The Fun Researcher

24 minutes ago, DivaMI said:

We just got off of the Navigator of the Seas in July and it was terribly crowded. There wee no pool chairs available. The line for El Loco Fresh was at least 25 people deep.. My time dining was ridiculous. The wait was at least 30 minutes. I Have been on the Allure also and it never felt crowded.

 

Sorry to hear about your experience.

Funny how people can have such opposite experiences on the same ship.  We were on the Navigator for spring break this year on a 9 night cruise and the line for El Loco fresh was never more than a handful of people, and the vast majority of the time no line at all.  Just grab and go.  We never waited like that for my time dining either, other than maybe 4 groups ahead of us in line to get their table assignment.  Typical wait of about 2 minutes.  However, we had reservations each night.  We didn't just walk up.  The line for walk ups is long on every ship we've ever been on.

LOVE the amped Navigator.

Dan

19 hours ago, soremekun said:

Perhaps because I'm a novice, but I don't see the importance of needing to feel connected to the sea.  There are plenty of places to see the ocean on an Oasis class.  Pool deck, jogging track, your ocean view balcony, etc.  Then, at a port, there are beach options.

I can't disagree that you can see the ocean from those locations.  Some ships have more options that just make you have a better feel of sailing the ocean.   The experience of being out in the middle of the ocean is something that is so unique to cruising versus other vacation options, so we want to maximize that aspect.  Some value it more than others.  We're one of those that value that feeling highly, and love it when a ship has more ways to feel "connected".  I agree that the ship is the destination as well, but there are characteristics and venues that we look for in a cruise ship.  No right or wrong answer, just personal preferences.

Dan

15 minutes ago, Wanderista said:

 

The ocean is like its own destination. I tried explaining this to some friends who just aren't familiar with cruises and got told, "If you say so."

Yeah something you have to experience to understand. For us it’s the ship cutting through the seas while looking over the railing of deck 4 on freedom and voyager classes.  Plus the helipad, especially at night, looking  at the stars while a stiff (warm) Caribbean breeze blows in your face... your ears buffeting the wind.  ...or on the pool deck looking out the open sliding windows...

Dan

2 hours ago, Wanderista said:

I'd be interested in trying a bigger ship experience. My "cruising buddies" all prefer smaller ships. In my new experience, I like them because I like feeling "connected to the sea".

 I did not mention it earlier but the lack of sea views and the lack of feeling connected to the sea was the other significant difference from other ships we have sailed on. That, and the crowds and just the amount of walking to get from point A to point B on the ship.

 You can still have a great cruise on oasis class though.   It’s just not our “cup of tea“.     I’m actually considering a cruise on oasis class in early 2021  but only because we have one week open all of the other options stink.

Dan

19 minutes ago, BNBR said:

 

The second pic was a bit of a joke. The first pic, however, is clearly just regular pool use.

 Looks like a typical sea day.

Dan

16 hours ago, Goodtime Cruizin said:

Although, as the cruise went on, we did notice the Bristo was getting a tad bit more crowded by the day. 

We noticed this as well.  LOVED the Bistro and knew about it before the start of the cruise due to our researching the ship.  

Dan

3 hours ago, BNBR said:

 

I think this deserves context.  The only reason there is a line out the door is because they manage the crowd and queue people up nicely. 

 

I suspect that the Oasis class Windjammer was forced to do this because when they tried to let the crowds manage themselves (like with RCI's other classes of ships) it resulted in a mad house, or over capacity on Oasis class.  Other classes of ships aren't forced to do this, but there is no arguing that it can get very busy (and frustrating) looking for a table for a group of 5 to 7 that we typically have.

One thing I don't remember about the Oasis class Windjammer...  when you are finally let in, do they find you a table?  If not, how did they gauge when to let you (or others) in?  Is it a capacity issue?

Dan

1 hour ago, BNBR said:

 

You are right though, I have to admit, it's shockingly uncrowded on Freedom....

 

 

 

Play fair now. 🙂  ANY ship is packed around the pool during a belly flop contest, or any pool contest for that matter.  

Dan

 I had forgotten about the lines out the door of the Windjammer until the previous poster mentioned it. I also experienced that. The only time we’ve ever had lines out the door of the buffet On any ship was the oasis. 

 Having said that the oasis class is a beast unto itself. I would not let crowds keep you from trying it at least once. 

Dan

 I beg to differ. The ship that felt the most crowded of all that we’ve sailed on was the Oasis.   We have primarily sailed voyager and freedom class and one celebrity solstice class.

