Oasis of the Seas 4/29/18 7 Day Western Itnerary "Not even close to Live Review"

[otwist]

Was on same trip... So enjoying your take on the trip :)

 

Sent from my VTR-L09 using Forums mobile app

[storknurse13]

Loving it so far!

[WVHillbilly]

Interesting about the muster fiasco - all crew members should be trained as to where the stations are. Heck, I know the location of every muster station on the Oasis class ships, and I’m not even a crew member! You must have been G1 or G3. Loving the review so far, can’t wait to read more!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

Yes we had G1 muster station. I will say I began to get frustrated with the mis directions, but we finally made it to the right spot and found a seat in the Aqua Theater. The safety movie was somewhat amusing and comparable to other corporate safety briefings I've seen. I would have preferred the facts and shorten the drill, but I guess they feel the need to entertain to have more people watch the video.

[WVHillbilly]

Okay, I apologize for taking so long in completing this review, it appears that grass doesn't stop growing when you go on a cruise and after a long cold winter, things have kicked into high gear and everything is green and growing.

[WVHillbilly]

CRUISE DAY 2: Sea Day

Our first glorious day at sea began with me running down to Café Promenade for a couple of Latte’s to enjoy on our balcony along with our room service breakfast. I had requested room service delivery between 8:00-8:30, the phone rang at 8:15 to say that our breakfast was on the way and it arrived at 8:35. Breakfast was enjoyed on the balcony watching us slip thru a calm sea.

 

After breakfast it was off to the Meet & Mingle, we were able to meet and talk with 3 of our members and actually won an hour’s worth of internet. It would have been great if they would have had everyone stand and tell everyone their screen name and such.; It would have encouraged more mingling. Other than that it was fun, although it appeared that everyone that had signed up for the Meet &Mingle did not attended the event.

Lunch was at the Dog House on the Boardwalk, we each had a bratwurst with various toppings. It was now time to wander the ship and spend a little time in the solarium. I did see a great number of saved but unused chairs around the pool deck, but we were able to grab two loungers and chill for acouple of hours in the solarium. Before long it was time to shower and get dressed for the first formal night. Pre-dinner photos and a drink were enjoyed on the promenade deck. I didn’t take photos of any food on this trip, but the meal and service was consistently great each evening. Since we had no prior experience, we didn’t mind ordering appetizers, entrée and dessert all at once.

Just a few musings about the dress of the other cruisers; I noticed that most women out dressed their male companions. Guys if your lady friend dresses up at least put in the extra effort for her. I noted quite a few cruisers posing for the photographers when the women were dressed all up and their male partner was casually dressed or less.

After all the discussion with the condition of the ship, I actually tried to find problems when walking around the ship. I will say she is in great shape, sure it wasn’t like getting in a brand new car or house but nothing I saw affected the enjoyment of the cruise. That being said, I did occasionally see the odd worn carpet or furniture, but I wouldn’t say it was anymore than normal wear and tear that you would expect with 6K+ guest each and every week. We were consistently wowed with the ship and cruising in general and just didn’tunderstand why we never tried it before.

[Kayla103]

Following along! Great photos!

[WVHillbilly]

CRUISE DAY 3: Labadee Haiti

After a great and relaxing sea day we were up early for our first port day. We had breakfast in the MDR, both of us had the eggs benedict, bacon and corned beef hash. Everything was good in fact I think the corned beef hash may have been fresh made and not from a can. Next it was back to our cabin to pack for an exhilarating day on Labadee.

Our first stop was the Zip Line, after being fit for our harnesses and listening to the safety brief we were off to the practice line. After donning our harness we were met by a young local man that took a special interest in us making sure we knew where to go and offered to take our photo several times. He definitely made a good impression on us with his friendliness, courtesy and helpfulness. Next was the ride up the mountain to the main feature. I found the terrain to be especially rocky with large boulders and trees growing between these huge rocks. The view from the top was amazing; the ride down was short but enjoyable. The first half was somewhat slow as we looked around and down, suddenly at mid- point the speed picked up and we rocketed to the landing zone. There was a quick stop at the end but I didn’t find it jolting or jerking. I did prepare for the stop and was expecting the jerk so I didn’t keep myself limp and that may have lessened the impact from the stop. I would definitely do it again and recommend it to everyone.

