COMPARISON: NCL Studio Cabins & Studio Lounges

[debenson0723]

6 minutes ago, coastcat said:

 

I book all my travel with a Chase Sapphire Preferred card to get the travel protection plus points to transfer and redeem - except for flights on Delta since I have the Delta AmEx. Not sure why I still have the Delta card since I mainly fly Alaska these days, but hey. I mainly use the Delta card for vet bills.

 

Two Quantum-class ships will be on the West Coast in 2021; Quantum and Ovation will both be in Alaska that summer. I'll be on Quantum in mid-June as my first RCL cruise. There's a rumor floating around that RCL will return to sailing out of southern California and in my mind it makes sense to keep Ovation there in the winter. There's plenty of demand and if they start sailing there in late 2021 the timing would be great - my guess is that we West Coasters will flock to the Mexican Riviera/Pacific Coastal itineraries as cruising ramps up, since it's a drive-to/short-flight port for us.

After I read your prior post from a few days ago, I checked the Quantum itinerary on the RCL site and only saw that ship doing Alaska and then looked to me that it was going to Australia. I was hoping for maybe a Pacific Coastal but a longer stay would be even better.  I am going to check on the Ovation tonight.

One of my friends that I met on the Bliss (and have cruised with 2 additional times) is doing Encore to Alaska in June 2021 and still trying to talk me into it.  Right now the price is too high and I really don't have a desire to go to Alaska again but am thinking about it.  It is the week after I am planning to go to London so I even thought I could fly back from London to Seattle (I think WestJet has a flight that would work) and do the cruise.  Now that would be some vacation!

And it would make sense for some of these lines to port in California for the winter and cut down on people flying. I know plenty of people that would welcome the thought of cruising without having to travel cross country.

[debenson0723]

OK @farmersfight, I couldn't stand it so I did a mock booking on RCL for the Quantum. It's not the fancy studio balcony like you booked (I couldn't even find those on the site) but picked an inside. The total price was $2200 with no perks and a NON-refundable deposit (no way would I give away my money, LOL). 

 

Then I went to NCL for the same month, same ports with the exception of Dominican Republic instead of Grand Cayman but 9 days, not 8. This is on the Getaway, a ship I have been on 4 times (and can't seem to get away from...get it??). The total price for an inside with 4 perks (unlimited beverage, 2 specialty dining, WI-fi and $50 shore excursion credit at each port) is $2300. Same deposit but refundable.  If I did a Sail Away rate (only shore excursion perk) it was $1650 and a Studio with all 4 perks was about $1850. 

So it would be a hard decision to chose for me: $275 a day on RCL vs. $250 a day on NCL (or as low as $183). I don't like to spend more than $100 a day and in my experience, if I was patient, it might be possible to get down to that price (this is pre-covid of course...who knows how pricing will be now).

And that is how I spent my exciting Friday night!

[coastcat]

11 hours ago, debenson0723 said:

OK @farmersfight, I couldn't stand it so I did a mock booking on RCL for the Quantum. It's not the fancy studio balcony like you booked (I couldn't even find those on the site) but picked an inside. The total price was $2200 with no perks and a NON-refundable deposit (no way would I give away my money, LOL). 

 

Then I went to NCL for the same month, same ports with the exception of Dominican Republic instead of Grand Cayman but 9 days, not 8. This is on the Getaway, a ship I have been on 4 times (and can't seem to get away from...get it??). The total price for an inside with 4 perks (unlimited beverage, 2 specialty dining, WI-fi and $50 shore excursion credit at each port) is $2300. Same deposit but refundable.  If I did a Sail Away rate (only shore excursion perk) it was $1650 and a Studio with all 4 perks was about $1850. 

So it would be a hard decision to chose for me: $275 a day on RCL vs. $250 a day on NCL (or as low as $183). I don't like to spend more than $100 a day and in my experience, if I was patient, it might be possible to get down to that price (this is pre-covid of course...who knows how pricing will be now).

