themillennialcruiser

He walks with a bottle of rum balanced on his head! You can't miss him! I was on Oasis last week on the Aug 20th Eclipse sailing. 

2 minutes ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

Yes.  They usually have a "bundle" kind of offer where you can choose 3 services/procedures from a list of several and they package them together for a bundled price.  As you suggest...facial, back massage and foot massage (this is usually what I get !!).

As @RestingBirds mentioned, the best deals (IMO) are on port days since most people get off the ship and I suspect business is slow at those times.  That's usually when they run their bundled deals.  They also tend to vary by times of the day.  The earlier appointment times are the hardest for them to fill (I guess) and are often cheaper than those for the afternoon or early evening.

I'm not a huge spa person but I recommend that you wait until you're onboard unless you see a pre-cruise special online (I never have except when they run the very scarce cruise planner specials) as they tend to offer better discounts onboard - at least, that's what it seems like to me !

If you ever go to Costa Maya, be sure and get the beachside massage in Mahaual.  They are very very affordable (like $20 for an hour...you have to haggle though !!).  We always get them when we go.  In fact, we sometimes cruise just to go to Costa Maya just so that we can get a $20 beach massage.  How sick is that ??

Wow thank you so much for the detailed information! I like the idea of a bundle package! I think that is what I will be on the look out for! I wish I was going to Costa Maya on this trip that sounds amazing! I have never head a beach side massage.  I am going to St Thomas, St maarten, and Nassau on this cruise next week! 

29 minutes ago, arebee said:

If you don't make this, it will be on TV for the rest of the cruise.

Good to know! I will do my best to be there in person but that is a good thing to know in case I can't be in two places at once. 

14 minutes ago, RestingBirds said:

Someone correct me if I'm wrong...but I believe they tend to run specials on port days, once you're on board, can't book it beforehand.

Thank you! Just curious what specials you have seen so if there is something interesting I don't book beforehand. 

9 minutes ago, Matt said:

Welcome to Royal Caribbean Blog!

The exact spa specials onboard vary, but I've found the online specials to be on or around what's onboard.  It really depends on what you want. 

As an example, the $89 deep tissue massage is a pretty good price online, but onboard you may find a good deal on a combo deal that isn't available online. 

Thank you for the warm welcome! Love the blog & podcast.

This is very helpful, what kind of combo deals have you seen out there? Like a massage & facial or something like that? 

Can anyone speak to the spa specials they have seen on board? Just wanted to see what might be out there vs. booking ahead on the cruise planner. 

Thanks! 

14 hours ago, RestingBirds said:

The Quest...go to, and participate if you want, The Quest.

Thank you! I have heard about this. I am excited to try it! 

1 minute ago, function12 said:

They will tell you is a glycine of the original.  What the hell is a glycine??  They will tell you a lot of stuff.  Well it is a computer printed copy of an original.  Basically a giant dot matrix printer.

If you have ever been to a time share meeting then the art "auction" will bring back fond memories. 

Ah yes, that sounds about right. Luckily I have never had to sit through a time share meeting but I have heard about the process and will avoid that especially on vacation!

On 7/17/2017 at 11:11 AM, glizotte said:

Just returned from 7 day Liberty from Galveston and wanted to comment on the food. My family of 4 (Wife, 16 year old boy and girl) did the 5 day dining plan and went to Chops 3 nights and Giovanni's 2 nights.  MDR 2 nights

Awesome:

Chops - our waiter Jiri was just outstanding.  We went to Chops the 1st night of the cruise and his service was impeccable.  We requested him on our 2 other visits and he was a shining star!  The food was excellent!  from the salads right to the deserts.  on the last formal night (lobster night) they made sure to let us know ahead of time that they would have lobster tails which made for an awesome surf and turf.  It's been a few years since we cruised and the lobster tails used to be rock lobster.  This time around they were Maine lobster tails.  We are from New England and eat a lot of fresh lobster so we may be a bit picky.  These tails were frozen which I would expect but they were still very good!

Giovanni's - Service was again excellent.  Food was very good.  We visited on the 2nd night of the cruise and the waiter pretty much brought us everything on the menu including appetizers and main pasta dishes.  there was so much food on the table that we couldn't come close to finishing.  We ended up not touching the eggplant parm and had them box it up to go for our cabin fridge.  The only thing they cold improve on is the deserts...taramisu was mediocre and cannoli were soggy.  Not really a biggie because we ate so much there wasn't room for desert!

Mediocre:

MDR - went for breakfast the 1st morning because my wife and I always like to get the eggs benedict...they were both cold, overcooked, and had just a dribble of hollandaise which had no taste.  Kids got pancakes with bacon and sausage which turned out to be the same quality as Wind Jammer buffet (just plain bad).  Bacon is like beef Jerky and almost unedible...sausage is as low quality as you can get....no casing and mushy!

lunch was good and we only went to lunch in MDR on sea days because of the salad buffet.  

Dinner was a bit better but lowest quality of any cruise I have been on (Disney, Princess, and multiple RCR).  

One annoying service issue was the waiters trying to sell us a bottle of wine on both nights even after telling them we had the drink package (glasses of wine included).  Both of our waiters were incredulous that we wouldn't buy a bottle of wine at 40% off instead of ordering single glasses of wine.  Why would I spend additional $$ on a bottle of wine when I can order the same wine by the glass which is included in my drink package.  just strange.

