leaveitallbehind

Very little. Just enough to squeeze through to the bathroom.

Royal requires children to be potty trained for their pools. Can't answer for Disney.

Most 7 night itineraries leave on Saturdays and Sundays. 3 and 4 nights will typically leave on alternating Mondays and Thursdays following each other to net a 7 night total week sailing from the two. 5 & 6 nights departures will vary as tied into other itineraries to net out the same rotation, but maybe over a two week (or more) time frame. But the key is these itineraries are set by each cruise line and you will depart on their schedules depending on selected itineraries. Your departure preference will be dictated by that. The only way I know to determine these schedules is to reach out to each cruise lines website to see their varying days itineraries - or work with a travel agent who can coordinate this and search for you - to determine your preferences. But I am not aware of a public search engine that coordinates all cruise lines and itineraries by cruise length and itinerary destinations.

RCCL, for one, has several inside categories that offer a sofa along with the beds. In many cases they convert to a sofa bed for the 3rd / 4th passenger sleeping area in staterooms configured for those additional passengers. In fact the family interior stateroom holds up to six in a combination of standard twin beds, sofa bed, and bunk beds.

Sorry - it wasn't clear from your initial post that you were looking at a long transatlantic cruise. You did say you wanted to see the Caribbean and your focus was not being on a booze cruise, balcony safety, and on board atmosphere for children. That all describes shorter vacation type itineraries, for which Royal would be a good fit. BTW, none of the typical transatlantics would be a "booze cruise." Most mainstream cruise lines typically use transatlantic crossings as repositioning cruises to get their ships from one seasonal region to another, which would typically be offered only twice a year between Europe and the US. That all being said, Royal would still be a good consideration if a liner cruise such as with the QM2 would not be your choice. However, because of school conflicts, etc., very few families would be on board - mostly older travelers who have the time for that type of crossing. Curious why the hesitation with them?

IMO Royal Caribbean would check off the most boxes for you. They have larger inside family staterooms on some ships as well as flexible family dining called Family My Time dining. They are not a party boat - that would more typically be Carnival. I would suggest contacting a travel agent to assist you with your investigation but would again suggest RCCL as the first one to look at. By "ground floor" I assume you mean what would typically be called the promenade deck. Most cruise lines have their balconies typically beginning one deck above that which would still be a low deck. But that in of itself does not make them any safer - maybe just more convenient to different lower deck venues. Here is the link to the (US) Royal Caribbean website which will give you a lot of information: https://www.royalcaribbean.com/cruise-ships Good luck in your searching.

Agree as well. And just so you know, the balcony staterooms have a child door lock high on the frame of the balcony doors that the stateroom attendant will show you. If your children are young it is not likely they would ever be on the balconies unsupervised anyway. The balcony rails are also intentionally high and the outer barriers are solid metal or glass panels, depending on the ship. Very safe and typically only able to go over with intention. Dining is easy with families with menu items oriented to include the kids. No issues with common areas as well. RCCL's primary demographics are families and multi generation cruisers.

You would have to confirm through the cruise line directly or through a travel agent what interior staterooms have which bed configuration. But IMO the murphy-style beds that are extended from the ceiling or side walls are typically very comfortable. Agree, however, that unless two of the guests are children it will be rather crowded. Plus you will all share a single bathroom. Most cruise websites will provide generic stateroom pictures with a bed descriptor, although all four beds "opened" will not likely be shown.

LOL. By today's standards it was small enough to maybe get away with being called a "boat".

No, I doubt you were ripped off by your agent. But one way to be sure is to ask him for a copy of the Celebrity booking confirmation. They should match - if not line for line (as some agents may show different line items) they should show the same total. Celebrity (as do most lines) issues one with each booking to the agents. At least in the US they are always provided. If not by the agent automatically, then by request of them from the customer.

Have you ever been to the backside of Cozumel? Beautiful ocean scenery and five interesting bar / restaurants. Only open during the day. Well kept secret from most visitors.

Unless the port has a stated "curfew" type of restriction, which I am not aware of with Cozumel, then there should be no restriction other than logically when the shore venues would close for the night. When the ships are overnight in Bermuda, for example, you can come and go as you please. But typically everyone is back on board once the local bars, etc., close. But there is no ship-based restriction.

As others have mentioned, "offensive" is subjective and relevant to the audience and context in which it is said. IMO the more accurate descriptor would simply be "incorrect" based on the many nautical vessels defined in this thread.

Agree. RCCL / Celebrity are probably more like 14 inches space underneath the beds - not the 12 inches I originally said.

We tend to use the softer luggage as IMO it is more flexible in terms of variable packing amounts. I also think it is well suited for cruising as it easily fits under the beds, which is the ideal storage area. In our experience that space is typically about 12 inches from bedframe base to floor. Hard sided luggage may not fit as well and would then have to be somewhere in the stateroom, which is not ideal. But if hard sided is your preference, just keep that depth size in mind. Not aware of any Amtrak policies regarding luggage restrictions for carry on other than it needs to fit on the overhead storage, which most will. But maybe google Amtrak (or call) to see if there is any information available to be sure. One tip - as mentioned, we always store our empty luggage under the bed and at the end of each day we pack our worn clothes in them so that by the end of the week on the last night we are already 90% packed for the trip home.

