Oasis Western 3/2-3/9 Review With Pictures

[ChristyLNDRN]

Continuing on to Central Park:

 

 

 

 

 

And since we are currently touring Central Park, here's the Menu for Giovanni's Table, where we ate the first night:

 

 

 

I may have missed a page of the menu, because we had almond-encrusted scallops, and spinach and ricotta crepes, and I don't see either of those on these two pages.

[ChristyLNDRN]

Day 2 continued:

 

A good time for a side note related to Central Park. If you remember from Day 1, one of the first things I did was to make dinner reservations for Chops and 150 CP for later in the trip. Later on that afternoon, as we were passing through central park, I actually stopped to look at the menu for 150 CP:

 

 

 

 

We had scheduled 150 CP for Friday, which would be the Hearth Menu, as shown above. Now, I am a fairly picky eater, so 150 was already a bit of a stretch for me, but I wanted to be adventurous and try it out. However, I much preferred the menu for the 1st half of the week, the Heirloom menu. Just personal taste, and knowing what I would be more likely to eat. So, we popped into 150, and rescheduled that for monday night. We had Frozen in Time scheduled for 7:30 that night...I had previously scheduled Chops for 5:30 to eat before the show. Well, 150 doesn't open for dinner until 6:00, so that was not going to work. No problem, we switched to 8:30 instead, and planned to eat after the show. For some reason, the gentleman at the front desk couldn't change my Chops reservation, so he sent me there next. One more quick stop, and Chops had now been moved to Friday night at 6:30.

 

End of side note! Back to more day 2 pics in next post....

[ChristyLNDRN]

Day 2, continued:

 

Continuing on my early AM walking tour, next stop pool deck.

 

Look, no chair hogs this early:

 

 

 

 

 

Let's talk about one of the most popular topics on CC, chair hogging!

Just in my personal experience on this cruise, it was not a problem. Now, we spent all our lounging time in the solarium, and never sat near the main pools outside. However, we looked for chairs at several different times of day, on sea days, and were ALWAYS able to find a chair.

Early morning: chairs EVERYWHERE.

Mid-morning: Areas filling up, but still plenty of chairs available

Lunchtime: Definitely peak difficulty to find a chair. We might have settled for a chair upstairs in the solarium rather than downstairs by the glass, but we still found chairs together.

After lunch (say 2pm-ish): Noticeable increase in chair availability. I will say the last sea day we hit the solarium at this time and it was still very crowded.

In my experience, there were far more chairs with people in them than chairs with only towels. Now saving seats in the theater? That is a different story, my friend, one for another day.

 

Kind of a tie in to the chairs: I've read in so many reviews that Allure and Oasis feel less crowded than other ships....again, just in my personal experience this is completely.....TRUE! We checked at Guest Services, and there were about 5800+ passengers on our sailing. About 800 kids according to our waiter. These ships just do a great job of dividing all the passengers up into different areas. I expected long lines and hordes of people. I found neither. In ports, we just walked right off, no lines. Now, we didn't try to get off the moment the ship docked, but we didn't wait for an hour or anything like that.

We also never had a problem with getting an elevator. As we are young and in fairly good shape, we tended to take the stairs whenever possible. However, we did use the elevators fairly frequently but never experienced waits.

Yes, when shows let out there are large crowds in an area. The promenade got packed during parades and certain other events...but that was very easily avoided. Again, these are just my experiences. Yours may vary.

 

Moving on: Back to the solarium:

 

 

Happy feet, with a view:

 

 

LOVED these chairs in the solarium:

 

 

There were probably about 8-12 of these in the solarium, and I thought they would be claimed at all times. We were able to use them several times during the week, although we usually were done with breakfast and ready to lounge by 8:30-9:00.

[MomtoCCC]

Enjoying your review - we will be on Oasis at end of May.

[ChristyLNDRN]

Day 2 continued:

 

More solarium:

 

 

 

 

Love the details throughout the ship:

 

 

 

At this point it was around 7:15 and I figured it was safe to go wake hubby up. I actually ran into him on the way back to the room...he had hit Cafe promenade for coffee and pastries. I had picked up a croissant there earlier in my explorations. After quick showers, we decided to try Johnny Rockets, which is free for breakfast.

I had a ham & cheese omelet

DH had a Breakfast sandwich...both were very good.

After breakfast, it was back to the solarium. We got there around 8:30, and perfect timing, someone was just getting up leaving us this lovely spot:

 

 

 

We stayed here for awhile. One of my favorite times of day was 10:30. Why you ask....it's PINA COLADA time!!

