Buzzard05

I just booked a cruise for next summer and needed to book through RCL (due to some gift certificates I purchased). 
I was doing it on the website initially and seeing some conflicting information on cabin availability...so I ended up calling Royal.  The price I got by calling was over $500 less than what the Website was showing me for the same cabin categories.  The guy kept saying..."Oh, here is a savings we can get you, oh, here is another...."  He even said that you don't usually see all of those stackable discounts together.  Moral of the story is...if I hadn't called I would have never known about those other discounts as they weren't showing for me on the website.  I will definitely be calling from now on (if I am not already using a travel agent).

I just booked a cruise for next summer and needed to book through RCL (due to some gift certificates I purchased). 
I was doing it on the website initially and seeing some conflicting information on cabin availability...so I ended up calling Royal.  The price I got by calling was over $500 less than what the Website was showing me for the same cabin categories.  The guy kept saying..."Oh, here is a savings we can get you, oh, here is another...."  He even said that you don't usually see all of those stackable discounts together.  Moral of the story is...if I hadn't called I would have never known about those other discounts as they weren't showing for me on the website.  I will definitely be calling from now on (if I am not already using a travel agent).

Check out this thread:
A guy posted a work around on how to make MTD reservations on HOTS.  I was having the same issue, and his solution worked for me.  
Hope this helps.

We were concerned with all that we read about Jamaica prior to our cruise last year.  We decided to book a day at the Royalton White Sands through a third party tour company and had a great time.  In fact, after it was all said and done, my entire family said that was the most enjoyable day on our entire cruise.

We did not sail on the Oasis, but on Harmony...so very similar.  Here are some things that you might find useful:
* Unless for transportation reasons, I wouldn't wait to get on the ship late, I would get on as early as I could in order to enjoy an extra day on the ship.  These ships are HUGE and having that extra time allows you to get your bearings, as well as see and experience some of the cool stuff available, while it is less crowded.  We were given a check-in time around noon, but arrived at 10:45 and were literally on the ship by 11:00.  
* There are more places to eat on that ship than you can actually do in a week...and most are covered by your cruise fare.  That was actually one of the drawbacks I found on these huge ships.  There would be a place that I liked to eat, but I wanted to try the other stuff too and never made it back to some of those places that I liked.
* Lunch - Park Cafe was actually a very nice place to grab lunch.  It was never crowded and had a pretty good selection of sandwiches and salads.
* You might find it nice to splurge one night (or two) in one of the specialty restaurants. We did Chops Grille for dinner and Sabor for lunch and loved it.  
* When we went to book our My Time Dining, I kept getting a notice that I couldn't do that.  However, a poster on here posted a workaround that allowed me to get in and do my scheduling.  If you still have trouble, shoot me a message and I will see if I can find that post.
* Check your cruise planner for when the shows become available to reserve.  There are TONS of people on the ship wanting to see the same shows you do.  Getting our reservations in for the times we wanted just gave me some peace of mind that we would be able to see everything on a schedule that suited us.  With that said, plenty of people got into the shows without reservations...but you have to line up well before the show time and hope that you make it.  On our sailing, Grease was the headliner, and it had an enormous line.  I doubt everyone in that line got in.
* As another poster suggested, you can go and order things like drink packages, internet, even excursions now and then keep checking the Cruise Planner.  You may find things go on sale and you can just cancel your original purchase and re-buy.  I did that with my drink package, internet, and some excursions on our trip (not huge savings...but savings nonetheless).
* Check the Cruise Planner religiously for sales and for when things like show reservations become available.  I would also book as much stuff online as possible and only use Guest Services or the Excursion Desk if I absolutely had to.  Not that they give you bad service, actually just the opposite.  However, there are lots of people on that ship and you will end up spending valuable vacation time standing in line to do something you could have done online.
* Research the blog portion of this site (not just the message boards) for posts about the Oasis.  You will find a ton of information out there that is kind of cool to know before you board.

For my last two cruises, dining opened up at about 170 days out and shows opened up at about 150 days out. Keep checking your cruise planner. There's no set date. I have noticed that they usually pop up on Fridays. Your drink packages will probably start to go on sale about 3-4months out. We're sailing in March and our drink package just went down to $43/day last week. Also keep an eye out in a few weeks for Black Friday. Last year they had many sales in the cruise planner during that time. So anything you pre-purchase now can be re-priced then as well.
 
 I couldn't agree with you more. I love this community here. Over the years I have learned so much myself from the people here. And even after many cruises I am still learning new things. The people on these boards are wonderful. Not critical or snarky like some other boards and always positive. ?

We just got off Harmony a couple weeks ago and we had two rooms booked for my wife and I and two teenage sons.  My wife and I were in an oceanview balcony at the rear of the ship on Deck 12 (12326) and the view from that balcony is just as everyone as described.  It is very peaceful, you can see the islands as you come and go, and you don't have anybody peering across at you.
My sons were in the last boardwalk balcony room on Deck 12 (12329) and I have to say I thought the views were spectacular out the back of the ship. I can see where the views would be "better" without the Abyss slide structure...but still an awesome view nonetheless (IF you are in one of the last few rooms, I am not sure it would be as great in the middle of that deck).  That room was very close to the Aqua Theatre and the noise was not bad at all in there (even when they had shows going on).  I also found it cool to watch the aqua shows from that vantage point (looking down) as you can see a lot of the stuff going on underwater that you can't see from the regular seats.  And of course, it was always fun just to people watch down on the Boardwalk. I will say that when I would sit on their balcony, having people directly across from me on those balconies was a little bothersome (it is closer across there than you think).
As for activities in the ports, we have been to Cozumel twice.  The first time we did the speedboat / snorkel excursion (where you drive your own little mini-speedboat out to a place and then snorkel for a bit) and it was a lot of fun.  This last time we did the ATV tour to Jade Caverns and it was also a good time.  We picked those excursions more for our sons than for us....but we had a blast on both as well.  In Falmouth we booked a day pass to the Royalton White Sands resort from a local excursion company.  We really enjoyed that place as well.  It was all-inclusive and you had full run of the place.  The food was good...as were the drinks.  We chose the Royalton due to it's location...it is only about 10 minutes from the port, where the other all-inclusives were 30 - 45 minutes away.
I would book the shows as soon as you are able, that way you know that you are pretty much assured to have a seat (assuming you arrive on time).  We saw some pretty long lines for people wanting to get into a show that didn't have a reservation.  I have no idea how many of those people got into the shows or not.  You can always change it up a bit once you get on board (you may not get a reservation, but you can go stand in the stand by line to try to see a show at a different time than you have scheduled.  Also, not sure if Oasis has the Escape Room...but if they do, you should give it a try.  It was a lot of fun!
As for the drink package, it doesn't sound to me like you would get your "money's worth".  I got the Refreshment Package for myself as I drink a ton of soda, but also like to get an occasional coffee drink (not from Starbucks) and that worked well for me.  I would get a drink/beer or two each day and my OBC covered it.  On about day four or five they offered a 10 drink card for $79.00 ($93.00 with the 18% gratuity) and found that to be a decent deal.  What is nice about the drink card is that you can share it with your wife (meaning you both can use it to get drinks, unlike the drink package).
Hope that info helps you a bit.  Have a GREAT time on your cruise!

Just got off Harmony last Saturday and here were the photo prices we saw:
1 8x10 - $19.99 (there was buy one get one half off coupon available...but not sure if that was a Crown and Anchor deal or just a general deal)
10 photos (digital or printed) - $149
20 photos (digital or printed) - $239
I believe all your photos are available for $299 (but don't quote me on that because we really didn't entertain that option when we were looking).
They also had some kind of deal where you paid $19.99/day per person for tons of photos...but again, I don't know the specifics because we didn't entertain that option.
We tried to do just the 10 photos, but could only pare our 70+ photos they took down to around 15 or 16....so we just spent the extra and got the 20 photo digital thumb drive (interesting thing is, they include all your photos, but the ones you didn't select still have their watermark on them are are "locked" which I guess means you can't print them).

Just got off Harmony last Saturday and here were the photo prices we saw:
1 8x10 - $19.99 (there was buy one get one half off coupon available...but not sure if that was a Crown and Anchor deal or just a general deal)
10 photos (digital or printed) - $149
20 photos (digital or printed) - $239
I believe all your photos are available for $299 (but don't quote me on that because we really didn't entertain that option when we were looking).
They also had some kind of deal where you paid $19.99/day per person for tons of photos...but again, I don't know the specifics because we didn't entertain that option.
We tried to do just the 10 photos, but could only pare our 70+ photos they took down to around 15 or 16....so we just spent the extra and got the 20 photo digital thumb drive (interesting thing is, they include all your photos, but the ones you didn't select still have their watermark on them are are "locked" which I guess means you can't print them).

It's a glitch in an otherwise flawless system (sarcasm intended). I've had this happen and as others have said you're fine as long as you can print your Set Sail pass. 

Check out this thread:
A guy posted a work around on how to make MTD reservations on HOTS.  I was having the same issue, and his solution worked for me.  
Hope this helps.

It's complimentary regardless. But you're free to go back on board for lunch if you're not a fan of barbecue.

Yes, it logs you in using your Facebook account.
 
You can play both on your computer and mobile device, and while your loyalty points are the same on both platforms (the ones that are used for rewards, and the ones you really care about)....the chips you bet with and your game level are different (meaning, I am level 21 on my phone with 60K in chips, but only level 14 on my computer with 30K in chips).  I'm guessing they do this so you will purchase more chips (with real money) on both platforms.
 
I have also started playing this game since I read this thread, and based on my calculations...I will have a free cruise in about 13 years.

Thanks for the heads up! Just cancelled my old package and rebooked with new price. Save $60

Heads up if you like the Refreshment Package....
I just noticed this morning that the Refreshment Package for my July Harmony sailing has dropped from $26.00/day to $18.20/day.

When you book through a travel agent, do you still have access to your cruise on the Royal Caribbean site?  Meaning, will I be able to go in and purchase drink packages, specialty dining, etc. on the Royal Caribbean site (like I do when I book through them)....or does everything need to be done through the travel agent?
 
Also, are my cruise documents available on the RCI site, or is that all sent to me via the travel agent?
 
Thanks

When you book through a travel agent, do you still have access to your cruise on the Royal Caribbean site?  Meaning, will I be able to go in and purchase drink packages, specialty dining, etc. on the Royal Caribbean site (like I do when I book through them)....or does everything need to be done through the travel agent?
 
Also, are my cruise documents available on the RCI site, or is that all sent to me via the travel agent?
 
Thanks

When you book through a travel agent, do you still have access to your cruise on the Royal Caribbean site?  Meaning, will I be able to go in and purchase drink packages, specialty dining, etc. on the Royal Caribbean site (like I do when I book through them)....or does everything need to be done through the travel agent?
 
Also, are my cruise documents available on the RCI site, or is that all sent to me via the travel agent?
 
Thanks