firebuck

As always, solid advice!! Looking forward to seeing yours and other's experiences on Ovation as mine comes at the end of the season!

Thanks for the info, @twangster! We're booked in a cabin on deck 13 around mid-ship for our Alaskan Ovation cruise. I"m thinking our balcony will be a great place to take in the Dawes glacier. I know it likely varies, but do you recall how many revolutions the captain did at the Dawes Glacier? *sigh* All of this scenery is going to cut into my bar time! ?

Unfortunately, there's no hard and fast rule for when these things show up - Ifly and Northstar as well as most of the shows do tend to be the last things to show up. To give you a frame of reference though, on my Anthem cruise last year, IFly and Northstar showed up as bookable on August 27th, and my cruise started October 29th, so just slightly over 2 months out. It definitely pays to frequently check the cruise planner because both Ifly and Northstar go fast. I think within a few days of my booking it, all slots were filled and it was removed from the cruise planner. It's definitely a "blink and you'll miss it" sort of thing. That said, it is still possible to get in if you miss it in the cruise planner - you just have to be a little more patient and flexible with your plans if you really want to get in. There are cancellations and no shows all the time.

Definitely get it now - if it's still running $49 this close to your cruise, it's likely you won't see it drop much more. Also, to mirror what everyone is saying, you can cancel and repurchase but keep in mind that the refund isn't instant - you'll need to float that money on a card for up to a week or so before the original purchase is refunded to the card that you purchased with. The only instant refund comes when you cancel a purchase that you've made with Onboard Credit available in your account.

Oh, thanks! I'll have to try that - or request the kids menu ? . Duck liver? No thank you!!

OMG... as if I didn't have enough reasons to book OA in 2020... I need that bread. LOL this may be the tipping point. Thank you for all of your amazing pictures and great descriptions!

Safe travels, and enjoy the road trip!

Wait.... are those.... blueberries in your grits?? ?

They didn't print receipts on the Anthem either - I suspect that's the growing trend with the packages. They will print one if you ask for it though. I don't carry cash onboard, so I'll ask them to print to add extra gratuity.

Just tell me you don't like boiled peanuts, then I will revoke your card ?

OK... as a southerner now living in yankee land, I have to say that the grits onboard are actually pretty darn good! You need a pat of butter and a good dash of salt and pepper. Seriously, you have to try it once! ?

Oh man - have an amazing cruise!! I'll definitely be following along. Didn't see Poutine on the menu at Boot & Bonnet... I guess they only serve drinks, lame ?

Yes! You can definitely use Uber. They're allowed to go right up to the terminal. We called an Uber to take us to KSC when we got off in Cape Canaveral and it was super easy and fast.

I just called for our next cruise (wife just doesn't like alcohol) and I could hear the hesitation in the agent's voice. I hate to lie, but I just told them it was for religious reasons... That seemed to satisfy her. I do get why this is a problem (drink package sharers ruined it for us), but the price for two deluxe packages is just toooo dang high if the other person isn't going to drink. Although, for what I do drink on board, maybe I SHOULD be paying double ?

Thanks so much for the great live blog, Twangster. Voyager class was my first cruise, so I've always had a soft spot for that class. And after seeing the Amped updates through your blog, I may have to rethink Oasis out of Bayonne in 2020... hmmm. You know what, YOLO I'm booking two cruises in 2020 ?

Hi there - welcome to the boards! I have a feeling that the answer to this question is that it isn't included, because they do not specifically mention it in the list of drinks. You may need to call customer service to get a definitive answer. The description of the refreshment package from Royal's website doesn't include non-alcoholic beer, but it does include mocktails... so maybe there is some grey area on that? Here's the list for your reference: Fountain soda and refills at any venue Coca-Cola Freestyle beverages* Coca-Cola souvenir cup Non-alcoholic cocktails (mocktails) Bottled still and sparkling water Premium coffees and teas Fresh-squeezed juices

Thanks for the input, guys. I went ahead and booked it along with the three night dining package. There goes my bank account ?

I'm kicking myself because I could have snagged The Key at $19 PP on black Friday for our Alaskan Ovation cruise in September. The price is now hovering at $24 PP with today's sale. My question is, have any of you seen it dip back down to $19 closer to your sailing? I know there's limited availability on it, so I want to make sure I get it while I can and then cancel/rebook if it drops later, I'm just wondering what my chances are of that happening. Are there any other Black Friday equivalent sales throughout the year? I know there's no typically no rhyme or reason to Royal's cruise planner pricing, but I figured I'd see what others have experienced with the Key pricing.

From Royal Caribbean's website: On boarding day, each stateroom may bring up to two 750 ml bottles of wine or champagne, as long as one guest is of legal drinking age. Corkscrews will be provided for guests to enjoy their drinks in their stateroom. If guests wish to enjoy their wine or champagne in our dining or bar venues, there will be a corkage fee applied. Guests may also bring non-alcoholic beverages as carry-on items on boarding day. Non-alcoholic beverages may not exceed 12 standard (17 oz.) cans, bottles or cartons per stateroom. Milk and distilled water brought on for infant, medical, or dietary use are permitted. You can also go to the Windjammer in the morning and snag a few milks for your cabin fridge, that shouldn't be an issue at all.

@rtgirl95 I brought my phone with me and I’m pretty sure that other people had their phones and cameras that day as well. I don’t recall there being a no/camera phone rule when we went, but I also think the excursion was pretty new so perhaps they changed the rules since?

Come on, @twangster - you know Freedom Units are the official units of the RC blog message board! ?

Umm... Can I do the Kid's menu at Wonderland?? ? But seriously though. Oh, and minus the hot yogurt... that sounds.... awful.

Ugh... that stinks. I got it there in the fall of 2016. I wonder if the store changed hands since then? Hopefully they'll have it in Cozumel!

Yeah, you have to be really careful. They use the ol' trick of marking them wayyy up to be able to offer a 70% discount. on my first cruise, I purchased a watch for $175 (marked down from $750). Upon returning home, I found the same watch online for $125. I didn't feel too horrible about it because I had quite a bit of OBC to burn, so that did the trick. I'd say if you're looking to bargain shop, you won't find much of a deal onboard. And if you have an internet package, definitely use it to price check.

Go Dawgs!! ? Great blog, btw!