WhiteSoxFan

You just can't beat booking early for the most part.  My mom did get a lower fare for our upcoming Explorer sailing by switching to NRD and moving, oddly enough, to the hump.  Since it was a couple days before final payment switching to NRD wasn't a big deal.

The best deal I ever had was when the Mariner was sailing out of LA.  We had three price drops including upgrading our cabin to the deck 10 corner aft.  As I recall the cruise fare was around $2000.00 for three of us for a mid-August sailing.

I personally care less about the perks and more about the service.  I want to be able to call or send an email and know that the TA is going to get back to me with the answer or fix in a reasonable time frame.  Less hassle and time spent on my part for absolutely no additional cost to me.

If you have a TA that has served you well in the past are you willing to risk that for a few extra dollars in OBC?

8 hours ago, Matt said:

The price online is almost always a better deal that onboard.  At least, it's no worse than onboard. 

My advice is to prebook it now. You can always cancel and rebook the Voom prior to your cruise if the price drops.

Or if you're Diamond or above and like some mathematical gymnastics - https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2018/01/04/cruise-hack-maximize-voom-internet-discount-diamond-members-or-above

3 hours ago, Matt said:

The best inexpensive beach (in my opinion) is Paradise Beach. Here's my in-depth review:

https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2018/07/25/excursion-focus-paradise-beach-cozumel

 

I've gone to Paradise Beach almost every time we've been in Cozumel.  Good service & food and reasonable cost.

One thing about 8390 is that is does not have the standard sliding door IIRC.  It has a hinged door and a round window looking out onto the balcony.

One thing to note is you will do some walking  These cabins are a ways form the elevator/stairs.  it wasn't an issue for us but if you have mobility issues you want to take that into consideration.

Regardless of the tool you use it is still a crapshoot as to when to pull the trigger for your specific dates IMO.  Of course if you have flexibility at either or both ends of your trip that helps.

9 minutes ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

Actually, those aft cabins are highly prized.  I think you scored a winner !  Yes, there is superstructure that blocks some of the views but in most cases (all, if I am not mistaken), the balconies on those aft rooms are giant.  I think you may have a stumbled onto a real bonus.

Especially if it is a corner aft.  I've had the deck 7 and deck 10 corner afts and loved them.  Very large balconies.

What is your cabin number?

1 minute ago, 12thman said:

"Dining plans" meaning UDP, discounted single dinner package like Izumi restaurant (not hibachi)? Why don't they offer dining plans?

Why?  Who knows, the only thing we heard was RC does not offer dining plans on holiday sailings.  No UDP, no 3, 4 or 5 day plans were in the planner.  Like I said, we managed to purchase a 3 day plan on board but others were not successful.

FYI, we were on the Symphony on last years group cruise the week of Thanksgiving and found out that RC does not offer any dining plans on holiday sailings.  If you have one on your cruise planner snag it now before it disappears forever.  We were fortunate enough to purchase one right when we got on-board.  The person that sold it to us was not aware that they were not supposed to sell any dining plans.  Also those that booked them in advance on the cruise planner had their plans honored.

I agree go the Lyft/Uber route.  Save the time.

Just found this here: https://www.uspassporthelpguide.com/six-months-validity-rule/

Caribbean

Most countries in the Caribbean require you to have a passport with at least six months validity. The ones that do not are US Territories like US Virgin Island and Puerto Rico or The Bahamas, Barbados, Dominican Republic, and Haiti. The ones that do require are Antigua and Barbuda, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Martinique, St. Barthelemy, St. Kitts, St. Lucia, and Trinidad and Tobago.

For a fee you can expedite your passport renewals.

6 month rule is imposed by the foreign government, not RC or the US government.  You might want to google your destinations to see what their requirements are.

My daughter's now fiance has been enjoying her diamond status for his last four cruises.  He had only been on one prior to that as I recall.

I personally have never found the "90 day rule" to be true with any consistency.  I think a lot has to do with the route and the time of year.  Certainly spring break is a high demand time of year and I've generally gotten my air travel booked relatively early in these instances. 

Surprising, a bunch of preconceived opinions with little basis in fact.  Did you ask them if they'd like to join you?

Doing the math - at $51/pp/day with a BOGO50 discount, the base price is $68.00

Stephanie has done a fine job for me and my family also.  Our first MEI experience was the group cruise last November and Stephanie handled ours and my daughter's reservations.  Since then we have booked two additional cruises with her.  The last, just a week ago on the Celebrity Edge.  The day after booking the price went down and when I received my confirmation it reflected the new lower price.  I've found her to be responsive and helpful.

If you ever get the chance to take one of the group cruises do it. Annette does an amazing job organizing the activities and herding the cats.  

What is interesting is the Empress/Vision and Majesty/Radiance comparison of capacity vs. size.  They are close in capacity but the size of the latter is much larger than the former.

I stayed at the Homewood Suites Blue Lagoon before with 5 of us in a 2 bedroom suite.  Not too badly  priced compared to two rooms.  It is close to the airport  It is located very close to the airport and you could easily Lyft/Uber to the ship in the morning.

I was on Allure during the playoffs years back.  They had the games on in the on-air club and on the big screens at the Aquatheater.

Are you looking for cost savings or convenience?  I personally am not a huge fan of MIA.

Another option that we usually use it to fly into Orlando.  We did this in November.  My daughter and her fiance flew in on a redeye and we met them.  We spent the night in Orlando then drove to Miami the next day.  Checked into the hotel and returned the car then off to the ship the following day. We all did fly out of MIA.  The cost savings for the 4 of us was worth it even with the rental car.  I've done the same sailing out of Port Everglades numerous times.

I recently dropped a car in Miami that I drove from Orlando.  I found the rates when returning to downtown Miami considerably higher than returning to MIA.  I know that Alamo/National used to run a shuttle from the MIA drop off to the port but I would probably just grab a Lyft or Uber and save the hassle. There are no rental car facilities located at the port itself.

1 hour ago, bcarney said:

Anyone who's cleaned up after my kids after lunch in the Windjammer deserves every penny of that tip, and then some (it takes quite a while to get into those hazmat suits).

Kids make a much bigger mess than adults do; frankly, the mandatory gratuity for them should be more than those for adults.

I've peeked into some rooms where I felt so bad for the room attendant.  It was like a bomb went off inside.

As Matt said, you can argue the merits of the system but you have to realize that the gratuities are basically their income.  The cruise lines pay a minimal monthly salary and the vast majority of their earnings come from these gratuities. Whether one feels this is right or wrong doesn't change the fact that this is how the system works.

Is the purpose to have a car for the day(s) prior to your departure?  The FLL consolidated car center is less that 2 miles to the port entrance.  I always drop the car at FLL and grab a taxi/Uber/Lyft to the ship.  Super easy and not particularly expensive.  Some rental companies also have a free shuttle to the port if you don't mind waiting. 

Deck 7 corner aft on Voyager and Freedom class are also outstanding cabins.  The room is standard size but the balcony is about as large as the room.  Great view out the side.