Cruise Ship Stories: Oasis of the Seas – Eastern Caribbean w/pics, Nov. 28, 2015

[alocsin]

 

To me, the best reviews start at the end. You can then find out what the reviewer thinks right away without having to wade through what maybe aimless ramblings and self-important opinions.

 

Whether this written cruise judgment ranks as Nobel -prize-winning material remains to be seen. But it can at least offer this assessment for our Eastern Caribbean Cruise from Nov. 28 – Dec. 5, 2015 on Royal Caribbean's Oasis of the Seas:

 

Five out of five stars.

Best vacation ever.

Great value for the money.

 

Find out if the actual experience merits these superlatives by reading my posts and enjoying the pics.

 

You can also catch replays of my Periscope broadcasts of the cruise at katch.me/aureliozl3.

 

 

As a public service announcement, here's what my husband, Anthony, and I, Aurelio, paid as two seniors from California, booking about seven months in advance.

 

TOTAL VACATION: $3,352.71 or $478.96 per day

 

Total for Cruise + Gratuity + Airfare : $2,479.80 or $354.26 per day

 

Inside cabin M with taxes and free upgrade: $1,589.36

Airfare for two (LAX to FLL): $722.44 (includes one-way mile redemption for one)

Prepaid gratuities: $168.00

 

Lyft fees minus first-time credits: $13.00

Bags VIP for two pieces: $40.00

Luggage Valet for two pieces: $40.00

 

Soda Package for one: $54.00

Ship Access Tour: $300.00

Ship photos: $88.00

Internet for two devices: $157.50

Additional tips beyond prepaid gratuities: $60.00

 

One day Enterprise car rental from LAX to home: $60.41

Pre-cruise food: Lester's Breakfast: $20.00

Post-cruise food: Cheesecake Factory: $40.00

Edited January 14, 2016 by Help@

[balcony4u]

We were on the same cruise with our two teenagers:-)

[BillOh]

Deleted

Edited December 17, 2015 by BillOh

[bubba83]

Looking forward to it!

[Lionesss]

Ok in my favorites.

 

Awaiting more.

 

Thanks for you posts.

[LuCruise]

Subscribing...would love to hear more

[alocsin]

 

London. Rush hour. The show would start in 30 minutes and we were nowhere near a Tube stop to get to the theater on time.

 

So we hailed one of the city's iconic black cabs.

 

“It'll cost about three pounds,” said the cab driver, a heavy-set middle-aged local in a middle-class London accent. “It's not that far.”

 

We hopped into the cab's cavernous interior and hung on to any protrusion as the taxi zigged and zagged through any open space on the road. The thrill ride ended with no injuries. Three pounds showed up on the meter.

 

“I'm sorry for overestimating the fare,” said the cabbie. “I wanted you to reach the theatre in time.”

 

We gave him five pounds anyway.

 

London is only one of two cities around the world in which we trust taxi drivers completely. The other is Singapore, where those professionals need to be at least 30 years old, complete a level three or higher English course, and pass a vetting process that would tax the morals of the clergy.

 

In almost any other place we've traveled, from Paris, France, to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, cabbies take the longest and slowest route to extort the most money. Or they charge you double when their meters mysteriously stop working. They persist in their nefarious tactics even when smartphones clearly reveal their dishonest meanderings.

 

Would Fort Lauderdale cabbies be the same? Would the ten-minute ride from the airport to the cruise port take an unexpected detour through Miami?

 

We weren't interest in finding out.

 

So we downloaded the Lyft app to our Android smartphone and requested a ride. This 21st century service revealed who was picking you up and where they were located, and then processed payments all by smartphone. Since fares were determined automatically in advance, drivers had every incentive to get to your destination quickly, so they could rush to their next fare.

 

Vehicle quality varies. Our Fort Lauderdale jaunts saw us in an older Dodge Magnum that had seen better days to a late model Mitsubishi Endeavor with more dashboard tech than a jetliner. Drivers were chatty and efficient. In one case, a local begged us to take the longer and more scenic route by the coast, at no extra cost, just so he could extol the virtues of his city.

