JLMoran

@Matt, I noticed in your photo of the menu the section marked "Selects", with the whole lobster, Chops Filet, and Surf & Turf options. Do they have those kinds of options every day of a cruise, and does it vary or always the same 3 things? I saw they all have a charge, unlike the regular starters and entrees, but it makes sense given the premium offerings. Just thinking it could be a good way to get a meal on the same quality level as a specialty restaurant one night without having to book the whole family for one, if they weren't inclined to do that for some crazy, utterly incomprehensible reason.

Or an iron!

If I'm reading that sentence right, all that means is that the tour operator is eco-friendly and has been certified for some standard, like not damaging the environment that you'll be walking through or making sure to leave the area free of litter / waste / other materials that would be problematic.

But you'll still be "Kay The Conqueror" here for eternity. ;)

Hi, @blueeyes1961, welcome aboard! These articles should help with what to expect and things to plan ahead. https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2015/07/23/20-royal-caribbean-tips-better-cruise https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2015/09/17/5-travel-agent-tips-first-time-royal-caribbean-cruisers Probably the biggest one I see over and over is to arrive at least a day before departure, just in case something goes wrong. Long-time member @monorailmedic just got reminded of the value of that when driving to the hotel by the port for his Cuba cruise, when he realized he forgot their passports! ? http://www.cruisehabit.com/always-use-checklist-when-preparing-your-cruise-dont-be-billy Ask away with whatever else you need / want to know. It's a great community here with a ton of people who probably have a collective couple hundred years of cruising experience under their belts. Oh, and be sure to check out the podcast that Matt (the site owner / producer) put some out every week. If you click the "Podcast" link on the site's main menu and dig back through the archives, you'll find episodes about what to expect on embarkation day, more tips for a great cruise, discussions about specific ports or ships, and more.

To be clear, you do not have to get any kind of drink package to get basic beverages like water (not bottled), juice (not fresh squeezed), or "basic" coffee. These other two articles should help clarify that side of the question: https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2015/08/11/first-time-cruisers-what-drinks-are-included-your-royal-caribbean-cruise https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2016/09/29/where-get-coffee-royal-caribbean-cruise The main reason to buy a drink package is if you expect to be having a lot of specialty coffee beverages, sodas, bottled water, "mocktails", or alcoholic beverages. In that situation, it may be worthwhile to purchase a package for yourself and/or your son. The articles linked by @EmersonNZ should give some advice around that, but if you think you'd only get one or two such beverages a day at most, I'd say to skip the package and just pay the regular cost per beverage.

Freedom definitely does not have the teen spa. I had asked about that a couple of months ago and had it confirmed by Matt. Can't say for Allure.

Well, in that case... Guiness (stout, has a really good coffee flavor and lots of maltiness) Bass Ale (dark ale, slightly bitter) Request a "black and tan" -- they layer those two beers in the mug, Guiness on the bottom and Bass on the top Paulaner Salvator Double Bock should, if it's like the Paulaner beer I had many years ago at an Oktoberfest, be a really thick-looking almost black beer that has some hints of molasses flavor to it If you want something lighter than that but not fruity, Grolsch is a good lager, and either of the beers in the "Golden Wheat" section of that menu should be good (although I haven't tried either). If you don't want them tasting fruity, just tell the bartender to leave out the orange slice since that's what gives it the fruity note more than anything else.

Oh, I know it's only at the pub. Same as on Anthem. But I always figured the pub would be the only place I'd be grabbing a pint anyway. I'd recommend something, but probably a good idea if I know what kind of beers you like first. ? I'm entirely about good malty porters, stouts, red ales, black lagers, and (for when I need something lighter) unfiltered wiessbiers; no bitter IPAs or other hops-heavy beers, thanks. If that's also your pint of brew, I'd be happy to give that list another gander and make a couple suggestions.

And you weren't kidding about major blackout dates!! Only valid from just after the start of the school year to Christmas, not including the weeks around the holidays the kids usually have off.

Wish I could "love" the beer menu posting and not just "like" it! So now Harmony offers craft beers (or at least a good variety of mass market beers besides pale lagers) as well as Anthem. Would have been even happier if I saw Porter in the list of beer types, but if they have stouts and bocks I'll be happy enough. ;)

Hmmm, this does look interesting. And I think it's a new addition from when I looked at the excursion options a few weeks ago; back then there were only 3 excursions in total, and I don't recall this being one of them. Might have to consider that one myself... If I can add another excursion to this question -- has anyone done the Bermuda Triangle Nightlife Glassbottom Cruise? That looked like a fun way to spend a couple of hours when we have the overnight in Bermuda.

