Fairlynew

Central Park is a beautiful and romantic place.  Make sure you take a nighttime stroll through there.

I am sailing on March 1, so I got my acceptance with 17 days to go.  On this and other boards, I have seen people get accepted as early as 45 days out and as late as 24 hours out.  As far as I can tell, it is random.  Best of luck.
I was happy with what I had and to me, the randomness was sort of fun.  I enjoyed checking every now and then to see if anything had changed.  I used the theory that "you can't win if you don't enter".  As far as randomness of room location, I think most of the categories you mention are in good locations.  I am not sure how we will like having the handicapped bathrooms (we got an accessible suite-which I feel a little guilty about) , but I know we will enjoy the extra space in our suite.  We also have an elevator, which I find amusing because I positively hate elevators and go out of my way to take stairs whenever possible.  

I am sailing on March 1, so I got my acceptance with 17 days to go.  On this and other boards, I have seen people get accepted as early as 45 days out and as late as 24 hours out.  As far as I can tell, it is random.  Best of luck.
I was happy with what I had and to me, the randomness was sort of fun.  I enjoyed checking every now and then to see if anything had changed.  I used the theory that "you can't win if you don't enter".  As far as randomness of room location, I think most of the categories you mention are in good locations.  I am not sure how we will like having the handicapped bathrooms (we got an accessible suite-which I feel a little guilty about) , but I know we will enjoy the extra space in our suite.  We also have an elevator, which I find amusing because I positively hate elevators and go out of my way to take stairs whenever possible.  

Click on this link and log in:
https://www.royalcaribbean.com/booked/cruise-room-upgrade

As promised, here is the update.  I have changed my bids a couple of times and ended up with a minimum bid on the Star Loft suite and slightly above minimum bid on the Aqua Theater 2 bedroom and the Crown Loft suite.  I checked the status about an hour ago and found that both the Star Loft and the Aqua Theater had expired, and the Crown Loft was pending.  I was unable to modify the pending bid however.  I tried because I was curious.  They were in the process of upgrading me!!!  We are now in a Crown Loft suite.  I am very excited.  I was thrilled to be in a GS, and now I am extra excited.  For those wondering, the minimum bid was $300 pp and I bid $400 pp, which registered in the lowest part of the weak scale.  This is my third RC sailing and my second Sky Class.  This will be my husband's second RC sailing, and he has never been on an Oasis class ship or in a suite.  He knows we are in a GS, but not about the upgrade.  It will be a nice surprise.  We are in 1742.  Can anyone tell me anything about it?  

As promised, here is the update.  I have changed my bids a couple of times and ended up with a minimum bid on the Star Loft suite and slightly above minimum bid on the Aqua Theater 2 bedroom and the Crown Loft suite.  I checked the status about an hour ago and found that both the Star Loft and the Aqua Theater had expired, and the Crown Loft was pending.  I was unable to modify the pending bid however.  I tried because I was curious.  They were in the process of upgrading me!!!  We are now in a Crown Loft suite.  I am very excited.  I was thrilled to be in a GS, and now I am extra excited.  For those wondering, the minimum bid was $300 pp and I bid $400 pp, which registered in the lowest part of the weak scale.  This is my third RC sailing and my second Sky Class.  This will be my husband's second RC sailing, and he has never been on an Oasis class ship or in a suite.  He knows we are in a GS, but not about the upgrade.  It will be a nice surprise.  We are in 1742.  Can anyone tell me anything about it?  

I don't remember what i ordered, but it was so bad, I could not finish it.  Luckily, I had the drink package.

Our muster station is G1-the Aqua Theater.  At least it's March, not August!  Hopefully, it will not be too hot or too rainy!  On the other hand, at least there should be seating.  We had muster on the promenade on Harmony in August, and it was a crowded mess!  Wall to wall people-very chaotic.  
There is one other downside-I used the stairs on Harmony to justify all that I ate!  With the lounge right next door, not sure what I will do!  

