PlanetX

Ok, snow cones......NO. Dripping sugary cones... not a fan for kids or adults.

Not sure what the difference is between this and soft serve ice cream, which has been around forever.

Two other thoughts:

• Make WOW bands standard across the fleet (or at least Oasis/Allure + Freedom class)
  
• Use the WOW bands to create interactive experiences/games throughout the fleet (similar to Princess' Ocean Medallions)
  

On the lazy river, lazy is my first name. If NCL can put a go cart track on a ship, why not a lazy river, unless having 2 million gallons 140 feet above the water line causes any issues.

Disney doesn't seem to have a problem with it.

Straighten out that course and stitch it together at the start/finish, and you've got a lazy river... :D

You can catch a glimpse of the arcade on Brilliance in this video (@6:47):

Cruiseplum does that - their prices include grats (but you can see them in the price details).

Nice, did not know this. Will have to check them out.

But gratuities ARE optional on RCI!

You can opt out any time - no questions asked!

But not really, because they know that 99% of cruisers don't - and they are explicitly relying on customers to not stiff their servers to fund a major part of their employees' pay.

I will never understand this. They should just make it mandatory so the workers don't get stiffed.

I would take it one step further, it should be legally mandatory for cruise lines to disclose the gratuities as part of the fare quoting process. If the cruise line is relying on the passenger explicitly paying for a significant portion of their labor expense as part of their business model, they shouldn't be allowed to hide these costs or pretend that they're optional when they're really not.

I honestly don't understand why anyone would book directly with the cruise line in this day and age, other than maybe people not knowing any better. It seems like you get the same deals that are available through the line, plus TA OBC and the added bonus of having someone to deal with problems if and when they arise. Can anyone offer any insight on why you wouldn't deal with a TA?

Can't wait to hear the whole story!! Following!

My suite card on the Allure wasn't gold, just sort of an ugly purple. Still worked, though!

There was another thread on here this week where it was mentioned that they changed the suite card colors for the Oasis Class ships (perhaps for this very reason). Star Class cards are dark blue/purple, Sky Class cards are red/maroon and Sea Class cards are light blue. It was also confirmed that the signage was updated to include these colors for the suite sun deck etc. and not gold.

We were able to access the reservations ~65 days prior to sailing.

Why do you feel that paying for an expensive room should give perks beyond that room?

Because that's what's being offered and purchased if you buy a Star or Sky Class suite.

This is really no different than First Class or buying Diamond Club seats at a MLB game. It's the way of the world now, certainly not limited to cruising. If you can pay more, you will generally get a set of benefits that make that purchase worth the extra $$$.

What is the problem with people who pay more getting more benefits? If you fly to the port, you can pay for first class and you'll get first class benefits...but somehow on ships it's supposed to be different?

If you're paying for wifi on the ship, why not use Skype? Voice connections for the times when you want to talk to someone verbally, texting when you don't.

I've noticed that RCI often either takes the web site down or makes updates on Friday evenings. Perhaps that's what's causing this.

What other ships have those waterslides? I know Adventure does.

Harmony, Liberty and Adventure are the three (plus Symphony starting next year).

The RCI wiki page has a nice summary of which ships have what amenities, in case you want to compare and contrast other things:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Caribbean_International#Ship_amenities

If you're not going to do anything else but gamble nonstop, it seems like a trip to Atlantic City or even Maryland Live would be far cheaper.

It probably would be better for RCI to communicate better to customers, but most people aren't on the ships solely to gamble for a week, so it's likely not a significant issue. Did you complain to RCI in the post-cruise survey?

Thanks for the awesome review so far! We're on Oasis in 58 days and counting, can't wait to get there! :)

In a suite on board Oasis now....we had to print our own luggage tags. I purchased clear tag holders and just fold the printed ones and insert into those I purchased. Works very well.

 

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Nice. Did you get the Cruise Critic official tag holders? I'm curious how well they fit the suite luggage tags.

Could you be confusing the zip line onboard the ship with the one at Labadee? There is definitely a charge for the one at Labadee, haven't heard anything about the one on the ship.

I'm hanging out checking every few hours to see if prices for our August cruise drop any. Hoping to be able to upgrade to an L1 on Oasis, but the price would have to drop ~$500 or so to get me to pull the trigger.

Thanks, sea shepherd!! It's good to know what to be looking for when I'm aboard in a few weeks. :)

Thanks for the great review! We'll be on Oasis in mid-August and we're really looking forward to everything it has to offer!

On the Oasis class ships the Crown Loft suites get a burgundy colored card. It works the same as the gold card on the other ships. You will get access to the Suite Lounge, Coastal Kitchen and reserved seats in the theater. Check out the "Suite Class" on Royals website.

 

Junior suites are blue on the Harmony

Have they changed this sign for the Suite sun deck?

Here's a high-res image of the port side, click on the image to zoom in: http://www.mycruisefinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/oasisoftheseas025.jpg

You may have to count balconies to find your particular cabin, but 14250 looks to be the first cabin off the rear of the second hump (mid-ship).

We're going on Oasis in August, can't wait! She's a beautiful ship!