Questions from a First Time Cruiser... :)

[2CRUISEIN2011]

Hi
Our family will be going on a cruise for the first time in May -- we will be on the Oasis! :)

All the info on these boards have been fabulous -- I have several questions and I hope I can get them answered..

How far in advance can you reserve Shore Excursions and Shows on the ship?

Is room service free??? I know I would have to tip -- but what about the food??

We made our cruise reservations online -- will we be sent tags for our luggage??? How many tags do you receive?

My son likes Apple Juice with his meals?? Is it served on the ship? Is it free or is there a charge?

My husband will be celebrating his 40th birthday while on the ship -- Can I order a cake, etc???? Who would I contact? I want it to be a surprise..
Any other info about how people celebrate birthdays on the ship would be appreciated... :)

Do all hotels have shuttle service to the ships in Ft. Lauderdale?? We will be flying in the night before and would prefer not to have to rent a car...

What is the earliest time you can board the ship?? I have read you can't get into your rooms until 1:00...

Thanks so much in advance for any answers to my questions.

Take care and have a wonderful day!

[PattyG12]

Hi
Our family will be going on a cruise for the first time in May -- we will be on the Oasis! :)

All the info on these boards have been fabulous -- I have several questions and I hope I can get them answered..

How far in advance can you reserve Shore Excursions and Shows on the ship?

Is room service free??? I know I would have to tip -- but what about the food??

We made our cruise reservations online -- will we be sent tags for our luggage??? How many tags do you receive?

My son likes Apple Juice with his meals?? Is it served on the ship? Is it free or is there a charge?

My husband will be celebrating his 40th birthday while on the ship -- Can I order a cake, etc???? Who would I contact? I want it to be a surprise..
Any other info about how people celebrate birthdays on the ship would be appreciated... :)

Do all hotels have shuttle service to the ships in Ft. Lauderdale?? We will be flying in the night before and would prefer not to have to rent a car...

What is the earliest time you can board the ship?? I have read you can't get into your rooms until 1:00...

Thanks so much in advance for any answers to my questions.

Take care and have a wonderful day!

I'll do my best. Congrats on your first cruise. Be prepared to be hooked like the rest of us!! I haven't been on the Oasis so I can't answer "cruise specific" questions.

If you are planning shore excursions through the ship, I believe they are available 90 days out (someone will correct me if I'm wrong). Also look at the boards here for suggestions for things that might be cheaper and just as much fun.

Room service is free but if you order between midnight and 5 am they add a service fee. You should probably tip a couple bucks.

Once you finish your set sail pass and the cruise documents are available for download, you'll see a box magically appear that asks if you want luggage tags mailed to your house. The alternative is to wait till you get to the port. All of the porters will have tags as well. If they mail them to your house, you'll get 8 tags.

You can get (free) apple juice for your son at breakfast for sure. I'd bet the dining room staff would get it for you at dinner as well. I don't remember if it's available all day in the windjammer though.

You can order all kinds of stuff on Royal Caribbeans web site under "gifts and gear". They do decorations and stuff too. I normally pack streamers and stuff if we have a birthday or anniversary.

Many of the hotels offer the shuttle service in FLL. Just make sure when you reserve. We stayed at the La Quinta. They had shuttle service from the airport as well as shuttle service to the port. You might think about a cab though. THose shuttles tend to be a pain and they crowd you like cattle. Another board on here, the florida departure board, will help you with transportation.

We normally get to port around 11. Can't always board right away but pretty soon. Normally we're on the ship by noon eating in the Windjammer and watchingg the later arrivals.

Enjoy your first cruise and feel free to ask if you have more questions.

[Buckeye State Cruisers]

I'm not sure about the OOS (yet) but on the FOS when you walk in the WJ they are selling fresh squeezed OJ and we saw people buying it but then when you get further in the WJ from concentrate OJ is free. They were not happy. OJ from concentrate is good enough for me.

[cynt]

Hi
Our family will be going on a cruise for the first time in May -- we will be on the Oasis! :)

All the info on these boards have been fabulous -- I have several questions and I hope I can get them answered..

How far in advance can you reserve Shore Excursions and Shows on the ship? I DON'T BOOK IN ADVANCE SO I DON'T KNOW.

Is room service free??? YES. MOST PEOPLE TIP THE DELIVERY PERSON $1/$2.

