OCSC Mike

I guess it depends on your definition of "near the pool" but both buffets are on the pool deck (WJ and Solarium Bistro) and El Loco Fresh (Mexican) is one deck up.

if? When we have dinner in the MDR we eat early and pretty much always go to WJ after. I like to eat and you never know when you'll find a random dessert or something else to try up there. I'm a big proponent of going to more than one venue per meal, lol.

That's a good point. My wife lives on the strawberry kiwi flavored water (when available) so we grab a few cups from Park Cafe or wherever to keep in the cabin cooler when we happen to be going back to our cabin. She also usually brings one of those large water bottles that keeps liquid cold and tries to keep it full (occasionally adding a few ice cubes).

This sums up cruising in general to me. There are an almost infinite number of ways to enjoy a cruise; that's why I recommend them to people. You can personalize everything based on your preferences... and of course food falls into this category.

At this point you just want to board the ship! 🤣 (Sorry, couldn't help it.)

There are more spots available than what you see online pre-cruise.

FWIW, while not switching rooms is nice, we switched during our only B2B and it went very smoothly and wasn't a big deal at all.

I manage to gain 8-10 lbs per 7-night cruise without spending hardly any extra, let alone buying any sort of package... I think you'll be OK. For full disclosure, I do get Diamond perks including many free cappuccinos and my 4 drink vouchers per day (plus 1-2 of my wife's), but you'll still be fine.

Didn't get around to it but I can see making those just like making a taco. We did grab some tortilla chips and cheese (wife's attempt to try something, lol) and the cheese wasn't very good. They likely depend on how soon they were made before you get to them. It's hard for a basic chicken quesadilla to be terrible. I probably got one that was sitting out and just said I might as well make chicken tacos after that. I'll give them another shot when we go back. I also meant to try some of the stuff from the dessert case (think they had a few different flavors of flan) but didn't.

I've only tried it once (Wonder in June) and I enjoyed the tacos but wasn't a fan of anything else really. Nothing special about them, but I rarely get to to eat any Mexican at home (picky wife won't), so a simple taco bar is a welcome addition to me. I enjoyed it as an afternoon snack between lunch and dinner. Also, while I never had anything, it was empty when I walked by during breakfast hours. Omelets, waffles, standard sides like bacon, sausage, hash browns... so I could see it being a good spot for the anti-WJ crowd. Nice outside seating too.

Agree to disagree then.

You are of course correct but how does this help topics like "where can I find a burger?" When someone says "free" surely 99% of readers understand they mean "no additional cost." Why do we all need your reminder of the difference?

The one machine can make decaf (as long as the staff has loaded it with decaf beans as they should).

I hadn’t gone near one in forever but the “burger of the day” on Wonder was actually edible in June. It’s made with different toppings each day (I had a Philly burger with provolone & grilled onions) and then partially wrapped in paper like fast casual restaurants often do. By no means amazing but it was much better than the dried out patties lying on the buffet line. For those wanting to pay for a burger, I’m a big fan of the one at Playmakers that comes with garlic parm fries.

By the pool? Not on any Royal Caribbean ship I know of.

Or you could find a good TA with refundable group rates.

Oh I know. I like discussing personal preferences because you know I'm a big believer in how big a role they play in cruising and why it's such a good vacation choice because of that. So many different ways one can enjoy a cruise (and of course choice of ship/itinerary can impact that). Firefly and I have discussed some of this stuff before so no worries but thanks for the support.

I didn't want to quote your entire post, but I read it and will try to answer all of it below... Where/when did I say how expensive it was? Not being defensive, just want to be on the same page. These are based on my personal valuations of course, but... my prices for my two March cruises weren't all that bad at all. June 2024 was a bit high but not terrible. July 2024 was a little more than I'd like to pay but it was WAY cheaper than going on the Utopia inaugural that I wanted to. These are also all refundable deposits so I can always cancel something but I think you knew that. Why not Adventure - We sail more for the ship than the ports and I think you know how much I value food. Based on that, I didn't even price Adventure. I really don't want a ship with no Park Cafe, ELF, Playmakers, etc. I'm actually a WJ fan but I don't want to be limited to WJ and MDR (we haven't really liked the MDR in forever). Why Wonder - Based on my June Wonder cruise and past sailings, it's pretty much the ideal ship for our preferences and routines so that obviously holds value to us. Other factors - We're limited to Spring Break and June/July right now. Also, I didn't price or book any of these until March-June of the current year. I was never one to book early and I had no idea what a TA group rate was until I saw prices going nuts and realized it would be highly unlikely to find good last minute deals like to which I have always been accustom (as recently as last October* when we were able to go on a 4-day Indy cruise with a base of $129pp during a GGG sale). *If my wife still had the position she had last year and was able, I would have loved to book Mariner this October. I saw some 8-nighters with a base price in the low $400 range in the most recent GGG sale. Just pointing out that it doesn't have to be Wonder; Mariner at least has Playmakers though. If Mariner wasn't being replaced by Adventure, I likely would have looked into it.

I was going to post this but didn't want to be the downer, lol. This is not last year. RC is not going to suddenly start prices way below what they're getting now. We've already seen that with Utopia. The prices were pretty crappy right from the start, even if you had a great TA with group rates.

And naturally the coin is going to land the wrong way on Wonder since that's all I'm sailing for a while, lol. (Yes, I know I may get a completely different answer when I try 9 months from now, I'm just pessimistic like that.)

Haven't had it in the MDR recently but I have always enjoyed Indian food on the ship wherever I find it (most recently CK and WJ on Wonder).

That's how I've felt about the MDR for very long time, long before any changes. That said, as mentioned above, food is very subjective.

Another vote for 7 nights on Oasis... I'm one of those cruisers who doesn't care about his cabin, I'm a fan of CocoCay, and I'd rather have more eating venues so it's a no-brainer for me.

Rooting for you guys... again! 🤞

We turn D+ after our next cruise and I'm very much looking forward to some of the above perks (plus 2 BOGO meals and 4 days of free internet between the 2 of us). Until I have anything remotely close to a bad cruise or I can't get what I consider reasonable prices, I'm not going anywhere.