Steve L

It's a nuance of extra large ships.  The venues can't possibly hold everyone so they use reservations to manage it.  Shows are typically offered on more than one night.  This applies to all Oasis class and Quantum class.  The rest of the fleet works the old way you experienced on Liberty.  Reservations are general admission, with a few areas reserved for certain suite guests.  

Best thing to do is reserve tickets via the Cruise Planner ahead of your departure date; just pick the specific day and show time you want. If you find they're not available at all on the Cruise Planner (earliest availability is 90 days out, IIRC), you can check when you board but that could be a sign all the shows are "sold out". if that happens, you can always get on the standby line about 45 minutes before show time and see if any held seats open up.

My phone gets turned off and put in the safe as soon as we pass the sea buoy until the morning we return.

$5 water on the ship..never saw that before..I think the bottles are around $2.50 maybe....(well the rip off water in the room or the mini-bar maybe $5 but if you pay that, that's on you..lol)
 
That being said...I drank all the bottled water I wanted and didn't pay a penny for it... its free with the drink package...I have a hard time getting why people buy bottled water on land or at sea. And you can get it on the way off the ship as well..and lets be honest, if there is a line up to get off...its not cause people are buying water so you might as well get some while your standing there anyways

Liberty is underway now ... in the wake of Carnival Breeze moving toward the sea buoy:
http://www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/home/centerx:-94.7/centery:29.2/zoom:11
pops

Given that I have no choice to fly in to FLL the morning after my wedding, I'm going to pray to the weather gods that everything keeps quiet and we'll get there on time. Stories like this scare me and are why I normally fly in early. Scheduled departure at 8:00 AM from CVG and arrival in FLL at 10:30 AM. 
Not ideal, but given that we will be wrapping up our wedding celebration at 11 PM the night before we don't have a huge choice in the matter. I guess the worst case scenario is that we'd fly to Jamaica and spend a couple days at a resort before meeting the ship in Falmouth.

We are very happy with .........
Our decision to spend the extra money on the Junior Suite Stateroom.  Our original intent was to try a Balcony stateroom.  After a closer look we decided to spend the extra money on the Junior Suite.  It was around $800 more total and it was the best "extra" money we spent on this cruise. We booked only 5 weeks prior to the cruise so I have no idea if this is the norm or if this was a clearance sale.  Regardless, the extra space and expedited boarding process was so worth it.Our stateroom was port side and in Roatan and Costa Maya we had view of the port which was nice.  
Picture of suite below
The Behind the Scenes tour overall was fantastic!  There were a few boring segments and I do feel it is overpriced, but the view from the bridge and the information learned in the control room made up for it (at least for these two nerds).  It was also interesting learning where the crew lived and played and that they have their own gym and disco! ( we only walked the first deck corridor but saw maps of where everything crew-related is located).
Picture of voyage stat sheet and ship directory including crew areas blow
Our favorite spot was the very front of the ship on deck 5.   It is almost spiritual as you stand there viewing the vast waters in front of you and feel the strength of the wind as it whips by. 
Picture of ship front below
The Solarium pool is a sanctuary!  Kid free and lots of shade made hubby happy and the bar tender served him while we were in the pool. The photographer was even there on day 2 and captured a great picture of us together in the pool. 
The All Inclusive Digital Photo Package. I remember the package was offered at around $249 in the Cruise Planner, but thanks to a post I read on this site I knew it might be the one thing that was cheaper on board. Sure enough the price dropped to $196 up until day 3.  For a couple who don't get many photo ops of them together, we had a lot of fun seeking out all the booths. We will have around 150 pictures of us by the end and it takes that many for us to get a handful of perfect poses to share.  The BIG SURPRISE was that once we bought the package you can download the images immediately and start sharing with the crew back home while you are still on board. 
So far I have not experienced any sea sickness. ( I am one who gets motion sickness very easily in a car or on a lake.). We have yet to sail home behind Harvey but the Bonine I took on Day 3 of our slightly rocky ride kept things in check!  I have also been taking a daily supplement of Ginger a Root at the insistence of my mother.  
Staff has been great!  Our stateroom attendant was quick to supply an extension cord for my CPAP machine.  (There are no electrical outlets on the headboard side of the bed.). I only had to ask once and fresh ice was in our room twice a day.)

