WAAAYTOOO

We were booked on Explorer for Syd to Seattle, cant tell you how dissappointed we are.....? We have been told that we can rebook onto Ovation for Syd to Honolulu or Hon to Seattle, but if we want to go Syd to Seattle we must book both with 20% off the second leg.   So, we will most likely be considerably out of pocket to get the same destinations on our cruise. To top that off, we cant actually find out more until they release the cruises on Ovation to the general public on 12 dec.   To finish my rant, we had an aft cabin on Explorer, we dont think we will be able to get or afford one on Ovation ?

Scored two Junior Suites next to each other on our 9 Night Christmas Cruise that leaves 12/21/17.  Wohoo!

LMAO!!!! When I left in June, my teaching partners were taking bets on how much shopping and travelling I was going to be doing!  I teach to fund my shopping habit and my cruises LOL!
...and the kids are ok too 

Oh gosh, please please let her still be here! Our first cruise is this coming May! I know you have a bunch booked.  I' guess we'll know Dec 4th when they open the Northeast????

It's just a much more sedate environment.  There is no "group" seating - you are always given a private table.  I think the service is more personal but there are usually a few items that are self-serve but you're only a few steps away from those as opposed to walking halfway across the dining room in the MDR.
It's a very similar experience to b'fast in the CK.

[assuming you are in a GS or above]
There will be a Suites (and Pinnacles) breakfast in one of the specialty dining venues (usually Chops but could be anywhere).  Some ships only have this on port days but I think it's pretty much every day now on most ships.  I love this perk.  It is a nice, quiet, leisurely sit-down and be served b'fast.
Also, you can order room service off the MDR menu at no additional charge.  This is opposed to having a limited room service menu from which to order (and pay $7.95!!).

It took several years before I started getting RCI email ... now I wish I could stop it ... I think I get about 3 emails a day now and its all spam grade.

We refer to this as the “cattle call”.  Lots of people looking for free, watered-down drinks.  Unless we’re being recognized for some milestone, we never go.  There are just too many people !

Well, I can barely hear WITH my hearing aids so maybe I'll skip the cattle call (haha) Thanks again for the info!

Only the Star Class suites get immediate access to their cabins but with a Crown Loft you will be able to go into the Suites Lounge and wait.  It is a very nice place to wait if you can't go to your cabin !!

When you get on the ship on the first day, I recommend that you go to the dining room where you will be dining (it will be printed on your seapass card) and arrange for a specific table.  After your first night's dining is complete, and if you re HAPPY with your location and your wait staff, let the maitre'd know, on the way out, that you would like to keep that same table and time for the rest of your cruise.  If you are NOT happy with your wait staff then let the maitre'd know that as well and they will assign you another table.
If you are not going to be able to make it at your assigned time just let them know ahead of time so that they don't "save" your table for that night...and then you can resume your regular schedule for the other nights that you will be there.
They are remarkably good about allowing you to have the same table on consecutive nights.  We have only had a problem with this once, and one other time, we did not care for our staff on night #1 (rare, as we are usually pretty easy to please !) so we changed tables but after that, we were happy.
They absolutely WILL seat you all together (without any other "strangers") if that's what you want.

I looked at the Talent Submission Form in  the "Submit Talent Info" section. I didn't see "arm pit farting" as a talent they are looking for anywhere. So I closed the page somewhat disappointed. 

We love the art auctions. You can also win door prizes. Just know that if you win art, they will charge a shipping fee of about $30. We did that, and have our art proudly displayed in the tube they shipped it in. The more free champagne you drink, the less the $30 fee seems!

Women.......!

I love reading posts like this.  I'm so proud of the wonderful community we have here!

I like thought of Oasis in Europe for a while after refit.
(Listen to me - talking like I know what I'm on about after finding and chatting on this site - having never cruised before!!)
Can't wait for my Ovation in March so I can fully appreciate all the excitement!!
 
 

Have a great time, Tony and good luck in the casino !!

I love that picture, Brian.  He looks sooo excited !

Matt is going to be the new Captain of the Symphony! 
 
Michael Poole will be his Gilligan.
 
Congrats all round!

is it really this big a deal? Like I get the impression its about a ship moving port or something at Coco Cay which really has been talked about and not a secret. Nothing that we haven't heard or speculated about before.
 
Am I totally missing something here that is going to be earth shattering? God help me if its a new and improved BOGO sale....lol

Definitely not 2 weeks.  Usually within the last week.

So, it sounds like lower expectations may yield better results. Or bring a sting ray bat to fend people off with.

I haven't been on in awhile, and thank you for noticing! With my cruise coming up in February, I felt I needed to get involved with my message board peeps again, and make sure I had the low-down on the up-and-up!

I'll borrow a story from @AnnetteJackson...
She had clients sailing on Christmas and they split up in the morning, wit the mom taking the kids to breakfast while dad went to the tree on the ship and had some things there.  He stood with them while Mom took the kids to see the tree on the way to breakfast where they found their Santa gifts.

If you want a cabana I recommend you request it through the Concierge when he/she contacts you by email about 1 week before the cruise.  They probably will not be able to confirm it until you board b/c the Star Class guests have first right of refusal but once the SC have chosen or declined your Concierge will snag one for you.
With the recent hurricane damage there are fewer cabanas than normal but I would feel confident that you will get a cabana if you want one.  B1 or B2 are good ones at a reasonable rate.