Maggie M

OH NO! I loved that apple blossom - it was so good! I'm super bummed by this too.

We haven't had more than a 5-10 minute wait with MTD ever and have used it several times. That being said, we used the CP in advance of our sailing and chose the same dinner time every evening because we wanted to increase our chances of having the same wait staff - it worked and we were very pleased! That being said, MTD didn't give you the option of a start time prior to 6:15pm (I think), so we chose the early seating for our upcoming cruise in a few weeks since we prefer to eat earlier and see the early shows then enjoy the rest of the evening around the ship. I hope this helps. Enjoy!

We did The North Star and iFly in 2019 on Anthem and both were free. I think I booked the North Star before the cruise on the app and then the iFly while on board in person. They said you could only do the iFly once but my mom somehow scored 2 sessions. Both were worth it and a very cool added experience to our cruise. I loved the iFly and would definitely pay for that. You can cancel/reschedule your sessions very easily in the app too. I hope this helps. Enjoy your cruise!

I believe it is just per/person not per day. But if you move up to a suite, your gratuities also increase.

We're less than 2 weeks out and now if you select "Daily Planner" in the app, then select the day you're looking at and scroll down, it will show "Ship's arrival in XXX," "Last tender," "All aboard," etc. But I don't think it's available before a few weeks out, unfortunately. It does seem silly that it wouldn't be available elsewhere but the only other place I've seen it in advance is on the booking invoice which shows both arrival and departure times for ports. I hope this helps. Enjoy your cruise!

It can be, yes. Especially when large groups are traveling together - lots of conversations happening in/around while waiting for the elevators. The 'ding' of the bell is the quiet part... I hope this helps. We like staying 5-10 doors down from the elevators just to be safe!

More than half of our excursions (Navigator - January 20-27 2023) sold out months ago. I guess people are starting to book earlier and earlier as they realize the pre-sales are better than booking on board. I like going through Royal for excursions just for piece of mind more than anything else. Once we got stuck at a winery (don't feel bad for us) in Australia because our bus broke down - the entire ship waited for over 3 hours for us to get back before sailing to the next port because we were booked on a Royal excursion. It was the greatest experience I've ever had having "car trouble!" Think unlimited wine and cheese!

We did the same excursion and really enjoyed it as well as the fabulous crew onboard our Catamaran! Wear lots of sunblock - I got scorched on the way back even though I thought I had drenched myself in lotion - this was in January too!

We plan on going scuba diving while we're in Cabo in a few weeks. We just have to be sure to get in the tender line MUCH earlier than the 10am start time to ensure we have early tender tickets. But if you don't have anything planned - exploring a beach sounds like a fabulous idea and you may get to see some whales this time of year! Enjoy!

Keep in mind that only certain ships allow you the ability to book shows/events in advance. See screenshot above from @AshleyDillo! I can't remember how early you can reserve seats but they're pretty easy to reserve for all members of your part in the app once they're made available and I highly recommend doing it. You can always cancel/change your dates/times if you need to once on board. We had our Aqua theater show cancel 3 different times d/t weather on the last cruise we were on but they automatically rescheduled everyone to another showing so that was awesome and we did eventually get to see the show - it was amazing! Good luck!

I, too would agree that mid-ship is generally the best. I would also add that, if you want some quiet time in your room, try to make sure you don't have any event venues (bars, clubs, restaurants) directly above or below your cabin - if you can be on a floor that has all cabins above and below it, that IMO is the best option. While we take the stairs everywhere (gotta work off that cruise food) usually, sometimes (think formal nights in high heels), we will take the elevator so being close to that is also nice. On a recent cruise, we were on a high floor towards the bow and it was pretty cool being able to see the bridge and the captain when we came into ports. We barely felt any rocking or movement at all but we were on the Allure so she's a much bigger ship than some. It really is a personal preference - you probably won't be spending too much time inside your cabin anyways - there's way too much to see and do! Especially on your first cruise! Hope you guys have a blast!

Gorgeous pictures! Can't wait to hear how it all finishes for you. Thanks for sharing - we leave on this same cruise in 16 days (not that I'm counting)!!! We're really looking forward to diving in Cabo. How long would you guess the wait to tender if you weren't on a Royal excursion was?

We did MTD on our last cruise and only had to wait 5 minutes or so on a few of the 7 nights. We had the same wait staff each night too (our preference) - the earliest option for us with MTD was 6:15pm so we selected that for every night without a problem on the app. It was a good experience but we opted to go with the early seating for our upcoming cruise so we have 1 less thing to plan in advance.

We also received one of the cookbooks from doing Chef's Table - but that was probably 8-10 years ago. Honestly, I don't think we've ever used it but the head chef and some of his staff did sign it for us. That was a nice surprise - sad to hear that they don't do it anymore.

