WhiteSoxFan

I didn't see this mentioned, but we always check the Compass to see what activities are planned for the day.  We check to see when they are having trivia, rock climbing, any events like the belly flop or world's sexiest man competition,shows, etc.  We plan our day around the activities in which we wish to participate or watch.  As others have mentioned we fill in the remainder with eating, pool, working out, eating, walking the ship and eating.  :) 

Completely agree that the high ratings request isn't so bad. However, I did feel for our steward as she had to push her trolley to either side of the centeum to service rooms. Even so, she was excellent and barely seen, which is a positive in my book as I like the ninja stewards. Sadly, though, I think all cruise lines are under the assumption the good or very good just isn't good enough. However, the reality is that sometimes service is just good and not exceptional. Even so, that doesn't take away from the quality of their work. What the difference between a clean bathroom and an exceptionally clean bathroom? Aren't they both clean? Or as Matt likes to say about steaks . . . They're all good . . .

Exactly.  I also think that after 9 cruises I may be a little more likely to rate lower than I would if it were my first or second cruises.  We are very solid in our expectations having "been there, done that" before and it may take a little more to "wow" me.  I try not to be biased when filling out the survey and I definitely try to give the crew their due.

I haven't been pressured to tip extra, although I have on occasion for good service. However, I have been pressured/encouraged to give ratings on the cruise survey due to stated hardship. For example, on the Jewel, our steward pleaded for the highest ratings as she wanted to promote so that she could get new cabin assignments as hers were split on either side of the centrum. Fortunately, she was good, so it wasn't a problem. However, being put in that situation was awkward.

I didn't get any sob stories on the Jewel, but I was reminded by our waiter and the cabin steward to fill out the survey.  They didn't beg for a top rating but they alluded to it.  It is not as intimidating as the tipping though since you basically get to go back and fill out the survey with no pressure to score it higher than you think it should be.

would it be possible to make an 11am flight or is that pushing it?

I wouldn't take an 11:00AM flight unless I was coming off the Oasis or Allure.  If it were one of those two I would do it in a heartbeat.  They always seem to get people off early.  Using self debarkation, we've been to the airport, checked in and through security well before 8:00AM when we sailed the Allure.  I am one of those people who, once vacation is over, wants to get home ASAP.

 

bobroo, completely off topic, Is you avatar from the ABC Tournament?  B & W, wood lanes, that's going back a ways.  I have been to 27 straight tournaments and all my photos are in color.

We have sailed the Allure twice.  The first time we had an early flight, 10:35.  We used the self-disembark that Marc mentioned and we were at the airport and through security before 8:00AM.  Self-diembark is great, your are one of the first off so the lines at customs are very short. and the cabs are lined up waiting to take you to the airport which is only 10 minutes away.

 

I personally think this is a great way to go.  The requirement is that you must be able to handle all your baggage yourself.  It is worth noting that when you leave the ship there is an escalator you must go down.  If you do not have a free hand, ie. you're pulling two bags, they will not let you use the escalator and you have to wait for the elevator.  This can be a bit of a wait.  If this is your situation I recommend someone taking a bag down then going back up to relive you of your second bag.  Faster than waiting for the elevator.

 

In the future I would not hesitate to book a flight this early, but only for the Allure or Oasis.

I agree with booking early if you know what you want, and then occasionally checking pricing.  It is worth noting that better pricing is not necessarily the better deal.  If you booked now and got the OBC and later the base price drops, you would lose the OBC by taking the new lower price (unless they are offering OBC at that time). 

This is exactly how it was for the previous sale. I booked a 4 night at the end of December.  The $200OBC was more than my Emerald balcony discount so I took the OBC.  The great thing is, unlike my C & A discount, the OBC wasn't reduced for a shorter sailing.

Well after looking at our receipt, we are in room 10620. I guess this means we are on deck 10? Our dining says "My Time". Not really sure what that means.

 

Yes to deck 10. Not a bad cabin location, mid way between the elevators.  On the Oasis and Allure the basic cabins (not suites) alternate bed locations.  Some cabins have the bed near the closet, which makes getting into the closet somewhat challenging at times IMO, and the rest have them near the balcony.  Your cabin has the bed located near the balcony, which I prefer.

