Oasis of the Seas Trip Review w/ Lots of Pics and Commentary *May 28, 2016*

[oreomaximus]

This would be our third time I believe visiting St. Thomas but surprisingly, we had yet to pay Magen's Bay a visit. So originally that was out plan BUT at the last minute we (I) decided that our money would be better spent doing a more "excited" excursion. So we (I) made the decision to book the Sea Cat Excursion through the ship.

 

As I am sitting here sorting through all my pictures I'm just noticing that for some reason I did not take a lot of pictures of this excursion...which I suppose makes since because it was a snorkeling excursion. Duh.

 

At any rate, in case I failed to mention it, I don't think we ever ate breakfast on this cruise -- other than the two times we put our little hanging menu on the door outside and it was delivered the next morning. We just could not wake ourselves up in time to make it to the dining room and there was no way in...you know what we were going to stand in the line at the windjammer. Nope. Sorry.

 

So after we deposited the munchkin off at Adventure Ocean we headed down to the gangway to find the loud mouthed reps with the white signs indicating where you need to stand in the hot sun for thirty minutes to wait for your excursion to start.

 

Once we found the back of our line it wasn't very long before Becky with the good hair collected our tickets and we were off to meet up with the boat that would take us out.

 

Let me give you a quick summary and a bit of advice about this excursion which we enjoyed very very much:

 

*The ride out is extremely and I mean extremely bumpy.

 

*The boat (which of course I failed to take a picture of) is not your typical catamaran with a sail but rather a long motor powered boat that holds nearly 150 people.

 

*You will be sitting thigh to knee with the person next to you unless you sit at the very front or the very back.

 

*On the way out if you sit in the very front,or near the sides you will get drenched. Not wet, not damp, drenched as if they dunked you head first into the ocean. Bring along some plastic bags to protect personal items. Don't even bother with wearing clothes they'll just be soak and wet.

 

*Wear lots of sunscreen. I am dark shinned so I don't really have to worry about getting "tan" but nevertheless we sat in the back of the boat on the flat area and I got burned.

 

*Be prepared to be huffing and puffing if you decide to follow the "tour" of snorkelers to the different snorkel sights. I consider myself to be in pretty good shape but good God man, I thought my legs and arms were going to melt off trying to keep up with the guide as she sailed through the water like a dolphin. You can always move at your own pace just be aware that you can't be sleeping if you plan on keeping up.

 

*You will see lots of turtles, sting ray, fish and possible a wreck or two.

 

*You will visit one snorkel sight and then they take you to a beach where you can wade to shore in waist deep water or hang out near the boat which functions as a swim up bar once they drop anchor. There is food for purchase at the beach but the excursion does provide unlimited rum punch, water, and sodas.

 

All in all we enjoyed it very much and would do it again.

 

After coming in from snorkeling.

 

 

Dallas approves of the rum punch. It was wayyyy to strong for me.

 

[oreomaximus]

Here are some pictures I took as we were pulling up to the snorkeling area.

 

 

 

 

This is one of the guides. For some reason I didn't get a picture of the other guy. My husband said he looked like the quarterback for the 49ers....what's his name Kolin Paeperneck. Too bad he didn't look like Romo then we could have all thrown him overboard.

 

 

Another boat that pulled up beside us. There were 4 boats all together if I recall correctly.

 

[oreomaximus]

Once the boat drops anchor, you can take your belongings off the boat and wade in the waist deep water to the shore. We were starving since we hadn't eaten breakfast (and then having to exert all that energy trying to keep up with Dory and Nemo and them swimming at high speeds).

 

The first order of the day was to order some drinks and then get some food which was delicious.

 

 

 

And by the way someone asked me earlier and I don't think I ever responded, I am a margarita girl -- but I am very particular about the type of tequila/mixture. At home I make them with Herradura Reposado tequila and Grand Marnier mixed with fresh lime, some salt and a cup or so of minute-maid lime-aid. Its the best! This one wasn't too bad and I just really wanted something other than a soda or that gasoline they were serving on the boat.

 

Here is an actual picture of the boat.

 

 

You can see here the rum punch being passed around....

 

 

And then someone recruited this youngin to serve as the bartender. :eek:

 

[oreomaximus]

We made a reservation for Chops that night. :D

 

Once we got back on the boat, we scooped up Lil Amy and then took a long nap -- well tried to at least, she wasn't having it -- then we got dressed and headed down to Deck 8, Central Park. I am so mad that I didn't take any pictures as I must have just gotten caught up in the moment.

 

Here is another tip, Central Park has some of the most beautiful scenery at night when they have it all lit up and you can see the stars high above you. Whomever designed that section of the boat did a really good job. On that particular evening they had a gentleman playing the piano (keyboard) and people were singing along with him. It would have been a perfect way to just sit back, relax and enjoy the scenery while listening to the music.

 

But we were going to eat some STEAK!!!!!

 

As usual, the service was second to none. Amy came along because she loves to eat meat and since she's under 5 she eats for free. SCORE!!!

 

Here they go again, cutting up my baby's steak. How thoughtful of them.

 

 

You can order 2 appetizers and 1 entree. I ordered at the recommendation of the waiter, the filet mignon. I found it to be a little dry but it was probably a one off. Everything else was superb. Even Amy's steak was good.

 

 

Dessert

 

[oreomaximus]

Shall we take a moment and discuss the infamous drink pass debacle that took place between April and May when we were all bamboozled into thinking that the 20% off sale was actually a sale?

 

Ha!!!

