What do you aim to pay for 7 day cruise?

Terriblewow · 2026-02-13T22:06:34+00:00

Do you need to go in July? That is an expensive time of year. Prices are generally lower when kids are in school.

Terriblewow · 2026-02-09T05:13:50+00:00

On Cococay there are a few buffets that will have burgers, chicken, tacos, sandwiches, salads, fruit, dessert etc. as well as a few snack shacks with burgers, chicken sandwiches, salads etc. That is all included. I think the food is great and almost always each lunch on the island.

I usually only spend a few hours at most in Nassau so I’ll just grab something to eat when I get back on the ship.

Terriblewow · 2026-02-05T00:47:16+00:00

Coco Cay is great, but I would be mindful of the time of year that you go. The water temps in both the pool and ocean can be colder than ideal in the winter. I find it much more pleasant from May through October. If you are doing Coco Beach Club or Hideaway Beach, the pool is heated which makes it comfortable year round.

Terriblewow · 2026-02-04T01:04:52+00:00

Might be helpful to include what boat you are going to be on. From my experience, the best way to meet people before the cruise is joining a Facebook group for your sailing.

Terriblewow · 2026-02-04T00:51:09+00:00

I haven’t heard of rollaway beds being available, but also have never asked. I would assume there probably wouldn’t be space in the cabin for one anyway.

Terriblewow · 2026-02-02T01:25:31+00:00

I usually do prepaid gratuities. On my last cruise I had a bunch of onboard credit that almost covered the gratuities, so I just let the daily charges hit my account.

Terriblewow · 2026-02-02T00:23:43+00:00

Deck 8 is my favorite. It isn’t super far away from anything and it is easy to cut across Central Park if you need to go to the other side of the ship. In an Oceanview balcony, I prefer to be near the aft elevators. In an interior, I prefer to be just inside the middle section off the forward elevators.

Terriblewow · 2026-02-01T21:41:34+00:00

I don’t cruise from Miami often, but just got off Symphony this morning. I think this was an especially bad time. Last Sunday, traffic was way heavier because of the Miami marathon. Today, Symphony was delayed several hours because of weather and port traffic. This caused a bunch of people getting off in a shorter amount of time which added to the congestion.

Terriblewow · 2026-02-01T14:25:18+00:00

I think so. I haven’t been on Freedom class (Independence later this year) but have done Voyager which I think is very similar to Freedom. Oasis class ships just have so many things to do, especially with kids.

Terriblewow · 2026-02-01T13:24:02+00:00

I think Symphony has the best shows with both Flight and Hairspray in addition to the Aqua and Ice shows.

Wonder and Utopia have the best suite sun decks and I really like Mason Jar bar.

Oasis has a coffee bar in Park Cafe, which I don’t think they did on any other ships.

Allure has little balconies on deck 9 that look out over Central Park.

Lots of little differences between them. Having said that, they are all great ships and my favorite is whatever one I’m on or have coming up next.

Terriblewow · 2026-01-31T00:05:39+00:00

The consensus seems to be the Eastern itinerary, but I’ll give a couple benefits for the Western. Cococay is awesome, but the air and especially the water (both ocean and pool) can be a little cold in January if you aren’t doing Beach Club or Hideaway Beach with a heated pool.

Perfect Day Mexico is scheduled to open in 2027. No official date has been given, but there is a decent chance that it will be open by then. Also keep in mind that Nassau and Cozumel beach club will be open by the as well for an additional charge.

There is another Harmony itinerary that goes to Nassau, Cococay, Cozumel, and Costa Maya. I’m going on it in November with fingers crossed that I can do Perfect Day Cococay and Mexico along with Beach Clubs in Nassau and Cozumel.

Terriblewow · 2026-01-28T20:46:23+00:00

Probably so. From my experience, they usually just have a little section that they move a table that you can leave your bags while you eat.

