jgoodm

I think ATV's (doubles so the kids can join, they're all 11 and 12 but I'm not sure I would trust them to ride on their own).  Horseback riding or a beach pass for a place we could reserve a cabana in advance for shade.  Thanks.

Hi all, I am looking for a good shore excursion company for Costa Maya.  I cant find availability or things I like from RC, ShoreExcursions or Viator.  Hoping there are others I should be looking at.  Thanks!

Hi All,

This is a bit of a specific question but I am hoping someone out there has both stayed in the RLS on Harmony and is geeky enough to notice what I am curious about.

I sailed the RLS on Oasis in 2021 (after amplification) and the master bedroom TV was a screen that dropped from the ceiling with a projector. I believe this was not upgraded as part of the amplification but I don't know for a fact.  There were three issues with this TV set up that I didn't like.  (1) At night when the TV was on, the screen is held in place by gravity only and would rock and you could hear it make slight banging sounds as it rocked.  This happened no matter how stabilized or gentle the waters were and it was annoying.  (2) Because it is a projector TV, the projection unit was bolted to the top of the closets behind the bed head board and attaching my AppleTV or even a HDMI cable from my laptop was extremely difficult to do.  (3) Because of the nature of the projector, it did not have speakers or an amp as part of the projection unit so there was an additional remote that had to be used to get the sound going and that was quite flakey and difficult to get synced up any time the TV was turned on.

Harmony was built 7 years after Oasis so TV technology must have been better but I am curious if anyone has experience to know if the things I mentioned above are still issues on Harmony or if they were resolved/improved with a better TV set up on the newer ship.

FWIW, I sailed on Harmony last year for the first time and I felt like it was showing its age vs the amplified Oasis.  We were in a AQS (A1) on that voyage.

So, anyone with direct info on this?

Thanks,

Jeff

One of the hardest things to get used to with Star Class is not to worry about it.  I have travelled RC many times and all but one voyage in Star Class.  IMHO, you can worry about advance notice for things but it doesn't make a difference.  Your Genie will have a basic plan for you when you board and will pretty much change the whole thing to whatever you want on your first day shortly after boarding and then will accommodate most changes you ask for as you go.  The only things I make sure they know is if I specifically want or don't want something that is important for the first day or a general rule.  

My last cruise, I was in the RL and told him in advance I wanted the 2nd BR beds split for my kids so they were in separate twin bed format prior to us getting there so I wouldn't have to explain the beds could be separated when we walked in the room.  Also I have mentioned not to book us in 150 or Hooked when applicable because we don't eat fish and aren't foodies.  Always mention drinks I want in the rooms, etc.  

Other than that, the Genie will give you their advance plan for you when you board and you should just feel free to change the whole thing on the spot to suit you.  IME, a lot of your advance requests will not be paid attention to with much detail until you are onboard or a few days before and frankly, I have learned thats fine.  Worry about it is not necessary and will give you unneeded stress.

All of that said, I have had good experiences with all Genies but some are better than others.  All of them will do as you ask though.  It's a matter of how proactive and/or friendly they are.  I also recommending tipping very well for good service.

Don't forget, one of the best perks is the laundry.  Pack light and do you laundry every night.  Its fantastic!  It made our stay in the RL laughable because we packed two suitcases for 4 people on the last trip and the ridiculous amount of storage was empty the entire cruise. 😉

On 9/17/2021 at 8:03 AM, pasodancer said:

Pre-Covid (2018):  For us it depends upon how much we use him.  For a 7 night on Anthem we tipped $600 (we rarely used the Genie).  For a 7-night on Oasis we tipped $800 as we did use our Genie to make reservations for us.  We didn't have any in-suite dining or parties.  We also did additional tips to the Cabin Stewart each time (think it was $100).  

This is in my line of thinking as well. Maybe a bit more this year since these people all lost a year of work. 
 

What did you do for your room attendant?  I’m trying to distinguish between a really good tip and a ridiculous one. 🤷‍♂️
 

Any thoughts?

It’s out of character for me to write a blunt response like this but…
 

I don’t get the “you are crazy” type comments here. This is all relative. If you’re paying $2,000 per night for your cruise you either are spending too much on your vacation or you can afford it.
 

Everyone needs to earn a living and this is how things are structured on most cruise lines. People rely on tips to earn their living. I’m not even going to bother commenting about those  judging where someone is from and using that as a cudgel to justify how much you tip them in your star class suite. 😳
 

On my current cruise my Genie in caring for a panoramic suite (directly under the bridge), my suite on 17, and an ATS on 9. I’ve seen him literally out of breath from running across the ship to service his guests, and my family are pretty low-maintenance guests. He will be tipped very well for his diligence and effort.  I hope this helps offset those that would not bother to tip, or tip too little. 

The official California database QR code is far better than the card.  I still don't understand why its not universally accepted.  There are so many fake physical cards and terribly easy to get.  They should only accept digital when from a secured database...  🤷‍♂️

So hard to know when you will want the kids in kids club or not scheduled in advance. Walk-in has always been key for me.  The kids beg to go whenever I will let them.  🙂 

I hope once you're in the system they don't make walk-in tough to get.  The disappointment of getting there and leaving without getting in won't be fun for any of us.  

