cruiselife

If what you are saying he posted is true then there is no way it could be considered innocent speak on social media. Thank you for reporting it.

What is his Instagram handle? I will find out who to send it to.

This definitely concerns me and I hope you have already reported this to Royal Caribbean. If not please let me know who it is and I will report them today and provide screenshots of anything questionable in case he deletes it upon questioning. Either way let me know who it is and I will report him as well. The more people the report it the more seriously it will be taken. This guy needs to be removed from any cruise ships before he can hurt anyone. Too often we hear about all the signs that were present before attacks but nobody said anything.

Awesome live blog! I give it a 10/10. Thanks for doing it!

Same for me, but hoping they bring a similar offering to Galveston because honestly these revamped ships have even more to offer than other cruise line's best ships. It looks incredible. Boleros drink menu is awesome! It has been my favorite place to get drinks on our cruises on Navigator and Liberty. My wife is absolutely obsessed with the Coconut Mojito. It's really good.

Thank you all for your advice! We will go ahead and book a later flight being that we are not exactly pros when it comes to flying or debarkation. Now that that is settled, any good breakfast or lunch recommendations in Fort Lauderdale? haha

Have you noticed if the pub has been any less crowded than on other ships with Playmakers being right there? I thought it seemed odd to have both venues because they seem so similar and I would assume attract similar clientele.

What is the absolute earliest departure flight you can book out of the FLL airport if you are cruising from Port Everglades and make the flight? There is an 8:30AM flight available for a great price, but I am pretty sure that is too close for comfort. Just thought I'd ask someone with experience at this port and airport to confirm.

This is so true. I don't understand the obsession with OBC. Of course it's great to have but all that really matters is the overall cost of the cruise. We can speculate all day about if they are going to actually lower the cruise fares or not but there is no point because there are so many factors involved in pricing. I'll just continue to calculate the total cost of a cruise on the different ships and lines I want to go on and make a decision. I suspect I'll still prefer Royal Caribbean over any other line at the moment.

This place looks absolutely amazing to me. This will probably be at the top of my list when I visit Cuba because I am very interested in art and ceramics, particularly art with a story behind it like this. To me it's just so cool how people can take something so ordinary and create something so beautiful that attracts people from all over the world. Thanks for capturing this.

Does anyone happen to know how much the buy-in for the Texas Hold'em tournaments in the casino usually are?

It will certainly throttle my demand! If that is the case it would make sense, but that doesn't mean I have to like it!

I certainly understand the extra labor involved coming from a food and beverage background in college and a cost accounting background now. I just think it's a little ridiculous to have cocktails on the menu that aren't included in the drink package. The more drinks they add that aren't included the more it devalues the package. If it takes 3 times as long to make a cocktail and you have to charge $14 for it then simply don't have it on the menu or find a way to make it cheaper. This isn't a new problem, I just don't like the way they've chosen to solve it. If they can't include it at the current price then I would honestly rather them raise the price of the package to include everything. I'm not trying to complain about nickle and diming, I just find it annoying to constantly have to ask, "Does this cost extra?" after purchasing the drink package specifically to not worry about that.

First of all those specialty cocktails look incredible! I guess what I don't understand about the drink package is if I can order any drink with premium liquor in it and it's covered then what makes these an extra charge? It seems like they're charging $2 extra for a dash of bitters and some simple syrup. I can understand when they come in a souvenir glass or something that comes with it, but outside of that I think all cocktails should be included in the package. It's not a huge deal, I probably just wouldn't order those drinks often but it is frustrating after paying such big money for the drink package specifically to not worry about a bar tab. I completely understand finding ways to generate more revenue, but I wish they would find ways to generate it from people who aren't already paying for the drink package. I hope they change that policy because those look really good and I'm a sucker and will end up paying it anyways! haha

Awesome review of your cruise! I really love the additions to Mariner and can't wait to get on it one day. The Bamboo Room looks awesome, but I hate to hear that there are drinks that aren't included in the drink package. That kind of defeats the purpose of the package. I understand a 30 year old scotch or something like that not being included, but cocktails?

The Norwegian Bliss is the only ship from another cruise line that even comes close to comparing with the Oasis class in my opinion.

This is a tough call. I have also been very tempted by Norweigan, particularly the Bliss. It seems to be the ship that comes closest to matching Royal Caribbean's Oasis and Quantum classes. After trying out Carnival for the first time on my last cruise I definitely prefer Royal Caribbean over them, but it was still a blast and I don't regret giving them a try. They did a handful of things better than Royal, and now I know what to expect from Carnival in the future. I wouldn't worry too much about what line it is and focus more on the ship features and ports. Since I haven't been on many cruises in general when I am choosing one I try to go on a ship that I have never been on. I don't think you can go wrong in this case because either way you will be experiencing a new ship with new experiences you haven't had before. I think you are choosing between some of the best ships in the industry so you can't go wrong! If it were my decision I would pick the cheaper option and roll the savings into an extra experience like a special shore excursion or something, but that's just me.

All of these pictures are amazing. This has been my reaction to every single post...

There is no such thing as too many @twangster live blog photos...

This is a really tough call and like others say you really can't go wrong. I think it comes down to how bad you want to go Wonderland and the Bionic bar. One other factor is the Great Abyss slide. If you have a 17 year old that can be quite a draw. Another thing to factor in is that Oasis is getting a refurbishment as @Lovetocruise2002 mentioned and it may have even have some features none of the other ships have. With the refurbishments in mind I would say to pick between Oasis and Harmony!

There really is nothing like the feeling of excitement and anticipation early in the morning on a cruise ship, especially in a port with a great view. I'm really enjoying the blog so far @DunkelBierJay. Keep them coming!

I just wanted to give a shout out to @Matt for the recent YouTube videos he has been releasing. While I have always loved reading the blog online, the video/audio format is what I really prefer. If you haven't already checked out the videos and subscribed to the RC Blog YouTube channel I highly recommend it. The videos are like listening to a podcast with images and video depicting what is being discussed. I've really enjoyed them so far and hope to see more in the future and maybe some footage from some cruises as well. Good job Matt, keep them coming!

I would say that if you know for sure that you want to eat at multiple specialty restaurants then the dining package is a no brainer. With some of the restaurants costing up to $50 the package will save you a ton of money. If the question is are the specialty dining packages worth the price for the meal I think it gets a little more complicated. There is no denying the food is great and significantly better than the complimentary options. The part I struggle with is the $30+ per meal even with the package isn't much less, if at all, than it would cost for a similar meal on land. The question for me is not are the specialty dining packages worth the price, but rather is the difference between the complimentary and specialty dining food worth the price. I still book the packages as of now, but with the recent increases in price I'm not sure I will book them in the future.

Sounds like a reason to book a cruise today!

I don't think this has much to do with Royal Caribbean's operations. The largest single day stock market dip in history happened in February. The January 29th date you mentioned was about a week before the dip so it's not the best point of reference. I can confirm because my 401k has taken a beating so far this year. I'm also no expert when it comes to the stock market, so this should not be construed as investment advice. haha Also, as @twangster referenced it appears that the industry as a whole is not doing well in terms of stock value. This article cites rising fuel prices, travel demand, and flat prices as concerns. https://www.cnbc.com/2018/06/05/cruise-ship-stocks-are-the-worst-performers-in-sp-500.html