 

[ChristyLNDRN]

Day 2 continued:

 

Around 10:30 was the C&A welcome back party in the Aquatheater. There was an invitation waiting for us in our stateroom when we arrived. We headed in that direction, but more because I wanted to check out the rock wall.

 

This is from the balcony where the rock wall is. Captain Patrick on the right at the Welcome Back party.

 

 

Here I go up the wall!

 

 

 

Can you see me?

 

 

Made it!

 

 

Man, that is a BIG wall. I only tried it the once since I made it all the way to the top. My arms and legs were shaking! Oh, and be careful on the way back down....I somehow spun around and slammed into one of the footholds. I had (actually, still do have) a very nice, very large, pretty purple bruise on my rear. Picked a good place to hit though:)

[johnbob7]

I may have missed a page of the menu, because we had almond-encrusted scallops, and spinach and ricotta crepes, and I don't see either of those on these two pages.

 

First, thanks for the great review, loving it so far and looking forward to the rest.

 

Regarding the Giovanni's menu, could that have been the lunch menu pictured versus the dinner menu you had?

 

Also, a comment on the round chair beds you enjoyed in the Solarium, on the Allure last year those were not to be found in the Solarium but only up on the deck 17 Suites only sun deck. Interesting that on the Oasis they kept those in the Solarium. Certainly the nicer space of the two.

 

bobj

Edited March 12, 2013 by johnbob7

[ChristyLNDRN]

So after making it to the top of the rock wall, I was feeling pretty spunky. I dragged Hubby to the Sports Deck to check out the flowrider. (I needed photo documentation!!). I'm fairly coordinated and decently athletic, so I figured I'd give stand-up surfing a try. Why not? Yeah.....I was not very good:

 

 

 

Not so sure this is a good idea:

 

 

Yeah, definitely not:

 

 

If at first you don't succeed....

 

 

You will probably just wipe out in a more spectacular fashion the 2nd time:

 

 

Note: LADIES!! Wear a swim shirt! I believe my hubby remarked that he saw some boobies loose during wipe outs. Not mine of course...I knew from CC to wear a shirt on the flowrider:D

[ChristyLNDRN]

First, thanks for the great review, loving it so far and looking forward to the rest.

 

Regarding the Giovanni's menu, could that have been the lunch menu pictured versus the dinner menu you had?

 

Also, a comment on the round chair beds you enjoyed in the Solarium, on the Allure last year those were not to be found in the Solarium but only up on the deck 17 Suites only sun deck. Interesting that on the Oasis they kept those in the Solarium. Certainly the nicer space of the two.

 

bobj

 

Ahhh! Very good thinking on the menu picture! I was taking those pictures early in the day so that would make perfect sense. And also interesting comment on the difference between the solariums on Oasis and Allure...I would miss those chairs, I loved them! Thanks for input!

[F19810]

From one Wilmingtonian to another, thank you so much for this review. I will be on the Oasis in May and there are not many western Oasis reviews out there. It will be interesting to see of there are any differences in activities when the cruise directors change at the end of the month.

Judy

[lisa70]

Well Thank you for all you information. We are on Oasis March 30.. I can't wait

[Skip2MySue]

I am on this same trip in Nov. Loving the review, living a little vicariously thru this! As I was reading your review of the night before, I can identify, I am always so excited the night before a cruise I can't sleep worth nothin!!! I have been on 11 cruises thus far and I always think I am not going to get that keyed up...doesn't work..excitement takes over, every time!!!

Thanks for taking time to do the review.

 

Hey Raven, we're on the same cruise with you. I didn't notice your name on our Meet n Mingle roll call. Please come join us and be sure to sign up for the Meet n Mingle gathering.

Skip

[ChristyLNDRN]

My kiddos are finally in bed and apparently asleep, so let's continue on with Day 2, shall we?

 

After my rather short flowrider session, we headed back to our favorite hangout, the solarium of course! At this point it was around 12-ish. It was much more crowded than in the morning, but we were still able to find two lounge chairs together on the first level.

DH hit the Solarium Bistro for lunch--did not write in my notes what he got but he said it was good.

I walked to the Wipeout Cafe and brought back a plate of tacos/nachos. The meat for the tacos was more of a chili as it had kidney beans in it...not my favorite, but no big deal.

 

After lunch, I noticed on the Compass there was a Jewelry workshop listed at 1:45, so I headed off to check that out. I had previously made a bracelet/necklace/earring set on our Explorer cruise, so I thought that might be a fun sea day activity. However, the selections they had to choose from for you to make were actually pretty much the same as the ones that were on the Explorer two years ago. The only one I could see myself wearing was the one I had already made, so DH and I went to find a hot tub instead.

