Sumisid

After Oasis we did a cruise with Liberty and we loved the ship! But first thing I thought when I entered the Promenade on Liberty: "So narrow!" :D

I wanted to book a week on Allure for June 2015 and was literally shocked at the prices. Somehow RCCL must think that it will be very easy to get 6000 passengers per week to fill Allure up. An ocean view cabin on all sailings in June is around 4'500 Swiss Francs, equals USD 4'800 for two people. That's exactly double the price we paid for Allure in the Caribbean last February. And June is not even high season yet, school vacation in Europe start in July...

 

Regarding vacations, I'm really not greedy, but last year we paid for a Western Med cruise on the Liberty 2'400.- for two in a D1 Ocean View Cabin. It's not making much sense to pay double that price for one week of vacation. We will wait a bit and maybe look for another cruise line.

Back in February, I made a reservation for Giovannis' Lunch on embarkation day on Oasis. I wanted to do it again for the upcoming Transatlantic, but only dinner is available. When I called RCCL they confirmed that they can't take reservations for lunch. It's a pity, but we will try anyway.

We were on Liberty last summer and we LOVED that ship! I'm not sure I understand what you mean "things that have to be done". The only mandatory thing was muster! :D

 

Boarding (in Barcelona) was very quick and we headed directly up to the pooldeck and occupied some of the very comfy sofas next to the Solarium. First things first, we had to get a cocktail of the day! :p

 

We wanted to avoid the zoo at Windjammer, so we went down to the Promenade, got some food (sandwiches, pizza) and brought it back up to the pooldeck. While everybody was fighting for food at the Windjammer, we enjoyed our "pic-nic" al fresco a lot! :cool:

 

Around 1pm your cabin will be ready. Until then, we did not do much as we had our carry-ons with us and we did not feel like walking around a lot with them.

 

Once the cabin is ready you may or may not be lucky to find your luggage in front of it. If yes, unpack, if not, take that bathing-suit out of the carry-on and head to the pool! :)

 

Around 4.30 pm you have to get ready for the muster drill. After that, have a drink at one of the bars and soon it will be time for dinner. Enjoy your cruise!

 

My DH does not like oriental food so Izumi is out for us.

 

My DH does not like Asian food either, but we still enjoy Izumi. He orders meat on the hot stone and I enjoy my Sushi or Sashimi.

 

I lived in the Philippines for five years so I do not much care anymore about Asian food except Japanese. I have not eaten rice since we moved back to Switzerland in 2009 :p.

Since about a year, I'm not on a diet anymore. I lost 25 lbs and kept it off with eating Low Carb High Fat. Amazing way of eating, lots of yummy things, never hungry and the weight stays off. I'm never going back to wholegrains and stuff, it's what makes us fat, not the fat itself! Bring back the butter! :):p

We were told that the left over food from the MDR was compacted and turned into fuel and NOT dumped overboard to feed the fish.

 

Right, and the waste water is being filtered, filled into PET-bottles and sold to Carnival :D.

Some prices are indeed shocking!

 

We paid for a Western Med Cruise on Liberty last summer about $ 2500.- for two people in a D1 oceanview cabin. I wanted to book Allure next summer for almost the same cruise (itinerary is slightly different, but also 7 nights) and it's more than double the price we paid on the Liberty! :eek:

 

But then again for February 2016 I got a decent price on Allure for a Caribbean B2B cruise. Around $ 2200.- in a D1 per week for 2 people.

Last February, DH and I were first one week on Oasis and the second week on Allure. First week it was really easy with the drinks package. Every bar/restaurant on Oasis were we went just swiped our cards and that was it. So signing. Then the second week on Allure, we had to sign really EVERY drink everywhere we ordered one. It annoyed me because it was so much easier on Oasis. And I was wondering why it was handled so differently on the same cruiseline, same itinerary and same class of ship.

I'm not bothered by " kids who act like kids"... I'm bothered by parents who bring kids onboard and then act like they are CHILDLESS. Your responsibilities and problems dont become MINE when you go on vacation.if your children are as priceless as you say they are, pay as much attention to their whereabouts as you do your wallet...aren't they worth the effort?

 

Thank you, exactly my thoughts.

 

DH and I don't have kids but we think RCCL is doing a good job with offering many places/activities that are great for kids and also places like the Solarium where I can escape the screaming and screeching. While we are happy to share a table in the MDR with other people, we prefer not to have toddlers at our table. We politely ask for a table with adults only and never got as much as a weird look or something. RCCL really caters for all, singles, couples and families in a very good way.

Our first transatlantic from Rotterdam to Fort Lauderdale, starting October 14! We've been cruising on Oasis of the Seas twice already and are so much looking forward to this long cruise with many seadays on one of the greatest ships!

I have read through the entire thread, and will say two things.

 

1. We have lost weight on almost every Royal Caribbean cruise for the past few years.

 

2. We eat almost exclusively in the Windjammer.

 

Eat protein and fat........and you will lose weight! Also......use only the stairs, and walk at a pace for at least 30 minutes per day.

 

Rick

 

Exactly! I know since November 2013 that I'm gluten sensitive, I avoid all grains and high carb (sugary) food. I eat a lot of protein and fat and I've never been happier since then. Last cruise was in February and I lost about 5 pounds in two weeks without going hungry. Great food, great choices and great feeling! And my running improved,too. Could do 10 lapses around Oasis without any difficulties. I stick to this way of eating, no matter what :p.

My experience was that it totally depends on the ship (crew). Last February DH and I first went one week on Oasis, bought the Select Package and in every bar, every bartender was friendly, quick and in a good mood.

