luvsmike

Sorry for the late reply.  Regarding embarkation...if you have sailed out of Charleston 7-8 times then it is probably no different. I just did not expect it to take 2 hours to park and get processed before entering the ship.  My expectations will different next time.  With regard to disembarkation...I think it takes so long because a large majority of the guests self carry their luggage.  We were scheduled to get off the ship at 9:00 and it was just after 10:00 when they called our number....and we had the first tags to get off.  (self carry decks were still being called) I enjoyed my first Charleston cruise. It is just different then sailing out of bigger ports.  

I was on the same cruise as you!  I had a couple of different experiences:  I found the Serenity pool to always be crowded and could not find clam shells at all during the day  (This would be sea days). The ship definitely needs some repairs.  I did not notice broken chairs or handrails but the carpet in our stateroom was ripped and warn.  They may not have shut down water works but they did shut down the ropes course due to high winds. I thought embarkation and disembarkation was a difficult process.  We have only sailed out of Florida and the process is much smoother.  I recommend hanging out on the ship as long as you can on disembarkation day to let the crowds pass.  On a more positive note:  the crew was some of the nicest people i have ever met and the cruise director was a hoot!  The food was very good and the rock and roll show was fabulous.  I will definitely cruise out of Charleston again.

The last time we cruised I brought a difusser and Essential Oils. I had Lavender for help with sleep and one called On-Guard for keeping germs at bay. This will also keep your cabin smelling nice. I buy diffussers through Amazon for about $20 and my oils from DoTerra. Hope this helps

We had 8 in our party on the Oasis last month and MTD was kind of stressful. We could choose 5:30 or 8:30 but not 7:00. They really want to turn two tables per evening...I get it. But those in out party thought 5:30 was too early and 8:30 was too late. We split the time and ate half the time early and half the time late. We ate at Chops one evening at 6:30 which was perfect. MTD is easier when the party is small.

I LOVE Costa Maya. DW can take a short taxi drive to Majahual. She can get a chair and umbrella and internet! Also they offer massages on the beach...heavenly! Search Costa Maya on this site.

We are just back from the oasis with a party of 8 and had MTD. If you are linked together only one person has to make the reservations for everybody. We struggled with them to get the time we wanted. They wanted us to choose 5:30 or 7:45. We only have this problem when sailing with other people. We really wanted 6:30 or 7:00 but they said they couldn't do it. In the end we ate at one specialty restaurant at 7:00 and at in the MDR at 5:45 3 nights and 7:45 the other 3 nights. But we made the reservations on the first day...maybe if you make them in advance you will have better luck. It wouldn't matter so much but we had shows booked and had to work around them.

We are just off the Oasis. DH was disappointed that guests are not allowed on the Helo Pad. Is this this a new restriction for all of the newer ships or just the Oasis class ships?

Couple of posters have mentioned curtains to divide cabin - don't remember on any RC ship - curious which ships have them.

I know the Mariner had them for sure...I have pictures. Maybe the Monarch??

I love the Oasis & Quantum class the most. To the Op, we sailed on the Navigator this Feb. & no curtain dividers and since you love this ship, just wondering.

Nelblu: I know!!! That was the only thing about the Navigator I didn't like. Love, Love the curtains!

Technically it's against the rules, but they generally let it through. The wine box I have never heard of someone trying, but I wouldn't want to risk it being taken away and just go with bottles.

I think the key is to carry it on. We always bring a few cokes and a case of water...and wine and it has never been a problem.

Did you even try for a different time? What did they say?[/quote

 

Yes, but the problem was that we had 8 people. So many people in MTD want the same waiter so they reserve their tables. It seems that you should not be able to reserve in MTD to make it a true MTD...but it worked out ok...

My defuser is a regular size but it can be turned down...in other words you can set it to where the vapor comes out slowly so as not to be too much in the room. Two other couples we traveled with also brought defusers.

Walk up to any bar and ask for a wine glass or ask your steward for one.

Actually I asked for two...A very firm pillow and a very soft feather pillow. He brought both :-) He said if these were not good he would bring others for me to try.

Dh and I have been on many cruises but this is our first time on an oasis class ship. We sailed with 4 couples (total) all of us are in our mid 50's. First let me say that we had a wonderful cruise! Here are some particulars: When we arrived at the terminal the wait time was about 40 minutes in the car just to drop off luggage. We have never experienced this before at Port Canaveral or otherwise. Traffic was just horrific at the terminal. Is this normal? It was about 10:30 and it was almost 11:30 before we got to park the car. Once we got inside the wait time was nothing...we boarded the ship within 20 minutes. The frustration was quickly forgotten as we walked through the beautiful ship. We carried on water, cokes and wine. I bought box wine this time because it fits in the fridge better and no corkscrew needed. No problems getting through.

