ShakeDownCruise

So I'm curious who else is going on any of the Thanksgiving weekend cruises on Indy, Navigator and Brilliance?  A Royal Caribbean Blog role call of sorts for these 3 cruises!  I'll be traveling with my wife and two kids (6 & 4).
 
I was booked on Indy, cancelled it about 45 days ago and rebooked today.  I paid about $1000 less than my original reservation but I did go from 2 rooms to 1 room with a family of 4.  Apples to apples savings was about $500-600.
 
I've never been on a cruise ship on an actual holiday so I was curious if anyone has any memorable experiences from cruises in their past that sailed on Thanksgiving or any other actual major holidays.

So I'm curious who else is going on any of the Thanksgiving weekend cruises on Indy, Navigator and Brilliance?  A Royal Caribbean Blog role call of sorts for these 3 cruises!  I'll be traveling with my wife and two kids (6 & 4).
 
I was booked on Indy, cancelled it about 45 days ago and rebooked today.  I paid about $1000 less than my original reservation but I did go from 2 rooms to 1 room with a family of 4.  Apples to apples savings was about $500-600.
 
I've never been on a cruise ship on an actual holiday so I was curious if anyone has any memorable experiences from cruises in their past that sailed on Thanksgiving or any other actual major holidays.

Does anyone know what ships will actually be in Cozumel tomorrow, Friday? I'm on the Disney Fantasy and we are going back for a second time instead of heading back to the US.
 
For the record I have an RCL cruise in less than 50 days...

YOLO Booked it!
 
Just put down my deposit for the Harmony group cruise!  My wife and 2 kids will be coming with me (7 and 5 at time of sailing).
 
I now have a deposit down on 6 cruises...I need help!

YOLO Booked it!
 
Just put down my deposit for the Harmony group cruise!  My wife and 2 kids will be coming with me (7 and 5 at time of sailing).
 
I now have a deposit down on 6 cruises...I need help!

YOLO Booked it!
 
Just put down my deposit for the Harmony group cruise!  My wife and 2 kids will be coming with me (7 and 5 at time of sailing).
 
I now have a deposit down on 6 cruises...I need help!

Well I'm sure the suspense was killing you all. I went with Independence for my Thanksgiving booking. It was a bit less expensive and I probably have to work on Wednesday morning so that ruled out Navigator.
 
Thanks for your input.

Well I'm sure the suspense was killing you all. I went with Independence for my Thanksgiving booking. It was a bit less expensive and I probably have to work on Wednesday morning so that ruled out Navigator.
 
Thanks for your input.

dejagatkins,
 
We need to discuss the elephant in the room before you go.  What's the story with the little lady in your photo?

For me the math got a lot better with that discount.  Total cost for the Premium Alcohol package was $323.79 for my 7 day cruise after discount.  For better or worse I would have gotten the soda package either way and that was $66.08.  So if I back that out I'm down to $257.71.  That amount divided by 7 days brings my daily cost to only $36.82 a day.  There's always ways to manipulate numbers to make you feel better or worse about a decision but I'd say I fully expect to enjoy the luxury of trying different drinks and not feeling like I need to drink a ton just to get my money's worth.

Thanks for the info DocLC.  I need to get up with the times on periscope!  I'll try some of your other recommendations too.

Well with great sadness this past week I finished my journey through all 136 episodes of the Royal Caribbean Blog Podcast and now must live in a world of one podcast a week.  It was a struggle this week waiting for Wednesday to come around!  Matt, thanks for all of your efforts the product that you release week after week is top notch. 
 
Are there any other cruising podcasts out there that anyone would recommend even if they can't stack up to this fine product!  I'm hoping there's a few gems out there that I haven't found.  Most of what I have found has been loaded with commercials, lesser production quality, or defunct.
 
Thanks
 
 

mine came out get it, get it, get it...Good thing I bought it for my upcoming Allure cruise!

mine came out get it, get it, get it...Good thing I bought it for my upcoming Allure cruise!

The only way to book Disney now is off season far in advance with an onboard booking discount.  If you do that the price is higher but close.  Some of the peak time prices on Disney are incredible.  I am a believer in Adam Smith's invisible hand, so good for them if they can get those prices.  It really does amaze me that Disney Fantasy for the same date I picked in April on Allure is $9300 for 4 people in a smaller verandah.  That's almost triple what I paid for Allure!  Being a newer cruise geek I find the competition, pricing and strategies of all of the big players in the industry really interesting.  So much is changing all of the time.
 
But now I'm getting off topic!  I'll be sure to let folks know how my first Royal cruise since 2009 goes!

The only way to book Disney now is off season far in advance with an onboard booking discount.  If you do that the price is higher but close.  Some of the peak time prices on Disney are incredible.  I am a believer in Adam Smith's invisible hand, so good for them if they can get those prices.  It really does amaze me that Disney Fantasy for the same date I picked in April on Allure is $9300 for 4 people in a smaller verandah.  That's almost triple what I paid for Allure!  Being a newer cruise geek I find the competition, pricing and strategies of all of the big players in the industry really interesting.  So much is changing all of the time.
 
But now I'm getting off topic!  I'll be sure to let folks know how my first Royal cruise since 2009 goes!

The only way to book Disney now is off season far in advance with an onboard booking discount.  If you do that the price is higher but close.  Some of the peak time prices on Disney are incredible.  I am a believer in Adam Smith's invisible hand, so good for them if they can get those prices.  It really does amaze me that Disney Fantasy for the same date I picked in April on Allure is $9300 for 4 people in a smaller verandah.  That's almost triple what I paid for Allure!  Being a newer cruise geek I find the competition, pricing and strategies of all of the big players in the industry really interesting.  So much is changing all of the time.
 
But now I'm getting off topic!  I'll be sure to let folks know how my first Royal cruise since 2009 goes!

Matt, love the website and podcasts, I wish you would reply faster though that was almost 60 seconds after my post!  Just kidding!
 
I'm a frequent Disney cruiser that is giving RCCL a try for the first time since kids.  Do you know if we can talk to someone and request that he stay in the 3-5 club for the whole week with his sister if they aren't jam packed with those age groups of kids or would it have to be a case by case daily attempt.  On Disney they let our son hang in the nursery when he was just out of the age range for it and stay with his sister a few years back which was nice.  He got to be king of the little tikes for a few hours.