allennn

I know a touchy subject , that trend is to dress down and those get offended that they have the right not to. Why not have a Formal Main dinning room with an enforced dress code. This way everyone will win.

I like the idea. Those who want a more upscale formal experience can go there and those who want to sit in their shorts and TB shirts can as well. Both win.

I'd like to see more of the ships! :)

seriously, can they start working on oasis 4 and 5 as well? Compared to oasis/allure, most of the other ships pale in comparison. Based on what I know about Quantum from reading the stuff on rccl I think I would still prefer the oasis class ships over it even.

smarm aside though... the solarium is my favorite place on the ship so it would be nice if it were expanded. Any expansion though would need to keep it absolutely a no kid zone.

I have read some reviews where people state that the bar service is very slow and almost impossible to get a drink with the drink package...Has anyone had that experience. We are leaving in a week or so and want to buy the package, but only if we can actually get drinks. Thoughts??

i found just the opposite. Drink service was super fast with the ultimate package as the bartender rarely even handed me anything to sign. super fast

Let me start with an apology for yet another "drink package" post. I've searched these boards and never really got an answer to what I was looking for, which is how do other passengers feel about the value of the various drink packages offered by RCI. I realize this is totally subjective, and really depends on your personal habits and desires. So I don't expect anyone can tell me if a drink package would be a good value for me, or which one is the right one. I would however appreciate comments from recent travelers who have purchased a drink package on your cruise. Are you glad you paid for this package, or do you have any regrets for doing so? Did any purchase a drink package part way into their vacation, and if so, how did that work out. Our up coming cruise will be 9 nights, so with the extra nights it would be even more expensive for us.

 

I would love to hear from others who recently cruised and purchased a drink package - the good, the bad and the ugly.

 

Thanks!

I got the unlimited everything drink package on the allure and I can say that I both liked it and regretted it. On the upside it made things ultra convenient. On the downside it made things TOO convenient and I probably drank more than was healthy for me. Next time I'll not get the unlimited alcohol package as it will force me to pay for and think about each drink.

I know that most are saying RCI is rocking but we did the Allure in early December and despite it being a full boat the nightclubs and such were dead starting at like 9pm. I asked the bartender at the wine bar and he said its almost always like that. Not sure where the discrepancy is.

you guys did almost %100 exactly what we did! crazy.

Nov 28th-Dec6th (Orlando)

we went to orlando first and did disney, epcot, seaworld, universal studios (our favorite) where we spent most of our time in harry potter land which again was our favorite.

we also went and saw all the nasa stuff

Dec7th->14th (Cruise)

then we went and got on the allure for the 7 day western cruise.

We are doing it again next year. :)

none of the photos show up for me. :/ says 'photobucket, arent we popular!' and says to buy an account.

we booked this in May and I can't tell from the descriptions of the ship if there is a concierge lounge for the suites like on oasis or allure. Anyone know if there are any?

anyone know if the suite was refur'd along with the retrofit or if it looks like it does in the old pictures?

I will be on my first Royal Caribbean cruise in May on the Oasis. I will be traveling with my 2 sons, ages 17 and 20, my husband, and myself. I will be purchasing the Royal refreshment pkg for both of my sons,(Soda only) the Royal replenish package for my husband,(coffee, tea and non alcoholic beverages) he drinks non alcoholic beverages and loves coffee. I on the other hand, cannot find a drink package that suites my needs. I drink Berringer White zinfandel (very cheap, but I Love it) I usually have 2 at dinner and maybe one or 2 throughout the day. Sometimes I like to also try a drink of the day or mixed drink.

 

Would I be better off paying for each drink individually? In order to try some of the mixed drinks every once in a while I would need to purchase the Premium package for 55 dollars a day.

 

I guess what I really need to know ; Is berringer White Zinfandel available on the oasis ? How much is it per glass? Any information you can provide would be greatly appreciated.

All gratuities are covered automatically with the unlimited plan. So what you need to calculate is if the drink plus gratuities for your level of consumption is more or less than the daily price of the package.

Another thing to consider as well is the convenience factor. With unlimited drink, you never have to sign a receipt or worry about tips or anything. They just swipe your card and hand you the beverage. This was probably my favorite part of the plan.