 

As Matt said for My Time Dining you can choose to just show up, and they will seat you when there is an available spot, or make a reservation.  I always have made reservations, something you can do in advance using the cruise planner.  It seems that they will usually seat you by yourself.  In my experience with MTD there seem to be more two and four tops than in the traditional dining room, although I may be wrong.

I remember there was talk when the details of the Quantum started coming out that is was designed for cold weather itineraries.  I assume the indoor pools on the the Quantum as well as the Vision and Radiance class ships have the ability to be heated, otherwise there would be no swimming on an Alaskan itinerary.  I have never experienced a heated pool on any of our cruises.  When we sailed the west coast the water in the pool the first and last days was cold.  You could tell they just pumped it straight in from the ocean.

 

In regrads to opening the Solarium roof,  I do not think they ever open the Solariums on the retractable roof ships.  We just left the Jewel on a Southern Itinerary and if there was ever a time to have it open that was it.  80+ and sunny every day with just few sprinkles one morning.

Thanks everyone. Thats what I thought. Somebody should tell RCCL to change it on the website as it clearly states Voyager class ships have a retractable roof which is what confused me!

 

Luke

Voyager and Freedom do not have retractable roofs.

Quantum class also has a retractable roof

Doh!  I forgot about the Quantum.

No roof on the Voyager or Freedom classes, although much of the seating area is under the deck above. The Radiance and Vision class have solariums with retractable roofs.  On my two time on the Jewel they roof has always been closed.  I don't know if they ever open them.

 

The Oasis class has a paritally covered solarium.  There are sections of glass that are there mostly to deflect the wind I believe.

I am a proud BALCONY SNOB! Give me balcony or give me death! 

 

The only way I would accept a lesser room is when RCL has those inside rooms for $30 or less per night. Only then I might consider another night in "a closet".

 

We too are balcony snobs.  Only once in nine cruises have we not had a balcony and that was on our first cruise on the Majesty.

 

We were in 7094, which is the same cabin we grabbed on the Brilliance mainly because it's a midship location (a necessity for my wife) and on the lowest deck possible (I think) for a balcony cabin.  The Centrum noise was pretty bad.  Fortunately, my wife uses a white noise app, so that helped quite a bit.  You also can't go wrong with the large balcony and being so close to the Centrum, making it easy to get anywhere quickly, especially if using the center staircase.

 

The downside on the Jewel is that we only had a sofa bed as an option for my son.  On the Brilliance, the cabin has a pullman bunk, so that will make the room more useable as it was nearly impossible to pass the sofa bed when it was unfolded as it butted up to the desk area.

 

Great balcony on that cabin.  I wanted to book any of the first two cabins foreward or aft of the elevators but they were taken so ai went on the starboard side.  Not nearly as big a balcony but good views.

Oasis has so many great things onboard.  Definitely see CATS, eat at Sabor and Izumi, and EXPLORE.  The ship is so big but there's a lot of little gems all around.

Matt's right about so gems on the ship, but I I've seen Cats once and there is no way I'm wasting another 2-1/2 hours of my life on that.

You're not a hypocrite, you just reevaluated your baseline standards taking into account new information unique to the situation.  :D

 

Not to hijack but which cabin did you have on the Jewel?  I have a hump cabin booked on a 4 night on the Brilliance. I understand about the noise from the Centrum.  On the Jewel a few weeks ago the people in the Centrum goaded the band into playing one more song and before they were halfway through the CD was down there shutting them down because people were calling quest services to complain.

On our second trip my daughter did get in the water and was able to touch them, I actually held one.  The biggest thing you need to watch for is stepping on them.

We did Stingray City on our first cruise when my daughter was 7, She refused to get in the water.

 

My personal feeling about flights back is the earlier the better.  Especially from FLL whereit is a quick trip to the airport.  Also if you are on the Oasis or Allure you can get off the ship pretty early if necessary.

I don't even know that I can pick a favorite ship.  I can, however, give my top 5 for the Voyager/Freedom class of ships.

 

5 -  The seating at the very back of the Windjammer.  One of my favorite things to do is eat breakfast or lunch at the tables along the glass at the back of the Windjammer.  I love just watching the wake as we sail along.  We also got to watch one of the Disney ships dock at Costa Maya from this vantage point.

 

4 - The deck 5 outside promenade & helicopter pad.  We like to take a stroll around this area in the evening after dinner.  This is a great feature on several RC ships. It's nice that you can walk around the ship outside on a lower deck.  While you can do this up on the top deck, deck 5 isn't usually as windy as the upper deck can be.  It is especially cool where the walkway passes the dining rooms and extends beyond the sides of the ship over the water.

