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Oasis July 23-30th Trip Report or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Boat

Homegrown

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Homegrown

Homegrown

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Room Service woke us up this morning, very unusual because we are not late sleepers. The view out our balcony this morning was spectacular, I did not expect the island to be that mountainous right near the beach. After coffee and donuts, my son and I went to Windjammer. It was more crowded this morning, but again, we didn’t have any problems finding a table. We met back up with my wife in the room and then we headed to Labadee. We were really looking forward to this day because our favorite ports are usually the private islands and we had not been to Labadee before. It is so nice to be able to dock and step right of the boat instead of tendering, we headed down the dock and everyone was stopped by staff a few feet from the end of the ship. As we stood there, a medical helicopter took off from the front of the ship and flew over the island. We never did hear what happened but I hope whoever was in there was eventually OK.

 

We then made our way on to the island and explored and hiked around for a while. We finally settled at I think Columbus Cove. We could see the ship and the Aqua Park and had a dinning location very near behind us. We all played in the ocean for a while to cool off and then went back to our seats to relax and read for a while. My wife had a Labadoozee (very tasty, I could get in trouble with those) and then we went to lunch a little early because we had reservations at the Aqua Park at 1:00. The lunch choices were pretty typical for the private islands, burgers, dogs and chicken. I got a burger and some chicken, if I had known the chicken was as good as it turned out to be, I would have just stuck with that.

 

My son and I then went to our 1:00 reservation at the Aqua Park. For those of you who haven’t seen this, it’s an area in the ocean that is filled with giant, inflatable climbing toys like trampolines, slides, and a huge iceberg with climbing handles. As we were waiting our turn, my son ran into a group of boys he had been hanging out with at the kids club that were also going to the park at the same time. So, the next hour was spent hanging out with a bunch of preteen boys. I actually had a very good time watching them interact, it’s very interesting to watch them at this age because they are starting to act a little more grown up but can be little kids also. One result of hanging out with them, I was the designated helper on the larger inflatables. Some of these climbing toys, specifically the iceberg, require a lot of upper body strength to get up. Now, eleven year old boys have a lot of attributes (video game skills, bad table manners) but upper body strength is not one of them, so I was lifting quite a few of them out of the water and onto the footholds of the inflatables. I paid for this dearly the next morning.

 

After the water park, we went back to our lounge chairs, had another Labadoozee and hung out for a while before heading back to the ship. We stopped by the pub and I got a cold beverage and then went up to the Wipe Out café for a snack of nachos and ice cream while looking out at the mountains of Labadee, what a beautiful way to end the afternoon. Then, back to the room to shower and get dressed for dinner. Dinner tonight was crab cakes and pork loin for me and clam chowder and tiger shrimp for my wife. Mine was pretty good, my wife wasn’t crazy about the tiger shrimp. After dinner we went down to the skating rink for the Cosmic Skating Party. They have a DJ playing music and the lights flashing all over the rink. This was much more fun for us than the normal ice skating during the day. Our son then went to the kids club and my wife and I grabbed some coffee and went out to Central Park. They had a classical guitarist playing out there so we found some very comfortable chairs and just lounged and listened to the music. We finished with our usual routine of meeting our son for snacks and then off to bed. Up next, Day 4 or: Off or on, we can’t decide.

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Homegrown

Homegrown

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Great review - but you plagiarized me on your Windjammer description (it's a buffet, it's fine, whatever) :D Sounds like ya'll had a great time!

 

Did I really? Which ship were you reviewing? Thats so strange.

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spammie

spammie

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Thank you so much for taking the time to share your cruise with us. We will be on Allure in a few weeks. Just wondering how getting off the ship while docked in the different ports was with so many people on board. On a few cruises we have been on the staircases always seem to get clogged up with people waiting to get off of the ship at the different ports.

 

Also - beer question? We are going on Allure next year to celebrate my 50th birthday. My daughter's boyfriend is a big beer drinker but doesn't like the "normal" Miller, Bud etc. Do you remember any of the "different" beers that they offered? Can't wait to read the rest of your review.

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Keri's Cruisin'

Keri's Cruisin'

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Love reading this review. So well written. My 15 yr old son and I will be sailing on Oasis for springbreak on March 17th and can hardly wait. I booked an inside room just a few doors from Central Park. It seems like a perfect location and I plan to spend a lot of time there....Keep writing, helps with the looooong wait we still have!

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Homegrown

Homegrown

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Thank you so much for taking the time to share your cruise with us. We will be on Allure in a few weeks. Just wondering how getting off the ship while docked in the different ports was with so many people on board. On a few cruises we have been on the staircases always seem to get clogged up with people waiting to get off of the ship at the different ports.

 

Also - beer question? We are going on Allure next year to celebrate my 50th birthday. My daughter's boyfriend is a big beer drinker but doesn't like the "normal" Miller, Bud etc. Do you remember any of the "different" beers that they offered? Can't wait to read the rest of your review.

