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Super-delayed review of Oasis of the Seas 7 Day Bahamas & Coco Cay cruise from Cape Liberty, NJ- 7/29 - 8/5


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In what I hope will be a fraction of the assistance this board provided me in getting ready for my cruise, I'm going to finally start (slowly) posting some information and pictures from my most recent cruise.  I apologize in advance for both the holes in the narrative and photographs; this was DW and my first cruise in almost 15 years, and our first one as a family, so I was much more focused on be present in the moment.  If anyone has ANY questions, please don't hesitate to ask and I'll be glad to do my best to help.  For background, this cruise was originally booked for my family of four  in the winter of 2018 (!!) for 2020, but I think we all know what happened there.  Now, the boys are 7 and 11.  After taking advantage of the opportunity to upgrade prior to Lifting & Shifting in 2020 to a Jr. Suite, then winning a minimum Royal Up bid in May of this year, we ended up in 1BR Aquatheater Suite cabin #12730.  We also had the Deluxe Beverage package for the adults and no drink package for the kids.  The suite concierge reached out to us about a week before sailing and secured our Costal Kitchen reservations for the week expect for day 6, where they got us 7:00 PM seats at Izumi Habachi.  Two days before sailing, they also reached out for entertainment reservations, and we had them reserve seats for Aqua80 on Day 5 and the Ice Show on Day 6. 

Day 1 - Embarkation

We were able to secure a 10:00 AM health check/embarkation time, and thanks to the amazing predictive ability of Waze, we arrived at the port after an approximately 1 hour drive at 9:55.  The porters were already hard at work helping arriving passengers, and there was a short line up around the bend at the terminal.  It looked crazy upon arrival, but as you get up to the front of the line, it's actually very well organized.  There was a port employee directing cars from both lanes to the appropriate unloading terminal as they became available.  We quickly drove up, dropped the bags, and were directed to a surface lot parking space.  It was a short walk from there to the terminal building (well under 5 minutes).  Despite it being just after 10, the terminal building was already quite busy and a little chaotic outside.  We were first directed to the suites line, but then we had to go back to the main entrance so someone could check the two boys Vaccination Cards since they were under 12.  They each got a little sticker, then back in line for security.  All told, it took maybe 15 - 20 minutes from doors to gangway, no complaints.  We watched the safety briefing while in line, then went straight to our muster station before lunch at the Windjammer.  It was extremely busy there (as anticipated!), but we were able to finally secure a table and sit down for lunch.  After that, we explored the ship, signed the boys up for Adventure Ocean, then enjoyed the pools thanks to all of you who suggested to pack our bathing suits in our carry on.  Waterslides had no lines and the hot tubs were essentially empty!  After a few hours, we went down to check out our cabin.  I still hadn't told the family that we had been upgraded out of our Jr. Suite, and they were blown away by the cabin!  The balcony IS everything that everyone makes it out to be, even as high as deck 12 (deck 14 looked pretty small, though!).  We enjoyed sailaway and took in the sights from our balcony with a few drinks before getting ready for dinner at Costal Kitchen.  Thanks again for all of the suggestions for the CK filet for night 1, it was everything everyone said it would be.  The remainder of the night was spent exploring the ship, and we ended up spending some time relaxing in Central Park for a bit before turning in, an activity that would become a running theme. 

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Day 2 - At Sea

   This was the only, and I mean ONLY day where we had any sort of a problem.  We had gotten a Casita to use as a "home base" for our sea day so we wouldn't have to fight the crowds and chair hogs on the pool deck.  I went up to the Lime and the Coconut at a little before 9 while everyone else enjoyed room service breakfast and was quickly able to select my location.  I went back to retrieve everyone else and by the time I got back up on deck at 9:15, they had closed Deck 16 due to weather.  It was incredibly windy and someone (correctly!) decided it probably wasn't safe to have guests up there while underway.  While I fully agree with and support the decision, there was really no communication about the situation, and many of the staff even seemed unaware.  As a result of half of teh avaialble seating being out of commission, the pool deck was EXTREMELY crowded. You'd think that common decency would lead to people being more mindful of their belongings and aware of their fellow passengers, but no, chair hogs gonna hog.  We were able to find one sole chair between two families that we piled our things on while we enjoyed the pool and bar for the rest of the morning, then (and take note here people) picked up our things and took them with us at we headed off to El Loco Fresh for lunch!  Shocking, I know!  Despite the over crowding, the kids had a blast in the pool.  We decided to eat at Park Cafe for lunch, as I needed to try the legendary Kummelweck.  It was pretty good!  Maybe not worth of cult status, but definitely not a disappointment either.  After lunch we played some mini-golf, watched some body and stand up surfing on the Flowriders, then headed off the enjoy the Boardwalk.  Later that evening, the cost of the Casita was refunded to my account as OBC automatically, so that was good.

