Crown&AnchorEsq

doublepost

Boston has a respectable public transport system, particularly in the Seaport (the neighborhood where Black Falcon terminal is located).  Take the SL2 (silver Line) from the terminal to South Station, which should take you at most 15 minutes with waiting).  From south station you can either walk the greenway to the Aquarium/Faneuil Hall, take the Red Line to Downton Crossing or Park St (the Common) or jump on one of the other lines to go east/west.  West on Green will take you to Fenway (get off at Kenmore, not Fenway), the MFA (you have to get on the Green Line E Train at Kenmore, slightly trickier, or just walk, its not far) or east to the new Garden/North Station (those of you wanting to do Salem this is probably your best bet, you can collect a train up to Salem from there).

The seaport unfortunately is where a lot of new construction is so there is not a ton to see there unless you like trendy bars and restaurants without much history.  

We did Oasis in May and December of 22.  I ended up going to Aqua80 a few times on both sailings for a weird combination of reasons.  It gave me a chance to note a few things though.  They were definitely not always running with the full "cast" particularly when it came to divers.  If  you only go once you do not really realize it.  You just assume that only one person is supposed to be diving at a time as opposed to 2 or more synchronized divers.  The very first time I went they did not have the "hoverboarder" to start the show.  I never realized we missed it until the second time I went.  I never investigated further but my understanding is that casts for any show can shift depending upon health, training, skillset and then the aquatheater adds in the additional considerations of weather, technical issues and the like.

This was discussed a couple months ago but it has been a long standing policy that the solarium is open to families at certain times on cold weather cruises, I think usually earlier in the day.  With that said, the question still bears out, has anyone been on Odyssey in cold weather? without the enclosed family pool you effectively drop from 3 pools to 1 (solarium).  

I see we've entered borderline cinematic universe territory now with The Effectors on Icon.

I wonder if they will rebrand Odyssey: Effectors I, a New Hope

Up next for Star: Effectors III Crash Back

Oasis 7: Effectors 1 1/2 Hakuna Matata

Icon 3: Drone I: an Effectors Story

Clear malfunction in the Royal IT department.  My guess is that it was letting you book a guarantee which could theoretically have up to 4 guests but there were only 2 person staterooms left so it was spitting back 2 person prices. I too noticed the gratuities and immediately realized that the system was recognizing it as a 2-person room but someone that does not spend their time tracking gratuity rates would have no reason to know it should be 18/day pp. 

Seems unlikely you are getting into a 4 person room on that sailing.  Even if the screw up was on their end they are not going to bump a reservation just to get you on board.  

Tough to say as to whether this would be a true "advertised price" to give rise to unfair marketing claims or offer/acceptance which would give rise to contract claims.  At the very least I would think you could argue detrimental reliance and get change fees covered (though depending on when the original confirmation came in they may argue you should have cancelled your original flight reservations in the 24 hour cancellation window).*

*I am an attorney but this should not be considered legal advice.

I only just now realized that Icon has so many 3+ cabin rooms, it seems a curious design choice then that there are so few 5+ cabins.  

I guess I'm just bitter since I rock around with a family of 5.

The screenshots would be informative if they can be linked...

I too expect this is a drive-by, though the detail is more interesting than the usual people-not-understanding-how-pricing-works sort of deal. The fact that they recreated the error also makes me wonder if this is  plausible Royal IT foul up scenario.  They seem to be in rare form at the moment. 

The China market is untapped potential and RCCL definitely wants to compete.  I wouldn't be surprised to see Wonder wander off even before Oasis 7 is done.

Also, given the current demand a lot of Vision itineraries could be dropped for larger ships (shift Voyager in and replace Voyagers with Oases).  Everything is sort of cyclical, Oasis will be the new Voyager class (which really has 8 ships since Freedom/Liberty/Independence are pretty much just stretched Voyagers) and Voyager will replace vision.  Eventually Quantums will replace Radiance. 

The question is how to fit Voyager and Quantum into the places that Vision and Radiance go now.  As far as home ports go my memory is the two tricky ones are Tampa and Baltimore? I am sure Discovery will come along eventually but I suspect it will be closer in concept to Quantum than Vision.  

