The Fun Researcher

Awesome. Both ships?

Thanks in advance. Dan

Yeah, there is no "right way" to this one since everyone has their own tolerance for what is considered disrespectful to fellow cruisers or not. I wasn't there so just picturing it based on the OP's description. When a group takes over and makes it exclusionary to the rest of the passengers that's when things get questionable. We're also very family focused but wouldn't dream of rearranging all the furniture in a big circle (to exclude others), bring down pillows and a bunch of strollers, taking over and having your dinner at the bar, etc... just seems a bit much. Like I said, I would simply move on and probably have a chuckle with my wife at the whole situation. Boleros typically isn't our primary lounge, but I do love when things get hopping in there. Fun to watch and be a part. If I was hoping to enjoy that space I would feel frustrated in the OP's situation. Not sure why I'm even discussing this🤣 other than to show some sympathy to the OP, since I can picture and understand the frustration. Cheers. Bowing out.

That still stands correct? Up to twelve 16.9oz (maximum) bottles or cans per passenger of non alcoholic beverages can be brought onboard as long as they are in a separate travel case like a backpack or suitcase?

If you purchase the soda package, after the first night ordering a soda with dinner (MDR) they will remember you have the package and many times have your soda's ready or at least they don't check your card or have to sign a bill each time. A soda with lunch and dinner eats up $8 of that $8.99. For us it's worth it. Even if we break even or come out a few dollars short on "getting our money's worth" the convenience is worth it. We normally get 2 or 3 soda packages between our family of 5. Dan

I agree. There's always that line (subjective) that can be crossed though. Personally we like to take into consideration your fellow cruisers. Some may describe the OP's situation as "cramping someone else's style", others may call it a lack of self awareness or even rude. By the description of the OP, Boleros was taken over by one group, essentially excluding others from being able to enjoy the venue. It's a judgement call, but by the OP's description this group was not considerate of others, had little self awareness, and essentially took over a bar for themselves. Personally I would simply roll on to another location and have my fun elsewhere. If I WAS dead set on enjoying Boleros and walked up on what the OP describes (especially starting so early like 5:30 and extending on) I'd be frustrated too.

Easy to say when you aren't the one impacted. Other than the kids laying down on the floor in Boleros I don't think any of your examples were mentioned. We're super easy going, but like anyone we eventually reach a point where something becomes irritating. Must be nice to be impervious. 😊

Luck of the draw. We ran into the same issue on the Oasis way back in 2015. Really turned us off. NOTHING against South American or Latin based cruisers but on our particular cruise their kids were regularly running around the promenade at 1am (maybe a time change issue), some just camping out/ laying down in some of the middle carpeted promenade areas, in the bars, etc... It felt like we could never get any quiet, chill time even very late at night. I love the idea of large family/friend gatherings but be considerate of others who want to use the common spaces, bars and lounges. Thank goodness we tried another Oasis class, (Allure) this past summer because there were little to none of these issues and we had an amazing 8 night southern cruise. Dan

Switching keys will be fine. Just make sure everyone has the correct one when getting on and off the ship and if you are making purchases.

If I my wife and I could take 11-12 days off in a row I would love that option of an 11-12 night cruise from Bayonne. It's a long drive from Michigan, ~11 hours but still saves a lot of airfare considering our family of 5, plus no airport hassles. We're doing a cheap 7 night in March on the Anthem to get us to Diamond and to experience a Quantum class ship (Quantum; we're also doing out of Seattle this upcoming summer to Alaska) Dan

Any of the AMPED Freedom or Voyager class

We've sailed the sister ships and the interior cabins are just fine. We love the quiet and dark that they provide. I wouldn't worry about it at all. We don't spend much time in the cabin other than to sleep and get ready for dinner. You can get all the views from the pool deck, walking deck on 4, etc... Dan

Chops Grille or Jamie's Italian will get you out of the craziness of the Wind Jammer on embarkation day, and provide a very nice lunch. Would need to check your Cruise planner though. Sometimes it's open and sometimes not on embarkation day. Probably $21 - $25 pp. Dan

