perfect match

Thank you! May 3 Allure cruise shows are booked!

I’m loving this cruise already and we’re not even on the ship yet!

I’m sorry to see your review drawing to a close, Harry. I’ve been enjoying following along with you.

I may be absent tomorrow, actually later today because we’ll be at the Cirque du Soleil show, Bazzar, in Tampa tomorrow. I believe we discussed our shared enjoyment of Cirque in your previous  Navigator review so I wanted to follow up and let you know that yes, we’re actually going at last. Don’t worry though. I’ll be back to finish up reading here! 😀

I’m checking in and ready to board. Well, board virtually anyway. Thank you for taking us along Andrew, Lisa, & Owen.

I’m here! I’m very interested to hear how you like sailing from Tampa. I keep saying we need to try it because I know DH would love sailing under that bridge  as would I. The catch is that we really like the big ships because we love everything they have to offer. I do like your itinerary so maybe if I can find that at a time that we are looking to sail we might make a Tampa cruise happen.
 

We did have one Tampa cruise on Brilliance planned. However, it was cancelled due to a full ship charter. We moved that one to Harmony out of PC which was cancelled due to the Covid shutdown. 
 

I have two words to say to you about how to make your Panama Canal excursion happen, and I know you can do it - casino winnings! 😂 You can do it! 

This happened to us, too. We were booked on a 3 day Allure cruise that was cancelled due to the ship going to a full ship charter. We had the 4 day following the cruise that was cancelled so when I got the email with my alternate options I called and booked the 3 day following our 4 day. At that point everything was fine. 
 

Several weeks later I saw a nice price drop on my rebooked 3 day Allure so I called and got the price drop. However, at that point there was a $200 change fee applied ($100 each). I had to remind them that it wasn’t us who wanted to change our sailing date but Royal who decided to allow the charter group to take over our sailing. After the rep went back and forth with her supervisor I was able to get the charges removed. They told me it was a glitch.

The good news is that the change fee charges did not reappear when I made additional and final payments. I most definitely checked to be sure!

6 hours ago, cruisegus said:

Yes only for paying for the cruise.

 

I did it once about 5 years ago to pay for my first Grand Suite.  Saved about $600 dollars but with all the restrictions and not being refundable even if it's Royal that cancells the cruise.  Was not worth hassle and worry.  

Other cruise lines AARP cards are easier to use

 

 

I have been thinking about using AARP gift cards but the line in their T&C about not being refundable if the cruise is cancelled even if it’s Royal who cancels has kept me from trying them. We have had two different cruises cancelled by Royal due to whole ship charters recently and to say I would be very unhappy about losing that money because I’d paid using AARP would be putting it mildly. 

On 3/3/2024 at 5:53 PM, harryfat1 said:

See my black line on the map on the left side of Labadee

 

 

 

I think that instead of trying to walk the whole trail I’m going to find the end of the black line closest to the pier and just walk out that way. I’ll get my exercise swimming and ziplining. Do you have any pictures of that end of the trail, or of landmarks to help find the entrance. 
 

I know, it’s probably obvious but I haven’t been to Labadee in a while and I just can’t picture the area in my mind.

4 hours ago, harryfat1 said:

I think if you walk the trail earlier in the morning, you get a better sunlight angle to take a picture of the ship.  The sun was over on the port side of the ship when we took the pictures at 3:30 so it was darker than I would have liked.

 

How much is the zip line?  Like $130?

we paid about $50 per person for the zipline at Black Friday prices. I don’t remember the ‘regular” price, but I think you’re pretty close. I’d have to think long and hard about paying that “regular” price.

2 hours ago, Coralc said:

BBQ at the secret cabana. 😄

@Coralc, you’re giving me way too many ideas that would get me in trouble! 😂🤣😱 I’m getting the hammock ready to pack! 😎

25 minutes ago, SquishTheWhale said:

 

Our Oasis one is 12th may so weird ours is open and yours isn't.

What’s even stranger is that as Inwas logging in to start doing my bookings for May 3 it looked at first like they were open, then all of a sudden the image on my screen switched to say that entertainment bookings were not open yet. I thought at the time it was just the page switching from the April 29 cruise switching to the May 3 cruise. 🤷‍♀️ I’ll keep checking. I’m sure they will show up eventually.. 

9 hours ago, harryfat1 said:

Thanks for the pricing info.

 

The water park isn't as expensive as I thought.

 

However, if I was a parent paying for the park, I would feel like I got ripped off based on the picture of the waterslide versus reality.

 

Compare the size of the waterslide in your picture to what was at Labadee in December.  Notice the difference?

 

 

Must be the same shrinkage we experienced on the shuffleboard game.  RCI's new slogan - less is more (as in they charge you more and give you less)...

 

 

Glad I was able to help out with the pricing information. I thought that slide in my picture looked larger than life! 😂

We will be doing the zip lines while we are there. We are thrill seekers and think the ziplines are fun. 
I love the views of the ship from the nature trail Harry marked in black. 
 

We walked out to the dragon’s 🐉 breath rock formation once. It was not long after I had both knees replaced so I was not very steady on my feet on those stairs and uneven surfaces. I was too busy trying to remain upright so I didn’t notice much. I’ve done a lot of rehab work since then so maybe I’ll give it another try after our zipline rides. Either that, or I’ll stay in my comfort zone and go for a swim instead. 😃🐠

On 3/1/2024 at 6:51 AM, island lady said:

 

We as well.  Was here last in November.  Quite a bit of progress...but still a large project to undertake.  Seems around 60-70 "worker bees" each time we have been here.  

