novalab

Another vote for Giovanni's. Our last three dinners at Chops were not worth the cost.

I'd ask the taxi driver for the Emerald Bay Beach Club. The washrooms were nice and clean, better than the ones at Megans Bay but not as many stalls. For the taxi ride back there were also taxis sitting there waiting to take people. Your driver might drop you off at the Island Beachcomber and you just walk through it and you're at the beach. We then walked a couple hundred yards to get to the Emerald Bay Club.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

Thank you for the above information! Very much appreciated:D

Judy

We went to Emerald Bay. We took a taxi from the port and it was four dollars a person if you had more than two people. The taxi ride was five minutes. There was no fee to enter the beach. It didn't get overly crowded either. There is a restaurant with washrooms, a pool, and a bar. There are places to rent jet skis, paddle boards and Lisa says snorkelling was decent.

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

Thank you so much for your wonderful & informative revue! We will be on Oasis next month & I was planning on going to Emerald Bay in St. Thomas. Was happy to see your pictures of the bay itself. Should we ask the cab driver to drop us off at any particular spot (would like to be by the restaurant & restrooms)? Did you have an easy time getting a cab back to the ship when you were ready to return?

Thanks for your help & advice on this!

Judy (Mad Stormwatcher Salami..Aaaargh!;))

No, never received a message. Occasionally check it 'just in case'.

Does anyone know if Sabor is open for lunch on Oasis' embarkation day?

Thanks!

Thank You for the heads up on this! Much appreciated.

Not included in the list below is the BOGO milkshake offer at Johnny Rocket's. Internet pricing may be different as well. A list of offers will be left in your cabin. All offers are loaded onto your SeaPass Card.on the day of the ship's Wash & Fold laundry promotion. Not valid for any pressing or dry cleaning services)

Is there still a BOGO milkshake offer at JR's?

We just enjoyed our 9th RCI Cruise and the 2nd Allure Cruise, Christmas 2016 in the same Boardwalk Balcony cabin we enjoyed Christmas 2011.

 

You can get an oceanview room on any ship - but only a few have Boardwalk balcony rooms.

 

We book on Floor 14 and close to the center of the ship. That way we get a nice view of the water that is not blocked. We could see both the rehearsals and the Diving show from our balcony. By being so high up, we had no noise from the Boardwalk when our doors were shut. We were under the landing pad for the zip line and could hear passengers land, but that was very few hours and always during the day. Our room was under the mini-golf course - so no noise from above.

 

We enjoyed two Boardwalk movies from our balcony as well.

 

If you want to do some people watching - the Boardwalk is fascinating.

 

We also found it was a quick trip down to Boardwalk for a free Hot Dog at the Dog house, or a paid snack at Scoops and Cups, or even lunch at Johnny Rockets.

 

We will probably book Boardwalk Balconies next time we are on an Oasis class ship.

I have to agree with the above. We loved our Allure Boardwalk balcony back in 2014. We have another one reserved for our April Oasis cruise. The only slightly negative thing that I could say would be the lack of privacy from the adjacent Boardwalk balcony cabins. We never had an issue but I have read the contrary in a few CC reviews. We stayed on deck 11 and will be returning to that same deck this time. No problem with noise.

Thank You both VERY much! I had been in contact with the shoreadventures company who was representing themselves as the Bernards that I was looking for. It was very frustrating as I was starting to see red flags all over the place when I was trying to set up a personalized half day tour for my M&M group. I finally realized that I was most likely talking to the wrong Bernards when I was told that they only accept credit cards and have never accepted Pay pal. I knew that was wrong because I remember paying the deposit with Pay pal. Glad I didn't submit my CC information!

Thanks Again!!

I am confused. I would like to book a tour with Bernard's in St. Maarten but have come up with 2 different Bernard's sites. One is BernardsSXMTours and the other is Bernardstours@shoreadventures.

I have read on another thread that BernardsSXMTours accepts PayPal. Bernardstours@shoreadventures does not ( CC only as I found out when I e-mailed them about payment options). I have been in contact with the shoreadventures Bernards but I am thinking they are not the same Bernards that I booked with back in April of 2014. Their site was not familiar to me. The BernardsSXMTours website is the one I used to book back in 2014. I remembered the iguana on their home page:)

I also noted that the shoreadventures Bernards site said ' Bernard, former manager of SXM Tours'.

