Disney Sheep

Thank you so much for this thread. Australia and New Zealand have been on our bucket list for a long time and we have two cruises booked in the near future. The first on Royal will be to get us to Australia and the second will be on the Resilient Lady to explore New Zealand, so your posts have been read with great interest! I am attempting to manage my expectations given that the weather has stopped you from visiting some ports as well as the Sounds! Thanks again.

I have been truly enjoying following this thread and your travels - so much so that my husband and I have booked the LA to Brisbane leg! Just wondering if anyone has heard how many passengers are expected to be on that leg? 

Thank you for the quick reply - truly appreciated. 

This will be our first cruise since buying Royal stock. We applied for the Shareholder benefit at roughly the 3 week point and within a couple of days received a notification from Royal that our request was approved. So my question: what can you spend the OBC on? The Royal FAQ page says it can not be used for pre cruise purchases nor can it be used for on board service charges - and I guess that is what I need clarity on!
 

Since we are Diamond, our drink vouchers cover our needs. We don’t really shop or get photos from the ship photographers.
 

Can the OBC be used for the daily gratuities or for shore excursions? What about VOOM … except that we pre purchased that already. Appreciate any advice. 

12 hours ago, niksmom630 said:

 

When you exit the ship follow the signs in port to the taxi station. It was about a 15 minute ride to Nachi.

You can make reservations online with a deposit (ours was $55 for a group of 5) and we paid the balance when we arrived.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Many thanks for the info, it helps a lot in giving us options for our potential future cruise!

Thanks you so much for sharing your experiences with this review, I am really enjoying it. We are hoping to sail to these same ports next February and you are giving me great ideas for activities in port for me, DH and our two adult kids. How do you get to Nachi Cocom? Many thanks in advance.

So glad to see that my first question has already been asked and answered here! Thank you. We are in a similar situation as we will be arriving in Barcelona on 26 May 18 as we disembark from the Disney Magic EBTA and then board the Vision OTS the same day. I am not sure how far apart the two ships will be docked, but if we can drop our luggage by 10 am we want to head for the Sagrada Familia by noon. My problem however is what do we do with our electronics (iPads, tablets etc) since I would prefer not to have to carry them around Barcelona in a backpack!

Are there any lockers available at the port?

Many thanks in advance.

Hi Harry, glad someone else was able to respond to you wrt their opinion on whether the Anthem would have rough seas or not. From my perspective the rockier the ship, the better I sleep, so I am not a good judge in that department.

I want to put in another request for more info on your next trip to see rocks . Seriously, maybe you can just keep this trip report going and include your planning and day to day info on your summer trip to Utah. I am seriously considering a family trip there in Feb 2019 ( university break week for my kids) instead of a cruise since my daughter is already out west. Or alternatively, if you visit Disneyland on your way to/from your visit to the rocks and write a Cheapo Dad trip report on it, post a link here so we can all follow you to the appropriate board...

Can you tell I would really appreciate learning more from you on planning a ‘rock viewing’ trip . And thanks for taking the time and effort to write this report, and yes, I have read all three of your reports now and I look forward to the sequel .

Y

Welcome back.

 

Glad the info was helpful & happy to know you folks had a good time on the cruise. Family time is important and cruises ae great for that.

 

Yeah, I like the bigger ships as I like them big and round...

 

I need to sail on the Anthem next year as that's still one class of ship we haven't been on. So you folks liked the Anthem?

Yes we liked the Anthem of the Seas, but I think I need to put a disclaimer or a clarification in here - and this is all just my opinion. First off, food is food to us. And we do like good quality food, but realistically our servers and the food on all three classes of ship (Oasis, Anthem and Independence for us specifically) were about equal from our perspective. Note that we didn't go to any of the upcharge restaurants on any of the ships.

The Solariums on both the classes of the bigger ships were much nicer and more spacious than on the IOS. And they had great restaurants in the Solarium. By comparison, the Solarium on the IOS felt tiny and crowded most of the time.

The entertainment on the Oasis class IMHO is superior to that on the Anthem. The venues are probably equal, but Spectre's Cabaret and The Gift just seemed strange to us. Spectre's Cabaret in particular was all about being edgy, and although the talent was there, the show was a little confusing to us - it almost seemed to be more about displaying the technology on the ship in some ways.

