Johnstewarth Posted October 8, 2021 Report Share Posted October 8, 2021 17 hours ago, PPPJJ-GCVAB said: I do not believe any children currently under 12 can be vaccinated yet. So I would say vaccinated means all adults and children 12+ who are vaccinated. Yes; thanks, I'm aware of what ages are eligible for the vaccine. I was just asking because the AquaTheater is outdoors and I thought that might indicate that children under 12, because they can't yet be vaccinated, might be exempted from having to be vaccinated. I have a 10 year-old who is very mature, can't wait to be first in line to be vaccinated, and will be disappointed that she can't see some of the shows. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnK6404 Posted October 8, 2021 Author Report Share Posted October 8, 2021 Hi everyone! Let’s see if I can catch up a little bit and finish up yesterday (Day 5) before we need to get ready for the second formal evening. Lobster tails! We spend the late morning, early afternoon, at Blue Lagoon Island. Our scheduled time for the dolphin encounter was 12:00 noon which was a bad time for us as we really never had much time to enjoy the beach before or after the encounter. The excursion was scheduled for 10:00AM to 2:00PM, but that includes the 30-40 minute ferry trip to and from the island. The encounter was amazing, especially for my wife who absolutely loves dolphins! When the encounter was over we headed up to the photo lab to order some pics. Only digital these days and my wife convinced me to order the package with all of the pics and the video. *** MAKE SURE TO BRING A CREDIT CARD AND ENOUGH CASH IF YOU WANT TO BUY PICTURES AND/OR THE VIDEO!!! *** The pics can be purchased in smaller packages, but the complete picture and video album package is around $130! We went up to the cashier to pay, but their credit card machine was down and I only had a small amount of cash. They gave us a telephone number for the business office to call with the credit card info, and once the charge went through they e-mailed the link to the digital photos and video. Here are a couple of pics we took while at Blue Lagoon Island. Of course, we could not take our own pictures of the dolphin encounter. Wow, time flies! I’m relaxing in the top level of the solarium near the bar right now. I need to get back to the cabin to shower and change for tonight’s dinner. I’ll be back later! IRMO12HD 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnK6404 Posted October 8, 2021 Author Report Share Posted October 8, 2021 2 hours ago, Johnstewarth said: Yes; thanks, I'm aware of what ages are eligible for the vaccine. I was just asking because the AquaTheater is outdoors and I thought that might indicate that children under 12, because they can't yet be vaccinated, might be exempted from having to be vaccinated. I have a 10 year-old who is very mature, can't wait to be first in line to be vaccinated, and will be disappointed that she can't see some of the shows. It looks like they have “Family” shows and 12+ Vaccinated Only shows. You’ll be fine. ellcee, KristiZ, PPPJJ-GCVAB and 1 other 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnK6404 Posted October 8, 2021 Author Report Share Posted October 8, 2021 Back from dinner in the MDR… more on that later! Need to wrap up yesterday… Since we got back from the excursion at around 2:45PM and we were starving, we grabbed some hot dogs from the Boardwalk Dog House. Tasty, especially when you’re hungry! We did not want to ruin our appetite since we had booked reservations for 150 Central Park this evening for 6:00PM. Here are some pics of the outside and inside of the restaurant…. Here is the menu… We started with the house bread… I cannot recall the name of the bread, but it freshly baked and delicious! My wife and I had the same appetizers… Seared Honey Glazed Scallops and the Roasted Spiced Pumpkin Bisque. Both amazing! The soup is assembled at the table… the bisque is poured onto the other ingredients… We had the Beef Tenderloin (not for two or carved at table due to Covid). We agree that it was the second best steak we have ever had on any Royal Caribbean sailing! Second only to the Filet I had at the Coco Beach Club. Yes, we still really like Chops Grille too! For dessert, we had the Fried Cheesecake… also delicious! We thoroughly enjoyed the food, experience, and service and would definitely book it again! OK, going into Cats with an open mind… hopefully, I’ll be able to wrap up yesterday tonight