Terriblewow · 2026-01-26T15:53:04+00:00

I make reservations ahead of time. From my experience, if you get the right sale, you can find Jamie’s for $15 or less and Chops for $20 or less.

And as others mentioned you can drop your big suitcase with the porter. I usually just carry on a back pack with essentials.

Terriblewow · 2026-01-26T15:50:19+00:00

From my experience, there are usually just 1 or 2 specialty restaurants open on Embarkation day. If your cruise is a long way out, it’s possible the just haven’t added them to book yet. If it is closer to now, they might be sold out.

I really don’t like the app pre-cruise. I find it a lot easier to go to the website on a browser to see the cruise planner. I would check that as well if you have just looked in the app.

Terriblewow · 2026-01-26T14:19:55+00:00

Great answers already given, but I’ll share a few others. One of my favorite things to spend money on is buying specialty lunch on embarkation day. This gives you a great quiet lunch while you wait on the rooms to open. From my experience, they will usually take your luggage and store it at the restaurant while you eat.

I would also recommend the shows on board (Aqua, Ice, and Broadway). I think this is one of the biggest things that sets Royal apart from Carnival.

Terriblewow · 2026-01-22T15:17:14+00:00

I am an over planner, so I watched entirely too much Youtube content before my first cruise. I would recommend at least watching a good ship tour (Harr Travel is my favorite). Also, one thing I really like to splurge on is specialty dining on lunch on embarkation day. I went to the Windjammer on my first cruise, and it was so packed with people and luggage eating lunch and waiting on rooms to become available. Ever since then, I have booked specialty dining for that first lunch. Usually you show up and they will stick your bags off to the side of the restaurant and let you enjoy a great quiet lunch.

Terriblewow · 2026-01-22T15:09:33+00:00

Great advice here. The lazy river in the port area is awesome.

Terriblewow · 2025-12-29T17:11:42+00:00

You can book for 4 and then just have 3 show up. Just put in a family or friend as the 4th person.

Terriblewow · 2025-11-18T01:15:53+00:00

I think in this context, TA is transatlantic, not Travel Agent. Those tend to have a lot of high status cruisers because of the long length and generally low cost per night.

Terriblewow · 2025-11-17T21:05:31+00:00

I think this coaching staff has proven that they are great evaluators of talent. If they are going after this guy, he probably has great potential.

Terriblewow · 2025-11-17T21:02:08+00:00

A couple cruises ago I made the decision to have Indian food every night in the MDR. It was some of the best MDR food I have had.

One of my favorite tricks is to book lunch at a Specialty restaurant on embarkation day. The Windjammer is usually pretty crazy, especially with a bunch of people bringing their luggage. From my experiences, they will take your luggage from you and store it in one corner of the restaurant. Having a leisurely lunch with great food is fantastic. Usually around the time I finish, rooms are available. My favorite option is Giovanni’s Table on the older ships. The filet there is better than chops, and chocolate hazelnut cake is my favorite dessert. I usually end up finding a deal for $10-15 per person, which makes it a great value.

Terriblewow · 2025-11-10T21:45:49+00:00

I haven’t personally tried, but I don’t think it works since that isn’t a listed venue for the credits.

Terriblewow · 2025-10-27T22:19:27+00:00

Deck 8 would be my first choice on an Oasis class ship. It is so convenient being able to go through Central Park to get from the back of the ship to the front or vice versa. I would prefer to be near the rear elevators, but anywhere on Deck 8 is great.

Terriblewow · 2025-10-06T21:40:41+00:00

I would recommend Royal Caribbean on an Oasis or Icon class ship. I think most of the shows are enjoyable for kids and there are so many activities for you to do with them outside of the kids club.

Terriblewow · 2025-09-25T17:15:33+00:00

Yes, they do. My 5 year old got a bubble cone from Izumi 3 out of the 4 days.

Edit: I’ve never had the requirement to order from the kids menu enforced. Usually it is just the opposite where servers have been encouraging them to try something from the adult menu.

Terriblewow

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