betatke1480

Day 5 - Sea Day Another beautiful day on a ship. We really spent today together as a family, and I totally took zero pictures... I’m updating this from my phone since I have no pics, and we are off to Nachi soon. We woke up and had Solarium Bistro for breakfast. It was serviceable. I do like that it is less crowded than Windjammer. After that, V went to AO, I went to the casino, and Abby went to run the track. We all got back together for lunch in the Windjammer. The food so far there has just been ok. Nothing to write home about. While we were there, one of the managers was making balloon animals, and made V a butterfly. That made her happier than anything so far this trip. In a small flash forward, it gave me a heart attack when it popped in our room at around 11 pm when we were just about to sleep... After lunch we went to the pool deck for a while. V loves the swirl pool thing. It’s actually warm. The rest of the pools are a little chilly. We were having some waves yesterday, so the pools were a little sloshy, but nothing too terrible. After the requisite pool deck ice cream cone, it was back to the room for a nap, and to get ready for another formal night. After Giovanni’s last night, we decided we’d go again tonight, this time taking V with us. We had seen the kids menu, so we thought we’d give it a shot on a walk in. They found us a table immediately, and we got to ordering quickly since we were going to the 7:30 show. We got V the butter noodles. For apps we got beef carpaccio, which was pretty tasty. Pastas we had the tagliatelle again. For our mains, I had the filet this time, and Abby had the prawns. The filet was just as good tonight. Virginia decided she wanted the prawns instead of her noodles. Our waiter was amazing with her, and when he saw this, he brought out an order of prawns just for her. It has been awesome to see all of the staff interact with her. For dessert, V got ice cream, and both Abby and I got the chocolate torte with ice cream. After eating it again, this has been the best dessert we’ve had. It is amazing, and not too rich. I can say that we are definitely #TeamSpecialtyDining. After dinner it was off to see the shows. First was Come Fly with Me. There was a little delay as the shipped experienced a blackout for a few minutes, and they had to restart the power system completely. The show was ok. Talent was good, but again there was not real story line. I was shocked at how rude so many people in the audience were. Many of them holding conversations at normal volume. It was very annoying. Due to the delay, we missed the start of Frozen in time. We got over there to see most of it though, and it was spectacular. In terms of storytelling, this was the best show, and very impressive athletically as well. Of all the shows, I would watch this again. On the way out, we had to grab a $3 box of popcorn. Seems silly to charge that much for a small box of popcorn... all in all it was a very nice sea day. V is still asleep this morning. She’s having so much fun. Going back to school is going to be rough on her.

Day 4 - Falmouth Not a whole lot to report today, and I didn't really take too many pictures. Today we were in port in Falmouth. We woke up a little later, and headed to Windjammer for breakfast. Unless I am missing a section of the restaurant, the Windjammer on Majesty is much bigger. Food was ok, nothing great to report. We miss having all of the assorted pastries to eat. Then it was up to AO for Virginia, and Abby and I headed off the ship. In Falmouth we mainly just walked around a little bit. We hit up a shop to get some coffee and Havana Club rum. I was going to get some cigars as Casa del Habano, but I thought I remembered a discussion that the one in Cozumel was better. After some more walking around it was back onto the ship. Disney Fantasy was in port with us today, and Abby commented that all of the kids in port from that cruise look like they had been brainwashed, and were walking around like zombies... I can't say I disagreed with her. Definitely a little "cult-ish". Back on board was a light lunch at Park Cafe, then to the thermal spa for a while to relax. After that we spent some time in a cantilever hot tub, before getting Virginia and getting cleaned up for the night. Tonight's entertainment was "Oasis of Dreams". The story line must have been from an LSD filled dream, because I could not follow it at all. However, I will say that the athleticism on display is absolutely amazing. This was an all new cast, and it was their first performance. I could see some hesitation, but it was still amazing. We had seen some of the divers on the beach at Labadee, and at least one had an Olympic Rings tattoo, so I think it's great for those athletes to have something to do, get paid, and still practice their sport. Virginia does swimming and gymnastics at home, and we've talked about starting her in diving after she turns five. We haven't mentioned this to her at all, and after the show, we asked her what she though. Her response: "I want to be a swim-gymmer!" I guess that means we're heading for diving lessons. After that, we grabbed some pizza for her, and then took her to AO for Pirate Night. Abby and I had reservations at Giovanni's. We rode the Rising Tide a few times before our dinner, and then prepared for some Italian. We had the plank to start, and it was ok. Nothing as good as the ones in Jamie's look. For pasta, we had the bucatini bolognese and the tagliatelle carbonara. Both were amazing. I preferred the tagliatelle. It was cooked perfectly, and seasoned very nice. For entrees, I had the osso bucco, which was very tender and flavorful. Abby had the filet, and we both believe it was better than the filet at Chops. It seem more tender, and a little more flavorful. It's splitting hairs, but I would go back to Giovanni's for the filet before I went to Chops. Plus, everything else was seasoned much better in Giovanni's. For dessert, we split the tiramisu and the chocolate torte with vanilla gelato. The tiramisu was ok, but the torte was amazing. Dessert edge goes to Chops, but just slightly. Then it was up to AO to get Virginia, and head to bed for an early night. Day 5 is a sea day, formal night, and we have 2 shows scheduled to go see, Come Fly with me and the Ice show.

