playingpossum

Noticed you are from Simcoe. How come we can't get a wave near us here in Southern Ontario?

I don't know why we can't get one closer to us. I called the Windsor waterpark 3 weeks ago as their web site said they offered it on Saturday mornings from 9-12. I was disappointed to learn that they did not offer it in the summer and had it on Wednesdays sometimes. I have not called Kalahari at Cedar point yet to see if they allow stand up but that would take probably 4 hours to get to. If one opened up closer to us I think it would be a pretty good business adventure. It is way too long between cruises to go without.

"playingpossum" what website did you use to find out the dates & ships that lined up as a B2B?

We plan our vacations to go well in advance so we can link up other ships.;)

Anyone knows if this is like surfing or totally different and you have to start from zero?

The surfers that I have talked to say that it is pretty different from what they are used to doing. The people that pick it up the fastest that I have seen so far are skateboarders. I used to snowboard at one point but it still helped me learn. If a person has good balance and some coordination they will be able to get the hang of it relatively quickly.

We have done one sort of back to back so far and we use a popular vacations travel site 2 see what dates go with what we want(it shows up as a large page with dates in order). We intend on doing others this way as well. Pick your port, date and then scan the list for what fits.

I like the idea of seeing different shows on each ship and also having the chance to change scenery completely as well. Last year we booked our main trip and waited until the last minute to book the other ship. It worked out so well for us that we now target specific ships that match up with dates. I know I would not have been as happy staying on the Oasis for 2 weeks as I liked Cats but would not want to see it again right away.

In our case this year we booked the Navigator for 8 nights and are waiting to see if the Allure becomes more reasonable so we can link ships. If it does not we still have the option of extending our trip for 6 more nights on the navigator. We will still be happy with just one cruise too so no worries there. Next year we are going on the Harmony and hoping to cruise on the Indy just before as a lead up to it. Travel is half the battle so why not extend your at sea time when you can:). A good deal on a cruise helps as well;). Good luck with your planning

I use the stand up flowrider while I am on the ship and take a different approach to the new people who are trying it out for the first time. I have found it is better to try to be proactive rather then get frustrated.

First off I keep an eye on peoples wrists to see if they have the required bracelet. If they don't then I ask them if they have signed the waiver which most of the time they have not. I then direct them to where they sign the waiver and resume waiting in line(everyone else in line will have seen that you already helped someone else out now and are open to helping others). Most of the time when someone comes back from getting their bracelet they strike up a conversation of how do you do this and then you can give them a general run down of what is going to happen. At this point I let them know that they will be given two tries and what they are to do and not to do after the first wipe out. Others that are new will usually listen in and end up becoming a bit more informed on what they need to do as well. Just by trying to help out the instructors also notice and usually cheer up a bit more too. This helps out early on in the cruise when the lines are not as full but not so well later on when everyone who has never seen it before thinks it is a good idea to try.

The average run lasts for almost 2 minutes for just about everyone so it is pretty easy to tell how long the wait will be. I feel sorry for the instructors on the last day as their jobs are much more difficult. Some instructors do wear foot protection but most do not. No riders are allowed to wear anything on their feet from what I have observed. Some instructors will encourage more then others and if people have a general clue to what is going on then it makes their life much easier. I do think some instructors get some satisfaction from those who do not wear the appropriate attire :p.

I was a noob too at one point and am grateful that I was able to learn how to ride from some others who were willing to share with me. I now try to pass on some tips so others can enjoy their vacation and take away something great too.

Thank you...I will definitely start with a boogie board! Are the lessons on standing or do they use a boogie board for their lessons and how much do the lessons cost? I only plan on using the boogie board this time around but if they have lessons for that, I'll consider it. Thank you again...so much.

I would not do lessons for boogie boarding. If you want to do that just go to the flowrider on the first day and try it out. The lines should be shorter and the instructors will get you going on the wave. Boogie boarding is not hard but the back wall and grate still hurt from wipe outs. Try to go feet first towards the wall if possible when you wipe out.

If you are good with balance give the stand up a go. It is much more rewarding and you will enjoy it once you get the hang of it. A lesson for stand up would be worth it but will cost a bit(I do not know the exact cost but it is over 70usd and needs at least 5 people to run if memory serves me right). I have not taken a lesson but those who have did pick it up a lot quicker then those who did not. The stand up boards on the ship are not easy to learn on but the longer ones are generally better for beginners then the short ones. Try to get a lesson early in your cruise if you are going to take one.

