rockmom

and also, back then, a good sale on a drink package was in the neighborhood of $40 per person, per day. Not a 'good sale' is $70 per day like it is now.

Probably someone doing a 'weekend update' to things, and come tomorrow, someone will NOT be having a good day at work.

Well, to start, business for cruise lines was booming. Overall cost off goods was much lower, including liquor. Oh, and there's those pesky multi-billion dollar piles of debt that all the cruise lines have post Covid.

Yep! I bought this but knew it was probably an error. Friends I'm sailing with as well also purchased. But I pointed out to them the terms and conditions and said that they have the right to cancel and refund. I'm guessing its a teeny tiny percent of people who click on all the T&Cs or read them on their cruise documents, and then are outraged when something isn't honored. Is it a bummer? Totally! But I knew the terms and clicked that I agreed to them, since you have to click that in order to purchase.

Did you click on the 'I accept the terms and conditions' that you have to check before hitting the final button to purchase? And then read all the pages? They do not have to honor it. Just like they can change an itinerary without any compensation, etc.

I booked--I'm solo in one room and my friend and her husband are in the room next door for our Allure sailing in December. So obviously mine is $88.99. To be on the 'safe side' we did book both my friend and her husband, in separate transactions. Did anyone notice on the check out page it says this?

I've stayed there twice. Once was in 2021 when it was the best option when having a 6:00 am flight and it was about $150. I thought, what a weird place, and definitely dumpy, but so convenient. Second time was actually a year ago tomorrow, after disembarking Symphony and massive flights were canceled due to a storm. I travel a TON for work, so could see the writing on the wall, was actually able to use the American App to get a seat out the next day, while many others were stuck for 2, 3 or more days. I also was able to book the LAST room at MIA using my phone. They charged me almost $500 for that prison cell, but I didn't have to sleep on the floor of the airport. I did take a photo of the sign on the back of the door that said the max rate allowed to be charged for that room was $299. It's run by the city, built when the airport was built, never got a reply, but I felt better sending it. The views are always great from that place. First time I wasn't as high up so only got the concrete wall, 2nd time I got the peekaboo view of the airport through the 6 inch thick scratched glass, lol. Still, better than sleeping on the floor.

I need to make sure that TA keeps me in the loop for the next one. 😉

You have the cutest family. ❤️ Have a great voyage!

This is not a map of our sailing, but similar. This is the way they head to the eastern Caribbean. Oasis will leave Fort Lauderdale and head southeast until they get to Basseterre. I've sailed in spring and had very calm seas, sailed in spring and had wind and waves. You can't predict the weather (although you CAN avoid booking during hurricane season, lol) On Symphony last March, they had to close the pools and upper outer decks from the wind. The Oasis class ships are big, they do fine in very choppy seas and you don't feel it nearly as much as you would on a smaller ship. It's actually kind of cool to see the ocean all crazy like that.

April of 2025? That's the only time I see that itinerary on Oasis. I'm on that sailing. That's a long time from now. 🙂

They have had Evian packages in the past and they were always more expensive. Over the past few years there have been water packages for 'not a famous brand' bottled water. We paid $11.99 last black Friday for a 12 pack for a cruise on Freedom that sailed in February. We have a 24 pack of 'bottled/canned/ water du jour reserved for a longer sailing, on Black Friday it was $16.99. The bottles/cans were always whatever the local brand would be, as someone showed, last summer we had the canned San Benedetto water when sailing out of Rome. That was also a 24 pack we pre-booked and was less than $20. Maybe they are doing away with basic, local brand water and will only offer Evian and a higher price? Makes the C&A Welcome waters more valuable, if they are giving Evian, lol.

What about the possibility of flipping schedules between ships. Put Utopia on 7 nights, and use a ship that was originally doing 7, to now move to the 3/4 night rotation.

I have the reverse booked in 2025, Grandeur, then Oasis. Picked that combo because it gave me the widest variety of ports that I've yet to visit and a stop at Labadee while on Grandeur, then Coco Cay for Oasis.

Yes, you need to add the names and then it's one of the options like choosing a dinner time and adding gratuities.

Yes, if you look to the far right to the last palm tree, you can see the beach bed just to the palm tree's left. They are all in a row against the backdrop of the ship so they sort of blend in. I think families like this area as it's the small, shallow protective coves, easy to get from the ship and back, close to the 'free' smaller kid's water park and not that far to go to Thrill water park either.

first of all, you might want to ask on the Celebrity board in case things are a little different than Royal. Secondly, are you asking about flying with wine in your checked bag? Because if so, there are things you can buy to 'catch the mess' if it breaks while in the cargo hold of the plane--search Amazon. If you're talking about checked bags on the ship--wine must be hand carried on, NOT in a checked bag.

good choice. For that crazy price, you can do so many other things either in port or on the ship--zip lines, dining, etc.

It has always been 'fountain' soda. Cup needed for the freestyle machine, but you can get fountain soda at any bar, and can order it in the restaurants as well. The upside of using the Freestyle machines is that they also have things like Powerade, various flavored waters and lemonades, not just soda. Canned soda is not supposed to be included, but as others have said, on occasion they have been given a can. But don't expect it.

Yes! That is exactly what the people on House Hunters were after--and found.

The smell of curry is one of very few smells I can't tolerate at all. I had to find a new place to live when I had an apartment next door to a lovely family from India, but the smell made me physically sick. So it's no surprise that the taste of it, even if it's a tiny amount in the recipe, is intolerable for me. Not sure if it's an allergy, but it's definitely an intense reaction. Funny, I was watching the TV show 'House Hunters' and it was an Indian family looking for a new home and the wife said she wanted a 'fully closed off kitchen' because of all the pungent smells from Indian cooking--and they didn't want their clothing and furniture to reek of curry. Her words, not mine.

Have a great time! My son and his wife are on this sailing as well. Looks like you'll all be getting some great weather!

Not exactly. Reservations are recommended. You can book a reservation for a different time each night, based on what is available. I book them via the cruise planner ahead of time and then make some adjustments if I can once onboard. The earliest I've seen is 6:30 or 6:45 depending on the ship, up until 9 pm. I have seen really long longs for people who show up and don't have a reserved spot, but sometimes even with a reserved My Time spot, there can be quite a wait unless you have one of the later evening spots.

From a Cruise Compass for Radiance last year during the Alaska sailings:

I don't know, we didn't use the pool. But back to Odyssey, I figure the Solarium will be more packed than ever with adults that would normally be out on the regular pool deck. When I sailed on Odyssey last summer out of Rome, it was beautiful summer weather, perfect for the outdoor pools. But the solarium was still jammed, not a lounger to be found by about 10 am. I can only imagine how much worse it will be when it's 30 degrees coming out of NYC. Sardine can.