Sail Oasis on 9/26/15 new(er) deck 11 aft grand suite . . .

[nacdcruiser]

. . . anything we can find out for you this week? Cabin, ship, whatever?

 

So many of you have helped us over the years, glad to check out whatever we can to return the favor. May take a day to respond - it is vacation after all!

 

John

[LilBlackDress]

Very nice to offer!!

 

Enjoy your cruise!

[GSuitesailing]

. . . anything we can find out for you this week? Cabin, ship, whatever?

 

So many of you have helped us over the years, glad to check out whatever we can to return the favor. May take a day to respond - it is vacation after all!

 

John

 

Any impressions you would care to offer would be appreciated. I will look forward to it!

[dolphin27502]

Enjoy your cruise!!

[nacdcruiser]

Any impressions you would care to offer would be appreciated. I will look forward to it!

 

Will do!

 

John

[bobmagg]

I heard that the deck furniture now is the same as the Aqua suites below you. Is that correct?

Photos of that furniture would be nice.

 

Bob

[cookmg40]

I would love to get information on the Prohibition event, if you attend.

 

Also, can you confirm that beer and wine are free in the suite lounge all day from 11am to 11pm? I know others have said this but I don't know if it's dependent on ship and sail date. It will help me make a decision on drink package.

 

Thank you!

 

Have a great trip!

 

Marilyn

[Clarea]

... Also, can you confirm that beer and wine are free in the suite lounge all day from 11am to 11pm? I know others have said this but I don't know if it's dependent on ship and sail date. It will help me make a decision on drink package....

Beer and wine were free in the suite lounge from 11am to 11pm on the Sep 5 cruise.

[Lionesss]

Let me know your impression of the bath-tub in your suite.

The one in 14730 was very high off the ground.

 

Safe journey.

[Kokomo91165]

. . . anything we can find out for you this week? Cabin, ship, whatever?

 

So many of you have helped us over the years, glad to check out whatever we can to return the favor. May take a day to respond - it is vacation after all!

 

John

 

Basically suite perks you get for being in a Grand Suite. Also all things suite lounge and coastal kitchen!! Thanks :)

[RocketMan275]

You could let us know how you snagged such a fine cabin. Did you book direct or TA? When ever I check these afts, only those on 14 are available and I'm not interested in those.

[Tyler_Cruises]

I would love to get information on the Prohibition event, if you attend.

 

 

 

Also, can you confirm that beer and wine are free in the suite lounge all day from 11am to 11pm? I know others have said this but I don't know if it's dependent on ship and sail date. It will help me make a decision on drink package.

 

 

 

Thank you!

 

 

 

Have a great trip!

 

 

 

Marilyn

 

 

My wife and I did the prohibition event 2 years ago on Allure and have it booked on Oasis next month. We loved it hence why we booked it again!

 

You start outside of the lounge and they give you a password once they confirm you are on the list. Many people dressed up in 20s type clothes, although a suit and dress will do. You walk down an employee hallway and give them the password and they let you in. Once inside, they have a live jazz band with drinks includes and some light food. Drinks are ordered off a menu written to look like a newspaper since alcohol was illegal during prohibition. They do a few fun things during the event, and all the staff is in character the whole time which makes it really cool.

 

I definitely suggest booking it before your cruise as it sells out. Lots of people were outside wondering what was going on and it was too late for them to get in.

[Life is Good Cruising]

You could let us know how you snagged such a fine cabin. Did you book direct or TA? When ever I check these afts, only those on 14 are available and I'm not interested in those.

 

I was able to snag one of the new Aft cabins on Deck 11 on Allure, back in April when they first were loaded on the website and booked directly with RCI.

[TheInnocentAge]

. . . anything we can find out for you this week? Cabin, ship, whatever?

 

So many of you have helped us over the years, glad to check out whatever we can to return the favor. May take a day to respond - it is vacation after all!

 

John

 

John, we have GS 11330 on Oasis in April. I've seen a few pictures and videos, but more would be great.

 

Have an awesome cruise!

[RocketMan275]

I was able to snag one of the new Aft cabins on Deck 11 on Allure, back in April when they first were loaded on the website and booked directly with RCI.

 

That confirms my guess that I would have to wait until some new itineraries were released. Thanks.

Edited September 26, 2015 by RocketMan275

[nacdcruiser]

I heard that the deck furniture now is the same as the Aqua suites below you. Is that correct?

Photos of that furniture would be nice.

 

Bob

 

Almost the same - Suites below have padding (no padding on ours) and more furniture for sure, we have the wicker like furniture with three tall stools, 1 chair with footrest & small side table, two wicker dining chairs with a round dining table and tucked in the back corner are two of the regular pool deck vinyl strapped loungers stacked on top of each other that we could pull out.

 

I'll get pictures for sure but will need to figure out the posting thing first.

 

LOVE the suite & balcony.

 

John

[nacdcruiser]

I would love to get information on the Prohibition event, if you attend.

 

Also, can you confirm that beer and wine are free in the suite lounge all day from 11am to 11pm? I know others have said this but I don't know if it's dependent on ship and sail date. It will help me make a decision on drink package.

 

Thank you!

 

Have a great trip!

 

Marilyn

 

Not planning on attending Prohibition, but I'll see what I can find out. As for the suite lounge, they do offer beer & wine from 11 to 11 and include cocktails from 5 to 8:30. It's a beautiful space!

 

John

[nacdcruiser]

Let me know your impression of the bath-tub in your suite.

The one in 14730 was very high off the ground.

 

Safe journey.

