DiscoingGD

You guys are breaking my heart with your sandwich experiences 💔

I haven't been on the Oasis since 2017. The two questions I have are:

1. Does the Solarium still have those big round loungers? I think they're meant for 2 people, but I enjoyed having a few drinks, sprawling out, and just stargazing in them at night. Much comfier than a standard deck chair.

2. Does the Park's Cafe still have those delicious Kummelweck sandwiches (or something similar)? They're made with a NY Strip loin slices (it's slow roasted like a Prime Rib) & served w/ au jus and horseradish. It was 100% my favorite food outside the MDR. Ate 3-4 of them every day after the gym.

Enjoy your cruise!

I can't individually respond to everyone, but I appreciate you all sharing your experiences/tips, as well as some of your initial reluctances.

@Gardyloo It's that exact itinerary, but May 9 on the Ovation: https://www.royalcaribbean.com/cruises/itinerary/8-night-alaska-adventure-from-seattle-on-ovation/OV08YVR-1845325301#step=0 

Good point, half the cruise is on the boat whether you want it to be or not. I also watched a video tour of the ship and it looks like it has more partially covered semi-climate-controlled outdoor areas than the Caribbean ships.

@joeflow80 I appreciate you selling me on it and providing those tips, especially the AllTrails!

@GTJ I appreciate your insight as well. As far as travel, I've been all around the contiguous US (mostly the east); It's just always been in the summer and early fall, so not much to adapt to. I just know that this winter in FL, we had a 2-day cold snap that was in the high 30s/low 40s, and going out for long periods was not pleasant (I'm sure the northerners that endured sub-zero temps are laughing). Perhaps with real winter apparel, I could endure the lower temps more comfortably, particularly something for my face/nose. If it's normally in the high 50s or low 60s though, that's my dream weather! Sound like it's a flip of the coin which one I'll get.

Hello All,

I know the title is somewhat bold to put on the Alaskan sub-forum, but hear me out. I'm a lifelong Floridian that's enjoyed his 2 RCCL Caribbean cruises & has never seen snow, but always wanted to (even though I get uncomfortably cold in the 40s). I saw a great deal for an 8-day Alaskan cruise on RC (May 2024, only $100/day for a solo cabin), but I'm looking at the potential cons, which I'm hoping you can alleviate:

• From what I've heard $100/day is great for an Alaskan cruise, but it's pretty average for a Caribbean cruise, which I don't need to spend $500 to fly to. So, the way I'm looking at it, is this cruise worth an extra $500 to experience?
• Average temps in May (according to Google) range from 56 degrees (sounds fantastic) to 42 at night (no bueno). There's almost 17 hours on sunlight in May, so can I assume the bulk of my day would at least be in the 50s? I know rain & clouds could make this vary drastically, but I'm sure some of you cruised there in May and can provide some anecdotal experiences.
• I'm not an excursion guy. In the Caribbean, I enjoyed walking around a bit and then enjoyed the boat amenities while people were still out. In Alaska, I'm hoping there are scenic trails I can walk near every port (As a Floridian, I'm in awe of both the snow and mountains lol). In Juneau, for example, I'll take the public bus to Mendenhall Glacier and walk around there. I just don't know if every port has something like that, and if not, or if the weather's bad, I don't know if there's as much to do on the boat on Alaskan cruises vs Caribbean? I don't think I'd enjoy the Flowrider in Alaska, for example. Hot tubbing in the arctic sounds fun though! In short, am I missing the point of an Alaskan cruise if I just walk around and take in the scenery?

To conclude, I REALLY want to go, but not being used to that environment, I'm afraid of worst-case scenario that I'm just cold and miserable the whole time. Talk me into it please!

The only difference in food I noticed was at the Park's Cafe. On the Oasis, the sandwich was made with a NY Striploin and served w/ au jus (So good!), whereas on the Allure, it was Roast Beef w/ Gravy (meh). Not sure if the change in sandwich was because it's different on every ship or a menu change fleet-wide.

Other than that, the MDR and WJ tasted the same as the ones on the Oasis to me. (Sailed Allure in 2018 and Oasis in 2017)

No after final (unless within 24 hours) you cannot get anything back or get OBC. What you can do is see if cabins in categories above what you currently have are less than what you paid. If so, you can move up. We had a balcony on Harmony in Dec. The JS went on sale for less than we paid for our balcony so we were able to move to a JS for no additional cost.

