goldfish65

Same, but my TA wants the final bill for me to receive a bonus offer. Any tips on the easiest way to get my bill now?

The stories on the internet and YouTube are exaggerated; they are meant to get people worked up. A travel agent's expertise is valuable in saving you money and avoiding pitfalls. Seems like all the cruise lines have their pricing strategies and cutbacks, so in order to "move on," the option is to find other forms of vacation.

My long-time travel agent was on a pre-inaugural cruise and said, it "spoiled (him) for any other ships." Would you agree with that statement?

Thank you for taking the time to showcase the ship. I vowed I would never set foot on such a big ship, but now that I see, Icon is a game-changer. There are still deals through travel agents, I jumped on an inside guarantee for Sept. 2025. It was $2000 less than Royal's website.

Radiance and Vision. Freedom was very mall-like.

Be sure to spend time the suite lounge, and have spirited conversations with other elites about your extensive travels, especially comparing which places you hated the most. Other topics include how well you've done with your investments, how busy life is traveling between your different homes and building new ones, how fascinating it is to collect expensive things. Golf. 😅

Aside from daily gratuities, charges only happen when you use your Seapass card. You'll want to check your onboard account for accuracy while you are still on the ship. If there are any mistakes, you can resolve them at guest services.

I guess if you're a large party, and can't all fit, once the doors close, you request another elevator. I know sometimes on MSC, the display will say something to the effect of "there are no elevators available," hopefully Royal's system is an improvement.

Most recent cruise in December, no final bill email, previous cruises I got one. I checked it before disembarking, and then checked my credit card statement, just to see that nothing was added. Weird.

Never said "ungrateful." I meant that in general, if people are grateful for things, they would be happier. That's all. 😎

There is so much to like. The live music, the food, the promenade deck, the crew, the comfortable layout, rock climbing, etc. I skip the elevators but that's my preference. Tried doing that on Freedom and it was too much of a workout! When Vision class came out, it was state of the art design. You can see the ocean from almost everywhere on the ship. Thursday is the Full Moon! Pretty soon, our only choice will be big ships. If you look for cosmetic deficiencies, you'll find them. If something bothers you, ask a crew member if they can fix it. You have a great attitude, if people took a moment now and then to be grateful, they would be happier. Have fun!

Last month, South Beach had music playing, a bit too loud if you got near a speaker, but otherwise okay. I would go back there; we enjoyed watching volleyball and basketball, food and drink were handy.

The CocoCay bungalows. Suppose the weather is crappy.

Again, thank you. Royal commissioned these paintings. You can't get prints of them. The artist has work in the Smithsonian. He does a lot of book-covers, and science-fiction themed art. Prices aren't bad. Good to see you're already having a blast!

There's a firestorm of scathing reviews from that sailing! All sorts of allegations. I was on Grandeur in January and in September. I was aware of the ship's age, and I noticed some wear and areas that needed maintenance, and the sewage odor. No issues with cleanliness or bad food. Even in a Suite, the towels were frayed, I let it go. I cruise to disconnect and to be on the water. Eleven nights on Grandeur might be too much for me, if the ship is full. Thank you for sharing your experience. Here's hoping the ship gets back in shape during dry dock.

Yes! I appreciate your help. Hoping there are prints of these.

The double sliders will be wonderful especially at night, I would think, will be looking for your experience with them.

So envious, transatlantic last year on Jewel was my first Royal cruise, and so perfect. I get goosebumps imagining I'm there boarding! A favor, if you can, in the entrance hallway to the Windjammer, is artwork of sailboats, what is the name of the artist? Thank you and I hope you have the best time ever.

Duct tape is good for quick fixes of luggage or shoes or a hem or rip, also to block out any slivers of light coming thru the curtains.

Thinking about this deep subject....times change. When I was a kid, it was laughable to me how cheap my grandparents were. They gave up smoking cold turkey when cigarettes hit a certain price. EVERYTHING was so expensive to them. My grandma stockpiled Cool-Whip she would get on sale, with coupons. My Mom's generation too, she would never buy bottled water; just get it from the tap. Forget about all these flavored/vitamin waters and energy drinks people spend money on daily without even thinking. Now, I am "that" generation, who is thinks everything is so expensive....$35 Uber from downtown to home, $4+ for a carton of grapefruit juice at the supermarket, $18+ for an elaborate milkshake while on vacation. 😅

Only four cruises, but always the same: One large rolling bag, one good sized waterproof duffel without much in it, and one backpack. Large bag holds many changes of clothes. Bulky, casual items go in vacuum storage bags. I like to bring a hammock, and assorted items like a travel fan, bungee cord, zip ties, duct tape, a plush throw blanket, Yeti, a few books, etc. The duffel will have Fresca, diet ginger ale, and/or Coke Zero, paper towels and small windex. Later it is used for dirty clothes, and for things/gifts we have bought. Backpack for meds and wine. For me, one of the pleasures of cruising is that you can pack as much as you want.

A side note about suites, ours had 36 drawers for the two of us, lesson learned: choose a reasonable number to use and forget the rest, unless you want to be squirrel-like locating your items.

Haha! Interesting logic. There is no prior expectation that under-18 guests have access to the solarium.

Have a party, fine, but without making a whole feature of the ship off limits to the other paying guests.

Thanks to all. I didn't know where to start. In the meantime, I have looked at videos of the different categories, and Penthouse Veranda looks like the sweet spot for us. A little extra square footage for all the days at sea. All we care about is disconnecting from everything, reading, looking at the ocean, and whatever we find on the ship to do. Food and beverage. Late 2026. In the Penthouse Veranda category, are there any "secret" cabins that are better, or any to avoid?