JLMoran

Take a look at Random Wind. It's a nearly full-day (10 to 3) snorkeling trip around the island. @bcarney had recommended it to me when I was looking for a snorkeling trip off the beaten cruise booking trail. Small group (no more than 20 people), on-board "facilities" for those who need them, a real meal cooked on board, and the second stop you get to do a trapeze swing off the ship into the water. https://www.randomwind.com

Freedom class ships seem to have their "traditional dining" times set only for too early and a bit too late. My Freedom of the Seas booking only has 5:30 and 8:30 for traditional dining, and then MTD starting at 6:30. We decided to go with the later dining hour just so we're not racing back to the ship to shower and change for dinner on port days.

I wanted to try them out as well, but found out they're not especially great for families with kids or teens. Now I'm waiting for @DocLC to take his trip on the brand new MSC Seaside at the end of the year and read his review. Will see after that if maybe I book something for just the missus and me, or get the whole family to try her out, or skip it altogether.

I have ask, where do those more whimsical "ranks" that show up under our names come from? Like KLA's is "The New Michael Poole" and Matt is "Windjammer Connoisseur". Is that just based on number of posts you've written? 'Cause if it is, I should be around KLA's number in, oh, a week or two.

Remind me never to go the movies when I'm in your neighborhood.

What's really amusing is when you see someone's name and instead of "Newbie", "Advanced", etc. it says "The one who wants to be the next Michael Poole."

@SFLcruiser, Matt's talking about the TV remotes -- apparently they don't have an "Input" selection button to change around from the regular cable input I'm sure the ship uses to one of the HDMI inputs that the Apple TV would use. So even if you did bring an Apple TV, and did somehow manage to connect it to the ship wifi, you'd have no easy way to switch the TV over to actually watch the Apple TV. I say "no easy way" because usually the TV has buttons on it to bring up the navigation menus and dig through them, so you could probably still get your Apple TV up and viewable. Using AirPlay from phone to TV requires wifi, and both the phone and Apple TV must be on the same wifi network to "see" each other. Bluetooth isn't fast enough / doesn't have the bandwidth to stream video.

I think that example from @coneyraven mentioned above is the main reason why RCI is doing this. People booking 4 or 5 cruises and then canceling all but one (I'm looking at you, Michael Poole!) or like the example booking a cabin on a cruise that you have no intention of taking at all, just so you can move it to a future cruise and reap the OBC benefit at the Next Cruise desk. If you do a non-refundable deposit, you're basically telling RCI you don't plan on pulling those "shenanigans" and Royal doesn't now have to deal with (as big of) a flood of canceled room bookings that they need to sell last-minute. Before this thread gets too much more agita, though -- isn't the non-refundable deposit an optional way to book it? You can still make refundable deposit bookings, from what I read in Matt's article. You're just not getting that extra bit of OBC up front and you don't lose the flexibility that's been there up until now.

Yes, any alcoholic beverage -- straight shot, mixer, fruity cocktail with an umbrella, beer, wine, breakfast Bloody Mary, etc. -- is covered up to $12 value. If the drink costs more than $12, you just have the difference put on your Sea Pass card or can pay it right there with cash. Even, per a recent thread, the beverage served inside a hollowed-out pineapple at the poolside bar (which is over $12 and you just pay the difference). The only exceptions I'm aware of that aren't covered at all are the Labadoozie and Coco Loco served in the souvenir cups at the bars on Labadee and Coco Cay. If you get one of those drinks without the souvenir cup, then it's covered by the package.

Keep in mind also that Royal's sister lines Celebrity and Azamara cross-honor your loyalty level when you book with them. So if you ever decide to cruise on one of those lines, you instantly get the perks of the matching loyalty level and don't have to worry about starting over / building up on the "new" line. I don't know that it's all that useful a thing at Royal's lower levels (Gold / Emerald / Platinum), but I recall reading somewhere (maybe here) that if you've hit Diamond level that translates into some nice benefits on the sister lines.

I've seen a ton of YouTube videos from people riding the coaster and giving the "POV" experience. So they definitely allow them, although you absolutely need to keep it smaller (smartphone size, maybe palmcorder) so that you can hold that in one hand while using the other to operate the handbrake on the coaster car. it can go pretty fast (I think I read it hits up to 45 mph), and there's an area at the end with a big sign telling you to slow way down, so you don't want to be fumbling for the brake while trying to avoid dropping your camera. I'd also advise having a hand strap or other way to secure your camera so you don't risk dropping it if the car lurches around a bend and you lose your grip. Or a really secure head mount with a chin strap if you're using a GoPro or similar head-mounted camera.

No specific liquors, you just have every drink covered up to $12 in value, and you pay any difference. So if you don't like the "low brow" tequila they normally use in their margaritas and want a premium reposado instead, you're free to ask for it and just pay whatever "overage" they charge for the change of liquor. "Premium coffee" more or less means any espresso beverage or "name brand" coffee like Illy on non-Oasis ships, even if the coffee is a Starbucks-branded blend. On Oasis class ships, IIRC, the actual Starbucks stores aren't covered at all, but you can go to any other coffee place on the ship that serves a cappuccino or Illy-type coffee and be covered.