 

As a bonus for being first timers, Lyft gave us five free rides up to ten dollars each. So our pre- and post-cruise journeys cost nearly nothing except for tips that were happy to give via smartphone.

 

Uber works in nearly the same way. In fact, all of the drivers we took worked for both Lyft and Uber.

 

So no more taxis for us. Ever.

 

Not when we can get a Lyft.

Edited January 14, 2016 by Help@

[alocsin]

“Your cabin has been changed, sir,” repeated the check-in agent at Terminal 18 of Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale. He was young, efficient, and dressed in a white shirt and tie.

 

I'd heard him the first time but demanded confirmation. So he repeated what he said.

 

“But why?,” I asked, “Is it a different type of cabin?”

 

“I don't think so, sir, but you've been moved. Don't worry, your luggage will be delivered to the new stateroom.”

 

 

After months of exacting analysis, I'd settled stateroom 8145 as the perfect inside category M. Not only did it cost the smallest amount, it lay close enough to the elevators for easy access but far enough away to minimize noise. In addition, it stood near the top of Central Park, allowing for travel through foliage-filled spaces when traveling from bow to stern instead of trudging through monotonous corridors. The cabin sofa rather than the bed also sat next to the closet, making for convenient dressing.

 

Now, stateroom 8522, an unknown puzzle, mocked us from deeper into the bow. I couldn't even check its layout because the spotty WiFi at the terminal access to the ship's deck plans.

 

But I knew better than to direct my anger toward the guy behind the check-in counter. No point in shooting the messenger. Better to direct my rage at Nadia, my “no-it-all” travel agent, so-named because her ready response to any request was “no.”

 

Did she know about the change? Couldn't she have warned me about it before we boarded? Could she get me back my old room?

 

So far, the cruise had been a tribute to chaos and uncertainty, starting with Bags VIP barely an hour earlier. For about $10 per piece, this service was supposed to conveniently transport our luggage from Fort Lauderdale Airport to our cruise ship cabin without our involvement.

 

But nobody at Jetblue, the airline we'd taken from Los Angeles, nor the cruise ship had heard of Bags VIP. When we went to baggage claim on arrival to check on our rollaways, they circled the conveyor belt untouched by anyone. It took frantic phone calls to Bags VIP to confirm that our luggage would indeed be picked up and delivered as promised.

 

As for my travel agent, Nadia, nobody was answering her phone because it was early Saturday morning.

 

I distracted myself in the terminal waiting area by chatting with Jackie and Dwight from Nova Scotia. Their room was just two doors down from our new one. Like us, they'd never been on the Oasis but had been cruising before.

 

Our first sea adventure took place over 15 years ago on what-was-then the state-of-the-art Carnival Elation. That ship lacked surf simulators, multiple dining venues, or computers. Yet we enjoyed wandering its decks as we traveled from San Pedro to Mazatlan, Puerto Vallarta, and Cabo San Lucas.

 

So far, the only thing favoring our second cruise was time. From reaching the terminal at 10 AM to boarding the ship took only about an hour. Entering the Royal Promenade, the two-story shopping mall on Deck 5, impressed us immediately with the ship's enormity and glamorous decor.

 

But there was little time to admire the silvery white snowflakes that hung from the ceiling or the two-story-high Christmas tree festooned with decorations. We wanted to lunch on the famous Kummelweck roast beef sandwiches before the masses arrived. So we rushed to the Park Cafe on Deck 8.

 

Too late – the line stretched several deep outside the eatery.

 

We settled for the buffet at the sparsely occupied Solarium Cafe, a venue that sacrificed taste for good nutrition and an attractive presentation. It would be the first and only instance that I would torture myself with the healthy but flavorless offerings. Anthony, my husband, returned a few times to enjoy the delicious do-it-yourself miso soup, which was laden with shrimp and veggies.

 

Come 1 PM, a shipboard announcement prompted us to head for our new digs. Stateroom 8155 seemed identical to 8145 with about 175 square feet, an efficient layout, and a closet stocked with 25 wooden hangers. (We brought about 25 more plastic hangers to handle all our clothes.) The bottom of the king-sized bed, put together from two twins, rose about a foot from the floor, allowing enough space to store our luggage.

