zymurgy1999

We were on last week in the Haven.  Food Republic was 50% off for Haven guests on the first night for dinner.  American Diner was free for lunch on embarkation day as well, only for Haven Guests.  Haven restaurant is an excellent place to have meals to get away from the crowds.  Though the menu does not change there is plenty there to try so that you are not eating the same thing every day for every meal.

16 hours ago, jmele999 said:

Can you please elaborate, if possible, on how you were able to upgrade the drink package for only one person in the cabin?

 

I thought that I had posted previously that I was booked in one room with my 14 year old and my wife was booked in another room with our other two children, so I was able to upgrade just the one pacakge.

14 hours ago, Jim The Lizard said:

Did you like it?   We have Priority Access, and are Vibe cruisers on our past six NCL cruises.   This ship has many similarities to Escape and Bliss, but we won’t set foot in Galaxy Pavilion, Laser Tag, or Racetrack.  We will enjoy the shows, food, Vibe, and bars.   That’s why we cruise NCL.  This ship obviously changed focus with so much emphasis on VR and larger racetrack.   Did it go too far??

We had not traveled on this class of ship yet, so a lot of it was new to us.  My kids did the VR.  I bought an hour pass for them and after 30 minutes they were bored.  It was never busy and half of the games were not working when we were there.  I cannot see that section succeeding in the long run.  We did not do the laser tag and cannot speak to whether or not it was busy or not.  I did hear that the race track was very busy.  You had to make a reservation.  They would tell you to show up 30 minutes before your time and it was still an hour plus wait after you showed up.  We did not do the race track.  By the time we decided we wanted to give it a shot we were told that it was sold out.

Just got back.  I always try and give back as I do use a lot of the information that others post on these message boards.  If you have any questions please let me know.

We were in the Haven on the Encore last week.  We were also in the Haven on the Getaway in June.  I did not see any significant difference between the two.

Just now, wallaceralphl said:

I like your style

Thanks.  

Just now, Liljo22 said:

Since they require the second person in the room to have the UBP, its assumed the second drink is for that person.  

That is a good point, but because we are a family of 5 we book ourselves in two rooms, three in one and two in the other, then we move our two teenage boys into one and our 9  year old daughter into ours.  My wife does not get the package and it is certainly not our intention of skirting the rules on board.  They may have assumed and we would have been more than happy to pay for the drink if they asked.  They just never did and we never thought twice about it, however, you do bring up a good point that we had not though of.

Just now, dshefter said:

Premium just doesn't seem worth it. We enjoy wine, but just a glass at dinner. I love single-malt scotch and realize the choices aren't great on the UBP. But if I have to pay a few extra bucks for an expensive single-malt, so be it. Just doesn't justify paying that kind of extra money for the Premium package, especially if we purchase Vibe and do other "extra" things such as Laser Tag, Go-Karts and Virtual reality.

That is the point.  While many see this differently, we enjoy the cruise vacation as a family as it allows us to pick and choose what we spend our money on while we are on board.  We have had trips where we spent nothing above the cruise far (other than tips) and we have been on trips where we spent much, much more than that.  While we do our research before we get on board so that we know what our options will be, until we get on board we don't know what we will end up spending our money on, which is why I don't understand the criticism of the company for offering this as an add-on.  It is a strictly personal choice and that is the beauty of a cruise vacation, especially for families (we have three kids of varying ages).  For me the package is worth it, even if I get off after a week, do the math, and realize that I would have been better off going alacarte.  Doesn't matter to me, the experience of not having to worry about it is enough for me.

I had this package when we were in the Baltic in June.  I am leaving on the Encore on Sunday and I purchased it.  You can get two drinks each time you go to the bar (or Starbucks).  I know sharing is not allowed, but on the Getaway this summer I sat at the bar with my wife and ordered the premium beverages and the bartender had no issue sliding one to me and one to my wife.  When we sat at dinner with another couple, our friends, we ordered bottles of the premium wines and champagnes the waiters brought 4 glasses to the table without asking the others for their cards.  When I went to Starbucks and ordered two coffees and went to wait as they prepared them they slid one to me and one to my wife.  I don't know if this is protocol for the ship.  I certainly was not trying to take advantage or "share" an un-paid for package.

I am a bourbon drinker and they have Whistle Pig rye on board.  The bourbon on the regular package is not what I enjoy drinking.  Additionally, I enjoyed trying many of the premium liquors, things that I would never pay for shore-side, like Patron Anejo, Macallan Quest, Johnny Walker Platinum, Armagnac VSPO.  I would not have had that opportunity without the package.

