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Does anyone have any experience with the "Alcohol packages" under Shop Royal Gifts?

There are 4 bottle options that come with 4 cans of soda mixer.

Does that get delivered to your room?...Like a bar setup?

Seems like a good option to the full Drink Package...but there are a list of ships that its not available on.

20 hours ago, rusty nut said:

Next time you're in the Windjammer, take a look around and see if you can notice the dozens of passengers coughing and hacking into their hand, and then touching all of the serving spoons. It's an ongoing problem. The most vile part of the entire ship is right there on that serving spoon.  

110% agree. Both my son and I contacted Noro last April on Oasis (April 2018) and I believe it was from the Windjammer.

He is type 1 diabetic so we are very very careful, always washing hands, hand sanitizer, never touching hand railings or elevator buttons, etc but I think we were exposed thru the Windjammer. I cant say 100% but an pretty certain as I feel that the Windjammer is a breeding grounds for the viruses.

He had to get 2 IV's at ships medical during the night ($1600) and was taken off the ship by ambulance in Mexico to go to the ER. I was not allowed to leave the ship so only my wife could go...lucky they just made it back to the ship before departure.

Oasis had 200-250 reported Noro cases and we did NOT receive anything remotely close to a full refund...more like a day refund for me and son, nothing for wife...plus we had a $1600 ship medical bill and $5000 in Mexico to pay. I recouped less than 1/3  back from health insurance.

We have a previously scheduled cruise for Nov 2019 on Allure but are very nervous to cruise again...but dont want to lose my deposit if we cancel.

I did just learn of a few hand sanitizers that are 99.9% effective against noro, E Coli, Salmonella, etc so if we go we will be sure to have those at all times along with washing...but we are 100% skipping the Windjammer.

Also there is a thing called Medical travel insurance...different that regular travel insurance and different than your regular medical insurance...so we will be looking into that as well.

We were told on Oasis (Apr 15-22) that they dont offer them anymore...I assume this is a per ship thing.

Anyone on Oasis recently hear the same thing?

Save all bills and turn it in to your primary health insurance. Last year my 14 year old ended up with kidney problems, never had before. Our bill on harmony was over $900 and our hospital bill in peurto rico was over $1000. I did not purchase travel insurance. We got home and my son had to have his kidney removed. It stopped functioning years earlier they said and just then caused his pain. Anyway he is fine and normal again. I turned it in to my health insurance and didn’t stop bothering them till they paid us back in full. Good luck.

 

 

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Thanks for the info...so glad to hear your son is ok now...its very scary when you are some place foreign.

I am just starting the process with insurance...hoping they help in some fashion.

A charge for every person who wants to cram into the already completely FULL elevator.

Once the occupancy hits 15 the next to enter (if you dare) is charged...(swipe your SeaPass)

I have gotten more personal with strangers on an elevator than my wife on occasion...haha

Just a FYI, I got ill on FOS in March, beginning with passing out in Windjammer. I also had the big “D”. Because I fainted, alpha was called and off I went to medical. I was treated with IV fluid and Imodium and quarantined for 24 hrs. I was pretty sure it wasn’t viral because of a history of some gut issues, but we had a balcony cabin, free movies and room service. They treated us like royalty. There was no cost to me because they couldn’t rule out gastro. When gastro is suspected, apparently the cost is picked up (I think by the health department or some other govt agency). Our cabin was bleached down (I could smell it). The crew was very attentive to avoid spreading anything. My DH didn’t get sick. Additionally, food poisoning can certainly be spread just like noro. Anyone who feels ill with ANY GI symptoms should get medical care and quarantine. Don’t go out and about. It’s really not fair to others, and you can’t assume that what has caused your GI symptoms isn’t “catchy”.

Very interesting...we were just off Oasis...my son and I contacted Noro. He is type 1 diabetic and required (3 IV's over 8 hours) in Medical and we were charged $1160...not very happy.