Okay, so if nothing else, I booked a guaranteed balcony (XB), which was recently assigned (room 7328) at the very back of the ship (7D?). Since the 1D balcony is cheaper than I paid for mine, would that be considered a higher category or just a better room in the same category?

I am booked with a travel agent for the Allure, Sept. 2. My agent said there is no price matching after the final payment due date, but I have seen elsewhere that Royal often issues an onboard credit in these cases, so when I saw the cruise $200 cheaper, I called my travel agent and asked her to call Royal.

She called me back and said there was nothing they could do, but I don't really think she called so I called Royal myself. Royal said that they can price adjust, but my agent has to call to get the adjustment. So, I have to wait until Monday to call my agent again. I hope the price stays low, but while I wait, what are your experiences in these cases? Does my agent get a cut of the final price so she doesn't want to lower it? Is the credit just something that Royal does on a whim, depending on whom you talk to?

Thanks all! Allure does not have studios. What I meant was I might book another cruise while I'm on the Allure. The particular ship I was looking at was the Brilliance. It looks small, but it has studio rooms and the port is less than an hour from my house.

When I go on the Allure in Sep., I might book myself a solo cruise. Not sure if I'll get a studio or a double-occupancy room. Either way, I read on CC somewhere that you have to be at least platinum to get double points on a solo booking in a double occupancy room (or a suite for that matter). I can't find that on Royal's website and never saw that mentioned before. Can anyone shed some light? Also, does the studio room still get you one point/night?

I was 250 lbs. when I was on the Oasis (Should be same size shower as Allure) and I didn't feel constrained in the shower. Good to know I can shower in the locker room if I want though.

I agree that 6:5 is bad and I avoid it whenever possible. However, I've never even seen a casino not allow you to double down on split hands (Aside from Aces, which they don't let you do anything). That's where all my exciting plays come from, splitting and doubling down multiple times, turning a $20 hand into a $120 hand. That's disappointing, but I guess they'll do anything to shift the odds even further in their favor.

It reminds me of the first time I went to Vegas, they had a game called BJ Switch (It's probably everywhere by now), where you were dealt two hands (With two equal bets) and you could switch the last cards dealt to each hand with each other if you wanted (Example: You have an A,5 and 6,K. You could switch them and have an A,K and 6,5). After that, it played like regular BJ. Actually a cool concept, except BJs only paid even money and the dealer pushed instead of busting on 22 (which happened a lot).

Okay, so the general consensus seems to be that the boat is like any other casino. My preconceived notions and bad luck made me think otherwise. You have to understand, it took me about 10 hours to lose $100 in Vegas; It only took 2 minutes on the boat. Of course, I know my evidence was anecdotal, which is why I asked on this forum to get a better feel.

I also have to add, while I understand the argument for it, I wouldn't gamble if I thought I was going to lose in the long run (With the exception of the occasional slots or scratch-off ticket, which I consider fun little time-wasters.). If you're that willing to lose your money to the casino, at least give me a chance to win it in a poker game first :P

My last cruise on the Oasis, which was also my first one, I only went to the casino one late night, sat with a BJ dealer by myself (Something I usually avoid), and immediately lost 6 straight hands in a row. It is within the realm of possibility to do that, but still unlikely (about 2%), so I felt it was fate telling me something and stayed out the rest of the cruise. That, plus a personal bias that the boat's casino may not be held to the same standards as a land-based casino.

Well, in Sep. I will be going on the Allure. A new day on a new ship; I was thinking of trying my luck again, until I started reading reward program posts. I only saw people talking about how much they lost until they got rewards; No one mentioned winning. So, I thought it begged the question: Has anyone who gambles a lot on the ship's table games ever come out ahead?

Related to this: I told my TA I wanted to book another cruise when I go on the Allure in Sep., but wasn't 100% sure yet on the date. She said I could buy what I guess is like a gift card or credit to use on any RC cruise within a year of purchase. My question: Has anyone else heard of this credit and do you still enjoy the benefits (Extra savings or OBC) that you would if you booked a solid date and ship?

I never complained to Royal, but I've emailed them with a question before and never got a response, so unless you are writing them just to vent, I wouldn't expect much.