and start today, Day 6! InmyElement, WannaCruise, KristiZ and 6 others 8 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnK6404 Posted October 9, 2021 Author Report Share Posted October 9, 2021 OK, hmmm… what’s left for Day 5 (THU). Here is the MDR menu for Day 5… We just walked around after dinner and stopped by the Bionic Bar and the Schooner Bar. Watched the Rising Tide Bar come back down to the promenade. Checked out Next Cruise too and finally called it a night. ellcee, PPPJJ-GCVAB and wordell1 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnK6404 Posted October 9, 2021 Author Report Share Posted October 9, 2021 Day 6: Sea Day (2nd Formal Evening - Lobster Night) Here is the Cruise Compass for today… Breakfast this morning was in the Windjammer. Plenty of seating and the service was excellent (so many crew members). We had booked the Escape Room (Mission Control: Apollo 18) for 10:00AM. This was the first time that either one of us had participated in an escape room. You can book it once you’re onboard and the cost is $19.99 per person. Here are some pics… Pretty intense puzzle solving. Fortunately, we had a couple of folks that had some escape room experience. Our team solved the puzzle with just 2:01 remaining on the clock! You are given 45 minutes to solve the room. Hanna, our escape room host, explained that this room is solved approximately 30% of the time and is one of the toughest she has hosted. Bypass the next few pics if you don’t want to see the end result. Don’t worry, no clues or solutions are provided! Definitely would like to try the escape rooms on other ships down the road! For lunch, we decided to go to Playmakers… here are the menus… We tried the Knockout Punch… tasty drink! My wife tried the Truffle Burger… … and I tried the Playmakers Classic Burger… Both of the burgers were decent, but we felt that Johnny Rockets has juicer burgers. The fries were very good. I would like to try the nachos and wings during our next cruise on Odyssey. We also shared a Campfire Cookie… After lunch, we stopped by NextCruise and booked a cruise for ourselves (YOLO booked it! ), as well as, our good friends and cruising buddies from Orlando. We each booked balcony staterooms next to each other and took advantage of the reduced deposit ($200) and $100 onboard credit. You can book up to 3 reservations per guest for you or for your family and friends and they will receive the benefits as well. You can also transfer the reservation(s) to your travel agent if you prefer. We decided on Harmony out of Port Canaveral in January 2023. We liked this one as it was the only 8-night sailing on Harmony and the itinerary includes both CocoCay and Labadee, as well as, San Juan, St. Maarten, and St. Thomas! We have never sailed on Harmony… Can’t wait! We spent the afternoon in the solarium pool and hot tubs and eventually headed back to get ready for dinner in the MDR. Here is the menu… Lobster Night! For appetizers, my wife went with a Caesar Salad and I had the fresh mozzarella (Insalata Caprese). We both had the lobster of course! … and I finished with Baked Alaska and my wife had the Molten Chocolate Cake… The captain spoke briefly and mentioned that on this sailing there is almost a 1:1 crew member to passenger ratio! Carlos at NextCruise mentioned that capacity is just shy of 2,800. OK, I’ll have to finish up Day 6 tomorrow… time to turn in! Have a good morning! Traveler, ellcee, IRMO12HD and 4 others 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnK6404 Posted October 9, 2021 Author Report Share Posted October 9, 2021 Good morning! Let me wrap up Day 6… We went to see Cats last night. I went in with an open mind. I have never seen Cats, but my wife had seen it many times on Broadway when she was a child with her parents. She enjoyed it on Broadway, but she was disappointed with this production. Part of the confusion stems from the fact that this is an abbreviated version. I know they shortened it during the amplification as it was way too long and people were apparently walking out, etc. I guess it remains due to the contract, but they need to replace it… maybe something new or bring back Chicago and run it on Oasis? The musical seemed disjointed and was confusing for me (I should have researched the story line first). My wife was disappointed as she kept waiting for songs she remembered as a child, but most of them were either shortened or not performed at all. The only song I recognized and enjoyed was “Memory”, which effectively closes out the show. I’m glad I went to see it for myself, but it is one of those shows I will avoid the next time we sail Oasis. With that said, the performers and musicians were amazing, but the show was not for me. Here are some pics… We wandered around the ship and headed back to our cabin. This guy was there to greet us! We have the Key for our February Odyssey cruise and we received this e-mail from Royal yesterday concerning changes to the Key program. We’ll probably keep it especially since Royal plans to return to normal capacity levels by year-end. Just an FYI for those interested… Wow! I’m finally caught up! LOL! Traveler, KristiZ, ClaudiaM and 4 others 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnK6404 Posted October 10, 2021 Author Report Share Posted October 10, 2021 Good afternoon! We're back home now. No traffic, got home in just over an hour! Yesterday was the last day of the cruise... Day 7: Sea Day Here is the Cruise Compass for Day 7... We had breakfast in the Windjammer and spent the morning in the solarium. Since we were in the mid-Atlantic region heading back to Bayonne at this point, the temperature began to drop and the solarium and pool decks got a little windy. We were not brave enough to go in the solarium pool (not heated), but spent some time in the hot tubs and then went up to the second level to hang by the solarium bar. It was also drizzling at times, so it was not a good time to be outdoors. For lunch, we went to Izumi for the hibachi tables this time. The food was excellent and the hibachi chef was funny! It was just us and another couple from Ohio in the room. Hibachi menu... Here is the other menu (sit-down table service) if you are interested... My wife chose the shrimp and filet (steak) combo and I chose the scallops and filet combo... For dessert, I tried the Crispy Sesame Balls and my wife (surprise, surprise) went with the Chocolate Lava Cake! We went back to the cabin to start to pack a little and walked around Central Park and the Promenade until dinner. We went to the MDR to have our "last supper" and to say goodbye to our waiter, Lina, and our assistant waiter, Rosario. They made an announcement, and apparently, the MDR staff on Oasis just received the highest rating in the active fleet post return to sailing based on passenger feedback! I just got my survey via e-mail and will complete it later. Here is the dinner menu... My wife and I both had the Roasted Tomato Soup. I had the Shrimp Cocktail and my wife had the Caesar Salad. For the main course, we both tried the Tagliatelle... not bad, but not one of our favorite meals onboard. The Asian-Style Pork Tacos and Garlic Tiger Shrimp were recommended by Lina, but I did not care for those two selections when I tried them back on Allure. For dessert, I had the Creme Brulee and my wife had the Apple Blossom A La Mode. Both were delicious! After dinner, we went back to the cabin to finish packing so we could place our bags out in the corridor (10:00PM deadline). We went down to Deck 4 and had a drink in Jazz on 4 and listened to the Karlea Lynne Quartet. I'm not a big jazz fan, but I can appreciate the talent of the musicians and the relaxed atmosphere in Jazz on 4. When they took a break, we headed into the Royal Theater for the adult comedy show (Nery Saenz and Kivi Rogers). Both comedians were very funny! We arrived early since we were next door at Jazz on 4... the theater did fill up a bit later. Everyone was probably packing! Kivi Rogers... sorry for the bad pics! ... followed by Nery Saenz... After the show, we headed to the promenade... time for pizza and cookies, LOL! I'll be back later to wrap up! PPPJJ-GCVAB, ellcee and KristiZ 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnK6404 Posted October 12, 2021 Author Report Share Posted October 12, 2021 Hello again! We're both so sad right now... tonight is the first formal night on Oasis and we're missing it! LOL! In summary to wrap things up, the cruise was absolutely amazing! Oasis is such a beautiful ship and we would definitely sail on her again! I'm glad we had the opportunity to experience a sailing at reduced capacity. We were told the passenger count was around 2,800. The Captain, during his speech in the MDR, was also joking that the crew to passenger ratio was almost 1:1 ! The entire crew was so genuinely friendly and the service everywhere was excellent. It felt so nice to be back on a cruise ship! The only thing that needs some