xSAILEDx Oasis of the Seas - Dec 18, 2022 - Dec 22, 2022 (4 Night Western Caribbean Cruise)

[donkasaurusrex]

Don't see a roll call for this sailing yet, so starting off. Looking forward to a surprise holiday getaway with the kiddos (11 & 12 yo) - they've never been on a cruise before! 

[WAAAYTOOO]

We are booked on this little shorty and then on the Christmas cruise that follows.  Sure hope we get to go !

[Xaa]

We're booked on this one too.  About 23 of us to surprise my father for his 80th.  We'll be the loud and friendly ones.  Hope to see you onboard!

 

Bill

[Chewie]

Just booked this one for our family of four. We’ve never been on the Oasis and can’t wait to check out the ship. 

[WAAAYTOOO]

The prices for the few remaining Star Class suites on this sailing are WAAAY down today.  If you are interested in moving up to a SC suite for a somewhat reasonable price, today might be your day !!

[WAAAYTOOO]

Star Class prices are down again !  ...and they are now showing military discounts.

[SuzanneM]

I'm in a crown loft suite for this one! Looking forward. It's my last double points cruise, so six points a day (since I'm also solo). 

[donkasaurusrex]

On 8/8/2022 at 5:01 AM, Xaa said:

We're booked on this one too.  About 23 of us to surprise my father for his 80th.  We'll be the loud and friendly ones.  Hope to see you onboard!

 

Bill

Oh my goodness! Hope to see y'all around. So fun!

[donkasaurusrex]

Anyone done excursions in Labadee before? Will all excursions have places to store any belongings we bring - like lockers?

[Xaa]

On 6/22/2022 at 11:59 AM, donkasaurusrex said:

Don't see a roll call for this sailing yet, so starting off. Looking forward to a surprise holiday getaway with the kiddos (11 & 12 yo) - they've never been on a cruise before! 

@donkasaurusrex  I'll have an 11 YO soon to be twelve onboard.  If he buddies up with a set of sibblings his age, I'll be asking the parents "Are you donkasuarusrex?"  it will either be you or I'll be again labeled "that weird guy"

[donkasaurusrex]

On 11/29/2022 at 2:42 PM, Xaa said:

@donkasaurusrex  I'll have an 11 YO soon to be twelve onboard.  If he buddies up with a set of sibblings his age, I'll be asking the parents "Are you donkasuarusrex?"  it will either be you or I'll be again labeled "that weird guy"

@Xaa Haha! That's great! Mine is actually 13 and the other will be 12 in a few days so I wonder since yours will be 12 onboard, do you know if they will qualify for activities that are 12 and up but wasn't able to book in advance? For example: escape room or driver on the dragon coaster

[Xaa]

45 minutes ago, donkasaurusrex said:

@Xaa Haha! That's great! Mine is actually 13 and the other will be 12 in a few days so I wonder since yours will be 12 onboard, do you know if they will qualify for activities that are 12 and up but wasn't able to book in advance? For example: escape room or driver on the dragon coaster

Mine won't make it to 12 onboard this cruise, but if yours turns 12 before the sailing I don't see why you couldn't book those things.  I will tell you sadly that the Escape Room is currently sold out for our sailing.  Maybe something will open up.  My 11 YO was very disappointed in that, but his brother (19) and GF will be doing it.

For the coaster I think you could get a ticket on site a Labadee.  In the case of that, the younger can ride along with an adult so my son will be on with me for the coaster which may actually be a bit more fun.  Second rider is free as well.  Will we see you on the Dragon Fire Zip Line?

 

[twangster]

T - 7

[PPPJJ-GCVAB]

This cruise has me super excited…not because I am on it…because I am not…but this is @WAAAYTOOO first cruise since Feb 2020!  I can just imagine their excitement at this point building every day this week until onboard!  I wish them one of the best cruises ever!  I am truly off-the-wall ecstatic that they are back to cruising!  
Hope everyone enjoys…

[WAAAYTOOO]

That's so sweet, @PPPJJ-GCVAB!  Yes, we are unbelievably excited !  It will be our first cruise since we moved to FL so that we could cruise more !!  

[Sweety]

54 minutes ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

That's so sweet, @PPPJJ-GCVAB!  Yes, we are unbelievably excited !  It will be our first cruise since we moved to FL so that we could cruise more !!  

Have an awesome time in 

[PPPJJ-GCVAB]

ENJOY your cruise!!!

[WAAAYTOOO]

Not trying to do a true live blog but I thought I would jot down a couple of tidbits.

