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booked in March of 2014, final payment in Nov and got an email today stating Tortola was off - no Soggy Dollar Bar - and St. Thomas is in. Ah well. I do like St. Thomas.

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I'm paranoid enough to think that the taxi will have a flat on the way back from the beach and we'll miss the ship so I always bring my passport.

We've done four cruises out of San Juan I vote for this one:

Adventure of the Seas - Sailing February 13, 2016

Ports of call - St. Croix (we've never been), St. Kitts (love Shipwrech Beach Bar), St. Marteen (le Gallion beach) , Martinique (we've never been), Barbados (Rockly Beach - by the Tiki bar)

Vodka and cranberry with double lime.

And Embassy is 2 blocks away from the beach.

We've stayed at the Embassy Suites and Casino for the last 4 years. Great hotel with 2 room suites, a manager's "happy hour" from 5p to 7p and a pretty extensive buffet breakfast.

We did the ship's excursion "Old San Juan walking tour" last year. EXCELLENT tour guide. Very knowledgeable and personable. We did the El Yunque rainforest tour the previous year - beautiful flora and fauna. Going to try the "Old and Nw San Juan" tour this year.

We've done 4 cruises or of PR and love them. Capt usually swaps sides every other port but that depends on the number of ships in port. Deck 9 is the best imho. Nice and quiet. We always try to get 9600 series - starboard Next year we're on the port side.

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knock on wood, we've never had a bag lost/ late.

We pack swim suits, slides, couple of polo shirts and shorts in our carry on JUST in case our baggage does get lost at least we'd have something to wear.

I've also started getting travel insurance just in case.

I've always had My Time dining (or whatever it's called on other lines too). I don't recall how long the whole dining experience takes once seated. I'm guessing 1.5 to 2 hours. I've never really kept track. I will be traveling with a first time cruiser and we'd like to know how long to set aside. I know we can eat in the buffet for the quickest meal, but prefer to be waited on.

Depends on the night. Formal night they take a little longer - maybe 1.5 hours. Usually about an hour and 10 minutes but, that included us working through the cheese platter that our waiter gave us every night in between dinner and dessert. Didn't even have to ask.

we love the Radiance class ship. We just finished our 5th cruise on that size ship.

10 night out of Puerto Rico on a Radiance class ship. Hit up (in no particular order) Aruba, Barbados, Tortola, St, Kitts, St. Thomas, St Maarten, Antigua and Curacao. Grab a taxi at the pier and head out for a 9a to 4p day at a secluded beach with chairs and umbrella for twenty bucks - must have a small bar and restaurant that has great food and cocktails for decent price. Days at sea - have two loungers on the starboard side of the ship - sun in the a.m. and shade after noon. Chair hog patrol to enforce the 30 minute rule. Top drink package included or be able to buy wine/ vodka and cranberry juice on board for pre-dinner cocktails. Wine cooler and glasses in room for to relax with after the post dinner activities. Free WiFi so I can send pics home to make folks jealous. :D No rain.

Southern Caribbean, 3rd week of February... can't go wrong.

2nd and 5th nights as of last week.

Note we are 36 days away from our cruise so I don't know if you'll see this if you have a longer wait.... But, once you check in via on-line you should be able to go back into your reservation and click on the "Online Check In" page. On that page there is a section titled "Luggage Tags" located under the check in "Steps 1 - 4" area. Click on the "Print Paper Luggage Tag" link in the "Luggage Tags" field and you'll be able to print out as many copies as you need.

We do the 7 bottle Platinum package.

You can have unfinished bottles sent to your room or save it for the next night and have it brought to you in any restaurant including the Windjammer.

We've also had unopened bottles sent to our room to enjoy on the balcony - some folks haven't been so lucky.

On the night we leave Puerto Rico we love to sit in the open air - aft seating of the Windjammer with a bottle of wine and have dinner. Not many people there so the wait staff is very attentive.

We've had wine delivered to our cabin by room service on previous cruises. From what I was told wine from the package can be brought to your cabin or any of the dining rooms but not any other public areas.

Nope. Never had a problem with the staff.

we bring 6 packets of alcohol swabs and first thing we do is wipe down the light switches, TV remote, hair dryer, the phone and door handles.

Wash your hands more often because you're in such a public arena. When washing count to 30 or sing the ABC or Happy Birthday song while washing.

Use a paper towel to open the door when leaving the public bathrooms. Unbelievable the number of folks who don't wash their hands.

Use your key card or knuckle to press the buttons on the elevators.

Knock on wood - 11 cruises and we haven't been sick.

53 days and 23 hours... how happy am I? If I were any happier I"d have to sit on my hands to keep from clapping. :D

you wouldn't need a passport to fly into PR, the card would work. I would think you will need one for the cruise since your going out of country. It would pay to call RCL or your TA to find out for sure.

I was disappointed with the new menus in that they did not have Indian dishes listed.

I explained to our waiter that I was looking forward to the Indian dishes, he spoke to our head waiter, she came over and spoke to me. Every night after that she would come over and offer me entree that was cooked for the vegetarian members of the crew but wasn't on the menu.

It's because of this customer service I'll be a huge fan of Royal.

TnomadX,

Thanks for the review! We'll be embarking in 59 days and 22 hours - not that I'm counting :D

DW and I love the Southern Caribbean itinerary.

Quick question on Dominica - did the ship moor on the pier downtown or to the more industrial area west (I think) of town?

And thanks for the tip on the Chops Grill - we'll have to ask about the tasting.

Living The Dream

We've seen them on 2 mid-February cruises over the last 3 years. No idea on name or locale.