Lora

Can anyone give me round-about prices for the photos they take on the boat?  (not portraits...casual ones they take at ports, dinner & such).  Do they sell them actual photos or just CDs?  I will be cruising on the Oasis.
 

Is there anything great to do at the port in Cozumel other than shopping or do I need to do a excursion?  Also...anything inexpensive?
 

I'm curious as to what special events you've encountered while onboard a Royal Caribbean cruise. For instance, I've heard they have a ceremony when a ship passes the equator or passes the international date line.  I've also received a souvenir copy of the New Year's Eve dining room menu when sailing on a New Year's cruise.
 
The most unique event I've experienced was last year aboard the Brilliance of the Seas as we headed from Norway to Iceland. They had an induction to the "Frostbitten Blue Nose" Society in commemoration of approaching the Arctic Circle.  The event was presided over by the captain and essentially involved getting a ladle of ice water (small, medium, and large) dumped down the back of your shirt, your nose painted blue, and a shot of some type of booze all on the pool deck in the rain. See the attached certificate and pictures.
 
So what events have you experience that were out of the ordinary?
 
 

The storage space under the beds are quite large.  My biggest suitcase will fit there.  I put the smaller suitcases inside the bigger one to save space.  We also have a very large garment bag piece of luggage that will fit underneath the bed.  Never had any problem.  Sometimes I have to lift up the bed to get it under there but once under there, everything is fine.

Here is Matt's answer about bottle water:
Royal Caribbean's rule about bringing bottled water, or any beverages, is simple: Guests are not allowed to bring beer, hard liquor, fortified wines or non-alcoholic beverages onboard for consumption or any other use on boarding day or while in port.
In practice, when it comes to bottled water and even soft drinks, we've rarely seen this rule enforced.  We cannot guarantee you will not have your water confiscated but if you felt very strongly about trying to bring bottled water with you, then we would recommend putting the bottled water in your carry on luggage and hoping for the best. 
By far, Royal Caribbean is much more concerned with guests attempting to bring alcohol onboard than bottles of water.  But you should be aware that technically it is against the rules to bring any beverage onboard.
I cruise with a woman, no matter what cruise line, brings a 12 pack, not 24, of the small bottles of water and has never been stopped. She carrys the water on the ship.
As Matt said, it could be confiscated or you can be told to go on through.
 
Candie

Here is a review of the loungers in which Matt indicates you can indeed reserve them on board.
http://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2016/05/18/spotlight-labadee-beach-loungers

I am going with Todd on this one.  I have a friend who just recently (NCL) had his bags lost - never got ANY luggage delivered the entire cruise.  I recommend taking enough with you that you COULD survive the entire cruise, if necessary.  Obviously, you could never carry all of your clothing....but enough essentials that if push came to shove, you could survive.  Toiletries, 1 complete change of clothing, medications, documentation and anything you would NOT want to lose (cameras, jewelry, etc.).

Last week I was forecast for 100% chance for labadee, Falmouth, 80% in Cayman, and 50% in Coz.
 
Ended up with some early morning light rain in labadee, and none in Falmouth, Cayman and Cozumel.
 
Rain happens, and as said above, it rarely kills the day.

Keep in mind that the Caribbean ALWAYS has a forecast for thunderstorms, especially this time of year.  Check Florida and you will find the same thing.
 
The tropics always have a threat of storms. Thing is, they are fast moving storms that disappear just as quickly as they appear.  It is quite rare for an all-day soaker kind of storm.
 
I know it looks like a bad forecast, but I wouldn't worry about it. 

I personally carry on too much every cruise, and look like a Sherpa at embarkation lunch.  
 
Things to be sure you carry on:
-travel docs
-money
-medications
-anything that might break if 47 other bags are stacked upon it
-items of particular value (expensive jewelry, camera equip, etc)
-any clothing you want/need for day 1 (pool clothes, change of clothes for dinner)

I have wanted to post this story for a long time to all the RCBlog readers here; mainly as an FYI. Perhaps this might apply to a large $ jewelry purchase???
 
 
Here's How A Drug Deal Can Go For Visitors Of St. Lucia
 
 
Let's say a person gets off the ship in good ol' Castries. And let's say they bump into a drug dealer and buy some weed. This person likes the sample of what he has bought, exchanges some pleasantries with the dealer including "my name is John and I'm on the Jewel of the Seas, I have to be back on board at 5 pm." The drug dealer replies "OK Mon', we have the best weed here in St Lucia I can sell you some more to take home if you like. Like buying Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee, John buys a pound or two to bring back home; his only concern being how to get it past the Royal Caribbean security. Doing that, particularly in the chaos of an hour before the ship leaves port; has got to be quite easy.
 
A successful hook up? Not so fast.....
 
The drug dealer; after taking John's cash and making a profit; talks to the local police. Perhaps in exchange immunity or perhaps for $, he squeals that he sold John on the Jewel of the Seas a couple pounds of weed a short while ago.
 
The country of St Lucia has no resources and no desire to capture/ prosecute a drug using tourist. If they did there would be no room in there jails for the natives. So what do they do?
 
The St Lucia police make a phone call to US or British customs. (Really, it's a phone call). It is not inconceivable that there might be some money for information exchanged at some point, but I am not sure of that. But if I were a betting man....
 