He also had to go to the hospital in Cozumel and was treated there with another 3 bags of IV's ( cant wait to see that bill)

Just off Oasis Apr 15-22 and was told at several bars by several bartenders that the drink card is NO longer offered by RCCL....I specifically asked because I wanted to purchase.

I can only confirm that it was not available on Oasis...I do not know if it is fleet wide.

what Bob said.

Just off Oasis and I saw everything and anything in the MDR

On formal nights I saw from adults...jeans, tshirts, shorts, flip flops, sneakers, shirt/tie/dress pants, suit, tux, dresses, gowns, pant suits..all in the MDR.

I do not believe anyone was asked to leave.

Sorry about catching me in your photo, that needs editing out [emoji1]

 

As for noro, again so sorry you got sick. Such a bad end to the cruise.

 

 

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no worries...I was looking at your photos and said wait, i remember that guy...haha.

Thx...Yea it was...trying very hard to not make that the only memory of the cruise...never experienced that before.

Cool review..thanks for sharing...we captured you in the background in one of our Central Park photos just after boarding on day 1.

My son and I were hit with the Norovirus....he was taken to the hospital by ambulance in Cozumel...it was horrible...glad you didn't get it too.

Thanks for the review. Brought back happy memories for us (our 3 boys first cruise was on the FOS -- been on it 3 times and loved it every time). We did the OOS this past December and headed back in December.

 

It is amazing to me that a ship that large doesn't seem crowded. Thanks again and so sorry you got sick.

Thanks.

Do you have a preference between the 2 ships?

I think if I had to pick between Freedom and Oasis I would pick Freedom for the openness of desk 5 and great aft balcony's...but I would so miss Central Park.

Question: I've never had to decide if I'm a la carte or buffet in theMDR for breakfast. I've always had something from the menu, but I took from the buffet too. Are you saying I can't do that now?

There were 2 lines at the MDR for breakfast seating.

Left side was if you wanted to order off the menu...they took you to a table and sat you and gave you a menu.

Right side was if you just wanted to do the buffet...similar but smaller than WJ...they seat you at a table and then you go up to the buffet yourself. The only thing you could "order" was coffee/Tea

Hope that answers your question...if not let me know...Thx

(y)Thanks for the review - very nicely done. (y)

Thank you...was my first shot at doing one...I tried to keep it brief but that didnt work...haha

Many (most?) reviews of the Oasis fail to mention the Solarium Bistro. We had buffet lunch there on departure day (no line), breakfast 2 mornings (mini WJ with no line) and dinner 2 nights (Greek/Mediterranean food, appetizers and desert buffet, entrée served).

 

Also the Wipeout Café is the only place on Oasis that makes omelettes to order.

 

Strange to hear about the drink card. Was in the cruise compass on day 4 in February.

Very true...many more options on Oasis. I think many cruisers that were use to only having WJ as a breakfast option, it took a few days for them to figure out there are other places to go.

I was surprised to hear about the drink cards too...was actually looking forward to getting one....I was told this is fleet wide but I dont know.

I also was on the cruise, thank you for your reviews....I will be posting mine tonight for tomorrow, I came down with the noro myself felt bad on the way home but fortunately made it home, was so sick sunday night and all day yesterday and night, starting to feel better, so glad your son is ok now, forget the money it cost you for the ships doctor, the main thing your son is ok! :D

Sorry to hear you got it too....I wish I knew the final count.

So far my wife did not and thank god she didnt because she was able to be with him at the hospital.

Yes I agree and glad he is ok...it was very serious and scary.

The ship bill will probably be nothing compared to the Cozumel hospital...lol.

Thank you for your honest observations. I enjoyed reading. We have a diabetic coming along on the cruise. Norovirus is making me a little concerned even with the extra precautions you took.

I honestly never thought we would get sick. We did everything we could (or so I thought).

Please be extra extra careful...You know how severe/deadly ketoacidosis is/can be.

I wonder if it was a serving utensil at the windjammer?...I dont know but I sure wish I knew how.