It was formal night, so even though the dress code in CK is more relaxed, we opted to dress up both for the novelty of the situation for us and to take advantage of the photographers for some formal family portraits.  Dinner at CK was excellent again (spoiler alert, it was excellent every night).  Also, following up on a question I had asked pre-cruise, they were 100% able to deliver my favorite dish from the MDR, the Grand Marnier Soufflé for dessert.  I had asked our server Alma about the night prior, and she quickly brought the Maître d' over to confirm that it was possible.  He just told me to remind them upon my arrival, and they could make it happen.  I did so, and he did his due diligence in letting me know that the soufflé might fall on the trip from the MDR to Deck 17, but was happy to bring it up.  They not only brought me one, they brought two, and they were both as delicious as I remembered! While it was not implied or expected, I was sure to include an extra-additional gratuity to both my server and the Maître d' to express my gratitude.

After dinner it was more enjoying the ship, and again ending up back in Central Park.  The boys loved Rising Tide, and I was very surprised and pleased to see how welcoming of children (albeit well behaved ones) they were in what is essentially a bar setting.  I was also surprised that they consistently gave them their Shirley Temples gratis despite them not having a refreshment package (and our being sure to point that out more than once).  I'd imagine the fact that we tipped with our drinks and were quickly becoming regulars had something to do with that, but maybe not... After winding down after dinner and a few more photos, it was off to the room to enjoy the balcony before bed.

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Day 3 - Port Canaveral

So, due to the prior day's weather issues and our afternoon arrival in port, DW decided to rebook the Casita this morning.  I was shocked there was availability given the capacity of the cruise, but we were happy to get one!  It serves it purpose nicely if you just enjoying hanging out at the pool for an extended period and just want somewhere to stash your stuff and/or take a break for a bit.  We had Casita #7, and it provided excellent sun protection for the first 3 or so hours, but by lunch time it provided very little protection.  What it was also perfect for was as a place to sit outside and enjoy breakfast and lunch.  Wait staff were thorough and responded quickly when summoned with the call button.  It ended up being a very enjoyable morning.  If I was not in a suite, I would book one again in a heartbeat.  Unfortunately for me, I had not yet discovered the Suite Sun Deck on the bow.  If I had, I would not have booked the Casita as the service and amenities there were far superior.  That said, it was definitely a live and learn experience, and given that we still thoroughly enjoyed the experience, I couldn't be too disappointed!

As for the actual port call, I'm sorry to say that on this itinerary that Port Canaveral is just about a total waste.  It gets in too late to make a trip to KSC or Disney really viable, and the rest of the excursions provided through RCI seemed either to be the cattle-call bus tour variety or consisted of a long ride for a short visit somewhere.  Now, as luck would have it, some family friends from NJ happened to be in Cape Canaveral that day for a softball tournament, so (thanks again to the suggestions of my more seasoned message board mates!) we arranged to meet at Grills for a late lunch.  Based on quick Googling and poor research on my part, I assumed we'd be at Terminal 1, leading to a quick walk over.  Turns out, we were at Terminal 6, around the opposite end of the complex.  We walked off the ship and went to the taxi stand, where they informed us it would be $80 for a round trip for the four of us to go the 2.7 miles to Grills.  That seemed beyond insane, so after a little finagling on the Lyft app, we got a ride for $13.  I'm not sure if it was just my phone or it's an app glitch, but Lyft would NOT let me enter Grills or its address as a destination.  Whenever I did, it would default to the Disney Cruise terminal zone.  Oddly enough, I was able to enter Cocoa Beach Parasail across the street as a destination, and that did work. 🤷🏻‍♂️ Anyhow, we arrived 15 minutes later than anticipated thanks to my incompetence, but the place was only half full at 2:30 on a Sunday afternoon, so no big deal.  Grills itself was quite good.  The food and entertainment were excellent and the staff was very friendly.  It definitely seemed to be a place that locals frequented but tourists were welcomed.  After lunch and a bit of a walk about, we headed back to the ship where we checked out the previous night's formal portraits (they were quite good!), went hunting for small wonders, then got ready for another excellent CK dinner.

After dinner, we again hit the Rising Tide to enjoy some more family conversation time and listened to the musicians before heading back to the the suite to check out Aqua80 from our balcony.  I am not engaging in hyperbole when I say that Aqua80 is hands down, far and away the greatest, most impressive show I have ever seen at sea, and easily a top 5 that I have seen anywhere.  The combination of elements with the music, the dancing, the diving, the fact that the stage itself serves as a key character, just incredible.  We were constantly looking around trying to figure out what was going to happen next!  A very specific warning for future residents of cabin 12730: when the high-rope walker comes out for his portion of the program, be careful because you CAN be seen in the background on the big screen in the theater for a short time!

I'm going to stop here for the day, and finish up tomorrow or Friday.  I hope something here was useful to someone, and again, please don't hesitate to ask any questions that you might have!  This cruise was such an amazing trip for us due largely to the invaluable input from so many people on this site, I'd like to be able to pay forward their knowledge and kindness in some small way!

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Wow..great reviews and making me more excited to check out this Ship in a few months! Nice to know that the kids can join at rising tide,my son is 11 and I'm sure he would love a Shirley temple or two while checking out the rising bar. We are on the fence about a Casita but I think we will go ahead and do it,bringing lunch out there to enjoy sounds like a great idea! Thanks again for the posts and pics! 

