MightyMike

I can definitely see how compensation would be warranted for those with a drink package. Weather-related or not, it is cutting into the daily beverage rate you paid for, and I doubt the cruise terminal has an open bar!

We have a standard balcony cabin reserved for Wonder of the Seas. Does anyone know about how many water bottles would fit into the cooler? We know we are allowed to carry 12 bottles onboard, but are looking at purchasing either the 12-bottle package ($10) or 24-bottle package ($14) from Royal Caribbean since the prices are not that outrageous. About how many do you think would fit into the cooler at any given time?

We just reserved with them for spring break. Corey gave us the best rate and passed along some tips since he just got off the ship we are scheduled to travel on.

I agree that the workers themselves are not the issue. It is incompetent management that has forgotten what cultured and refined dining is and replaced it with a factory-oriented, numeric incentive system. I also noticed this type of intrusiveness on my last cruise, but not quite to the level of annoyance the OP experienced. I understand that all we have to do is to tell the waiter we are fine (each time). I understand that their compensation (and perhaps their jobs) are dependent upon our cooperation. I understand that it doesn't take a whole lot of work on our part to help them out. But I long for the days when we didn't even need to think about such matters and could instead focus entirely on enjoying the meal and conversation.

Probably. Pending charges are a common thing. They block you from utilizing your full credit limit, but eventually drop off.

I agree with the above. Book the lower price and carefully inspect the invoice. Be ready to cancel within 24 hours. The fact that both prices are the same in the second screenshot looks suspicious to me. My guess is that the balcony price somehow got cached as the interior price. But if you get it in writing on the invoice, you are good to go. Nothing to lose by trying.

That's a tough one. We had an 8:00 pm flight and bought a day pass at a hotel. It worked well but it was an all-day thing. It's probably not worth it for just a few hours. There are a couple of places in Miami that hold your luggage for a small fee. I believe one is at MIA airport. Search online and you should find them. However, given your flight is still relatively early, I would probably just wait until last call to get off of the ship, then hang out at the airport. You might be able to stay on the ship as late as 9:00 am--depending on how disembarkation is going. I believe most airlines have a 4-hour luggage check-in rule, so you might be able to check your luggage with the airline as early as 9:45.

There was one time for me when it did benefit me. A "special" room became available on a Friday night. It was the same category as mine with a double-sized balcony. If I had booked with a travel agent, it probably would have been taken before Monday--which would have been the first time I could call. As it was, I was able to call the cruise line and had the room secured Friday night.

Go ahead and duck, but if you do duck, please do so responsibly. We were on Symphony of the Seas last spring break and we saw so many ducks "hidden" in Central Park that it often looked more like trash. One person bragged about 300 ducks on one cruise. Hide your ducking well so that it is not easy for kids to see.

Sounds like Harmony's next cruise is heading West!

Not necessarily. We had some rain in the morning. Both Mariner and Symphony were docked. The lines were excessive all day.

It is especially crazy considering how long the lines are for the best slides.

Being in the same ship class, they are very, very similar. As you stated, Wonder is newer. Wonder has The Mason Jar specialty restaurant and a larger Windjammer buffet. The Aqua shows are similar--but different. The ice skating shows are similar--but different. Oasis has Cats. Oasis has the Portside BBQ specialty restaurant. My guess is that you would have a nearly identical experience on each. Let the cost and itinerary drive your decision.

I did the same--a European USB adapter with 2 USB outlets. Probably was $10 max. Worked like a charm. No risk of confiscation. Satisfied all my USB needs. North American outlet remained free.

We reserved Chops for 6:00 pm. Another family we are travelling with also tried to get 6:00 but the best they could do is 5:45. We would like to sit together. Do you think Chops could overlook the time difference and seat us all together?

If it truly is a casita, I'm amazed being free ever worked. Squatters must have gotten up before 5 am to put their stuff inside. To me, it makes more sense to charge for something in that much demand.

To me it seems like a lot of times the total price ends up about the same regardless of the promotion. It is almost as if they change the base price and other rules so that the final price after promotions are applied doesn't vary as much as one might think.

The way I read it, people who are already booked can wait until just before sailing to pre-pay at the lower rate.

I have always been satisfied when I booked a GTY cabin. Maybe it's just luck. I've only really ever been disappointed with one cabin that I selected myself because it looked bigger on the deck plan (Norwegian). Turns out it was the same size--just more square. You had to practically climb over the bed to use the sofa. Oh, just remembered the Disney cruise cabin which had a sewage smell coming from the ceiling vent--but that could happen regardless. My understanding is that it is rare for them to literally wait until the last minute to assign a room. Chances are you will have an opportunity to switch to another cabin of the same category at some point. You probably can't infer too much about the specific rooms available by doing a mock booking. I'm sure there is a substantial amount of "musical chairs" going on as upgrades happen, GTYs are assigned, and people get bumped.

Completely agree. The Norwegian Wind was one of our favorite cruises ever when we sailed in 1998. The dining, activities and excursions were amazing. The two NCL cruises we took since (Norwegian Sun, Norwegian Pearl) were among the worst.

For me it was the Windjammer Polynesia in October 2001. It was shortly after the attacks of September 11, 2001. Flying had just started up again and international flights (like ours) were under intense scrutiny. Every suitcase was inspected inside and out by hand in St. Lucia. We could see some travelers were packing some very interesting toys! Ours was the first cruise after a major renovation. For those who don't know, the Polynesia was originally a sailing ship used for fishing that was converted into a small cruise ship in the Windjammer Barefoot Cruises fleet. It was fitted with a new engine when renovated--an engine that was much lighter and ran hotter. The weight change affected the balance of the ship. It would continuously lean to one side the entire trip. Water would pool up in the corner of the shower because it could not reach the drain. Water was heated by the engine, but when they hooked up the water line to the new (hotter) engine, steam came out of the faucets--so they had to turn off all hot water for safety reasons. Showers were tepid at best. There were some sewage incidents on the lowest deck, so water had to be turned off to all toilets except for a shared one near the bar. Luckily, we had a cabin on deck so were not as severely impacted. One evening all power went off for a several hours. All that we had were the emergency lights on the mast. Everyone stayed up on deck. Captain Casey and the crew couldn't figure out what was wrong and we didn't know if power could be restored. Finally, they figured out that a garbage bag got stuck in the fuel line. Drinks were free while the crew was figuring it all out. It was our best cruise ever. We were prepared for a more rustic cruise than on the major lines but this exceeded all expectations. There was plenty to complain about, but anyone who could go with the flow had a great time. We made friends we still keep in contact with 20 years later.

Have you sailed on an Oasis-class ship before? Do you want to? Harmony would be a good choice if you wanted to stay on the ship while in port. There still should be plenty to do--and fewer lines to boot. If you want the ship itself to be the destination, then Harmony gives you a lower price and more onboard time. If you haven't sailed Oasis-class yet and want to check out some ports, then Wonder seems best. Voyager would be fine too but if this is your only chance to sail an Oasis-class ship, then you might regret not taking the opportunity to try it out.

I was on Symphony of the Seas in April and there were so many ducks in Central Park it was ridiculous. Pretty much every island of plants had a duck in there somewhere. One member of a social media group for that cruise brought one suitcase with nothing but ducks. I think the novelty of it has worn off. When does this stop being cute and instead just become plastic trash?

If Royal Caribbean wants all of those rooms for quarantine, they might still upgrade you anyway.

We had a similar issue in Miami. There were no signs. The only way people could figure out the system they had was for each and every one of them to individually go to the front and ask. A couple of signs--or even an agent with a loud voice--would have improved our first impressions of the cruise.