Thisguylikestocruise

I’m hoping international flights drop by the time I book for my 9/24 Greek Isles cruise on Odyssey. Currently it’s $3,000-$5,000 for 2 people ATL-FCO 😳

23 minutes ago, renza said:

What time is your check in? Did you buy dining package? 
Have been on all oasis class multiple times but going on her for the first time next month. 

It’s an awesome ship. Enjoy!  

1 hour ago, Mum2Mercury said:

We hypothesized that it's not something that affects many people, and that closing the loophole would cost more than letting those few B2B people "slide".  

Does this loophole still exist? I’m doing a 5/4 b2b from PC.

I think there’s more of a party atmosphere out of Miami than other ports  such as Canaveral. 

On the app “select another cruise”➡️“browse our ships”. Choose a ship and date. You can see what excursions are offered. Downside is it’s inconvenient and possibly not all excursions are loaded.

I’m doing something similar. Have a 5/4 night b2b booked on Voyager. 2 days Coco Cay which is a favorite port for us. The option to get a drink package for 1/2 the b2b is another perk. Fits into my work schedule perfectly and saves a little money compared to other 9 night cruises I looked at. The E-muster takes us less than 30 seconds now. Personally I feel like the pros outweigh the cons.

Not everyone saves millions for retirement, or if they do perhaps there’s no children to leave money to. I used to be a big saver but my healthcare job changed my perspective. Life is short and fragile. I don’t want to save a lot and end with up with cancer, or mobility issues to the point I can’t enjoy my money. I’d rather spend while I’m in good health. Personally I wouldn’t spend $20k on a suite, I still like to look for value in purchases.

One cruise hack is take 2 short cruises b2b, and only book the drink package for half of the b2b, and only drink during that 4-5 day sailing.

7 minutes ago, njsmom said:

I agree, they're insanely expensive. It works out to about $550 a person for a 7-day cruise when you buy at the lowest sale price I've seen for the Harmony of the Seas cruise I embark upon in two days. I used to buy the drink packages, but now I'm just buying the drinks as I go because I simply do not drink $550 during a one-week cruise. But if I were to buy a package, I would feel the need to try to drink that much to warrant the expense. Not a healthy choice for my liver!!!

 

Edited to say the exception is NCL, where the fares come with a basic drink package and upgrading was about $330 a person. That was worth it to me because it included my favorite, Vueve Cliquot champagne. My husband and I had a bottle of that with dinner every night on our recent holiday cruise. And lots of still and sparkling waters and Starbucks coffee. But most cruise lines don't include Starbucks and the high-end champagnes. 

With the drink package if you don’t feel well and want to take a Tylenol you’re at risk of not breaking even. Found that out when I developed a severe migraine unrelated to drinking at the beginning of my cruise. Lost a day using the package and barely made up for it later in the week. 

What happens if you have the refreshment package and buy a few alcoholic drinks? Do they deduct a certain amount of money from the alcoholic drink since you have the refreshment package?

2 hours ago, simon.hed said:

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. 

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’d like to take a transatlantic cruise on this. 7 nights isn’t enough time to explore a new class of ship this large.

1 hour ago, cruisegirl1 said:

Have a great time.  We just returned from 2 weeks  on Wonder and had the dining package the second week.  We concentrated on entertainment the first week and went back to shows we really liked on the second week.  

 

Ship is beautiful and the staff/crew are wonderful. 

 

Have fun.  Looking  forward to your remarks. 

M

Wonder is awesome. We booked it again within days of returning home. Food, drinks, shows, and staff were excellent. One night they had crispy breaded cauliflower in chili sauce at the windjammer, very tasty. 

I understand the gratuity for bartenders. But why are gratuities automatically added for the soda package, when it’s typically self service?

Shows for Oasis class ships open up to reserve online the first day of the month, a month before your cruise. So if the cruise was 5/18, shows would be open to book 4/1. Seems to be the current pattern.

11 hours ago, George C said:

We got a really good rate on harmony by booking very early.

Seems to be the only advantage right now is booking 1-2 years in advance for certain dates and ships. 

I have 4 cruises booked and they’ve only gone up. It’ll be interesting to see if this summer I can reprice lower like last year. 

4 hours ago, Sbear7 said:

We are on the same cruise as mentioned above the end of Sept.  We are flying to Madrid to stat with friends first then 2-3 days in Barcelona and 3-4 days in Rome afterwards.  Wondering if anyone could give me ideas as to where to stay in Barcelona or Rome.  We are just beginning to look into booking this.

I liked the Marcella Royal Hotel in Rome, great hotel with breakfast and rooftop views overlooking the city. Checkout Ostia Antica ruins while you’re in Rome.

9 hours ago, Mom*3 said:

We were on the Wonder, Mar 12. It may have just been our waiter, but he brought multiple appetizers and entrees out at the same time. Brought dishes he thought we should try. The experience was similar to past cruises. Our daughter does not eat lobster, so she ordered 1, we transferred to my husband’s plate and immediately her second entree was delivered. 

Similar experience, I told the waiter I liked the appetizer, and he brought me 2 more. 

A lot of people here mentioned a wait for MTD. This wasn’t my experience on Wonder. We arrived at 7:30 without reservations and were seated immediately. Service and food were excellent. 

1 hour ago, CruizinSusan70 said:

Had El Loco Fresh for free on the Oasis last June.  No way does it compare to Blue Iguana.  El Loco was self serve and pre-made burritos, whereas Blue Iguana is made to order right in front of you.  And they also have breakfast options which El Loco fresh does not have.

On Wonder they did have breakfast, it must vary by ship.

The Windjammer is divided in half. When you walk into the Windjammer stop, look left and right. Both sides serve the same food. Sometimes one side is less crowded than the other. 
 

Get on the app the night before your cruise to complete the safety videos and health questionnaire. The E-muster is really easy, you just show up at your station and confirm you watched them. Pack everything you need in your carry on bag, like a swimsuit, because rooms aren’t ready until 1pm.

15 minutes ago, firefly333 said:

I wouldnt say more elaborate. Carnival wins for me as they make mexican salads in tortilla bowls. 

 

The buritoes in fresh on rcl was pre made on oasis and wrapped, and they nuked them in a large microwave and put them out. Not made to order. 

 

Carnival wins for me. .. and I'm not a burrito fan. 

 

Though the cafe on oasis also had burritos.. 

There’s premade wrapped burritos like you mentioned, and the option to make your own burritos or nachos on Wonder. I considered it more of a snack than a full meal. They also had breakfast and it was never busy for that.

I’ve never sailed Carnival so can’t compare them. However, Wonder has differences vs Oasis. El Loco Fresh is complimentary on Wonder. They have a machine that makes fresh tortillas in front of you. You add toppings like rice, beans, meat, cheese, salsa, guacamole, chips. Similar to a Chipotle. Most days it was good, although one day the guacamole was watery. I’ve been on Oasis and Wonder, Wonder is a beautiful and fun ship, we enjoyed it more than Oasis. Booked another cruise on it because we had so much fun. 

5 hours ago, lovrccl said:

We just booked WOS for end of April. We have done all the Oasis class ships but have a question.  All the shows are sold out in the app. Do they still allow people with no reservations to get in when others are a no show?  

Also has anyone eaten at Chops lately and is it worth the extra $$.  Any other tips would be appreciated.

Thanks.

The aqua show and ice show are very popular and excellent, but we noticed open seats at both throughout the week on Wonder in February. I think if you really want to attend you’d find seats at some point. Arrive 30 minutes early and wait in the standby line.