MoneyMan702

On 3/8/2023 at 1:41 PM, Matt said:

Thanks for sharing this info!

Matt, also of note:

We went to Chops on this sailing and were actually going to be charged a corkage fee. That was certainly a first for us. The waiter I had told me that this came “from the top” and that he had never really enforced it in all of his years with the company. It also sounded like the enforcement of it was relatively recent.

The timing of this seems rather suspect considering the recent changes to the carry-on wine policy. 
 

As always, I am a sample size of one, but I’m curious if people will start reporting more instances of this in the coming weeks. I don’t see enforcement of this going over particularly well. I’ll just pop my own corks in my stateroom from now on, I guess. 

On Oasis currently and we go to CocoCay on Day 7. Last sea day is Day 6. We did go to Labadee on Day 3, so our cruise is kind of “sandwiched” with good RCI beach stops. 

17 minutes ago, JazzBassMan said:

This might be an unpopular opinion. I think it is probably about time to retire the Bionic Bar. Super neat novelty the first time you see it, but I think it gets my drinks right about 50% of the time when it is working, and it's a waste of space most of the time. They usually have at least 1-2 crew members there to make sure the thing doesn't mess up when it is open as well. Might as well just turn it back into the Champagne Bar or something. 

This is my first ship with a Bionic Bar, and I haven’t even seen it work. I think the Champagne Bar is a better venue all the way around. Sometimes bigger and cooler isn’t better. I tend to agree with you. 

My wife, son, and I are on Oasis right now and I have a few random bits of information. 
 

Matt posted an article a few days ago about Wow Bands possibly being back. They are definitely back on Oasis, at least for now. My wife and I got them from Guest Services on Monday. Still $9.99

The Bionic Bar is out of service and scheduled for maintenance. I think it has been down for the entire cruise, but the signage didn’t appear saying that it was out of service until Monday or Tuesday. I haven’t seen a single drink made there or any crowds there the entire cruise. 
 

Greetings from San Juan!

24 minutes ago, MMcBride said:

Hello! This will be our first cruise since March 2019. Plus our first time at Coco Cay! Can't wait!

Welcome to the party! We actually booked a cruise on Independence we just disembarked yesterday after I made this roll call, so it was the first cruise post-baby and post-COVID instead. It was a blast!

I’m already ready to book more!

13 hours ago, smost said:

When we sailed out of Port Canaveral last month, there were not specific lines that I could see and no one asked or directed us based on boarding times to enter the building. When we went to board the ship, it was announced that you shouldn’t board until your time had been announced but they had 5 people scanning barcodes and hundreds of people trying to board. I also didn’t see anyone turned away for having a later boarding time. To me, it didn’t seem like they cared about it. The suites, pinnacle, and the key guests boarded first and that was the only time I saw people turned away if they tried to board before their time. We had a 10:30am check in and an 11am board time. We got on the ship by no later than 11:30am.

Fair enough. A lot can change between now and September, too. I just dread the thought of getting a 15:00 boarding time or something late like that, and especially since that is in the middle of normal nap time. 
 

Fingers crossed that we can either get something early or that they continue to seemingly disregard this I’d we do get a late time. I also love getting on the ship early to start vacation as early as possible and square away things like specialty dining and now the nursery service. 

What is enforcement looking like nowadays? I can’t even check in for my cruise in September til July 29th, so I have no idea what time slot we will be set to arrive at. 
 

I have zero intentions of being there waiting for the “floodgates” to open at the very first boarding time like in the “old days” pre-COVID, but I do have some concerns about getting a 3 PM slot when that is right in the middle of my sons nap time. I’ll definitely go through the proper channels to get an earlier time before all else. But I guess I am curious just how bi lg of a deal it is so long as they aren’t getting swamped right away by half the ship wanting to board at 10 AM.

I don’t want to buck the system, but I am curious if this being enforced nearly as much as it was in the beginning. My gut would tell me that based on comments on this post from March, probably not. 
 

We are sailing on September 12th out of Canaveral on Indy If that helps add any context to the conversation. 

13 hours ago, smokeybandit said:

Just about any ship with a splash pad is the best for a toddler

Totally agree. There wasn’t a bad choice so long as it had H20 Zone or Splashaway Bay. He would be content in an inflatable pool. Hah. 
 

6 hours ago, Rayma said:

We were on the Odyssey with a 10 month old and agree that the baby splash zone was okay and very nice to have. One negative side is the location in the same area as the main pool: music was played on a nightclub level when the band or the DJ was playing. Not cool for the babies in my opinnion.  Gave Royal feedback, but don’t know if there is anything they can do.

 

Yeah, he doesn’t love loud noises at this point. Things may change by then though. 
 

