zwosh

Here I am, 51 days out from my Oasis of the Seas cruise out of Bayonne, and low and behold I see those magical words in my email inbox: Your Stateroom Has Been Upgraded.  My minimum $700 bid moved me from a JS guarantee to a 1 Bedroom Aquatheater Suite!  I am beyond stunned, the timing, the acceptance, all of it!  So Suite Snob crew (this is in fact a term of endearment!), help a dad who's never stayed in anything bigger than a Promenade View room taking his kids on their 1st cruise with the lowdown: what do I do now?  Do I cancel my MDR reservations if we're going to do CK, or will the concierge do that?  I suddenly have so many questions that I hadn't even thought about!  Any advice/pointers/experience would be greatly appreciated!

Just to add for those trying to learn more or figuring out their chances or trying to figure out the algorithm lol...
First-time cruisers, here. We booked an Ocean View room on Enchantment around 60 days out from our 6/16 sailing. We received our RoyalUp invite on 5/20. I didn't read the email until later and after researching everything here, I placed 4 bids on 6/7 (all at a few dollars over minimum, considered "weak") for Ocean View Balcony, Jr Suite, 1 BR Grand Suite, and 2 BR Grand Suite. Owner's Suite was also an option.
At the time, I did a few fake bookings and it said everything was sold out except the 2 BR GS.
I received notification yesterday (6/9... so 2 days later and 7 days out from sailing) that our bid for the Ocean View Balcony was accepted (!!). The others now all show as "expired" and I am unable to place any bids, including for the Owner's Suite.
Minimum bid on OVB was $350 pp. I bid $360 pp. It was definitely a "bargain" compared to if I would've done it when I booked. I am so thankful because now that it is closer, I really started getting worried that we were going to regret not having a balcony (we have two girls, 11 and 13, so all four of us in one room for 8 nights...).
I'm actually starting to get excited now vs. being anxious. 🙂

Just to add for those trying to learn more or figuring out their chances or trying to figure out the algorithm lol...
First-time cruisers, here. We booked an Ocean View room on Enchantment around 60 days out from our 6/16 sailing. We received our RoyalUp invite on 5/20. I didn't read the email until later and after researching everything here, I placed 4 bids on 6/7 (all at a few dollars over minimum, considered "weak") for Ocean View Balcony, Jr Suite, 1 BR Grand Suite, and 2 BR Grand Suite. Owner's Suite was also an option.
At the time, I did a few fake bookings and it said everything was sold out except the 2 BR GS.
I received notification yesterday (6/9... so 2 days later and 7 days out from sailing) that our bid for the Ocean View Balcony was accepted (!!). The others now all show as "expired" and I am unable to place any bids, including for the Owner's Suite.
Minimum bid on OVB was $350 pp. I bid $360 pp. It was definitely a "bargain" compared to if I would've done it when I booked. I am so thankful because now that it is closer, I really started getting worried that we were going to regret not having a balcony (we have two girls, 11 and 13, so all four of us in one room for 8 nights...).
I'm actually starting to get excited now vs. being anxious. 🙂

Thank you so much, Mary!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 😀

Don't freak out Bermudians are very friendly and helpful.  As soon as you get of the ship there should be signs for the Horseshoe Bay shuttles (or you can ask anyone right there).  The shuttle takes you right to the beach entrance and costs $7.00 per person each way and I think is cash only (US dollars are used in Bermuda).  Once you get to Horseshoe Bay they have chair & umbrella rentals (not sure of the price and it might be cash only too) if you want or just bring your pool towels from the ship.  There are also concession stands for food and drink (i would bring cash not sure if they credit cards) and also bathrooms to change out of your wet things.  Just a friendly reminder that before you head back to the shuttle make sure that your bathing suits and/or clothing are dry and that your items are not covered in sand. 

Private mini bus service (no stops between Kings Wharf and Horseshoe Bay) is about $7 per person each way right to the beach entrance.
Public bus is $5 per person in cash (coins only, no bills, no change given) or you can purchase tokens in advance for a little less. Use bus route number 7. https://www.gotobermuda.com/sites/default/files/bermuda-bus-schedule.pdf This method drops you off at the regular bus stop which is about a quarter mile walk to the beach. Be aware that the trip back to the bus stop will be uphill.

do you recall how much the public bus was?  RC has an "excursion" called Horseshoe Bay beach transfer which i paid $29 to go back and forth to the beach but if the bus is safe, reliable and cheaper than that, who needs the "excursion", right? 

