Bellacruz54

12 hours ago, danoconnl said:

we were there 3/18.  Wonder was the only ship in port.  Lots of kids on this cruise.  We got off the ship aorund 9:30/45.  Took the tram from just inside the coco cay entrance, pretty quick and easy. By the time we got to the pool, all of the loungers right around the pool were taken.  My original plan was to try and get loungers on the far end away from the dj to limit the noise while laying out, but there aren't many loungers at the far end of the pool.  It was full but not packed.  We easily found two loungers on the beach near the stairs to the pool area.  Around 12:30/1 we were walking somewhere and my wife remarked how great it would be to get one of the beds that are in the water, and wouldn't you know it, the next bed we walked by was empty, so we grabbed it for the rest of the day.  They are very nice.  The umbrella that is attached to them rotates 360 so you can have as much shade or sun as you want. 

The cabanas around the main pool had names in every one, but they were hardly used.  I know I saw a couple that were never used the entire time we were there.  I don't know if they put names in the unsold ones to make it seem like they are sold out or what, but if I paid what those cost I would be in there alot of the day.  We didn't walk down to the other ones and look at them.

 

We didn't get in the ocean, but the beach area is very nice, lots of loungers, tables in between a lot of them, alot of umbrellas if thats what you need.  Did see someone get yelled at by the lifeguards as he snorkeled past the end line and kind of into the channel that feeds the lagoon.  

 

They say the pool is heated,  I found it to be the perfect temp.  Not too warm, but not too cold.  Very nice to relax in,  Outdoor temp was around 80-83 I think the day we were there with sunny skies.

 

Getting drinks from the swim up bar was really easy, never more than 2nd in line.  If you want a beer/truly/ or soda, there was a chest of them on the beach near the stairs.  Having a drink at the pool wall looking over the ocean is really nice.  It was probably more of a party near the dj but we stayed further away and it was really nice.. At one point one of the dancers was spraying champagne into peoples mouths, and drawing a crowd.  Music was loud near the dj but not blasting.  I found it to be easy to listen to in the background.

 

I had the chicken sandwich and my wife had the coconut shrimp, we thought both were good.  I think the sandwich I had was a special one for hideaway, but I don't remember why.  

 

we loved it.  Not sure how much we would pay for it on our next cruise, but I think $30pp is where we might start to question, we managed to get it for 19.99pp on a sale and would pay that in a heart beat.  My wife is going on Allure at the end of May and the price has dropped from $40 about a month ago to lately being in the 20-25 range. She's not going because her mom doesn't want to and the trip is about spending time with her.

 

Ask me any questions you might have and I'll try to answer,

Dan

We were also there Mon 3/18 off the Wonder….and had a bed in the water the entire day! Wish we would have met!  We mainly stayed in the Infinity pool, and we also thought the water was perfect! We really enjoyed our day there. The pass was only $19.99 so we figured this was our chance to check it out for ourselves. So glad we did!  If prices comedown on our upcoming cruises we will do it again, but right now it is still showing $64.99.  Hoping prices drop down as we get closer.   

Thank you for taking us along!   We sail on Oasis in November and I thoroughly enjoyed your review!  Learned a lot from you, and loved following along! 

4 hours ago, Sunshine3601 said:

We almost always skip Mexican Night, then other 2 we sometimes skip are italian night and bon voyage night.    

Same! 

We will be following along! Our turn will be in 3 weeks and this will make the time go quicker! Hope you have a wonderful cruise! 😀

Hi! I don’t post much but am on here everyday reading and researching.  Do you think you prefer the Icon over Oasis class?  I know they are two totally different classes of ships- but wondered your thoughts at this point which you “prefer”?   Thank you so much for taking us along, it has been so fun to see the Icon and experience it with you! 

16 hours ago, HSDerm348 said:

Bellacruz54 - I would not worry too much about the Odyssey.  My favorite ships are the Oasis and the Odyssey and the Wonder.  When I am on the Odyssey I personally think it is very pretty and designed for social media pictures.  I love being able to be in the pool just outside the solarium and watch a movie - you can't do that on the Oasis ships except on the Wonder where they sort of added the screen back to the pool area.  The Wonder and Odyssey both have excellent WJ seating arrangements compared to prior ships.

 

The Odyssey, which I have done twice - both the 6N and the 8N - has significantly better food than the Oasis in my opinion and the service AND food I've had in specialty restaurants is some of the best I've had fleet-wide.  

 

What I miss on the Odyssey is Central Park and the ice skating rink (the ice show).  It does feel like there is less big entertainment on the Odyssey, so much so that I was concerned after our 6N that we would get bored on an 8N cruise on her.  We did not and are sailing it again next month!  

 

I would not do Odyssey every cruise but it is a wonderful rotation into my Oasis and smaller class ships!

Thank you for your reply and to all the others that took the time to share your thoughts! We finally decided on Wonder, but mainly because we are doing Oasis in Nov with the exact itinerary as the Odyssey. You sparked our curiosity and we will look to book Odyssey in 2025.  Then we will have your top 3 in a row.  🙂

Thank you for your review!  We are double booked at the moment between the Odyssey for an 8 night Southern and the Wonder of the Seas for 7 nt Eastern- same week.  We love Oasis class ships, and I am afraid we might feel the same way as you did? We are not ones, at all, to find fault in any cruise and I am sure we will have a wonderful time on either! For us, cruising takes a lot of saving and sacrificing and I try to do my best when making a decision.  We are going Southern in the Fall as we have never been South before, but then the Odyssey became available at a great price for March so here I am reading reviews and trying to make an informed decision.   Honestly, leaning towards the Wonder. My mind might change several times by this evening when we need to pay for it!  

