darketower

31 minutes ago, CHRIS WONG said:

Hey guys!

So I have some exciting news!

I found out last night that I'm going to be transferred to Oasis Of The Seas in 3 weeks time. This is a big step up for me, and a lot more responsibility is going to be put on me - but I'm excited for this challenge.

I'll be flying out to Spain to join the ship, and then crossing back to America for the beginning of the Caribbean season.

Let me know if any of you will be on Oasis! I look forward to meeting you!

We're heading on Oasis next August -  I imagine you'll be done with your current contract by then.  If you are back on her next summer, we'll be sure to stop by and say hello! Great work on the vlogs.

1 hour ago, S0nny said:

We prefer champagne over red or white wine anyways! If you have an AMEX card and book with it, you’ll even find a bottle of chilled champagne waiting for you in your room. Perfect for those sail away parties from your balcony. 

Is this something new? I've previously used my AMEX card to book through my TA and have never received a chilled bottle of champagne??

2 minutes ago, Neesa said:

It looks like they are all on the bump out. Go to the RCCL website and pull up your ship, then scroll down to deck plans. I just did this and it does look as though you are on the bump. I am in 11240 and that is on the bump, Oasis class (Harmony)

Thank you - I should have been more clear. I knew they were on the bump out, I was trying to see if anyone had any thoughts on staying on deck 6 as opposed to being higher up.  I know it is more of a personal preference, but any insight is always helpful.

Considering booking a JS on Oasis for next summer but I really want to make sure we get one of the larger balconies on the bump out - they only have a few available on Deck 6 - has anyone stayed in any of these rooms(6240,6242, 6640 or 6642) and if so, can you advise as to your experience?  The other half is questioning if its too low a deck.  We do like to enjoy some down time on the balcony. We have typically been on higher decks for all of our cruises.  Any thoughts are appreciated. Thank you.

We are 219 days out for Mariner and we just got our cabin assignment

5 hours ago, FManke said:

For those of you who have "won" bids, can you give us some idea of what your winning bid was compared to your original fare? Did you bid the minimum? Thanks 

We went on Navigator 8/19 to 8/23 and initially had an oceanview balcony.  We bid $250 (I believe the minimum was $150) for the junior suite about 6 weeks before the cruise and it was accepted within 24 hours.  We got deck 10 JS Aft with a monster balcony for $500 more than our oceanview balcony, which if i remember correctly was slightly more than $1600. 

1 hour ago, Ala_Paul said:

You absolutely can (750ml bottles). But RCCL asks you to place them in your carry on luggage so they can be checked out at security. If you place them in your checked bags then it throws off their suitcase game

That's correct - we had three rooms booked and we were able to bring 6 bottles of wine in our carry-on luggage and we had no problem.  Definitely worth doing if you can.

2 hours ago, RCIfan1912 said:

Thanks guys, I did hear most of the time they make you retake the pic any way at the terminal. I think we'll probably skip it but might try just to see how it works or if it works. 

I've used it on my last 3 cruises and have never been asked to retake it at the terminal.  We always take a head shot selfie in front of a white background and it's never been an issue.

1 hour ago, Andrew72681 said:

Just got off. Voom was slow so getting photos up to IMGUR for posting was a no go. Will get it caught up today. Spoiler alert, don’t think we’ll be back on Navigator anytime soon. 

I didn’t want to say anything initially for fear of tainting your own impression. While we liked the ship, we were surprised at how it seemed “old” even though it was just amped. I came to the conclusion the Amped was more for the pool/slides and restaurant changes vs interiors. The carpeting looked worn and stained in numerous areas. It was nice and we enjoyed our cruise, we just had higher expectations. 

On 8/14/2019 at 6:21 AM, SPS said:

Are we actually talking about two stops or are they experimenting with overnight stays?

We were just there and several crew people mentioned RC is thinking of doing an over night stay but no news yet. 

@WannaCruise I would say so only because the balcony was so big and the view was great. We didn’t get off ship in Nassau and we enjoyed having drinks on our balcony overlooking the harbor. My wife has said she doesn’t think she can go back to a regular balcony again.

On 8/22/2019 at 9:43 PM, Andrew72681 said:

We had an aft suite on Navigator back in May and loved it. It was on Deck 10, was quiet and had great views, especially of a CocoCay when we docked. 

@Andrew72681 we just stayed in that room this week. Couldn’t agree more, it was spectacular. So glad that we were able to get it. 

19 hours ago, Fuzzywuzzy said:

Check your Cruise Compass for when/where the Friends Of Matt H. meetings are held. They can help you deal with your addiction.

I feel so stupid. Just got back from Navigator 4 night cruise and remember thinking “who the hell are friends of Matt H.”  It never even dawned on net....

we also have become hooked. First cruise was 12 years ago on Freedom. It took 9 years to get back, but we’ve done done 4 in the last 4 years and are already planning two for next year.  Cruise life is the life!

On 8/22/2019 at 1:19 PM, Andrew72681 said:

Thanks. If you haven’t already, check out the first one I did back in May of this year. Will be great to see how the ship compares versus right after it came out of dry docks. 

I’m looking forward to seeing your take between now and then. We just got off Navigator yesterday-stayed in a Junior Suite thanks to the Royal Up program. 

They are now listed on the RC website. They are calling them Thrill and Chill Bahamas Cruise. We are going next week on the Navigator and wish we had this Option!

47 minutes ago, RKELLER said:

How much is the Key program on Mariner for a 4 night cruise?

I think, like most things, it varies. I just saw it offered on my Navigator cruise next week for 24.95 per person per day. I don’t know that for what you get it’s worth it. Can someone shed any light on it?

This is great - we are coming up on our 4th cruise and this is the first time we've decided to get the drink package.  I always do some rough calculating to try to justify or not justify buying the drink package but this far superior to what i typically do. Thanks for sharing - it certainly make me feel better knowing that I made the right choice on the upcoming cruise.