jjtimes2

We are on Oasis in August and considering the Replenish package. Possibly silly questions that would help me decide:

1. Are the places to get the OJ, water, and coffees easily accessible and easy to find?

2. Do all the bars and restaurants honor the non-alcoholic frozen drinks as part of the package or do you have to go to certain bars?

2. Are the OJ and non-alcoholic frozen drinks placed in the refillable cup, or their own glass? (thinking it would be sticky and OJ flavor might "linger")

My sweater with pink flamingos only goes on Caribbean cruises with me. :D

 

LuLu

Hahaha! I have a top with a sequined anchor on the front that I only wear on cruises :p

I own two. I would never wear them outside the bedroom ;) One was purchased in a regular clothing store and I guess meant to be worn as a top, but they're super uncomfortable, and I'd feel like an exhibitionist if I tried to wear them with as a top with jeans or something.

That being said, if you feel comfortable in it and it looks good, then go for it! They even make wedding dresses now that look like underwear. Be prepared that you might get some unwanted looks, though.

I always get motion sickness, unfortunately. I used to take the less-drowsy Dramamine, but for a lot less money you can get generic meclizine (exact same ingredient). It's usually behind the pharmacy counter, but you don't need a prescription, and it's like $5-6 for 100 tablets. I usually start taking a whole one the night before the cruise, the morning of embarkation, and a whole the morning of the first full day, then a half the rest of the cruise, and for a couple of days after we get home. I don't find myself any more sleepy when taking it, but I know most people do (I'm a pharmacist intern so I consult on this a lot!).

Alcohol, many allergy meds, as well as some prescription meds, will cause the meclizine to make you more sleepy. Good luck - motion sickness is the worst feeling.

Thank you for all of the great information!!

Thank you for the link and the information!

I voted $100-125 but then saw the "per person" note - oops! It's about $50-60 per person. We typically will have one special restaurant dinner, just to have a change of pace and a more romantic and quiet evening.

We are lucky to live in an area that has amazing restaurants of all types and varieties! So, Japanese, Mexican, Italian, etc. on the ship just don't interest us enough to spend the extra money.

I have seen threads on where to park at the port - we're going on Oasis (again) - but I was curious if the parking ever fills up? We're driving down and will not arrive in Ft. Lauderdale until noon-ish. I was curious to see if anyone knows if there will still be plenty of spaces at the port in the afternoon?

We have used Park 'N Go in the past and were very pleased with them, but we're traveling with family this trip and thought parking at the port might be easier.

Thank you for posting such a great review! We just booked Oasis for this summer, and it will be our second time - cannot wait!

I have to agree with your assessment of Chops. We've sailed HAL a few times and had wonderful dinners at Pinnacle Grill. I expected at least something comparable at Chops. This was in 2012, and I hoped they had improved, but I guess not. DH ate all of his steak, but my steak was inedible. I like it medium-well and it was tasteless and had no juices. Even our local steakhouse can serve me a juicy medium-well steak. The potatoes tasted starchy and glutenous, like they'd been sitting in water too long, and after one bite neither of us ate them. The veggies had no seasoning. The service was not good at all. They never refilled our water glasses. On top of a bad meal and poor service, they tried to sell us their cookbook at the end! It was a real disappointment.

On the plus side, every meal we had in the MDR was wonderful! The food was very good, tasted very fresh, and our servers were excellent. Curious to see what dynamic dining will be like.

They eliminated Cupcake Cupboard :eek:

Dang, I loved their cupcakes, perfect afternoon treat. I was looking forward to taking DMIL to a decorating class on our next cruise :(

Thanks for posting the link!

Not sure how I feel about that ... I have to play organizer when we go with DH's family and now I'll have to not only reserve shows, but dinners every night, as well. It's much easier to tell them "see you in the MDR at 8:30" than to give them an itinerary of where we're eating and when.

Excuse my ignorance, but what is "dynamic dining?"