 

The small well-equipped en-suite featured a shower surrounded by curved glass. The “hand-held” shower head towered above me over six-feet above the floor, although I never figured out how to remove it from the holder. A wall-mounted container held a liquid that was supposed to work for body soap and shampoo. We would use it only for our hair, having brought our own bar of soap.

 

Our room steward would eventually empty the well-stocked pay fridge, fill our ice bucket twice a day on request, and grant us two bathrobes, also on request.

 

But one major difference greeted us from the wall opposite the entry. A large circular window measuring at least three feet across heralded the sky and the Fort Lauderdale dock. Perpendicular to the view rested a loveseat-sized sofa that did not open into a small bed.

 

Our Category M stateroom had moved up to an oceanview Category F!

 

 

To celebrate, we fastened a cartoon penguin outside the door using magnets. Because nearly every part of the cabin was made of steel, it was easy to attach newsletters, reminders, and documents to the walls with magnets.

 

The change meant our luggage wouldn't be delivered until after we set sail, our pre-paid Internet service wouldn't work without a visit to Guest Services, and all our paperwork, such as for the Meet-and-Mingle, would disappear forever.

 

But our free window cabin was worth at least $200 per person more than our previous accommodation.

 

And we got it for free.

 

This was going to be a great trip.

Edited January 14, 2016 by Help@

[caseymorgan]

Great review so far. Enjoying it!

[Michael911]

Enjoying ! Can't wait to hear more. It was great meeting you on board. I think you got my gift at the gift exchange lol. Michael

[alocsin]

Enjoying ! Can't wait to hear more. It was great meeting you on board. I think you got my gift at the gift exchange lol. Michael

Thanks, Mr. Danville (as shown on the mug). Good meeting you as well :)

Edited December 19, 2015 by alocsin

[Michael911]

Thanks, Mr. Danville (as shown on the mug). Good meeting you as well :)

 

 

:).

[alocsin]

Over 6,000 passengers. 2,300-plus crewmembers. 25 eateries. 225,000 gross tons of ship.

 

The Oasis of the Seas impressed with size and not just because I was a gay man. The big numbers promised tons of diversion, which is exactly the kind of vacation we preferred. All the activities would give us the chance to try something new and exciting.

 

The downside, as warned by reviewers and previous travelers on Cruise Critic, were long lines: to the dining room, to the Opal Theater, and even to the restrooms as too many cruisers headed for too few facilities at the same time.

 

Would this pic showing a line of cruisers disembarking at St. Thomas be typical of the Oasis crowds?

 

Into the Main Dining Room

 

Our first foray into the Main Dining Room would seem to confirm the dire predictions. We'd reserved the earliest My Time Dining slot at 5:15 PM for nearly every day of the cruise. (We normally have dinner at 5 PM on land.)

 

We headed for the American Icon dining room on Deck 3, which is where My Time Diners were assigned for cruise. We were confident that we would walk right in. Who would be crazy enough to be having dinner that early on a cruise?

 

As it turned out, enough people would be that nuts. The line for those with reservations stretched at least twice as long as the line for those without. Where was the logic in that?

 

Fortunately, with at least four staff managing the line, it only took about five minutes for us to reach the host behind the podium.

 

“May I have your Seapass card and floor, please?” asked the pleasant woman handling the reservations screen. I handed her the white credit-card sized piece of plastic that served as our ID, key, and charge card on-board.

 

“Your floor please?” She asked again, which I found annoying. Why couldn't she just look at the Seapass card for the floor number? As it turned out, the card only contained our room number but not tour floor: a sensible security precaution. Once I gave her the information she needed, she processed us quickly.

 

After a short wait, another attendant showed us to our table 115, a two-top, where we would dine for the remainder of the cruise. Around us, most of the tables would remain empty, presumably until the prime dinner hour:

 

For the first few nights of dining, we went through the same ritual of checking in with the host and then waiting for an escort to show us to our same table. The next couple after that, we checked in with the host but were then told to go directly to the table. During the last few nights, we proceeded directly to our table without checking in. (If you want to see what we ate, please check out my separate post at oards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2289729.)

 

Where Are All The People?

