simon.hed

46 minutes ago, CntPAcruiser said:

 

On the earlier ships, when they started doing balconies, they were basically a cutout like this, and later versions developed a more open approach.

anyone know which Voyager ships are like Mariner and which like Adventure in this regard?

Good synopsis. 

we had that same itinerary last August. We also had very similar experiences on RC excursions (getting to whatever you were doing was insanely unorganized, once there it was amazing).

I avoid WJ at all costs. MDR breakfast was great every day for us. We ate specialty every night except a couple, and the MTD lines were snaked for miles when we were there.

I only went to water park at CC first trip there. Not sure how they can manage the lines with that. We have been to CC 4 times I think and have been only ship every visit (somehow). That isnt the case with our upcoming 3 cruises, including 2 Oasis class ships June 2024

2 hours ago, Cmessier said:

Well....we did make it in plenty of time. They let us board at approximately 12:30. We whisked right through. 

 

I cant say enough good things about the ship, the staff and Royal Caribbean in general. 

 

We booked our next one on the third night. 9 night Canadian on her sister ship set for next year 😁

Awesome, great that you had a good time.

I've noticed they arent listed on one of our upcoming cruises (but are on a couple other). I have wondered why they weren't there and listed as 'sold out' (I think they like putting that on there, understandably).

Maybe someone will have some actual insight.

Our upcoming cruise that we bought pkg for last Black Friday is down some but not to the BF price.  2 we have booked for next year price didnt change.

We were on Harmony end of August last year and she looked great

we are booked on Adventure for an 8 night Aug 2024. That will be our first time.  We have been on Mariner multiple times and love that class of ship.

1 hour ago, John&LaLa said:

 

Are the table games odds worse on ship than land?

Craps doesnt offer multiples on odds bets on RC which increases house odds.

Roulette on all recent RC cruises I have been on was 00 (and even a 0 table opened late night), which is at least as good as the 'odds' you typically see in Vegas and most land based casinos. And those were $5 minimum tables which is less than what you see on land. (Of course big time gamblers wont concern themselves with low minimum roulette but thats a whole other discussion.) 

38 minutes ago, Thisguylikestocruise said:

I sail out of that port and have a Wonder cruise booked for 2/11/24, $2,993 ocean view balcony w/tips. Wanted to do a b2b, however the following week is $4,800 so I’m not doing it. Prices have risen dramatically since I booked. Voyager out of Canaveral 2025 is still fairly affordable, doing my first ever b2b on that, making 2 stops at Coco Cay. Reasonable prices are still there, but much harder to find. 

I have a 6 day on Mariner and an 8 day on Adventure booked for a decent fare. Wonder seems to be a premium (I understand why) right now.  Guess it's a good thing I like Voyager class ships.

Independence is a great ship, you will enjoy it.

Specifically the food. In my experience the windjammer on Freedom/Voyager class ships have been better than other classes. Particularly if you dont consider yourself a food snob, you will find it more than acceptable. 

Izumi and Chops are great venues if you are doing specialty dining.

Canaveral is our easiest port to cruise from and I have been watching fares on Wonder and, yikes. 

We sailed a (great) balcony on Harmony last August that we booked maybe 6 months in advance, and the fare was $22xx.00 for 2 (I think maybe we booked that at the end of covid, so not apples/apples). Of course dining and DBP added to that, but the fare itself was low. If you want an Oasis class ship out of Canaveral, it's pricey right now.

When Allure starts the 3 and 4 night cruises there next year it will be interesting to see what happens. I far prefer 7 night sailings, but at 2 grand pp for ocean view balcony on Wonder that won't be happening.

As many have said, 'what the market will bear', and apparently its bearing it pretty well. 

Very very interesting thread.

We are fairly new to RC (Mariner, Independence, Harmony) and have 3 booked (Mariner, Allure, and Adventure). I have a subconscious FOMO I think and sometimes feel like if I'm not on Icon already what am I even doing.

This reminds me that we all have different tastes and what works for one may/not for others.

oasis lagoon swim up bar will be bananas in the afternoon.  The water park will have lines.

Finding a lounger? Shouldn't be a huge issue, as @pittnh if you have a preference or want prime seating you better hustle.

I actually just priced a CP balcony on Allure for next spring. It is around 200 pp cheaper rn than an ocean view balcony. I like variety and may pull the trigger on it just because we have never had one.

one of these days I will be brave enough to forego the DBP. Not sure when that will be.

I have coffee first thing. Sometimes 2 cups. A bloody mary at some point in AM. More drinks than I care to acknowledge. Black coffee + espresso early afternoon. Wine with dinner. Then additional drinks.

My wife on the other hand will drink softdrinks during day and with lunch. She will have 4 to 6 alcoholic drinks, maybe.

And yes, the DBP for both of us can and does exceed the fare but it's a cost of doing business.  When we go back to Alaska I will consider not getting it as we will be so active. Caribbean itineraries idk.

I think we paid $120ish pp for our August 22 cruise. I would pay $99 pp if there are 2 ships there, less if there was only 1. It was really nice, but not $225+ nice.

Good point. The production shows were not nearly to the standard of the oasis class ships in my experience. And in a few examples the difference was pretty glaring.

I have been on Mariner twice and booked again in August. I love that ship. We are early 50's and voyager class works great for us. Good restaurants and bars. Lots of ocean views. My favorite place on any RC ship to spend the afternoon is the Viking Lounge. 

@orville99 where'd you get that pic of the ship? I have seen those but not familiar with origin.

I did mine online, starting the process maybe 3 months ago. The website didnt do an amazing job of keeping me updated on the progress, but I got my renewed passport a few days over 8 weeks from the start.

Excellent thread, all. 

I guess I will resurrect this one.  I didn't find a lot of info on these.  We will be in Labadee upcoming summer for first time and just noticed these in cruise planner.  They have gone up just a bit lol. 368.99 at 10% off.

I have been to CocoCay 3 times and each time it was the highlight of our trip.

We are going again next month. When originally booked there were going to be 2 ships there so I figured I would try the beach club out due to potential crowding at other places. That and the fact this is an anniversary that ends in zero trip. We had to change sail date and there will only be one ship there that day but I figured I would try it for something different.

I think we paid $180 ea or so, which as I understand has gone up significantly. We will see if its worth it.

excellent report! 

tremendous review.