Oasis November 15 -- A Little Late, I Hope it was Worth the Wait!

[Cindy]

Wednesday, November 19 – St. Maarten: We started the day in Coastal Kitchen for breakfast, and disembarked the ship right after the clearance announcement.

 

Oasis in St. Maarten

 

 

Oasis in St. Maarten

 

 

We had pre-arranged Bernard’s Tour #1. We both thought it was good, but definitely not as exceptional as reported in most of the reviews. For some reason (light bookings?) they combined Tour #1 and Tour #2 onto one van, and as a result it was a very crowded and uncomfortable ride with 27 people.

 

Both groups got to the sites they had paid for, but in the case of Tour #2, our van was at Marigot for far longer than they were supposed to be there, and the Tour 1 time at Maho was cut short because our driver had to shuttle us back and then return to pick up the Tour #2 people at the beach. Our driver, Mailman, was very good, but he had a really difficult task trying to accommodate two tours with a different focus on one van.

 

Mailman

 

 

Bernard's Tour

 

 

Bernard's Tour

 

 

Bernard's Tour

 

 

One thing I really liked was seeing parts of the island we hadn't seen on previous visits. Much of what we saw reminded me of St. Lucia and Barbados, which was a completely different impression of St. Maarten than I'd had previously.

[John&LaLa]

Great review and pics. Anything coming on your suite?

 

Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Forums mobile app

[Cindy]

Bernard's Tour

 

 

Bernard's Tour -- Marigot

 

 

Bernard's Tour -- Marigot

 

 

Bernard's Tour -- Marigot

 

 

You know how sometimes you have a picture in your head of what a place is going to be like, then the reality doesn't match up at all and it's jarring? That was Marigot and the market. For some reason, I was picturing stall after stall filled with crafts, art, and clothing created by local artisans. What I saw was stuff that I could find in Cozumel, Jamaica, Belize -- you get the picture.:rolleyes:

 

My other disappointment was not being able to get a treat from the famous Sarafina's Pastry Shop. The line was incredibly long, and I was afraid we'd hold up the van, so we bypassed it. As it happened, some people from our group did hold things up waiting for their food. That meant they spent the whole hour plus we were in Marigot standing in line for a sandwich.:eek: Jim and I found a great juice stand with an entertaining parrot, and relaxed with fresh Coconut Smoothies...YUM!

[Cindy]

Great review and pics. Anything coming on your suite?

 

Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Forums mobile app

 

Yes!:) It's at the end!

[Cindy]

Our favorite activity on Bernard's tour was watching the planes at Maho, but it was PACKED. In addition to the planes, Maho really is just a fascinating place for people watching…we saw a little bit of everything, and watching people jockey for space in the “Extreme Danger” zone for a jet landing or takeoff is an interesting study in human behavior!

 

"Arrivals Board" at Maho Beach.

 

 

This sign certainly didn't stop anybody!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Cindy]

Fortunately, we were able to stay just long enough to see a jet take off...

 

 

 

 

Right after that plane was in the air we headed back to the pier.

 

 

 

 

 

 

After a quick stop to pick up a turtle charm for my Pandora bracelet, we went straight back to the ship to get some lunch. We had thought we’d have time for a bite at Sunset Bar at Maho, but we couldn’t get near the place! We grabbed a slice of pizza from Sorrento’s as soon as we got back to the ship – it was pretty awful – and went upstairs to engage in our favorite activity, Balcony Sitting! Everything tastes better with a view!

[chanat]

Awesome pics and review! We are sailing on the Oasis for the 2nd time the beginning of Jan. I will have to remember this review and show the others in our party who are cruising with us and have never been on Oasis before.

[Cupcrazy]

 

I see that you found the Gnome. Was he out in the open or did you have to search for him? There is a 2nd Gnome which is the original one, Garry. Were you able to find him as well. There's an interesting story behind the Garry gnome. One of the original officers on the ship was Garry and when he left the ship he left behind a the gnome.

 

Fantastic pictures. Its great to see some of the new features of Oasis. Thanks for posting!

[Cindy]

Dinner Wednesday was at the Solarium Bistro. We had a great waiter (Gregory from Jamaica) and loved the food. Jim had the bison and I had the veal -- both were delicious and beautifully presented. As far as specialty restaurants go, Solarium Bistro wins the prize for the best kept secret on the ship. It never got crowded, the service was attentive, and the menu was creative.

 

 

 

After dinner we caught the end of the Headliner Showtime we’d missed the night before, and then went to the comedy show. If we had it to do over again, we’d make sure to get to the headliner and give the comedy show a miss. Of the two performers in the comedy show, one was good but not exceptional, and one was boring. We’ve never had very good luck with cruise ship comedians, and we had hoped the Oasis would be the exception. It wasn’t.

 

Headliner Showtime

 

 

Inside the Comedy Club

 

 

The comedy show was followed by the 70’s Disco Party – it was fun, but it’s been done on every RCI ship I've been on for a while. Maybe it’s time to come up with something new.

 

 

 

[Cindy]

I see that you found the Gnome. Was he out in the open or did you have to search for him? There is a 2nd Gnome which is the original one, Garry. Were you able to find him as well. There's an interesting story behind the Garry gnome. One of the original officers on the ship was Garry and when he left the ship he left behind a the gnome.

 

Fantastic pictures. Its great to see some of the new features of Oasis. Thanks for posting!

 

We had to search, and we found both of the Gnomes together...

