pinkrosesdeb

Our oldest and her husband loved Adventure also. They went early this year and said it was wonderful. I don't like to have to fly to cruise since we live in Florida so we have never chosen that one. But, good to know it is a great option.

She really does sparkle and impress and you will find surprises around every corner. Look for the periscopes on each floor ( I think that is what you would call them) we had fun trying to find all of them they have different pictures in them. The aqua show is fabulous. You can get breakfast at Johnny Rockets in the morning at no charge and don't miss the roast beef sandwich at Park Cafe. I remember the first time we walked into Central Park and heard crickets and frogs and saw the winding walkways surrounded by flowers and trees...amazing! We also really enjoyed the solarium cafe for a healthier alternative food spot. Fresh, clean food available right inside the solarium. I hope you love Royal as much as we do.

Scott 2.0, welcome to the Royal Caribbean board! You can usually find some really helpful information here. I get where you are coming from for sure. It is like the I phone, things change so quickly that the new one just bought will be obsolete next month. However, this Oasis class is so innovative and beautiful that I have to believe you will still be blown away by her. Make sure you go online and book as much as you can of shows that are really important to you before you board. It beats standing in line on board. It is amazing how quickly ships need to be refurbished but they serve thousands of people every week with no time off. I feel like Royal does an incredible job of keeping up with the wear and tear. Will you see some rust? Maybe. Will it affect your cruise? Please don't let it. You will be so busy you won't even care. It is a ship and gets used hard but handles it very well. Please enjoy every minute. We have done this class 3 times and there are still things that surprise us.

Oasis is not my favorite class but it is still an incredible ship that we would certainly pick again if the price is right. I am not excited about their small cabins but it has never caused us to have a bad time. Everyone should try them at least once before they say NEVER! I had lots of people on Celebrity tell us they would never try Royal because the promenade felt like a "mall" but they have never sailed with Royal. How do they know they don't like it? We enjoyed our Celebrity cruise very much but there shopping area is very hard to navigate at times because it is so close. I would not say I wouldn't sail Celebrity again because of that. Make the most of every cruise, find something to love instead of looking for the one thing you hate. We have had some really bad customer service on Royal and it upset me for awhile...but, I was on a cruise and I got over it, how can you stay mad on a cruise?!

The BOGO was offered to Diamond Plus a few years back and was for first night only since specialty restaurants are typically slow that night. I don't believe they would offer a BOGO for nights when they are typically fully booked.

Best meal we have ever had onboard was at Giovanni's on Freedom. Tuscan was pretty good also on Equinox.

Can you clarify this for me, please? The BOGO for diamond plus gives you the option of picking your restaurant as long as you use it first night. Is there a different BOGO offer online that is open to everyone?

Been to both Portofino's and Giovannis and we never went back to Portofino but went to Giovannis 4 times on our last Freedom cruise. Anxious to see new menu though. We loved the filet.

You have more options on timing with MTD, whereas TD you have 6 or 8 or whatever. With MTD, you can do 6:15, 7:30, whatever works for you but you DON'T have to make reservations. We never found people waiting more than 10 mins or so without and we were able to sit pretty much at the same table with the same staff every night if we liked them the first night.

I am surprised to say that we are happier with MTD! I was once a traditional dining only person but we tried MTD and loved it. Haven't done traditional in our last 5 or 6 cruises and I am pretty much a creature of habit, didn't think this old dog could learn many new tricks. I believe they both have their perks but MTD just suits us.

We are on Freedom on Jan 7th as well. No kids with us but we have never really found them to be that big of a problem. Our only issue one cruise was the doorbell for our GS was a "magnet" for 2 young girls who found it a lot of fun to ring it ALL THE TIME and run. Annoying at nap time but that's kids! What I found a little disturbing is that the girls were VERY young and all alone they couldn't have been more than 8 or 9 and were in our hallway at all hours, I would have been frantic if that had been my kids but to each their own and I guess the girls ended up just fine. Don't worry too much about it the Freedom is big and there are areas to get away from little annoyances. If you decide to go, join us on our roll call.

I was more concerned about whether you can choose a day besides 1st and 2nd night. We like to do a specialty later in the week. We really enjoyed that option with our diamond plus bogo they did not seem to have a problem with us booking a different night as long as we paid for it first night.

We were able to book on a different night as long as we reserved it on the FIRST night. Is that not still the case? Things change moment to moment but we were on Freedom and booked Chops first night and were then allowed to book Giovanni's for night 3.

Agree with 1320, we had that one on Mariner and it was incredible!

Our servers in the lounges always come around and ask if we want a "to go" cup for dinner. We have never asked but always been allowed to take them out.

That is the height of hurricane season so just be prepared for last minute changes. The cruiselines are pretty good about rerouting, you just can't be inflexible with your itinerary just in case. On the plus side, if you are willing to take the risk, prices tend to be lower. I would also think the southern route would be more susceptible to hurricanes at that time of year.

I definitely would pick Freedom also...in fact, we did for Jan. 2016! But, I am surprised that kids picked her. One of our favorites for sure and we love the itinerary. ENJOY!

For me, it would be Freedom for the balcony cabin which you have not experienced. We found Celebrity really quiet. We certainly did NOT find the buffet to be better in any way at all. We were on the Equinox for 10 days and it was a great cruise but there is something really special about a balcony cabin. One of our favorite things is breakfast on the balcony! I don't think you can go wrong with any of the 3 though.

We love the cabanas at Barefoot Beach too! One of our favorite days. Enjoy your GS! We really enjoyed the suite breakfast available in the morning in either Chops or Giovannis. I am not sure if Indy offers this. We also love Columella in the diamond lounge!

A cruise is what you make it. Go with a positive attitude and make it what you want it to be. It can be busy or relaxing according to your own choices. We loved Equinox. Wonderful crew, beautiful ship.

We love the wide open Promenade in the center of the larger ships. A great, fun place to people watch. Love the crews too, always smiling and helpful

GrayMaineCruiser, I think you will be happy with the GS. $900 is a lot for the extra space. You will have a table on your balcony that we have used easily for dining in our GS. And, you get all the same perks of the OS. There is, however, quite a bit of extra space in the OS. I remember our oldest daughter bringing friends in our OS and when they walked into the bathroom their comment was "this is bigger than our room!". Only you know if all the extra space and the dining room table are worth it to you. Enjoy your cruise either way.

We love FREEDOM but if you haven't tried Oasis class...I think it is worth it and your kids would go crazy for it. My girls are grown and still prefer Oasis class because of all it offers. For me, it is too much because it makes me feel A.D.D. like I need to be doing something all the time. Just remember, the cabins are smaller on Oasis class but if you are doing 2 rooms you should be fine. I don't think you can go wrong with either ship though and we love the 8 day including St. Kitts. Have fun choosing and then ENJOY YOUR CRUISE! Don't second guess your choice.

Or, you could pay $5000 for a suite just to get the chocolate!? Just kidding but suites do still get the chocolate or at least we did a couple cruises ago. I know that is subject to change also. Things change but we still love to cruise...chocolate or not!

As big as these ships are, I have to say they have the BEST boarding procedures. We have always had an easy time on Oasis or Allure. They are super organized and we have done several different arrival times.