It was delicious.

This cruise I booked through someone local, as at the time I was thinking of becoming a TA myself. Now I book everything through Stephanie at MEI.

We got a great deal on the JS, and we mainly picked it due to size, and having a bathtub. At the time, Virginia wasn't taking showers yet, so we wanted the tub. For all three of us, with $250 in OBC, and free gratuities, our total was just under $3k for the JS. Our 4-night on Enchantment next week, in a GS is almost the same price.

Day 3 After a nice sea day to start the journey, and get used to where everything is on Oasis, we docked in Labadee for the day. We woke up a little later, and headed to Johnny Rockets for breakfast. There was no wait, and we started eating after we were docked, so by the time we were done, it was easy to head down the stairs to the gangway, and go immediately off of the ship. Breakfast was very good, and I wish I could bring a cook home with me to show people how to properly cook over-easy eggs. As we were disembarking, Virginia saw her favorite teacher from AO, and had to give her a hug. It makes it very comforting to know that she's having such a great time in AO. We had a beach bungalow booked for Labadee, so we headed for the water taxi to Columbus Cove. We had just missed it leaving, so it was a short wait for the next boat. A short ride and walk later, we were at our bungalow. We spent half as much on the bungalow as we would have a cabana, and I think it was perfect. If we were in a real suite, and had access to barefoot beach, I would probably do that, but the bungalow was perfect. The beach was not very busy, it was near the food and bathrooms, and there was great service. Plus, we had 6 bottles of water waiting for us when we got there. We had bungalow 3 out of 8 or 10 total. Very nice and relaxing. After plenty of relaxing and swimming, we had lunch. It was typical BBQ food, and did the trick. They had Coconut Ranger Cookies, so Abby and I were happy. Back into the ocean for more fun, then it was time to head back. We took the tram back to the ship. We thought about walking, but we were glad we didn't. Nothing in the artisan market looked of interest to us, and we could tell they were a little aggressive in their sales. It would have been tough to keep Virginia from wanting something. Through security and back on the ship in no time, so we headed upstairs for a nap and shower. After a nap and shower, I had to print some documents for work, and I wasn't sure where the printers were, so I went and asked Guest Services. While I was there, I asked about CK, and they gave me a weird look as to why I even asked if JS could eat there. They gave me the number for the manager, since it was after 4 pm. I printed my documents, then went back to the room. We were a little tired from the day, so we thought we'd just pop onto the Boardwalk and eat at Sabor. The food was excellent, and the service was great also. We had a little wait between apps and entree, but that helps my stomach digest, so I was ok with it. There was no wait to sit down, we just walked right up with no reservation. It is amazing to me that with this many people on board, it does not seem any more congested than we were on Majesty. We have had very little waiting in lines, or claustrophobia moments. No pictures of food from Sabor, but we had the beef empanadas, calamari, and chicken stuffed jalapenos as "small plates". They should change that moniker, as they are by no means small. The calamari was some of the best I've ever had. Abby even ate it, and she hates calamari. We also had some guacamole. Neither of us are guac fans, but this was pretty good. Abby got the sweet and spicy marg, and it was quite good. For our mains, I had the spicy chicken and pulled pork tacos. The chicken was good, but not very spicy. The pork was too fatty for me. We asked if they could do just a plain beef for Virginia, and they were able to. Abby had a quesadilla. The tortillas, made on-site, are very good. After dinner, we were stuffed, but the waiter had promised Virginia a special treat if she was good, so he brought her some churros. Of course, mom and dad had to try one also, and they were very good. There was a small wait between apps and entrees, as I mentioned, but nothing I would complain about. When the waiter brought the check, he apologized for the wait, and had taken 20% off of the bill. He also had not charged us for Abby's margarita, even though she doesn't have a drink package. I tipped heavy, since he was very good with Virginia. Then it was off to do some shopping on the boardwalk, and another trip around the merry-go-round before we took V up to AO for the night. While she was there, Abby and I made another donation to the casino. Someone hit a jackpot on slots while we were in there for $19,000. She was very excited. What struck me as odd was that they came and paid it to her in cash. In land casinos, it would be in a check. I'm not sure I'd want to have $19k in cash, but I guess I'd just be too happy to care. It was amazing watching the stacks be handed to her on the casino floor. We wandered up to the Focus gallery and checked out some shots from the week so far, and ended up purchasing the all-inclusive package. On Enchantment, we will stick with just a couple of photos. Then it was back up to AO to get Ginny, where it had been Superhero night, and we ended up picking up Wonder Woman! Then it was off to sleep for our big day in Falmouth. -Again, it is amazing how much room there is on the ship, and how little we feel crowded. -All of the staff has been great with Virginia, and she is having an absolute blast. She's definitely hooked on cruising, and hopefully the post-cruise depression isn't too bad. -After breakfast today (Day 4), I went by CK and got in. I spoke with a manager to get reservations for dinner. Everything they have available conflicts with shows we have booked, but she went ahead and put us in, and said she would call us if they got an earlier time on Day 5. I asked her about the cruise compass not saying anything about Sea Class, and she said that must be a typo, and she would have it corrected immediately. If I would have pushed harder earlier in the trip, I'm sure we would have been able to get reservations. It was never the main reason we booked the JS, so I didn't push too hard, and it definitely has not impacted our experience. Hopefully we get to try it. If not, we can go on the Anthem GC, or next time we're on Oasis.

