Zambia-Zaire

Sunrise at Haleakalā on Maui is a great venue my wife & I did, which happen to be Cristmas morning. The clouds was at our feet, rolling through the crater like waves in a pond. Snorkeling at Kona, on an inflated raft, a helicopter ride through Waimea Canyon, Ion Valley & Aquarium combine venue. We did a few other things like the submarine ride also at Kona, visit the observatory on the Big Island, part of tour through Hilo, and saw a play at the Lahaina Theater, chronicle King Kamehameha I...it was a very good & well done play.

I think the Solarium does have worldpools/hot tubes; so, i would imagine they could tap into that filtration system. The issue they may face, if it really an issue at all, is finding a suitable location, center, that would allow for the depth of a pool; as well as; structure integrity & support, for that amount of weight...again, not sure that's a real issue.

I suspect when Harmony ever goes to dry-dock, a pool would be added in the Solarium. The Solarium w/o a pool, turned out to be a major miscalculation on the designers part.

Ahhh....finally, a real look of the resirt style pool and L&C Bar. Wish they would have gotten an overhead shot of the pool area, from a deck up, for a better scope of things. Great pics....Playmakers on this ship looks much wider than on Symphony. Glad to see Hooked...I am a huge sea food consumer.

What ship was you & your family on?

Ahh man...still haven't gotten any pics of the resort style pool & C&L Bar. Bummer ?

That's interesting it take thst amount of time to transverse the New Orleans port...that is challenging. As far as visiting NO from Galveston, I would disagree. Although the majority of cruisers cruising out of Galveston are from the Great State of Texas, a stop in NO would be just as enjoyable as going to Freeport, Progresso, or Costa Maya. It's certainly more familiar to cruiser & more American. They wouldn't be push to buy, Bourbon St. is a popular destination, as well as the unique clubs, bars, and cuisine. I think if what you say is true about the challenges & time at port, probably makes it less viable for cruise lines to make NO a "port of call" than just because it's next door. Still a number cruisers cruising out of Galveston are not from Texas or come from western & central part of the huge state, that would love to experience what NO has to offer. Again it also keep down the redundancy of some Caribbean locations. The same can be said for Tampa, imo...especially at the right time of year, during those cities many festivals. You know...you are so right however about Mobile...didn't realize Mobile port was that small & inadequate. A major expansion & upgrade to accommodate mid-size ship, could go a long ways and help that area a lot...some good beaches there...Orange Beach & Pensacola comes to mind. Great info twangster as always. ?

I've sailed on Oasis OTS & Anthem OTS...there are some things I wish Oasis Class ship would adopt from the Quantum Class. One being the cascading pools in the Solarium...another being 270° which obviously has to be located on the back of the ship, under the Auqa Theater, moving the dining hall forward a bit...and finally, an I-Fly simulator. Just a few things I think would serve the Oasis Class well. Maybe put a tinted glass cover across the sports court & the putt putt golf, similarto the Solarium...one piece, not two separate pieces however.

Agree ?

I don't think the Ice rink will go....the shows are unique to Royal & provide an added activity for patrons to ice skates & fight for Planet Z, and all the other activities in Studio B.

Personally, I don't think the beverage package is worth it; because, a person never consume the amount you pay for, on a daily basis. I myself don't drink sodas; however, if I did, I couldn't consume the amount to get my money worth...and keep in mind, the price you pay is daily for the duration of the cruise & you have to pay twice, because two to a cabin. I would strongly consider bringing your personal water on board(12 x 17oz bottles)…otherwise, they do have flavored water you can access anywhere, btw, paying for a drink or soda, every now & then is far more cost efficient than the package. It's like paying for unlimited data monthly, when you only use 5GB per month...know what I'm saying.

I personally suspect, once RCCL is able to get ports of calls expanded to accommodate the larger ships(it may take a decade or more) the smaller class of ships with get move to the company's other cruise lines. In other words, the Radiance Class will become Royal's smallest class in the fleet, under the Royal banner. Royal has the potential by 2026 to have 26 ships in it fleet over 90,000tons. 4 Radiance Class, 5 Voyager Class, 3 Freedom Class, 5 Quantum Class, 3 Icon Class, & 6 Oasis Class....that we know of.

Oh, I understand & am very familiar with the pre-planning, designing, & pre-fab process, of a project of this magnitude. However, the budgeting cost was announced a couple of years ago...which suggest the budgeting cost for the refurbishments, was long accounted for, before the orders(pre-fab) went in. Now I was only referring to the Resort style Pool area & the Lime & Coconut 2-deck bar...as to why RCCL was not adopting the changes fleet wide for those two class of ships(Voyager Class & Freedom Class) versus the same outdated pool area these ships currently have. Royal may adapt these changes to their upcoming drydock schedule for those remaining ships; yet, I can't help but wonder why these particular changes was not implemented on Mariner OTS, Adventure OTS, & Independence OTS, given the budgeting cost & orders was finalize yrs ago? Those three ships has emerged not that long ago...if design was undated & ordered in midstream; those ship I would think, would be reschedule to later drydock date to accommodate those changes. The first drydock on the schedule may have then started with Navigator OTS, in this case for an example. You & twangster bring up a very good observation on the possible considerations & process, into the decision making, to these refurbishments. I'm just referring to the pool area & bar...which was the thesis of my original question a week or two ago or whenever that was on this thread. Neitherless, the pool area is considered standard part of the ship, which I think, has no baring on location. I simply hope they implement those changes on the remaining ships of those classes, in their future drydock schedule.

