robinm918

Hoping your post gets some responses - looking for the same thing in May.  Ship's excursions are way too expensive for a beach day.

I made reservations for MTD for the evenings we are not in a specialty restaurant.  I'd prefer to not stand on the long line of people waiting to be seated.  If the first time you're seeing on the website is 6:45, it means the earlier times are all taken.

Love St. Maarten and am truly sorry they are having a difficult time rebuilding.  We used to spend the day at Le String on Orient Beach - the people that ran it were so nice and the food was very good.

What a great review so far!  My husband and I are sailing on the Allure 3/31, Western route.  Because Royal's website is not the greatest, I spent two hours on New Year's Day planning shows, My Time Dining and specialty restaurants.   It's unfortunate to not be able to do things on the fly ... need a ticket for everything!

This will be our first time on Allure;  been on Oasis 4 times as well as Voyager and Freedom class ships.  Disney twice - on our last Disney cruise, we were bored - not enough for adults.  We cruised with family, so that kind of made up for it.

Look forward to the next installments!

Just booked Paris and the Heart of Normandy for September 2019. Our last trip to Paris was in September 2012 to celebrate our 25th anniversary. I planned the trip for nine months and it was amazing. Looking forward to returning.

We are frequent cruisers, having done at least one a year since 2001 - this will be our first river cruise. Expecting a totally different experience.

Terpsfan1 - I will be eagerly awaiting your comments on this cruise after you return!

We booked Paris and the Heart of Normandy on Viking and I will check out the thread you mentioned. While my husband and I are frequent cruisers (Royal Caribbean and Celebrity), this is our first river cruise. Expecting a totally different experience.

Thanks for reaching out -

Robin

Sleep7 - thank you so much for the wonderful review of this cruise. We have been toying with the idea of a river cruise for our vacation next year and after reading your posts have one booked for September 2019. It's really a long way off, but it gives us something to look forward to !

Happy sailing !

Robin

Thank you for posting all this great information! After many RCCL cruises we have decided to try Celebrity in December. Hoping what I read on another thread about Richard Spacey being on Equinox soon is correct. He was CD on 2 of our RCCL cruises and he's great.

You did not mention if you were doing traditional or MTD for dinner - if you do not have a reservation for either, be sure to have your travel agent book it now. It is impossible to get a decent time for MTD once you board, and you will not be able to switch from MTD to traditional early or late seating.

My travel agent made this mistake on our recent Oasis sailing - no time booked for MTD and we could not switch to early seating. It was just my husband and I, so seating 2 people isn't as hard.

Luggage tags can be printed from your computer when you complete the online check-in - just fold them and the porter at the pier will staple them to your bags.

Be sure to book the entertainment online as well - a lot of the shows fill up before sailing.

Have a great cruise !

We were on Oasis in mid-April and the ship really needs some TLC - carpets and furniture worn and looking old. My DH even commented and that's not usually stuff he notices.

We were just on Oasis in April and noticed that in just 2 years the drink prices have increased significantly. Does one beer need to be $7 each, or a bucket of 5 Corona $30 plus 18% tip? On Orient Beach in St. Maarten, a bucket of 6 bottles was $14 - that's a huge difference!

Folks,

I was just curious, that is all. We would all be naive to think this doesn't go on every day, especially those who are on a limited budget. Has anyone here ever gotten a soda card and taken advantage of it with other family members? Clearly the answer is yes. We could debate forever on whether this is right or wrong, morally acceptable, etc. Frankly, I don't care, there are many more important things to worry about. Who hasn't gone thru a red light lately? Who texts and drives? I am a firefighter and see the consequences of actions like these. This is the stuff I worry about, not a drink package. Again, I was just curious.

To be clear, my wife and I are perfectly content with the Diamond 3 drinks per day benefit. It was an unexpected, but nice surprise on our most recent cruise as we weren't aware of it when boarding. As a matter of fact, if we want an afternoon cocktail, we pay for it, just like everyone else. Like you, we are on vacation and aren't going to worry about a few bucks.

