When a Princess isn’t a Royal, Our first RCCL experience on the Oasis!

[Steelers0854]

First, a little about us. We are DINKS firmly in our 30s and have been cruising for over a decade. We really enjoy Princess but since we hit Platinum with them have recently started to try every line to see what else is out there. We are old souls, we love to people watch, read, and generally just relax while on vacation. We love history and enjoy learning about the ports that we are going to, we really aren’t beach go-er’s. DW has some motion sickness issues and isn’t a fan of tenders so she was really excited about the Oasis since there is no tendering!

 

DW and I are currently gearing up for our very first RCCL cruise and we couldn’t be more excited. We are headed out on the Oasis April 8-15 and heading to San Juan, St Maarten, and Labadee. I really enjoy doing Live Froms and am spoiled with free internet on Princess, and while I am going to try and do this as Live as possible I don’t have an internet plan for this trip. Thanks for following along with us on our adventure!

 

We booked this cruise probably a year ago. We have never been to San Juan and St Maarten is one of our favorites to visit, but really we booked this cruise for the ship, not the destinations. We were devastated to see the damage to the area this last year but never considered changing our itinerary. We figured if we docked we were going if to do nothing else but help the economy with our spending in the port. Our biggest let down was that our excursion to the rain forest in San Juan was canceled. A minuscule inconvenience compared to what the people who live there have gone through, and so we quickly picked up a city tour to learn more about the rich history of the city.

 

Other than that we really have no plans for this trip other than total relaxation.

 

I have probably planned more for this cruise than I ever have before. I read up that it’s best to get reservations for both dinner and shows before sailing. Cruising to us generally means a total lack of planning and just going with the flow, but it’s understandable for this trip, when your with 6,000 of your closest friends, reservations sound like a good way to avoid long lines and waits. And if I didn’t want to have the hassle I shoulda booked a different ship, right!? So I started stalking the cruise planner website and waiting for reservations to open up.

 

One of the best parts of a ship this size is all the dining options. So we decided to purchase the 3 night dining package to try a few different options while on board. We normally are strictly traditional diners, we love having the same wait staff and we enjoy eating early. Something about eating dinner on a cruise at 9 o'clock puts us right to sleep and we still like to have a little energy after dinner! But with us eating at specialty restaurants for 3 nights we decided to go the route of My Time Dining and made a standing reservation for 5:30 each night. So with dinner booked and my constant website stalking I was able to book shows on the first night reservations became available. I think the My Time Dining will work out for us because we have a couple of nights with 7:30 shows booked and I am hoping we can get a table for 2 and breeze through dinner service to catch the shows.

 

After all that planning I am hoping the rest of the trip doesn't involve a whole lot of thought. So lets see if all this planning pays off as we head out!

 

We always head out a day early before a cruise, you never know what craziness the airlines and travel will throw at you along the way. We get in to Orlando really late on Saturday, and we are heading out of Port Canaveral. So while I know we could have made a lot of different choices (hotels, Uber, rental cars etc) we decided to stay at a hotel near the airport and just jump on a transfer from the airport to the port in the morning because it is easy and requires very little thought!

 

So we are in full travel mode at the moment, on the way to Orlando. Our next stop....... Orlando!

 

So as I write this we are sitting at the airport looking at the flight board and the growing delay of our scheduled departure time and subsequent shrinking of our connection time. Our connection is also the last flight out for the day to Orlando. This folks, is why you always fly in a day early, you just never know what will happen!

[Staying Focused]

Sailing on her in May for the first time so I will be following!

 

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[poohtaz]

Following, hoping you make it safely to Orlando soon

[momofmab]

I’m on her now! Sad to be docking tomorrow [emoji22]. You’ll have a great week!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[storknurse13]

Good luck with your flight!

[legaljen1969]

First, a little about us. We are DINKS firmly in our 30s and have been cruising for over a decade.

