WannaCruise

Happy New Year! Can imagine how crazy Promenade is for New Year's Eve, especially on Oasis class. Wondering if they had other areas on the ship where things went on? Or was it really just the Promenade?

We had Jamie on Independence. He's hilarious.

Enjoy your cruise. Looking forward to hearing about it.

Glad to hear you landed safely and are there. Did you check in your luggage or try carry on? We did carry on in the summer (to Disney in Orlando) when things were a mess, but definitely more challenging when packing for a cruise.

Next year will be our first NYE's cruise, and the following year we have xmas booked. I honestly prefer not to sail at this time. We are coming with our teens (who are very well behaved), but am worried of the crowds and germs as someone mentioned above. The only thing is our older one will be in university starting next September so this is the only time that works where we can cruise with both kids. We are also not Christian so although i love the decorations and general holiday mood, being on a xmas cruise per se isn't meaningful to us. Still, it's a cruise and the only time we can make it work going forward.

Hyatt Place near the cruise port has spacious rooms. It's near Harbor Shops which has a wine store, a Publix and some good restaurant options.

Ah ok...well then as you know, your kids will LOVE Symphony! The piano stairs are just one of the really cool touches on that ship! Exactly....March 2024 we booked Wonder for a room for 3 instead of doing a booking for 4. It really feels empty....don't know how else to describe it. Will really miss him. Treasure these moments. He did say though, that as long as we are paying, he'll still come with us...lol. It's like bribery, but it may just work.

Lovetocruise, excited to see your review. Am sorry your group cruise didn't work out. I know exactly what you mean about the board changing the Christmas holiday dates. We originally had the Dec 19th week one booked with our kids. It was just a back up in case we didn't make it last March so it was fine, but would have been the same issue. So frustrating when they do that ( which doesn't happen often) and it really messed up your plan and coordinating with Royal Blog friends. Glad you were able to find a new plan though and you were able to get your room. Symphony is an amazing ship and very modern. Check out each staircase. It's beautiful. YOLO as you say, and I can totally related to wanting to get in what you can with your kids. Our son is going off to university next year. So instead of cruising March and summer with all of us, it will now just be 1x a year at xmas/new years and hoping even that works. Enjoy! Safe travels.

DH and I are going on Liberty in a few days. At first I thought we'd be on the same sailing but I see that Liberty is first (today) and then Freedom if I'm reading your post and dates right. How great to be doing both back to back. Hope all went well with your travels and you are enjoying.

Thanks for the reply. That's what we are hoping with our CC company as well...that the pending charge will just drop off but wasn't sure if Royal had to do something (or if it would disappear due to lack of claiming ). I still want to go ahead and actually purchase the item but not sure if that will complicate things.

For anyone that has a pending charge on their credit card during the issues (where the booking didn't complete) and called Royal, do they have to do something to remove the charge? Or will it resolve itself and drop off? (Not calling Royal now as don't want to be on hold for hours)

Thanks for the quick response!

I am looking at purchasing a coffee card, which is supposed to cover 15 drinks (I know that a size over small may counts as 2 punches). One question though....when I go to purchase it in the planner, it has both DH and me to select and has a counter per guest. It's a bit confusing. I assume we can just purchase 1 card under my name? If I select both of us, then the price is X2 i.e. If I just highlight me, then it costs $41.34 CAD. But if I select DH and I, then the cost is $82.68 CAD.

Thanks. Good to hear personal feedback that you enjoyed it.