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Hi USCG Teacher!  Great review to this point.  Can you clarify for me on the Day 2 Casita?  Deck 16 closed and reopened partially but you couldn't return to the Casita for some reason so they refunded?  Am I getting that right?

I'm of the same mind as you and booked Casita's for sea days on our upcoming trip so I'm curious about that piece.

Looking forward to the rest of the review.

Bill

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5 hours ago, Xaa said:

Hi USCG Teacher!  Great review to this point.  Can you clarify for me on the Day 2 Casita?  Deck 16 closed and reopened partially but you couldn't return to the Casita for some reason so they refunded?  Am I getting that right?

I'm of the same mind as you and booked Casita's for sea days on our upcoming trip so I'm curious about that piece.

Looking forward to the rest of the review.

Bill

Hi Bill!  Sorry if I wasn't clear.  On Day 2, the outdoor sections of deck 16 were closed to passengers all day, so we were unable to use the Casita at all.  It was really windy up there, and if I had been a bit more caffeinated as I went to select my Casita, the fact that all of the deck chairs were still stacked and lashed together should have been a clue that something was amiss.  Deck 15 (the pool deck) was open, though, as the sides are enclosed and the ship provides much more shelter from the wind there!

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18 minutes ago, octaviocloss said:

Thank you so much, we are doing this exact same itinerary in a month, may i ask how much did you bid on your suite? i did get prompted to royal up and i went all min bids but might want to secure at least a junior suite (moving from an OVB)

My minimum bid was $700 to go from a Jr. Suite to a 1 BR Aquatheater Suite.  I got the invite and the acceptance unusually early (they accepted my bid 51 days before departure!).  Here's the thread where I discussed it plus some other members' feedback about the process:

 

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33 minutes ago, USCG Teacher said:

Hi Bill!  Sorry if I wasn't clear.  On Day 2, the outdoor sections of deck 16 were closed to passengers all day, so we were unable to use the Casita at all.  It was really windy up there, and if I had been a bit more caffeinated as I went to select my Casita, the fact that all of the deck chairs were still stacked and lashed together should have been a clue that something was amiss.  Deck 15 (the pool deck) was open, though, as the sides are enclosed and the ship provides much more shelter from the wind there!

Thanks!  You actually were clear. It was my mistake equating 16 with the pool deck.  

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Day 4 - Nassau, Bahamas

Another late entry to port allowed us a lazy morning before heading ashore.  We decided to do breakfast in the MDR for a change of pace and for the kids to just see what it's like.  We got there around 9:00 and there were only two groups ahead of us.  We were at our table in under 2 minutes, and had pastries on our plate and drinks on the way a minute later.  Both the food and service were quite good (although the coffee, as frequently noted, was not), and we were through the meal in under 45 minutes.  We could've been out even sooner, but we were in no rush.

We headed up to the Suite Sun Deck a bit before finally heading back to slather up in sunscreen before heading ashore.  As an aside, the Sun Deck is a criminally underutilized space.  It's really fantastic up there!  Oasis' Sun Deck bartender, Dana, is worth the visit alone.  After our first visit, she remembered all of our names, our cabin number AND what types of drinks we liked (not just a favorite drink, but more like a flavor profile.  VERY impressive!). We opted to do the Blue Lagoon Deluxe Beach Break excursion through RCI.  Our tickets told us to meet on the pier at 2:00, but we got there closer to 1:45.  There were plenty of crew members shoreside point us to the gathering area, so finding the Blue Lagoon personnel was fairly straightforward.  Once we got to our gathering point, things were a little chaotic; there were literally hundreds of people already there (good thing we didn't show up at 2!).  Everyone who had any of the Blue Lagoon excursions (Dolphin Encounter, Sting Ray Encounter, Segway Tour, etc.) met in the same location, and then they lined us up by excursion to be loaded onto separate tenders to the island.  The process was slow and HOT, there was absolutely no shade on the pier, and the sun reflecting the heat off of the concrete combined with the mass of humanity gathered there made it doubly so.  Once we got loaded up, the tender took about 20 minutes to get to Blue Lagoon, and it was pleasant ride, both for the scenery and the welcome breeze!  Once there, there were lots of employees everywhere directing you where throughout the island.  The included lunch wasn't anything special, but it filled us up.  Sodexo-esque hot dogs, burgers, BBQ chicken, fries, rice, and a salad bar.  There was also a fruit punch or lemonade included.  The island itself was quite nice, particularly so if you have little ones.  The water is clear, bathwater calm and not very deep.  I'm 6'3" and could easily walk the entire swimming area without the water getting much past my waist.  There were drinks of adult and alcohol free available for purchase, but we didn't get any as we brought our own water.  You can also walk through the sea life enclosures to view the stingrays and dolphins, even if your excursion doesn't include them (you just can't go down the floating docks and interact with them).  Since we were the last ship to arrive, beach chairs were fairly slim pickings when we arrived and shade was at a premium, but you could always find some.  Once some of the other ship's guests departed, you could find seats anywhere you wanted.  As the last ship to depart, the return tender process looked insane but was actually quite easy.  Three tenders were tied up, and the line to get on them at boarding time stretched back at least a hundred yards (maybe more, that's just where I could see to!), but once boarding began the line moved very quickly.  All three tenders were heading back to Oasis, so the crew members all along the line were telling us to board any boat, it doesn't matter which one, just make sure you stay together with your family!  Oh, an important note: once arriving back at the pier, we were required to show our SeaPass cards AND our passports to Bahamian officials to get off the tender pier and back to the ship.  No one checked to see if we had them with us when we left, and despite the fact that it says to bring them on the paperwork, I'm guessing more than one family has forgotten to/ignored that.  I'm not sure if you'd actually be detained as indicated or not if you didn't have it, but we opted not to find out.  Final verdict?  After a rough start and a forgettable lunch, we did rather enjoy our time at Blue Lagoon.  It's a nice option for families with little ones who just want a no-frills beach day.  That said, I probably wouldn’t do it again.  I'd either try checking out Pearl Island or just staying on the ship.  I get why so many people skip Nassau.

