donolog

Based on my very limited experience you would lose the OBC unless that promotion was still being offered. I think how it works is when you that change to a different sailing, you lose whatever promotion was in place when you originally booked, but you then have available whatever promotion is in place at the time you are making the change (which might be better).

Earlier this year I sailed ... in search of the Northern Lights, again in beautiful Norway.

 

So were you successful in your search for the Northern Lights?

Enjoy your cruise.  You'll be onboard with member HighlandBoy.

Thanks! -- although you put me on the wrong cruise on the list ... you've got me on 15-Oct-2017, but should be 11-Mar-2018 (along with Marc and dbixler).

In your stateroom you will be provided a list of the shipboard offers. 

 

Sailor_to_Cruiser was kind enough to provide a pdf of one of these sheets in a recent post. That was for Oasis, but your's will be much the same if not identical.

 

To use the benefits you just need to provide your SeaPass card to the appropriate crew member. You'll get one set of offers for each person in the stateroom (i.e. two of each for a couple).

 

My advice is to use the ones that interest you as early as is convenient (i.e. don't "save them for later") ... the end of the cruise comes quickly.

 

Also, if you've lost track of what you've used on what card, crew members can generally look up what's available to you.

So with your new login can you see your cruise history and/or current booking but just can't make a payment? Or can you not even see your cruise history?

... but its better than no connectivity at all I suppose.

 

Actually I prefer no connectivity ... disconnecting from the rest of the world is one of the things I like best about cruises, but maybe that's just me.  ;)

I have not been to Norway, but I think the cruise would be similar to the Alaska cruise as far as scenery, climate, and size of ports. The itinerary, climate and ship of the Caribbean option will likely offer a lot more "fun in the sun". One consideration is there will always be near endless opportunities for a Caribbean cruise, but there are very few Arctic Circle cruises, so if the availability, timing, cost, etc. are lining up for you on this one, I wouldn't assume that will repeat itself next time.

Oasis of the Seas

7 night Eastern Caribbean

March 11, 2018

 

(although I'm hoping to sneak in another between now and then)

Is it worth the room size?   To which I must weigh Comfort versus Number of Cruises I can afford to take.  I have come to the conclusion that with the knowledge of several cruises under my belt that my wife and I can cruise in a smaller, less comfortable room if we utilize the entire ship as our temporary home IE...  Spend more time in the Solarium, Centrum, and all parts of the ship.  This way we can literally afford four times as many cruises and have four times as many memories.

 

Thanks BigKarl ... I find your insights on this topic useful, but I do have a question that I'll get to below.

 

First I'll say that I share your (and bcarney and DocLC's) general sentiments. When considering bumping up to a higher category I also consider whether I'd get more value by spending the extra bucks on shore excursions, specialty restaurants, spa treatments or even at the casino. Sure, I prefer the space of a JS, and I enjoy reading with a glass of wine on a private balcony, and like being able to look outside when I wake up, but at the end of the day a good sleep in a comfortable bed and a shower is all I really need from my room. In practice I've settled with the general rule of thumb that if it costs a little (i.e. < $500) to bump up a category, I do it, but if it costs a lot, I don't. If that means an inside cabin, I'd be fully prepared to do so.

 

But where I'm a little uncertain about this philosophy is with longer itineraries, especially ones with stretches of three or more straight days at sea. I haven't done one of these yet, but I hope to in the future. So that's my question for you BigKarl (and anyone else) as someone who has done longer transatlantic and Panama cruises, would you apply the same philosophy to a longer cruise, or would you avoid an inside or smaller outside cabin on a longer itinerary (especially when considering the significant discount for inside cabins on those cruises)?

Logistically, I don't see how that would work since it would require then to reclassify cabins based on there mattress type. There only way it would or could work is if they went with a Select Comfort type of mattress, which i didn't find to be all that durable or reliable in my experience.

 

Logistically there are a few ways it could be done. One would be to use the same approach as is used for 3rd/4th person options where symbols are used to denote which staterooms have pullman beds and which have sofa beds. You can select a stateroom based on your preferences and/or your search for staterooms can filter only staterooms that match your preference -- the same could be done with symbols denoting staterooms denoting alternate mattress options.

 

Another way of handling it is to have mattresses that are firm on one side and soft on the other, and can be flipped based on preference, or the mattresses can have pillow tops that can be added or removed with a zipper -- selecting your preference could be handled the same way you choose whether or not you want separate twins or one king size bed in your stateroom.

 

And finally, they could, as you suggest, reclassify cabins based on mattress type.

 

Perhaps these are aspirations that need to be limited to luxury cruise lines or maybe suite class staterooms. If my future experiences are the same as past I'll be perfectly happy -- but some of these reports of overly hard mattresses is concerning.

While I have only had good experiences with mattresses on past cruises, I do wish they would give you the option when booking between a hard, soft or foam mattress. They should be able track average customer preferences and have an appropriate proportion of their staterooms fitted with a variety of these options.

