bala1130

17 minutes ago, LilBlackDress said:

I would think it would be quieter at the front of the ship vs the aft.  and I would try and make sure there are rooms above and below you 

I would agree with the front of the ship since the kid's pool and sports activities are located at the back of the ship.  

There was a time when Royal had this service. We did a B2B on the Allure in Ft Lauderdale, then left on the Majesty the next morning. They gave us transportation to Miami and put us up in a hotel. Then transportation to the Majesty the next morning. I think they stopped providing this service shortly after we did it.

 

I laughed the most at their version of Love & Marriage. That was actually pretty funny.

 

 

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My wife and I have already started to practice our set answers for the Love & Marriage game for our Oct cruise.

Question is, does it get any cheaper than that?

 

Thanks in advance

It's a lot cheaper if you skip buying the package all together.

Remember cruising when you paid your fare and taxes and gratuities and that was IT? Now cruise lines, especially RCCL, are charging for basically everything- better food, room service, fancy coffee, yoga classes. My question is: What will they charge for next? How far does their nickel and diming go?

I've never used room service; I don't drink coffee or interested in yoga classes. I have no problems not subsidising these with my base cruise fare.

Are there Florida resident discount fares? What do you need to get this discount? Does owning a 2nd home in Florida get you FL resident rates? Are these mainly last minutes cruises?

I find a lot of the cheap flight sites don't include Southwest flights. You may have to go directly to their website. What is great with SW is they don't charge for 2 x 50 lb. bags. There is also no change fee if the price goes down.

Royal needs to find some new ports that can handle all these larger ships. I love the Oasis class ships, but am getting tired of visiting that same limited number of places that can dock these large ships. You can only go to Charlotte Amale, Phillipsburg, Falmouth, Cozumel so may time..

Check out The Grapes Pub. It is located on the Thames in Limehouse and is owned by Sir Ian McKellen, who also lives next to it. You would never know who owned the pub unless you noticed Gandalf's Staff mounted on the wall behind the bar. Or happen to stumble in there on a Monday night when Sir Ian hosts pub trivia from time to time.

Yes London is awesome. If you get a London pass with transportation it includes buses and the tube. We just rode the public double decker bus for fun a few times when it made sense on the way somewhere. Also the pass with the transport gets you to Windsor castle and entry all included.

 

The cost of many of the big attractions is like 10-20 pounds each which is like $20-30 depending on conversion rates. The London pass can be a good deal depending on interests.

 

I seriously want to go back now just thinking about it.

I agree. The "London Pass" is great for hitting a number of attractions for a few day trip. We saved a lot of money using it.

no they cannot wait with you in the suite area nor board with you. if you want to board together you must go by their boarding number.

Not total true. I (Emerald) was able to sit in the Suite area and board with with my in-laws (Diamond+). But was allowed to do this because I was pushing them in their wheelchairs. So their are ways this can happen. :D:D

Just returned from sailing the Oasis still torn on how to proceed with this review but here we go. Let's get one thing out of the way this ship is in DESPERATE need of a total overhaul . If this was my first sailing with Royal i would not sail them again based on the overall condition of the ship and the interaction with the crew on board. We still had an absolute blast and can have a good time under most circumstances but at this price point there are simply better options for ships available to cruisers .

 

THE GOOD - Entertainment as always was top notch . Chester in the Schooner bar and Tommy Greene jr in the Globe at Atlas were outstanding . Diving show was excellent however i liked the allure show better. Beatle Mania is always a hoot. Comedy show was also fantastic. Activities and the scope of options available for all age ranges was simply unreal I fail to see how anyone could possibly be bored. It has been become perfectly clear that Royal is pushing their customers to the Specialty Dinning options. The dinner at Giovonis Table was out of this world and just simply heads and tails a better dinning experience then the main dinning room.

 

THE BAD - The condition of this ship and its age is really starting to show. Stains on carpets can be found everywhere . I tried to ignore it but honestly it was impossible . Many of the public Washroom facilities were dirty and not well maintained. Our cruise director was with no doubt was the worst we have ever had. I am one who likes to have a few beverages while on vacation and the bar service was just a complete disaster. Slow and just terrible customer service . A smile and some personality would be nice. We even tried to tip above and beyond s with our first drink in hoping they would look after our group but that was a wasted exercise. This theme continues with pretty bad interactions with staff at next cruise bookings and at the front desk. Royal has invested hundreds of millions in new ships and new tech but tis time they start investing some serious money for training of their staff . Was it all bad no of course not. There were a few shining stars amongst the crew especially those running the flowrider they were great with my daughter and our room attendant who was also top notch . But overall compared to previous sailings the customer service from the crew of the Oasis was a disappointment . On our final day my daughter wanted to try Johnny Rockets for breakfast . we arrived as they opened and were seated promptly . we then sat their for 40 minutes and watched every other table that arrived after us receive their food while we did not. Not a great way to start the last day .