Next was a stop at the Straw Market and a venture toward the Artesian Village. I had been warned of the aggressive nature of the vendors and found it to be as bad or worse than I expected. We didn’t make it very far into the Artesian Village before we had had enough. We did purchase some artwork and would have liked to venture into the other shops, but the experience was so pushy we were ready to get out of there. I did voice my displeasure with this experience on the post cruise survey. I don’t know if Royal has ever done anything about this or not but I would suggest RCCL conduct training with the vendors, explaining that they may see an increase in sales if they change their tactics. I for one would have spent more if they weren’t so aggressive an intrusive. I will avoid this area in any future visits to Labadee.

The barbeque was pretty good and we were entertained by a few outstanding acrobats. I did manage to slip in a couple Labadoozies between the Zip-Line and Para-Sail. Soon it was time to board the boat for our para-sail excursion. The boat ride was a bit choppy and the para-sailing was great. It was so quiet floating above the water, I think the ride was about 5-6 minutes and it was a great experience.

After walking back to ship, we chilled and cooled off in the room and watched the sail away from our balcony and got cleaned up for dinner and the evening’s festivities. Dinner was in the Windjammer; we had the minute steaks and they were very good. I am not a fan of the Windjammer, the layoutof the food bars made it difficult to find anything with the crowd entering the bars at any and all directions.

We had two shows scheduled this evening: “Come Fly with Me”and “Frozen in Time”. The DW enjoyed them both, while I found the singing in “Come Fly with Me” not as good mainly because I felt they were screaming more than singing. The skaters in “Frozen in Time” were very good and I enjoyed their interpretation of the story lines. They had a guest artist who performed a sand table act that was fantastic. Final show of the evening was the “Love and Marriage Show”; which was funny and entertaining. The evening was completed with a drink in the Schooner Bar listening to the piano player.

Come Fly with Me

Frozen in Time

[Ms McCluck]

Thanks for the review so far. Following along

[CookieDiva]

Enjoying your trip review very much. Very much like reliving our own cruise on the Oasis a month ago tomorrow. your pictures are great! Love seeing the one of your cabin. Identical to the one that we had. We loved the all of the shows. We too were particularly amazed by the sand art part of the ice show.

I look forward to the rest of your report...

[WVHillbilly]

CRUISE DAY 4: Falmouth, Jamaica

 

Ooops, just saw a mistake from yesterday’s review, we actually saw Oasis of Dreams instead of Come Fly with Me. Oasis of Dreams was a great acrobatic, dancing and diving show. I’m not sure what the story line was but it was very entertaining. We actually saw Come Fly with Me on Day 6. Here’s a couple pics from Oasis of Dreams.

 

 

 

 

Today began with breakfast in the MDR, before heading off the ship. Today was just a port day, we walked around the port visiting several souvenir shops ultimately buy t-shirts for the grandkids, rum cake and coffee. Had a margarita and some appetizers at Margaritaville then it was back to the ship.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After the awful experience with the vendors in Haiti, Jamaica was a complete 180. We found the vendors to be polite and accommodating. It was a pleasure talking to them and doing business with them.

 

 

Dinner tonight was back in the MDR for another great meal. After dinner we attended the Prohibition Event in Jazz on 4. The event was a lot of fun, the ships staff put on a good show getting other involved in the festivities. They had finger food available, but we never tried any as we were still full from dinner, the drinks were served in coffee cups and free flowing. We found the drinks to be too sweet for us but others seemed to enjoy them. The night ended enjoying a drink on the balcony, watching the ocean.

[WVHillbilly]

Cruise Day 5: Sea Day

Today was coffee and a pastry from Café Promenade, then meeting our table mates for a morning around the pool. I will say that we had a great time with our table mates, especially talking around the dining table. Lunch was a couple of sandwiches at Park Café, then exploring the ship and a little shopping.