And that is how I spent my exciting Friday night!

 

Sounds like a perfect Friday night! I may have done something similar...

 

IIRC, Ovation and Quantum are both currently scheduled to return to Australia after the Alaska season. I don't know if that ship class fits through the Panama Canal; if not, that would explain why Quantum, Ovation, and Spectrum handle the Pacific regions while Anthem and the future Odyssey do the Caribbean/Europe bounce.

 

The Studio Balcony (2F) cabins are a hot commodity because there are so few of them - 12 per Quantum-class ship. When booking, if available they'll appear in the balcony category. When you select "1 passenger" and then see the categories, you'll know Studio Balconies are available when you see balcony pricing lower than ocean view! For 2021 in Alaska, it looks like 2F is sold out across the Quantum sailings but the last time I checked there were plenty available on Ovation's.

 

Didn't the Oasis-class ships have a Studio Interior at some point? I don't see it on current deck plans or mock bookings. I really want to check out those monster ships but the pricing isn't particularly friendly for solos.

 

It's a pity we cannot book a Sail Away Studio. Even if you remove the booze and dining packages from your perks to avoid the gratuities, you're still paying the same fare. It's often cheaper to book a NCL Sail Away interior than a Studio, but then again I can easily make up for the price difference through all those free espressos & lattes in the Studio Lounge.

 

I can't Getaway from Bliss. 😄 At the moment I have THREE 2021 cruises booked on her - Pacific Coastal in both directions and then Mexican Riviera for the week between Christmas and New Year.

Edited November 28, 2020 by coastcat

[eigig]

Hi Everyone

I have a question for anyone who has sailed solo in a NON studio room on an NCL ship that has studio rooms.  My question is about access to the studio lounge for the meet up and to sign up for group dinners etc.

 

I have sailed on Epic twice (about 5-6 years ago) from Barcelona. The first time I booked a studio cabin and we had a great solo director who really went out of her way to get everyone together.  I had a wonderful time as a solo cruiser on that trip. 

The second time on the same cruise I booked a balcony for the extra room and was assured (pre cruise) that I could have my cruise card "keyed" for studio lounge access. When I got onboard and tried to do this I was told that was not possible BUT I could still join the solo group for dinners etc. and I should just knock on the lounge door and get let in and then add my name to the whiteboard.

 

Needless to say, this did not work well. I felt like an intruder and hated explaining myself to people to gain access. I can see the wisdom of this though. The studio costs more than some inside rooms with the single supplement tacked on but the perk is the lounge access and meet up. 

 

I rarely signed up for dinners the second time and found it a bit lonely and I am an experienced solo traveller (woman 60's in age at the time).  

Any related experiences?

 

[farmersfight]

16 hours ago, debenson0723 said:

I am really interested in trying a Quantum class ship but wish they had one on the west coast.

 

As @coastcat points out in a previous post, it looks like RCL will be using the Quantum OTS & Ovation OTS for Alaska cruises during the summer of 2021. I'm not sure where they will be "home" ported, whether Seattle or Vancouver. Per the Passenger Vessel Services Act (PVSA), if the cruise is one way to/from Alaska, the ship has to be home ported out of Vancouver. If the cruise is round trip, the ship can be home ported out of Seattle but again to meet the PVSA, it must make at least 1 stop in a foreign port (for these cruises, they usually stop at Victoria, BC). The Seattle round trip cruises don't go as far north in Alaska as the one way cruises do. When I went, it was on the now infamous (covid) Diamond Princess out of Vancouver and it was one way (7 day cruise, I think) all the way up to Whittier, Alaska (port for Anchorage). @coastcat; do you know where the Quantum OTS & Ovation OTS will be home ported out there on the west coast?

