GSOTall1

Some sort of non-surge protected outlet splitter is a requirement if you're cruising with more than 2 people in the cabin (depending on the cabin). Also, I'm pretty sure most if not all extension cords are banned due to being a fire risk.

Otherwise, my must-haves are:

• Post-it notes - Not just for leaving messages.  I prefer an interior cabin which can be pitch black any time of day.  I cover the door peephole and the TV power light with post-its and get the best sleep ever.
• Pens / Highlighter - use on daily schedule to find stuff to do and use on the post-its if needed.
• Collapsible Tupperware - I'm not really a fan of the usual late night/early morning offerings after the buffet closes so I like to grab an assortment of pastries, cookies, bread, and fruit from the buffet before they close and keep them fresh in my room.

Some excursions may be fully booked but often times, people will cancel last minute or no-show. I had a snorkeling excursion get canceled due to weather and there happened to be plenty of room in another land based excursion that i was able to transfer to right on the pier. The only downside is that you'll have to pay full price rather than the pre-cruise discounted rate.

On the boat, the shows may be booked but there's always a standby that you can wait in to get seats.

1. No smoking anywhere on board, inside or outside.
   
2. Actually enforce kids curfew.
   
3. Timed reservation for outdoor chairs similar to movie theater seating. Cannot be booked more than 24hrs in advance or longer than 4hrs in a 24hr period. Must check in to your chair at least once every half hour or you lose your reservation. Those that want longer than 4 hours in a 24hr period are put on a stand-by list.
   
4. Piggybacking off #3, if you want to be near the pool but dont want a chair, offer locker rentals to leave your stuff. This would be for sitting at a bar without having to hold all your stuff or occupy a chair.
   
5. While we're at it, specific seat reservations for shows in the theater, not just reservations to get in.
   
6. Cruise planner includes all activities for the duration of the cruise, not just the next day's events. Make this available 1 week before cruise starts.
   

Note that both of these coffee packages/cards are for non-Starbucks branded coffee. Starbucks is full price and not included in any sort of drink package.

Should go without saying but always check the cruise planner for events. It's a huge ship and a lot is going on that you might not know about unless you know in advance.

Also, if you're a night time hot tub kinda person like I am, the port side cantilever hot tub closes earlier than the starboard side one. If you don't want to freeze as you transition from the port to starboard hot tub, I would start with the starboard one.

Might not get much of a response since Independence of the Seas was just refurbished a few months ago. That said, it'll feel like a brand new ship to you so hopefully the food/service/etc matches the feel of the boat. It was a very comfortable ride before the refurbishment so it'll probably not change after.

Very sorry to hear this. Hopefully all is well again soon.

Glad to hear you have some level of travel insurance to recoup the costs of the trip.

One way is to use an internet based texting app such as WhatsApp, Facebook messenger, Google hangouts/voice, etc. This would require everyone to have an internet package though.

Ship wifi isnt really that expensive if you pre-purchase.

I personally aim for late April to early June as the "ideal" time to cruise. This is when most universities have finished the semester but K-12 schools are still in session. This leads to the age curve I'm looking for where most people traveling are between 20-40 without kids while at the same time, not being a Spring break party boat

As for avoidance of demographics, I'm weary of cruising immediately after a holiday since this shifts the age curve much higher. Made that mistake once after Thanksgiving.

The rental income is only 1/4 of the monthly payment on the loan.

Woah woah woah...If you're buying property with intent to rent, you're doing something very wrong if your rental income is only 1/4 of your payment on a 20 year mortgage.

Sounds like you and your wife need to figure out what you want and talk to a financial advisor because I understand building equity over cruising, I don't understand financing property to rent out at a loss. 1/4 of payment isnt even breaking even on interest! Bad investment.

Well now that I know the points don't stack if one person purchases, we were going to each get a cabin separately and one person in each cabin will get their points. We don't get a group deal for anything under 8 cabins with my TA so we might as well get 3-4 of them to gold rather than leave points on the table. I suppose this invalidates my original question since if we reserve separately, there's no worry about grouping.

We weren't worried about getting cabins grouped together anyway so booking separately is no big deal.