Congratulations on your marriage and finally getting to take a honeymoon! Our first cruise was for our honeymoon. It was a smaller ship, Enchantment of the Seas (Vision Class). The service was excellent, our stateroom was very small, but we enjoyed all of the activities and weren't bothered by the small room. I remember it fondly and it started our love of cruising! We've been on a few Holland America cruises because they sail from a port close to our home, but our favorite cruise by far was on Oasis last year! DH absolutely loved it and swears he won't cruise on a smaller ship ever again (I know he will; he's just being dramatic :p). It really was an amazing ship. The best part, to me, was that we never felt like we were on a ship with 6,000 people. There is so much to do and see that everyone is off doing one thing or another and you just don't feel "crowded." The only time it seemed like as big a ship as it is, was after the muster drill with everyone on the stairs and in the elevators.

I know you will love your cruise and it will probably be the first of many!

I'm a little OCD :rolleyes: so I say ASAP! I cannot relax until I'm unpacked. I clean the obviously germ-y areas (TV remote, phone, drawer handles, etc.), which is more for my piece of mind, probably, than actual thorough cleaning, then unpack the clothes and toiletries. After 9 years of marriage and lots of travel DH has learned to just get out of my way and let me go to it! I've gotten really good at it and I'm usually done with cleaning and unpacking in 15-20 minutes.

We always sit at a table to ourselves.. there for we have no one giving us the stare down when we come to dinner ;)

I'm sorry, but I never meant to imply that I gave anyone a "stare down" or was rude in any way. Sorry if you or anyone else took my comments in a negative light as they were not meant that way at all.

I am too much of a fashionista to wear the same dress on both formal night. I would break out with hives for sure...lol

:D

I bring two, one floor length gown and a cocktail dress. I tend to wear the more formal gown the first formal night. I wear different dresses/dressy pants outfits the other nights. I don't get much of a chance to dress up (I'm in grad school and pretty much live in jeans and shorts) so I take advantage of the chance to "dress" for every dinner on a cruise! But, we drive to the port, so I can bring 7 bags and no one cares. I know if we had suitcase restrictions due to flying I wouldn't bring all of those clothes.

On our second cruise, one of our table mates had 2 dresses - one formal and one casual - that she wore to every dinner. Did I notice? Of course I noticed. Did I care? No, they were a lovely couple and the dresses were pretty.

I would recommend a professional bra fitting. Not at Victoria Secret, though, they really aren't trained. The lovely ladies at Neiman Marcus did mine a couple of years ago and it made a remarkable difference in how my bras fit. I always had a difficult time finding what I thought was my size, but having the professionals find my correct size and then find bras in the store in that size for me to try on worked out great. I think Macy's and other department stores have this service, too.

I never wear my bling while doing water sports/in port (lock 'em in the safe), but I like having them with me to wear at other times. On the other hand, I feel naked with no wedding ring, and even an inexpensive band could be hazardous depending on the activity. My son found Qalorings and loves his! They are inexpensive, and the flexibility provides comfort when weight lifting, paddling a kayak, etc. they come in several colors but are not shiny and metallic to attract the wrong kind of fish or criminal attention. I'm ordering mine next payday!

 

http://www.qaloring.com/

What a great idea! I'll have to see if DH is interested in this. Like me, he has a plain band and never takes it off, but he's said it can be a pain when doing certain sports. This might be the answer. I love the purple, but sadly, even their X-Small size is too big for my tiny finger :(

I like your thoughts. Except for the subordinate part---we've come a long way, baby! As women have become educated, we don't need a man to protect us! I wear my original 1/2 karat diamond (in a updated setting) even though we could afford something much larger. Hey...if we can spend $$$ cruising luxury/luxury lite, we have the $$$ for a diamond. But, I can't see putting money into a large diamond, to impress others. I'm not impressed.....I actually am drawn to others like me....who don't need to show off. That comes from living in an affluent community all my life. Show offs are annoying!