The following week, we went on Allure and we were actually quite shocked how rude some of the staff were. When DH got us our first drink at the Solarium Bar on embarkation day, he tipped the bartender lady extra and instead of "thank you" she said to him: "So you bought the Select Package, bad choice, you should upgrade that package to Premium, with this, you will be drinking very bad wine the whole week!" HEEEELLLOOOO?

He told her that we just spent one week on Oasis drinking bad wine and it's ok for us :D (we usually stick to bubbly and the one that was included in the package was really ok).

Then on our first evening in the MDR, we ordered some wine and showed our seapass with the sticker. The waiter said: "Those packages drive me crazy...", turned around and disappeared. :rolleyes:

 

So obviously, it depends on the ship/crew.

Yes, I tried once last year and I was successful.

Customer service at RCCL Frankfurt (now call-center in the Netherlands) is absolutely non-existent! I have no idea were the recruit their salespersons, but they have no clue about anything, no matter if you ask questions about prices, ships, cabins, destinations. I'm not doing business with them anymore, I book my cruises via a TA now.

For the next cruise, nothing so far. It's a TA, so most days are at sea anyway. But for the cruise with Quantum on March 1, 2015 I will book for sure again the Adult Sandbar Getaway in Labadee. That was sooooo much fun, would do it again anytime!

Last two cruises (Allure and Oasis) they were very generous with the strongness of the cocktails but also with the size of a glass of sparkling wine. After I came back the 2nd time for a glass of bubbly, he poured it in a cocktail-glass :D. Got him a nice tip for sure.

As I'm not living in the United States, I'm not sure my answer helps, but I try anyway :).

 

In Europe, we can buy travel insurance including emergency-evacuation, hospital, surgery, transportation back home AND even a next vacation paid by the insurance in case you have to go home early. And for that insurance you pay once a year and it's good for all your travels within 12 months. We've been doing that since 20 years as we are travelling a lot and we save a lot of money if we do not buy insurance for every single trip. This is a couple-insurance, means it's good for DH and me and costs us about US$ 250.- per year (total for both).

 

Maybe something similar exists in the US?

 

I personally would be extremely put out if a fellow passenger decided to take the approach of telling me what to do, but I would on the other hand listen to someone with the authority to tell me.

 

Oh, I'm so sorry to hear that. If you obey the rules, it' can't happen to you, no worries :D:p.

Also, people tell security because they are following the correct procedure, its being hypocritical to tell someone they are breaking the rules when you are not following protocol yourself.

 

And there are people who prefer to be told in a polite and discreet way instead of making a big circus by calling security. I don't think anybody was ever offended when I did this. Especially on Liberty I can absolutely understand that someone oversees the signs that say 16 and above only because everybody walks through (or almost) on their way from the elevators to the pools anyway. Most people don't do it on purpose.

I always wonder why people need a pool patrol or security to tell people the solarium is an adult-only place. On Liberty, a young mom with a toddler came to the solarium and took a lounge-chair. I went to her and told her politely that kids are not allowed here. Turned out, she spoke only French, did not see the sign, apologized, thanked me for informing her and left.

 

On Oasis, a couple with a stroller came into the solarium and took the chairs next to me, stroller with kid in between. I told them politely that kids are not allowed here and the answer was: "But he's asleep!" Yeah, great... :rolleyes:

 

You see, you can always tell people about the rules in a friendly way. Some understand, some don't. That's life. No need to watch them like a hawk, just at least TRY to speak to them.

P.S. @ Sumisid: do you have the latest email address for Mr Fein please?

 

Here it is: rfain@rccl.com

 

And I got a quick and very friendly answer to my email to Mr. Fain from Cynthia Lembo: CLembo@rccl.com

 

 

After I read your post I feel quite lucky with my rather small problems. The call center in the Netherlands seems even worse than I thought.

Unfortunately, dealing with the RCCL office in Frankfurt (Germany) is not better. They moved their call-center from Frankfurt to the Netherlands and since then, only incompetent people seem to work there. Long waiting times when you call and then the one who answers has less knowledge about ships, cabins and destinations than I do.

 

On our last cruise on Oasis, we booked a future cruise on Quantum while on board. Because of many problems with the RCCL Frankfurt office before, I asked the Loyalty Desk Manager if, once back home, I can call RCCL Frankfurt and transfer my booking to a TA. She said that this will be no problem at all. Well, for RCCL Frankfurt, it was a huge problem, they refused to do it. Only an email to Richard D. Fain finally solved the issue and they apologized. Bunge of imcompetent people there, from now on, all my bookings are made via a much helpful TA.

Been on Oasis twice. The first time, I was kind of scared that I would not like the food in the MDR because I've read some reviews where people said it was not good. So I booked Chops, Giovannis and 150 Central Park to be on the safe side. The other meals we had in the MDR and guess what? Wo loved it! I can assure you, good food is importand to DH and me on vacations. It makes or breakes a holiday.

 

So on our last cruise on Oasis in February, we had all our dinners (except one, when we went to Chef's Table) in the MDR and it was very good.

We did exactly that in February. First week on Oasis, second week on Allure. In between one night at the Riverside Hotel in FLL; we thought it was great to have one night on land during the two cruises. I did not want to have the hassle with going to a laundromat on that day, so I just gave our dirty clothes to the laundry on the ships. Worth the money, hey, it's my vacation and for sure I did not want to spend it with doing laundry :D.

 

We did twice the western itinerary and it was not boring at all. The first week we relaxed a lot and managed to get rid of the jetlag (coming from Europe). The second week we did a lot of excursions and had much fun. I would do it again anytime. Now which ship did we like better? Definitely the Oasis. The staff was much better, service was better and friendlier than on Allure. It probably hat a lot to do with the cruise director. Allan Brooks on Oasis was great, Ken Rush on Allure was so full of himself, absolutely awful!