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Marleycruiser

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  1. I agree but unfortunately we are pegged to kids school schedules. A few other random thoughts: 1) Early Dining - Moved from 5:30PM to 5PM. While it may not seem like a big deal to some, that extra half hour is killer in terms of getting a family ready for 5PM. There was also no explanation as to why the change. 2) Parking - Has gone up quite a bit. I want to say we paid $150 for the week at the Bayonne Parking Lot but that has not only gone up to $210, but they make you pay at the END of the cruise as opposed to the BEGINING of the cruise like last year. This makes 0 sense and just adds to the lines when leaving the ship.
  2. Early seating 5PM (which stunk compared to 5:30) and late seating was 7:30. MTD starts at 645PM and I was on the Oasis last week.
  3. They did not deliver a cruise compass each day and we did not ask for it as it was quite easy on the app. @GetToLivin my thoughts exactly. Like I said for us as a family of four we can only go away based on our school schedule. We have been looking for next year and it looks like we will be doing a land based all inclusive vacation as it is just a far better value.
  4. I agree @Mum2Mercury. At some point they are going to lose clientele and are losing sight of what made them successful in the first place. Good food, drinks, and entertainment at a reasonable price point. Hope I am wrong as a rcl stock owner! Lastly, I almost didn’t post this mini review as I really didn’t want to get roasted for some of the negative, but true comments. It is reassuring to hear others experience similar instances and perhaps rcl could address some of these issues.
  5. We just got off the Oasis this morning and had a great trip. I will outline my thoughts below and we did the identical ship/itinerary a year ago almost to the day so I will provide commentary on a few different categories. Feel free to ask any questions: Pro's 1) Internet - We do VROOM and wow is all I can say. While expensive for our family of ($400ish for the week) it was well worth it in my opinion. The adults and kiddos had relaxing time before bed and all I can say was this was a HUGE improvement over last year. Not one device got kicked out and we never lagged one bit. Thank you Elon Musk. 2) Staff - From our room steward to bartenders, all of the staff we encountered were great. We had IMADE in the main dining room and in the 20 years of cruising I can say he was simply the best waiter we have ever had. He was attentive, and carried his assistant waiter all week. Also another special shout out to Christopher at the Central Park Bar who was an absolute blast and best bartender on the ship. I would say this staff was better than the staff we had last year on the ship. 3) Ship - While she is definitely getting a bit weathered (room furniture beat up pretty bad, carpets run down in high traffic areas), the crew were constantly maintaining her. It is a work horse of a ship with little to no breaks, but the outside rust in certain areas of the ship is starting to show but this did not detract one bit from our experience. 4) Cleanliness - This was something we saw throughout the trip. Staff always cleaning up after people's messes, proactively cleaning glass and high traffic areas, making all people wash hands before eating. Was really great and we could truly see how clean the ship. 5) Entertainment - RCL I believe does this the best out of any cruise line. The Aqua Theatre show we saw again and it was performed to perfection. Better than last time we saw it a year ago and same thing with Frozen in Time. The performers were great. I also spent a ton of time on the boardwalk going for carasal rides with the kids. Cons 1) Drink Package - My wife and I got the package and we won't be doing it again. 1) Far too expensive for us to really "get our money's worth" and (ii) the wine selection that came with the package was nothing short of pathetic. One Cab, One Merlot -THATS IT. My wife ordered Cunundrum every night which was a $3 upcharge and I find it unacceptable for us to pay nearly $1500 for the week and still have to be charged $3 a glass for a $20 bottle. This was not the case last year as there were a few more selections but this is clearly an area that has been impacted by cutbacks. 2) CocoCay - First, love the island. A ton to do and lots of free activities to do as a family; however, we went into the bathrooms near Chill Island and it was worst than a NYC PortaJohn. I asked my wife how the women's bathroom was and she said the same. It was gross and an easy fix for RCL to address. 3) Food/Staff & Dining Cutbacks - Lots of talk about room steward snot coming twice a day and while it was a let down, it wasn't a big deal for us, especially after seeing how spread so thin these guys are (housekeeping). We also saw how spread thin the Main Dining Room was, it was very noticeable and it detracted from the overall experience. We also did not like the cutbacks in the Main Dining Room food. An example is how we use to be able to order shrimp cocktail and French onion soup every night but was no longer the case. We also noticed the food has gone downhill from a year ago. Not sure if this is due to staffing but a lack of a warm meal all week combined with undercooked/overcooked proteins was very obvious. 4) Nick and Diming - This really annoyed me. RCL do you really need to charge $2.50 for popcorn for kids that was mediocre at best? How about Hibachi and the steak house we were considering until we realized pricing. RCL wanted to charge $66/person INCLUDING kids for a Hibachi dinner. This is way more expensive than on land and on land I did not already pay for a cruise and thought it was egregious. Same goes for the steakhouse and our tablemates mentioned Chopt was not good and actually said Park150 was a far better steak and experience. In summary, we had a great time as a family. We believe this vacation was a great value for our family of 4 for two ocean view balconies which spent nearly $4500 just for the cruise (plus the drink package and internet so totaled $6200). We were quoted for next year on the Symphony for the same two cabins at $7200. That doesn't include the drink package or the internet package which would be $9K. RCL is positioning themselves as a luxury vacation destination but it is simply not. At that price point I will gladly get on a plane with the family and stay at a resort on an island for a comparable price point. People continue to pay these prices while RCL continue to cut back and that is their decision to do so. In conclusion, we will sail RCL but at a certain price point. The convenience of leaving from your own backyard is appealing, but only at a certain price point. Happy to answer any questions.
  6. Thank you very much, as I did not know how to do this.
  7. We are doing an oasis trip in July and I was trying to book specialty dining but I am unsure of all the menus for each night. Specifically, we are trying to figure out if Caribbean night is on day three (Sunday). anybhelp would be appreciated
  8. I can't stand RCL "sales"..... It is just so deceptive. I just checked for our Oasis sailing and it continues to be what it has been at $75.99 pp/d. Too rich for my blood.
  9. We will be boarding the Oasis of the Seas in a couple of weeks and have an 11AM check in time. We are a family of 4 and our 2 year old son is not fully vaccinated. I was hoping someone could shed some light on how the testing of children is within the Bayonne Cruise Terminal. I celebrating the 4th when our neighbors, who had gone on the Oasis last month, said they heard some pretty negative things when speaking to fellow passengers (3+ hour wait). I just wanted to mentally prepare myself if that is the case. Lastly, I am a goody two shoes when it comes to following directions, but I was not going to show up earlier than my 11AM check in. Given I have a child that needs to be tested the day of, should I rethink that strategy? Thank you all in advance.
  10. Thank you so much - exactly what I was looking for and enjoying the cruise!
  11. Great review and thank you for taking the time to post. We will be getting on in a month or so, and was wondering if the bar serves Jose Cuervo Gold? It is not listed on the drink package sheet but I have had a friend who thinks they serve it. Much appreciated if you can confirm or let me know what kind of Tequila's they have "in stock."
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