 

On 2/17/2024 at 10:58 AM, JohnK6404 said:

A couple of other very minor differences... Wonder has a "regular" Starbuck's full kiosk in the middle of the Royal Promenade too,

Someone correct me if I am wrong (i admittedly don't order there) but I believe Oasis now has the kiosk on the promenade between Boleros and on the air.

We also had a balcony stateroom with updated decor in May of 22, I do not believe it was a new room but it could have been.  When we went on Oasis in December of 22 we were in an older decor room so who knows.  I read somewhere that they were refreshing the staterooms as well but I cannot find it atm.

I believe it was discontinued.  We explored it a few years ago and it was pricey to begin with and my understanding was that it was a bit of a roll of the dice even when they had it in terms of brand/sizing.   Even when it was available we decided to try different options.  If you really want to explore the topic I would try the RCL Guest Special Needs line/email.  https://www.royalcaribbean.com/resources/guest-special-needs .

With that said I would strongly recommend planning this out yourself.  If you are flying in a day early just have some diaper boxes drop shipped to your hotel.  Double check with your hotel, but almost all hotels will hold packages for you.  Bring one (or more likely two if two different sizes) extra luggage tags, stick them on the box and send them through with your usual non-carry-ons.  If you are trying to fly in day of maybe see about getting them delivered to an amazon locker or similar and pick them up on your way to the cruise port.  

With its amplification, Oasis is pretty much the second newest Oasis class ship (after Wonder, third once Utopia shows up), at least in terms of theming and features.  The only knock on Oasis would be the broadway show (Cats vs hairspray 10 years ago).  The Aquatheather and Ice shows are solid.  But oasis has things that even symphony does not (lime and the coconut theming topside is the primary thing that comes to mind).

Wonder might be a bit shinier but Oasis has been well kept, pick the one that is cheaper/more convenient.  One thing that might be worth checking, particularly if Cococay is expected to be a big part of your trip, check to see what other ship is going to be at Cococay when you are there.  If you might be there with less of a crowd that can sometimes be better.

Thanks @Sara_MEI, and for those running into the issue, @Lovetocruise2002's original assessment was correct.  Seem to be issues with KSF promotion on a lot of the new deployments.  For those booking I would check your invoices or the "price by guest" feature online.  If it is showing anything other than taxes and fees for those under 12 (and you verified that your cruise is not in a blackout window) then you will need to get revenue involved.  Unfortunately even that is not straightforward, the MEI team was able to get one of our reservations addressed within a few hours but the other took 2 days. +1 for having a travel agent, would not have wanted to deal with this on my own.

Alright brain trust, what am I missing?  As far as I can tell  KSF should run through April of 26 with the usual blackout dates (See below).  I am trying to book for Feb 15 of 2026 but MEI is telling me that RCL is not applying the KSF promotion.  Mock bookings seem to suggest that is the case as well.  

I tend to agree with the earlier brain trust that you wont see huge changes from Wonder to Utopia in overall structure and design but there might be some concepts that find their way in to Utopia, particularly if RCL finds that the concepts are making money on Icon.  When oasis class was new the original update/amplification program was to bring Oasis-style updates to some of the older ships.  I expect the next rounds in 3-5 years will be "iconification" where certain concepts are brought into the older ships.

The elevator bank would seem to be a welcome change, there must be someone with PLC experience on the forums that can weigh in on whether the smart banks are options, though you would still need to work within the basic design so how would you do it? put a call pad at each bank or just one for fore/aft and the hope people scramble to the right car in time?

I would think desserted would be easy to shoehorn in most ships and lounges, if popular can always be worked in. 

On 1/26/2024 at 7:24 PM, CruiseGus said:

When the SL lounge did not have the brand label I preferred, if it was on the ship they gladly found it for me

Agreed and my general experience as well, but I have the feeling it falls into a YMMV situation. The rule is technically to keep on label so a lounge waiter/bartender could always choose to charge you if you do not follow the rule.  Likely? probably not, but I don't want @EnTulsa accusing us of bad advice.  

On 1/27/2024 at 3:55 PM, steverk said:

Indy has a designated kiddie pool

Adventure does have a splash pad, including a diaper area but does not have a nursery if you have an under 3 who you might want to leave in AO for a bit.

I tend to think it might be indicative of the current revenue model on sales.  there have been KSF promotions running pretty steadily since covid.  The family infinite balconies are most likely to have 2-4 "free guests" and they try to make it up by starting pricing. 