Each day we had about 4-5 coffees at Starbucks (sometimes with 3-4 shots of espresso to liven the drink up), 3-4 of the "premium" liquors and a bottle or two of the premium wine/champagne at dinner.  We actually drank LESS, but had more high quality drinks.  Whether the math worked or not I cannot tell you, but what I can tell you that the overall experience was worth the upsell.  This is a personal experience and is different for everyone.  Looking forward to the different experience this time on the Caribbean where the trip is more of the ship experience over the port experience.

15 hours ago, aero777 said:

 

Sorry, we didn’t try ordering multiple appetizers when using the SDP. Pasta is definitely considered an entree. My wife ordered spaghetti and also the veal, we charged for the spaghetti (the cheaper of the two).
The big surprise was on the first visit they asked if we wanted to use our Latitudes voucher.

Curious, who told you it wasn’t included in the plan?

I thought that I read it somewhere here.  Also, I did not see it listed on the NCL site as included so assumed.  I guess we will board on Sunday and ask.  The issue now is that I am reading conflicting things from people on what is and isn't included, i.e., upcharges at certain restaurants just to sit down, upcharges on certain apps/sides/mains and limits on numbers of apps/sides/desserts that you can order at certain restaurants.  I am thoroughly confused now as people are being told one thing by the staff but others are actually having different experiences while on the ships.

Just now, aero777 said:

Yes, we did on the second visit.

I am going on the Encore on Sunday.  I was told that Onda was not included in the specialty dining plan, but if it is what are the menu limitations?  Is it the same as the other restaurants, unlimited apps and desserts and choice of one entree?

I had the dining package for the first time on the Getaway this summer.  We at at Cagney's, Teppanyaki and used the third day for the sushi bar.  We did not know that when using it at the sushi bar it was all you can eat.  Were told by the concierge. 

We will be on the Encore in a few weeks and wanted to know if someone could let us know what we are permitted to order at each of the restaurants, i.e., is it one app, one main and one dessert, or ayce if we eat using the dining package? 

Asking about:

Ocean Blue

Onda

Food Republic

Los Lobos

American Diner

Thanks in advance.

I was on the Getaway in the Baltic this summer.  For me it was 100% worth it.  I was able to get two of the largest size Starbucks coffee each morning, one for me and one for my wife (she was booked in a separate room since we are a family of 5) and another two in the afternoon or evening.  I am a bourbon drinker and I enjoyed drinking the top shelf bourbon and whiskey every day, maybe one or two per day.  At dinner we ordered one, or sometimes two, bottles of wine.  I would then enjoy a VSOP or two after dinner.  We also had bottles of sparkling water for dinner every night and had unlimited bottled water, that we took off of the ship at every port.  I must have been one of the only ones to have the package and/or one of the first that they have seen since they frequently had to verify that almost anything that they served on the ship in liquid form was included.  The bartenders got to know me and would just pour me drinks that I had not requested, thinking that I may like it.

I did not find myself trying to drink more to keep up with the package.  It had the opposite effect.  I felt as though I could have fewer high quality drinks per day, and get my daily Starbucks, instead of more low quality drinks to try and hit the daily amount that you need to hit to break even.  I enjoyed not having to look at the price on the menu to see if something that I really wanted to try was covered by my package.  I will be sailing on the Encore on the 24th and will definitely be upgrading.

Just now, shof515 said:

 

open to the whole ship just like the sister ships that have it 

Thank you.  We have just been on the Getaway (twice), so we are unfamiliar with this class of ship. 

Looks like a very cool space.  Does it get busy and are kids allowed in there, meaning is it an adult only space (we have three kids by the way, so not asking as an anti-kid cruiser)?

For me personally, the space that looks the most attractive is the Observation Lounge.  Looks like a very cool place to hang out and be away from the masses.  Can anyone confirm whether this will be open to the whole ship or if it will be restricted to guests in certain room categories (i.e., haven and suites).

So my odyssey is over with this issue. I explained to the folks on the phone that I was planning on staying on hold until my cruise left on June 11 until someone explained to me, with some logic, what is going on here. I sat at my desk for hours, both on hold and engaged in conversation with various people from Royal Caribbean. I had them on speaker and worked the whole time (I have a desk-type job that allows me to do this and still be productive). I explained that simple answers that were designed to get rid of me would not work and that by the end of the process it will have cost them more to pay their employees to deal with me on this issue than it would have to honor the discount that they advertised online.