To clarify, it was not crew. They were passengers. I thought I saw crew, but they weren’t right next to the door. Guest services looked puzzled when I asked why Sea class wasn’t listed for CK. They gave me the CK manager’s number and I’m going to call tomorrow to see about reservations. After a long day at Labadee, we decided on Sabor for dinner tonight.

Day 2 I'm realizing that I'm not all that great at remembering to take pictures... I'm also realizing that it would probably be easier with a real camera, as I have conditioned myself not to be on my phone much, so it's hard to remember to get it out to take pictures... Either way, today was our first sea day. I was concerned about having the 7:45 am Character Breakfast since we had a late night last night, however my body woke up at 6 am anyway. Also, we are deck 6 aft, and the breakfast was in Silk, so just one floor down. If you have young kids, it was definitely worth it. The breakfast menu is the same as a standard MDR breakfast, but with catchy names for the kids. It was $10 per adult, but free for kids. We waited in the waiting area of Silk, and then were seated at our own table, with the waiter from Solarium Bistro from the night before. After placing our order, they had all of the kids come up and dance to shake out the wiggles, and then three characters came out individually. We had Shrek, Puss in Boots, and Princess Fiona. After each character came out and danced, they came around to each table and took pictures. Virginia expressed her desire to not have us in any pictures. We also learned she is scared of Shrek. After that, it was up to Adventure Ocean for the morning session. Virginia has had a lot of fun every time she's gone. There's been no crying when we drop her off, and it takes some coercing to get her to come with us. We're very impressed with all of the staff and programming. While Virginia was in AO, Abby and I had our mud scrub scheduled as part of the Ultimate Thermal Pass. While I'm not normally a Spa type of guy, it was $199 for the 2 of us to have the thermal suite all week, or $250 to add a 1 hour private mud scrub and a 1 hour private jacuzzi. We took the upsell. While very weird at first, I will admit that the mud scrub was very relaxing. They take you to a private room, where you use multiple levels of exfoliant. Then you apply the mud mask all over your body and enter a steam room. The steam room has 2 seats that face each other, and after about 20 minutes of steam, water starts to fall from the ceiling so you can get completely clean. Once finished, you apply moisturizers. My skin felt amazing afterwards, and it was nice to have a relaxing 60 minutes with just my wife and I. I'm not sure I would clamor to do it again, but I would think about it. After getting cleaned up, we picked up Virginia and had lunch at Wipeout Cafe. We figured it would be less crowded, and we could eat quick and head to the pool. The water in the pool was extremely cold, but after doing the circular wave pool, we went to a hot tub and felt much better. Then it was time for a nap, so Abby and V took a rest while I went back to the casino, and proceeded to give them back what I borrowed from them the previous night. I played for quite a while, but ran into some pretty lousy hands at UTH. I went for a walk around the jogging track, then thought I'd go back up to CK and see if I could rouse anyone. I knocked on the door, and two people in the suite lounge just looked at me through the crack, then turned their back. I guess no riff-raff mingling with the suite guests. I plan to go back up Day 3 around 5:30 and see if I can get reservations, although the Day 3 Cruise Compass still lists it as Star, Sky, and Pinnacles. After that adventure, it was back to AO to pick up Ginny and get ready for formal night. While we don't go full CLR style, we like to get a little dressed up. Before we went back to the room, I took Ginny to Sorrentos to get some pizza, and we just happened to run into one of Ginny's favorite characters. Night made, we headed up to get changed. Again, our cabin is in a great location. We got changed and were on the promenade around 5:30 to get pictures, with very little lines anywhere. Later in the evening it was a much longer wait. We took our pictures at several locations, and then went back up to change Virginia into regular clothes for AO. Another quick stroll through the promenade, picture with Captain Goran, whom Ginny had already met earlier in the day at AO, then time for a kid free date night. Dinner tonight was in Chops. This was our first Chops experience, and I was very excited. With my current diet, I am limited on red meat and carbs, so I was saving myself for the filet. It was absolutely amazing. Better than a lot of land-based restaurants. The service was amazing. None of my pictures turned out very well, except for the Red Velvet cake that we had to get for @Sweety. Abby told me to order, since I "have the inside scoop". I had the peppered bacon app, and she had the crab cake. The bacon was pretty good. The crab cake was on the dry side, and very crumbly. Flavor was nice though. Next was a Caesar salad for Abby, and the mushroom soup for me. The soup could have used a drop of creme fraiche to balance the earthiness of the mushrooms, but was nice. Both of us had the filet for main, and our sides were baked potato, mushrooms, cheesy tots, and mac and cheese. Baked potato was the best, as we seasoned it ourself. The rest of the sides suffered from lack of seasoning. This must have been common, as the table next to us asked for some sea salt to garnish their sides as well. Service was spectacular however. Dessert was the red velvet cake, and warm apple pie a la mode. Bother were excellent. (I should mention, Abby and I met in culinary school, where we trained to be pastry chefs. Neither of us do this professionally anymore, but we still dabble.) After dinner, we decided to call it a night, pick up Virginia, and head to bed. We had big day at Labadee planned for Day 3 in a beach bungalow.

I had this same thing on the Mariner 3 day cruise. Originally the UDP was cheaper than the 3-night, but the 3-night dropped in price, so I called to see what the difference was. I was told that the UDP shouldn't be offered, and that it was a mistake. It still is showing in the CP though, so who knows.

@JLMoran I’m a card game guy. On the ship, either 3 card or Ultimate. I was on 3 card last night and hit a straight flush on my third hand. *Spoiler alert* I gave it all back today.

I thought I remembered that, but with how tired Virginia was, I wasn’t fighting that battle yesterday. I will try again tomorrow night and see if I can get a “definitive” answer on the policy for Sea Class on Oasis.

