SOLOasis redubbed YOLOasis Thanksgiving of the Seas Nov24, 2019 - Dec1, 2019

[AshleyDillo]

After Johnnny Rockets, I ended up at the Diamond Lounge where I ran into @Matt and his family.  We commisserated on being #teamnoDX for the cruise and swapped stories of the day.  We have a Giovannis reservation and Diamond Lounge snacks are serving as pre-dinner, so I'm doing it right.

[heffy2]

You are totally doing it right! Have a wonderful night, and thanks for sharing your experience! 

[Lovetocruise2002]

@AshleyDillo just wondering, does Oasis  have 2 ice shows and 2 aqua theatre shows like the other Oasis class ships? Is there a week at a glance print out of the shows that you could post? 

[AshleyDillo]

1 hour ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

@AshleyDillo just wondering, does Oasis  have 2 ice shows and 2 aqua theatre shows like the other Oasis class ships? Is there a week at a glance print out of the shows that you could post? 

Doesn't look like they have 2 different ones.

[AshleyDillo]

3 course meals are too long and exhausting for me.  I want access to the food without having the dining experience.  That would sell me on the Ultimate Dining Package every time.

Giovannis filet was great and they have so much more on the menu I want to try.  I can't eat much in one sitting, so it is trying.

Waiting for One Sky to start but they are having technical difficulties.  This is why you always try to front load the week on Oasis class ships..in case of rescheduled shows.

Womp, womp.  Show canceled.

 

[AshleyDillo]

So last night was windy.  Yes, the Solarium sun deck is windy when the ship is sailing..very windy.  The clamshell covers are flapping in the breeze.

I meandered and eventually went to bed at a respectable hour.  Noticed a special delivery in my cabin from the cavity fairy:

[AshleyDillo]

Forgot to set out the room service hanger so like a plebian I had to fetch my own coffee this morning.  We aren't due to port in San Juan until 1pm, so I opted to avoid any Windjammer madhouse for mini-Windjammer (aka the Solarium)

Nice to eat breakfast with a view

For those opposed to health food @Dan Curtis the Solarium has typical breakfast items buffet style

[AshleyDillo]

Today's drink of the day..woooo x2 (+18%)

It's almost weird being on a long cruise again.  My last cruise on Allure was shortened to 4 days because of Hurricane Dorian.  My Harmomy cruise was a 3-nighter special sailing that they do when there's a charter for the other 4 days. Before that was Mariner..so it's been a while!

 

[AshleyDillo]

Someone is on my balcony!

He's struggling quite a bit with it but won't let me help.

Guess my pasty whiteness offended my neighbors and they called maintenance to take of it.

[AshleyDillo]

Today I noticed these cute little overlooks at Central Park.

They are accessible from the aft elevator banks on 9.

[AshleyDillo]

And if you want to eat at the Windjammer at noon on a 1pm port arrival time..don't.    Line is out the door waiting to get in.

Good thing we have the UDP...

Bonus because I have NO drink package and can get my fizzy fix included.

[RWDW1204]

We're getting ready to dock in San Juan.

 

 

[WAAAYTOOO]

Is that little overlook area at CP new ?  I don’t remember seeing that before

[AshleyDillo]

14 minutes ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

Is that little overlook area at CP new ?  I don’t remember seeing that before

No clue..this is my first time on this lady.  I didn't notice or pay attention on any of the other 3.  The door seemed rickety and difficult enough when I opened it to be new.  It did not have that new door smell.

However the new hallway of the new inside rooms on the way to the new card room that has taken over where the Diamond Lounge used to be on 11 and 12 kind of has a new smell to it.

[AshleyDillo]

They still dance at Johnny Rockets.

[twangster]

40 minutes ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

Is that little overlook area at CP new ?  I don’t remember seeing that before

For some reason they frequently have the fire doors closed blocking them off.  Not sure why.  

Nice to see them open.

[AshleyDillo]

Hellooooo San Juan.

Ugh.

[Floski]

I am so loving this blog.

 

Coupla thoughts:  

 

How do they get their bacon so thin you can practically read a newspaper through it?

 

THANK YOU for the heads up on the little overlook for central park.  I love that area.