Plain BAD!!!!!!!!:

Wind Jammer:  This was by far the worst buffet dining experience I have ever had on a cruise ship.  Barely edible items up and down the buffet line for breakfast and lunch.  The ONLY thing I can recommend here is the egg/omlette station for breakfast.  get your eggs cooked the way you want...grab some toast and get the heck out!  

"Sliced beef" carving station at lunch looked like pork...never seen sliced beef that was white in color...i passed.  Burgers are hockey pucks.  pasta...how do you screw up pasta!?

 

Johnny Rockets:  they didn't cook the burgers in front of you on the grill.  they were same quality as the buffet hockey pucks and were just pre-cooked low quality burgers.  It took 45 minutes to get our burgers AFTER we had cheese fry appetizer!  We were there for 90 minutes one day just for burgers/fries and almost got up and left.  This was really a disappointment as we have been to Johnny Rockets before and were expecting a decent burger....not Wind Jammer quality pucks.  NOT WORTH THE UPCHARGE!

 

Bottom line is that I am very happy we purchased the 5 night dinner package.  If you want good quality food this is the only way to go.  I had heard that food quality had gone down but was very surprised at how bad Wind Jammer quality was.  I expect typical mediocre quality for mass produced food items in a buffet but this was close to unacceptable.

 

 

Question, you mentioned chops on the lobster formal night. You were able to get the complementary lobster tails in chops? I was hoping that might be the case. 

On 8/12/2017 at 7:50 AM, Skylaneval said:

I'm not sure. This is my first time on an Oasis class ship, so I don't have any previous experience booking entertainment. I hope you are able to see the show!

I really hope so too!!!

53 minutes ago, BrianAlt said:

Yes, do this.

 

This looks like a blast! I'll be sure to make this one! Thanks for the suggestion!

We bought this package for our sailing on Oasis of the Seas next week however does anyone know if the lobster that is included in the MDR for the second formal night is available in any of the specialty restaurants that night? 

2 hours ago, Matt said:

As you noted, if there's no dollar sign then it's complimentary.  Keep in mind, what's on your sailing may be different than what's on this sheet

Awesome!

31 minutes ago, function12 said:

See if you can find a scanned version of the compass from a previous cruise.  This can help if your are a planner.  We always enjoy the audience interactive stuff.  Love and Marriage show, pool competitions, and trivia.  I personal would not waste time going to the art auction (over priced computer printed art) and shore shopping show (again over priced tourist traps).

Thank you very much for the suggestions! I wouldn't have known that about the art auction, etc.

6 minutes ago, DocLC said:

For the comedy club, we had good luck arriving 20-30 minutes before the show and just standing in the standby line, so don't miss it just because you don't have a reservation. 

Thank you so much! Good to know not all hope is lost! I was really hoping to be able to attend this show as we both love comedy shows!

59 minutes ago, Matt said:

You can sign up once onboard.  There will be sign up sheets near the entrance to the fitness center and it's on a first-come, first served availability basis.  So sign up as early as you can if you really want to do it.

Most classes are in the $20 range per class (+/- $10). 

Here is a copy of the fitness classes on Harmony of the Seas.  Different ship, but since both in same class, should be similar

Thank you so much this is super helpful! I am excited to try a few classes! One more question, are there some classes that are free? It looks like there aren't $ signs next to all classes such as the Fab Abs class.

1 hour ago, mamabdw said:

One of my biggest tips is to not get too caught up in planning out every detail. I'm also a meticulous planner, and although I cruised with my family as a teen, when my husband and I went on our first cruise together I wanted to plan EVERYTHING. Leave some time to relax, participate in activities spontaneously, and just explore.

Thanks for the suggestion :) I do tend to try to plan everything in advance so I will do my best to just enjoy and see where the days take us. 

1 hour ago, DDemuth said:

What, no evening shows?  The ice show is very good; why not reserve the Comedy Club and Headliner.  More active stuff?  Try the Flowrider and zip line.  What about the Sushi making  class?   No shortage of activities on Oasis class ships.  For shows, better to try reserving before boarding, but you still might be late.  If your preferred times are not available, try to reserve as soon as you board; there are usually seats left open for onboard reservations.  And if that fails, arrive at the venue early and wait in the stand-by line.

I did book evening shows I just forgot to mention that part :) I wasn't able to get the Comedy Club with the online booking as well as the special performer for the Total Eclipse but we are going on try on board. I am excited to try all of the activities on board! Thank you very much for your suggestions. 

What specialty coffee is included in the drink package? Would I be able to get an iced latte? 

My boyfriend and I are going on a cruise together for the first time on Oasis of the Sea's for the Total Eclipse Cruise on August 20th. We live in New York so this will be our first trip down to Flordia together. Any suggestions you have for us would be appreciated! We are in our mid 20's and we work very hard so we are trying to get the most out of this vacation! We purchased the drink package, ultimate dining package, and the wine tasting class. We also booked excursions for our three ports of call. I am a planner for a major retailer so needless to say I have planned most of this trip already :) Any other suggestions are welcome! Also, I was interested in potentially taking some of the workout classes on board maybe zumba or spin. Does any one know how much these cost and what the sign up process is? 

Very good idea! I better get on that! 

Oh man that is a bummer. Do you know if they hold some seats open for people to book on board?

For some reason I don't have that option on my cruise planner :( Very frustrating. I called as well and was told even the customer service people do not have access to help me book. 

Does anyone know how to book the DNCE show?