dna1990

cntl-0 (control and zero) in Chrome will reset font size to default 100%. If all other apps looks OK, there should be no need to look say in Windows Settings, under Display, there are some font sizing options there as well for accessibility.

I would say the lines are more similar than different. The itinerary and your fellow passengers are probably more an impact. I think photos are better on CCL, so if you are into lots of photos or family shots, etc...RCCL is a little more subdued on some ships. If you are a Cheers drink package couple, there are a few differences to RCCL DBP. I think to the better, there is no daily limit (within reason) like the CCL 15/day max and if sailing from Texas, RCCL will let you use the package upon boarding, CCL makes you wait. Selections are limited while in Texas waters, but never found this an issue. On Radiance, there are fewer quick-choice dining options, like a Guys Burger or Iguana....mostly just Promenade Cafe and Sorrentos. Brilliance class (Radiance) ships are a GREAT size in our opinion. If a big Casino player, I think CCL is often better on rating table play. RCCL Allure was much better, but traditionally RCCL has been stingy with table play. Slot play is fine on both.

Nothing special for skipping Costa Maya, except we took some unusual pathways up to Coz, someone said they did so to best position the ship "out" of the wind for the Aqua show. You can best see menu/theme info by using the App. Click on the person icon, then select a different sailing. Choose AotS for the current or maybe a week or two later than "today". Then look under daily planner, etc. This would be fairly accurate to your sailing. I would say there were enough people doing formals, 70s/colorful, and white nights - that you won't feel like a standout to join in the fun.

They try to explain in the fine print, announcements, etc - but the "reservations" are really just "early admission". If the folks with reservations are not holding a seat with their rear end by about 15 minutes prior to showtime, folks in the standby line are allowed in to fill the venue. Heard more than one complainer arriving at showtime minus two minutes (with 10 people in tow no doubt) - hollerin' about why the ship took reservations if they didn't mean anything. I kinda get it, who wants to read fine print on vacation...the word "reservation" could be easily changed to "early admission" or similar and would make things alot smoother. Maybe? But goes to show there is value in doing some prep and being accountable for your own destiny. I love the Sienfeld episode where they "reserve" a rental car but the company doesn't have any more cars when they arrive.

Likely just a reaction to quickly overcome something about the health inspection - I would hope they sort whatever the issue was and resume normal flatware. We had a similar "WJ delay" on Allure several weeks back after some needed cleaning and inspections due to previous Noro cases. Maybe 15 minutes, but I do suspect the line grew behind us and snaked out the hallway/decks. By 1pm, Solarium Bistro opened on time and took much of the load off WJ. No other notable delays the rest of the cruise.

Agree we don't know the exact challenges you encountered before, but like others I would do these things for kids (esp multiple kids). 1 get them their own mask/snorkel, fins are optional cuz they are heavy to pack/fly....but even then finding a good fitting flipper for a smaller kid can be a challenge, so consider the kit. For sure the mask. A good fitting mask is essential to a positive experience IMO. Any leaks tend to have your kids kicking up every 30 seconds wanting to clear it, etc. Ensure all hair is tucked away, sometimes a single hair is enough to trickle in a slow leak. Too tight, tangled in the hair, too loose, leaking, fogging - all will lead to complaints from less patience kiddos. 2. Practice. It can be the bath tub or nearby pool. More time with their face down and getting comfortable, the better. 3. I would avoid open water or boat-based trips for beginner kids. Roatan West Bay should have places to start right off the beach. You can stand, your kids can stand - get all situated first - then paddle out towards the reef. Now I have not done Roatan from the beach, so I can't say how far out you have to swim (or more importantly how far the swim BACK IN is), so do your own research there. In general (your kids may vary), but plan on most of your time monitoring/helping not actually trying to see below and guide them. 😜

Just enough to make the Captain's hair on the back of his/her neck stand up. 🙃

I would agree with the PlayRating above, I averaged about 550 pts/day on Allure and maybe 200 pts/day on Navigator/Liberty several years ago. All Craps, with similar level of play as Crapster. On Allure I did start higher ($110 inside for example) and pressed a tad slower and likely had fewer total hours than Crapster notes, but had similar observations that dealers/box were adjusting my play pretty regular. I did buy-in for a higher amount recently on Allure (per session), but have always thought that should not make any difference to rating, it is play/hours...but maybe buy-in does something to catch their attention and note to watch your spot more? If I had chips-in-hand, I made sure they noted that for my total buy-in, not just the ones I laid out for change. (They were a black-chip-only crew almost all cruise, it was like asking for a brother-in-law favor to get purples, forget yellows.) It is hard to "equate points", but in general terms of offers - I think I was closer to 800+ pts/day on CCL Valor for the same play. Regardless I have comped trips now booked on both lines.

