asquared17

we LOVE   tacos!! this is such great news!!

thank you for sharing!!

1 hour ago, CrznTxn said:

I just called C&A and requested I have automatic upgrade set to yes. The associate said that they do not have automatic upgrade any longer and it is replaced with RoyalUp. I explained that I was informed that some "friends" had just talked to C&A and they had their account updated. She then stated that she would look on one of the other screens and lo and behold there it was. So my wife and I are now checked yes for upgrades if available. I did not inquire if there were any other items I could check, I was just happy that I had that one updated. Not sure I will see any in my lifetime but at least I know it is there.

i truly hope this was the case, and am happy for you and your wife -- that will be a great surprise if you get a free upgrade

but there's also the skeptical part of me that wonders how true that "other screen" really was and if she may have been placating you since the policy has changed with the RoyalUp now.

either way, i hope you will have a wonderful sailing + that there will be an upgrade in your future!!

^^ oh boy, good to know about this.

@Swar and @Qeyton Dude these are both excellent suggestions!! thank you both for sharing.

(i always forget $2 bills are even a thing. seems handy, esp in this scenario.)

12 minutes ago, smokeybandit said:

DBP for my next cruise is down to a respectable $66

if i did the DBP, this would be the price that would have me pulling the trigger!!!

so many success stories this morning with the sales we love to see it!!!

1 hour ago, Mike n Ky said:

I just checked and since I am 48 hours from getting onboard it wouldn't let me book or change anything.

have a FANTASTIC time!!!

we stayed in this very cabin with three adults -- it's definitely got more space than your average stateroom -- and it's so close to the aqua theater and rest of the back of the ship that you could always step out and wander around to the boardwalk if you needed air. the bunks were fine, as i slept on the bottom and treated the top like my dresser but it sounds like your girls would get a kick out of them.

it is a bit of a hike and we would laugh about it when we hauled back there from the elevators, but we are also walkers and didn't mind too much as we prefer aft cabins also.

however, i tend to agree with the others recommending a second stateroom -- whether it be a connecting balcony or one main balcony and interior room right across from you all. we did this on a few of our earlier family cruises and the extra bathroom and cabin really did help, and the cost was not too bad, either.

and a junior suite at least would keep them in the same room but on a pull out, with extra space and some suite benefits, so that may be more cost-effective if it is still available for your sailing. just make sure you check with RCCL/your travel agent when booking, as not all junior suites can accommodate four passengers. (weirdly, there are some that don't have a pullout couch and can only fit two people.)

haven't seen this one yet, so hopefully i am not putting this in the wrong spot -- DBP down to $68 a day, water package at $12 per case, and some other discounts in there if you are looking for a bargain.

surf voom down to $11.99 a day would have pulled the trigger in a heartbeat if it were surf + stream

anyone else noticing good sale hunting in their cruise planners? ?

eta: i noticed a weird glitch that if i looked in the coco cay category and navigated to the drinks or internet pages, it didn't give me the best pricing. i had to be on the main page that advertised the sale. so beware, friends!

i think it also may have to do with the capacity and your party size.

for instance, we were a party of two and able to go at like 5:45 for dinner the first two or three nights and then once the sky and star class suite guests decided how frequently/often they would come for dinner, we were able to shift back to a 6pm i think midway through.

but again, we went into it with the clear understanding that we'd gratefully flex to daily capacity in CK + the other suite guests to have dinner there, and were always happy when they could accommodate us.

15 minutes ago, FloatyBoaty said:

Looking forward to checking that out soon! Thanks for the recommendation

best champagne and martinis on the ship, in my opinion. plus, you don't have to worry about the champagne going flat -- they are ON IT and every glass is delightfully effervescent and delicious.

now i wish i was drinking champagne at 10:15 in the morning hahaha

and be flexible with your time - on crowded sailings we were able to get an earlier than desired time because that was the only way they could accommodate us. we were fine with that and happy to be in and out before the main crush of people came in.

looking back, i think we could have maybe also done super late too but we are early birds

but she DOES have the champagne bar, which honestly is a win. that place was wonderful. i miss it.