I have never done a back2back; yet alone, even consider such a compelling thing. However, unless the itinerary is different on the 2nd leg of a B2B, than yes, I certainly agree, what would be the enjoyment of that, unless you are one of those, that either just like the ship or just desire to completely unplug & relax, regardless of itinerary. Yet, one thing I do ponder...why don't any cruise line have cross-port itinerary? For an example: porting out of Galveston, include stops in New Orleans or Mobile or even Tampa(not all on the same itinerary; but rotate between, if stops was allowed), before heading to Progresso, Cozumel, Belize, etc. I suspect that would increase more interest & variety.

Here's a good explanation of some of the issues discussed in this particular post that either confirms and/or validate, the many informative answers given. The most compelling, imo, start at the 4:20 minute mark; however, I suggest looking the short video in its entirety, for a better overall understanding. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZY1BFv8qEeM

Great video...I like watching that guy & very informative. I know, in general I asked before, just wondering, what's the rational in not amping other Voyager class ships similar to Navigator OTS, as well as, the Freedom class ships. Navigator is offering everything I want to see in a refurbished ship. I love the idea of Lime & Coconut 2-deck poolside bar & the reimaged "Resort Style" pool area. Glad to see Navigator getting Playmakers(which is an idea I thought about when on the Boardwalk, on Oasis OTS, in 2016...not saying I had a hand in it or anything ?) and the Bamboo Tiki Bar(which I think should have been partially indoor/outdoor venue, closer to the Solarium...just my take). Neither less...good to see the ship coming into fruition. I know Carnival Panorama debut at the end of the year & will port out of Long Beach...so chalk one up for the West Coast getting a "New Vessel" ?

I have never sailed on Carnival...always have been on Royal & Norwegian. I would be interested to hear your opinions of that cruise whenever you get back...just a number of people I know that cruise Carnival, did not readily enjoy it.

I know RCCL knows it financial forecast & viability better than we; however, I really wish they would consider moving one of the Oasis Class ships to the West Coast in the near future. Mountain & Pacific time zone patrons would really appreciate sailing on one of those class of ships.... ....and if you view a suggestion of itinerary I've posted for an Oasis Class ship, earlier in this thread, JLM just might become a fan of the Oasis Class. ?

Ok, I see...being new to the forum, I didn't catch the inside joke...thought it might be something I needed to be aware of. If you don't mind me asking TD, which Carnival ship are you sailing?

Thanks...didn't know about where Spectrum OTS would port out.

Asian market has taking a bit of downturn; as well as, the big Asian Casino towns/resorts....I think that's the reason why Ovation & Radiance was moved to the NW, from what I read a while back.

What's wrong with this booking?

I think this is great news...now I do think they need to tweak the ship a bit; however, I don't want to present my wish list just yet until my wife & I come back from Symphony later this year...which incidentally would be our second voyage on an Oasis Class ship(Oasis OTS in Sep 2016). One right off the top of my head...that I even wish Symphony had, is the cascading pool in the Solarium, like on Anthem OTS(Quantum Class ships). Never understood why RCCL remove the pool from Harmony.... Well, I think this essentially clarify now, that an Oasis Class ship will port out of Galveston...at some point in the near future. Who has ports large enough to support this class of ship? Mia(Symphony OTS), MCO[Port Canaveral(Harmony OTS)], Bayonne(2020-2021 Oasis OTS), Barcelona(Allure OTS 2020 Western Mediterranean), FLL, Galveston(future). Agree....Allure OTS will sail the Western Med when it emerge from Dry Dock. OH, I Wish(from Southern Cal)….just a 4hr drive from Sin City Baby. Glad to see Ovation OTS porting seasonally out of Seattle. However, Pacific Coast is not a huge cruising market like the Caribbean, Mediterranean, and the emerging Middle East. The Pacific Coast is more on par with the Asian(Hong Kong/Singapore) market; but, much more reliant. It would be great to get some of the bigger ships on the Pacific Coast, Hawaii, & the South Pac. The problem with the Pacific Coast cruises...on the majority of occasions, you port from one location & disembark at another...because of the distance of the itinerary in the most popular of time frames...the 7-Day Cruise....as well as changes in season north of San Francisco...like Astoria, Seattle, Vancouver, WA. & BC, Victoria, and the numerous Alaskans ports. The ideal Pacific Coast itinerary imo would be...1) Sea/Van,BC(rotate), 2)SF, 3)LA/SD(rotate), 4)Ensenada/Cabo San Lucas(rotate)[rotate for variety & one over-night stay in LA or SF(depending on rotation)] for 9-day cruises back & forth, mixed with 5-day cruises, like Anthem OTS out of Bayonne. In other words….do itinerary 1 thru 4 for 9-day, than return with a 5-day, featuring itinerary 4(both ports) thru 3, followed by another 5-day itinerary 3 thru 1, than start over with another 9-day cruise, 5 & 5. Just an Idea.....

I can see it's starting to take shape as advertise on the artist rendition; however, I thought the pool would be slightly larger than the original. Look like the same pool with more shallow area added, to sit/soak in.

I'm royally(no pun intended?) waiting to see the renovated main pool area and the Lime & Coconut Bar