Day 1 Travel day was relatively uneventful. SWA is always very easy to deal with, plus we are TSA Pre-check, which is always better. TSA was a little delayed since a cat had attacked a woman just before we got to the airport, and there was apparently blood all over, so they had to move the regular line to the Pre-Check line. Luckily our daughter handled it well, and got a nifty Jr. Officer sticker, and who doesn’t love stickers? National Rent-A-Car was easy in Orlando. If you are an Emerald Club member, you just go to the garage and pick any car you want. We were out of the airport about 5 minutes after getting our bags, and on our way to Port Canaveral. Checked into the hotel and then headed out to dinner. We ate at Cocoa Beach Ale House per @Matt recommendation. It was very good. Abby and Virginia shared a pizza, which was very tasty. Dough and sauce both made in house. I had the Mahi Mahi sandwich, and it was also very good. After dinner was dessert at Twistee Treat? It’s soft-serve ice cream from a building that looks like an ice cream cone. Then it was back to the hotel to get to bed. We stayed at the Country Inn & Suites near the port. Originally, I picked this hotel both due to the proximity to the port, and because it has on-site laundry, and we would stay there again in between cruises. The room we had was a queen bed for the adults, and then two twin beds in a separate area, almost like an alcove, for Virginia. It was kind of a cool concept, but the bed was pretty rough, the walls were thin, and I’m not sure I would stay there again. Being right across from the elevator I’m sure didn’t help much. The next morning was cruise day!!! The upside of our room was being able to see Lady O from our window: We were up early, and needed to kill time, so we went and ate breakfast down the street at Southern Charm Café. It was very good, and I highly recommend it for breakfast. Their cakes and pies were homemade and looked delicious. We may try lunch here on “turnaround” day. Then it was to the port to return the car and board. With the Jr. Suite, we went through the suites line for security and check-in. We got to the port at 10:20, we were checked in by 10:36, and after a short wait in the holding pen, we were on-board at 10:45. It was absolutely amazing to step into the promenade, and the breadth that is an Oasis Class ship. We loved Majesty, but I feel like you could almost put her inside the promenade. We explored the promenade some, and then went straight up to 17 to try and get reservations for Coastal Kitchen. I had some concerns about this due to a couple of factors. The biggest of which was from recent Cruise Compasses that showed CK as Star and Sky Class only, and Pinnacles. We went up to CK, and our card wouldn’t work in the door. We waited for a while to see if there was anyone inside, or to try and catch someone, but had no luck. Virginia was getting anxious, so we decided to come back and try again closer to dinner. Luckily, Paul was at Grills, so we were able to connect via the Insider group on Facebook, and we headed to Deck 5, Aft, where Paul got this picture of us. Great thanks to Paul, and it shows how being an Insider is so great! (Shameless Plug). Off to Central Park we went to update our 3 night dining reservations, with no issue at all in getting our choices. Then it was to Park Café for a Kummelweck