Depending on your cruise line(s) of choice, a number now do offer a dedicated solo stateroom for solo travelers that typically are a little smaller than a standard double occupancy stateroom and designed for one person. On Celebrity Edge class ships, as example, they are a veranda category stateroom. They are also typically attractively priced as such at a pricing level that is somewhat higher than a one person rate in a double occupancy stateroom, but significantly lower than the usually double occupancy rate for a solo. You may want to look into this option for future cruises.

As pointed our previously, the problem with last minute bookings is obviously limited inventory. And pricing doesn't always drop just to move that inventory. This is even more of an issue with dedicated solo staterooms as those lines that offer this category don't necessarily have them on every ship, and those ships that do have them have a limited number to begin with. And as a great alternative to standard double occupancy staterooms at a solo rate, they are now increasingly more popular and tend to sell out very quickly, which means the odds of a last minute booking for one is typically nil. Most often last minute bookings for solo travelers are in standard double occupancy staterooms as a result.

Royal Caribbean, as one, has their own sponsored Visa card that has cruise benefits accrued via points based on spending. A number of years ago when it was first introduced I had one which I used for business expenses and over a couple of years time accrued enough points for a free cruise for my wife and I. I no longer have that card and, as I understand it, things have changed over the years considerably and the benefits earned require higher point totals than years ago, and I don't think the levels I attained would provide a free cruise today. There are other cards that have earned points that can translate to different participating cruise lines. I think you would just have to google that topic to see which cards might apply.

Per the RCI website: https://www.royalcaribbean.com/faq/questions/driving-directions-port-galveston-texas I believe all RCI ships will sail from there.

Each cruise line probably has a different process but friends of ours tested positively recently and were quarantined in their staterooms for a few days. It isn't like it once was and so much has been done on the ships and remains in place to reduce the risks on board. Not for anything, but to your thread title, we have been on 5 cruises since the restart and have not had any issues nor have contracted any illness on board.

If the travel agent is associated with a company the specializes in cruises, or if he is independent but advertises so, then they will likely be good to use. As long as they have gone through the individual line's training and are members of CLIA, then you should not have much concern. And there is nothing wrong in asking them this. To assure that they best match you with the right cruise line, you just need to detail your ages, travel likes and dislikes, expectations for your cruising experience (tour / sightseeing preferences, educational or lecture interests, individual activities or interests, etc.), and anything else that will help reveal your personalities. Most cruise lines target specific demographics (families, younger couples, adults, older travelers, etc.) and their cruise atmosphere and on board activities will reflect that. Royal, as you mention, while catering to all, is primarily family oriented with a lot of on board activities targeted to that demographic. Celebrity, by comparison, is more adult oriented with less family attractions on board. You should be very candid with the travel agent regarding your preferences to hep assure a good fit. It would be helpful to have some ideas as to itineraries you prefer. Look at different island destinations ahead of time to get some ideas of ones that may be appealing over others. But mostly, just engage in a good Q & A session with them to cover as much information about yourselves and your travel goals as possible.

I think either is a good choice. We are partial to Celebrity as well, but Princess is one of the few lines that is currently permitted to go to Glacier Bay, as 1025cruise and CruiserBruce indicate. If that is a "must see", then Princess would be the choice of the two.

It varies by cruise line but typically most of the mass market lines are 90 days prior to sailing on 7-night itineraries for final payment. (Other lengths and certain Holiday sailings may differ). You would need to check with the individual cruise line(s) you are considering to confirm their terms for the itineraries you are considering. I only suggest this based on the questions you are asking but I again would recommend using a travel agent to assist in your planning. They would be able to answer all of your questions and provide advice with your searches. There is no charge to you for their services as they are paid by the cruise lines from your booking. No difference in published fare to you either and some offer perks for booking with them. They also have access to certain fares not generally published by the cruise lines that may be favorable, such as group rates, etc.

With most cruise lines the price you book at is locked in when booked against price increases, but is eligible for a reduction up until final payment should the price decrease. So if the price changes favorably, you can take advantage of that. Note that post final payment price decreases are typically not adjusted. Typically the earlier you book the better the price is, but it will almost certainly fluctuate up and down based on demand and available inventory as bookings progress. My suggestion would be if you are certain of the ship and itinerary and you would be eligible for price reductions should the price decrease, and the current pricing is within your budget, then I would book it and then continue to monitor your itinerary's pricing to see if it decreases prior to final payment. Just be sure you understand any terms and conditions regarding your booking, in particular with regards to refundable versus non-refundable deposits.

There is no way to prevent them from coming to the table - that's their job. But as they approach you just simply and politely say "no thank you - we are not interested". We've never had an issue with them in that manner. If you eat frequently in the MDR and sit at the same table, typically after the second approach, they will stop coming altogether. Or will just look over at you to make sure you still don't want their service. At least that has been our experience when we would eat at the MDR.