Ship to Replace Anthem in Bayonne

[Saab4444]

2 hours ago, mo&fran said:

Anthem only needs a drydock replacement every 5 years.  May never see Oasis back to NJ again.

Of course, you can never tell what will happen.

It is not a dry dock replacement, Anthem could dry dock in Freeport as well, oposite to Oasis class no need to go to Europe just for that. The reason she goes to Europe is for a seasonal deployment and not just for one year. They will also not rebuilt Oasis funnels just for one summer.

[Saab4444]

46 minutes ago, Biker19 said:

The last currently scheduled sailing returns to lovely Bayonne on Nov 1. It doesn't need to snow to make things quite different on an Oasis class ship. Once folks can't comfortably do outdoor things (like in the 50sF or rainy - both very possible in Oct), things are going to get mighty crowded inside.

But if you exlude the first and last night she is already in warmer waters even in October and April/May.

[The Fun Researcher]

The ports for the Oasis are a joke IMO.  Maybe that's a little harsh, but seriously...

 

. Port Canaveral and Nassau!.   

 

The new Coco Cay is the only good stop IMO.

 

For many cruisers, an Oasis class ship is a destination unto itself, so there is that.  I just hope the weather holds out for the outdoor spaces to be useful.  It does look like June - September should be fine, with low 70's bookending those months, with mid 80's in between.

Dan

[dcgrumpy]

I've never had a desire to sail out of NJ even though I live in NY. One of the main reasons is I have no interest in the 7 day itineraries. But I may do it on Oasis where we could spend more time on the ship.

[Pratique]

5 hours ago, Host Clarea said:

 

I remember photos of crewmembers shoveling snow on the Explorer pool deck.

I asked Captain Gus on Harmony if they had any snow removal equipment on board. He said no. I assume that holds true for Oasis as well. They could run out to Lowe's and buy a few shovels if they needed to lol.

[rimmit]

25 minutes ago, dcgrumpy said:

I've never had a desire to sail out of NJ even though I live in NY. One of the main reasons is I have no interest in the 7 day itineraries. But I may do it on Oasis where we could spend more time on the ship.

There 9,11 and 12 to the southern and eastern on Anthem and 10 night CL to Quebec and vice versa.  Did you look into those?

Edited December 12, 2018 by rimmit

[gaylemh]

15 minutes ago, Pratique said:

I asked Captain Gus on Harmony if they had any snow removal equipment on board. He said no. I assume that holds true for Oasis as well. They could run out to Lowe's and buy a few shovels if they needed to lol.

And Lowe's is just down the road from the port.

[Pratique]

27 minutes ago, gaylemh said:

And Lowe's is just down the road from the port.

BYOS Bring Your Own Shovel 

[dcgrumpy]

37 minutes ago, rimmit said:

There 9,11 and 12 to the southern and eastern on Anthem and 10 night CL to Quebec and vice versa.  Did you look into those?

 

Yes, but we're usually limited to 7 night cruises because of kids schedules. 

[jamesboat]

The first few pages of this thread are an absolute goldmine of experts getting it wrong!

 

 

On 12/10/2018 at 12:27 PM, gaylemh said:

I have sailed on almost every 12 night cruise out of Cape Liberty.  I watch the prices of the cruise from the time I book, usually the first day they are released.  I book balcony cabins, and on just about all the cruises the balcony cabins are sold out months before the cruise sails. There are a few that may pop up with a cancellation.   The prices of the cabins has never gone down from what I paid within 6 months of the cruise date, when most people book. It has always gone higher.  Sometimes by double. On the 2 of 12 night sailings this coming year on Anthem. Balcony cabins have been sold out months before, prices have doubled and sometimes almost tripled before they were actually gone.  The one 12 night cruise in March that still has some balcony cabins available has balcony cabins for $4000+ for 2.  I have never seen a 7 night Bahamas cruise sell for anywhere near that.

 

This is false. We cruised 12 nights on Anthem for $1,150 per person on a balcony (excluding gratuity) in 2017.

 

If youre looking only at RC website pricing, youre doing it wrong!

 

Right now on the Jan 6 twelve night you can get a balcony for ~$1,400, so its certainly not sold out, and thats just 3 weeks away!

 

 

[gaylemh]

30 minutes ago, jamesboat said:

The first few pages of this thread are an absolute goldmine of experts getting it wrong!

