My husband I went on six RC cruises from 2007 to 2014, then we started having kids and all that cruising came to a screeching halt. I used to be a frequent contributor here but couldn't even log into my old account just now, so I look like a n00b again. We'll be cruising in July (without the kids!) for the first time in nine years, and I have many questions.
We'll be on the Harmony, which is a class that didn't exist last time I cruised. What are some basics I need to know about the ship specifically?
What about RC in general? What do I need to know about dining, booking entertainment, etc? In the olden days, we used to eat lunch at the Windjammer and dinner in the dining hall at our predetermined dinnertime, same time and table and waiter every night. I gather that has changed a lot. Should we consider booking individual restaurants ahead of time? Stick with generic dining hall food? Obviously this is a preference thing to a certain extent, but I welcome your opinions.
Our itinerary goes to Coco Cay. Last time I was there, it was a couple picnic shelters and a beach on one side, literally untouched pristine wilderness on the back side. Obviously it's very different now! What can we do at Coco Cay now without spending hundreds or thousands extra?
Other ports of call are St. Thomas and St. Kitts. We've been to St. Thomas, to Magen's Bay, but never to St. Kitts. Excursion recommendations for either location? General guidance about sticking with RC excursions vs branching out to local companies? I know in the past there were certain islands where it was generally safe to do your own thing vs others where it was highly recommended to stick with RC.
My husband is agonizing about whether to get the alcohol package. Any prevailing opinions here about whether it's worth it? How many drinks a day we'd need to drink to break even?
How's the wifi? In the past, one of the things we loved most about cruising was being totally disconnected, turning off our phones when we boarded and throwing them in the safe and forgetting about them for a week. Now, with our kids left behind with my parents, we'll need to have the ability to communicate with them. I read or heard somewhere that the wifi isn't so great. Advice?
Obviously a lot of this is subjective, and I remember from the old days here that newbies who didn't bother to read FAQs and search old posts first weren't very, um, popular. But honestly I just feel so out of the loop that I don't know where to begin. Even this site itself looks totally different than it did last time I logged in. If anyone can point me in a good direction to start, I'm not afraid of research. Thanks in advance!