rjac

Not sure what/who MEI is. But, whoever you and your group book through, you want to have all of your reservation numbers linked to one person/couple from the group. If you are that person, then whatever you book for yourself (meal times, show time, excursions, etc) will also book those that are linked to your reservation number. And, no, you don't have to pay for the other folks in your group that are linked to you, they will. I would STRONGLY recommend not booking My Time Dining for a large group. We tried this earlier this year for a total of six of us on the Allure and it just did not work at all. We ended up waiting up to 30 minutes while they searched around for a table big enough to handle our group and that was for the 6:30 seating. Hope this helps. Enjoy your cruise!

You get to pay a couple of dollars more per person per day to the stateroom attendant!

Don't drink the water! :rolleyes: ....................just kidding

I always prebook everything we want to do before leaving home. It can be done on line with your cruise planner, assuming you have an account with RC. I have learned through past experience that if you try to book something on board the ship you will have to wait in line and more than likely what you want is booked full. This goes for shows, excursions, specialty dinners, etc. Prebook at home and enjoy the cruise!

If you book the 6:00 traditional dining, you will not have any problems catching the shows. I believe they start at 8:30 pm and you'll want to get to the theater at least 30 minutes before it starts so you can get good seats. My wife and I were on the Allure earlier this year with two other couples. We hard MTD booked for 6:30 pm. We did not get seated at 6:30 once that entire week. They had trouble every night trying to find a table for the six of use and we were lucky that we did get seated by 7:00. Depending on how many folks are in your family, you may want to go for the traditional dining, or hit the Wind Jammer. Enjoy your cruise!

Two adjoining rooms means two bathrooms. One family suite means one bathroom.

We were on the Allure of the Seas this past February and went into St. Thomas. We did the "Secret Sands Beach & Skyline Drive Excursion". I had my Go-Pro camera with underwater housing, 4' GoPro extension pole, Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX5 with underwater housing and strobe unit, two sets of fins, masks and snorkels. All the photo gear fit in my backpack, snorkeling gear and extension pole went in my gear bag. Towels and sunscreen went in the beach bag my wife carried. No problem on the open air bus to get there and back. Everyone was loaded down also!. So, why can't you take your camera and, if you don't mind my asking, which excursion?

On deck 5, you will find the Bow and Stern Pub. They offer an extensive menu of beers and ales. They also offer a variety of mixed drinks. The BLT Bloody Mary is delicious! And yes, that is bacon, lettuce and tomato. Have a great cruise!

I'm with you Matt. Not sure what dynamic dining is/was. We did a btb on the Allure earlier this year with 6:00 pm traditional dining the first week. The second week we were joined by two couples from our neighborhood in NC. We got stuck with my time dining at 6:30 pm. and it was a disaster. We got shuffled around like a bunch of bastard step children that entire week. And forget that "6:30" time, it was usually closer to 7:00 by the time a table was found for us and that was even when we showed up early! Perhaps the my time dining works for a couple and on smaller ships. No more MTD for this cruiser!

:unsure: :wacko: :lol: :D ;) Gotta love those drink packages! Nothing like 6 blooddies before lunch, beer with lunch, wine coolers and vodka tonics all afternoon and who can remember dinner and afterwards........ :blink:

I've done this a coupe of times. What I like is you have a much better selection of the available cabins, especially if you like an aft cabin. Also, preference on dining options.

Sorry Arebee, advanced open water cert. won't help. It's the age limit. I'm 68, a volunteer diver at one of the NC Aquariums, advanced open water cert., well over 500 dives logged and I get out at least 12 times during the summer open water diving in the Atlantic. They told me that waivers won't work because of the contractual and legal agreements with the dive operators. I'll be on the Serenity next March going to Bonaire. I contacted a dive operator there and they said no problem, just get your doctor to sign off on the waiver.

Probably not due to liability issues nor hang gliding expertise on the islands. Over the past couple of years, Royal Caribbean has implemented an age limit of 65 years of age for their scuba excursions. I recently challenged this with my doctor signing off on a waiver and they wouldn't honor it. So, I doubt if they would offer hang gliding. I used to live in College Station too. Is the Chicken Oil Company still in business?

The "works" breakfast in Johnnie Rockets, that's the bomb!

Do both, that way you will be very well informed. Book what you can on line, ie, excursions, shows, specialty restaurants, etc, before you leave home. The sooner the better. Nothing worse than standing in a line on board only to find out what you want is booked/sold out. Enjoy the cruise!

We were on the Allure of the Seas, an Oasis sister ship, this past Feb. "Mamma Mia" was the show, great production by the way. The theater was very chilly, vents were under the floor. Recommend you bring a light jacket/cover up so you don't get too chilled. Also, check out the location of the bathrooms one floor up and one floor down. They get crowded at intermission time! :D

Looking for some other folks who are also booked on this cruise. I'm thinking that if enough folks complain, RCI may change the itinerary so Sunday April 16th will be a cruise day. Robert

The Empress departs Miami on April 14 next year. The 15th is a cruise day and gets into Georgetown, Grand Cayman, on Sunday April 16th. That just happens to be Easter Sunday. All of the liquor will be closed as well as most of the shops in port. Right now there are only three excursions in GC offered if you have booked this trip. I know the stores will be closed because I called a couple of the shops and one liquor distributor. Not a lot to do in Georgetown except hike to a nearby beach! I doubt if taxis will be operating. Looks like someone in the RCI planning department didn't do their homework!

I spoke with one of the customer reps at RCI about this poorly planned itinerary yesterday, She put me on hold for about 5 minutes as she was discussing this situation with her supervisor. Bottom line right now is there are currently no plans to change this itinerary and they do not know if there will be any in the future. Robert :angry: :angry:

I would recommend you book any excursions you want to take on line, before you leave for the ship. This also goes for any special dinners and entertainment. I learned this the hard way on my first cruise. Ended up standing in line only to find the excursions I wanted were sold out. Drink packages you can do on board as well as spa treatments. Enjoy your trip!

The Empress departs Miami on April 14 next year. The 15th is a cruise day and gets into Georgetown, Grand Cayman, on Sunday April 16th. That just happens to be Easter Sunday. All of the liquor will be closed as well as most of the shops in port. Right now there are only two excursions in GC offered if you have booked this trip. I know the stores will be closed because I called a couple of the shops and one liquor distributor. Not a lot to do in Georgetown except hike to a nearby beach! I doubt if taxis will be operating. Looks like someone in the RC planning department didn't do their homework! I was booked on this trip, bit I have cancelled. Robert :angry: