KG1924

I am pretty sure we will skip Maho. Watching the youtube videos are enough for me... and I can't see myself holding on the fence to get blasted by jet engines.... I had enough of that by jumping out of perfectly good airplanes.

For what it's worth, while the planes are just a novelty that wears off after the first few, the bar itself is really nice. We were there this past May and while it was my first time there they were really expanding/updating. They were even adding a small pool to the area so it may be worth it if you're truly looking for a nice bar to go to. Beach wise, no it's really not much of a beach at all anymore.

This thread may be one of the most entertaining ones I've read.....I'm literally laughing.

To answer one of the questions by the OP, there are fake cigarettes used in theater and I would assume movies and tv shows. I would imagine they're similar to a vape cigarette and most likely have none of the bad things that real cigs have. That would be a lot to ask of an actor to pick up on an extremely addictive habit for the sake of a show, not to mention exposing cast and the audience to it. So while it looks real, I would bet they're using props instead of the real thing.

And I also agree w/ a previous poster....the smoking is probably the least offensive thing in that show/movie. I still love it and have watched it since I was a kid. I'm a smoker...but thankfully didn't give up my morals to impress a boy nor have a teenage pregnancy scare. Or steal things. Or have multiple partners. :p

I have been on Royal's Allure and Oasis (Harmony's sisters) and Carnival's Dream, Magic and Breeze (Vista's sisters) I don't have kids but I would still say the Harmony if costs are the same. I know that both lines have made some differences/upgrades on their newest ships but I very much prefer the layout of the Oasis class (Harmony for you)

That being said, for a Carnival ship, the class that the Vista is in is a much better layout then my only other Carnival ship, which was the much smaller Miracle...I felt like I was forever walking down hallways on that one.

Go for the Harmony! Great H2O zone for you child (even if he can't do the slides) and then you still get great entertainment. Plus 7 days is always better for the same cost :)

Thanks for understanding. It is a frustrating thing when someone makes an effort to visite the cruise planner regularly to try to get the best deals and to have them eliminated so easily because of an RCI internal issue. But I told myself that I will not fret too much over it. Plus... being overly critical of anything RCI here can be hazardous:p I do hope to save others the trouble with this issue. I could not believe when the Service rep suggested that I wait until on board to clear this up. Can you imagine how much time I would have to wait in line on boarding day and then with the agent to fix all those issues :eek:

 

I told the CSR on the phone that with the price I'm paying for the cruise and transportation, I figure every hour I'm awake on the ship is costing me just over $100, so I want to spend the least amount of those hours at the customer service desk.

 

dp

I'm so with you....I loathe having to spend any time on vacation "figuring out" things. The whole point of vacation is to not think about important stuff!! :p I'd be doing the same thing as you, trying to sort everything out so that I can grab a drink and enjoy the sunshine on the first day. I would definitely at least express your concern with your TA (you may have already done this) because they should be the ones to know the repercussions for switching around. In the end, I know it's not a huge dollar amount but if your TA hopes to maintain your business then I would hope they would try to make things right.

OP-this is very kind of you to give people the heads up on this....you seem like you are also being very kind to RC!! I would escalate the issue w/ price difference on internet and the drink package. I understand that the rep can't do anything but in my opinion, they should at least throw in some OBC to make up for the difference in costs. I'm not sure of who you should contact for that but I'm sure someone else on here has it. What a headache for you...imagine if you had never double checked anything and had to deal with this on your first day of vacation. Hopefully it's smooth sailing from here on out.

We haven't been on her since May but we had a great time! There are a million things to do, or you can do nothing and just relax :) I have never stayed in a Central Park balcony, but it's generally very peaceful when walking through there and at night it literally feels like a posh park. I have read that privacy can be a bit of an issue due to cabins being directly across from you...make sure those drapes are closed when changing :p

Entertainment may have changed since I've been on but we saw Mamma Mia and although it was pretty long, it was a great show. My mom is a huge fan so we went mostly for her (we aren't really musical people) and she made my sister and I wear feather boas with her...she tends to pack anything and everything.

If you can, book the comedy show early but definitely book ahead of time. It's a small venue and while you can wait in the stand by line, there's no guarantee that you will get in. We booked it early and then changed our minds on the particular night. The plan was to do standby later in the week and we just forgot! Other shows you probably would have no problem getting into w/out reservations but I would still make them ahead if you can-you can always change you mind once you board. The show in the Aqua Theater was great!

The sports deck has a small buffet type place that has hot dogs, fries, etc. if you want a quick bite and would prefer to avoid the Windjammer...we were always able to grab something quick in there w/out much wait if any. The cafe in Central park is also a great spot to grab something quick.

