Tylor

Main dining room seating is based on availability. The cruise line will make every effort to accommodate your request for a table of 4 if you want. Otherwise you might get sat at a larger table with another family. It is up to you. If you opt for My Time Dining, you will be sat by yourselves at a table of 4. Regarding the same wait staff each night for My Time Dining: If you make a MTD reservation each day (say after lunch) and request the same table number with the same staff, you should get that request, unless someone else has already taken it. I did this once. I'm not a fan of MTD, but I did request the same table, because I liked the location and the same staff because I like seeing the same people every night. They learn your names and what you like to drink, so it is like seeing a familiar face each night. Feel free to ask anything questions! You can never know enough about cruising!

I agree. Announcement will most likely be Anthem of the Seas sailing from Southampton.

What ship are you sailing on next year?

There will be a countdown clock in the Royal Promenade with a huge balloon drop at midnight. The photo below is from Explorer of the Seas New Years Eve in 2010. There will be lots of free champagne, dance party in the club, etc. A fun night to be on a ship!

The best thing for me about a cruise is that everything I enjoy (sun, food, entertainment, shopping, productions/performances/shows) all happen within walking distance and I never have to drive anywhere! And the nicest way to end an evening after an awesome meal is to see a live production. I'm a big fan of production shows, Broadway, ice skating etc. I will say that I have seen many shows onboard Royal Caribbean ships and some are high quality while others are somewhat dorky or even embarrassing to watch. One of my all time favorite shows I've seen onboard a Royal Caribbean ship was "Now You See It" The Magic of Drew Thomas onboard Freedom of the Seas (Hairspray on Oasis of the Seas was also equally great). Drew Thomas was on America's Got Talent and now has a permanent show onboard Freedom of the Seas. I think the show is performed twice per cruise (on the same night) and I think Drew flies to meet the ship? I don't know, but he does other things besides his once a week show onboard the ship. So I don't know how that works! The show is filled with videos, upbeat music, (not regular pop cover music), dancing, and of course magic! Here is a "Now You See It" preview: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ySsIejBhWb8 The ending show number "Snow" is the most amazing: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_2g6020QZU

I agree with eating at Chops or any of the other specialty dining restaurants onboard. The Main Dining Room is great but specialty dining makes the meal extra special. And I also dine earlier rather than later.

When I go to Chops I could skip steak all together and just eat the salad and all the sides! :)

I will be interested to see what your thoughts are about Oasis. I thought it was a different experience from what I found on smaller ships like Voyager or Freedom class. But not different in a bad way. My favorite class would be Oasis just based on all the options available and the unique spaces that class has. I also enjoy the shows and choices for specialty dining.

I believe Quantum of the Seas is farther away, so the ship the camera is actually pointing at. I don't know what is right next to the camera. That is a good question.

It is always interesting to me how you have a keel laying ceremony and then you expect the ship to start taking shape, but in reality they've been building parts of the ship for a while now and in a matter of months the whole basic structure is already put together.

For 3 years the Radiance Class and Voyager Class were built and ships debuted at the same time. Adventure and Radiance debuted the same year in 2001 Navigator and Brilliance debuted the same year in 2002 Mariner and Serenade debuted the same year in 2003

I have never been on a ship with a Seaview Cafe. But from what you said the food was good. All good things must come to an end. I was shocked when Royal Caribbean started to change Portofino to Giovanni's Table. But I haven't tried Giovanni's yet, so I'm sure it is still good. One thing I've learned in life is that change is constant. I used to frequent a restaurant that was my favorite, I went there so much that they knew me by name. But they changed their menu and took off a lot of my favorite dishes, and now my wife and I haven't been back in a year or so. Now I could never stop cruising and I can't image what Royal Caribbean could do to make me leave their brand completely. Although I do want to cruise on Celebrity and do at least 1 Disney cruise.

I enjoy Starbucks while onboard. It isn't my brand of choice, which is a Michigan company called Biggby Coffee, but it is better then what is offered for free. Not that I think the free coffee is awful, but Starbucks is better. I'm not completely against all commercial branding. The restaurants onboard are fine, but like including Starbucks in the coffee selection, it would be nice if they offered other recognizable brands like say, a selection of The Cheesecake Factory cheesecakes for dessert. Whether it be on the menu or a separate The Cheesecake Factory store location onboard. They are slowly starting to do this with other brands like Ben & Jerry's, Coach, Guess, etc. Grouping together "destination brands" on a ship makes sense as the ship is as much a destination as the brands are onboard. The Cheesecake Factory operates 165 branded restaurants in the US, 4 in the Middle East and 1 in Puerto Rico. Each restaurant grosses around 10 million per year. Total revenue last year was around 1.7 billion. Not bad for a company started by a woman making cheesecakes in her basement in 1972. This brand is recognizable by many cultures and is very popular. The first restaurant in Michigan opened in August 2013. Currently the Michigan location is not accepting new reservations for 3 months.

I've read a few things Mr. Frommer has said over the years. I know his idea of travel and cruising is not exactly the direction travel and cruising is currently going. But obviously Royal Caribbean is doing something right and people are responding with booking cruises onboard their ships. You can't help but smile when you read something from a person from a different era who is just slightly out of touch with today's world. :)

Speaking of fast food places, I think there is a McDonald's or Burger King in St. Thomas that I always walk by when I'm there. It is so interesting to see what different menu options they have. When I was in Ocho Rios, Jamaica they had EVERY fast food place there. I asked my tour guide how many fast food places, she said they have a lot like 10. I couldn't believe it. It was weird!

What? No mashed potatoes at KFC? That is a crime!

I would not do anything less than a 5 day cruise. My preference is 7 days or longer. And the more 7 day cruises I take the longer I want the trip to be. I'm excited that Quantum will offer longer trips to the Southern Caribbean, and I don't have to fly to San Juan to go there! :)

Good to know! :)

Ok here you go DARKCABBIE. This is the dessert cart on Oasis. I don't know if it will be the same setup on Independence. This cart sits (protected) out in the open when you walk in the door next to the large Prosciutto slicer. Note the rather large dish of tiramisu! ;)

So your e-cig is just a personal vaporizer not a electronic nicotine delivery system? Well I guess if you don't get caught then it would be ok. Your room attendant won't smell any smoke, but if they see it they might report it.

Big day in France today, first of 400K pieces of steel was cut for our next #Oasis class ship. #BuildingCruiseShip CEO Richard Fain reveals our third Oasis class ship will be slightly larger than Allure, but more energy efficient. The name will be revealed in a years time. Lots of chatter about how Executives show up for Oasis 3 steel cutting but not in person to Quantum or Anthem steel cutting. Also exects show up to update Quantum last week on their way to Oasis 3!! #odd #OasisMoreImportant Press Release: http://www.royalcaribbeanpresscenter.com/press-release/1031/royal-caribbean-international-begins-construction-on-third-oasis-class-ship-/

Eating ashore makes me nervous. I've heard stories and even read things in the Cruise Compass about "don't order drinks with ice or eat uncooked seafood" etc because of the different cooking / water treatment / cleaning standards some of these islands have.

haha that actually sounds good to me. Corned beef hash, or any hash, is really good. I would just leave off the smoked salmon.

You can still smoke in other areas on the ship just not on your balcony. As smoking becomes less and less social acceptable I would expect other lines to completely eliminate smoking from balcony and other indoor areas as well.

Well I'm just guessing with Royal's partnership w/ Dreamworks. It seems like logical thing to happen.