The Fun Researcher

Wow, you don't look a day over 5999! :)

In all sincerity, congrats!!

Dan

I am flying to Anchorage on my next cruise....from Florida. Do I have

sympathy now? ;) :p

Yes, yes you do. :)

I'm jealous. Have a great cruise!

Dan

Agree... Tampa needs to expand to be able to accommodate these monster ships. Driving 2 hours to PC and 4.5 hours to FTL is just a little far when you live less than 30 miles from Tampa.

You get no sympathy from us that need to fly to Florida to go on a cruise! :-)

Dan

The Oasis is going to make the other ships in Port Canaveral look like dinghies.

Dan

Fun videos. Thanks for sharing.

How would you compare the Breeze versus the Adventure regarding indoor/outdoor public spaces, food, nightlife, and overall feel of the ship? Been looking at other options and the breeze (sort of) fits some of our needs.

Dan

RCI has already been jacking up their prices the last couple of years .

Dan

Voyager or Freedom class ships.

 

Reason is that they have a Royal Promenade

Ditto this. Just what I was going to say. We love the promenade for that open expansive feel in the ship, and a great place for a stroll or snack. We liked, but didn't love, Oasis class even though they have HUGE promenades so this leaves you with Freedom Class and Voyager Class.

The ships are still big enough to host a lot of activities outdoors, (including the refurbed Voyager class ships). They also offer great views of the ocean and a nice wrap around walking path on deck 4 that isn't blocked by life boats.

I recall seeing them on the starboard side, in the drink station located between the forward and aft portion of Windjammer.

We will keep an eye out for them. Thanks! :)

Dan

Thanks for the info. Doesn't really impact us since we have always had non refundable airline tickets purchased well before that anyway.

I can see this being a pain in the butt for those who are in driving distance of the ships though.

Dan

Thanks for the update. I was curious if those soda machines were still there. Those are the only guest soda machines (other than Freestyle) I've ever seen on a Royal ship.

My wife will be happy to hear about this. Self serve in the Windjammer huh?

She and one of our daughters will have the pop package, so this will be a very convenient way to get pop while hanging out on the pool deck.

Dan

Good tips. Yeah, Oasis class isn't our favorite either. We've done Freedom class otherwise and much prefer it. Similar food quality, still plenty to do, and what felt like far less people. For us, the Oasis suffered in the fitness center, busy promenade, and disconnected feeling from the ocean as well. I can't wait to try the next smaller class with the Navigator in a month. Appears to be much more similar to Freedom class than Oasis class.

Dan

You're fortunate, others have had to pay the $8 price for kids.

Put us in that group. Like $9.40 per day for us (including gratuity). Ouch.

Purchased two packages for our upcoming 8 night cruise, so about $150. That's like buying 25 cases (600 cans) in our area. Crazy.

Dan

We prefer deck 9, then 8, then... something else I guess. Deck six wouldn't be a deal breaker. I would go for the connecting rooms if it were me.

Dan

I'm not a fan of the 70's party , seams to be the same thing every time , on rhapsody a few years back Graham Seymour and his crew put on a British rock invasion party I was fantastic , need more diversity with the party , I heard a while back of an 80's party , big hair and slouch socks

That sounds great too! I'd be up for that. Agree, as much fun as the 70's party is, a little variation isn't bad.

Kind of like the MDR menus. As much as I like the food in the MDR, I'm getting a little tired of the same menus every cruise.

Dan

We have a similar issue with our two daughters. My younger daughter is 11 so would slotted into the 9-11 group, but she turns 12 three days after our cruise. My older daughter is 14. They want to be together in the 12+ club. I'm guessing we'll be able to get my younger daughter into the 12+

Dan

Looks like we'll be getting on the Navigator as you get off!

Love's the 70's parties!

Typically there is a parade through the promenade the first evening also. Times vary.

Dan

Yeah those rooms 3700 to 3712 are in a very strange location. Open to the general public. Very strange

Dan

After getting off Oasis , the Promenade looks so narrow....:)

It is much narrower!! We like it more though. The oasis has a huge promenade but we found it much busier at all hours of the day.

