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Bazza

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Posts posted by Bazza

  1. Excursions, The Key, Dining and Prices

    in Royal Caribbean Discussion

    Posted

    2 hours ago, NatalieDoreen said:

    Thank you all for your help here!  We have decided that being able to select the dates and times we want to dine is more important than the discount, so we didn't buy either the dining package or The Key.  We would rather do fewer times, and get when we want to dine.  Any idea how far ahead the reservation system becomes available?

    Regarding the reviews... with HA they are not anonymous, and you have to have done the cruise in order to write a review.  I found them very helpful.  I am happy to find this place to ask questions, but it is a lot more digging.

    We have our first HA cruise next January (please don't hate me RC fans!) and I am finding the excursion reviews very helpful when planning the days and knowing which ones to avoid! 

  3. Excursions, The Key, Dining and Prices

    in Royal Caribbean Discussion

    Posted

    Hi @NatalieDoreen

    Re dining, we have previously booked the 3 night dining packages whenever we have done 7 night cruises - so on both weeks for B2Bs. We then check the costs on a regular basis, and read the promotional emails they bombard me with (!), to see if worth cancelling and rebooking when cheaper - Black Friday usually gives a very good deal! 

    For Oasis sailings back in January/February the best price for 3 night package that I saw here in the UK was around £110pp (approx. $140). When you consider Chops for one visit at normal price was around £53pp ($65) it was almost a buy 2 get 1 free deal!

    There were also some very good deals for lunch in Chops (£16/$20pp) and Giovannis (£14/$18pp) on Black Friday.

    With the 3 night package it also meant that as we do not get the alcohol package my wife can get 40% off a bottle of wine. You can then store this to be used in the MDR next night or take it with you - we have even purchased 2 bottles to cover the next couple of days if we know we are not going to another speciality place until day 3 or 4 etc. 

    Good luck.

     

     

     

  4. All aboard time is quite important don't ya think!

    in Royal Caribbean Discussion

    Posted

    12 minutes ago, RCIfan1912 said:

    Yes, our two 3rd party excursions are through Viator. Boston it's the hop on hop off bus too so not much chance of issues there. We have to keep track of the time, that's all. 

    We did hop on hop off in Cartagena. We got straight off the ship without going to the theatre to await a lucky sticker!

    Got on 'same' bus and had same route. About $30pp cheaper and with hop on hop off you still have to rely on your own time keeping even if booked through RCI as they are not with you anyway!! Sensible choice @RCIfan1912!

  5. All aboard time is quite important don't ya think!

    in Royal Caribbean Discussion

    Posted

    We have done a few (usually through Viator) and it has all been clearly set around the cruise schedule and fact they are 100% reliant on cruise passengers. Reviews and testimonials are critical for us before booking.

    If this was done with a 3rd party with minimal, or zero, prior cruise experience it is one hell of a risk.

    You hope they are all ok health wise, but they must have known the gamble they were taking.  

     

     

  6. All aboard time is quite important don't ya think!

    in Royal Caribbean Discussion

    Posted

    NCL are actually reimbursing the costs incurred for the last part of the journey where the ship could not dock at the one port and they had to go on to the next port. 

    The latecomers are obviously having to cover the initial costs and rightly so. Whoever was running the excursion has a lot to answer to!

    Cruise lines should not have to be responsible for people's inability to follow clear instructions. All aboard means ALL aboard!

    (I am now praying I never get left behind!)

  9. First time Diamond

    in Royal Caribbean Discussion

    Posted · Edited by Bazza
    update

    Congratulations!! We had our first Diamond cruise on Oasis in January.

    I guess it all depends what you usually 'do/purchase' when it comes to drinks and internet. I bought the soda package and bottles of water as I didn't want to use our 'free' drinks on Dr Pepper and water during the day, and then used our free drinks on wine (I don't drink alcohol so the 'boss' did well from it!). At the end of the night if we had any drinks left we would grab bottles of sparkling water to take back to the cabin. 

    For internet we pre-purchased the 1 device as we usually do and flipped between us, but we then chose to have our 'free' days on sea days so we both had access if/when required. 

