WorkingForOBC

Usually Kosher meals on cruise ships (and flights) are provided and pre-prepared in this manner. However, for these special cruises, and the reason that the solarium bistro was totally shut down, is that they actually turned it into a Kosher kitchen, and had rabbinic supervision, in order to serve fresh Kosher meals for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. During this time the Solarium Bistro would only have been serving Kosher meals, without the option for their normal offerings. It seems that anybody could have purchased the Kosher meal package from the cruise planner, but it probably sold out at some point. Here's a flyer from last year (2022) https://creative.rccl.com/Sales/Royal/Misc/Yeshiva_Week_2022_TradeFlyer.pdf Within the US, I would say that a majority of Jewish people do not keep strictly Kosher. Some people don't follow the rules at all, while others will follow the rules to varying degrees. Some people choose to keep Kosher at home, while eating whatever they want outside of the home. Others try to maintain "kosher style" i.e. no pork, no shellfish, no mixing of dairy and meat. There are many other permutations of following the Kosher rules. The Yeshiva are religious schools for Orthodox Jewish children (and young adults). "Yeshiva week" is a school holiday, when the schools are closed, but it doesn't actually correspond to a Jewish Holiday (akin to spring break). I'm Jewish, not Orthodox, and I had no idea that this Yeshiva holiday period was something to look out for when booking travel. At the very least, I've learned something useful from this thread 🙂

Love it! They truly do a wonderful job for adults too, but it helps if you appreciate that "Disney magic" touch.

Key To The World... It's just what DCL calls their all purpose key card.

In other forums, I've read that the Fantasy has some vibration issues in the aft. Otherwise, I think all of the standard cabin selection advice is applicable. I think you'll find that DCL cabins are slightly larger than the equivalent categories on HAL. A majority of the cabins have split bathrooms, which is a nice convenience when traveling with 3+ in a cabin. The standard interior cabins (cheapest) do not have the split bath, but the "deluxe" interior cabins do. Since the cabins are designed with families in mind, I find that they're designed well with lots of storage space. The portholes on the Oceanview rooms are quite large, and could present a decent savings over a verandah too. Only you can decide whether you'll get the value out of the added cost of the verandah. Now for a bit of unsolicited advice that you can feel free to ignore. I don't think I would book a cruise based on a 2 year old. Maybe when they're 5 or 6 and are old enough to enjoy the kids club, and meeting the characters. However, I don't think that Disney cruise line really has anything extra for a 2 year old that other (cheaper) family cruise lines don't. Now, if other members of your multi-generational party are really into Disney, and are just using the grand child as an excuse to sail on Disney, that's an entirely different story 😉

I don't have first hand experience for all of your questions, but I think I can help out with some. 1. I've never priced out a TA with Disney, but it's seems like a great price for 4 people in a verandah (guaranty). You'll pay more than 6000 for most of their week long sailings from Florida (much more for their Alaskan and European itineraries) in a verandah. By the way, is it a VGT with restrictions, or is it a Verandah guarantee in a specific category? It's important to understand the differences, and to research the kinds of rooms and locations that you could be placed in (a TA is a long cruise to be in an unsatisfactory room). 2. I believe that only the Princess tea is an extra cost. This includes tea time treats and gifts. All of the standard character meetings are free. You can sign up for the "royal gathering" when you do online check in. This is a booked time to meet 4 or 5 of the princesses all at once. Otherwise all of the characters, including the princesses will be out throughout the ship. Sometimes you'll run into them just walking around. Other times, they're at a designated spot at a certain time (details in the daily navigator/schedule), and you can line up to meet them. Sometimes the characters visit the kids clubs too. 3. Unfortunately I don't have the TA experience to speak on this. 4. Yes, you can bring a case of water on board. But you have to bring it with you... It can't be checked. 5. You will definitely get the full experience. From Trip Reports that I've read, you will likely even have additional special nights and activities that would not be on a standard 7 day cruise. Personally, I wasn't a huge Disney fan growing up, but we're pretty immersed in it now with our child (also 7). The first time you hear the horn play "when you wish upon a star" is pretty magical.

I believe they switched ships/itineraries for 2023/2024. The Brilliance is will be sailing Australia/NZ during the (northern hemisphere's) winter months, and Alaska during the summer. I believe you should be all set. There's more info in this thread:

MCO is the closest major airport to Port Canaveral. A red-eye would work, but anything leaving the same morning as embarkation could be risky especially since they'll be losing 2 hours due to the time zone change.

Yes. I see 2 in 2023 scheduled to makes stops #1&2 in Orlando and Miami, then go to the Bahamas, and then back to NJ. This schedule won't incur the customs inspection nightmare that previously occurred. Currently, for the 2 sailings in Feb 2024 that were scheduled to go to Miami after the Bahamas, the website still shows the original itinerary, but when you click through, it shows the update. Those trip reports from the Halloween cruise were quite scary (no pun intended). People's health was actually in danger due to some very selfish individuals. Sorry you were subjected to it.