9 minutes ago, vmartin12 said:

San Juan is a very good port for toddlers. It's all walkable, and looks to look at that will caugh baby's attention. I highly suggest you stay at the south side, bottom of the hill and don't walk up the streets, its a bit tiring, toddler may walk up but you will definitely carry him/her down. The Paseo de La Princesa is perfect to walk and sightseeing and will lead to the waterfront, very interesting for the baby. If you want to walk up the street go to the Plaza de Armas which is halfway and also nice to let you toddler walk and walk.

That is great news to hear! I definitely wanted to check out San Juan since we have never been there. We visited St. Thomas in 2018 and considered using that as a day to stay aboard. Easily walkable is definitely our preference for this trip with him. Thanks for the input. Now hopefully I don’t forget between now and then. 

5 hours ago, Jamesszy94 said:

When you say you booked Oasis, do you mean Oasis-class (if so, which one? I'm guessing something other than Allure - Symphony? Wonder? Harmony? ) or Oasis of the Seas?  

I'm assuming Oasis of the Seas but just double checking

Sorry. Oasis of the Seas. The itinerary for March 5, 2023 goes to CocoCay, San Juan, St. Thomas, and Labadee. The only port of those three we haven’t been to is San Juan, and we love simplicity of being able to get off and go to the beach more or less straight from the ship at both of Royal’s destinations. 
 

We may make use of the Nursery service while at San Juan so the wife and I can enjoy some time in port together. It is also a later stop from 2 PM til 10 PM. 
 

The Odyssey itinerary on March 5 also goes to Labadee and CocoCay, but ports at Falmouth which we didn’t particularly love. Add in that the Oasis itinerary was a bit cheaper on a cost-per-night basis and is 7 nights vs 6 on Odyssey, and the decision became quite clear for us.

Can’t wait to be back on the water!

We ended up booking Oasis, mostly due to itinerary and because we thought Oasis might suit him better at his age than a Quantum vessel. I definitely want to get on Odyssey or another Quantum-class ship someday relatively soon though. 

Thanks for all the input and commentary on this topic previously. The wife and I booked our first cruise since December 2019 for March 2023 on Oasis. Little dude, who will be 2-1/2, will be along for the journey. 
 

Baby splash zones were a must for us, and the choice came down to Oasis and Odyssey for this trip. Oasis won on a cost-per-night basis and due to a slightly better itinerary to us subjectively.

Hello all! My wife and I just booked this cruise earlier tonight. This will be our first cruise since December 2019 due to COVID and having our first child. Our son will also be cruising with us for the first time. This will be our fifth cruise with Royal and overall, and our second time on an Oasis-class ship. 
 

My wife and I are both in our early thirties, and our son will be around 2-1/2 at sailing. 

We look forward to meeting you all!

12 hours ago, royalcaribbeannewbie said:

That is definitely helpful. For some reason I was being really stupid and thought deck 1 was at the top 

Thank you

 

Haha. No worries. Glad I could help. From what I can tell, you should be good to go, but hopefully some folks with more knowledge about Quantum can chime in. I actually just saw my OP on this from last year and read where Quantum is good to go. 
 

Matt also chimes in and said a ship with Splashaway Bay is good to go, and I certainly trust his input. 
 

We are looking at booking a trip next February or March when my son will be approaching 2-1/2 years old, so I imagine this will also still be a consideration for us at that point. 

22 minutes ago, royalcaribbeannewbie said:

We have a little one (sub 2) and are planning to go to on Spectrum shortly. I have been confused by these H2O, splashaway zones on board, as in I can't seem to find either of these on the ship deck plan.

Are there swimming-diaper-safe water zones for young ones on the Spectrum?

Thank you in advance

Spectrum has a Splashaway Bay Area on Deck 14. From my understanding, all of the ships with Splashaway Bay or H2O zone, or essentially Freedom, Quantum, and Oasis Classes have areas for swim diapers. I believe Navigator also does post-refit, but it is the only Voyager class vessel that does if that is true.

I see what APPEARS to be the area for swim diapers on a couple of videos for Quantum I was watching. I hoped to pinpoint the exact time it popped up if I could make heads or tails of it, but I couldn’t see the signage. 
 

The small splash pad areas on these ships are filtered separately with UV sterilization above and beyond typical filtration and chlorination, and they are drained at the first sign of an accident. The water is also exchanged much more frequently due to the significantly lower volume. The CDC Vessel Sanitation Program doesn’t allow for swim diapers elsewhere on ships originating from the US without those measures in place. 
 

So, given the age of Quantum relative to older ships with baby splash zones, and in comparing it to Odyssey, it appears that the swim diaper splash zone is the small circular part of Splashaway bay on the port side toward the bow of the ship. That is where it is located on Odyssey as well, but the aesthetics are a bit different. Take a look at Deck 14 on the plan. 

