Priszm

On 1/11/2020 at 11:58 AM, Cruisegirl6 said:

Thank you for that info, where do you feel the most comfortable interior spot on the ship be to relax?

We ended up spending a lot of time in Boleros.  But if you're looking for reading, there's sitting areas in the centrum on 7 and 8 for sure (our cabin was on 7) with seats that look out the floor to ceiling windows.

5 hours ago, Cutigerlady said:

You can also get your fare repriced (before final payment) if the cost goes down.  Check frequently for both of these because the prices change often!

However, be aware of what that may do to your deposit or OBC.  If you have booked with a refundable deposit, the new fare may be only for non-refundable and you would lose your refundable.  Same with OBC, the new fare may mean less OBC. 

On 1/4/2020 at 8:31 AM, Cruisegirl6 said:

What is your favorite place to sit inside the ship to relax? We spent a lot of time outside on deck 6 just watching the watcher and reading. It was very comfortable.  Inside, we spent most of our time in Boleros or Schooner.

 

My other half loves to play  in the casino, I noticed the bar only has 6 seats, is it generally crowded?  (I like to sit and relax there) It was more crowded for the $2 mimosas at sea days. 

 

Are the buffets for breakfast and lunch packed and crowded and the lines go slow to get food, or do they have individual stations of different foods all around as they do on the Oasis class ships I did the Cuba cruise, so my mileage varies from Twangsters. They don't have individual stations really set up, and there were times the lines moved a little slow. But, for some reason, most everyone seemed to veer to the right side instead of the left. The left side has pretty much the same stuff, but it seems less crowded.

 

Thank you so very much for your help!

 

 

 

The only night we had issues was after the chef's table. The rocking helped our (in)ability to walk 🙂

On 12/29/2019 at 11:09 AM, snowdogsmm said:

In St. Maarten we went jet skiing at Orient Beach then went to Maho Beach to watch the planes land.

In St. Thomas we went on a private snorkeling sailboat trip.  All super fun.

I'm intrigued by the snorkeling trip in St. Thomas. Can you share the info? (If someone has already asked for this, apologies for the duplicate).

On 11/18/2019 at 7:55 AM, 37645 said:

We are going to have to get some fresh juice and bring it back for mimosas. 

You can take the bottles with you to breakfast.  We did that on Empress of the Seas and the Windjammer staff happily brought us larger glasses with OJ for mimosas.  

11 hours ago, 37645 said:

Our family are big cruisers, we have been on most of the mainstream cruise lines including RCL, NCL, Carnival, Princess, DISNEY, and even the Big Red Boat (Does anyone remember that name?).

Premier was my first cruise ever!  And I'm really looking forward to this review.  My next cruise is on the Oasis with this same itinerary. 

Just now, h20skibum said:

We did Allure for Easter 2018, and there were over 2,000 kids onboard.  
 

We did Grandeur for Easter 2019, and the percentage of kids to adults was about the same ratio, but it is a much smaller ship. 
 

We have Anthem for next Easter, and it appears there will be a lot of kids on it, based on some of the social media posts. 
 

You will always find a full ship at Easter

That's why I'm wondering if we should keep the date or change it.

8 minutes ago, Biker19 said:

If you are serious about changing, wait till the 2/4/20 sailing is well inside final payment - you might get a better deal than now.

We're definitely far enough out from 2021 that waiting isn't an issue. So this is good information to have.

3 minutes ago, RedSails1968 said:

We were on Symphony over Easter this year and loved it. We went then because our grandchildren were off from school and I am sure there were plenty of kids but there are so many places to go that it never really seemed that crowded. 

I'm happy to read this. I've been reading a lot of live reviews on the Oasis class and everyone's pictures make it look like it isn't too crowded. 

Hi. My partner and I are booked on the Oasis 4/4/21, which is Easter Sunday. This is the first time on a ship this size for both of us. We have this problem of booking vacations, and then after looking to see when Easter is (this year we came home on Easter, 2 years ago we visited family in Florida and ended up leaving to drive home on Easter).  How busy/many people will there be? Or should we consider changing to February 4th?  We would lose our $100 OBC and $100 deposit (pretty sure that's how much it was), but it looks like the date change might be $150 ish cheaper. Thanks.

We did this ship to Cuba this past April.  It was supposed to be all Cuba, but we lost a Cuban port and ended up in Cozumel for our first stop.  We did the Amazing Secret River, which lived up to its name and was amazing! This ship is great for a very laid back vacation. We spent a lot of time in the Schooner Bar doing trivia, in Boleros listening to music and doing dance lessons, and just hanging out on deck 6 (I think that's right) reading and watching the water go by.  And watching flying fish!

