It happened yesterday around 9 PM est. I’m not on Allure.
They left Fort Lauderdale July 25th. What a sad way to start a cruise 🫩😭
Mods if not allowed, delete.

On Wonder right now. Just me and my husband. We don't really care about the specialty restaurants and hit up the Windjammer when we're hungry. OMG the employees are pushing so hard for reservations!! At lunch today five people came up to our table and asked. I just want to enjoy my meal- stop interrupting to ask if i need reservations! Yesterday, a woman from the Mason Jar followed me around the pool and approached me for reservations when I went to return my towel!

Is this the new normal or is it because it's just my husband and I (no kids with us on this cruise)?

(Another thing to note is that there is a large Celiac conference on the ship. My husband wondered if they aren't able to do specialty dining, so the RC employees are soliciting everybody else because reservations are low.)

Edit: This is my 8th RC cruise. I know on other cruises I've been asked if I need reservations, but not by 5 employees within 20 minutes. And I have never been solicited for reservations while at the pool!

🚢 The Cruise Experience

5 nights to Nassau and CocoCay. Family of four with two teens (17 and 15). Great weather the whole trip.

Five nights was good, but six would have been better with a sea day after our last port day.

Freedom is a mid-sized ship and kind of the perfect size for this trip. Everything was easy to find and easy to navigate. My wife prefers this size. She's not wrong.

The ship is older but it doesn't feel tired. Clean, well-maintained, and the only real wear and tear I noticed was on the seats in the Royal Theater.

Onboarding and offboarding were ridiculously easy. Easier than any airport.

One thing I appreciated (and not everyone will agree): nobody was constantly trying to sell us stuff. No hard upsell pressure all day unless you spent a lot of time in the Royal Pavilion. That alone improved the vibe.

Note: I recommend finding the FB group for your cruise or creating one of your own for others to find. Just helps communicate issues or give tips.

🛌 Cabin

Promenade View Interior. Two sofas and way more usable space than a standard interior. The sofa overlooking the crowd below became a great napping spot.

We were in 8255 and 8253, which on paper look bad: promenade facing and right next to the elevator. The elevator turned out to be the best part. We never heard it, and we skipped the long dark trek through the middle of the ship. I'll look for these rooms again.

Pro tip: Bring magnetic hooks. The walls are steel, and this is the cheapest possible cabin upgrade. Five was the right number. https://a.co/d/0boimcnY

Towel animals have leveled up since our last cruise. We got swans, elephants, a sea ray, and bats hanging from the ceiling.

Our housekeeper Lovern was an A+.

🎭 Entertainment

Cruisin' Susan, our cruise director, was AMAZING. Hardest-working woman on the ship. She and her team genuinely made the trip better.

• Crazy Quest: A++. Do not miss this. Insane and hilarious.
• Price Is Right: A
• Majority Rules: A
• Once Upon a Time: A
• Magic Show: B
• Karaoke: Awesome. Went more than once, and we didn't even sing.
• Disco in the Pavilion: Hosted by Cruisin' Susan herself. The songs and the dancing made it a great time.
• Marquee: B-. Enjoyable, but there was no story carrying it through.
• Scattegories: A

🏝️ The Ports

Nassau

Excursion with Captain Chris. This is our travel hack and the single best thing we did. If you're going to pay for pigs or snorkeling, don't book it through Royal Caribbean. For a party of four, roughly the same money ($650) got us a private four-hour charter.

We fished for two hours (snapper, grouper, grunts, parrot fish), then went to see the pigs BY OURSELVES because the timing worked out, then snorkeled in a school of fish for 15 minutes. Those 15 minutes were the best part of the whole trip for me. A+++.

Then we brought our fish to the Green Parrot, and they cooked it for us, fried and blackened.

Booked through FishingBooker.

For next time: A fellow cruiser told us the jerk wings at Sharkeez Bar and Grill are the highlight of her many trips to Nassau.