 

I did a little research with my friends, Mr. Google & Mr. YouTube and came across an interesting thing about the Quantum class ships. Apparently, they were designed to operate in/out of cooler climates, hence the fully enclosed pool and enclosed Solarium. This makes sense and probably why RCL can operate the Anthem OTS out of Bayonne, NJ (Cape Liberty) all year round. Like I mentioned previously, my booked cruise on Anthem OTS is Jan 20 - 31, 2022. You know it will be cold (& snowy?) up in NJ late January; but, I'm all set with the enclosed pool & Solarium. I believe there are hot tubs and a bar in both venues. RCL was smart (again) by having the bar on the pool deck open up both forward (service for the enclosed pool) and aft (service for the outdoor pool). The Solarium has it's own bar.

 

16 hours ago, debenson0723 said:

You mentioned a few responses back about paying for your cruises in full and not using a credit card. Something I do is use my Delta AmEx card for everything, pay it off each month and then use the miles I earned to fly internationally.

 

I didn't think about using an airline CC to get the miles and just ensuring the CC balance is paid off each month. Very smart. Could definitely save $$ on airfare. My CC is with USAA, who I have been doing business with for many years.

 

16 hours ago, debenson0723 said:

Not sure if you have seen photos of the Observation Lounge on Bliss/Encore/Joy but it is one of my favorite places on those ships.  It is not like the RCL Solarium in that it is not an outdoors type place, but it is in the front of the ship, full size windows that wrap around the whole area, chaise loungers, comfy chairs and couches of all sizes, a huge bar and food (breakfast, lunch and afternoon tea).

 

Indeed I have seen pictures of the Observation Lounge on those NCL ships. Lots of kudos to NCL for this idea/design. Panoramic views from a comfortable space with a huge bar & breakfast/lunch buffet. Sounds good to me! Was it true that passengers would curl up in those chaise loungers and/or couches and just go to sleep? Why would somebody want to spend their cruise in such a beautiful space and just sleep? Go to your stateroom for sleep!

 

Again, with my research buddies (Mr. Google & Mr. YouTube), I was watching a video preview of the Mardi Gras. Video said that Carnival is known for having public decks out on the front of the ship, so passengers can get that spectacular view of where the ship is headed. However, on the Mardi Gras, Carnival omitted those decks in favor of forward balconies for those staterooms up forward. So, you have to be booked in one of those staterooms to get that view from your balcony.

 

16 hours ago, debenson0723 said:

Being on this forum is really making me miss cruising!

 

I agree. But for now, CC is all we've got. But, there is "light at the end of the tunnel" with these new covid vaccines coming out. I feel confident that cruising will be back up & running by second 1/2 of 2021 (July). That's why I felt comfortable going ahead and booking my 3 cruises; first one Dec 2021, second one Jan 2022 & third one Feb 2022. Also, as a strategy, I'm going to keep my eyes open for last minute deals on cruises in October 2021 & May 2022.

Edited November 28, 2020 by farmersfight

[HowardK]

1 hour ago, eigig said:

Hi Everyone

I have a question for anyone who has sailed solo in a NON studio room on an NCL ship that has studio rooms.  My question is about access to the studio lounge for the meet up and to sign up for group dinners etc.

 

I have sailed on Epic twice (about 5-6 years ago) from Barcelona. The first time I booked a studio cabin and we had a great solo director who really went out of her way to get everyone together.  I had a wonderful time as a solo cruiser on that trip. 

The second time on the same cruise I booked a balcony for the extra room and was assured (pre cruise) that I could have my cruise card "keyed" for studio lounge access. When I got onboard and tried to do this I was told that was not possible BUT I could still join the solo group for dinners etc. and I should just knock on the lounge door and get let in and then add my name to the whiteboard.

 

Needless to say, this did not work well. I felt like an intruder and hated explaining myself to people to gain access. I can see the wisdom of this though. The studio costs more than some inside rooms with the single supplement tacked on but the perk is the lounge access and meet up. 

 

I rarely signed up for dinners the second time and found it a bit lonely and I am an experienced solo traveller (woman 60's in age at the time).  