Sandwich, extra horseradish and mustard. Just as tasty as advertised. Neither Abby nor Virginia wanted one, so it was off to the promenade for Sorrentos. They both thought it was pretty good. Virginia liked it so much that we had to go back for two more pieces after muster drill to take to the room for “pre-dinner”. After some more exploring of the ship, taking a spa tour, and getting a stern talking to from Virginia that I didn’t pack swimsuits in the carryon, it was around 1 p.m. so we headed to the room. Luggage was outside the door about an hour after we got in the rooms, and thankfully nothing was in the naughty room. Muster went relatively quickly. As I type this, the “wash your hands” song is now invading my brain again….. After muster, Virginia needed a rest, so we went back up to the room for sail away and sat on the balcony. Then it was time to get her to lay down and unpack. After a fight, we got a successful nap, and then she woke up not knowing where she was. Once we figured that out, it was all good, and time to head back up to try Coastal Kitchen. We did confirm that the CC said Star and Sky class only for dinner. We get to 17, try our card… No luck. Confirmed that the first few nights it is only for Star and Sky. It might be open later in the week to try. We decided we would go try the Solarium Bistro, as we didn’t want the hectic mess of the Windjammer. This ended up being for the best, as Virginia didn’t handle dinner well, and it would have been tough in CK. Dinner was good. Our waiter, Angelo, was very attentive. Due to V’s issues, I didn’t get any pictures of the food. The appetizers were very good, my favorite being the mushrooms. I had the grilled shrimp as an entrée, Abby had the salmon, and V had the chicken kebabs. It was definitely nice to have a lighter meal. The desserts were also very good, and V’s serving of chocolate cake turned the night around for her. Then it was off to play a windy round of mini-golf before Adventure Ocean opened up. The check-in for AO took about 20 minutes, mainly due to a long line of people who had not registered yet, as well as some kids that were having separation anxiety. V took off like a freight train with no care in the world, so I headed to the casino as Abby took here ritual first night early bed time. At 10 o’clock, I left the casino up more than double, so it was time to go get V. Then it was off to bed early so we could be ready for the Dreamworks Character breakfast tomorrow morning. Random Thoughts -It astounds me how many people were buying the drink package on-board. Do some research! -The Pineapples walking around with their nametags on makes me giggle a little. If I ever reach that status, I don’t think I could have the ego to walk around with the badge on… -We were bummed about CK, but hopefully we can try it in the future. Solarium Bistro was good, and it was a peaceful option compared to the Windjammer. -We purchased the Ultimate Thermal pass for the spa. For two people, it includes unlimited use of the thermal seats, a 1-hour private mud bath/scrub, and a 1-hour private jacuzzi. Tomorrow is a sea day. We have the character breakfast in the morning, then the mud bath, and dinner at Chops. As I type this, I’m on my balcony enjoying the nice breeze. Vacation is great. Step count: 13,200 (half of which I had V on my shoulders. Should count for double)