Welcome aboard, Katie and mom! And thanks to your Mom for taking on the challenge of being a teacher for all those years!

How would that translate with slot play? If the typical table minimum is $10 (or $5 on some ships), do you need to make the same kind of bet on the slots for the same duration? Or do they rate slots differently since the rate of play is so much faster / you make WAAAY more bets in the same amount of time? Like, is 1 hour of dollar or 2 dollar slots the same as one hour of $10 blackjack / craps / hold 'em?

Keep in mind that Adventure is moving to Cape Liberty in 2018, and Freedom will be taking her place in San Juan (at least part of the year). If you want the smaller ship for those itineraries at that point, you'll need to book on Jewel.

Anthem does have what they're at least calling a "Southern Caribbean" itinerary, although the ports of call definitely strike me as more Eastern than Southern Caribbean. 12 nights, with stops in San Juan, PR; St. Maarten; St. Johns, Antigua; Castries, St. Lucia; Bridgetown, Barbados; and St. Kitts 12 Night Southern Caribbean Cruise

I'm locked to the same departure days and only found two options when I was looking for itineraries over 7 nights. There's an 8-night Eastern Caribbean itinerary from Ft. Lauderdale on 3/31/18 on Freedom that has four ports -- St. Kitts, St. Maarten, San Juan, and Labadee. I want to say that there was also a 9-night Southern Caribbean on Navigator that left the same day or maybe 3/30 and hit the ABC islands along with Labadee (or maybe it was San Juan). Those were the longest itinerary / highest number of ports I was able to find. Royal doesn't offer itineraries with better than a 50/50 mix of sea days and port days, as far as I've been able to tell. At least not for any Caribbean options.

As WAAAYTOOO said, there will never be an iron as it's a fire hazard. If you try and bring one onboard they will confiscate it and hold it in the security area until your cruise is done and you're disembarking, at which time they'll let you pick it up. I've seen multiple comments on the boards here about how deadly serious they take any kind of fire risks (for obvious reasons).

I don't think RCI makes that available for their excursions that you book through the cruise planner. The original question about non-RCI excursions booked directly through third parties, and I was referring to information that third-party companies offering excursions should be making available. This should be stated somewhere on their web site, usually in the description of the specific excursion(s) they offer.

All reviews about those excursions that I read on TripAdvisor said that they absolutely prohibit any personal picture taking and will actively scold you for trying / make you delete from your device whatever pics you already took (dunno if they'd take film out of an older camera). They really make their money off the picture sales, and as you noted it's really expensive. Now that said, I know that @DocLC and I think Tommy from the Cruise Dudes podcast has haggled the price of the photo package down to a more reasonable level (like half). I don't know if that's something you can pull off at any of the places that do these excursions, or just certain ones. I think I've only ever heard tale of it being done in Cozumel and other places in Mexico, not so much the Caribbean islands.

Just to remind everyone -- this non-refundable deposit thing is optional, provided that you're not booking a suite. You can still do normal refundable deposits, you just lose out on the little bit of extra OBC. And you can still book a "phantom" cruise at the Next Cruise desk for a Balcony or lower category and be able to switch ships / dates later on. For myself, I may use this option since there's no penalty to cancel & rebook in order to take advantage of a promo that lowers your cost, and at least so far I don't think about booking before I know what the exact itinerary is.

Honest question here -- is that always true, or does it vary depending on how many decks are in the shoe? I saw that on at least some of the ships they have single deck blackjack, which might tempt me to try it again if the odds are better (and I could get a table without people insisting on hitting when they have 18 and the dealer is showing 6. )

Perfect sense. The outcome of any given bet isn't affected by the actions of anyone besides the person who throws the dice. Unlike blackjack / Pai Gow / hold'em / other card games where you're at the mercy of everyone knowing how to play "correctly". (and, one would hope rationally)

Yeah, craps is the only table game I play in a casino. I'd play Texas Hold'Em, but you either get rich players who can just bully bet you out, or stupid players who chase bets they should be folding on and wreck the draw for everyone else.