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Oasis of the Seas first revenue cruise on September 5th

DJLDRUMS

By DJLDRUMS,
in Royal Caribbean International

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nelblu

nelblu

Posted
Posted
3 hours ago, parrotplay said:

I don't know why all the vaccinated adults even need to wear a wristband. I think the children under 12 would like wearing a bracelet. The majority of the ship then would not have to wear one. 

Ditto, that is the reason I mentioned my confusion in a joking manner.

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LuCruise

LuCruise

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Posted
1 hour ago, wingatesl said:

KSC tour: The space center itself was pretty awesome, I will still rank it as a bad tour. The tour company was unable to get them to stay open late so they just drove us around for 1:15 on a sightseeing tour of cocoa village. Everyone just wanted off the bus. 

How did you find KSC covid-wise?  Would love to do this on our Dec cruise but 99% sure we will skip it due to crowds with covid (esp with Florida numbers).  Or are you saying that you had to stay in the bus and you couldn't see the exhibits?

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wingatesl

wingatesl

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47 minutes ago, LuCruise said:

How did you find KSC covid-wise?  Would love to do this on our Dec cruise but 99% sure we will skip it due to crowds with covid (esp with Florida numbers).  Or are you saying that you had to stay in the bus and you couldn't see the exhibits?

It was very busy at KSC. If you are concerned with COVID after being vaccinated, I cannot help you. 
 

 

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wingatesl

wingatesl

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Scuba at Coco Cay: The reef was in good condition. The brief was thorough. Plenty of sea life!

 

The tow out to the dive site was a first for me. You wade in chest deep and wait for a jet ski to tow you to the down line. 
 

Once everyone is at the line, you will descend to the bottom and follow the reef at the sand. The return is done over the reef with an average depth of 15 feet, negating the safety stop. 
 

Tanks were filled to 3k psi, ending pressure was 1k. Water temp was 88 degrees at 37f

 

They allowed us to use their rinse tanks and store our gear in their hut until we went back to the ship. 

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Another_Critic

Another_Critic

Posted
Posted
2 hours ago, wingatesl said:

Perfect storm water slides: Hold your nose or you will experience the most powerful Neti Pot ever. On the plus side, it will fix any congestion you have and probably cure covid

What are the weight limits for the Perfect Storms water slides, Ultimate Abyss, and Zip line?

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Sunshine3601

Sunshine3601

Posted
Posted
3 hours ago, wingatesl said:

KSC tour: The space center itself was pretty awesome, I will still rank it as a bad tour. The tour company was unable to get them to stay open late so they just drove us around for 1:15 on a sightseeing tour of cocoa village. Everyone just wanted off the bus. 

Sounds like the tour company should have just taken everyone back to the ship after the KSC Tour was over.     Hopefully they figure out this out before the next sailing.   

 

Glad you enjoyed coco cay.   I am booked for the 9.26 sailing and looking forward to being on the ship and a fun relaxing Perfect Day!

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wingatesl

wingatesl

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Just now, Sunshine3601 said:

Sounds like the tour company should have just taken everyone back to the ship after the KSC Tour was over.     Hopefully they figure out this out before the next sailing.   

 

Glad you enjoyed coco cay.   I am booked for the 9.26 sailing and looking forward to being on the ship and a fun relaxing Perfect Day!

I promise that you will have an excellent time! There have been some changes, but they are really inconsequential. 
 

The only thing that I can truly  complain about right now is the inability to complain about chair hogs!

 

Yes, the tour company should have taken us back early, but I also understand that they are trying to figure things out as well. I will mention the issue only. It was still a good tour overall. Seeing the recovered pieces of challenger and discovery was very moving. 

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wingatesl

wingatesl

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Posted
On 9/5/2021 at 9:43 PM, DJLDRUMS said:

That's great to hear!!!...how about the embarkation process, did it run smooth with the allotted times?  Was the Diamond Lounge restricted for capacity, how about the usual hoeur d'oeuvres, same as before, could you use tongs and pick them yourself? Ship looked impressive leaving and going under the bridge, most pax had to be on the port side (statue of Liberty side because when the cam did close ups it looked like only a 10% capacity of balconies on the starboard side. PLEASE keep us posted...Did the Captain give out the weather report as per usual?

Diamond lounge is served for everything. There is someone standing right there though. 
 

Sorry it took so long to get to the lounge. Vouchers are amazing. Lol

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nelblu

nelblu

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A few more tidbits:

 

D Lounge.  No problem getting in.  My dinner reserve is at 5:30 and I'm one of the earlier members to visit the lounge.  Plenty of room in my 2 visits and no social distancing.  Love the new drinks set up as I'm able to get one of my fruity drinks "Miami Vice" without any hassle.  