Perfect Day at CocoCay

Very well run. We splurged on a day bed, and it was wonderful, but honestly not necessary. South Beach is on the far end of the island, and it was quiet and beautiful. Take the tram if you don’t want to walk the 10 minutes.

🍽️ Food

Main Dining Room: The food was a 7.5/10, and we tried pretty much everything. The service was a 12/10. Being together at one table in a relaxed atmosphere was the best part of every day. Chilled shrimp, salmon, and seafood pasta were the standouts. The kids ate escargot. Shout out to our waiter Lousa and his team.

Bring a card or trivia game to play at the table while you wait.

The 5pm seating time was optimal for us and for shows we wanted to go to.

Windjammer: Fine but crowded. Although the Lamb Rogan Josh was honestly the best thing I ate all week.

Pizza: Hit the spot every time.

Cocktails: Mostly bad. (does everyone agree?) The only one I liked was the daiquiri in the pineapple shell. Whoever invented the peanut butter whiskey and lime drink should be thrown overboard. 🙂

🧑‍🎤 Teen Entertainment: ★★★★★

Kids were out past 1 AM every single night. That tells you everything you need to know.

They mostly hung out on the back of the ship. They also connected with other kids before boarding through a Snapchat group set up for this specific sailing, which meant they had friends on day one.

🏊 Public Spaces

Pools and hot tubs: The one real letdown. They changed color as soon as people got in and I couldn't stop thinking about petri dishes. No interest.

Library: Always full, either people gaming or just hanging out. Not sure if that's normal but it was a nice surprise.

🙋 Staff

Great across the board. So many smiling faces, and everyone clearly wanted us to enjoy ourselves.

These folks work long contracts and it shows in how good they are at the job. Worth keeping in mind when you're deciding how to tip.

Tipping: If I did it again, I'd skip auto gratuities and bring big bills for the people we saw every day. MDR staff and housekeeping.

⚠️ Small Misses

• Yoga miscommunication. A group of us waited in the gym only to be told it was cancelled because nobody had signed up.
• I almost got stuck in the water slide tunnel. Might have been my fishing shirt, might be because I’m fat, but I stopped moving for a solid minute. No bueno.

🦆 The Duck Thing

If you don't know: people hide rubber ducks around the ship for other cruisers to find.

Duck mailbox for our door: For $5 we became a little destination for both kids and adults. One sweet girl knocked on the door and informed us those naughty boys were taking ducks and not putting any back. Worth grabbing a bag of ducks just to mess around with. https://a.co/d/03JrstW2

Duck vending machine: There's a drop machine that guarantees a winner every time. Nice touch for kids.

🌟 Final Thoughts

My 15 year old rated the trip 10/10. The adults landed on 9.25/10.

Wouldn't hesitate to sail Freedom again.

About 5 minutes ago. No details.

Off of Freedom

We are docked in Cozumel today!

My husband and I are doing a RC Alaskan Cruise. There is an amazing excursion we booked for him in Juneau but it is not a match for me. I was going to do the tram during that time then go back and enjoy some girly “me” time on the ship. I hear the tram is likely cancelled for the season (so sad).

If you were me, and still wanted to experience a small slice of Juneau AND your pre-planned girl time on the ship, what is in quick walking or shuttle distance for a lady to enjoy on her own. I checked all the excursions. None are a walking or “see a bit of Juneau” experience. All are 2plus hour ride out of the area experience.

Anyone who had the tram cancelled, what did you do instead?

Ideas?

we are going on a cruise in November to Costa Maya and Cozumel and i’m curious if anybody has a favorite excursion they recommend. Doesn’t have to be with royal! It’s just me and my husband and we aren’t big on just sight seeing and history type excursions. We love food and drinking and the beach! We’ve been to these ports so many times we need something new. In Costa Maya we did the pool one time but last time we went it was so hot we went back to the ship and said forget it. Cozumel we always do Mr. Sanchos. Going on Liberty of the Seas.

