S.A.M.J.R.

Day 6-Cozumel (Happy Anniversary!)

We got up and had another room service breakfast on the balcony. We had independently booked a Dolphin Swim Adventure at Chankanaab (1/2 price) months ago.

We got off the ship and saw a line forming for Chankanaab.

When they went to take our tickets, we found out it was for the excursion booked through RCI. We found our way to the cab stand and got in a cab to the park. $11 for both of us. When we got to the park, I only had $20s, Anna only had a $10, so the driver accepted $10.

They had our names at the check in counter, so we got our wristbands for admittance into the park. At the check in desk for the Dolphin Swim, we were told to come back at 10:15 for that bracelet.

We saw where the dolphin swims happen, and there were already people swimming...

We made our way over to the snorkling beach.

On the way there, we passed kayak rentals and snorkling gear rentals. We found two seats under shade and went out in the water. It's not a direct beach and requires going down stairs into the water.

Signs say life jackets are required, but I saw others without them, so I tried. Although I was able to float, it just wasn't working for me. I got back on shore and saw a desk with life jackets. I left my DL as a deposit and I was off. The life jacket made things SO much easier.

The fish were definitely used to humans.

Finally for the night, we went back to the Opal Theater where some of the stars from Hairspray put on a little concert. A lot of songs from Chicago (the group, not the show) and others from the 70s.

Last but not least was 'The Emperor's New Clothes'...

And then the curtain call.

More Ugly Duckling...

They take two pairs of kids around the ice on these swans. They have seats next to the ice marked "Children Only".

Then it was time for the Sand Artist. It's been said before, but it's just amazing. Pictures don't do it justice.

The Little Mermaid was the next story

There were a couple falls early on, but the skaters recovered.

The featured four of his stories. The Snow Queen...

The Red Shoes...

The Ugly Duckling...

This was the 2nd formal night and "lobster night" in the MDR. This time we were seated on the 5th floor. (sorry, didn't get any food porn tonight).

On the way back to the room, there was a group trying to take a picture, so I offered to take the picture for them. They returned the favor.

We changed clothes, then went to Frozen In Time in Studio B. I'm a "tech" guy at heart and love seeing how things are done. Before the show, the RCI anchor was being projected on the ice.

The anchor was "rotating" and there was 'depth' to it, so it looked like a three dimensional image. That's pretty cool. Then I looked up to see the projector.

Oh, they're projecting on a mirror and it's reflecting down to the ice. Even cooler. But wait, the image on the mirror doesn't look right. It's only half of the image. There's a second projector and mirror on the other side.

Each projector is only showing half the image. But wait, the anchor is rotating and perfectly in sync. :eek: It's the geek in me, but I was really impressed by what it takes to keep both projectors in perfect sync and aimed exactly right on the ice.

On to the show. It's based on the writings of Hans Christian Anderson.

More from Splish Splash...

We went to Cafe Promenade for lunch (Dominic, our waiter from Chops the night before was bussing tables), and were able to catch the "Move It, Move It" Parade. In hindsight, Sorrentos or Globe & Atlas would have been a better place to catch this.

We then shopped around for a while. I wasn't impressed with the selection of RCI/Oasis gear. They even had a 50% sale for ONE HOUR ONLY (That they repeated on another day), but I couldn't find anything I liked.

As part of their "Make A Wish" promotion, they had a mile walk around the track. A $10 donation got you a T-shirt. So we did the walk and spent a lot of it talking to our 'escort', Debbie about life on the ship. They do 7 month contracts, and RCI moves them from ship to ship.

After our walk, we found seats in the Aqua Theater for the Comedy Dive Show. It's the same talent from Oasis of Dreams, but just presented differently.

Thanks to everyone for the compliments. I'm sorry this is taking so long. I hope you enjoy the last couple days.

Day 5-At Sea

We had breakfast at Johnny Rockets (free). From there, it was time for some adventure, starting with the zipline. If you've done your waivers online, you can go right to the zipline line. You will only need to go to the desk to get the bracelet for the flowriders.

Some pictures...

As far as the experience, it only last 7 seconds. You barely have time to register how high you are before you land. You do need TIED shoes (slip ons aren't allowed). A suggestion for photographs is to stand "behind" the landing platform, so the person on the zipline is coming directly at you. It's also in the shade.

Then it was time for some rock climbing. Only the starboard side wall was open. I heard people say the purple rocks (which are the far right) are the easiest. I got the red ones in the middle.

I have no arm strength and only made it about a 1/3 of the way up the wall. But at least I could say I did it.