Have fun and enjoy your cruise.

Frank

Hello,

We are not big drinkers and are perfectly happy with our 3 free drinks per day as Diamond cruisers. However, I am curious. It seems that two or more people could easily share the cost of a drink package if the person who owns the package took on the role of drink purchaser. If the package is truly "unlimited", then the card holder should be able to get as many beverages as they want, from any bar. My hunch is there is a time limit between purchases.

Your opinions are welcome. Thank you.

Frank

My DH and I were on this cruise, too - definitely not sold out - many cabins near us on deck 14 were empty. Not overrun with kids - a first for us as our son is in college and did his own thing on his break. I did notice that there are definitely not as many waiters hawking drinks by the pools.

The worst lines were for dinner - tried to switch from MTD to 6:00 pm seating and could not. Travel agent forgot to put a time in for us when booking.

And the weather could not have been more perfect - exactly 5 minutes of rain on Friday - that was it!

I believe it was close to $100 for the week for WiFi and the price dropped daily. The cheapest was $50 and that may have been 2 days before the cruise ended. We purchased on Monday - sea day.

This was our 3rd consecutive cruise on Oasis - one other thing to comment on is that the ship needs some cosmetic work. The furniture in the Promenade, Sorrento's and the Schooner Bar is noticeably worn; the pools all need to be redone on the inside - finishes are chipped and paint is yellowed. Not that this affects your cruise - it just doesn't look nice.

On port days, you could not just walk into the Windjammer for breakfast - you had to wait to be seated - a little frustrating, so we went to the Park Café instead. First time we encountered this.

Overall it was a great cruise - since it was not a Spring break in most of the country, we were not overrun with kids as on past cruises. Sure beats working for a week!

Hello,

Just returned from our 12th cruise with RC on Oasis and are Diamond cruisers, so you know we are loyal. Mostly positive but a few items worth noting. We are not big drinkers, but the prices have gotten out of control in my opinion. Over $7 for a beer, about $12 for a Pina colada, a shot of Bailey's is over $9, a mixed drink was about $10. A bucket of 5 Coronas was $30 plus 18% tip. We skipped a cruise in 2014 and noticed a big difference. Yes, I know everyone is a captive audience and this is very subjective, etc. Judge for yourselves. My time dining has gotten too popular and the wait times to get a table can be very long, particularly in the 6-7pm window. People lose their patience. Consider the traditional 2 seating instead. Food was pretty good. Giovanni's table is excellent. I love the roast beef sandwiches in Central Park Grille. Entertainment needs work. How many times can people watch "Come Fly with Me" or literally the exact same ice show? Get some new shows, please. Bring back the welcome show and departure show. Lots of fun. Love and Marriage Show is the best. Quest is too late, starts at 11:30 now. Note for Diamond members (and above) you will get 3 free drinks each per day between 5-8:30pm. It is on your seapass, don't be afraid to ask. Basic drinks, but a nice perk. Many activities start at the same time, sometimes tough to pick. Comedy Club was the best, we were dying with laughter! I hate the constant barrage to buy crap or go to the spa, etc. The upgraded wifi service is MUCH better, comparable to home. Once I realized I had a $25?? coupon, I bought a 5 day package for about $50 after the credit. Note they sell it as "per device" but I was able to connect on my phone and tablet concurrently without a problem. We enjoyed listening to our home radio stations and news on IHeart Radio. I also streamed EMT training videos from YouTube (I am a firefighter) without a problem.

Enjoy your next cruise everyone.

We are new Diamond members - how do you get drink vouchers? Are they available on all ships - sailing Oasis soon.

Thank you,

Robin

Hoping someone answers your question - also looking for a car rental from MIA to FLL. On Expedia there are car rentals from companies I've never heard of ... Sixt, Fox, EZ, Firefly, ACE and Advantage ... the major companies are expensive to rent from going one way.

Have been lucky enough to be on 2 cruises with Richard Spacey and we're hoping he's not on vacation or something when we're on the Freedom again in April.

A distant second would be Mark Walker.

Robin