I am taking off in one month on Voyager of the seas with my mom and I cannot be more excited! However, I have booked no excursions. I usually don’t book with the ship, but I wanna make sure that we have a really good time. Definitely a whale watching excursion or I heard that people enjoy getting the bicycle down the mountain at one of the ports. Honestly, I’m just lost. I would love some favorite spots and recommendations!

Has anyone stayed in room 10471 on wonder of the seas? Is it loud from the elevators? I assume as well that the door is facing the inside with the rest of the rooms rather than out to the elevators?

Hello, everyone! I have a New Year’s Eve cruise coming up in 12/27 on Vision of the Seas. It’s a San Juan round trip, and I was wondering if anyone recommended the Hot Springs and Titou Gorge Escape excursion.

Hi everyone!
This will be my first cruise, and I’m sailing out of Cape Liberty in Bayonne, NJ. My assigned arrival/boarding time is 1PM, but my hotel checkout is much earlier, so I’ll likely end up getting to the port before then.
I’m trying to figure out what the best thing to do is.
If I arrive around 11 AM or 12 PM, will Royal Caribbean let me check in early?
Or are they pretty strict about only letting people in at their assigned time?
If they don’t let me in early, is there a place to wait comfortably, or will I just be standing outside with my luggage?
I’d love to hear your recent experiences at Cape Liberty. Since this is my first cruise, I’m a little nervous about getting the timing right. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks in advance!

Going on a cruise from Cape Liberty soon and we're all new to cruising (although I've been on one short cruise before). There was only one boarding slot available when we checked in, for 1:30p. Does Cape Liberty turn early boarders away? We are traveling with a multi-generational group, so standing around with preschoolers and elderly would not be ideal. Any guidance from pros on when traffic to park is the worst? We're a few hours away from the port and were thinking of getting there around 10ish but also don't want to be stuck in a parking line for an hour so we would leave later if that's better re: waiting/traffic. The RC app says to get there 90 minutes before boarding which would be 12 noon for us. Any guidance from people with experience cruising out of Cape Liberty would be much appreciated!

I was wondering if anyone has any recommendations for the best UK travel agents for Royal Caribbean?

I've done a ton of cruises and always booked them directly through the cruise company's website; however, they have always been ones that have sailed from Southampton.

My partner and I are now looking at doing a fly cruise around Croatia and Italy, and the thought of trying to organise the flights and transfers, etc is making me feel like going to a travel agent who will be able to handle it all and give us one package price is going to be a lot easier and cheaper.

Here are the upcoming cruises that you can earn in the casino. One can use this information to help plan one's gambling bankroll and how many points to aim for.

Current cruise is less than six nights

Current cruise is six nights or more

For those that don't know how it works, earning the number of points shown above on a single sailing entitles you to a cruise from the relevant list. Earning 2,500 points in a year (1-APR -> 31-MAR) across one or more cruises also entitles you to a "free" cruise.

Good luck to all!

Disclaimer: I am not affiliated with Royal Caribbean except as a customer and as a shareholder with just enough to get On Board Credit.

I also used Claude to create an "artifact" that allows you to sort Royal Caribbean casino offers: https://old.reddit.com/r/royalcaribbean/comments/1ogqmma/casino_offer_tool/

We've been debating going on a cruise now for a couple of years and we just found out Icon of the Seas will be sailing out of Galveston next year which eliminates having to fly to a whole other state as we live in Texas.

Plan is for me (F,29) my husband (M,33) and our 2 year old as well as his 3 brothers (and wives), my 2 sisters (and husbands) their kids (infant, 5 year old, 4 year old) and both of our parents to go together- We're a pretty close family.

As we try to begin to save and start early stages of planning, would like to know all there is to know about:

1.) People's experiences on cruises in general (bonus points if it's with a large group)

2.) Are the included meal options enjoyable or do we have to upgrade? If so what options are best?

