nkereina

We made all of our specialty dining reservations on-board on embarkation day, and had no issue getting the days or times we wanted. Got all of our first choices too!

We were on Oasis two weeks ago. Muster drill and after shows let out make for crowded areas. The Royal Promenade during the 2 for $20 t-shirt sale and $10 sale was a madhouse as well. You could rely on deck 8, Central Park, to get from one end of the ship to the other without coming into a crowd - never crowded there, in our experience. Also never found the Boardwalk crowded. We would walk from one end of deck 16 to the other end where Windjammer was, and while it wasn't crowded with people, the path to walk on between the lounge chairs was narrow and we'd have turn sideways to let people pass us at times.

On Oasis last week, our party of 4 took between 60-90 minutes the three times we ate in the MDR. At the specialty restaurants, it was closer to 90 minutes to 2 hours. Izumi hibachi and Chops were the longest for us.

Just off Oasis last week. Got to the Solarium around 8am on each of our three sea days and the *majority* of chairs had been reserved with towels by that time. Even in the shade. We eventually found chairs together in the upper part of the Solarium, but we could forget about any on the lower level with ocean views. I also noticed that most people had chair towel clips on their chairs as well, which made it more difficult for someone to remove a pool towel that had no personal property with it.

We're just off Oasis last week and saw it all in both the specialty restaurants and MDR. I was a little paranoid about this before going as well, but DH and my dad both fit in fine in jeans and polos in both the specialty restaurants and the MDR. We did not go to the MDR on formal nights, however. As for shoes, DH wore plain black Vans and my dad wore Sperries. I wore Toms one night and it was fine. I doubt anyone even noticed, I sure wasn't looking at people's feet.

In the MDR, we saw men and women in tank tops, graphic T's, jean shorts. A woman in short jean shorts and spaghetti strap tank top. At Chops, we saw a table of people in suits and dresses next to a family in jeans/khaki shorts and polos/t-shirts. If I hadn't been aware of the clothing debate from these boards, I would have never noticed it.

I was on the same sailing! Had the same sentiment about the bars - had to sign slips sometimes, but not other times. Always inconsistent with that, even in the MDR.

Just got off Oasis two days ago. We had a 12:20pm flight booked and got in the self-disembark line around 7:10am. We were out and in our transportation headed to the airport by 8am. When we got downstairs, the disembarkation line was wrapped around the Promenade but it moved pretty consistently.

The problem this past Sunday was that between road closures due to the Orlando brush fires, as well as two accidents on the main highway, traffic was backed up. Our driver was aware of this and took an alternate route through Titusville but it took us about 90 minutes to get to the airport. He had other colleagues driving people trying to make a 10:30am flight, and they were calling it very close. We got to the airport and were through security by 10:30am and I saw a few people running.

At the airport, Southwest had a pretty long check-in and bag-drop line. Security wasn't bad.

We just got off Oasis and loved it, and I was looking into Harmony as a potential next cruise. One big negative on Harmony was the lack of a pool area in the Solarium. We spent most of our free time on board lounging and relaxing in the Solarium, which is adults only, and we loved going to and from the relaxing pool there. We'd miss that on Harmony I think.

We missed the donut setup on Oasis last week, but they did have donuts in the Windjammer every morning. Are they different or the same ones?

On our first cruise several years ago, we had a stop in Freeport with a snorkeling excursion booked. It poured rain all day long, and we were notified early that morning that our excursion was canceled. We got in line at the excursion desk as early as we could to see if there were any others still going out that we could do, and ended up doing a bus tour of the city with a stop at an outdoor shopping mall. Wasn't ideal, but better than nothing, especially since there is nothing at the port or in walking distance in Freeport.

Thanks for posting. I'm in the process of getting ready for our April 2nd sailing on Oasis, same itinerary as you, and have been wondering about the weather. What is "windy" season considered? If this is in fact a windy time of year in the Caribbean, now I'm wondering if I should bring more pants, hoodies, sweaters, etc.

