CruisinCons

Ok so my time dining is just specialty restaurants? If we want to eat in he MDR there are just two times? I did check and it just implied that we would be able to reserve the time we wanted in the main dining.

To eat in the MDR, you have two options: assigned time of early or late seating, or my time dining. My time you choose every day what time you want to go, sit where they put you and have different wait staff each night. You can request a specific area, but based on availability you may or may not get it. Assigned early or late you go at the designated time, sit at the same table each time, and have the same wait staff.

If you choose a specialty restaurant, then you pay extra and go there instead of the MDR. That is scheduled at whatever time you want, but is separate from the MDR.

Hope that helps.

I see lots of people mentioning here that they book their next cruise while on board; we've never done it, but have always seen lots of people in that area on every cruise we've taken.

How good is the price you get from them, that makes it worth it? I figure it's got to be pretty good if it's popular enough to have the designated area...but we seem to get such good prices thru our travel agent that haven't considered it. But if it's worth it, then maybe we should?

We're on Oasis in September, and having an empty nest as of August we are thinking about planning another cruise for February, before tax season hits and my life is miserable for two months. LOL

How easy is it to rent a car when you're coming off a cruise ship? Can you get rentals for the day only?

That's a tough one to call. While NJ & NY schools are still in session, many states get out in May. If you are looking to avoid kids, I'd do beginning of May.

We've been cruising with our kids since they were 2 & 4; we cruised mainly during the school year when we'd expect there to be less kids. More often than not we were surprised at how many European kids were on board.

Best time to avoid kids? The week after Labor Day. No one pulls their kids out of school in the first weeks. LOL

Just got a call from the upgrade fairy, changing us from an interior to a Junior Suite for our upcoming cruise on the Allure next month! They said another family was needing the cabin we were in because they were traveling with minors and they were adjoining rooms...anyway, huge score.

Congrats!

Hi Britney! I hope you remember us from your first cruise ;) I see you booked Oasis, you will love her! We are so hooked on Oasis class that we can't even think about other classes of ships. We just booked today for September 10, 2017 back in the Aquatheater Suite! (I need to change my signature since we changed ships and rooms) Port days are also good for shorter lines. I havent done the zip line yet but I plan on doing it this time! Have a great time and let us know what you thought!

 

Mary

We'll be on this sailing too; hope to see you at the Meet & Mingle!

Pretty much every single Jimmy Buffet song for me!!

Thanks for the feedback.

 

With regard to the charges for room service, it started on Quantum and every new ship has had it, including Harmony.

We noticed the over night charge on Quantum in March 2015, but nothing during the day. I'm on Oasis in September, who knows what they will charge by then. We don't usually use room service, but will make a point of looking for it.

Bayonne isn't the most fun to sail out of, we've done it a couple times. Once before the construction started, and once just after it started. Hoping by the time we sail out of there again they are done. Ha.

Very surprised on the charge for room service. A late night/overnight charge was institutetst got off Allure today; once she's rested I'm going to ask if she noticed the same thing.

We did that itinerary on the Quantum out of Bayonne in March 2015, and as previous posters have said, the indoor pool and all the indoor activities like the bumper cars, keeps the kids happy the first day when it's a bit chilly to be out at the pool. After a day at sea, you are far enough south that temps are not bad.

As for the ports, we have previously been to Port Canaveral so not interested in doing Kennedy Space Center again or spending the ridiculous prices for a one day at WDW or Universal. So we did a really super fun excursion that now 19 & 17 year olds still talk about. We went on an airboat in the Everglades. They had so much fun zipping around that they were telling their friends about it for weeks after we returned. Nassau, we didn't even get off the boat as we'd been there before as well. Perfect opportunity to get on the NorthStar with no lines, and hang in the pools with no chair hogs. We actually like staying on the ship when everyone else leaves.

My mother-in-law just got off today, had an amazing time. As die hard Celebrity cruisers, they went reluctantly with friends, and are so happy they did!

FYI..your sailing might offer the coffee card for $31. Check your cruise planner.

I wish the coffee card included the Starbucks coffees.

Becksmomma, I love my chai lattes too.

The radio system that Marine Traffic uses to track ships only works when the ships are within a certain distance of land stations. So "out of range" could very well be the current status.

I wish it was as simple as that, but they have been out of range for days; not on the map at all, and when I searched for it, it showed me the last reported position on 2-23 as outside of Jamaica. Then the blue icon disappears. I know the ship got to Labadee, as a periscoper scoped the ship sailing away. So the ship should have been last reported position as in Labadee. Strangely no one scoped on the day at sea.

Oh well, she's now reported as back in Port Everglades, at least I know my mother in law made it back to the US. I now wait for the phone call after they get to their car. I guess it doesn't matter now anyway. LOL

What's the price? Not yet available for my cruise, but it's not until September 10th. I am keeping an eye on my Cruise Planner for this very package.

 

Thanks for the heads up! This special package is like the holy grail of packages!

On on a September 10 sailing too; I'm just able to book beverage packages at that's it. I keep checking every few days! I'm afraid to commit to any packages yet, as something special may pop up later, and I don't want to deal with the refunds/credits.

Thank you - The Oasis had an ice cream shop last year that I think had sweets in it. It was not free but no donut shop.

Bummer! I'm on Oasis in September, got a bit excited there about donuts while I was reading this thread.

Anyone else having problems following Allure this week on the Marine Traffic site? She's been "out of range" since she left Jamaica two days ago. My mother-in-law is on the ship, and thanks to Periscopers I know they have at least been to and left Labadee. I don't see any live reviewers from the ship this week, unfortunately. I'm sure all is well, but I still like following along with them when they are at sea.

