RCLFan

I know there is a Board specific to Ports of Call, but I'm afraid may question may get little attention over there. Also, I figure someone has sailed either Oasis or Allure and can address this Post.

We will be sailing Oasis on Oct 1st, and stopping in St. Thomas; my wife wants to shop 1st, and I'd like to also include some Beach time.

If we book the "Secret Sands" Excursion, departing at 10:45 a.m, what time can we expect to be back in Charlotte Amalie to allow time for Shopping?

Our itinerary indicates we are in St. Thomas from 10 - 7.

Or, are we better off Shopping 1st, and securing a Taxi to Smith Bay Park on our own and just returning to the Ship via Taxi? Can we secure a Taxi for our Return?

I know a lot of questions, I just hope someone has either done this excursion or has had similar experience.

Thanks in Advance for the help! :)

We'll be sailing on Oasis; the 3 Night Pkg is $80. If I understand the concept correctly, I can choose any 3, (I understand the 1st Dinner needs to be Day 1 or Day 2, and RCL will select it in advance), so far so good?

Now, once on board I can change the first selection (based on availability), if I wish, correct?

And while on Board, I make my Ressies for the other 2, each different, or any combination from the Specialty Restaurants, Correct?

Now, reading the fine Print, it states up to $30 for Ala Carte, which Izumi's is, so does that mean, I can order off the menu any item(s) not to exceed the $30 (unless I choose to cover the difference)?

So, if purchased individually, say Giovanni's ($25), Chops ($39), and Izumi ($30), I'd be spending $94 versus the $80 for the 3 Night Pkg.

Do I have this all correct? Thanks, I think I understand, just need confirmation from the good people on this Board. :confused:

Just to add regarding the drink packages, a quick rule of thumb is that the approximate break even is about 6 drinks per day every day. And as they are sold on an individual basis, that break even is per person.

 

And as mentioned you can wait to buy it on board up until there are four remaining days including the last day left on your itinerary.

The "Break Even" is dependent on the PKG Price one Paid. So, while True, 6 Drinks per day may be the Break Even, that's assuming one paid the Std Ship Rate of $55 + 18% (or almost $65). Again, assuming 6 Drinks, the Avg Price of each Drink would need to be about $11.

Obviously, if one drinks Beer and Cocktails, the AVG per Drink would be lower, and one would need to drink significantly more to "Break Even".

So, YMMV, depending on your PKG Price, and the Avg Cost of your "typical" drink. In my case, I tend not to drink Beer (at least not on Cruises), and I probably am more inclined to drink the $10 - $13 "fru-fru" drinks. Admittedly, I'll need to drink like a Fish on Port Days, when I get back on Board.

But for me and spouse, I figure, we'll easily consume 2 per day (each) lying about the Pool & other afternoon activities, something with dinner, i.e. Wine, and another 2 (min) during the Evening Shows/Lounges we visit. Not to mention Bottled Water, just to stay hydrated during the afternoons. Based on my Pkg price, assuming the $10 - $13 range, I need to consume about 30-32 drinks in a week; maybe not doable, but I'd rather not "worry" about Breaking Even, I just want to enjoy the vacation w/o thinking about every dollar and decision I might have to make.

We are booked on the Oasis, Oct 1st Sailing; the premium offer was $44, (that was 20% Disc), once I paid for the Gratuity it came in at $51.92 pp.

We've never purchased a Drink Pkg before, but I figured 2 Drinks pp while poolside/afternoon on the Ship. Possibly a Wine with Dinner, and another 2 Drinks during the Evening while at a Show and Lounges/Clubs. Plus, I figured we'd drink Bottled Water while lying about the Pool as well, just to stay hydrated.

And if the typical Drink (as Pictured by the Receipt) is $13, we should almost Break Even (given less consumption on Shore Days). But I'd rather not have to think about whether to have that 2nd Poolside "fruity" concoction if I had to Pay as I go.

Presuming your port times are the same as ours for Oasis next March (10:30-7:00), probably. We usually arrive a bit on the early side and are off the ship by the posted time.

 

If it were me, I'd reverse the order and do St. John's first and shopping last. At least that way you're close to the ship if you encounter any hiccups, and it's a lot easier to cut an hour off of shopping time than getting a ferry to go faster.

That's a great point about making the Ferry go faster, thanks. Now I just need to convince the wife to shop at the end of the day. Next Question, how late do most of the shops stay open?

My wife and I will be on the Oasis (10/1), and would like to combine Shopping with some time at a Beach, either in St Thomas or St John.

My question is this, what is the earliest one might expect to disembark from the Ship at Crown Bay?

And is it feasible to Shop, return purchases to ship, Taxi to Red Hook, Ferry to St John, Taxi to Beach and still have time to get back to the ship? Assuming we disembark ASAP, spend 3 - 4 hrs of actually shopping, can we do St John, or not?

Thanks

We will be arriving at St Thomas on Oasis at 10 am, departing at 7 pm. We were on an Excursion of St John years ago, and loved the island, but the tour did not include any Beach Time. My question is this, would it be feasible to Taxi to Red Hook, Ferry to St. John and spend a few hours at Cinnamon or Trunk, then return to Charlotte Amalie and finish our day shopping.

I know my wife would love to visit St John again, but she also loves the shopping on St Thomas.

Thanks

Ok, so maybe this has been addressed already, but my question is this:

If you pay $55 per Day for Drink Pkg, you would need to consume 5 Drinks per Day to "come ahead", correct?

And while that may be relatively easy to do during Cruising Days, becomes more challenging on Port Days.

Do I have this about right?

And finally, how does RCL control "sharing" of Pkg. If I order a drink at the Bar, how do they control me from ordering another for wife, at another venue?