Actually, what I found was that the Anthem was all about being edgy or different and that wasn't necessarily bad, but I just wasn't excited about the bionic bar or the bumper cars at sea. The 'heartbeat chandelier' was neat and did amuse us for a few minutes. The 'virtual balcony' in the interior cabins was a huge TV- and it pretty much looked like it - but it was a nice really big tv.

We did love the iFly, but it was so popular that we only got to do it once. And, some people had their flights cancelled due to rougher (but not really rough IMHO) seas. The North Star was worth trying once, and was a neat experience, but not that exciting.

Don't get me wrong, we enjoyed our cruise, but given a choice in the future I would sail Oasis class over Quantum class.

Just wanted to say that I am back from our Independence of the Seas cruise over our kids’ university reading week. I truly appreciated the info you provided in this review as it helped manage my expectations for the IOS. We had a good time overall, but prefer to sail on the Oasis or Quantum class. And we liked Grease more than you did, but as my daughter put it, the singers are able to hit all of the notes, but the transitions within the songs aren’t on point...

Thanks again to all for the great advice on visiting the Utah/Arizona area - I love that people on these boards can be so helpful! And great Vegas pictures Harry. Your pictures reminded me of being at Mme Tussauds in London, England when our kids were younger and me commenting: Oh look the Beatles (when I saw their wax figures) - and my very young daughter asking: who are the Beatles? Go ahead, make me feel old kid...

Harry, Many thanks for sharing your itinerary for your Utah trip. I had been looking at the Adventures by Disney (ABD) Southwest Splendors itinerary as a starting point to figure out a possible trip itinerary for us. The ABD trip starts in Phoenix, heads to Sedona via Montezuma's Castle, heads for Grand Canyon National Park (south rim) via Williams (and Route 66 for a Cars tie in), then heads to Monument Valley and then on to Moab. Airfare to Phoenix was outrageous when my DH checked, not that heading to FLL is much better at this point, but at least the cruise part should hopefully be entertaining and relaxing vice 'all that driving' from my DH's perspective. Starting in Vegas with your style of itinerary might have convinced him to at least seriously consider it.

Again, many thanks. I look forward to future 'rock' photos, both from your past trip and any that show up in future trip reports of yours

Although I am enjoying your cruise report, I have to comment as well that I would love to know your itinerary for your Grand Canyon/Utah trip! We were briefly considering a Grand Canyon trip for end Feb (University reading week for our kids), but it was tough to just do a land trip without all kinds of planning - so we defaulted to cruising, on the IOS - so here I am taking notes on the ship, but I have to admit that a Grand Canyon trip is also on my someday list . Thanks for the great trip report(s).

Thanks for your responses. To be honest we had booked a Disney Med cruise on opening day, but the price, especially with the exchange rate (US to Cdn) made us re-think. We would still like to sail the Med this summer, and the itinerary with Venice, Pompeii and Kotor as well as the other ports is really intriguing, so I will have to think this one out carefully!

Follow on question: We are looking at an August 2017 Med cruise on the Brilliance out of Barcelona and right now it is 'on sale', but the cost is still significant since our kids are 18 and 20 and we feel the need for 2 interior cabins. Since we are fairly close to the PIF date, is it better to jump on the sale price now or to wait until the PIF date and hope for a better price?

Can you do two double beds? If so, the trinityreservations.com Bayonne Cape Liberty cruise package at the Ramada Plaza is your best deal at $173 tax included with round trip port transportation for 4 people. The Ramada has a cafe, a sports bar, and a restaurant.

 

If you require a special bed configuration, post back with your requirements.

Hello again - we took your advice and have booked at the Ramada Plaza Bayonne, however we still have a couple of questions that we hope you can help us with.

Our 'arrival appointment' at Cape Liberty is for 12:00 - 12:30, so what time should we book the shuttle from the hotel to the port?

Next question, on disembarkation day, Sunday, 26 Feb 17, our flight home to Canada is at 2 pm, so we will need to be at the airport by noon at the latest, which leaves the question of what time we need to request the hotel shuttle to pick us up at the cruise port - and does anyone know if the return shuttle goes directly to the airport or back to the hotel and then to the airport? We didn't see anything online while booking to help us clarify that point.

Many thanks again.

Both the Newark Penn Station Hilton and the Ramada have double beds.

 

More options:

 

Book a room with two queens at Country Inns in Elizabeth for about $150. Buy the cruise transfer from the hotel for $35/pp round trip or contact Independent driver - 888-816-0973 inde.drvr@gmail.com 4-6 weeks ahead.

