CaribbeanPirate

We're right rhere with you - if dynamic dining goes fleet-wide, we will stop sailing with Royal too. We are fairly traditional when it comes to cruising and we really enjoy the main dining room.

We usually go to these events. Most people go to them for the free hors d'oeuvres and booze, but some do actually go to hear the latest news and updates about Royal Caribbean. As Matt stated though, this part of it can be hit or miss. Most of the information the crew shares is information that most people usually already know.

My wife and I bring one of those over-the-door shoe organizer storage things. We put it on the outside of the bathroom door and store a lot of our personal bathrooms items and other small stuff in the pockets. It works really well for keeping things organized and in a very easy/convenient location. The room stewards also love when we use it because it makes it much easier on them to clean the bathroom, since we don't have stuff all over the counter. We bought a clear one from Bed Bath and Beyond and it cost us about $15.

I've been on both and both are great ships. Freedom (Indy) and Voyager (Adventure) class ships are fairly similar with the Freedom class ships being a bit larger and they have a few more "bells and whistles" than the Voyager class ships. For me, it would come down to itinerary and price. Either way, you can't go wrong and you will be happy. One more thought on Indy - Joff Eaton is the regular cruise director on that ship and he is by far the best cruise director I have ever had on any of my cruises. I can't even remember who was the CD on the Adventure when I sailed on her last April. Not thaty they were bad, just not very memorable.

We currently have two cruises booked. The first is a 7 night Canada/New England cruise out of Boston on the Brilliance OTS departing on September 28, 2014. The second is an 8 night Bahamas cruise out of Baltimore on the Grandeur OTS departing on April 10, 2015.

Hmm, this is an interesting topic. I too am very unhappy that Royal has decided to make these changes but, I also remember just a few years ago when open booking was not even offered. You could only book specific cruises at the Next Cruise desk onboard the ship, so I am looking at it like it was a limited time benefit, kind of like Diamonds in December lasted for only a few years. I think the reason Royal keeps reducing, or even eliminating, special offers and benefits is simply because they can. The company is doing extremely well with record profits and increased reservations every year, so they do not need to keep offering special incentives to fill up their ships. Even with the reduction and elimination of special offers and benefits, the demand is still very strong and the company's stock is close to or at an all time high right now.

My wife, daughter, and I currently have two cruises booked. Our first one is a 7 night Canada/New England cruise on Brilliance OTS in September 2014 out of Boston and the second is an 8 night Bahamas cruise on Grandeur OTS in April 2015 out of Baltimore. We've never sailed a Canada/New England itinerary, have never sailed out of Boston before, and I have never sailed on a Radiance class ship before, so we are really looking forward to that cruise for those reasons. We have sailed to the Bahams 3 times and have sailed out of Baltimore twice on the Enchantment OTS, so this crusie will not be anything new for us, but we got a really good deal on it and will be in one of the new panoramic ocean view staterooms. We have also never been on Grandeur OTS before and hey, any cruise is a good cruise IMO, so we are really looking forward to this one as well!

This is a great question! I went on my first cruise with my wife and her parents in December of 2010 on the Adventure of the Seas out of San Juan for a 7 night Southern Caribbean cruise. The only reason I agreed to go is because my wife's parents said they would pay for our trip. Prior to that, I was pretty adamant about not going on a cruise because I "didn't want to be stuck in a small, confined area for a week and be bored". My wife had cruised 4 times (all on Royal) previously and did a great job of convincing me that I would not be bored, due to all of the activities always going on onboard the ship and that the ship would not feel like a small and confining space. She knew that I LOVE the water and any kind of boat, as well as my love for eating, good food, and good entertainment, so she was eventually able to convince me to give it a try (especially after her parents said they would pay for our trip). The second I stepped onboard the Adventure, I was hooked! The ship was amazing and its size was almost overwhelming! I knew that I would not feel like I was confined to a small space and would not feel like it was crowded (most of the time). We were spoiled with a balconly stateroom which I felt was actually quite spacious. By the third day of the cruise, we were at the Next Cruise desk onboard booking a 9 night Eastern Caribbean cruise for the following November. A couple months after the cruise, we decided we couldn't wait that long to take our next one, so we found a really good deal on a short 3 night Bahamas cruise on Monarch in April. We have since taken a total of 8 cruises, including a Transatlantic, and currently have two more booked! All have been on Royal. To this point, other than a few minor issues that were immediately addressed and corrected, we have never had a bad experience with Royal.