whenismynextcruise

Honestly, it's mostly about spending more money.  Not doing so doesn't make you cheap.  There are good deals every now and then, but you have to be prepared to AT MINIMUM blow your budget on the cabin alone.  These high end cabins are generally close to your budget PER PERSON.  However, every now and then can be much cheaper than that, but still likely over your budget for two people.
If you REALLY want to do it, then you can cancel one trip and make the next one a HUGE blow out trip.  But I don't recommend you do that.  I recommend you keep doing what you're doing.  One day you may realize you have extra disposable income and slowly step it all up.
But one thing about flights.  I think you CAN do better than that.  I can generally fly to Florida for less than $200 per flight, or less than $800 total for two.  I'm out of Newark and, while Boston may be more expensive, I don't think it's so much more expensive. 
Are you working with a TA?  They can probably help you get more economical options.

I don't think you're complaining...I get it. You work hard, your budget sounds good, things are just expensive. You don't sound cheap.
 
For airfare I check daily, I'm also type A. I do a ton of research. I travel a few times a year to visit a friend for the last few years so I'm always on multiple sites for flights. I research for months before I commit. I love Kayak but there are a few good sites for airfare. I switched to a TA (also MEI) after I booked but still check the RC site.

Have you looked at Manchester or Providence for flights? I fly out of Manchester all the time and 99% of the time it's cheaper than Boston. Are you checking multiple airlines? I just booked flights to ft Lauderdale for this December 2 adults round trip on southwest was $500.

Oh and Skyscanner is a pretty decent site to comapre airfare.

We've been cruising since 2002 and have always chosen superior ocean view balcony staterooms and we were always happy with that. As you mentioned, after reading so much on here about suites and sky class I got curious. For our last cruise on Harmony last month we started off with our balcony cabin once again. Then I watched prices and checked almost daily (type a personality). Few months later we upgraded to a JS and then a month before the cruise the price dropped a lot on a GS and we grabbed it. We ended up getting it for under $5000 for 2 people. Not sure if that was a good deal or not in the grand scheme of things but after watching prices for over a year on that sailing it was the lowest I saw it go. Because I am a teacher I am limited as to when I can cruise so we usually stick to summer cruising. I wish I could take advantage of the lower prices from September-early December.
Fair warning though. Once you go up it is hard to come back down. And I agree we are all fortunate to be able to cruise but sky class did not disappoint. Now we are booked on Anthem for March and I am watching prices once again. What I am curious about is if there are good tips out there for getting a deal in star class? See what I mean, once you go up hard to come down lol.
No tips on airfare. I live in Ontario, Canada and always fly out of Detroit, MI. I just accept the fact the it will cost us about $1500 (for 4) to fly anywhere in Florida. I have decided that we will stay as loyal as we can to Delta to collect our sky miles and hopefully save a bit that way on airfare down the road.
As for the TA question I know many here will disagree with me but after many cruises with RC I feel better dealing with them directly. I tried the TA route several times and found that I did not like having to go through them every time I wanted to change something and they could not save me enough money to make me want to give up control over my reservation. And yes I am a control freak. So I am back to just booking directly with RC.

Air fare is killer but even during March spring break I have paid at most 550 round trip out of Chicago to south Florida.   Have you tried looking at mayrix.itasoftware.com?  It will give you all the combinations and prices to check.   Also try checking into orlando...port Canaveral is an easy shuttle from there.   I handle my own airfare...i haven't found the travel agents where I was to be helpful on that.   I have just switched to mei travel (who sponsor this site)  and sharla has been great so far.   
In terms of ships and rooms,  there are people with way more experience.  I can definitely say you will get more bang for your buck and more cabin for  your money if you go on an older or smaller ship.   I know freedom was a steal for next spring break.  I personally would rather cruise 2x on a smaller cabin than 1x with a huge suite but I'd love to try one someday!   
   Goodluck...i know people here will give you tons of advice but i would definitely search cheaper airfare... it's out there!  Jane 

I am with WAAAYTOOO on Nassau. Stay on the ship. You wont miss anything. 

The part that really concerns me is medical evacuation from the ship or foreign country.  I've heard costs in the $25,000.00 range.   Even hospitalization in a foreign country could be very complicated and costly.  
I told my wife if I needed that, just push me overboard. She said "ok, don't have a problem with that".  I don't sleep well at night...
 

I do not diet pre cruise, but I also am in the gym regularly as well as taking the steps as much as possible to try to keep off the weight.  This next cruise I am going to try something new and add in a few protein shakes rather than snacking.  I know that I am on vacation but I do not want to pack on the needless pounds either! I feel that if I cut some of the indulgence out and make sure that I am actively burning calories that I can manage to keep the weight gain down to a minimum.

As a newer member myself I don't think this site has trouble attracting new members. I've found the posters here all to be super helpful and I enjoy reading everyone's posts and especially enjoy the overall tone on these boards.
 
