RestingBird

Couple of business days. Maybe 4-5 at most.

What do you call the white mushy stuff between a shark's teeth?...........slow swimmers.  :o

I'm on the other side of that coin... my airline of choice is Southwest. I like their flexible pricing policies, and once I accept that flying coach is essentially being treated like cattle (assigned seat or not), I can deal with Southwest's boarding system. I do pay the extra $25 roundtrip to get an earlier boarding position in order to ensure getting a window or aisle seat. 
Thanks to them not charging a fee to change flights, I've been able to reduce the cost of future flights by applying credits from earlier flights where the price has dropped. Plus, we've been able to change our minds about which flights we want without a penalty. I like having that flexibility.

Hi I hope these are helpful. as you will notice we also take a light weight wheelchair with us as back up and have always found room to put it.
 
The shower may look small but it is a roll in and taking photo's wasn't good for a fuller picture of the size.
 
Balcony is wider door and easy to get in and out of.

I just upgraded our room to a Spa junior suite on Anthem Of The Seas for Novemeber, worked out about £400 more but I get $200 OBC and a few perks, mostly the double points though!
 
Does anyone know for sure if coastal kitchen is complimentary in the evening? can I go there for lunch and breakfast at all?

I don't doubt your experience at all, though I do find this surprising and confusing.  The bartenders have no incentive at all to short you.  Perhaps they were just bad at paying attention?

It has been my experience that it is fairly rare for a room/category to be "discounted" (no such thing) ever.....even after final payment.  Yes, it isn't unheard of but it's still rare.  RCI doesn't want the nightmare of a thousand or more people calling up for a  price reduction (rare though they are) all the way up until sail date.  RCI wants the ship to sail full or as close to full as they can arrange so they could reduce the price of a room/category to try and fill the remaining (generally undesirable locations) rooms.  I look at it this way.....you can either book the room you want and know that you may pay a little more for the security of getting what you want or you can wait until after final payment date and settle for what's left and HOPE that there is a price reduction (and there generally is not).  It depends on what is the most important to you.
 
As far as the upgrade to an oceanview balcony from a Boardwalk balcony, again, it's what's important to you.  Most people would prefer the ocean view to the inside view and would be willing to give up 1 meal and a few beverages for a week's view of the ocean.  You can always keep what you have !!!

I just wish the hash had more crisp to it... But I eat bad the whole cruise but I do work out almost every day so I guess I'm good...

Hi Matt, probably the easiest way to do this is a little copying and pasting from Wikipedia... 
Bacon is prepared from several different cuts of meat. It is usually made from side and back cuts of pork, except in the United States, where it is almost always prepared from pork belly (typically referred to as "streaky", "fatty", or "American style" outside of the US and Canada). Side bacon, or streaky bacon, comes from pork belly. It is very fatty with long layers of fat running parallel to the rind. This is the most common form of bacon in the United States.
 
So, pretty much, what Americans just call bacon, we refer to as streaky bacon (because there are lots of other types of bacon over here). I like the streaky (ie. fatty) stuff because it has the best flavour, even though it's not really very healthy for you. :)

As long as I can get me some streaky bacon, I don't really care what else is available for breakfast! :P

While on the Independence last week, I went to Next Cruise, (really wasn't thinking of booking anything since I have 8 cruises booked), and I asked if Canada/New England had been released. The answer was no but rumor had it that Wednesday was the day, this was Sunday when I asked. The representative took my name and cabin number and said if they opened he would call me but beware it might be at 9 am. Wednesday at 9 am, true to his word, I received a call and hurried down to see what they had to offer. I booked a ten day Canada/New England leaving from NJ to Quebec. Great price with additional OBC. Today my TA called to make sure the reservation was transferred to her and was told because of the 1-2-free promotion the cruise had dropped about $60, so my TA rebooked. While on the line with Royal my TA asked for Casino Royale reservations and they dropped the total cruise/taxes/fees price by $262.
 
Gosh I love a great TA and Royal.
 
Candie

Yes but that takes all the fun and confusion out of it :)
Sounds like MKSglitz went on quite the journey before finding the right cruise, sometimes the journey is the exciting part ;)

Can you book up a level? We just did. We had an interior room for 4, booked after final payment date. Prices went down, so for a small fee, we now have 2 ocean view rooms with 2-people each. The agent on the phone had to get 2 other people to help her make it happen, but since we ultimately were actually giving them a little more money, they found a way to do it without charging any penalties. It may not get you your money BACK - but maybe you can get 'more for your money.'

I wouldn't pay off a July 2018 cruise. My TA recommends leaving a $200 balance on the books until about a week before final payment. It is much easier if the price drops to get the new price then if you have paid in full.
 
Royal's website offers giftcards you can buy in increments of $25, $50 and $100. I bought two for myself and when I got onboard I had Guest Services add them to my onboard account. Remember you can buy your drink packages, pay gratuities, pay for specialty restaurants, etc., online before you cruise, so you don't need so much money in your onboard account.
 
Candie

I wouldn't say a lot.  At the most $40 in small denominations for tipping. 

Yes, you will be able to access everything relating to your cruise except for the payment tab.  Since all payments must be submitted through the Agency, you will not be able to make payments directly nor see your balances (amounts paid and/or due)....but your TA will send you a payment confirmation with all of the payment information shown whenever you make a payment.
 
Cruise docs can vary.   Some TAs offer the full printed cruise docs and old time luggage tags as part of their service but many do not.  If the TA does not send you the printed cruise docs package then you will be able to access your cruise docs electronically in the same way you do when you book your cruise directly with RCI.

I wasn't aware there is/was an age restriction.
 
I can tell you in Labadee we have been renting cabanas since our kids were less than a year old and never had a problem.

I didn't know they did this in WJ until it's come up on here over the past few months. Will definitely check it out next time. We skipped the MDR last time one night because nothing on the menu spoke to us.

Passion isn't too bad but Pulse ?  That is horrible

RCL has numorous food selections and styles, but what's missing?
Anything you would like to see added to menus?
I think a bbq concept would be great. Slow smoked brisket, anyone?

Here's a look at Rita's Crab Shack: http://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2015/07/23/photo-tour-of-ritas-crab-shack-royal-caribbeans-radiance-of-the-seas

I've often wondered who did the programming, testing and validation of that system.  Perhaps it is an evil plot to discourage elevator use in an attempt to make us all exercise more by using the stairs. ;)

While we're pontificating on the virtues of elevators, I will say RC's elevator "logic" baffles my mind.  The classic example is there is an elevator one floor away, but the "system" decides to send an elevator 10 floors away to pick you up.  

During peak times one has to wait a little bit longer for an elevator, so what? I am on vacation and have all the time in the world and who cares if I am coming 1 minute too late? I will never understand why people are on stress mode when being on a cruise ship. So, when you have to wait make the best of it, gives you time for some social studies and people watching :-)

I always shake my head at the idea of a selfie stick. As posted earlier, it means you're using the lower-quality front camera on your smartphone to start with. Odds are you won't be holding it very steady if its extended all the way out.
 
"Back in the day", if you wanted to be in the picture, you'd politely ask a passerby if they'd mind taking a photo for you, hand them your point-and-shoot, and presto! Now, because it's a smartphone, I guess people are less willing to do that for fear the stranger will run off with their expensive device or something. Or they're just becoming more and more antisocial.
 
I thoroughly plan to do that old-school way of it when I'm on the ship, for sure. And when we're on an excursion I'll most likely ask our tour guides to do it, too.