1ParticularHbr

14 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

If you want to sail mask free, non socially distant, book a NCL cruise. 

If we hadn’t paid for this one already, it might be an option. 

3 minutes ago, smplybcause said:

 

Nope. Royal is certified to sail under the test cruise protocols so masks are required. See Seattle cruises that still require masks indoors even though they've always been vaccination required. Royal has no desire to turn away kids so they won't guarantee 95% on board. It'll be masks indoors on Royal until 1) the CSO changes/expires or 2) vaccines are approved for younger kids so Royal can guarantee the 95%.

Ugh…May not be able to convince husband to sail then… 

We just got that and updated status. Now the big question is….If vaccine is required for our sailing, can we PLEASE sail mask-free? 

9 hours ago, Chiliburn said:

We usually have a grand suite but have a junior suite on Ovation coming up ,just wondering if there’s a change in junior suite?

We had a Junior Suite on Symphony and, while we didn’t have towels waiting for us in the cabin, we didn’t have to scan our card to check them out. As soon as they saw the card, the just asked how many towels. 

We've always selected our own cabin, except one time when we rolled the dice on a suite guarantee, only because for the price we paid, we knew we'd be happy with whatever we got.  I think we ended up with a midship JS.  Probably won't do that again because I can't stand not knowing in advance...LOL.  

We have stayed in both a GS and a CLS. We would not do the loft again. We liked the balcony, the view, the 2nd bathroom, and proximity to suite lounge but HATED the upstairs bedroom. The vanity area and closet are right outside of the bathroom door, which is a tight corner area. There isn’t much area around the bed so the upstairs has about about the space of an inside cabin. We’re glad we tried a loft, but even for the same money, we’d do a GS over a CLS any day.

Thanks for the replies..... As you have posted about lower prices what would be a price point where you would look at a different time of year. I know everyone has their own personal level when it comes to money. What might be good might not be for someone else. Saying that If you were looking at the exact same cruise, same ports, same ships just different dates for example late September vs early December how much of a savings would be worth it to avoid any potential hassles with potential weather issues. I would be looking at Ocean Balcony rooms and am flexible in dates to travel. I also do not have to figure in things like kids breaks from school etc... If there was say a 300 or 400 dollar difference would that make someone say we will pay the higher fare to go in December vs the lower fare in September.

Thanks......

Hands down, would take the lower fare in the fall. You save $, flights are cheaper, and there are fewer kids onboard. We have cruised the 2nd week of Oct the past 8 years and recall almost no rainy days.

This is a great question and I’ve been trying to sort out all of the memories to decide. It’s hard to separate “the ship” from the destinations and the friends we traveled with!

Balancing ship amenities, food,& service, my TOP would be: Freedom, Oasis & Serenade. BOTTOM: Explorer & Majesty

We don’t usually book onboard, but last November - on Black Friday - we booked a JS on Oasis for this October for 1,800 for both including trip insurance and 200 OBC.

Sweet (suite) deal! Black Friday has become a good time to book. We've also snagged some good suite deals in January for cruises the following fall...i.e. booking January 2017 for October 2019 - especially for southern Caribbean itineraries. Two falls in a row we've gotten GSs for $1600-$1900pp.

Another thumbs up for Giovanni’s.

Yes, call C&A and they will ship you one.

Thanks Bob!

We didn't get one at 140. Has anyone successfully gotten one "after the fact"?

Do they give you any flak for wearing shorts on non formal nights?

Looking at a recent Cruise Compass from Adventure, it clearly states in the dining section of every day "Shorts not permitted in the dining room at dinner". You may not get "flak" but...you could get turned away depending on who is at the door. Why risk it?

Aruba - Eagle and Palm beaches are great. For dinner, check out Papiamento! http://www.papiamentoaruba.com

Great food in a romantic, poolside garden setting.

Sorry to sound so dumb, but what is a Genie? I keep picturing Barbara Eden;):D yet somehow I dont think that is what y'all are talking about here.

Star class suites have genies. They're like personal concierges who make your reservations and ensure you're having a good cruise. We sailed in a Sky class suite with friends who had a star class w/genie (Alan on Oasis). He was fantastic!

Are there any limitations on the TYPE of drink you can select with the vouchers or is the whole menu fair game?

There is a set list of wines, beers and liquors. If you search Diamond menu, there's a menu floating around the boards.

If you were the couple that donated the Vikings water bottle thank you again. I used it already; worked well. Thanks again to the person the put together the cabin crawl. I got to see the cabins we could never afford.

Not to hijack the thread but....we're your cabin crawl organizers. The Vikings water bottle was from Grace & Chris.:)

Just got off the Oasis. On formal night I wore a suit and tie. I saw men in tee shirts and shorts. What is the point of formal nights if people dress like this? I may be old fashioned but RCCL has gotten too politically correct by not saying anything to these people. On formal nights do you want to sit across some guy wearing a tee shirt that says "I got drunk at Senor Frogs"

Ken,

We saw that on Oasis as well but not to the point where "someone should have said something to them". Plenty of people were dressed nicely for formal night. We went to Giovanni's on the first formal night, me in my cocktail dress, and Marc in his tux. Most other folks had on at least slacks and collared shirts and several were in formal attire like us, celebrating special occasions. The couple who got seated in the midst of all this in cargo shorts, t-shirts and sandals looked quite out of place. Dress code is a suggestion but if folks go too casual for dining anywhere but the buffet, they might feel out of place....or they might not, and that's their choice.

...and it took DH and me a cruise or two to maximize the fact that those coupons are on both of our cards so that's two of everything. We especially enjoy getting the two free photos.

We've used Bernard's twice (did their tour #2 once and a private once) and have recommended them many times. They are pros, know the island well, and have their timing down perfectly. As others have mentioned, tour typically is timed such that there's an hour before ship sails for shopping (or wiggle room w/traffic). You'll see more, at a better price, than a ship tour and will be in good hands with a reputable company. They have plenty of Trip Advisor reviews to vouch for them as well. Enjoy!

150 Central Park if you want a quiet dinner for two. Chef's Table if you like wine and might enjoy meeting other couples.

What soft drinks are served on the Oasis? Thanks.

 

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They serve Coca Cola products. If you have the soda package, you use the Freestyle machines with TONS of flavors and combinations.

We've visited there a few times with Bernard's Tours. Last week on our Oasis cruise, we visited Maho via a day at Sonesta Maho all-inclusive. We had beach access, view of planes landing, unlimited drinks, lunch, pool with swim-up bar. Booked through Jaital Tours http://www.jaital.com/st-maarten/sonesta-maho-beach-resort-day-pass-tour_eGyO_9777.html

The day passes are only available in the off season and include round trip transportation from the port.

Okay, i'll be lookin' for Hershey. What day does the lobster night happen?Can i take out the drinks? There are specialty dining times that i wanted that are apparently sold out, can Claudine make it happen?? Thanks

Yes, you can take drinks out of the lounge. We often stopped by mid day for a beer or wine "to go". Claudine and Dudley were able to get us reservations when restaurants showed booked solid. The earlier you see them for this, the better.

We were on Oasis last week too and had many meals at Coastal Kitchen - lunch on embarkation day, breakfast every morning, and two dinners. Dinners were the only times we had reservations. We were always seated promptly and, while it was busy, it was never full. Service at breakfast was a bit slow but not much more so than the MDR. We found the dinner menu the first half of the trip to be much better than the second.