cjappert

personally I would give it more than 15-20 minutes before moving a towel and taking the chair. We have young kids, and if I need to take them to get a snack, or change a diaper, I can tell you it will take more than 15-20 minutes. If I were to come back and someone was in our chairs I would absolutely let them know, and most likely in a not so pleasant way.  

perfect thank you! that gives me a better idea of what to expect! I went ahead and transferred our reservation to the serenade, in a family ocean view, so we'll see how it goes!

thank you! they are both southern Caribbean cruises, but I actually like the itinerary of the serenade better since its almost all places we're never done.

I've spent over a month on the Radiance class ships with my son from the ages of 8 to 10. He had no complaints if that helps to reassure you. 

perfect thank you! that gives me a better idea of what to expect! I went ahead and transferred our reservation to the serenade, in a family ocean view, so we'll see how it goes!

Ive been reading about it , and i just dont get it.It says for something like 6.95 you can get anything you want off the menu ( except for shakes i think) ... is that right?

While on the ship, we ended up booking the 12 nights southern on Anthem. We've wanted to do a southern Caribbean cruise for a while now so we're both excited. We really liked this one since it leaves from New Jersey ( we always drive to florida from Canada which is a 23 hour drive, so the 8 hour drive to New Jersey is SUPER appealing to us lol)
 
We booked a family Jr suite since we have 3 kids, even tho the youngest can still technically sleep in a playpen. It was more than we wanted to spend, so i'll be looking different rooms that would lower the cost.
 
For those of you who did this itinerary, what can we expect on anthem? Also, when can we expect to start feeling the warm weather?

Here is a good overview of what you get with a junior suite: http://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2016/07/26/royal-caribbeans-junior-suites-what-you-need-know

WHStoneman We were there at the same time! We were at the table right behind you... the one with the grumpy kids and screaming baby.. smh. :wacko:

We chose Sabor for our first night of our three night dining package.  Let me start with the food was very good.  
 
I am curious why everyone gets so excited about the guacamole.  It was guacamole after all prepared with about $2 bucks of ingredients.   Any kitchen could/should have the same ingredients available.....no magic here.  
 
Our soups and appetizers, (calamari and gazpacho) were fresh and flavorful.   Our entreés were very good (empanadas and burritos) included rice and frijoles.  They were good.....but no better than any $6 buck plate in a local Mexican restaurant.  Next table over returned the fish tacos saying they were NOT using fresh fish.  I don't know...I didn't taste them.   The dining room captain, server and the chef immediately appears at the table to sooth the situation and recommend a replacement dish.  
 
One of the most lacking features was the absence of Spanish/Mexican interior design.   It was void of any design  thought unlike other areas of the ship.  I believe they could remove the "Sabor" signage and open the space as a French or Continental restaurant the following day.  Same for Giovanni's...not a single interior design reference to being an Italian restaurant.  
 
All in all, Sabor was enjoyable but it comes no where near being an "upcharge" restaurant.  I would have felt very disappointed if I had just chosen Sabor at the full price. Choosing with the three night package receiving their "discount" helps.  

We have 2 connecting rooms booked on Anthem of the seas for a 13 day southern Caribbean cruise. We are booked with the 30t% off promo. Now the WOW promo came out with the 30% off + OBC ( 200$ per room in our case) Can I just call and get them to add the OBC? I'm not sure how this works.

Last month we did our first cruise, I did the excursions I wants ( beaches and such) and my husband did the ones he wanted ( zip line, atv tour, seadoo tour) . I was wondering how common is it for couples to do separate excursions? are we weird for doing this ? lol

We just got back from sailing with Royal for the first time. We went from January 7th to the 15th on Freedom of the seas. Overall we really enjoyed it! We had only sailed with Celebrity prior to this trip, so we weren't sure what to expect. We are a family of 5 ( 3 kids ages 9, 4 and 2.)
 
Boarding: It went really well and was quick. We got to the port around 11:15, and at 11:35 we were enjoying our first drink on the ship. 
 
Our room : We had a family panoramic room on deck 12. I cannot say enough good things about it, it was amazing! It was just over 400 square feet, with a king size bed, a double fold out bed, bunk beds, 2 bathrooms, and a full wall of floor to ceiling windowns with a view of the front of the ship
 
Sabor / Chops : both were great, worth the money we spent.
 
MDR : This was the biggest downer of the entire cruise. We had early seating reservations. We found the service to be terrible, and we were super not impressed with the food. We only went 3 times, after that we decided to just go to windjammer. The first night no one even asked if we wanted drinks, second night we had to ask 3 times to get drinks, and 3rd night we had to ask again to get drinks.. and they finally arrived with our desert. The food itself was fine, but definitely nothing to rave about. overall just very disappointing.
 
Windjammer: Breakfast was good, but lunch and dinner got repetitive. Again, Meh about the food in general.
 
Playcares: Our kids LOVED the playcares and wanted to go all the time! They made a tone of friends on the ship and had a fantastic time!
 
Nursery: Our 2 year old was in the nursery. Again, they ladies there were great. Even tho our son didn't like going ( he's never been to any daycare, so we expected this) they did great at keeping him happy. He went every morning for 3 hours, giving mommy and daddy 3 hours of freedom per day (yay!)
 
Ship: We really liked everything about the ship. Great size, nice ambiance,  nice pools, good bars and a lot less kids than we expected. No complaints here!
 
 
Overall, we had a great cruise. The weather didn't really agree with us ( first 3 days we had 25 foot waves, which means we couldn't stop in Labadee) but those are things no one can control. I think next time we cruise with Royal, we'll book more specialty dining to be able to avoid the MDR all together.
 