I have seen lots of people try it and have a good time while learning. No pain no gain as they say;).

We have been on the Oasis, Allure, Indy and the Liberty. On our first cruise which was 8 days it was on the Indy and we loved the extra day and additional port. So far we have found that the oasis class ships are more of a planned busy vacation while the freedom class is a bit more of a laid back pace.

Last year we did a quick 5 day cruise on the Liberty and then a 7 day on the oasis and that basically spoiled us really bad:eek:. So far this year we have booked a cruise on the navigator and are hoping to add a allure cruise right afterwards. This is because I can't decide on which ship to chose either. At first the navigator was not on our list but the itinerary and price made us say lets try it and see what happens.

Here are a few negatives about the Oasis class I found: Dining room is more crowded and the wait times for mtd can be longer. You have to book everything(shows, diners, excursions) weeks prior to sailing. The staff are not quite the same as on the smaller ships(lots of new crew as the experienced like to try to work on the smaller ships). Fortunately the Pros far outweigh the cons which are too many to mention.

The only negatives I have about the freedom class is that it feels like it is missing something when compared to the oasis class. I miss the second flowrider but enjoy the dining and entertainment that I don't have to plan so much. It feels like a vacation while on board. One other positive would be that the number of kids is far less on a 8 day cruise.

I would recommend if you chose the oasis class that you go to the dining room prior to dinner time and ensure you get a table in an area you will be happy with if possible(with your correct seating number preference). We were basically waited on by our head waiter the whole week on our Oasis cruise because of the terrible first night. Maybe by doing so will help you get exceptional waiters as well.

So there is no clear choice until you decide on what your vacation needs are. Only you can weigh out what you consider more important(destinations vs ship amenities, dining options vs small ship feel, busy or laid back) Ours are still unclear so we will likely do back to back on different ships if at all possible;).

I have been scouring the CC's to find anything on lesson times, but have come up empty so far. Breakfast at the Wipeout Cafe is already in the plan the first day, so I'll be right up there to check out the scheduling if I can't get on before we sail.

 

On the bright side, I've got 6 months till sailing...

Here is a list off of my spread sheets to give you a idea of times:

Eastern route-Allure

day 1- 1pm-5:30pm

day 2- 12pm-6pm

day 3- advanced 9-10am, regular 10am-6pm, teen 10:30-11:00pm

day 4- advanced 8-9am, regular 9-10am,2:30-6pm

day 5- advanced 8-9am, regular 9-10am,3-6pm

day 6- advanced 9-10am, regular 10am-6pm

day 7- advanced 9-10am, regular 10am-5:30pm, bob 5:30pm and flowshow at 6pm

Oasis Western route:

day 1-1:30pm - 5:30pm

day 2- advanced 9-10am, regular 10am-6pm

day 3 - advanced 1-2pm, regular 2pm-6pm, teen flow 10-11pm

day 4 - advanced 8-9am, regular 9-10am, 3pm-6pm

day 5 - advanced 9-10am, regular 10am-6pm

day 6 - advanced 8:30-9am, regular 9-10am, 3:30-6pm

day 7 - advanced 9-10am, regular 9am-5:30pm, bob 5:30pm, flowshow 6pm

I don't know how much the times would have changed from my sailing until now but hopefully it helps you out with planning a lesson. I think the oasis class ships have very similar times when doing the same east or west route.

That's great info, thanks.

 

We plan on staying on the ship our first port at Nassau, day 2, so I should have a good amount of time for learning.

I would try to find recent cruise compass on this to make sure it is open on the second day while in port for the times you want to go. I made a spreadsheet to keep track of times and while we were on the oasis the flowrider opened at noon on the second day.

When you first get on the ship head back to the flowrider to see if there are any die hard flowboard fanatics. I was lucky to meet up with Charger2008 and if not for them I would have given up. Most of the people we have met so far are a great group who are more then happy to try and help others learn.

We looked into the same thing a couple of years ago when we renewed our vows. In the end we went with a beach vow renewal because royal was a bit overpriced for what we thought we would get. It is really a personal preference. It would be really hard to say if the captain would be available for you. The royal experience from what it was when we looked into it was with the cd.

We used a mom and pop type of beach service on Coco beach and it ended up being really nice and personal.

I've got enough space here. Forget the water park in Windosr, you could ride at my house.

Maybe we should pool our money together and get one a bit closer eh;).

