Anything special done on an Inaugural sailing?

[divaofdisney]

Hello All!! was just wondering if they do anything special for an inaugural sailing?? I am on the Oasis sailing and was just wondering what to expect. So, for any of you that have ever been on one, would love to know what your experience was like. I wonder if the big wigs will be onboard....like Adam Goldstein or Richard Fain??

[waterbug123]

Hello All!! was just wondering if they do anything special for an inaugural sailing?? I am on the Oasis sailing and was just wondering what to expect. So, for any of you that have ever been on one, would love to know what your experience was like. I wonder if the big wigs will be onboard....like Adam Goldstein or Richard Fain??

 

Glad you asked; I've been wondering the same thing myself. We're on the inaugural sailings for both Oasis and Allure, but I'm guessing Allure won't garner quite as much hype as Oasis.

[divaofdisney]

Please come over waterbug to our roll call to join us--for the inaugural!

[Maxiecat3]

I and my children were on the inaugural Liberty OTS cruise in 2007. It, like the Allure, was the second in the Freedom class series so I can't speak what they might do for the very first inaugural cruise of a new style ship. In regards to the Liberty, we received a different item each evening in our room. A few that I remember are: a photo of the ship with a certificate thanking for sailing on the inaugural,; tote bags; and on the last night a copy of the DVD of that week's cruise (Cruise in Review?). This was our 3rd cruise with RCI and a few things I did notice that were slightly different than our previous 2 were they didn't seem as organized, especially the wait staff. This didn't negatively affect the cruise but I think the new crew just takes some time to work together before they are able work smoothly.

 

Gregg

[nanner10]

We sailed on the inaugural Freedom cruise and many people were disappointed that there was little fanfare. We were given a glass of sparkling wine upon boarding and a certificate that we were on the inaugural sailing. I don't recall receiving anything else.

 

For some reason I was really expecting something special at sailaway and I remember standing on Deck 12 all the way forward with this huge smile on my face ... waiting ...waiting ...waiting...NOTHING! I felt like a kid a Christmas who comes downstairs to find no gifts under the tree. In the scheme of life it really was not a big deal, but what can I say for a few minutes there I really was disappointed. We had a great cruise though and we were thankful we did it.

 

The subject came up at the Captains Corner discussion and the Captain said they have received many comments during the week from passengers about their disappointment. He said it was a lesson learned and that they would look in to doing it differently on future inaugurals.

 

From what I have heard, and also what Maxiecat3 posted here, they did make some changes. We are booked on the 12/5 inaugural so we will see for ourselves then!

 

Hoopla or not, 5 night Labadee pre-sailing or not, we are excited to be going!

[divaofdisney]

thanks so much nanner10 for all the information. yes, it is all very exciting and I am just so happy to be able to do this inaugural- my first one!

[caribbeanboy]

I was on the inaugural of the Ruby Princess and nothing extra was done. They had some amazing entertainment though that week.

[Legalneen]

I and my children were on the inaugural Liberty OTS cruise in 2007. It, like the Allure, was the second in the Freedom class series so I can't speak what they might do for the very first inaugural cruise of a new style ship. In regards to the Liberty, we received a different item each evening in our room. A few that I remember are: a photo of the ship with a certificate thanking for sailing on the inaugural,; tote bags; and on the last night a copy of the DVD of that week's cruise (Cruise in Review?). This was our 3rd cruise with RCI and a few things I did notice that were slightly different than our previous 2 were they didn't seem as organized, especially the wait staff. This didn't negatively affect the cruise but I think the new crew just takes some time to work together before they are able work smoothly.

 

Gregg

 

We had the same type of gifts each evening on the Independence of the Seas inaugural sailing. Framed certificate and photo of ship; baseball caps; tote bags; free bingo tickets (the main prize I believe was a trip on the Oasis inaugural - I didn't win!) and the Cruise Review on DVD. There was something each evening in our stateroom. This was our first cruise so we had nothing to compare it with but we found the whole 4 nights wonderful. I think extra effort was put in by all the staff.

 

There had been a few "pre" inaugural sailings so I think they were all fireworked out by the time we set sail so our sailaway, although exciting for us, didn't seem anything extra special.

 

I'm sure you will have a fabulous time!

 

Nina

:)