Maybaybie10

Just got a $115pp drop on our Freedom cruise next April (school vacation!) for an E2. (A little fishy told me...;))

Last year my kids had their picture taken when we boarded the Allure. It had the ship stats and the date of the sailling and ports of call on the photo. I bought a copy at the end of the cruise because it came out really nice. It wasn't until a few months afterward that I noticed the dates were wrong (it was the sailing the week before ours) and the ports of call were wrong (we went Western and it listed Eastern ports)! At least the it was the right ship I suppose! :eek:

The window would be nice, but I also prefer the higher decks as well. I was on deck 2 on my first FOV cruise and I felt like I was always waiting for the elevator. The first few days my son (6 at the time) was really queasy and didn't like the feeling of the elevator, so we had to take the stairs from deck 2 to deck 11 on a regular basis for those first 2 days. My thighs will never be the same! We were on deck 10 (I think) on Allure last year and I really appreciated being a few floors up or down to the major venues compared to down on deck 2. The rooms are beautiful but I also prefer the higher decks over a window since we don't spend much time in our room at all.

Congrats on your wedding!!:)

So I noticed the price of our April cruise dropped by $115pp, so I called RCI to ask about getting the price drop. This is our first booking without a TA so I've never had to call RCI about one before. The phone rep was very pleasant, but seemed a bit confused and tried to tell me the price was only a 'few dollars cheaper' when she looked at the current prices versus my reservation. I noted that it may look that way because the gratuities were included on my reservation, bringing the price up, but the base price was $115 cheaper. She then asked to put me on hold to look into it. She came back about 5 minutes later and told me that the price had indeed dropped, but it was 'for new bookings only'. I explained that this wasn't a sale price, but just a price drop. I booked during the BOGO sale a few weeks ago, which is still going on, so no new sale. She said she would have to put me on hold and call the 'Escalations Desk' and see what she could do. She was very nice, and so was I, so I wasn't sure what the big deal about the price drop was. Again I was on hold for about 5 minutes and she came back and said "Good News! I was able to adjust that price for you and my manager also noticed you had no OBC on your reservation and you should have, so he added some." I have no idea what OBC I should've had, but he added $25, which was nice...if not confusing. I was pleased that I was able to snag the price drop (and the mystery OBC), but I somehow feel a little weird....like I did something wrong, by asking for it since they had to call the 'Escalations Desk'. Should I have said something different when I called or gone about asking someone different? I'm just checking for when I have to call again if there is another price drop. Thanks in advance.

We're sailing on FOV next April and my parents may want to switch rooms, but haven't decided where. Entering each individual room number they might be interested in on RCI's site is a pain and very time consuming, especially when I want to switch cabin catagories and look at availability in others. Is there anywhere that it will give a diagram of the ship with the rooms that are available noted or highlighted or something? This seems like it would be a great tool for a lot of people.

There are better sales to buy on than a wow

 

 

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I agree, however if you have a big family, coming up with $125pp is easier than $250pp. That's why we book during the WOW. I wish we didn't have to because some of the sales are pretty enticing, but ya gotta do what ya gotta do! :)

They are *usually* in October and May, however they just had a 5-day WOW sale a few weeks ago that ended the 21st (I think). I know because I booked during it. Maybe they'll have another mini-WOW again or wait until October or maybe the wind will blow and they'll have one whenever the mood strikes them. Only RCI knows....except when they don't! :eek:

Good Luck!!

We just booked almost 8 months out and got 8200, and 8500 was also available. I was shocked because we are sailing during school vacation. I did the happy dance when I first found out about these 2 rooms and then almost did a few cartwheels when I found out they were actually not booked yet!

Yes...I was...Not unusual for them to be offered online (RCI) at a point in time if they haven't been booked and also offered to less than the usual number of required occupancy...I was able to book it for 3 passengers where normally you must have at least 5, I could have even booked it for 2..same goes for a 2 bedroom suite if they haven't been booked. Pays to keep checking this online...I wouldn't bother with phone calls.

When they do release them for viewing online, how do you search for them? Do you put in 5 people and they come up, or do you put in 2 or 3 people and then search by specific room?

Thanks!

Last October I booked "Deep Sea Fishing" in Cozumel for my husband and son and they were so excited...then RCI canceled the excursion. They didn't really want to do the other fishing excursion ("Bottom Fishing), but my son (11) had been looking forward to "big fish" fishing for 18 months(he's used to a lake!), so I booked it anyway. They had a BLAST!! They said it was the best excursion of the cruise!

A pack-n-play in the bunkbed room...it's possible it won't fit in that area with the extra bed...We found this much to our surprise to be the case on ROS this past May in FOV (#8500)...It was a "huge" ordeal to have the bed removed..and it took many phone calls, a visit from the deck supervisor, and finally a visit from the Executive Housekeeper...not something they wanted to do at "all" but we persevered and were accommodated.

There is an 'extra bed' in the bunkbed room? You mean like a roll-away bed or something similiar? I wonder why, since the room says it will only sleep 6 (2 in master, 2 in bunks, 2 on sofa). So does this mean it technically sleeps 7?

Also, 8200 has a bigger living room than 8500, so it's possible a pack and play may fit there too, but I think 8200's bunkroom looks larger too when looking at the video.

Peewee....thanks for the awesome pictures!!

Thanks so much! It took me about an hour but I finally found the right keyword to pull up that video of 8200...it will be perfect. We needed room in the bunkbed room for a pack n play.

Sorry the video link didn't work!!