Great review. We do Oasis in Sep. we've been on the ship before, and also Allure twice. Love them both. We have a Cabana in Labadee reserved. My wife is unsure if its worth the cost. Any opinion?

We paid $200 and it was definitely worth it. The cost has now gone up to $250, and although it's more "iffy", it was VERY nice. Don't have to worry about towels, mats, or water, more food choices, plus the attendant. If you can afford it, I'd go for it.

However, if you're going to spend a good portion of the day doing the zip line, the coaster, or other things, than maybe not. If you have more than 2 people, I think it's definitely worth it.

We went back to the room for a few minutes, then went to the Improv show in Studio B. Like a fool, I brought the small camera, that doesn't do great in low light.

The second from the left is Simeon, the comedy host. The other three are all from Hairspray.

They brought an audience number to help with one skit. This lady is from Louisville.

The show lasted about 40 minutes. It was "Who's Line is it Anyway", but not quite as funny. We'd probably see it again though.

Another towel animal (we ended up with three, I think this is the last one, but I've gotten some days mixed up).

More Oasis of Dreams...

If anyone has figured out a plot for this, I'm sure there's a lot of people who would like to know. It was basically a showcase of diving, synchronized swimming, and gymnastics.

Then it was back to the "secret" balcony on deck 12 to watch Oasis of Dreams again. THIS time, I had my camera...

After dinner, our timing was right to catch the sunset from deck 14...

One other thing I really liked about Oasis. 1/2 of the elevators had interior and exterior glass doors.

It was cool riding the elevators and watching the decks go by.

Thank you for taking the time to post your review :). I'm really enjoying reading about your amazing cruise, especially as we'll be sailing on Oasis in August ;).

I'm glad you're enjoying. It's nice to relive it.

Chops was the second leg of our dining package that night. We remembered our lesson from Giovanni's and just got tap water. Anna wanted Iced Tea and the waiter (Dominic) went outside to get some from a bar because Chops didn't have theirs brewed yet.

Anna's salad (they bring you a variety of dressings. This was a vinaigrette)

My 'Cheese and Onion' soup (I know it as French Onion)

We both got the Filet Mignon. Anna just got the Petite (7oz). I got the 10oz.

Sides are served 'family style'. Whatever kind you order, they bring out and put in the center of the table for everyone to enjoy.

Going Left to right, Mashed Potatoes, Mushrooms, Roasted Potatoes, and Green Beans.

For dessert, I had creme brule (which they actually lit at the table)

And Anna had the Chocolate Mousse Cake

Let's talk about getting around the ship. For as big as the ship is, it's easy to get around. You can easily get from the front to the back in less than 10 minutes. They have signs in all the elevator lobbies.

.

Also near the elevator lobbies are the interactive TVs.

You can select what's going on or where you want to go. It will even tell you how busy the restaurants are.

Once you know where you want to go, it will show you directions and a map on how to get there.

You can also see the menus for the restaurants. This should be for Chops.

We went back to a (nearly) empty ship. Had a quick bite in Sorrentos, then played shuffleboard.

We also took advantage of a port sale in the spa. 3 treatments for $99. When that was done, more relaxing. Me in the whirlpool, and Anna doing her cross stitch. I can get used to this life.

We did walk around to just look at the small touches on the ship. There are some play areas for kids at the back of the Boardwalk.

Day 4- Jamaica

Yay! I finally slept in. I didn't get up until 8:15! We watched the ship dock at Falmouth...

I love watching "how" things are done. Falmouth wasn't as exciting as Labadee. Dock, then put the gangways in.

By the time we headed to breakfast, it was almost 11. We elected to try Park Cafe for breakfast. Made to order bagels and other breakfast sandwiches, plus fruit, danish, and muffins.

Anna started eating before I could get the camera out...

I had a bagel.

Then it was time to head to gangway. A quick note... the electronic boards will show the gangway on deck 2. However, the elevators will take you to deck 3. Follow the signs to the escalator...

Then to the Sea Pass machines so they know you're off the ship.

.

As we walked off we were given some more "coupons" (we had the first set from the port shopping presentation), and we wondered around the shops. We got our freebies (including a shot glass and a charm bracelet). A 1K topaz jewel was also free. We had to pay for it to be put in a setting.

The jewelry was gorgeous, but simply too rich for our blood. As we were walking, Anna saw a man wearing an 'EKU Department of Fire & Safety' T-shirt. Eastern Kentucky University is the small college (16K enrollment) in our hometown, and our Alma Mater. It turns out the guy is a teacher at the college. Small world connection again. We never saw them again though.