Our muster station is G1-the Aqua Theater.  At least it's March, not August!  Hopefully, it will not be too hot or too rainy!  On the other hand, at least there should be seating.  We had muster on the promenade on Harmony in August, and it was a crowded mess!  Wall to wall people-very chaotic.  
There is one other downside-I used the stairs on Harmony to justify all that I ate!  With the lounge right next door, not sure what I will do!  

As promised, here is the update.  I have changed my bids a couple of times and ended up with a minimum bid on the Star Loft suite and slightly above minimum bid on the Aqua Theater 2 bedroom and the Crown Loft suite.  I checked the status about an hour ago and found that both the Star Loft and the Aqua Theater had expired, and the Crown Loft was pending.  I was unable to modify the pending bid however.  I tried because I was curious.  They were in the process of upgrading me!!!  We are now in a Crown Loft suite.  I am very excited.  I was thrilled to be in a GS, and now I am extra excited.  For those wondering, the minimum bid was $300 pp and I bid $400 pp, which registered in the lowest part of the weak scale.  This is my third RC sailing and my second Sky Class.  This will be my husband's second RC sailing, and he has never been on an Oasis class ship or in a suite.  He knows we are in a GS, but not about the upgrade.  It will be a nice surprise.  We are in 1742.  Can anyone tell me anything about it?  

As promised, here is the update.  I have changed my bids a couple of times and ended up with a minimum bid on the Star Loft suite and slightly above minimum bid on the Aqua Theater 2 bedroom and the Crown Loft suite.  I checked the status about an hour ago and found that both the Star Loft and the Aqua Theater had expired, and the Crown Loft was pending.  I was unable to modify the pending bid however.  I tried because I was curious.  They were in the process of upgrading me!!!  We are now in a Crown Loft suite.  I am very excited.  I was thrilled to be in a GS, and now I am extra excited.  For those wondering, the minimum bid was $300 pp and I bid $400 pp, which registered in the lowest part of the weak scale.  This is my third RC sailing and my second Sky Class.  This will be my husband's second RC sailing, and he has never been on an Oasis class ship or in a suite.  He knows we are in a GS, but not about the upgrade.  It will be a nice surprise.  We are in 1742.  Can anyone tell me anything about it?  

As promised, here is the update.  I have changed my bids a couple of times and ended up with a minimum bid on the Star Loft suite and slightly above minimum bid on the Aqua Theater 2 bedroom and the Crown Loft suite.  I checked the status about an hour ago and found that both the Star Loft and the Aqua Theater had expired, and the Crown Loft was pending.  I was unable to modify the pending bid however.  I tried because I was curious.  They were in the process of upgrading me!!!  We are now in a Crown Loft suite.  I am very excited.  I was thrilled to be in a GS, and now I am extra excited.  For those wondering, the minimum bid was $300 pp and I bid $400 pp, which registered in the lowest part of the weak scale.  This is my third RC sailing and my second Sky Class.  This will be my husband's second RC sailing, and he has never been on an Oasis class ship or in a suite.  He knows we are in a GS, but not about the upgrade.  It will be a nice surprise.  We are in 1742.  Can anyone tell me anything about it?  

Central Park is a beautiful and romantic place.  Make sure you take a nighttime stroll through there.

Central Park is a beautiful and romantic place.  Make sure you take a nighttime stroll through there.

Central Park is a beautiful and romantic place.  Make sure you take a nighttime stroll through there.

