dejagatkins

I book through a TA and have for years. I have her add on the insurance, gratuities, and transfer to my cruise price. I book my own specialty restaurants, shore excursions, etc., on the Cruise Planner.
Candie

I love Radiance class.  Glass to the outside everywhere.  No mater what I'm doing I always feel 'connected' to where I am.  The "glass/exterior" elevators are a treat, and I still feel that the Solarium design is the best ever!
 
framke, on Serenade, do grab a kemmelwerk (sp?) sandwich in the Solarium Cafe, and they have a good variety of snacks all the way from breakfast till the wee hours.  There were quite a few mornings last Nov when I would give in to temptation early in the morning and go grab "pre-breakfast" there before the WJ opened up!  and of course I was there every night for my pizza and misc munchies fix!  (clothes were tight after 11 days!)

It's really minor, but I wish they'd offer live music in the main dining room throughout dinner.  At best, you get 1 hour of live music but I always enjoyed having it available.

I would be lying if I said I didn't think this was a money grab.  I have been loyal to Royal Caribbean since the very start, never wanting or needing to cruise with another line.   I know the argument can be made that it is simple to walk to *insert dining venue here* and get your breakfast and take it back to your room.   That's not the point, the point is there is a perceived value in cruising, and by slowly eliminating all of these values, aren't they becoming less of a value and more of an expense?   I fully understand the bottom dollar, and I can appreciate all of the suite benefits, and specialized offerings Royal offers.  But to me, this feels like just one more thing that now has an additional fee outside of my cruise fare, and when will it stop?  
 
To roll this out in 12 days seems very ill-timed at best.  I sail on Allure in 45 days and I have the 12 night Anthem scheduled for December for my annual Christmas vacation.  I love Royal Caribbean but the disappointment is very real for me as a consumer who gets to choose where his discretionary dollars are spent.   I think it's time I start exploring what the other lines do and do no offer, and what their value is.  

dejagatkins,
 
I fly from Dallas/Fort Worth for all of my cruises, not as far as you but close. About 95% of the time I fly to FLL because Miami always seems to be about $100 or more. The problem is the transfers. When you fly directly to Miami, the transfer from airport to port is $15 each way, from Fort Lauderdale the transfer is $35 each way. You have to weigh that in to your decision of what airport to fly in to. 
 
Candie

Don't forget there are many other airports in Florida that make driving to PortMiami very easy to get to, and far less expensive.

Good to know!  We are on the Oasis in July this year.

On the Oasis in 2016 there was no keycard slot for the lights. There was one main switch that kept it all going and housekeeping said to keep that on all the time or we would not have air cond either. We just turned overhead lights off with a switch. 

Correct.

I love that! We had read about this tip previously and it was so much fun to unpack everything and put those empty suitcases under the bed out of sight so I could pretend I lived there for a week!!

Just because something is printed in the Cruise Compass doesn't mean you have to do/attend.  Don't plan and over schedule yourself.  Take time to find a spot away from the crowds (especially at night) and enjoy the sea from the ship, not the ship on the sea...

Aim for excellence instead of perfection. Punch out a reasonable list of things you would like to do and discuss it. Trying to do everything and schedule every moment will just result in stress...and what I have experienced to be the "non-vacation".
 
The vast majority of first time cruisers are repeat cruisers. That's why RCL has built a fourth Oasis class ship. Something you didn't get to...next time!
 
Have a look at the thread 'Things We Have Learned To Do On A Cruise'. There are some experienced wise words in there with respect to relaxing and not trying to do too much.
 
Have an awesome trip!

Here's another thing we learned..
 
Some may say 'duh, no kidding dude'...but, on the other hand we walk by many open staterooms when they are being cleaned and there are folks who haven't clicked on it yet.
 
Unpack your suitcases. Empty suitcases go under the bed so they don't take up floor or closet space. Use a mesh laundry bag and put your dirty laundry in the suitcases under the bed.
 
Assuming of course...you're not bringing a travel trunk(s) for a suitcase most should fit. :)

The self-serve coffee is the complimentary coffee. There is a brewed coffee option at places like Cafe Promenade or Park Cafe on Oasis of the Seas that are premium coffee.  The premium coffee is the coffee you order and the barista prepares for you. Lattes, espresso, etc.

We have a cruise coming up soon, and we're determined to relax. Forget trying to see or do everything. You won't be able to, anyways. Read your evening Cruise Compass early in the evening before you've had too many drinks. :-D  Pick out something you really want to do, trivia time? whatever, but remember you're not in summer camp. The ship is here for you to enjoy.  Staying up late won't make the cruise go slower. We all have to get off the boat eventually. BOO HOO ..so take that nap, soak in the sea air. Make sure the activities don't lure you into forgetting to look out to the sea and enjoy the ride!

We too have some "cruise rules"; stairs down (always) stairs up (most of the time) but the biggest thing I have learned to do (and it had to be learned) is relax!Now that is my #1 rule.

Not necessarily my favorite, but a very good lunch is the Roast Beef au Ju Sandwiches with salad in the Park Cafe. And of course, Cheese pops for dessert in the Promenade Cafe. :-D

That's just conjecture.  No evidence to support that (at least right now).  Just wanted to make that clear :)

We spoke to another crew member this evening who confirmed that Liberty will reposition from Galveston to Bayonne, NJ (Cape Liberty) in 2018. Still no word on a replacement ship for Galveston. Remember you heard it on Royal Caribbean Blog first!

Has anyone done the day's pass at Sonesta Great Bay Beach in St Maarten? Did you like it and was it worth your money? or do you feel you missed too much by staying in one place while on the island?

If you like scary mystery stories Rick Murcer wrote his first mystery called Caribbean Moon. It's all about murders on a cruise vacation. Great fun! 

. Kindle paper white can give you better light and you can increase the font to suit your vision!

I've found that the reading app on my iPad allows me to adjust text size.  Sadly, I had to make the jump to a larger text last week...
 
 

Just remembered a really good sci-fi thriller -- Sphere, by Michael Crichton. If you saw the movie with Dustin Hoffman, Sharon Stone, and Samuel L Jackson, just forget that and give the book a chance. As typical, the book is WAY better than the movie. Not set on a cruise ship, rather it's about people who have to dive to the ocean floor to investigate a mysterious object that appeared out of nowhere.

I agree about the portability of a Kindle vs. a set of physical books. But I still prefer the feel of a real book as well as the better experience with my aging eyes. (needing trifocals sucks!) Maybe if I invested in a Kindle Paperwhite...