JohnK6404

The latest from Chris... safe back in the U.K...

OK... that first lunch at Chops Grille... embarkation day w/ the Key (back when it was actually in Chops Grille last year)... Filet Mignon... pic does no justice and the sides are on another plate... delicious and cooked to perfection for my taste! Some Wild Mushroom soup... Warm chocolate cake and New York Cheesecake!

I'm not sure when Chris shot this video, but he posted it today... at the airport...

Here is Matt's update... https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2020/03/29/positive-cases-of-coronavirus-reported-oasis-of-the-seas-among-the-crew

... I also miss that first tropical drink after lunch to kick off the cruise!

That's me too! I also take so many photos at every port and just stare at the ship for a few moments before moving on for the day. Sometimes it drives my wife a little crazy, but she of course knows me! LOL!

Now for the Izumi enthusiasts! Complimentary Edamame... Shrimp wonton soup... Pork gyoza dumplings... love gyoza! Snow crab California roll and Surf & Turf roll (I believe is the name)... yumm!

OK, now some dessert in the MDR (same Allure cruise)! Baked Alaska! Birthday cake... silly friends (wasn't my birthday)... embarassing! Royal's 50th Anniversary cake... Pavlova...

Everything except for the last day! If I had to pick one thing... definitely the moment after checking into your cabin and the unpacking is complete... realizing that your cruise is just about to begin and you're now ready to leave the cabin and explore the ship!

Beef tenderloin and Lobster tails on formal nights in MDR (Allure, 5/2019)... Another French Onion Soup pic... ... here's a video I just stumbled upon that makes my mouth water and crave the next cruise! Overview of Symphony's food operation... $1 million weekly budget! Somewhat of an abbreviated version of the Mega Foods episode on Oasis... just under 8 minutes long.

Oh good! Thank you so much for answering my question! We were wondering if any unused CP FCC (pre-cruise) would carry over and be available while on that sailing.

We just booked Oasis for the 10/4/20 sailing this morning as an "insurance policy" against the likely cancellation of our 5/31/20 Oasis sailing! ?

As of this minute, for our upcoming (hopefully) Oasis sailing on 5/31...

Ooops! Read the post wrong! I agree that most of these ports will desperately need the tourism dollars and fees from the larger ships that they're losing now.

I'm with you on that plan! Unfortunately (for us), they stack up the ships at Coco Cay, so unless some of them get... cough, cough... cancelled... I cannot see them adding a second day on the fly. I'll take the extra sea day! That definitely would be nice for future itineraries... I think some of the Mariner/Navigator short cruises are 2 days at Coco Cay. I know some Symphony itineraries, and possibly Odyssey, have stops at both Coco Cay AND Labadee... nice! Prior to all of this madness, they had 3 ships scheduled to be in Coco Cay on 6/3 (Oasis, Indy & Majesty)... looks like they moved Indy to 6/4 some time ago, but that's only good if we can all go on our sailings!

I'm not counting on our Oasis (5/31) cruise to sail, but it may happen as long as the U.S. ports are open and they can resume cruising. For the Oasis itinerary (out of Cape Liberty), Royal would possibly have to replace only Nassau or make it a sea day (fine with us!). The other ports are Port Canaveral and Coco Cay. I'm assuming Coco Cay and Labadee are under Royal's control and discretion. Fingers crossed, but going to book something later just in case!

I don’t know the specifics of this reservation, but I can tell you with certainty that you can reprice with Costco. Our current Oasis booking is through Costco Travel (our first through a travel agent since our honeymoon). We booked an Oceanview Balcony initially with the “Buyer’s Choice” package (free specialty dinner at Chops or Giovanni’s, a Johnny Rocket’s lunch and the soda package), Costco gift card, 2% rewards check at year-end, additional 3% reward with their credit card, etc., and at a group rate much cheaper than Royal could offer directly. Costco’s price also automatically came with the refundable deposit option for this cabin class. My wife and I repriced three times prior to the final payment and we kept our perks. One thing I learned was that you can actually reprice from a refundable deposit rate to a non-refundable rate. Less than a week before final payment, we switched to the lower non-refundable rate which was almost $200 less! Last week, with all of the craziness, we called to see what could be done and we upgraded to Oceanview with Large Balcony... of course at no charge. Except for the long wait due to all of the recent madness, we have never waited very long for an agent with Costco and they have been nothing but great to deal with so far... Now, we wait to see if there is a 5/31 sailing after all!

I would think once the U.S. is good to go, they will start up again. Our cruise is from Cape Liberty and hits Port Canaveral, Nassau (might be an issue) and Coco Cay... maybe we'll have another sea day instead of Nassau... fingers crossed for 5/31! ?

I'm glad they did not wait until the last minute! I guess we'll likely be the next wave since we're scheduled for a 5/31 sailing... hope they cancel at least a month in advance if the end of May is also a no go!

Love the consistent message in FLA right now. WDW and all major attractions... long been closed voluntarily. Spring Break is a go! What could go wrong with thousands of drunk college students! Only now are they shutting down many of the beaches from what I understand. Crazy!

I'm glad to see it (Carnival's response), but I was thinking the same thing.

Without a crystal ball, we can’t know definitively how long this will last. I definitely believe the summer sailings are in serious jeopardy of being cancelled. When they do start up again, hopefully sooner than later, I’m sure there will be fewer sailings and/or very limited itineraries until these closed ports start to open up again. Hey, I’m game for only sea days, Labadee and Coco Cay for now!

Our first cruise was amazing and where we caught the cruise bug. It was part of our honeymoon and we sailed on the Disney Wonder back in June 2004. We were not sure if we would like cruising ?, so we went with the Disney Land & Sea package. Needless to say, Disney set the bar very high! We’ve thoroughly enjoyed every cruise to date on Royal and are definitely loyal to Royal and look to book with them first. Best balance of variety, quality and value in our opinion (and newest/best maintained large fleet). We never feel disappointed or cheated with Royal. Each cruise seems to be better than the last somehow! We would consider other lines (Disney again, NCL, etc.), but have not been tempted to date. Our favorite cruise was our last on Allure back in May 2019. We stopped at Labadee, Falmouth/Jamaica, and Cozumel. Our first Oasis class cruise was epic! What also made it more enjoyable was that we went with good friends. Not that a cruise with family is not enjoyable, but one with only friends is completely different for sure! Hoping our upcoming 5/31 Oasis cruise is not canceled! We were supposed to be in Nassau on our anniversary date (6/4). May have to book a backup just in case in OCT. My wife and I are going alone on this one. We also can’t wait for our 4/24/21 cruise on Symphony... back with our friends from the Allure cruise... we affectionately refer to that upcoming cruise as “Epic II” the sequel!

Take a peek at some of the recent Allure Cruise Compasses... they all have the hours of operation of every food venue, etc... start with the "Dining" and "Evening Planning" columns in each Compass... https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/cruise-compass?ship=274