DocLC

The very last one is one of the appetizers, Chicken Kara-Age. The ball-like ones are the Assorted Mochi Ice Cream, and the middle of the last three are the Izumi Sampler. The menu for Izumi can be found here (http://media.royalcaribbean.com/content/shared_assets/pdf/menus/izumi.pdf) although the pricing may have changed slightly.

Do you use your maiden name as a middle name? I'm not understanding how the first and last name can be correct if your maiden name was omitted as printed on your passport. For what it is worth, I have a hyphenated last time that is often too long for many of the cruise line's passenger information system, so it often gets truncated and I've never had a problem even though the registered name is only similar, but not exact, to that on my passport.

I don't know if there's any kind of tourist information as we cruised from San Juan, but Frommer's has a map that might be useful:

There are a lot of choices besides sushi. They have ramen bowls, hot rocks where you grill your own beef, chicken, seafood, or vegetables, among a variety of other offerings. The Mochi ice cream is also a nice treat for dessert. The menus at the specialty restaurants do not change, but there is an alternate menu for lunch and I have seen a "special" offered in Giovani's occasionally.

Yeah, the flights are the worst part. We're in California, so to get a direct flight, we have to leave about 6 hours before our flight and then spend another 10-11 hours flying. And if we connnect, we're usually spending 24 hours by the time the traveling is done. Definitely not fun especially with the time changes. We're going to Sydney in December for a New Zealand cruise and I'm dreading the flight (15-17 hours) and the massive time change. Plus, we lose a day going, but get the day coming back which I know will reak havoc on my body.

@twangster I'm a huge advocate for Norway. It truly is a spectacular cruise and traveling through the fjords is unbelievable. I actually had little interest in the Med until we found a killer deal on a winter cruise this past January. Our interests had largely been Northern Europe and the British Isles. However, we fell in love with the Med on this trip, which is why we're doing the Barcelona to Venice cruise next summer. Better yet, there's only one repeat port.

I haven't sailed HAL in years, but am looking forward to the Koningsdam next month. Overall, they offer a good, low-key cruise product and they were actually the line where my child became hooked on the kids' clubs even though he had been on a couple of Disney cruises prior to this. I'm sure you'll have a great trip. We did the Inside Passage on the Oosterdam and had a blast.

There is mini golf, but I don't have any pictures of it. I did get a picture of the exterior of the ship and the movie marque, though.

In almost 30 sailings, I've only been on 3 ships more than once and one of those was a back-to-back sailing, so I'm not sure that even counts. For us, the itinerary has become much more important than the ship itself and we're seeking new experiences while using the ship for our base of exploration. Sometimes, unfortunately, this means that we have to go with other lines as Royal doesn't always go to where we want to go. For example, we have an affinity for Europe as of late and have done some excellent cruises on the Radiance class ships to the Baltics and Norway/Iceland. However, to experience more of Norway this summer and wanting to go much farther north into the Arctic Circle, our only choices were Holland America or MSC. Next summer, we're doing a Barcelona to Venice cruise, which Royal doesn't offer with the stops we want, so we're going with Celebrity for that one. If we do the Caribbean again, it will likely be the Southern Caribbean as we've visited the Eastern and Western Caribbean enough. And while we have taken cruises for the ships themselves, we found that the ship itself wasn't enough for us and that we've become itinerary-based people.

I spent almost two weeks on the Brilliance and really enjoyed her. Lots of glass, a dedicated movie theater, a manageable Windjammer with lots of cooked to order options, less crowding than the bigger ships, etc. I also love sailing at of Tampa, which makes it a big plus.

@41m33 I know the made to order omlets are available, but they're served at the dining venue by the Flowrider. Wipeout Cafe? I don't recall ever seeing made to order parts on any of my Royal Caribbean cruise except for the MDR at lunch.

@Shari That looks AMAZING! Great way to finish off the experience. If you're a member of the Royal Caribbean Dining group on Facebook, this would be great to post there, too. This is a group that was started by @Matt and a place for Royal Caribbean food lovers to rejoice.

I've been on three of the four Reassurance class ships and they all had dedicated theaters and I haven't seen anything about them being removed. On a couple of occasions, movies have been shown in the main theater either midday on a see day or at night when the theater didn't have a performance.

You could always give lunch a try during a sea day. The menu will be truncated, but it will be a cheaper way to experience the specialty restaurants and to see if you enjoy them without giving up any dinners in the main dining room.

@CruisinUngs I think you're confusing the coffee cards with the alcoholic drink cards. The drink cards show up later in the cruise; the coffee cards are always available. I like to buy my things in advance to keep the charges to the onboard account low. You could also look for a Cruise Planner sale, but to be honest I don't know if the cards are ever discounted. Odds are they won't be discounted on the ship as they already offer a good value and Royal seems to be pushing for people to buy in advance and thus offering the best deals before boarding rather than onboard.

We disembarked in Copenhagen with a night on the ship prior while in port, so we didn't have the need to stay at a hotel in Copenhagen. However, I'd probably stay in town given the limited time you'll have before your cruise. Using public transportation to get to and from the airport area will cut into your exploration time quite a bit. In addition, you'll be closer to the port come embarkation day.

This is going to be a great cruise. I did a Norway/Iceland cruise and a Baltics cruise through Royal Caribbean and they were fantastic. With regards to hotels, you're going to have much more flexibility and lower costs if you book the hotel and transfers on your own, which is what I'd recommend that you do. I've done quite of bit of Northern European sailing with Royal, so if you post your embarkation port, I might be able to offer some suggestions.

The dining packages offer a good value and I did the 5 night one last cruise mainly because I had sailed extensively with Royal and was looking for something different from the main dining room. Since this is your first cruise, I'd say go with the included options as you can always buy the package once onboard if the food isn't to your liking.

@twangster a very good point about arriving a day early. This is even more true with international travel. I even get nervous when driving to the local port for fear that there might be a major accident that ties up traffic, so I always head out super early just to be safe.

Very true. My aplogies for suggesting as much. ?

I don't remember Sorrento's having anything other than pizza on the Liberty, although I could be wrong. I agree with @KLAconQueso, though, that the Cafe Promenade would likely be your best bet.

Sure, why not! In all of the threads I've read on MDR attire, I've rarely seen shoes mentioned. It usually comes down to whether shorts and/or t-shirts are being worn. If you wear your hiking shoes with a summer dress, you'll probably just be seen as "cool" or "trendy." ?

Wear your bulkiest clothes onto the plane with you. You can always take them off and lay them on top of the carry-on bags in the overhead bins once all the luggage is stored. Also, it all about layers. For your legs, I'd recommend a thin pair of thermals; that way, you don't need bulky paints. For the top, a fleece and a lightweight waterproof layer should be sufficient.

Cappuccinos and lattes can be ordered in the MDR. For anything else, you can go to Cafe Latte-Tudes on Deck 5 in the Centrum.

Carnival's stock has taken a hit, too, and I suspect the airlines will, too, if they haven't already. With rising fuel prices, the profit margin gets squeezed. The real question is if or when will the fuel supplement be reinstated? I've just checked all of my current cruise invoices on Holland America, Celebrity, Princess, and Royal Caribbean through 2020 and don't see the old "reserve the right" disclaimer for the fuel surcharge, but I wouldn't be surprised if it gets added once again for future bookings.