Any related experiences?

 

I found that a staff member opened the area a few times when I needed it. Also, they started having the first night gathering at an outside venue like Tobacco Road. Sometimes I joined groups and we would'nt go to the lounge. In general I only used it for the gathering but found by night 3 or 4 not really going to them

[farmersfight]

16 hours ago, coastcat said:

There's a rumor floating around that RCL will return to sailing out of southern California and in my mind it makes sense to keep Ovation there in the winter. There's plenty of demand and if they start sailing there in late 2021 the timing would be great - my guess is that we West Coasters will flock to the Mexican Riviera/Pacific Coastal itineraries as cruising ramps up, since it's a drive-to/short-flight port for us.

 

Since I found out that RCL's Quantum class ships are designed to operate in/out of cooler climates, maybe RCL will keep at least one Quantum class ship (Quantum OTS maybe?) right there in Seattle and do cruises down to the Mexican Riviera during the colder fall/winter/spring months then do Alaska in the summers. I was thinking this because if the Anthem OTS can operate out of NJ year round and do southern caribbean cruises as far south as St. Lucia and back, I would think that the Quantum OTS or Ovation OTS could do the same thing on the west coast out of Seattle cruising to the Mexican Riviera. But, I realize that the "jumping off" point for cruises to the Mexican Riviera is usually LA/LB (i.e. Carnival Panorama) or even SD.

[farmersfight]

15 hours ago, debenson0723 said:

I really don't have a desire to go to Alaska again

 

I don't either. Although our cruise to Alaska with Princess was definitely a "bucket list" item (check), I think I'm more in to the Caribbean; white sand, blue/turquoise warm water, Calypso music and a good beach bar (to get my rum punches).

[farmersfight]

14 hours ago, debenson0723 said:

It's not the fancy studio balcony like you booked (I couldn't even find those on the site)

 

2 hours ago, coastcat said:

The Studio Balcony (2F) cabins are a hot commodity because there are so few of them - 12 per Quantum-class ship. When booking, if available they'll appear in the balcony category.

 

This is very true; those studio balconies sell out very quickly. Since I booked so far in advance, I was able to book a studio balcony for both my Anthem OTS and Odyssey OTS cruises in early 2022. Even this far out, I had a little difficulty finding an available studio balcony on Odyssey OTS.When I looked for earlier in Feb 2022, they were gone. But when I looked at Feb 26, 2022, I think there was literally one studio balcony left, so I nabbed it! And as @coastcatsaid, if there are studio balcony staterooms available for a particular cruise, they will appear in the balcony category when you select 1 passenger.

 

For us solos, I think RCL was on to something with those studio balcony staterooms. Just to bad they didn't do more than 12 on each Quantum class ship and maybe do some on their other class ships. Kind of seems like RCL was just "dipping their toes in the water" wrt trying out those studio balconies. But with those, they "hit the nail on the head" that just because we are cruising solo, doesn't mean we still don't want to have our own balcony! With RCL's studio balconies, us solos don't have to search for regular balcony staterooms with a reduced solo supplement.

Edited November 28, 2020 by farmersfight

[farmersfight]

14 hours ago, debenson0723 said:

This is on the Getaway, a ship I have been on 4 times (and can't seem to get away from...get it??).

 

That was very "punny"...

[farmersfight]

14 hours ago, debenson0723 said:

And that is how I spent my exciting Friday night!

 

With all these covid related lock downs and shut downs, I think this is how a lot of us are spending our Friday (& Saturday) nights!

[farmersfight]

2 hours ago, coastcat said:

Didn't the Oasis-class ships have a Studio Interior at some point? I don't see it on current deck plans or mock bookings. I really want to check out those monster ships but the pricing isn't particularly friendly for solos.