I can't say about the walking, I don't sail until April, so I have no idea how much different it will be from being in the middle of the ship. All I know is that I may indulge in that extra dessert (or 2!) since I will have plenty of time to walk it off! :D I figure for the kids (at least the 6 year old), walk outside on the promenade deck and let them run the length of it...they will sleep well!!

There is only 1 bathroom in both 8200 and 8500.

This part of the ship gets a lot of motion even from calm seas (from what I've read). Some people (including myself) enjoy being rocked to sleep...others...not so much.

I've heard the couch/sofa is quite large and pretty comfy too and the bunks are long and perfectly fine for adults as well as kids.

These rooms are pretty coveted, so they are snatched up quickly. Just an FYI!

Enjoy!

I'm booked in 8200 on Freedom in April....huge room compared to most FOV...but it is at the front of the ship, so if mobility is an issue you may want to take this into consideration. We paid about $3000 for 5 people with the "Kids Sail Free" sale...and it would've been only $93.15 for a 6th person (taxes/port charges). Here is a video on 8200 on Indy. I heard that 8200 is bigger, but only has a curtain on the 'master bedroom' and bunkrooms, where 8500 (next door) has a smaller living room, but actual doors on those 2 rooms. Good Luck!

8200 on Indy:

8500 on Liberty:

Here is a good thread that may answer some of your questions too:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2088943

No more Crypt???!!!!!! Oh MY....I'm not telling my husband- that was his favorite bar and he had the best service there and closed the place up most nights. We're going back on Freedom next April...maybe I'll keep this little nugget of information to myself....:eek:

I think they "lowered" the advertised price to make it sound more enticing ($49 sounds a lot cheaper than $55 for some reason), then they sneak that 15% gratuity on, bringing the price to $56.xx, basically the same as it was before give or take a buck and some change. It's all marketing- they want you to think you are getting a deal versus what you paid before and to make it look good for people who may not have considered purchasing it in the past.

We are booked into 8200 on Freedom (sister to Indy) in April. We got a great deal during this 'Kids Sail Free" sale- about $609pp for 5. If you don't mind walking and a little more rocking, 8200 and 8500 (at front of the ship) are HUGE in comparison to normal family oceanviews.

Here's a video of 8200 on INdy:

You may also want to check out this thread: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2088943

Good Luck!!

I have noticed during the Kids Sail Free and the BOGOHO sales, they tend to hike up the 1st and/or second person price so when they take off the "free kids" or the "half off second person" that it averges out to a 'normal' per person price. My local grocery store does the same thing. Ice cream is normally $3.49, but during their BOGO sale it magically goes up to $5.99 each, so you're really only saving a buck. Once these sales are over on 9/15, I suspect the prices will level out more.

Understood, but within Freedom/Voyager class FOV's there are 2 cabins (8200/8500) which are much nicer than the rest.

 

Any "special" family cabins on Oasis class, or are all the cabins within a category identical?

I believe 11128 and 11528 are a little larger than the 'regular' FOV. We had one booked on Allure last year, but ended up having only 4 people instead of 5 and had to cancel out of it. They are at the front corner of the ship.

We are booked into 8200 for our April cruise. From what I've learned (as stated above), 8500 has doors on the bunkroom and main bedroom, but 8200 has a much bigger living room. With 3 growing kids, we went for the extra room and chose 8200. If you look at the deck plans, you can see the extra room...

Good luck to you and enjoy your cruise!

Remember too that if you are at one of Royal's private islands (CocoCay, etc) that those drinks that you have at the beach can be charged to your seapass or 'free' if you have the drink package.

Celebrity's is much better because it includes bottled water, soda and fresh squeezed juice.

 

We avoid the RC one because it does not.

According to their website, the Ultimate Package does include water, soda, juice and specialty coffee. It's a combination of the Premium Pkg and the Royal Replenish Package.

Here are my thoughts. Our last cruise was last October 2013. They had just rolled out the drink packages shortly before that. When I saw the prices I almost fainted. At that time, each person in the room was required to purchase the package. I don't drink, my husband does, so there was no sense in purchasing the package. We had been on a cruise 2 years prior so I had a decent idea of what his bar tab would be. He told me he had a really awesome bartender that took really great care of him and his bar bill every night was $18.88 (and he was there every night with his brothers until 3am-:eek:). I was OK with the price so I didn't pay it much mind. This past cruise he never found that special bartender and when I saw his bar bill, I almost fainted. By the end of the cruise even if I had purchased the drink package for him AND for myself and not drunk anything it would have been cheaper! Another good thing about buying the package is you can pay for it before you cruise and not have to constantly keep an eye on your bill and what you drink. And this is coming from someone who said they would never, ever purchase a drink package...and now I am wholeheartedly endorsing it!

Please read this thread....which is a few down from yours. It is a discussion about Family Rooms on Freedom and we have posted videos in the thread to help people see the difference. We are booked in 8200 for April. Good Luck with your decision!

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2088943

I wonder why 8500 has a door and 8200 doesn't. I heard that on Indy it is just a curtain and on Freedom it is a door- maybe I read it wrong, though. I went with 8200 for the extra room- the curtain doesn't bother me. After staying in an inside quad twice, this is going to seem like the Taj Mahal!!! I'd love to see any and all pictures and opinions that anyone is willing to share!! Please title your post with "8500" in the title, so my eyes will catch it though...I'd love to say I read every post on here, but I do have a life outside of Cruise Critic. Sad, but true!:rolleyes:

Enjoy your cruise!!!

Thanks to this thread, I just booked 8500 on a 7-day Freedom for next August for only $540/pp. So excited. :)

Awesome!! I love it when these threads help people, as they so often help me!:p