Tatka

We are also empty nesters… but I remember times when ships were already large, but not enough to do for kids… so kids were right were adults were. Even though I don’t need theme park, they attract kids and we can have a quiet time. 🙂

Each has own advantages. Quantum class for colder sailings (not sure Quantum+ will work). The best Solarium! Oasis class has unusual things like water shows, Central park etc Everything under has Viking Crown lounge which we miss on larger ships greatly Vision class has everything really close... tons of music at centrum, ocean views

Of course, but from US they are, so RCI will need to look for some other places to cater to addicts. 😉

Cruises to nowhere are prohibited you know.

I live near Boston, but I also travel internationally and originally not from US. This is why I am saying what I am saying. I also can say that even here in Massachusetts it is very different than in NYC thankfully . Less ads, less sales... more regulations. We do not need to have pot Mecca here.

Where is it changing? Definitely not worldwide.

I have not visited Labadee for some time, but I remember from previous visits swimming to the rocks at Adrenaline (?) beach and snorkeling there. It is better earlier in the morning when water is clearer.

It is interesting that people suddenly started discussing other people spending when prices on Icon looked high to them. Do you think people do not spend beyond their means when cruising on other ships ... or just eating OUT most of the time? 🙂 Many people are not fiscally responsible... but then there are many people who do have means to pay for Icon.. and for Coco cay additional things. No need to start making generalizations.

We usually cruise 5 cruises on 4-5 ships a year.. and I don’t think crew welcomes cruisers on every cruise. Only on some we were approached and asked about special dining. To me it’s a good thing.. there is a table where I can order it.

I used it at least 5 times in the last 3 years. No difference from using it in Nassau. Seems like for others too

If you have T-mobile … most plans include data in every country including island countries. Not sure about Labadee.

We like what large ships offer in terms of entertainment, but looking at Icon I feel that we will miss adult Solarium. We are fine with many kids onboard, but need a space to “hide”.. which isn’t our room.

It Is uniqueness. You can book luxury line… but will it offer what Icon is offering to kids? This is basically like with Disney. A very special ship families are looking for. Same people who may otherwise sail with luxury lines book suites on Icon or Disney to vacation with kids. As two adults we don’t see anything special about this ship which will make us to pay prices like this. We actually see several cons. We sail on all classes though so when she or sisters make it to Bayonne, NJ, we will sail on her.

If you don’t need to use internet at the same time you can even buy 1 device for 1 person and switch between devices. Technically you are not buying internet for specific devices, but connecting from any devices at the same time.

I never play, my husband may visit casino once in a blue moon. We are looking at Celebrity as we want to visit Quebec City again.. We used to drive there often, not anymore. So maybe next year instead of usual 9 dayer round trip out if NJ we will do X. 🙂

Thank you. We don’t use CAS. We like Celebrity for various reasons and we enjoyed Elite breakfast. We would sail with them again if we see an advantage over RCI and price is not much higher (with 5 cruises a year it matters). We are watching New England itineraries.

Same corporation. Belongs to Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines. I think they now have a weaker offering with only 2 hours and limited menu. Kind of what RCI had pre pandemic, but with 3.5 hours.

Gifted… We wouldn’t get them on other lines when we reach/reached similar status even though we paid same amount of money.

Started in 2003. 11 cruises to reach Diamond status in 2018 while also cruising with Princess, Celebrity, NCL, Holland America, MSC, Cunard, Carnival. Up to 2016 we had 5 cruises with Royal. (2 7 day cruises, 2 9 day cruises and 1 10 dayer) We kept cruising with other lines too up to 2021 when we had our last non RCI cruise on Celebrity Edge as it was the first ship to restart cruises from US. Now we have 30 cruises with RCI and 31 with other 7 lines. We always cruised to have fun … we didn’t consider our cruises to be an investments into status. Of course they cost money. What doesn’t? If you travel, especially internationally you know how much everything costs. 🙂 We consider RCI perks to be a nice free addition to our enjoyment. We didn’t do anything heroic to get it… enjoyed our vacations with them … and btw with other cruise lines (and as we also reached statuses with others we had a chance to compare loyalty benefits which reinforced our opinion on Royal loyalty program). Specialty dining, Coco cay pricing are just additions .. Royal provides adequate included food on ships and places/food in Coco Cay to enjoy our time. Prices on all listed things would increase whether we have our nice C&A benefits or not. Inflation happens, pandemics etc. We enjoy Royal for overall experience and variety of ships/itineraries they provide from places we now cruise (NJ, Baltimore, Boston). In comparison to other lines which sail from same places Royal wins in most categories. That’s why we sail with them…

You can say “earned”.. still it’s something nice which is not standard for loyal cruisers of other cruise corporations.

It is still free because it’s not something mandatory to provide by cruise line.

I trust OP judgement. 🙂

Enjoy! I love when people find something so exciting for them. Exciting experience is much more than money.

Huge part of planning for European cruise is a research. If you don’t do it you will miss a lot … and it’s not like you will be flying there every year. Check section Ports of Call. Check group for your cruise, what people are doing. Sometimes cruisers organize private tours. Ports vary. Sometimes this are right in port, other times you are 1 hours from it. Check Rick Steves books. He describes everything in defiles

We had lobsters on Royal nights on Anthem on both Bahamas cruise for Thanksgiving and 11 nights Southern Caribbean on an Jan 7th. Current sailing is 11 nights and Royal Night is #10 so you do not see it for your 7 night cruise. You see current sailing menu.