Point of note, for Windjammer, everyone always enters in the right side.  Go in the left side.  It has most of the same stuff as the right side; plus more items.  And the gluten free section has fantastic macaroons (the coconut things). We were on deck 7 just off of the atrium and it didn't take long to get anywhere.  We had no noise issues.  

10 minutes ago, myolite said:

-Crimecruise announced for Navigator of the Seas October 9-12!!!

Super excited.

As in 8 days from now? That's pretty short notice.

7 hours ago, parrotfeathers said:

I don't see many people take advantage of the "preboarding" (needing more time) experience.  A few weeks ago I flew up to MSP to pick up my puppy.  Those sherpa carriers fit well under the seat, but there is really no way you can easily get them under the seat without sliding them in from the aisle.  I practiced on the way up with an empty sherpa.  On the way home I asked the ticket person if I could use the preboarding time to go ahead of the others to make sure I could slide Poppy's sherpa in from the aisle, and they said yes.  It was much easier.  Of course I had let all the gate people hold Poppy and get puppy kisses first.  I swear they really need therapy dogs at the airports.

Terminal 1 at MSP actually has that now 🙂 I flew in and out of there 9/20 and 9/23 and got to pet puppies.

I know you booked the cabin already, but you don't really have to worry about forward/aft in terms of being close to locations you like.  The ship is small enough that it takes almost no time to go front to back.

On 9/19/2019 at 5:58 PM, vacationlover_mn said:

I usually book over a year in advance 🙂. Beverage packages seem to be one of the first things to pop up.  I am pretty sure ours showed up about 10 months before our sailing date, for our feb, 2020 cruise

Hah! The first things available for mine are Coco Cay Zip Line, Thrill Waterpark, Cabanas, the balloon, and ship spa services.  😄

Hello.  My next cruise isn't until April 2021.  Typically (because results may vary), how long before a cruise do the beverage packages show up for purchase in the planner?  I would like to know approximately when I should start looking for them.  Thank you!

3 hours ago, ROYAL CARIBBEAN DUDE said:

 

I had this an idea, but there are so many travel bloggers/vloggers already exploring these places.

 

I don't want to make videos that have already been done before.

 

I think the reason why my vlogs are quite good, is because I'm the first crew member to actually vlog my life onboard the ship.

Something to consider regarding port of call vlogs - you're not really a tourist (because of how often you go to a port) and not a resident.  If you do these, you could do them from the point of view of "this is what a cruise ship employee likes to do at a port".  

My partner and I did an Ireland tour last year on our own.  We went to Waterford, but wish we had actually spent more time in Kilkenney.  We did do Waterford Crystal (just the showroom, not the tour) and it was ok.  We found a crystal place near Galway that we liked much more, and had a free demonstration.  https://www.connemaracelticcrystal.com/

I second not driving in Dublin; it's way too busy and confusing. Pick up your car when you're done with Dublin.  I would probably do your option 2 for the cities.  Killarney was amazing!  We stayed at the Dromhall Hotel, which is about a 10 minute walk into the city center and right on the road into the Killarney National Park.  

This past April I was on a Cuba cruise that ended up with a stop in Cozumel (all ports were supposed to be Cuba, we ended up 2 Cuba and Cozumel).  My partner and I did the Amazing Secret River excursion and it was amazing! The only thing we didn't really like was having to wait to get back over to Cozumel, we would have been happy taking an earlier ferry back. 

My parents were on a cruise when Hurricane Wilma hit Miami/FLL.  They ended up with 3 extra days at sea because of flooding in the port.

4 minutes ago, niksmom630 said:

 

It’s like Build A bear. Make your own stuffed animal 

Well, that's not what I was picturing 🙂  I was picturing being able to cuddle with actual pets. Darn 😄

The Compass' show "Pets at Sea"; any idea what that actually is?

23 hours ago, ResearchObsessed said:

We headed straight to the Windjammer and it wasn't too busy yet. We were able to get our first drinks (Bahama Papa and a Bloody Mary) and full plates of food. Plenty of vegan options!  

 

It was raining a bit but that didn't keep us from grabbing a few drinks and snagging some seats inside the Solarium pool. We got to enjoy the pool by ourselves for a bit before another couple joined us and we had a really nice time chatting and using those drink packages! Found out they'll be on the Secret River Tour excursion with us in Cozumel and are looking forward to meeting up with out new friends. 

 

Well, that's it for now! I'll write again while in Cozumel!

Did the Secret River Tour in April and LOVED it!  And, what's in a Bahama Papa?  I haven't heard of that one before.

You mentioned in your last review that you work while on your cruises. Do you mind sharing what it is that you do?  If you would prefer not, totally understandable. 

I think Twangster may have provided those on his recent live posting.