 

Book the trinity package for 4 people - you should get 2 doubles and you will get the transportation for 4. On United.com book a second room at the Ramada for $80 ($92 with tax) for the kids. Total $265

 

Country Inns might work better for you because of the free breakfast and the Jersey Gardens Mall - Ruby Tuesdays, IHOP, Applebees, Johnny Rockets, food court, and movie complex.

Thanks again for this info -I will check these options out.

Can you do two double beds? If so, the trinityreservations.com Bayonne Cape Liberty cruise package at the Ramada Plaza is your best deal at $173 tax included with round trip port transportation for 4 people. The Ramada has a cafe, a sports bar, and a restaurant.

 

If you require a special bed configuration, post back with your requirements.

Thank you so much for this info. Double beds may be a challenge for the kids - they are both really tall - queen beds or twin beds would work better for them.

We are flying into EWR 2 days before our Anthem Cruise in April. First time for us out that port as well. Booked Hilton Newark Penn Station. They have comp.airport shuttle, restaurant, bar and free wifi. and hotel isa adjacent to Train Station for trip into NYC. I haven't booked transportation to Cape Liberty yet, had considered Uber but plan to call the hotel for suggestions.

Thanks so much, we will check into this. I would be interested in any info you find about transportation from the hotel to the port.

Hello all. We are a family of 4 (our kids are 18 and 19), and although we have cruised out of Port Canaveral and Fort Lauderdale in the past, we have a Feb 19, Anthem cruise booked and we have realized that we need help figuring out the logistics of selecting a hotel for an overnight stay and getting from the EWR airport to the hotel on 18 Feb and then from the hotel to the cruiseport on 19 Feb. Although we haven't booked our flights yet, we will probably get to EWR around 4 pm on the Saturday. Once at the hotel we will need to get food but obviously won't have a car.

Although this question may have been answered somewhere on these boards already google has not been my friend... any suggestions you have would be greatly appreciated.

We saw Cats on the 14 Mar 15 Oasis sailing and we really enjoyed it. I have seen Cats many years ago, and I agree that if you are not familiar with the 'plot', then it can leave you a little confused - especially since the first time I saw it, I had to help out a friend who although completely fluent in English, it was not his first language.

This time, I made sure to read up on the show in advance and talk to my family about the storyline. As well, I have a Greatest Hits of Andrew Lloyd Webber, so I made sure to play the couple of Cats songs on it for the family in advance of the trip. Although DH stills prefers Chicago (last year on Allure - girls with skimpy costumes :), we all enjoyed this year's production of Cats, including my DD 17 and DS 16. Granted, their friends from the Teen Club were not as prepared and did not give it good reviews.

During the break they allowed anyone interested to go up on the stage and meet/get photos with Old Deuteronomy and my daughter really enjoyed that option. Songs in the second half include Magical Mr Mistoffelees, Macavity:the Mystery Cat and the reprisal of Memory, which rate as some of our personal favourites from this show.

Ken, many thanks for the info, we will send a message to RCI on that link and hope that the right someone hears us.

Natmom, we had no problems with gluten either on this ship or on the Allure last year. Just be careful in Windjammer since it is a buffet. We were fine in there, but we took the approach that if something might have gluten then it probably did, so we just avoided things like sausages etc. Try to visit for the first time during an 'off peak' time if you can, and ask for a chef who will probably walk you around to let you know your options. On boarding day we headed straight for the Solarium Cafe which was not anywhere near as busy as we heard that Windjammer and/Central Park Cafe were, so we could pick and choose and aske questions as needed.

There are gluten free buns and breads available at the Windjammer (and other food venues) if you just ask - and they can toast them for you in a stand alone toaster.

At the Promenade Cafe they have Udi's individually packaged chocolate chip and Snickerdoodle cookies available if you ask - but they do run out, so plan ahead if you can. Warning though, the tea bags available on RCI are (IMHO) horrible!! We brought our own Tetley tea bags and Splenda since we knew this from our last trip, so it was not an issue for us, but I feel people should be warned!!

On Labadee we asked for GF buns and they provided us with individually packaged buns. My kids ate the hamburgers available with the GF buns and had no problems (that I heard about anyway).

The main dining room was the best. Assistant Server Wei had a basket of a couple different types of GF bread available for us each evening. We received a menu each night in order to pre-order our dinner for the next night. DD enjoyed GF pasta a couple of times. One night there was absolutely nothing on the menu that appealed to me for the next night, so I requested chicken cordon bleu (which was on the normal menu, but was not identified as a GF option), sure enough, the next night our chicken bleu was ready for us in GF form.

