First Time Cruiser Home from Oasis of the Seas Western Carribean

We are home from our first cruise ever...and we loved it! I thought I would just post a few notes to help others like us. We booked this cruise to celebrate our 20 year wedding anniversary. I'm 42 and my dear husband is 45.

I read and re-read everything I could find on Cruise Critic before we left so I knew to book my shows online. We made all the shows we booked except the headliner and Blue Planet. We also had great intentions of going to the Love and Marriage Show and Quest but we were too tired. My first suggestions is to find time for a nap to make these shows.

We had late dining. I requested a table for 2 by a window before our sailing date and our wish was granted. Our table was perfect for us. I think others may not have liked the location as it was in a hallway (not really in the main dining area) but it was probably the most private table you could get! Our servers were top notch and we liked everything we ate in the dining room...though we had some favorites! We didn't bring the camera into the dining room so I have no pictures of our perfect table.

Where to begin.....I guess with food and drink since this is such a big part of everyone and there planning

What we loved....after reading Cruise Critic I knew on day one to go right to the Park Cafe for the famous roast beef sandwich.....we both loved it and the salads. We were able to get there and grab a table before the crowd. We enjoyed our sandwich that day and a few other times on the cruise. I have to say this is one area that had repeat business from us.

Like I said before we had late dining. We chose this time because we didn't want to have that rushed feeling trying to get to dinner. We also wanted to try the "traditional" route so we would get to know our servers. On my next cruise I will definitely go with earlier dining or MTD. The late time seemed to stretch out the day and we found ourselves with this extra 2 hours every night (except for our Mexico port day) waiting for dinner. We would have drinks at one of the many bars but still felt like we were "waiting" for too long.

Our favorites on the menus....sorry I can't remember the nights and these are just the items that stick out in my memory of the week.

Appetizer....Most definitely the favorite of the whole week for me was the creamed mushrooms on lobster night! They were fantastic! I'm sad I can't have them right now. I also tried a couple of the chilled soups which I thought were good. We loved the mushroom soup.

Main Course....Of course lobster was a favorite. Mine was cooked perfect but my DH's was cooked a bit too long. We also loved the duck, and the shrimp pasta was delicious! One other favorite was the Prawns.

Desert...A favorite course of mine but were kind of a let down on the cruise. They were presented beautifully but weren't as good as I was hoping for. BUT there was one favorite that I wish I had right now and that was the sticky bread pudding. ORDER THIS DESSERT THE NIGHT IT IS OFFERED! It was wonderful! I should have ordered an extra to take to my room that night.

We had breakfast in the dining room twice and lunch in the dining room once. This is definitely the way to go to avoid the windjammer.

Speaking of the windjammer....we didn't care for it. We ate there twice (both breakfast). It was fine but with all the other places to eat that have better service and food we just really didn't see the point.

Another place we tried once and wouldn't go to again was the wipeout cafe. It was crowded and the food was just average. The flow of people and drinks was bad. They need to move the ice-cream machine out of the cafe and place the drinks where the ice-cream is. It is just too small for that many people trying to get ice-cream, drinks, food and condiments.

Definitely try the cupcake's! They are moist and delicious. My favorite was the Strawberry....yummy! I did hear the Red Velvet is to die for but never tried that flavor.(There is an extra charge)

The white chocolate doughnut that was delicous.

Had a slice of pizza at Sorrento's that was good.

Since it was our first cruise we really wanted to use the Main Dining Room and no pay venues to establish if we thought we got the value for the money we spent on the cruise but we did book the last night of the cruise at Giovanni's. After reviewing all the menu's others had posted I knew the first night and the last night were the least appealing to us as far as menu selection in the dining room. I can say the steak and the risotto are must have's at Giovanni's. I had the shrimp a really didn't think it was any better than what I had in the dining room (just larger prawns) but my DH's steak was delicious.

After months of debating and trying to figure out if we should or shouldn't order the drink package we decided against it. Our theory was we should go on our first cruise and order whatever drinks we desired....never worrying about the cost. This would be the only way we would know in the future if we should order the drink package.

For those of you doing the debate here is what we discovered. My husband drinks more than me. I enjoy "girly" drinks and was looking forward to the many different drinks that would be an option for me. He can drink beer, wine, and most other drinks. A drink he often orders in Vegas and ordered on this cruise is Red Bull and Vodka but he always upgrades to the Kettle One Vodka. This drink is $10.50 on the cruise (plus tip that is automatically added). With the drink package he would have been charged extra for the Red Bull. With all the drinks we had on the ship and in Haiti it would not have paid for us to buy the package. It is a pain to sign the slips all the time but in the future unless the cost decreases we will not buy the package.

Just in case you are wondering my favorite drink was the Strawberry Lava Flow! I also enjoyed the many champagne drinks in the Champagne Bar. The Viking Crown lounge has beautiful views but never had any people. I wonder if anyone even knows it is up there. We also liked Schooner's.

We did not order the "Soda Package". We are not big soda drinkers but I did debate buying one for us to share for the flavored waters and for the occasional soda. In the end I didn't and was happy I didn't. We found the flavored waters and tea that were offered were good enough for us. I was also happy to not have to carry the cup around.

It was suggested that we bring our own cups to fill with complimentary water, tea or lemonade. We packed these thermal cups but they never left our stateroom. I wouldn't pack them again. However, we don't like to carry stuff around and found even the camera was left behind in our stateroom. This is our style...I'm sure many others found the cups enjoyable.:)

We were on the cruise and missed the meet and greet, both of them! We had much fun as you all did and can't wait to go again next year! Glad you enjoyed your first cruise.

We found the service to be exceptional in almost all areas of the ship. It seems the staff really do try to ensure you have a great vacation. The only areas of the ship I found the service to not be as good is in the spa, the stores and the windjammer....realize we only ate at the Windjammer twice so maybe there are outstanding servers. We just didn't come across them. They weren't bad they just weren't outstanding.

We were on the cruise and missed the meet and greet, both of them! We had much fun as you all did and can't wait to go again next year! Glad you enjoyed your first cruise.

We missed the meet and greet as well. We switched rooms the first day with our neighbors. They had relatives in the room next to us and wanted to be next door to them instead of a room over. A quick trip to Guest Services and we were able to help them out but because of the room switch we never received the invitations to the meet and greet. It would have been nice to put faces to some of the screen names.

Welcome to the fabulous world if cruise vacations. Take one and you are hooked. So where do you think your next cruise will take you to?

As I mentioned before we found the service in the spa to be only average. Our first day on the ship we decided to do the spa tour. After the tour we booked the couples thermal spa with jacuzzi and mud bath. We made appointments for both the jacuzzi and mud bath but the thermal chairs and steam rooms are just show up.

Our first appointment was the morning of our first sea day. We had a 10:30 appointment for the Mud Bath. After arriving early we were directed to the relaxation room and told someone would be there to get us soon. We watched couples and singles come and go but they never called our name for our treatment.

At 10:45 my DH finally asked if someone would be coming for us or if we needed to go to another area and we were told to stay and someone would come for us. She asked what we had scheduled and the time and left the room. When we told her the mud bath she kind of seemed alarmed and said she would check and get back with us. We saw her walk by the window a few times and finally another employee came in to talk with us. She said there was some confusion at the front and another couple had walked in and said they were there for the mud bath. They had been escorted back while we were sitting in the relaxation room. Nobody at the front desk checked their room number or name.

The spa employee said since we were there already they would just switch the Mud Bath appointment with the Jacuzzi appointment we had later that week. Of course this wasn't what we wanted as we knew we wanted the Jacuzzi appointment after our outing in Cozumel. We had made the appointments in that order for a reason. She kept insisting that we just change the appointments. Again, we repeated that we didn't want to just switch the appointments we had made them in that order for a reason.

We ended up making another appointment time for the mud bath and they finally offered us to use the jacuzzi this time free of charge for their mistake and keep our already scheduled appointment later in the week. In the end I think they should have just done this to begin with since it was their mistake instead of trying to insist we change the appointments, especially when they became aware that we didn't want to change them. At no time were they rude or were we rude it just wasn't the service I thought you should get for the price. We get better service for a much better price at the spa's in our area.