 I haven’t run the numbers of the public space versus number of passengers but it just felt like there were people around all day, everywhere, all hours of the night. Perhaps it was just our cruise but yeah it was one thing that I noted. Hard to find nearly as many quiet spots to yourself.   It did not ruin our cruise but crowds and a few other negatives have steered us away from the oasis class.  We  would sail oasis class again but only if there were no other good alternatives

OP  there is really only one way to find out for yourself. Many absolutely love the oasis class. We still had a fun cruise on that ship. We just prefer other ships

Dan

On 9/16/2019 at 4:18 PM, #1TravelMom said:

Yes, they met you at the port under a white canopy.  They transport you by van directly to the marina.  On the return, you can get dropped at the beach for an hour or two and then catch a taxi back OR they will return you to the pier area. In my opinion, the price for this excursion is one of the best values of all of the the excursions we've done.  It just feels luxurious sailing on a catamaran.  When you see the boats packed with people at the stingray sandbar, you will be so thankful you chose Stingray Saling!

Thank you all for the suggestion!  We are now in the process of booking with Stingray Sailing for our upcoming cruise.

Dan

On 2/18/2019 at 3:27 PM, bguppies said:

Just got back from our cruise and were in Grand Cayman last Wednesday.

 

Did my 5th excursion with Capt. Chip and Stingray Sailing.

Have had a GREAT time, each and every time.

 

Love how they do not manhandle the sting rays like some of the other operators do. Just let the sting rays come for as long as they wish.

 

Only a family of 4 and My Wife and I on board this trip, which was great. (as we watched over a hundred pile off the double decker boats from the cruise ship excursions)

 

I tried Native Ways my first trip to Grand Cayman and had a horrible time with their unorganized workers.

 

I cannot more highly recommend Sting Ray Sailing for a relaxing day and great interaction with a lot of sting rays.

 

http://www.stingraysailing.com/

 

Feel free to click to see the catamaran and the experience.

 

Bill

On 5/9/2019 at 8:27 PM, #1TravelMom said:

Great choice with Stingray Sailing.  We've used them many times and going again in a few weeks!

On 6/3/2019 at 11:19 AM, bstel said:

we used Stingray Sailing back in May.  Great time with Capt. Chip.  I think we had about 9 people on our trip, so not crowded at all.  He has a catamaran, but no guarantee if you will actually sail, all depends on the wind.

Quick question, how do you get from Port to their catamaran?  Do they provide transport or do you need to grab a taxi?  Thank you!

Dan

Yeah I've repriced our March 2020 cruise twice now.  Between our three cabins I've knocked over $1750 off our original fare.

Dan

Your comment about the buffet is exactly why we bring small hand sanitizers with us into the buffet and apply it after going up to the buffet after we're seated, prior to touching our silverware.  We reapply if we go up to the buffet again.

Even if everyone sanitizes or washes before coming in, who knows how many have wiped their noses, coughed in their hand, sneezed in their hand,and then touched tongs, food etc...   We're NOT germophobes, but I don't want to get sick on my cruise if I can help it.  We spent to much $$$ on the vacation and have been super excited far too long to have it ruined by that.

Dan

14 minutes ago, George C said:

Celebrity would be nice , we did a princess a long time ago from Galveston. I am all for more choices. 

Agreed, a Solstice class would be sweet.

Dan

Regarding Labadee.   It's unfortunate that you went to Adrenaline beach, as like you said it's rocky and windy.  The rocks are like little land mines out in the water.  I've cut my foot on the bottom while walking out in the water there.  Didn't see it coming.

Our favorite beach by far is Columbus Cove.  It's all soft sand with easy swimming and MUCH lower breeze.  Lots of loungers, palm trees, and close to the food and bathrooms.  Plus you get a very cool view of the ship in the background.  For us, it's a night and day difference in enjoyment.  We love Labadee for how relaxing and beautiful it is.  We would prefer a little better lunch offering, but it's o.k.

Dan

23 minutes ago, 5thgirl said:

I’ll end by saying I thoroughly enjoyed my dining experience and appreciate the hard working staff, but they really need to ease up on this whole perfect “10’ thing. It's good practice to motivate staff to do well and strive to exceed in customer satisfaction, but sometimes it comes off the wrong way.

Well said.  Anymore I stop them short and just say I'm giving you all 10's.  At that point they smile and discontinue, but it gets old.  By the last night of the cruise, if we had a waiter/assistant that we don't care for, we would have already spoken with the Maitre D earlier in the cruise to move tables.  My time dining is great for this, although we've only had to do that twice, and once was due to table location, not the waiter.  Once we find a waiter we like we ask to stay with them.

Dan

Really a fantastic review!  Just enough information and photos without getting drowned in the details.  Thank you!

I think we need to give Roatan another chance.  We just didn't care for it all that much the first and only time we visited. 

