Lovetocruise2002

You could be correct. I'm not sure. I always book non-refundable so someone else will have to confirm.

Same thing happened with us...

Disrupting the peace... ?

Well let's hope the same thing does not happen to Jamie as he is another fantastic CD.

Reminds me of another superb CD last summer who went on Rhapsody after being on Oasis and Allure and then left the company after that. ?

Well...I don't know about fine quality...but definitely funny! I am still trying to "un-see" the one from yesterday (I think) with @Big Dawg Ron in the middle and two people very close to his ears ?

I wish! lol But thank you @Skid

As a general rule of thumb, I firmly believe that booking as early as possible nets you the best savings. I had March 2021 booked since December 2018. Booking early allows you to secure a cabin of your choice while there is still plenty of inventory and allows you to track prices along the way. If the price goes down, you can re-price. If the price does not (in the case of my Symphony sailing this July which I booked back in November 2017), then at least you know you have secured the lowest price possible. You could book a Refundable rate and then switch it to a Non-refundable rate when you are more sure of your plans. While I have never done that, many here have. The only value to booking on board is extra OBC, and even that is not very significant. It depends on the length of cruise and cabin type. It's "up to $600 OBC" but to actually get $600 is not very likely unless you are in a suite for a long sailing. Even a suite on a typical 7 night sailing only nets you $300 on OBC. In the case of my Symphony sailing, I have watched that cruise increase by over $1000 since I've booked. I would rather take the early price without OBC rather than wait until I get to Next Cruise on board to get $300 in OBC.

Loved him on Mariner too!

I don't have very extensive experience with flying as my route is always DTW to Florida usually but, I would say not to Option 1 because a layover in Chicago in December is always risky due to weather. What if there was some sort of delay in Chicago due to a snow storm? Not sure about Houston as I know nothing about that airport. But again, layovers make me nervous, especially in the winter. I would still likely do the direct route...for my own peace of mind...

Nonsense. I had our December 2020 SC sailing booked since December 2018. At that time, I booked SC for March 2021 as well. Booking early is always the best bet. Lol! Hubby also has no clue about where we are going half the time! I'm pretty sure he has no idea what sailings we are doing after this summer.

Yes. The concierge can make the reservation for 4 people. Then you just pay the extra $10/child when you eat the the restaurant. The assigned times are not enforced. You can board any time after boarding is open. Usually around 11:00am.

Bingo! That is why it pains me to read this blog! It's all Caps! ?

Oh, I'm with you on that! #NotALeafsFan I do love that pic with you and family and the Cup.

Umm...living in the past aren't we? ?

Agreed. Port Canaveral is my least favourite port to sail away from to date. The views are boring and the port is far from the airport. But for HM, I would do it!

Did you remember to warm them up? ?

Actually it comes up on the Night 3 menu as a main entree. We usually get it as an app.

Yes, that is along time. I only had about two months to keep it quiet. Good luck.

Funny story to go with that actually. Hubby does pay the vacation bill. He noticed the charge and asked, "Did you book another cruise or something?". My answer, "Something like that." And that was the end to the conversation. ? He can't keep up with me between the bookings, cruise planner purchases, and then the cancellations and re-pricing on purchases and reservations! There's always some kind of charge from Royal Caribbean!

I did this exact thing for our Indy NYE cruise. We had one cabin booked and I upgraded without telling Hubby or the kids. It was fun watching them as we went to the Deck that they were not expecting and then watching them open the door. The agent at check in won't say the cabin type. You can keep your surprise a secret by: - You complete the online check in. It will show up in your cruise docs. - Keep your wife and kids away from the luggage tags. It will show your cabin number and deck. If you wife is observant, she might notice the change in cabin number. Lucky for me, Hubby and the kids were not lol. - Does your ship have the Royal app? Because the cabin type will also show on that. And does your wife have access to the reservation or does she check on it etc.? Because if yes, she might come across that info. If not, then all should be good.

Have fun @CGTLH and @AshleyDillo. I am already jealous seeing all the posts coming through FB.

YUM! ?

To add to what has already been said, I have found over the last year that a "good price" also depends on the ship. I've noticed that Oasis and Quantum class ships tend to charge more for the drink packages. So a "good price" on Harmony might be $49 vs. Enchantment, a "good price" might be lower. Not sure if there is truth to this, just something I have noticed based on my own sailings and what others have posted over the last year.

Yes, you can use the cruise compass as a general guide. They will likely move one formal night to NYE. That is what happened last year for us. There is also a special menu that night. There will be special NYE activities planned by the cruise director staff. For a rough idea, check out my Independence blog from December 2018 (link in signature below). I have a copies of the activities from our sailing. Some were family activities, some not. Our favourite was the balloon drop at midnight. It was set up on the promenade, very “Times Square” feel to it. Allure also did this last year as the cruise director at the time posted their NYE celebrations on FB. I would say for sure don’t miss that event.