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We will be sailing on Anthem August 15th and driving down from New Hampshire. We are looking for a hotel 1 night pre-cruise. It will be my husband and I along with our two boys ages 10 & 15. I'd like to be in the $300 or less price range with easy access to the city. I'd rather not spend that much if we're not near the city.  We'd mainly just like to see the 911 memorial and Ellis Island/Statue of Liberty. I looking at the Hyatt Regency on the Hudson in Jersey City about a month ago and it was in our price range but of course is now sold out. We will be driving ourselves to the port.

Has anyone heard how Puerto Rico has fared? I'm not seeing much other than there's about 1M people without power. Maybe no news is "good" news?

Sailing on Adventure 9/16 but flying into PR on the 13th. Making myself sick over this probably and hopefully for no reason.

Hello - I have narrowed down our pre-cruise stay to either the Caribe Hilton or La Concha. Looking to figure out which hotel will give us the best value. They are both priced about the same. Looking to stay 2-3 nights. I priced an Ocean View Tower King Bed w/Balcony at the Caribe and an Ocean Front King Bed at La Concha. The Caribe lists what is included in the resort fee and La Concha does not. Does anyone know what is included? Which would you choose and why? Thank you.

Hello,

We used Cool Tours for transporting us from and to the airport. We stayed 1 night pre-cruise at the Hilton Galveston Island Resort. It was right across the street from the beach and walking distance to many restaurants. Had a nice pool with a swim up bar as well. The hotel did offer a free shuttle to the pier but did stop at a couple other hotels first.

Does anyone know if the fountain soda will still be included in the new Deluxe package?

Hello - we purchased the Premium package for our upcoming cruise. Before making the decision, I did call Royal to confirm that the package will cover all drinks up to $12. Does anyone know where I can find this in writing? I can't seem to find anything on the website. Thank you.

Hello,

I just booked this same cabin for the October 1, 2016 sailing. In your review, you state it slept 3 people, but I booked for 4 of us. (2 adults, 2 kids). Does the sofa pull out to a full size bed or does it fit only 1 person? This will be our first time in a BW balcony. I think it will be great for the kids.

Thank you.

We have done and will be doing again the LaQuinta package. It's very convenient. I just received message of fog delay so I will need to get the details on shuttle for day of cruising.

sg4crzn: I just tried to call the La Quinta for information on the shuttle pick up times after the cruise as I am trying to figure out which flights to book. The woman that answered the phone could not have been more rude. I asked for more information on the package and she said that I would have to wait and talk to them once I checked in. I explained that I needed more information because I needed to book flights and she pretty much said too bad, that I'd have to wait until we got there to talk to the driver. I'm rethinking this whole cruise now.

We are looking into the Stay and Cruise package at La Quinta near Hobby. We really wanted to stay in Galveston, but getting there is too expensive just to stay there for one night. The La Quinta rate is $179 and you get transportation from HOU to the hotel, free breakfast in the morning, shuttle to the port, and shuttle back to HOU when you return. This seems to be the best deal right now.

I am a Jazzercise instructor so no... I would not attend a Zumba class.

We enjoyed Paul O'Shea last week on Liberty of the Seas. Great musician and lots of fun singing along. He did repeat songs night-to-night, but only at audience request. He was TONS better than the guitar player singing in the pub!

We absolutely LOVED Paul O'Shea on Allure this past September. He was so much fun. We saw him throughout the ship and he would stop and chat with us. He's great on the Flowrider. He does have a "stalker" that follows him from ship to ship. Was she there? Older lady, always sits right next to him and most nights wears a boa (at least she did on our ship).

Rocco's Tacos & Tequila Bar on Las Olas. Fabulous margaritas and guacamole made to order right at your table is to die for. The chips are a little different as well. Great atmosphere!

Excellent review! I love to see how happy and content your kids are on the cruise. I am thinking of taking our two boys (now 2 and 7) on their first cruise sometime in 2013. We've always cruised alone but I think by then it will be time. Looking forward to the rest of your review.

We were in stateroom 9606. As I mentioned, this is on Deck 9, a little forward of mid-ship, just behind the first hump on the Starboard side. It's a D2 stateroom, and has an oversized, angled balcony.

 

 

Our bed was closer to the bathroom, not the balcony. Here is another photo:

 

We will be staying in cabin #12606 which is 3 decks above this cabin. RCI just emailed me today and said that our bed would be near the balcony. I don't think they are correct though. I believe I read another post on cabin #10606 and their bed was by the bathroom as well. I wish I could get some clarification.