Note, the mashed potatoes on the menu are not GF, and we normally received baked potatoes as our standard option, but I am sure that if you request mashed specifically (or other items on the menu) they can be prepared for you, especially if you give them a day notice - and sometimes even if you don't :). Example one night I wanted the spinach dip with tortilla chips - when my kids saw what I received as my appetizer they tried to 'share' my food - our Server Jayant saw this and headed to the kitchen himself to bring extra helpings for my teenagers.

Each night when he took our order, Head Server Gilbert pointed out desserts that could be made GF even though it was not obviously id'd that way on the menu.

Gilbert also offered every night to have pancakes or waffles or French toast made for me for breakfast if we wanted it - we just needed to tell him when and where (I think even from room service), but we preferred to do breakfast on our own since DD is not a breakfast food kind of person.

And even though we had MTD we were served by Jayant, Wei and Gilbert each night. The best part, beyond just their helpful, kind and pleasant attitudes and efficient service, was that they did not make a big deal to us about us being Celiacs - they treated us as if we were (gasp) normal! BUT they were however extremely concentious about our requirement to be GF.

Had an amazing week on board the 14/3/15 Oasis cruise but returned home unbelievably sick with a cold/flu. Literally my family got us in our house last Saturday, and put me in bed and I have spent the entire week either in bed or on the couch in a zombie-like state! And no, me being sick is not my issue - after all, it has been a long winter in North America and colds and flus are running rampant.

My problem is that now that I am finally able to think coherently again, my DH and I went to complete the RCI cruise survey last night (that would be on the Sat following our cruise disembarkation) and it had disappeared! I recognize that they probably have availability limited to just a week in order to be able to finalize their reports, but we had the most amazing serving team on our trip of our server, Jayant, assistant server Wei and Head Server Gilbert and we would like to have them appropriately acknowledged.

This was cruise number 11 for our family, 7 on Disney, 2 on Princess, last year on Allure and now this trip on Oasis. Although in general we consider ourselves to be 'low maintenance', my kids and I are Celiacs and therefore have to be gluten free. Jayant, Wei and Gilbert provided us with outstanding service the entire week and would rate very near the top of the more than 11 dining teams we have had on our cruises.

I did check at Guest Services while we were on the cruise to be told that WOW cards have been discontinued. I would appreciate advice on the best way to contact RCI directly to ensure that this excellent serving team is acknowledged. TIA.

Norway, sounds like a Baltic cruise. Our favorite cruise was a Baltic cruise we took for our 30th wedding anniversary in 2007. The one review I wrote for cruisecritic is for that cruise.

 

I'm sure most of the ports are the same. If you want to start your research by reading my review it is found at:

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=33517

 

If you do read it, let me know what you think of it.

Hello again, we did the Baltics a few years ago and loved it. And I did read your review and enjoyed it a lot as well. We are heading out on a Disney cruise that includes Norway that we were fortunate enough to book on 'opening day' - I say that because prices right now are just crazy! We plan to visit Paris and London as well after our cruise since this may be one of our last opportunities for a really big family trip for a while since DD heads off to university in the Fall and her schedule and our son's schedule will not match up for breaks for a while.

I hope you enjoy your travels, including Paris and Amsterdam and your 50th high school reunion!

What a lovely cruise review you have written, I really enjoyed reading it today.

Did I spot a Doctor Who phone cover on one of your photos? I've been to Cardiff but only for a weekend and unfortunately we didn't get time to visit the Doctor Who exhibition but Cardiff itself is lovely. Your St Helier photos also brought back some lovely memories of a weekend that we stayed there once. And don't worry about using Jersey or Scottish money in England, that's fine to do so though some shops might be reluctant to take it. Being English I really enjoy reading other people's reviews of their British Isles cruises. It gives me a new perspective of places that I have been to. Thank you :)

Thank you for your kind comments and I am so glad that you enjoyed the review. Yes, you did indeed spot a Doctor Who phone cover on my iPhone - my kids introduced me to Doctor Who right around the 50th anniversary special and I became a fast fan. My birthday cakes for the last two birthdays have even been Doctor Who oriented. I would love to get to visit the the Doctor Who exhibition in Cardiff - I have told DH that one day after we retire we need to rent a place in England for a couple of months and just visit the rest of the British Isles! There are so many neat places to see and so much history every where to enjoy. Next trip to London I plan to find a Tardis:).