It was strange to see the DQ and the Nathan's hot dog shops though.

Amazing how close we were to you guys! I was seriously envious of those cabanas! Hope you enjoyed it :)

We did! I think I remember seeing you guys. You were sort of floating in the middle of the area, but by the rope line, right?

Your review is amazing! We're sailing next spring on Oasis, and I'm loving every minute of this review. We've also booked an over the water cabana at Nellies...your pictures are incredible. Thank you for taking the time to do this!

Aww, shucks. :o Thanks!

After dinner, we went to the deck 14 balcony. Haiti was still to our port, and we used the binoculars to see what appeared to be three forest fires. We then decided to go to the after deck 12 balcony and they were setting up for Oasis of Dreams...

We couldn't stick around since we had reservations for the comedy show. The ceiling of the venue...

The two comedians were Mike Wilson and Kivi Rodgers. Mike did good impressions, but we weren't impressed with his jokes. Kivi was funnier. Coy & Kayla (from the night 2 dinner) were sitting the front row and Kivi ended up picking on Coy a little bit. Mike & Kivi both had DVDs/CDs for sale after the show.

From there, we went right into the Opal Theater for the Love & Marriage show.

Anna said she was tired, but said she’d try to sit through the show with me. The “old couple” was married 57 years!, the “young couple” a week and a half, and the middle couple was celebrating their 15th anniversary. We had never seen the show, but there were some good questions I thought… to the guys “what animal would you describe your MIL” as. The middle guy said “elephant”, AND got it right! (They were Alabama Crimson Tide Fans). “Where’d you go on your first date”, the old guy mentioned some night club, and that they “sucked face” (his words) for four hours after leaving the club. He got that answer right too.

That was it for that night.

On to dinner. We went to deck 5 dining room for MTD. However, they took us down to deck 4 to seat us and left us standing for a couple minutes in the entry way while they found a table. Slightly confusing. Any way, they take us to one of the "wings" and put us at a table for two. It's Italian night...

The dining room menus are all laid out the same, a chef's recommendation on the left, appetizers in the middle, and main courses on the right.

I also noticed the bread was already on the table. When we were on deck 5, the bread was brought to us by the waiter and we selected what we wanted.

Tonight was our first disappointment with an RCI employee. Our waiter just wasn't up to the quality of other staff. He seemed rushed and not personable. I don't know if this is because we came in at 6:30 on a "scheduled" dining floor when first seating was at 6, or what. His service is about what you'd expect at a chain restaurant on land. He did nothing wrong, it just wasn't "great" if that makes sense.

No food porn (we started eating before I remembered I had the camera):o. During dinner, the waiters did some stunts and they played some Italian music that had everyone waiving their napkins.

The wait staff also serenaded us...

This is a WONDERFUL review!!! Thanks so much for all of the great pics! We're doing the Western Caribbean route in September, and also have a cabana reserved for Labadee. Geesh, can I go tomorrow??? :D Looking forward to more!!:)

Thank you for sticking around for it. More pictures to come... Frozen In Time, Splish Splash, Food Porn, and MORE!

About 3, we decided to head back to the ship. Regis got Willie to give us a ride in the cart. Cabana DEFINITELY worth it.

We showered, then went to Wipeout Cafe for some frozen yogurt (I had forgotten about the stands in the middle of the pool deck), then up to deck 14 for sailaway. It was VERY windy again.

Remember that lumbar I mentioned earlier?

It was going somewhere, I don't know where.

C&A had a special champagne Sail A Way on the Helo deck

King Jullian from Madagascar showed up too. We didn't stay long. The wind was too strong.

It was another MDR night, and our first disappointment on the cruise. But, you'll have to wait until tomorrow to find out about it. ;)

Of course, we HAD to "work off" that filling meal, right?

.

After soaking up some rays, I got my Labadoozie out of the cooler. Ice had stuck all around the outside of it. I brushed off what I saw then set it down on the table to grab my kindle. CRASH! There was ice stuck to the bottom of the cup and it fell to the deck, spilling the remainder. :(

Anna let me have the rest of hers. :D

And that was most of our day... just lounging, either on the water or in the cabana. I even managed a short nap in the cabana, out of the sun.

Here's a closer shot of Columbus Cove, which was right behind our cabana...

The view of Nellie's beach (Hillside Cabanas directly behind me)...

And the hillside cabanas...

As you can see in the picture, we had water shoes on, and I'm glad we did. I'm sure the sand and pathway were hot.