 

....... so we quickly picked up a city tour to learn more about the rich history of the city.

 

One of the best parts of a ship this size is all the dining options. So we decided to purchase the 3 night dining package to try a few different options while on board. We normally are strictly traditional diners, we love having the same wait staff and we enjoy eating early. Something about eating dinner on a cruise at 9 o'clock puts us right to sleep and we still like to have a little energy after dinner! But with us eating at specialty restaurants for 3 nights we decided to go the route of My Time Dining and made a standing reservation for 5:30 each night. I think the My Time Dining will work out for us because we have a couple of nights with 7:30 shows booked and I am hoping we can get a table for 2 and breeze through dinner service to catch the shows.

 

Let me say first, lovely to see fellow Steeler fans AND fellow DINK cruisers.

 

I think you will enjoy the city cruise of San Juan. We did a tour of Old and New San Juan. It was a great tour and we saw and learned so much.

 

As to the My Time Dining- maybe with a standing 5:30 reservation you will get right in. However, our experience with a standing "My Time" reservation was more akin to "call ahead dining" where you give them a time you plan to show up and your name is put ahead of walk ups, but not necessarily guaranteeing you will be seated at or by 5:30. It might be closer to 6:00 or whenever they get to you.

 

Also, they tend to put people in other dining rooms if they get overcrowded and those waiters, having traditional dining tables, maybe get a little flustered with having "My Time" diners thrust upon them with their present assignment of diners.

 

All worked out for us with this arrangement, but I just wanted to let you know. If you are a big planner, just know that you may need to work around the "my time" flow a little bit. My Time dining is more akin to walking up to a busy restaurant with no reservations and hoping they will seat you when you are ready to eat.

[paper1122]

Looking forward to your review. DW and I board 2 weeks from tomorrow. We are in our 30s but aren't DINKS but the kids are staying at home with me SIL. We also have the advantage of living in Orlando, 1 hr door to door to the port.

[Steelers0854]

Well thankfully we are gonna make it by the skin of our teeth. Thankfully there are 12 other people making the connection with us so they are going to hold the plane for us! Time to tie my shoes laces and get ready to run. [emoji41]

[Snit13]

Always happy to see a Steeler fan. Glad you are making your flight into Orlando. Oasis is a great ship and has wonderful specialty restaurants. We always book MTD and never have had an issue but we do not eat early. Normally we have a 7 or later time because of Happy Hour.

 

May I presume you are excapeing the cold of PA? I believe it was 32 the other day in Oil City.

 

Have an awesome cruise and will be looking forward to your posts.

 

A Pirate/Steeler fan in FL

[voyager70]

Well thankfully we are gonna make it by the skin of our teeth. Thankfully there are 12 other people making the connection with us so they are going to hold the plane for us! Time to tie my shoes laces and get ready to run. [emoji41]

 

Yay! Thanks for the update. Hope you have a great time on Oasis. She's a gorgeous ship!

[Steelers0854]

 

 

 

May I presume you are excapeing the cold of PA? I believe it was 32 the other day in Oil City.

 

 

 

Have an awesome cruise and will be looking forward to your posts.

 

 

 

A Pirate/Steeler fan in FL

 

 

 

Actually no, when growing up in LA there was no home town team at the time. So I picked the Steelers and have been loyal to them ever since!

[Steelers0854]

So we were all ready to be “those people” desperately sprinting through the airport with 10 minutes before departure time to make it. I pictured all the movies where the lady is closing the door in slow motion and we were running up yelling “we are here!”

 

But our gate was directly across from the gate we deplaned.

 

And the flight is delayed an hour.

 

So all’s well that end’s well!

[Gordo]

Have a great time on Oasis. We look forward to following along on your adventure!

[voyager70]

So we were all ready to be “those people” desperately sprinting through the airport with 10 minutes before departure time to make it. I pictured all the movies where the lady is closing the door in slow motion and we were running up yelling “we are here!”