 

I'm curious as to what the deal is with SJ and Royal.  Are they cancelling the ports or not? 

RC says they haven't heard anything, but the locals are saying RC is pulling out almost completely.

 

eta:  You are subtly hilarious!  

[AshleyDillo]

55 minutes ago, Floski said:

How do they get their bacon so thin you can practically read a newspaper through it?

I enjoy the thin bacon.  It fools you into thinking it's ok to eat more just because it's thin

56 minutes ago, Floski said:

I'm curious as to what the deal is with SJ and Royal.  Are they cancelling the ports or not? 

My take on it is they already canceled the ports.  The Telemundo article that everyone is up in arms over just got the dates wrong.  The cancellations were for the 2021-2022 season which are the itineraries that were *just* released.  It also coincides with the two ports in the Puerto Plata and Antigua that a lot of the newly released eastern Caribbean itineraries are calling on.  The cruiselines book their slots at the ports way in advance so Royal could have had the placeholder bookings which were the ones canceled. 

They removed some San Juan stops before the itineraries were even released which saves them all the backlash and worry that this article is causing that they "canceled" San Juan from itineraries. Sure they might have, but they weren't itineraries that were available for booking yet.  They did delay their release schedule by a couple of weeks here recently.

But I know nothing for fact. This is just more of my take on the conspiracy theory.

[AshleyDillo]

She's a wee bit rusty...

Ahhhh..much better view

[heffy2]

You're really good at this whole blogging thing!

[AshleyDillo]

TAPAN follow-up response makes me feel good that it's going to the ship email contacts at least.

 

[lauraodonnell86]

I love this whole blog so much! Sometimes I get bored reading through live blogs but your posts are fun and easy to read! So excited to be on board soon! Can't wait to check out those little overlooks! Enjoy the rest of your cruise! 

[twangster]

Drat.  Now there are at least two that are better than me.  

[AshleyDillo]

Since it's a late port night and we have a late show I made the executive decision to push our 7:30 reservation at Chops up to 5:45pm to get first dinner out of the way.  Fortunately my mother agreed so I used the app to secure the early dining time I discovered.  This gives us time to eat and for me to run out and check out San Juan a bit for our all aboard at 10:30.

Our One Sky show was rescheduled for this evening.  What's nice about the reservations system is they rebooked everyone automatically who had reservations to the disrupted show last night.

[rjac]

47 minutes ago, twangster said:

Drat.  Now there are at least two that are better than me

But the grasshoppers have learned well from the master to make such an admission. 

[AshleyDillo]

Now it's time for the latest round of photographic evidence of my gluttony!

Chops bread in special exclusive Thanksgiving turkey leg shapes for our holiday sailing

Tuna tartare artisically turned as to not see the bite I took before I remembered my faithful followers

Shrimp cocktail -1..dang my mother is quick.

Meat party!!!

Bone in ribeye

Filet with meat tartar sauce, photobombed by asparagus..dry, no salt, no butter, no fun. Thanks mom

They haven't started decorating for the holidays yet.  I helped.

Also, found the butter for my aspargus.

My steak tasted faintly like a Christmas tree.  Otherwise it was decent; more impressive than my prior Chops experiences.  Not saying much as we got the special @WAAAYTOOO treatment with barely lukewarm food.  Still on #teamGiovannis when it comes to the best filet.  Coastal Kitchen didn't get a fair shake as we are in genpop this sailing.  

No dessert for me as I couldn't finish my steak and thus I don't deserve dessert.

My mother didn't finish either as she didn't gnaw off all the meat from the bone.  But she doesn't play by the rules.

Warm chocolate cake

She forced me to order a dessert so she could try two..but buttered asparagus is bad for you

Key lime pie

All this washed down with the swill I affectionately ordered as the free Diamond red stuff.  Merlot, Cabernet they asked...I just nodded and said the stuff that you eat with steak.  It tasted like wine that people who know nothing about wine would drink.  It swirled around the glass just like the expensive stuff the table next to us ordered.

This is night 3 in a row that I ordered red wine but then realized the entree I really wanted was fish.  I had no choice but to order red meat as to not upset any nearby Pinnacles for wining wrong.  We all know they are the experts at wining.