 

 

Tonight was our second formal night, which means lobster. After having our pictures taken we had a pre-dinner drink from the Schooner Bar, then it was off to the dining room. It was another great meal with great service. After dinner it was a perfect night for a stroll thru Central Park, a drink and listening to a string duo in the park. Sea days are so peaceful and relaxing it has me thinking of a repositioning cruise with many sea days.

 

 

Sunset at Sea

 

 

Central Park at night

[WVHillbilly]

Cruise Day 6: Cozumel

I was awake as we began our final push into the dock and was able to get a few great sunrise pictures.

 

 

 

After breakfast in the MDR we soon headed off the ship, before our excursion we poked around a few of the shops in port. Our excursion was to San Gervasio ruins and the Mayan Cacao Company. Our tour guide was Jesus, he was informative on the Mayan culture and also very friendly and funny. While the Mayan ruins on Cozumel are not as spectacular as say Tulum, the guide made it much better with the history behind it and we were glad we took this excursion.

 

 

 

 

[WVHillbilly]

Cruise Day 6: Cozumel (continued)

After leaving San Gervasio we headed to a stop at a beach for a short photo op, then it was on to the Mayan Cocoa Company.

Upon arriving at the Mayan Cacao Company, we received a blessing from a Mayan dressed in cultural dress in their native tongue, and then it was off to a demonstration of how cocoa was made.

[WVHillbilly]

Cruise Day 6: Cozumel (continued)

Wanted to include a few animal pictures.

 

 

 

 

[JaniceB]

Enjoying your review especially since I am doing the same itinerary.

[WVHillbilly]

Cruise Day 6: Cozumel (continued)

After the excursion, the original plan was to grab a cab and head downtown but once we considered the heat and limited time we decided to grab a drink and a bite to eat before heading back to the ship. On the recommendation of Jesus our tour guide we stopped at a restaurant inside the port. I don’t remember the name of it only that they have tables with blue umbrellas. We had some really great chicken quesadillas and a margarita.

Dinner was in the Windjammer tonight, then off to see Come Fly with Me. The show was okay, I enjoyed the dancing but like I said earlier I wasn’t a fan of the singing. The evening was wrapped up listening to the guitar player in the Globe & Atlas.

[WVHillbilly]

Cruise Day 7: Sea Day

Today was bitter sweet, knowing that this was our last sea day and the cruise was coming to an end. Made a visit to Next Cruise, and booked a cruise on Harmony for February 2020. Spent the day enjoying the ship and we had reservations for the afternoon showing of Cats.

I had heard all the reviews about people leaving at intermission, but I was determined to sit thru the entire show for the DW. I must say I found it quite entertaining, it was a very good show and well worth watching. Below are a few photos of the show.

 

Dinner was in the MDR again tonight, for another enjoyable meal and saying our farewells to our tablemates for the week. We had one last drink in the Schooner Bar before heading back to the room for our last night on the ship. I think the worst part of the cruise was seeing all the suitcases in the hallway. One last picture of the wake.

[WVHillbilly]

Cruise Day 8: Debarkation Day

We had one last breakfast in the MDR, after eating we headed to the waiting area and our debarkation number was called before we could even find a seat. Down the gangway and into the terminal we made our way to the baggage claim area. Since there was no way I was going to be able to manhandle our bags thru customs, I grabbed a porter to help with the bags. We zoomed thru customs and out to the shuttle buses to pick up our rental car.

Since we were not flying out till the following day we paid a visit to Kennedy Space Flight Center, we missed quite a bit only hitting the highlights. You definitely need a full day and then some to properly do the Kennedy Space Flight Center. Then it was back to our hotel for a good night sleep before heading off to the airport for our flight back home. With the cruise all done, I will work up a summary of our first cruise.

[JaniceB]

Didn't know they had an afternoon cats show, may have to wait and see that one. Looking forward to your final thoughts.

[WVHillbilly]

Didn't know they had an afternoon cats show, may have to wait and see that one. Looking forward to your final thoughts.