I use the napkin that I pick up when grabbing my plate and use that to grab all the utensils. Works for me and I agree with others  that too many people are too lazy to wash. Not most of the folks on this board though!

It amazes me and disgusts me to see that.....its bad enough not to wash your hands if your just going back to your room or chair...but when you leave the bathroom and straight to the windjammer....come on....really?!
 
 
Washy Washy.....lol

I just got off Liberty so I'll throw my 2 cents in on this subject, if anyone cares.
We sailed on Navigator 2 years ago and thought MDR was great with lots of variety and innovative choices.  This trip, we were still pretty pleased with the variety but definitely thought the quality (and presentation) had gone down quite a bit, which was disappointing.  2 years ago, there were so many fun things to choose we often shared multiple entrees just to try everything.  This time, we had trouble selecting because many things just did not seem appealing.  One night, I even sent back the crepes because they were overcooked and dried out - they tasted like hard, tasteless cardboard.  Overall, I think the starters and desserts are still pretty fun and different, but the main dishes are lacking.
We do think the Windjammer has a great buffet, although we never eat there at dinner, only breakfast and lunch.  There is so much variety.  Indian, Asian, Mexican, British, and traditional American with many different options in each category.  One day there was chicken tikka masala, paneer, pakora, dosa, raita and a vegetable curry!  My only complaint is that I would like to see more exotic fruits and juices and not just the usual stuff.
For the first time we ate at a specialty restaurant (Giovanni's twice) and were very pleased.  The atmosphere is nicer, relaxed and more upscale.  The setting is much more intimate with just a few diners instead of thousands.  The waitstaff is better.  We had a great panoramic view of the ocean from our table.  The food was very good.   For example, the beef carpaccio was one of the best I've ever had and literally melted in my mouth with a wonderful pesto sauce (while the beef carpaccio in the MDR was tough and stringy, served with simply shredded lettuce).  The carbonara and osso bucco were also outstanding - as good as any high quality restaurant in a large city.  It was a nice change.  However, the menu is limited and I hate to see the MDR go downhill so that RCCL can charge extra for specialty dining.  And I agree the desserts were not stellar.
2 years ago, we ate at the same time every night in the MDR so had the same waitstaff.  They bent over backwards to be accommodating and friendly, because they knew we'd leave an additional tip at the end.  This time, we ate at different times so had different waitstaffs.  Everyone was efficient and nobody was rude, but the difference was huge.  Obviously because they knew that lack of loyalty  meant no big additional tip at the end. 
And finally, this observation on a much-over-discussed topic.  Dress.  I'm all for being casual and not forcing people to dress up if they don't want to.  Nice shorts with a collared shirt are ok.  Nobody needs to be formal.  But unless you are dining in the Windjammer, you need to be clean and neat.  I saw cut-off jeans, t-shirts and flip-flops in Giovanni's.  In the MDR, people came in straight from the pool area with dirty sweaty tank tops, sweaty hair and flip-flops.  Even on formal nights.  Again, I don't need to see tuxes and chiffon (unless you want to wear it) but please have some decorum.  Perhaps that is why the MDR quality is going downhill.
 
 
 
 
 

Mine was based off the comments of people getting these ridiculous cheap cruise pricing, I kept thinking to myself, your a smart person, you can figure this out, and then I read a post from DocLc, "Pick the itinerary, then pick the ship", so I took this a step further and just started shopping price, it worked out that I got a cheap price, the suite I wanted and a great ship, so I really didn't care what the itinerary was. The cruise is in January of 2019, so I do have to wait a while, but I have 3 other cruises between then and now, so I will probably make it...