Have you been to the Windsor one? I called and they were not going to offer stand up unless you rented it out for an hour. That was just after they opened up though.

The Oasis has it while the other ships we have been on do not. We went as soon as we were onboard to sign for the Liberty at the main sports desk. The lines are not long when you first get on the ship and we were signed up within 5 minutes and boogie boarding right after(no stand up the first day while on that ship). You will have to get the wristband anyways so a trip there will likely be first on your list of things to do.

As a side note if you are doing back to back trips on different ships make sure you get checked off the list even though you may have the blue wristband on already. They thanked us for checking with them first prior to taking part in any activities.

I too have not seen anyone bring a boogie board of their own. I do bring my own stand up board which is a waveloch brand board and have had no issues. I have had my board inspected each time I am on the ship now though to make sure it has the waveloch label and is in good condition.

You can get the price drop right away by using a TA. I called my TA and was put on hold while she called RCI, and it was Cnd $.

The rep we booked though has normal office hours but I would imagine the agency itself is open 24/7. I probably won't get to call in for the harmony cruise as we booked it when it was really reduced(thank you other cc posters:)). We intend on booking any other cruises this way in the future as it worked very well compared to our last cruise a year ago when we ended up in a mess because a royal rep was not well informed on their own policies.

When we booked our Harmony cruise for next year we priced it out multiple ways(royal Canada, royal usa and a US ta). We found that the best option was to book with the US ta as we got a better rate then the Canadian site and by using a ta we got some obc. The only thing to keep in mind is that if you book it using the direct with the cruise line way is that you can call and get price adjustments if your cruise goes down in price right away. We got a good price on our cruise and felt that it would not go any lower so were not concerned with the need to be able to call and make changes instantly.

Now if they were offering the same exchange rate as what others have bought obc for then we would be booking a few extra trips right now;).

I would think the NS needs to be installed central to the ship for stability but I am no engineer or marine architect. There really is no other "open" deck space other than the retail areas that have YTB announced. They could have put the water slides at the mini-golf, so it makes me wonder what "could" go there other than mini golf. They could have put the slides over top of the minigolf for that matter.

 

That's why I keep thinking the "surprise" will be the shows.

EDIT: If the NS were to appear I would think Llyod's thread on the building of the Harmony would have capture a few pictures of it by now.

I think you are probably right on that one. The shows will probably be the next big announcement. I too have looked at some of the great pictures posted by llyod to see if there are any clues to what might come but don't see anything that gives away any surprises. I was actually really shocked they are adding waterslides. Maybe they will still wow us some more yet as the bar keeps getting set higher and higher.

I'd love I fly too, but not at the expense of losing a flow rider.:eek: Our DS would miss the mini golf too, us not so much. ;) What about a barrel flowrider at the mini-golf location. That would be fun, and just a little dangerous. :D

 

 

Imagine if they put the North Star there, they could look right into the loft cabins. I guess it is no different than Boardwalk and Central Park cabins. I doubt that would happen due to weight/distrubition restrictions.

I really like the idea of a barrel flowrider. Can you imagine how fast the lines would go then:p. I have considered foregoing a cruise to see the west coast and try it out there but the wife would probably not like that too well. I agree as much as I would like to see a I fly I would definitely not be happy to lose a flowrider because of it. If they were just taking out the mini golf it probably would not hurt our feelings either as we seldom play anymore. I am sure a lot of other people would not be happy though if they took out the mini golf.

Our harmony cruise will be the first with a balcony and we are in central park. I can say we are looking forward to it even though we may not have as much privacy as we were used to. We will have to see if the northstar makes is aboard this ship but it looks doubtful. But then again maybe that 1m wider overall width was to allow for it????

This is where the question about the mini golf comes in... I just got off Oasis and a staff member (not just a regular crew member) who will be on Harmony to work on the 'finishing touch' said they will not have mini golf on Harmony, but he could not tell us what will be in its place. I REALLY hope they have mini golf and this was just a rumor, but I would consider him a reliable source. Only time will tell... :) It will not be the first time Royal changes deck plans after the fact. They sure like their 'surprises'.

It will be interesting to see what they do introduce to keep the hype up on this ship. I would like to see the Ifly skydiving simulator personally as I have never tried that and would like to. I think my wife would love to take some amazing pictures from the other quantum class marvel addition as well if it is on this ship ;). We are both pretty excited about our cruise that is so far away and my wife is now showing me pictures of its construction as it progresses.

