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I loved my panoramic OV on Liberty last year way more than a balcony. Especially if it's less expensive, definitely the way to go. It felt really private, much more than a balcony does, and Deck 12 was a perk for us pool-lovers. I'm sure the family panoramic OVs are awesome, and making them suites seems to make sense. A sidenote, though, for what it's worth: I would not recommend panoramic OVs to anyone who might get seasick.

I'm looking at excursions for an upcoming cruise to Falmouth, Jamaica, with the sale ending soon. We're thinking Dunn's River Falls, and one of the tours says that the price of the falls is not included. Has anyone done this before? Does anyone know what the additional cost is?

Great to know. That makes me feel better! Thanks!

Wondering if anyone has any experience with Brilliance of the Seas' obstructed view balconies? I'm booked on one for a 10-night Mediterranean this summer (#7140, category E3, deluxe ocean view w/ balcony). I've been on Brilliance before and love the smaller ship, but wasn't in one of these balconies. Will it be a shame to pay all this money for a big cruise in a beautiful place and have an obstructed view? TA said it wouldn't affect the view outwards at all, only straight down. Most of the pictures I've found with obstructed balconies online are of Radiance, not Brilliance. Thanks!

If you're going to book that early I'd suggest make sure you have trip insurance that covers missed flights/flight changes. Or just book a later flight. In October, our ship was late getting back to port because two nights prior, after we left Cozumel, we had to turn back for a guest who had a medical emergency to get to the hospital. As result, the ship didn't get back to port until 11 AM. People with early flights and no trip insurance (or trip insurance that didn't cover the flight portion) were really stuck and some had to spend a lot of money to rebook. We were relaxed--we had a later flight and we had trip insurance. Clearly this isn't something that happens often, but it illustrates how it's better to be covered.

I play, too! I don't have much vacation flexibility, so I've never been able to use one of the free cruises, and I haven't gotten that many points yet (it's usually only offered for a specific cruise). BUT I'm getting ready to book a cruise vacation and definitely plan to cash in some loyalty coins to get $250 OBC. I've been playing for about 1 year, mostly when I'm at home doing things I just let the wheel spin. I have never spent a dime on the game, but I have enough loyalty coins to get two $250 OBC vouchers.

Thanks, everyone! This helps me prepare better!

My first no-beverage-package cruise is coming up soon and, of course, I have questions... I know I can bring 2 regular-size bottles of wine per stateroom. Do I need to do anything special during embarkation (i.e., something similar to pulling food out of your bag at airport security)? Also, I read the post a few weeks back about C&A discounts, specifically the buy one get one free on beer and wine. Does anyone know if there are any limitations on this (time of day, certain bars, etc.)? And how, specifically, does it work--do you purchase, say, a glass of wine, and then the next one you order you aren't charged for? Does it have to be the same exact drink? And finally, any tips for cruising without a drink package (for someone who is C&A but doesn't yet have free drinks)?

I'll be on Liberty on Oct. 9! I've been to Cozumel before with RC, but never the other ports of call we'll visit (Costa Maya and Roatan). I think the Mayan ruins on Cozumel aren't nearly as spectacular as when you go further inland. The last time I was in Cozumel we did Tulum Ruins & Beach Break and, in my opinion, if you're dead-set on Mayan ruins it's worth it. The drive didn't seem that bad, either, and the lunch was good. Another tip that we swear by is to bring a case of water. This is particularly true if you're not getting the drink package. It just makes it easier when you're doing shore excursions. My family's favorite thing, though, is to bring a few games and play them in common areas on the ship as we people watch. People often join us. It's a fun way to meet people of all ages! I'm not sure about your dining time options, but for our sailing the choices were 5:30 or 8:00. We originally booked the 8:00, but recently changed it to my time dining and made reservations at 6:15 every night. With the time difference coming from the east coast, 8:00 dinner would feel like 10:00 to us. There are only two of us, so we don't usually take the full allotted dinner time. 6:15 My Time will let us eat and get to post-dinner shows with the earlier dinner crowd, without having to eat at 5:30.

As someone who grew up cruising, I loved the kids' club, particularly on Royal Caribbean (although I was never on Disney, which would clearly also have a great kids' club). There are so many family-friendly activities now, from water slides to the aqua theater to ice skating. But back then, and I'd imagine this is true now, too, it was great to meet other kids my age on the ship.

Unfortunately, the first photo posted is just about what MIA looked like this morning at 8 AM. Got there 3.5 hours early and it took about 2.5 hours to get to the gate. That being said, flying to MIA early morning last week before the cruise was no problem. We flew out of 2 different airports on the first flights and it was a breeze.

Waaayyytooo, Freedom is so great--not envious of the AWFUL experience you've had, but I am envious that you get to enjoy Freedom--have fun! Todd, thanks for the info. I am drafting an email now. I haven't asked for my money back yet (still "in limbo"), but am planning to book a replacement cruise on NCL, so it'll be good not to have to wait the 6 weeks. Speaking of, anyone here have any advice on NCL? Now we'll probably do the 4-night Bahamas on Norwegian Sky. I'm a little nervous, mostly because I've only cruised on Royal and Holland America before, which both have much different reputations than NCL. Looked into the 5-night Carnival in the Caribbean, but it was going to cost more than our Empress fare and I just couldn't bring myself to do that. NCL is costing about $500 less for a better room, so we'll just use that money on specialty dining and our extra night in Miami. It seems to cater to a younger crowd generally (?) which is okay because we are young, but my biggest concern is that unlike Royal, there won't be as much to do besides drink (drinks are included in the cruise fare), and we're very into food and entertainment.

Thanks Michelle and Todd. Unfortunately for them, they're dealing with a law student who was supposed to take this cruise to celebrate being done with finals. I'm persistent with Customer Service, that's for sure!

When I was on the phone with Customer Service, I explained (calmly at that point) that I have been cruising RC for 12 years now and that they were not leaving me any choice other than to go on the Carnival cruise that leaves same day same port, and that as a loyal customer I didn't want to have to do that (in the hopes that they'd put me on the 4-night Enchantment). Response: "I am sorry for repeating myself for a third time, but we will gladly give you a refund." So clearly RC Customer Service is done with all of us anyway, they'd rather just give us our money back and be done than actually try to please long-time customers.

Then they lost my Enchantment reservation and it sold out. So now I'm SOL, and can't even get the money to recoup my airfare. I was okay taking the Enchantment, but now I'm SO appalled at the level of customer service.