Just my take:

My first and longest job was in a full-service restaurant, doing almost every job there, so I know the difference between a job that has to interact with the customer and one that doesn't. I can say confidently that being a server is a much more difficult task than any behind the scenes work, requiring knowledge, speed, wit, and a consistently positive attitude, so I think they deserve more pay if they're on point. Just think of a restaurant you've been to where, on separate occasions, you've had great and terrible service. Think of how you felt leaving the restaurant those times; I bet the difference is staggering.

As mentioned in an above comment, there is a tip out system, but it is much different than the cruise's tip out. If a server at a restaurant was good, they would on average make more in tips and only have to tip out on the percentage of sales, so they still make more. I believe the cruise does it in a more communistic way where, at the end of the cruise, all the servers get paid the same. Talking to my servers on the last cruise (who were awesome), they confirmed that the prepaid gratuities made many workers complacent and when asked, said they preferred cash to the auto-tip. I believe them, because while everyone else on my cruise was professional, these guys were the only ones who were personable too.

Anyway, for better or for worse, I cancelled my auto-tip and paid cash to my servers, as well as my cabin steward on the last day. It evened out to the same cost, so I didn't do it to save money. I just wanted to allocate my tip to those who truly made my cruise a wonderful experience. They can share it with whomever they want in the back of the house that deserves it.

The Kummelweck sandwich at the Park Cafe is awesome, but I've had a few pieces of the striploin by itself and it is just as awesome! Just get the meat, and I don't think the Aju or Horseradish has a lot of carbs either if you choose to get it with your steak.

On this topic, I am on my Cruise Planner right now and the Refreshment Package is $18/day, which seems to be the best price. I'm still on the fence, so could I buy it to lock in the price and cancel before the cruise if I change my mind?

Last year, I just got the Soda Package and drank 10+ sodas/day, but these days I'm trying to cut back on the sugar a little, though the thought of Fresh OJ, Premium Teas, and some Frozen drinks sounds pretty good. Also, I know it's been discussed, but I do not see smoothies listed on the Package. Is that considered a NA Cocktail, or have they changed it being included?

It is. You can just say "my travel agency" and don't ask any specific questions about it.

 

And you are past the threshold for editing the posts. :)

Oh, you are right; I see there is a time limit for editing. All I can do at this point is promise that it won't happen again.

Dear Host Clarea:

 

Isn't it still against the CC board rules to discuss specific travel agencies?!!??!?

If it is, I apologize. Let me know and I will edit it out of my posts.

You must go through your travel agent. They own the reservation and Royal will not deal with you. You can do multiple pricecdrops as long as you are prior to the cruise lines final payment date,

Thanks, I was afraid of that. It's a small drop, but hopefully it lasts until Monday!

This also depends on the category that you booked so if you booked a GTY, you may not get any discount if you have already been assigned a cabin as the category may still be higher than you paid. In my case, we booked a GTY suite which includes Junior Suites as the base costs but were fortunate to have been booked into a Grand Suite instead (Yeah!). The pricing for Suite GTY has dropped about $200 since I originally booked but my original pricing is still about $600 less than a Grand Suite even after discounts. I have no expectations to get any price reductions to match the lower Suite GTY as should we make such a request they could well honor the reduction but they may also then move us to a Mini Suite & that would be their option. So, in my case, I don't want to "rock the boat" and potentially loose the GS for a measly $200

I didn't think of that. It's a GTY Oceanview Balcony, so if I were to get upgraded to a Jr. Suite (not likely I'm sure), then I'd be happy to forgo the price match. When the travel agentcalls them, before inquiring about the price, would they be able to find out if the room has been picked yet, and if so, which one?

I booked a cruise with a travel agent to go on the Allure and put the deposit down. Looking tonight, I found a slightly lower price. I saw in other posts that you can price match (Getting either a lower fare or extra OBC), but I have a couple of questions about it.

-My travel agent's office is closed this weekend, so can I call RC myself to price match? I don't want the price to go up before Monday and miss out.

-If I price match now and it goes down again, can I price match a second time?

120 days until the Allure, if I did my math right!

That's okay about the lack of pool; I just liked the area a lot. I would always hot tub or stargaze there late at night, or get away from all the crowds in the day. I found it very Zen. If I can talk my group into it, I think we'll be trying the Harmony.

Also, I've only posted here twice, but I just want to say that the CC community (or CCC) has been quite responsive and knowledgeable. Major thanks to you all for helping this novice cruiser!