 

Same here - it is a bit higher to get in and I can see where it might be a problem for some. My wife loves the deck space on the back corner for shaving her legs & setting bottles & towels. I can see how taller guests may have to bend a bit in the shower as the floor of the tub inside is about 6" higher than the tub on the outside (if that makes sense). The single sink works for us and our impressions of the space are good.

 

John

[cruisinrealtor]

Sorry if this is a stupid question. Can you take your drink out of the suite lounge? I'm just thinking instead of getting the drink package as planned I could go to the suite lounge and get a drink and bring back to pool or where ever I'm at . Thoughts?

[bobmagg]

Almost the same - Suites below have padding (no padding on ours) and more furniture for sure, we have the wicker like furniture with three tall stools, 1 chair with footrest & small side table, two wicker dining chairs with a round dining table and tucked in the back corner are two of the regular pool deck vinyl strapped loungers stacked on top of each other that we could pull out.

 

I'll get pictures for sure but will need to figure out the posting thing first.

 

LOVE the suite & balcony.

 

John

 

Thanks, John.

 

Bob

[MeLike2Travel]

Sorry if this is a stupid question. Can you take your drink out of the suite lounge? I'm just thinking instead of getting the drink package as planned I could go to the suite lounge and get a drink and bring back to pool or where ever I'm at . Thoughts?

 

The last 3 cruises I've been on we've stayed in suites. Each night I'd have a drink or two in the suite lounge, then take one to go. I was discrete about it and never received a comment from the lounge attendants.

[TheInnocentAge]

You could let us know how you snagged such a fine cabin. Did you book direct or TA? When ever I check these afts, only those on 14 are available and I'm not interested in those.

 

RocketMan, here's how I was able to find mine...

 

About this time last year I had been following the threads about the at-the-time upcoming refit of the Oasis. When I saw that the "secret balconies" would be converted to aft-corner Grand Suites, I started looking for an itinerary that had these available. Like you, I wanted to avoid the two on deck 14 and even the two on deck 12, especially since they were all priced the same even though the cabins and balconies get smaller as you go up.

 

What I ended up finding was a cruise that had been available for booking for quite some time, but they had just added these new cabins to the inventory (this was October 2014). I found an April 2016 cruise that had 11330 available, so I booked it. It was a good deal too, as the out-the-door price was under $4K with a $300 OBC. A GS for this cruise is now around $6K, and that is for one of the smaller, mid-ship GS's.

 

You mentioned the direct book option versus using a TA. I usually find the cabin I want using the RCI site directly, put a courtesy hold on it, then book it through my TA. Now that courtesy holds are going away, I'll probably book through RC, then transfer the booking through the TA in order to get the extra perks.

[RocketMan275]

RocketMan, here's how I was able to find mine...

 

About this time last year I had been following the threads about the at-the-time upcoming refit of the Oasis. When I saw that the "secret balconies" would be converted to aft-corner Grand Suites, I started looking for an itinerary that had these available. Like you, I wanted to avoid the two on deck 14 and even the two on deck 12, especially since they were all priced the same even though the cabins and balconies get smaller as you go up.

 

What I ended up finding was a cruise that had been available for booking for quite some time, but they had just added these new cabins to the inventory (this was October 2014). I found an April 2016 cruise that had 11330 available, so I booked it. It was a good deal too, as the out-the-door price was under $4K with a $300 OBC. A GS for this cruise is now around $6K, and that is for one of the smaller, mid-ship GS's.

 

You mentioned the direct book option versus using a TA. I usually find the cabin I want using the RCI site directly, put a courtesy hold on it, then book it through my TA. Now that courtesy holds are going away, I'll probably book through RC, then transfer the booking through the TA in order to get the extra perks.

 

 

Thanks for sharing that.

 

I will be waiting for the release of the next batch of caribbean cruises. We can be very flexible on travel dates. Anything in the fall or spring will do. We slightly prefer the western over the eastern but either will do.

 

I was curious as to whether a TA might have a better chance of landing one of these cabins.

 

I usually work with a couple of TA who are very good at sweetening the deal. I think I'll task them to see if they can snag me a good one at a good price when these itineraries are released.

 

Question, I know the courtesy holds are going away but that doesn't preclude transferring an actual booking does it? I mean, could I book direct and then transfer? That way I could be looking too.

 

You also confirm my impressions that, at least for suites, one must book very early to get the good deals. I've two suites booked (Oasis and Allure). One has almost doubled in price and the other almost tripled.

[Clarea]

... Question, I know the courtesy holds are going away but that doesn't preclude transferring an actual booking does it? I mean, could I book direct and then transfer?... .

Yes, you have 60 days after booking to transfer to a travel agent, as long as you have not made final payment.

Edited September 28, 2015 by clarea

[TheInnocentAge]

I usually work with a couple of TA who are very good at sweetening the deal. I think I'll task them to see if they can snag me a good one at a good price when these itineraries are released.

 

Question, I know the courtesy holds are going away but that doesn't preclude transferring an actual booking does it? I mean, could I book direct and then transfer? That way I could be looking too.

 

I'm pretty sure we will still be able to transfer a booking, at least I hope so. From my experience with our particular TA, the prices are almost always the same as on the RC website right to the penny, but we get additional perks that RC wasn't offering. These perks can vary, but we've had combinations of extra OBC, a champagne bottle in the cabin on day one, specialty dinners for two, things like that. And in the instances where we didn't book a suite, they also offered priority check-in and boarding, which got us on the ship slightly earlier so I could get a head start abusing the drink package (and my liver).

 

Once we sail in 11330 in April, I will have a better idea of whether I want to book this cabin again. Lately we've been changing cabin categories each time to get a feel for what they're all about. An OS in about 5 weeks, the GS in April, then an L1 in 2017.