 

 

 

This is false. We cruised 12 nights on Anthem for $1,150 per person on a balcony (excluding gratuity) in 2017.

 

If youre looking only at RC website pricing, youre doing it wrong!

 

Right now on the Jan 6 twelve night you can get a balcony for ~$1,400, so its certainly not sold out, and thats just 3 weeks away!

 

 

Where are you finding balcony cabins for the January 6, 2019 cruise? I have check 6 different websites and there are none showing.  I have the January 6th booked solo in a 2D balcony cabin for $1503 with $300 OBC. I don't think you can beat that price.  I don't think I'm doing it wrong.  Is the $1400 per person without taxes and port charges?  My friend has also be trying to book the 2/3/19 for months in a balcony cabin.  They have been sold out for months and when one did show up it was over $3000 solo.

[Arzeena]

1 hour ago, jamesboat said:

The first few pages of this thread are an absolute goldmine of experts getting it wrong!

 

 

 

This is false. We cruised 12 nights on Anthem for $1,150 per person on a balcony (excluding gratuity) in 2017.

 

If youre looking only at RC website pricing, youre doing it wrong!

 

Right now on the Jan 6 twelve night you can get a balcony for ~$1,400, so its certainly not sold out, and thats just 3 weeks away!

 

 

I agree with you 100%.   The poster you quoted and wrote this to probably does not search outside the box.

Also visibility may depend upon # of people in a cabin too.

Edited December 13, 2018 by Arzeena

[dswallow]

5 hours ago, gaylemh said:

Where are you finding balcony cabins for the January 6, 2019 cruise? I have check 6 different websites and there are none showing.  I have the January 6th booked solo in a 2D balcony cabin for $1503 with $300 OBC. I don't think you can beat that price.  I don't think I'm doing it wrong.  Is the $1400 per person without taxes and port charges?  My friend has also be trying to book the 2/3/19 for months in a balcony cabin.  They have been sold out for months and when one did show up it was over $3000 solo.

 

I'm solo in a 2D balcony on Anthem on 1/6/2019 that's $2,592 plus taxes, and $0 OBC. That's with the Diamond discount, though at the normal 200% solo supplement not your 150% (yet, at least!). Granted on this one I made the decision to go on that sailing a little late, in August 2018. I know there was a short window back in January where I got $175 OBC on each of 2 B2B Freedom cruises out of San Juan in Sept/Oct 2019, so am guessing your $300 OBC might've been from a booking made around then.

Edited December 13, 2018 by dswallow

[gaylemh]

1 minute ago, dswallow said:

 

I'm solo in a 2D balcony on Anthem on 1/6/2019 that's $2,592 plus taxes, and $0 OBC. That's with the Diamond discount, though at the normal 200% solo supplement not your 150% (yet, at least!). Granted on this one I made the decision to go on that sailing a little late, in August 2018. I know there was a short window back in January where I got $175 OBC on each of 2 B2B Freedom cruises out of San Juan in Sept/Oct 2019, so am guessing your $300 OBC might've been from a booking made around then.

OBC from booking on board, and yes the 150% supplement makes a big difference in the price.  

[Merion_Mom]

8 hours ago, The Fun Researcher said:

The ports for the Oasis are a joke IMO.  Maybe that's a little harsh, but seriously...

 

. Port Canaveral and Nassau!.   

 

The new Coco Cay is the only good stop IMO.

 

For many cruisers, an Oasis class ship is a destination unto itself, so there is that.  I just hope the weather holds out for the outdoor spaces to be useful.  It does look like June - September should be fine, with low 70's bookending those months, with mid 80's in between.

Dan

 

 

First time cruisers and low frequency cruisers do not share your opinion of the itinerary.  (fortunately for Royal Caribbean!  😉 )

[Saab4444]

I believe this 7 night itinerary from New York is the standard 7 day route to warmer waters, nothing new, not exiting but also not a surprise. The bigger ships will not come with new and more interesting ports because such new destinations are all accessible for smaller ships only.

[rimmit]

2 hours ago, Saab4444 said:

I believe this 7 night itinerary from New York is the standard 7 day route to warmer waters, nothing new, not exiting but also not a surprise. The bigger ships will not come with new and more interesting ports because such new destinations are all accessible for smaller ships only.

Yes this has been the standard 7 day route for YEARS from Baltimore and CL.  The only variation is the order of stopping at Nassau, Cococay, and Port Canaveral.  For the cruisers who frequent leaving out of CL and Baltimore,  we are clearly not going for the ports.