tweaking IMO is the main theater entertainment. I know it's difficult to change shows due to contracts, etc., but I hope they end the Cats run and introduce a new show in the not to distant future. I wouldn't mind if they brought back Chicago for a run on Oasis (we've never seen it). We really liked Mamma Mia on Allure. They also should consider adding a second major production like they have on Harmony and Symphony similar to Columbus or Flight. CocoCay is amazing! The Coco Beach Club felt like a resort and we had a hard time leaving! We were lucky to grab it in the CP when it was $89/person as some folks we were talking to at the club had purchased it right before the cruise at $189/person! We would definitely love to go there again, but it would have to be closer to the $100/person price point for us to consider it. Once again, the filet at the beach club restaurant was the best we've had in any Royal restaurant to date (including Chops, 150 Central Park, and MDR to date). I was told by a few folks that the filet at the Chef's Table is just as good... we just booked Chef's Table on Odyssey for Valentine's Day along with our friends! We'll see! We also loved the location of our cabin on Deck 8. Once again, we had an Ocean View with Large Balcony stateroom (cabin 8600) across the hall from the back of Giovanni's. It was very quiet since there were no staterooms on the other side of the hall for the entire length of Central Park. Although we were not very close to either elevator tower, it was nice being mid-ship as we were never to far from anything on the ship. Also it was easy for me to orient myself... If the cabins were on the right it meant I was facing Forward, cabins on my left meant I was facing Aft (we were on starboard/right side). Thankfully, due to the constant reshuffling of our sailings, we only have to wait another 4.5 months for our next cruise! Can't wait to sail on Odyssey (our first Quantum class ship)! Thank you all for checking in, commenting, and following! KristiZ, thehungrymuppet, InmyElement and 4 others 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CMG Posted October 14, 2021 Report Share Posted October 14, 2021 What are the requirements/restrictions for getting off the ship in Nassau? I have heard that it's a big hassle. We are on this cruise 10/24 and are debating whether it's worth the bother, or if we will just stay on board. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrianB Posted October 14, 2021 Report Share Posted October 14, 2021 Thank you @JohnK6404! Great running photo dialogue! I was on the Oasis for a back to back last month and I’m boarding again this Sunday for another. This makes me feel like I am still aboard. Excellent photos and descriptions. Can’t wait to get back! Thanks, again. JohnK6404 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnK6404 Posted October 14, 2021 Author Report Share Posted October 14, 2021 3 hours ago, CMG said: What are the requirements/restrictions for getting off the ship in Nassau? I have heard that it's a big hassle. We are on this cruise 10/24 and are debating whether it's worth the bother, or if we will just stay on board. We had booked an excursion through Royal (not sure if that makes a difference). No change to disembark, we just went down to the gangway and they scanned our SeaPasses to get off the ship. When we came back to the dock after the excursion, before we went back to board the ship, they did have some authorities at the dock checking our SeaPass and photo ID. Definitely take some form of photo ID with you along with your SeaPass of course. No one checked specifically for vaccination status once we disembarked (maybe they knew the blue Royal wrist bands indicated we were vaccinated). Just make sure you wear a mask as they seem a little more vigilant/sensitive in Nassau. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnK6404 Posted October 14, 2021 Author Report Share Posted October 14, 2021 1 hour ago, BrianB said: Thank you @JohnK6404! Great running photo dialogue! I was on the Oasis for a back to back last month and I’m boarding again this Sunday for another. This makes me feel like I am still aboard. Excellent photos and descriptions. Can’t wait to get back! Thanks, again. Sooo jealous! I can't wait until we can do a B2B... unfortunately, my wife does not get a ton of vacation time. Have a great time! BrianB 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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