elaine5

Just on Explorer last summer. This is what they look like. Solid wall on either side, so not as "open" as other ships. 7th floor. It was fine.

Thank you! I could not find it on the APP.

Is fixed main/early dining is still 6pm (as reported in May) for anyone who's been on Oasis in June?

Wow! Things must have really changed. We went on explorer Aug 2023 and did not find any issues discussed except possibly subpar steak. And, our pizza was meh. DH came away saying he loved this class of ship. Wonder what happened?

We have an excursion on Day 3 of a cruise. Can I canx when I board and get a credit on my account. It will technically be less than 48 hours (get onboard at 1pm, port arrival 8am, excursion was 10:30am). On another cruise line, it was 48 hours, but 24 hours prior if it was 1st day on the ship. Thanks, Elaine

I've just spent 30+ days in April on Majestic/Royal, which are sister ships. I did Royal for BI in 2018 and will repeat this summer on Regal. Princess's BI cruise is lovely with some added local entertainment like Irish dancers, etc. We like Royal Carib. and will sail on it in a few weeks. I'd say Princess is a step up from RC. I find it similar to Cunard, except Princess has more to do, more contemporary entertainment, and a bit more relaxed service. Rest assured, I do not think you'll "hate" the ship and should have a wonderful time.

We sailed Explorer last year. Very similar to Voyager. We thought it was a very good ship for E. Med. I like beginning/ending different ports. Great to spend pre-post time at each with more leisurely pace. There are so many wonderful ports in Europe, you cannot do them all. So, yes, there will be some great places you miss...pick your must dos/bucket lists and enjoy.

Spikkel, did you use the Bee Le Havre bus on your trip? How was it? Did you do the 3 or 5 hours? Any tips/advice for either the bus or Honfleur?

when you say, "bus," have you tried the Bee Bus? They now also have a shuttle from the port to the bus to Honfleur pick up stop. https://beelehavre.com/en/circuits-en/le-havre-honfleur-tour/

Aren't TA usually not as popular? The 15 day pricing was less than the 12 day Baltic before it. We booked both as separate legs, as it's so far out, we wanted some flexibility if we didn't have the time for 27 days.

We're booked for winter Carib. DH will be bummed, as he likes all that active stuff. I'm hoping they'll get approvals or revamp with something else. I am waiting to hear how great all the other entertainment/venues are, as we don't care about special elite sanctuaries, etc. We want an active, fun (but not crazy) cruise. I also feel badly for those with older kids/ young adults--but it's very port intensive in Europe, so it might not matter as much as Carib. with more sea days.

The Curacao Marriott is lovely and has a very reasonable day pass. There is good snorkeling right off the shore by the PADI dive shop to far right if facing the water. We had our own snorkel gear. You can likely rent some at the PADI shop. Email them directly to inquire and get best day pass pricing. frontdesk@curacao-marriott.com There will be quite a few kids onboard. Many NE USA schools do not start back until late Aug/early Sept. Definitely Carib. Vibe, lots of steel drum music by the pool, more pool activities, and pools very crowded.

Thanks for advice about booking Aqua early-we got day 3 of 7 day cruise.

Just on majestic in March. Indoor pool area does smell of chlorine-cabanas towards front were fine. Conservatory has decent amount of seating-we used it to view NZ fjords. I’d say majestic is good for possible cold/bad weather places (TA crossing, Iceland, Alaska, Norway). No for Caribbean or Med in summer.

If I reserve the forever ice and aqua shows, can I change the dates later-such as when I book other shows when they open up online?

There is a bus (contracted by the cruiselines) from the port to VCE or to Venice near St Lucia train station. You should be able to book one way for either. We booked one way from Venice to Ravenna last August. Our TA called RCCL and booked it for us. It's about $60/each way. Unless you're on an "excursion" bus at the end of the sailing dropping back at VCE, it's not a sightseeing bus--straight drive (2.5 hours) thru countryside with a bathroom break. Here is info from a royal carib blog post: Booked shuttle from Venice Marco Polo (VCE) airport to Ravenna Cruise port from Royalcaribbean customer service: 1800 327 6700. $45 per person They gave me 2 options: from VCE or Tranchetta city center.