Speaking only for myself  - I totally understand the frustration of the OP and OP has every right to his/her own feelings. Your $$$ trip is up in the air. There just seems to be a lack of empathy and maybe a little disassociation with the whole situation. My frustration with your post is that I'm with you for the most part but then you use words like "savior" and "humanitarian" and how maybe your trip is more important than people getting food/water/shelter.

Whether or not this is a fan site, it is clearly a site dedicated to RCCL and thus is guaranteed to have some bias.  I'm sure we all try to be fair, but this site is not called "Unbiased objective observations of all ocean cruise lines blog."  We clearly are coming in to this ready to provide RCCL the benefit of the doubt when possible.
Now when someone decides to join said site for (apparently) the express purpose of complaining about Royal's reaction to a bad situation, what are we to think?  Said person didn't ask opinions, or whether we thought there was anything they could do to make things more to their liking.  All I saw were complaints, nothing but venting.  So we know nothing about the person complaining, no familiarity or other previous contact.  The company that is the target of the complaint, however, we all know well enough to be members of a blog dedicated to said company.  How exactly is this supposed to go any other way than it did?  If anything I'm impressed by the restraint shown by the members trying to defend RCCL.  Far more restraint than the sarcasm soaked response given to them.
Regardless, I wish the poster good luck with the situation.  We have all had those moments in our lives, anybody who says they don't understand the frustration shown.  I would only ask that a more constructive conversation or course of action be considered in the future.  And paragraphs would be helpful as well.

Sure, but 1) who are you?  A bit of preamble would be in order.  Entering kicking and screaming and what should be expected on our end?  2) Where was your good?  3) Honestly, I do see this as a FAN site.  Some may disagree with me, and that's fine.  But I do think the majority are fans here.  See, if you entered by saying, "I'm a fan, I love Royal Caribbean because, blah, blah, blah, but WHAT IN THE HELL ARE THEY DOING TODAY?" it's likely I would have reacted quite differently. 4) No one here works for Royal Caribbean, as far as I know.  Maybe there are lurkers that do.  None of the people that run the website do, that much I know.  How are they in the know?  By keeping themselves in the loop.  That takes time and effort.  Others can come here FOR FREE and benefit from their "hobby" and they gladly share their time and effort FOR FREE.  So, showing some appreciation should be in order.
Thanks for listening.

I certainly understand the frustration.  What I can't understand is how someone comes here and makes that their first post.  How should we react to that?  It's like stopping a random stranger and complaining about coffee just because they are at a coffee shop.  Does that automatically make us compadres?

{sarasm:ON} Great first post. {/sarcasm:OFF}   

The Adventure of the Seas is not "shabby".  It's a beautiful ship.  To me, it's the sweet spot of cruising.
RCCL is helping save lives and doing the best they can in a terrible situation.  They will do their best for you.  It's unfortunate, but for now, you have to wait.  They are helping Puerto Rico recover.  If things don't improve in San Juan, they will have to cancel more cruises, including your's.  
Because you have air-to-sea, you are in a better situation than those flying on their own.  RCCL will know where you are in the process, and will hold the ship for a time if needed.  If that is the case, the more people running late, the better for you.
My advice, try to relax and see how it plays out.  I know people who cruise in Sept or Oct every year because the rates are so low.  However, there is more risk this time of year than other times.  This is the year where Mother Nature decided to make the bills come due.  It's not RCCL's fault.

What's funny about the way we talk? The letter R is overrated in my opinion. I will continue to pahk my cah in the yahd.

I think this thread was supposed to be posted on Cruise Critic. 

Hey dj.  I wanted to respond to your post.  I know I did earlier in the week.  I know you know that RCCL is doing the best they can with a terrible situation.  Nobody can help the fact that 3 terrible storms, 2 of which hit the same area, have wreaked havoc on the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and SW Atlantic Ocean in the past 3 weeks.  It seems the major cruise lines that serve these areas have really stepped up to help save lives and to do the best they can for their passengers. If it were me, I'd be bummed too.  I've had one vacation rescheduled by a hurricane, and the replacement turned out to be one of the best trips of my life.  I hope you can work out to take full advantage of the discounted cruise they've offered.

This is why people need to consider travel insurance.  Read the contract, cover your investment.   Just the facts.  

Just the facts:
https://secure.royalcaribbean.com/content/en_US/pdf/CTC_Not_For_BR.pdf
To be clear, you can argue what is and isn't fair all you wish.  But if you want to preface something with "just the facts" then the fact is this is the document you agreed to abide by.  Fairness is subjective, not factual.

And how do the pumps pump fuel on board with no electricity.  And where do the provisions come from?  Mother nature has sure struck a cruel blow .    I feel really bad for those who have lost everything.  And it is sad and unfortunate for those who are vacationing.   

I've mentioned this before, but RCCL and this forum is a lot like a family with RCCL being the parents.  We, the children, sometimes have minor gripes about this or that, but always with the understanding RCCL (our parents) are trying to do the best they can with the information at hand.
Then a newbie comes along in his/her first post with unreasonable complaints, and we all circle the wagons around RCCL.
I really like that about this forum.