At this point, I am hesitant to book with the shoreadventures Bernards that I have been in contact with as I do not want to submit my CC info if they are not the 'real deal' Bernards.

Has anyone else run into this and if so...who is the real Bernards Tours on St. Maarten?

Thanks for any help and advice!

Hi Lee!

KelJ gave you very good advice. I used RC points for the free cruise last year. I let my Travel Agent handle the transaction (she had never dealt with the RC Visa points & wanted the experience just in case she ran across a similar request from another client). Since we were quoted a different price for the 2nd passenger on two of the calls with two different Visa/RC reps, I was glad that she & not me was taking care of the exchange. It all worked out for the best (did have to pay the $1 so DD could get her C & A points). I would go this route again if I had enough points for the free companion fare.

Missing our wonderful Jewel Pacific Coastal cruise this past October!:(

Judy

 

 

 

We walked around and she explain the story of how Rome was founded by Romulous and Remus. I had heard it, but she gave us a lot more detail.

 

 

 

Hi Laura! Thank you so much for posting this! I have a question about the picture above. I was fortunate enough to be able to visit Rome on two occasions back in the late 1970's. I took quite a few pictures of the above ruins & the huge home/palace(?) on the hill above it. Since we went in the off season & it rained both times we visited this site, I never did get to ask anyone what these ruins were (we had the site pretty much to ourselves because of the rain:rolleyes:). Can you enlighten me and answer my decades long 'mystery'?:o

Thanks so much!

Judy

Loved your review! Thanks so much for posting it (and all the pictures). We will be sailing on Oasis in April (first time for DH on this class of ship) & are really looking forward to it!

About your question concerning other ships possibly being a little bit of a let down after sailing Oasis class. This was my big concern also. Last year, DD & I sailed on Allure. We were blown away by this class of ship! We wondered if future cruises on smaller ships would be anticlimactic. We were concerned because we had a Jewel (Radiance Class) cruise booked for Oct. 2015 (our first Radiance Class ship). Well, I shouldn't have worried. LOVED the smaller Jewel of the Seas & loved the cruise we just took on her. The smaller size ships have a different feel & experience all to themselves. Lots of pluses & we never once wished we were on a larger ship.

And, just in case you might not realize this yet...cruises are addictive:D

Out having a late lunch or early dinner at Boudin.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sent from my Galaxy Note 3 using Tapatalk

This time next week!!! Looks just as good as I remembered it....

Thanks Bill!

Judy

Tonight menu is Mojo.

 

Sent from my Galaxy Note 3 using Tapatalk

Thank you Bill!

Judy

Thank You SO MUCH Bill for doing this!! Your review will help me get through this next week when we will be joining you & Marie on the 3rd:D:D

Have a GREAT time!!

Judy

I bought mine from two different Chinese sellers on eBay so I could get 5 different colored sets. The sets for my husband and I contained 5 bags of different sizes and the kid sets had 3. We actually had two bags unused! The smaller bags are perfect for shoes. They were very cheap and a couple of the zippers got wonky but I'm certain I can get a couple more trips out of them. They each had a see-through mesh side which made it even easier for me to pull out the right one each morning. The shelf in the closet is very deep. You can fit two of them front to back on each shelf and then stack another one on top.

Thank you for all your information! I think I will give these a try on our 2016 Oasis cruise.:p

Thanks for the info on the pop up hampers and packing cubes. My family of 5 will be staying in a balcony cabin with a pullman and sleeper and I have been concerned on how to maximize the space. I now am adding these to my list.

The packing cubes are new to me. They sound like a great idea! Who carries them at a reasonable price? Thanks for any help & advice!

Thank you, I will have enough for a free companion when I decide to book, but rccl excludes it for oasis/allure correct?

No problem getting my DD a free companion fare on our 2014 Allure cruise. My TA contacted the redemption rep and I didn't have to do a thing.:D Super easy.

Hello!

 

To anyone who has or had an RCCL credit card, would you post your experience as to usage, points or customer service.

 

Last month, I received an invite to sign up for one and would like to know the advantages of using it.

 

Any information would be helpful - thanks!

