On Freedom or Oasis Class, how easy is it to get on the Flo-Rider and others?

Hi, I have not been on a cruise before and am looking to book one for April 2012 as a joint wedding/honeymoon holiday. One of the things that attracts us to Royal Carribean are the activities available on board. Has anyone been on any of the Freedom class or Oasis class ships and experienced the Flo-Rider, climbing wall, H2O zone and ice skating? If so, do you have to book when you are going to go on them or do you just turn up and have a go?

Thanks

Just show up, sign a release, and stand in a short line.

concur

on FOS in May there was never a really long wait for any of this. That is other than waiting for the times they were open - they are not available 24x7 . . . open ice skating is probably the least available.

Just show up, sign a release, and stand in a short line.

That is usually the case, there are very busy times and some very slow times. Embarkation day as soon as you get on the ship can be an easy time. If the weather is warm late in evenings during dinner can be a slow time. There are times when you couldn't get more than one turn in 30 minutes, but waiting in line watching can be fun. In short, you will get plenty of time to try and and can purchase lesson time if you really like it.

Just show up, sign a release, and stand in a short line.

By the way, I believe on the OASIS class only you can sign the waiver's before boarding, saving your self a few minutes when you get there. I just signed all my waivers for Allure.

By the way, I believe on the OASIS class only you can sign the waiver's before boarding, saving your self a few minutes when you get there. I just signed all my waivers for Allure.

This is true... we signed the waivers before we boarded the Oasis.........What an amazing ship!!!!!Exceeded all of my expectations!Enjoy her in all her glory!

I was on Liberty in October and the Independence during spring break. On the promenade when you got on they had a table set up so you could quickly fill out your waivers. I sat up there a lot watching the people and I really never saw much wait time. They usually had 2 sides going on the flowrider and the line was maybe 10 long or so.

I was on Liberty in October and the Independence during spring break. On the promenade when you got on they had a table set up so you could quickly fill out your waivers. I sat up there a lot watching the people and I really never saw much wait time. They usually had 2 sides going on the flowrider and the line was maybe 10 long or so.

I would expect lines during spring break to be the worst, but this is consistent with what I saw right after spring break. I can't wait to see how they handle 2 flowriders on Allure.

We cruised on Freedom of the Seas over the summer and waited about 20 to 25 minutes to get on Flow Rider. Best advice is to go early -- busiest in the middle of the day. They put a vinyl divider up in the middle of Flow Rider so two people can surf at the same time. We bought a group lesson for my son and daughter for the Flow Rider. Very expensive but they each got a solid amount of time with a good lesson so they could surf standing up. The instructors were very personable. There was no wait for ice skating, which is scheduled at various times throughout the cruise.

Hi, I have not been on a cruise before and am looking to book one for April 2012 as a joint wedding/honeymoon holiday. One of the things that attracts us to Royal Carribean are the activities available on board. Has anyone been on any of the Freedom class or Oasis class ships and experienced the Flo-Rider, climbing wall, H2O zone and ice skating? If so, do you have to book when you are going to go on them or do you just turn up and have a go?

 

Thanks

I was just on the oasis in august. you do not have to book them before hand but you can sign the waivers online. on the flowrider on the oasis it is like a 5 minute wait and the longest is like 10 minutes

Just show up, sign a release, and stand in a short line.

Ditto.

One suggestion: go use FlowRider when in port... less crowds!

Hi, I have not been on a cruise before and am looking to book one for April 2012 as a joint wedding/honeymoon holiday. One of the things that attracts us to Royal Carribean are the activities available on board. Has anyone been on any of the Freedom class or Oasis class ships and experienced the Flo-Rider, climbing wall, H2O zone and ice skating? If so, do you have to book when you are going to go on them or do you just turn up and have a go?

 

Thanks

We have been on both the Freedom and the Oasis and the Flowriders ROCK. They are SOOOOOO much fun. They open at 8 am for experienced standup surfers (on the Oasis there are two and one is dedicated to stand up surfing). You can book private lessons for $60 pp and there is a max of 8 people per lesson. This gives you PLENTY of ride time. They are generally open for lessons starting at 6:15 pm. During the day, you need to check the Cruise Compass to see what times they have boogie boarding and stand up surfing on the Freedom (I can't remember the exact times). You can rent the entire Flowrider out for your group for $300 (this does not include lessons, but sports staff is there to help)

You do have to sign a waiver and each day you will need to sign a sign-up sheet and get an arm band for the rock climbing wall, Flowrider and ice skating.

HAVE FUN :)

As said, do it early in the day AND I would add, early in the cruise. It will get more popular as the cruise goes along. But if you go first thing when it opens in the morning you'll generally have success. Catlady27 should chime in here. She lives on the thing!

Edit: haha! She was posting at the same time! :D

As said, do it early in the day AND I would add, early in the cruise. It will get more popular as the cruise goes along. But if you go first thing when it opens in the morning you'll generally have success. Catlady27 should chime in here. She lives on the thing!