 

Interesting walk in shallow end of the long pool with little tables in the water and a water logged bar area (not swim up...but still feet in the water).  To the far side, a set of covered areas that may be more bars and or cafes.    And of course more shopping plazas.  😉 

I’m not sure how we have managed to miss stopping in Routan for as many years as we’ve been cruising. We will be making our first stop there on our Wonder cruise in September. It will be the first new port for us in a while.

How long does it take to enjoy the aviary in Costa Maya? I haven’t made any plans for there because it is an early, short day. The birds are beautiful, so I’m thinking it would be a good place to spend a little bit of time on shore. Besides, it would be interesting to see how my old, surgically repaired legs handle the rope bridge! 😂

8 hours ago, SquishTheWhale said:

We are on Oasis in mid May and I was expecting to book shows around the start of April so not for almost two months. However, the shows have been released to book tonight!

 

So first of all if you have an upcoming cruise get checking. Second, has this happened so early before? Does anyone think it could be in error? Or perhaps Royal is trialling releasing them earlier?

Thanks for the reminder. I’ve been busy all weekend and almost didn’t look.

i was able to book shows for the first leg of our Allure B2B that boards April 29, but not the second leg that boards May 3.I like to book things in advance so once we’re on board I don’t have to think about anything but enjoying our cruise.

I hope they’re not going to keep me waiting too much longer to book our entertainment for the May 3 sailing. 

We will be visiting Labadee on our Allure cruise at the end of April. Here’s some screenshots of today’s prices for the water park, the water park combined with the coaster, and the water slide. We purchased our ziplines back on Black Friday at about half of today’s sale prices.

5 hours ago, RachLovesSteak said:

Thank you so much! Loves Disney and Cruising?? Sounds like you could be a Shinglebell!

Rachel, I think you and the girls will remember this bachelorette party for the rest of your lives! 
 

I consider it quite an honor to be considered as a potential Shinglebell! Thank you! 

On 2/28/2024 at 9:52 PM, harryfat1 said:

There are so many events on the daily compass that you can easily miss an event.  I heard about this event pre-cruise so I had it marked as something I wanted to see

I had it marked on my list, too. High priority! That’s why I am so disappointed that I missed it. I’m pretty sure that it was time conflict with something else we also had marked as a high priority. 
 

On 2/28/2024 at 10:15 PM, harryfat1 said:

For the mooring line fan club

 

 

 

love all of your mooring like shots! I started taking my own mooring line shots when we first started cruising because I thought they were interesting. I didn’t know at the time that there were others who liked them as much as I did. Now I love to see everyone’s mooring line pictures! Yours have bee great! 
 

I loved doing iFly! I did have to convince the staff that my hip and knee replacements had been long ago and were solid enough to hold up to me doing iFly. I’m really glad I was allowed to proceed because I absolutely loved it! As much as I loved it though, I would never push anyone who really was reluctant or uncomfortable to go on any thrill ride that they didn’t want to do. It surprised me that my DH did not want to do iFly, especially since he has some experience in skydiving. Since he didn’t want to go, I put him in charge of photography! 

Thank you very much for taking us along. I really enjoyed being back on Oasis again. You wrote a great live review so even though it was only a virtual cruise for me I felt like I was right there with you. As a bonus, you took me to a few spots on Oasis that I haven’t managed to visit on my own yet. 
 

I’ll be looking for the link to your next “live” in March!

I was so busy laughing at Bohemian Catsody yesterday that I forgot to comment on the 270 Experience. Seeing it was high on my list of things I wanted to do on Odyssey. I do not remember how or why we didn’t go but we never did get there! 😱 I think I need to book another cruise on Odyssey to remedy that omission!  😂

I love Bohemian Catsody! I think it’s my favorite of all of the videos I’ve seen in any of your reviews!😹😹😹😹

On 2/25/2024 at 11:58 PM, IsItTimeToCruiseYet? said:

We have a 10:30am check in.  How early should we arrive due to the 'mess'?  

 

I’m totally not a morning person but that said I’m planning to get myself there as close to 9:30 as I can manage. Fortunately DH is a morning person and will do his best to keep me on schedule. 
 

On 2/26/2024 at 6:09 PM, island lady said:

Have InTENse booked for 7:45 tonight.   Heads up...since all the "seats" are wooden benches, simply bring a beach towel, folded up for the "aft end" to sit on .   Makes a big difference.  😉 

One of the few things I know I’m going to hate about Wonder is those bench seats in the AquaTheater! The similar benches on the other Oasis class ships are not a good fit for me. My feet don’t reach the floor and my back doesn’t reach the backrest. The back spasms that accompany the bench seating are not fun. I much prefer the beach chair style seating. 
 

13 hours ago, orville99 said:

We have gotten to the point of accepting the fact  that the time between cruises is just a long shore excursion where we get to do cooking classes every day, and the wine is less expensive🍗🍷😎

I love ❤️ your thinking! 

DH will like the heated pool. I might actually be able to get him to go into the pool at that temperature! Me, not so much. I’ll go in the pool with DH but do most of my swimming in the lagoon.

You had a great race! Thank you for the update.

I’ve done a few Run Disney races when I was younger and before my knee and hip replacements. They were a lot of fun, Disney characters everywhere. Unfortunately, when discussing activities restrictions following my surgeries with the doctor he said no running or bungee jumping with a bungee cord around my ankles. Since I’m really not much of a runner and even the thrill seeker in me has no desire to try bungee jumping I really promised him I wouldn’t do either of those things! 😂

This looks like a great bachelorette party!🎉 

10 hours ago, rwest898 said:

@jam19872016can you please post the link to your March cruise here.  Thank you 😊 

Yes, please do! I’ll be looking for you.

Thank you for a very enjoyable and fun review. 

I’m sure Merida is as happy to see you as you are to see her. I know we hang onto our 🐈‍⬛🐈‍⬛ a little bit tighter when we first get home from our vacations.