bfamily4

My first response would be "yes". But thinking about this, I think it might depend on which Oasis class ship you are considering cruising on.

 

The Allure and Oasis don't have the slides like the Liberty does. Not sure a 7 and 9 y.o. are all that interested in the shows necessarily. The Aqua Theater show might be the exception, but not necessarily the musicals or headliner show. An ice show is an ice show for us. Yes, different storyline, but similar moves in all of the ones we've seen. The aerial show in the theater is entertaining, but we've seen some similar ones done on Royal's ships that only have a Centrum. Those were amazing also.

 

Usually, the Oasis class ships will offer a family comedy show which would probably be what your family would attend rather than the adult one held in the comedy club. No one under 18 is allowed there.

 

The Liberty has flowriders and rock climbing walls just like the Oasis class ship.

 

The one big difference is the itineraries between the Liberty and the Oasis class ships. If your family would want to see other places of the Caribbean, then it could possibly be worth it to you. If the 7 and 9 y.o. had a great time on the Liberty last summer, they probably will have a great time again.

 

There isn't really too much difference on the Freedom class from the Oasis class. Yes, the "neighborhoods" on the Oasis class are a very neat concept, but not sure $1 - 2 K neat.

 

We are very pro the Oasis class ships, but we don't have young children. Also the size of the Oasis class can be overwhelming for some. Something to consider when keeping up with children.

 

 

Seeing you are from Texas, as we are, if you do decide to go on an Oasis class ship, would recommend going a day early if you fly which means a hotel stay the night before boarding. Only had one bad weather experience that almost made us miss a cruise. Glad we were a day ahead.

 

One other hint regarding the Oasis class ships. You will need to make show reservations prior to boarding. You can take your chances of showing up to a show and getting in, but sometimes hard to find four seats together. You'll also want to go early to each show for best seats.

 

 

 

Hope this is helpful. Not wanting to discourage you from trying the Oasis class. I lean more toward the practical, so that's the point of view I took here.

Enjoy whatever cruise you decide to take!

I have to agree. We just got back from the oasis. We sailed with an infant and a 7 & 8 yr old. The older kids were not into the shows at all. They weren't too keen on going to the pool deck either because there were no slides. One of the things they love about cruising is the kids club but on this cruise, they didn't want to go. They tried a couple of times but they didn't stay. They said mainly because they had to participate in the activities even though they didn't like what the group was doing. On Ncl and Disney, if you didn't like the activities you have the option of freeplay. Also, for a ship that size the kids club was tiny. The kids were packed in there like sardines.

This was our first Rci cruise and next time we'll probably do the freedom class. I don't think it's worth 1-2 K more. Just my 2 cents since I have kids similar to your kids ages.:):D:):)

Do all the public restrooms on oasis have a baby change table?

Thanks for the review, enjoyed reading it. We are on the exact same itinerary, boarding in 5 days! One question,did you notice the free trolleys running in San Juan?

Thanks to those who replied. I ended up calling RC and they were very helpful. I was told it was a "glitch" in the system. Spent 10 min. on the phone and were able to sort things out. Now I have the set sail pass with all 5 names.

did you try printing it there may be a second page thats not showing on your computer for whatever reason

yes, I printed it and just the adults names are on the pass. It looks like I have to call this one in. I've tried everything else.

No, everyone's name needs to be on a SetSail pass. Did you do online check-in for every child?

yes, I did online check in for each of us, including the 3 kids. On online check in page, the 3 steps were showing as complete. Step 4 has a box with all of our 5 names, with a small box that says "print". But the problem is when I click on the "print" button it takes me to the page to print, but only the 2 parents' names are on the page, the set sail pass. I thought maybe it was an IT error so I even cleared the cookies on my pc and also changed to a different browser but I'm still getting the same thing. It's getting frustrating.

If the children are under age 16, they would only need their SeaPass (ship) card.

Thank you. So, I'm good then with the set sail pass that I printed after I did online check-in for all 5 of us, even though the kids names are missing?

Did you get more than one invoice and more than one booking number? (you should have)

 

You must use both to check in.

yes, I did get 2 invoices and 2 booking #s. So I need to bring them with me to board, even though I did the online check-in?

Hi everyone. Sorry if this has been asked before. First time cruising with RC. We are cruising in 1 week and I went online to print our set sail pass. After doing the online check in and clicking the appropriate boxes I finally get to the page where it tells you to print. However, once printed, only my name and dh's names are on the pass. None of the 3 kids. Is this normal? Do the kids not need to be on the pass? How about identification when we get back on the ship from visiting the ports? TIA!