 

yes it was at 2:30pm on the last sea day. I took this day as it worked out with all the other shows, we had booked and I didn't want it on a formal night.

[WVHillbilly]

Final Thoughts:

The Ship- I only have one other ship to compare to the Oasis and it was grey and owned by the US Navy and this one was far better. Actually, I had read all the comments about the poor shape it was in; I didn’t see anything that was more than a little wear and tear. Maybe a few stains in the carpet and worn upholstery were all that I noticed. You really do not notice that there are 6K passengers on board; the way the ship is laid out disperses the people very well. It was only busy when shows were getting out, or when events were happening on the Promenade. There is so much to do and see on this ship that there is no way you can do it in 7days.

 

The Room- Our room was an ocean view balcony on deck 10. We had met our cabin steward on day one, and requested ice for the cabin; he gave us ice twice a day and always greeted us by name in the hallway. Everything worked in the room, the bed was comfortable and we enjoyed sitting on the balcony and watching the ocean pass by. The only noise we heard was an occasional door shutting, had to remember to hold the door when leaving so it didn’t slam shut. We left the bathroom light on and the door shut for the middle of the night bathroom trips, there was a dim light over the pictures but it was too bright for me to use as a night light.

The Food- Here’s our tally for the week, Breakfast: Room Service (1), Johnny Rockets (1), Café Promenade (1) and MDR (5); Lunch: Windjammer (1), Park Café (1), Dog House (1), Café Promenade (1), and Labadee(1); Dinner: MDR (5) and Windjammer (2). We are not major foodies; we enjoyed all the meals on the ship. My only complaint was the flow in the Windjammer; I found it a bit frustrating finding what I wanted the two evenings we ate there.

The Bars- We had drinks in the Solarium Bar, Schooners, Globe and Atlas, Boleros, Champagne Bar, Sabor, Trellis Bar as well as at several shows, and the MDR. Service was good everywhere except it was a bit slow in the Champagne bar considering there were only a few people there at the time. For ambiance it was the Schooner bar and the Trellis Bar (Central Park)that was our favorite.

Beverage Package- Neither of us are big drinkers, so it was with a little apprehension that we purchased the Deluxe Beverage Package. We had purchased it $45.00 per day and I figured one specialty coffee, orange juice, bottled water and 3-4 cocktails a day and we would break even. I think we managed to maybe do a little better than break even and will consider purchasing it again if anything to not have a surprise bill at the end of the cruise.

The Shows- We saw all the shows that could be reserved and the singing, dancing, etc. was first rate and very enjoyable. The only other show we saw was the “Love and Marriage Show” and it was very entertaining, we never got to see “The Quest Show” but heard it was great.

 

Embarkation- We arrived very early before the doors were opened, once the doors were opened it was show our set sail pass at the door, thru security and then up to check-in. The time for all of this was 30 minutes, at 11:00 am boarding began and we were getting our first drink by 11:15 am and the rooms were opened at 1:00 pm.

Disembarkation- Our departure number was 5, and we were called off the ship at 8:00 am, we grabbed a porter upon entering the terminal to help us with our four bags. Once he had our bags, it was straight thru customs and out to the shuttle buses.

In Conclusion- We are recent retirees and this was our first cruise and we had booked a second one for this December before knowing if we would like cruising. Well we loved cruising so much that the DW insisted on booking a third cruise for February 2020. We both wondered why it took us so long to try cruising. 2019 was to be a land vacation year and now were both wondering if we could sneak in a cruise.

I hope everyone enjoyed our review as first time cruisers.

[Shamrock Girl]

Thank you WVHillbilly for the very down-to-earth, informative review. You did a great job and your photos were terrific. We’ll be boarding Oasis in 47 days, can’t wait!

[WVHillbilly]

Thank you WVHillbilly for the very down-to-earth, informative review. You did a great job and your photos were terrific. We’ll be boarding Oasis in 47 days, can’t wait!

 

thank you, I'm sure you'll have a wonderful time.