My View: First Semi-Live From Oasis - The Cruise that almost didn't happen!

[APDMOM]

My View: Port Canaveral from 12729:

 

 

 

Crown & Anchor:

 

We saw some dolphins frolicking around the smaller boats in port:

 

 

...and plenty of pelicans:

 

 

Some BIG CLEAN was taking place in those two boardwalk cabins:

 

 

 

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[APDMOM]

To close for tonight, here is some of the action you can enjoy from 12729:

 

Rock climbing on both sides:

 

 

 

Practice sessions for shows:

 

 

Ziplining:

 

 

Beautiful boardwalk at night:

 

 

 

 

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[APDMOM]

The wake view is the best view (just too bad you can not hear it from way up here):

 

 

Loving my superzoom camera... a little closer and closer to the wake:

 

 

 

 

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[APDMOM]

That is "my view" for boarding day. Tomorrow, I will continue with some sea days and Labadee...

 

Good night for now :)

 

 

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[Ms_Fl_Cruiser]

Hi, great review! I will be trying rcl for the first time this upcoming September (after more than 10 carnival only cruises) and all your tidbits are very helpful.

 

I am curious on the magnet hooks, where exactly are they held? I also noticed some hooks in the shower, are those hooks you brought or hooks already there?

 

Thanks!

 

 

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[hapster85]

The cons:

*It is a long walk from the stairs!

*The noise is REAL, y'all. And I am not southern, so you know I am serious when I say "y'all". This cruise was worse than the previous one on Oasis. The sound people had the music extra loud. After a couple of days, it got MUCH better during movies, but the shows are loud. Fortunately, it usually ended around 11 p.m., and the boardwalk was relatively quiet during the morning. We can handle it, considering the financial savings of Boardwalk vs Oceanview balcony. We do prefer the oceanview balcony though.

 

 

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I wonder if that overhang is a factor in the nose level for those upper cabins? I don't think the noise would be a deterrent​ for us, regardless.

 

Looks like a great location overall, though. We've considered it as a good compromise between price and view. Looks like it'll be 2019, at least, before take an Oasis class cruise.

 

Enjoying the review! Thx for taking the time to do it.

[perfect match]

I am enjoying your review very much, revisiting our own cruise on Oasis last fall. We were in 10327. We enjoyed the location with it's Boardwalk and wake views very much.

 

I can't wait to hear about the rest of your cruise! :D

[APDMOM]

Hi, great review! I will be trying rcl for the first time this upcoming September (after more than 10 carnival only cruises) and all your tidbits are very helpful.

 

I am curious on the magnet hooks, where exactly are they held? I also noticed some hooks in the shower, are those hooks you brought or hooks already there?

 

Thanks!

 

 

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We have cruised on 5 different cruise lines, and enjoy them all for their unique pros and cons. However, Royal Caribbean is our favorite. When the price is right, we book Royal. Hope you enjoy your first experience on Royal Caribbean!

 

The shower hooks are standard - already there on Oasis class ships. The magnetic hooks can be used on basically all the walls or doors of the cabin, as they are metal walls/doors. :)

 

 

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[APDMOM]

Looks like a great location overall, though. We've considered it as a good compromise between price and view.

 

 

I agree! That is exactly why we choose this location. Our favorite for the price :)

 

 

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[APDMOM]

I am enjoying your review very much, revisiting our own cruise on Oasis last fall. We were in 10327. We enjoyed the location with it's Boardwalk and wake views very much.

 

 

 

I can't wait to hear about the rest of your cruise! :D

 

 

Glad to hear you liked 10327. I think the change will be fun for us too!

 

 

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[APDMOM]

I forgot to mention our dinner of the first night. We heard a few weeks before the cruise (thanks to a CC thread) that the Solarium Bistro dinners were showing up as "free" on some cruises. I checked, and sure enough, it was free for our sailing. Since we were stuck with early dining (5:30), we decided to book the Solarium Bistro in order to enjoy sail away.

 

The food was delicious, the service was excellent, and it was indeed free (as opposed to the normal $25). I did hear that the offerings were slim compared with the normal menu, but we certainly enjoyed it!

 

So, Check to see if your sailing offers free dinner in Solarium Bistro. We enjoyed it so much, that we made another reservation for the second formal night. Vibin was our server, and he was excellent - very attentive! He took a picture of us on our second visit.

 

So, here are some pictures of Solarium Bistro, followed by the Solarium:

 

Mahi Mahi:

 

 

Lamb Chops:

 

New York Strip Steak:

 

 

 

 

 

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[APDMOM]

The Solarium:

 

 

 

 

A view of sunset over the cantilevered hot tub:

 

 

 

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[APDMOM]

My view: The first sea day:

 

 

I love watching the sunrise from the aft area on deck 5:

 

 

Nothing like securing one of these seats for a premier view of a beautiful new day:

 

 

 

 

And then, getting greeted in Dutch:

 

 

 

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[APDMOM]

If you wonder how to get to those chairs: just go to the jogging track on deck 5 and walk to the back of the hip, or take the stairs from the back of the boardwalk. In this picture, you can see the chairs behind the boardwalk stage:

 

 

While we are on my favorite things... I love how the elevator buttons show you where to go. The pictures make it easy to find the boardwalk, central park, pools, etc.

 

Tip: The star is marked "Gangway". So, on port days you just push the star button, and it is programmed to take you to the gangway deck:

 

 

 

 

 

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[OCSC Mike]

If you wonder how to get to those chairs: just go to the jogging track on deck 5 and walk to the back of the hip, or take the stairs from the back of the boardwalk. In this picture, you can see the chairs behind the boardwalk stage

 

I had coffee and danish there in the wee early morning hours of day 2 when my DW went running before the sun came up. Very peaceful and good view. You just have to deal with those people who actually exercise on cruises. :)

 

After that, DW started running a bit later in the morning and I got too lazy to get my cappuccino from the DL on deck 11 and then carry it all the way down there. This also allowed me to grab a bagel with salmon from the DL or a Park Cafe McMuffin (two of my favorite breakfast items) before having actual breakfast with more members of our party. Needless to say, my wife is the healthy one while I tend to gain 10 lbs on a 7-night cruise.

