OCSC Mike

On 5/9/2023 at 2:06 PM, twangster said:

They are not small.

Agreed. The RC definition of "small" has become quite skewed as larger classes were introduced. It's "smallER" than the bigger classes but by no means small.

We were looking at a cheap cruise on Enchantment just for the price... now THAT I would find small.

13 hours ago, Adpcruise1 said:

imessage works without the plan

Pretty sure that was just an unintentional glitch awhile back that has since been fixed.

I've also never used the chat feature in the app but people don't seem to like it. Something about not sending you push notifications like regular texting so you have to check for new messages manually. It was also hacked a week or two ago but that was apparently rectified.

6 hours ago, Pattycruise said:

I can check in my cabin mates as well as any linked reservations when I use the app, this is for picking arrival time.  after that each person can log in at their convenience and complete the check in process: papers, credit card #, contact info etc…

This is what we do for extended family cruises.

20 minutes ago, Levi is good said:

I tried to search this question online and on the board, can Discover card be used on the ships?  I know you can pay for a cruise with it.  

If you mean can Discover be used as the CC on file for your Sea Pass account... yes.

24 minutes ago, CruisingNewb said:

Not only is it acceptable to eat sushi with your hands, it is the traditional method to which sushi should be eaten.

That's kinda what I thought but I'm far from an expert. I just know I prefer nigiri to rolls but will take what I can get because my wife won't go near seafood, period, let alone raw fish, lol. She'll eat hibachi or tempura chicken so Japanese isn't totally off the table at least.

Thanks for the support.

17 minutes ago, tonyfsu21 said:

I agree re: Wonder. An icon class ship in PC will change everything! I realized over the past few years that I prefer PC to the other FL options (even though I live .5 miles from Port Everglades). I don’t mind the drive and my kids are young enough to enjoy a pre cruise vacation at Disney. I would really enjoy an Icon class ship option in PC!

Ha, talk about different strokes... I refuse to drive anywhere other than PC. The convenience is too appealing and that's with an hour drive. If I had a half mile drive...

Given your drive also involves taking kids to Disney (which is close enough to me that we hear the MK fireworks every night), that makes sense (not that it has to, we all like different things). I have sailed from Port Everglades twice although once was 21 years ago for my first ever cruise (honeymoon on Voyager when it was new-ish) so I barely remember it. PC does run smoothly.

I'm also not overly excited about Icon but I'll admit I've only glanced at it so I really shouldn't pass judgment.

44 minutes ago, tonyfsu21 said:

Yep, this does make sense. I personally would rather sail Utopia to St Maarten and enjoy an ice cold Dutch beer at Big Baastards beach club than only get a 4 day vacation on that massive ship. It’s all about revenue though at this point. 

You can do that on Wonder. They're not going to be all that dissimilar AFAIK.

Regardless, my main point is Utopia doing the short cruises just means PC will have 2 Oasis class ships doing the 7 and 3/4 instead of a smaller ship doing the 3/4. So unless there's something so unique on Utopia that would make someone take a short cruise (or a 3/4 B2B) just for the ship, it really doesn't affect someone like you (or me) who would prefer a 7-night Caribbean cruise.

Now when we wind up with an Icon class ship here, then things become different.

Wait, sushi isn't a finger food? Who knew?

1 hour ago, HeatherP said:

We sail December 30th and I am interested in when I will be able to find out which specialty restaurants will be open for lunch on sea days.  Has anyone sailed recently and can let me know?  

I'll be on Wonder in 3.5 weeks. Mason Jar has "brunch" on sea days (and embarkation day) that starts at 10am. Other options are Chops. Hooked, Izumi (both hibachi and traditional), and Giovanni's Kitchen. So basically all of them except 150 and Wonderland.

23 minutes ago, jticarruthers said:

after a few visits with 2 Freedom class on the island at the same time I am already leaning towards staying on the ship

To each his own. Our last 3 trips were with 2 Freedom class ships there and we had no issue with the crowds whatsoever.

Looking forward to being there alone on Wonder next month and possibly a couple more times next year.

35 minutes ago, tonyfsu21 said:

I still don’t see Utopia on 3 & 4 night Bahamas sailings. Seems like an absolute waste of a massive ship. If Wonder moves out of PC then Utopia does the 7 night PDCC & Caribbean routes IMHO. 

From what I've read, it actually maximizes revenue for RC. More people at Cococay and the prices for short cruises are already getting crazy on smaller ships.

I believe Disney also does well doing short cruises with some big ship out of PC so RC is following along.

It likely won't be permanent, but my impression is that it is almost a certainty that Utopia will be doing those short cruises to start.