If you search, you'll find several posts about the Ravenna shuttle bus. You buy the tickets on the ship for disembarkation. Here is some info from 2023, likely similar this year:

TexCruise317, do you recall what evenings the big "shows" were--Broadway style, etc.? Our reservation window opens next week. I don't want to pre-book Aqua and Ice shows for the same nights. Thanks, Elaine

Thanks. We’ll keep 5:30 fixed then.

We have a party of 6 on Oasis out of Barcelona this summer with main/early fixed dining (listed as 6pm when we made reservation last fall). Wondering if the dining times have changed? Is there also now a 6:45 fixed dining? If so, maybe I'll ask TA to request that. Also, would a 6:45 impact show times? Thanks, Elaine

Our experience on Princess without package: We brought 2 bottles of wine onboard-sufficient on a 7 day cruise for a glass before dinner (when I'd have a glass anyway), we got IT for days we needed for urgent matters (Facetiming elderly parent, revising hotel bookings, etc.) and downloaded texts/emails with free wifi before going back on ship at ports. With a 24 hour paid time, it's really like 2 half days-so, a couple 24 periods swapping devices were fine for our needs. I saw lots of people randomly on their phones--talking to family about what seemed like nothing (on speaker), cat videos, etc. We wanted to unplug and read books in downtime. We also got a few Mai Tais when we wanted, that with captains party champagne, a wine excursion, and past cruisers' cocktail party was good for us. We definitely saved $ over the Plus. But, as others have said, it you need IT (and swapping doesn't work) and you're having at least 1-2 drinks/day, then it's a no brainer. So much cheaper than ANY other cruise line for the package.

Thanks for your review. We just sailed majestic in NZ in March to NZ and NZ fjordland national park. It’s also very weather dependent and we were lucky to see it, as a number of sailings miss it. Yes, that breakfast buffet was a kind of crazy free for all. And our 1 sit down on sea day was 1.5 hrs for some eggs and a danish. Your review confirms for us that smaller is better for Alaska inside passage/fjords/glaciers.

we noticed this on many excursions also. unless it's a special private tour, driver, helicopter, etc., you can usually canx 48 hrs out if you change your mind.

Some considerations: booking different segments to have more flexibility to refare/drop one leg/swap to another cruise later; you can also get princess plus on just one segment. I recently saw 2 (future) credits on our account when I held a 14 day RT in Alaska also sold at 2 N/S one ways. So you might get 2 credits on a 14 day if it is also sold as 2 7 days?

Just off 21 day Royal SYD-JPN. Retreat: Most seats in shade in were taken by 9am (plenty of seats around the pools until mid-morning or later, lots of seats 4pm+). Retreat has a smaller pool, 2 hot tubs, bar. Very nice area--very relaxing environment. You can book cabanas (fee) around that pool. Main pool: Agree with other poster--not a party atmosphere at the main pool, and very few kids on longer cruises. There were some silly games played (volleyball staff vs passengers, guests making cocktails competition, etc.). But not all day--usually midday. Band then played many days from 1-2 and they usually showed movies in afternoon. We enjoyed main pool and retreat area most sea days. We actually preferred the main pool for some activity as retreat was more sedate. An hour or so for band/games was fine for me. If it's too noisy, you could eat lunch or relax inside during that time. It's all posted in Patter to plan your day. Smoking:I only saw at designated outside places and zero in casino (I walked thru 5+ times)--so no smoking from AU makes sense. Sanctuary: didn't use. But, I walked in once and it didn't look full. I'd expect on a cruise with lots of sea days that you could snag seats. If not, the (free) Retreat is lovely (which is why I never used the Sanctuary).