First impression is that they are absolute experts in the avoidance of answering questions. They are either reading from a script or are so experienced in dealing with these kids of situations that it took hours and hours before they realized that they either needed to fake disconnect me or deal with the situation. Let me tell you that when we took our last Disney cruise I complained on board that the dining room servers were not doing a good job. The head of dining on the ship tracked me down at the pool after visiting my room several times and enlisting my room attendant to find me. They were so mortified that I had a poor experience the night before and offered me basically anything under the sun to make it up to us. I can say comfortably that Royal Caribbean has decided to take the diametric opposite side of the customer service spectrum.

Second, I am absolutely convinced that they were making stuff up as we went along. Their final answer to me on this was that the beverage prices that they are advertising on their site were only good through April 27th and that on April 28th the prices went up and that I could not rely upon those prices. I asked why they would have rounded up prices advertised, but that the price they were quoting me had cents in the equation they were unable to answer that. Then, when I asked when I had opened up the inquiry they told me that I had first called on April 25th, several days before the alleged price increase. After putting me on hold for another hour, again, hoping that I would hang up, they finally gave me an on board credit for the difference.

Never again RC. Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me.

I hear ya. This is our first time back with RC in a few years and I can't remember things being this bad before. I think some regular RC cruisers are just used to the way they do business so they don't get as irritated by it.

I went through the same drink package fiasco last week right after they announced the 20% off special offer and then RAISED THE PRICES.:mad:

No one would or could explain why and they'll say anything to just get you off the phone.

I would not hang up the phone on my 3rd call and after an hour and a half they gave me an OBC for the difference of what it should be and what was advertised.

Perseverance will pay off but unless they have a rock bottom sale I won't be back any time soon. Just too aggravating an experience all around.

Well, they just told me that prices have gone up, despite the fact that I have a screen shot from yesterday showing the premium package at $49/day as of yesterday. They then talked me through the math, that sounds like they backed out while I was on hold to try and justify the price. When I asked when the prices changed they told me that they change all of the time and that they do not know from their end. I am realizing that although I thought that I bought a used BMW that in reality, when peeling back the layers, I got a Pinto.

I will say that I am incredibly respectful to anyone who I speak with. I understand that they are employees and probably working off of a script, but that script is so clearly designed to ignore me and hope that I just give up and go away. It is like calling the cable company to let them know that you are switching to satellite. They ignore you and make it as difficult as possible so that you just give up at the end.

As I write this right now I got fed up and called back. I have now been on hold for 20 minutes. I am convinced that they have written something in my file that is causing them to treat me this way. It's like a Seinfeld episode, but not funny at all. How can any travel company treat their customers like this? The guy that put me on hold told me that there were a lot of people on hold and that he would check in with me every three minutes, that was 15 minutes ago.

I dislike this cruise line very much and I long for Disney. We made the switch to Royal Caribbean because the prices at Disney has become completely ludicrous. The customer service on Royal Caribbean is horrendous. They just don't seem to care. So for the last week all I wanted was a simple explanation as to why the advertised price for the Premium drink package is $49/day plus 18% gratuity for a total of $404.74 for the week ($57/day), but 20% off of that price is $388, not $323. This is not a big deal in the grand scheme of things, but it bothers me tremendously for an industry that is providing a vacation service.

In my last call with these people they just flat out refused to even explain the pricing. I explained that if the premium package is 20% off for a bottom line price of $388, as reflected in my shopping cart, then the full price for this package needs to be 485.00 ($69/day)! That is $59/day before the gratuity. That is the price of the Ultimate Package. I don't care if this is a mistake, typo, bait and switch, etc., I just want an explanation so that I can understand. This is one of the most highly regarded vacation company in the world, not a used car lot and that is what I feel as though I bought, a used car from a charlatan. These people have ruined my experience before I even get on the ship because I feel as though I will need to check my wallet throughout the trip for fear of being overcharged or ripped off in some way.

We were and always will be a Disney family and it has nothing to do with anything other than the superior customer service that they provide. They know how to make you feel good about your vacation and the money that you have spent. They never, ever let up and go so far beyond expectations that I am not sure if I have ever had a limit on my expectations. If I have any kind of negative experience before, during or after the trips we have been on they will immediately do something that makes me feel very satisfied that they actually care. This cruise line, thanks for your money, now don't bother me any more.

