Moonarino

We've had some good lunches at 3-4 different places on Cozumel but I can't remember the name of any of those eateries. Tres Amigos has good beer. Lol. If you can get waited on.

Better than Bimini for us, but to each his/her own.

Like that exercise in management class or whatever. Relay a message through 10 people, one to the next, and you'll get 10 different variations.

Okay thanks... the Royal website itself shows deck plan changes for ("after") April 23, 2023, and April 14, 2024, and again on September 26th, 2024. Yeah one reason I'm booking Oasis for a third cruise (instead of a 6-day on Symphony) was because of the 2019 "Amp". I also wonder if the Starlink Internet upgrade will be installed in April. I've been wondering if that can be done in a few hours during turnaround, or exactly when/how Royal will get "all" of its ships upgraded by the end of 2023 Q1 as advertised.

I've seen mention of changes in some of Oasis' deck plans next Spring, on a couple of different websites, but can't find out exactly what this is all about. A quick web search didn't turn up anything. Anybody know how extensive this apparent/supposed dry dock will be?

Went on a "short" 5-day the past May (on Carnival) and we were switched from Nassau to Bimini about a week before. Bimini is NOT Nassau, not even close, and the Nassau stop was one of our prime selection criteria for that cruise, since we hadn't been there in a good while. The Bimini port is fairly new, so no not common, and I can't remember seeing it on any Royal cruise in any of my shopping adventures. Maybe it will improve over time as it brings in more revenue. For us in May it was a major disappointment.

I usually go through 3-4 half-liter bottles every day. I've had drink packages that included water -- no charge if it clearly says water is included, unless it's "premium" water which might not be included. My two cents: I found it's a measurable annoyance to keep having to go to a bar or wherever to get a couple bottles of water (or a few) for me and my lady, and then carrying the big handful back to my cabin. Same with refilling. For me the inconvenience is just not worth it. From here out I'm paying a little extra for a couple of 12-packs delivered to my room.

I'm curious about Wonder too, Oasis class plus several more feet in length and width, according to what I've read. But I'm always curious about new Oasis-class ships 😀

Nice to know, this thread's comments in general, because: We sailed Oasis in 2011 when she was still almost-new and fell in love. But again 5 years later, a complete disappointment. The ship already seemed old and worn out, but I think only because cleaning crews were doing a lousy/lackadaisical job, but the ship also seemed noisier/more abrasive than before, for reasons I can't quite put into words. Just not as well-managed overall would probably sum it up. But we love Oasis class and, especially after a refurbishment, we're looking forward to sailing either Oasis or Symphony next fall. Probably Oasis because Symphony is only offering 6-day cruises and I just don't know if we could handle a day less than 7, lol. In particular we're trying to squeeze Nassau and Jamaica into one cruise, and just try finding something like that. But Oasis and Symphony both have that combo lined up in November 2023 -- the other ports being Coco Cay and Labadee, of course. All the positive comments here are appreciated and encouraging.

Expect the doors to open by 1:30.

Thanks a big bunch and right back atcha. Salivating for a pile of sliced turkey and stuffing with gravy sloshed over all.

I had mine in my wallet on Nov 7 when boarding Celebrity Silhouette, but never even thought about it. And of course I didn't need it. I hope I'll never have need to think about it again.

I'd say that wraps it all up. Too much pressure to pressure (annoy) guests, and if management is too dumb to see how negative a thing that is, one does have to wonder if will ever change for the better. I probably won't sail Royal until next fall, but I'm sure I'll think about this thread as we make our way to the MDR on our first night.

Adventure was refurbished in 2018, which I think was part of Royal's "Amplified" refit. In 2019 I sailed Independence OTS, which I believe is a rough equivalent, a little larger & newer -- but not "brand" new. I enjoyed that cruise. I doubt you'll really notice that Adventure is an older ship, although you might notice "something" (one thing or another) if you look close enough. Something to consider: I just got off Celebrity Silhouette a week ago, 10 years newer than Adventure. One of the first things I noticed (beyond the fact that Silhouette is a positively gorgeous ship and the DJ was slinging a deeelicious playlist in the Atrium) was a big rusty seam in the metal deck of our larger balcony. In various spots the rust was lifting up the metal at the edges of the seam. About 10 years ago I also found heavy rust on the aft end of Carnival Destiny. Not that I go out looking for it, but you just never know what you might find. I wondered how X could have overlooked something like that on the recently renovated Silhouette, being (supposedly) one of the classier cruise lines in the world. I'd say go ahead and check out Adventure OTS, enjoy whatever is to be enjoyed and don't be surprised (or too alarmed) if you find an imperfection here and there.