Other notes and hints about the Thermal Spa area. We didn't really use this amenity as much as we should have. We were in the aft of the ship and as you may or may not know the spa is in the front of the ship. The location being so far from our stateroom and having to change or carry clothing made it unappealing for us. I wouldn't buy the package again unless I booked my room closer to the spa. If you want to use the spa on the Oasis book a room in the front of the ship. Same with the Solarium.

Welcome to the fabulous world if cruise vacations. Take one and you are hooked. So where do you think your next cruise will take you to?

We loved the Caribbean...so we are looking at either the eastern route or southern route for our next cruise. Our youngest daughter graduates next May...so I don't know if it will be next year or the year after! I need to do more research to see if October is a good time for the Caribbean! :)

Loved, Loved, Loved it! The mood on the ship is so festive with complimentary champagne being served in the Royal Promenade! I would definitely take part in formal night again. I even joked with my husband I will be looking for formal dresses for great prices to have ready for the next time we cruise. It was fun to see the different dresses and like I said the mood on the ship was festive and fun. I wore a long gown on the first formal night and a shorter cocktail dress on the second formal night.

It does seem like more people where the longer gowns on the first night. The pictures are lovely from this night!

Our first port day was Labadee Haiti. We had decided that each of our port days should have a specific itinerary. One should involve a beach day, one should involve local culture and one should be adventurous.

In my research I decided Haiti should be our beach day, Jamaica should be culture and Mexico should be adventure. I knew I wanted a Cabana in Haiti but by the time I had researched all the cabana's were booked.

I posted on our roll call asking if anyone had any advice. Should I board the ship and see if I could get on a waiting list??? Well luck and a nice lady from MN were on my side. She had booked 2 cabanas. A beach and an over the water. She had decided she only needed one of the cabanas and she wanted the beach cabana because she had a 4 year-old daughter. She would keep both cabana's and on our second day we could meet at guest services where she would switch the OTW cabana into my name. I was so excited!!!! I really do feel like lady luck was with me. We found the OTW cabana to be a perfect way to spend our day. It was just the two of us. We relaxed, napped, swam, drank. We brought our ipod with a speaker and had music. The labadoozies were great. The food was good. It truly was a perfect day for us.

We did leave the cabana for some shopping in both the market areas. The Haitian booths are very aggressive. At first it was fine but by the time you reached the end it wasn't fun. I had one lady that kept grabbing my arm and pulling me back to her booth. She really wanted me to buy a hat. I think part of the problem is every booth has the same items. The people at the beginning are making more sells than those at the end or middle so they become more aggressive. Also each booth is split in half so if you buy from one side of a booth then the other side sees this and wants you to buy from them too. In a way it is sad because you can't buy from everybody so I found it to be a bit stressful. I wanted to help everyone. I learned this isn't the market for me.

Our first port day was Labadee Haiti. We had decided that each of our port days should have a specific itinerary. One should involve a beach day, one should involve local culture and one should be adventurous.

 

In my research I decided Haiti should be our beach day, Jamaica should be culture and Mexico should be adventure. I knew I wanted a Cabana in Haiti but by the time I had researched all the cabana's were booked.

 

I posted on our roll call asking if anyone had any advice. Should I board the ship and see if I could get on a waiting list??? Well luck and a nice lady from MN were on my side. She had booked 2 cabanas. A beach and an over the water. She had decided she only needed one of the cabanas and she wanted the beach cabana because she had a 4 year-old daughter. She would keep both cabana's and on our second day we could meet at guest services where she would switch the OTW cabana into my name. I was so excited!!!! I really do feel like lady luck was with me. We found the OTW cabana to be a perfect way to spend our day. It was just the two of us. We relaxed, napped, swam, drank. We brought our ipod with a speaker and had music. The labadoozies were great. The food was good. It truly was a perfect day for us.