So.....US customs is waiting for "John and a couple pounds of weed" upon disembarkation when he arrives in San Juan. Now, they have no idea what John looks like. But that's where the dogs enter the story....
 
While we are all waiting in line to get through customs so we can catch those flights at the airport; the beagles are working and looking for "John with two pounds of weed." The Customs officials seem to be taking their time.
 
The beagles and their keen noses are trained to sit when they smell dope. They don't go ape shit crazy. There's no barking. Just a calm "sit". They are sure to get a confirmation from a couple different animals. Certainly that area is under video surveillance and really being observed by more Customs people behind the curtains than you think are really there.
 
So if you are going through Customs and you see the dogs working, it is very possible that they are looking for a guy named John who was really set-up and game over long before he ever realized it. John, his wife, and all their luggage are politely asked to step into the office when they reach the customs desk. Then that process through customs for the rest of us goes lickedy split.....
 
 
 
My wife and I have seen this happen couple times in our cruising history. 

In my carry on it a complete change of cloths, swim suit and anything I would need for the first day. My carry on also includes phone, laptop, camera and and any credit cards, funds etc. I also carry complete documentation, with the idea that even if my bags are never delivered I can complete the cruise. And remember you only need to carry to the ship. Your carry on bag could be a roller bag that you check until you get to the ship and then roll it along. 

Since I have a child, I always pack swim suits as the pools are empty on the first day.  My wife stays with the luggage and we either wear our trunks under our clothes or change in the bathroom.  It's a great way to get some pool time without any crowds.
 
Other suggestions might include anything you can't live without if it gets lost, including medication, computer/tablet, toiletries, etc.  I also pack that night's attire so that I don't have to worry about unpacking immediately if the luggage is delayed.

I wouldn't worry too much, especially this far out.  Unless the seas are rough, it's unlikely they'll change the schedule.  In addition, the storms usually pass through pretty quickly.  While it will likely rain, it might be for an hour or two and then that's it.  We had a similar forecast this past weekend when we were in the Sequoias.  However, in the end, it rained less than an hour even though there was a 70% chance of rain.

Is it really a better deal to book your next cruise while on board your current cruise???

WHStoneman, you are SO right about taking your prescription medication with you.  I have a friend who just got back from an NCL cruise.  It's a very long story but due to AIRLINE f-ups, he did not get his luggage before he sailed.  They (airlines) kept telling him, "it (his luggage) will meet you at the next port" and with each and every port stop - nothing.  So he was on this cruise without anything...including his medication.
 
He had to make 2 very expensive (and time-consuming) visits to the ship's physician(s) (who changed, mid-sailing...who knew that a ship's doctor would change mid-cruise ??.  Learned something new) to get prescriptions to be filled in different ports.
 
Now...did he know better ?  YES !  ...but he didn't follow his own "best practices" and paid a dear price.  I'll bet he won't make that mistake again !
 
BTW, he did not get his luggage for more than 2 weeks after he left for his cruise.  God only knows where it had been all that time...but I learned ANOTHER lesson from this - never trust the airlines when they tell you that your luggage will meet you at the next port. 
 
Apparently NCL was extremely gracious to him over all of this even though it was in NO way their fault.  They gave him free laundry service and  some OBC to purchase necessities.  He also said that the Guest Services Manager, with whom he worked ALL week trying to get this solved, was very gracious and actually told the airlines representative "you're lying to my guest !" when they ONCE AGAIN said that the luggage would be at the next port. Of course, it wasn't there, as he had predicted.
 
DO NOT PACK YOUR MEDICATION IN YOUR CHECKED LUGGAGE !

I carry 5 prescriptions with me at all time and have been told by customs that they have to be in the original bottle, dated within the last six months. I tried to carry a pill caddy and customs said it was fine as long as the pills were in the original bottle, DUH, why would I take a caddy if I have to take the bottles.

Pack in my pill caddy with my CPAP machine....never been questioned about anything.  BTW....carry your pills WITH you!  Don't want those to get "lost".  

MrsJares those cupcakes are sooo cute.  Definitely going to sign up for it.  Thank you for posting the photos!

We did this last month on Liberty and it was so much fun!!

The real benefit of the lessons is not having to wait (again) in lines for another turn.  Like many things in life, the more practice you get, the quicker you learn it.

Let her wipe out, makes a good photo-op!
It's padded and shouldn't hurt...Too much.

It is hands-on and definitely fun.  There's a kids and an adults class, so make sure that you sign up for the right one.  I had my son do the kids one and we watched.  He seemed to enjoy it.  The adult cupcakes are quite fancy.  Plus, you walk away with a treat to eat later.
 
One word of caution, be prepared to eat the cupcakes that day.  When my son did the class, we had to sign a form acknowledging that they had to be eaten within four hours of being made.  I didn't ask why, but assumed that perhaps it was because of a butter cream frosting or something of that sort.  Of course, perhaps they were just being overly cautious.

Ok I have to get on one of these big ships, I want to do a cupcake decorating class, if there is buttercream frosting I am so there.

My waiter told me on a 7 day cruise, day 2 is always formal. I went to the Cruise Compass to find the same  route from a past cruise and it showed me what to probably expect on mine, and it turned out to be correct for my cruise date also.