On basic supply and demand side, rooms that can fit 5+ are also few and far between on Icon (pretty much just the balconies in question) so while your analysis of availability  for a particular sailing is relevant for that sailing it does not account for the economics of keeping those prices high where there may (or may not) be high demand for that category across other sailings.  Plus, as noted, there may or more or less rooms actually available and just not released as a block yet.

23 hours ago, EnTulsa said:

Are martinis complementary from 5 -8:30?  I'm assuming yes since it's a cocktail?

If you are in the suite lounge, they should be, as long as you stick within the limits on available labels.    Note that hours can change slightly depending on the ship as well.  You should get an email from your suite concierge outlining your benefits a few days before emarkation.  

Seems to just be a choice they made to not have many 5+ person rooms on board.   It is not even just suites either.  Other ships generally have the "ultraspacious", fka "family staterooms" that Icon does not have.  They definitely cut back on all 5+ rooms with only the family infinite balconies available as an option. I could speculate as to the reasoning why, probably begins with "m" and ends with "oney."  If you really want the suite life on icon but need a bit more space for your crew the best bet is probably two sky-juniors (or even GS since the JYs have been selling for big money). 

Icon curiously has very few 5+ rooms.  Its pretty much the family balconies (of which there are few) or connecting rooms.  And then a 3 person room is also tricky to find because RCL likes to hold most rooms open for 4.  On Icon in particular, connecting or even side by side rooms get expensive quickly, you're creeping back towards that 13k mark.  

Most things can be taken care of through the app, for right now make sure you are ready with your final payment which will be upcoming and make sure you have your legal travel docs.  Passports are by far the preferred option.  Processing times right now are pretty good, routine is showing 6-8 weeks and expedite is 2-3.

As you get closer to the cruise you will get all your cruise docs which will include your luggage tags.  You will also need to check in which can be done online or in the app.  If you are inclined, definitely use the app.  The app will carry your set sail pass as well once you complete your check in (for you and anyone linked to your reservation).  However, it is never a bad idea to print out some spares once you have finished check in.

Ah yes, Royal IT at its finest. 

Line up your documentation showing your pricing and that the amount paid matches the invoice.  Keep escalating until someone explains to you what the extra 300, 600 or 900 corresponds to.  

Symphony is great for the little ones.  We've done Oasis class twice twice with kids, once with a 3.5ish and 1 yo and then 6 months later with 4 and 18 month old.  Symphony has both nursery and baby splash pad so make sure you bring swim diapers if not everyone is trained.  Anyone over 3 goes into the more traditional AO program, essentially pre-school at sea, under 3 goes to the nursery which requires pre-booking hours and should be your first stop after you get on board (except maybe to get some pizza from Sorrentos if the kids are hungry.   We tend to avoid windjammer day 1, it is crowded quickly and trying to coordinate getting food for the toddlers and getting highchairs if needed can be tough.  Consider park cafe if your kids will eat grilled-cheese/tuna melt type offerings.  Know your kids, but feel free to take them to the MDR/Coastal Kitchen if they can manage a 60 min meal.  The staff love them and will work with you to keep them entertained and also learn very quickly to have a fruit/cheese/app of some sort of immediate consumption on arrival.  Try mini-golf early in the morning one day, you will probably be awake before most of the ship and while toddlers do not necessarily know how to play they enjoy knocking the ball around and if you're there early enough there is seldom anyone to be bothered by it.  

Two annoying caveats/pet peeves.  Look at the cruise compass for the splash pad opening times, they are frequently no open until about 10am.  Clearly someone without kids is coordinating that schedule.  Also, the staff do not like any cross-contamination between the diapered and non-diapered splash pads so your potty-trained kids may be prevented from playing in the babysplash pad.

Lastly, splurge on the bionic bar at some point, a shirley ginger costs like 4.50 and the kids think its the best.

On 1/13/2024 at 9:40 AM, OCSC Mike said:

Now eating at 5:15 and then going to bed is a different story... that's premature vintage-ing

Ironically this is our schedule because of the kids...reverse vintage? some day I will be able to stay up past 10 again, but not when I have someone crawling on my head at 6am.

On the question of whether they will boot JS reservation holders for sky class or above I expect the answer is pretty firmly no.  We were in the category of sky class guests who did not book ahead of time and we were told that we needed to get our reservations in ASAP or they would not have room for us.