Dining: We chose My Time Dining which is hard when you have 8 people. They still want you to choose 5:30 or 7:45. I get it...they can serve twice as many tables this way. We reserved 5:30 half the time and 7:45 the other half (our party was split on when we wanted to eat and this was a good compromise) We ate at Chops one night at 7:00. DH and I cruised by ourselves last year and MTD was not a problem at all....we ate whenever we wanted. Anyway, the food was very good....we always got something we loved. We ate breakfast inn the MDR or at the Solarium Cafe. Lunch in the MDR, Wipeout or Solarium. We hardly went to the Windjammer. We got coffee room service every morning.

Excursions: In St Thomas we took on sailboat ride on The Fury to Turtle Bay. The snorkeling was wonderful and the captain was great. My favorite day! In St. Martin we reserved a driver for the day. He took us to Friars Bay Beach and from there we hiked over to Happy Beach. It is probably the prettiest beach in the Caribbean...and virtually no people. After that we went to Marigot for lunch and shopping and then to Juliana International Airport to "ride the fence" and watch the planes land. It was super fun!

Our favorite things about the Oasis: Central park was lovely. The Solarium was great - a bit hot but a nice pool and a great restaurant. Cats - Cats was great....the people who did not like this production just didn't like abstract shows. But you can't deny the talent. The singing and dancing was superb. We also think the service was the best we have ever had.

What we missed -The Halo pad, The Viking Crown Lounge,Deck 4, shows every night....we missed seeing the Royal Caribbean Singers and Dancers most nights after dinner. I know this sounds silly but I miss the curtains that close around your bed. DH likes to stay up longer than me and this blocks out the light and also allows more privacy for at least of us when ordering room service.

Our Steward, Charles, was very good. I ran a defuser in our room with essential oils: On Guard to keep us healthy and Lavender at night for sleep. Charles was intrigued by this and I explained essential oils to him. In the end I left him my defuser and three oils. He as so happy and said his family would love it. I left him sticky notes of some things I wanted: Ice, robes, different pillow, etc and the items just appeared in our room. All in all The Oasis was a great ship and regular cruisers should definitely experience her. However, my favorite ship so far in the Navigator of the Seas. Sometimes bigger is not better:-)

A better question is "Where can you hide where no one will find you"?:p

Where did you get that information?

 

Have not heard of RCI charging to pick rooms...They do sometimes offer guarantee staterooms, which are cheaper, and they assign you the room, but those aren't on every sailing.

I think it is a new upcharge for RCI. We sailed last November and did not have to pay more to choose our room. The booking we did yesterday required an upchage for deck 9. I don't know how much more - DH did the booking. You could "fake book" one and see for yourself. BTW - this is the Navigator out of Ft. Lauderdale in April

We just booked with RCI for April 2016. We were considering a Carnival ship because the price seemed much lower. (We have cruised both lines) There are a lot of hidden costs when actually booking Carnival.

There was a 7 day Carnival cruise listed at $390 for April 2016. Upon investigating, we found that price was for rooms on deck 1 only. There was a $10 per day per person charge to have the ability to pick a different room. Then another up charge for the actual room.

I know RCIl now charges extra for you to pick your own room, but not as much as Carnival. When all was said and done, we ended up paying about $100 more per person for an 8 day cruise on RCI than a similar 7 day Carnival.

Bottom line...Carnival might not be as inexpensive as you think. We have enjoyed our 3 Carnival cruises but RCI is a step above in our humble opinion.

Quite honestly...if no one ever saved a chair for any reason...there would always be good chairs for anyone who wanted to sit in one. They should have "cubbies" for people to put their stuff in and chairs for people to sit in.

We have cruised before but never for 9 days and we are so excited to see some "new" ports of call.

...that feeling you get when it is time to acutely start packing, gassing up the car, leaving notes for the kids, calling your mamma, cleaning out the fridge...

....yep...we head to Cocoa Beach on Friday with 3 other couples for our first 9 night Southern Cruise. Can't sleep a wink...DH says that we have a very good packing list making it impossible to forget anything. We'll see!

You could just buy the stuff they are selling and not try to talk them down.