Dinner at CK again.  Very good (again!).  Wait staff really getting to know us now; a glass of Merlot waiting for me and a Prosecco for my wife upon my arrival, Shirley Temples for the boys.  Also starting to enjoy going up to the suite lounge for a beverage prior to dinner each night.  The suite lounge is an underrated space, we enjoyed just relaxing there a bit before our meal.  After dinner we opted for another quick family ride at Rising Tide for a digestif then the plan was hit the sack a bit early for an early morning arrival at Coco Cay the next morning.  I say that this was the plan because tonight we learned the one major drawback of the Aquasuites: they are LOUD when Aqua80 is playing!  We had been watching the show from our balcony the previous night, so we didn't appreciate just how loud it would be in the cabin while it was going on!  It was over by 11:30, and we're all typically night owls, so it wasn't a huge deal for us, but if you like to go to bed on the earlier side, these rooms are probably not for you.  In any event, we wandered back out to the balcony to see the last half our of the show again, then we went straight to bed to get ready for a Perfect Day tomorrow.

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Day 5 – Perfect Day at Coco Cay

 

We pulled in nice and early and were awoken by the ship maneuvering onto the pier.  From the moment we opened the blinds and saw the island from our balcony we were blown away.  Pictures don’t really do it justice.  We had Beach Club access, so we knew there would be continental breakfast and coffee available there, so we were anxious to get ashore as quickly as possible, and we were on the island by 7:45. Thanks to a fairly remarkable Black Friday sale, we were able to score our passes for $79 for my wife and I and $54 for the kids.  I assumed at that price point it would be worth it.  After spending the day there, I would easily pay double or more for the experience.  Everything was absolutely spectacular.  The beach, the service, the drinks, the food, we even had strong Wifi signals.  The boys loved going back and forth between the infinity pool and the beach and took their first real shot at snorkeling.  Despite being told that the Beach Club beach was not the best location for snorkeling (and it may well not be), we were able to see several decently sized schools of fish, a few sting rays (including one that swam right under a woman on her float) and even a small shark!  The complimentary floating mats were wonderful to laze about in the ocean on and the life jackets were perfect for letting my youngest really adventure out with us to see what he could see.  There’s a pretty cool sandbar a ways off of the beach there as well, where we found a conch and some sea anemone.  The lunch was also fantastic, as was our server Lenice.  I loved the Bento-style boxes the appetizers were served in!  The ceviche wasn’t the greatest, but the Babaganoush, hummus and shrimp cocktail were fantastic.  My wife went for the grilled lobster and I had (with Lenice’s encouragement) a surf & turf.  The kids went for a burger and mac and cheese, which were far better than I anticipated children’s menu items would be!  As good as everything was, it was Lenice’s attention and service that impressed us the most.  You know those servers who are watching your table like a hawk making sure everything is just right without making you FEEL like you’re being overly watched over?  Personable, friendly and engaging and beyond professional, we were lucky to have met her.  The bartenders there were equally fantastic, mixing up drinks for adults and the kids quickly (and in the case of the adults, strong!).  We had every intention of exploring the rest of the island, but we couldn’t bring ourselves to leave the Beach Club, everything was just so…perfect!  Late in the day, about and hour before we needed to be back on board a storm front started to roll in.  We could see the dark clouds and even hear the thunder.  Low and behold, we watched the little system break in two and skirt around the island!  Not a drop of rain fell on us!  As we walked out to head back to the ship, an empty tram just happened to be going by and he stopped to ask if we wanted a ride back to the ship.  It really was a perfect day!  This was far and away our favorite day of the entire trip.  Coco Cay is a home run, and the Beach Club is a grand slam.  I hope to be back there soon!