Half of the casino is designated non-smoking, and contains about the equal amount of slots/tables. They have one Craps table on each side, that was plenty for me. But - many of the the non-smoking tables were not often not open during SeaDays until the mid evening. So day-time Craps is only on the smoking side. I didn't find the smoke as bad as many claim about the Allure.

JS had suite priority boarding in Galveston a few weeks back. But note there are discussions around RCCL's new verbiage on suite classes. JS are in Sea Class I believe. And this FAQ says that prio boarding is no longer included. YMMV by date of sailing, port personnel, and RCCL's ability to be consistently inconsistent. Not Included https://www.royalcaribbean.com/faq/questions/what-are-the-benefits-of-royal-suite-class Included https://www.royalcaribbean.com/faq/questions/what-are-the-benefits-of-the-suites-program

We did North Shore on the Jesse James center console boat. I would likely trust their guidance on the best tour (that day), as they know the weather and crowds for the best outcome.

They will use Prime "sticker" if a glitch occurs, but your first order could take longer to verify.

I think there is an option to still get Evian, but it is with the whole "cooler bag" option $$. Under Gifts not Beverages. But yea, water delivery is not listed for our next sailing either.

Agree to above, they are advertising and trying to light a fire so it burns a hole in your pocket. Any OBC not used as PBC (pre board credit) will still be OBC (onboard credit) once onboard....grin.

Agree to all above. You should get an email from RCCL with your GUEST VACATION DOCUMENTS, it is a PDF with all those details, plus luggage tags, etc. The key to a quick checkin is to complete the App checkin before arriving at the terminal. All your credit card info, passport info, even your face photo - can be done digitally in advance. If not, they can do for you at port, but just takes a few more minutes. We took printed copies of boarding pass out of the App just in case, but the phone thing worked perfectly.

We did on CCL years ago and liked it. They set multiple sessions and in a number of settings around the ship. Yes, sticker shock when it comes time to buy anything, but they are some cherished shots of our family. I understand on RCCL, you go schedule your time(s) once onboard. They have multiple places to shoot, including in ports like CocoCay. Just understand what (if any) pics are included in the session price and how much additional ones might be....and how this sessions interacts (if at all) with any other photo package you might get for the regular shots.

A two-device plan can be helpful between two of your family, as this allows for both devices to be connected to the internet at the same time. So now you can utilize most normal communication tools like WhatsApp or iPhone texting, and I am sure many others. With the free ship WiFi, you only have a connection to the ship and the App. The App Chat and this WiFi is free, but the Chat often does not "notify" you when another party messages you. It does sometimes, otherwise you just have to open/check it. If you have two people, a 2-device plan will work nicely for communications. For a larger party, I would rely on the free App Chat (and good ol post-it notes, etc). Starlink (on Allure) was great and magnitudes better than the "old days" of ship satellite internet. But you still go thru ship's WiFi, which means in "some" locations of the ship - you will have less steady signal. On Allure, I had no issues with VPN and basic Teams-type check ins. If you use multifactor authentication (MFA), mine did not work well with getting the sms text Approvals, I had to use MS Authenticator which worked. but I wish I had set that up with my company before I departed. Text (sms) via Starlink worked well for my wife's iPhone, but not for my Android phone. MS Teams audio was fine, so assume Wifi-calling is OK too. Just be sure your devices are in airplane mode to avoid any roaming AtSea or other cell-based charges. Not sure on Customs - we filed no such paperwork or online declarations. I suppose if we made a large purchase we would have asked. That was a recent trip out of Galveston. There are reports of people being pulled aside at debark that have been flagged with large casino wins or large purchases. We didn't get any packages, but lowest DBP I noticed was $73/pp. Yes, I think Cruise Planner items are charged to your CC right away. Internet and spa were for us. Yes, many report purchasing a Cruise Planner package (lock in some price today) and then being able to cancel/rebook if they see a big drop. I can't say if this is online or must be called in. They have been good about calling me back in the estimated time when I need them. I don't find a need to wait on hold.

The mention of MFA is a good point, sms-based (texts) MFA didn't work for me. But MS Authenticator did. Check that before you sail, harder to get changed once underway. We were on Allure that uses Starlink - speed was fine, but as mentioned above - some places on ship had weaker WiFi signal...For example I could check an email on balcony, but that was about all. In cabin could scroll thru Reddit but could not RDP consistently. My best RDP spot was Solarium next to the bar under the ceiling area. YMMV. Starlink was SO much better that satellite stuff in the old days. I don't know my companies exact VPN config, I think the icon I see is zScaler? Whatever is was, was not blocked. Congestion may have been a factor at certain times as well. Early morning was always more snappy. Makes sense if not 1000 people streaming netflix or something. And lastly we were on a Feb sailing with very few teenagers and younger folks who tend to stay on their devices more - causing more local congestion and bandwidth sharing.

