bcarney

Not yet; third quarter cruisers reservations were made in the first half of the year or prior, before the Chinese economy started to contract.  Six to twelve months out from now would be a better reflection of the current state of cruising in China. 
 
Edit: which isn't to say it's bad; just one good quarter isn't necessarily reflective of current conditions.  (Especially considering: The cruise company on Friday morning announced fourth-quarter earnings of $228.8 million, or $1.03 a share, down from $490.2 million, or $2.19 a share)

Just booked Adventure of the Seas for April 23/2016. Going with friends who have never cruised RCI before and this itinerary looks amazing.......very excited for this one!

IIRC Seaview Cafe was only open from 2 or 2:30pm to 5 or 5:30pm, at least that was the case back in April.  We skipped lunch one day just to be able to east the Cuban sandwiches there.

Amen to that, brother....

They look like this, until they get the bill at the end of the cruise:

At $170/pp I'd have to have at least 10 seconds "at the wheel", with a free photo to prove it happened.   :)

They should fire the bean counter that added that extra 75 cents.  I mean, come on now... $225 vs $225.75 ?  Just silly.

Go with the rule of seconds: second night and second to the last night.

Fly down to San Juan and know when you get there you'll be in a tropical climate!  Nothing better than having left FREEZING COLD MICHIGAN and when you get off the plane you're blasted in the face with hot, humid air... you really know you're "someplace else" at that point!

I saw a bride (well, I assume she was a bride, unless she was wearing one heck of a fancy white dress) on my last cruise, but I assume weddings are held somewhere private.  I didn't see a ceremony on board but I wasn't looking for it either.
 
Rather than getting married right on the ship, I've met some people that got off the ship at an island and were married there on the beach, and then the rest of the cruise was their honeymoon.

You'll be up quite late (we didn't get back to the hotel until 2:30am), but if you can do it I recommend the bioluminescent bay trip.  It's surreal!

We were on Oasis last year, and just recently got off Jewel.  I will have to say that the MDR food on Jewel was quite good, probably the best we had in ages.  Oasis was ... meh.  On Jewel we did happen to be seated near the doors where staff brought out food from the kitchen, so that may have been a factor, as the food arrived hot to warm, unlike Oasis which was always cold.  
 
One sad note is that the Indian/Vegetarian food was missing from the menus in the MDR on Jewel.  My wife spoke with the head waiter and they did make a few dishes for her however; I tasted the Aloo Gobi and it was fabulous.
 
Now, the Windjammer, well that was another story.  I enjoyed the Windjammer on Oasis; good variety, good quality.  On Jewel, well ... epic fail.  Other than fresh pineapple and melon the fruit was all canned, the corned beef hash was canned, the gravy for biscuits and gravy was the constancy of warm milk (and I'm not exaggerating there at all, it was nasty!!!), no variety at all at breakfast times.  Asian, Indian, and other ethnic foods were missing, and their "South American inspired" lunch menu consisted of...potatoes.  Highly disappointing compared to past cruises.  I really dig eating styles of food that I can't normally get at home, types of food I've had on past cruises; they were missing on Jewel and I wound up eating burgers twice which is very unusual for me. 

Just got off Jewel last week.  Drinks were a breathtaking $12 plus tip - but buying a drinks package on a cruise that only had one day at sea didn't make any sense to me.
 
The good news is it saved me a TON of money - I barely drank anything at all.  And the Pool Bar was practically empty most of the time....

If you are flexible and don't mind possibly missing the opportunity to dine at a specific restaurant, you may want to wait and book onboard when they are trying to fill the restaurants.  We've never done the uncharge dining, but since our TA gave us an OBC we dined at Chops last week on Jewel and liked it - a lot.  The next morning a staffer was going through the Windjammer at breakfast announcing a promo for Portofino's that evening - $18/pp and I think it was $8 for the kids.  We gave it a shot - and LOVED IT (and this is coming from a guy that didn't like Italian food!).  So it might be worthwhile to wait and see what opportunities come your way while onboard.

If you are flexible and don't mind possibly missing the opportunity to dine at a specific restaurant, you may want to wait and book onboard when they are trying to fill the restaurants.  We've never done the uncharge dining, but since our TA gave us an OBC we dined at Chops last week on Jewel and liked it - a lot.  The next morning a staffer was going through the Windjammer at breakfast announcing a promo for Portofino's that evening - $18/pp and I think it was $8 for the kids.  We gave it a shot - and LOVED IT (and this is coming from a guy that didn't like Italian food!).  So it might be worthwhile to wait and see what opportunities come your way while onboard.

Next cruise?  Saturday baby!  WOOT!

Next cruise?  Saturday baby!  WOOT!

As I've expressed elsewhere I'm no fan of the notion of Dynamic Dining for my vacations, but I agree with management postponing it's rollout for the time being.  Once they work out the kinks on Quantum and Anthem, they'll have a model to work off of.  I'm one of the worst "crowd adverse" people I know (I don't go to concerts and shows due to the amount of people there, etc.) but after sailing on Oasis I noted that RC really mastered how to move large numbers of people onboard the ship, and keep people scatted around the ship doing different activities, without making one feel crowded.  With the exception of the last day (a day at sea) with a crowded pool deck, I never felt as I was with several thousand people onboard at one time.  I'm sure they'll figure do the same when implementing Dynamic Dining on the non-Quantum class ships once the logistics are worked out. 

Is this new line MSC Cruises? PM me the answer if you wish.  I'll be honest, I've been looking at their ten day in November '15... the only real thing holding me back is I don't particularly like Italian food. 

From what I've read elsewhere, which is based on on one presentation to travel agents by one RCI VP, this is going to be implemented on Anthem only at this time.
 
Two new ships, two new "incubators" where they are trying out new concepts... I'll be honest, I'm kind of impressed that they're nimble enough to be able to pivot to a new dining plan so close to deployment.

This deserves to be a regular blog post on the homepage.

This deserves to be a regular blog post on the homepage.

This, IMHO, is a happy compomise.  Rotational for those that want the same wait staff/time each night, and My Time/My Place dining for those that prefer that flexibility.  A win - win for all as far as I'm concerned.  Anthem/Quantum is now officially back on my To-Do list! :)

This deserves to be a regular blog post on the homepage.

This deserves to be a regular blog post on the homepage.