 

[twangster]

22 minutes ago, AshleyDillo said:

Tuna tartare artistically turned as to not see the bite I took before I remembered my faithful followers

Well done.  I usually remember as I finish the last bite... "I should have taken a picture of that..." 

18 minutes ago, AshleyDillo said:

All this washed down with the swill I affectionately ordered as the free Diamond red stuff.  Merlot, Cabernet they asked...I just nodded and said the stuff that you eat with steak.  It tasted like wine that people who know nothing about wine would drink.  It swirled around the glass just like the expensive stuff the table next to us ordered.

This alone has caused me to join #teamDX many times.  I think they do it on purpose.  

When the label reads "Aged in the finest aluminum tanks that are painted in an oak like color for a minimum of 24 days" you know it's the good stuff.

[AshleyDillo]

Does anyone else still squeal like a kid when they walk into the room and see a new towel animal or is it just me?

[KWofPerth]

5 minutes ago, AshleyDillo said:

Does anyone else still squeal like a kid when they walk into the room and see a new towel animal or is it just me?

Just you

[JohnK6404]

7 hours ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

Is that little overlook area at CP new ?  I don’t remember seeing that before

 

7 hours ago, AshleyDillo said:

No clue..this is my first time on this lady.  I didn't notice or pay attention on any of the other 3.  The door seemed rickety and difficult enough when I opened it to be new.  It did not have that new door smell.

I believe they have always been there... I walked out on them on Allure a couple of times last May, but it looks like they did a nice job sprucing the balcony up! On Allure, there is no table, chairs or plants (until next year I guess!).

As @twangster mentioned, they were times that the door was hidden behind fire doors and you would never know the balconies were there when you passed by.

I found that they were nice spots to take photos of CP!

 

[Floski]

3 hours ago, twangster said:

Drat.  Now there are at least two that are better than me.  

 

[AshleyDillo]

I really had no plans to venture out into San Juan during this port visit. I will be back in San Juan at the end of December for the Royal Caribbean Blog Freedom Group Cruise over New Year's. That cruise actually leaves from San Juan and I will be flying in the day before, so I will have some time to explore San Juan before getting on the cruise.

I did, however, want to get off and snap some shots of the ship in the dark all lit up and amplified.

She's so impressive she makes amateur cell phone shots look awesome

[WAAAYTOOO]

3 hours ago, twangster said:

Drat.  Now there are at least two that are better than me.  

Do I sense just a smidgeon of hollow humility ?

[AshleyDillo]

I also had a dual purpose reason for venturing off the shift this evening. I had a little errand to run.

I had an extreme lapse in judgment when right before the cruise I decided to start using a new deodorant. I had never tested said deodorant under such extreme circumstances as a Caribbean winter.

The culprit

Needless to say in Caribbean time "all-day" is approximately 30 minutes.  

Thus I had to hop off the ship and find an alternative.  Good thing Puerto Rico is part of the US and there's a CVS or Walgreens on every block.

[RWDW1204]

1 hour ago, AshleyDillo said:

Does anyone else still squeal like a kid when they walk into the room and see a new towel animal or is it just me?

We love when we come back and something's there. We appreciate the time and effort.  It makes it personable.

[twangster]

7 minutes ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

Do I sense just a smidgeon of hollow humility ?

Not at all.  #RealityBot... or should that be #RetirementBot?

[AshleyDillo]

In case you were wondering...CVS receipts are a mile long, even in Puerto Rico.

The haul...just to assure the stinky pits won't happen again, got plenty of options

And since the UDP is cutting into my sit in the Diamond Lounge and squirrel away cans of Coke Zero time....

It tastes better in a bottle anyways.

[Lovetocruise2002]

3 hours ago, twangster said:

Drat.  Now there are at least two that are better than me.  

 

3 hours ago, rjac said:

But the grasshoppers have learned well from the master to make such an admission. 

 

10 minutes ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

Do I sense just a smidgeon of hollow humility ?

Twangbot = Classy Mentor Bot 

That’s all.

[WAAAYTOOO]

We have a wonderful cabin attendant on Brilliance (Ikade) but Jesus from Anthem, he is NOT. Nice guy but no towel animal licks to speak of.