 

That night would be about the only time we would encounter lines on the cruise ship, other than when queuing up at a performance venue before its doors opened.

 

Two simple common-sense rules, which any city dweller should know, govern the appearance of crowds.

 

Go during prime time and you'll encounter long lines. For example, this pic shows the main pools in front of the Windjammer Buffet and Suites Lounge during a sunny sea day. Even then, the sharp-eyed will notice that empty deck chairs are still available, towel hogs notwithstanding.

 

Go outside prime time and you may have an entire area of the vessel all to yourself. Here's the same pool area of the ship at night: a serene retreat after dinner or a show.

 

The Oasis of the Seas spreads out its public spaces so well that 6,000 people quickly disperse into sparsity. Public spaces felt less crowded than those for the Carnival Elation, our first cruise ship, which only accommodated 2,000 back in 1998.

 

In general, lines were never an issue for us.

Edited January 14, 2016 by Help@
photos

[alocsin]

“My name is Alfredo from India. I'm your waiter for this evening. It's my pleasure to serve you.”

 

 

His introduction seemed especially poignant tonight because this was the last night of the cruise. He said the same thing to us in the previous six nights before dinner in the Main Dining Room. The first time we met, the Portuguese origins of his name jumped out.

 

“Are you from Goa?” I asked.

 

“Yes. Have you been there?”

 

“No. I'm just familiar with the history of the Portuguese in the area.” My hubby, Anthony, was from Malaysia, which the Portuguese also colonized around the same time they were tooling around India. “Do you speak Portuguese?”

 

He answered “no,” of course, making me feel a bit silly for having asked the question. I should no more have expected him to speak Portuguese than I would a New Yorker named Schultz to speak German or a Chicagoan named Lampanelli to speak Italian.

 

His partner in service was Kent, from Trinidad and Tobago:

 

Both were efficient, and always pleasant. Once they learned our preferences, they satisfied them without prompting. For example, a full glass of Diet Coke, no ice, always stood ready by my plate throughout the meal. When they discovered we were catching a show, they brought in each course faster than normal. But even on the most leisurely nights, with multiple helpings of appetizers and desserts, our meal service never took more than an hour.

 

However, even their ready smiles couldn't hide their fatigue from 14 to 15 hours a day for weeks at a time. They exemplified the crew on the Oasis of the Seas: hard-working, polite, professional, accommodating, and usually tired. Not once did anyone make me feel obligated to tip them, whether I was ordering a drink at a bar or getting a special favor done.

 

Which is exactly why I did offer extra amounts at the end of the cruise over and above the prepaid gratuities. For those who are curious, here's what the two of us handed them in cash, using envelopes we got from Guest Services:

 

Waiter (Alfredo): $30

Assistant Waiter (Kent): $10. I read somewhere that he gets a third of what the waiter gets.

Steward (Stevo): $30

 

I also tipped a dollar when I asked a waiter to bring me a soda in the Windjammer Buffet and Solarium. My sodas were otherwise already paid for by the soda package I'd bought for about $54 for the week.

 

We rarely saw Stevo, our steward from Macedonia:

 

He did introduce himself that first day and tracked down our luggage that had not appeared even after sail-away. I also left requests for him with other crewmembers or in writing and he would get them done. Fortunately, I bumped into him on the last day as he was scurrying down the hall and handed him his tip.

 

Of the 2,100 or so crewmembers on the Oasis, about a quarter are Filipino, just like Eddie, one of the head chefs, who was talking about bread in the Main Dining Room kitchen:

 

The next biggest number comes from India and then Indonesia. Just judging from who I met, there were also sizable numbers of workers from Panama, the Dominican Republic, China, Haiti, Portugal, Slovakia, and Macedonia. In fact, over 80 nationalities are represented on the crew.

 

“And we all get along,” said Daniel, a member of the entertainment staff from Spain. “In the two years that I've been on the ship, I've only seen one fight among the crew.” (He did actually smile a lot but this is the only pic I have of him.)

Edited January 14, 2016 by Help@

[JamesEM]

Following long, looking forward to more reports, but your photos and not showing up, just an add from Google.

[Keith1010]

Enjoying your report.

