CruisinSinceIwasBorn

With 3 young kids (3, 6, 8), it's a 2BR Grand Suite or a 2BR Aqua Theater. Doing the A1 on Harmony next week. Can't wait!

The track on the Oasis class of ships is by far the best of any cruise ship. It's a true track and has great views and shade. Strongly recommend that over the treadmills. Crowds on the first day, especially if it's a sea day, are crazy. The worst part is that 50% of those people have no idea what they are doing and are sitting on equipment, using it incorrectly, or utilizing the gym as a social space. You will see some "interesting" things. After that day, the crowds are gone.

It seems that RCL has adopted dynamic pricing, meaning the price varies based on time and sea/port. I think it comes down to how much you value getting a desired time. Lots of prime times are booked well in advance. If you don't care about time, then you may luck out booking onboard for a port day morning. I'd just keep an eye for any "sales" in the planner. Remember, you can always book, cancel and rebook if the prices go down.

Work hard, play hard. Simple as that.

I sailed Harmony in November and was amazed how good she looked all across the ship. No signs of rust, wear, discoloration, etc. We are sailing on her again next week and really looking forward to it. I will say that RCL does a really great job keeping the Oasis class ships in top shape. Even the Oasis still looks great. Though her cabins are dated, the rest of the ship feels new (thanks of course to the amplification). I much prefer the more modern feel in Harmony cabins.

My kids LOVE looking for ducks, and on our most recent cruise we hid many of them around the ship. They enjoyed staring from a distance and watching other people discover them. Many other kids also jumped in excitement when finding them. What's the harm in bringing happiness to people? We plan to do the same in a couple of weeks. Can't believe the a-holes that commented they immediately throw them in the trash. Same people that likely b**** about food, chairs, service, tipping, kids, etc.

Agree with the sentiment. The food is pretty lousy (worst meal of the week) but it's a beautiful spot to kick off your vacation with a drink. Just temper expectations and don't think that the first day lunch is a good indicator for the rest of the cruise.

Prior to COVID, if you were staying in a Sky or Star class suite, there was an evening cocktail reception with the Captain and Senior Officers. It was a rather intimate event and something I really enjoyed. We have sailed a few times since the re-start and this has not yet returned for the times we have sailed. I was wondering if any recent cruisers have had this reception? Thanks in advance.

So you are saying that people that shop at Walmart are below you and you will not associate with them? I would say then, if you were the representative for RCL passengers, which thankfully you are not, I would avoid RCL and your "type of people".

Having sailed both many times, I think many of the comments here are accurate. I've been on short RCL, and those too are often a big party scene. Once made the mistake of going on a 5-day cruise when the Florida universities were on spring break and 2000+ Greek members were on board. Let's just say that "Alpha Alpha Alpha" was announced every 15 minutes and it was a 30+ minute wait to get a drink at ANY bar. Carnival, in my opinion, is more "Fun" as their name eludes to. Their activities are much more lively and well attended and there is always something going on. I often find RCL has many periods where there is nothing going on (pretty much all port days and from 5pm-10pm). I also love that Carnival has many pool side food options available. This is something RCL could really take a lesson on. I hate that when I am hungry by the pool, I either have to get dressed again (Windjammer) or eat what is in my opinion, horrible food (Minibites, El Loco). Also, ship matters. The Fantasy class ships were floating dumpsters, just like the Sovereign class at its end. Both Carnival and RCL are doing a nice job of modernizing their fleet coming out of COVID. While I haven't been on Carnival post-COVID, I am really looking forward to sailing the Mardi Gras in November.

We had a genie, Derick Martis, that during the Omicron phase was covering 7 star class suites versus a normal 3 because of genies out with Covid. Despite this workload, he was absolutely incredible. He popped up everywhere, covered all the little details, and took care of everything immediately. I also think it's important to provide genies feedback. Every passenger is different. Your needs are different than mine. They try to strike a balance, but that may not be what you want. We often give feedback to make it a more tailored experience. If you don't give feedback, then they will continue what they have been doing and it may not be what you want. Our genie's have appreciated it because then they weren't guessing. It also helped them to get to know us more and we formed a great relationship and had a wonderful vacation.

I think the answer to your question is highly dependent on what your needs are. I have three young children, so the ease of not having to make reservations, not getting to things early to get good seats, having dinner and snacks delivered whenever, no waiting in lines....those are big things to us. We sailed in the RLS on Oasis and really enjoyed quality family time together that our Genie (Derek Martis) made extra special for us. He went above and beyond to ensure my kids had a great time. So was the price very high? Yes. I have also sailed many times in 2BR GS (Sky), which we also really enjoyed. The genie is just that extra special treat that when my wife and I work many late hours and don't get to relax as much as we hope, we find it worth it. We are sailing in the A1 on HoS in April and really looking forward to fully relaxing.

My family and I sail frequently in Sky/Star and have had multiple good, and bad, experiences with Pins in the lounge. Having little kids (3,6,8) we have had many that give us the stink eye because we have children in the lounge. Our kids are well behaved (honestly) but they are kids, which means sometimes they have their moments. I really dislike the judgement from senior Pins. I also have found it frustrating that they all swarm the best tables before CK even opens. But also, there have been many great experiences as well. One Pin was absolutely wonderful with my kids and ate breakfast with us. Mario also was very nice to them. Essentially, some people are great, some suck, regardless of status. But I do agree, when paying crazy prices currently for suites, I do expect to have the lounge with available seating and service.

This was great. Thank you for sharing. I looked forward to every update you provided. The Oasis is a special ship. Safe travels home.

It amazes me that for a new terminal, PC Terminal 1 is such a mess. Sailed out of there a few months back and it was just a sea of people in a hot terminal. They have a huge space inside. I can't for the life of me figure out why they can't queue people indoors.