How about skype?

I used Skype heavily during the cruise even from my iPhone and it worked flawlessly.

According to customer service the waiter was mistaken on that specific beer.

If it's over the limit they charge full price.

Since the drink packages are new, it's not available to everyone on their pre trip planner yet. We had to wait till we got on the ship to book them.

Yes, works there but most of the wines there are more than the like 12 a glass max.

Also, there is still some confusion as I had a waiter in the British pub tell me beers weren't included. I didn't feel like arguing with him about it but I'm going to check with customer service this mornjng to find out what the deal is.

The bottles of water are the normal sized (not mini).

FaceTime works but is slow as hell. However, we are using the heck out of Skype. Working flawlessly and I recommend everyone in your party that pays for unlimited internet sign up for and use Skype. We are able to msg each other in real time.

I am not tipping any additional at all as every bartender just gives me my card back and doesn't say another word.

For me it's the solarium. Love everything about it. In fact I'm sitting at the solarium bar right now surfing the internet while drinking Mai tais. :)

I'm actually in the solarium right now sitting at the bar drinking Mai tais.

Ok, so I did more research. Red bulls ARE included. The specialty shakes in the vitality spa are NOT.

Also, there is no limit as we were on the island in Haiti yesterday and I probably had 20 or so drinks over the course of the entire day and night. However, i do regret that decision and will be going much easier for the rest of the voyage. :)))

After dinner shots are included.

The coffee is settles best coffee and is included.

Ive said his before and I will reiterate, my favorite part of this package is that I just don't have to worry about anything. I hand them my card and they hand it back. Nothing to sign, no sticker shock or uncomfortable tip calculations. It's just all taken care of.

I'm heading to the solarium right now to hit the hot tubs. That has been my favorite place so far on the ship.

I have my iphone and this laptop but when one logs on the other is kicked off. It looks like only one device at a time.

I have some answers! I don't mind answering questions so keep them coming.

the royal replenish DOES include frozen 'virgin' drinks. My wife ordered a virgin strawberry daiquiri with her royal replenish card and there was no problem. No alcohol involved.

the ultimate DOES NOT include starbucks (drat, you would think for that much a day it would include a starbucks). Also, it DOES NOT include the drinks at Johnny Rockets like shakes and such. Side note to this, we got a pretty rude waiter there which is a first for our entire cruise.

The unlimited internet is $179 a week and like I said earlier is on the slow side. However, it has been getting better all day today which I would say is likely to them working on this new system.

I got a strawberry Daiq. with captn morgan and it was included in the ultimate package. In the morning when I go work out I will ask in the vitality spa about the shakes there.

I will also ask about the red bull next time we go down. Just got back from lunch at johnny rockets a minute ago.

if anyone has requests I can ask the bartenders here on board if any given drink or liquor is included.

I have had several frozen drinks including premium liquor drinks without any problem. I had grey goose last night and have ordered several premium cocktails so far without anything other than a smile and handing my card back. This has included a couple strawberry daq's and 1 margarita which were froze. I have been ordering premium liquors because I like them plus I just want to see if any of them are off limits. So far %100 of what I have ordered has been included.

just a note as I have seen a few posts back and forth on this previously.

the unlimited internet is here (I'm using it from my balcony on the oasis right now). Signed up for it yesterday and it wasn't working on the first day. Went to their wifi support which was setup in the card room and they verified it wasn't indeed working. Staff mentioned that this was the first night the 'new system' was running and they had engineers on board who were watching it and fixing things if they went wrong. This morning it appears they have fixed it though and its working right now. We are just rounding Cuba and the connection speed is ok but not great.

also the new drink package options are available. I got the ultimate which has been fantastic as I never have to sign a slip for anything. Makes everything just EASY which is what I was hoping for. The wife and daughter and grandma got the royal replenish which suits them perfectly. I'm really glad RCCL allowed people in staterooms to get different packages and I am careful not to abuse it by letting anyone else have my drinks.

cheers!

I'm really interested in this as well. I'd like to get unlimited wifi while on board. We are doing the oasis on dec 7.