I would say the majority of the "perks" we have received have been earned due to C&A status (robes or Balcony discount for example) or as part of the booking (OBC for the sale of the day). So I don't really consider those in my response.
Outside of those types of perks the only thing we have received as a surprise/unearned item was the 25% Future Cruise Credit for last year's Adventure of the Seas sailing with the post dry-dock issues. Personally, I took that as more of a kick in the nuts than an apology and it has significantly affected my opinion of RCI as a brand. I did use the FCC for a discounted cruise on Majesty and enjoyed that cruise but I no longer consider myself an RCI "Loyal to Royal" and have branched out to several other cruise lines largely because of that experience.
Looking for a "best" experience to offset that story, I would actually go back to the Adventure of the Seas though and our first experience as Diamond Members ordering our "diamond drinks". The bartender offered me the menu to choose from and I selected a beer (don't recall which type but they were all bottled options) ... he gave me a look, started to say something and then nodded and walked away and disappeared ... about 15 minutes went by and I was starting to get irritated ... he reappears from a secret door clutching a six pack of the beer I had ordered and explains that he is not supposed to stock that beer at his bar but he went and "found" it for me. He definitely went above and beyond, I didn't have the heart to tell him any of the other beers on the menu would have been just fine.

First of all, I want to thank everyone on here with their experiences and observations, Also want to thank Matt and his podcast and blog...I can't tell you how many times those bits of advice helped us!
Miscellaneous notes in no order :-)
We had read that it's best to go up to upper decks on embarkation day...absolutely true! It wasn't near as crowded and it let us explore the ship from front to back on the 15-17 deck level.
We did Sabor and Solarium for our specialty dining...Solarium was amazing...it was quiet and the view was incredible...also, we were up there for lobster night...it was the most amazing culinary event in my life! Our waiter was Roel and he was the best waiter we've had ever...hate to make it sound like it was the best thing since sliced bread...but it really was! Sabor was very good too...the guacamole was awesome and the quesadillas were great! Both were not too expensive and in my opinion, well worth the extra cost!
The rest of the time we did main dining room...the waiter we had there was awesome too...the food was very good, not quite great but close! Well, the desserts were great :-)
We had breakfast at Johnny Rockets one day...it was "ok"...when we were there they didn't have much of a selection of tea...the food was also just "ok"...the rest of the time we went to MDR or Windjammer...both were very good...wife wasn't crazy about a buffet but there were several things there that were great...I think the thing about the Windjammer is that there is a lot of "ok" food but some of it really is outstanding!
Our room was a Boardwalk balcony and it was pretty good...we were at 12307...no complaints...it wasn't loud late at night and i thought it might be...our other room (it was me, wife and 1 daughter(14) in one room and our other 2 daughters (23 and 14) in the other)...was inside stateroom  (14273) and it definitely worked for 2 people...our room attendant was great, however the room attendant for the other room was just "ok"...
On Labadee we went to Columbus cove early(another tip from everyone on here) and it was great advice! It wasn't crowded when we got a great spot on the beach. 2 daughters went on the zip line and it was a lot of fun for them!  The tram person didn't say where to get off for whatever venue you were going to...so if you knew, it was ok, if you didn't know, it would be difficult...another daughter did the volleyball games and everyone there was there for good competitive fun...it wasn't ultra competitive but you got to play hard! Beach and water was great...not too rocky as I'd read there were rocky spots...the local vendors there were a bit too aggressive...i get it, they gotta make a living, but I think RC could make it a better experience (and more profitable for them) if they could manage that a little better..
On Jamaica, this might have been the best..we got an all day pass at Hilton Rose Hall(not thru RC)...we got on the bus (there were only about 12 of us) and rode the 20 minutes to Montego Bay...we got a cabana and there was someone there that waited on us ALL DAY..."do you want some Red Stripe?"..."would you like some food?"...it was a great, relaxing day...the lazy river, the swim up bar and the incredibly nice people of Jamaica...
For Cozumel, we had no excursions...which was ok...we wanted to shop some and then get back on the boat early...so we did! If you have Verizon, don't count on getting service...we couldn't get service all day...but that was ok...
We got the Voom with the drink package...which was great! We could all get on the internet at various times as it's for one device at a time...not just ONE device...worked well for our family of 5...the drink package worked for me :-)...early in the trip i would go to a bar and get a bud light unopened and put it back in the small fridge in our room...i found the fridge holds about 13 beers...so at the end of the night, i'd sit and have a couple beers while watching the channel for 'bridge view'...
Cafe Promenade was great...loved the sandwiches and brownies...and the coffee...get a cafe select card for 31 bucks...that's a great buy!
Sorrentos pizza is really, really good! Especially late at night! :-)
The shows were all great...Cats needs to be replaced as that show just doesn't 'ring the bell' like other shows do...performers were top shelf though...Someone posted earlier about the Coke machines not being available or in a working state...gotta agree there...but it was ok as we just stopped at Sorrentos, Cafe Promenade or a bar for a coke...we had 2 coke packages included in one of our rooms...
Lastly, we booked another cruise for next year...same time, last week of May...this time aboard the Allure!