Love these stowaway piano players. We had a pleasant surprise with them on the Navigator spring 2019 just after the ship was AMPED. Was so much fun to see them in the elevator playing away while we went from floor to floor! Dan

Yeah, was kind of afraid of that. For being a top 5 most visited cruise port it sure seems like there there would be better/more options to choose from. Dan

God bless you that are able to afford, or willing to spend, the cost for a Grand Suite. Do you ever leave the room? 😍 Maybe someday when we're retired and have even more excess disposable cash, or once in a lifetime splurge. For now we need to get the kids through college, ugh. 😊 Dan

Looking for something that will interest us enough to get off the ship in Nassau. It will be my wife, son(15) and my in-laws. Some walking is o.k., but a lot of walking is not due to my FIL's bum knee. We love all inclusive days, but it's tough in Nassau with our son only being 15. RUI is out. Breezes gets lackluster reviews lately. Margaritaville is not all inclusive... Junkanoo is an option since it's public and we just need to pay for drinks, umbrellas and chairs. Any other all-inclusive options to recommend? We also like island tours that give you a more knowledgeable feel for the culture, food, and the island as a whole. Thanks in advance! -Dan

I don't begrudge anyone for their choice but for us if we had to choose one it would be Labadee. We do enjoy both but for different reasons. Labadee positives: Relaxing (love chill vibe and views at Columbus Cove with the ship as the backdrop) Feels more like we picture when we think of a tropical getaway Gorgeous views when docking and leaving Coco Cay positives: Food options and quality So many options for activities Massive freshwater pool Labadee negatives: Food quality and options Less to do Coco Cay negatives: Feels more like an amusement park than a private island. "Over commercialized" Feels significantly more crowded and can be hard to find loungers in our experience Debatable: The markets of Labadee. Lots of options and souvenirs, but on the other hand the aggressive sales/interactions can be "off putting" Maybe a one and done, but Largest zipline over water in the world at Labadee

Pick one. Which would you choose for your itinerary and why? Please only respond if you've actually visited both

About the only thing I've ever been able to make good on during Black Friday Sales are soda packages LOL Typical RCCL tactics to mark things up to then mark them down to the same price as before with a "Wow Sale" Dan

It’s practically guaranteed that there will be lunch served in the main dining room on Sea days

The Tidal Wave slide on Liberty of the Seas has a max per passenger weight of 250 pounds, and a combined raft weight of 450 pounds. Guests need to be at least 100 pounds and 52 inches tall to ride. The Perfect Storm water slides require guests to be 48 inches tall to ride. *Credit Royalcaribbeanblog

Freedom class (Liberty is Freedom Class) and Voyager class are still our favorite ship classes to date. Liberty is not officially amped, but has been updated. It doesn't have Playmakers sports bar, or all the bright new furniture and look on the pool deck, etc... Having said that, it's a large beautiful ship. The waterslides were the latest new addition and they are nice. Be aware that the Solarium is not covered. It is open air, so if the weather is cold, there is no indoor pool. We prefer Labadee to Coco Cay. Labadee is more of a classical tropical paradise, whereas Coco Cay feels like an amusement park. I do like the food choices on Coco Cay though. We love resting in the loungers at Columbus Cove on Labadee, with the ship in the background. The things that we love about the Liberty are: Large Royal Promenade. A wonderful central location on the ship that makes navigation super easy A wonderful "connection to the sea" with the deck 4 walking/lounging track, access to the front helipad(especially at night looking at the stars), and the wonderful pool deck Large beautiful main dining room Great Shows and entertainment Large ship with plenty of venues to keep you busy on even the longer voyages Pools are freshwater Beautiful indoor Viking crown lounge overlooking the pool area etc...

Yeah, I pulled the 18th date from a different website but looks like you are much closer to being accurate based on last year (and other years). So maybe the 21st-23rd we'll see some info. Hopefully I can reprice our 2023 cruises, and I typically wait for our soda packages until Black Friday as well. Dan

At least for the beverage packages it's 72 hours, per RCCL's website https://www.royalcaribbean.com/faq/questions/beverage-package-cancellation-policy