Yeah, she has quite the personality. Forever she was the only girl in her class, so she can be quite the tomboy. And I couldn’t help but laugh when I got that text. I thought it was too funny not to share. She’s as ready as mom and dad are for the cruise.

No Pressure. Lol. Thank you. I feel like a new person. This is from our family pictures, separated by one year. Should have about another 50 lbs to go... Also, you know it's time for vacation when you get a text from school saying "Your daughter has been tormenting one of the boys at school today, and decided to pull her pants down and shake her butt and him." SMH.....

Day -2 - Pre-cruise As I looked out this morning, the weather in beautiful St. Louis, MO confirmed that it is indeed time for a cruise. Nothing like a dreary day with the first flurry of snow for the year covering the roof tops to remind you that it's been 364 days of dry dock, time to start the live-blog, and offer a miserable picture to test out how to insert them into the blog and have them sized correctly. Sailings We will being a pseudo-side to side on Oasis and Enchantment out of Port Canaveral. Oasis will be a 7-night Western Caribbean starting November 11 through November 18. One night spent in Port Canaveral, then a 4-night Bahamas sailing on Enchantment from November 19 through November 23. Itinerary Day 1 - Port Canaveral, FL Day 2 - Sea Day Day 3 - Labadee Day 4 - Falmouth Day 5 - Sea Day Day 6 - Cozumel Day 7 - Sea Day Day 8 & 9 - Port Canaveral Day 10 - CocoCay Day 11 - Nassau Day 12 - Sea Day Day 13 - Port Canaveral We have a beach bungalow booked for Labadee. Falmouth we will probably stay in the cruise terminal. Cozumel we will be going to Nachi Cocom, then heading downtown to Coz Coffee and Chocolateria Isla Bella. CocoCay we have a Cabana booked, and then probably the cruise terminal again in Nassau. Who is Sailing: It will be my wife, Abby, our 4 year old daughter, and I on this sailing. I cruised once when I was a kid on the Big Red Boat. My next cruise was last year with Abby on Majesty of the Seas, and went to Grand Bahama and CocoCay (which we missed due to weather.) I get cruise incentives from my land-based casino, so we booked that cruise after final payment date on a whim. It was right before we left on the sailing that I found RCBlog, and now I am fully indoctrinated. This will be our daughter's first cruise, and she's been counting down the number of "sleeps" left since we were at 20. She can't wait to meet new friends in Adventure Ocean, and has been trying to convince us that all of her friends from school can come with us. So while this is our second RC cruise, it will be our first 7-nighter, first Oasis Class, and first just about everything else including first time in each of these ports. Other logistics Packing has been ongoing for about a week. Hoping to get it all finalized tonight. We fly out tomorrow from STL to MCO via Southwest. Tomorrow night will be in the Country Inn & Suites near the port. We will have a rental car from MCO to the hotel, returning it at the port. For the night in between cruises, we had the same hotel booked, choosing it originally due to the on-site laundry facilities. After @Matt posted the blog about the Holiday Inn Beach Club, we changed our stay there, due to in-room laundry, as well as everything else on property. Possibly even taking the rental car to Publix to cook dinner for ourselves. After we debark Enchantment, we are taking a shuttle from PC to MCO for our flight back. Cabins On Oasis we have a JS on deck 6 booked. The location should be great for it's location, and we envision Johnny Rockets for breakfast most mornings. On Enchantment, I've done the best I can do to ensure that my daughter will become a full on suite snob by booking a GS. The pricing was great for the upgrade, plus we got a great deal on the Oasis sailing by booking during a WOW sale last year with KSF and free gratuities. (Although I feel like I'm probably heading to #suitesnob status as well. Looking at booking Oasis again in Feb of 2020, and my eye is on a Crown Loft Suite...) Other thoughts -We will be #TeamNoDX. I had weight loss surgery in February and can't really drink much (down 200 lbs in about a year). My last drink was 2 weeks before surgery, but I imagine I may have to have at least a sip or two while on the ship or at Nachi. -We have the 3 night dining package booked on Oasis. We plan on being #TeamCK (more influence from our favorite Stubborn Canadian (wouldn't let me tag @lovetocruise2002 for some reason). If we can't do CK, we may opt for Solarium Bistro. On Enchantment we don't have any specialty dining booked. We'll either see if there are deals available, or take advantage of the MDR service in our room, especially on Thanksgiving Day. -Pictures will be with my iPhone 8 and the moment lenses. I'm opting not to bring my DSLR this trip, just so I can enjoy the journey, and work on shot selection vs. shot quality. Once I get a better idea of what shots to take on a cruise, and how to frame them, I move to bringing my DSLR. -We are excited for our daughter's first cruise. This will be her second time flying, but the first was with Grandma and Grandpa, so we're looking forward to that also. We are doing the Dreamworks Breakfast on Oasis, and the girls will be doing the Cupcake class on Enchantment. Finally, I'm hoping to do the live blog justice. Lots of great influences on the site, and I hope I hold a candle to some of them. We do have VOOM, so I'll try to be as interactive as possible. If there are questions, I'll try to get them answered. Now it's off to iron my best shorts and t-shirt for formal night and finish packing. -Lance