Johnny Rockets is about having a good burger, certainly above average compared to the burgers you might find in the buffet onboard.

I always picked itinerary first, until the Oasis class ships came out, then I cruised on each one of them (So far), now I'm back to itinerary first. Sometimes the date plays a key role because my wife works in education, but so far it hasn't been an issue, her working in education has probably saved me money, otherwise I would probably book a cruise a quarter...

As a cruise enthusiast, in starting to realize how much Royal had done to improve the industry as a whole. While they sometimes do things I disagree with, ultimately we would not have the industry like it is today without Royal. 
Not only do they have the most innovative and most spectacularly designed ships, they are pushing the industry to design more spectacular ships. For example, when I was looking at the MSC Meraviglia on YouTube I realized how much they had been influenced by Royal Caribbean's designs. Most striking is their rendition of the Royal Promenade and two story suites (e.g., Crown Loft). They even have a comedy club reminiscent to the one the Oasis class. 
I also think that the move to greater onboard technology is directly related to Wow Bands, although I wish Royal would roll this out to more ships. And if you look at the refurbishment of the Caribbean Princess, on of the biggest additions was too additional specialty restaurants. I also credit Total in general with kicking off the refurbishment tend of the older ships. 
Just my two cents. 
 
 

Best Cruise Ever?
That's easy .... last September on Grandeur to Bermuda ...
My criteria is very simple ..... the ability to decompress from the world ....
September of 2016 was a tough one because of how hateful the world was leading into the election .... The ability to remove Clinton, Trump, ISIS, Black Lives Matter and all the other hate filling the airwaves was more valuable than I ever would have expected .... It wasn't until we got back that I realized how amazing it was to take a break from it all ....
DECOMPRESSING FROM THE WORLD is my #1 Priority.

You would think running a promo like this would really cut the price of my 7 night cruise for the four of us coming up in Oct. Had my TA check and it didn't bring the price down more than just a few bucks but I would lose some on board credits so a net negative. I've never had one of these seemingly attractive promo's work to my advantage....I get the feeling they are thrown out there to stir up demand but deliver little change.

You would think running a promo like this would really cut the price of my 7 night cruise for the four of us coming up in Oct. Had my TA check and it didn't bring the price down more than just a few bucks but I would lose some on board credits so a net negative. I've never had one of these seemingly attractive promo's work to my advantage....I get the feeling they are thrown out there to stir up demand but deliver little change.

You would think running a promo like this would really cut the price of my 7 night cruise for the four of us coming up in Oct. Had my TA check and it didn't bring the price down more than just a few bucks but I would lose some on board credits so a net negative. I've never had one of these seemingly attractive promo's work to my advantage....I get the feeling they are thrown out there to stir up demand but deliver little change.

This is a hot topic that Matt and I discussed on a podcast a few months back.
 
Yes, Celebrity has ships that are small compared to newer RCI builds, and Azamara has R Class ships which are quite small (30k gross tons).
 
Royal Caribbean is a "mass market" or "contemporary" line, but that doesn't make their product inferior.  This is just the way the market is sliced up.  Azamara is a luxury line, yes, but if you're a family looking for ice skating, flowriders, parades, etc then you're not going to feel Azamara is a superior experience - while others may if they have different goals and desires.
 
