Mrs. Regular

We should be able to book entertainment tomorrow at the 60 day mark! I am really looking forward to all the shows but need to keep Monday night open for the Bills game. Come find us in Playmakers in our formal night attire housing wings and beer. Ay-ay-ay-aye let's go Buffalo!

Getting closer now! Looking forward to following along. Also, Manco & Manco is the best pizza on the boardwalk. Change my mind.

Thank you! Always feel lucky to drive to the port. I am not looking forward to having to fly to the Fantasy in 2026 (I am excited about the cruise part though) and have been holding out for the Dream to come back up to NYC but still nothing. Also, that song gets nobody out of bed, Batman.

At first I feel excited when I see 90's music trivia on the schedule but then I get sad because that means I am old and the 90's are now nostalgia. But do I win each time? Yes, yes I do.

Oh my gosh YAY!

That is a next level boarding day tip!

Ugh yes I am learning one of the downsides of the Oasis class is limited views outside from the interior spaces. We also usually enjoy a Schooner Bar moment for a drink and trivia and music. It seems like the location on Oasis class ships is not ideal but we will try it out and see how we like it. That's a great thing about a huge ship - there are always other options! Exploring on day 1 is on the list, especially if we check in well before rooms are ready. I have been browsing the deck plans to help me become a little more familiar with the layout but I have a hunch it will be day 3 before I catch my bearings!

Thank you!!!! We are so excited.

It's great to hear we may not feel the crowds. Being mid-September I am wondering if there will be fewer kids. If not, no biggie, we like to gravitate to the adults-only areas anyway. We orignially had booked a forward balcony room but I changed to by the aft-ish elevators because I got SUPER sick in the Solarium on our Anthem cruise when we headed back up north on the sea days. I usually have Bonine and I learned a few hacks from our room steward that a green apple and some ginger ale work well and I can confirm they do!

LOL I know "elder" is a polarizing word for someone in their early 40's. The comedienne Iliza Schlezinger, who I love, has a standup special called Elder Millennial and I identify with it so hard. Yes, I also associate this song with Cruel Intentions. That last scene of Annette driving the car... iconic. Thanks for the tips! I am really looking forward to the non-Windjammie options for lunch. We were on the Anthem during COVID times so the Solarium Bistro was only open for breakfast and options elsewhere were still limited.

