OV8

N

There are D1, D2, D3, and D4 category ocean view balconies available. These have beds for 4 people. It looks like the kids would have to share a sofa bed. Kids sail free, but the cost is still high, in my opinion. Something like $1800 per person for the fist two people.

 

We're focusing in on June 15 departure & it's running about $2500 each for 2 adults in that room.

So yes, only good when you avg. in the 2 kids.

As mentioned in subject header, we have 2 girls ages 5 & 10.

Along with their parents -we are looking for a room that can accommodate all 4.

 

Nothing fancy needed like a Royal Suite but comfortable enough to sleep & wash 4 :)

Nice to have is Ocean View with/without Balcony.

Fall back to even Inside views.

 

We are pricing out the Allure & wanted to get an idea of how big or comfortable the rooms are in this category:

 

D3-D4 - Superior Ocean View Stateroom with Balcony - which price out with current specials to about $1275 pp for us.

But it sounds small & I can't see a mention of a second bed for the kids?

 

Any other ideas?

Thank you all for the great feedback!

 

A lot of votes for aft stairs & a few for front.

But almost unanimous for being near the stairs!

 

This is exactly what I needed.

 

Bon Voyage.

Follow-up questions:

 

Forward stairs or back stairs?

Are there long waits for elevators?

Any decks better than others?

 

Appreciate the feedback.

We're planning our first trip on Oasis or Allure for our family of eight.

 

Have 2 seniors 70+ & 2 children <=10 yrs old.

 

We were on Freedom a few years ago as a couple & loved being near the stairs & eliminating the wait for the elevators.

 

But Oasis & Allure are bigger ships.

 

Is it still recommended to be near stairs on these 2 ships?

Doing our research to see what is a better fit for our crowd of 12:

6 adults + 2 75+seniors (1st timers) + 4 <10 year old girls.

 

I am sure both are fabulous but my worries are mostly geared towards the seniors on the Allure:

Long Lines to shows or dining?

Wait for elevators?

Are the flights of stairs really long to each level in lieu of elevator waits?

 

We hadn't cruise ourselves since Freedom in 2009 (LOVE LOVE LOVE) so not sure if some things have changed & enhancements may be available this time beyond the reservation dining which we loved in 2009.

 

 

Appreciate your feedbacks in advance!

Starting to research our next cruise - 5 years after our last one: & yes this NORO outbreak has gotten us alarmed.

 

Esp. since we will be bringing grandparents & small children along.

 

That said, we would have physicians in the family on this potential trip & we are aware that this type of thing could happen in ANY OTHER environment.

 

If we are strictly talking compensation & economic - 50% off a cruise of 5 days isn't a bad termination fee for people who aren't sick.

 

Of course, those that are sick, well no amount of comp can replace the pain & agony & potential death I guess.

OV8 - there were 4 ice shows on the 8/23 sailing.

 

Cheryl

 

Thanks Cheryl, guess my nearly half empty ice show was the last one on the cruise as every1 had already seen it by then. :D

Hi All,

We missed seeing the first showing of the ice show because there no more seats so we were sure to get in line early so we didn't miss the 2nd showing (actually the 3rd but the 2nd was during our evening meal).

 

MJN - on the 8/23 itin, how many ice shows were there?

 

3 or 4?

 

Thanks.

Thank you

Hope you get a chance to goto St. John too. Heaven on earth.

Does anyone know where Freedom docks in St Thomas please? Is it Havensight or Crown Bay?

 

Havensight.

How early do you have to wait in line to get in? I like it better when they had tickets because I wouldn't think you would have to waste your time waiting in line.

 

Went to the matinee 5pm show (last 1 on the itin) & it was half empty.

I was pointing out that the word required does not appear on the website under dress code. I was not making any statement about the enforcement, or lack thereof, of the dress code itself. Only that the dress code does not contain the word "required".