 

We did leave the cabana for some shopping in both the market areas. The Haitian booths are very aggressive. At first it was fine but by the time you reached the end it wasn't fun. I had one lady that kept grabbing my arm and pulling me back to her booth. She really wanted me to buy a hat. I think part of the problem is every booth has the same items. The people at the beginning are making more sells than those at the end or middle so they become more aggressive. Also each booth is split in half so if you buy from one side of a booth then the other side sees this and wants you to buy from them too. In a way it is sad because you can't buy from everybody so I found it to be a bit stressful. I wanted to help everyone. I learned this isn't the market for me.

I forgot to add....I would definitely book the Cabana again! It was worth every penny.

Just noticed I misspelled Caribbean in the title of my thread....oops! Now it will drive me crazy!:eek:

First let me say, "Happy Anniversary!"

Thank you for sharing your thoughts and observations.

Loving this review :) So nice to meet you - so happy your cruise was awesome!

This was our favorite day of our cruise. I booked a private tour with a company that came recommended by a friend that had done the same cruise. She said they loved the tour and I can say we loved the tour too.

With this company you can tell them what you want to see. If you want to see the falls they take you to the falls. If you want to go to the beach they take you to the beach, etc.

We told them we wanted to get to know the culture of the area. We wanted to have real Jamaican Jerk not the tourist version of Jamaica. ;) We also wanted a couple of hours at a nice beach. They delivered with everything we asked for and then some. Our guide was the best!!! We could ask him anything and he would answer our questions. He showed us the upper class areas of Jamaica as well as the poor areas. We talked about the economy of the area, the religion, the food, etc. It was 6 hours. We bought him lunch at the little road side stand. He pointed out the various plants and trees and the many fruits and medicinal herbs (no not marijuana) He said we would be approached at some point on the beach for hair braiding and probably be offered marijuana. We were just to tell them no thank you and they would leave us alone. This did happen and no thank you was enough.

He also took us to a shopping venue to buy our goodies including the yummy rum. At this venue you sample all the rum before you buy and when you walk in they give you red stripe. We bough a few t-shirts for family members, a few bottles of rum and some misc other items. Of course there is the bartering which I left up to my husband because I'm just not comfortable with this type of shopping. I sampled the rum to let him know which flavors I liked best. The coconut cream rum is so yummy!!! :D You must get some while you are there.

We enjoyed every moment of this day with our guide and we feel like we truly got to see the culture of Jamaica. At no point did we feel unsafe and we actually plan to go back for a week stay in the area at one of the resorts. We will hire the same company again when we go back for more time and more in depth tour.

I also loved that at no time did our guide ever imply that we should tip him....though we did! I can't say the same for the tour we booked in Mexico.

We also did some shopping inside the gates at the port. It was a fun, busy day!

First let me say, "Happy Anniversary!"

 

Thank you for sharing your thoughts and observations.

Thank you! I'm not completely comfortable writing but just decided to go freestyle with no thought just words and if I could help just one person make a decision that would enhance their vacation then my work is done.:)

The problem with freestyle is when I go back and read the posts and see the errors in spelling and grammar I cringe a bit but if I try to make it perfect before I post it will never get posted.:)

Loving this review :) So nice to meet you - so happy your cruise was awesome!

It was nice meeting you too! I'm glad you also enjoyed your cruise! Do you have another on the books or will you wait for the cold MN winter to book another?:)

I love your review so far!!!

Thanks for posting :)

I love your review so far!!!

 

 

Thanks for posting :)

Thank you!

Loving your review! Thanks for taking the time to post! Keep going!

We booked our adventure excursion through Royal Caribbean...mostly because you have to take a ferry and we didn't want to risk missing the ship being first time cruisers.

We decided on the All Inclusive Explor Excursion that has zip lining, off road vehicles (that you don't take off road), cave paddle rafting and a cave swim. It is an 8 hour excursion that we were really looking forward to. I'm afraid of heights so it was going to be scary!!!