    The Crown lounge was a nice place to get away from the crowds, and when the coffee machine was fixed on week 2(!) it meant lattes etc were accessible without queuing. The snacks were quite nice and despite it being a huge ship with lots of Diamond and above guests, it was never crowded in there. On Oasis it was ideally placed for the theatre for pre and post shows! 

    We also took the chance to get our 1 free photo each (well 2 each in our case as we were B2B) so make sure you do that on your last night if you have had some pics taken.

    We didn't really use any of the other benefits although we did get the complimentary waters and snacks in the room each week.

    There will be much more experienced Diamond members on here with more/better advice!

    Enjoy! 

     

  11. Oasis of the seas aqua 80 show injury

    in Royal Caribbean Discussion

    Posted

    5 hours ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

    Definitely a full show tonite.  It is possible that they are missing a female diver but it didn’t impact the show at all.  Excellent show as always.  

    1980s is officially the best decade for music - FACT!! 🤩 As such the Aqua soundtrack is awesome!

    I have watched the full shows of One Sky, Aqua 80 and Cats on YouTube since I got off last month as all of them seemed to get better each time I saw them on board! Only show not watched again is the ice one, which I saw twice on board, so probably won't need to see that again as talented as the cast are/were.

     

  13. Coco Cay docking limitations

    in Royal Caribbean Discussion

    Posted

    We were on Oasis 2 weeks ago with Freedom docked alongside us when we had some nice choppy waters. Using @BrianB's picture above Oasis was left of pier and Freedom right.

    Weather got worse so they called everybody off the island about 14.30 to try to get away early. Oasis provided some shelter and Freedom got away, but we ended up moored to the pier until about 02.00 apparently, when it was safe to get away.

    On that occasion the getting there was fine, it was the getting away was hard!

    Some fantastic views of waves crashing against the windows on deck 3 for dinner!

  14. Question on Miami Terminal

    in Royal Caribbean Discussion

    Posted

    I am no expert but having gone from Terminal A last month for Oasis and Terminal G last year for Grandeur I did not have any issues at either with porters, lines etc.

    The issue for us this year was the Miami Marathon which kept the tunnel closed until about 11.00AM!

    @Cactus527 we had a 10.30-11.00 boarding time booked and had a Lfyt pre-booked from our MIA hotel at 09.45 as we knew the marathon was on. Took us an hour and 15 mins to get to the tunnel (instead of what I think is usually 20 mins), but only about 5-10 minutes to get to the drop off as soon as it opened. I think we were about 40-50 cars back from the barriers but there was the constant last minute lane jumpers causing issues! Must be a global thing not just in the UK!

    I think there were about 6 ships in port so if same for your date, I would suggest booking your Uber/Lyft for about 10.15-10.25ish, but others may have a more experienced/educated suggestion! 

    Enjoy.

  15. Shows listed by ship?

    in Royal Caribbean Discussion

    Posted

    On 1/16/2024 at 2:03 PM, Mike.s said:

    We Will Rock You is on Anthem, it was excellent, Cats is on Oasis, apparently it's not so good

    https://www.royalcaribbean.com/experience/cruise-shows-and-entertainment/broadway-shows

     

    Just got off B2B on Oasis and for a non-musicals type of person I must say I absolutely LOVED Cats! The cast (who also did One Sky) were very talented, as well as all young and good looking. Managed to speak to a few of them whilst they were doing other roles or dining or in Vintages etc, and they were all very friendly. 

    The other shows (Aqua and Ice) were superb too. Bravo RCI. 

    First time on Oasis and loved it.

  22. Diamond drinks question

    in Royal Caribbean Discussion

    Posted

    10 minutes ago, Cruisingmama said:

    Thanks everyone. I'm not a big drinker and happy to use the included flavored fountain drinks, so 4 a day should cover all my drinks including my morning latte.   I wanted to make sure I know what the process is and let my kids know they need to let the servers/bartenders know to use the voucher when ordering their virgin pina coladas & johnny rockets milkshakes (they are so excited).

    I too have my first Diamond cruise coming up in a couple of weeks (congrats @Cruisingmama!)

    Anybody able to confirm if Johnny Rockets shakes ARE included please? Thanks

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