 

Getting off the ship was really easy, they always had two exits and there is an escalator that takes you down from deck three to the pier deck. We never had to wait in line to get off the ship.

 

As far as beer, the Globe and Atlas has dozens of good import choices in bottles and cans. The main draft choices I saw around the ship were Amstel Light, Murphy's, Murphy's Stout, Heiniken, and Newcastle. The different bars had different draft choices so it pays to look around.

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Aquahound

Aquahound

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On a few cruises we have been on the staircases always seem to get clogged up with people waiting to get off of the ship at the different ports.

 

Also - beer question? We are going on Allure next year to celebrate my 50th birthday. My daughter's boyfriend is a big beer drinker but doesn't like the "normal" Miller, Bud etc. Do you remember any of the "different" beers that they offered? Can't wait to read the rest of your review.

 

Not on Oasis. You go down to deck 3 and ride an escalator down to the platform. It's always moving and always wide open. Easiest port embarkation/debarkation ever.

 

I'm not a fan of the everyday beers either, and I always suggest to them to get a better beer selection. They do serve Newcastle brown ale, which is more along my tastes.

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Homegrown

Homegrown

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Day 4 was in Falmouth, Jamaica. There weren’t any excursions we were really interested in, so the plan was to enjoy the ship in the morning and then wander around the port and maybe take the free shuttle to the shops at Rose Hall in the afternoon. We all got up this morning, me much slower and with many more groans than usual, and went to Johnny Rockets for breakfast. This was a nice change from the Windjammer and the food was pretty good. I had a omelet and my wife and son had French toast. The food was similar to what you get in the Windjammer but it was freshly cooked so the bacon and the home fries were noticeably better.

 

There was an adult only session of boogie boarding at 10, so I went to that, our son went to the kids club and my wife came with me to watch. When we got up there, there was no one there. Other than a few guys who tried once or twice, I had the Flowrider to myself for the entire hour. The girl working there even got in with me and was giving me personal instruction on technique and how to do tricks. Just amazing. My body finally gave out after a hour and raw spots on my feet were really starting to bother me, so I changed and we went and got some coffee and hung out in Central Park.

 

We picked up our son for lunch and went back to the Central Park Café, again tasty roast beef sandwiched and salads. We then went back to our room to get ready to go ashore. The more we talked about it, we realized that we just weren’t real excited about going shopping. We went back and forth a couple times, feeling like we should at least step foot on the island, but just decided we would rather hang out on the ship. Since my wife’s shopping excursions on the islands typically involve stops at Diamonds International and Tiffany, this change in plans did not bother me in least.

 

So, I changed clothes and went for a run on the track. I know this is a little thing, but this is easily the best running track on a ship I’ve been on. Because it only takes 2.4 laps to equal a mile, it’s really not that hard to build up some mileage without feeling like a hamster on a wheel. While I was running, my wife and son went to the ice cream parlor on the Boardwalk. They both came back raving about the ice cream, I’m pretty sure the server told them it was made fresh daily. I got cleaned up and my son and I went down to the Loyalty desk to get him signed up and then went to the Schooner bar to get some wine for my wife. I noticed they also had Murphy’s on draft. Bonus! Hey, sometimes it’s simplest things in life that make me happy.

 

We hung around on our balcony for a while and then got ready for diner. We were supposed to go to the Seafood Shack tonight but had canceled. I forgot to mention earlier, they were advertising a Boardwalk Beach Party at the Seafood Shack on that night that was similar to the Rita’s party on the Allure that includes a three course meal and three drinks and music for $25. This was the first time I had seen this so I thought it must be pretty new. We had signed up originally but decided we didn’t want to do dinner without our son because we knew we were going to Chops without him the next night. We were glad we changed our mind because this was the best night in the dining room. I had chicken and cabbage dumplings and lasagna and my wife had the rainbow salad and lasagna. Neither of us profess to be Italian experts but we both loved the lasagna. After diner, our son went to the kids club and we went to the headliner show, Motown Live. We made it through about 20 minutes before we left. These guys were very good, it just wasn’t what we were interested in seeing. We then headed to Central Park and hung out at the Trellis Bar. The bartender there made us some chocolate martini’s that were amazing. We then met our son and I took him down for a snack. When we came back up, we went out on the “secret” balcony and watched the fountain show and then they showed Inception on the Aqua Theater screens. We pulled up some chairs and hung out there and watched the movie. Then, bed. Up next, Day 5 or: I think I might explode.

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Homegrown

Homegrown

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Love your trip report. My family and I leave for the Oasis in just a few days! I was wondering where is the secret balcony located at?

 

On decks 11 and 12, if you go to the very end of the hallway at the back of the ship, there is an unlabeled door. Just go through and there will be chairs waiting on you.

 

You will love the ship, have fun!

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CarpeCerevisi

CarpeCerevisi

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On decks 11 and 12, if you go to the very end of the hallway at the back of the ship, there is an unlabeled door. Just go through and there will be chairs waiting on you.