It would be sort of sad to see the mini golf not on this ship if it ends up being true. I am sure royal has done some research to see what people use and don't use though. Maybe the real estate it occupies is more valuable served by another use. I guess we will wait and see:).

I am 5-9 as well but fairly light at 135 lbs. I find my shuvit works well for carving and is very stable but it is heavy. When I called waveloch I spoke to Rob and he said I would like the board I purchased and still do. I do agree with the ship boards being too long and usually beat up. They did have a brand new outlaw on our last cruise though and it's short length of 39 inches made it a popular board among the surfers who did not bring a board and could ride fairly well. When I compared it to the board I have now it seemed like it was only 38 inches long but from what waveloch has advertised they do not make one that size. The other guys that I have cruised with had normal 40" shuvit as a popular board. It is interesting to ask the sports staff their preferences too as a lot of them are really good. All of them have hated my board so far with exception of a few new crew who were not as comfortable surfing yet.

If you decide to go with a wood board you should varnish it as soon as you get it. The varnish they put on at the factory is almost non existent. I did varnish mine but it causes the board to stick when loading and also if there is a dead spot on the wave. It would be nice to know if your husband has tried any other boards before you make an investment in one. He may have a preference already or maybe an idea of what he would like to try. The boards are not cheap when you figure in currency, duty and shipping so in reality whatever you pick will be a really nice gift.:)

Since we have started cruising Royal I too have become addicted to Flowboarding on the back of these great ships. I bring my own board now and have a lot of fun meeting people with like interests. For those of you who bring your own boards on to the ship please let us know which one(s) and why you prefer it.

I currently bring a Waveloch 40" shuvit side cut with channels on board as it was the board I became confident with. I could not ride the boards the ship had when I was just learning and just about gave up until I was given the chance to ride another persons board. It is nice and easy to ride and is very predictable but fairly heavy. I now want a light fast board and will likely order a 39" outlaw for our next vacation this winter.

Hopefully a thread like this will help others who would like to purchase a board get a better idea of what others like and help them make a good decision.

Great! I'm sure you will get to know my hubby very well. I show up sometimes to watch and take pics and videos but I don't ride.

 

I want to get hubby a board for xmas but I'm not sure how to choose the style and size of board for him. Any advice?

It depends on what he likes really to what kind of board to get(carves? tricks? his size?). Do you know if he had a personal preference while he was on the ship? Most of the boards they have onboard are 42" or 45" outlaws. Has he tried anything else? I was lucky enough to meet a nice couple who let me ride his board so I could get the hang of it on our first cruise. I have a 40" side cut shuvit with channels that is super easy to ride now. On our last cruise I rode one of the ships boards mostly as I really liked it(39" outlaw). My board felt like a tank compared to that one really. I am by no means an expert on this though so maybe someone else could help out. I am sure I will get to know your husband fairly well while we are cruising. Have you tried it much?

I am actually going to start a new thread on this to see if we get some replies and are not off topic on this thread.

Darn, I just looked at your future cruises and we will miss you by two weeks on both Allure and Harmony!! :( Oh well, one FlowRider hog per cruise is probably enough. :D:D

We will be on this cruise with you starting on December 3rd(Ryan and Lisa) and are really looking forward to it. I bring my own board as well but I am hoping to have a different one by the time we cruise again. My wife just tried it on our last cruise and has sort of claimed my board for herself:). I am hoping she sticks with it and is no longer widowed by the pool as much. We enjoy the people we meet onboard and get so excited to cruise.

We had Casey on our first Royal cruise and really liked him. He was easy to talk to and very genuine. He sort of set the standard for us now. We are also Canadian so maybe that has something to do with it too though:).

Best thing to do is look for a cruise compass that matches up with your sailing. When you find one you can figure out what times the flowrider is open during your cruise and if you want to go try it. Usually boogie boarding is in the early afternoon from 1:30 until muster drill time on your first day. That would be a great time to try it out as it should be less busy(just remember to pack a bathing suit in your carry on). Have fun.

We're booked to cruise the Harmony. Initially we were looking for cruises this year but upon seeing what others were posting we jumped at the early booking prices for this ship.

As for what our interest is for this ship we like to see new shows while on vacation. We are also loyal to Royal now since I like to spend a lot of time riding the flowrider and a new ship with 2 of them is a big plus:D.

It is exciting to have a trip planned so far away too. It will definitely help with any post cruise depression we may have after our trip this winter;).