Argana

When I traveled in April on Independence of the Seas, my son had just turned 3, and wasn't 100% potty trained. I was able to enroll him in the infant room, but they wouldn't allow him in the toddler room. The bad thing about the infant room and having a 3-year-old, is they don't let you reserve a time, you have to just call about 30 minutes ahead and see if there is room. The infants get priority. You also have to pay by the hour, but I don't remember it being too pricey. I ended up not using it the whole cruise because it just seemed cumbersome.

I was in a GS on Indy in April, and they didn't have a DVD player, but they did have movie rentals you order through your tv that are free for suite guests. My sons watched The Good Dinosaur every night before bed. It showed up on our room charge, but the concierge just credited it for us the last night.

I signed up my 3 yo son for the kids class on Independence of the Seas. He LOVES candy, cupcakes and sweets in general. The class had two cupcakes to decorate, and it had mini bags of frosting and candies to put on top. When I signed up, I paid for two spots - one for my son and one for me. He started out by eating all the candy that was supposed to be used to make panda eyes and ears, he then ate all the m&ms for the fish gills to go in the other cupcake. As long as you don't expect your cupcakes to look like anything at the end, I say sign up and enjoy. My son's favorite part was eating everything, which I was perfectly fine with.

I believe if you make final payment early (before the final payment due date) you can still take advantage of price drops that occur before the final payment due date.

This is good to know. Thanks!

Thanks everyone for the replies! I'll try and not stalk the prices too much. ;P

I'm sailing on Oasis on Oct. 29, and final payment is due at the end of this week. Once I make the final payment, is everything locked at that point? If a sale comes along that lowers the price, will I not be able to get a price adjustment?

You'll get wine also with lunch in CK if you like.

Even better! I better start working on my alcohol tolerance!

If you are entitled to be in the Suite Lounge, yes. But because of that, Coastal Kitchen will simply serve you wine at no charge. (of course, that's the "free wine" selection.)

I'll be in a GS, so I guess that means I get wine with dinner. :) Cool! I wasn't aware of that. :D

I'm sailing on Oasis on Oct. 29, 2016. I keep checking the cruise planner, and it isn't allowing me to book any dining. How far in advance does that open up for people?

So can you go get a free glass of wine in the Suite Lounge, and bring it with you to dinner in Coastal Kitchen (on Oasis)?

We sailed on Independence of the Seas in April, and my son has an allergy to eggs (we carry an epi-pen for him). He is also Autistic, and super picky on food items he will eat. I emailed them ahead of time to let them know of the issues, and they accommodated my request for a four-top table in a quite area of the dining room. As far as the food allergies, that information didn't get passed on.

I told them my son liked pizza, so they brought him a pizza, but the dough looked "thick" so I asked, "that doesn't have eggs in it does it?" and they checked and it did. :eek:

That was on night one, and from them on, the dining room manager arranged his food the night before with us, and was SUPER accommodating.

My suggestion is to contact the email mentioned above, but let your waiters know immediately on day one, and you should be okay.

:mad::mad: Bummer!!!! She seems like THE ship to be on......

Most of the same qualities of the Oasis/Allure, but on a smaller scale, with AWESOME reviews!

Went on Indy in April (same class as Freedom), and really enjoyed it.

I also use Webroot and it is coming up with the same warning. I was just on RCCL website yesterday without any issues. I wonder if it is something they posted with their new sale that is causing it to think it is malware. :(

Are children allowed in Coastal Kitchen, and if so, do they have a children's menu?

How often does RCL change out their menus? We sailed on Indy in April (5 night), and will be on Oasis in October (6 night). We ate in the main dining room all but one night. Will they have the same menus on both ships?

I too am curious. We are sailing in October, and it will be our first as Gold members. I'm not sure what to expect for discounts and coupons.

We sailed on Indy (sister ship to Freedom) this past April in a GS and thought the perks we used were worth it. We were sailing with two small children too, so here is what we enjoyed:

- Priority embarkation/debarkation. We were personally escorted off the ship and given priority at customs. With kids, this is a lifesaver!!

- MDR room service menu

- Free movies in our room

- Barefoot beach on Labadee and the private lunch for suite guests

- VIP treatment by everyone. The main dining room manager customized my son's menu for him every night because of food allergies. She would ask us the night before what he wanted and it would be there for us when we sat down the next evening. Several people mentioned "you're a suite guest, so we want to be sure you are well taken care of." I'm sure they do it for everyone, but it felt special.

- unlimited coffee/espresso/latte from the concierge lounge

- special plates of treats (fruit, sweets, etc.) left in our room daily

- the extra room, the balcony and the tub (for the kids)

- the extra storage space to tuck all of your clothes and luggage

We sailed on Independence in April and they had the small baby pool where kids could wear swim diapers. I will say, that it is right next to the huge H2O zone that looks awesome, and my just-turned-three year old son kept crying because he wanted to play in the main area instead of being confined to the little baby pool. Although he is in training for the potty, he was not 100% yet, and I didn't want to chance that he would contaminate the entire kid area.

Perks:

 

http://creative.rccl.com/Sales/Royal/Suites/16049781_RSC_Trade_Flyer.pdf

This is awesome! Thank you for this, and thanks to all of the posts with information.

$67 :D

I called Customer Service and they applied the discounted price to my reservation. I plan on checking every promotion from now until my final payment date. ;)

We cruised during Halloween a couple of times (had to look at my own signature!) and I do recall there were decorations on the day, but nothing week-long. There was a display on a table outside of the Windjammer buffet for the day, but it was gone the next day. There will most likely be a parade and of course, many passengers bring costumes and dress up for the evening.

Thank you. I found this on their website from 2013, so it sounds like they make a big deal of it on that day. http://www.royalcaribbean.com/connect/happy-on-board-halloween/

I'll probably just head back to the room early that night with the kiddos and enjoy a movie or something. :p

The key word in my opinion is the Stream.

 

Smitty

Thank you!

We were on the Navigator of the Seas and Halloween was at the end of the week. The Promenade was not decorated all week, but was decorated a day or two before Halloween. I don't remember it being too creepy. There were spider webs and that kind of thing. It was taken down after Halloween.

 

Random cabin doors were also decorated for Halloween, and these were up all week, for the most part.

 

On Halloween itself, a number of passengers dressed in costumes at night. There was a performance of "Thriller" and they danced down the Promenade in costumes. (They had been practicing all week.) All the people in costumes were in the Promenade that night. It was actually a fun evening.

 

I don't know what your ship will do. Find out what is happening that day and avoid it and do something somewhere else.

Thank you.

Do you know if the suite class VOOM is the one that includes streaming video?

I just booked our family for Oasis, leaving port on Oct. 29 for a 6 night trip. I was curious how much Halloween decorations and stuff will be on display, and will it be on display for the whole cruise (or do they take it down on Nov. 1)?

My family doesn't do Halloween, and things like skeletons, witches, etc. freak out my young children.

I don't think there is a problem with people dressing up for that night, and I can just hang out in our room, but I'm hoping the entire cruise isn't that theme.

Anyone have any insights they can share about cruising on RCCL during this particular holiday?