Thank you to all who have wished us a fun return to cruising.  It is truly appreciated and it’s workin, so far !

Check-in was incredibly easy irrespective of the fact that we are Star Class.  We had been anxious about the whole “vax” issue even though we had been assured that there would be no “issues”.  Our fears were unwarranted.  They asked on the pre-boarding health questionnaire and then asked again at check-in.  We answered honestly both times.  Positive experience.  No problems.  WHEW !

As predicted Genie Allan is a hoot and fab Genie. A few things have changed since the last time we were SC :

• No longer able to reserve seats for shows that do not require a reservation…IOW, main theater shows such as the Welcome Aboard Show or general entertainment shows.  Reserved seats only for Aqua Theater, Ice skating show, Comedy Club, Cats…shows where reserved required for the genpop.  A big disappointment.  We will skip those shows where we will not have reserved seats.
• Genies now have a “rest” period in the middle of the day.  I can’t remember those hours…but there are now times when the Genies (at least, on OA) are “off duty” during the day.  I do not have an issue with this one.  Good for them !  They work incredibly hard.  I don’t know how they keep up the pace that they do.
• We had to “beg” (overreaction ?  Yes) for drinks to be delivered to our suite.  In the past, a mountain of drinks (sodas, beer, etc) had always been waiting for us when we arrived…not this time.  It was truly a PITA to get a couple of Cokes and some Coronas delivered.  I realize that this is a bar service issue and not the responsibility of the Genie…but it was unfortunate. We finally got our delivery after multiple calls. To be fair, there were many bottles of water in the suite when we arrived….just nothing else.
• The “welcome aboard” snacks were pathetic.  A couple of dried out sushi something’s and some stale bread sticks.  Not even a stale cookie !  Again, to be fair, there is usually waaaytooo much of these “munchies” kinds of treats set out, but this was too far the other way.  On a positive note, Allan had ordered a cake for Dan (celebrating retirement) and that was awesome AND delicious.

 

[Neesa]

My love response is reflective of how happy I am you are sailing again. Looking forward to your trip report, have a great time. Yes, Star Class seems to have been diminished a bit but I'm sure you will still have an awesome time. 

[WAAAYTOOO]

As @twangsternoted, VOOM has been unpredictable.  General browsing isn’t a problem but if you’re trying to download something even marginally large, you will be waiting for a while.  I’ve had connectivity issues but that’s mostly on me.  I hopelessly tech-incompetent.

The casino was unkind to me last night but Dan did very well so…what can I say ?  As long as at least one of us remains above water I guess we’ll be ok. Points seem to be accumulating more quickly than I thought they would.  That’s good news !

Powdered eggs in the Coastal Kitchen ?  Sacrelidge !  I guess I will have to be more specific when I order scrambled eggs next time.  I didn’t say anything today…but really ? I cracked up when I saw the tiny little triangular potato cakes.  They couldn’t have been any more than 1.5” on 3 sides.   …but the ol’ burnt tomato was still there !  I guess there are some traditions that die hard !

Contrary to my incessant bellyaching, we are having an awesome time.  SO glad to be on the ocean again.  Have missed it so much. Glad we will be on the next sailing…4 days is just too short.

Explorer departed PoM ahead of us yesterday and we watched her sail by.  Yikes !  She looks in need of some TLC.  We will be on her 1-21-23; which is her last sailing prior to dry dock and then again on 4-1-23 after she comes back.  I guess we will be able to do a compare and contrast.

One last bitch .  Dan is disappointed in their poor choices for single malt scotches.  Of course, that didn’t slow him down last night but he would have been happier if they’d had some aged scotches or even a few more selections. They are very limited.  I’m sure he’ll be fine !

[twangster]

Hmmm.  

I had asked for Guiness which has been hard to come by since the restart, at least in genpop, and Anna came through.  Maybe its back in general supply.  Also several flavors of Truly as requested.  Attendants inquired this morning if my beverages needed to be replenished.   

I did have a tasteless filet in Chops last night.  Everything was fine and it was cooked medium rare as requested but zero flavor.  Guess I just got a bad cut of meat.  They offered me a do over but by that time I was full and didn't feel like waiting for a second effort.  Maybe I should have gone with the CK filet. 

[WAAAYTOOO]

4 hours ago, twangster said:

Hmmm.  

I had asked for Guiness which has been hard to come by since the restart, at least in genpop, and Anna came through.  Maybe its back in general supply.  Also several flavors of Truly as requested.  Attendants inquired this morning if my beverages needed to be replenished.   