Will depend on ship/itinerary. But yea, I would prepare for limited selection. Cruises are booking full and June is a hotbed of family vacations. Will come down to how many cabins the Casino Rate "held" versus looking in the general pool. It would certainly be wise to have a plan in place, have all your passengers on the same page and ready to book once you see ship/cabin choices - as soon as you see your offer appear.

Now that access is not time-based, there is less a need to logout, etc. Regardless of how many devices you purchase, when the "next" device tries to join and no more plans available - it simply asks if you wish to "disconnect" a previous device. Works pretty well. But sometimes it can still help to force the issue by browsing to LOGIN.COM or LOGOUT.COM. Once we had to "forget the WiFi network" and come all the way back in fresh.

When can we start calling them cloggers?

More similar than different in my opinion. The date, itinerary, and duration - all influence the experience more than the ship/line. IMO. Look on both the website and app - to reserve shows if you have favorites. But stand-by lines get into almost all shows with a short wait. Purchase photo package if you plan on getting taking some memories with your son. Prices only seem to increase. Look into excursions the same as any cruiseline. If you post ship/itinerary, some might suggest specific venues or activities to investigate further.

Recently off Allure, ate in MDR every night (late seating). I would say A- for the most part. We finished around 70-90 minutes each evening, mostly because of our own pace. In our immediate section there were many vacant seats, if not vacant whole tables. Service could be weird at times, meaning there seem to be a long walk/prep for each plate. Meaning, say the ladies received a course....it could be 3-5 minutes before the gentlemen got theirs. We didn't see any of the "tall trays" being carried anymore to staging areas, where waiters could then sling each person's serving course in a short period. Not a super big deal, but noticeable with conversation flow. Temperatures were good though. Cold caesar salads, hot entrees, etc. Bar service was very slim, and no after-dinner "shots". They made some one night at request - but were just a baileys concoction poured into a champagne glass. Weird. They were apparently "out of iced tea" for the whole cruise. But on the first night they attempted to "create" a iced tea in the oddest formula of a weak tea bag, cinnamon, clove, and something else. Just tell us they are out, instead of trying hard to invent a solution. It did get better in the week, as I suspect they started small tea bag batches for us in advance. Chicken quality (tough/grissly) was on two different dishes during the week, yuk. Other dishes seemed usual cruise-line level. RCCL desserts are not my fav, even the tiramisu was a smaller cup-based version. OK, but nothing like the old days. Ordering multiple items was no issue, but waiter always lamented that it was RCCL that required him to deliver one at a time. Personally, I much prefer one at a time - the place setting and table size is awful if everyone gets two appetizers at once. We like the MDR for the event and conversation way more than the food itself. I still would say your MDR experience will be more influenced by the service and atmosphere - over the actual new menu approach.

Just returned from a snorkel trip with Blue Reef. Had a great time, easily recommend. They arranged transportation, who was in contact the day before and morning of arrival. Even sent us a pic of him holding our named sign - found him mere seconds after exiting the gate (Coxen Hole). Driver and car were top-notch and was there waiting to bring us back to port, very professional. Boat was perfect, crew was perfect, weather was perfect. Snorkeled at three sites inside the reef along the North side. All good. Great snacks and drinks on board. Good tunes. Very relaxing day. Had the option to order lunch from Puerta Azul resort upon arriving back at the dock. They cater to divers staying on the island, but were really just as great for cruise-based snorkelers. We drove past and anchored near some other snorkel tours that looked woefully over-crowded.

You are renting a car, just to then also pay to park it for a week? I get the convenience factor, but I would also price a private shuttle service. I didn't do any math, but I would likely vote for the toll "option" from the rental place. Why? Because it gives you options. Yes, most Saturdays, the mainlanes of 59/45 will be just fine. But I would have Transtar and Waze loaded up and at least know the alternate toll routes that would take you around further east. Coming or going. Keep in mind if your flight arrives at 8:30 (on time), it is probably 9:30 by the time you deplane, get to baggage claim, wait for bags. Then the rental shuttles are about a 10+ min ride to the offsite lots, whatever paperwork or express checkout of car...on the road by...maybe 10? Could be way faster, but all the ducks have to align. That still leaves plenty of time to drive down, park, and get to the terminal. If you set the expectations you won't be stressed too much if one leg of the journey stalls abit. I think from the IAH rental car area, the only decent exit route is to take JFK South down to Beltway8. From there go EAST regardless of going toll/notoll. Then either stay on Bwy8 (toll), or take US59 South to downtown then switch to I45 South. I advise against taking I45 all the way from IAH. But. Always a but - that is what Waze is for. That specific day/hour - one big backup might sway you to take any of the other pathways. Drive safe, don't overthink it. Just prep a little. But don't overlook that private shuttle option either, it could jumpstart your relaxing vacation hours earlier.