[APDMOM]

I had coffee and danish there in the wee early morning hours of day 2 when my DW went running before the sun came up. Very peaceful and good view. You just have to deal with those people who actually exercise on cruises. :)

 

After that, DW started running a bit later in the morning and I got too lazy to get my cappuccino from the DL on deck 11 and then carry it all the way down there. This also allowed me to grab a bagel with salmon from the DL or a Park Cafe McMuffin (two of my favorite breakfast items) before having actual breakfast with more members of our party. Needless to say, my wife is the healthy one while I tend to gain 10 lbs on a 7-night cruise.

 

 

 

:D I exercised on previous cruises, and even packed my exercise gear this time. However, I never made it into my "running shoes" (which is more of a brisk walk for me). I did not even see the inside of the spa or gym... I guess I was in "sympathy recovery" mode from DH's surgery. At least that sounds like a good excuse to me.

 

 

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[APDMOM]

This first sea day was the designated day for the cruise critic meet and mingle. This is the invitation we received:

 

 

Nicholas was the host. Behind him are the bottles of prized wine provided:

 

 

The M&M was not very well attended, and it was a bit of a dud. I find the best M&M's are those hosted by an activities staff member who is more knowledgeable about Cruise Critic. There was basically no interaction at our M&M, no name tags to identify screen names, and no ice breaker to help people mingle. I would suggest Royal sets up at least an ice breaker to get to introduce screen names.

 

I introduced myself to 3 couples, but got half-hearted responses from people who were obviously not there to socialize or talk about cruising. The M&M basically ended after the prize drawing for 4 bottles of wine. I was disappointed, as I looked forward to meeting more from our roll call, but made my best CC friends from this cruise in the diamond lounge...

 

 

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[retiredgram]

Thanks for the great photos. I am following and enjoying everyday of your cruise. It will be 208 days till we cruise on the Oasis. First time on that ship.

[APDMOM]

On to the crown and anchor event...

 

For those who don't know yet: there is no invitation to these events. Just keep an eye on the cruise compass and your stateroom TV. The event was also listed on the back of our diamond benefits list.

 

This took place in the Aqua Theater:

 

There were a few kinds of free drinks (No complaints here!! They were free):

 

Tim Conner, Cruise Director (Great!):

 

 

Captain Rob Hempstead (Awesome!):

 

 

 

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[retiredgram]

This first sea day was the designated day for the cruise critic meet and mingle. .....................

 

 

 

 

 

 

The M&M was not very well attended, and it was a bit of a dud. I find the best M&M's are those hosted by an activities staff member who is more knowledgeable about Cruise Critic. There was basically no interaction at our M&M, no name tags to identify screen names, and no ice breaker to help people mingle. I would suggest Royal sets up at least an ice breaker to get to introduce screen names.

 

I introduced myself to 3 couples, but got half-hearted responses from people who were obviously not there to socialize or talk about cruising. The M&M basically ended after the prize drawing for 4 bottles of wine. I was disappointed, as I looked forward to meeting more from our roll call, but made my best CC friends from this cruise in the diamond lounge...

 

 

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We also have met some really great friends in the Diamond Lounge. Enjoy socializing there. Hoping the Oasis Diamond lounge will bring some good friends.

[APDMOM]

Some interesting information:

 

There were 235 diamond members on our cruise (LOL! And I thought we were special... just kidding! We just enjoyed being diamond for the first time. We are not the "entitlement" types).

There were 118 Diamond Plus members.

There were 11 Pinnacle members.

 

I would love to reach pinnacle, but those 3 golden spin coins from the casino have brought very disappointing results! I think I won 15 cents this time. :D

 

During the C&A event (which was open to platinum and up), there was a special dive show. Here are a couple of action shots from the high dive:

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[APDMOM]

Thanks for the great photos. I am following and enjoying everyday of your cruise. It will be 208 days till we cruise on the Oasis. First time on that ship.

 

I hope you love it as much as we did! We have learned how to avoid the crowds/crowded times, and really love the ship!

 

Thanks for reading along :)

[APDMOM]

We enjoyed lunch in the main dining room on two of the 3 sea days this cruise. I posted previously that it includes a salad and hot meal buffet, as well as a variety of good desserts.

 

Here is my "too skinny" DH post surgery, but he is starting to put meat on the bones again:

 

This was a year ago on NCL Escape... he lost 20 pound on purpose by December, but he is now 40 pounds lighter than a year ago:

 

 

Lunch options that we loved... Creamy potato soup with roasted garlic:

 

 

Shrimp:

 

 

We also loved the Key lime pie, but that did not get a chance to survive long enough for a picture :)

 

 

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[APDMOM]

We always book the ice show as early on the cruise as possible. That way, we can see it again, or get a chance to see it at a later showing, should it get cancelled for some reason. This is by far our favorite show to attend (although the Monopoly Ice Show on Allure is our very favorite).

 

Here are some pictures of the show (You are allowed to take still photos, but not with a flash):

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[APDMOM]

More of the ice show action:

 

 

 

During the show, they loaded 4 children into these two swan sleds. It is always fun to see their faces!

Tip: If you have young children who would be interested, tell an RCI rep at the show that you would like for them to ride in the swans. They will give you reserved seating by the entrance to the ice:

 

 

 

These two were Amazing!!

 

 

 

 

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