Poplin

Hi Sky616

Pittsburgh residents here. We are doing Eastern sailing the Oasis on April 18 and looking for Cruise Compass to help us plan. I saw you had it posted but now it does not seem to open. Was it removed? Anyway that you could email it to me? Thanks. 52 Days!

My husband and I are on the same cruise. I grew up in the Pittsburgh area but now live in Tennessee. I lived in Clairton and my brother still lives in Charleroi. Looking forward to our Oasis cruise. We have been on this ship four other times, so if you need any information, just ask.

These boards, this world of cc always makes me chuckle. [emoji57]

 

Experienced cruisers... Your former glory days of titanic-era elitist cruises are over! Move on to Azamara and save us a gripe-fest! Just because you're diamond plus pinnacle you cruised your whole life and deserve everything for free attitude isn't being satisfied shouldn't mean you should poo poo an incredible ship and staff. After all it's all your freebies, free drinks here, free OBC there, price drop here balcony discount there that creates the need for royal to consistently reevaluate their budget, cut corners and ways to pet the kitties and keep them satisfied.

 

I am the new face of cruising. I am diamond and I could give two poos about it! I still buy the beverage package (no mixed up drink prices there!) and don't plan to use the lounge. I cruise to get away from it all. To enjoy the hard work of hard-working people and not view them as just the help, rather people who are dedicated to ensuring I have a nice vacation. I don't sit around and gripe about different priced drinks or mediocre food. What are you expecting? If something on land can do it better I think we'd all prefer you to stay on land and keep your bad attitude on land as well! Us young cruisers see this behavior on the ship and laugh. We laugh at you and your terrible attitudes and then high five the bar tenders we've made an actual connection with as you leave with your bad attitude.

 

I'm headed on Oasis next week for the second time, fourth time on oasis class and each time seems to get better and better. Can't wait for my incredible mediocre vacation to begin and pray to God that there's no whiners to bring us all down!!! Wah Wah Wah Wah Wah.

 

 

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Love your post and certainly agree. I am diamond plus (always in a balcony or above) and getting ready to do a B2B on Oasis. Have some things changed, sure, but these changes are not so horrendous as to keep me from enjoying every moment on the high seas. If I don't have to cook, clean up, make my bed etc. - it is a vacation to me. We eat in the MDR every night and have never left hungry. We have cruised on other lines and had a wonderful time but we always head back to RCCL. Too many feel they are owed too much entitlement - not just the "royal loyal" but those in suites too. I try to live with my cup half full not half empty.

I am planning on booking a cruise on April 25 on Oasis of the Seas. Will Dynamic Dining be introduced by then?

 

If not, will there still be formal nights on the ship? I don't like formal dress - I would prefer to wear jeans in the evening.

I will be on a B2B on April 18th and 25th. My TA was told dining will be traditional or MTD.

No dynamic dining during those two weeks.

Does anyone know where I could buy wine bottle protectors that RCCL approves of using? Basically something that will protect my wine bottle while it is being transported in my either carry on or suitcase that the porters take, that will keep it from bursting if to much pressure is on it?

You can get something called a "wine diaper" - protects your wine bottle and in case of breakage, will soak up the liquid. Check Amazon.

We typically sail in a D1 cabin on the hump on deck 14 and have never had any problem with noise. You should be fine. We like the higher deck because we spend most of our time on deck 15/16 during the day.

We, too have been on deck 14 on all our Oasis cruises (4). Have never been bothered by noise and love that it is a quick walk up to the solarium where we spend most of the day also.

That was where the plans showed it to be the other day Linda

Deck 4 Starboard mid-ship

 

Happy Days!

Graham[/quote

 

Do you know where diamond plus members will go (diamond lounge, suite lounge deck 17 ???) Also, will junior suite guests be permitted to eat in the Coastal Kitchen as it is advertised as suite only and will they be allowed in the suite lounge on deck 17? Will the three-drink allowance still be honored?

I'm in the very early stages of starting to make plans for sailing on Allure.

We will be booking a ocean balcony cabin, my question is what decks do you recommended based on you own cruise experience on Allure.

The categories of balcony cabins dosn't matter to us. I also see a bump out on the ship , should I avoid that section?

