CaribbeanCrush

I think it's great that he wants to bring it! My son plays, so I know that they can be played quietly enough not to be heard through cabin walls anymore than a TV would be. Most people are friendly enough on a cruise that you can ask them if the playing is bothersome. I never run into as many rude, self-center people on a cruise than I have on these boards. (Keyboards and monitors make people say things that they would never say to your face... )

Anyway, I would suggest that if this is your first cruise, that your boyfriend may not even have time to play! We always bring stuff to do, books, crosswords, etc. and never get to any of those things!

Have a great cruise!

We enjoy the helipad. Surprisingly, we are often out there alone. We've never been out there with more than 2 couples.

You still haven't booked another cruise? You do know winter is coming again don't you?

I know! We are looking at a FOS cruise in Jan. 2017. We'd be on board for my birthday. That would make me happy! Our kids want us to do an all inclusive with them in 2016. My wife and I have not done one yet, so we'll see.

I've had that happen a few times, but never for more than a few days.

Just booked a cruise for my family of 4, my brother, his wife and my parents.

 

Allure of the Seas 10/23/2016 cabins 9282, 9284 and 9286.

 

Any comments on those cabins? I'm told we are across from the room used by the stewards and where luggage is stored upon boarding the ship... May be a bit noisy at times, but who cares we'll be on vacation.

 

Can anyone tell me the bed configuration for those cabins? And question on the doubles... they show a sofa, can on of my daughters sleep on it if they choose to? For example, I'm going to put my daughters and parents in the quad D4, but if the girls start fighting with each other (that never happens with sisters right), can one come into our room D7 and sleep on the sofa?

 

Any general deck 9 comments? He put us down for my time dining. I'm hoping it wont be an issue to get a table for 8 each evening.

 

Either way my only intention is to be in good spirits and enjoy our much needed vacation.

Sounds like a fun trip!

The differences are in the square footage of the cabins. We have had balcony cabins, mid ship, on decks 6-9 and haven't ever had an issue with noise. Even on a family cruise with our then 6 month old grandson right next door.

I book early because I'm fussy about stateroom selection, we really love the aft balconies on the pre-Oasis class ships. We book the room we want at a price we can live with if the price doesn't change, and frequently check for price drops. Then we can shop air fares well ahead of the cruise. It works for us.

 

-- Kevin

We like to book early for that reason too. We haven't ever experienced a price drop on our specific cabin category, but I think getting the cabin that we really want might out weigh the price difference for us.

Traditional late seating large table. (We love to meet new people)

 

I want to schedule once!

 

Always fits with shows.

 

I can relax after getting back from an excursion.

 

My wife ;) doesn't have to start getting ready for formal night @ 4PM.

 

DL or CL empties out at 5:30.

 

Late seating just feels less rushed...

Our choice as well. When in port we like to do as much as we can, so we are often just back on board minutes before departure. The idea of rushing back to the cabin to get ready for dinner (especially formal nights) would ruin things for us.

It is 3:30 p.m. right now. I changed my work voicemail and set my email away message. I watered my plants. I washed my coffee cup. I am waiting for it to be 4 p.m. so I can leave. THEN, I will be on vacation!

 

Oh no, I still have to pack! :eek:

I always pack the night before our flight too! It's part of my 'on vacation' ritual. So, I'm packing while enjoying my first vacation beverages, which increases the possibility that something will be forgotten! By the time I've finished packing it's time for bed for the first of many short nights to come, then up early for our flight.

Our vacation begins when we head to a local restaurant for the dinner the night before the flight . . . #Tradition

*Like* :)

Holiday mode for me starts once I have booked the holiday, I love doing research and getting useful information from sites like this.:p

 

We almost always stay at a hotel by the airport the night before flying, not because we live so far away. I love spending the night at the airport, getting to the hotel mid afternoon, doing night before luggage drop when available. Having a meal land-side in the airport and getting up the next morning feeling refreshed and taking a slow walk into the terminal. It's great just walking to departures, without the horrendous queues to check in:D

I like the idea of a hotel the night before the flight! We might have to try that next time!

When our airplane is "wheels down" in Florida....I am in vacation mode. So happy to leave winter behind.

We always cruise in the winter! It is so nice to be able to leave the cold behind for the next 10 days (or so)!

I feel the vacation when I leave work for the last time before vacation.

Yep! Whenever I set my 'out of office' message the vacation begins. I'll usually have my cruise music blasting in my car as I cruise down the highway getting passed by all the people who are rushing to get here and there. Not me... I'm already in cruise mode.

One cruise I forgot any dress socks and on another I forgot ties, on another I forgot a belt. I pack myself, always the night before, so I can't blame my wife! She usually packs several days before. She jokes every time now wondering what we'll have to stop to pick up. Thankfully we fly in at least a day before. I'm beginning to wonder if she is taking stuff out of my bags so that we will HAVE to go shopping!

