JLMoran

All of the marketing materials I've read do indicate that every single cabin, Interior to Suites, on every ship that's being updated will get new decor, linens, etc. Suites will be much more significantly updated, but I definitely read that all cabins are getting at least a decor update to fit the new theme, plus whatever design changes are being made by Christian Rubio, who is listed as the designer in charge of the ship-wide design updates to non-suite staterooms (vs. Kelly Hoppen, MBE, who is in charge of the suites redesign). From Celebrity's page covering the stateroom changes for the Revolution program (emphasis added): I'm hoping this also means that the interior cabins will get "transporter"-style capsule showers with sliding doors to replace the current curtained shower; I don't need to experience what it's like to work for a grabby Hollywood producer. ?

Cruise Radio covered this in today’s (Jan13) podcast. Had a guest who was on board recount the whole thing. Guy was in the medical profession and had nothing but positives to say about how they were treated and how the crew handled everything. Said they were clearly well-prepared and well-drilled on the procedures to follow. Very level-headed discussion and no baiting or trying to steer the conversation in a way that would sensationalize it all. Definitely give it a listen if you’d like to hear a first-hand perspective.

Hi there @LTS, welcome to the boards! WOW bands work like a regular SeaPass card for rooms. Only one room will be unlocked by the band. If you need to be able to get into another family member’s room, you can go to Guest Services and request an extra SeaPass card for that room.

Yup! Been there, done that. ? Dont sweat it. We’ll all be here when you find the time. Just focus on enjoying the trip and having a great time with everyone.

Well, those who didn’t get sick still lost two of their port days, and that could be a big deal for folks who don’t fall under the “My ship is my destination” umbrella. So to get their full cruise fare reimbursed seems very fair and even generous to me, when you consider that their time off just got messed up in a potentially (for them) severe way. Can they get back the time off that was lost? Nope. But they’ve now been given a chance to make another vacation plan, whether on Royal or not, since they’ll have the funds to pay for it. Whether they have the time available is another matter, but this certainly feels like the company did the right thing all around.

?

I would assume this also means there's no such thing as working as an expat in Bermuda and then being allowed to retire there. Hit retirement age, and get the boot back to your country of origin? Do not pass Go, do not collect retirement apartment outside St. George's?

Michelle, take a gander at @twangster's live blog of his Empress cruise to Cuba. He did a bus tour through Royal, I'd guess Azamara will have something similar. Do note that his pictures aren't showing right now, but you'll get the gist of the tour and where it went.

"The World" is a dessert served in Wonderland and (based on my own experience and others' accounts) at Chef's Table. When it first comes out, all you see is a large ball of chocolate (we're talking 5 or 6-inch diameter) with some strawberry slices and crisped rice around it on the plate. Then they pour hot caramel sauce over it, and it quickly melts to reveal that it's hollow with a small scoop of ice cream inside, which sits on top of a small shortcake-type base. It's utterly decadent and something you have to try when you get the chance. Here's the video from when I had it at Chef's Table: As far as the riddles and stick puzzles go: Day 4 "The one who makes it, sells it. The one who buys it, never uses it. The one who uses it, never sees it" -- answer is a coffin For the stick puzzle, you move three sticks to make this final shape (I'm hoping this renders reasonably cleanly): ------- ------- | | | | | | | | |-----|-----|-----| | | | | |-----| Day 5 "Poor people have it, rich people need it. If you eat it, you'll die." -- Answer is, "Nothing" Stick puzzle -- Take one of the short sticks off the equals sign and put it on the "+" to form the equation "141 - 11" (where the 4 is more a block-style number) Final challenge -- Put the 5 in the center of the 3x3 matrix; once you've done that, there are multiple solutions that satisfy the conditions.

Labadee as a whole isn't as big as you might think. As long as you don't mind walking for a few minutes, you could grab your towels and do a short walk over to Columbus Cove or Nellie's Beach, go swimming for a bit, then dry off and return to the lounger when you wanted to relax on land for a bit. Heck, you could probably leave the towels behind as long as you don't mind walking barefoot, and you'll be dry by the time you're back at the lounger.

@tiny260, @spiralqueen, thanks for the feedback on that. I was debating getting whatever Celebrity calls their version of the Refreshment package. Will have to see what they charge. I know their deluxe package equivalent costs more than Royal's, but also covers up to $15 per drink (basically a wash, in the end). I have to get feedback from some of the folks here who've sailed Celebrity before to see if the MDR coffee is any better than the stuff Royal's MDR serves; if it is, I'll get by on that and further reduce my out of pocket expenses. I'm also going to be having a decent amount of OBC thank to the promo on the Royal Caribbean / Celebrity / Azamara visa card that was noted in another post here, combined with the costs I'll charge to it for paying off that T/A trip, all excursions, and return flight. So there's even less incentive to get a package of some sort unless it's at a really good rate (and then I'd redeem the OBC first to pay for it using that).

Someone (or several someones) didn't pay attention to the Washy-Washy song. ?

I'm much the same as @Pima1988 -- Also a coffee snob, so I'm always having at least one specialty coffee a day. Plus I like to get fresh-sqeezed OJ with breakfast when I'm on the ship; so far I'm around $7. At home I always have at least one beer or glass of wine with dinner when I'm at home, and from experience I now know that on a cruise that always translates into one or two glasses of wine; if I only have one glass with dinner, I'll have another glass to sip after. So that's $31 total. I also enjoy some kind of drink before dinner, usually at sail-away. Now I'm at $43 for the day. So as long as I can get a package for $42 or $43 a day, I'll pull the trigger and buy it. That said, I'm already 99% sure that for the transatlantic sailing I'm doing in 2020 I will not get an alcohol package. I'll be bringing the 4 bottles of wine I'm allowed for two cabins, which will cover my dinner wine for about 8 nights. With 8 port days, I'll be off the ship so much that I'll probably be skipping sail-away beverages most days. So that leaves just 6 nights buying wine with dinner, plus daily breakfast juice and specialty coffee, which isn't worth a package at that point.