 

I want to say that the Oasis-class ships have studio interiors & studio OV's (I could be wrong). I want to check out these monster ships, as well. There was a great deal (even solo) on the Harmony OTS transatlantic from Port Canaveral to Barcelona, Spain (with just one port call at Malaga, Spain). The cruise is scheduled for April 2021, so I won't be surprised when it is cancelled. Just a bit too soon in 2021, imo.

 

I was seriously considering this cruise (12 days, I think) because with all those sea days, you could really check out the ship and this behemoth is practically a floating "city" at sea (plenty of things to see and do on the ship itself during the TA crossing).

[farmersfight]

2 hours ago, coastcat said:

I can't Getaway from Bliss. 😄 At the moment I have THREE 2021 cruises booked on her

 

Sounds like it will be pure "Bliss" 😜...

[farmersfight]

2 hours ago, eigig said:

Hi Everyone

I have a question for anyone who has sailed solo in a NON studio room on an NCL ship that has studio rooms.  My question is about access to the studio lounge for the meet up and to sign up for group dinners etc.

 

I have sailed on Epic twice (about 5-6 years ago) from Barcelona. The first time I booked a studio cabin and we had a great solo director who really went out of her way to get everyone together.  I had a wonderful time as a solo cruiser on that trip. 

The second time on the same cruise I booked a balcony for the extra room and was assured (pre cruise) that I could have my cruise card "keyed" for studio lounge access. When I got onboard and tried to do this I was told that was not possible BUT I could still join the solo group for dinners etc. and I should just knock on the lounge door and get let in and then add my name to the whiteboard.

 

Needless to say, this did not work well. I felt like an intruder and hated explaining myself to people to gain access. I can see the wisdom of this though. The studio costs more than some inside rooms with the single supplement tacked on but the perk is the lounge access and meet up. 

 

I rarely signed up for dinners the second time and found it a bit lonely and I am an experienced solo traveller (woman 60's in age at the time).  

Any related experiences?

 

 

I believe you have to be booked in a studio stateroom to have full 24/7 access to the studio lounge. With that said, as a solo, I think you can still attend the solo meet-ups. But I can understand the access issue if the solo meet ups are only held in the studio lounge.

 

50 minutes ago, HowardK said:

Also, they started having the first night gathering at an outside venue like Tobacco Road.

 

This would solve the access problem to the studio lounge. Or, maybe what NCL should do is change their policy and let all solos on the ship have 24/7 access to the studio lounge, irrespective of whether they are booked in a studio stateroom or not. Just a thought...

[debenson0723]

2 hours ago, coastcat said:

 

Sounds like a perfect Friday night! I may have done something similar...

 

IIRC, Ovation and Quantum are both currently scheduled to return to Australia after the Alaska season. I don't know if that ship class fits through the Panama Canal; if not, that would explain why Quantum, Ovation, and Spectrum handle the Pacific regions while Anthem and the future Odyssey do the Caribbean/Europe bounce.

 

The Studio Balcony (2F) cabins are a hot commodity because there are so few of them - 12 per Quantum-class ship. When booking, if available they'll appear in the balcony category. When you select "1 passenger" and then see the categories, you'll know Studio Balconies are available when you see balcony pricing lower than ocean view! For 2021 in Alaska, it looks like 2F is sold out across the Quantum sailings but the last time I checked there were plenty available on Ovation's.

 

Didn't the Oasis-class ships have a Studio Interior at some point? I don't see it on current deck plans or mock bookings. I really want to check out those monster ships but the pricing isn't particularly friendly for solos.

 

It's a pity we cannot book a Sail Away Studio. Even if you remove the booze and dining packages from your perks to avoid the gratuities, you're still paying the same fare. It's often cheaper to book a NCL Sail Away interior than a Studio, but then again I can easily make up for the price difference through all those free espressos & lattes in the Studio Lounge.

 

I can't Getaway from Bliss. 😄 At the moment I have THREE 2021 cruises booked on her - Pacific Coastal in both directions and then Mexican Riviera for the week between Christmas and New Year.

