SquishTheWhale

I love Malaga,I think it's a bit of a hidden gem! Am a fan of any port you can just get off and wander around.

Really interested to hear your opinion of One Sky, I've booked it but only heard negative opinions (not that I've heard many!)

On a side note, the MVP of food in Hollywood Studios is the brisket sandwich and tomato soup at Woodys Lunchbox, even if Woodys Lunchbox does sound faintly rude

They also used to do an amazing key lime pie on a stick in the incredibles area but I'm fairly sure that's gone.

Enjoy your day in port!

I have Cats booked for our cruise (less than 2 weeks!) But I'm in 2 minds about going- based on what you say ill give it a shot! On the one hand its a very nostalgic show to me- I had this Lloyd Webber greatest hits cassette I'd play on repeat as a kid so I love some of the songs. Its the very first musical my parents took me to in London. On the other hand the show overall and lack of plot just doesn't float my boat. Wondering if my 4yr old will find it entertaining- did you see many kids? Although I'm guessing kids are thin on the ground with it being a TA!

Thank you for the blog so far! We are on Oasis in less then 3 weeks out of Barcelona so I'm glad you're bringing her across safely for us 🙂

May in Italy and Spain is generally lovely. Expect sunny days but not overpowering heat. I'd pack summer clothes with a light rain jacket in case of a shower.

We are on the Oasis on the 12th May!

Our cruise is in 3 weeks. I sent a dining request a few days ago with the sail date, ship and booking ref in the subject line and just received an auto response saying all emails should include the above. Is that the only response I should expect?

8 hours ago, Mimiya11 said:

Sailing out of Rome, but from what I read, a second batch of passengers will be boarding in Barcelona

 

Thanks for the information!    

 

Rome is day 5 on that schedule so you can work it out from there, assuming it stays at similar times all season!

Are you sailing out of Barcelona?

Our times for May cruise out of Barca on Oasis are as follows:

Day 1: Frozen in time (FIT) 8pm

Adult comedy (AC) 9pm

One Sky (OS) 9.15pm

FIT 10pm

AC 11pm

Day 2: AC 7pm

Aqua 80 (A80) 9pm

AC 9.30pm

A80 11pm

AC 11.30pm

Day 3: AC 9pm

A80 9pm

A80 11pm

Ac 11.30pm

Day 4:

OS 8.30pm

AC 9pm

OS 10.30pm

AC 11.30pm

Day 5:

FIT 7pm

A80 8pm

FIT 9pm

A80 10pm

Day 6:

FIT 7pm

AC 7.30pm

Cats 8.30pm

FIT 9pm

AC 9.30pm

AC 11pm

Day 7

Cats 2pm

Cats 7pm

1 hour ago, T-2 said:

The 'rides' vary with what is offered on each ship, some have zip lines, flow riders, dry slide, some have the bumper cars and iFly and North Star, they were out on the Ovation in Alaska capturing any of those ride moments that people wanted, sometimes its a photo spot you might not even think of using- onshore or onship- you're not committed to anything, you pick which ones you want and can attach 'Likes' on the ones you want to most keep in mind, and then chose 'favorites' to more quickly track, you turn in your order on the last evening... it's an amazing process and a lot of fun. We didn't do any at the table because we like the 'activity ones' more than dining- but we had heard that the specialty restaurants are not included but that the main dining is - but we didn't actually have any like that taken so thankfully others were more experienced. We also quickly spotted the most talented photographers and watched for them about the ship, portside and ashore CoCo Cay, if we get Labadee again some of our best photos are from there. 

If you have purchased a photo package will the app automatically recognise this when you select photos?

Do you mean the photo package where you buy 10/20 etc photos? As opposed to booking some kind of special photo shoot.

If just talking about the normal package, you don't get a special photographer who follows you around. Photo stations are set up most nights in various places and you go queue to get a photo. The photos are allocated to your cabin number.

On previous cruises I've done they also have photographers stationed outside the ship in port but not sure if they still do this. Also roaming photographers in the dining rooms.

If you book a dedicated photo shoot then I'm not sure how this works but I imagine you arrange a specific time and place with the photo team on board.

A few years ago we did one that was themed around baking. We made macarons in various flavours and madelines. Had a plate of both to take away.

1 hour ago, chodnett said:

Tons. And very low wait times for the popular spots if you get there right at setup (4:30ish).

Great thanks. We bought the 20 photo package so was hoping we'd be able to get lots to choose from. Persuading the 4yr old to pose in them is another matter.

Was there lots of photographers around the ship? I've bought a photo package and hoping to get some nice family photos!

We are on Oasis in May and entertainment reservations opened way before the '1st of the month prior to sailing' rule. It was around 90 days before. So keep checking every day.