 

But our gate was directly across from the gate we deplaned.

 

And the flight is delayed an hour.

 

So all’s well that end’s well!

 

So happy it's all worked out! On a side note, since you don't have a hometown team any chance you might switch alliances to the Pats ;p

[Steelers0854]

/begin rant

 

Why on earth do people have to get so mad when there are delays at the airport? Why do you feel the need to huff and puff around the terminal, outraged that they do not give you updates every 5 minutes? People, things happen, flight crews get delayed, weather on the other side of the country can impact your flights even if the sun is shining where you are. Take a deep breath and please do not take it out of the poor gate agent who has done nothing to cause the delay.

 

/end rant

[Steelers0854]

It was well after 1am when we got to our room. I’m really glad we decided to stay by the airport because I wouldn’t have looked forward to a 45 minute drive at this point in time.

 

We crashed out and woke up to a blaring alarm at 8am. Got ourselves together and grabbed breakfast before heading back to the airport to catch our transfer.

 

It’s warm here, humid and overcast. Last night it drizzled on us when we left the airport but all in all it’s a beautiful day here in Orlando.

 

So I’ve been playing with the Royal Caribbean App for a bit. It asks you to sign in but unfortunately that doesn’t benefit you at all. I was hoping it would show your existing reservations but alas it doesn’t. It’s a great feature to show all the activities onboard but there is no way to favorite or save them, so you can’t create a plan on the app, simply see what’s going on. I know this is a “new” app, but this seems so basic I’m surprised the functionality is missing. It is really nice to have all the menus for the cruise at your disposal. It helps in determine what nights to do specialty dining! Disney still wins for overall best onboard app IMO. But hey, something is better than nothing!

[Snit13]

Happy for you that you arrived safe and sound in Orlando. Beautiful day in FL this am but rained last eve and during the night.

Unless you are a frequent flyer you don't have a clue as to what might go wrong/right in aviation. DH was in aviation and had years as maintenance manager. When the plane has an issue as with a car, it must be fixed before it is safe to fly. And not to mention weather delays which may be caused by issues thousand of miles from where you are waiting for a plane. Best to have a toddy and relax. It is what it is.

[Steelers0854]

Pro Tip: If you fly in the day before, Royal runs their transfers from the B side second level. Their counter is by the Hertz desk. So have your airport drop you off near there.

 

We boarded the bus without issue and it didn’t take long before the bus filled up and we were off. it took a us about 45 minutes or so to get to the port.

 

Woo hoo we made it!!!!

 

[Fjcpooh17]

Looking forward to your review as the wife and I will be on Oasis in 2 weeks! This will be our 1st time on a mega ship and trying out Princess in December.

[Steelers0854]

So after we got off the bus we had our bags tagged so no need to deal with them again. We waited in a short line to enter the terminal. Another short line to get through security and now are in queue to check in. So far 30 minutes which I didn’t think was bad at all. We have been moving the entire time.

 

[TEXASMUNK]

LOL And the next sound.....is "bartender, can you make me a........" Bon Voyage!

[Steelers0854]

Well we finally made it on board. I’ll get into the trials and tribulations that was the check in process later. But for now.......

 

 

 

 

Life is good!

[SilkySal]

Looks like lunch was at the Cafe Promenade!! Excellent choice and our first stop when we board Oasis next year!!;p Where's that bon voyage drink though?:confused: CHEERS!!:cool:

[Steelers0854]

Looks like lunch was at the Cafe Promenade!! Excellent choice and our first stop when we board Oasis next year!!;p Where's that bon voyage drink though?:confused: CHEERS!!:cool:

 

 

 

Ask and ye shall receive.

 

[deliver42]

I believe you will find that no cruise line moves people better than Royal, be it at the terminal or on the ship. While you are on your cruise, remember all the times on Princess that you thought were very crowded, and see the difference. I've been on the Oasis and the Regal.