Oasis- when to book excursions and onboard

[smheese]

Good afternoon, 

 

Our family is cruising this spring with RC Oasis (only ever been on Disney before). Can someone give me some guidance as to when to book onboard experiences like drink packages and spa or specialty dining? And excursions? Also is it worth it to book the reserved pool seating onboard the ship for at sea days, and/or any other experiences on the private island? We are a family of five traveling with 3 teens. 

[Roybthered]

I would keep checking out the prices of what you are looking for be it drink package, excursions or dining all the way up to 3 days before you sail. The website will have all kinds of deals with this % off or that % off and change it later up or down. You can book whatever you want but also cancel it and rebook it if the price drops. Pool side reserved seating I cannot comment of sorry. 

[smheese]

If you cancel to rebook, isn't there a chance someone else could buy it in the meantime? Like say a cabana or something. 

[Mum2Mercury]

I hate the current drink packages.  I wish they offered something for beer that wasn't "ultimate" -- it's just way too expensive.  My husband is a beer drinker, but he spent less than $200 on our cruise last week.  We brought beer back from every island stop -- walked right through, no questions.  Also, he took full advantage of the discounts offered onboard for being Crown & Anchor loyalty members -- and since I don't drink much, he used my discounts as well.  And he bought the "Bucket of Beer" from the Pool Bar; it's less expensive than buying individual beers.  It's hard to justify the difference between $200 and the drink package.  

 

On the other hand, I always bought the soda package for my kids when they were teens.  They enjoyed hanging out in the teen club and going to teen activities.  I have all girls, so I lectured them on not drinking anything that'd been out of their sight for even a moment -- and, in keeping with that thought, I didn't want them to feel pressured to drink a soda just because they'd paid for it.  

 

One more thing on drink packages:  When you're considering the price, add 18% gratuity.  So $70/day is really $82.60/day, and that extrapolates out to $578.20/week -- for one person's drinks.  And that's just an example -- $70/day might not be your sailing's real price.  I wish they offered something mid-way -- maybe 4 drinks per day for a lesser price.  I think people would buy that.  

 

As for excursions, the prices don't change like the drink package.  If you want the excursion, go ahead and book it -- before it fills up.  But do consider private excursions as well; they're superior -- the smaller price is just a bonus.  

 

Regardless of the choices you make, do purchase before you board.  On the website you see they have a larger price with a line drawn through it?  That's the price they'll charge on the ship.  Plus you don't want to use a minute of your vacation time on this topic.  

 

They have reserved seating for suite guests, but you don't get a personal assigned seat, and you don't need to do anything ahead of time.  It's just that they block off an area -- it's the "tiered seating" above the pool, and it's not a good spot.  Literally no one sits in it -- it's quite wasteful.  Here's a picture -- you see the "tiered seating" and the wooden steps leading up to it?  Blue chairs on wood flooring?  That's it.  It'll be roped off with signs saying "Suite guests".  

 

Edited September 14, 2022 by Mum2Mercury

[LeeW]

1st rule - check prices daily.  Some sales don't last long.  And there was one $18 sale for the Deluxe Drink Package that only lasted 6 hours (covid ate the cruises we had booked with these).

 

They do run online sales for drink packages, excursions, and internet.  Drink package prices will vary all over the place.  You can always cancel and rebook if a sale comes along.  Note that the % off doesn't mean anything - you have to look at the actual price.  I get emails advertising sales all the time but only just now starting to see discounts for February.  Not seeing much yet for April.

 

We often lower our excursion prices a couple of times before a cruise.  Just cancel and rebook.  For latest cruise we have saved $20pp on beach and snorkeling excursions.  If using a credit card it will take a week or so to get your money back from the first booking.

 

Best price is usually around Thanksgiving, but "sales" run every week or so.  Book when you feel comfortable and cancel/rebook whenever you see a better price (have a couple now with $2 reduction that isn't worth rebook for us).  There is a "modify" link on the Order History page that in theory you could use to change the price but it has never worked for me.  And occasionally the "cancel" link takes a minute to register the cancel before you can rebook.

 

In theory you could lose a cabana in the two minutes between cancelling and rebooking.  Not likely unless they were sold out when you cancelled.  For the most part I have only seen cabana prices go up since cruise restart.  Had a few booked on cancelled cruises that were in the $395 range and after restart these have gone to $800+.   

 

Had some beach beds booked but frankly these are all out in the sun.  Loungers with umbrellas are everywhere and in the Chill area are also shaded with lots of palm trees.

[TBone2K]

Agree that booking the excursions ahead of time is best. Anything that could sell out. If prices drop for some reason, you can always rebook. On occasion I have seen promotions on board for things like specialty dining, but never seen excursion prices drop.

[nasa1974]

7 hours ago, Mum2Mercury said:

I hate the current drink packages.  I wish they offered something for beer that wasn't "ultimate" -- it's just way too expensive.  My husband is a beer drinker, but he spent less than $200 on our cruise last week.  We brought beer back from every island stop -- walked right through, no questions.  Also, he took full advantage of the discounts offered onboard for being Crown & Anchor loyalty members -- and since I don't drink much, he used my discounts as well.  And he bought the "Bucket of Beer" from the Pool Bar; it's less expensive than buying individual beers.  It's hard to justify the difference between $200 and the drink package.  

 

 

Do you remember how much an individual beer costs. I'm guessing tops $8/beer.  At $77.99/day plus 18% gratuity I would have to drink 8 beers plus a few soft drinks to cover the cost.

Thanks