renech

Enjoyed your cake-cutting periscope, thank you!

I'm anxious to hear what you think about the current substitute CD - Patricio Honores, esp. for the Quest and L&M shows.

Yet another inaccurate part of the website. No up front cash required.

Not surprised, but good to have it confirmed. Thank you. :)

Just read this thread because my DD and her SO were going to use their debit cards on our upcoming cruise. I have told them (after reading all this) to not use their debit cards and instead do a cash account.

In looking at the FAQ on RC site it does say that they will require a deposit to do a cash account. I've seen a few people here say they were not required to do this, but I'm wondering if anyone knows about the Oasis specifically?

Here is the FAQ:

We'll be getting on when you guys are getting off. You've inspired me to d/l Periscope finally!

Such fun watching your previous reports so far. Thank you! :)

Reason was my wifes mom passed away over the weekend . I found a better itinerary which would also give her an extra month to recover. I started to get mad, but I guess all the major lines probably have the same policy.

Did your TA explain that this was due to the death of your wife's mother? Of course, RC has no obligation to make exceptions, but on occasion they do. If your TA was just quoting you the rules about canceling after final payment then they are correct, but I'd ask if they could make the effort to speak to a someone on your behalf. It can't hurt to try.

Condolences to your wife and good luck.

I'm surprised you experienced any stares over bringing children. It's a family vacation and it's summer! I don't think we ever experienced that in all the years we cruised with our kids. Or, I just didn't notice, which is a good thing.

Looking forward to the rest of your review.. and seeing your pictures. ;)

3 days removed from disembarking and here we are. Decided to break up the compasses and trip report since it went so well for me last time --(note the sarcasm -- hence the unfinished review in my signature)...but I digress.

 

Alas, it took only 1.5 days to get all of the Compasses and Kids Compasses scanned and uploaded. Please let me know if you are able to see the documents okay.

 

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0BxCcsjRjHXY2Zm0yR2JaRVhtcEE

 

Enjoy!

Thank you for these! I've been looking for the St. Kitt's itinerary compasses, but I'm hoping these might be similar enough.

Looking forward to the rest of your review. :)

I've tried searching for the compasses for the Oasis Eastern itinerary that stops in St. Kitts but can't seem to find them. Is this the first time for the Oasis to do that itinerary?

While I'd like to see the compasses overall, I'm basically trying to find out what nights are formal nights so I can finalize our show bookings. I booked everything for our group then realized that I didn't consider formal nights! D'oh!

I'm assuming the first one is day 2, but does anyone know if the second formal night is day 5 or 6?

Does anyone have the Compasses with the full schedules for the Oasis Eastern itinerary (with St. Kitts)? We are going in a few months and I'd like to see the full schedules before scheduling shows.

It should, when the cruise line says streaming, I believe they are referring to video streaming.

Thanks, again.

I just tried calling C&A for clarification, who then referred me to Cruise Planning, who... as expected... was a bit clueless. WHEN WILL I LEARN? :rolleyes::D

I'm just getting the Surf packages. The C&A person told me there was an option to purchase the package and just add however many devices I need at the same per device price. She even gave me a price for 6 devices. The Cruise Planning person said that was not the case and I needed to purchase 4+2, or 3+3.

Trying to price it both ways in case RC's "unique" math works in favor of one over the other, but now my acct is locked. :mad:

D+ Discount was $60 each (can not use both on one package)

 

Do not know if you can use the discount on pre-booked pacakges.

Thanks, I've decided to pre-book. I am purchasing for 6 devices (will have to do 4 + 2), but now I'm questioning if Streaming is needed for listening to music on iTunes and or Pandora. Pardon me if this is a dumb question, but I'm the only one in the group who doesn't listen to music on my device, so I'm clueless about the options.

Will purchasing the lower speed package allow for listening to any music?

No, the 30% off is not combinable with C&A discounts, nor are they giving 30% off on the ship. I'd purchase it now while you still have the 30% off available.

Thank you so much for the info!

It depends on how long the cruise is, because the D+ discount is a fixed dollar amount, so for a short cruise it's better to take the D+ discount, but for a longer cruise it's better to take the 30%. To my knowledge, the D+ discount is the value of 2 days of the suef only package.

It's a 7 day, so I suppose I should just book it now. Do you know if the 30% discount is combinable with the D+ discount?

Have you heard if they offer the 30% off on the ship as well? We have a few in the group who might not want to book ahead if they can wait and get the same price on the ship.

Thanks, as always, Bob. :)

Sue & I cruised the Oasis 4/30-5/7 2016 to the Eastern Caribbean, Visiting Nassau, St Thomas and St Martin with 3 Sea Days. We waiting until after boarding to order our Voom Pakages to use our D+ benefits. The Voom Single Device Share, Surf & Stream was $20/Day, the Share & Surf was $10/Day. I got the Fast Stream Pacakge & Sue got the Slow Surf Pacakge. (Mine was $80 after discount and Sue's was $10 after Discount.