Hoping it's just me, since I'm accessing their free version and maybe I've logged on too much or something.

Honestly, I think you should go with what you are used to, unless you are truly and well-prepared to embrace the different and give it a fair chance to be okay. In the past 25 years we've cruised just the two of us, to cruising pregnant, to cruising with a 2 yr & 4 yr old all the way to cruising with a 15 & 17 year old. We never had more than one room (started out interior, eventually went to balcony) until the upgrade fairy gave us a bonus of a free connecting room for the 2 teens. We never had issues with the four of us in one room until we got the upgrade, and once we had the extra space we swore we'd never be all in one room again! We got used to the extra space, and liked it, where all the cruises before it had never seemed to be too small, as we were barely in the cabin. BUT..I would have never put them in their own separate room (even though the door was open) until they were teenagers. I would not feel they were safe with a balcony/hall door they could open at any time. At three, I can't imagine a child would want to be anywhere else but with mom anyway.

Hard to believe that we are back to cruising just the two of again, as the youngest heads to college this August and we'll be alone on the Oasis in September. Will be strange to be just the two of us again.

I'd say choose the one that has the most ports you've never been to. I've hit just about every cruise-able Caribbean island at this point, and each one has something absolutely unique about it. My vote is to visit as many as you can for the first time, then choose itineraries based on which ones offered the most for what you enjoy.

We sailed the Quantum in March 2015 and loved it. We loved the unique things we could do; how many rounds of mini-golf and rock walls can one climb? Bumper cars people! LOL

Our sailing was deemed the "embarkation from hell" as there was some kind of outbreak which I can't remember what it was now on the sailing before ours. Ship was scrubbed top to bottom before we could get on, so of course we had delays getting on. Some people didn't get into their cabins until well after dinner, luggage arrived into the wee hours of the morning, smell from cleaning solution was making some people feel ill, etc etc etc. But we still loved the ship. We had Dynamic Dining and liked it. We had a very interesting mix of crew, as she was already being prepped for the transition to China, so half the crew was new and barely spoke English. But we still had fun. We tried each of the Dynamic Dining dining rooms, only dressed formal for the one night WE chose to when we booked The Grande. Loved getting to try new specialty restaurants like Jamie's Italian...I can go on and on.

If you go onto a new class of ship with the attitude "I'm not going to like this cause it doesn't have..." of course you won't like it. You've already decided, so why waste your money to try something new. I think, OP, you won't find lots of love for the Quantum class because the most vocal are the ones who don't accept and embrace change.

I've been sailing since August 1992, when Majesty of the Seas was big and shiny and the latest thing. I sailed The Norway in 1993 (who at the time was one of the very few ships too big to go through the Panama Canal.) I sailed Disney before they started seven day sailings - and guess what? No casino. Even though we liked casinos, and spent time in them on every cruise prior, we still LOVED the cruise. We've been on tiny ships, medium ships, large ships and will be heading out on the giant Oasis later this year. We've sailed on RCCL, Disney, Norwegian and Carnival. Each line and vessel is so different; and if as a passenger you aren't willing to be open to what each ship has to offer, then you will come back and post a negative/low star review here. I've found over the last few years I've visited CC...those are the majority of passengers leaving the reviews. I don't even read the reviews anymore.

So happy to read all the love shared in this thread. I may have to go post a review from my Quantum cruise; not that anyone will care, since she's in China now anyway.

I did find a thread using "small wonders". Thank you for your help.

You beat me to it! I saw the e-mail just a few minutes ago with your reply. I was going to suggest "small wonders" but suggest you add "Oasis" to that, so you don't get Disney Wonder posts mixed in. LOL

Happy searching! We're sailing Oasis for our 25th anniversary in September, and I plan on looking for each & every one. :D

I just completed your amazing review ( the best I have ever read by the way). We sailed on Lady "O" in 2013, and since her two sisters. We are super excited about her move to Port Canaveral and am counting our days till we sail on her again ( 280+). As I read your review I realized how many things I have missed,. Jazz on 4, that amazing hidden sundeck and the hidden viewers. I know you don't want to spoil the hunt and fun, but could you guide me to a couple of them to help get me on the right path, so to speak. Once again, thank you for the endless hours of editing and viewing of pictures it took to give us this special journey .

So as not to spoil for anyone who doesn't know, and not to be as so specific as to tempt those who don't want to be tempted to click on a link, I will steer you in the direction to find them. If you use the handy search function above, you'll find many conversations about the hidden gems. Plus, you'll find a thread with a link to a list of where you can find them all.

Thanks for taking the time to let us tag along on your vacation! Hope the hobbles go away soon and you are back to yourself.

My suggestion is book early. My husband and I waited to book and the Country Inn and Suites prices had increased to 265 USD (factor in our Canadian dollar exchange and:eek:. We are now booked at La Quinta in Cocoa Beach but we have a rental car. We did really enjoy the Country Inn and Suites when we stayed there. Clean Nice pool. Descent breakfast - just not at Ritz Carlton pricing.

Post #4 here has a suggestion; I'm going to call them. http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2447866

We're sailing in September, thanks for the suggestions everyone. We are flying from NJ Friday or Saturday, and sailing on Sunday. Not interested in renting a car, so hotels with shuttles are great for us.

If we do the hotel shuttle from the airport to the hotel, then hotel to the port...do the hotels offer shuttles from the port back to the airport? Or should I look for a service that does that separately? We still haven't finalized our flights yet. Waiting to see exactly how many days I can get off of work.

Yes. Publix sells wine and beer. I am not a drinker, but I think there might be a liquor store attached to this Publix. Also, most drug stores sell wine and beer as we are a tourist area.

Thank you!