I did have a tasteless filet in Chops last night.  Everything was fine and it was cooked medium rare as requested but zero flavor.  Guess I just got a bad cut of meat.  They offered me a do over but by that time I was full and didn't feel like waiting for a second effort.  Maybe I should have gone with the CK filet. 

Ugh. Sorry to hear about your tasteless steak at Chops.  I should have mentioned before….our steaks at the CK last night were among the best steaks I have ever eaten.  Now granted…I am far from a connoisseur of fine steaks…but goodness…they were delicious and so tender.

[Carlos A.]

It seems that there are problems on the beverage department. Me and my wife were on the previous cruise and had the Refreshment Package, asking for a can of Diet Coke was a hit or miss on several bars, even an officer tried to make me feel bad about asking for them because they were only available "a la carte". It's incredible that an manager of the beverage department isn't well informed on what the packages include and what not.

[WAAAYTOOO]

The only beverage package that truly includes canned soda is the DBP.  The refreshment and soda packages only technically entitle you to fountain soda.  Sometimes it is easiest for the server to serve you a can (even if you only have the refreshment or soda pkgs) but that’s an exception, not the rule.  Since I am such a canned soda snob, that is one reason why I kept purchasing the DBP for so long.  Now, it’s just not practical anymore so we no longer purchase any drinks pkgs.  If I want a canned soda, I just pay for it.

[Carlos A.]

On 12/21/2022 at 8:46 AM, WAAAYTOOO said:

The only beverage package that truly includes canned soda is the DBP.  The refreshment and soda packages only technically entitle you to fountain soda.  Sometimes it is easiest for the server to serve you a can (even if you only have the refreshment or soda pkgs) but that’s an exception, not the rule.  Since I am such a canned soda snob, that is one reason why I kept purchasing the DBP for so long.  Now, it’s just not practical anymore so we no longer purchase any drinks pkgs.  If I want a canned soda, I just pay for it.

It's weird because I went to GS and asked about this, they called the Food an Beverage manager, he came and told us that DBP and RBP includes canned soda. They also looked on their brochures and re-confirmed this.

[Xaa]

I'm sure that I saw all of you onboard without recognizing a single one.  We enjoyed the cruise and are looking forward to the next.

I do have to shout out @Neesawhose live blog on her past cruise essentially saved our trip.  She demonstrated such a positive "this is not going to interfere with my vacation" frame of mind that I decided that I was going to adopt that for my trip.

I needed it.  We drove down from VA and 2 miles from the port, 2 miles, the vehicle that has never seen the shop overheated and quit.  I thought of @Neesa, took a few breaths and then called an Uber for my family and a tow truck for me.  Had the vehicle towed and taxied to the port.

I can be one prone to have a fit over something like that getting in the way of hitting the finish line.  It really does come down to just how you look at things.  Fit or positive attitude, there was still a tow and repair in my future.  Only question was the impact it would have on the trip.  Impact=0.0%.  Thanks @Neesa you made me a better man without us ever meeting!

Had no gripes on the cruise itself beyond the length.

[Neesa]

I was so saddened to read the beginning of this post.  You made me teary-eyed as it went on, I'm so happy you were able to enjoy your trip! I agree, driving from VA demands a 7 nighter from now on. 

I'm so happy you made the experience one that allowed you to enjoy your sailing and you will have some great memories and a story to last a lifetime.....remember that time 2 miles from the cruise port.....

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

[Xaa]

Yeah, I would have never taken a 4 nighter but we had about 24 family there and many/most never cruised before and weren't sure if they could tolerate it or would like it.  Converts all of them at this point!  Had a great time!  I'll be back in Miami whenever my vehicle is repaired.  Drove back to VA in a rented Expedition.

Next cruise is a 7 nighter on Anthem out of Cape Liberty.

Of all of the advice and tips that were super helpful over these last several months, your @Neesaon having the correct outlook proved to be the single most valuable.  I'm going to take that little piece of you with me on all future trips.

[WAAAYTOOO]

I don’t recall in which thread it was posted, but @GregD   which Genies might be on Ossis in Feb.  Sorry it took so long to get back on this, but according to Allan, the Genies in Feb will most likely be Ana, Leticia and Derrick.  Hope this helps.

[GregD]

10 hours ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

I don’t recall in which thread it was posted, but @GregD   which Genies might be on Ossis in Feb.  Sorry it took so long to get back on this, but according to Allan, the Genies in Feb will most likely be Ana, Leticia and Derrick.  Hope this helps.

Awesome, thank you!!!