We have a group of 21 sailing on the Allure on January 25th. Because we have 3 sea days and will probably get back on the ships early on excursion days, we all opted for deck 14 forward. We all love hanging out in the solarium and it is a one or two set of stairs to walk up to this area. We have stayed on the deck 14 several times and NEVER been bothered by noise and you don't even know the kid's zone is in the vicinity. It is also close to the elevators for trips down to the public areas.

We are booked onto the Allure in November and we staying in an inside Cabin on Deck 14.

 

The position of the cabin is right next to the entrance the Kids avenue leading to all the kids play areas.

 

We dont plan on being in the cabin during the day and my assumption is that these areas would really go quiet later in the evening? do the kid areas close at specific times?

 

In addition - do the elevators make much noise - we were assured not - if they did what are the chances of having a cabin move?

 

Thanks

Col

We have been on the Oasis (sister ship to Allure) several times and always stay on the 14th floor (forward) - especially when we sail the western route. We like to hang out in the solarium area on sea days (3) and it is a short walk up one set of stairs to that area. We have never been bothered by noise from the elevator and we always try to get a room close to the stairs and elevator. The kids program-area is no problem at all. You'll never know it is there. We sail on the Allure in January with a group of 22 and all our rooms are on the 14th floor - 11 rooms in a row right at the entrance to the corridor.

I'm just curious.....can they cancel your cruise if you paid the deposit, but did not pay the cruise in full by the final payment date? I'm asking because we cruise in July and our final payment was due on May 6th. They asked way-back-when if I wanted the balance charged to my card on that date and I said yes.

 

Well, I checked my online reservations today....and the balance was never paid! :eek: I panicked and called, and paid it in full. But it made me wonder if they can or will cancel a cruise if you don't pay in full on-time. I'm glad I caught that now and it's resolved!!

We signed up for a cruise on Oasis of the Seas (our 38th with RCCL) for March of this year. Our final payment was due January 28th and I was notified, by email, on January 20th, that our cruise had been cancelled due to lack of a final payment. Ironically, we were on the Adventure of the Seas when I receive this email. It was a nightmare to get everything back in order. I was on the telephone for HOURS trying to retrieve all our show reservations, excursions, dining time, drink packages, room reservations etc. I had hard copies of all our correspondence and had to scan those and send them in but was glad I had these for proof. SO, I have learned a lesson the hard way, from now on, I will make our final payment at least 3-4 weeks before they due date. I was a bit disappointed in RCCL on how they handled the entire situation. They did give us a $50.00 OBC but I thought that was a bit low for all the trouble we went through especially since we had so many cruises with RCCL.

Earlier in the year we started looking at a cruise for January 2015. We picked the cruise and a cabin, but we decided to watch for specials on this particular cruise before reserving it. This past weekend we received a brochure in the mail about the second guest half off. So I went back on the website and pulled up the cruise we were looking at. I entered all the same info (same deck and same category) - but the price is only about $45 less than the price we saw on this cruise earlier this year. I looked all over the brochure and I cannot locate any kind of code we need to enter to get the second guest half off. And when I look at the details for the current pricing, it shows half off the second guest, but it also appears that the price of the trip has increased. Has anyone else noticed this? Or could it just be the price of this particular cruise increased? Since this was the only cruise I priced out earlier in the year, I don't know if all the cruise prices were increased or just this cruise. Is it better to wait until the Fall to reserve a cruise for winter? We are budget conscious and just want to get the best deal possible.

Looking for words of advise from anyone who may have dealt with a similar situation. Today, while processing my request for an upgrade from a B1 to D4 balcony on upcoming Allure cruise, my cabana on Nellie's beach disappeared from the reservation. Since I booked thru my TA, she is dealing with someone who says a "supervisor" is working on it and they'll get back with us in 72 hours to report if they reinstated the cabana reservation or not. So while I wait word from RC, does this sound right to anyone? Initially, they had also cancelled all my show reservations but they were able to go in and restore those in total. I wouldn't have bothered with the upgrade, had I known it would affect the cabana....just looking to see how hard I should push this IF they come back and say "sorry, no cabana"....thanks for any help!

