Bella Norlander

Thank you so much for all the well wishes, we didn’t expect such a loving, caring, and helpful response to guide us through this new adventure! As I mentioned, I did a WHOLE LOT of research lol and the second I came across a video on YouTube I instantly took advantage of the app and we are all checked in and ready to go! As I mentioned in my original post, I’m military and as a consequence, I have this annoying need to be ready for things way in advance (hilarious! considering the nature of our booking) so just to be sure I don’t miss a thing (as I’ve been checking daily), where can I find these eDocs on the app, website, or will they be emailed to me? Thanks again so much! And trust me, no matter what, I am certain we will enjoy every second of this trip!

Thank you! We are first time cruisers and big drinkers! So the first thing we looked into after our initial booking was the drink package. The last time I looked at cruise fares it seemed I could utilize a lower tier drink package and pay for alcohol drinks individually for a better price, however, in post-pandemic times it seems that even our local dive bar is about $7-10 a drink! So the big question is, does the deluxe package include gratuity or should we budget for the gratuity? This question of course leads into excursions, there are still plenty available that we are both interested in, however, we are both well traveled military folks who have seen new countries on a whim. We love experiencing the authentic vibe of a new destination and are worried that by booking an excursion we would be missing that! Any experience, tips, or services we could take advantage of to avoid the hustle and bustle of the anticipated cruise tourism traps?

Hello! Long story, I’m attempting (poorly lol) to keep short, we’re recently married and so excited for our honeymoon cruise on Mariner of the Seas in 32 days! The only caveat is I am retiring from my military career and beginning new endeavors shortly after. Considering wedding and moving costs, we relied on wedding gifts for our honeymoon budget (we were married on June 10th) and only have a specific time frame we can take our honeymoon, given our extenuating circumstances. We took the plunge and booked a cruise a little more than a month in advance, as we agree it’s the best way to celebrate our new marriage (and still have zero regrets or hesitation)! After much research and listening to hours of Royal Caribbean Blog’s wisdom, it has become abundantly clear we broke the golden rule of cruising by booking last minute! Any advice you can give on how to make the most of our budget with a last minute booking?