 

Note:  Don't know if problems at later times.

 

D+ internet discount.  It's more than 2 days as it toatals $51.99.  S&S package works at $22.99.

 

Coco Cay.  Simply beautiful.  The first thing you see in comparison to Labadee is the newly  many rows of lounge chairs with umbrellas.  At Labadee, you may get some rusted lounge chairs (per my last time some 3 years ago) and no umbrellas.  To find shade you have to find a tree,

I stayed at the Harbor Beach which is the first one right after one crosses teh bridge.  Water temp was absolutely wonderful.  It's a cove and no heavy surf.  Made my round walking around and saw many cabanas and was impressed by teh Oasis Lagoon Pool area.  Plenty of drinking going on with a swim up bar.  Pool is freshwater.

 

Rumor(?).  At dinner, we had a couple who were MTD that were placed near me.  Got to talk about cruising, ship etc. They were new to RCL as their previous experience was with NCL.  One of the topic that we touched upon was Vaccines.  They mentioned that in speaking with some  workers when they checked in, they were told that not all crew members are vaxxed.  I told them that is BS as the CDC made this a must requirement for both Paxs and crew before being allowed to sail.  I guess I wasn't convincing enough and they asked a few waiters if they were vaxxed and had vaccine cards.  The waiters were a bit taken back and responded that YES, they are vaxxed.  Later I said to myself if they have the same green wristband.  I will ask just to satisfy my curiosity.

 

Nassau.  Got plrnty of sun and sand yesterday and today planning on going to Paradise Island and see their casino.  Been here many times.  Asked GS and was advised to carry or take picture on my phone with vaccines cards.

 

MDR.  As mentioned no social distancing, however they do know your room number from reservations for tracing purposes.  Most venues either you tap your card eg. WJ or ask for your room number.  The only place that I've noticed is the casino.  If your gamble and tap your card, your room number is know.  However, if you don't use your card for loyalty or simply visiting, they have no idea unless there are cameras.

 

To get back to my point to the MDR.  Went there for breakfast as the WJ is a hassle not only to find a clean and sanitized table but also lines especially in the grill area.  The only nit that I have in the MDR is the lack of pastry assortments.  I love their blueberry muffins and those square apple pastries.  They used to come around automatically with a basket full of goodies for your selection, but alas that is not available.  Could not get my muffin and instead asked for a bran muffin with some marmalade.  Yes they brought just one.  

 

Also, pre-pandemic, enjoyed in addition to the menu items, the buffet set up for both lunch and breakfast.  But, none of that.

 

Will report more as the trip continues.

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Pratique

Pratique

Posted
Posted
21 hours ago, wingatesl said:

You have a better chance of winning the lottery than suffering from a breakthrough case. Enjoy life!

I would hope so. But I spent the entire summer betting on horses at Saratoga and ended up in the red. Meanwhile one of my students has a breakthrough case (he's OK), which hits a little too close for comfort. It can be hard not to worry at least a little bit even with all of the precautions we have taken. Still on the fence about a January cruise being fully enjoyable under these conditions.

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livinginyellow

livinginyellow

Posted
Posted
12 minutes ago, wingatesl said:

Nassau: complete bust. No alcohol sales anywhere. Atlantis was empty. 

We're on this cruise too and I finally grabbed some wifi - we are current drinking a beer a block down from the port. But I agree - this port is so sad and it's just awful seeing what happened to it after COVID.

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livinginyellow

livinginyellow

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As I said above, were on this cruise too, but I took a chance to get away from my phone for a few days. We have had a genuinely great time. My husband was nervous about masks but they really are no issue. And most everyone wears them when needed. The only downside is the entertainment isnt as robust because if the smaller capacity - less trivia, activities, etc. But the rest of the ship has been fantastic. Pools and hot tubs have been mostly empty, and Coco Cay weirdly cleared out at 3ish yesterday (we were there until 530) so we sat in an empty swim up bar in both the ocean and pool for hours. I wish all cruises were like this - it's worth sailing and potentially being exposed for this smaller capacity. So sad were getting towards the end of the week. Doing chops tonight though and can't wait 

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livinginyellow

livinginyellow

Posted
Posted
3 hours ago, ecslady said:

Are they seating solo travelers with others at dinner?

 

Have you tried room service for breakfast?  If so, how was it?

Nope. I have eaten solo at breakfast every day this week and it hasnt been an issue! No room service for us tho - the continental isn't worth it for us and I'd rather eat at MDR instead of pay the money for more.

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