 

We tried one of the cantialevered (OMG, I have no idea if that is spelled right) hot tubs that are right outside the solarium....couldn't believe how big it was!

 

Eventually we made our way back to the room around 4ish...we had MTD reservations for 6, and since this was the first formal night, we needed a little time to get ready. In the meantime, I was a little hungry since I hadn't eaten a whole lot for lunch. I ordered the Spinach/Artichoke dip from Room service. Actually, I had never ordered room service before on a cruise. They send a little dessert plate along with the dip, which was a nice touch, so along with the wine we had brought onboard, we had a nice little happy hour on our balcony:

 

 

 

We headed down to Deck 5 for our first experience in the dining room around 6:00. There were two lines, one for those with reservations, one for those without. I don't think we ever waited more than 5 minutes to be seated on any of the nights we ate in the MDR...it was just waiting for the few groups that were ahead of you in line to be seated.

We asked for a table for two, and were quickly led to our spot.

 

Our team consisted of Jeldon (waiter) and Denzil (assistant waiter). They were great! When we came back to the MDR for the 2nd time, we were asked if we were happy with the service we received. We said yes, and each subsequent night we were seated in the same section with Jeldon and Denzil, which was great for consistency.

 

Back to dinner the first night.

I had the Lobster bisque for appetizer, and Carved Filet of Beef Tenderloin for my main course. Dessert for me was the Bittersweet Chocolate Souffle.

 

For DH: Chilled Banana Rum soup for app, Corvina for main course. BBB Creme Brulee for dessert.

 

Everything was very good!! I think I remember DH saying his creme brulee was just ok.

 

After dinner, we had reservations for Oasis of Dreams at 9:00. We had some time to kill before then, so we hopped on the Rising Tide Bar.

 

View of the promenade from the bar:

 

 

It could definitely get crowded on the promenade, especially at night.

 

Us on the Rising Tide Bar:

 

 

 

Looking up from the bar:

 

 

 

I think we headed to the Aquatheater around 8:30ish to get seats. This is waiting for the show to start:

 

 

 

Another really, really impressive show. I can't believe what they do on a moving ship....not just diving from the platforms, but from the high dive??? Crazy!

 

I think we turned in early after the show (Drats! Breaking our stay-up late vow already). This friend was waiting for us in the room:

 

 

We had 3 towel animals during the week for those who care about those things. Oh, and I should have mentioned before, our cabin steward, Ophelia, was great. We didn't ask for much, just extra towels. She was so happy all the time...always singing while she was working.

 

That's the end of day 2. Next up: A rainy day at Labadee is better than winter at home!!

[KirkNC]

Thanks for the report!

[ChristyLNDRN]

Day 3: Labadee

 

We woke up to overcast skies on Monday morning:

 

 

 

Still, it was a beautiful view!

 

We decided to eat breakfast in the Windjammer, since we had yet to set foot in there. Actually, this would be the one and only time we ate in the Windjammer...there are just so many options on Oasis, so many new things to try. Food was fine. I much preferred breakfast in the other places that we tried. Could be just that I really like my made-to order omelets on cruises, and that isn't available on the windjammer on this class of ship. No problem, I found plenty of omelettes elsewhere:)

 

Time for another side note: If you remember, I booked fairly late, at 46 days out, and was unable to book a cabana for Labadee at that time. On the excursion page for Labadee, all the cabanas for Nellies said, "Inquire onboard." I did actually call a rep to see if they were indeed all gone, and she did confirm that they had all been reserved already. I asked if any cabanas are held back for onboard booking, and she told me no. I'm not sure if that is true or not. She also said that there was no waiting list. Bummer! In doing my research, I came across yet another helpful CC tip. I read that some people had luck with "inquire onboard" later changing to "book now" on the excursion page. So I stalked the page. And stalked the page some more. I checked the excursion page for Labadee pretty much twice a day until the week before our cruise. I had just about given up, but was doing my standard morning check just for giggles, when all of a sudden, there in front of my eyes, is an Over the water Nellies cabana available for booking. I booked it right away, and received an email confirmation. I then did a happy dance. No, really. My son was a witness!

 

We arrived in Labadee around 8 AM. Here's a few more pics from the approach:

 

 

 

 

[SueBabe]

Is there a pool in the Solarium open to the sky? I prefer laying poolside in the sun. The pictures appeared that the areas were covered. Enjoying your review and pictures.

