Jerseygirl1416

Just off Oasis today. No changes to Diamond Lounge sign and access the same as it always has been. The Solarium sign has been updated to read 18+. Still a young couple with a baby in a stroller thought it didn’t pertain to them lol. I’m sure this change in the Diamond Lounge is just to placate the Pinnacles when they can’t access the suite lounges due to crowding.

46 minutes ago, Lena87 said:

I know there is a Suite Deck on the Allure, but does anyone know if there are reserved loungers for suite guests near the main pool; like on the Independence?  Thanks.  

No there is not. Only the suite sun deck.

13 minutes ago, OCSC Mike said:

Nothing has changed. They will still make all those reservations & the letter never mentions the 11-11 drinks on Ossis class for some reason.

 

Ask for whatever reservations you’d like & feel free to ask about the 11-11 drinks.

Yes it has changed. This is my third welcome email and last year they asked you to send them your dinner reservation requests and included a copy of the show scheduled and asked to let them know your reservation requests for them too. I’m going to see if I can find a copy of my last email because I’m pretty sure it stated 11-11 on it.

If I hadn’t received this email before I wouldn’t know to ask for my reservations.

So I recently received the welcome email from the Concierge and noticed a few concerning changes from the email I received last year. In this email there was no mention of them making Coastal Kitchen reservations for you in advance of arrival. No show schedule attached or mention of them making these reservations for you in advance either. In fact they recommended you do your own reservations online. Finally they mentioned free wine, beer etc. happy hour 5-8pm when it used to state 11-11pm. With the increase in suite pricing these changes are really ridiculous and I’d expect more little more amenities instead of less.

13 minutes ago, karl_nj said:

 

If it's about freeing space, then they should instead do something about chairhogs reserving loungers and not using them. I can't imagine kicking out the 16 and 17 year olds will actually make a difference.

 

I’ve seen them police chair hogs at the Beach pool on Oasis. And I’ve seen groups of about 6-8 teenagers that look about 13/14 in the Oasis solarium so yes I think it’ll help at least a handful of adults. Plus, apparently from this thread there are some parents that can’t part from their 16 & 17 yr olds so they will also be gone. Every freed up lounger helps.

10 minutes ago, Another_Critic said:

Not traditional pools, but there are cascading pools on Q class. 

I know I’ve been on Anthem and it’s not a pool. It’s more like a giant bird bath

On 9/29/2023 at 12:41 AM, Another_Critic said:

FYI - Anthem has an indoor [family] pool in addition to the solarium.

And there isn’t a pool in the Solarium anyway. People as usual are missing the whole point. It’s not about one’s behavior because adults can behave worse than kids. It’s about freeing up space for a segment of the cruise to enjoy a particular space. When I’m looking for a seat in an adults only venue and I see groups of loungers taken by young teens I get annoyed. I know so many in our society feel they are entitled to everything but if you’re not 18 (quiet, calm reading or loud and obnoxious) stay out of the solarium. It’s pretty simple. You’re not special and don’t warrant an exception.

1 hour ago, nycluvscruises said:

We’re on the cruise and found out about the change when we landed in Newark. Gave myself an hour of a pity party but you can’t control the weather so we’re gonna make the most of it and have a great time. The pink sand beaches will have to wait! 

You actually may have warmer weather in Canada than Bermuda with a storm going through. We went in May and the weather was cool and rainy. We went to the pink sand beach for about an hour until it started to downpour then went back to the ship. It was cold on the way down and cold on the way back. I think we had one day of sun. 
Enjoy your cruise!

38 minutes ago, TJA27 said:

Thanks for the heads-up, but still curious being that Serenade doesn't have a Vitality Cafe, do you know if a different place on Serenade has a similar menu?  I have been searching the boards, and also googling, and can't seem to find a straight/current answer.  Thanks!

I’ve never been on Serenade but was just on Liberty and there was nowhere that had that menu and I actually went to every venue and bar to try to find at least a premade protein drink and couldn’t find one. 

54 minutes ago, TJA27 said:

That vitality menu looks amazing!  How about the ships that don't have a vitality cafe?  We are on Serenade soon and I can't find any info/menus if we can't get protein shakes/smoothies/milkshakes. 

