I get off the ship I triple check my phone is working, what the ship time is_ and are we following ship time?- and I plan to arrive back an hour before the ship leaves unless I'm on a Royal excursion.  Yes, cuts into port time, but I  won't be stressed.