iahawkfan21

Freedom has a pretty good-sized Playmakers as well.

Would suggest heading to the MDR as soon as you board next year and put in your request directly with the dining room staff. As mentioned, it's usually not an issue but easier to address early.

Prices are higher across the board for the most part since cruises have started back up. On our Odyssey TA next month, DX is $68 per day before grats. I think I got it for low $60 range on Oasis last early December. I would expect for a holiday sailing everything will be higher and for 3 nights that's not out of line compared with what I've been seeing. I'd buy it now and if it goes down you can always re-book.

8 hours ago, kjacruiser said:

what about college games 

 

There will be college games on. However, don't expect a game to be on simply because it's a "big one" back home. They do generally have a wider variety of games than in past years but it's still subject to the feeds they have available on board. 

For Aruba and Curacao I would look at excursions on your own. Regardless of what you want to do it's very easy to book either non-cruiseline excursions or simply get around the islands. We often do beach days and take the local bus or rent a car for the day and have never had any issues while also saving a lot of money and having a lot more flexibility.

3 hours ago, CChamp said:

Can anyone tell me if they have No Alcohol beer on the Oasis Of The Seas? 

We're sailing Oasis on Sunday and I just checked the menu for the pub.  They have O'Douls and Heineken 0.0.  I assume many other venues will as well.  You should be able to see all the various bar menus in the app for your sailing.

They "might" have it available in there but if you know what you want I'd bring a glass with you.  However, if you mention it to them the first time you're in they'll often find a way to make it happen going forward.

38 minutes ago, island lady said:

 

Can see that...but what was the big draw for pax this week over last week?  🤔

 

Prices were almost identical for us for both weeks.  

We've sailed both Thanksgiving week and the week after... the week after (last week) is generally less crowded as many families and groups have to go back to work.

We had this exact scenario in my office with most everyone around last week but have people starting to take pre-Christmas vacation time this week.  I don't remember the exact percentage, but do recall seeing something recently from Royal that they're targeting I believe ~65% capacity in December which is an increase.  Expect it to continue to rise from there.

I sailed on Brilliance for the SB a couple years ago, had a great time.  They had the game showing in the pub, the main theater and I believe on the pool deck.  Pub was crowded, usual menu, main theater had a smaller buffet of sorts set up in there.  

They will still show the game for sure, but what parties/events they might have with current COVID protocols is unknown at this time.

I can't speak to Enchantment specifically but have always seen Corona beer onboard ships in the past.

You are allowed to bring 2 750ml bottles of wine per stateroom onboard.  You may consume those anywhere around the ship.  If you need a corkscrew and/or glasses ask your stateroom attendant.

https://www.royalcaribbean.com/the-healthy-sail-center/getting-ready-to-cruise

scroll down to the bottom of the page for Florida departures and it will break out all the onboard COVID requirements.

17 minutes ago, 1025cruise said:

Just because you weren't asked, doesn't mean that it wasn't the intent.

I specifically use the phrase "my wife doesn't drink alcohol by choice" and they always let me by the refreshment package for her.  Have been doing this for a few years now and been upfront about it everytime.  

Only time you would need a doctor's note is if you were trying to not purchase a package at all for the second person.

You absolutely can as long as the individual test box isn't open.  We are a group of 3 and ordered 2 per person just to be safe.  While there are 6 in the shipped box, they are all in their own individual boxes.  We've got friends sailing just after the new year and plan to give them our extras when we get home.

As mentioned, there will be what they call a "Love Box" by the exit on your way out and that's when/where you would give any tips.  They do indeed pool the tips amongst the whole staff, hence the box vs handing out individual ones.  Exception would be if you chose to get a massage there.

Heading back for our 4th trip in two weeks, food and service is always excellent.  We could care less about the seagrass/water conditions or weather and will always go, but appreciate they do offer full refunds the day of if conditions are less than optimal.  