My kids are 10 and will be fully vaxxed by sailing date. I wonder if that will make a difference...  Probably some of the few.  We got vaxxed within 48 hours of approval.  We make fully vaxxed three days prior to sailing.

Still doesn't allow under 12 to upload a vaccination card.  They should fix that.

6 hours ago, Biker19 said:

You may get more specific feedback if you mention the ship.

Thanks. The ship is Oasis. 
 

the question is specific to new COVID policies. 
 

Thanks. 

Hi All,

I have seen posts referring to limited kids club but can anyone shine additional light on this?

I understand I should sign up right away but what does that entail?  Sign up one time and have access for the entire cruise as usual for drop off and pick up whenever once enrolled or do you have to pre-schedule all times you want them at kids club?  That seems a big onerous if that’s the case. 
 

Thanks. 
 
J

Any update on difficulty, time and cost for this?

No reasonable person would even consider being difficult about op's son being maskless on the cruise.  My only concern would be for op's son in that even though I am triple vaccinated and unlikely to carry Covid, I could.  I would recognize op's son has unknown issues to and I would be more afraid of harming him than I would be that he would harm me and for that reason I wouldn't think about my need to be masked in his presence for his safety.

Unfortunately there are too many people who are willing to cheat the rules for their own selfish reasons that require everyone else to give pause to those that request an exemption since the bulk of these requests seem to be fraudulent.  Unfortunately, these people don't understand that the virus is not political, doesn't care who its victims are, and we all wear masks and vaccinate to protect each other.  None of us like it, but its better than the millions more dead if we didn't have vaccines and masks.

We are on the next sailing after yours on Oasis and I am very curious to hear how the Genie's work under the Covid guides.  For example, do you still get walked on the ship at your requested time by your genie?  Do they walk you through port testing if necessary, etc.  Please let me know what he said in the e-mail and/or keep. us posted on your vacation!  Thanks.

I just confirmed with RC.  They don't do much to verify the test.  If it comes printed from a lab or clinic, etc., the manufacturer of the test does not matter.  Interestingly, according to the manufacturer insert, the cheaper one is slightly more accurate.  🤷‍♂️

Hi All,

Anyone have any idea how you can tell WHICH rapid antigen test is ok for pre-cruise?

My local testing center offers these and now I am confused by having choices. 😉

My insurance will cover about $80.00 so anything over that is my expense (times 4).  Obviously I don't want to spend extra money unnecessarily, but I don't want to get rejected either.

Does anyone know if it matters?

Thanks,

J.

Hi All,

Reading these threads I’m a little confused and concerned about the pre-cruise testing. 
 

We are two adults and two children.  
 

Does the guideline say that the kids can test within 3 days OR LESS and the adults need to be 2 days OR LESS?

I was planning on going to CVS for a rapid test for the whole family but I am wanting to do all four of us at the same time so I assume I can do that one or two days out for all of us?

Also, since everyone is reporting weird cancellations with CVS what do you guys do as a back up plan?

Thanks. 
 

J. 

7 minutes ago, Ashland said:

Pick the cabin located close to the things you'll do onboard. Mid ship and with cabins above and below or one of her true afts is also great. Avoid connecting cabins unless your family will be using the one connected next door.

Which side the ship docks at can vary....so don't count on that. Enjoy Adventure...she has a lot to offer. I was on her last Oct 2019.

Thanks.  Aqua Theater Suites are the last rooms aft.  I am just wondering which is better for port or starboard because the rooms are mirrored.  Thanks

Hi All,

Booking an ATS on Oasis.  Which is the preferable side for my cruise?  Port or Starboard?

Miami

Labadee

San Juan

St Thomas

Cococay

Miami

Thanks!

J.

2 minutes ago, Ourusualbeach said:

Hit the 3 little dots in the upper right part of the post. 

Oh, interesting, it appears you can edit comments but not the initial post of the thread...  Thanks.

9 minutes ago, Ourusualbeach said:

It’s Sunday, traffic is negligible. 
 

if your off the ship at 9 you’ll be there by 1:00 latest.  Or, if you left earlier you could be in PC before  boarding started. 

How do you edit these?  I see you did and would like to correct my original question...  Thanks.

16 minutes ago, Jingerwoppy said:

Splurge and rent a helicopter.

I wonder what that would cost! 😉  Ill only do that if Harmony lets me board from the helipad. 

You guys are right.  Oasis and Harmony are both the 26th which is Sunday.  

Whats the latest time to board the cruise at Port Canaveral?  I assume my Genie can see to it that I am near the first one off the ship in Miami if need be.  I know the drive is about 3 hours, but the unknowns for me are, how long can it take on a bad traffic day for that drive and whats the latest time to show up for the  new cruise?  In the past I have always tried to be first on-board so the kids can start enjoying the slides immediately so I don't even know how late you can get there...

2 minutes ago, time4u2go said:

How would you get a car?  Would you have to rent one?  Or would you have one already parked at the port?

I would rent one or have a driver take us.  I have Hertz Platinum status so in theory, they will actually bring the rental car to me if I request they do that.