1cat4jan

Monarch was our first cruise experience. 1992

We'll miss the old girl.

Feel slightly uncomfortable talking about the Oasis here - but I agree with the first comment. Oasis is something to be experienced and if the family group only does this once every few years or so, I would go for Oasis because the experience is much different than any other cruise I've had on any other line. The entertainment is what sold me on the Oasis and I was not disappointed.

I was on the Dream that same year, and there is no comparison. The Dream was a fine cruise, but it was your typical cruise, so there really is no comparison. You can always come back to Carnival for your next cruise.

Blackjack tournaments had cash prizes. I haven't seen a free cruise prize in the Casino on any of our recent cruises.

DH waits for later rounds in the tournament, so he knows how much he has to win before he even starts playing. That knowledge affects the way he bets.

I assume, the reason for color printing is because the color signifies the deck and it will help with initial sorting. The baggage handlers will need to read any luggage tags that are b/w.

Anything that speeds the process is a good thing.

Off topic here - but...

I carry my I-pad and COPY my photos daily. That way, I have two copies of my photos incase my media card glitches or I lose my camera. Besides, it's fun to look at my photos in a larger size.

Note - you will need a camera connection kit if you want to transfer photos to your I-pad. They are currently around $25 in the States.

NOTE: If you have never used the camera connection kit, the process will give you the option of deleting the photos from the media card - be sure to say NO - or you won't have the protection of backup.

I would carry an I-pad for internet usage because it seems faster to me, but I'm too cheap to buy the package, so it's a moot point for me.

The I-pad sometimes fits in the ship's safe, but on the Oasis, it does not.

On Oasis they had some kind of I-phone rental - wasn't interested so I did not investigate, but I'm sure you can find the info on the website. I was surprised to hear of an option like that. It sounds like a great idea. I assume they have a limited amount of rentals, so if you are interested, that would be my first stop after boarding.

We do the math and cost triumphs convenience. I got the soda package once - when I was drinking alot of soda per day - and it worked OK - but I didn't break even.

I don't like the idea that both people in your cabin need to get the drink package. That alone would stop me from purchasing it. Seldom do both people in a cabin have the same drink habits. I know why they make both people get it, but I doubt it works - economically - for most people.

On the Oasis (and I'm assuming the same holds true for the Allure) - the show venues are not conducive to getting a drink. The showroom is really tight and the aisles are long, so the wait staff cannot get to you. Unless you are on the end of the aisle or you get there when the doors first open, you will not be getting your after dinner drink.

We hopped from show to show - venue to venue - where getting a drink was impossible. Even if you are a person who has multiple drinks each evening and feel you can get your money's worth from a drink pass, there just is not opportunity to get drinks during any show times.

I had forgotten about Beatlemania until one from our group mentioned it last night. It was a great show - their impersonation was spot on. I loved that they picked songs we all knew and covered different eras with costume changes. I wish the show had been longer.

And yes, I totally agree that a comedian who has been doing standup for 20 years, should have more than 1/2 hour of material. How lazy can you be? But really, why did the show producer allow him to go on without additional material? I fault management for allowing it. The complaints about him were loud and I'm sure management heard about their dismay.

However, haven't they been hearing complaints all along? Why wasn't something done?

They need to get rid of him anyway. He wasn't funny.

The doors open about 30 minutes prior to showtime. Those with reservations are directed to one line, those without are directed to another.

They let the reservation people in first. Your seapass card is scanned and if your reservation shows up, you are let in. There are no reserved seats, you just go in and pick your seats.

Note - we had a printout of our reservations in case there was a glitch with the seapass, but that never happened.

About 10 minutes prior to showtime, if there are empty seats, they will let those without reservations in. A line for those with non-reservations starts forming around the time the doors first open, so if you want to get in, you will need to line up pretty early.

There seemed to be alot of no-shows (empty seats at 15 minutes past door opening), but I don't know how many people without reservations actually get in.

We felt there was no down side to making reservations. We did it prior to leaving home. We figured if we weren't able to make the show, so be it. The cruiseline doesn't care because the seats will eventually get filled by those without reservations.

With a ship this size, I believe this was an excellent idea. I liked the idea that we would see the shows we were interested in - that we wouldn't have to wait in line for 20 minutes or more. Even with scanning the seapass, entry into the venue was swift.

But the second comic used the almost the same routine as in the comedy club wasting our time.

Like RT, I, too, was wondering how a comic does 20 years of standup and cannot find 15 minutes of different material for a show on the same ship on the same cruise. Lazy, lazy, lazy. (And not all that funny. He was the least amusing of the three at the adult show, and the one who relied on "adult" language to get most of his laughs. Again, lazy.)

How did you get the coupons for a free dinner?

Our coupons came from AAA (maybe in conjunction with RCI?) - we had a group of 12 booked together - so maybe that's what triggered this perk.

It was good for any specialty restaurant - we chose Chops because of the good reviews we saw here.

The guy who supervised our section of the dining room (6:00) was called the head waiter. :o

Another favorite of mine was Sorrentos - the pizza was excellent, however, if you special order (yes, you can special order an individual sized pizza with various toppings of your choice) - make sure you like very brown crust. We sent ours back and noticed on other days, overcooked was the way all the personal pizzas came out. They said it was because the meat needed to be thoroughly cooked. I don't understand that because the regular pizzas were done just right.

