JBC

Check out the different areas around the pool. Some are louder than others (proximity to the DJ), some are closer or farther from Chill Grill, the nearest snack shack, the Oasis bar, etc. Your group may prefer one spot to another based on personal preference.
My wife and I now have a favorite spot where we have camped out on our last 3 trips to CocoCay. We had a OTW Cabana last May which was great and we enjoyed the Beach Club food (this was courtesy of my generous FIL on a family cruise) but we have just as much fun and enjoy the included food without spending a penny (besides tipping for Diamond drinks).

I am on the Feb 17, 2024 Odyssey sailing and I will have two teenagers (16 and 14) with me.  Teens hang a lot in the SeaPlex, Arcade and Sports Court areas.  Odyssey also has a teen gaming lounge. 
There will be a lot of teens on any winter break sailing.   

I've been to the beach club twice, and it is great.  Both times I paid less than $100 for it.  I am going to Coco Cay in August with a big group and we are just doing the Oasis Lagoon pool area.  I am hoping that is nice because I have two future cruises after this one with stops at Coco Cay and the recent prices for the beach club ($225 and up) are crazy and it's just not worth it at that price point in my opinion.  As others have mentioned, people are paying it or the prices would be lower.  But to pay around $1,000 for a family of 4 to go to the beach club is just nuts to me.  There are better ways to spend that money on a cruise.  

We're on the oasis of the seas. 
 
Booked two rooms, 11th deck forward. We couldn't get connecting staterooms for the same price. Just for giggles, I wanted to find out how much more it would move to the two cabins, directly NEXT to us on the ship that are still available, but connecting. 
 
You might want to sit down for this. We're talking INTERIOR staterooms. All four rooms are IDENTICAL in the location, just one pair happens to have a connecting door to both staterooms. You ready for this?!?!!? 
 
They wanted nearly $4000 to 'upgrade' us to connecting staterooms. I felt like it would be cheaper to bring a hammer, do it myself, and pay the repair bills after the cruise. 
 
Really?!?!?! $4000 to get a door between staterooms....wowowowow. 

$62.99 and $66.99 are both great prices for a drink package, btw.  Regardless of how they advertise it.

Meanwhile the price isn't being throttled down.  This is a lousy development.  A lot of people need the internet while on a ship for a multitude of reasons, me being one of them.  I am willing to pay for it, but it needs to provide a usable connection.  I was on Allure last month and the internet was terrible.  Maybe it's time for people to get more vocal about it, and not just at guest services or on post cruise surveys.  Royal would pay more attention if more people started voicing criticisms about it on the various social media platforms.  

Yes, this is what I experienced last week.  It's dumb.  Royal really isn't accomplishing anything with that policy other than to annoy a guest.  

Meanwhile the price isn't being throttled down.  This is a lousy development.  A lot of people need the internet while on a ship for a multitude of reasons, me being one of them.  I am willing to pay for it, but it needs to provide a usable connection.  I was on Allure last month and the internet was terrible.  Maybe it's time for people to get more vocal about it, and not just at guest services or on post cruise surveys.  Royal would pay more attention if more people started voicing criticisms about it on the various social media platforms.  

Meanwhile the price isn't being throttled down.  This is a lousy development.  A lot of people need the internet while on a ship for a multitude of reasons, me being one of them.  I am willing to pay for it, but it needs to provide a usable connection.  I was on Allure last month and the internet was terrible.  Maybe it's time for people to get more vocal about it, and not just at guest services or on post cruise surveys.  Royal would pay more attention if more people started voicing criticisms about it on the various social media platforms.  

I think the only true definition of a chair hog is anyone who doesn't utilize saved seats within an hour.
I am okay with people who get up early to stake out chairs or who will hold seats for their party in the theater as long as there is a time frame. The early bird gets the worm..........Getting up at 7am to put towels on a chair you won't use until after 2pm is a*hole behavior. Putting a towel on a chair and getting coffee or breakfast, is okay because you would be coming back. Holding seats in the theater while some folks get snacks or drinks, is okay because people plan to sit in the seats.......I mean I would want to sit next to the people I am cruising with. But clocking something for hours, that you aren't even using is being a hog. 

Is it the chair first then breakfast thing? I can't decide which I will/should do first. Don't want to be a hog, but you also kinda gotta play the game that's going on.

I can see it both ways with the waiter.  Yes, he is just doing his job, but they do ask constantly if they have met expectations, is there anything additional they can do for you, etc., almost to the point of being annoying.  So simply informing them that they have not met expectations, and that yes, there is something they can do additional for you, I don't think that is totally out of line.  I just wouldn't word it that bluntly that their survey will suffer if they don't bring me two entrees at once.  And I also agree that speaking to the head waiter will likely resolve this issue.  
It ultimately is a really dumb thing, and if you need to play games to get around it, it is possible.  Just have one other person order with you and state the order you want them brought in.  As soon as they come, combine two plates and viola, now one person is done with their first meal and please bring the 2nd dish. 
Last week this is the first time this happened to me so it caught me off guard.  Now that I know about it I would easily fix it while ordering without being overly rude or threatening.  At the end of the day, they genuinely want to do whatever they possibly can to make you happy without getting in trouble.    