That out of the way, I do wonder how RCI will keep cruisers who prefer sailing out of say, Baltimore and Tampa, ports that are a looong way off of supporting larger ships.  There are consumers in that market that want RCI's product.  Will we see offers for residents of certain states that make it more appealing for them to go to alternative ports?  We'll see.  I do think it's an intersting stumbling block they'll need to conquer.

Day 6 – Abu Dhabi
Coffee Stroll Periscope in the morning – Fail.
We had no idea what/where to go or do in this port.  We just winged it.  We left the ship, got in a cab and headed to anywhere.  I had picked up a map from the hop-on-hop-off bus so I had an idea of where things were, but had to ask where the ship was on the map.  We were told that the taxis here operate on the meter so no need to do any haggling.  The taxi driver we ended up with was trying to get us to pay for a full day’s touring at a cost of $150.00.  We ended up going to the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque. 

We paid $30.00 but I think we might have gotten ripped off.  It would be good if the ship told you what kind of taxi fares to expect to pay.  My wife was concerned with not having the appropriate clothing for the mosque.  At the entrance to the mosque, women that are not appropriately dressed are ushered into a side room where they are given a robe to wear.  Entry is free to this mosque.  It is a beautiful place and we easily spent an hour looking around and taking pictures.

We then found another taxi to take us to one of the large malls in the city.  I think it was the marina mall.  This place was the smallest in the city but it was absolutely HUGE. I’d hate to get lost in the largest.  We found a place to eat lunch, did a bit of looking around and shopping and headed back out.
The Red Bull Air Show was taking place in the marina area next to the mall.  By this time we were a bit tired of standing and walking and the weather was starting to get a bit hot so we just grabbed a taxi back to the ship where we could cool off with the obligatory pool drinks.
Dinner was in the main dining room.  I remember this meal.  Getting fed up with the lack of beef on the menu, I ended up ordering a Fillet from Chops for an additional $20.00.  That meat was superb! I would have to say it was the best meal I had on-board.  At the end of the meal, when the bill was brought, the waiter had discounted the steak by 25% so that extra $5 ended up as an additional tip.
Today was a long day and tomorrow will be a late night so we retired for the night.
The drink counts for this day were:
Coffee = 3; Tea = 1; Orange Juice = 2; Wine = 4; Beer = 0; Cocktails = 0; Mixed Drinks = 8; Coke (Glass) = 0; Bottled Water = 2 – Which put us about USD $30pp over what we spent.  At this point we could have not had another drink and still made out on the drink package.  Stay tuned to tomorrow’s review for the final talley.
Cruise Compass - Day 6 – Abu Dhabi

Day 5 – At sea – Formal Night
It was beginning to get tiring, getting up at 7 in the morning to go for coffee, and attempt a periscope, only to have it fail yet again.  But, I needed my morning coffee.  Megan, at Café Latte-Tudes has gotten to know me and knows what I am drinking each morning.  It does make you feel good to be recognised.
Breakfast this morning was room service on the balcony.  Can’t beat the sea breeze while having a meal.  What a great way to wake up.
Today was a sea day so we decided to just stay on-board.  Drinks were flowing at the pool bar and lounge chairs were waiting to support my lazy, fat a.. for the day.  I did my part to keep the chairs occupied.
The show tonight was Duck Cameron Illusionist.  He was pretty good, and a bit funny.  I love a good magician and he did a good job mesmerizing me with his prestidigitation. (now. . .  that was a big word)
Tonight was formal night.  We were dressed up and out for pre-dinner drinks.  It was prime rib night in the main dining room.  I cannot remember why, but after a couple drinks we decided to just go back to the room and order room service.  Steak sandwich and spinach dip.  I had actually been looking forward to this for a couple days.
We found a movie on TV to watch and went to bed about 1:00 am.
The drink counts for this day were:
By the way – These drink counts are for 2 people. (I’m not that thirsty)
Coffee = 1; Tea = 1; Orange Juice = 0; Wine = 0; Beer = 0; Cocktails = 6; Mixed Drinks = 4; Coke (Glass) = 5; Bottled Water = 0 – Which put us about USD $14pp over what we spent.  Looks like we are slipping here but with the room service night and breakfast room service we were not drinking the OJ or wine.
Cruise Compass - Day 5 – At sea