I’m in the middle of using MEI for the 1st time myself. I almost always booked on my own over the years (unless I needed a TA for a certain sale rate) using last minute deals & GGG sales since we live an hour from PC & have flexibility at certain times of year.

Now that prices are a bit crazy, I decided to explore other options. I admit I am most interested in the pricing my TA was able to offer for this particular cruise (significantly below what I could get on my own) but so far the service via e-mail has been excellent as well.

I’ve already had him price what will likely be our next cruise after that. The price is only a tiny bit lower than what I could get myself but what’s interesting is I have always booked guarantees (we don’t care much about our cabin) so that’s what I use as my baseline price. Using the TA, I have been able to choose my cabin in both cases.

I’ll miss playing the GTY game (ok, maybe not) but even if his price is similar to what I would pay on my own, being able to choose my cabin is obviously worth something (maybe not as much to me as to RC according to their pricing) but definitely a benefit. If I compare apples to apples, his price for that next cruise is also a good amount less, just not as much as this 1st one.

On 3/31/2023 at 8:38 PM, ChallengeGal said:

made sure I had the info required to check in ready to go.  That was very important and expedited the process.

For future reference and for anyone else, you could have just chosen 10:30 in the app & gone back to sleep. You can fill out everything else later. The app saves your check-in time once selected.

1 hour ago, twangster said:

hopefully cheap prices in check.  

Freudian slip?

As a loyal PC patron, I certainly hope so.

1 hour ago, JenX said:

Do you have to have your passport number to do early check in on the app?  Thanks!

No, you can just grab your check-in time and worry about the rest later.

17 minutes ago, Jersey Judie said:

Where do you check the bar code?...and how?

The Bar Code Trick

Method 1. If you have an Apple device, add your set sail pass to your Apple wallet. Numbers will now appear under your bar code. The numbers after the dash represent your cabin.

Method 2. Scan the bar code with a QR scanner from another device and that should also show you the numbers.

NOTE: If you see "GTY" instead of numbers, you truly haven't been assigned yet. One tip off is that if you don't see a muster station on your set sail pass then you almost definitely don't have an assignment yet.

26 minutes ago, Atlantix2000 said:

What is the exact booking category code you booked and what is the room number and category you received?  I'm not convinced a 0% obstruction guarantee exists.  I think it's far more likely you got what you booked and didn't understand what you booked.

That's what I was thinking.

1 hour ago, HeWhoWaits said:

Hasn't been our experience yet.

Pretty sure the choices were 5:15 or 7:45 for a Wonder cruise I'm in the middle of booking for next March but not 100% sure. We haven't been fans of the MDR for many years and don't eat there much. We just take early for the heck of it and wind up there once in a while.

1 hour ago, HeWhoWaits said:

5:15 is too early. 8:30 is too late.

Pretty sure when they moved early seating up they also moved up late seating.

2 hours ago, Cactus527 said:

I wonder if you and I have the same MEI travel agent, as mine too is on vacation during this same stretch...

Possibly. This would actually be my first time using him (that narrows it down). I reached out to him almost a year ago after reading good things here and he was very helpful but we ended up not being able to book that cruise. 10 months later, he was happy to look up some stuff for me.

I've almost always just booked myself, using last minute deals or GGG sales since we live an hour from PC and are flexible at certain times of year but now that prices are crazy I decided to explore other options and he had a much better price for this particular cruise than I could get myself.

If you're comfortable with them, look for 3rd party excursions. More options, better prices.

You can start with a site like TripAdvisor.

11 hours ago, asquared17 said:

we could still see MDR menus in our updated app while aboard harmony last week; not sure if they are available at all times or just when sailing is imminent. i can try to check for our december oasis sailing and report back!

Onboard is the only time I trust the app to be remotely close to functional and accurate. And I say "close" not to be funny but because last July and October, the activities listed in the app didn't always match the paper compass being dropped off nightly.

No one ever uses my guest rooms.

24 minutes ago, CanHardlyWait said:

Was it working though? Was it uncomfortable? Did you ask to have it looked at? Just concerned for 2 weeks down road.

I would definitely ask to have it looked at if you encounter something like that. I have read that some people had a filter replaced and that helped.

I certainly wouldn't be concerned about it ahead of time.

58 minutes ago, Luly said:

You could also bring a refillable water bottle. You just need to use one of their cups to refill your water bottle, you can’t put it directly under the spigot. 

This is what my wife does. Other than the occasional frozen drink (usually virgin), all she drinks is water (or flavored water when available, that's her fav). She has one of those large metallic bottles that keep liquids cold for quite a while even without ice (although she still adds a few cubes).