I've had mine for over 10 years now & as long as I don't carry a balance, it has been a good deal for us. In addition to onboard credit, which we cash in for each cruise we have taken, I was able to get a free companion fare for my DD on our Allure cruise last year (Boardwalk balcony). The reps are very friendly and helpful and you get double cruise points on RC purchases.

I know there are better reward program cards out there, but I have been very happy with this particular card.

I'm positive this has been answered before, but the search function wasn't much help today.

 

I used some BOA points that were about to expire for $500 off on a cruise that was already paid in full (and past final payment date now). I was under the impression that using these points would not reduce the commissionable fare and my TA was told the same before I redeemed.

 

They now seem to be telling her that her commission will be reduced so she is telling me that she will have to adjust the OBC provided by her agency.

 

Anyone know what the truth is on this? Has there been a recent change in policy on this or was I mistaken? Otherwise I would have just used the points for OBC. Since I already have a substantial amount of OBC from my agent I decided for the price reduction instead.

 

I'm pretty sure I am cancelling this card after this trip. Redemptions aren't as good as they were when I signed up and it's too much to hassle with unless I am not using a TA.

Last year I redeemed enough points for a free companion fare on our Allure cruise. I went through my TA . I asked her if this would reduce her commission. She said it wouldn't. Imagine our surprise when it did reduce her commission. It was news to both of us. This was the first time that she had dealt with redeeming RCCL cruise Visa points towards a companion fare (our first time too) so we both learned from the experience.

To OP:

I know that I have booked a cruise with a TA in the past, and because she had a group going on the same sailing I was going, was able to get me the 'group rate' -- I did absolutely nothing with the group, but we did get a better rate.

 

Perhaps that is what happened and the onboard personnel saw those three cabins as part of the group because of that.

 

Just adding a possibility.

This is what I was thinking happened as I was reading this post. My TA usually does create a 'Group' booking whenever we have 2-or more cabins (friends & family) located all together. We have done this several times & she has been able to get us better rates. Sometimes there are people added to 'our group' that we don't know (although usually not on any of our paperwork that we can see..think this was an RC mistake). We have never been responsible for those passengers. I think you just got the wrong answer from whomever you talked to on Day 1. I would have never stopped there if I was told that I was responsible for a bunch of teenagers that I did not know! My first call would have been to my TA to take care of the issue. This would be the end to any stress that might have been building up for me as I know she would take care of it. Good idea to take along your TA's business card on any cruise you book though him/her. Mine always says to call her if we run into any issues.

I love the Meet & Mingles. As 1ParticularHbr says, it's the opportunity to get to put a face to the name of that nut case you've been having so much fun with over the preceding months.

 

On many of my cruises, The Crew (the Cruise Critic Crew, that is) have added to the event with gift exchanges, cabin crawls, cash collection for a slot pull, forming trivia or horse race teams or other activities.

 

All in all, I believe we all need to be more appreciative. Otherwise, it's very possible that a year or so from now; we'll find ourselves complaining about the good old days, back when the line used to host get M&Ms. and the new cruisers will have no idea what we're talking about. :(

 

And yes, if you sign up ... go. It's only an hour (at the most) and someone went to the trouble of trying to do something nice. It's just good manners.

I too agree with the above, putting faces to names we've talked to & shared things with for months in most cases. I also understand signing up to get the amount of cruisers needed for the event. Our past M & M on Allure last year only lasted for a half hour at most. DD won the grand prize of a large gift bag full of RCCL logo items. We thought it was really great:) and you can see by my signature we are not new to RC. I have to admit that I do miss the gifts we use to get when we attained a new C&A level. The other cruise line I use to sail with never did that. Awwww the good old days.:o

Thank You Graham! Great review with lots of good information! Much appreciated:D DH & I will be sailing on Jewel in October on a Pacific Coastal. We have never sailed on this RCCL class of ship so far & are really looking forward to this cruise. Our TA said this is her favorite class of RC ship.

Your photos were great & I am going to show them to DH in hopes that I can talk him into a future Alaska cruise. Your suite was awesome...I can only wish, maybe someday :rolleyes: LOL

Again, Thank You!

Judy

Favorite: Walking on the ship Day 1 :D

Least Favorite: Waiting on the ship to have our section called to leave on the last day.:(