That's crazy! Great video.

We did the plane spotting in St. Maarten and it was one of my favorite things I've done in the Caribbean. We only saw 1 big jet while we were there but there were smaller planes flying in the whole time - still a very neat experience and it was nice to have the security that we wouldn't miss the boat if our tour bus broke down on something. They did allow for shopping time but that was at the same time as the "beach break" so if you didn't want to shop, you could just hang out at the bar or on the beach, like we did! I hope you enjoy your cruise!

These are all so good! I can't stand when someone leaves their towel on a lounge chair ALL DAY and expects it to stay reserved for them. They could reserve a cabana if they wanted that type of experience. Just my two cents. I've also witnessed multiple instances where people don't wash their hands after using the restroom - GROSS!!!

What's a TWIC card? Sorry, I don't know that acronym. Yes, Global Entry automatically includes TSA pre-check and is good for 5 years - the cost is around $100. I think it was a fluke that they let my party go with me (pre-COVID). Because now, if someone in our party doesn't have it, they have to wait in the regular line at the airports. The TSA agents are much more strict with pre-check but you could always try. I'm renewing my Global Entry this week and had to wait over 8 months for the interview slot so if you want to get it before an upcoming trip - I would do the application ASAP as they are way behind with the interview process...

I, too, would miss the evening turn-down service with the compass (if they even print them anymore), and towel animals - especially if we took a nap during the day if it was a sea day or we decided to stay on the ship. One of the cruises my parents went on last year - they had a room next to theirs that was padlocked and the stateroom attendants were definitely not saying why. They figured COVID or some other illness but why PADLOCK a room? It was odd and scary to say the least...I guess we'll never know the reason but I hope they weren't locking someone inside.

I, too, would guess that passports outweigh birth certificates these days. I travel with my Global Entry card when I fly - I wonder if the cruise lines would know what that even is and would accept it as a form of ID. I always use my passport for cruises but I'm just curious if anyone has ever tried to use their Global Entry (government issued and you have to have a passport to get it, I think) for a cruise?! There was one time, coming back from a cruise to Cuba that my Global Entry got me to the front of the customs line - I've never seen it work outside of airports so this was a nice benefit - saved us over 2 hours and they let the rest of my party go to the front of the line with me too!

@dr martiniYes! Most likely your "formal" nights will be the first and second sea days of your cruise as long as the second one isn't the last night of your 7-day sailing (that night is always more casual since folks have to pack and set their luggage outside their cabin if they are having the porters pick it up before disembarking). Formal nights, sadly, are getting less and less formal. We love the chance to dress up so choose to eat in the MDR for our formal nights and to have a chance for family photos but the enforcement of "formal wear" just isn't a reality. I wouldn't worry about bringing a suit or a long gown unless you want a good photo op. Nice slacks and a dress shirt and a cocktail dress are more than acceptable for the MDR and definitely around the ship. Hope you have a blast on your cruise!

The 30% off is the same as their previously marketed BOGO 60% off except the kids sale free does add a bit more of a savings versus traveling with 3 guests over the age of 12... and yes, much cheaper than a Disney Cruise or a vacay to Disney for sure. They have been running the 30% off promotion for close to a year now, I think. A lot of people don't know this but if the overall price of your cruise goes down before your final payment is due, you can call Royal Caribbean and ask them to re-price your room (must be the same type of stateroom/category, etc). If it is indeed a savings, they will give you a refund! We've done this many times and it's a great way to save some money (or get money to go towards on-board purchases if you've already paid for your cruise in full)!

I also would not risk missing your cruise by flying in the day of, evening if it is scheduled to arrive early in the morning. Too many things can go wrong and you can't predict the weather or a mechanical issue with the plane. Missed connections, cancelled flights, lost luggage - just a few of the things that could go wrong. Try to be there at least 1 day before to avoid starting your vacation off on a stressful note. That wouldn't be fun at all. Best of luck to you guys - I hope it goes smoothly!

In the past, at least within the last year, I booked some spa services prior to boarding the ship as they were 10-20% off of on-board prices. I keep checking and so far, no specials are showing for our cruise that leaves in just a few weeks (January 20-27 out of LA on Navigator of the Seas). Did Royal do away with this? Thanks.

I did see where it used to show that I could pre-book shows/entertainment for Navigator of the seas but now they've removed our ship as an option to pre-book. Super bummed by this. It was nice to not have to worry about rushing to the theater, knowing we had a reserved space. I guess we'll just have to be OK with the old way of doing things. I loved the pre-book feature that we used on our last sailings on Anthem & Allure.