 

& I was pointing out that the spirit of the rule & what is intended by RCL is routinely & knowingly looked passed by cruisers & line alike.

Have you ever driven over the speed limit or changed lanes without signaling? All of us break rules. You just have to decide what are the really important ones.

 

Actually these are laws & are pretty clearly stated in the DMV manual (I should know :rolleyes: ).

 

It comes down to law enforcement - if they are nearby - & if they follow to a tee or not if you are cited/stopped.

 

The 'suggested' part of the RCL dress codes on the other hand is not law only private property rules. That & the supplemental examples are confusing & in conjunction with the lack of enforcement is the overall problem.

Here is the dress code from Royal Caribbean's website. Please show me where you found the word "REQUIRED" ...

 

There are three distinct types of evenings onboard: casual, smart casual and formal. Suggested guidelines for these nights are:

Casual: Sport shirts and slacks for men, sundresses or pants for women

Smart Casual: Jackets and ties for men, dresses or pantsuits for women

Formal: Suits and ties or tuxedos for men, cocktail dresses for women

 

The bottom line is, the word "required" is not used at all.

 

In law this would be consider intent (& spirit). Enforcement is another matter.

What do a lot of guys do at dinner anyway? They take off their jacket and lossen their tie.

Maybe @ your local lobster pancake shack but not @ a place with several chandeliers.

And it's not like a disco dance floor is going to be broken out in the MDR either!

I have to agree with my fellow cruisers on Aug. 23rd sailing. I was really disgusted in the way RCCL was not enforcing the rules.

My biggest gripe is the dining room. If you print that no shorts are allowed in the dining room after 6 PM, then enforce it! I saw more people in shorts and I mean short shorts and flip flops than I have ever seen. On a formal night, ties and jackets are required, so why are they letting people in wearing jeans and tee shirts.

 

Cheryl - I was in MTD dining on deck 5 of the 8/23 FOS & for the most part only noticed a couple of ppl in shorts or jeans & tee shirts.

The latter happened to sit next to me.

& of all places, a person strolled through Chops with a cigarette on his ear in ripped jeans & tee. These types of examples make all the argument about how RCL is better than CCL moot.

 

That being said - I also was too surprised that the rules weren't enforced in the dining areas.

However, for the better part 99.9% of ppl dressed for the occasion on all nights.

 

As for the ice show, I can't say which I prefer as I didn't get to guest relations soon enough last time to get tickets and I had to stand in line, same as this time.

There were no tickets needed for the ice show on this trip.

 

To the chair saving hogs, I watched towels get a tan for over 2 hours while I sat on the hard pool deck in the solarium. I spoke to a deck patrol person who shrugged his shoulders and said to me, "maybe they went for lunch".

Ok, i'm a rule follower, but what's good for the goose is good for the gander.

 

Well there are plenty of ways to toss personal possessions overboard nearby if the rules aren't enforced.

Beautiful sea air comes through those wide open solarium deck windows ;)

Sorry, I thought I was on a different thread. You are correct, the Mariner and Freedom are different classes. Nonetheless, I believe the Freedom class is just a lengthen version of the Voyager class with a hot tub added to each side (boy am I going to get flamed for that). I believe the width of each ship is the same.

 

Yes FOS didn't seem any bigger practically for me vs. EOS that I rode on back in '01.

Flowrider & 2 Solarium hot tubs is all I noticed.

Also, strange experience about the seat saving by the pools.

 

Thursday of this past week was a sea day and of course tons of seats were being "saved" in the usual manner. I observed someone complain to a woman (Gina from Peru) who is in the deck patrol in the solarium section about not being able to find a seat and there were a lot of seats just empty, being reserved with towels and books and such. Gina shrugged her shoulders and said there was nothing that she could do.

 

The next morning (also a sea day) I heard an announcement by the pools around 7:30 am that said that seat saving is not permitted and will be enforced. A couple hours later, I observed the same woman (Gina) writing down times and placing them on a sticker on the backs of vacant chairs. Then about 30-45 minutes later she returned and removed all the stuff from the chairs that had the stickers on them.