We went to Chops one night because we had coupons for a free dinner. It was excellent. However, portions are huge and dessert was too, so I thought that was a little wasteful. I guess when people are paying, they expect more, but really, how much can one eat? Because we had a group of 6, they served the side dishes "family style" - you could get the side dishes refilled - or I am sure you could get your own portion if you so desired.

We ordinarily do not go to the extra pay restaurants, because we are satisfied with the food in the free dining rooms, however, if you go to Chops, you will not be disappointed. The food was very good, our service was outstanding, and our wait staff was very friendly.

Beautiful ship - easy to get around - designed well with various common areas to accommodate the large number of passengers. Never felt crowded.

We got there around 11:30 and got right on. However, the cabins were not available until 1:00. Food, was, of course, available as soon as you got on the ship.

There is parking at the port - it is not covered. I was told other ports have covered parking. There is a place for the driver to drop you and your luggage off. The same is true on disembarkation day. There is an area where people are waiting for their shuttles and you can wait there for your driver to pick you up.

Disembarking seemed "messier" than usual, but after we got into the roped off cue, it was only 10 minutes to get through customs. We chose 9:15 to 9:30 for our time, but it was nearly 10:00 when our group was called. They are actively pushing for you to walk off on your own - carrying your own luggage. You can get off right after they dock at around 6:00. Great for those of you who wish to get those early flights.

The staff was outstanding. One of the best cabin stewards we've ever had. We had a segregated section of the dining room for our two tables of 6 which worked so well for our group. The only complaint I had was with bar service. He seemed scatterbrained and sometimes forgot to come to our table. However, the guy who supervised our section of the dining room (can't remember his title) was always on the scene to ask if we had problems and he remedied them immediately.

Food was better than average and like always, the servers were very accommodating to special requests and were worried if they saw you hadn't finished your dinner.

I was disappointed with the drinks of the day. It seemed like they made them way ahead of time, so when you got yours, it was very watered down. I would avoid them, opting for special orders instead.

The entertainment venues are not set up to accommodate bar service. The showroom is impossible to get a drink at - unless you are on the end of the row. If you must have something to drink, bring it with you because as you jump from venue to venue, you will not be able to get anything to drink. I suggest carrying a bottle of water with you.

Carrying our two bottles of wine on board was a breeze - we also carried a wine opener in our carryon and that was not a problem. However, we never drank our wine. I don't think I will bother to carry wine onto the ship again. It's just easier to get your glass of wine at the dinner table.

Entertainment was far above average. There seemed to be less of the production shows you see on all the ships. Hairspray seemed to be in lieu of production shows. It was an excellent production, but I felt it could've been cut by a half hour and still have the flavor of the story. The songs seemed to be all the same, so I believe you could've cut some of them without problem.

However, the performers were excellent.

You have to sign up ahead of time for all the shows. Make sure you do that because otherwise you will be standing in line hoping for one of the "no-shows" seats. Yes, at some performances there were empty seats, but with a little planning, reserving your seats is really the best way to go.

The comedy show as excellent. It's repeated several times - same show - but you will need reservations to attend any of them - the venue is small. Although it's an "adults" show, it was "less adult" than most, which was refreshing.

My favorite entertainment was the high divers and the "high flyers" - seems this is where gymnists and swimmers from the Olympics end up. The quality of their skills was outstanding.

The ports were so-so, but for most of our group, the destination was the ship. Most of us were frequent Caribbean cruisers, so the ports were not the "thing" we went on this cruise for. No one raved about the tours, even the "newbies" but I think that had more to do with the ports (St. Thomas, St. Martin) not being the best that the Caribbean had to offer.

We stayed on the ship for most of the time in port, but we did grab a couple of loungers and the bucket of beer on St. Martin - a place with the most beautiful beach and water - however, the water was too cold to swim in.

We did venture off in St. Thomas, but the shopping was impossible and getting around was difficult because of all the people (probably 20,000) with 3 huges ships in port. I wouldn't bother getting off in St. Thomas unless you absolutely have to shop.

All in all - it was a first class trip. The Oasis is well designed and well run.

By the way - make sure you take in the Captains talk if available. It's free, and he's a hoot. (However, note that the captains have 10 weeks on and 10 weeks off, so you may not get the same captain we did)

Sorry, I did not get his name, but we were on the Sept 12th sailing, if that helps with finding out who he was.

Another thing not to miss - "Throw Me a Line" - it's like "Who's line is it, anyways" with performers from Hairspray. You did not need reservations for it.

That's a tricky one. Thanksgiving isn't even as important as the Superbowl and yet it's sometimes hard to find the Superbowl on a cruise ship.

We have cruised on playoff days and on Superbowl Sunday and each time, there were promises of availability of the game, and many times the promise fell short.

This is a general statement as to all cruise lines, not specific to RC.

It seems every ship promises the game and then there is a struggle to get the feed. Sometimes we hear they are awaiting permission (as if the Superbowl is a surprise event and no one knows it's going to play that day) or they have trouble with the feed or they start late.

We once spent the day in a sports bar at the port so we would be sure to see the game even though we had been promised we could view it on board. Well, you should've seen the unhappy folks who stayed on board and missed the game, while we viewed it at a local bar.

However, our experience was different when we traveled Christmas 2011 on the Crown Princess. The game was being played on the giant screen on the pool deck. They even provided blankets to bundle up for the night game. The game was also being shown on the indoor bars TV's. Same was true on Carnival Breeze in September 2012. While in the bar, there was football playing. However, I cannot tell you whether that was a replay or live feed.

So maybe things have improved these last few years.