Thanks for the information on how to find a Studio Balcony on RCL.  I will be giving it a look around.  And yes, I believe the Oasis class did have a couple of studio cabins at one point but they were more of an afterthought.  I believe they got rid of them during a dry dock.

 

By far the Bliss is my favorite ship (that is why I have her photo as my avatar and the background on my laptop). I have said if NCL had put the specialty restaurant Onda from Encore on the Bliss, it would be the perfect ship for me.

 

I had a friend from my Baltic cruise IM me this morning, asking if I want to do the November 2021 Escape TA from Rome to NY.  That would cover three of my priority list items that I have never done...Rome, a TA and the Escape. Very tempting but I don't know if I can manage 2 trips to Europe next year both time and dollar wise.  But I am going to look into it.  I have 2 CruiseNext certs in my account and they are begging to be used.

[debenson0723]

56 minutes ago, HowardK said:

I found that a staff member opened the area a few times when I needed it. Also, they started having the first night gathering at an outside venue like Tobacco Road. Sometimes I joined groups and we would'nt go to the lounge. In general I only used it for the gathering but found by night 3 or 4 not really going to them

This has been my experience also.  On my last Getaway cruise out of NOLA, we met the first night in the Cavern Club (or whatever that venue is named now...it has changed at least 3 times).  We had a pretty good solo director, lots of energy, but after that night I didn't go to any of the gatherings.  It seems like most people find a niche group in the first day or two and do their own things.

[debenson0723]

2 hours ago, eigig said:

Hi Everyone

I have a question for anyone who has sailed solo in a NON studio room on an NCL ship that has studio rooms.  My question is about access to the studio lounge for the meet up and to sign up for group dinners etc.

 

I have sailed on Epic twice (about 5-6 years ago) from Barcelona. The first time I booked a studio cabin and we had a great solo director who really went out of her way to get everyone together.  I had a wonderful time as a solo cruiser on that trip. 

The second time on the same cruise I booked a balcony for the extra room and was assured (pre cruise) that I could have my cruise card "keyed" for studio lounge access. When I got onboard and tried to do this I was told that was not possible BUT I could still join the solo group for dinners etc. and I should just knock on the lounge door and get let in and then add my name to the whiteboard.

 

Needless to say, this did not work well. I felt like an intruder and hated explaining myself to people to gain access. I can see the wisdom of this though. The studio costs more than some inside rooms with the single supplement tacked on but the perk is the lounge access and meet up. 

 

I rarely signed up for dinners the second time and found it a bit lonely and I am an experienced solo traveller (woman 60's in age at the time).  

Any related experiences?

 

Hi @egigi. Great question!  I have heard the decision on whether to allow solo travelers who are not staying in the studio cabins to have their card re-keyed for lounge access is made on a ship by ship basis by the Hotel Director (now called General Manager).  I have not had any personal experience with this but have been told several times so it may be true.

Like you I have lots of solo travel experience, both on shore and at sea.  Might I make a suggestion for your next cruise?  I have found that if you join the Roll Call prior to your sailing (there are also usually groups on FB for each cruise, which get lots of traffic) you will typically find many solo cruisers that you can actually 'meet' before getting onboard (and sort of like this thread has become...I would love to cruise with @coastcat, @HowardK and @farmersfight).  From these forums I have made plans for dinner, shows and excursions prior to getting on the ship. A couple of times I have planned embarkation lunches for small groups of maybe 16-20 solos so we can meet first thing and form friendships.  You are not going to get along with everyone but will probably meet one or two travelers to spend time with if you want.  And you will see some familiar faces around the ship to greet.

I have been on 2 cruises where I didn't participate in any Roll Calls or FB groups prior to boarding and I did spend lots of time on my own.  It does get lonely but I still got to visit amazing places, relax, reflect and recharge.  Sometimes it might be just the thing we need, even though we don't know it.  Hope this helps a bit.