I agree that it's ideal not to rush, but if you do need to squeeze into a shorter period, in addition to speaking with your server (ideally the night before) about your timeline, the other thing I would suggest is having all the members of your group both show up a few minutes early to the dining room, and have them review the menu beforehand so that you can put in your order as soon as you arrive. You might also have to be prepared to skip dessert.

For my cruise on Jewel in January 2014 we had booked an ocean view but when we arrived for embarkation we had been upgraded to a balcony. No explanation was given and we didn't ask questions -- just said "thank you". At the time there was a lot of weather mayhem going on with airports shutting down due to big storms, and we were checking in fairly late in the day, so it's possible we were the beneficiaries of someone else's misfortune who had to cancel a balcony at last minute. It was also our first cruise with Platinum status.

Look forward to hearing how it goes. My next scheduled port-of-call will be St. Maarten, but sadly not until 2018. 

With all the cruises I've taken before, this is the first time I'm actually booking onboard.  It will feel weird not spending hours or days at the computer agonizing over which ship, itinerary, stateroom, and week we'd like to cruise... it's part of the experience I actually like. :)

 

If you don't already know what cruise you want to book, my advice is to still spend the time agonizing at the computer before leaving for the cruise to come up with either the cruise you want to book, or at least a shortlist of two or three. For me it is frustrating to have someone else in the driver's seat while searching . But maybe that's just me.  :)

It being offered on English sailings makes sense; after all, Indian is to the English is as Mexican is to Americans.

 

Yes. In fact, I think they might have held it in Sabor. Windjammer and MDR also seemed to have a few more Indian style options than I've seen in Caribbean.

donolog, on 05 Nov 2016 - 1:55 PM, said:

Depending on the cruise there might be other experiences such as Indian Food Cooking class

I've never seen that, but would love if they ever offered it!

 

So this was offered on the Navigator cruise I just did out of Southampton to Spain and France. I didn't personally do it, but a couple at my MDR table did. They liked the class, but found the food a little too spicy for their taste (but I suspect their spice tolerance is relatively low). This offering might have been limited to that cruise as it catered to a UK market -- curious to know if it's available now that Navigator's returning to the Caribbean (or if it's available on other ships) ... anyone booked on Nav see it?

First off ... congratulations!

 

Other extras you may (or may not) be interested in: spa, art auctions, bingo, on-board experiences (e.g. flow rider lessons, cooking classes, wine tastings, etc.).

Alcohol options are limited due to Texas alcohol regulations. You can still get mixed drinks but it won't be with a lot of the premium liquors till the ship is 12 miles out from port. While in Texas they must use alcohol bottled in the state or with a TX alcohol board stamp of approval on it. This didn't bother me at all but it may bother some who prefer liquors such as Grey Goose, Hendricks, etc

 

Having to wait until your cruise ship is 12 miles out of port before you can get the premium spirit of your choice ... now there's a first world problem!  :D

Wow. What level qualifies for cookies? Makes me want to book more cruises so i can get my cookies!

 

This is what you get at Emerald right?

I know my son played some video games in kids club at that age but I think it was more "when he didn't want to do the group activity" as opposed to dedicated play time .... could be wrong as its been a couple of years.

 

That was my experience too. They definitely had the games, but that wasn't the main focus and there were only enough consoles for a handful of players. If you have concerns I'm sure you can discuss them with the AO staff (e.g. if you don't want your son playing the games, I'm sure they would accommodate that).

If this (or a future) cruise includes a stop in Belize then you can also tour ruins there without a ferry or super-long bus ride.

The other consideration would be if there's an "experience" that could be part of the treat. For example, not just going to Izumi's, but taking a "How to Make Sushi" class at Izumi's (and then you get to eat what you make). Depending on the cruise there might be other experiences such as Indian Food Cooking class, Mystery Dinner, Wine Pairing Dinner, etc.

While considering your cruise itinerary and how many days you'll be ashore on this cruise ask yourself, do you fee confident you'll consume five drinks per day?

 

If your response is "hell yeah" then a drink package probably makes sense from a financial point-of-view. If your response is a definite "no" or "I'm not so sure", then I would go a la carte (which is what I personally do). There are a few other nuances that could make that "five-drink" number go up or down one, and if it does make sense, then there's a few more points to figure out which package makes sense.

 

In addition to points made in prior posts, I would add the following about wine for dinner in the main dining room:

• as DocLC mentions, you can bring two (750mL) bottles of wine on the ship, and you can bring them to dinner in the main dining room where they will serve it to you free of charge (i.e. no corkage fee);
• if you order a bottle of wine and don't finish it, they will store it for you and serve it the next night (even if it's one of the bottles you brought on the ship);
• each day there is a Wine-of-the-Day that is offered at 20% off the wine list price; it's worth asking about this, there's usually a few options (although don't be surprised if the assistant waiter taking your order doesn't know the current special and has to go ask).

A change of menu is of little concern to me...since I always have my server and staff surprise me at every meal.   They always know to bring out the BEST from the kitchen.  

 

Interesting approach Stoneman -- do you only do this for specialty rooms, or MDR as well? Do you just say "surprise me" everytime? That's kind of bad-ass.

 

D