 

Keith

[Biker19]

Come 1 PM, a shipboard announcement prompted us to head for our new digs. Stateroom 8155 seemed identical to 8145 with about 175 square feet, an efficient layout, and a closet stocked with 25 wooden hangers.

Just in case you plan to mention your cabin number later you may want to fix that to 8522. Actually, there's no 8155 on the deck plan at all - is there one in real life on the ship?:confused:

[alocsin]

Just in case you plan to mention your cabin number later you may want to fix that to 8522. Actually, there's no 8155 on the deck plan at all - is there one in real life on the ship?:confused:

Yikes, thanks Biker19. I can't believe I made that mistake -- not sure where 8155 comes from at all. There's no such cabin number.

 

I'll ask the mods to make the change -- unfortunately, can't edit my report any more.

Edited December 21, 2015 by alocsin

[alocsin]

“Actually, the instructions said that you need to wear long pans,” said Daniel, looking at my bare legs.

 

He was leading about 15 of us on the All Access Tour on our last day of the cruise, a sea day. For 3.5 hours, it cost $150 per person, or almost 9 percent of our entire cruise vacation budget. Despite the high cost, the tour proved to be one of the highlights of the cruise.

 

“Is there time for my hubby and me to get changed?” I asked.

 

“No, but as long as you accept the risk of injury to your legs, it's not a problem.”

 

We said that was fine. After all, we had gotten married on a military Victory ship, and while prepping for the ceremony, we'd run around a far less hospitable environment in shorts and a t-shirt for several hours.

 

I raised my Canon Vixia video camera for a shot of Daniel.

 

“No videos allowed,” he said, “to protect the privacy of the crew. But take as many photos as you want.”

 

“Why don't I just leave now? Strike two for two.” I declared to the laughter of everyone.

Edited January 14, 2016 by Help@

[alocsin]

Short and slightly built, the laundry officer contrasted with the massive machine behind him. It handles 250 pounds of laundry per load:

 

I didn't catch any of his personal description, though, other than that he was from Indonesia. A good chunk of the laundry crew was from that country. They're using giant presses here to iron linens:

 

According to a Seattle Times article, the crew handles 93,000 pounds of laundry per day. For serious washing, this tube takes care of 900 pounds at a time. It's reserved for guestroom linens and guest towels.

 

The machine in the back dries the piles of bedsheets and folds them.

 

LEFT: They put t-shirts on the torso-shaped form. RIGHT: A quick gust of air dries everything in seconds:

 

Every bit of laundry gets tagged, sorted, and, when needed, hung. If you ever get laundry done on the ship, check the label for a written ID number.

Edited January 14, 2016 by Help@

[alocsin]

The supply officer, who I believe was from Colombia, stands in front one of the giant refrigerators in supply area.

 

Produce has to be kept at a constant low temperature. Note that at the start of the cruise, you probably couldn't walk in this area, which would be piled high with more produce boxes.

 

Everybody's favorite storage room: liquor and other beverages.

 

Spices on the left and veggies on the right being moved to the kitchen.

Edited January 14, 2016 by Help@

[Emdee]

Looking forward to the next instalment.

[alocsin]

Outside of a video arcade or the starship Enterprise, I'd never seen so many flat screens crammed into one room as in engineering control.

 

“Do you ever play video games on these screens?” asked somebody on the tour.

 

“No, never,” laughed the engineering officer, who hailed from Panama. “We have to keep an eye on the engines all the time.”

 

His crewman, who wore white overalls, came from Eastern Europe. He stared constantly at graphs and dials on the monitors. The standard multiline office phone (center of the photo) came as a shock. I was expecting a fancy 21st century communications system on this advanced ship. But sometimes tried-and-true old technology is best.

 

The monitors displayed real-time images of the ship's gigantic Warsila diesel engines. According to Bright Hub Engineering, at the cruising speed of 22.6 knots, or 26 MPH, the Oasis of the Seas consumes 11,361 gallons of fuel an hour. The fuel economy is 12.08 feet per gallon.

Edited January 14, 2016 by Help@

[Gig103]

Most (but not all) of your photos aren't loading for me. :(

[JamesEM]

Your photos are not loading for me also.

Edited December 26, 2015 by JamesEM