This review is long over due.  Once I got home, life got in the way.  This review is not very detailed.  As I warned before I left, I am a relax and read sort of girl on vacation.   Warning, you may find this boring-I did not do much and I did not take any pictures.  
We met at the Orlando airport, rented a car and headed to Canaveral.  We drove straight to the port area to watch the Saturday ships sail off.  The upper deck at Fishlips was perfect.  We were about level with the upper decks of the two ships: Carnival Breeze and Disney Fantasy.  It was obvious from our vantage point that the Breeze was in need of some maintenance.  Afterwards, we purchased sunscreen and checked into the Radisson at the Port.  It was fine, but I would not recommend it.  The rooms open onto a breezeway and the only elevator we found was very inconvenient.  Our suitcases did not roll well over the uneven pavement of the breezeways.  In addition, when we checked out the next morning, the lobby was jammed with people waiting for the shuttle.  It did not appear to be very organized. 
We drove the beach looking for a place for dinner.  We went to Banos-a truly amazing Italian restaurant.  If you are in Cocoa Beach and want Italian, I highly recommend it.  We had different dishes: chicken picatta and chicken parmesan-both were excellent.
The next morning, we checked out the hotel breakfast and realized that it was really expensive.  We went to the McDonald’s across the street to grab something light and some coffee.  We knew that we’d be getting plenty to eat during the coming week. 
We returned our rental car to Alamo around 9:30.  There was some confusion about the shuttle.  The front desk told us we could go on the next shuttle.  The driver told us that he had to leave right away and could not wait for us to turn in the keys and load our luggage.  He said that company policy was to only pick up from the port until 10:30 and not to take any passengers to board the ship until that time.  While he was explaining this, I was loading our luggage into the van and my friend was enlisting the aid of the front desk.  We got on the shuttle and got to the port at a little before 10.  Check in was quick and easy.  There was no line at all for the suites check in.  We were in the suites waiting area within 10 minutes of getting out of the shuttle at the port and were on board the ship by around 10:30.
We had decided that we would get a drink at the first bar we saw-we planned to take full advantage of the drink package.  We walked in right at the Rising Tide bar and grabbed a glass of champagne to celebrate.  They were still setting up the bar area but were very kind to us. 
We wandered around the ship for a while, enjoying exploring, then headed up to the suites lounge and grabbed another drink there.  I did use the drink package in the suites lounge because my favorite sparkling wine is only in the MDR, but I requested that they stock in the suites lounge.  We had fun people watching, then had lunch in the CK.  I know the general opinion is that the lunch menu is not great, but we both had a wonderful meal.  I had herb encrusted chicken and my friend got salmon.  We shared the margarita flat bread for an appetizer and I had something chocolate for desert.   For you foodies out there, I am sorry, this is the only meal I remember what I ate.
After lunch, our room was ready.  We checked it out and then further explored the ship (and the bars).  We got a drink at the robot bar, and both of them were so awful, we didn’t finish them.  When we got back our luggage was there, so we unpacked and got ready for dinner. 
We ate each night in the CK.  Our reservations were between 6 and 6:15 both nights.  We usually headed to the lounge around 5 and had cocktails with a delightful family that we met up there the first night.  I had requested a table by the window and that request was honored almost every night.  The main thing we had not wanted was one of us with our back to the window, and that was never an issue.  We quickly discovered our favorite servers and were in their section each night.  We had either breakfast or lunch in the CK every day and dinner each night.  Three meals a day there would have been too much, so we varied it.  For breakfast, I loved both the French toast and the waffles.   For those that are wondering, I know that Junior suite guests were able to eat in the CK at least part of the time because we met one couple in there who were in a junior suite.  We saw them at least three different evenings.
I will also post details in the dining section, but we were able to have desert in Wonderland one evening, even though we did not have the dining package.  
The ship is large. We certainly did not experience all that it has to offer. I did go to the fitness center most mornings; it was very nice and I never had an issue finding a selection of equipment to use, even on sea days.

We had the drink package and managed to try out most of the bars, at least once. My only "complaint" was the heavy pours. I had to specifically tell the bar tenders to put less alcohol in my drinks. They routinely put a double shot in all mixed drinks-a single shot is plenty for me! Others may find that a positive.

I had breakfast in the Vitality Cafe twice, before working out. It was a very good, light breakfast. We also had lunch in the Park Cafe one day-very good, at Mini-Bites one afternoon-less good but not terrible and Sorenttos. The pizza was much better than expected. I really liked it, although I like most anything that I don't have to cook. We also went to the MDR for lunch one day. It was good, but it was very crowded and the atmosphere was hectic.


