PhillyFan33579

I am not sure I understand your question. On every Oasis class ship you can go to either the Starboard or Port side from the aft elevators.

If you think it takes awhile to go from Diamond to Diamond Plus, just wait until you are Diamond Plus trying to reach Pinnacle. The biggest change in my book is RCI no longer requires an in person safety/muster briefing. All you have to do is watch two videos on the RCI app and check-in at your muster station, which literally takes 20 seconds,

I have been lucky over a dozen times over the last two plus years.

I haven’t done a B2B since Wonder early last year. Once we were walked off the ship and walked back on maybe 10 minutes later, we were told we wouldn’t have access to our cabins until they announced cabins were ready for everyone. Not a big deal in my book.

Edge has a really nice two deck walking/jogging track. I walk at least 2-3 miles everyday when cruising and the track on Edge class ships is by far my favorite track for walking.

I would not consider it an upgrade. We stayed in an Infinity Balcony on Icon a few months ago and didn’t like it. To us it felt like an Oceanview cabin with a window you could open. We prefer an Oceanview Balcony where you have your own small outdoor space. Having said that, it you are someone who doesn’t use the balcony often during a cruise and you don’t mind missing the traditional balcony experience, the extra inside space an Infinity Balcony offers can be a big plus.

Lots of good points in your comment. The one thing I don’t understand is your “keep the parent brand as profitable as possible”. RCI and Celebrity are sister cruise lines. I think both cruise lines are focused on generating as much revenue as possible. The parent company, Royal Caribbean Group, is obviously focused on the success of both cruse lines and likely has a wider strategic vision for both cruise lines, but the individual cruise lines (RCI and Celebrity) are likely not too concerned with what is going on at another cruise line, even if it is a sister cruise line.

I would be very surprised if RCI built more than 3-4 smaller ships if/when they build a new smaller ship class. One thing I have consistently heard at luncheons with officers is the ROI is significantly higher with larger ships. Initially I was surprised when RCI announced they were building a seventh Oasis class ship, but it is definitely in line with what I have heard from countless senior officers on RCI ships. It seems every time I hear Michael Bayley speak, he talks about RCi’s focus on families. To me that means RCI’s main focus in the future is going to be on larger ships, not smaller ones.

You can apply the trade in value to a cruise you previously booked (you don’t have to book a new cruise to use the trade in value).

From my experience you can only apply the trade in value for a booked cruise (which obviously was not a casino booked cruise).

That was one of my biggest complaints when I was on Icon; it was difficult to find chairs in the sun, even earlier in the morning. There were plenty of chairs available in shaded areas around the ship, but in the sun was a different story. I was on Icon in February, so maybe it is getting better this time of the year with the sun higher in the sky.

Just a guess, but if/when RCI announces a new “smaller” class of ship, it will likely be significantly larger than what a lot of people are expecting size wise.

You assume there is actually a Discovery class ship, which I would bet a lot of money that there won’t be a ship class called Discovery.

I agree with this comment 100 percent. Even Celebrity doesn’t have adults only ships.

I enjoy the older crowd with very few kids on Celebrity ships (just got off Apex today). The one big thing I miss is the 5 free Diamond Plus drinks. I rarely buy the deluxe drink package on RCI but I always buy the Premium Drink Package on Celebrity. Just this issue alone can make a cruise on Celebrity significantly more expensive, although the price difference between RCI and Celebrity is rapidly shrinking.