[champagne123]

53 minutes ago, rimmit said:

Yes this has been the standard 7 day route for YEARS from Baltimore and CL.  The only variation is the order of stopping at Nassau, Cococay, and Port Canaveral.  For the cruisers who frequent leaving out of CL and Baltimore,  we are clearly not going for the ports.

 

Yes, this has us a little disappointed, but we love the Oasis Class and would book it again for the ship.  Nassau, blah...staying on the ship, Cococay, we would get off the ship.  Port Canaveral, what does one do?  Looking at the webcam, it looks like an industrial port, just like here in NJ.

Edited December 13, 2018 by champagne123

[rimmit]

1 hour ago, champagne123 said:

 

Yes, this has us a little disappointed, but we love the Oasis Class and would book it again for the ship.  Nassau, blah...staying on the ship, Cococay, we would get off the ship.  Port Canaveral, what does one do?  Looking at the webcam, it looks like an industrial port, just like here in NJ.

 

We went on an airboat tour once.  Typically we don’t get off the ship.  We have APs to Disney,  but it’s still pretty hectic and not worth the hassle imo given the ship typically docks pretty late and leaves around 10PM at the latest and sometimes earlier.  When Disney goes out of NYC and ports at PC their ship docks at like 6AM and leaves at midnight so you can spend a whole day at Disney.  They also give you a free ticket AND transport to the the parks. (Free is debatable,  but it is included in your cruise fare) But RCI typically docks around 9-10 or so and leaves sometimes as early as 8 leaving little time to go to Disney after transport time.

Edited December 13, 2018 by rimmit

[Charles4515]

1 hour ago, champagne123 said:

 

Yes, this has us a little disappointed, but we love the Oasis Class and would book it again for the ship.  Nassau, blah...staying on the ship, Cococay, we would get off the ship.  Port Canaveral, what does one do?  Looking at the webcam, it looks like an industrial port, just like here in NJ.

 

Kennedy Space Center if you have never been is well worth doing one time. Nassau I always go to Blue Lagoon. 

Edited December 13, 2018 by Charles4515

[Pratique]

The 7 night Oasis sailings arrive at Port Canaveral at 1:00 pm and leave at 10:00 pm.  Just in time for the afternoon thunderstorms and +++ humidity.

[rimmit]

24 minutes ago, Pratique said:

The 7 night Oasis sailings arrive at Port Canaveral at 1:00 pm and leave at 10:00 pm.  Just in time for the afternoon thunderstorms and +++ humidity.

 

So even later than the Explorer, Anthem and Grandeur....   Disney would definitely be a waste of time.

[The Fun Researcher]

10 hours ago, Merion_Mom said:

 

 

First time cruisers and low frequency cruisers do not share your opinion of the itinerary.  (fortunately for Royal Caribbean!  😉 )

 

No way of knowing this. 

 

I think if anyone did a smidge of research they would learn that Port Canaveral isn't exactly what one thinks of when sailing to the Bahama's or Caribbean, and also that Nassau is consistently panned as a port of call.

 

I'm sure there are many that will be just peachy to simply be on the Oasis though.  I get that.

 

Dan

[The Fun Researcher]

3 hours ago, Charles4515 said:

 

Kennedy Space Center if you have never been is well worth doing one time. Nassau I always go to Blue Lagoon. 

Kennedy Space Center is awesome but getting to port at 1pm makes it very difficult to get there and see it properly.  It closes at 6pm - 7pm depending on time of year.  It is doeable but not optimal.

 

Getting to Port Canaveral at 1pm rules out almost everything in that area except a beach break.  You would have very little time in the parks around Orlando (1 hr drive each way), and a shorter than desirable time in the Kennedy Space Center.

Dan

[HBE4]

25 minutes ago, The Fun Researcher said:

 

No way of knowing this. 

 

I think if anyone did a smidge of research they would learn that Port Canaveral isn't exactly what one thinks of when sailing to the Bahama's or Caribbean, and also that Nassau is consistently panned as a port of call.

 

 

Someone must like going to Bahama's since it's on so many itineraries.

 

I've never been and really have no desire basically just based on reputation.  I'm in my 50's and I think of it as one of the resorts that was good "back in the day" but is now past it's prime. Kind of like Acapulco or Club Med.

 

Then again, maybe I should visit so I can see for myself.