We leave for the Oasis next Friday and had somewhat of a similar situation. We made our reservation in August of 2013, made out excursion reservations, show reservation, drink packages, etc. We were to make final payment on the 28th of January. On January 21st, RCCL cancelled out entire reservations and all packages. It was a nightmare to get fixed. We did get most of everything back in order except for one show, our cabana, and the DreamWorks Experience for the grands. As we are diamond plus, they suggested we try to get some of this through the concierge when we board. I'm not holding out too much hope for this. If we can just get the Dreamwork Experience for the grands, I will be content. I too, don't know if I would worry about the cabana. We have been in one several times and yes, they are nice but there is so much to do on the island, we did not spend that much time in it. The grands are doing two hours at the water park, so we decided to just go to the beach in that area as it has plenty of shade. I have the printouts of the original reservations, so I am hoping this will help when we get on board and try to get our original Frozen in Time show time. Good luck with solving your problem. It took us three days to get everything back in order and it was their fault to begin with.

I guess I have a different point of view than the others... I'm saying Oasis... My mom (81) and I were on the Oasis the first week of December and it was great. It was not crowded -- it is a HUGE ship and other than boarding day... never felt crowded. The entertainment is top notch... and the seating for disabled and elderly is great... good views and easily accessible. Elevators are quick and rarely crowded. Central Park became a favorite place for us when the winds and sun were 'too much' up on deck. I suggest the following...

 

If she prefers 5* hotels... then book a suite.

Do all your entertainment reservations ahead of time.

Schedule in a nap or resting time daily.

On boarding day DON"T go to the Windjammer (in fact avoid it the entire trip) - Rather... eat lunch in the Park Café or the specialty restaurant that is open on boarding day.

Do traditional dining... at a table for 6 to 8... you'll have others to talk to... and the table isn't too large for conversation.

Every day... explore a different section of the ship. Make sure you look for hidden 'art'

If she ever uses a walker... take it on the cruise.

Schedule a nap or resting time daily.

If she needs assistance going up the steep ramps... insist she has wheelchair assistance for boarding and departure. It will save YOU!!! and it will help her get off to a good start.

If she has any special needs... notify the special needs department!

On sea days, eat lunch in the dining room. It is nice to be waited on.

We tried to eat in the Windjammer once.. and walked out... too crowded... there are way too many other venues for food to wait in line!

 

I think the Oasis is brilliant for an older person! And you can't find better entertainment!!

 

Good luck...and whatever you decide... enjoy your cruise! You are blessed to have a grandmother to spend time with... what a joy!

I agree with LindO - Oasis is fabulous and she gave wonderful advice. That being said, I travelled with my mother-in-law numerous times when she was in her 80's and she loved the Oasis and Allure. Your grandmother sounds a lot like her - very active, wants to be busy, bars, entertainment etc.. She loved it all. Take all of LindaO's advice. Get a suite above the junior suite so you have access to the concierge's lounge, try the specialty restaurants, do the Chef's Table and make your reservations for the show - all are wonderful. You can book all your shows around the 9:00 hour and eat at the 6:00 traditional time. The solarium will be a wonderful place to hang out and has a restaurant that is great to eat at. We leave the end of March on the Oasis for the fourth time and LOVE the ship. You can do as much or as little as you like and it is an AMAZING ship. Whatever you decide, have a wonderful time.

For people that sailed in last couple months, what time were you able to board? Normally we like to go early to enjoy the day. I read a couple of reviews that RCCL was not letting people board until 1 PM.

 

Thanks in advance.

 

Dennis

Was on Adventure in January 2014 and it was about 12:30 before we were able to board. You will find out that debarkation lasts until approximately

11:30 therefore they can not board anyone until after this time. They stretch out debarkation due to customs. There were only three custom agents on duty and they didn't want a large backup in the luggage area. if you are flying Southwest, the line at the airport can be quite long. None of this bothered us in the least, it is just the facts. Embarkation and debarkation is not as timely as in some other ports.

Hi all! Leaving on 01/19/14! Can't wait. Going with three teens - 13, 16 and 19. Best excursions????...doing the Aruba, St. Thomas, St. Kitts, Curacao tour. Thanks in advance!

We have a group of 8 sailing on this same cruise. As it is 21 degrees this morning, we are counting down the days. So glad you asked for this information - am interested to read what others have to say. We are from Tennessee and have sailed the last three years this same week but usually on the Oasis. We wanted to go further south in the Caribbean and loved this itinerary.

We will be on the Jan. 8th cruise also with two other couples - CAN NOT WAIT!!! We LOVE the down town area of Cozumel. We spend a lot of time sitting at a side-walk bar drinking $2.00 beers - at least my husband does - I shop. It is located just off the dock area of of the "old" down town area. This is one stop we spend the entire day off the ship. START THE PACKING!!!!