We love the MDR and specialty dining. For me, the decision to get a dining package is based on the variety of specialty dining venues on the ship, itinerary length, and a variety of other factors. 
 

Three or four nights is what I would consider perfect for most ships and 7ish night itineraries, as you will split your time between complimentary and specialty dining.
 

We did the ultimate package on Allure and didn’t regret it since we got to try out all the specialty dining on board. We also did ultimate on our 4 night Mariner sailing since it wasn’t much more than the 4 night package that didn’t include lunch at specialty restaurants on sea days. We have done 3-5 night packages otherwise since though. On ships with fewer specialty dining options, I’d go with a shorter length dining package. 
 

As others have said, the $35 credit at Izumi is more than enough to cover a huge amount of food. 

7 minutes ago, Tanner said:

The baby (swim Diaper) are was just okay.  Better than Oasis but not as good as Indy.  It had a couple rubber things to step on that would squirt water.  Great ship but hard with a little one.  Can't do bumper cars, North Star, Zone Zero with a little one.  Amazing ship but my wife, 10, and 2 year old had to split up often.  She did like the interactive art pieces in the Via.  The splash pad for the toddlers out of diapers on all three ships were much more comparable but the Freedom class still has the best ones.  As much as I really liked Odyssey if the sole decision making factor was ease of use with a 2 year old it would rank lower than Oasis or Independence.    But it would also be very doable to have your little one go to adventure ocean while you hit North Star, IFly, Bumper Cars if that's your thing.  

Thank you for the input. I was concerned about exactly what you said about Odyssey given how I had never sailed on that class before, but that was dead on my concern/speculation. 
 

I highly doubt he will be out of swim diapers by then, or at the very least am not willing to bet the farm on it. He will also still be under 3 at the time of this prospective sailing, so nursery only for him. I’ve definitely considered how much easier waiting 8 months or so would make things since he could go to Adventure Ocean. 
 

Ironically enough, Independence has been our least favorite ship we have been on so far, which surprised me considering how much we liked Mariner. 

7 minutes ago, Tanner said:

Quick run down on highlights from our recent cruises with my 2.5 year old daughter.
Aug 2021 independence - best splash away Bay even if still in diapers as it has a good slide for a 2 year old.  Simpson Bay at St Martin is a very quick walk to water taxi and very short ride over to shallow entry calm waters in view of the ship.

Dec 2021 Oasis -  Very lacking baby splash area.  All other amenities are awesome though (carousel about 8 million times).  Coco Cay Splash Away bay and the wave pool are excellent choices!

Jan 2022 Odyssey - Amazing ABC islands trip but they were long days.  Our daughter did amazing but it could have been a nightmare too, we were lucky.  Caves in Curacoa, Eagle beach in Aruba was very steep entry and lots of rolling waves.  Climbed the rock formations.  Not for everyone with a two year old!

 

A couple of the trips we did Blue Lagoon in Nassau.  Excellent excellent choice for little ones.  Watch some videos and you'll see the very shallow waters.  need to be careful as a current can come through though.  Hope this helps!  Enjoy.

Awesome! Thanks for the input. How were the splash areas on Odyssey for comparison? 

Hello all. My wife and I are looking at booking our first cruise since December 2019, but this time we will have our son with us. We are looking at next February-March, at which point in time he will be 2 years old, and approaching 2-1/2. 
 

As far as ships are concerned, we are already committed to booking on an Oasis or Quantum class ship due to those classes having water features on the pool deck he can enjoy. I’m not wagering any money on being potty trained and out of swim diapers by then, so Freedom, Quantum, and Oasis are a must. We have sailed on Independence and Allure, so we know what we are getting there. Please comment with your experiences on Quantum class vessels with a child his age, and particularly if you have sailed on both Quantum and Oasis with a child his age as to which you preferred and why. 
 

As far as ports go, I guess I’m wondering which ports are easiest, simplest, most convenient, etc. to fly by the seat of our pants with him in. As I’ve read on here, we want to kind of go at his pace and be flexible. We also aren’t opposed at all to staying on the ship in port if all else fails. 
 

In the past, we could always do whatever we wanted to do, but still generally booked excursions through the cruise line. I’m not ready to make that big of a commitment given how we need to go with his flow a bit more. My wife would probably prefer easy (walking) access to a beach or cultural experience above all else. 

I’m kind of leaning toward a booking right now on Odyssey that visits Labadee, CocoCay, and Falmouth for the first two ports and the convenience of what they offer, but other possibilities are certainly on the table for consideration.

Any and all input is accepted. Thank you!