You can always order more than one app.  I typically always order two.  That is never an issue.  For entrees I typically only order one, but on my last cruise I did order the lobster and the steak entrée.  The waiter brought the lobster first and I ate it slowly waiting for the steak, and he asked me if I was finished with the lobster and I told him I am waiting for my steak, which he then brought but commented that he isn't supposed to bring more than one entrée at a time.  It appeared as though a lot of people were doing this. With the changed MDR menus and the charge for a 2nd tail, Royal needs to come up with a surf and turf option for the 2nd formal night ("lobster night").  Not the Chops surf and turf option that is available for purchase every night. It would waste less food, because people just want the surf and turf, they don't want the accompaniments of both entrees. 
      

While the status of their job isn't up to me and I would never mention it, the status of the review, a review they will want me to be sure to complete, is up to me.  They have always satisfied me and always received full scores.  I think they will again next week and probably without additional conversation.  The person sent to my table will understand my needs and has access to all of the decision makers to allow this to happen.  While it appears anecdotally that there is some directive to stop 2 plates from being delivered at once, I'm not certain it's a hard and fast rule against it.  If it turns out to be one, I will in the end have to live with that.
If this random new rule comes in conflict with my enjoyment of the meal, then I will express that.  I see why some here see it as bullying the waiter, but it won't be like that, it will be an exchange of information.  There will be no hostility or anger.  Just my truth expressed clearly.  He/she will either be able to resolve the issue themselves, will involve someone who can or will accept that I am not going to be satisfied.
What Royal decides to do with my review scores is up to them and based on the current survey anxiety, I think more bullying is coming from Royal to the servers.  I can't put myself in that equation, I can only express what I want and review the experience I have.
Remember that garbage about new menus so they can speed up dining?  How in the world does sequential plating speed anything up?  Of course it doesn't and we know that was the secondary concern with the primary being dollars.  This passive discouragement of the second plate is also about dollars.  The menu change won't impact my enjoyment as I see many things that I like, but asking me to eat, wait, eat, wait etc will impact the enjoyment of the meal and elongate it.  That's just my reality.
It certainly won't ruin my cruise or stop me from cruising, but it will be the first time I felt a cruise line wasn't able to provide service above and beyond.  But that is all whatif talk.  I sort of think there's a strong chance they'll just bring it as I ask.  

Yes, this is what I experienced last week.  It's dumb.  Royal really isn't accomplishing anything with that policy other than to annoy a guest.  

I can see it both ways with the waiter.  Yes, he is just doing his job, but they do ask constantly if they have met expectations, is there anything additional they can do for you, etc., almost to the point of being annoying.  So simply informing them that they have not met expectations, and that yes, there is something they can do additional for you, I don't think that is totally out of line.  I just wouldn't word it that bluntly that their survey will suffer if they don't bring me two entrees at once.  And I also agree that speaking to the head waiter will likely resolve this issue.  
It ultimately is a really dumb thing, and if you need to play games to get around it, it is possible.  Just have one other person order with you and state the order you want them brought in.  As soon as they come, combine two plates and viola, now one person is done with their first meal and please bring the 2nd dish. 
Last week this is the first time this happened to me so it caught me off guard.  Now that I know about it I would easily fix it while ordering without being overly rude or threatening.  At the end of the day, they genuinely want to do whatever they possibly can to make you happy without getting in trouble.    

I don't see this surviving even the mildest pushback.  I'll be on Anthem next week and I'll be ordering 2 and expecting 2 at once simply by saying "Please bring them both at the same time" 
If offered the rule that he has to wait until I eat the first, I'm simply going to tell him "I know that you want me to be happy and I know that you would like to receive all 10's on the survey at the end, and I want to give you all 10's.  I really want to do that.  I'm only going to be able to do that if I'm able to enjoy my meal the way I'd like to enjoy it.  Please bring me both"
I should also say, before I sit down and order anything on my first visit, I will have tipped him.

Yes, this is what I experienced last week.  It's dumb.  Royal really isn't accomplishing anything with that policy other than to annoy a guest.  

Royal is still recovering from the losses  during shutdown. They are doing less kitchen food safety training. Half the savings are used to pay down debt, the other half on extra toilet paper.

Keep cruising. This is life just about back to pre2020. The cleaning of the tables would be disappointing but not seeing anything Vid related makes me extremely happy. I would bet my year’s salary that everyone has had the Vid already and now getting it is like the seasonal flu. Take precautions you see fit to your personal health and live life to its fullest. 
 
Our family lost to many members to cancer and suddenly passing the last 3 years that were deprived of being able to take vacations, because of unfounded irrational fears of the Vid. We are trying to make the most of life knowing any day may be the last. 
 
Hope you all Iive life like there will be no tomorrow and enjoy your next cruise. 6 day to Miami, 8 days Until Oasis!🤘🏻

But so has the rest of society.

Wait, we are supposed to read the questions on the health questionaire before just answering them all no?     

Oh I most certainly still will 🤣

Wait, we are supposed to read the questions on the health questionaire before just answering them all no?