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I believe that's the same musician that was there the first week of March. He was great, I especially enjoyed his performance at On the Rocks in Hideaway Beach.

I was just on her in March and I loved it. The audience seemed to really like it as well. Not sure why Cats gets so much panning here on CC. Maybe the cruisers on here have just seen it a lot? I have seen a bunch of Broadway shows, both on Broadway and regional tours but only one time each. It was the first time I had ever seen Cats but I would definitely go again.

Looking forward to the review, I am on Radiance in November! I've been wanting to take a cruise from my hometown for a while 🙂

I’m definitely interested in the Izumi location. I just booked a cruise on Radiance for November and selected my room to be below Izumi (deck 10 portside aft) vs. under Windjammer. If they move Izumi to deck 12 where Samba is, really curious what gets put in its place!

I did My Time Dining on Oasis a few weeks ago. It’s not too bad of a wait if you make reservations but that just doesn’t make sense to me. My Time Dining, to me, seems like the whole point is you don’t have to make reservations ahead of time (and you really need to make them far out from the cruise for anything before 8:30). You don’t even have the show schedule at that time. We ended up just making reservations for 8:30 (earliest available) after the first night in the MDR for the rest of the cruise. We may as well have just gotten our standard late dining and just strolled to our seat without any waiting. We will do that from now on. The other lines I have tried definitely do that better; no reservations, check-in via the app or get a buzzer, and hang out at a bar until a table is ready. Many times, no wait at all. It’s not the end of the world since I don’t mind set time dining but I don’t understand why it’s so different on Royal.

That looks exactly like what our class made on Oasis a few weeks ago! We didn't get that knife placement tip though. I guess that helps to close it? It was still delicious!

My husband is a T1 diabetic and we have enjoyed many cruises. We never make any special needs requests. There are a lot of options for going low carb on a cruise. In fact, my husband’s pump broke on our cruise in October and since he is not as used to using the syringe to give himself insulin, he was remarkably strict, and thoroughly enjoyed his meals. We do not request a sharps container since my husband does not discard any in the trash. Of course with the insulin pump and sensor, he does not use many (even with the syringe he used, it was the same one used throughout the remainder of the cruise so was not discarded). I always see it as an option to request one if you need it so that shouldn't be a problem. Yes, the liquor drinks, without any sugary mixers, are your best bet for low carb alcoholic drinks. A strong wine is pretty good as well (general rule of thumb, the stronger the wine, the less sugar). Also recommend always taking the stairs if you don't have any limitations. Activity really helps my husband control his blood sugar. Enjoy your cruise!

Doing this cruise next month! Looking forward to hearing about it. The Hideaway Beach day passes just went on sale so I got those for our groups. Will be interested to read how that is. Only videos/pictures I've seen are of people dancing in the pool. We might be interested in the chef's table as well. We did that on Allure. The food was not as good as I hoped but I loved the location and presentation. We also had great table mates! Can't wait to hear about your experience.

On some of the more scenic passes, do they ever turn the ship for a bit so the port side balconies can see as well? I'll definitely want to do my research on which side to book if I make it to a SA cruise. Sounds like starboard definitely has the better views on your route. Thanks for all the posts!

I was thinking they would be very similar. What made them better/worse? Just the chef/host or was it what you were making? We're doing this on Oasis in March, hope it's a good one!

That's exactly what I thought of!

Probably too late now for Aruba, but this boat excursion, https://www.tranquiloaruba.com/, is one of my all time favorites. Actually did it while on a land tour to Aruba but pickup is right by the cruise port and across from Lucy’s that was previously mentioned. I had a great time there after my excursion as well!

For me, I would not have chosen Teppanyaki or Moderno because they are more about the show / quantity rather than quality of food. You may have been happier with different choices. In addition to Cagney's we ate at Le Bistro and Ocean Blue. But, it’s hard to know what you will like to do until you’ve done it….I love a balcony, so will probably always have one. I don’t like overcrowded pool decks so Vibe would be worth it to me as well, depending on the itinerary/# sea days. I’ve never been to a spa on a ship so that would be a waste on me. FAS is a good deal if you will use everything (wifi time limit is perfect for me and we do take an excursion in most ports…) I think upgrading the drink package may often not be necessary but I did really like getting the bottles of wine at the restaurants included. I think if you upgrade with a package it could be worth it, especially with FAS+.

Is the band Latin Grooves still performing in the Havana Bar? They were fantastic on my cruise.

That's so funny, I was just about to write how awesome the tiny slice of cake was! I always think the desserts are too big.