How did your MTD work? Did you make reservations before you sailed/at the beginning of the cruise or the day before each meal? Or did you just show up each night? We're a party of two (sounds like you were three people?). It's our first ship with MTD, and we aren't quite sure what to do since 5:30-7:45 pm dining slots are all gone on the Cruise Planner.

We did reserve our times before online.

There were 2 lines each night..one for reservations and one for none.

Others may know better but I think if you have reservations you can/will get the same table each night...if you dont have reservations you will get whatever table is available.

I didnt notice much of a line for the no reservation line each night.

You can always go to the dining room on the day you board and make/adjust reservations there too. They are open at 11am I believe.

Having Sailed Freedom each of the last 2 years and just gotoff Oasis on Sunday I thought I would do a mini review…seeing as I asked andread so much about Oasis and Freedom before this cruise, hope I can answerothers questions.

These are just my thoughts and observations…Maybe it will help someone.

Please feel free to ask me anything about either ship and ifI can answer, I will.

Is Oasis too big compared to Freedom?

Well yes it is huge but we NEVER felt like it was crowdedand I felt RCCL did a nice job with the neighborhoods and spreading people out.

Is there a lot of noise with the Boardwalk balcony rooms?

I would say the only time there is noise is for the 45 minAqua Theater show. Other than that we never heard a peep from the Boardwalk.

I will say that we learned we are ocean view people though.Nothing against the BW balconies but we prefer the ocean sounds.

Is the WindJammer crowded?

I guess I will have to put an astrek next to my firststatement and say that the Windjammer was crazy busy most mornings. If you wentfor breakfast anytime after 8am you had to wait in a descent line to get in…before8am, no problem.

My thought is that the Oasis Windjammer is smaller than onFreedom and in the first few days of the cruise I think most people are so useto going to WJ from previous cruises and don’t know the other breakfast options…Wewent to Johnny Rockets and the main dining room a few mornings. The MDR offers2 lines, Ala carte and buffet. There was a line for ala cart but not for the buffet. I would say take advantage of all breakfast options.

Are there any good public ocean viewing areas on Oasis?

I read this previously and didn’t really give it muchthought until we sailed Oasis. I missed the openness of Freedoms deck 5. Iloved walking out on deck 5 and seeing water and loved sitting in any of what seemedto be 100+ chairs on desk 5 of Freedom. I was disappointed in really only beingable to see out of Oasis at the Aft portion of Deck 5 and there were only 12deck chairs along the back.

Not a major thing but I liked on Freedom being away from thePool area and just taking in the view.

There is a Sun Deck on Oasis on deck 14 that you can access by goingforward port side but it was closed about half the time because I think it wasconsidered too windy.

Is Oasis dirty and showing its age?

Overall I thought she looked great but…I did notice several public areas wherechairs were VERY stained and looked as if someone defecated in it. While I amsure that’s not the case, I would have expected more from RCCL. I checked backon 2 areas later on in the cruise thinking they would have been cleaned butwere not.

Is CATS too long and is theater is empty after intermission?

I commented on this post before we sailed, trying to get anidea of the show. We got in line early because we wanted to be closer to thefront. The theater was full before show time. I would say that about 20% leftafter intermission. My son and I enjoyed the show and didn’t find it too long.My wife, not so much..haha. I don’t think that’s a reflection on theproduction, I think that’s just life. I like some movies that she doesn’t, Shelikes some TV shows that I don’t…it doesn’t make them bad shows…We all havedifferent tastes in life.

A few general notes or observations…

There are NO Drink cards offered anymore...or at least we were told. We did not buy thedrink packages because my wife would never drink her share to break even so weinquired about the “Drink Card” on Day 3 and was told at 4 separate bars thatthey are no longer offered by RCCL.

There was no Beer Card or Draft beer cards either.