We made our cruise reservations online -- will we be sent tags for our luggage??? How many tags do you receive? AFTER YOU HAVE MADE FINAL PAYMENT AND LOGON TO YOUR ACCOUNT THEY WILL BE A LINK TO HAVE THEM MAIL YOUR LUGGAGE TAGS. THE TIME VARIES. FOR ME THE LINK WAS UP AT ABOUT 60 DAYS FROM CRUISE DATE. WE RECEIVED 4 TAGS FOR EACH PERSON.

My son likes Apple Juice with his meals?? Is it served on the ship? Is it free or is there a charge? YES. IT'S FREE AT BREAKFAST AND DINNER, I BELIEVE.

My husband will be celebrating his 40th birthday while on the ship -- Can I order a cake, etc???? Who would I contact? YES YOU CAN ORDER A CAKE. GO TO THE RCCL SITE. CLICK DEALS & GIFTS, SHOP GIFTS & GEAR, CELEBRATIONS.

Do all hotels have shuttle service to the ships in Ft. Lauderdale?? NO. YOU SHOULD VERIFY DIRECTLY WITH THE HOTEL TO SEE IF THIEY OFFER THIS SERVICE.

What is the earliest time you can board the ship?? I LIKE TO GET THERE AROUND 11AM. MOST SHIPS START LETTING PASSENGERS BOARD AROUND THIS TIME. HOWEVER, IT DEPENDS ON THEM UNLOADING THE PREVIOUS PASSENGERS, CUSTOM CLEARANCE AND WEATHER, IF THERE IS ANY, LET ARRIVAL, ETC.

Take care and have a wonderful day!

Congrats on your cruise!

[trudle]

I can help you with a few of the questions. Yes room service is free, I think they have a limited menu. What is nice in the mornings, you can order coffee, sweet treats, rolls, cereal, etc. to your cabin, while you are getting ready for your day. There should be cards somewhere in your cabin, your can mark off what you want and hang it outside your door, before midnight, on most ships. They pick it up after that time. You put the time you want it delivered and most times, it gets there on time. It is nice having your coffee while you are getting ready for the day. Then you can still go to breakfast.

I think excursions can be booked about 6 months or sooner .They can be done on line, through your ships web page. Go to RC and your ship, then you will have to sign in. Then if you know your room # and res. # you can click on the ports and the excursions show up and tell you what the tours are about. You can book them right there. Hope this is clear.

Also----on this page you will see guest services or something like that and you can order a Birthday cake. You can tell them what date you want and they usually deliver to your dinning table and sing. You can also have it delivered to your room along with a number of other things they have posted. It is really easy to do this.

Not all hotels have shuttle service. If you haven't made your reservations yet. Check out the hotel on line and they should tell you if they have the shuttle service or not.

We usually board the ship about 11:30am and it is true that most times, you can't get to your room till 1pm. But you can look around the ship while you are waiting and they have a free lunch Buff. for you too. So doing that, should make your time go fast.

Our luggage tags and info usually came about 3 to 4 weeks before our cruise. Depending how many are going, I think that is how they send tags. But you can get tags at the port also. Better to have them on your luggage but you can get them at the port, if they don't give you enough.

All ships have apple juice and I think it might be free with dinner. Some cruise ships have free drinks, for during the day in the Buffett area. You can just go up and get some.

If you are going to drink soda during the cruise, you might want to get the soda card for the length of the cruise. Any of the bars can take care of this and they will also have a table that you can sign up for this, when you get on the ship.

I have not been on the Oasis but most ships do these things in a similar way. You might want to sign up for the special dinners. Something you have to pay extra for but you don't have to do this. All your eating is free, except for these special dinner places.

I hope this was some help and I am sure others will also send you some info.
Trudy

[Marie51]

How exciting to be going on your first cruise on a fabulous ship.

I order extra juice and also milk from room service at breakfast and then keep it in the cabin fridge for whenever I want it. If your child wants juice at dinner, just tell your waiter the first night and they will have it for you everynight after that. My grandson loves applesauce and we asked the first night if they had it and every night from then on there was a bowl of applesause already on the table when we got to the dining room. They aim to please!
You can usually board the ship by 11am but then just head to the lunch buffet before the cabins are ready. Only problem is that you have to bring your carryons to lunch with you.
As far as a shuttle.......do not make the mistake of thinking this is the best way to get around. People get hung up on the idea of a shuttle. Really it is easier and quicker to just get a cab. With a shuttle you are rounded up like a herd of cattle, have to sit on the bus for a long time, etc.
Enjoy!