Cinders411

  After a long and arduous planning phase, we pulled the trigger on the Allure, rather than the S2S RCI/NCL cruises we were thinking about in Jan. We sail Oct 20, 2019. Looking for hotel recommendations pre, as well as post cruise. Don't want to spend a huge amount but, no dumps either LOL! Just a nice, mid range, hotel close to hotel/port. Or if possible,  not too far from those but, on the beach? I think we may have stayed at Dana Point area last time but, the hotel name is not coming back to me. We are flying and will not have a vehicle. Is there anything interesting to do in Fort Lauderdale besides the beach? Thank you to anyone who can assist.

21 hours ago, pcur said:

 

Yep, did this last year.  You are correct, NCL and the Rhapsody dock next to each other.  We transferred our own luggage.  We even added a HAL cruise on, and walked our luggage to their dock, too.  

Wow, that sounds wonderful!  Thank you! Also thanks to Twangster as I had forgotten about the fog. Looks like I have some thinking to do!  

I am looking at Rhapsody of the Seas 7 night in Jan (Our 1st as Diamond!) and upon disembarking, boarding the NCI Dawn out of Tampa. I "think" both dock at Terminal 3? Just wondering if anyone has done this or has any information as to the ease of it or if it is possible now? 

Thanks for the review. When we sailed on IOS they did not have a traveling piano man or we just never saw him? Sounds fun.

We enjoyed breakfast here although there were more folks than we expected the first sea day on Oasis of the Seas. Maybe the word is out this is the place to go? It is nice sitting on the boardwalk eating breakfast. DH loved the potatoes! 

The "neighborhoods". Just love Central Park and the Boardwalk. All around it is just a really great ship. 

Just completed a sailing in Jan on the Vision New Orleans to Western Caribbean. LOVED New Orleans! Hope we can return one day. 

Love Halloween cruises! On our cruises Carnival and RCI many folks dressed up! Some in quite elaborate costumes. Even many of those who did not wear a full costumes, did wear Halloween T-shirts. Saw several ladies with the Halloween hats you clip in your hair. 

15 hours ago, MainerRN92 said:

As a millennial I'd like to weigh in, but I haven't been on Royal yet (in December!). I've been on Carnival and Norwegian. My first cruise ever was on Carnival Vista and we had an awesome CD! I still follow him on Instagram! He had such an outgoing personality, he was a constant presence throughout the cruise, and really engaged the cruisers. NCL was a different story. The CD was practically absent, I saw more of his asst. CDs than him! I like a fun, energetic CD that engages you, not someone who is part of the background. I feel like it ties everything together. I'm interested to see what it's like on Harmony in December.

Not a millennial (by a long shot) but, was the CD by any chance, Matt Mitcham? He is the only CD I ever paid any attention to. Matt is great and makes cruises so much fun. He is not holed up in an office all day. Always seems to be out and about. Guests love him. Wish there were more like him.

Take the sea sick pills!!!!!   🤢 

  Both lines are probably more alike than you may think. However, there are some differences. What you will think, depends on what you feel is important to you on a cruise ship. I personally don't think Carnival has anything comparable to the Oasis class ships but, that does not mean you won't enjoy the Magic. I prefer the Solarium to the Serenity Deck. I think the majority of entertainment is better on RCI however, the comedy does seem better on Carnival. Buffets, main dining room no significant differences. I have had good service on both. Any way you go you cannot go wrong on a cruise! 

Tweezers! I will never sail without them again. Stepped on a tiny piece of glass and it went into my heel. Forgot our tweezers and it looked like I was going to have to pay the high medical fee. Luckily, DH located the only tweezer left in the shop. Cost? $24.00!!!!!!!!! It did have a light......... am not complaining though as it was still a lot cheaper than a visit to medical would have cost me LOL!

Just wanted to second the Spa cabins. The Dream has a wonderful spa area and we used it a lot during those long sea days.  The Dream is our favorite Carnival ship and probably always will be. Have a great time!