 

Before I rip Royal a new one let me share with you all, my experience regarding the cost of the pass as I know there are about 10 different versions of this story. In my case, I had purchased the premium plus (is that what's its called, I forget its the one right below the ultimate) for my lush of a husband I think like back in December as a Christmas present. If my memory serves me, (and you know how reliable it is) I paid around $413.00 for his drink card. I don't drink a lot since I've gotten up in age and honestly, it wouldn't have been worth it since the only thing I really drink are margaritas and since they don't carry Herradura on Royal ships other than 1 or 2 a day just for the sake of having an adult beverage I wouldn't drink that many anyway and I don't regret not purchasing one for myself.

 

Now, as time went on and I started logging into the website more and more often to book excursions and make reservations for specialty restaurants, shows, etc., I started to see certain things on sale. For instance in January they had a sale where you could get an on board credit of $250.00 for something or another I think it was the WOW sale. So I called and they told me I needed to pay like $12 more dollars, which I did and then got the $250.00. SCORE!!!!!

 

When the internet packages went on sale (and it was truly on sale) I went ahead and purchased it so Amy could watch her YouTube videos and I could stay connected to work. I think I got 30% off for the surf and stream --which by the way works better and faster then the internet at my house. This by FAR is THE best internet ANYWHERE.

 

Now, when the beverage packages went on sale I wasn't going to even worry about it because I had already purchased the package for Dallas and to me it was a moot point. However, since Mrs. Cuba hadn't purchased a package she called to tell me I should ask them if I can get the lower price. So I called asked them if I could and they said YES. The only thing is I had to charge the new price and then wait for the old price to be refunded back to my credit card which I think is the stupidest thing ever -- why they couldn't just give me a $100 on-board credit is beyond me. But anyway, I ended up only paying like $320 or something, maybe less. I think the savings was like $93.00. Shortly after that I started to see all these threads start to pop up about people complaining about the price not being a true discount. I couldn't understand what the problem and confusion was until I went online and saw that even though the website was still reflecting a 20% discount, the prices seemed to have gone up.

 

So as a test and to try and shed some light on the issue I called Royal myself to see if they would give me a premium package for the same price I purchased my husband's for. I waited for like 20 min but the supervisor came on and said that they were only offering the 20$% off of the current prices. Now mind you I had just re-purchased the package less than a week ago. Long story short I know this issue caused quite an uproar within the cruise critic community and even though I actually benefited from being able to take advantage of the "true" sale, the way they falsely advertised a sale only after intentionally raising the prices really put a bad taste in my mouth. NOT COOL ROYAL!!! NOT COOL AT ALL!!!!!

[oreomaximus]

Awww....Poor Amy!!! I don't blame her, those penguins scare me too!!!!

 

Loving the review!

 

:D:o:eek::eek:

[oreomaximus]

After recovering from my cruise withdrawal; I finally decide to check out cruise critic. To my surprise what do I see??? You have started a review. I’m loving it!! (Sung like the McDonald’s Commercial)

 

Awww...thanks!:)

[oreomaximus]

Well, I typed a reply to post and hit one wrong key, and POOF it was gone. This one will be shorter, since I've lost my train of thought.

 

I'm loving your review, stories, and pics. Can't wait to see more!!

 

Thanks for the cabin pics. We've sailed the Oasis and Allure before, but on our July cruise we will be in a Boardwalk Balcony for the first time.

 

Awww...you humble me. Thank you! You will love the BB.

[oreomaximus]

what a great review, love your story at the bar. We never had a chance to experience it, we needed more than 7 days on that ship, there is so much to do.

 

Thank you for your kind words and you're right there are several things we didn't get to see, like the flowrider for example. That ship is huge!

[oreomaximus]

loving it. Keep it coming....btw what was your favorite drink during the cruise?

 

Sent from my sm-n920p using tapatalk

 

mmmmaaaaargaritas!!!!:d:d:d:d:d

[grandmarnnurse]

I must say that I am loving your review, and your way with words and description!! I think I mentioned before, that I cruised the Oasis in Feb 2015 with several members of our family. I really loved the ship--especially Central Park, and as you did, at night--with all the trees lit up and music! It was a great place to unwind with a drink before heading to bed. But we were always comparing Royal to Carnival, and I think you phrased it correctly when you said that Royal actually wants you to pay for specialty restaurants, because the quality of food---and the service we had--was nowhere as good as Carnival. We are a retired couple with an eye always on our budget, so we never go to specialty restaurants. Having sub-par food and service was a big dispointment to us all. But I did have the dining room send us chocolate covered strawberries to our room one day after finding a bug in my glass of chardonaay the night before at dinner. That was a pleasant surprise. We also felt that Royal was always trying to sell you something. As for your recent comment about the bogus "sale"---I had a similar experience when researching for another family cruise. I received a notice in my email about a big sale, so I checked the cruises, and the prices were the same as they were, so I figured the percent off would be applied when checking out. WRONG! They said THAT was the sale price! But that was the price listed 2 weeks before! They must have jacked the price, then applied the percent off, bringing it back to the original price!! Needless to say, I booked this next cruise with NCL--a line I've never cruised--for a fabulous price AND an UBP for both my hubby and myself!!! I can't wait to see how this cruise will go!

Thank you for such a fabulous review!!!

[CruzieSue]

This is one of the guides. For some reason I didn't get a picture of the other guy. My husband said he looked like the quarterback for the 49ers....what's his name Kolin Paeperneck. Too bad he didn't look like Romo then we could have all thrown him overboard.

 

 

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh, myyyyyyyy :eek: !!! Look at that gorgeous blue water :rolleyes: !!! I need the name, pertinent info, etc. for that tour!!! Oh, and by the way, I am thoroughly enjoying your review (even before getting to this photo LOL!!). Your family seems like they just roll with the flow and have fun wherever they are. Little Amy is a doll !!! But bless her heart that those mean old scheming silly penguins scared her. :)