MattG

Thanks everyone! There's nine of us (a part of 5 and a part of 4), and we have a boarding time of 10:30am. We're registering at our muster stations, then headed to Playmakers for lunch. Two of us will peel off and head to a specialty restaurant to book dining. We understand we'll probably have to book a reso of 5 and a reso of 4, with the hope they can seat us near each other. Izumi Hibachi will be the tough one as we'll want to get us all at the same table.

Hi everyone, I have UDP, and want to start planning which restaurants to go to on which nights. This ties in a bit with the entertainment schedule, as i'm not going to book Izumi Hibachi on a night with a 7pm show I want to see. I know with UDP, I can't book until we get onboard. I can go into the Cruise Planner right now and do a standalone reservation for Chops Grille. I pick my party members, pick my Day, then a reservation from the available times. Is this representative of ALL remaining availability for this restaurant? Or are a block of reservation times held back for those with dining packages? If Chops Grille only shows 5:00pm, 5:15pm, and 9:00pm, would it be possible to get a 6:00pm dining time once we get onboard?

Glad you got on board! When was your check-in time, if you don't mind me asking? How long did it take you to get from "Car to bar"?

From the Cruise Planner page on UDP: Not sure if this means "Pay for Children's UDP, and order from the kids menu"? The FAQ question here says, Still confused. If I pay for the Children's UDP (age 6-12), can they order from the Adult menu? Or only the kids menu? If I opt out of Children's UDP, I pay $10 for my 6-year old? And they order from the kids menu? Children under 5 are complimentary - do they order from the kids menu?

Hi everyone, We're cruising in a few weeks, and the check-in (mobile and online) isn't asking for a photo of the vaccination card. Is this the new normal (back to the old normal)? Is anyone else being prompted to scan/photo their vax cards?

The menu does change with the region (Americas, Mediterranean, Europe, Asia), but stays the same for sailings within that region. I'm almost positive that Alaska sailings and Caribbean sailings will share the same MDR menu.

We're on Oasis in a few weeks, I'll make a note to confirm this.

This right here makes me lean towards Anthem as an answer for you. We went on Anthem in December with 3 kids (5 and under) and I saw a lot of teen/adult activities, but not a lot for kids. We're going on Oasis next month, and really looking forward to the wider array of kid activities. If you're going as empty-nesters, Anthem is great: All main areas are climate controlled (Two70 plus cafe, SeaPlex, Solarium, indoor pool), iFly and North Star are awesome. Solarium will get busy on Anthem with ALL of the adults vying for space, but the indoor pool space is nice. Dining on Anthem is wonderful - Vintages, Jamie's Italian, Wonderland, Chops, and Izumi. The Via is gorgeous, a wonderful place to sit and relax. The Windjammer on Anthem is nicely laid out, especially the aft outdoor seating. Don't forget about the food service area at the VERY BACK of the Windjammer - no lines! The shows on Anthem are mixed: I loved "Spectra's Cabaret", but didn't care for "We Will Rock You!" however, plenty of people have the opposite opinion. My recommendation is to arrive early and get good seats for both - immersion truly helps with enjoyment. Oasis is going to swap Wonderland for 150 Central Park, swap Two70 for Aquatheater, have more pools, more rock walls, more dining (Playmakers, El Loco Fresh, Portside BBQ, Izumi Hibachi). Oasis is going to have more kids, more families, more of everything.

We're bringing a bottle of prosecco on board with us, and plan to take it down to Central Park and drink it. Any objections to this?

I don't believe each individual login/device is throttled, only that your login is provisioned with "Surf" (slower) or "Surf + Stream" (faster). I can see how individual logins are better for older kids who don't want to keep booting each other off. Having individual logins also means Facebook Messenger, iMessage, etc will always pass notifications - if you're "one login, multiple devices", your device could get booted without warning, and your notifications would stop working.

$20.99/day for 2 devices averaged out to $16.50/device/day 1 device: $146.93 / 7 days = $20.99/device/day 2 devices: $230.93 / 7 days = $16.50/device/day 3 devices: $307.93 / 7 days = $14.67/device/day 4 devices: $328.93 / 7 days = $11.75/device/day If we could secure The Key for two people ($16.99/day, x2 people x7 days = $237.86), it would make sense for us to refund our internet package and get The Key. Unfortunately, we have three Key-qualifying individuals in our stateroom, so we'd be spending another $119 and doesn't make sense.

Thanks! The link to the Cruise Planner for my specific cruise is in my morning bookmarks, specifically the Coco Cay page. It has the drink package, internet package, and Coco Cay excursions (Waterpark, Beach Club) right at the top, it's easy to see if any of the prices have changed. If so, I dig deeper into the cruise planner for the things I want.

No major discounts for Oasis in October either, except "The Key" dropping to an insanely low $16.99 - would have gone after it for internet, but we got a 2-device package that averages to $16.50/day. Green = lowest price seen Yellow = purchased at that date/price

As many times as you want, as long as you can secure a reservation. No for: Johnny Rockets Playmakers Portside BBQ (Oasis) Yes for: Chops Giovani's/Jamie's Wonderland Izumi Sushi Izumi Hibachi Hooked Dress casual - shorts are fine (not cargo shorts), shirt is fine, collared shirt is better. There is no rule, the general consensus is multiple apps, one entree, multiple desserts. Restaurant's discretion. You may have to leave and come back. Again, restaurant's discretion.

We're in too - 10:30am check-in.

I'm a sucker for trends: how often do sales happen? (monthly-ish) are sales actually beneficial? (not really) what happens to prices as embarkation day gets closer? (prices get tighter as more items sell/sell out) How much regret do I feel for not locking in DBP at that price back in March? (lots)

Yes. We're doing exactly this on Oasis, and Kids Sail Free saved us a boatload (pun intended). You do pay Taxes & Port Fees, but their cruise fare is zeroed out.

45 DAYS OUT Didn't sleep great last night, got up early for work, which worked out in our favor because I was able to secure a 10:30am check-in time!

They will 100% change the regular price. They did it on our DBP.

Percentage literally does not matter. Ever. Only look at the actual dollar amount. I got UDP at $168 when it was "45% OFF ONBOARD PRICES". Now it's $219, and guess what % off is...

Best price i've seen for my October Oasis cruise is $65/day. Best price i've ever seen was Anthem last December at $50/day.

We're on Oasis in October. Here's my tracking sheet for the past 6 months, green boxes are the lowest price i've seen, and yellow boxes are when I purchased:

Following! We're on Oasis two weeks after you. If you can manage it, photos of the Cruise Compass (during or after, no big deal) would be great! Have a wonderful time!

For review, here's the Cruise Planner history for some select items for our October Oasis sailing - items in GREEN are the lowest price since i've been tracking, items in YELLOW means we purchased at that price (click for larger version):

Sale is live! AND i'm a little frustrated, because i'm seeing two different deals, depending on whether or not i'm logged in: LOGGED OUT, DBP is $67.99: LOGGED IN, DBP is $72.99: