PocketsRN

5 hours ago, mom2mybugs said:

Lol...I want at least one of them lol.  I think like everyone I only get about half the royal email!  Jane

My first two I got 2 weeks before their respective sailings, so you still might.  Check your spam box

Had that happen a couple weeks ago, when my girlfriend and I got put at a table for 6.  One couple showed up the first night, but the second and third nights was just the two of us.

Actually, I'd be more at home with the whole mad tea party than with a bunch of normals

Scratch that.  Was actually where terminal A is now.  At the time was just an empty lot, with tents set up as the 'terminal'.  Didn't occur to me that it was actually the cleared construction site of the new terminal.

37 minutes ago, mom2mybugs said:

 It was a bit hit or miss.

That's about how having mystery table mates works.  You never know what you're gonna get.

Are they still using the overflow 'terminal' down in Miami?  Haven't been down there in a couple years, since well before the new terminal opened.

Should still be some availability then.  Give em a call and see

I had to call Royal last week to modify my dining time for my April cruise, and they asked me whether I preferred a table for 4, 7, etc.  First time that's happened.  Try giving them a call and requesting a table for 4.  How far out is your sailing?

4 hours ago, Mljstr said:

He was just about in your shape when he joined. He was 27 ( the maximum age to join.) and had a heck of a time completing boot camp. We didn't even recognize him when we went to his boot camp graduation-he had lost 15 pounds, quit smoking, was tan and wearing military issue " birth control" glasses.LOL So maybe it's not too late!@PocketsRN

No, this would be me

I'm too old and fat to get into the Coast Guard, so it's the GoFundMe for me

4 minutes ago, hooked-on-cruising said:

This was the good old fashioned florida monsoon.. lol..  We were determined to be up top, outside as we went under the bridge.. 

That's when you break out the swimsuit, find yourself a good lounge chair up top, and when the rain stops you can transition seamlessly into sunbathing mode, and dry off at the same time.

3 minutes ago, hooked-on-cruising said:

We cruised from Tampa once but it was during a storm  

That's just good ol' Florida weather, and all part of knowing what to expect wherever you go.  Did you get the good old fashioned pourin-down thunderstorm, or the classic on-off-on-off-on-off-on-off?

44 minutes ago, mattymay said:

With prices starting from $29,990 he'll be cancelling a lot of Caribbean cruises!

Nah, just start a go-fund-me.  Think yourself up a really good sob story, and the suckers will pay

And ya'll said lose the bridge...

12 minutes ago, SpeedNoodles said:

Do NOT show this to my husband. He might cancel our next Caribbean cruise to do it!!

What's wrong with that?

1 hour ago, twangster said:

Even without a bridge and a deep bay, why put millions into a 4th FL Oasis home port that isn't needed?

Simple.  Tampa's a whole lot closer.  Well worth the investment

Oh, and Tampa.  Let's not forget about Tampa already

That was a bit of an over-simplification, for argument's sake.  Nassau's pretty much a given, though.  Aside from Grand Caymen and Belize, the western is pretty well covered.

To the east and south, though, there's still Antigua, Tortola, Aruba, Curacao, Bonaire, Dominica (meh), St. Lucia, Barbados, and Grenada, that are still only available on the smaller ships.

And Panama, of course.

3 hours ago, tiny260 said:

At some point and time I see in the future where the cruise ship cruises to no where, you get on in Miami, it cruises around the Caribbean for 7 day and then you get off in Miami.

As many people do this already the ship is the destination.

3 hours ago, twangster said:

For longer cruises the problem is that ships burn fuel when not tied up in a port (or at Anchor when they burn less but still some to maintain some level of positional control).  Plus I think a cruise to no where would be a hard sell.  

"Where did you go on vacation?"  ...  No where.  

That is why transatlantic are so cheap.  Six sea days in a row on Symphony was starting to get pretty monotonous.   

  

Kinda agree with both of you on this one.  While I don't think a 'nowhere' cruise is likely to happy, between the port limitations of the big ships and the focus on the onboard experience, it does seem the port stops are more or less a formality.  That, I think, is the biggest downside to the Oasis class, as well as the overall direction RC is heading.  Pretty much you can do St. Maarten/St. Thomas in the east, or Haiti/Jamaica/Cozumel in the west, and as the bigger ships make up more and more of the fleet, the itinerary variety is gonna be more and more limited.

Look for the "solo traveler meet & mingle" on your cruise compass once you get aboard.  It's usually the first or second night, and again a few days later on longer cruises.

That'd fall easily enough under 'medical' use.  If they ask at all, just tell them "medical supplies."  They're not gonna put you through the inquisition to prove anything.  My cruising buddies did this last month on Oasis, with a small cooler full of monsters.

3 hours ago, mattymay said:

Come on.. you guys already have 5 O's! I think that's enough..

She's coming to Australia! We'll give you Ovation back..  and we may even throw in Radiance if you are lucky!

I think that's a good idea.  Would love for em to park a Quantum in Florida

6 hours ago, twangster said:

Get rid of the bridge.  Tampa traffic isn't that bad.  

Hey, I kinda like that bridge.  Besides, it's not the only barrier to having an Oasis in Tampa.

A few years ago I heard some rumors about them developing a new cruise terminal somewhere beyond it (supposedly down around de Soto).  Maybe they should revisit that idea.

1 hour ago, twangster said:

Oasis class make money.  Central Park continues to be the most popular feature of any ship, consistently getting favorable reviews year after year. 

Money's the bottom line.  Royal's primary focus, and their biggest draw for a lot of people, is in maximizing the onboard experience, and the Oasis class' size gives them the greatest capabilities in that respect.  It also gives them the greatest flexibility for testing new innovations, as well as for future refurbs and modifications.

As for production spans and whatnot, this is a reflection of the sheer increase in scale.  As things get bigger and more expensive, you're going to see the time scale grow, too, and, yes, they're going to see them use some designs (especially such a successful one) longer than they used to.  You'll probably see the service lives of the ships themselves get longer, too.

Deck 7 or 8 would be your best bet.  The best place to be for quiet is where you have staterooms above and below you.  I've had a couple right next to the elevators, and never had a problem.

Even deck 6 probably wouldn't be bad, since with a balcony you'll be on the outside and have the inner cabins to buffer you from the royal promenade.  Deck 12 I'm really not sure.  Can't imagine you'll get too much noise coming from the spa, but you'd still be on a main public deck, and I dont know how well the foward position would isolate you.

You can pull these up for any ship on cruisedeckplans.com.  Great tool when looking for that perfect stateroom.