heffy2

Just booked Libery early April.  I'm not sure I'll live blog, not much else to add that this blog didn't cover, but I'm looking forward to meeting miss Liberty again.  

Fresh of the Empress with a night in a hotel in between I'm ready and pumped for my next cruise.
Did I mention...  IT'S CRUISE DAY!
I thought about starting this thread before my Empress cruise even left the dock (like some others around here do) but that just wouldn't be right.
This five night Majesty of Seas cruise was necessary.  I needed something to justify the airfare to Empress so this side-to-side was the perfect solution.
Itinerary
Ft. Lauderdale Nassau Perfect Day at CocoCay Sea Day Key West Ft. Lauderdale I love Empress but this way I'm upgrading to a much larger ship!  Plus, I gotta get back to CocoCay.  :) 
I originally booked a number of Empress and Majesty sailings when the Cuba cancellations were forced upon the industry.  I feared Royal might move these ships out of the fleet.  My plan was to take lots of pictures and document this legacy class of ship that were the foundation of so much that became even much more on later ships.  It was because of the success of ships like this that Royal has become what it is today.   Success breeds success.  As it turns out they aren't moving these ships out to pasture just yet plus I get to sail on some of the best (small) ships in the fleet!  That's a win-win.
To be fair I split my time between Empress (3 bookings) and Majesty (3 bookings).  I already had some fall bookings that were bucket list type cruises so I had push some my Majesty cruises into October but that's okay, she'll be here waiting for me.
When you stay in a hotel and pay for things like meals and drinks you quickly appreciate the value that cruising represents.  Spoiler alert - the view out my hotel window never changed and I woke up right where I was the day before.  #boring
Cabin this time is an Ocean View on deck 4.  

Ah, there's just nothing like a Viking Crown Lounge ❤️

I remember my second RC cruise on Majesty’s sister, Monarch of the Seas (now retired/sold). It’s was in her inaugural year and was the worlds largest cruise ship. That Sovereign class really is what launched Royal Caribbean. Our first RC cruise was on Song of America. A really classic ship. 

There’s a ton of stuff happening on our last sea day. Check out Day 8 cruise compass. 
Our highlights today are to hit the thermal suite, I Fly, Bridge tour, hopefully wave rider will be open as it’s currently raining pretty hard, Supper at Chops, attend headliner comedy show starring Greg Vaccariello and fireworks later tonight.  Oh and I gave Harry our last 2 bags of laundry. (I will miss Harry ?) And I can’t forget making the final selections for the photo book. 

Review of Spectra’s Cabaret 
I enjoyed the technical aspects of the 270 theatre and the performances individually were good but the show lacked a storyline. I thought it was a futuristic storyline  but then it went in a completely different direction.  I was confused. 
Lindsay’s review is that it was 54 minutes too long and 55 minutes of his life he will never get back. He felt the entertainment was better watching people fight over food in the people jammer.  ?
 

Our HVAC issues have finally been fixed!! I am simplifying the issue but essentially the main floor thermostat was set to heat (couldn’t get it off heat setting) and was directing heat over my bed on 2nd floor.  The HVAC team tore apart some things on both levels and things are finally running smoothly. They came again today to do some A/C testing. The HVAC supervisor checks in a couple times a day and is monitoring our thermostats remotely.  He is the best!! Andreas said he would share details about a future OBC for the hastle and inconvenience.  I will update once I know more.  

I don’t know of a challenge Lindsay won’t accept!   Lindsay did the pineapple a day challenge in Maui 2 Christmas’s ago and let’s just say by New Year’s it didn’t end well. ?
 

Update on HVAC 
Long story short problems continue ?. We were as high as 78 last night possibly higher in bedroom on 2nd level. And as low as 61 on main floor. It sounds like we now have the right people involved in finding a resolution. In order to regulate the 2 levels we have had to give control of our thermostat over to Royals HVAC team. We communicate our needs to Andres and they work behind the scenes to try to balance out both thermostats. More discussion to happen tomorrow as the main level is still on the cold side. Lindsay thinks we should capitalize on this situation and offer up the main floor as a meat locker and the 2nd floor as a thermal suite. ?  
We are excited for our over water cabana tomorrow, visiting Labadee for the first time and  know it will be a great day!! Can’t wait to share the highlights with you! 

I think you will be happy with your O-T-W cabana choice. It is a wonderful experience.  ....and think about it....how many people who booked cabanas, bungalows and clam shells for Coco Cay are going to NOT be able to get a corresponding experience on Labadee ?  There are waaay more of these facilities available on CC than Labadee.  Some people aren’t going to get them.  Star Class WAS a huge advantage for this change of itinerary.

It is now day 2 of the cruise and we are docked in saint Maartend today!  We did a good tour through the ship that was great.   The French side is closed to tourists today because of some protesting so we stayed on the Dutch side.  There were only 8’on the tour which made the tour very comfortable with plenty of room on the bus.  The first stop was the cheese stop near the port where we got to try 4 different cheeses and then they prepared homemade macaroni and cheese and we got to try 3 different versions with the various cheeses and cava.  I bought some of the new Amsterdam cheese.  The second stop was the fish market where we had a Johnny cake, ribs, salad, and plantains.  It was a nice setting along the water.   We were ahead of schedule so the driver took us for a drive around the airport, and then we went to the Carousel for our last stop for homemade gelato.  
 