We just got back from sailing with Royal for the first time. We went from January 7th to the 15th on Freedom of the seas. Overall we really enjoyed it! We had only sailed with Celebrity prior to this trip, so we weren't sure what to expect. We are a family of 5 ( 3 kids ages 9, 4 and 2.)
 
Boarding: It went really well and was quick. We got to the port around 11:15, and at 11:35 we were enjoying our first drink on the ship. 
 
Our room : We had a family panoramic room on deck 12. I cannot say enough good things about it, it was amazing! It was just over 400 square feet, with a king size bed, a double fold out bed, bunk beds, 2 bathrooms, and a full wall of floor to ceiling windowns with a view of the front of the ship
 
Sabor / Chops : both were great, worth the money we spent.
 
MDR : This was the biggest downer of the entire cruise. We had early seating reservations. We found the service to be terrible, and we were super not impressed with the food. We only went 3 times, after that we decided to just go to windjammer. The first night no one even asked if we wanted drinks, second night we had to ask 3 times to get drinks, and 3rd night we had to ask again to get drinks.. and they finally arrived with our desert. The food itself was fine, but definitely nothing to rave about. overall just very disappointing.
 
Windjammer: Breakfast was good, but lunch and dinner got repetitive. Again, Meh about the food in general.
 
Playcares: Our kids LOVED the playcares and wanted to go all the time! They made a tone of friends on the ship and had a fantastic time!
 
Nursery: Our 2 year old was in the nursery. Again, they ladies there were great. Even tho our son didn't like going ( he's never been to any daycare, so we expected this) they did great at keeping him happy. He went every morning for 3 hours, giving mommy and daddy 3 hours of freedom per day (yay!)
 
Ship: We really liked everything about the ship. Great size, nice ambiance,  nice pools, good bars and a lot less kids than we expected. No complaints here!
 
 
Overall, we had a great cruise. The weather didn't really agree with us ( first 3 days we had 25 foot waves, which means we couldn't stop in Labadee) but those are things no one can control. I think next time we cruise with Royal, we'll book more specialty dining to be able to avoid the MDR all together.
 

We just got back from sailing with Royal for the first time. We went from January 7th to the 15th on Freedom of the seas. Overall we really enjoyed it! We had only sailed with Celebrity prior to this trip, so we weren't sure what to expect. We are a family of 5 ( 3 kids ages 9, 4 and 2.)
 
Boarding: It went really well and was quick. We got to the port around 11:15, and at 11:35 we were enjoying our first drink on the ship. 
 
Our room : We had a family panoramic room on deck 12. I cannot say enough good things about it, it was amazing! It was just over 400 square feet, with a king size bed, a double fold out bed, bunk beds, 2 bathrooms, and a full wall of floor to ceiling windowns with a view of the front of the ship
 
Sabor / Chops : both were great, worth the money we spent.
 
MDR : This was the biggest downer of the entire cruise. We had early seating reservations. We found the service to be terrible, and we were super not impressed with the food. We only went 3 times, after that we decided to just go to windjammer. The first night no one even asked if we wanted drinks, second night we had to ask 3 times to get drinks, and 3rd night we had to ask again to get drinks.. and they finally arrived with our desert. The food itself was fine, but definitely nothing to rave about. overall just very disappointing.
 
Windjammer: Breakfast was good, but lunch and dinner got repetitive. Again, Meh about the food in general.
 
Playcares: Our kids LOVED the playcares and wanted to go all the time! They made a tone of friends on the ship and had a fantastic time!
 
Nursery: Our 2 year old was in the nursery. Again, they ladies there were great. Even tho our son didn't like going ( he's never been to any daycare, so we expected this) they did great at keeping him happy. He went every morning for 3 hours, giving mommy and daddy 3 hours of freedom per day (yay!)
 
Ship: We really liked everything about the ship. Great size, nice ambiance,  nice pools, good bars and a lot less kids than we expected. No complaints here!
 
 
Overall, we had a great cruise. The weather didn't really agree with us ( first 3 days we had 25 foot waves, which means we couldn't stop in Labadee) but those are things no one can control. I think next time we cruise with Royal, we'll book more specialty dining to be able to avoid the MDR all together.
 

1. Do we NEED to book an excusion if we want to lay on a lounge chair? ( like beach loungers for 2, or cabanas ect) or do they have lounge chairs somewhere that we can use?
 
2. I also noticed alot of different beach areas... are some better than others ?

oh we will! I just love the fact that its on deck 12. So close to the pool, windjammer, daycare ( we have 3 little kids) and of course... bars!! :D

We have only sailed with Celebrity, so I cant comment on any of the RCL ships. In January we will be on Freedom, and I can say we are really excited about it! We have a family panoramic room, which I cant wait to see!

omg don't tell me that!!!! I've been counting down the days to the triangle hashbrowns!! ( no kidding, ive been following a low carb diet and have dreams of these LOL)

omg don't tell me that!!!! I've been counting down the days to the triangle hashbrowns!! ( no kidding, ive been following a low carb diet and have dreams of these LOL)

A lot of the excursions are listed as 20% off... yet the prices are the sale as before.hopefully it'll be fixed!

A lot of the excursions are listed as 20% off... yet the prices are the sale as before.hopefully it'll be fixed!

i just called and re priced our deluxe drink package which is now 25% off instead of 20% off. saved us just over 50$. Not much, but still!

Thank you for all the recommendations! Tonight I booked Mr.Leo Brown for our tour of St.Marteen! I cant wait!

Thank you for all the recommendations! Tonight I booked Mr.Leo Brown for our tour of St.Marteen! I cant wait!