Thanks! Got my passport and DL ready. And the money too! Won't get very far without that :D

We'll be on Oasis in 3 weeks. I've made dining and show reservations, booked drink & internet packages, booked shore excursions, and signed the waivers. I've printed our Set Sail passes and luggage tags, and have them with our passports. I also printed the detailed cruise document from our online Royal account just in case. Is there anything else I should do before we board or anything else we might need in terms of documentation? I'm not used to not receiving anything in the mail! Thanks for the help!

Thank you both!

One of the "packing list" threads I've read suggested bringing a small shelf/basket with suction cups for the shower to hold things like your own shampoo, body wash, razor, etc. They said this is because some rooms don't have space to put these things anywhere. Can anyone say whether there is a small shelf in the shower in an OV stateroom on Oasis? Or perhaps a shelf just outside the shower door in arm's reach? Trying to bring as few things as possible so just curious on this! Thanks!

We'll be on Oasis with my parents in a few weeks. The extent of their Japanese food exposure is our local Benihana - the fried rice, veggies, and chicken/shrimp being cooked in front of them with some antics thrown in. Should we expect the same kind of thing at Izumi (but without the onion volcano)? Or is Izumi a different kind of experience?

When looking at the menu, I'm guessing the "Hot Rock/Ishiyake" section of the menu would be the type of entree they are used to and on par with our local hibachi place. Would that be accurate?

Thanks for your help!

I found this

 

Windjammmer

Day 2 Pasta Live Cooking

Day 3 Donut Night

Day 4 International Burger

Day 5 Caribbean Corner

Day 6 Crêpes Night

Day 7 Mix Grill / Chicken Wings

Thanks! Have others found this to be pretty accurate based on their recollection? Wonder how often it switches up!

Sorry, I haven't eaten at any of those. But I just wanted to give you a heads up that you can't eat at any of the restaurants that are around the pool or beach (like the Lagoon Bar or The Point) unless you have a day pass.

 

There's a Johnny Rockets at Marina Village and a Margaritaville at the ferry terminal across the street.

Thanks for the tip. We will have a day pass! Hoping someone can chime in if they've eaten at one of these!

Thanks for the reply!

We'll be in St. Thomas in a few weeks on Oasis of the Seas. We'll be traveling with my parents who are not big beach people. As such, I chose an excursion through Royal called "Discover St. Thomas & Magen's Bay" which is a good mix of sightseeing for my parents and some beach time at Magen's Bay for my husband and me.

However, I just found that there will be 4-5 other ships in port the day we are there. Our excursion will be at the beach sometime mid-afternoon. I know Magen's Bay is a popular place, so should we expect it to be pretty packed? Is it possible all the chair rentals will be gone?

An alternative I'm now considering is 4 hours at Abi Beach. Would that be more calm and less crowded? My parents could make do sitting at the bar or under an umbrella for the duration.

Appreciate any thoughts from others who may have been to either at a busy time. Thanks!

We will be at Atlantis in a few weeks, and wanted to get lunch there before we head back to the ship. Can anyone recommend any restaurants at Atlantis or the marina? I've noted the following restaurants there serve lunch, if anyone has eaten at any of these or know of any others: Virgil's BBQ, Murray's Deli, Lagoon Bar, Village Burger Shack, The Point

I've read that the Windjammer dinner buffet often has "theme" nights such as BBQ, etc. Can anyone confirm if this is accurate and if so, does anyone know what the theme is each night? Or if it changes often, what themes have you seen? We'll be on an Eastern itinerary. I do have a cruise compass from December, but I don't see where a theme for WJ is listed anywhere unless I'm missing it.

On a related note, will the Windjammer have standard fare on the buffet if the theme of the night is not your speed?

Thanks!

All great info - thank you so much!

Thank you both!

We'll be on Oasis for the first time in April doing MTD. I'm trying to make a few dinner reservations as well as show reservations, and am finding it challenging to schedule them. About how long are dinners, typically? Any specialty restaurants take longer than others?

Similarly, how early should we arrive for a show we have a reservation for in order to get four seats together? Do any of the shows fill up faster than others?

For example, I have a few 7pm MDR reservations, with 9pm-ish show times. Worried that if we don't get seated on time at dinner, we'll be rushing and then late to the show, or not have seats together.

Am I overthinking this? lol - thanks for the help!