I'm on an Oasis cruise in May. Some people on our sailing received an invite to bid around 90 days out. I got one around 40 days out. Someone else hasn't received one at all and there's no difference in how we booked (both in the UK, both direct with RC). Seems random. Or maybe they send offers to those who they are keen to move out of a certain cabin grade.

We are 32 days out and nobody (on the FB group) has had an offer accepted.

It's available on our Spain cruise on Oasis and has been on the planner a couple of months. I assumed you could stay on until mid afternoon not only 11am!

14 hours ago, euro cruiser said:

I think that the biggest ships, like Oasis, all use berth #25 at Civitavecchia, which means you either take the free port shuttle to Largo della Pace or the 6 euro Port Mobility shuttle directly to the train station.  Largo della Pace is an easy walk of about 1.4 km/nine-tenths of a mile to/from the train station.  You could also pay for a local bus but by the time you find a place to buy the bus ticket and wait for the bus, you might as well just walk.

 

If you want to make a google map the train station is located at Piazzale Scipione Matteuzzi, 00053 Civitavecchia RM, Italy.    The Largo della Pace shuttle bus depot is just of Via Prato del Turco, 42°05'50.3"N 11°47'19.7"E on a google map.

Thank you that's so helpful. I think I was getting confused with all the different accounts of where the shuttles pick up from and go.

I don't know if you have a direct experience of that route but would you say an hour is sufficient to give us time to find the train etc?

1 hour ago, euro cruiser said:

If you're taking a regional train there's no need, and no point, to booking ahead, just buy a ticket for the next departing train when you get to the station.  Or, better yet, buy the BIRG ticket at the station.  It's a different story for IC or Frecce trains.

We've booked a Frecce train as its faster and you have a guaranteed seat, it was pretty much the same cost as the local service. Having a booked seat is something I value with a little one in tow!

We are on Oasis OTS in May for a port stop and I'm finding it so confusing on how to get to the train station. I'm hoping it becomes obvious on the day.

If we give ourselves an hour from leaving our cabin to our booked train at Civitavecchia is that sufficient to navigate the various shuttles and walking? With a toddler in a stroller?

On 3/19/2024 at 12:16 AM, irun5k said:

I think the ultimate cruise dream for many is a sailing where you can stroll in to a restaurant any time you like, on any night, and with no reservation, and at worst experience a minor delay.  Annoying realities like logistics and statistics seem to block the implementation of such a thing, at least on the mass market cruise lines with mega ships (I've never been on Norwegian though so I can't comment on their "freestyle dining")

 

NCL freestyle dining works exactly like this. We never waited to get a table and arrived whenever we felt like it with no reservations.

2 hours ago, twangster said:

 

Typically at the Starbucks on board is where I've always seen them.

 

The "Been There" product line has been a Starbucks thing for a while now.  I have a few from land destinations I've travelled to.  

Thanks! We have all the Disneyworld Been There's so would love to get an Oasis one.

Different ship, but where do they sell these? In the gift shop or in Starbucks on board? I so want an Oasis one to go with my collection!

I'm in the UK so if you aren't keen on using a US agent here's some info regarding my May 2024 booking on Oasis- not a transatlantic though.

We booked 19 months in advance and since then have only seen the price go up and up and up.

Now we're under final payment date I just went on to check prices to see if there's any reduction based on what people in this thread are saying.

We paid- £1650ish in an ultra spacious interior for 2 adults 1 kid

Price now at 69 days out- £5800

However that's an unfair comparison as it's an odd cabin category and there's only 1 left so it's skewing prices.

Price now in a standard interior: £2940

So my only conclusion is to book early early early.

53 minutes ago, perfect match said:

What’s even stranger is that as Inwas logging in to start doing my bookings for May 3 it looked at first like they were open, then all of a sudden the image on my screen switched to say that entertainment bookings were not open yet. I thought at the time it was just the page switching from the April 29 cruise switching to the May 3 cruise. 🤷‍♀️ I’ll keep checking. I’m sure they will show up eventually.. 

They only show up on the app for us- if you go on the website it says they aren't open yet!

25 minutes ago, perfect match said:

Thanks for the reminder. I’ve been busy all weekend and almost didn’t look.

 

i was able to book shows for the first leg of our Allure B2B that boards April 29, but not the second leg that boards May 3.I like to book things in advance so once we’re on board I don’t have to think about anything but enjoying our cruise.

 

I hope they’re not going to keep me waiting too much longer to book our entertainment for the May 3 sailing. 

Our Oasis one is 12th may so weird ours is open and yours isn't.

8 hours ago, leaveitallbehind said:

Again, that might be a UK policy.  

It's not- the majority of the people on the social networking group for this page are US and it's open to all.

Could be to do with it being a European sailing though?