 

After getting back to the ship and showering and changing, it was up to the Suite Lounge then over to dinner at CK (spoiler alert: it was good).  After that, it was off to see Aqua80 again, but this time from the Aquatheater.  The concierge suggested we arrive 15-30 minutes early to ensure a good seat.  If you are a suite, Pinnacle, or Key guest (there was one more category that I can’t recall.  Maybe Diamond or Diamond +?  There were four boxes…)you may not need to be there THAT early, as there is prime seating reserved right in the middle for those guests.  It took us a minute to figure out what that area was for, but then we saw a young lady standing off to the side of the roped off area holding a sign.  We showed her our SeaPass cards and just like that, best seats in the house.  At about 5 minutes before showtime, they dropped the rope and allowed anyone to take the remaining seats.  The reserved section was about 2/3 filled at that point, so I wouldn’t count on being able to grab a preferred seat at the last minute.  If you do not have access to reserved seating, you definitely want to be there that 20-30 minutes early if you want to choose your seats.  It filled up fast, and there were more than a few arguments over saving seats in the rows around us.  Also, as I heard the poor young lady with the sign have to explain a few dozen times: HAVING RESERVATIONS DOES NOT MEAN YOU HAVE ACCESS TO THE RESERVED SEATING AREA!  Your reservation gets you in the theater, nothing more.  In any event, do get there, because as amazing as the show was from our balcony, it was even better in the theater!  I could have watched it every night of the cruise, because a.) I’m a child of the 80s, so the music was spot on for me and b.) each time I saw it, I picked up on something I missed previously.  The cast of the show are really spectacular.  After the show it was off to Sorrento’s for a late night pie then off to bed to get ready for our last two days at sea.  I’m going to have to pause here again, because this is taking far longer than I anticipated, and I’m trying to pack up for another upcoming (much smaller!) vacation while also cleaning the house for guests coming over tonight.  I hope to finish tomorrow! Thanks to all who have been following along, and feel free to keep the questions coming!

 

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It’s so nice to see such excitement and joy in a cruise blog !  It seems as though we have been receiving a steady diet of downer blogs but your enthusiasm and sheer happiness is a breath of fresh air.  I am particularly happy to hear that your suites experience is a positive one b/c there seems to be so many disappointments relating to suites’ guests unmet expectations.  So glad you had a great time !

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1 hour ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

It’s so nice to see such excitement and joy in a cruise blog !  It seems as though we have been receiving a steady diet of downer blogs but your enthusiasm and sheer happiness is a breath of fresh air.  I am particularly happy to hear that your suites experience is a positive one b/c there seems to be so many disappointments relating to suites’ guests unmet expectations.  So glad you had a great time !

Thanks, @WAAAYTOOO!  Maybe it's just my personality, maybe it was my ignorance as to the wonders of the suite life going in, or maybe it was this blog having me so well researched and prepared for reality.  Probably a combination of all three. 😉. In seriousness though, I really was blown away by the staff in particular and how hard they were working to make everything the absolute best it could be.  I also think they may be past some of the onboarding growing pains with new staff that we were reading about at the start of the summer.  I was also touched by how much the staff really went out of their way to engage with and include our kids; as a teacher and a parent, those things go a long way with me!

 

54 minutes ago, Xaa said:

I'm loving it USCG Teacher.  Can't wait to see the end of the trip.  I love how you find the positive even in the things that aren't perfect.  That's a good trait.  It is vacation after all.

You said it!  My dad always told me that if you go looking for problems, you're probably going to find them.

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My son and I are on this itinerary Sept 4th. It'll be the fourth time we've done this. Twice on Anthem and now twice on Oasis. Probably won't get off the ship. We have done the Beach Club twice, totally agree with @USCG Teacher but I wouldn't pay more than 100$. Currently it's like 179 so a no go for us. On our Ovation cruise this June we had a JS and really wanted to do CK. When I went there on boarding day we were able to book dinner every night for the entire cruise! Perhaps because we wanted to eat at 5 as they first opened. Again I agree the food and service were fantastic, really enhanced the whole trip. I think we saw more whales sitting there than on our whale watch.

Thanks for the insights @USCG Teacher 

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Day 6 - Sea Day

 

Apologies in advance for the lack of photos today, it was definitely a casual lounge about day!  We woke up at our leisure this morning, threw on our bathing suits and made our way up to the Windjammer a little after 9:00 for some breakfast, and it was a madhouse.  The line to get in wrapped past the hallway leading to the hand washing station and into the elevator lobby.  I wanted to scrap the Windjammer and head down to Park Cafe, but DW LOVES her a buffet breakfast, so we persevered. The line did move fairly quickly (they seemed to be letting about 15-20 people at a time), and we were “scrubbing in” within about 10 or 15 minutes.  We divided and conquered once inside, with my youngest and I finding a table while my oldest and DW loaded up their plates.  We managed to find a table tucked away in a corner right between the two sides of the buffet, so I texted her our location and waited for my turn to grab some food. Getting through the line was definitely like playing a high-stakes game of Frogger; the number of people combined with the lack of coffee in their system led to some interesting decision making by the crowd.  All in all, we had a nice breakfast, but it was a bit more chaotic than I like to start my day, and personally would prefer to start my mornings elsewhere.