3 hours ago, rmulks said:

I called this morning to report this issue and they said that they've yet to receive a complaint or report of the issue... 

Maybe if we all report it, they'll be more likely to fix it. It's so frustrating!

uhhhhh. that's bizarre.

17 minutes ago, OCSC Mike said:

Everyone has their preferences. I make cheap stuff with flavored creamer at home so anything the machine spits out is an upgrade to me. I'm not picky.

absolutely. and the big machine is really uniformly excellent, especially for the quality and volume of coffee it pumps out on the daily. it's very tasty!! sometimes we like to do a shot or two of espresso with hot water, americano style and it's just crisp and delicious. you have the right idea!!

thank you for the info, @Pattycruise!! i will try this out when we sail in february and see what happens

2 hours ago, OCSC Mike said:

It's a ghost town in the early AM (based on Harmony and Indy over the past few months).

Be aware, not sure how long you exercise, but the coffee machine may not be prepped and ready until 7am and breakfast was put out later than it used to be on both my recent cruises.

My wife gets up even earlier than you to go running most mornings (yes, she's nuts) and my routine had always been to go to the DL for several early morning cappuccinos and a couple pastries (I call it pre-breakfast). I had to settle for my coffee at 7-ish on both ships.

One DL concierge told me HQ decided to not leave the coffee machine on overnight as they often had pre-covid b/c they found too many people were breaking it while it ws unattended. Made no sense to me b/c it's on and unattended all day between breakfast and happy hour but oh well. Minor annoyance but I still enjoy my free cappuccinos.

ah yes, pre-breakfast -- i refer to it also as "first breakfast" to be honest, the coffee is usually an afterthought for me, since i am that psycho who travels with their own cold brew and will have some before departing the cabin in the morning -- but this is good to know. i noticed that the coffee machine was offline a few times when i had gone early in the morning last time we sailed on oasis, but i figured i was just there too early for signs of human life

the big espresso machines make me nervous for that reason; i worked at starbucks for many years prior to getting into retail and into the tech field now and the thought of everyone being able to just punch whatever combination of keys in kind of blows my mind. then again, i am the type a/control freak person who makes their own coffee, so maybe i am not the right person to advise on this the automatic machines are so finicky and have so many things that can set them off -- it is definitely a treat to use them but they can throw error codes so easily. (or maybe it's operator error for people like me haha)

thinking we will have to get creative with how we plan our cruise activities this time around.

not sure if the excursions or things in the cruise planner will calm down in another year or two, when RCCL gets back in the black from covid, but i sure am hoping that they do.

YUM!! you kind of can't go wrong with CK for lunch though, especially on embarkation day when it's nice to have a bit of peace and quiet away from everyone getting the lay of the land

the chicken sandwich intrigues me

congratulations!! diamond is such a fun achievement the last time we were in CK for dinner, our server did a doubletake when he saw that i was diamond and said i had to be the youngest person in the fleet i know he was just being kind but it made me laugh. (i also have a young face, i suppose )

the diamond lounge is nice to visit in the early mornings; i used to get up early to exercise around 6 and then hit the DL on my way back to the cabin for a quick yogurt or fun pastry and coffee. it's not usually as overrun as some of the other elite lounges (or at least, it wasn't pre-covid, so take this with a grain of salt!) and typically is quite mellow and relaxing. part of that may also be due to the fact that you have to haul it down to deck 4 on the oasis class ships, which is usually pretty quiet in the mornings as there are no shows/entertainment happening at that time.

i am excited to use the free drink coupons now for all day (and also at coco cay thanks to @twangster's helpful reminder) and am so happy to offset my poolside treat/drink without having it hit my seapass card!

also did not know it could be used for freshly squeezed OJ in the 'jammer, another special treat i would not have ordinarily taken advantage of if needing to pay ala carte for it.

and don't forget you can also use them at wonderland for drinks at the bar!! (clearly i have my drink plans all mapped out hahaha)

sidebar: does anyone know if it can be used for freshly squeezed juices in the vitality cafe?

