Embarkation

[OhioOtter]

Hi All! I will be cruising with my mother (77) and two sisters on Oasis at the end of November. We will fly in the day before and spend the night at a hotel close to the port so I anticipate that we’ll be heading over to the ship close to 11:30 a.m. I’m a Diamond member and know that they have a nice waiting area (before boarding) but my question is aimed more towards once we get on board the ship. They usually don’t allow you in your cabin until 3:00 p.m. which means we need to kill about 3 hours. I’m sure that eventually we’ll want to walk around and explore the ship a little before heading to our cabins but my mother will probably only be good for about an hours worth of walking. I thought a nice, somewhat quiet place to wait for a couple of hours might be at Park Café…nice scenery and a place to grab a bite to eat – Windjammers doesn’t appeal to me as a place to wait/eat. I would appreciate any thoughts or suggestions.

 

Also, for the first time…I’ve purchased lanyards for our little group and I’ve read on other posts that you should take your Sea Pass card to Customer Service to have a hole punched into them. Can they do it at check-in in the embarkation area instead (trying to avoid the long lines that are sure to be at Customer Service)? How about at the Diamond Lounge…can the concierge do it (not sure if they are there at embarkation or not)?

 

Thanks!

[kc320]

Staterooms are generally open around 1:00-1:30...so by the time you get onboard...have lunch & explore a bit your rooms should be ready..

 

Sometimes the conceige is in the lounge on arrival day...sometimes not...if you go to guest services as soon as you board there should not be a terribly long line...

[OhioOtter]

1:00 - 1:30...thought it was later. Great! Shouldn't be too bad then. Any thoughts on Park Cafe? Thanks!

[sabres431]

Our room was ready by 1pm on the Sept 7 sailing. We got to port by 10:30 and were on the boat at 11:15. Park Cafe is great! They have a make your own salad station and the roast beef sandwiches are amazing!

[golfer1966]

There are huge comfy chairs right outside the Central Park Cafe' After you grab a bit to eat, you could also sit in the Aqua Theater as I think they may be showing info on the TVs there.

[OhioOtter]

Thanks so much for all the helpful info/tips!

[LBumb]

rooms almost always ready at 1

[BDL]

Hi All! I will be cruising with my mother (77) and two sisters on Oasis at the end of November. We will fly in the day before and spend the night at a hotel close to the port so I anticipate that we’ll be heading over to the ship close to 11:30 a.m. I’m a Diamond member and know that they have a nice waiting area (before boarding) but my question is aimed more towards once we get on board the ship. They usually don’t allow you in your cabin until 3:00 p.m. which means we need to kill about 3 hours. I’m sure that eventually we’ll want to walk around and explore the ship a little before heading to our cabins but my mother will probably only be good for about an hours worth of walking. I thought a nice, somewhat quiet place to wait for a couple of hours might be at Park Café…nice scenery and a place to grab a bite to eat – Windjammers doesn’t appeal to me as a place to wait/eat. I would appreciate any thoughts or suggestions.

 

Also, for the first time…I’ve purchased lanyards for our little group and I’ve read on other posts that you should take your Sea Pass card to Customer Service to have a hole punched into them. Can they do it at check-in in the embarkation area instead (trying to avoid the long lines that are sure to be at Customer Service)? How about at the Diamond Lounge…can the concierge do it (not sure if they are there at embarkation or not)?

 

Thanks!

 

Last week the cabins ready announcement was at 12:35. The line mid-afternoon at guest services was very short but an employee was walking around with a hole puncher making our stay in line just a minute or two.

 

If its not too hot, the comfy chairs in the center of Central Park is a good idea. If you'd prefer to sit inside, there are plenty of places to sit along the promenade or up on deck 6 in the Schooner Lounge overlooking the promenade. The Diamond lounge may also be open and has seating on an open balcony over the promenade.

 

Have a great time!

[OhioOtter]

Thanks so much to those who submitted supportive and helpful posts…I really appreciate it! As you may have noticed, I’m fairly new to this site…this is my first forum posting (although I have contributed photos in the past). This experience has taught me that I need to be a bit more cautious and concise when submitting a post. I’m also having some difficulties with some of the abbreviations contributors use throughout this site…I need to find out if there’s a listing of them somewhere.

 

Although I have cruised numerous times and have learned quite a bit through those experiences, I have discovered a lot of helpful/useful information from this venue too…in particular, the many benefits of being a C&A Diamond member. My husband and I cruised on Allure with our adult children and grandson this past February. It wasn’t until day 5 that we were finally able to locate the Diamond Lounge (I noticed it on the deck layout that I had printed out at home to take with us on the cruise). I honestly thought that it was just an elusive public lounge and not specifically for Diamond (and above) members. It wasn’t until we tried to access the area that we realized it was associated with our C&A status. That was surprising and fun - although we only had a couple of days to enjoy it!

 

As I stated in my original post…my upcoming cruise will be with my sisters and our 77-year-old mother. Now I know that there are 77-year-olds out there that can run circles around me, but my mother is not one of them. Her stamina and physical condition is not what it was the last time she cruised and the Oasis is such a large ship, I have some concerns and just wanted to make this a fun, memorable experience for all of us. I was hoping to get advice, helpful hints, and suggestions from those who may have experienced a similar situation.

 

Again…I appreciate all those whose intention it was to help…thanks! :)