One Fabulous Cruise...

[Hobiecat01]

Background:

Empty nest couple from Atlanta, GA, mid-fifties

RCCL Platinum, 10 cruises under our belt, five with RCCL

Traveling with 2 other couples.

First I must say the Oasis of the Seas is a truly remarkable ship. The sheer size is amazing and frankly no pictures do it justice…you have to see and experience this beauty yourself. DW and I were aboard the Oasis 4/17 – 4/24 along with 2 other couples. It is safe to say that we all had the time of our lives. All of us were previous cruisers except one husband, who spent the week in awe of his surroundings. Imagine… your first cruise ever and it is on the Oasis of the Seas! We told him he was ruined for life!

Good things:

Embarkation - RCCL has finally got it right!!! We got to the ship at 11:30 AM and were sitting in the Windjammer at Noon. No issues at all. It was so easy and well managed.

Itinerary change – Due to the issues from the Icelandic volcano, many European cruisers’ planes were delayed. RCCL did a couple of great things: First we did not sail until about 9:00 PM, four hours past the normal 5:00 PM sailing time. That let some of the late fights from Europe make the ship. This was our first sail-away at night… magnificent! Secondly, they also changed our itinerary so that we went to Nassau first and had two sea days at the end of the cruise. RCCL said they wanted to be able to fly the late, late Europeans to Nassau the next day for them to catch the ship. This must have worked well because we saw several Europeans embarking in Nassau. We all gripe about this and that, but what RCCL did was very good. I would venture about 100+ folks would have not made their cruise without this change. Well done RCCL!! The itinerary change had very little effect on us. But the two seas days coming back were excellent!

Rooms were a bit tight; maybe because we usually book a JS but had a regular balcony cabin this time (11690). Not a problem though, our suitcases fit nicely under the bed and all was well. The beds were wonderful.

The Beef on Weck sandwiches at the Park Café. We had heard so much about them and they did not let us down. With a swipe of mustard and horseradish, they were heaven on earth. We had several all week. But… I think everyone knows about them now because the Café was jammed the last half of the week. Another “find” was the corn dogs at the Boardwalk Bar. Wow, they were good!

Izumi!!! Oh my God, if you like sushi, this is your place. Four of us ordered so much we nearly died of sushi overdose and the bill was less than one sushi meal back in Atlanta. We wanted to go back but then there was Chops… always good and all six of us enjoyed a great dinner.

Overall the food was very good in all of the venues. I can’t say it was vastly different from other RCCL cruises but it was good. The tapas at Vintages were excellent!

We spent a lot of time in the Solarium. What a great place for adults! Once your kids leave home, your tolerance level for kids goes way down (not like we don’t like ‘em). There were some encroachments – one guy brought his kids to let them get in one of the Solarium hot tubs, read the sign specifically saying no children and told his kids to jump in. An alert Deck Patrol guy came over immediately and within a minute, Dad and kids were gone. Some folks are just idiots. Good job RCCL. The upper level areas in front of the Solarium Bar were literally our home for the week (close to the bar, close to restrooms – you know how we old folks are…). With the glass cover and wide openings, it never got too hot and always had a nice breeze. Also the Solarium Bistro was just under us so lunch was steps away and very, very good.

Someone on the board mentioned Star Gazing on the forward deck. They offered it twice during the week. The first one was cancelled due to clouds but we did attend the second time. It was still a bit cloudy but well worth it. A crew member uses a laser pointer to pick out the Big Dipper and several other stars and planets. We had a crowd of about 60 folks.

Here’s a new one… Want to see the Aqua Shows from a neat perspective? Go the aft deck on Deck 11 (we were on the starboard side just a short walk from out cabin). You are many levels above the Aqua Theater and can see the swimmers going in and out of the pool (underwater). We watched the show again from the theater itself and the perspective is completely different. By the way, this deck area is huge and largely unused all day. It is a great place to gather several folks and have a drink or two (or more) and watch the world go by below. Our group of six used it several times during the week as our private oasis on the Oasis.

Hairspray – I have never been a big fan of Broadway or for that matter shows on cruise ships. BUT… the Hairspray production on the Oasis is the finest show we have ever seen by far on the seas. And that includes on RCCL, Carnival and Princess. It was fabulous! Do not miss it! We raved about it for days. We also got to meet and talk with the lead actress playing Tracy Turnblad. We sat with her at the Quest. She was one very nice young lady.

Headliner – Another surprise. We had the Nelson Brothers as the headliner group. You say, who? Ricky Nelson’s two sons, Gunnar and Matthew or for us old folks, Ozzie and Harriett’s grand sons. Their show was a montage of their music, old family films and anecdotes about the family (Uncle George next door – George Harrison, their baby sitter – Mamma Cass). These guys not only put on an enjoyable show but they made themselves available to the everyone after their two shows and staged an impromptu acoustic show in the Aqua Theater Friday afternoon. We ran into them again in the Royal Promenade and talked to them for 10 minutes (I got to talk to them about their appearance on Saturday Night Live back in 1987). When DW and I got to the airport Saturday morning, Gunnar and his girlfriend were on our same flight so we got to talk with him again! (Funny, no one in the airport knew who he was.)

Quest – Yeah, I know, the Quest is the Quest, but it was still fun. We sat with part of the Hairspray cast and a few of the beautiful Aqua Show girls… WOW! I can’t say I paid a lot of attention to the show…

The Japanese Dancers – This was priceless! On our first stop in Dazzles on Monday night, we encountered a group of six elderly Japanese couples. All had to be well over their 80’s but these folks were having fun. All seemed like they had taken the same Arthur Murray class and were dancing their hearts out. I only hope that when and if I get that old I can do the same. They were delightful. We saw them throughout the cruise. On the last night, we decided to have our last drink in the Viking Crown Lounge. We were not there ten minutes when the “Japanese Dancers” came in and took over the dance floor. What a way to end the last night.

