utopiahereicome

I can see the offer in my cruise planner on a banner at the bottom of the "dining" page, but there is nowhere to click to order it - am I having a Safari browser issue because I don't see a button, or is there somewhere else I need to look to purchase the dining package?

Falmouth - Blue Hole

Labadee - zip line if you've never done it before

Cozumel - Chankanaab (great snorkeling, nice beach, pool with swim up bar, changing and bathroom facilities, restaurant - and highly recommend the manatee swim)

We were on Oasis in Aqua Suite last year, could not book Coastal Kitchen on line, I reserved by going there when we got on the ship, had no problem getting the nights/times we wanted.

Thanks for the comparison - our last 3 cruises have been on Oasis class, but our next is on Navigator, so this is very helpful!

We did this on Oasis June 2014 for my husband. I had contacted Royal via email prior to the cruise to arrange. The ship's personnel did a wonderful job of keeping us informed of date and time, and handled the ceremony with compassion and dignity. I brought the biodegradable urn in my carry on, no one even asked about it. The certificate is very nice, and includes the latitude/longitude of the place we were at when we scattered his ashes.

Thank you for providing the great pics! We will be doing the 8 night itinerary in April and have been looking for info, never sailed on Navigator before so looking forward to a new (for us) ship!

Be sure to bring a printout of your reservation confirmation for the check-in process (both at the front gate and at the dolphin discovery). Also, if you have your own snorkel, bring it! They only give you a mask to swim with the manatee, not a breathing tube thing. We only had one, and DH was kind to enough to let me use it!

 

Thanks for the snorkel tip!

Can I ask how much you paid for the photo package once you bargained them down?

Thanks for your review! I was especially interested in your "swim with the manatee" experience at Chaankanaab as we have that booked also for our time in Cozumel in a few weeks - like you, we have done the "swim with dolphins" thing a few times, so thought this would be different - so glad to hear you had a wonderful time! Also appreciated hearing about the buffet for lunch - traveling with my 15 year old grandson who is a bottomless pit, so we will probably pay for the buffet (and they will lose money on him, no doubt!).

Thank you for sharing! :)

Also used Bernard's tours last summer, went to Orient, Marigot and finished the day at Maho, it was an awesome day!

Thank you!!! I am most concerned w/ missing the ship when booking non ship excursions! (Saw a video of people in Jamaica missing the ship... climbing up rope ladder... not for me!)

 

Just remember that the tour operators make their living by ensuring that customers are safe and delivered back to their ship on time - as long as you do your research and choose someone reputable (and there is tons of info both on these boards as well as on trip advisor), the chances of being delivered late are slim. I'm sure that it happens once in a while due to unforeseen circumstances, but we have frequently used local companies for tours and have never had a bad experience yet (knock on wood!!!).

Since you are sailing Oasis, I assume you are docking in Falmouth? Will you share some specifics of your tour details? Pick up/drop off times in relation to your time in port is mainly what I am looking for.

TIA!

 

Yes, we are docking in Falmouth at 10:30, reservation says to get off ship as early as possible, no specific time listed (but these tour operators know when the ships dock), and directions for how to find the tour within the gated section of the port. Time for tour is listed as 4-6 hours, so we should be back to the ship by 5pm at the latest and we sail at 7pm.

Thanks for posting your video, really enjoyed it and it gave me a much more complete picture of Blue Hole than any other video I have seen.

We will be there in 3 weeks, myself and 2 grandkids age 11 and 15 - I have been stressing about whether or not I made the right choice in booking this tour, but since watching your video I know we will all enjoy it!:)

Thanks again!

I used CSA, purchased through insuremytrip - when my husband had to have bypass surgery and we had to cancel our cruise, the company quickly and easily refunded the entire amount.

I always used to purchase the insurance because of my husband's health issues. Now that he has passed, I still always purchase it from CSA even when traveling with my 2 grandchildren - you never know when an accident will happen, especially with kids! I think it's worth it for peace of mind.

My husband used a walker with a seat, and he also had a scooter - he always used the scooter to board the ship and we always put a luggage tag on and checked the walker in with our luggage. Never once had a problem, the walker was always delivered to cabin, never had an issue with damage. Maybe we were just lucky...but based on our experience I think you will be fine with checking it with luggage.

Finally, someone posted a video of room 12730 on You Tube:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LshdlvsOWBo

Cruised with my granddaughter who was 10 on Oasis last June, and she LOVED the kids club! We signed her up on boarding day, and she went the following night after dinner - came to pick her up around 10pm and she was fully engaged in a game they were playing, begged to stay longer! And that's how it went for the rest of the cruise, she went almost every night and made lots of new BFFs! She really liked the kids club employees as well, they all have cute nicknames and are great with the kids. By the fourth day of the cruise, it seemed that everywhere we went she ran into people she knew, including the kids club employees who always greeted her by name.

At that age you have the option of allowing them to sign themselves out of the club, we did not allow her to do that as I was afraid of her being on her own on such a big ship.

We are cruising again on Oasis in May, and the kids club is what my granddaughter is most looking forward to!

We had My Time Dining on Oasis last June, party of 4, had made reservations on line prior to cruise, every night was between 6:30 and 7, never had a wait except for 1 formal night when we waited for about 15 minutes. Also had the same table and wait staff every night but one.

We loved it and would recommend!:)

We rented the phones when we were on Oasis last June, had to go to the card room where the computers are and they have a limited number of phones to rent. Our experience was not good - many "dead" areas on the ship, calls did not go through - we left them in the room after the first few days because it just didn't work well. Not to mention the stress of worrying about our teenager losing the phone and the $1,000 to replace it! :eek:
We found out too late that if we had returned them by the third day, we would not be charged - so you may want to try it but keep in mind that if they don't suit your needs, return them right away and find a different way to communicate.

Our experience with the phones on Oasis was not positive - most of the time they did not seem to work, lots of "dead" areas - not to mention the stress of losing or damaging one and the monetary repercussions. When we sail on her again in May, we will be going back to our tried and true methods of communication - post its in the room, messages on the ship phones.

We have 12730 reserved for 5/9/15 sailing and are sticking with it for now, lots of GS left on this date so don't feel pressure yet to make a decision to change. If the price of the crown loft came down a little, might persuade me to make a move - we had one last year that was facing ocean and of course enjoyed it, might try one facing the sports deck this time.

Ugh...well, there are still plenty of GSs available on our sailing, so could switch into a "normal" GS, but will probably wait to see how this develops. I hate to give up that wrap around balcony, but am disappointed to hear how small the two rooms are as well as the bathroom.

Cindy,

Thank you so much for taking the time to send the pics, really appreciate! We are in 12730 in May and can't wait!

Looks exactly the same as when we sailed on her in June, heard through another post that the only change is that they added a lock on the entry gate so that you have to swipe your card to get access - prior there was just a gate to the stairway that goes up to the sun deck with a sign on it that said Suite Guests only.

My granddaughter was 10 when we brought her on Oasis in June, she loved Adventure Ocean and wanted to go every night - and begged to stay when we would come to pick her up! She made a lot of friends that week, and she also really enjoyed the camp counselors. We did not allow her to sign herself out since it was her first cruise - when we go back on Oasis in May of next year, we will allow her the privilege to sign herself out.

We were on Oasis a few months ago, and the bar was always open during the day on the "suites only" sun deck, but drinks were not complimentary.