When talking about diamonds, carat is spelled with a "C." It's a "K" when talking about gold. Sorry, that just bothered me ;)

I don't think most women wear their wedding rings to impress others. I don't; I wear them because my husband gave them to me and it makes me smile to look at my ring finger and remember how much we love each other. My rings are a symbol of our marriage, all that we've been through, and all that is yet to come.

To answer the OP's question - I never take off my wedding band. I guess because I'm old fashioned and my parents never took off their bands. I have friends who have diamonds and other stones in their wedding bands and have to take them off for certain things. I didn't ever want to take it off, so I have a plain band. I can wear it when cleaning, doing yard work, bathing the dog, cooking, going to the beach, etc. It never comes off. DH surprised me with my engagement ring and I don't wear it for those things because I wouldn't want it to be damaged or get too dirty. Same with safety - on or off a cruise. If I feel safe (which is 99% of the time), I'll wear my engagement ring; if not, I'll wear only my wedding band.

I love #2 and #3. I don't think #2 is too casual for RCI at all. #3 is very pretty and I love a classic gown. On our last RCI cruise, I wore a floor length gown on first formal night and a cocktail dress a little more casual than your #2 on second night and I was not at all out of place either night.

I've never tried the instantly slimming dress, but unless you need "slimming," I can't imagine #1 would be comfortable. If "slimming" is an issue for your body type, I say go with an A-line style and still look great but be comfortable.

Like other ladies, I use Jergen's Natural Glow. As a child growing up in south Florida I was perpetually brown. Somewhere over the years I lost the ability to tan and I just burn and freckle. That's no fun! After a couple of very bad burns that will likely cause cancer someday in the my future, I now wear 50 spf and a hat whenever I'm in the sun.

I use the fair to medium Jergen's because I am very pale and that gives me enough color. It doesn't smell like most self tanners and you don't have to walk around naked for 30 minutes while it dries. Just like any lotion, it dries in about 5 minutes. I like that it's an actual lotion too and leaves my skin soft. It isn't a stark change either - like "hey, you were super pale yesterday and today you're brown" - it's gradual and more like building up a natural tan, but without the risks. But do remember to wash your hands!

My dentist said the same thing as a PP - that the Crest White Strips are just as effective as professional whitening, but a lot cheaper. He did a composite filling on one of my teeth and told me to use the white strips before my appointment so the composite would match. It was perfect! I use them about twice a year for maintenance. It's actually coming up on that time of the year so thanks for the reminder!

crzndeb - I use them as the manufacturer recommends (different products have different wear times) and I see improvement within 3-4 days.

DH and I sailed on Oasis last year and had an incredible time. Probably our favorite cruise so far! We're planning to go again next year, this time with his parents (we'll have separate cabins - ideally separated by a deck or two :rolleyes:). I want to go on Oasis again but DH wants to go on Allure. So, before this becomes an argument, can anyone tell me how the ships differ. I know Allure is supposed to be slightly bigger and has Chicago (vs. Hairspray on Oasis). Other than that, though, how about as far as decks, cabins, attractions, restaurants, pools, food & drink, crew, etc? It's my understanding they both go to the same ports, alternating weeks, so if that's the case, ports aren't a concern.

TIA!

Thank you so much for the replies! Very helpful! I will pass that information on to my in-laws.

My in-laws will be taking their first river cruise (Viking) this summer and are wondering what they should wear. It's my understanding that river cruises do not have a "suggested" formal night and my FIL will not be expected to wear a jacket or tie to dinner - is that the case? They'll be in Europe, so should they dress up a bit more, such as khaki's rather than jeans, for excursions? Are shorts suitable during the day? MIL prefers capri pants and long skirts and I'm guessing that's appropriate during the day and at dinner, but I'm not sure.

Hubby and I have been on several ocean cruises and I tend to dress "up" more on those, so I don't have any idea what to tell them for a river cruise.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!