On my bold #1, I've had that happen too. And here's the thing: You've either got the personality (and good sense) to pull it off, or you don't. Probably 99% just ain't got it. Bold #2, you should shout that from a mountain top. Like any profession, one either knows it/can learn it, or not. If you don't know it/can't learn it, find something else.

FYI, that would annoy me too. "1 min after" isn't time to even begin to rate a restaurant meal, unless it's really bad. MUCH better, just make sure you can see us if we're waving to you for some reason. Big thumbs up there. "Bizzare" is a word I might've also used when I've encountered insecure wait staff and so on. I've mostly just been interested in reading here how most have reacted or would react to overly intrusive wait staff (yes "intrusive" when they can't get the message the first two or three times they ask). I'm posting now because "fuddy duddies" finally sent me over the edge. Come on. Some (or many) of us just want to be left alone as much as possible to enjoy our dinner in the quiet pleasure of each other's company in the ambience of a cruise ship. I have certainly enjoyed certain wait staff on past cruises but I enjoyed them because (among other things) they showed the good sense of when to "be there" or when to just leave us alone. Waiters that interrupt every 5 minutes or more don't do a thing for my/our mood. Is that selfish? With what I'm paying for the cruise and amenities, yeah you can call me selfish if you still want to be (rude and) judgemental of somebody else's preferences while on vacation.

As @molly361says, no they won't be lower. TBH, I haven't found prices any lower than they were 2-4 weeks ago, at least for the fall 2023 sailings I'm interested in. But maybe that's because they're still so far out. Going-Going-Gone sales might have something new/better by tomorrow, if you're interested in near-last-minute bookings, 90-day sales, whatever else they might be called.

I was commenting @ "Cruise Capital of the World" in general. As for Tampa, the last couple of weeks is just the last couple of weeks. I look at Tampa's offerings occasionally just because I love sailing out of there. Used to anyway.

Miami, FLL, Port Canaveral, Tampa and Jax. Hard to keep up with that kind of action.

For daily use or anywhere close to that, buying the most basic wifi package at pre-cruise discount pricing is definitely the best way to go. And as @Sunshine3601mentioned, it can be shared, one device logged in at a time. Any device, yours or hers on an internet lounge desktop, whatever.

As I commented elsewhere today, I've never seen any real fare sales from Royal. In fact 2 days ago I priced a holiday sale from a TA (one that has never lived up to its advertising) and was shocked to get a final cost of more than $800 above Royal's website pricing. Nuts. My favorite TA (also advertising "sale") has the same total price as Royal does -- same as it was a month ago when I checked. (I keep a spreadsheet for my next-cruise shopping.) As @latebuyermentioned, maybe pre-cruise discounts for excursions and such, but never on the cruise fare itself.

This can be true but not always. Sometimes a "special" really is special. My last cruise on Celebrity (booked thru my favorite TA) originally included a "surprise" package of specials that did not inflate my total cost. I say "originally" because I covid-cancelled that one, rebooked later with the FCCs and managed to keep the full package, which included premium WiFi for 2, classic drinks package for 2, and "free" gratuities. My total cost for that 10-day cruise in a balcony stateroom (with "refundable deposit") was a tad over $2800. I checked that TA's pricing sometime later for the same cruise I booked, with the same category of stateroom. The "AI" package that I paid nothing extra for was selling at a rate of $1600+ pp, while the "basic" fare that I booked under was still there. I'm sure my timing was perfect to get the package I got. But it does happen, at least on other cruise lines. I've also gotten some good deals on Carnival too -- sometimes a nice military rate, at other times something else.

In my experience Royal is the worst for deals. I've even had TAs tell me they've rarely seen anything "special" from Royal. I keep hoping too, but even in the middle of the current holiday "sale" season, all I've seen are empty sales pitches.

That's hard to imagine. Lol. I've always thought Royal's website was the worst in the industry (that I knew of), which is odd because Celebrity and Royal definitely share corporate IT. Apparently different teams because the differences between the two websites are remarkable -- but X and Royal apps share exactly the same email address. I've written to both. It's just odd that I like one so much better than the other.

It would also pay to remember things like Norovirus, which was a "cruise ship thing" long before covid, and Norovirus is also very contagious. About 6-8 years ago (years before covid) a cruise-friend of ours came down with something cold- or flu-like about halfway through the cruise. She was sick as a dog for several days. None of us caught it from her, which I thought was a minor miracle.