[Cindy]

Here are a few outside shots of the Oasis at night that were taken before and after dinner on Wednesday. The ship is indescribably beautiful at night...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I hope whoever designed the lighting for the Oasis got a raise and a promotion...it's fantastic, and unlike anything I've ever seen on a ship. I really did feel like I was in a colorful fantasy land.

[f1mauro]

Awesome review Cindy. Small world. Was scrolling through your great pictures and stumbled across my wife and sister watching the Aqua Theater show from the 10th flr boardwalk balcony. Then scrolled down and saw myself in the next shot (albeit tiny and hard to see) cool nonetheless.

 

Then much to my surprise I was on your Bernard's Tour Bus as well with the Mailman! We got off at Airport beach as well. Mailman said he would be back in a half hour to pick up Tour A and in a couple hours to pick up those in Tour B. I was in the A group and asked if we could stick around to watch the planes (as this was the main reason we took the tour). He kindly obliged.

 

The pickup ended up being a few minutes late as his original bus broke down and he had to scramble for a replacement. (Brake failure?)

 

Great cruise nonetheless. Keep up the great review!!

[Familygoboston]

I'm enjoying your review! Lovely photos, especially your "night" photos! So colorful, and clear! I'm glad you decided to do a photo review :D

 

We were like you, sailing smaller ships (and we still do for port intensive trips) and Id see Oasis docked in FLL and think "how could that be fun?" But by golly, they designed her right, it doesn't feel over crowded at all and it is a load of fun! Glad you enjoyed your cruise!

Edited December 9, 2014 by Familygoboston

[bgoff60]

That's all for tonight. I have most of the review typed and all the pictures are uploaded to my SmugMug account, so I'll get busy posting more in the morning.

 

Any chance you remember who the 'headliner' entertainment was? Did you go and if so, what are your thoughts.

[PathfinderEss]

Enjoying your report and wonderful photo's.

[b-sizzle]

Great review and wonderful photos! Thanks for sharing! Can't wait until I get to see everything in person in two months! :-)

[Cindy]

Any chance you remember who the 'headliner' entertainment was? Did you go and if so, what are your thoughts.

 

The Headliner was an EXCELLENT singer/entertainer named Earl Turner. Unfortunately we missed most of his show, but judging from the 15 minutes we saw it was a good one! If we had it to do over again, we'd skip Comedy Live and make sure we got to the Headliner Showtime.

[Cindy]

Thursday, November 20 – At Sea: We started the day with breakfast in Coastal Kitchen, followed by the All Access Tour. The tour was a huge disappointment and definitely not worth the $150/person cost.:( Our tour was over an hour shorter than advertised (about 2 hours and 15 minutes instead of the advertised 3 and a half hours), and we felt we were being rushed through. Our tour went to the Aqua Theater, Galley, provision areas, Engine Control Room, laundry, crew mess/gym, and the Bridge.

 

Taken from the stage at the Aqua Theater.

 

 

On "I-95" in the crew area.

 

 

View from the Bridge.

 

 

View from the Bridge.

 

 

At the end of the tour we were pretty abruptly told it was time to go, and we were given burlap bags with aprons as souvenirs -- that was it.:rolleyes: There were no stops for snacks or even water during the tour. There was really no time to ask questions, because the guide was always looking at her watch and saying we had to move along. There were no group pictures or pictures with the captain, who by the way was NOT on the bridge for this tour unlike other tours we've done.

 

This was the third tour we’ve done, the most expensive tour we’ve done, and far and away the least impressive. It was disappointing because we had thought we’d see something different since the ship is so unique. That didn’t happen. We saw much more on the Mariner, and the tour we took on the Carnival Conquest was better in every way (locations, explanations, and souvenirs) than the tour we took on the Oasis.

Edited December 9, 2014 by Cindy

[Cindy]

After our tour abruptly ended, we went up to Coastal Kitchen for lunch. It was very good and WAY TOO MUCH food! In the afternoon we hung out with friends from our roll call. We had a great time watching the Belly Flop Competition from the balcony, and we even got called out because one of us was rating too low!:D

 

 

 

Our friend Steve, a.k.a. Simon Cowell!

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Cindy]

After the Belly Flop competition, we had an afternoon of "typical" cruise activities. We went to trivia, watched the Flash Mob rehearse,

 

Flash Mob

 

 

relaxed on the suite sun deck,

 

Suite Sun Deck

 

 

View from the Suite Sun Deck

 

 

tried to go to the Martini class but were thwarted by chair hogs (yes, chair hogs in the Champagne Bar!), watched diving practice and the rock climbers from our balcony,

 

Dive Practice

 

 

Rock Climbing Wall next to our balcony.

 

 

went to Vintages,

 

Vintages

 

 

and finally ended the day at Chops with a group. This was our first time to have the much-maligned new menu, and we liked it…we certainly didn’t walk away hungry! Most of the food was good, but I did think our waiter was really pushing the extra cost items. My critical error was ordering the strip…it was awful! Stick to the filet unless you want one of the upcharge steaks! Everybody who had the filet was happy, but those of us who chose the strip left most of our steaks untouched.

Edited December 9, 2014 by Cindy

[chanat]

Still enjoying this review!

[WupperAV]

Great review! My wife, an Italian thinks Sorrentos is a German Restaurant. Her family is always making jokes about the German Vinegar they had when they visited there.

[BonTexasNY]

I'm thoroughly enjoying your review. Your pictures are some of the best (especially the close-ups...wow) I have seen on these boards. So sharp and clear! Looking forward to meeting you on our Liberty cruise next Dec.

[aussielozzie18]

Really enjoying your review. Great photos.

[Cindy]

I don't know what it was about Central Park at night, but we were both totally captivated by it.