 

Edit: haha! She was posting at the same time! :D

HA HA HA HA - That predictable huh? Hey, I found out they have one in the Houston area. When I ordered our board the guy at Wave Loch told me there is one at a water park in Baytown - woooooooo hoooooooo. As Frank said, it won't cost us $7,000 to go on a Flowrider now ;)

I have always been very impressed with how uncrowded the RCI activities have been on our cruises.

On our Navigator cruise there were 600 children but we had no problem getting skates on a sea day (now, skating at sea was a different matter!).

On the Independence, we cruised during Spring Break and tried the flowrider on the last sea day. We did get there when it opened but the whole time we were there the line never got more than about 10 people per side. None of us were very good so the wait was maybe 10 minutes? It worked well- gave me time to catch my breath. Next time we will try this earlier in our cruise.

We haven't tried the rock climbing wall and have sometimes seen some lines, but again, it always seems to move quickly.

The only activity we have had to postpone on any cruise was the mini golf; we have gone up a couple of times and it has been so busy that there were no putters.

Enjoy the ships and all they have to offer!

Just show up, sign a release, and stand in a short line.

It might be like that in the commercials, but in real-life the flowrider line is usually 30-40min long. That for a 25 sec ride....

It might be like that in the commercials, but in real-life the flowrider line is usually 30-40min long. That for a 25 sec ride....

Both on the Freedom and the Oasis we never had to wait longer than 10-15 mins and it is SOOOO worth the wait, fun fun :D

It is defiantly worth the wait and it was never long on freedom or the Oasis. The longest wait was 15 min and that was on the last day. It is also really fun just standing and watching others ride.

It is defiantly worth the wait and it was never long on freedom or the Oasis. The longest wait was 15 min and that was on the last day. It is also really fun just standing and watching others ride.

HEY :) How are you? Did you ever get your pictures and video posted anywhere from your cruise??? I saw the review but never saw a link to photos :D

I found out they have one in the Houston area. When I ordered our board the guy at Wave Loch told me there is one at a water park in Baytown - woooooooo hoooooooo. As Frank said, it won't cost us $7,000 to go on a Flowrider now ;)

Yeah!!! Way to go Catlady.

Is it a single or double Flowrider ?

We are thinking about buying a board, but not sure which one.

What made you decide to buy your own board?

We were cruising on the Liberty a couple of weeks back, and a really nice guy had his own board, very short. He was letting other people use it, and even had to ride the ship's on a couple of occasions whilst other people rode his. He was very cool and laid back and a superb Flowrider, from Chile but living in Canada I think.

My wife tried it and said that it felt great, as it was light and short.

Ditto.

 

One suggestion: go use FlowRider when in port... less crowds!

Also go as soon as they open on embarkation day, probably around 2-3 PM. Very short lines then.

HEY :) How are you? Did you ever get your pictures and video posted anywhere from your cruise??? I saw the review but never saw a link to photos :D

I've been doing good trying to stay warm here with all the snow and cold. I haven't got the pics up yet as I've been really busy with school and getting ready for finals but I'll try to post some over Christmas and try to get a video up too.

Glad to see you found a flowrider near you. The closest one to us is about 7 hours away in gaitlinburg and it's just a single. There just not the same as the good old doubles and not as powerful.

Yeah!!! Way to go Catlady.

Is it a single or double Flowrider ?

We are thinking about buying a board, but not sure which one.

What made you decide to buy your own board?

We were cruising on the Liberty a couple of weeks back, and a really nice guy had his own board, very short. He was letting other people use it, and even had to ride the ship's on a couple of occasions whilst other people rode his. He was very cool and laid back and a superb Flowrider, from Chile but living in Canada I think.

My wife tried it and said that it felt great, as it was light and short.

Judging from the pictures of the water park, it is a double and they do allow stand up surfing. The one in Galveston only allows boogie boarding and while that is fun, we enjoy the stand up better.

When we were on the Oasis in September there were some people who had their own board and after talking to them, they said that they preferred to get a board that was specific to their skill level and the tricks they wanted to do. They were very experienced and had one of the heavier wood ones with channels cut in the bottom. Robert said that is not the best board for someone still learning. We decided to try our own board on future cruises.

I contacted Wave Loch and spoke to Robert and he was very very helpful and helped us pick a board that matched our experience level. We purchased the 40" Reverse Shuvit and he said what they use on the ships is the 45" Bandit. The board we purchased is lighter and shorter and easier to handle (so I am told). We will be taking it with us in May 2011 on the Freedom. Then we will be spending many many weekends at the water park in Baytown - woooooooo hooooooo :D

I've been doing good trying to stay warm here with all the snow and cold. I haven't got the pics up yet as I've been really busy with school and getting ready for finals but I'll try to post some over Christmas and try to get a video up too.

Glad to see you found a flowrider near you. The closest one to us is about 7 hours away in gaitlinburg and it's just a single. There just not the same as the good old doubles and not as powerful.

Bbbbrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr, can't believe the snow and ice up north already this year.

Good luck with your finals and I look forward to seeing your cruise pictures and video.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS (or as we say at my house, Merry Christmas)

Flowrider gets busy on FOS, but if you can time it right you'll do great. Go early in the cruise and get there right when they open.

Ice skating is a one shot deal. Cool to say you skated on a cruise ship, but the rink is tiny and generally crowded.