Dazzles had theme nights w/ the band in there but they seemed to end earlier then we would have preferred...we should have gone there earlier in the evening but we had a blast on 80's night-they took requests as well. The pub and the schooner bar both had live music as well throughout the week so I hope that's still the case. We love live music.

Be prepared to be a little awe struck when you first walk on to the promenade when boarding....I've been on both the Allure and the Oasis and I still kind of just stand there with my mouth open when you get the first look at the shear size of just that area...and there's still more beyond that!! Have so much fun :)

My sister has a Enhanced license with married name and and birth certificate with her maiden name . Do I need to bring both and will there be issue.

As Clarea said, you would need the marriage certificate to show the change of name. Our marriage certificate is from St. Thomas and we got a "certified copy" that day, but we were mailed the "official" one after the fact that had a raised seal on it. For our next trip I brought both with me because my passport was fairly new but had my maiden name on it. I accidentally used the certificate without the raised seal on it (realized after the fact of course) and everything was fine, but I would not trust that. Make sure all documents brought are "official" which I'm sure varies from state to state (or each country for that matter) and always bring more then you think you would need. And triple check before you leave home!!

OP good luck-on the positive side at least you realized this before getting to the port so you had a little time to play with. I'm sure this isn't the way you planned to start your vacation but it sounds like it will work out in the end. A strong drink on the pool deck always helps to forget the worries :)

It's a pdf. Open it- it consists of 2 pages. It has many drinks listed but NOT Captain Morgan.

That's very odd....obviously things change but I know my husband was able to get Captain and Diet on every cruise we've ever been on, including on the Allure last year under the package. It's a pretty common rum so it's surprising that it would be left off the list. Cost wise I wouldn't worry about it as it shouldn't be over $12-$13 but I guess we just don't know until we're actually on a ship.

This just makes me smile btw because on every cruise we both start as soon as we walk on the ship with the same drinks every trip....Captain and diet for him, margarita for me :)

I'm sorry but I think that's absurd. if you already have some kind of package and have the gratuity included, it shouldn't be added again. Yes, if someone doesn't have a package but that's just nuts. JMO

Not really absurd...think about it as you're just walking up to the bar and ordering a shot of booze-you would get the gratuity added on that either way. You've only paid gratuity on the items included in your particular package, which the alcohol part is not. Weigh out the pros/cons of the package that includes the alcohol-if you drink a few of the fruity drinks a day you may not be that far off price wise and then you would have already paid for the gratuities ahead of time.

Yes, our daughter got married at sea, by the Captain. It's just been a few years that Royal's Captains and Staff Captains have been legally able to perform weddings at sea. The wedding is under the laws of the ship's registry, which is the Bahamas in the case of Royal, so our daughter has a wedding license from the Bahamas.

Good to know, thanks! I guess we were just a little early on that then-I would've LOVED to have been married while at sea.

And I apologize to the OP-please disregard my comment about that :)

Some info on doing the wedding with Royal, with some of our own experiences:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2282249

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2435906

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2424188

Hi Bob-not that it means much now as I have no intention of getting married a second time :p but your daughter was able to get married at sea? I think I just gave some incorrect advice to the post above-I could've sworn that when we got married Princess was the only line that the captain could marry a couple at sea. Then again, I can't remember what I had for dinner last night so my memory is most likely incorrect. I just hate passing along incorrect or even dated info

Congrats!!! We did get married while sailing on the Oasis back in 2010, but we did everything independently on St. Thomas. Worked well because it's a US territory so we were able to be legally married. Definitely dig through the wedding boards on here-they were very helpful!!!

My 2 main pieces of advice....get a wedding planner if doing independently-they have everything done for you so you can be very relaxed bride that day! Also, be prepared to go with the flow. To me this was a huge benefit-I'm awful at making decisions so the fact that I was given just a few options was very helpful in that regard. Of course, you can probably get just about anything you could dream of....my budget didn't allow for that so the simple but beautiful options were great. For example, we had a steal drum band play typical wedding music while we walked down the aisle on Lime Tree Beach....to hear Canon in D on a steal drum is pretty awesome :) But again, anything can go wrong as well-we were delayed docking in St. Thomas because there was a strike or at least a threat of a strike for the tender boats that bring the ship into port (I can't remember the name of those off hand) Nobody in our party told us that we weren't docked, they just kept giving me champagne :p It all worked out but we went into it knowing that if for some reason we couldn't get married as planned we would just have a fake ceremony somewhere and then do the legal marriage when we got home.

Good luck and have fun! As a side note, we chose to go independently because at the time the packages on Royal were very costly for what you got (I have no idea what the prices are now) I would've been willing to pay if they would marry us while at sea, but I believe you can only do it while in port on Royal. Again, may have changed things in over 6 years.

I've never done a boardwalk balcony so I can't comment completely but we have done an ocean view on deck 14 on the Allure-two things to keep in mind..deck 14 is the top deck for cabins (aside from the suite class higher up) so if your family likes taking the stairs be prepared for exercise other then going to the pool deck and the Windjammer. Not saying that's a bad thing always, but we like to avoid the elevators when coming back from shore...that's a llloooonnnnnnggggg hike from the lower decks :p Also, the aft boardwalk cabins wouldn't be under the pools (good thing by far) but it's a bit of a hike to the stairs/elevators. Again, not always a bad thing but could get old when you just want to run to the cabin for something.

Personally, I think you made a good decision w/ the Liberty if you're looking for itinerary at this point. We don't sail her until April but we've been on the Freedom and LOVED it. That class is really a great size-big but still feels a little more cozy then her big sisters. Plus there's still a ton to do, especially for kids. Have a blast!! And still plan for the Oasis class someday....hopefully the itineraries improve in years to come to appeal to both ship and itinerary types alike.

The more I keep seeing this the angrier it gets me....while it's great that they are so quick to refund the charges, I can guarantee there are MANY people that don't even notice, myself included. I look over our bill at the end of the week, which is much easier now with drink packages. But to be honest if the total was $325 on the last night and I go to pay my visa bill next month and its $331 and change or even $337 I would probably just think I remembered the total incorrectly. Lesson learned to triple check even after the fact but I agree with the PP that this seems to be happening incredibly too frequently to be simple human error, especially since CC is such a small percentage of total cruisers out there. And it's constantly water I feel....

Would you say that to their face? Why would you write it?

Ummmmm....yes I would! Not sure if you noticed the :p:p:p after that sentence but it was meant to come across as a bit sarcastic. But in reality, they admit their own ignorance to the topic simply because they have never sailed on one. If you read the rest of the post you would see exactly why I would write that and considering I've actually sailed on that class I can give first hand knowledge of why the posters assumptions are generally incorrect.

Anything else you would like me to clarify?

I have to agree with the other posters....and I apologize if this comes across as rude but your ignorance is showing :p:p:p

I get that the Oasis class is not for everyone but you're making a tremendous amount of assumptions about something that you have zero experience in. I've like all of my cruises, but my favorites have been on the Oasis class and the Freedom class, both being larger ships. Yes, it's helpful to have reservations on the Oasis class. Is it completely necessary? Absolutely not! We were a group of 8 total on our last cruise and we had some reservations but were able to get to every show we wanted. The ONLY one complaint I have is that the comedy show venue is too small and you really do need a reservation for that.

This is coming from someone that rarely goes to see/enjoy shows on a cruise....we looked forward to the shows on the Oasis class. They are definitely better then any other class.

As for the poster about the Harmony-that does put a bit of a damper on things but there will be other options for the show. If it was the comedy show then that could be harder. I get that she's upset but I can bet they will get into another show without any issues, even being that it's a holiday sailing and having a larger group.

Yes that's exactly what it means.

 

I haven't been on that many cruises and even I know not to book a cabin that holds 3-4 when I am only sailing with one other person. I've read enough to know that it can and does happen on all the mass market lines.

But I really, honestly do not think that is common knowledge. I feel like I'm somewhat experienced at cruising, and never would I ever think that I would get bumped from a cabin that I booked specifically. If the website/customer service rep/TA shows any cabin as available, then that's the cabin I expect to be in. The ONLY situation I knew about is if they let someone that books an accessible cabin without needing it then they can bump you if someone needing it would want to book... and to be honest I don't even know how I know that. I keep reading that the OP should've have known this being so experienced....unless it happens to you directly how would you know that? I don't read CC everyday but I'm on here somewhat regularly when I have a cruise booked and this is literally the first time I've read this happening. Obviously it can and does happen, but I'm with the majority on here that while the cruise lines CAN do this at anytime, it does not make it right. They CAN do a lot of things, including contacting the OP prior to making any switches.

To the OP...I'm just sorry. I would be very angry as well-they don't seem to be willing to do a ton for you either. While it's nice that they are offering to let you cancel w/out penalty (besides your airfare) if it were me I would feel like RC is pretty much saying "Too bad, if you don't like it we have plenty of others that are willing to take your place" Kind of sad that a lot of businesses (and people in general) are leaning towards this type of attitude.

This sounds a little crazy and really doesn't have much to do with the cruising part that much, but I really miss the advertising that used Ziggy Pop's Lust for Life....it instantly reminds me of cruising whenever I hear it because our very first cruise on the Adventure they played that constantly on the TV in the cabin and I will always associate that with cruising, and our very first one in particular. We had such a great time that trip. I also miss the cheaper drinks....being that I was a poor college student at that point in life I very much appreciated the 23oz Miller light drafts in the sports bar for a little over $4 :p

For $300 I say Allure all the way!!!

We sailed out of Galveston once on Carnival and will be again on the Liberty in April....if you've already gone out of Galveston then definitely try Fort Lauderdale/Allure. I do think it's a better port to sail out of (or at least easier) And January is prime time for fog in Galveston...we were delayed hours for embarkation on ours. We still had fun of course and it was very creepy to be sitting outside in a constant fog! Also, it was very chilly the last 2 days of the cruise but fog free. That sailing was actually the first weekend of February but I believe January and February are the highest risks for major fog there. You may have no issues whatsoever but I would just want to try something new and the Oasis class usually a bit higher then most other ships.

Have a great trip!! They better have the World Series playing for you guys!!

Even though I'm a die hard White Sox fan, it's hard to not cheer for the Cubbies this year! No better way to celebrate then on a cruise though :)

I want to bring a Keurig for those six weeks on oasis. But that's not going to happen. 😡

 

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Don't laugh....or you really should laugh, but my Aunt and Uncle were literally on the Liberty last week and sent my mom a picture of their Keurig that they bring from home :p They only book suites simply because they pack EVERYTHING and need the space!!! I'll have to ask if they brought a pepper grinder...

OP-the issue is that you're complaining about something that was taken away...yet nothing was taken away???? And for the record, I've always noticed body gel and/or shampoo in dispensers on my last few cruises but those have been on "newer" ships. However, I could literally bring a $1 bottle of generic brand stuff from home and it would probably be better then that. If you want the good stuff then you need to start looking at suites. For me (and my wallet) I'll stick to packing my own. Even if I'm staying in a nicer hotel, I will still use my own product. Now, I'm a female so that probably makes a difference but my husband also prefers his own products.

Why on earth would they make every cruise line exactly the same? There are a couple of things I like better on Carnival but for my own preferences we like Royal overall. We will go on other lines in the future and I'm sure there will be things that we like more on others and things we like better on RC....variety is the spice of life (whether your spice of choice is pepper or not :p)

We unfortunately couldn't do it because our flight was 11:15am and I believe the earliest flight they will do it for is 11:30. Also, there are cutoff times for how late of flight you have too-they are listed on the website.

I don't believe you can book ahead of time but maybe mid way through the week you can sign up for it (they'll have a reminder of it w/ your compass at night in your cabin) It sold out VERY quickly on our trip. It was $20 a person and if you're flying Southwest and only have 2 bags total, you can just have one person sign up and send both bags instead of each person paying $20 for one bag each. Since SW doesn't charge for first and second bags that's the smarter way to do it. Even if you have a family of 4 with one bag each, just pay for 2 people w/ 2 bags each.

If you fly an airline that has luggage fees I believe RC will charge those separately. I'm not sure though because we were going to do it w/ SW as well.

The PP pretty much took the words out of my mouth (keyboard??) We've done the Breeze (not out of Galveston...I think it was the Magic back then?) and will be on the Liberty in April, but we've been on the Freedom in the past. Here's my comparison:

Liberty:

-better ship layout (love RC's promenade)

-better pools, including solarium (adults only pool area)

-better drink package (no daily limit)

Breeze:

-$800 cheaper

-better food options during the day (seriously, I would cruise them for the burrito place alone :p)

-newer ship

That honestly is the biggest things we've ever noticed to be different between the two. everyone's opinion is different and we don't have kids so what we look for will probably be completely different then a family would. If you've never done either class, I don't think you could go wrong either way.

Ok SA!

Legitimately the best reply I've ever seen :p

When we were on her back in May, the bar service was my only complaint about the entire trip. Personally, I felt there were less staff than other cruises...not sure if that's a fact or not. Our last cruise on that class was the Oasis 6 years ago and we literally NEVER waited for a drink...there were servers all over the pool deck.

Now I never waited a half an hour for a drink...but on the pool deck we often waited 10+ minutes which in my head is too long or at least much longer than in years past. I would say the pool deck was probably the worst, most bars were just ok, and we got pretty lucky with a great server in the dining room and he had drinks at our table before we even sat down (we had the drink package btw)