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...because my wife just told me she wants to book a sailing on Oasis out of Bayonne in 2023. I am torn between the competing needs of "Happy wife, happy life" and "BUT... I'M THE OFFICIAL OASIS CLASS DENIER!!!!"

So what happens when you sail Oasis... and your wife loves it? Pro relationship saving tip - whatever you do, do NOT book a loft suite. It will be a lot easier to maintain your Oasis class denier status if you never experience a loft suite on one.

I've said in the past, that in some ways, this message board and RCCL are kind of like a family. RCCL is the parents, and we, the posters who have been here for a while, are the kids. Amongst ourselves, we are allowed to discuss and even criticize our parents. But, when some drive by comes on here to complain about our parents, we will defend them. Who knows what the motive is. I think most of the time the OP doesn't even understand this is a fan forum.

Come to the dark side, my friend!

I completely agree with @FionaMG. I have read far too many posts of folks who were already booked in a balcony, then bid and won a RU to a “higher” category of balcony just to be disappointed and feel as if their “upgrade” was no upgrade at all. My advice is….if you are already in a balcony, do not bid on another balcony category. Just bid on JS or higher. I’m sure there are people who have upgraded their balcony room to another balcony category and been delighted with the results…but personally, I would not take that chance.

Or you could book LB out of NJ in 2023 and sail Canada/NE with us! But truth is, it’s time, my friend, to take that dive into Oasis class!! #teamOAclass

As you turn into the terminal area, there are workers directing traffic and they’ll point you to a spot to drop off your luggage with a waiting handler. Then pull forward to the entrance of the parking garage. An attendant will hand you a ticket with the advice to ‘not leave it in the car…you’ll need it to pay before you go back into the garage’. Then you park and as soon as you walk out of the garage, the terminal entrance is steps away.

I'm glad that the food isn't good. I gained too much weight on my cruise last month because the food was really good. Now that they have made the change to bad food, I will be good on my June cruise.

Takes the time to create an account, just to complain………….

For the promo I think the requirement was you had to be gold already. Since you were in a star class maybe they'll make an exception but according to the promo you would only get 8 since it was your first cruise and wasn't gold. You can call crown and anchor society number.

I might also mention, the OP claims this was the "worst cruise ever". I can think of plenty of cruises that were way worse than this one. Today is April 17. One in particular ended rather suddenly 110 years and 2 days ago that I'm sure was way worse.

Sorry, I should have made it more clear... Compared to NYC it's not super busy. Anyone who has driven in NYC and not moved an inch in an hour in traffic knows what I mean lol.

Then read posts from reliable people here. The good AND bad are frequently reported. I don’t trust a person who creates an account to report WORST CRUISE EVER.

I would totally not bid on the ocean view with large balcony unless you are the kind of person who loves spending hours on your balcony. You will not get value for your money, in my opinion, and having a bid in for that could conceivably be a barrier to your getting a JS or the ultra-spacious, both of which do have added value.

By "therapist" I assume you mean "travel agent".

Awww, thanks. I'd love to take credit, but I've learned all of these things over the years from Matt and the whole gang

SpeedNoodles, you always have the best tips!!! I wouldn’t even think to consider that I could access my check in at 9pm because I’m on the west coast!!! Ha! Perfect!!!

My first cruise as Diamond was Thanksgiving 2019..I crossed the D+ threshold in January thanks to double points and suites and for all the extra saved up vacay time from the canceled pandemic cruises. Now in typical Royal IT fashion they have since householded me with my brother so they think I'm at the second tier of D+ with the extra amenities and the solo supplement discount

Agree. Most businesses will provide the level of service they are forced to to keep people coming through the door. If we keep in the “just happy to be cruising” mindset, what makes cruising great will get lost. There is absolutely nothing wrong with expecting the full experience when paying the full price.

Best prices happen when they happen. Some of the steepest discounts mentioned on these boards were during random times. If you're wanting the lowest price possible, commit to signing into the cruise planner frequently (if not daily) for a 30 second price check. Book when the price is acceptable, and be willing to refund and repurchase if a better price becomes available (assuming your finances allow it).

Haha, I do get your meaning but there are a few reliable posters over there (me, for one ). Over the years I have learned to just gloss over the many trolls. However, I much, much, much prefer the friendly atmosphere on these boards. I only tend to post over there if I have something useful to say, whereas I like to join in the banter here.

Go big, or go home! Book the loft! #teamOAclass #teamDeck17

Thanks! Long time lurker and hoping to be a positive addition to the cruise collective

Of my 10 or so cruises since October 2021, Mariner has been the worst. For the first time ever, we had crew members telling us how bad the ship management was. The ship did not have positive vibes. We cancelled a subsequent cruise last month on her. Brilliance, Independence, and Wonder were all pretty good. I want to hear the bad and the good to help me make informed decisions.

Started with 17 points pre-shutdown. 5 solo double points cruises, 1 regular solo cruise, and 1 regular 2 person cruise later will be 178 points by November! I would have taken more if I had more saved vacation time...

