The Fun Researcher

I don't begrudge anyone for their choice but for us if we had to choose one it would be Labadee. We do enjoy both but for different reasons. Labadee positives: Relaxing (love chill vibe and views at Columbus Cove with the ship as the backdrop) Feels more like we picture when we think of a tropical getaway Gorgeous views when docking and leaving Coco Cay positives: Food options and quality So many options for activities Massive freshwater pool Labadee negatives: Food quality and options Less to do Coco Cay negatives: Feels more like an amusement park than a private island. "Over commercialized" Feels significantly more crowded and can be hard to find loungers in our experience Debatable: The markets of Labadee. Lots of options and souvenirs, but on the other hand the aggressive sales/interactions can be "off putting" Maybe a one and done, but Largest zipline over water in the world at Labadee

Pick one. Which would you choose for your itinerary and why? Please only respond if you've actually visited both

About the only thing I've ever been able to make good on during Black Friday Sales are soda packages LOL Typical RCCL tactics to mark things up to then mark them down to the same price as before with a "Wow Sale" Dan

It’s practically guaranteed that there will be lunch served in the main dining room on Sea days

The Tidal Wave slide on Liberty of the Seas has a max per passenger weight of 250 pounds, and a combined raft weight of 450 pounds. Guests need to be at least 100 pounds and 52 inches tall to ride. The Perfect Storm water slides require guests to be 48 inches tall to ride. *Credit Royalcaribbeanblog

Freedom class (Liberty is Freedom Class) and Voyager class are still our favorite ship classes to date. Liberty is not officially amped, but has been updated. It doesn't have Playmakers sports bar, or all the bright new furniture and look on the pool deck, etc... Having said that, it's a large beautiful ship. The waterslides were the latest new addition and they are nice. Be aware that the Solarium is not covered. It is open air, so if the weather is cold, there is no indoor pool. We prefer Labadee to Coco Cay. Labadee is more of a classical tropical paradise, whereas Coco Cay feels like an amusement park. I do like the food choices on Coco Cay though. We love resting in the loungers at Columbus Cove on Labadee, with the ship in the background. The things that we love about the Liberty are: Large Royal Promenade. A wonderful central location on the ship that makes navigation super easy A wonderful "connection to the sea" with the deck 4 walking/lounging track, access to the front helipad(especially at night looking at the stars), and the wonderful pool deck Large beautiful main dining room Great Shows and entertainment Large ship with plenty of venues to keep you busy on even the longer voyages Pools are freshwater Beautiful indoor Viking crown lounge overlooking the pool area etc...

Yeah, I pulled the 18th date from a different website but looks like you are much closer to being accurate based on last year (and other years). So maybe the 21st-23rd we'll see some info. Hopefully I can reprice our 2023 cruises, and I typically wait for our soda packages until Black Friday as well. Dan

At least for the beverage packages it's 72 hours, per RCCL's website https://www.royalcaribbean.com/faq/questions/beverage-package-cancellation-policy

Exactly. We have a forward cabin for our Alaska cruise in July and plan to use the Bistro for breakfast and coffee in the morning. Would be a shame if it were closed for some reason. Could regular guests at least get coffee in the morning at the Solarium Bistro when it's been closed for special events or groups?

Some more info re. last years timing https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/black-friday-and-cyber-monday-cruise-deals

I think the Black Friday sales are supposed to start November 18 Dan

I would love to but her schedule is not flexible and doesn’t allow her to sail when the fairs are cheaper, she is a kindergarten teacher, bless her heart. In the end we have decided to go a different route. My wife and son’s spring break do not line up with our daughters spring break in March. We have decided to do a seven day cruise on the Anthem the week after our daughters are home from college for spring break. So there will be my wife, son and I on the cruise and we will get connecting interior or balcony cabins. One of us will be in a room solo and get double points. That will get my wife or Myself 14 point and get us to 82 total, just past Diamond. Dan

Yeah, sorry about that, thanks for the clarification. You’re right. However, if the OP wants to have an interior connecting door between rooms they need to choose a connecting room. That’s what I was trying to say but didn’t do it accurately. Dan

Just be aware adjoining rooms are rooms next to each other, but not necessary connecting. If you want that door inside between rooms they need to be connecting Dan

Two full bathrooms for a family of five is awfully nice. We also have a family of five and have always had connecting rooms on our cruises. It works out great. having that open doorway between the two cabins makes the whole space seem larger Dan

Your points are valid. I also think it all depends on any given couple, or family. Drinks are expensive on RCCL's ships, and we take that cost into account when budgeting for our cruises. Once we have Diamond, a line item of our cruise budget goes way down. Knowing that, we will transition some of that spending. We will be more willing to spend some of the saved money on things we normally do not do, like specialty dining, tours, entertainment, etc... So I don't think our total spend will change drastically, but now our cruise experience is heightened because we can use the money saved on drinks for other splurges that we haven't done in the past. ...and RCCL maintains their margin on us fairly close to before. Plus, we are now even more Loyal to Royal due to the perks, so they get more of our money more often That's just us though. Everyone is different Dan

In general I find the strip steak a good fallback option on RCCL if I can't find anything to my liking on the menu. There always seems to be that one day every sailing when I need to revert to the strip steak. 🙂 If it's a true strip steak it's normally solidly good, but sometimes they try to swap it out for a sirloin, which just isn't the same. I like the flavor of sirloin but they are lean. The tenderness and flavor of the true strip steak tops it. I order mine medium rare for what it's worth. It's worth asking the waiter if it's truly strip steak that's being served or a different cut. Dan

Can you clarify this for me? We do have an Alaskan Cruise booked for July 2023, so final payment is in April. Are you saying that making Diamond needs to occur before our final payment is due in April? This seems silly. (not shooting the messenger, just sayin 🙂 ) For instance if I achieved Diamond in May I wouldn't be Diamond on our Alaskan cruise, a full two months later?

Quoting myself only to clarify that I meant fee, not discount LOL. Got my wires crossed. My last two brain cells are hungover I guess:D Dan

Even at $13 per drink, 4 drinks per day, on a single 7 night cruise for my wife and I that alone saves $728. We don’t drink much more than four drinks any given day so this perk is perfect for us. We’ve slogged through our cruises to the 68 points that we have now. We don’t cruise to get points, we cruise to have a great vacation with friends and/or family. However, now that we are so close it would be nice to have this perk in hand for the many future cruises we hope to complete, God willing. -Dan

The points I listed in my original post are the actual earned point for them and us. My daughters are both platinum and my son just got Emerald through us after our June cruise since he’s still 15. Here’s hoping for an IT issue in our favor 🙂 Dan

You are right, I should not be so quick to state that it is only about the drinks. I didn’t even know about the Wi-Fi but that is a very nice perk as is the specialty coffee. Thank you for those tips!

Single supplements are just discounts if you are traveling solo correct? They don’t impact the number of C&A points given if you are traveling solo right?

Got me thinking. Is solo in an interior or balcony 2 points per night? Thx, Dan If so, I could find a cheap 6 night but I don't think I'd want to be away that long.

Good stuff. 🙂 Regarding my wife along, would love to but we would each only get 8 points then and not reach 80 total. Suites get 2 points per night normally with double or more occupancy. Solo in a suite gets 3 points per night, which is what I need on a 4 night to get the 12 total we need. Kindly, Dan