Mrs. Regular here again! It's my birthday today and we are about 2 months and 2 weeks away from our 5th and biggest cruise yet, I thought I'd start a pre-cruise report that will turn into a live blog when we actually embark in September. Plus I like procrastinating and planning for vacation much more than actual school or job work, lol. This one will be the most extra cruise ship we have ever cruised (Oasis class!) and there is a lot to keep track of. So, welcome to my part-planning-will-be-live-later-but-not-live-now-blog. The Cruisers Me! Mrs. Regular, 41 (today!) and my hubs Mr. Regular, 45. We live in upstate NY and pre-COVID had been scheduled to sail on the Oasis when she was going to do her first season out of NYC. That plan got scrapped (but we did eventually use the FCC to book Anthem OTS for February break 2022) and other life circumstances have led to us cruising Mariner in 2023 for my 40th and Brilliance just in May of this year in Alaska. We took our first cruise on the Rhapsody in 2017 for our honeymoon and have been addicted ever since. We have only ever sailed Royal (more on that in a moment) and I am usually checking the RC website for the next adventure. We (I, hubs doesn't know about this blog!) are called the Regular Family because at one time most of the blogs on RCB boards were about suites and extra luxurious trips that while still helpful were a little hard to relate to when reading. So my first blog was just about Regular People Cruising, meaning we usually don't book much else other than a balcony and drink package and maybe an excursion or one special dinner. Other than that, we do all the stuff that's included with our cruise fare, and the name stuck. It's not intended to be an insult to anyone who likes going big on vacation, you do you; YOLO Book It, and all that. We just like to cruise this way because it works for us and I hope others reading the blog find our perspective helpful. The Ship Symphony of the Seas! This will be our first Oasis class sailing. It wasn't necessarily cheap but the fact that we don't have to fly anywhere to catch the ship is the most appealing aspect. We can also spend the funds we would have on plane tickets on beverages and a couple onboard treats. Plus we can go on a more flexible schedule than when we need to fly, get a hotel, and have anxiety about the weather the entire time. We are in an aft-ish mid-ship ocean view balcony room on deck 11. I am both excited and nervous about being this high up on a large ship for motion sickness reasons, but I am looking forward to some spectacular views and I have ways to cope with the queasy if needed. The Itinerary Some really don't like the itinerary but it works just fine for us. This will be a new ship but a repeat schedule from our Anthem cruise, which I liked. 3.5 sea days and 3 ports is just right for our likes. Mr. Reg likes more ports and I'd like to never leave the ship, thanks very much, so this is a good balance for us. We always enjoy Coco Cay but I could leave Nassau. Cape Canaveral is "meh" but we hope to finally get to the space center this year. We have tried twice on previous trips and cruises to go and the first time it was cancelled due to late arrival at the port and the second attempt we had to cancel due to flight changes during that horrible stretch of summer last year that left us stranded at MCO for 24 hours. The Plans (for now) We decided to shake things up and go with MTD for the first time in our cruising history. We like the MDR food for the most part but we found 5 is way too early and 8:30 is way too late. The 7pm seating they are rolling out is not available on our sailing. MTD starts at 6:45 so again, like Goldilocks, we think it will be just right. I have made all our dining reservations for MTD, one night in Solarium Bistro, and I booked us at Chef's Table for a special treat. We usually do Chops but were just there in May on Brilliance so I wanted something different and CT was on a good sale in the cruise planner. For sea day and port activities, we are attempting Kennedy Space Center again for Cape Canaveral (third time is the charm?), Hideaway Beach at Coco (just the day pass, nothing else extra), and a Casita on the sun deck while we are ported in Nassau. We may get off the ship and shop around the port for an hour but otherwise I am relaxing and luxuriating this day. We can't book entertainment just yet but we LOVE live entertainment on a cruise so of course I will get us seats for all the production shows (Hiro, ice shows, Hairspray, Flight, and anything else) and Mr. Reg is a standup comedy fan so I'll have to make full use of the deluxe beverage package and drag myself with him at least once to the comedian. I am still in the process of writing my dissertation, so I will likely need to post up in the Solarium or a lounge to keep working through data and get some writing done. I recognize all these plans can change since we are also taking a calculated risk cruising in September, even out of NYC. Hurricanes do not discriminate so there's no telling what might happen weather wise, but hey. As long as we set sail somewhere I am happy. The Blog Title As elder Millennials who grew up in the 90's, the song Bittersweet Symphony looms large in our musical lexicon. So that song usually comes up in my head when I even just see the word Symphony. But, this trip is also bittersweet because it will be the last Royal cruise for us for a while, at least 2-3 years. We are taking 2025 off of cruising for various reasons (one main one being I promised my mom and sister we would finally take that family trip back to Italy after I graduate), and our next cruise will be with a group of friends on the Disney Fantasy in 2026. I am half tempted to book a weekender on Utopia right after the Fantasy but I doubt that will actually happen (I think Mr. Reg might never let me visit the next cruise desk unsupervised again). So, maybe we will be back on Royal in 2027. We are thinking Greek Isles but who knows what will come up between now and then. For now, we are going to enjoy this week just by ourselves on the Symphony! What are your tips and tricks for Oasis class newbs? We have sailed Vision, Radiance, Voyager, and Quantum class before. What are some good compare/contrast considerations for us to make and your favorite tips for mega-ship first-timers? Leave some wisdom below.

I'm sorry for your loss, sending healing and peaceful vibes your way. I hope you have opportunity to spend time with everyone you hold dearest! Your upcoming NCL cruise sounds lovely. I really appreciate that there are great options out of our own backyard here in NY!

LOL we have also only done Mariner and Anthem for larger-ish ships, this will be our first Oasis class experience. This was super helpful!

Thank you so much for sharing your experience! It's gotten me so excited for our cruise in September.

In 5 cruises, each time I think I'll get to go to Giovanni's, it has a Jamie's instead, lol. Anthem, Mariner, and Symphony all have Jamie's. Rhapsody and Brilliance have the OG Giovanni's but it never worked out to eat there. I make handmade pasta every year at Christmas because it's a pain in the tush to just make for the heck of it, and I find the pasta at Jamie's to be really good for house made. One of these days I'll try a GK!