The selfie @twangster took of himself as he soared through the air dangling from one of the drones was amazing. It's a shame you and @Matt missed it since you skipped the photos. I can't believe they took a volunteer from the audience for that role. Shows a lot of natural athletic ability, obviously.

I think I’m leaning towards Oasis after the amplification. Slides aren’t going to push us one way or another. Getting to experience her after revitalization sounds good. And as of right now, it will be 18 months or so between trips on this itinerary, and Labadee and Coz are good stops. Plus, being able to get a CLS is very enticing. Probably working too hard to sell the wife on it, and should just YOLO book it. 6 more sleeps until our first Oasis Class cruise!

@Lovetocruise2002, that's exactly the kind of response I was expecting. Thank you! It's easier to apply logic to someone else's vacation/money, and put things into perspective for me. Saving money by going with Oasis amplified, means I can spend more on a Cabana in Labadee vs overpay for something on the new Perfect Day, and get a nicer suite overall... Still nothing as good as that pricing for Harmony you put on the FB page the other day.

Does anyone have any idea when Allure will be getting amplified? While on our cruise next week, I plan on book Feb 2020 for myself and the in-laws. We will be doing a Jr. Suite for them, and either a CLS or a 2-bedroom Grand Suite for me, the wife, and daughter. Pricing is pretty even across the 3 older sisters (Oasis, Allure, Harmony), but the question lay in what would be the better ship. We are going on Oasis next week, and I know she will be getting amped next year. Allure is scheduled for 2020, but not sure when. Oasis is not doing Perfect Day, but is going to Labadee. Allure is doing perfect day, but if she isn't amped yet, we would probably lean towards Oasis or Harmony... I need help. I know there isn't a right answer, but I'd love to hear some other opinions. Is it better to experience the same ship (Oasis) after amplification? Is Allure going to be a let down if not Amplified from either Harmony or the newly amped Oasis? Will Harmony be ok either way? Flights generally are a wash for us from STL to MCO or FLL via Southwest. I just know I'm already spinning trying to make a decision, and my family just doesn't understand the nuanced pain that the other members of the support group message boards do in choosing a vacation...

I will also be on Enchantment 11/19. Planning to do a live blog on the "side to side-ish".

I'll be coming off of 366 days of dry dock, so these last few are murderous...

I'm glad I just have 13 more days until my next cruise, or these would be real torture...

Looking forward to the blog!

Welcome to the boards! Are you on the 11/11 sailing? I'll be on that with my wife and daughter, after almost a year in dry dock... We're staying the night before at the Country Inn & Suites in PC, and also the night after. They have laundry facilities, and we're doing a pseudo side-by-side with Enchantment the week of Thanksgiving.

That answers my question there. It *crosses fingers* shouldn't be an issue. I was just worried about if it happened, making sure she would be changed or dry. I assumed she would be, just concerned about the logistics...