[farmersfight]

2 hours ago, debenson0723 said:

And yes, I believe the Oasis class did have a couple of studio cabins at one point but they were more of an afterthought.  I believe they got rid of them during a dry dock.

 

This peaked my interest (again) on whether RCL's Oasis-class ships have studio staterooms. With the help of my friend, Mr. Google. here is what I found;

 

"The only Oasis-class ship in the Royal Caribbean fleet to have single-occupancy cabins is Harmony of the Seas. Fifteen cabins, a mix of inside and ocean-view rooms, are available; they're smaller than what you'll find on the Quantum-class ships, starting at just 96 square feet in size."

 

I thought (and previously posted) that all of the Oasis-class ships had studio staterooms. Turns out, only the Harmony OTS does. I was right about having both studio insides & OVs, only just on this one ship.

 

Interesting that the Harmony OTS's studio staterooms are only 96 square ft in size (smaller than the Quantum-class ships studio staterooms that range from 101 to 119 square ft). I didn't think it possible but RCL managed to make their studio staterooms on the Harmony OTS even smaller than NCL's studio staterooms which are 99 square ft (and I thought that was tiny!).

 

[farmersfight]

2 hours ago, debenson0723 said:

I have found that if you join the Roll Call prior to your sailing (there are also usually groups on FB for each cruise, which get lots of traffic) you will typically find many solo cruisers that you can actually 'meet' before getting onboard (and sort of like this thread has become...I would love to cruise with @coastcat, @HowardK and @farmersfight).

 

I have already joined the Roll Calls for my 3 booked cruises. Hope to meet some other solos. These Roll Calls didn't seem very active (yet).

Thanks for saying that you'd love to cruise with me (& @HowardK. @coastcat). The feeling is definitely mutual and who knows, maybe we'll make it happen some day! We'd have our own solo group on board, right off the bat!

Edited November 28, 2020 by farmersfight

[debenson0723]

39 minutes ago, farmersfight said:

 

This peaked my interest (again) on whether RCL's Oasis-class ships have studio staterooms. With the help of my friend, Mr. Google. here is what I found;

 

"The only Oasis-class ship in the Royal Caribbean fleet to have single-occupancy cabins is Harmony of the Seas. Fifteen cabins, a mix of inside and ocean-view rooms, are available; they're smaller than what you'll find on the Quantum-class ships, starting at just 96 square feet in size."

 

I thought (and previously posted) that all of the Oasis-class ships had studio staterooms. Turns out, only the Harmony OTS does. I was right about having both studio insides & OVs, only just on this one ship.

 

Interesting that the Harmony OTS's studio staterooms are only 96 square ft in size (smaller than the Quantum-class ships studio staterooms that range from 101 to 119 square ft). I didn't think it possible but RCL managed to make their studio staterooms on the Harmony OTS even smaller than NCL's studio staterooms which are 99 square ft (and I thought that was tiny!).

 

I stand corrected.  It's funny...when I think of Oasis class, I only thing of Allure and Oasis, the 2 original ships (I think).  I forget that there are others in this class as I have only priced out those 2 and then I moved on to NCL, which is where I have stayed. Thanks for the info!

[farmersfight]

17 minutes ago, debenson0723 said:

It's funny...when I think of Oasis class, I only thing of Allure and Oasis, the 2 original ships (I think).  I forget that there are others in this class

 

Yeah, Oasis OTS was the 1st, Allure OTS the 2nd, Harmony OTS the 3rd & Symphony OTS the 4th (newest). Symphony OTS is purposefully built a little larger than her already behemoth sisters, so she gained the title of the largest cruise ship in the world; 228, 081 GT. Harmony OTS is 227,000 GT, Allure OTS & Oasis OTS are both 225, 282 GT.

 

To give you an idea of exactly how behemoth these Oasis-class ships are, compare them to the new Mardi Gras (Carnival) which is "only" 180,000 GT.

