fsuprincess

Thanks c-leg!

We were on the Epic for a week and the Breakaway for a CTN out of NYC. I base this mostly on the Epic since we were only on the Breakaway for 48 hours. This was also 4 years ago so maybe things have changed. I did comment in my review that it felt like they were understaffed service wise so that might have changed.

 

 

1. Service was atrocious. Only time I have ever considered to withdraw the tip charges. I gave $ to the people i felt deserved it (room steward). Throughout the ship the bartenders were just terrible. Rude. Some didnt even give you the right drink and then claimed thats what you ordered. Wait staff in dining rooms was terrible. Never checked on you. Just threw food down and walked away. They just never made you feel special like I mentioned they did on the Victory cruise. Its night and day. Maybe thats snobby of me but other lines do it and thats part of the experience.

 

 

2. Room. Paid for a balcony. Got one of those hidden balconies with an over hang so our view was sea and then a clunk of metal. You couldnt even see the horizon. I get all lines have these but that should be put in room notes. We like to sit on our balconies and read and enjoy the view. Nothing enjoyable about staring at a metal wall. When we went to guest services, they of course didnt give a crap and just shooed us away. Didnt even offer anything to compensate. Just said too bad.

 

 

3. Didnt feel like a cruise. We like to sit with random people for dinner. We like having the same waiter and time and formal nights. I dont remember if there was a formal night but the others did not apply. My wife and I love each other but after spending a whole day together, its nice to meet some new people and share stories at dinner. I also didnt like the excessive upcharging (which I know is everywhere now too). What to eat good food, add 25$ pp. Their MDRs were bland. The only time you ate good was if you paid more. The ship also didnt feel like a cruise ship. It felt like a strip mall at sea. Walking inside on the Victory, you have outside windows. I dont really remember that on the Epic. It just didnt feel like we were on a cruise.

 

4. Chair hogs. It was legit impossible to get a decent chair on a sea day. The amount of people on the ship + people going out at 6:30 am to reserve them made it impossible. I went back to my inital review and remember there was a family in a suite who saved 10 chairs and never used all of them. It was infuriating.

 

 

There were some good no doubt and we had a great time like we always do but compared to other lines, I put them at the very bottom. Like I said, I like the 'cruise experience' and it just seemed anything but that.

Thank you for the feedback! Some of the things you mentioned were already concerns for us, I have heard such negative things but the amenities look really interesting... Guess we are still undecided.

Glad you enjoyed this trip!! And thanks again for sharing.

Is the bar hop an excursion you book with the cruise line, independent operator, or just do on your own?

Thanks!!

HI GR!

We have been on several RC and Carnival cruises, and a DCL in May... We were thinking about NCL next year. Can you tell me why you hated it? Which NCL ship were you on?

Just an FYI- we did the Oasis last year (sister to Allure) and LOVED it! I would do either ship again in a heartbeat.

Thanks for the perspective!

Hello All,

I am looking for a website that shows available cabins on the Oasis (specifically on the 5-21-16 sailing). We booked deck 7 aft, but are thinking we may want to go more mid-ship or move up to deck 8. When I look on the RCCL website, they show nothing on either deck. I am pretty sure I have seen something like this in the past but couldn't find it when I did a search.

On a side note, has anyone had any experience on deck 7 aft? Is there a public balcony at the end of the hall?

Thanks in advance!:)

Thank you Clarea!!

We are so excited to be sailing in our first balcony!!!! But I could certainly use some help since it's been a while since we have sailed RC and never a ship this size..... Does anyone know if this cabin has the bed or the couch next to the balcony? I calls and spoke to a RCCL rep, but he said there was no way for him to know and that they only have general plans.... Is there another way to figure it out, if no one here has sailed that room?

We would also like to know if that hall dead ends by our room or if it somehow goes out to where the rock climbing wall is?

We have done smaller ships before and are slightly concerned about being so far aft... Can anyone give some input?

Thank you so much!

Thank you everyone. We want to go on this trip for our anniversary, otherwise we would wait until November and go for the Harmony.

When I spoke to the RC agent, she said that the company I was looking at buys bulk rooms, then re-sells them at a discounted rate. I just don't know..... maybe RC will have a really good sale coming up (like a kids sail free... probably not, but I can hope).

Thanks again!

Sorry about that and thanks for the heads up! I thought if the site was on cruise critic it would be ok.... Any thoughts on the allure vs oasis?

Hello everyone,

My husband and I are looking at the Allure or Oasis for next summer (May 2016). It will be the first time we take our little one and we usually book direct with the cruise lines. We are trying to keep costs down so I started looking at online TA's. I found a rate from the cruise critic search page (directed me to direct line cruises dot com), but I have never heard of them and am a little skeptical. They have the same cruse/cabin for over a thousand dollars less than RC. I tried calling RC but they won't match the price.

My questions are: which ship is better, the allure or oasis? Has anyone used this company? If anyone has a good online ta they can recommend, please let me know (I believe you would have to PM me, but I'm not sure).

Thank you in advance for the assistance!!

Hi Lisa,

Do you by any chance have the "fun times" from your trip?

Thanks!

We are doing this itinerary the week of the 11th too! Only 2 more months!!

There is definitely a Starbucks in San Juan, it's pretty close to the port but it is a smaller shop and they limit the kinds of credit cards you can use.