As I type this, I called Royal Caribbean 35 minutes ago to ask some questions. The person told me that my reservation was locked because I was in it. He told me to log out and that in 15-20 minutes he would be able to see the reservation and would call me back immediately. He asked me to please stay by my phone and expect a call in no more than 20 minutes. 35 minutes later and they have not called me back. I am sitting by the phone. Disney released a Florida resident rate for the same exact cruise date that we are sailing and if I were not travelling with my entire family, a group of 18, I would ask for a refund and pay the extra money to go on the Disney Fantasy. I plan on making everything that I can aware of this so that they are not tricked as I feel as though I have been.

So I was confused like everyone else. The 20% off popped up in my cruise planner. At the rack rate of $49/day plus 18% gratuity the price should be $57.82/day, or $404.74 for the week, but when I added it to my cart it was $389. I know that I am bad at math, but my calculator says that 20% off of $404.74 should be about $323. I called Royal Caribbean and am on the phone with them now. They apologized, but they claim that this is a mistake and should not have shown up in the cruise planner and that they would not honor he 20% off.

Does anyone have a suggestion on how to deal with this? I think that this is crap and am not happy with this company as this is the second time that they have screwed me on this cruise out of something that was advertised online, only to "book" something and to find out that it was a bait and switch.

Aha, I figured, but wanted to be sure. I am booked on June 11. I assume that I should check there to see if any discounts show up, or will I be notified by email of special discounts that are offered?

Where do you see the discount on the drink package?

Did you contact special needs prior to your cruise so they were aware of your wife's allergies? They would have told you who to speak to in the MDR. Typically, if someone has food allergies, they are shown the menu for the next night and choose what they want so it can be prepared just for them in the gluten free kitchen that is on ever ship.

 

If you didn't contact special needs, all you needed to do was speak to your head waiter so he could make sure your wife could order according to her needs.

 

Yes we did and it was in our reservation. They gave my wife a menu every night and told her to preorder. The problem was that she had two choices for apps, every night, shrimp (without the cocktail sauce for some reason) or salad. For a main meal it was gluten free pasta with tomato sauce out of a can (they would not prepare any special sauces for her) or steak with steamed veggies and a baked potato. She asked if they could bring her steak fries from the buffet but they said they would not allow any food from anywhere else in the ship into the MDR. For dessert it was some horrible cornmeal porridge with sugar. When she asked for a different dessert they brought her the same exact dessert the next night, but added cocoa powder so that it was "chocolate". I tasted it, it was horrible. 7 nights of the same food.

Although my review was long it was not intended to "bash" the Oasis in any way, other than the allergies issue that we had. I was just stating my opinion.

A couple of points:

(1) regarding cost, we are Florida residents and we typically cruise with Disney when they offer great rates that bring the cost of the cruise BELOW RC, so I have never had to make that call, however, I do feel, maybe wrongly, that more is included in Disney and that I could have easily bridged the gap in prices if I attempted to replicate what I received at no cost on Disney (bringing alcohol on Disney is one example, though I am not a heavy drinker);

(2) regarding family activities, a typical day with Disney would involve going to see a few characters (it was so bizarre seeing the characters on the Oasis walking around with no one caring or even stopping to take a picture), going to a game show like "Who Wants to Be A Mousekateer" or "Wonder Quest", which is tons of fun, going to see a first run movie like Guardians of the Galaxy (it opened the weekend that we were on the ship), going to watch a "Diaper Dash" where they get kids in diapers to race across the floor and then off to dinner. Then at night we would all go to the show and then they would go to the club until they wanted to leave.

(3) Pools, no comparison unless you factor in the Aquaduck, which our kids loved. Oasis' pools are far superior, but we have a pool at our house and swimming is not a novelty for our kids, so again, personal opinion comes into play here. One last point, we did hear of the 4 year old that drowned on the Oasis the day that we got off. Disney has lifeguards EVERYWHERE. I do not want to say that this kind of horrible accident could not happen anywhere, but it was always comforting to me the lifeguard at the top of a water slide, at the bottom of the water slide and another watching the kids in the pool.

Overall, I would have no problem getting back on this ship, however, my personal preference is that I feel much better on Disney.

I know that I rely upon these reviews so I am going to try to give back to the community by posting my opinion. Remember that this is my opinion and what is good or bad for myself and my family may not be the same for others.