5 minutes ago, twangster said:

Splashaway Bay in general does not allow swim diapers.  The baby splash zones have a separate filtration system so that the other areas for older children don't become contaminated when swim diapers leak which they all eventually do.  

The exception is the children's aqua areas on CocoCay.  These fall under Bahamian law so apparently the Bahamas public health rules don't seem to consider it an issue. 

Navigator has a baby splash zone:

To the left on the other side of the glass divider is for older children, babies straight ahead.

 

Awesome! When speaking of both H2O Zone and Splashaway Bay, I was speaking of the special area for diapers that was filtered separately. That was a big reason for us looking at ships specifically with those areas, as he will almost certainly still be in diapers when we are looking to go. 

I saw a story Matt wrote around 2015 that mentioned the ships with the baby splash zones at that time, but there have certainly been a lot of changes and additions since. I'm glad Navigator is on the list. We love Voyager Class. 

15 minutes ago, Matt said:

Not sure of an official list. 

If the ship has Splashaway Bay, then you're good.

I seem to recall even ships with H2O Zones are good as well (I remember going on Freedom of the Seas with my first child and being so happy there was a splash zone).

Awesome! I was curious of the Splashaway Bay vs H2O Zone. I remember being on Allure with the H2O zone and it having the baby only splash zone. 

I was on Indy in December of 2019 and didn't pay much attention to the Splashaway Bay setup compared to H2O Zone. I figured I was good with H2O Zone ships based on previous experience, but was concerned about the other. It sounds like we are good either way. 

Too bad Mariner doesn't have anything like that after the Amplification. There is a great 5 day Labadee and CocoCay itinerary that would be perfect, and we love the ship. The lack of the splash pad on her is a no go though. 

It looks/sounds like we'd also be good to go with Odyssey, Symphony and Harmony in addition to the above ships then. Any idea about Navigator post-Amp?

Greetings All.  I hope everybody is safe and well.

My wife and I are planning our next cruise for sometime in 2022 (assuming/fingers crossed that cruising and the world have returned to something resembling pre-COVID normal), but we will have an infant with us for the first time ever.  Our little man will be at least 16-18 months old, if not a bit older, based on the window of sailings I am looking at.

I was wondering if Matt or anybody had an updated list of ships that have the baby splash zone that children in swim diapers can enter.  I am aware of Allure, Oasis, Freedom, Liberty, Independence, Anthem and Quantum having them.  I wasn't sure if due to the Royal Amped Program and/or newer ships (specifically Odyssey, Symphony and Harmony) had them as well.

Also, any tips for cruising/traveling with an infant are welcome.

I'm still by no means set on going on a cruise and/or other vacation at this point given the uncertainty surrounding COVID-19, but I am definitely dreaming of it and hoping that the vaccine rollout gets us one step closer to it being a reality.

On 9/12/2018 at 9:39 AM, Matt said:

Valley Church Beach in Antigua is quite lovely

Matt,

Did you take a taxi on your own to Valley Church Beach or book an excursion?  Royal Caribbean doesn't have anything to Valley Church Beach, but they do have an excursion to nearby Ffrye's Beach.  

Also, I just want to confirm the distance/time from port.  All the research I've done indicates that Valley Church Beach is about 15-20 minute drive.

It appears that Antigua is going to be busy while we are there.  According to Cruise Mapper, we are going to be 1 of 5 ships in port that day.

On 10/4/2018 at 5:07 PM, RatedPG said:

I will be on this itinerary in November.  I'll be traveling solo so I should have some time to chat with you on this thread about the ports and the onboard experience as well.   

I'm still researching on the ports myself.

Please do! I'd really appreciate it.

Just now, 4ensic said:

You know it's bad when people go to the cashier and ask to change a 5 dollar bill.

Just now, JLMoran said:

EEEWWWWWWW!!!!!

Just remember, it could always be worse.  I have some friends who just went on a cruise earlier this month on the Carnival Triumph.  I don't think they knew that that ship was the host of the infamous "poop cruise" in 2013. 

As far as TV goes, I myself never spend a ton of time watching it while we are on a cruise.  We mainly have it on for background noise while we are getting ready in the morning or for dinner, and at night time because we both usually fall asleep watching something.  I do tend to agree that the channel selection is limited, but it hasn't really bothered us to this point.
 

If I were to go on a longer sailing, particularly a TA or another itinerary with a lot of sea days, I could see myself getting to a point where I may just want to spend one evening, or potentially only a few hours, unwinding in my cabin, away from the rest of the people on board, ordering room service, and watching TV.  While I agree that the channel selection is very limited, I don't know that it would normally be a huge issue for us.  At least they were able to come to some sort of resolution for you though.
 

As for the toilet paper issue, that is crap!