Is there snorkeling on Labadee?

Since we only snorkel when we cruise we usually use Labadee as a practice/warmup place. We've never seen much as far as fish go, but the water is usually clear and calm. It's a good place to get ready for snorkeling later in the week. (We always enjoy Cozumel) We never done one of the excursions at Labadee, so it's possible that there is a good place see some aquatic life.

I don't know the answer to your question, but I would be very upset if Labadee was swapped out for Nassau on any itinerary I was planning to take.

I would be disappointed as well!

In May 2015, while on the Navigator of the Seas, I booked my next cruise for the Oasis in March 2017. The only real benefit was being able to book the cruise with "only a $100" deposit. Well, a few months go by and I figured I would start making my small monthly payments. I've got 18 months to go. I go to make a $100 online payment and it is rejected. The web page said I had to make a minimum payment of $500. Huh? So, I called Royal Caribbean and was told their system requires a minimum of $500 for the initial deposit. After that, I can pay what I want. The guy did offer to accept the payment over the phone but I would have to continue to do that until I made the additional $500 payment in total. While I am not "outraged" I do feel that this "only a $100 deposit" is rather misleading. So, I guess this was my first and last time booking on the ship because this was absolutely nothing special.

I had that happen to me as well. I went ahead an paid the remaining deposit online. I worked okay for us. Paid the cruise off faster than I anticipated. :-)

It depends on what is going on in the evening and if we are cruising with others we tend to stay up later. Regardless, we are up early ready to get off the ship for excursions or just exploring, or breakfast on the balcony.

I love reading the posts about the struggles people have gone through and why they have learned the hard way the lesson and now ALWAYS fly in the day before.

 

That is wonderful.....but for many, it isn't realistic or possible for them to do for many many reasons.

 

Some people have to calculate every day of vacation and other personal time off from work that they get and use them carefully. Some people might be independent business owners who have total control over their schedule and have to account to no one but themselves. There are many many reasons people can't leave a day or two prior to their cruise, and they are all good reasons....even though some would probably disagree.

 

Thousands upon thousands of people fly in the day their cruiseship departs and do it without any problems.

 

So for those that do fly in the day of your cruise....leave early in the morning. I do subscribe to the philosophy of smart packing.

I totally agree. Everyone's situation is different. But, I think it's good to try to encourage those who can do it and just haven't thought about it. It's one of those thing that people don't think about, i.e. ways of packing in case something happens with luggage.

I really don't understand all the fuss about more ships out of POM, and issues with flights. It's only 30 or so minutes from FLL to POM (well, OK, I drive it every day and I drive fast).. but still there are plenty of affordable transportation options to POM if you want to fly into FLL, and it's way more interesting to spend a night in South Beach over Fort Lauderdale, IMHO, if you're the fly-in-the-day-before type.

 

If you fly out of Port Canaveral, it's more than 30 minutes from Orlando airport to the port.

 

In fact there are plenty of desirable ports where they are more than a 30 minute trip from the nearest major airport.

Agreed! I thought the drive from FLL to Miami was nice and relatively easy.

This is really good news.

 

I've sailed out of Miami, Baltimore, Galveston, Fort Lauderdale, Honolulu, Colon, San Juan, and Vancouver. NOTHING beats a sail-away from Miami.

I agree!!!

I'm glad I checked for this topic before posting. This will be an interesting story to follow for awhile. Miami isn't the most convenient or economical port for us to sail out of, but I sure enjoy it. 4 out of 5 of my first cruises where out of there and sure I'm a bit nostalgic over it. Fort Lauderdale is easier and now Ive also cruised out of Tampa and Port Canaveral. Now to check the rest of this thread and discuss!

I'm with you BillOh. Our first 2 cruises were out of Miami. On the first we stayed the night before in FFL, the next one we got a great hotel deal in Miami. I've missed sail from there so I'm excited to go back.

I read they can't guarantee together seating for more than 10. Our more than 10 is a baby. Do you think they can just squeeze her in? Thanks!

I sure hope so !!

We had 10 adults and a child for our family cruise. The table got a little crowded when food started to arrive, but I didn't feel cramped for space.

Bummer....DH and I were just talking last night how on our next trip to St Maarten we'd like to just spend the day there. Our cruise isn't till 2017 so maybe they will have the beach back by then. Thanks for the report, will keep watching.

We're planning a cruise for Jan. 2017. Hope there is a beach to go to there as well!

Travel is stressful enough! We've always planned to arrive at least the day before the cruise departs. We've never had any delays getting to the port city, but we have getting home. Not worth the risk for us!