Dan

The biggest changes are the rebranding of the bar spaces.

Thank you. It looks very similar to the freedom class ships that we have been on. That is good! We love the promenade on those ships. Can't wait for our cruise in April!

Dan

Thank you very much!

Can you summarize what you consider the changes to be?

Dan

I've never seen a midnight buffet since we started cruising in 2012. It doesn't sound like something we would enjoy anyway.

They make almost no sense to me other than to gawk at some food/ice carvings and such. To me, the sandwiches, pizza, panini's and cookies that are offered every night are perfect for us. ...but that's just us. :)

Dan

Thank you very much, especially for the menu order!!! I've been trying to find that. We'll be on the Nav. In April. Can't wait!

Dan

We've had tricks and puzzles on our relatively recent RCI cruises both in 2012, and in late 2014. Love the "magic" tricks.

I'm sure there were some awesome things about cruises of years long past, but the cruise lines adjust to the customers. There may be things mentioned here that are missed, but there are reasons for the changes, and not all of them "corporate greed". Many are driven by the passengers wants.

1) Cost of a cruise. Pretty reasonable now, overall. (Don't get me started on the price of drinks now though ;) )

2) Preferences. While I like getting dressed up for formal nights, it's apparent that many do not, leading to a more casual atmosphere. This isn't pushed by RCI, but from the cruisers themselves. I still feel that there is an elegant enough feeling to ship on the formal evenings.

3) Bigger ships. People want more activities. How do you get there? Make bigger ships that hold more activities (and more passengers). Makes for a broader experience.

I'm perfectly happy with the current state. There are many options out there for cruisers. Cruise lines vary from those who are value oriented, to those that expect luxury and the pampering that comes along with the price.

Dan

How much can the times vary for requesting the same wait staff? We have three dinners at 5:45pm, three at 6pm and three at 6:15pm. Are these close enough? We would have booked the exact same time for the reason you mention, but our dinner times are around the show times.

 

Sent from my ONE E1005 using Tapatalk

In our experience, 15 minutes is not a problem at all. 30 might be pushing it, but you could ask the person at the kiosk out front of the dining room to be sure. The key is asking to be with the same wait staff if at all possible.

Dan

I feel the same.. would not pick Oasis again. This was our 5th cruise on RCCL (Voyager, Freedom, Enchantment, Freedom, Oasis). But like you, I felt a disconnect from the sea. But more so, we really disliked My Time Dining. The first time we tried it on Freedom, it worked out great. We asked for the same time each night, and the same wait staff. Felt no different than traditional dining, but at a better time slot. This time we did the same thing (reservations online before we sailed), but never got seated in the same section and had to wait each night even though we had reservations. One night they even sent us to a different dining room after waiting half hour. We were with friends who were trying RCCL for the first time. They were NOT impressed and doubt they will cruise RCCL again.

 

MY DH enjoyed the uniqueness of the ship. I LOVED the speedy internet. But in the end, we would select a smaller ship next time.

Just curious... did you ask for the same wait staff each night with My Time Dining? We do, as long as our dining times are all at pretty much the same. Actually, on the Oasis this past May, we didn't care for our first waiter and assistant, so we asked to be seated with someone else the second night. Much better. We then requested to be with the same wait staff for the rest of the cruise and it worked out well. We have had the same wait staff for the duration of the cruise for all of our cruises with My Time Dining. We tend to eat at the same time each night though which helps. We are typically on the earlier side.

It is interesting how people used to say that they felt disconnected from the sea on Voyager and Freedom class ships until Oasis appeared. Now that disconnection seems to have gone. I guess the V/F ships have have been re-designed?

It's funny how I didn't know how nice the Freedom class (and I imagine Voyager) is for views of the seas until I went to Oasis. Easy views from the top decks, as well as the awesome views from deck 4. Not life boats blocking your views like the Oasis class. I see that the Celebrity S class also has life boats blocking that deck as well. It's nice for the Freedom and Voyage classes to have the lifeboats up high enough that the view is not impaired.

Dan