was looking at oasis sailings for november/december '23 and got the same error message. unsure if the site needs some refresh or perhaps my browser does

i never would have thought of the air mattress, @CALFROM! that's a great idea.

we are a family of three and have stayed in a crown loft before -- it is ample room for us (three adult travelers) and keeps everyone centrally located. we had other family that got the CL next to us and we were able to keep centrally located with CK, pool deck, insulated away from most of the masses involved on a 6K passenger cruise. (A nice perk as the crowds can get overwhelming at times.)

to date, it remains one of my favorite cabins on the oasis class ships. the views are unbeatable, the two bathrooms are incredible, and the layout is fantastic. you get all the benefits of sky class suites (free/included voom for all, priority boarding, all day CK access and more) which isn't possible with two connecting balcony rooms -- if you're looking to duplicate the second bathroom thing.

would highly recommend if you are comfortable with it from a financial standpoint -- we've always loved it and had a wonderful time. also gets you special access at labadee with the beach, which was sooooo nice. free beach chair/toy/float rentals etc.

i often encourage my fam to wear what they feel their most confident in; for many, a tux is over the top and uncomfortable -- and that will translate into your body language during the evening.

a nice pair of pants, shirt and tie is elevated for so many, especially while on vacation, and lends an air of confidence much better than it would to be fidgeting uncomfortably all night in a tux or a suit that is never worn and doesn't fit properly. plus, the pants can likely double for the second night, with another nice shirt, and then you can save space when packing!

if i go into the cruise planner now, i can purchase the water package but it's likely not evian based on price. i put it into my cart two nights ago just to estimate how much it would cost and now it's over $40 for 24 cans of water. previously it showed the "true" water bottles in the picture and now it's just generic.

wondering what kind of water roulette we should prepare for in february for our cruise

i'm **not opposed to bringing some water onboard or lugging it around until we can get into our cabin -- but i will already be hauling specialty cold brew from home (don't ask, i have an unholy addiction to this coffee) and most likely, unsweetened almond milk (have just submitted a request to see if they can accommodate this onboard but if not, we will have to bring with us ). so i don't want to short our liquids in any other way if we can get around it.

R2-3PO i am dying @TheRick

sorry to hear of your coco cay struggles and am glad that your family is all safe (and hopefully still recovering nicely).

3 hours ago, teddy said:

I’m in retail.  Since the pandemic started in early 2020, I’ve been working 6 and 7 days a week other than the three cruises we’ve taken.  Costs have increased and we can’t find enough help.  No one is happy…customers or workers.

 

When we are lucky enough to have 7 to 8 days of doing nothing, we appreciate the people who wait on us.  We not only pay the gratuities that Royal charges, we pay additional cash directly to the workers who have made a direct impact on us  

Food for thought:  Something we hear from a lot from new hires who leave after a month or so is that they don’t want to work in retail because of the way they get treated by customers.   I know I’ve personally seen crew on ships get talked to by guests in ways I don’t know if I could handle….and I’ve been interacting with customers for 37 years. 

i worked retail for 15+ years and right during Peak Pandemic and it was,,,,, something.

while i think everyone can agree that things have changed since 2020, there are just as many people who refuse to adapt and take their frustrations out on people. so many times i have seen or been a victim of people just flipping out over something trivial because they were already irritated at XYZ.

i was able to get out of retail last year and remain grateful that i can work in an industry that allows me some space from that type of interaction; but that doesn't mean i'm fully clear of it -- i still have calls and meetings that go rogue, where people ream me out for no reason and just make me the scapegoat for their anger. thankfully, i can walk away at the end of those calls/meetings and put it behind me (this is far easier said than done).

my point is -- i can't imagine being on a ship with their insane workloads and having to be "ON" all the time. their schedules are grueling and people are NOT respectful. they don't often have the ability (if ever) to walk away or take a breath; they have to roll with it and go on to the next guest interaction like nothing happened. i know for a certainty that i would not be able to do that job with a fraction of the good attitude they have, and believe they deserve every single penny of gratuities and then some. (always why we pre-pay and then tip onboard with those we engage throughout our stay.)