I have 10-8-4 year olds. Being on 5 Disney cruises I can tell you that this cruise and the ones on Disney are almost different vacations altogether. They cannot be compared in an apples to apples comparison. My opinion of the Disney cruise is that there is a much stronger emphasis on the "family" dynamic with many, many more activities that are intended to be done as a family. If you want to go on a trip in which you enjoy doing family activities Disney has the clear advantage and it is not close. We spend a significant amount of time together as a family on the Disney cruises doing things together. The kids would want to spend more time with us doing these activities. The family would get together, go through the Navigator (aka the Compass) and decide what we would be doing together, what activities the kids wanted to do in the club and where we would meet for meals. I am a runner and I would wake up every morning at 6AM to make sure that I exercised before the kids got up just in case they wanted to do something during a period of time where I wanted to go run. The food, in my opinion, was significantly better and the shows were not even close. I thought that the shows on the Oasis were terrible and the kids refused to go after the second night, instead wanting to go to the club.

On Oasis I felt as though the family dynamic was less of an emphasis and there was more emphasis on the "individual", meaning there was a significant variety of activities, food choices, bars, etc. that should appeal to any taste, where on Disney it is pretty much Disney all day. On the Oasis there were no real "family" activities, rather there was the pool or the club. The kids usually opted for the club because we would read the Compass and the kids would see that there was nothing to do as a family. They did not use the florider at all, they went on the rock climbing once (it would not open until 2PM), they did not want to go ice skating and they did not really want to swim. They played mini golf a few times and did the zip line once or twice. Other than that there was nothing for them to do on this ship other than going to the club, which by the way, they enjoyed very much. I found myself spending a lot more time alone walking around, or with my wife (not a bad thing) in the adult area, whereas I spend virtually zero time in the adult areas on Disney ships because I am usually with the kids doing something, even later at night. We would go to the club at 12 to pick them up (it closes from 12-2), eat a meal with them, hang out together for a little while, and they would go back to the club from 2-5 because they were just not interested in doing anything else. I found myself staying up later and sleeping later because I had plenty of time to go to the gym or exercise at my own leisure (the gym is outstanding). I did not like the fact that the clubs close at 10PM and thereafter charge $7/hour. Another point about the kids club that I found astonishing was the size of the space. On a ship that size I cannot understand how they can dedicate effectively EQUAL square footage, or what appeared to be equal square footage, as there is on the Disney ships, even the older ones. It was shocking to me. I expected so much more from the clubs. Finally, I do not gamble so that was irrelevant to me.

Now, my 10 and 8 year olds enjoyed the club very much and the 10 year old gave me his honest opinion that he enjoyed himself tremendously on this trip, however, we went with a very large group (18 cousins) who we rarely see and he loved hanging out with his older cousins instead of his younger siblings. My 8 year old was torn. He liked the organized activities and shows on Disney more and was not happy that he could not spend more time doing family activities with everyone, but also enjoyed the club more than on Disney. They both liked the food much more on Disney. Good or bad, I swear that I did not see a chicken finger or bowl of mac n cheese for the whole trip. The 4 year old also loved the club, but asked if we could go on Disney next time.

Overall, I was personally very impressed with this ship. It never, ever felt crowded and all of the horror stories that I heard about were either non-existent on this ship or overblown completely. I never stood on line for anything, ever. I never felt as though I was overwhelmed with people. I was not impressed with the enthusiasm of the staff. While there were some great employees that we met on board who did an equal job to those that we met on Disney, overall I felt a general lack of enthusiasm of the staff. It appeared as though they were just trying to get through the trip instead of going above and beyond, which I think that Disney does.

A final though. My wife has food allergies. I was astounded at the apathetic attitude that the food server in all restaurants had to her issues. At times they appeared annoyed that they had to do more than what they normally do. They never offered to prepare special meals other than at dinner and would often make her wait 20-30 minutes to walk the buffet with her during breakfast and lunch, only to tell her that she could eat salad and nothing else. With 6000 people getting on and off that ship on a weekly basis I thought that it was safe to assume that they would be experts in this area. Instead that had virtually ZERO food options for her and never even tried to do anything special for her. On Disney they go well beyond what you can reasonably expect. The head server would run all over the ship trying to find out where my wife was eating for breakfast, lunch and dinner to make sure that a special meal was prepared. The head pastry chef found out about her issues and dedicated a special area in the kitchen to prepare just desserts for her. Every day he had a plate of fresh, delicious, desserts waiting in our room for her. The specialty restaurant on Disney (Palo) asked our head waiter what my wife typically ordered for dinner every night and what her preferences were and they had pre-cooked an entire meal for her based upon those preferences including a chocolate souffle, dairy free and gluten free!! They told us that they were expecting us. Amazing. This in and of itself would keep me away from Oasis in the future.

I hope that this review helps someone as these reviews have helped me in the past.