Gears

You won’t have to look at it anymore...

You won’t have to look at it anymore...

You won’t have to look at it anymore...

Any idea what this is? 

Not to worry, put it as one of the things at the top of the list of things to do when you get on the ship. Go to one of the specialty restaurants, perhaps the one you want to go to on the first night, and they will get all your reservations sorted out for you for the entire cruise.
It would be nice if Cruise Planner worked like we think...but it doesn't. 

Transatlantic booked!  Looking forward to 12 nights with the prettiest sister.  Boardwalk balcony.  
In the words of @Traveler, "To blog or not to blog".  I've got 250 days to ponder. 
Now I've got to decide when to book Hooked.  
And dare I say it?  I'm not sure I should in case he pulls a fast one.  It might be possible.  Maybe.  Or I might jinx it.  I might just beat @Matt onto a ship.  I'm so tried of following in his wake...
 

Here I am enjoying the best pizza in the world! 

There is no one answer for everyone. You need to look at costs and most importantly, coverage.

I wonder if they'll let me use this photo?

Interesting how something so simple as pizza can generate such keen interest from cruisers. 4 pages worth of comments in just over a month. You'd think someone said you weren't allowed to wear shorts while eating it or something... 

Not so new. I did this Smart Check In last year for our Serenade cruise. I said we would be arriving between 11:00 and 11:30 a.m. Got hung up in traffic and got a nasty call on my cell phone from them at 12:15 saying "where the hell are you"? 

@Gears this showed up for my check in for Anthem next month too. I'm still  planning to show up at 10am.

I guess they only let Smart people use Smart check in...  I get the dumb check in.  You are how you check in.

Hmmmm.  I am by the pool finishing my first fruity drink by that time.  A tradition.  

We've sent physical letters before praising the work of crew members by name. We always get a personal response back from a high ranking customer service officer.

Vodka and Black Raspberry Liquer...yum.

1 & 3 are awesome!!  The French martini is also good.  A bartender made that for me one time because he said I looked like a French Martini kind of girl.  No clue what that means but it was really good!

We've sent physical letters before praising the work of crew members by name. We always get a personal response back from a high ranking customer service officer.

Say a little thank you to the "Big Guy" of allowing me to be on vacation. And by Big Guy...I'm not talking about my husband...lol 
We've had a rough year....cancer diagnoses for me, Major surgery, 12 chemo treatments, (finally finished), Hurricane Harvey flooding our home 2 weeks into my chemo.  I wasn't allowed any alcohol during my treatments......yea, I'm ready for a cruise...and a big ole Bloody Mary!  Come on May!!

Well first thing I do is hit the bar for a good drink! Then I like to explore the ship. it's a great time to get familiar with the ship, see places you may want to come back and check back later as well its a great time to get photo's around the ship while she is really clean and not full of people!
 
For first timers especially I think that would be enjoyable and to get familiar with the layout etc. I don't care for windjammers on boarding day...its usually mayhem in there....There will be other places not as busy to grab a bite.
 
Of course if the weather is nice...its pool deck hang out to people watch, enjoy some drinks and hopefully a fun sailaway party......these are the things I look forward to after 11 cruises so for a first timer I think it would be all very enjoyable.
 
Adventure is still a big ship with lots going on...

1. You will love the Oasis. It crushes carnival! 
2. YC = yacht club
3.  Have you watched Jimzim's videos on YouTube?  The guy has a FT job and does it on the side. He recently mentioned that his YouTube channels more than pays for their cruises. And he has stayed in his fair share of suites. So...young blogger is not necessary for success ?

I just recently returned from a sailing on the MSC Meraviglia. And while it is obvious that they borrowed many features from Royal Caribbean, I don't think their design were as effective as Royal's design. While their interior promenade is impressive, especially with the LCD screen, it seemed a bit cramped as it was narrower than Royal's. And their 270 venue, while a great show lounge didn't offer the variety of Royal's ships. While I enjoyed the cruise and think that the competition is good for the industry in general, I still believe that Royal is offering a superior product. However, there were some areas where MSC exceeded what Royal had to offer.

At midnight after exercising a drink package it's pretty good!
Pizza, or any food is very subjective.  Some people like a thick crust, some people like a thin crust.  No pizza on any ship is going to satisfy pizza connoisseurs everywhere.
It's better than Costco pizza, but that too is an opinion.  Someone else may love Costco pizza.

@twangsteris correct. The 'vouchers' are on your Seapass card for the time (4:30 - 8:00 for example) when the Diamond Lounge is open. I have found that getting the vouchers honored in the MDR and other restaurants seems to be server/bartender dependent. Be nice, smile and call them by their name...goes a long way.

I WISH I was on that list....