 

Strange that RCL decides to start enforcing this policy on the last day of the cruise.

 

Also, while I watched some of my fellow guests get angry with the way that this policy was being enforced, I left a note for my wife who was taking a nap next to me on a chair and I wrote "went to the cabin at 9:45. Be back in a few" When I returned it was 7 minutes later and several strangers told me that Gina had attempted to remove my towel and stuff, but they prevented her from doing so.

 

Just got back from the FOS East Carb & took matters into my own hands on the 2nd sea day.

Watch a towel get a nice suntan for 1+ hr.

Told my gf I don't think any1 is sitting there & made a move.

A couple came & woke me up & used some invectives towards me about moving their stuff & taking their lounger.

 

Told them - the towel sat there for 60+ minutes getting a suntan without the company of a book or sunblock (btw items I also saw getting some sun on their own @ other loungers).

No other personal belonging sat on said lounger.

 

They stormed off mad. Oh well - either limit your away time to ~30-45 minutes or take turns watching your stuff.

There are ways to handle your personal real estate.

 

As for the chair hogs - woke up @ 7am & walked by to see them set up their towels & no other items & walk off to do breakfast or whatever.

 

Next cruise, stuff goes missing if RCL doesn't enforce it.

[quote name='ckrobyn']This may have already been addressed, but I can't scroll through all the pages of this thread :rolleyes:

Are all of the pools on the Freedom fresh water?????:confused:[/quote]

FYI - there's also a search function for this specific thread up on the top right border titled - "Search this Thread ".

Also you can goback to the main thread listing & search the entire forum the same way under - 'Search this Forum'!

Has Helped me in the past a lot.

[quote name='TifffanyD']Thanks, I was just asking for a comparison and you gave me that! Of course June is probably higher than August but we are FL residents so we can wait til closer. Thanks for the comparison![/quote]

No necessarily. I will say this August's FOS interior room is running about the same price as an balcony.

Go figure! It's all supply & demand I guess.

Still I agree that June is big for demand & if you snag it now, you can always call for a price drop credit if it happens. That's your safety net there!

[quote name='TifffanyD']Hi all - I am looking at a June 6 2010 sailing on Freedom out of Port Canaveral. Price is $999 for inside stateroom per person. Is this a good price (it's a 7 night). Should I book now or wait? Is there a travel agent you use for better prices/incentives. This is my first post here and I am trying to plan my birthday next year. Thanks for any help and I appreciate all the info on the thread![/quote]

Hi Tiffany - prices fluctuate all the time so asking that is like asking for a forecast of the weather.

That said, I was able to snag a balcony for much less than what you are looking @ for that interior & within 30 days of my trip this coming August.

The point I am trying to make is that be patient & lower prices will always come esp. that far out!

[quote name='Creepella']What time can you arrive to check in for embarkation, now that FOS is in Port Canaveral? What time are you off the ship if you self-disembark?

Thanks![/quote]

I would like to know this as well for FOS:
Time they allow you on board at Port Canveral.
Time they allow you off board at Port Canveral.

[quote name='djay']I have Eastern Compasses & Daily menus as pdf & word documents.
IF YOU WILL EMAIL ME- I will forward back to you. It may not be immediately but I will get them back to you. It is so much easier when I just have to attach & return.
I received them several weeks ago from 2 nice people > I sent about 50 in the last 7 days > but know how much fun it is to read & plan ahead.
My email address is daniel dot james1 at comcast dot net
We are counting the days until 11/ & have learned so much from this site.
djay[/quote]

Thanks again Daniel! Got your pdf's on Sat. Now I have 30 days to plan.

Floridagirl here on CC sent them to me (June from PC). I can forward it to you.

 

Would appreciate the kindness to:

perveeus at yahoo dot com.

 

Thanks tripleFigs!:)