I'm debating if we should wait to book onboard too, or take advantage of the 30% off they are offering now and seeing if they will apply our D+ discount to that when we board.

Any experience with this?

Can you tell me what the D+ discount was?

We were actually on our way to St. John so I apologize for the delayed response. Since you are on Oasis and docking in Crown Bay, I'd definitely do the ship's ferry to St. John if they offer it. You wouldn't have a problem getting a taxi at Crown Bay to the Red Hook Ferry since you have a large group and that's an option for you as well but the convenience of getting the ferry at the ship is hard to beat as you mentioned.. I don't know when the Oasis excursion might go but you should be able to check that on the Royal Caribbean shore excursions page on their website.

 

I'd definitely recommend Honeymoon for the day. I thought the day pass and all the things VI Eco Tour gives you while at the beach was well worth it. We had a jeep and drove to Caneel. I'm sure they allow safari taxis to drop you off but it's a bit of a walk from the parking lot down to Honeymoon. Didn't bother us at all but if you have anyone that has problems walking, it is a little bit of a hike.

 

Honeymoon was nice but honestly, for me, it couldn't compare to Maho, Cinnamon or even Trunk. Trunk gets so crowded so we always avoid it when ships are in but when the crowds are there but I think it's still prettier than Honeymoon. I'd rather be at Cinnamon or Maho (still my favorite beach by far). There isn't anything wrong with Honeymoon, I just had higher expectations :-) All the beaches on St. John are pretty spectacular. Do what you feel most comfortable with! ENJOY!

Thanks for the response, Anne.

After talking it over with family, I think we are just going to go for the easiest options since we have a large group. So, we'll take the ship ferry over, then go to either Cinnamon or Maho. Having bathrooms facilities and food/drinks makes me lean towards Cinnamon though. Either way, I don't think we can go wrong!

If texting is all that is needed, cheaper to pay per text than get the cruise ship plan. The $60 plan includes 100 texts. For $60, you could send 120 texts at $0.50 per.

I agree. But since I have a discount anyway and I do want some accessibility for myself, I'm thinking it might be worth it to get the discount pkg and just split it with her. She can text when she wants and I can just kick her off and use it when I need it. As slow as it usually is, it seems like a pkg is the way to go, for data at least.

Thank you to everyone for the help!

I didn't want to get into WiFi texting as it complicates the explanation.

 

However, if you friend and whoever she wants to text can use internet based texting, such as iMessage or WhatsApp, then she can use your WiFi package with no charges from her cell carrier. She will have to coordinate with everyone she wants to text that she will be using internet based texting.

 

So if she is only using WiFi, has her phone in Airplane mode, and someone sends her an SMS (cellular) text, she won't get it.

 

Confusing, isn't it.

Since we all have iPhones then we can just use wifi for iMessaging. That's exactly what I needed confirmed. Thank you for always being so helpful (to everyone!).

I've never used the cruise line package because of cost, but when we went to Europe I did the 30 day international package for $30 that gives you texting and cheaper voice with a small data allowance.

We used the International plan in Europe too. Worked out great.

No, I'm suggesting no packages at all, and she just pays per text. Unless you think there will be more than 40 texts per day sent from the ship, then she needs to look at a package.

Okay, here's where my dense brain is coming into play again.:p

I will likely get a pkg for myself anyway and use my D+ discount. Is there still a per text cost for her if she's using my pkg with her device (or I get the 2 device option)? I guess I'm not understanding if the ship wifi connection enables free texting or not.

with ATT all texts to you are FREE. You can get a cheap phone plan with ATT which gives you ? number of texts, and any text over that limit is 50 cents each. Thats pure text with no pictures. You have to call ATT and ask for the ship plan...take the minimal amount of time, which is like 50 min talk and some texting...if you can just pay 50cents per text. If you feel your internet time will cover you, just make sure to have your data turned off and have phone in airplane mode only...then just turn WIFI only on. Hope this helps.

The minimum ATT pkg what includes 100 texts is $60, but that also includes voice, which she doesn't really need. I'll have to price the on-board pkgs. Thank you for the information. :)

Have your friend estimate how many texts she will send. Without any packages or WiFi, she can send texts for $0.50 each. No charge to receive texts. She may find that paying by the text is less expensive than buying a package.

 

Note that these texts for $0.50 each are SMS, simple text only. No photos, no videos, no group texts.

So, maybe getting a ship pkg or free day, and then just having her pay as she goes beyond that is the way to go?

Thank you.

First of all, I have searched and read several threads about this but for some reason my brain is extra DENSE this morning and it's just not sinking in! :o

I'm cruising with friend soon who wants full texting ability to keep in touch with her daughter. We all have iPhones and AT&T. It's only a 4 day cruise, and I have a D+ discount which I've read gives me a free day or a 25% pkg discount.