[ChristyLNDRN]

Is there a pool in the Solarium open to the sky? I prefer laying poolside in the sun. The pictures appeared that the areas were covered. Enjoying your review and pictures.

 

It's kind of both, if that makes sense. There's glass, then a break where it's open to air, then more glass, then open air. I would say it's more covered than open though.

[ChristyLNDRN]

Labadee, Day 3 continued:

 

 

 

 

 

 

It started to rain as soon as we docked! We hung out on our balcony for a few minutes, trying to decide whether or not to make a run for it through the rain to our cabana. We decided to go for it! I packed some extra dry clothes, and we headed for the gangway. Of course, when we got there, it was raining even harder! That was not going to keep us from that cabana! Off the ship we went:

 

 

 

I was literally skipping down the dock at this point...I was REALLY excited about the cabana, despite the rain.

[dwHokie]

Awesome review so far, great job sis. I can almost hear you talking a mile a minute...looks like the trip was so much fun. I wish I had stowed away in your luggage!

 

Proof that the wave cam on the Port Everglades webcam really zooms in:

 

[goouchjac]

Continuing on to Central Park:

 

 

 

 

 

And since we are currently touring Central Park, here's the Menu for Giovanni's Table, where we ate the first night:

 

 

 

I may have missed a page of the menu, because we had almond-encrusted scallops, and spinach and ricotta crepes, and I don't see either of those on these two pages.

 

I love Central Park the best,,so beautiful at night,,and yes Giovannia's was really good...

[jamer8]

yay! I'm so excited you had an over the water at Nellies! We booked one for our April Oasis cruise...in fact, it's the only "excursion" I have booked so far! I can't wait for you to keep going with your review and I'm guessing you have lots of info and pictures of Labadee and the cabana.

 

Can't wait for more!

[ChristyLNDRN]

Awesome review so far, great job sis. I can almost hear you talking a mile a minute...looks like the trip was so much fun. I wish I had stowed away in your luggage!

 

Proof that the wave cam on the Port Everglades webcam really zooms in:

 

 

 

Thanks to my big brother for making a cameo appearance on my review:)

 

Thanks so much for adding the sailaway picture!!

[ChristyLNDRN]

yay! I'm so excited you had an over the water at Nellies! We booked one for our April Oasis cruise...in fact, it's the only "excursion" I have booked so far! I can't wait for you to keep going with your review and I'm guessing you have lots of info and pictures of Labadee and the cabana.

 

Can't wait for more!

 

 

Indeed, I have lots of cabana pics and those are up next! It is almost naptime here for the kiddos, so I should be able to post them soon!

[ChristyLNDRN]

Day 3, Labadee, continued:

 

Welcome to Rainy Labadee:

 

 

 

To access your Nellie's cabana, you need to check in at the suite beach, Barefoot Beach. We walked quickly through the rain, and checked in with the concierge for the suite area. He had a clipboard, and all the cabanas were pre-assigned. The Nellie's over the water cabanas are numbered 1-10. Here's a link to a Labadee review which has a great picture of the numbering system. Scroll down to post #11 and you will see what I mean.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1770883

 

Now, I think any cabana would be fabulous, but I personally would have preferred not to have #1 or #10. #1 is turned inward, so I think your view would be mostly of the beach. #10 is sitting almost directly on the beach...so it would be much less private than the other cabanas. As I said, our cabana was pre-assigned...#6 as it would have it. I was a happy camper.

A very nice gentleman with an umbrella walked us over to #6. There were the floating beach mats waiting for us next to the cabana, as well as a cooler with 4 huge bottles of water. We then met our cabana attendant, who got us our bracelets (I think to get into the suite beach for lunch later) and told us to let him know if we needed anything. He brought us 4 towels a few minutes later.

 

The view from our cabana:

 

 

Inside of our cabana:

 

 

From across the way, from left to right: Over the Water Nellie's cabanas

4, 3, 2, 1:

 

 

Immediately to the left of #4 were what I believe to be the two Nellie's hillside cabanas. Beautiful location, but I believe no direct water access? I may have a picture of those two coming up. Lots more pics coming!

Edited March 13, 2013 by ChristyLNDRN

[ChristyLNDRN]

Day 3, Labadee, continued:

 

Cabana #5, to our left if you are looking out at the water:

 

 

More views from cabana #6:

 

 

 

 

The front area of our cabana, which saw very little use as it was raining on and off throughout the day:

 

 

Edited March 13, 2013 by ChristyLNDRN