[debenson0723]

3 hours ago, farmersfight said:

I have already joined the Roll Calls for my 3 booked cruises. Hope to meet some other solos. These Roll Calls didn't seem very active (yet).

 

It is too early for much activity on the Roll Calls yet, especially with the uncertain future of cruising from the US.  But I have heard from friends who have sailed RCL that their roll calls are not very active overall.  I know that was the experience with my Carnival cruise. Our Roll Call was about 3-4 pages long and no one was really that interested in doing things together (only a couple of solo cruisers on board).  I did meet 2 solos once on board but didn't click with either one of them.  Compare that with a hundreds of pages long roll call for my NCL cruises and it's quite a difference.  But if you take the lead, plan a few meet ups and activities, then it could build some excitement for the group and be a success.  It won't matter what type of cabin you have because you will be so busy having fun, you'll never be there! 🙂

[coastcat]

8 hours ago, farmersfight said:

Interesting that the Harmony OTS's studio staterooms are only 96 square ft in size (smaller than the Quantum-class ships studio staterooms that range from 101 to 119 square ft). I didn't think it possible but RCL managed to make their studio staterooms on the Harmony OTS even smaller than NCL's studio staterooms which are 99 square ft (and I thought that was tiny!).

 

 

Ah ha, I knew I had seen the RCL Studio Interiors somewhere... but not on Oasis-class. There are four on each Quantum-class ship! Each ship has four 3-cabin clusters that share a short corridor and are intended for family groups: a quad-occupancy balcony, a junior suite, and an interior studio (which I think has a virtual balcony). I'm thinking that booking the Studio Interior on your own could be awkward since you do share that little corridor.

 

I don't mind a tiny cabin. "Cozy" is fine. It helps that the main bedroom in our house is quite tiny - just 10'x13'. A Studio Interior isn't much smaller and I wouldn't be sharing it with a husband and multiple cats! Maybe that's why I enjoy cruising solo: all that space, even if it isn't huge, is all mine...

 

And hey, I'm up for a group cruise! I vote for NCL Escape, but honestly, any ship going somewhere warm sounds lovely right about now.

Edited November 29, 2020 by coastcat

[farmersfight]

6 hours ago, coastcat said:

Ah ha, I knew I had seen the RCL Studio Interiors somewhere... but not on Oasis-class.

 

Also, Harmony OTS has studio OV's as well (I think these may be the only studio OV's in the industry).

 

6 hours ago, coastcat said:

There are four on each Quantum-class ship! Each ship has four 3-cabin clusters that share a short corridor and are intended for family groups: a quad-occupancy balcony, a junior suite, and an interior studio (which I think has a virtual balcony).

 

Maybe I was mistaken but somewhere I picked up that the Quantum-class ships had 16 studio interior cabins (in addition to the 12 studio balcony cabins), not just 4. I'll have to search for and look at the deck plans for one of the Quantum-class ships.

 

6 hours ago, coastcat said:

A Studio Interior isn't much smaller and I wouldn't be sharing it with a husband and multiple cats!

 

And you wouldn't have to deal with all the cat hair! And, husband hair? Not to insinuate that your husband is hairy or anything (I know, too personal. Apologize.).

 

6 hours ago, coastcat said:

And hey, I'm up for a group cruise! I vote for NCL Escape, but honestly, any ship going somewhere warm sounds lovely right about now.

 

That'd be great! However, I want to get a regular balcony cabin with a solo supplement discount. I steadfastly refuse to be "stuffed" into one of NCL's 99 sq ft studio cabins (even if fitted with a virtual window/balcony). Plus, as I've mentioned before, "gotta have me a balcony" (even being solo). On the other hand, exclusive access to NCL's studio lounge does sound tempting...

[HowardK]

I might do the Escape a 3rd time NYC to Canada/NE but its not until 9/17/23- it is a great ship. Howl at the Moon, Spice H2o, The District among other things.