Shore Excursions – We did not do any ship excursions. However, we did have the wildest excursion on St. Thomas ever. Generally, we are not ones to take a private excursion especially ones where they just walk up to you. Well we did and it was a hoot! First a guy, Angel, said he would carry all 6 of us on an island tour for $25 a head. We looked at each other and decided what the heck… We would meet him at 1:00 PM for the tour. At 1, we came back and his vehicle was full so he introduced us to Jason a young man with dreadlocks. Jason would follow Angel for the tour. He was very nice so all 6 of us piled on his vehicle. At our first stop, Angel, got into an argument with another tour guy, Jason could not speak Spanish so he had no idea what was going on. I was starting to get concerned. Angel came over and told Jason he was on his own and left. Jason took over. This became our personal St. Thomas tour. Jason took us all over the island. When the ladies had to go to the restroom, he found a restroom. When we said we needed a drink, he took us to Mailman’s, a roadside bar across the street from Coki Beach. Mailman was great! Fine drinks, along with a shot of rum, on the house. Then off we went. After four hours and sometimes rather harrowing driving, we told Jason we were ready to get back to the ship. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves! When we got back to the ship, we all three couples paid Jason $60 so he walked away with $180. He was well worth every penny. He almost cried when we paid him. Later we found out that Angel was going to pay him $50 for all of us and keep the rest. We were happy, Jason was happy, and we don’t care what happened to Angel.

Debarkation - We used Luggage Valet. No better way to go! We placed our luggage outside the cabin on the last night and there they were on the baggage carousel in Atlanta when we walked up. We had a leisurely breakfast on the ship before we walked off at about 8:45 AM, caught a cab and was at the airport not 15 minutes later. What a breeze!! Then there was the 3 hour delay due to storms and tornados in Atlanta and the crazy lady who screamed at the Delta folks, head butted a cop, was Tasered and hauled away by six huge Broward County cops. Entertainment for all!

Last but no means least, the service. Our Cabin Steward was leaving when we were to return home to Trinidad for her 8 week vacation and was a joy to be with; always pleasant, always helpful. Our MDR waiter was so good we kept asking for him each time we came to eat. We had him and his group all week. We wrote them both up as super achievers on our surveys.

Not So Good Things:

Originally RCCL said our Cruise Director was to be Richard Spacey. We came aboard and there was Ken Rush. Not my favorite CD. I Like Spacey and his antics. But this was just a small bummer…

As noted earlier, everyone found about the Park Café and the roast beef sandwich. It was hard to get one after about Wednesday.

The Customer Relations staff seemed like they came from another planet. Or let’s they looked at you as if they were deer in headlights. They seemed to get stumped on the simplest questions, questions that had to have been asked on the previous 20 cruises of the Oasis. Because of this, service at the Customer Relations Desk was abysmal and that’s me trying to be nice. We all heard that the Oasis crew was picked from the best of the fleet. For the most part I would agree; they were excellent, but these folks, THE most important people on the ship, there specifically to answer questions and help you out were totally lost.

Overall this was the best cruise we have ever experienced. RCCL has learned their craft well especially with the Oasis. Not perfect, but so, so close. If you are sailing on the Oasis, you will love it! If you are considering booking…DO IT NOW! You will not regret it. If you have questions, we would be happy to answer them.

 

---------------------------

Sea ya!

Hobiecat01

Ron and Lee

Canton, Ga

Proud RCCL Platinum Member

"In wine there is wisdom, in beer there is freedom,

in water there is bacteria." – Ben Franklin

Previous Cruises – 66 Days at Sea!

Carnival Mardis Gras - 3 Day Bahamas - April 1982

Carnival Destiny - 7 Days Western Carib. - April 1998

Princess Grand Princess - 7 Days Eastern Carib. - April 1999

Princess Sea Princess - 7 Days Western Carib. - March 2000

Princess Grand Princess - 7 Days Western Carib. - March 2002

RCCL Navigator of the Seas - 7 Days Western Carib. - March 2003

RCCL Mariner of the Seas - 7 Days Western Carib. - April 2005

RCCL Freedom of the Seas - 7 Days Western Carib. - 6/18 - 6/25/2006

RCCL Liberty of the Seas - 7 Days Eastern Carib. - 7/19 - 7/26/2008

RCCL Oasis of the Seas –7 Days Eastern Carib. with our Friends – 4/17 – 4/24/2010

Booked & Paid Cruises

Not yet… but on the way

Planned Cruises

RCCL Allure of the Seas – Our Neighborhood Cruise - 2011

The BIG One - Southeast Asia 14 day – 2012?

The Med – 14 day – 2013?

[LBumb]

thanks for sharing. glad to hear to had a great time.

[molly361]

Great review. We leave next Saturday!!!!

[BrianAlt]

Wow! You make me want to go... :(

 

Oh, wait! I am going!!! Woo hoo!!! :D

[catlady27]

AAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHA - woman tasered and hauled off :eek: - AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHA - AWESOME - can't tell you how many times I have been in a public place when someone just goes OFF on customer service and I have wanted to personally tase them :D

[CruiseLover15]

Thanks, Hobiecat01. I want to go now and not have to wait until September.

[lvstitch]

Great review, thanks for sharing:)

[transam84]

Great review. Thanks for sharing.