It looks amazing on paper but in reality it’s mostly just cartons of liquid they use for the base like they use for pina coladas and the like. They’re not blending up fruit and vegetables. And at least on Oasis they’re almost always out of protein powder.

46 minutes ago, orville99 said:

 

We just sailed with our 10YO grandson in a suite, and he had his own free Internet access account. All the system asks for is a first name and cabin number.

 

You will be asked to create the account the first time you connect a device to the ship’s WLAN network. You don’t need to do anything on the app.

I was just going by the information the poster stated that you needed to be 13 to have internet access so I offered a get around by using a parents. My kids are grown so I don’t keep up with those rules.

9 minutes ago, BillOh said:

I don't know why, but we didn't try out that Mexican place! I agree it did look good. I guess I should have booked a 7 day!  In truth, my wife and I are both weight loss surgery patience, and sucess stories, so food isn't our highest priority, but we do like to eat, just not much.  I do regret not trying that Mexican place as it was no extra charge and there were enough places like this that the lines weren't too bad if you varied your routine just a bitg.

The breakfast burritos are really good too! Now you’ve got something to look forward to😊

I agree that Carnival wins hands down on the pizza. Also wins on the free “Mexican” place! And Guys Burgers are the best!

They are probably going to have to use the adults login information and share your access because you can’t bypass ages in their system. You’ll only be able to have one device on the wifi at a time with each adult access.

53 minutes ago, orville99 said:

It is now all buffet with the exception of the upcharge Lobster or Filet, and the menu stays the same every evening, so if you pull up the sample menu from the website, you have the SB dinner menu for the entire cruise.

So the entrees are all up on the buffet now? You don’t order at all from a waiter? 

Our upcoming visit the SB day bed was $199 and the club $169pp. We did the club last time and it was nice but the lunch is too heavy and structured for me for a beach day and the pool had splashing very loud kids in it so this time I opted for the SB beach bed. We probably won’t ever use the bed since it just my husband and myself but it’s the dedicated loungers and umbrella that’s attractive to me. There’s two ships there that day and we’re on Oasis getting in second so I don’t have to rush off to get loungers in a location that I like. Plus the SB beds are in a quieter location close to a snack shack and a short walk to the pool.

Loving this review! Thanks for taking the time. 

Anyone departing Cape Liberty this morning I highly recommend some form of Dramamine 😊  Here’s what the shore looked like this morning on my run

The wind has already started here in NJ. I’m about an hour south down the coast from Bayonne. We’re supposed to have up to 50mph winds this weekend and a ton of rain. If you do sail out of Cape Liberty and it pouring and you’re checking your luggage, make sure to put your clothes inside of water proof bags inside your luggage. I never check my bags but my Aunt ended up with wet clothes once when we embarked in the rain. They must leave the luggage exposed to the rain for some period of time. 

Yes you could and probably will be assigned a Boardwalk or Central Park balcony but if you really want an Oceanview balcony you can upgrade and just pay the difference between what you already paid and what the OV balconies are selling for now. That’s if they are not sold out. Keep checking daily for price reductions if they’re still available because as you get closer and they’re not sold out they’ll drop the price for a few days at some point.

For my upcoming October 7 night cruise the price has bounced back and forth between $72.99 and $77.99 over the last year depending on which bs sale they were running. It’s hard to give an overall average price because pricing is dependent on a number of metrics like number of nights, occupancy, number of pkgs purchased, itinerary and who knows what else.

1 hour ago, Newcruiser215 said:

True indeed. I'm not looking forward to the DJ either, but I'll give a shot. If we like it, great. We don't, we know not to do it again. 

I’m not looking forward to a DJ either but it’ll probably be like it is on the ship and they’ll only play for like a half an hour in the early afternoon and then another set in the late afternoon 🙏🏻🤞🏼

2 hours ago, Newcruiser215 said:

October of this year? I think it's still under construction. 

Yes. It was wishful thinking 😊

2 minutes ago, Newcruiser215 said:

We're on Icon next summer. 

 

We did the beach club before and it wasn't worth what we paid. 

I just jumped on my planner for October and it’s not there. Too bad!

I’m sure prices will skyrocket once they start selling out.