After breakfast we made our way out to the pool deck and up to the suite sun deck.  Did I mention previously that this is a criminally underutilized space?  It’s really nice up there with plenty of loungers, some fun alternate seating options like covered daybeds and even a few semi-private rooms right over the bow available on a first come, first served basis.  Even the towels are nicer up there, and you don’t have to sign them out.  We hung out on two of the day beds for a bit, then moved our things to some out-of-the-way loungers to make our way down to the pool.  After a few hours of pool deck fun, we headed back to El Loco Fresh for lunch (probably our favorite quick-service lunch spot!).  The boys wanted to go try Adventure Ocean for the afternoon, so they headed back to the cabin while I took advantage of a lull in the line to go down the Ultimate Abyss (fun!) and then come back to meet them.

Since we had registered the boys on Day 1, drop off at AO couldn’t have been easier.  They tapped my SeaPass, checked off their names and reminded us we had to pick them up by 7, which wouldn’t be a problem since we had reservations at Izumi Hibachi at 7.  We went back up to the suite sun deck and enjoyed the rest of the afternoon with some quality time with our favorite bartender Dana and lounging about on our own.  Around 6 we headed back to shower and change for dinner, went and picked up the kids and headed down to deck 4 for dinner.

Dinner at the Hibachi was a fun experience.  We were seated with two other families at our table who were also friendly conversationalists, so that always helps the experience.  I forget the name of our chef, but he was pretty good.  Sure, many of the jokes and interactions are canned, but it was still a good time, and something the kids hadn’t experienced, so they really loved the “dinner and a show” aspect.  In my experience, hibachi restaurants are much more about the entertainment than the food itself, but the main courses were surprisingly good.  Both my kids went with chicken which they enjoyed.  I had the Geisha combo; the chicken was quite good and the steak (medium rare) was surprisingly tender and delicious.  My wife had the Izumi combo and thought the scallops were just okay, but loved the lobster.  On the whole, if you have a good hibachi restaurant near home, Izumi may not quite match the quality of what you're accustomed to, but it is still a really good time. It may not have been the best meal we had on board, but it was the most fun!

After dinner, the plan was to let the kids go back and try the late-night party at AO, but my oldest protested a bit.  Turns out he didn’t have as great of a time at first during the afternoon as he had hoped and was reluctant to go back.  After a little investigation, it turns out that the staff has all of the kids start out in the “arena,” which is the sports area, then they start to split off for different activities from there if they want.  He is not the least bit competitive and not a fan of group sporting events, but he is also an extreme rule follower, so rather than ask to go somewhere else immediately, he just sat and moped on the sidelines for a half an hour or so before finally being given some other options.  We talked about it, and I told him he is allowed to just ask to do something else right away, and he agreed to give it another try.  We’re glad that he did, because he had a great time.  We checked in on him after 90 minutes, and he asked to stay longer, so we let them stay until midnight.  He made a few new friends, played some video games and even decided to join a group game. Turns out asking for what you want combined with the slightly less structured format of the late night sessions were just the thing. My youngest also loved both experiences, as he is our athletic social butterfly who just goes with the flow no matter what!  For the late-night session (I forget if that starts at 9 or 10 PM, but it runs to 1 AM!), it is $7/hr. Per child, and worth every penny!

While the kids enjoyed AO, we explored some of the bars and music venues. We went to the Music Hall to see the Def Leppard cover band, but it was a really odd crowd.  There was one guy on the first level who was really, REALLY into Def Leppard, then everyone else grabbed all the seating or lined up along the rail on the second level, but obviously couldn’t care less about the band.  Like I said, weird scene, and as huge live music fans and concert goers, my wife and I just couldn’t get into it and opted to try some other venues, which was a shame because the band was pretty good.  Next we went to the Schooner Bar, and the young lady playing piano and singing there was fantastic.  After that, we headed down to the Irish Pub where there was pretty good acoustic guitarist and I discovered my new favorite beer cocktail: the Beer’s Knees: The Botanist gin, lemon juice, honey and Paulaner Weiss.  I wish I had found this drink earlier in the cruise, or perhaps it’s better that I didn’t or else my memories and “being present” goal might have suffered!  Finally, we ended up at the Trellis bar in Central Park, where we were convinced to try the best Chocolate Martini anywhere according to a fellow guest.  I don’t know about the best ANYWHERE, but it was really good, and a perfect nightcap.  Once we finished the drinks, we picked up the boys from AO, headed down to Sorrento's for a bedtime pizza, people watching and conversation, then finally headed off to bed to get ready for our last full day on board.

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Great as always.

I see your boys are 7 and 11.  Our one son is 11 going to be a month shy of 12 when we sail.  I wasn't planning on him going to AO but it sounds like maybe he'll enjoy it some.   I want him to enjoy the ship and the rest of our extended family (about 24 people, but he is the only one under 18).  What kinds of things did your 11 year old say they did that were fun there?  He didn't feel too old in the group?

 

Bill

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1 hour ago, Xaa said:

Great as always.

I see your boys are 7 and 11.  Our one son is 11 going to be a month shy of 12 when we sail.  I wasn't planning on him going to AO but it sounds like maybe he'll enjoy it some.   I want him to enjoy the ship and the rest of our extended family (about 24 people, but he is the only one under 18).  What kinds of things did your 11 year old say they did that were fun there?  He didn't feel too old in the group?

 

Bill

Hey Bill!

