JasonL

All the Oasis class ships with Allure being on the bottom of that list and whatever Oasis class is the Newest on the top

On 10/12/2023 at 7:55 AM, Matt said:

The other component to this conversation is what constitutes a "good price" or "deal".

I'm certain we all have different definitions and expectations for what that looks like. Or as once was famously said, "I know it when I see it…"

Agreed. I'm talking apples to apples of my standard booking strategy. Looks to me about 30-40% higher

i think the best option is a pre- booked RC airport transport or a RC excursion that ends at the airport. The key being a RC transport, Best money you'll ever spend

99.9% of our Harmony cruise out of Miami was amazing and magical... but...

We made a series of mistakes on disembarkation day

We got off the ship at 9, complete chaos at this time. Should have walked off with our luggage first thing.

Trying to rent a car... apparently a huge mistake in Miami by the cruise port. They "reserved" us(and 30 other people) a vehicle they didn't have, people were sitting around for hours waiting for cars. There was also 100 people waiting for the rental car bus which seated about 12, there was almost fist fights from desperate people trying to get on the bus that showed up every 45 minutes. We actually ended up jumping in a limousine that dropped some other folks off, but it cost an arm and a leg. 

We ended up trying to fight for a bus to the rental car place for 45 minutes until we got the limo ride to the rental car facility which didn't actually have a car for us. So we flagged down an Uber and just said the heck with it, lets go to the airport.

Only flight back to Seattle was at 5:30 and they didn't check bags until 3:30 so we wandered the airport with our 3 kids for 3 hours before being able to go through security.

Next time we will do the RC excursion that ends at the airport. Way easier exit from the terminal with less stress and a fun end to a cruise instead of a hair pulling pit of anger.

My question is how does Royal build a beautiful new terminal that is a breeze to get through, but they allow the last thing you remember about the trip to be a nightmare. Who were the engineers that designed that disaster? Some really bad civil planning there on the traffic flow to that terminal! May God have mercy on their souls

9 minutes ago, Babsy47 said:

Yep.  My son, DIL, and grands are going on a three day cruise on Navigator in a couple of weeks.  They asked if I wanted to come.  $1,300 for a basic ocean view cabin is just too rich for an old ship for 3 nights for my old bones . . .

Yes, the day of the last minute cruise deal is in the wind.  I always look 1 year out or more for the best deals, but even those are sadly becoming out of reach for me. I can handle the extra when it's just Me and the wifey, but when you have a family of 5 and you have to do a specialty room or 2 rooms it's just no longer viable.

Cruising is our families favorite vacation, but the prices are soaring. Used to always be able to find the value cruise for a family of 5 on an older Oasis or Freedom/Voyager. It seems those days are gone. Anyone else feeling the pinch on cruise prices recently? I know demand is up and with that comes higher prices, but I can't even find reasonable Freedom/Voyager sailing anymore. Sadly I think we need to look elsewhere for our family vacations for a while. 

Might even have to try dipping my toes in the C word and see how the pricing compares

I'm not surprised there was uproar or that it was decided not to charge for pizza. I'm more annoyed about the question being asked at all. I feel like cruising will eventually keep charging more and more until I decide to vacation elsewhere. But for now, I still love it! Please keep the standards free and make your money on the extras!

Labadee is literally fenced off from the rest of the Island. Super safe, you won't even know you're in a disaster of a country. 

You get a few discounted drinks, so remember to ask for your discount when you order. They won't use it automatically. Couple of free spins  in the casino, but don't get sucked in and mortgage your house 

I prefer to book the rooms split up anyways. Allows me to get a drink package without the wife having to get one.  Just ask your options when you are being assigned your cards, shouldn't be a problem.

My Wife and I will be on this one with our 3 kids- 15 & 12 year old Daughters, 7 year old Son at time of sailing

Super excited to get the kids cruising again!

I have a weird question. I booked a next cruise that I need to use soon and also have a comp cruise available. Can I combine my next cruise with my comp cruise to help pay the taxes and fees? And if I can't make it last minute would I still get C&A points even if I "no show"? Obviously this is not a smart way to build up points haha, but I don't wanna lose my next cruise if I can swing it in my schedule.