That's reminds me , let's not even start with the auto flash toilets ... Thankfully they are not in RC ships yet

It's easy breezy there don't worry, drop your bags off, drive 50 more ft to the parking garage, park and walk 50 ft back to the terminal.

Suck it up, Buttercup. Book the cruise!

My advice for everyone right now is expect the worst and things will be good. The cruise industry has been shut down for 2 years. They have new people in new roles and are trying to get things working again with different protocols. Go into your cruise expecting people to be learning and disorganized. Then when something works well you will be happy. The perfect example is expecting the boarding of the ship to take 4 to 5 hours and have you setting around. When you get on the ship you will not get your luggage until 11 pm at night. Then when you get through boarding and your luggage is in your room at 2 pm you will think you had the best boarding ever. If your boarding takes 2 hours and you have your luggage at 5 pm you think things are not bad. When the boarding takes 4 hours, and your luggage is lost you can say i expected that.

Go to the app, select check in, click on the first person listed, click on arrival time, select desired arrival time, move on to do this for each person on the reservation. EVERYTHING ELSE, can be done at a later time. Each person can do their own or you can do it for them.

Check-in will open at midnight in whatever time zone from which your cruise is departing (so EDT in Florida, PDT in LA or Seattle/Vancouver, etc). Yes, I was up at 2am my time to secure an early boarding time for my Alaskan cruise.

Chill. They cut and paste guidelines so folks can read and interpret for themselves. If the iHealth telehealth proctored results contain all the information required by Royal, there's no reason to assume they wouldn't be accepted. Nowhere does it say the Abbott tests are required. They put the clarification out there as Abbott has an at-home test with a nearly identical name to the one that comes with the proctor. Abbott also produces the ID-NOW which is one of the NAAT tests that labs and pharmacies had available, so Royal just wanted to make it clear which Abbott tests were acceptable. Doesn't mean they are the only accepted ones. Plenty of labs are using different branded tests. The crucial part is that the results have all the info Royal indicates is required.

I thought there would be an Easter/Passover type of sale, but no luck. I check every day. I've booked at a price I'm happy and comfortable with, but hey, who doesn't love a bargain?!?! And so I will continue to check....

Yes you can. I had the beef tenderloin, it was for 1 because of covid protocols, and they also brought the lamb wellington for me to try.

I believe this is correct

When my wife and I went in Adventure back in September of last year, I had six more points than her, which made me platinum to her gold. We went to the loyalty desk and they matched her status to mine. It was very easy other than the typical issues we have with the apostrophe in our last name….but that’s a story for a different thread.

Back on the ship we had Chefs table booked for Saturday night dinner. This was very good it was a little different than on Oasis. I will add what was different in pictures. On Harmony he didn’t use a large decanter for the one wine but this cute one on the bottle.

Saturday was our last port day. Ha it was last for everything. We were at Coco cay. I rented an overwater cabana. This was very much enjoyed. It seemed to be the favorite excursion on this trip. We (my husband and I) are not crazy about this port stop. Well things have changed all because of the cabana. We all had a very relaxing day.

Just got off Anthem. Last night we had dinner in the Windjammer for Indian night. The butter chicken was probably my favorite thing in the WJ all week!

Don't forget the highlighter so you can highlight activities on the paper cruise compass.

No, if your accounts have a relationship link ie: sharing the same household, in this case, married, although you do not share points, you do share levels. If your wife earns Diamond level, you are also Diamond even if your points aren’t enough.

Holy crap you’re a genius. I just did it and it worked!!! Amazing thank you so much!! This here is why this place rules. People are so dang helpful.

@Fredsbabe Welcome to the Royal Caribbean Blog Forum! Good idea, but for me I am OK with the desalinated water on the ship and would rather save the packing space. Since I always get the soda package, I always have an insulated cup (for cold only) waiting for me on embarkation day.

@Blur Welcome to the Royal Caribbean Blog Forum!

Please book. It’s nice on this side.

I am a type 1 Diabetic and use an Insulin pump. My hematologist says that once open (Remove cap on vial and stick needle in rubber stopper) Fast acting Insulin is good at room Temp. for approximately one month. Protein Insulin is also sensitive to light so I always place mine in the refrigerators onboard. They are not very cold but it gets the job done. If your son is on an insulin pump he should not go through the metal detectors in the airport or on the gangway aboard ship. Alert the crew before you enter the scanner and they will have him bypass the scanners for a good old pat down. A metal detector can and will often wipe an Insulin pump. I also have one of these https://www.amazon.com/Insulin-Cooler-Travel-Case-Nurses/dp/B08SJ23YQ3/ref=sr_1_14?keywords=insulin+cooler+travel+bag&qid=1650173368&sr=8-14 works for insulin Pins, several vials of insulin, Needles, Test kit and most all accessories.

Yes, and if your accounts are linked if she does go solo and become diamond before you, you also become diamond and enjoy those perks.

Best to have everyone establish their own account. Welcome aboard the best loyalty program in the industry! (and to the message boards)

I get stressed if every single thing isn't checked off on the app. Not clinical OCD, but it really, really, bothers me.

Check out an earlier post concerning "Future Cruise Credit Kicker".. seems to be your exact situation