   At 11, he'll be one of the older kids there, but probably not the oldest.  My 11 year old ran into quite a few 11 and 12 year olds there.  He was particularly fond of some of the art projects as well as the video games (they had some sort of Mario Party tournament going on the one night, although I don't know if that was organized by the AO staff or the kids themselves!).  He was also particularly fond of the digital tables in the art room, which had all sorts of cooperative games and activities.  My biggest suggestion would be to drop him off for a day for an hour or an hour and a half and then just check in on him to see what he thinks!  If he likes it, great!  It's another option for him if the grownups are doing "boring stuff." 😉. If he's not a fan, no big deal, he can stick with the family!

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Day 7 - At Sea

 

After yesterday’s late night, we opted not to set an alarm and just get up whenever it happened.  That turned out to be around 8:30, so we all quickly got dressed, grabbed a quick bite on the Promenade, then dropped the kids off at AO for the morning session.  DW and I did some pre-packing, headed up to the suite sun deck for a few mimosas, then picked up the boys around 11:30 for lunch at Portside BBQ.  Of all the meals I had throughout the week, this was the only one that was disappointing.  Maybe I made it out to be too much in my mind (I LOVE burnt ends) and I was looking forward to it all week, but it was really just kind of meh and I actually preferred the food in the Windjammer.  While I finished my lunch (2 meats, sides and the Banana Dream dessert, which was good), no one else did, and in fact they went around the stern to El Loco Fresh for quesadillas and burritos.

 

Fortunately that was the day’s only disappointment, and it was about to get a LOT better for everyone.  My youngest had been dying to go back to Splashaway Bay, but my oldest wasn’t thrilled about the prospect as he was significantly older than all the other kids there.  Lucky for him, I had booked the two of us on the All Access Tour, and according to our tour guide, this was the first week it was back in action since the restart.  My oldest is obsessed with all things nautical, my youngest would have been bored to tears, so everyone was a winner!  The All Access Tour is absolutely fascinating.  You end up in the galleys, the engine control room, I-95, the provisions lockers, the laundry and of course, the bridge. If you get the opportunity to take the tour, I strongly encourage you to!  It took about 2 ½ hours, and everyone on the tour was fantastic.  Everyone took the time to answer our questions thoughtfully and as thoroughly as they could, and my son had a lot of very specific and technical ones he threw at them!  After the tour, we met DW and my youngest up on the pool deck, and while we were away, he finally decided to give going down the waterslide in Splashaway Bay a try, and he loved it!  So much so, that he just kept going down it over and over almost the entire time we were gone.  Given his new found courage, I asked if he wanted to try the big slides, which he enthusiastically agreed to.  That’s not my wife’s cup of tea, so I quickly ran down the two decks to our cabin, changed into my bathing suit, and lead him over to the slides.  Turns out he’s 49”, so he’s too short for Cyclone and Typhoon, but he made Supercell’s cut off by an inch, so up we went!  The nerves started kicking in once we were up the spiral staircase and on the platform, but credit where it’s due, he went for it, and loved it, too!  There was a group of 4 teenagers in line right in front of us who couldn’t have been kinder or more encouraging with him once they picked up that he was starting to get a bit scared.  My wife told me they even waited for him at the bottom to congratulate him and give him high fives at the bottom! I didn’t get any of their names, but if by some twist of fate you’re reading this, thank you so much!

 

After the tremendous afternoon we all had, we headed back to the cabin to finish packing and get dressed for our final dinner at CK.  We had our bags in the hall by 7:00 and were up on Deck 17 for dinner by 7:15.  Dinner was once again fabulous, but here comes ANOTHER story that exemplifies why I continued to be so impressed throughout this vacation.  Every night for dessert (except for our Izumi night), my youngest wanted chocolate chip cookies for dessert.  I don’t know what it was about those cookies (I mean, they WERE tasty!), but he was OBSESSED with them.  So dinner comes and goes, and right near the end of our entree, a table of 12 comes in without reservations.  It was fairly slow, so of course they were seated, but our server Amilia and another server (Alma, who we also had several times throughout the week) were assigned to cover the unexpected large party.  Amilia came over to take our dessert order, and of course my youngest orders cookies.  A few minutes later, she comes back to tell us that they’re out of cookies in CK, but not to worry, she called down the MDR galley and they’re going to send up some fresh ones. About ten minutes pass, and no desserts, and Amilia and Alma are really hustling to cover the large party plus their other tables.  Fifteen minutes now, and Amilia comes flying out of the back, all of our desserts in hand.  She then proceeds to APOLOGIZE to us for the wait, no one from the MDR ever showed up, so she had Alma cover the large party on her own for a few minutes and ran down there herself to get ONE ORDER OF COOKIES FOR A SEVEN YEAR OLD.  We apologized to her and told her she didn’t have to do that, we could have just run to the Windjammer or the MDR or even ordered them to the cabin from room service!  Without batting an eye, she just matter of factly stated, “There’s no way I was going to let him leave on his last night without his cookies.”  And THAT ladies in gentlemen is why two chocolate chip cookies perfectly encapsulate why this cruise impressed me so much.  Disappointing him even in a minor way simply was not an option for them.