 

You will love the ship, have fun!

 

I was on the Oasis last October/November and I'm booked on the Allure for next April. I has an ocean side balcony then but to save money for next year (I travel solo and thus the heinous single supplement) I booked an inside on the aft end of deck 11. I figure the "secret" area will act as my balcony.

 

BTW, great review, it certainly brings back memories of my great experience on the Oasis last year.

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petesweet

petesweet

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We all got up this morning, me much slower and with many more groans than usual, and went to Johnny Rockets for breakfast. This was a nice change from the Windjammer and the food was pretty good. I had a omelet and my wife and son had French toast. The food was similar to what you get in the Windjammer but it was freshly cooked so the bacon and the home fries were noticeably better.

 

What was the crowd situation at JR (and about what time were you there)? Our experience on other ships has been that even with the surcharge, there is a long waiting line to get in. I'd love to try it for breakfast one day during our cruise.

Kathy

P.S. Sounds like age 11 is a good age to cruise with. Old enough to be somewhat independent but not so old that it's not "cool" to do stuff with Mom and Dad.

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Homegrown

Homegrown

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What was the crowd situation at JR (and about what time were you there)? Our experience on other ships has been that even with the surcharge, there is a long waiting line to get in. I'd love to try it for breakfast one day during our cruise.

 

Kathy

 

P.S. Sounds like age 11 is a good age to cruise with. Old enough to be somewhat independent but not so old that it's not "cool" to do stuff with Mom and Dad.

 

We got to JR around 8:45 to 9:00, it was close to full, but there was no wait. This was a port day so I think it was a little more crowded than usual. We looked down on the Boardwalk a couple mornings at sea and it didn't look like there was much of a crowd at all. Just so you know, there is no fee for breakfast.

 

11 was a fantastic age, we had a great time doing things together and he absolutely loved being able to check himself in and out of the kid's club, I think that made him feel very independent and "grown-up".

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Homegrown

Homegrown

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We woke up this morning to sound of loud thunder. I don’t think I ever remember going through a thunderstorm like this on previous cruises so it was a weird way to start the day. Once room service showed up with my wife’s breakfast, my son and I decided to try somewhere new for breakfast, the Park Café. We really, really should have tried this earlier. They have a bagel area with toppings, good breakfast sandwiches and burritos, oatmeal, grits, cereal and great muffins. So after a burrito and chocolate muffin, we went up to the Flowriders. It had stopped raining but was very overcast. Once again, when we got to the boogie board Flowrider, there was no one there. The two girls working there were even sitting on the bleachers, wrapped up in a towels to stay warm. My son went on one side and I went on the other and we got to ride at the same time for a while. A few kids showed up after 15 or 20 minutes, so I went to the side with my son and we continued to take turns until we were completely worn out. We then went to the pools and swam around for a while, sprayed each other with the squirt guns at the spray park and soaked in the hot tub for a little while.

 

Back to the room to clean up and change and then we all went to Windjammer for lunch. We wandered around a little while after lunch and then went to the 2:00 showing of Kung Fu Panda 2. It was a cute movie but I was surprised at the high quality of the 3D. I had expected it to be lacking because it been adapted to a theater built for live shows but it appeared to be just as good as any movie theater I have been in and sound is fantastic. We were looking at the seats while walking out and it looks like there is a speaker under every chair in the lower part of the theater. We then went out on the Boardwalk, got a couple donuts and there was a kids festival going on. Not much to it but it was still fun. My son and I played giant checkers for a while and my wife got some kind of coffee drink with a little “extra” in it. I grabbed a pint at the Schooner Bar on the way up to the room and my son went on to the kids club because he was eating dinner with them.

 

My wife and I got dressed up and went down to Chops for dinner. Our anniversary is in August and since we usually take our vacation at the end of July or the first of August we like to do something a little special on vacation to celebrate. We chose Chops this year and had a really nice dinner. I had the onion and cheese soup, NY strip and the red velvet cake, my wife had the same soup, the smaller filet, and the Chocolate mud pie and we shared a baked potato (the largest I’ve ever seen), mashed potatoes and a few onion rings. We also shared a fantastic bottle of white wine. Needless to say, I walked out of there feeling like I was going to explode. Now, for our overall feeling of Chops; everything was very good, but not spectacular. Our only other comparison for extra fee restaurants is Palos on the Disney Dream and we rated that as an amazing meal and experience. Chops was not amazing, just very good, so we decided if (when) we cruise the Allure, we want to try something different. We walked around a little but just ended up going back to the room. I made the mistake of laying down on the bed and next thing I know, my son was walking in the door, back from kids club at 10:00. We took him down to get his snack (none for us tonight) and then went out to the boardwalk to watch the fountain show again. I didn’t realize, but apparently every fountain show during the week is set to different music and different movement of the fountains. Nothing dramatically different, but it’s still nice to see other shows. After that, off to bed. Next Up, Day 6 or: Nachi what, Nachi who?

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