Thanks to everyone for their replies!

Darn. Oh well. At least we arent all required to get the package.

Understood. Thank you for your replies!

I know we could just book all the cabins separately but everyone was ok with me taking credit for the booking on my C&A account for the points since I was arranging the event. :)

Yea, it sounds greedy but 5cabins x 7daycruise will get me from Platinum straight to Diamond

Hello. Some friends and myself are looking to book a cruise sometime in 2019 and some of us are getting the drink package. Problem is, some of them don't want the package since they aren't big drinkers and would be cost prohibitive to one.

To resolve this, we were planning on those that want the package to share cabins and those that do not share cabins.

However, the policy states that adults in the same cabin and under the same booking number must all purchase the drink package. I cant tell if this means if the cabins are booked together, all cabins must purchase the package or if one cabin can purchase the package for all adults while the other cabin only gets soda/refreshment package.

Does anyone know if all adults under a reservation with multiple cabins need to buy the package or if the policy is per-cabin?

We're probably going to be booking between 4-5 cabins where at least 3 cabins will have the package

Day 1, I get there when people are still getting off the boat, partially because we take an early flight in the morning. No worries about bags since we leave them at the dock to be delivered. Just pack a small carry-on with sunblock and a bathing suit.

In my opinion, day 1 is day 1. The earlier you're there, the earlier you start your vacation and start mingling with your fellow (earlybird) cruisers in the terminal.

Many better cards available. Many meet or beat RC card without any annual fees.

It'll be either 50% off second guest plus OBC, 50% off second guest + kids free, or 30% off all guests. The sales do make a slight difference but unless you're booking a group of cabins, the difference should be minor.

No clotheslines in regular cabins on any Oasis Class ships.

 

steamboats

Incorrect. It's a retractable line in the shower. This is true for regular interior as well as regular balcony. I cant speak to what suites have as I havent been in one on Oasis class.

It's not that you're out of touch with prices, but rather - pricing TRENDS. This is getting pretty late to book a cruise in August. If the ship is nearing capacity, which it probably is, prices will go up. Simple supply and demand (as Bob said).

Is 3 months away really cutting it close? Now I'm worried I should buy the Sept 23rd Oasis sailing sooner rather than wait for the next good sale. 50% off second guest is basically normal price and I don't have kids so that part of the sale is lost on me.

Yes. Usually located in the shower

Why would you want to be in a hot tub or a pool ?

"Why go on the ship? Why leave the house? Why do anything? "

This is how fun you sound.

Cruise fares are the cheapest they've ever been because they're making premium services a la carte. I don't use room service so I don't want my cruise fare to include room service.

If every activity on board were a la carte, you could probably get on the boat for a couple hundred in a JS. Problem is, this would make the cruise experience less valuable since you're less likely to see a show/event if you have to pay up for it vs having it included in the fare. However, maybe RC would get the hint that nobody wants to see Cats on Oasis OTS if they implemented this :)

Of course it decreases the value of your trip. If you choose a refundable deposit you pay more for your trip and if there is any OBC included that is decreased. So you lose value in two ways.

You only lose your value if you chose a refundable deposit. If you know you're going on the cruise, why would you need to refund it? The whole purpose for it is to stop people from buying a ton of rooms and holding on to them "just in case" they want to go on the cruise. By doing this, the price actually goes down for everyone since there are unclaimed rooms earlier than 30 days out.

I can understand frustrations but deposits and payment dates do not remove any value from your trip. RC is reducing flexibility since they lose money when someone changes their mind last minute. The solution: get travel insurance which you should have anyway.

Free room service being lost was due to majority of cruisers not using it and a minority exploiting it which can also be said for a few other items on the list.

I've checked rates for Oasis next year while it is in Europe, beginning of June, the cheapest inside cabin -- outrageous rates, BUT only few of them remain.:(

You're surprised that one of the most busy months of the year that's almost sold out a year early has high rates?

Had a guy wearing a graphic t-shirt, cargo shorts, and flipflops on formal night last cruise. It didnt affect my night so I didnt care. The outfit OP mentioned should be just fine.