We were to meet in studio B at 7:30 am. We woke up late and we were running a little late so it was a bit stressful but we were there by 7:30 am only to find out we would be waiting for quite some time before we exited the ship. In our wait they made several announcements. Everyone waiting would be taking the ferry and it was at this time they told us if we were prone to seasickness to take seasickness meds with us. Ummm.....okay but how are we supposed to get the meds now. Of course I'm starting to panic because I'm really sensitive to motion sickness. I excuse myself from the seat and make my way to the Royal Caribbean representatives and ask them if they have seasickness meds in the area....they don't but I can go to guest services to get some. Do I have time???? Oh sure you have plenty of time. I head up to guest services to get the meds....might as well stop by Starbucks since I haven't had my morning fix yet.

I'm not really sure what time we actually left the ship but I do know it was long after the 7:30 time given to meet at studio B. Next time I will know not to panic and be stressed. ;)

The ferry ride over was an experience. We did have some pukers! I had taken the meds and kept my eyes closed trying to block out as much of the puking around me I could.

After the ferry ride there is a walk to the bus and then a bus ride to the park. The park is a man made park through natural caves. We loved the zip lines...even me being afraid of heights and the river swim was really run. The vehicles were eh....just okay and the cave raft was fun. There are several cameras around that take your picture but the pictures are expensive. We didn't buy any. If you are planning on this excursion take a pair of shorts that are good for water. You will want the shorts when you are on the zip lines with the harness and there are water ziplines....you will get wet. They have lockers and food is included. They make the most amazing smoothies fresh!

What I didn't like was the pressure of the tour guide for us to tip him and the bus driver separately. We booked the excursion through Royal Caribbean and he said they made their money by tips. It just seemed weird to me we would need to tip the guide and the bus driver for literally taking us to a park that was a booked excursion through Royal Caribbean. If I had booked him on my own and he was actually being a guide to me for the area and giving me information about the area then I would have felt better about tipping.

One more thing we didn't like. We were all instructed to meet back at the bus by 4:10. This would give us time to get back to the area of the ferry and get some shopping done in Mexico. Well, there was an Italian couple in our group that was 40 minutes late!!!! That would mean now we have no shopping time. It was straight to the ferry. It is frustrating that one couple can disrupt an excursion for the entire group.

With the travel time involved with this excursion as well as the one couple showing up late....we decided the small private tours are more ideal for us. We spent as much time on a ferry and bus waiting as we did in the park. It was fun and adventurous but wasn't the highlight of the trip.

The shows are AMAZING! We loved them all but our favorite was Hairspray. We were lucky enough to go to the 2:30 showing of Hairspray on Mother's day and the two actors that played the mother and father did a small skit in the middle of the show for Mother's Day! It was hilarious...they were even laughing on stage!

As I said before we made all the shows except Blue Planet, Quest, and Love & Marriage. They were all great!

We gambled on the last day at sea. We found our game to be the quarter dozer game. If you go in the morning they have all the quarter sections loaded with 20's and a couple of 50's. Get $20 in quarters and spend it there. We made money on the quarter push game but lost it later in the slots. I can tell you we were entertained almost the whole day with that darn quarter push game.

We had great intentions of trying the climbing wall and the flowrider but it didn't happen. There just isn't enough time to fit it all in.

Our original stateroom was 9300. This room is located on the port side of the ship near the aft. It is a balcony ocean view. The bed was located by the closet. As I said before our neighbors asked if we would trade them rooms so we ended up in 9302. It had the bed by the balcony. I think I would prefer the bed by the balcony. It gives you more room to get inside the closet for your clothing.

We found there was plenty of storage in the room for our stuff and we packed A LOT! We flew Southwest so we could each pack 2 bags for free!!

We loved our room and our attendant. We aren't really demanding people. I think we asked for ice once for our wine. He automatically gave us wine glasses when he saw we brought wine. We didn't really ask for anything else. He made 3 different towel animals for us and we got chocolate two nights. There was already shampoo, conditioner and lotion in our room but I had brought some so we didn't need it.

LOCATION of your room is important on a ship this size. Take a good look at the floor plan of the ship and book your room near the areas you think you will frequent the most. If I was to book again we would definitely book towards the front of the ship near the spa, solarium and Starbuck's. Our location would be great for people traveling with kids since it was near the Kids area!