Diamond Dandy

Puckstopper9 is right! (My son is a goalie too.)  Before I knew better I punched my card on Anthem and could not open the cabin door. 

If you don't know, if you don't have to insert your card in the cabin door, or if people are wearing those RCI wristbands, you have RFID cards.

We were amazed how quickly the staff got rid of the limited TX items and got the regular stuff out.  

Another TX oddity from a few years back (Navigator). As we were heading out of the terminal after collecting our bags, some local employees were asking about whether we had tobacco or alcohol purchases. While such purchases were exempt from Federal duty (we all know the limitations), TX imposed fees on each carton of cigarettes $1 per pack, and alcohol $ per bottle, although I forget the amount. 

I managed to to avoid it because I was making a big deal out of finding the security desk to reclaim the inch and a half mini Swiss Army knife that they confiscated when we got on board. (Interesting to note that the knives in Chops were the full sized real thing.)

I get it now. At first glance it looks like the balconies are overlooking the pool nearest the viewer.  A higher view would have made it clear that Central Park is at the bottom of the canyon. Thanks.

While browsing images related to another topic I posted, I came upon this picture. For the life of me I cannot understand this one.

The overlooking balconies look to be clearly a Royal ship, but I cannot remember a situation with a top floor pool (like the top part of the picture) with balconies overlooking another pool. Don't see anything on deck plans that matches this scenario either. 

Thanks as always.

Wondering: would it have been possible to book the two adjacent weeks and stay aboard for this shuttle? I know many of you are experts on nautical regulations. Thanks.

We've sailed Oasis class many times but this is our first time on Harmony.  Oddly enough I have never paid much attention to the Beach Pool. Now, however, a physical limitation (a form of RA) makes climbing the vertical ladders out of the Main and Sport Pools almost impossible. The Solarium Pool was handy because of the steps, but as we know there is not one on Harmony.

I think I heard that the Beach Pool was salt water. True? 

I recall all you entered the Pool on a slope, like of course a real beach. Is this also true?  Lastly, is there a hand rail on the sloped surface?

Thanks, as always for your assistance.

I have used the search tool, but could not find anything that helps with this particular scenario. I apologize if the info already exists and I was unable to find it.

Due to the Oasis cancellations we now have a cruise on Celebrity Edge (Port Everglades arrival) ending on 4/21, and a 4:00 PM flight out of MCO the same day. What options can you think of to get back to the airport.  Thinking car rental is best, but wonder about how to get the car. I would certainly listen to other suggestions as well. You guys have always helped in the past. Look forward to your responses!  Thanks.

Actually we did not book this one ahead of time as we knew 2 of us did not want Togo and one of us was too young. My son and his fiancé told the Genie when they wanted to attend and he made it happen. They were admitted through a door forward of the room just before the general admission started.

On Oasis when we met our Genie he gave us a suggested schedule, with reservations, for the whole week. This included all shows and all of the restaurants. We were free to make changes, and indeed we did.  With 5 of us we did not always do things as one group. All changes were accommodated. Hope your experience is as enjoyable as ours.

Great job dmwnc1959!

Would it have been possible to sail the cruise that ended yesterday, then stay on board to take the first one out of Miami?  No problem getting a deck chair I bet.

I had not thought of it in that way. Excellent advice! I will steer them in that direction. I should have thought of it, since we don't even get off the ship in Nassau for the reasons you cited. Thanks again!

We will be on the 8/20 Oasis Eastern Caribbean cruise (aka the eclipse cruise. Taking some family with us who want to do a dolphin excursion. Looking for opinions from you folks who may have tried this with RCI in either Nassau or St. Maarten so we can decide which one to do.

Thanks as always.

You are right of course, Merion_Mom, it was not Sandy. Could be a senior moment or cumulative effect of too many Bahama Mamas. The ship routed around what was a large Winter storm that dumped on the Northeast. We got the extra day on ship. Newark airport was still trying to get caught up for several days. Thanks for catching my error.

If you really want to be picky, the only ways to "answer the question you asked" (who has done this?) is "I have" or "Not me".

I beg to differ in my opinion. In winter you have to deal with the turbulence off of Cape Hatteras, NC. We sailed in January and encountered 30 foot waves in that area. You can look up more info about that, but it was described as colder water flowing down from the North to meet warmer water flowing up from the South. In addition, one has significantly more salinity than the other. The two do NOT play well together. (The area is also called the Graveyard of the Atlantic. Thinks is just to give you something to look up for more info, not to scare you. We were sometimes uncomfortable, but never felt in real danger.)

Our trip was a few weeks after the headline-making similar (but actually worse) Anthem trip you may have seen on TV.

In our case we also had to deal with Hurricane Sandy near the end of the cruise, which delayed our return by an extra day.

RCI handled everything the best they could, and we enjoyed the ship and staff, but overall we think winters out of Liberty are definitely not for us.

Got it. Thanks to all.:p

I have never had a reason to use it, since we are usually in Florida a couple of days before a cruise but I assume there is still transportation to the port available on sail date. Correct? Can you or should you arrange it ahead of time?

Thanks for the info.

We took our granddaughter, then 7years old, on Allure of the Seas. She absolutely loved the kids program. As we recall, there were several age-specific groups, with separate rooms. They had a kid's mini circus as well as a parade with the onboard characters. When you sign up you list the folks who are authorized to pick up the kids, and they are not released to others. There are a couple time sessions each day. Sometimes the group goes to a meal together if they want. I assume the facilities will be similar on any of the Oasis class ships.

We are looking forward to our August Oasis cruise in an Aqua Theatre suite. Thanks to posts like this we have been able to gather some very valuable knowledge. Really curious about tipping the Genie as well as cabin attendants. One of the perks is that gratuities are included, but I assume more is pretty much expected and deserved. I welcome any input.

Excellent work!

Thanks SDtoAZ. I appreciate your offer. Slowly learning what to expect through the several related posts. For now I would like your opinion about tipping. Particularly how do you determine an amount for the Genie, the cabin steward (since this is already taken care of to some degree) and the wait staff at the specialty restaurants. Appreciate your input.

We have 9730 on August 20 so we'll have to flip your cabin pics!! I join the others in looking forward to your review. Interested in advice about tipping in relation to how much we overwork the Genie.

My thanks as well for the information. Once again you all came through.

On Oasis 8/20. Have 2BR Aqua Theatre suite. First time at Coastal Kitchen and have some questions.

- Is there a specific dress code or does it match the ship?

- Are reservations needed for dinner?

- I've heard it is open for bkfst & lunch. Correct?

- Thanks for the menu pics! What are bkfst & lunch like?

- Is this a lunch option on embarkation day?

Thanks as always. CC folks can answer anything!