 

3 - The Art.  I can say this about any RC ship, however.  I like how each Voyager class ship has a different sculpture in the open stair area at the end of the promenade.

 

2 - Unique balcony cabins on the cheap.  We have sailed in the deck 7 corner aft on the Freedom and the deck 10 corner aft on the Mariner.  The deck 7 corner aft features an OUTSTANDING balcony which I think is actually larger than the cabin.  The great thing it is a standard E1 so you don't have to pay extra for it.  The deck 10 corner aft has a nice balcony but a considerably larger room for a D1 price.  If you want either you better book early.

 

1 - The Promenade. RC had a great idea when they put this large open area right in the middle of the ship.  There is a lot going on in this space with shops, food & bars.  I love stopping for a quick bite at Sorrento's or the Cafe Promenade.

 

I guess I'll have to throw together my list for the Allure next.

Royal used to give every guest a survey card to fill out before they left the ship.  They then had boxes around the ship on debarkation day to collect them.  They were very adamant about having guest fill out the cards and return them.

 

They have since replaced the cards with the online survey but the staff are still adamant about reminding you to fill them out.  I believe that RC is very proactive in responding to the opinions of their guest.  As pointed out above the recent changes to dynamic dining and the delay in implementing it to other ships is evidence of this.  I also believe that praise/complaints of individual staff is taken into account when the assign duties and when they renew contracts.

You can cancel anytime up to when the final payment is due without any loss of your deposit.  I don't know if the current never ending BOGOHO sale has reduced deposit but I booked a 4 day back in December that did which makes it even less painful.

 

Edit to add:  The advantage is you can lock in the current rate/promotion and if a better deal comes along before final payment you can get it.

The deck 12 & 14 "secret" balconies have been converted to Grand Suites on the Oasis.  They still exist, for now, however, on the Allure.  The first time we sailed the Allure we watched the show in the Aqua Theater from there. Here is a picture from the starboard side balcony on 12:

 

74 days before your cruise For those on 7-night or longer cruises, check again for available staterooms, dining, entertainment or shore excursions that may have become available due to other guests not making final payment.

 

59 days before your cruise  For those on 5-night or shorter cruises, check again for available staterooms, dining, entertainment or shore excursions that may have become available due to other guests not making final payment.

 

 

In regards to these two items I would say that maybe this is more of a range, say 74-65 days and 59-50.  It seems that RC doesn't necessarily immediately cancel rooms and return them to inventory.  For that reason I would continue to check back for several days.

 

I would also recommend regularly checking your airline itinerary, say every 30 days or so.  Frequently the legacy carriers, who allow booking up to 330 days in advance, change their schedules.  There have been times I didn't get a notification on it.  It is important to catch any changes that may adversely affect your ability to make your flight or cruise as soon as possible so you can make alternate arrangements.

 

This would be good in a printable checklist format, or, better yet, as a spreadsheet where you could enter your sail date and all the dates would fill in automatically.

Just off the Jewel and slept great everynight.

I agree.  The views are great, with the ocean facing glass elevators a highlight.

 

I think the art on all the RC ships is wonderful.  We make sure we get up or down every staircase during the week to see it all.

 

I haven't eaten dinner in the WJ but I think the outdoor aft seating is the best WJ location of all the ships I've been on.  Sitting all the way in the back against the glass in the Voyager/Freedom glass is a close second.

 

Do you remember the hours for the Sea VIew.  When sailed the Jewel on a four day the hours were somewhat unpredictable. I'm looking forward to eating there more this trip.

 

Best part of the Jewel, I'm boarding in two days!

The best I can tell from a couple of Compasses I have seen the following is the schedule for the Jewel

 

Day 1 - 10:30 Welcome Aboard Show

Day 2 - 9:00 & 10:45 - West End to Broadway - Production Show

Day 3 - 7:00 & 9:00 Headliner

Day 4 - 10:15 Love and Marriage

Day 5 - 7:00 & 9:00 City of Dreams - Production Show

Day 6 - 7:00 & 9:00 Headlliner

Day 7 - 7:45 Farewell Show

 

Of course there may be changes to times etc.

 

I will confirm after next week.  :)