danzur

That's right-Robert! I guess we won't see him next week...

When we have stayed in the RS and RLS, we were escorted on the ship by the Concierge. When we have stayed in a CLS we have not. It seems to be RS, RLS, and maybe the RFS may get escorted on. We were also told that the escort was based on the availability of the Concierge, there were no guarantees that we would be escorted early. No worries for us, we show up with a bag for the pool...grab some lunch....and head to the Solarium for the afternoon.

We just boarded Oasis and just walked past 150. The lamb menu is the second half of the week.

 

J

Thanks! We'll be doing the same as you in 2 weeks....

Thanks Emmy! We sailed with you on the Oasis a year or 2 ago. It was the week that a few members of that rowdy group from the Concierge Lounge got kicked off the ship....that still amazes me.....:eek:

We're sailing on the Oasis in 2 weeks, trying to plan our dinner strategy. Does anyone have pics of the (2) menus for 150 Central Park from a recent cruise?

Thanks!

Any chance you got pics of the (2) 150 Central Park menus?

Thanks!

Wow, that was fast. We board in 3 weeks, and will early debark as well for our 9am flight. Thanks for taking us along.

Thanks for the pics of the Suite Lounge/Coastal Kitchen. For some reason I had it stuck in my mind the VCL had been separated with a wall or something to make it seem smaller....I totally made that up in my own head ). Looks great...we'll be spending a lot of time up there in 3 1/2 weeks....

THANKS for doing this,...we board in 4 short weeks! Love the pics...I think we're doing Sabor the first night as well....

Tiggercat-thanks so much for your comments and experience. It will be far easier to grab a cappuccino or 2 in the morning when they are just down the hall.

We really didn't use the CL too much. Breakfast a few days, a drink here or there, a few coffees. We spent far more time in the VCL. Sounds like a nice change, for us anyway.

I've seen a number of tidbits about the replacement of the VCL with the Coastal Kitchen and the Suite Lounge. As we have sailed on the 17th deck numerous times, I am a bit disappointed to see the VCL go as we got very good use out of it. That said, I'm looking forward to our cruise next month with the Coastal Kitchen and Suite lounge.

Anyone have any reviews or comments from a cruise yet with these venues open? How much use did you get out of the Coastal Kitchen? Daily for breakfast? Dinner?

How does the Suite Lounge compare to the Concierge Lounge for those who have done both? Does the Suite Lounge seem open and spacious, or closed in due to the Coastal Kitchen taking up half the space of the VCL?

Is there a specialty coffee/cappuccino machine in the Suite lounge like there was in the CL? We got a lot of use out of that too :).

I'm looking forward to the redesign, but I'll likely not get the exercise walking up and down the stairs to the CL this trip :).

Just looking for feedback from recent experiences, especially from anyone who may have done both to compare.

Thanks!

Sorry to hear about your experience, I find it surprising. We have stayed in 1738 (as well as 1740, 1730, and 1728) and have never had any issues. They used to keep the music much louder during the day, we would leave our slider open and enjoy the experience. At night we close the door and have never been bothered by any noise. We like 1728 as it has a great view of the aquatheater from the balcony. Actually we like 1740 the best for obvious reasons, I hope we get the chance to do that again one day (or week) :).

I needed cash once, I believe the ATM is between the showroom and the "On Air Club" along that wall. Right near the Starbucks. I do not recall the fee.

I loved Viking Crown Lounge before but now it's gone. So another vote to Central parks bar. Champagne Bar is nice and quiet also.

Beat me to it....the VCL for sure. The Champagne Bar is very relaxed, especially if you go toward the side/back away from the activity outside the front door. The Schooner Bar can be nice as well.

What did you think were the advantages/disadvantages of being on Deck 17? Is it difficult to get around the ship, or are the elevators pretty efficient? Right now I'm in a GS, but the price is incredible for the aft facing suites right now, and 1728 is still available. I'm thinking about doing it just for the novelty factor, since Oasis/Allure may be a one shot deal for us. Thanks!:)

For us, we really like being up on Deck 17 in a Loft Suite. As our son spends most of his time on the flowrider, it's easy for us to see if he is there. I wouldn't call the balconies very private, but we prefer the people watching and entertainment so it works for us. With the door and drapes closed you do not hear noise from the deck outside/below. We sailed in 1728 a few weeks ago and had a near perfect view of the Aqua Theater (just barely could not see the video screen on the right, but could clearly see the one on the left. Could see the entire stage). We could watch the shows, belly flop, etc. We weren't very close but we could see and hear everything going on down there.

Elevators-it's funny, I see lots of comments about the elevators. Some say they didn't wait once all week, others say they were horrible, so slow, always waiting.. I would say it is in between. During those peak dinner hours, debarkation rushes, muster drill the elevators are very busy. Being on 17 you will often stop on many floors going up or down. Is it a problem? Not at all, but you must have just a little bit of patience.

For us, the highlight of Deck 17 is the Viking Crown lounge. Great views, usuanlly quiet, sometimes musicians. Great bartending staff. Great place to go grab drinks to take to the room while getting ready or at the end of the night.

