mo&fran

Remember, when Oasis was first being built, RCI also designed and built a new terminal in FLL just for that class. Significant difference was two boarding ramps, and more sections, so it wasn't as steep as the original terminals. And the ships were designed to be docked on the starboard side, so passengers had a smoother flow on and off. The elimination of the health questionnaire, the use of Ipad devices, and having the seapass cards in the stateroom streamlined the boarding. The new muster system eliminated the crowds following the muster drill. As more of the Oasis class ships were built, new terminals were built in Miami, Port Canaveral, and now Galveston. And, an actual terminal was built in Bayonne that accommodates the Quantum class, and the summer Oasis visits. Debarkation was improved by the same features as embarkation, and the implementation of facial recognition by customs and immigration worked very well. Last Allure cruise, we docked port side in FLL. and the difference in debarking was obvious how much difference it was from starboard docking. The flow was just not there.

I was on when they turned Starlink on for a day and encountered similar issues. They went away when they switched back to O3B. Might try a speedtest to see what they are using.

Never saw anything about a travel agency. The card I had was related to CC, I have no idea where it is anymore though. When I first met him, he said he he dealt in old books. I left it at that.

We just got off Allure a week ago, and I saw a lot of crew cleaning and polishing. I Imagine her arrival in Galveston will be a big event , what with the new terminal, and the first Oasis class in port. Too bad the could not do the work when there are no passengers on board.

Never really saw him much after those early Explorer cruises, but we did run into him on a Brilliance repo cruise from Boston to Tampa. We saw him when we first boarded, and he was talking about the M&M event, and he had CC stuff to hand out. It was only at that point that I figured out that he was Kewlguy, and when I saw him in the lounge and asked, he was surprised that I did not already know. He actually gave me his card , that I might actually still have somewhere.

Next Sunday we board Explorer of the Seas for our B2b cruise, thanks to 2 casino vouchers for a free cruise. DW picked this cruise, even though we have to travel further south to Miami. And for the first time since 1999, we have an inside cabin. But, we have the same cabin for both cruises. The prize for this cruise will be that we will hit the magic 700 points on the last day. We cruised a lot on Explorer, our first D+ cruise was Explorer, and the last cruise was when she left Bayonne to make room for Quantum, and we got a block for 350 points during that cruise. Then we moved to Florida a month later. We have done 11 cruises this year, 7 booked with the 2 points promotion, 2 without and 2 casino vouchers. These cruises made Allure our most cruised on ship, moving Explorer into 2nd place. When we went on our first D+ cruise, we met a fellow in the Concierge lounge named Tony, from NJ. Better known by his CC name Kewlguy , who later became a CC host, he was telling everyone that the D+ would be excluded from the Concierge Lounge, starting a wave of people booking multiple B2B cruises in Junior suites. Kewlguy, like Bob, just stopped posting one day and hasn't been seen since.

Congratulations. While the access to the lounge is nice, and free drinks are real nice, the big advantage to the higher level is access to the Concierge. Any problem , big or small, if it can be fixed, the concierge is the go to for a solution. The concierge is part of the guest services staff, so he/she can do most of the things the desk can do. Just ask.

I have seen drone footage, but it was filmed by crew members. Also witnessed a film production crew using a drone to obtain footage while on board. IIRC, it was on an early Odyssey cruise.

If I have a computer issue I cannot fix, rebooting usually fixes it.

To me, the most important feature of the lounge is access to the concierge. As an example, lately I have been using suspenders to hold my trousers up. I once failed to pack the suspenders, so I explained my problem to the concierge, and he said he would call the tailor, and when I got back to my stateroom, there were suspenders. They are like your personal guest service representative.

All we have looked at is renderings. I reserve judgement until I am standing on the ship and experience it for myself. My first cruise on Royal was Navigator, and I do not think any picture could have replaced standing in the Royal Promenade and seeing the size. My experience up to that point was Celebrity Millennium class.

Access to Barefoot beach is indeed for those with gold seapass cards, except those who have rented a cabana. The beach concierge will have a list of the people who have the cabanas and they will get a wrist band showing that they are allowed access. WE are D+ and have done this many times, even before when cabanas were not available for booking by everyone.

thanks

I would like to know if Explorer has the coke freestyle machines. It has been awhile since I have been on, and I don't remember. TIA

When it rains, it pours. We got back from our B3B on Allure, with some casino offers, and it turns out we were able to book 2 free cruises in November, that will add up to the points to reach Pinnacle.

I am really happy your experience is exactly like the one we had years ago out of FLL.

I'll be on the lookout. Look for the guy with the blue rollator,

At the end of last weeks cruise, DW wandered if we had received a final statement. We hadn't. The next morning, I received the final statement via email.

Oh, it could have been much worse. 7 days before a 2 week repo cruise, I fainted while on a midnight toilet break. 4 broken ribs, punctured lung, 4 days in ICU, 2 units of blood. And we made the cruise with the doctors blessing.

cabin.

I tried to insert this screen shot yesterday, and it would not load. I suspect it was a CC issue, because I was constantly getting logged off. I just hope it wasn't a Starlink issue. Guess I will see tomorrow.

We are back to O3B today, but the internet guy says they will go live tomorrow. I suspect there will be more speed than what I reported yesterday. Hopefully, we will be wowed.

Next test will be tomorrow when we are moving. Headed back to Ft Lauderdale to pick up @Ozark_Kid. That will be the next test, a moving ship.

Lets see what the other cruise lines do.

Just turning Starlink on and having the system behave like nothing is different is a win in my book. It is still on is a good sign. Interesting to see what happens next. I imagine increasing speed is necessary to show that this new way is much better.