I am still amazed that the number of people that will get ona completely full elevator. if was like Shriners getting out of those little cars...lol

On day 5 my son and I were hit with the Noro virus. There wasan outbreak onboard the ship. Because he is type 1 diabetic he was in severeketoacidosis and had to be taken to the hospital in Cozumel for furthertreatment. While the ships medical personal were good, I was not happy beingcharged $1100 for 3 Saline IV’s for him because of something that was not ourfault and that you can purchase for $15 each.

Thankfully after 3 more IV bags in Cozumel he and my wifewere back on the ship 15 minutes before sail away.

Yes we were quarantined while we were sick and they didoffer free room service (we had no appetite) and free movies (we slept off theillness)…but still a nice gesture I guess.

I would like to think that we are some of the most cautious people too, never touch the railings, use something to touch elevator buttons, carry hand sanitizer, always wash hands...so if we can catch it, anyone can

On that note I did notice a increased effort in wiping hand railings after the announcement was made but I think they could have donebetter with the elevators/buttons. I noticed no increased effort there.

After the public announcement about the outbreak I was MOREamazed at the amount of people that use the bathroom (number 2) and do NOT washtheir hands….YOU PEOPLE ARE THE PROBLEM…STOP living like ANIMALS (Not bitter atall)

I thought Central Park was one of the most beautiful partsof the ship…and it seemed no one was ever there though. It’s a great place to sit atnight and just listen to the music. We went every night after dinner and neverhad an issue finding a seat.

We did MTD…usually went between 5:45 and 6 each night exceptdays in port and never had a wait for a table and did have our same table everynight. I enjoyed having the same staff each night.

No Art auction is an hour...no matter what they tell you...haha

$10 t-shirts brings out the worst in people.

Tomorrow morning we're flying from Cleveland to Chicago then to San Juan for the Adventure of the Seas...feeling sick to my stomach already. When we booked last fall I even pressed for us (group of 4) to leave the night before..Ugh.

Ohh I know that feeling...wishing you good weather and safe travels.

I have friends from Buffalo that are on that sailing too...I think they they left Thur...there is a group of them...he is a photographer...in case you hear them, tell them Eric said hi...lol

Based on the forecasts you should be good out of Buffalo Saturday afternoon. Good move. 100.00/pp isn't bad compared to most airlines, SW is more customer friendly in most cases.

I am still stressing though...lol

I will be so much more relaxed tomorrow night...I hope.

Put a call in directly to your air carrier yourself using your confirmation number. In the event of an approaching storm, most major air carriers will let you go a day early (if they have seats) with no change fees. They would rather get you to your destination early then have to worry about re-arranging flights for you in the event of a cancelled flight.

I did that last night with Southwest...but because they had not issued formal travel advisory for my airport, if I wanted to change it was on my dime.

It was $100 per person and I decided to bite the bullet and change now rather than roll the dice and either wait for a advisory to be declared or then the mad rush to make sure we get on an earlier flight because those will then sell out..

We are flying out of Buffalo...was a 5:30am flight Sun but switched to a 2pm Sat flight...I figured spending $300 was better than losing $3000.

P.S...I HATE Winter...even though its really spring.

Wish us luck tomorrow.

Was suppose to fly out Sun 5:30am from Buffalo to Orlando for Oasis...Heard an Ice storm is suppose to move in Sat night so we just changed our flight to 2pm Sat...hoping to get out before all hell breaks out.

Unfortunately has to pay a fee but much less than missing the ship.

Have sooooo had enough of winter

Still nervous...Wish us luck

Correct, except I would add this one step:

 

"then enable wifi, connect to the Royal WiFi wireless service, and enter your Voom access code?"

Thank you Bob

So is this the process then?...

enable wifi calling first while on your carriers network?

then when onboard the ship, put your phone in Airplane mode?

then enable wifi and enter your Voom access code?

Thanks,

Eric

Can I try and change my show date on board?

When I did reservations for CATS I was alittle late I think and could only get the 2pm show on the last cruise day...everything else was booked....and no other options.

Popular show I guess.... ;)