From deck 17-quick walk down a flight of stairs to the pools decks, mini golf, flow riders, zip line, Windjammer, Izumi.

The staff working on deck 17 are great, friendly, always willing to help in any way.

Anyway-as you can tell-we really love deck 17 on both the Allure and Oasis. We're sailing in a Loft on the Quantum next year, but I'm guessing it will be different as there is not something similar to Deck 17.

Good luck, have fun.

While I was in college years ago, I worked in restaurants as both a waiter and a bartender. The array of people was from either end of the spectrum was amazing to me. Since then, I have always treated wait staff with respect and dignity. I'm sure most of them don't want to be servers, but hey, it pays/paid the bills.

 

I am an over-tipper. If you're deciding weather to leave $3 or $5, leave the $5. It's not going to break you but it certainly will make somebody's else feel better. I know from our many sailings that if you tip on cruises, they remember you and will come to you with expedience and a smile. I'm not saying $5 every drink but a few bucks will go a long way. ;)

Exactly...couldn't have said it better myself :)

Great topic.

Just returned from a cruise, and frequented the same bar every evening from 6-7pm before dinner. I hadn't seen these free drink coupons before, but assumed it was a D/D+ thing. I was amazed at the flow of people to the bar flopping down their free drink coupons, and never saw one person tip the bartender. He served them all with a smile. One time a guy barked out that he wanted some mixed drink, and some frozen drink. The bartender nicely noted that the coupons were good for just about anything, but not frozen drinks. The guy got pretty angry and started telling him he was a Diamond member, and that "other" bartenders give him frozen drinks...and demanded he do the same.

The bartender once again politely said frozen drinks were not included. The guy ordered something else. No tip, and he created quite the scene for his free drinks. Not saying this is right or wrong, but I'm guessing if the coupon that was dropped on the bar included a couple bucks that a frozen drink would have magically appeared.

I have found that tips go a LONG way. A little extra here and there and a whole new world seems to open up. I always tip those in the CL, and of course the specialty restaurants. I am a creature of habit, and usually find one or 2 bars that we go to regularly. a $10, or a $20 a couple times per week does wonders. I don't request anything special, and I don't expect anything special. The wine list seems to expand. The drinks selection seems to expand. The level of service is always good, but we seem to get a bit quicker attention if that seems possible.

Long winded way of saying that tips go a long way, and some people sure can act bizarre. :)

We were just in 1728 on Oasis (The lofts/cabin #'s are identical to Allure) and had a perfect view of the Aqua theater. I'm assuming 1730, 1732 and have great views of the Aquatheater. 1734 may be slightly obstucted. We've also sailed in 1736 and that was an obstructed view.

We were on the cruise with you, looking forward to your review!

Thanks...I think I like the sound of the Everglades/Airboat tour...I'll Google this....

We're going in Thursday night for a Saturday cruise and will have all day Friday in Fort Lauderdale. We'll have our 15 yo son with us as well. Any thoughts on something nearby for a family of 3?

Just booked B2B cruises May 17 & 24, 2014 on Oasis. I see several comedy shows available to reserve and was wondering if all these shows are the same act or do they have different comedians at some shows?

 

Will these be the same shows for the second week...no use booking multiple shows if they all are the same...

They have 2 comedians that both perform at each showtime. I assume they do pretty much the same show throughout the cruise. The comedians change pretty frequently....it would depend if they changed on 5/24 or not.

We've enjoyed a couple of suite experiences over the last few years.

Oasis-Royal Suite-we were escorted on board and straight to the suite to drop our bags. I believe we did get a bottle of champagne and some other little things delivered to the room every now and then, but I think all suite guests get these things. We did not get an invite to the captains table that I recall....or if we did we did not go :).

Allure-Royal Loft Suite-we did not get escorted on to the ship. I don't recall getting champagne, but we did get cheese, fruit, desserts from time to time. Again, I do not recall an invite to the captains table.

Oasis-Crown Loft-no escort onto the ship. Got cheese, fruit, etc. occasionally throughout the week.

The benefit of the suites on the day of boardking is that if you are at the terminal early you will be in the first wave to board. You can make it to the Park Cafe before it gets crowded. The food and desserts delivered occasionally to any of the suites is also available in the Concierge Lounge most of the time.

It's my understanding that the escort on to the ship by the concierge just depends on timing, and if they have the time to come out or not. They do notify the concierge when you are checking in.

great review...keep it coming. We're boarding Oasis Saturday...this is getting me ready! :)

It seems like the only pictures of any cabanas from RCCL are the ones on Barefoot Beach and none of Nellie's Beach. I can't even find a map uploaded that shows where or how the Nellie's Beach cabanas are laid out. So frustrating..

 

For the OTW cabana that Danzur posted - was that a Nellie's one or a Barefoot one? Also the one that seemed like it wasn't over any water - did you walk into the water from the ramp or did the ramp end on sand and then you walk into the water?

My photo was from W4 on Barefoot Beach.