My wife and I personally tip $25-30 for the two of us but I know they will be appreciative of whatever you choose to give.  Enjoy your day there, it's a great time!

We've had both deck 6 and 7 promenade rooms on Navigator.  Despite being right in the middle of the promenade, we never heard anything inside our room or had issues sleeping.  We also enjoy the extra seating area in the window for storage and people watching.

Sailing out of Miami on the 12th and while we're doing the proctored tests (have backups) at our hotel I looked up CVS rapid tests out of pure curiosity.  There's not a ton of locations that do the rapid but did find a couple that had availability if we needed it.

There are also Walgreens stores in the area.  If you're really concerned you can always make an appointment at one of these places and cancel if you have no issues with your proctored test.

If using OBC to pay initially, you will immediately be credited back to your online account.

As mentioned, if using credit card the refund can take a few days.

2 hours ago, lovetotraveltx said:

If you done both for an adult, do you think you spent the difference. How long between coffees?  If you get a virgin drink, can you pay for a shot of alcohol?

Thank you. 

On a particularly rough morning I've sat at Cafe Promenade and ordered two coffee drinks in less than 10 minutes with no issues.  As far as the non-alcoholic drinks go, yes you can always pay for a shot of alcohol to add into your drink.  I usually sail with the deluxe, but have had friends do this many times

My wife doesn't drink coffee but gets her monies worth on just a couple sodas, couple bottles of water and a powerade or two per day easily.

43 minutes ago, CruisinCoyote said:

Thanks everyone. I think she is just so nerved up about getting it right she is not reading carefully! Now she’s concerned about getting an appointment and if results get back in time. It’s my understanding rapid test is acceptable. Lots if handholding here - they are  young and newly married 🙂

I would recommend ordering the home kits as either primary method of testing or a solid backup.  There are three of us sailing in two weeks and we ordered two per person just in case there's any issues.  Yes, there's a bit of a cost involved but the fact we can do it any hour of the day in the two days leading up to the cruise and not having to deal with an appointment is worth it for us.

Doing this would allow for the least amount of stress IMO.  I'm flying into Miami three days early but will just get it knocked out from my hotel the morning after I arrive.

I don't know if it will even let you book two packages for one person regardless of the type.  If you're happy with sale prices now I would call and just get it done.

I did the water park a couple years ago to try it out back when we got passes for under $40.  One off experience for me, but did enjoy trying it out and the slides were fun.

Beach club dropped to $78 for my sailing in a couple weeks so got a pass as we have a bunch of OBC to burn through.  Time will tell if I'll do it again, but I think it's worth trying at least once and I have heard the food there is very good.

As @brilloheadmentioned there is plenty to do without spending an extra dime.  This is typically how we do our days there especially as our beverage packages work everywhere and have never had to struggle to find a chair anywhere.  If we didn't have the OBC to burn this would've been my plan.  Included food is pretty good IMO.  Lots to do there whether you want to spend extra or not!

51 minutes ago, Airbalancer said:

trying decide on if I should get a soda, refreshments package 

with 10% discount is it better just to buy 2-3 pops a day? 
 

Check current pricing, the soda package has been on sale for a lot of sailings ($7 per day and under in many instances).  At those prices even for 2-3 per day it would be a net gain for you and get the added Freestyle cup included if that's your thing.

10 hours ago, sross942 said:

I gave it a go with just me and paid only one time hoping to add my entourage when we are cruising.  

It's very easy.  On the day of you'll arrive to the cabana area and will receive wristbands for yourself and up to the maximum number of people allowed.  We had one on Labadee back in 2019 and it couldn't have been easier, enjoy!

I have many friends who have sailed multiple times since the restart out of US ports and testing is definitely NOT required to get off the ship on a sailing that starts/stops in the US.

Obviously, this is separate from the boarding requirements.

My wife and I share a single login and it's very easy.  I don't even logout when I'm done, she just logs in and it works fine.  Same for when I'm ready to use it again.

Same concept if it's just you swapping between two devices.