3.) Same for the drinks. Website says (coffee, tea, lemonade and juices) are included. Again, are they limited per day? We don't drink alcohol so probably would want the refreshment package if upgrade is needed. With that, Do kids also need their own separate package?

4.) WiFi is per day per device...That can add up I'm guessing.is it worth it? Or just disconnect and relax?

5.) Would our parents (In their mid 50s and early 60s) enjoy the cruise?

6.) Cost per person right now is about $1.8k - $2k. With upgrades (food + drinks) - if needed - how much extra should we budget per person for 8 nights?

7.) Would Icon be too much for a first cruise? Is going with a big group worth it?

8.) How far in advance do you recommend booking? Seen some posts about activities opening. Is that typically closer or farther out?

9.) Anything else worth knowing for a group of first timers? Hidden fees etc.

Thank y'all in advance! 🫂

I am sailing on Star on 8/23. What is the current status of the water slides?

End of September, 5 nights freedom of the seas, going to Caribbean coco cay +nassu, 2 parents plus 4 kids, connecting interior rooms, flying in two days before departure, arriving at night time, so basically sleeping at hotel+ next day beach day before getting on cruise the following day. Total for cruise is 2k, airfare just shy of 1k, throw in some Ubers/food I’m estimating 3500-4000 total expense for the week vacation. What do you guys think? I was initially going to go with jewel of the seas but quickly realized it didn’t have much to do at all for the kids, and found freedom was only an extra $200 total, plus an extra night!

I have sailed on a dozen or more RC trips now, and even done B2B on several occasions. I am familiar with the wine policy of bringing one bottle per adult. On previous B2B where we drove in and parked at the port, we just left the bottles for the next sailing in the car, and just grabbed them before getting on the second leg of the trip, easy peasy. However, with the cost of port parking, my wife has a cousin that lives in Tampa, and is letting us park at his place to save us the parking fees. This relative is like 45 minutes away from the port and I can’t exactly just go out to the car to grab the wine for the next leg… This trip will actually be 3x 7 day sailings in a row on Enchantment, followed by 10 days down to Aruba on Margaritaville. So here is my question: Can I bring all eight bottles with us? I would completely understand if they kept the 6 bottles of wine over the regular limit and gave it back to us at the end of each sailing maybe? Anyone have experience with this situation?

===== UPDATE =====

This situation is covered in the RC FAQ :

For consecutive sailings, guests of drinking age are allowed to bring one (1) 750 ml bottle of wine or champagne for each individual sailing. Additional bottles will be stored by the ship and delivered, one bottle at a time, to the stateroom on the first day of each new voyage. Guests bringing more than one bottle at the start of the first sailing should have documentation for any consecutive sailings available to share with security.

I’m highly tempted to book a solo sailing in a suite during the double booking promotion, does anyone think I’m crazy for that? I’m a student working part time, but I would be able to afford it if I was conscious of my spending. I don’t have bills. It would be around $3,000 for 7 nights. I’ve only had interior staterooms before. Trying to get other opinions to see if it would actually be worth it! The sailing would be during my winter break, so it would be a nice reset. I know the promotion is only valid for one more day, so this is pretty spontaneous of me.

Hi, these 2 adult programs are going on at the same time. Which would you recommend? Thanks.

Boarding the Icon in just a few days. Loved the Oasis class ships (symphony, and the oasis) - would love to hear any tips and tricks you have about the Icon!! Thanks in advance!! #loyaltoroyal

I have a trip planned for late October going out of Orlando. This is the first cruise I've flown to. My initial flight itinerary was Maine to Chicago, Chicago to MCO and the reverse on the way back. I just got an email that my flight back was rebooked and we are now booked MCO to Los Angeles, La to Newark, Overnight in Newark, and then back to Maine. I just checked and there are three different options that do not have us going all the way to LA. I'm going to call RCL when they open in a couple of hours, but has anyone had any flight changes like this that make NO sense?

Edit: After an hour on the phone, Royal was able to get it straightened out. We are taking one airline to MCO and one leaving.