Thank you for the replies! I am leaning towards waiting until Diamond and just let this short cruise go.  Being Yacht Club we won’t miss much, and then status match the one time. 
 

Long time Lurcker on the boards but I can usually find my answers just by researching the posts.  Thanks again!

So sorry!!!  Let me finish before submitting 🤣 we are going on a 4 day first ever MSC cruise this Fall to try out Yacht club, but then planning to turn Diamond on RC by next Fall. Should we status match now or wait til we turn Diamond?  

Forgive me if this has been covered, but we are planning a 4 day cruise on

Can the average person book, or do you need to be an Agent? Not seeing the ability to book on Royal’s site yet

Just got off the Harmony 6 days ago and had an awesome cruise!! If you chose Harmony you will love it! 

9 hours ago, PhoenixCruiser said:

Our group of 7 (5 cabins) were on the same cruise.  We all had the UDP and the beverage package.  Every bar and restaurant we visited was excellent. Really good food and service. 

 

Getting off this morning was a mess, however. 

We did self assist and walked off the ship in 10 mins at 7:00 a.m. We were at the  Airport by an Uber by 7:40.   

30 minutes ago, deliver42 said:

This may come a s shock to the naysayers here, but this cruise was fantastic. From the crew to the food, which was always hot when it came from the kitchen, to the shortened menu. We never ha d a problem finding food to eat, and some of the old classics are on the menu every day. The shrimp are smaller, and the lobster is ridiculous, but everything else was as it should be. Izumi Hibachi was great. The entertainment was terrific. Never had a problem getting a drink at any bar, either at the bar, or by a server. The pool bar, at times, had 7 bartenders, as well as several floating servers. I couldn't believer I was on a ship from the same company that's been described on CC. Check my signature if you think I never sail with anyone else and am a shill for Royal. This is my honest opinion.  No short staff anywhere. The shop is immaculate.

I agree with you 100%! We were on the same cruise and honestly I was bracing myself and not setting very high expectations after reading Cruise Critic for months while planning this cruise.  I am so happy to say we had a wonderful week! I will be posting a review in a day or two with things I haven’t seen mentioned,but like you we had a great cruise on the Harmony this past week!   

We are sailing on the Harmony in 3 days and just received our confirmation that our bid was received today! Prior to that it just showed submitted and I had basically quit hoping lol!!   There is still time for you to be notified 🙂

9 hours ago, Tatka said:

Solariums on Anthem & Odyssey are identical and better than on Oasis. Issue is Anthem has adjacent family indoor pool which makes Solarium less crowded and kids don’t usually get there. Also during really cold weather family pool provides buffer between open deck & Solarium.

Thank you for your input!  

Comparing Anthem or Odyssey’s solarium, in your opinion is one better over another?  We love the solarium on Oasis class but want to try a Quantum class specifically for the large solarium. Driving myself crazy going between these two so thanks in advance! 

Well, not having sailed in 5 years I wasn’t aware of the recent inner workings of RC, as we had never had issues prior. Saw a price listed and assumed it was a promotional or something because it listed a very short booking window.   Anyways, not going to let this affect my cruise. I look to Cruise Critic for info and just wanted anyone who wondered that yes, the Onboard credit that was there last night is not showing anymore. 

……and no not trying to take advantage of anyone.  It was offered and I bought it, then onboard credit was offered and showed up- and now it’s all gone.  After the one mistake and email you would think they would want the “fix” to be smooth. 

After receiving the email $100.00 onboard credit showed up…..  now it’s gone.  That’s kind of like adding insult to injury. Premier Pass still showing booked in MyCruise.  Makes me feel like this company doesn’t have a clue what they are doing!

Hi, It is showing in my Harmony cruise also, but I am confused if you are clicking one name on the reservation because it is called a “ package” and mentions you can bring a guest- or if you are choosing both names generating a double charge?  

My husband had an accident and had his quad tendon surgically reattached one week before this sailing.  We went after Dr cleared us,  and had no issues even though he was extremely limited and on crutches.   We used the elevator in the new terminal A upon arrival.   Daily our room steward filled our ice bucket twice so he could ice. He even managed to hot tub without getting his knee wet! We didn't think we could get off the ship in Costa Maya-  but they had a trolley from ship to port which was so helpful!  We also got off in Roatan, as that port was very close to ship.

We were unsure if we should go after his accident but so glad we did!! We had an excellent cruise. :))

We watched you sail away! This is our view from The Marriott Biscayne Bay.  7 ships in port...and the Symphony was the first and farthest one. Enjoy your cruise! We board the Allure tomorrow.  🙂

8700?!  That’s our room this Sunday!   I will try to post after how we liked it, location etc.   

We’re booked for Oct ‘19 and have been for months on the Freedom.  We hoped for a B2B but the surrounding dates were already gone.   Just call Royal with your dates and they will look for you.