We've been to Roatan once before and did a great private tour. This time, I'm trying to decide between the options below. Coming with teenagers who are 17 and 13. As a note, they aren't huge beach people...but did enjoy West Bay last time when we stopped on our tour as it was so clear and beautfiul. Any comments on any of the below (all Royal except last one): Maya Key Private Island (I know this is mostly a beach day but it also has animals , a small museum and seems convenient with being near ship and shuttle to return when we had enough - would get snorkel masks so they could try that) Roatan Island Tour and Beach Xocolati - The Chocolate Experience (something different our kids may find interesting) Victor Bodden Best of Roatan tour (maybe with dolphin encounter if it's available)

Haven't been on Odyssey (yet - but booked next year) but have been on Allure and Anthem (to compare to Odyssey). Odyssey has the entire Sea Plex that your kids would enjoy..bumper cars and other kid friendly sports games. It also has Sky Pad (which our kids loved on Mariner), iFly (additional cost but lots of fun), North Star (also extra cost on sea day but neat to do) and some virtual reality thing that would be fun for teenagers (unfortunately also an additional cost). So there is definitely lots to do...and this is on top of the usual organized activities and clubs, and then then things like Flowrider and rock wall. Only you can answer about the cost difference, but for us, we like to try different ships. We also found Odyssey pricey (also a 6 night) but just went down in stateroom category as we wanted 2 rooms and that's how we made it work for us.

I'm a scheduler, but that's me as a person. I like to plan and know what's coming up....plus that just helps with the excitement for the time between the cruise to when you board. For planning, I'll look at other cruise compasses (or on app) to similar itinerary on our ship and even spreadsheet it out to see the options. I know that this may not be the same as our cruise but it gives me an idea. I am happy that pre-booking for shows is returning for some ships as this helps too. We also do traditional dining, but even when we had My Time on Allure, I had booked dinner each night (around the show times)

Also on a 4 night. Hope they at least show Saturday Night Fever.

Booked xmas 2024. Our older one will be in university then so stuck to holiday time as we have limited dates (avoiding summer now too), but really want to take both of our kids on this ship while they will still travel with us. Super pricey, even for an interior (at least we have a window) as it's the newest ship + holiday cruise, but can't wait. Ship looks amazing!

Enjoying your review as we were on Anthem in March...and with it's US port out of NY, I can see us going on her again. Really enjoy that ship. Your "obstructed" balcony looks like a great option. I assume it's just that small white part that is the obstruction? Not bad at all. Anthem has really nice balcony rooms...very deep and plenty of space and storage locations. I found Spectra's Cabaret "interesting", but a little odd. Not sure what it was about although it has some nice visuals. DD and I saw it by accident in practice (we were in the 270 in the day and they were "performing" something informally and didn't realize until the end what it was). and then we all saw the real show. Interested in your thoughts on The Gift if you saw it. It hadn't started up yet when we went in March. Looking forward to hearing more.

Thanks for sharing your room experience! I know what you mean...love the over the bed cupboards on Anthem. Such a smart way for Royal to create additional storage space. We booked connecting virtual interior rooms on Odyssey. Look forward to trying those (even if not a real balcony). Wow...and I thought I was organized. Very impressed...amazing with the all the daily ziplock bags for your kids! So smart too with the duffle bag for dirty laundry and then of course the magnets work well for additional items. The bed setup looks good and can see how it would work for 3 kids and 2 adults. We've stayed in a boardwalk balcony but with all our cancellations have yet to try the Central Park one. They do seem nice too. Have heard that warning too about deck 12. Hope you're having a wonderful cruise!

Great review. It's challenging travelling with kids and the focus is doing things for them, but it's so wonderful having these holidays together and creating lasting memories. Thanks for posting the room picture. Curious what you prefer.. 2 connecting interiors or 1 CP balcony room? We had a similar one booked but never got to try the central park one due to covid. We often go through the same dilemma of 2 interior vs 1 balcony...esp cruises these days with prices going up. Also interested in your cruise as we'll be on Oasis is March.

Thanks! Will check it out.

Looking forward to hearing about your trip. The Anthem title got my attention as I remember your posts from your last cruise (and you were helpful when we were planning our Anthem cruise), but then saw you meant Oasis. Interested in hearing how you find they compare. Btw...I love the photoshop idea. I often have great pictures to post of my kids and us, but I don't like putting pictures of them on public sites so just skip those photos. That's a great way to still be able to post something but keeping your privacy. Have a wonderful cruise!

Thanks for noting. We just paid final payment on our Liberty cruise for December and was wondering if they were back to how it was where final payment is your final price. I guess the price drop to the end was just a covid thing.