Royal Caribbean - first time cruise

[nutmegella]

Hi everyone

Just looking for some first time advice please?

Drinks - I have read we can pack two bottles of wine before boarding per room and then we can't take any other alcoholic drinks on but can we take soft drinks on from the ports we are in each day please?

Beach towels - do you pack your own or are they provided?

Toiletries - do they provide miniature bottles daily or do you pack your own shower gel etc?

Thanks

Beach towels are provided, you get your card swiped for them to make sure you return them.

I'm not sure about drinks (we don't really drink wine and just paid for soft drinks, we don't drink enough of them to have been worth the pass). A lot of the time in port tends to be in tourist areas without supermarkets so not necessarily easy to buy in port.

Cosmetics - I think they were basic but we always take our own. Depending what ship you are on there might not be much available in the onboard shops either.

Thank you Whoknowswheretheotimegoes - great tips - looking forward to it.

We've been twice with them and had brilliant holidays. On the first one I forgot my hair conditioner, long wavy hair plus swimming pools plus no conditioner is a bit of a style disaster. The ship didn't have any in the onboard shop, so I did have to go looking in port and struggled to find even a small supermarket in tourist destinations. Also bear in mind that you only get a few hours in each port so you don't want to waste time on this sort of thing, with drinks they can get heavy too, sometimes there is a bit of a walk from port to town. I'm not sure of a specific ship rule preventing this but you do go through airport style security every time you re-embark, we were prevented from bringing fresh fruit on board from a port due to pest and disease rules.

Yes you can take on board two bottles per stateroom which is a good idea as the drinks are quite expensive about $12 for a glass of ordinary wine. This does not apply to staterooms containing under 21's. (As an american cruise line the drinking age is 21).
I have not been on the super big Oasis class ships but on other ships only toiletries are soap and a container with shampoo/shower gel in the shower.
Which ship are you going on I am sure you will have a fabulous time with RC. I have just returned from a mediterranean cruise and am already planning next years.

rCI does a soft drinks package which is worth doing. Personally dont bother with alcoholic drinks package unless it is a freeby. Just pay as i go. Not worth taking your own wine into restaurants as usually corkage fee is high. Unless you like very posh wines. Beach towels provided on every cruise line we have sailed with. RCI provide soap shampoo conditioner and body lotion in my memory bit i always prefer to take sone treat stuff away to use.