We are taking our first cruise with an infant in 9 days, and we are very excited. Our older kids were 3 & 4 when we started cruising, and in our experience, the younger the child the easier. Infants and small children are easily entertained and they don't complain much (ie: I'm tired of walking). Although this is our first time cruising with a 10 mos old, we did take our oldest to an AI in Mexico when she was 9 mos old. At 9 months she loved the pool and the sand/ beach. Shows kept her occupied and if they were too long she just fell asleep. And we've never traveled with family, only Dh and me. I think that in order to have fun and enjoy traveling with infants/kids, you have to have the right mindset and expectations. If you're expecting to have the same experience before kids, then I think you're setting yourself for disappointment. If you go into the cruise knowing that yes, it will be different, yes, it's more work because your baby will still rely on you for everything, then you're off to a good start. Dh and I agree that we don't travel to get a vacation from being parents, but to see the world through our children's eyes-that is priceless. Our older kids were 1& 2 when we first took them to WDW, and that trip has been the best Disney trip because they believed in all of the magic. That made it much more excitingly for us. Yes, they won't remember but Dh and I have the memories. I'm sure there will be people on this board telling you to leave the baby home in order to have fun,but you will blink and that baby will be an adult and leave you. Life is too short.

The TA you spoke with should certainly be able to give you a cabin # for a booked cruise.

I didn't book yet, just inquiring. That's why I'm on here to see if it sounds reasonable. Since we're new to RC, I'm not really sure what the going rate is for a family of 5 to book an interior/oceanview on the Oasis class. On NCL Bliss (brand new ship), I can book my family of 5 in an ocean view for $4153 CDN. This also includes free wifi for the week. Same month as the Allure, only difference is it's eastern vs the western on the allure.

Is the "30% off every guest" even a sale? I feel like I see this type of sale advertised every month. Do they have better ones? I know they have the KSF once in a while, our upcoming cruise was actually booked in Dec 2016 when they had the KSF and "every 3rd night free" sale. We have spacious family OV and it only cost us $4053 CDN, including grats. Should I be looking at about the same price for the Allure?

bfamily4, if you tell us the number of the cabin, we could probably be more helpful. :)

The TA I spoke to didn't give me an actual cabin #, but she said the "spacious interior cabins" can accomodate up to 6 and are only on deck 11. Room has the bunkbed, sofabed, and the 2 twin beds. Saw a video on youtube and the room looks bigger than our balcony room on NCL.

It's for 5 pax (we were a family of 4 up until 10 mos ago :)). And the rate is in USD, it would cost more if I book in cdn since they use a different rate than the current one. The reason for choosing the refundable rate is because it's so far out anything can happen between now and then. How much one do you get for booking onboard?

You can do it on your in cabin TV

THX. That will probably be easier!

Hi everyone. We are new to RC, taking our first cruise in 12 days. We are excited and think we're going to love it. Having said that, I'm already planning our next cruise, Feb 2019, western Caribbean on Allure. I was quoted $3866 USD for a spacious interior, with $100 obc. It's a refundable rate. Is this a good deal, or should I wait for another sale or do it onboard? Will I get more obc if I wait to book onboard? TIA!

Thanks. We'll have to wait to make reservations onboard because at this point we don't know when we'll have a slot available in the nursery for our baby.

Where do you make reservations once onboard?

The water taxi runs about every 10 minutes - $7 per person; however, our cruise ship (Jewel OTS) provided coupons for $1 off/person. Or you can take a taxi from the pier for $3/person.

Yes, the water taxi takes you right to the beach - walk across the beach and you're right on Front Steet in the middle of Phillipsburg.

Thanks

I recall it was a quick turnaround time, perhaps 3 weeks.

I wish I knew about this sooner. We are cruising in 13 days. I guess there's no time for me to get the card:(

3 hours will be enough time, with children, to see the forts. We were there in July, very hot, the kids tired quickly. Are you planning to walk between forts or take a cab if the trolleys are not running?

Also if you have a National Parks pass bring it with you- free entry to both forts as they are part of OUR National Parks system!

thanks! we plan on using the trolley if its running and if not then we will take a cab to go to the forts and then walk back to the ship.

Is 3 hrs enough time to see both forts? We will have kids with us.

Looks like you will have the now standard 3 flights (JetBlue @ 1:52, Delta @ 2:55, and American @ 4:00) on the 31st. The link below will give you arrival and departure times, just change the departure airport to SXM and the arrival airport to (NY, ATL, MIA) to see when the planes take off.

 

https://www.google.com/flights/#search;f=ATL;t=SXM;d=2018-01-31;r=2018-01-31;tt=o;s=0

 

Securing your stuff on the beach is very good advice, particularly for take-offs. The pilots enjoy going to the end of the runway and revving their jet engines and blowing blankets, umbrellas, towels, and young children into the ocean.

THX so much for the info on the planes. Kids are looking forward to seeing them.

Do you need reservations for solarium bistro or can we just walk in? Dh and I would like to have dinner there one night but I don't want to make a ressie just yet because I don't know if our baby will have a spot in the nursery until we board.

bfamily4, not sure what day you will be there but on certain days there are some huge planes. If you are there when an exceptionally large air France plane or other very large plane passes overhead, you had better have your things WELL secured. I have seen from a boat just off the beach what happens. Towels, hats, sunglasses, even chairs sometimes go flying! The local and experienced beachgoers know this will happen so are prepared but newbies don’t realize just how powerful the jet wash can be from the largest planes that pass over this beach.

thanks for the tip. We are planning to be there Jan. 31 so hopefully there will be a couple of huge planes for us to see.