We saw Grease-very good, The Fine Line-a little odd, but we enjoyed it and both ice shows. My favorite show was I-Skate, but I enjoyed them all.  We liked the suite seating for all of the shows.  At the Fine Line, they tried to turn us away after scanning our sea passes because we did not have a reservation.  I politely explained that we were told that we did not need them since we were sky class.  He immediately pointed us in the right direction.  I mention this merely to let you know that there can be a disconnect between the pass and scanning it. 
We did not do any excursions.  We sat on the beach at Coco Cay for a while, but it was VERY hot.  We then went to the pool area, which seemed more comfortable, although it was still really hot. 
At St. Maartens, we took the water taxi to the beach and grabbed two chairs, an umbrella and a bucket of 6 Heinekens for $20.  It was more pleasant there than at Coco Cay.
In San Juan, we explored both forts on our own.  It was very hot, and we rested a while in the lobby of a very neat hotel across the street from a church.  The hotel used to be a convent, and has a serene bar area right in the middle of the courtyard.  We were tired that day-we walked over 9 miles.

Other than that, we generally just sat on the suite sun deck or in the suite lounge and watched people and read. A big advantage of the suite lounge and deck is that we really got to know some of our fellow passengers, which I really enjoyed. With one or two exceptions, everyone was warm and friendly. The concierges, Jeremias and Mohammed were fabulous, as was the CK manager, Ace and our waiter, Laurence.

The pools were exceptionally crowded. We never really went near them, but could see the crowds. We did enjoy the hot tub on the suite deck.
We did not have any issue with crowds, perhaps because we only took the elevator once the entire week. We were on deck 7 and found that walking up to deck 17 was a good way to get hungry for the great meals we enjoyed!  We might have found the crowds more intrusive had we not had access to the suite areas or if we had not been fit enough to take the stairs. The suite areas were very quiet and relaxing.
For most of the trip, Central Park was too hot to really enjoy-not unexpected in August.  The Boardwalk area had more of a breeze.  Our balcony was pleasant when the ship was moving and it was shady.  When the sun was shining our way or the ship was still, it was very hot.  I know I have mentioned being hot a lot-it was August, and I expected it.  I am not complaining, just sharing information for others.  I am from NC, so I am very used to heat and humidity.  If that bothers you, August might not be the best time for you to cruise.

I have heard other people comment about the cruise director, Dennis.  I did not really interact with him-I thought he was a little overboard at some of the shows, but it didn’t bother me.  I did find him very offensive at the suite sail away party.  I might not have mentioned here had several other passengers not also commented on it.  He began speaking about how suite guests and pinnacle members are the top 1% of all cruisers and are the crème of the crop for the cruise industry.  Then he asked us if we didn’t feel sorry for all of the poor people down below.  I found this comment to be in exceptionally bad taste, and I was not the only one.  The woman beside me asked if she had heard it correctly.  The couple behind me was appalled as well.  In the suite lounge later, two other people mentioned how much it bothered them.  First of all, I don’t feel sorry for anyone on a cruise ship (except maybe the crew sometimes).  Secondly, all of us on the ship were spending what we could afford.  I would not have been in a suite had I not gotten an incredibly good deal, very close to the sail date. I did tell him that his comment bothered me because I don't think it is fair to complain about something that someone does unless you are willing to say it to them directly.  He apologized.
Couple of notes on sky class: beach towels are provided on the suite sun deck, but they make you scan your card at other places-a major pain.  The suite lounge is awesome, and I loved having the reserved seating for the shows. 
All in all, we had a wonderful time!   If you have any questions, I will gladly try to answer them.

Plus one for Chase Sapphire Reserve.  The annual fee is high, but it pays for itself when you consider that you get $300 in statement credit each year for travel.  It also has wonderful travel insurance and great customer service.  

Looking forward to it! Thanks in advance for sharing! @Ampurp85 go to Disney, kids or not ?

And me.  Oasis March 1. 
Excited for everyone traveling in February.  Hope you have blue skies and calm seas. 