We are now back on board and I am going to hit the gym for an afternoon workout before hitting the diamond lounge at 5.   Dinner is at chops tonight for our first night with our 3 night dining package. 
 
I will also post some pictures from the mixology class at casa Bacardi yesterday in San Juan that we did prior to boarding the ship.  
 
 

Mmmm...food at Raices.
 

Which has the same stated clearance as the Lions Gate Bridge.  Ovation has passed under twice.
Wikipedia is not the source of all truth.

Thanks for sharing.  
I had mixed feelings about watching the video knowing the outcome.  
It does pretty clearly show him lean out the window before lifting her.    I don't think you can lean that far over the railing without sticking your head through the window and outside the glass.  With his body so far over the hand railing I cannot accept that he didn't know the window was open.
I also don't understand why the family is covering for him.  If my parents or in-laws did something like this and the video clearly showed what it does I would be not be so understanding and covering for them, I would be livid at them.  They would have to do some serious explaining to me.  
What is wrong with this family?

As @AshleyDillo has stated certain booking categories are not available to book as a solo.  Often WS suite guarantees fall into this category.  Sometimes other "Guarantee" cabins fall into this category such as balcony, OV or interior.  You have to price all the way to the end to see the details.  You can't just look at the initial prices presented on a pre-tax basis.  
There can also be some flux when the cheapest category within a class in on the edge of selling out.  By the time you click through the process the 2N might no longer be available and your rate is now no longer in the system.  Pricing for GTY is dynamic until you have an actual booking. 
With cabins where you pick your actual cabin this is less frequent because the system locks your selected cabin out of inventory as you continue on with the booking.  In so doing if you grabbed the last cheap cabin the next person the website may not see that rate anymore - they see a price jump.  If you don't book after a few minute that cabin goes back into inventory and if the threshold is crossed the rates drop again.  
Airline seats often work the same way.  There are only so many "Wanna Get Away" seats and there are differently priced "Wanna Get Away" seats.  Maybe someone yesterday paid $56 and now today you only see $79.  Early bird gets the cheaper worm.  Once on the plane all the seats are the same but some people paid less than others.
Occasionally when a GTY is solo eligible the rate can disappear by the time you reach the end.  This is because someone else is also trying to score that deal and beat you through to the end.  Snooze you lose.  
Just this week I was watching a studio GTY on a ship with just two cabins available.  So were other people.  I couldn't make it through and apply my deposit, it reported an issue with my credit card.  Repeating the process and the studio GTY was no longer available.  Waited a few and it was back but same issue.    Later I checked with NextCruise and discovered they don't offer studio GTY cabins, they could only offer a confirmed studio cabin even though the GTY was back on the website showing available.  Absent of the GTY the rate was $600 more for the same studio cabin.   So I asked my TA watch for the GTY and put a hold on it.  She did, at the cheaper rate.  A couple days later and it was still being offered on the website but NextCruise couldn't offer that rate so I had my TA book it using the hold she had in place.     

Don't bother filling anything in. Your ghost will person can deal with a manual check in process at the port... If they show up on time.

@Lovetocruise2002 nailed it.  That lowest price is based on double occupancy in the cheapest room allowed (interior GTY).  It won't let you book solo and get the GTY..so you need to fake the 2nd person in this case to allow it and just get the port taxes refunded for your phantom 2nd passenger when they "no show" ?

So... that just happened.   Turns out that cruising in a group of 7, with 4 boys is a LOT busier than I ever anticipated and the whole "live" portion of the blog went completely out the window.   We got home super late last night and are getting our feet under us today (kids actually went to school) and I'm plowing through a million work emails... I will attempt to recap and recount over the next few days.   
 
Needless to say - we all woke up this morning in official Starr Class Withdrawal (whaddaya mean there's no starbucks waiting for me on the table???)  

A huge change for Oasis of the Seas is the addition of the Perfect Storm water slides.




The entrance and stairs for all three slides is on deck 15 port side.









 



The slides are a lot of fun and they've been open even on port days when there are no lines and you can slide and slide again.

Music Hall update:
Week 1 - Phoenix, classic rock cover band
Week 2 - Resurrection, Journey tribute band
Week 3 - Pandora's Box, Aerosmith tribute band

Beautiful pictures as always, thank you so much!

I actually think the new Music Hall is waaay better than the old Dazzles.  Granted, it is smaller than the one on Anthem but I really enjoyed it.  I'm so glad that the O classes will now regularly be getting some Cover/Tribute Bands.  I agree with Twangster that the acoustics in this space are better than those in the Q class Music Hall.

El Loco Fresh is new to Oasis of the Seas.  This appears to a closely resemble El Loco Fresh on Symphony.

Handwashing stations.

Like other El Loco Fresh in the fleet there are a selection of premade options.


A tortilla press right in the restaurant.


Toppings.

El Loco Fresh is always a popular spot and it's pretty much impossible to get photos absent of any guests.

A freestyle drink machine is found around the corner convenient for anyone on the sports deck.

My first meal was lunch on boarding day.
Sammie with pulled pork.

It's a lot of food and quite filling.
For dinner another night I had the brisket and ribs.

Very tender. Fall off the bone tender.

It's so much food I couldn't finish the brisket and all the ribs.
Sauces are available at the table.

At dinner they had live music.



Turkey leg lunch on another boarding day.  I feel like Fred Flinstone the Turkey leg is that big.

All three meals at Portside BBQ have been really good.