We tried Sabor for the first time on our Oasis cruise. Not impressed. For us the food was just okay.

1 hour ago, jayscore said:

I have to admit I first started buying FTTF at $50, and thought it was truly worth it. Then I endured the price hikes over the years.  Now, at $90, I would rather spend the money on drinks, souvenirs, bingo and such.

 

(Yeah, yeah, I know, "Easy for you to say, now that you're Platinum." Either way, $90 seems too much.)

    I agree jayscore money better spent elsewhere. We only purchased it once when it first came out. Really no value to us. We got on right in front of a whole lot of others without FTF. Back when we did it our cabin wasn't ready so no early access. Rarely if ever have to go to Guest Services. Now with the price hike I would not spend money on it again. I would go to the steakhouse etc instead. Others see the value and that's fine. To each his own.

We were at Nachi in Oct. We were given what we thought were good seats on the front row. Then the fellow selling tubes, floaties etc began piling them up right in front of us. Sort of ruined our view/vibe. That was a bit disappointing. We also had a server who was not the nicest or most efficient. It was like pulling teeth to get a drink from this guy. Previously we always had Manuel and HE IS THE BOMB.  We book Nachi every time we are in Cozumel and have always LOVED our visits. Was it awful? No. Did we still have a fun day? Yes. But for the first time, we were not as happy to be there. 

We were in Nassau in Oct 2018. To be honest we likely would not have gotten off but, we had some of our kids with us who had not been. In general, we also treat Nassau like a sea day. After having not gotten off for several years I was interested to see how things were now. In all honesty it did look more seedy than I remembered. The vendors at the Straw Market did try to entice but, no one yelled at us. 

We loved the Oasis but, we are open to other cruise lines so long as they don't feel really crowded. Even on the Oasis I never felt packed in with the exception of the parties in the promenade area. I hope Carnival will have sufficient wide open spaces on the Mardi Gras. IMHO the Vista felt tight.

Just to echo the others make your reservations for shows asap! We just did a sailing (actually a Back2Back) on the Oasis for the first time a month or so ago. We LOVED it! Worried it would be too big for our liking but, it was great. Never felt crowded even when disembarking. We did eat at off times when not in the dining room to make things easier. Make sure you spend some quiet time relaxing in the Solarium and eat lunch in some of the other venues. Don't spend all your time in the buffet. The Park Cafe has THE BEST roast beef sandwiches and DH loved the hotdogs at The Dog House. Chops was well worth the cost. Johnny Rockets has free breakfast. Great music venues. So much to do there is just not enough time. Have a blast!   

Thanks so much for all the assistance!

We are sailing out of New Orleans on a Saturday in Jan 2019. We are staying at the Hilton Riverside and plan on walking to the RCI port. My question is how early can we access the Outlet Collection mall? I see the stores do not open until 10 am and am wondering if you can still go through the mall to the port earlier?  At our local mall we have "Mall Walkers" who can stroll through the halls long before the stores open for exercise. Is this true in New Orleans as well? 

I have seen officers in the Windjammer but, always later in the evening not when it was crowded with guests.

This was my first RoyalUp email. I guess they really do exist. Sadly, we are spending so much money on the land portion of our New Orleans vacation/cruise I just could not justify spending more. 

On 11/26/2018 at 12:31 PM, barbeyg said:

It would be nice if they just spent some time fixing their website before adding any more things to screw up.  

Could not agree with you more! Fix your website RCI!!!!!

12 hours ago, Iamcruzin said:

It has been my experience to book an early refundable deposit with Royal Caribbean. If the price goes down you can get an adjustment as long as it's before final payment.  The sales they offer closer to the sail date tend to come out to more than if you book early. They like to lure people in with the 50% off for the second guest but what happens is the price of the first guest keeps going up so even though the second guest is 1/2 the price it's still more than what it would have been if you booked early. They run that promotion under different names but it's still the same. My son saw an add for 60% off the second guest but when he priced it out it was $500 more than what we had booked it for 8 months ago.

I agree completely. I have yet to pay less than I do when I book early.