Hoopster95

North America travel costs are a total rip off. If you price out 4-5 star Europe/Asia/South American land travel itineraries they are less than a cruise. I have a ton of proof of this and have posted in various threads over the past few years. That's disgusting.... but not surprising. The human psychology is that we all have to belong to a special "club" to feel better about ourselves and pay to get into it. We all need to say "I payed for a better day than you peons over there in the free area". Royal is a king of exploiting this.

Just a thought for next time.... your best option would've been the 11:45am flight out of FLL. Usually less $ than the MIA flight, perfect timing and the best plane in the AC fleet (A330-300)

Great spot! You're directly across the "secret staircase" up to the entry of the Vitality Spa and then into the Solarium... super convenient route vs. heading down the corridor to the elevator/stair lobby. Also being underneath one of the spa rooms, you won't have scraping chairs and noise from the deck above like seemingly 80% of the other JS's reported on Vision Class.

Thx for doing this review LB. Always respect your posts and opinions for years on this forum, so very interested to see how you do on Virgin. I'm booked for the 1st time with VV on Resilient Lady next year on a longer 10 day itinerary Portsmouth to Iceland.

Nope... Jewel 12 night Arctic Circle/Norway May 30th, 2024 sailing I booked OV on deck 4 about 1 week before final payment as a solo for less than the 1st day it was released 18 months before. There were a good 30-40 interiors available and about 20-30 OVs.

Note.... plural (S) "We're developing the Royal Beach Clubs as well. The first one of those is going to be in Nassau in the Bahamas," he said to the crowd. I believe that's going to be the first in a series of Royal Beach clubs. We're looking at St Thomas, we're looking at Mexico." As it turns out, his announcement has been half right so far, with the Cozumel Beach Club announcement confirmed." So unfortunately forget about seeing the world by cruising with Royal in the near future... or maybe they'll develop a new "Pullmantur"-like off shoot company where they'll pass on Voyager and lower classes.

One or two each day in each port ... Freedom (3)+ Oasis (7)+ Icon (5) = 15 ships for a possible 21 slots. Mid week homeports like Seattle (Quantum on Mondays, Ovation on Fridays). Future 7 sailings will be 5 sea days, one CocoCay and one at Nassau (for an extra charge to the Beach Club obviously).... all for the low price of $1500 per person (interior) + $2000 for a cabana for 6 hours. As a side note, I'm just finishing off planning my own 15 day trip to cambodia + Vietnam, all 5 star hotels/resorts, private transfers/guides/tours included in both Cambodia + Hoi An, 2 day Halong Bay cruise in the Presidential suite ($599US). So far with business class flights I'm just barely over $10,000 Canadian... less than many cabins on Icon for two for only 7 days

1) How do they deliver an Icon or oasis to LA? Would that be profitable to do? 2) Can Oasis or Icon get into Ensenada (channel depth, etc). That is THE only port close enough to satisfy the PVSA and to support the 3/4 day sailings so coveted by Royal to maximize profits.

Very sincerely.... there's no way you're booking either of these ships "for the ports"

Yes you do @chengkp75. Thank you for all of your excellent contributions to so many different threads over the years ... the extensive Panama Canal thread(s) also come to mind

Actually very often after final payment for many ships, depending on the sailing date, and except the biggest/newest/shiniest

So you chose a 7 day, 168 hour vacation, for obviously and specifically the Icon, but now you're complaining about 6-7 hours of that vacation and the rest or the 160 hours is ruined? Ya, right 👎

I've stayed in a Navigator & Allure fwd facing OV, and the photo you show here between the bed and the window is much deeper than the cabins I stayed in... maybe Utopia has a deeper angle? These types of posts, with photos, are super helpful for everyone to learn on this forum. Thx for sharing 👍

I love this thread!!! Please everyone here continue to book only and exclusively Oasis & Icon Class ships paying triple pricing from a couple years ago. Please leave everything Freedom and lower alone so they can stay at "normal" prices Much appreciated. Thanks 😉

Google youtube videos... there are some great ones out there of Navigator

Great price... have fun a keep this. Considering that most all respondents so far are very exprienced Royal cruisers and have probably dined in specialty restaurants tens if not hundreds of times (including myself), of course the majority will say "not worth it". I totally disagree. I have easily done the UDP on the smaller ships and it has been so freakin' fanstastic! It is so very easy to have a totally different dinner 3-4 times in the same menu, you get to try the various appies as well as several different entrees, as well as several different deserts. You will never duplicate. Most recently on Brilliance to Alaska.... Chops lunch on embarkation was awesome, lunches at Izumi with superb Alaskan views, Chops (filet, lamb, crusted salmon) and Giovanni's (filet, OssoBucco, Branzino) 3 nights each, all totally different meals with the best window view, not having to sit 2 inches from the next table like in the MDR, and best of all having food made for you right there (instead of in warming ovens and under heating lamps for 1000 other people in the MDR). OP, keep this deal and enjoy it 👍

Another vote for the lower decks.... and specifically the deck 9 CP interior view cabins if the same price as regular interiors. You will find often that connecting CP interiors are often "embedded" and for sale within the same category and at the same price as regular interior connecting cabins, and they are much much better than regular interiors.

You have now described and actually witnessed (because you've actually tried it) what I have been saying on this forum for several years.

100% correct with everything you have said 👍

She's likely paid for... no debt. $97 million amp in 2019 to get her to where she is today. Vision Class ships also still make good money because zero debt & zero capital cost depreciation. I guess Oasis of the Seas should be sold or scrapped in 5 years when she's 20 years old!😉

Adventure 2001 ... Jewel of the Seas 2004 I just sailed Voyager of the Seas this past May... Voyager's 1st sailing was 1999, so she's 25 years old this coming November. I think Voyager Class may be around longer than we think. Voyager is beautiful! Excellent condition, and without what I consider the dated "NCL like" lime & coconut motifs that will be outdated in a few years. She has all the classic colouring and feel on the pool deck, the lounges look brand new, just gorgeous. Voyager Class has the Promenade, lots of balconies & suites, ice rink, slides, entertainment, Flowrider, Specialty Dining, etc etc... most everything that RCL "sells" to the public as a RCL ship. Vision & Radiance Class do not.

Simply google thousands of videos and photos on google

Absolutely #1 by a very very wide margin... Quantum Class ships

I would more more concerned with what I consider to be the obstructed view of the overhang from the deck above 13.

There can absolutely be zero.... that's not a typo.... zero viable advice anyone on this forum can give you. By the time this sailing rolls around next year, there will be brand new staff, new chefs, new restaurant managers, new food food sources (where Royal buys their food).... tons and tons of variables. Widely reported ad nauseum here on this forum that food experience can even change on the same cruise even one day after another, same venue. Royal is known for inconsistent results from one person to another, one week to the next, especially for food. I have found that the last few years the WindJammer has surprisingly outperformed the Main Dining Room on smaller ships like Brilliance. If you prefer to have meals served to you and to have that "vacation feel" versus serving yourself, I fully recommend a Specialty dining plan (ie. a 5 night if offered on a long TA) so that you can have some "normally more consistent" better than average cooked to order, great ambiance, beautiful view out of picture windows dinners vs. the normal chaos in the MDR. All 3 of the specialty dining venues on Brilliance are in great locations, beautiful rooms with picture windows.... and the tables for two are regular restaurant distance from each other, not 4 inches like in the Main Dining. Just my 2 cents... I'm sure you'll get a ton more opinions following.... (p.s. I sailed 14 days on Brilliance 3 months ago... one cruise all WJ + Main dining, the next all Specialty with the UDP... UDP was so so soooooo much better at that time)