jticarruthers

Not naked is pretty much it I think ;)

Has anyone experienced this one ? It just popped up on the excursion list so it must be fairly new ... We have it booked for Thanksgiving but just curious if anyone had feedback before we get on board :) If not said feedback will be provided when I get back from Thanksgiving !

We will be onboard with you pepper. Based on past thanksgivings they usually serve the standard menu and then do a turkey with dressing item as an additional extra. My expectation is that after a great day at Grand Cayman we will be doing turkey and lobster for dinner that night as formal night #2 is usually lobster night :)

Last time we were on Freedom our almost teenage boys very clearly noticed her ...

Trying the new terminal in a few weeks and looking forward to it (Matt I think we have to add this one to list of items that make you a cruise nerd ... looking forward to one terminal or another in particular) Not crazy about swapping Oasis and Freedom as we really like Canaveral as an option but O class seems to be consistently priced much higher and we really weren't Wowed by Allure vs Freedom.

We have done Freedom (1x), Liberty (3x) and Indy (1x) ... back on Freedom in a few weeks :) Of the three I remember Freedom as the best of the sisters ... Indy doesn't seem to have gotten the love from RCI since she was banished to Europe for half the time .. no DreamWorks and just didn't feel quite as "fresh" as the other sisters (had a great itinerary and a great time on the cruise though.) Between Liberty and Freedom, we did 5 nts on Liberty each time vs 7 on Freedom and I think that is part of the difference there as we have definitely learned we like 7 better :) I don't think the two ships are far apart though ... although Freedom did get a new face lift this year so she is probably slightly prettier until Liberty gets hers (next year I think?)

Could be Doc, I have only ever seen anyone in there when it was crowded so I had assumed it was only the cupcake decorating classes and might have missed that you can just walk in and buy cupcakes .... hmmm .... quite possible :(

To expand on the tipping ... It sounds like your gratuities are prepaid for your waiters and cabin attendant (that's your $72), you may tip them additionally if you wish but it is not required. For any drinks/food that you buy on board you will automatically be charged a gratuity of 18%, there will also be a line on the receipt marked tip where you can fill in additional tips if you wish, again the 18% is automatic and cannot be changed, you may tip additional amounts if you wish. Some people indicate tipping an extra $1 gives them better repeat service, others that it has no impact, your choice as to whether you want to / need to. As Doc indicated there is a mix of pay and free venues for food/snacks. The Café Promenade and Sorrentos are free and are really more walk by and pick something up than sit down and eat a meal restaurants. They do not have table service and have a limited number of small tables. The Windjammer buffet is also free but is only open for specific hours of the day (think 6-10 for breakfast, 11-3 for lunch, 6-11 for dinner ... times vary by ship/day but something along those lines). The Windjammer is self-serve but has a lot more tables as it is intended for sit down meals. Main Dining Room is open for breakfast and sometimes lunch, in both cases it is free and it is open for a block of hours come when you want and you will be seated at the next available table. For Dinner you will either have an assigned table and time (Traditional Dining) or if you have My Time Dining then you can choose to show up when you wish or make reservations, your choice. MDR for dinner is free but there can be additional "upcharge" items available, clearly marked on the menu. I believe Independence has the Jade section of the Windjammer that has a selection of free premade Sushi, but as a non-Sushi person, I wont swear to it. Cupcake Cupboard is an additional charge and I think you have to make a reservation, on the couple of occasions that I have walked by it seemed to be full and turning away "walk ups". Pretty sure Indy has a Johnny Rockets, additional minor fee for a better burger experience than the free ones at the Windjammer. Chops Grille is a staple, decent steakhouse for an additional per person fee, I used to highly recommend it but the price has gone up, the experience has come down and I no longer recommend it unless you are in the mood for something more. Cant recall whether Indy has Portofinos or the other Italian restaurant but it should have one or the other, never tried either one so I cant comment from personal experience but again an upcharge per person to eat there. For Chops and whichever Italian restaurant reservations are available and are probably a good idea if you really want to visit one or the other.

I know size doesn't matter but she seems really really small ....

Still just Q class last I had heard.

Those times sound about right, I know it was closed a couple of time I went looking for a snack, made a point of eating lunch there on the last/only sea day.

With you guys, I have a pretty good feel for which ships are where around the US and what some of the key features are. I would say probably more Florida centric and slightly less RCI centric for me. Have cruises planned already for NCL Epic and Carnival Vista and I would say I am close to being able to find my way around the ships already just from having studied floorplans looking for the "right" cabin, etc. My wife is always amazed when we board the ship and I already know where I am going to find food/drinks/our cabin/the pool/book excursions and she is still at the looking around wanting to take pictures stage. Unfortunately this has led to a couple of "disagreements" on boarding when I have a plan and she has a plan and they aren't the same plan. My plan now is too follow her plan, I have compromised ;)

All OTS for me, didn't really start cruising until about 2009 so they were all OTS branded by then.

I believe it was confirmed as Freedom only, for September only.

Cant speak to Serenade but Jewel had the free food for a few hours a day and then switched to the pay for Burgers & Brew (with a couple of free items still) during the evenings.

One of the rare decisions in life that is a choice between the good option or the also good option, congrats on picking a good option and enjoy it :)

For about $200-$300 for our family of 3 I will take the balcony, it depends a bit on who we are with, where we are going as well. Typically we cruise with a small group and our balcony is nice for a drink and hang out every now and then.

Diamond in two months ... fingers crossed I don't lose any perks after that (only two perks I care about are the balcony discount and the free drinks) because I don't see staying loyal to Royal enough in the future to ever make the next level anyway.

I think its generally just the Oasis and Quantum classes that do reservations. I know Indy doesn't do any except the ice show (on board) and don't think Freedom does any at all ... at least there aren't any in my planner :)

Freedom is the name ship of the class and seems to get all the goodies first in addition to being fresh out of drydock. Have sailed both and they are almost identical, but if you are sailing primarily to experience Freedom class I would go for the full Freedom experience :)

Quick update ... as always RCI validates their reputation for consistent inconsistency. Had my TA call in on my parents reservation ... RCI rep explained that the WOW sale OBC is only available to new reservations and that they routinely scan their reservation database to look for cancel/rebooks since that is also not allowed. Chuckled a bit at the idea of RCI trying to utilize a computer to scan a database but shrugged and moved on. TA just called back to say she tried a second rep who took care of it , no problem, OBC applied to existing reservation without a cancel/rebook being required. So, as always with RCI if you don't like an answer keep calling until you find someone who either doesn't know their policy or is willing to disregard it for you ;) !

No joy for me as per usual. Looks like my parents can pick up a $100 OBC for next Thanksgiving though.

The water/soda seems to be allowed most of the time, seems like they generally only get strict about it around Springbreak cruises for the most part. With that said they are specifically in the rules as not allowed so if for some reason they do decide to enforce the rules you are out of luck.

I would add to my earlier comments Mattt that we very much enjoyed both excursions, but would definitely recommend booking through RCI if you are headed to the mainland. On both excursions we were cutting it close getting back, in particular on the second one we were boarding the ferry on the mainland at the same time as the all aboard was being sounded on the ship ... luckily we had about 300 passengers on our "dedicated" ferry so we weren't worried.

Done it twice. I was fine both times but the first time in particular they were handing out sea sickness bags like candy. The second time a couple of people looked green but most people were fine. If you are prone to seasickness I would say don't do it, if you are generally ok you are probably fine. FYI - I think both trips were March/April timeframe but I might be wrong on the first one it could have been Thanksgiving.