 

CONCLUSION - We have cruised Royal a number of times in the past and even booked a future sailing on the Symphony for 2020 . It is a shame for first time cruisers if the Oasis is your very first sailing. You will not see what Royal is truly capable of giving to their customers . i hope they get this ship in to dry dock asap and give her the long overdue maintenance that she needs. Please feel free to ask any questions you may have about the ship ie Drinks , food , bars , activities

I was on the Oasis in Feb '18 and also a different experience on the ship. Didn't notice any issues with carpet stains or with the washrooms. I wasn't a fan of the Beatle Mania show. We walked out after 3 songs. The Ice show was outstanding. The guy that does the sand art is amazing. But the Aqua Show was just OK. The quality of the divers were pretty average. But I was on a NCAA college diving team, so my views may be a bit too critical. The MDR staff seemed to be a bit overworked, but did an outstanding job. There was some up selling going on mainly in the Promenade. It didn't really bother us.

Just read the post about the $10 charge per person. That would change things. There are outside shuttle services that are available. It has been awhile since I've used one, so not sure of the cost. But they are very good. If you Google search "Ft Lauderdale cruise port shuttle", they will pop up.

For that many people you may need 2 or 3 taxis? Most of the hotel shuttles are 12-15 person, or even larger vans. Some tow a trailer for the luggage. The shuttles may not be fast, but your probably going to get to the terminal and wait for boarding to begin no matter how you get there. I would take the free shuttle, sit back and relax.

Boarding can start as early at 11 am. I would be happy taking the 10:30 shuttle. You probably won't get to the terminal until almost 11.

Some credit cards cover you with trip insurance by just paying for your travel with the card. Chase Sapphire card is one.

I do mystery shopping a lot on land, but never on a ship. Nevada doesn't do much mystery shopping but when I lived in Illinois I probably averaged about 3-5 shops a week, it was great. $10 refund seems really low though, depending on how much work they make you do.

I agree.. $10 seems low. I wonder how many people buy something they normally won't buy because of this program. Sounds like a money maker for Royal?

its not going to do much good to ask anyone. the salt water spray will pit the plexi/glass over time. there is a set schedule for when the outside is cleaned. they are not going to deviate from that upon request. cleaning the interior side will not help.

I'm pretty sure the glass on the balconies is tempered glass and not plexi/glass. It seems like there is a film left on the glass from the salt water and not really pitting. I've found the scheduled balcony cleaning is just a quick power wash and does very little to improve the visibility of the glass. It really needs some Windex to remove the film.

I was on the Oasis a last month. It is great sitting on the balcony, but you couldn't see through it very well due to the glass having salt water residue. What do you do about getting it clean? Ask the room attendant to clean it? Try to clean it yourself?

We just returned from an Oasis cruise. Bought a number of pieces of jewelry in St. Maarten & San Juan. Glad to do it to help the local economies. They still need a lot of rebuilding, especially St. Maarten. Stay away from the watch sales on the ship and spend some money in the ports.

Fun Fact... The average person eats 6 pounds of dirt in their lifetime!

 

(don't know if this is true or not but just felt like sharing it... from "Health Care Daily Online)

 

...and we all know... if something is posted online then it has to be true!!!

Majority of it before the age of 2...

Oasis Feb 11 sailing played these movies in the Aqua Theater:

Spiderman Homecoming

Logan's Luck

Thor Ragnarok

Wonder why "Illegal Drugs" are listed twice in the list?

Can anyone comment about the current status of cell phone service in San Juan? Specially Sprint, but I'm sure others are interested in the other companies. Have cell towers been restored and working near the port? I guess I would also be interested in the service for other islands in the Caribbean that were also hit by the hurricanes.. St Thomas, St Martaan, etc.

I've been happy with "Go Port Canaveral". It is around $15 per person 1 way. I think this is cheaper than a service through Royal.