pinkrosesdeb

Oasis class has some of the smallest cabins available. Did you at least check to see if a JS is available or is that just too expensive? My daughter and I sailed in a D1 and found it incredibly close. I guess if you can laugh at the situation you can make anything work. Enjoy your cruise!

I thought once you were in international waters U.S. rules no longer applied? Has that changed? Our kids are adults now so it doesn't affect us but I would suggest buying the bucket of beer up by the pool and enjoying them on the privacy of your balcony. I got married at 19 and wasn't supposed to drink at my wedding either but I did!

I totally agree about the tutti salad. We really enjoy MDR for lunch too. Wish it was open for embarkation lunch. I guess I am having senior moments...I meant promenade cafe would be open for lunch. I am diamond plus but sometimes can't remember 5 mins ago!

Maybe it is only the Oasis class that is open on embarkation. Also, on that class the concierge lounge serves lunch which is really nice. I think on the smaller ships you will be dining either in Windjammer or Sorrento's then. I really don't remember being able to use Chops for suite dining until breakfast next day. It is a nice perk though.

If there is a Giovanni's you can usually do lunch there for a fee. It is quiet and relaxing way to start the cruise. My mind has totally forgotten if there is one on Navigator, sorry.

I would book reservations for just the 2 of you and add the kids last minute. We have never had a problem adding people to our table. We are Diamond Plus and get a BOGO on the first night. I always book 1 person and add others upon boarding. My daughter and her husband decided to join us last minute last cruise and it was no problem. I also believe you can cancel up to 24 hrs in advance. Hope this helps and hope you enjoy your cruise.

We have certainly never gone hungry on a cruise. Please go with an open mind. I am sure you will find something you like...if not love. Read some of the ohter threads that deal with dining room "favorites". It will give you a good idea on what people really enjoy.

Our last cruise on the Independence, they opened Chops for breakfast for the suites and it was great. Cooked to order breakfast in a beautiful setting with wonderful service. I hear the suites are bigger on NCL but have never tried them. It will be interesting to hear your opinion when you come back so please add your thoughts after your cruise. Hope you enjoy every minute. Deb

You do need to be careful on those "penny" slots though. You can bet $5 or more per pull if you have the settings wrong. Just check to see how much you are actually betting before you pull. My brother in law didn't understand why his $20 went so fast until we checked his bet, he played something like 50 lines at $.10 per line!

trainman, I thought you ate the gravy and biscuits every day on your cruise?

My dh and I tried the no MDR dining for a couple of cruises and enjoyed it. What I like in particular with Brilliance is the outside dining. We did not skip the dining room every night on Brilliance though because we were with a group of friends who wanted to do MDR. The great thing about the WJ is you can try many different things at your own pace. They usually have someone who comes around to check on you for drinks etc. We found it to be a very relaxing experience, and no worries about dressing up. We really enjoyed it after a day of sightseeing when we were just too tired to spend a longer time in the MDR. I think you will really enjoy the experience and so will your toddler. We usually do it several times on a cruise now as a switch off from MTD. Deb

We are doing Brilliance again in Nov and can't wait. I think you will be happy with your choice but I think you would have liked Explorer as well. Enjoy your cruise.

We enjoyed both ships. However, we had friends do Explorer a couple of weeks ago and they were not happy with the way the ship looked. I have no idea what they found so lacking but they said they were going back to Carnival...I can't imagine any RCCL cruise being bad enough to send me to Carnival but maybe it was just a bad sail date. I think you will enjoy either ship. As far as the "tiny cabins", we didn't find that on either ship. We find the smallest cabins on the Oasis class ships. I would go for price or itinerary and enjoy your trip!

We found that we met some really great friends at MTD. The tables are close together and we sat with the same group of people almost every night. We really enjoyed it, same waiter and staff also.

The bathrooms in the GS are quite a bit bigger we never had a problem with 2 of us in one. You will also have the makeup area near the bed. Also, we have used the shower in the ladie's or men's locker room which are great and really big. However, 5 is a GS...I can't imagine. For the person going on Allure is a GS...be warned that the GS on that class is a LOT smaller than other classes. I know someone mentioned that but it is really true. We had 4 of us, dh, myself and 2 grown daughters and it was still fun but incredibly close in that class! We thought it was more the size of a JS on other ships. If you are extremely close family I am sure you can make it work...you are on vacation after all and the GS is a "sweet" cabin. Just be prepared to be really close for that cruise. Whatever you do, you will have a great time. Make it an adventure and get creative with the space if you have to.

Thanks for the quick reply...I can always count on this board for answers.

Can you tell me if Brilliance has the BOGO for Diamond Plus on first night? Sorry, obviously, I am asking about in specialty restaurants. I see 20% discount but just wondering if this is available on shorter cruises.

Keeping an open mind on this one. I always thought we would hate MTD...I was wrong so maybe we will like this as well. Change can be a good thing too! And, I am an old fart also. It's a vacation and it's an adventure every time so bring it on.

When you leave a Freedom class ship you will probably feel a littlel more relaxed than on Oasis/Allure class. We never truly relaxed on Oasis or Allure and we have been 3x between them. I find the Freedom class to be the perfect size for us. I also much prefer the cabins on the Freedom class. The D-1 we had on Oasis was tiny!!! Also, the suites on the bigger ships are much smaller. The huge plus for us on the Oasis class is that amazing concierge lounge! It is beautiful and a great place for breakfast and lunch. However, on our last Oasis cruise Caroliina was the DL concierge and we loved her so much we never went to the CL. I think you will love the Freedom class if you just go realizing it will be a really different cruise but one with a lot to do, a beautiful ship and great service. Don't forget to come back and let us know how you would compare!

Even though the first couple nights were kind of a mess, we were able to get a table for 4 in the same area of the MTD dining room with the same waiter. Worked out well and we really enjoyed it. Have been doing MTD for the last 4 cruises and we were always sure we would hate the option! Live & learn.

We have done MTD a few times now. On Oasis was our most challenging. We were told after boarding that no early times would be available, that we should have reserved prior to sailing. I thought that was part of the whole MTD appeal so we were a little shocked. We went to the Diamond concierge (who was amazing, BTW!) and she set it up for us in just a couple of minutes. If you are sailing on Oasis class, you might consider holding the time you think you will want. Again, that seems a little against the whole idea of showing up when you want to but that is what we were told. We were glad to have access to the concierge. And, we tipped her well.

We had Diego on Brilliance so it will be hard for anyone to beat him but we look forward to meeting whoever is there in November.

WE had a grea, relaxing time there. Spent some time at the swim up bar, never ordered food though. Pool was great and so was the margarita glass jacuzzi. Walked off the ship, didn't cost us anything but the price of our drinks, great service, fun people.

We always drive in but I have to think this would be super risky. We did early carry off one cruise but customs was late arriving. We waited 45 mins to start the process and walked out after 8:30.

Yes it is open, we spent a few hours there in april