You want to go to Horseshoe Bay. You can take the public bus system to the beach.  Taxis in Bermuda are notoriously expensive 

This was the exact post I needed! My girls are 13 and 11, but the 11 y.o. will be 12 a couple of weeks after we sail and I can't imagine her in the younger kids club or without her sister! She also looks older than my actual teen and is taller than me. 🙂 I will be extra nice and ask if she can play with the big kids. 🙂 
Thanks for this post! It made me feel a little bit better that they might be flexible. 

Day Two: Sea Day and Inside Passage
This is morning we had a bit of a late start. I, of course, woke up around 6 am and read a bit but everyone else slept in a little bit later. It’s colder today so I’m wearing a long sleeve shirt under a t-shirt and I’m warm and cozy. At breakfast the pancakes were wonderful as well as the chocolate donut. The whipped cream was a little strange, it tasted like butter and I didn’t really like it. 
We went to a sudoku competition and some other guy finished the puzzle in almost four minutes! I’m not great at sudoku so I turned my paper into origami. Afterwards we listened to a talk about the Klondike Gold Rush and Mounties, but we couldn’t stay the whole time since we wanted to go to the Alaska Port and Shopping Show where they gave us some great tips on where to shop and a coupon for a free pendant that I might show a picture of in the next post. Then we had a quick lunch and my mom and I headed off to a lady’s pamper party. A little bit later we went to a Disney trivia and we won, only missing one question! My brother and I went to go to Optix, but a sign on the door said “At the basketball court” so we figured they were playing basketball which neither of us wanted to play. We headed back to the stateroom and I wrote some in my nook. Later we found out from the Royal Caribbean app that they were playing dodgeball, not basketball. I would’ve liked to play dodgeball, but I only found out after they were done so I guess you should always check the app or go see what Optix is doing if they’re not there. 
Today’s duck of the day is Belle. She’s my favorite duck because she has a book. I wanted to make sure she liked where she was hiding so you can guess where she went. 

You guessed it, in the cozy little library on deck nine. We went back to see if she was still there a couple hours after we hid her and she was. Hopefully a book lover finds her soon. 
We played around in the room a bit and I read some. Surprisingly, we found internet from the Canadian shore for a little bit and posted my blog yesterday even though we were at sea. 
Tonight was formal night so we got all fancy and took some pictures. Sadly when I’m fancy, I’m wearing a dress and sandals and therefore a bit cold. But it was okay since we staying inside most the time. 
Once we got all the pictures we wanted, we rushed off to the production of Piano Man. We got there about ten minutes late but could still find some seats. I figured it would’ve been a bunch of Billy Joel songs with a small amount of storyline, but then they started playing Elton John and then Wizard of Oz. I got very confused and the storyline was nonexistent. The tech team had some problems moving set and with lighting and audio. I only stayed because the performers were amazing even with the random script they had to go off of and I love music. 
Then we rushed off to dinner. I had a fruit cup, roasted chicken, and carrot cake. I have to say, all three were amazing and I entirely recommend them, though the carrot cake is not there every day, so be on the lookout for it. 

These were some of the activities to do in Optix, but I didn’t do any of them. A friend told me the selfie hunt was quite a workout and was fun. 

I played on their foosball table. I won and then we went back to the stateroom and I read some more in my nook and watched the beautiful sunset which seemed to never end. 


I read until I almost fell asleep in my nook, then had to get in bed and sleep. 

 
 
Stay tuned for my Alaska Adventure!

You obviously have never met my child. You see, she has a parent who actually taught her how not to be a brat. 

Trying to illustrate how delving into age stereotypes is neither accurate nor fair, based on the previous post.

What can a senior citizen do?
Well, let's see:
1. Take up all the seating for dinner between 4pm and 5:30 for the early bird special.
2. Complain it's too cold, hot, and then cold again all over the ship.
3. Complain the shows are too loud
4. Complain cruising isn't the same as it was in the 1970s
5. Complain there are no mints on the pillows anymore
6. Get inebriated and annoy people around them
7. Wear far too much perfume.
8. Sneak in cigarette smoking where it's not allowed (balcony, outside decks in non-designated areas)