corthaus

My partner and I work remotely, and we're considering a last-minute getaway on the Anthem in the next few weeks. We will use a vacation day for CocoCay, but we will work the rest of the week.

Can anyone speak to the recent Voom network performance onboard Anthem of the Seas? We were on Oasis last September and were consistently impressed with the internet performance during our cruise, but that sailing was less than 50% capacity. I would imagine a full sailing might bog down the network a bit.

Any insights are appreciated!

Any chance Utopia will have the telescoping funnels à la Oasis and Allure? I'd love to get a brand new ship up here in NYC, especially since Icon won't fit under the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge. Oasis is nice post-refresh, but the aging rooms left a lot to be desired.

23 hours ago, Cruisegoer said:

Can you please expand on what you were tired of exactly? I haven't sailed RCI in a number of years, more often choose Celebrity, but does the "Ultimate Dining Package" include the specialty surcharge restaurants? Is that why you'd want this add-on package?

Yes, that's exactly why; it includes unlimited dining at all the Specialty restaurants for dinner (and includes lunch on sea days). Since this was our first week-long cruise on an Oasis-class vessel with lots of complimentary dining options we decided we'd give them a shot first rather than spending the extra cash in case we didn't end up needing the package.

I'll preface my opinion by saying my partner and I live in NYC surrounded by amazing, diverse food options that have spoiled us; I also consider myself an accomplished home chef. With that in mind, we found that the complimentary food began to all taste the same by the third or fourth day. Some of the dishes in the Main Dining Room were good, but many fell short of my expectations. I really love roasted vegetables and fresh, crunchy, flavorful salads, and it's difficult to find anything like that onboard. We tried some of the vegan options as well and found them to be only passable. Additionally, the late-night dining options are severely limited; you can only eat mediocre pizza and small sandwiches so many times before it just gets old.

Everything else about the cruise was fantastic, but I was ready to get off the ship if only to get something else to eat by the end of it. Definitely take my opinion with a grain of salt, but I will put more emphasis on researching the food before my next cruise.

16 minutes ago, Oxo said:

Do you have to pay anything just to get off the ship at CoCo Cay?

Nope, it's completely complimentary with your cruise! The internet and drinks packages are also valid on the island and there is complimentary food provided. It's great.

5 hours ago, Gee & Gee said:

Corthaus, how was your cruise?

We had a blast! The Oasis of the Seas is an amazing vessel. I happened to call RCI to change my stateroom two days before the cruise and I was able to get a room with no passengers in any of the surrounding staterooms. We never saw another person other than our attendant in the hallway for the entirety of our voyage, we loved the privacy. The reduced capacity was also great (although I can't imagine being onboard at full-capacity, it seems like it would be hellish), and the service was fantastic. We were hesitant going into the experience since this was our second cruise ever and I'm still surprised by how much we enjoyed it.

My only complaint was the food, we were very tired of it by the end of the week. I think we would try an unlimited dining package or a different cruise line out of NY/NJ next time; we're considering giving Celebrity a shot.

How many passengers are onboard this sailing? I was on the 9/26 sailing and had a blast; so much so that I'm considering booking another week on Oasis before the end of the month. We had 2400 passengers which was great, I'm wondering if bookings have increased or if it's remained consistent.

I'm considering going on a Virgin Voyage (really hoping they have future sailings out of NYC) and this writeup made me even more interested in the experience:

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/01/arts/dance/virgin-voyages-dance-cruise.html?action=click&module=Well&pgtype=Homepage&section=Dance

I'm embarking on my second-ever cruise aboard Oasis of the Seas this upcoming Sunday. I was interested in purchasing the UDP but given my "newness" to cruising in general and this being my first time onboard Oasis, I want to see how satisfied I am with the complimentary options. I have a small amount of OBC that I plan to use for Portside BBQ, tapas at Vintages, and maybe some snacks at Playmakers.

However, should I decide to try one of the specialty dining options (150 Central Park or Giovanni's, for example), are onboard sales cheaper than the price in the Cruise Planner? Or is it generally better to purchase before the cruise and cancel onboard if I change my mind?

Additionally, I did get the UBP, and there are some cocktails at the specialty restaurants I would like to try; I love sake, and some of the drinks at Izumi sound tasty. Am I able to only go to the bar at specialty venues?

43 minutes ago, codeyell0 said:

Since I am looking at the Oasis this would be more for that ship. 
Maybe I missed it but I did not see pricing.  I've never cruised RCL. 
Is everything one price pp? Like carnival?  
I did see Johnny Rockets was 9
I was able to find a BBQ menu but that's about it with any prices.

Some specialty restaurants are à la carte while others are a flat fee per person. For example, Portside BBQ, Playmakers, Vintages, and Izumi all have à la carte menus where you pay per dish. You can see the menus in the app, the prices for many of these are very reasonable. Izumi does offer a $35 prixe fix menu in the Cruise Planner, but you can also just use it as a restaurant credit.

Chops Grille, 150 Central Park, Giovanni's Table, Chef's Table, and I believe Johnny Rockets (except for breakfast, which is complimentary) are all a flat fee.

Is the room service American Breakfast complimentary on Oasis right now? Saw on some other threads that it was still being included due to COVID protocols.

2 hours ago, ughreally said:

You realize fully vaccinated people can get covid and give it to other people, too? It's nonsensical to treat unvaccinated kids like they're the only possible source of covid spread. It doesn't matter where you go on the ship. If you're on the ship and someone has it, you could get it. That's the risk we all take when we get onboard. 

I just don't like kids lol it's not my concern of catching COVID from them that's keeping me away from them

16 minutes ago, lovelife said:

Most of the children I've seen are infant to about four or five. Some run around with no masks and no crew reminders.

I can deal with toddlers, disappointing to hear about no masks but unsurprising. I'm somewhat surprised so many parents are willing to take their unvaccinated child on a cruise!

Have the crew at least been good about enforcing vaccinated-only spaces? I'm planning on spending most of my time in the Solarium, so long as there are no kids in there I'm good. The only other cruise I've been on was Mariner of the Seas in 2019 and children were all over the place in the Solarium.

2 minutes ago, lovelife said:

Don't  know the number of children but BUNCHES!

Eesh, I'm on the 9/26 sailing and this is very much the opposite of what I was hoping

9 minutes ago, lovelife said:

Yes, we were at Coco Cay yesterday and in Nassau now. The sailing is going great.

Have you heard how many passengers onboard this sailing?

I’ve used Tri-Rail between FLL and Miami; it’s perfectly safe and a fine way to get between the two. Pedestrian access is not great though, it’s still Florida and not very walkable. However; it’s worth noting that the Tri-Rail goes to the Miami airport, not downtown Miami, so you still need to take the metro or a car downtown and to the port.

I’ve since taken Brightline between Fort Lauderdale and Miami and, although a bit more expensive, it’s more convenient since it goes into the heart of downtown Miami. However, the Fort Lauderdale station is somewhat far from the FLL airport. It’s all a bit of a mixed bag; if you’re with a group (or more than 2 people), it’s probably best to just take an Uber/Lyft, your cost savings in taking the train would be negligible.

11 minutes ago, BeachorBust said:

Ok. So it will cover all drinks?  Even frozen drinks?  Are there any it wont cover?    Also, if i buy it now $53 a day, and it goes down on black friday i can cancel and repurchase?

You can cancel and repurchase up to 48 hours before your cruise 

25 minutes ago, wingatesl said:

The tour company was unable to get them to stay open late so they just drove us around for 1:15 on a sightseeing tour of cocoa village. Everyone just wanted off the bus. 

I find this hilarious, why wouldn't they just take you back to the boat at that point??

@wingatesl Thanks for making this thread! Can you comment on how crowded the pool decks and solarium are midday? Any empty hot tubs in the evenings? We’ll be on the 9/26 cruise which I don’t think will have as many people but still curious to hear what we can expect. We’re also planning on doing dinner in the Solarium most evenings, if you’ve had the chance to try any of the food there yet I’d appreciate your take on it!

Surprised at the PCR requirement for under 12s, I have a hard time imagining there are many places in the US capable of returning PCR results within  three days right now. Arranging different tests for under 12 versus over 12 is also confusing and will likely lead to many families being turned away at port.

I watched all three of their vlogs yesterday; hands-down the best cruise vloggers I've seen. They're so down to Earth and actually talk about their positive and negative reactions, I feel like I'm onboard with them. A nice change of pace from the other YouTubers who talk up everything rather than critiquing or criticizing some things.

My boyfriend and I are booked on Oasis of the Seas out of Cape Liberty on September 26, 2021; this is our second cruise (after a somewhat disappointing first cruise we did with my extended family in November 2019) and we're pumped! 

9 minutes ago, mauraoel said:

I don't think its the vaccine requirement or the testing that he is talking about its the FACT that the CDC and the CSO are requiring them to sail at such a reduced capacity that they are hardly making a profit where as you stated that the restaurants and venues that are "fully vaccinated"  just like the cruise ships are able to be at full capacity, his point is what's good for the goose should be good for the gander.

A restaurant or venue on land is a hell of a lot different than a cruise ship with thousands of people crammed together in a contained space for days at a time. His and your point are irrelevant because you aren't taking into consideration the significant differences between these spaces; what's good for the goose isn't good for the gander because they are wholly dissimilar entities in this situation.

I spent maybe two hours in a fully-vaccinated restaurant last week; by comparison, I'm going to spend around 140 hours onboard my ship, near other people, during my upcoming 7-night sailing.

1 minute ago, xpcdoojk said:

I am vaccinated, and anyone can do whatever they want around here for the most part.  The government is not denying them freedom to do what they want. Businesses are thriving,  

 

Cruises could at least be profitable if not for the government.  That is what I am saying.  Regulations are not free.  More people could have a steak dinner in NY if De Blasio wasn’t segregating people into good and bad groups.  We used to believe segregation was a bad thing.

We're getting off track of the "cruising" theme, but my only point is that, without vaccination requirements or other COVID restrictions, cruises might be profitable, but they also face the possibility of rampant sickness spreading throughout their ships. You can sit here and condemn the government for preventing cruises from making money, but let's not forget that many of RCI's COVID policies came before the CDC made them requirements.

I will not reply to further comments. I encourage you to take a more nuanced approach to the realities of cruising (norovirus anyone?) rather than calling me "myopic" because I value passenger safety aboard vessels.

1 minute ago, xpcdoojk said:

There you go.  Happy for your view of the world even if it is myopic.  

At least my myopic reality enables me to do all of the things I liked to do pre-COVID. Enjoy your COVID restrictions and limited capacity events.

14 minutes ago, xpcdoojk said:

Hard to imagine people are so clueless.

 

Ever hear of the CDC?

 

Maybe TSO?

 

Can you eat in restaurants near you at full capacity?  How about baseball games?

I live in NYC and yes, we can eat in restaurants at full capacity and attend full capacity baseball games. I just went to a packed club for a night out this past weekend.

All of the above require vaccinations, just like cruises.