Hi all, Just wanted to post the notice I received. Original itinerary was: Embark: NJ At Sea Orlando Nassau Coco Cay Miami At Sea At Sea Debark NJ Based on earlier reports of this same itinerary, it seems that the port day in Miami was a total mess due to customs, and pax not getting off the ship for the mandatory inspection. Rather than try to improve the process, it seems Royal has decided to drop Miami. Now there is an extra sea day, and we are scheduled to arrive in Orlando and Nassau earlier. The new itinerary is: Embark: NJ At Sea At Sea Orlando Coco Cay Nassau At Sea At Sea Debark NJ

Thank you all for these very useful data points!

Thanks. I guess this means I can stop checking everyday. ha ha. I was hoping I might be able to grab any black friday sales... but I guess there's always next black friday too. 🙂

Hello All, We have our first RCCL sailing booked for more than a year out (~450 days). Currently we're unable to book dining packages, drink packages, CocoCay, etc. They aren't actually even currently listed in the planner (app and online). Do any of you have an idea when these packages may start to be offered? Ideally we'd like to lock in our prices asap, and then take advantage of any sales that they offer. Thanks!

Hello, OP here. Thanks again to all your insight. I really do appreciate hearing from people with experience, which is why I enjoy these boards. I spoke with Steve over the weekend. He corroborated your advice that the CFAR is good up to 48 hours before cruising. We found a policy with quality coverage, from a "Trip Insurance Store approved provider" that includes free CFAR for our child cruiser, and so this brings the cost down considerably in comparison to other equivalent policies. The price for the independent insurance policy w/CFAR, is similiar to the price of the policy offered by RCI. RCI's "Enhanced cancellation policy" is valid up to the ship's scheduled departure time, and is as follows: "Cancellation Penalty Waiver: up to 100% of cash back for Royal Caribbean cancellation fees if you cancel for a specified reason Cancel For Any Reason Cruise Vacation Enhancement: up to 90% of Royal Caribbean cancellation fees in the form of a future cruise credit if you cancel for any other reason" FCC wouldn't be the end of the world, as we would hope to be able to rebook the cruise, but our flexibility is limited, so cash would always be preferable. I suppose we still need to weigh the 90% in FCC vs 75% in cash. And also discuss whether we think we'd be comfortable making a weather related decision 48 hours before the cruise. Thankfully pre-existing conditions aren't a concern for us, but we certainly want to make sure we have adequate insurance for unanticipated medical emergencies. Thank you all again!

We are very much looking forward to the days when we can leave a few days early (or return late), but with a school-age child, and a school teacher spouse, those days are still a decade or two away. Unfortunately, we're beholden to the school schedules, and have to squeeze as much into the allotted vacation times as we can. We really love cruising, and hope to be able to getaway during the winter. We definitely understand there are risks involved, but we're hoping we can find the best way to insure against those risks. Thanks for all your insight :⁠-⁠)

Thank you very much for the information. You've certainly helped to confirm my assumptions. I'll reach out the Trip Insurance Store to see if they can recommend a plan for our situation. Thanks!

Hello We are considering a winter cruise leaving out of the NYC/NJ area. We live within ~3hrs hours driving distance of these ports. We plan on driving the night before, or embarkation morning to the port. The proximity to our home and not having to take extra time to fly is the main reason we are picking these ports to cruise from. Our primary concern is if there's a winter storm or blizzard that prevents us from getting to the port, but it doesn't delay or affect the cruise departure in any way. Would you recommend "cancel for any reason" insurance, or is there another coverage feature that I should look out for? Thank you.

I'll bet it's in the mega thread somewhere, but it's become so unwieldy, and I struck out after a quick search. I did just find the following press release: https://www.nclhltd.com/news-media/press-releases/detail/507/norwegian-cruise-line-holdings-to-host-investor-event-and

The Prima arrives at MCT on Oct. 5th. It has a 5 day to Bermuda, from MCT, Oct 10th -15th. Does anyone know what's happening the 5-10?

Is that an elusive picture of you and your husband? Looking good!

@Trimone is going to have to get back on here to clarify if they meant Aviation Gin (ryan reynolds' gin), or an aviation (a cocktail made with gin).🍸

I feel like this is the definitive thread on premium plus wine options. Thank you. I've learned a lot!

That's a good recommendation. I guess this will be a good test to see if I have a good PCC. Haha. If I get an answer, I'll report back.

I have scoured YouTube, and all the other resources I can find. There are videos of the standard family Oceanview rooms on the joy, and there are videos of other *700 rooms on other ships. However, none of them are on the Joy, and this room seems to vary greatly. Here's a similar thread from a few years ago... Unfortunately the question still hasn't been answered 😞

Hello all, I've searched past posts, and I've seen this room discussed previously. However, I don't believe there's ever been confirmation as to the actual size and layout. There are pictures and videos of other *700 rooms on other sister ships, but the layout and size seems unique to the different ships and decks. I'm wondering if there's anyone here with first hand knowledge of room 10700 on the Joy. Thanks!

Hi Farjar, Yes. The $50 Shore Excursion Credit is applied to every excursion that the first passenger books. That includes multiple excursions in the same port, on the same day... if time allows. 🙂