Thanks for taking the time to post this! Enjoyed following along. ?

Shorthand for On-board Credit.

Yeah, I’m the same way sometimes…

I was looking for an empty bottle of Kraken, a sure-fire @twangster-visit sign!

"Grandma, why are we playing 'Let's visit Cozumel' again? We want to do a pretend visit to Sea World!!" ??

Hi @mando6599, welcome to the Royal Caribbean Blog forums! I can't answer all of those as I haven't yet sailed the western Caribbean or Enchantment, but I'll help with what I can. Most do not, as it's a requirement of Royal (and basically every cruise line). However, some agents will choose to share a portion of their commission with you in the form of reduced price, on-board credit (OBC), or other "perks". Many here work with agents from MEI Travel, which is a sponsor of the site. While they do not generally give any discounts or other perks, many here (myself included) can vouch for the service they offer in terms of watching the sales and repricing your cruise as the promotions change over time, answering questions you may have, etc. And they have occasionally had specials where you will get gratuities covered. Whether you can expect the same level of service from an agent who gives a lot of their commission as perks is something I can't answer, but anecdotally it seems that with the reduced commissions they make off of you comes some level of reduced service. Will reiterate what @coneyraven said -- midship and lower / central decks equals less movement. Not coincidentally, these are also considered better areas when pricing is figured out, so cabin categories get better (and prices go up) the higher and more mid-ship you're located. As far as noise levels go, the rule of thumb here is pick a room with cabins on the decks above and below. The worst areas to pick are under the pool deck, under or above any restaurant, or above the night club. You can find maps of all decks on a given ship at cruisedeckplans.com. If you don't even drink a lot of soda, I'd just buy a la carte rather than getting a package. The soda package only covers fountain soda, not soda in cans, and the cheapest you'll find the non-alcoholic package that covers specialty coffee and teas is $18 per person, per night. If you potentially need to change the date, you definitely need to book with a refundable deposit. Booking non-refundable locks you in to the specific sailing on that specific date, and changing to another date will incur a penalty of $200 per person. As @Keeves indicated, gratuity is not part of the original booking cost. You have the option to pre-pay it before sail date and lock in the rate, or pay it on board and chance the rates going up before you sail. Many here give an additional tip to their cabin steward and waiter / assistant waiter. Many also give small ($1 or $2) cash tips to bartenders on top of the 18% gratuity already added on to each beverage, as it can lead to better service if you mostly frequent one bar and get to know the staff there. Either is totally optional, and you can make the call at the end of your trip before you leave the ship. Sorry, @monorailmedic possessed me for a moment there... ?

Which begs the question -- how does one who doesn't have a day job fill the interminable hours between cruises? Model ship building? ?

Our sea pass from Freedom is in the rosewood box my wife got me as a wedding present and that we use for keepsakes and other things. On the other hand, my wife still has our Jr. Suite sea pass from Anthem in her wallet, and mine is sitting here on my computer desk at home. Can you blame us? It's such a pretty shade of blue, who wouldn't want it on display? ?

+1 on this. Either two monitors at my work desk, or two separate computers (work and home) when working remotely. ?

Hi @sseghini, welcome to the Royal Caribbean Blog forums! Yes, you are correct. Izumi sells individual sushi / sashimi and rolls a la carte, in addition to combination specials and other non-sushi items like udon and ramen. There seems to be some kind of change or maybe trial going on with some of the ships, where instead of getting a per-person credit when you buy a dining package or individual reservation through the Cruise Planner, you instead are put into this prix fixe menu instead. If you find your sailing only has the prix fixe option in the Cruise Planner and that menu doesn't appeal to you, you can always make a reservation for Izumi on board. Then you'll have no advance credit but you'll also be paying for only what you want, rather than being put into a fixed menu.

+1 on this. There's a limited inventory for each reward, and it takes a while after it's run out before the offer shows up again.

Hi @Rexa12, welcome to the Royal Caribbean blog forums! Is your sailing staying in Bermuda just one day, or are you on the sailing that stays overnight and doesn't leave until 5 PM the next day? If you have the latter, I strongly recommend that you forego any formal excursions and just spend $19 per person on a travel pass when you arrive in Bermuda and get off the ship. Once you have the travel pass, you can take one of the ferries to Hamilton or St. George's, explore those areas, and then get on the bus to go somewhere else (or take the ferry back to the dockyard). The ferries are much shorter trips than taking the bus or a van; about 20 minutes to reach Hamilton and 45 minutes to get to St. George's. (vs. bus times of 45-60 minutes for Hamilton, and nearly 90 minutes for St. George's) This is what my wife and I did for our first visit to the island this past October (link to my blog in my signature), and it worked out really nicely. The only caveat is that you need to get off the ship and get that pass as soon as you've been cleared to leave the ship, as the first ferry to St. George's leaves at 9:30 sharp and the Hamilton ferry leaves at 9:45; if you miss it, you'll have a long wait for the next one. The thing is, Bermuda is bigger than you think from looking at it on a map; while it may seem that you can visit all the major areas in a day, you really can't unless you're OK with a fairly short stop in each place. The other factor is that there is only one main road going through Bermuda, and that road is what carries all the students and commuters. Bermuda actually has a rush hour each morning and evening, and the traffic can get kind of bad (although they did design the bus stops very well; you'll never be held up from a bus pulling into a stop).