And me.  Oasis March 1. 
Excited for everyone traveling in February.  Hope you have blue skies and calm seas. 

I have sailed Navigator and Harmony.  I loved them both.  I prefer the Oasis class, but I did not feel like 7 days was near enough to experience the Oasis class.  For 4 days, you may enjoy Navigator's size more.  If you like it, Oasis would be a great family ship-you can bring the kids along for 7 days later.

+ 1 this suggestion. I have a shorter hair style but my daughter has long beautiful locks. The hair dryer would have probably burned out before she was done,  it was comical. I purchased a really powerful travel blow dryer from Walmart, super cheap and power for days.( it was tiny too) Thanks to everyone advising this or it would have been touch and go with a teenage girl for 7 days, I was like pony tail anybody? Oh mom, thank you for bringing this from home. Mom hero status!

So I am totally gonna stray from doing a daily report as honestly I am bored and lazy at this point.  LOL  
Food was really good overall but El Loco Fresh is by far our cup of tea and give it 5 stars.  We did not buy any meal package or buy any food.  Playmakers looked really good as did Port Side BBQ.  The other specialty dining locations we have zero interest in but if there was a quick service with a soda package ($20 meal daily at each and the soda package for say $15 pp) we would have done that well before the sit down specialty plans.  
Service at dinner overall was good, not Disney standards but we only had the same servers every other night, so nights 1-3-5-7 were with the same team.  They mentioned they had empty 2 top tables every night so not sure why we didn't get them but its all good.
Entertainment
Aqua80's is the best show I have ever seen on ANY ship including Disney.  The energy and talent of that show is amazing.  LOVE IT.  Can't wait to see Aqua 80two on the Allure after dry dock.  I can go on and on but just go see it if you have to opportunity.  We booked the Allure before this cruise as a family vacation in December, this cruise was to explore and see if we should abort!  LOL
Cats- not for us.
Sky- not for us, great talent but yea its a no.  LOL 
Flow rider, zip line, bars, promenade parties are all great.  So much to do and how could you ever be bored.  
Debarkation 
We choose to do express walk off as we had a 10:25a flight from Miami.  We walked off the ship at 7a and was in a Lyft at 7:10a and at the airport at 7:26a!  Hands down the best, easiest and fastest debarkation off ANY ship in ANY port we have used.  Hands down the boarding and debarkation of Royal is hands down amazing!
 
So the question is other than the Allure cruise with family what will we do, will we keep trying Royal or did we miss Disney so bad it hurt????
We upon reflection Scott and I both believe that this was our best cruise vacation EVER.  The Oasis is amazing and as a 10 year ship she looks amazing, sure she just came out of a huge dry dock but we did the Disney Magic and Wonder after a big dry dock and Royal did an amazing job.  On Disney on the last day once you leave Castaway Cay (around 6p) they start closing areas of the ship to get ready for the net cruise.  We did not experience or see that on Royal.
So Scott and I did go to the NextCruise next and booked another cruise on Oasis in October from NY.  We love the ship and honestly love that class.
 
Thanks everyone for reading and I do apologize for abruptly ending.  LOL  If you have any questions please ask but I have to get busy planning another vacation as today a friend called me to join him on the Symphony on Feb 15....so in about 2 weeks I am sailing again!  
 
?
 
 

I am probably worrying about nothing, but the Royal app shows menus for all restaurants and the MDR for all meals, including CK, BUT it says that CK is not open on Day 1.  I hope that this is just a glitch because I really like to have a relaxed lunch there on boarding day, and of course, I must have the filet on the first night (or I am afraid that @Lovetocruise2002 will find and filet me!
Does anyone know anything about this?  I am on Oasis on March 1.

Haha...my app for March 15 also says that CK is closed on Day 1.  Also, I saw in another post that someone sailing in February also has CK as closed on Day 1.  I am going to assume it is a glitch.  @Rags1 (he's on board right now) tells me that there is nothing to worry about.  ?