So Matt just posted about The Non-refundable Deposit Program. If I read it right, it sounds like as long as you don't change the ship or the sail date, then you can still cancel and re-book based on the current promotion, assuming that still net saves you money? If that's the case, sound like a decent deal. Instant $100 OBC per cabin and you still have the ability to rebook when it saves you money. As long as you can commit to the sail date and ship, you're good. Obviously remains to be seen if the initial price you pay is the same as a regular refundable booking, or if they charge more to offset that $100 OBC / make the displayed price of future promos different so it's harder to rebook. But it seems on the surface to be a good option. One question I have is if rebooking with an OBC promo "stacks" with that $100 you got up front, or if it's adjusted to reflect the initial credit. What do you all think? Would you take advantage for your next cruise? I know that right now this would be nice for my Anthem cruise to Bermuda next October, as we'd have at least double the OBC we have now, or even triple if it "stacks".

How about for the crew of a sailing / snorkeling trip? I was thinking $30 - $40 for our all-day trip we'll be taking in St. Maarten, as we're a family of four and the trip is 6 hours total. After reading the recommendations above for a tour guide, I'm wondering if I'm a little low and should be figuring more like $50 - $60.

Glad to be of help. I booked an all-day third-party snorkeling excursion for St. Maarten back at the beginning of April, when I was just under a year away from my trip! Will be booking our dolphin swim in St. Kitts in a few days since that's another thing that I recall is a smaller group and very popular. But booking through the cruise planner after reading a few reviews from people who had their externally done booking moved to another time slot that didn't line up with when their ship was in port. Better safe than sorry with that one!

@RedRambler, when you say you need to be mobile, do you also mean quick? I can navigate steep / narrow tread stairs as long as they're OK with me taking my time. But if the tour moves at a rapid pace then I'll be smart and pass. And put the money towards a seat at the chef's table.

Doc, I looked at sample compasses, but while they showed which night was formal night (I see night 7 is the second one on our Freedom itinerary), I didn't see a menu or anything for that day that would have answered the question. Did I miss something?

Interesting. Have you done that in overseas hotels? I'm just wondering if that would be doable on a cruise ship, where the internet service is satellite-based and the ISP may not be based in the US. While an IP address is an IP address, I know that Apple / the iTunes store has restrictions about accessing US store content from a non-US IP address. If the ISP is a foreign company you'll be issued an IP from their region while locked on their network, could end up being blocked by Apple. Might or might not also impact using Netflix, Hulu, or other apps / channels on the device (depends on each company's policy). Definitely something to keep in mind.

Which Northeast cruise did you do? I'm keeping an eye on a fall foliage open jaw from Cape Liberty to Quebec on Adventure (or whichever smaller ship is homed in CL at the time) as a possibility for 2019 or 2020. Lot of good stops on that itinerary and I'll have a chance to see Maine again (lived there while in college). Looking at a similar itinerary on Celebrity that's on an even smaller ship, so it has more stops and more days, but that would have to a trip without the kids unless they're cool with going on a ship that doesn't have all the activity / recreational bells and whistles of a Royal ship. They'd be 19 and 16 in 2019, so might not be a problem for them.

What size cabin did you stay in? I'm booked in a superior balcony on Anthem (room 9244) going to Bermuda Oct 13 next year, and I'm curious to know what we can expect for space. Wife and I are really looking forward to it; while it's short, it will be our first trip without the kids in almost 15 years. I'm also not sure about this massive ship, but I wanted to try it out since I live so close to the port and would like to have a "home port" option to sail out of without needing a flight, letting us book balconies without breaking the bank. I know Adventure is also being re-homed there, but she's mainly doing the northeastern itineraries and Anthem is the only option for Bahamas, Caribbean and Bermuda.

Thanks, Kayla! That definitely helps, and now the family can see what's a "typical" menu on the ship for the sailing duration (at least until they change it ).

Yes, those would require an internet package, and even then it wouldn't be able to connect because of the web page you have log in through before you can get anywhere. Since Firestick and AppleTV both lack a web browser, there's no way to get through the "capture" / gateway page and actually connect to the network. I've run into this problem before when on land vacations, and the only workaround at the time was to use my phone as the wi-fi hotspot, pay for the XXL data package on my cell plan, and then have the AppleTV connected through the phone for streaming from Netflix, iTunes movies, YouTube, etc. You can't do that when the phone is connected over wi-fi, since it can only send or receive, not both. Considering the costs of cellular roaming on a ship, I don't particularly recommend this approach for a cruise.

I know the second formal night is typically lobster night, but do they also offer non-seafood options on the menu that night? Or is it only lobster for the entree? Asking as my one daughter isn't a fan of lobster and my wife doesn't eat seafood of any sort. But I'm totally looking forward to that night and my younger daughter is, as well. I'd prefer not to split us up for dinner or have to forego that night altogether because I'm outvoted. That said, if I can still get lobster that night at Chops or one of the other specialty restaurants, then I'd be OK with "relocating" my dinner.

It may not be "obstructed" in the sense of totally losing ocean view from that direction, but with the "hump" sticking out on that side you may find it's not the same as when you look the other way. You'll most likely just have the balconies on that side a little bit in your view instead of having a "full 180 degree" kind of view like you'd get from the center of the "hump"; maybe it'll be more like a 170 degree view.