10 hours ago, Matt said:

There's absolutely no reason to be paying $140 per test.

Get the at-home test from emed.com

Just an FYI for anyone looking for tests

emed currently has a 6pack for $150 + $20 next day shipping(approximately)

optum has a 2 pack for $70 + free shipping or a 3 pack for $99 + free shipping

get the Abbott at home test recommended by RC and Matt. Just bought a 3 pack from Optum for $99 to cover me and the wife plus one extra in case of an inconclusive. Free shipping

for 2 people it's not needed but if you have 4 in your cabin, it's the only way to go. We love the Ultra Spacious rooms when we bring the kids. 

On 8/19/2021 at 8:55 PM, dswallow said:

Maybe the timing wasn't quite right, but you really should've done Alaska. Avoiding the flight and that commitment ends up putting the rest of it on pretty safe ground. If any of you tested positive before sailing, Royal would handle refunding everything, and you'd basically have been local anyway so no or at least far less exposure in airfare costs, too. I suppose warm vs cold might've entered into it, but there's just awesome things along Alaska's sailing route to do, too.

This has been in the works for years, as we booked it as soon as they went on sale. The wife and I are doing alaska in June, we will go on this sailing. Although we could bring the kids to Alaska, it's far less exciting to them than Coco Cay. Besides it's the policy changes and the uncertain ones to come that make cruising WITH KIDS very hard to plan. 

Well tonight I am feeling like giving up on cruising with my family for a couple years more. That hurts to say because we love it so much! I think I should cancel my November 21st cruise because I'm flying across the country from washington state and there are too many risks that we won't be able to sail. $2500 for airfare alone, hotel accomodations ect... What if my 5 or 10 year old gets covid? what if they change to not allow anyone unvaxxed? Variants.. Last minute restrictions .... Why stress myself out trying to go on vacation..... not worth it...  

Feeling defeated tonight

Craziest thing I've ever seen in my life!!! I saw someone at the buffet, get this..... only get 1 plate of food without returning for more!!! Blew my mind

I'm proud to say I emailed my local representatives pleading for help restart the cruise industry!! Thanks @Mattfor making this easy for all of us! This is something I wouldn't normally do, but it's so easy to take 5-10 minutes and write a personal message along with the pre-filled forms that simplify the process. Just ready Matt's blogs for an easy link. If you are reading this and haven't done it yet please do! Thanks

On 1/17/2021 at 5:10 AM, twangster said:

 Less likely a guy in a muscle shirt will crash the MDR at dinner sort of thing.

27 minutes ago, LizzyBee23 said:

Good catch... And I don't think it's something an ordinary supplier could step in and do, either. If they were the ones bringing supplies onboard or even just to port, I'm sure they had to have TWIC cards and all of the anti-terrorism training that comes with it. Won't be an easy resource to just turn back on if that's the case.

 

I have a Twic card, really wasn't hard to get.  It has been expired now for a few years, but I believe it was just a couple hour class and background check. Right now  it's bad business, no doubt. When there is money to be had when things start back up, someone will step in I'd think

hmm, i may have to call Royal I guess. I've tried to link it before also, so it must be a glitch(so the RCG website standard)

so i did that, and it says it's linked but I still don't see it

1st time I've done 2 rooms for our family of 5 instead of a Spacious, thought I'd finally try out @Matt advice. 

I see the room that I'm booked in, but not my wife's on the Cruise planner. It makes sense, but is there a way to get it all on my cruise planner? Or do I have to get into my wife's account which I don't think exists yet because I always do the planning?

Our "No Kids Cruise" has been canceled and our first time trying specialty restaurants with it. I have blind faith that our Thanksgiving week cruise will happen. I normally wouldn't think about doing an Ultimate Dining Package with the kids, but desperate times call for desperate measures. We will have a 14,10,5 yr old. Do we just book the package for Me,Wife,14yr old and then bring the others along? I understand the 5 yr old is free and the 10 should be $10/meal. I have a massive desire to book up everything possible on my first cruise back.

Anyone else do this with their kids? Any challenges bringing kids to specialty restaurants?