Vision of the Seas – 7 Night Arabian Sea cruise from Dubai
 
Day 1 – Embarkation Day
We left Glasgow at 8:50 pm on Sunday, 5 February on our way to Dubai on Emirates Airways.  The flight was an overnighter so was uneventful.  We were due to land at 8:05 am.  The plane landed at about 7:40, which the pilot sounded so proud of, until we heard that in order to land so early we had to land on a runway on the other side of the airport from where we needed to be, which took about 30 minutes of taxiing. The result, we got there right on time.
The walk from the plane to baggage claim was ridiculously long.  Seemed like we walked for 30 minutes to get there.  Passport control was slow also.  There were two agents to service the 400 or so passengers that got off that plane.  I must say at this point that nothing up to now was any reflection on Royal Caribbean. 
Once we got our baggage we went to the lobby where we found someone with a RCCL sign.  She pointed us to the far end of the lobby to join a long line of people.  We made it through that line to check in with someone who gave us a piece of paper and a number and then put us into another line.  Still not out of the airport.  Apparently, the busses weren’t there yet. 
The piece of paper gave a rundown of the process of check-in that we would be going through.  In a nutshell:  The busses will take us to a hotel, where we will do our check-in and then we will have a buffet breakfast.  Busses will then take us to the cruise port to meet the ship.
RCCL Dubai Welcome Letter.pdf
 
We were on-board a bus at 9:45 to go to the hotel where we found a row of tables where we could check in.  Something about the immigration policies in the UAE require them to hold all passports so be prepared to exchange yours for your Sea Pass card.  Breakfast was standard buffet food, but not quite as good as the windjammer.  Tolerable though.
Busses were loaded and we headed to the port at 10:45. The ride to the port was about 30 minutes. Once at the port, it was a matter of going through security and walking right on-board.
If you wonder when you get your passports back, we were given the schedule for that as well.
RCCL Immigration Information.pdf
If you have followed my previous posts about this cruise, you will know that I paid for the Deluxe drink package on the Cruise Planner page of RCCL website.  The price that I paid was about USD $55.00.  That price was the same price from the date that I booked the cruise until I bought it.  No sale was ever offered.  Everyone has said, and I had believed that it is cheaper to buy it before the cruise so I didn’t take any chances and I bought it before we sailed.  Once on-board, I noticed that they were selling the drink packages for the same price.  No difference in prices.  
Drink Packages Onboard.pdf
Drink prices on-board, at various venues can be seen in the following documents.  No drink card was ever offered on this cruise, although the Cruise Planner had a coffee card available that was not available on-board.
Lattetudes Menu.pdf
Pool Bar Beer Special.pdf
Pool Bar Menu.pdf
R Bar Menu.pdf
Windjammer Drink Menu
 
Once we got to our stateroom at 1:00 I found our soda cups waiting on our bed with a statement of what was included with the drink package.
Beverage Package Receipt.pdf
 
Also a listing of Platinum benefits
Platinum Benefits.pdf
 
We just spent the rest of the day exploring the ship, drinking drinks, and relaxing. 
Dinner was in the Main Dining Room. We had a table of 6.  One couple (Stuart & Barbera) were quite old (I think he was 86).  A Yorkshire man who was a veteran of the Korean war as well as the Viet Nam war.  He was a test pilot in the RAF.  Every story seemed to relate to one of these wars or just his service in general.  The other couple was a bit younger (Richard & Sheila).  He was a retired police Officer from the London area.  All in all, the group was well mixed and we had a good time with them, but I certainly felt young at 53.  Our servers were Jose, from the Philippines and Lilia, from Croatia.  They took very good care of us throughout the cruise.
 
I think the day would not be complete without the drink counts:
Coffee = 3; Wine = 3; Beer = 1; Cocktails = 4; Mixed Drinks = 4; Bottled Water = 2 – Which put us about USD $20pp over what we spent. Getting our money’s worth. Can we keep it up? Keep reading to find out.
 
Cruise Compass - Boarding Day Edition

I'm going next month.....might be able to help you out.