However, it was rainy/overcast/windy the whole day we were there, so our time at West Bay Beach was NOTHING like your photos.  😂  For us, the water was brown, the waves high (which was kinda fun), and the day was windy chilly.   This just goes to show how much weather can impact a beach day.  We've had a similar experience at Magen's Bay in St. Thomas.  We absolutely LOVED, LOVED it, still our 2nd favorite beach in all of the Caribbean (only 2nd to Trunk Bay in St. John's).  Magen's Bay is a gorgeous setting with lush hilly foliage on both sides of the beach and beautiful blue waters with soft sandy beaches that have a shallow entry...  However, our friends went a year later and didn't care for it at all!  They had a day that was overcast with random rain/drizzles.  It can completely change the look of the water, and the feel of the beach.

The other thing about Roatan, we booked a whole island tour.  (We love to understand the culture of each island).  This was good and bad.  We got the full experience, but also were able to understand just how poor and run down much of the island is, especially the East side.  Guards at gas stations, garbage piled up outside of businesses, just some deplorable conditions.  It's just hard to see when we are living in the lap of luxury on a cruise at that same time.

Dan

The water provided on the ship for free is not bottled water, but it is filtered and I find it very good.   Bottled water is not included with the soda package.

Lemonade is available free

There is some sort of fruit drink provided at the buffet for lunch and dinners (not fruit punch).  I think it may be a mango flavor?  I like it.

Seltzer is not included with the soda package if I recall correctly (I could be wrong about this).

You might want to wait until on the ship and see if there are enough free drinks that your kids would like.  If not, buy the soda package then.
 

Dan

Honey, I'm going to step out for some fresh air, I'll be right baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

Sounds like you enjoyed your cruise which is always great to hear.  Sometimes a plate of nachos is exactly what is needed.  That's my kind of snack (salty), rather than sweet. I'm happy to save all the chocolate bars, cookies, cake, brownies for other guests.  🙂

We're booked on the Adventure next summer out of Cape Liberty and I look forward to it.

Dan

Would LOVE a Freedom or Voyager class ship in Florida doing 7-9 night itineraries in the summer.  Currently there are zero during the summer, and I don't care for the Oasis class.

Adventure and Explorer are doing some great itineraries out of Florida, but unfortunately none line up with our kids school schedules.  😞

Dan

We'll be in Jamaica in March.  After some helpful excursion suggestions by fellow cruise critic members, we've decided that the Martha Brae rafting looks like a great way to spend part of our day in Jamaica.  It's close, only about 4 miles from Falmouth. 

Royal Caribbean wants to charge $75 per person for round trip transport and rafting.  We're a group of 8 so that's $600 for the raft ride and transport.  That seems awfully high considering the direct rate for the rafting is $65 (I believe) for two people, or $32.50 each, and it's so close to port.

Has anyone done the rafting on their own from Falmouth?  If so, how?

Thanks,
Dan

Loved your ship tour and the commentary!  This makes me look forward to our 9 night cruise on the Adventure next July.

A couple of things are different than what I'm used to with the other Voyager/Freedom class ships, like Izumi being right in the promenade, and I didn't realize they squeezed in a kids splash area on the pool deck.  Love that they have the hand washing stations at the entrance to the buffet.  I didn't know they had done this in the past refurb.  We had these on the Navigator in March and appreciated it.

Thank you.
 

Dan

12 minutes ago, LHARTWICK said:

We arrived right at 12:45 PM.  Of course we were also expecting to bypass the lines with our priority embarkation status as we've done in the past, but since RCCL has done away with it, that didn't happen.  Hindsight we would have arrived much earlier.  We sail often out of Galveston, and when we've arrived earlier in the past with Carnival, it was super easy.  We also have priority embarkation with them.  I suggest getting to LOTS early or after 1:30 PM.  That's about the time I noticed that the line was no longer extending out the door. 

 

The whole priority embarkation issue with RCCL is just a matter of principle for us.  If you say you're going to do it, then honor it. 

 

As for boarding times being enforced, I haven't noticed RCCL having assigned boarding times like Carnival does. I do know that Carnival enforces theirs; at least that's what I've noticed in Galveston.

 

I do appreciate the Galveston security staff going over the luggage VERY thoroughly at the x-ray machines.  My husband noticed it, too.  If there was any question at all about a bag, they were hand checking it. 

Thanks!  This is really useful for us, and I agree about the priority boarding thing.  If the Crown and Anchor perks state that you get it, then you should get it. 

We'll plan to arrive later then, around 1:30pm .  I've done enough early boardings to know that I'd rather arrive when cabins are open and we can set our carry-on stuff down immediately, and also not have to battle the embarkation day crazy town which is the buffet.  🙂

Glad to hear that your dining room food was very good.  Our last time on the Liberty we had the same experience, and also had our best waiter pair of any cruise so far.  I just hope ship is in nice shape, but I'll prepare our group that it may not be as fresh as we're used to.  (especially considering that the last cruise we went on was the Navigator within the month out of it's extensive AMPED refurbishment)

Dan