 

After dinner, the boys wanted to do the late night AO time again, so we dropped them off for a few hours while we revisited some of our favorite bartenders to have a last drink with them, say our goodbyes and hand out some final extra gratuities, then picked the boys up around midnight again and went back for one last late night pizza and reminiscing about what our favorite moments about our incredible vacation were at Sorrento’s.

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6 hours ago, USCG Teacher said:

While the kids enjoyed AO, we explored some of the bars and music venues. We went to the Music Hall to see the Def Leppard cover band, but it was a really odd crowd.  There was one guy on the first level who was really, REALLY into Def Leppard, then everyone else grabbed all the seating or lined up along the rail on the second level, but obviously couldn’t care less about the band.  Like I said, weird scene, and as huge live music fans and concert goers, my wife and I just couldn’t get into it and opted to try some other venues, which was a shame because the band was pretty good.

I totally know what you're saying.  We were on Oasis in May and there was a great Billy Idol cover band.  A lot of people got there early and took up the seats on the first floor, but didn't seem to know anything about the music.  It was kind of annoying, frankly.  I didn't let it stop me from dancing, though.  So much fun!

 

Looks like you had a wonderful time!  We loved Oasis and I can't wait to go on it again (having a suite definitely enhanced the experience).  Totally agree with you regarding the Suite Lounge, Suite Deck, and Coastal Kitchen.  

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34 minutes ago, cruisefam86 said:

What were the hours of adventure ocean club? And was it opened the entire time the ship was in port?

Listed times were 9:00 - Noon, 2:00 - 5:00, 7:00 - 10:00 then 10:00 - 2:00 for the Late Night Party Zone (which is $7/hr. per child), but I know on Day 6 they were opened later than that 5:00 listed afternoon time, although I'm not sure why.  I heard they were open the whole time the ship was in port, but I can't confirm that with personal experience.

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The staff is the main reason a cruise on Royal will never truly be bad. It is the small things that make a cruise.

When we did a suite on Allure my BFF's mom was obsessed with the shampoo and conditioner. She would ask our steward every day where she could buy it and he would always say it's made for Royal. On our last night he told her he left some supplies, wink, wink and he would be right back, it was a full container of each. To say it made her last night would be an understatement. She had never cruised before and now she has 4 cruises on the books with Royal.

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10 minutes ago, Ampurp85 said:

When we did a suite on Allure my BFF's mom was obsessed with the shampoo and conditioner. She would ask our steward every day where she could buy it and he would always say it's made for Royal.

It does say it was made for Royal on the bottles. Oddly enough I've come across it at a small boutique hotel, same bottles and scents minus the made for Royal Caribbean statement on them 🤔

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11 hours ago, USCG Teacher said:

Hey Bill!

   At 11, he'll be one of the older kids there, but probably not the oldest.  My 11 year old ran into quite a few 11 and 12 year olds there.  He was particularly fond of some of the art projects as well as the video games (they had some sort of Mario Party tournament going on the one night, although I don't know if that was organized by the AO staff or the kids themselves!).  He was also particularly fond of the digital tables in the art room, which had all sorts of cooperative games and activities.  My biggest suggestion would be to drop him off for a day for an hour or an hour and a half and then just check in on him to see what he thinks!  If he likes it, great!  It's another option for him if the grownups are doing "boring stuff." 😉. If he's not a fan, no big deal, he can stick with the family!

Good advice.  Thank you.  I think what I'll do is register him so we have the option and then if he isn't interested in our activities he will have yet another option from which to choose.  Is it rude if we register him and he never goes?  Will that be taking a slot away from someone else?  I don't want to impact anyone who might value the space more.

Bill

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5 hours ago, Xaa said:

Is it rude if we register him and he never goes?  Will that be taking a slot away from someone else?  I don't want to impact anyone who might value the space more.

You are not taking away a slot when you register them. You're just making it easy to sign them in/out since you'll already be registered.

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6 hours ago, Xaa said:

Thanks Ashley.  I think we will register him then.  There may be some evening choices we make where he would prefer AO

The main registration time on Day 1 is also an Open House, so he'll have a chance to scope it out, ask questions, etc.  The staff was really good about letting the boys know what it was all about.

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3 hours ago, cruisefam86 said:

One more question! What were you options of times for disembarking with the suite concierge?

Good question!  I was going to do a last post about debarkation /final thoughts, but that may be a little while so better to just answer this directly.  The suite concierge would escort guests down to the gangway from the Suite Lounge every 15 minutes starting at 6:30 with the last opportunity to escorted off at 8:15.  You could obviously choose to wait longer than that if you wished, you just wouldn't get the reserved elevator and escort.  We left at 8:00 right after our breakfast in CK, and not having to fight for/wait for an elevator was very nice.  The escort to the gangway on this cruise at that time was completely unnecessary, though.  We were walked to our lane to exit and the "rope" was lowered for us, while all 4 slightly confused guests who constituted the entire line of guests waiting to exit watched. I'm assuming if you try to leave earlier or right when a new tag number is called, that perk would be far more beneficial!

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