leaveitallbehind

There used to be a website that was third party and tracked most of the cruise lines and was very effective as a tool. Unfortunately that site no longer exists and just about the only way to do so now is to periodically do a mock booking of your itinerary to look for price changes. Or trigger that by new promos and sales. If you booked through a TA and they are good that way, they could also periodically check for you. But basically you are on your own as the cruise lines won't do it as with the hundreds of thousands of bookings they manage it would be an impossible task. Not to mention the business fact that they would not want to voluntarily give up revenue.

You are correct, Freedom is a very large ship and 18 years ago was the largest cruise ship afloat. But the 76' difference in length is only one rather insignificant measure in the difference in size with Symphony. Symphony has a gross tonnage of 228,000 tons with a maximum passenger capacity of over 6,600 guests. Freedom has a gross tonnage by comparison of 156,000 tons and a maximum passenger capacity of just over 4,500 guests. The differences are rather significant IMO. Symphony is quite a bit larger by those measures. Although they share many of the same venues, the layout and design of Symphony is completely different from Freedom. I only say this for the OP as by comparison, IMO they are apples to oranges.

Those options should also exist in the buffet, which on Oasis class ships is quite large and diverse in its offerings. Oasis class ships also have a Solarium Bistro which has a lot of alternatives as well and is n/c, except for dinner. Again, confirming through your TA and on board at any venue should allow for alternatives to be available. Should you choose any of the specialty restaurants a discussion with each will let you know what options you have there as well. In general I don't think you'll have any difficulties with your dietary restrictions.

Have never sailed Carnival so I cannot speak to that, but have sailed RCCL / Oasis class ships extensively and can confirm they will be able to handle your dietary concerns. You - or your travel agent if you are using one - can reach out to the special needs department pre-cruise or go to the MDR maître d after boarding and they can arrange your meal planning then. JMO, but you mention there will be a number of adults sailing together. I would strongly recommend using a TA to assist as they can assure the best rates and benefits for your group while assisting with the planning and booking details - including the dietary concerns you mention. Would make your job a whole lot easier. If you choose RCCL, while they can also assist with group bookings directly, they can direct you to a TA if you don't have one.

I just recalled that as we were on Ovation for her second leg from Hawaii repositioning from Australia to Alaska in April 2019, and clearly November would be after her return to Australia. Thanks for assisting in getting the cobwebs out of my aging brain!

Good point as I am not aware of what different rules may apply for that region. But would not have know that as I did not check the sailing to see it was an Australian itinerary! LOL

The options to which you are referring is a standard booking where you select the stateroom, and a guarantee (GTY) booking, where the cruise line makes the selection. The primary difference is with the fare you pay, with GTY's being lower. Also, the GTY staterooms can be assigned anytime from when they are booked to boarding day, with them typically being assigned a couple of weeks ahead of sailing. But you have to wait for your assignment with a GTY. As mentioned, if there are concerns with motion sickness, mid-ship lower deck locations would be best and would also be best assured if you are selecting them yourselves. However, with the GTY option, once assigned if you are not happy with the location, you can contact whomever you booked through and request a change to a different location within the assigned sub-category. They will be happy to do so based on availability, which, however, is based on booking volume and not assured. So for the lower fare you take your chances on where the stateroom will be assigned and whether or not there will be available options to move to if you are not happy with the location.

I agree with the other comments regarding Oasis v Freedom class ships - there are clear differences and maybe you should spend some time on the website reading about each and looking at the deck plans for Freedom to see the differences there. To me it isn't just the age of the ships its their design and venue differences. Symphony is one of our favorite Oasis class ships, and while we also have enjoyed Freedom, our choice between the two would definitely be Symphony. JMO.

I just checked us in a couple of days ago and had to go through confirming who is checking in and entering our Passport info, etc., before I got to the check in time options.

Free onboard wifi - it's long overdue No it's not, nor will it likely happen. And if it did the cost of the freebee would likely be buried back into the cruise fare, which would then likely result in complaints about the rising cost of cruise fares, and so on and so on.

This is by far a CC first! Someone has too much time on their hands today - LOL. Should get some interesting comments.

What was you deposit? $500 sounds like $250 pp x 2, which would be a normal non-suite stateroom deposit and if NRD and you are cancelling that is what you would lose. Or are you saying your TA is indicating an additional $500 cancelation fee on top of that? That absolutely would not be coming from the cruise line and if it is the TA's fee for canceling a cruise that is unrealistic and would be the last time I would ever deal with them Some TA's charge separate fees for changing or canceling a cruise booked through them in addition to the cruise line fees. Most - and IMO the better ones - do not. I would always avoid dealing with those that do.

Wasn't trying to correct you. I only saw it as I happened to be on my app planner looking at our upcoming June cruise, clicked on it, and followed the prompts, at the time of your post - LOL. Just was confirming our check in time.

There is an icon on the bottom of the screen second from the left that says "Check-In". Click that and follow the prompts.

I guess they figure it was their money so it was their decision to keep it. My comment including TA OBC was that it was third party based, not cruise line, and therefore would be refundable. It would be credited to the source from which it was placed originally. But IMO if the TA was willing to part with it for your use on the cruise he could have returned it to you, or indicate that they will use it as a fare discount on a future cruise to stimulate your return to using them again. Business decision.