My question is, what is the best strategy? Get the $60 cruise pkg from AT&T, OR, get the free day and/or pkg on the ship? Am I reading it correctly that without the ATT pkg, she will pay .50 per outgoing text doing it that way?

We will be on the Indy, with one port stop in Cozumel. I read that ATT has free Mexico coverage, which I assume I will have to call and have added.

Thanks for any input. :)

Just so you know, travel steamers are on the prohibited list, but there are reports of people being allowed to take them on. In other words, be prepared in case they take it away. If they do take it away, they will give it back at the end of the cruise.

It's funny how I didn't realize this for a long time since they never took mine! And the one I have is a huge clunky thing too! I'm not one to try and sneak things on, but it's kind of bizarre that I was never busted on this. I rarely bring it anymore now, so it's no longer an issue.

Dry cleaning/store bags, and packing cubes work just fine with most of my clothes.

Forgive me fellow royalty, I nearly did the unthinkable and book a Carnival Cruise :eek: I was lured in by the promise of low prices and European itineraries. However after doing the maths and comparing the offers I realised I was a fool and RCCL are much better value. Can I ever redeem myself?

 

A copy of the spreadsheet comparing the cost is attached if you are at all interested. I want cruise 4: 14 night Italian Med on the Indy, whereas Hubby prefers cruise 3: 9 night Spain, France & Portugal on the Navi as it is cheaper.

 

 

 

 

P.s. Just want to say I don't have anything against Carnival :). I have never sailed with them so I can't make a comparison. They do seem good value and If they sailed from Southampton I would probably book with them, Its just in this instance RCCL offers and UK departure mean they are more suitable for us.

My loyalty to RC is directly proportional to my wallet, mostly. :D

That said, after sailing RC enough to have status, it is hard to walk away from the perks that come with it. So, that is definitely a factor in my continuing to book with them, but not the only one. I am an RC loyalist because I truly enjoy what they offer.

I have tried Carnival a few times, and it wasn't horrible overall, but the food on both my sailings was... unacceptable. And believe me, I'm not a fussy eater. That said, I have friends who book Carnival all the time and love it. Different strokes and all.

For the Mediterranean, we did the Brilliance and it was fabulous despite us being "big ship"fans. The Med is a whole 'nuther kind of cruise because it's so port-intensive. Focus on what ports you want more than what ship. My friend who prefers RC ended up booking NCL for her Med cruise because they had the itinerary she wanted and a great sale with awesome perks like obc, drink pkgs and gratuities. It was an offer they couldn't refuse and they had a fantastic time.

I don't particularly care what someone else is wearing when they're running around on the ship. I have worn mine going to the spa and back, and have occasionally have stopped to grab a drink and/or snack on the way.

I don't think it's appropriate for sitting in any of the food venues, especially the MDR, but it's not worth me getting annoyed on my vacation.

If I saw someone doing that I'd just chalk it up to the fun sport of goofy people-watching on a cruise.:D

I suppose I could use the pressing service but some items may need to be pressed every day and I don't know what the cost would be for that...may end up costing more than the cruise :))...but thank you for the suggestions so far

This isn't the most practical suggestion, but I'd opt for some more non-linen options. Maybe I've been a cruiser for too long but I find that I very strongly lean towards fabrics that travel well and don't require ironing. Even for non-cruising though, I've never been a fan of linen because of how easily it gets wrinkled.

There are so many wrinkle-free or nearly free fabric options. All you really need are a few key pieces.

Otherwise, I used to always bring a steamer with me, but now it's only on a "if there's room" basis. Good luck. :)

One other option to consider (we haven't done this but people love this) is to do a day pass to Caneel Bay with Virgin Island Eco Tours. This gives you access to Honeymoon Beach, snorkel and beach gear, and the ability to have food delivered to you on the beach. Here's a link: http://viecotours.com/st-john-tours/st-john-honeymoon-beach-all-inclusive-watersports-day-pass/ Caneel is even closer to Cruz Bay than all the other north shore beaches. But then you are paying for the right to use Caneel facilities. But people love this beach and the snorkeling is supposed to be good as well.

Thanks for all your great information, Anne.

We've been to St. John a few times, but not in a while. We have done the ship's ferry and the taxi/RH ferry. This summer we have a large (14 people) group going on the Oasis and I'm trying to work out the options and logistics. By any chance, do you know the actual times for the ship's ferry? We are in port 10am - 7pm.

Also, I am interested in the Caneel Bay/Honeymoon Beach tour you posted about above, but I'm not sure if the ship's ferry will give us enough time. I am not a fan of the longer ferry ride, but the convenience is hard to turn down, especially with a bigger group to move around.

Also, having never been to Honeymoon Beach before, how would you say it compares to Trunk and Cinnamon?

Thank you. :)