sailing into an oasis for diamonds | 12.10.23-12.17.23 ~ oasis of the seas

[asquared17]

they’ve transformed the library into “holiday marketplace”

BUT

it matters not! we are on board!!!!

and you know what time it is

 

[asquared17]

so this tuna appears to be made with munster cheese and the guac layer. there was also a random additional layer of mayo — you know i deconstructed — and no peppers detected. 

this is acceptable

we have done our muster check in already, and we are headed to see if we can make dinner resos now. 

also — our boarding time was 11-11:30, but we walked on at maybe 10:50! 

a win is a win!

[Ampurp85]

So the tuna has guacamole and mayo??????

Also what's a holiday market in Royal terms???

[LandstromCruise]

Excited to follow along. I loved Oasis back in early 2020 when we went on it right after the refurb. Everything except Cats was great. I have booked it again for spring break 2026 for a southern Caribbean itinerary 

[asquared17]

THE GNOMES ARE STILL HERE!!!!!!

i love them so

[asquared17]

update: the music hall is closed. 

not sure if that’s just for now because they don’t want a ton of humans meandering through the ship or what. but the water tight doors are up and preventing you from going in on deck 8 or 9. 

we tried to find the card room on 11 and 12 — no dice. the signs are there. but the room…. is not. 

 currently we are parked on the floor outside the watertight doors to our deck’s corridor. the signs says rooms will be open by 1pm. 

we have already run down to deck 3 to confirm our MTD reservations. we made reservations at 5 in CK for dinner on nights 2, 4, and 6. it was really nice of the host in CK to pop us in for the week at that time so we don’t have to go back and forth every night hoping they can accommodate us.

he said there are a lot of parties who already booked those middle dining slots, so it was either 5pm or 8pm. we’re winding down by 8pm, so that would have never worked.

tonight we will likely do portside bbq because it’ll be quick and easy and we tend to avoid the MDR like the plague on night 1. 

also we haven’t been impressed with the giovanni’s menu and are not super enthused with the fee for chops/150 central park, so we will likely be half MDR this time, half CK. 

i am hitting a wall so i hope we can go into the cabins soon and catch a quick nap!

[LandstromCruise]

16 minutes ago, asquared17 said:i am hitting a wall so i hope we can go into the cabins soon and catch a quick nap!

I should probably do this so that I’m not exhausted by 9pm on the first night, but I’m usually so excited for my cruise there is no way I can fall asleep 

[SweetPea]

43 minutes ago, asquared17 said:

so it was either 5pm or 8pm. we’re winding down by 8pm, so that would have never worked.

First, Bon Voyage!

Second, 5pm?! You're going to make a GREAT vintage someday!

[PPPJJ-GCVAB]

5 minutes ago, SweetPea said:

First, Bon Voyage!

Second, 5pm?! You're going to make a GREAT vintage someday!

I was thinking the same thing!   

[WAAAYTOOO]

The fact that they’re letting you eat in the CK makes me hopeful that we will be able to get in when we cruise on OA in March.  That is the first upcoming cruise for us where I am apprehensive about being allowed access to the SL/CK…but this is a great sign !  Of course, being excluded from the SL can happen on any ship but I am the most concerned about the OA class and anything sailing out of PC.  Those are Pinn magnets

[asquared17]

we are currently on our second meal. (@OCSC Mike aren’t you proud???)

we have just left el loco fresh — or, as we call it, el topo chieco — with quesadillas and chips in hand. the guac was passable once i squeezed another three lime wedge and mixed it up. 

i did, in fact, make it to schooner bar to get my traditional red stripe. i will confess that it has disappeared at an alarming rate. 

we have gotten 2/3 of our bags. 

our bags were already in the hall when we got to our cabin at 12:50pm…. minus my duffel. we unpacked and then i made my first trip to the brig to see if my luggage was there. 

 

very nice luggage lady: [somewhat suspiciously] why do you think your luggage would be here [in the brig]? 

me: well. you know those people, who always get randomly searched for airport security?

VNLL: …yes…?

me: that’s me. i always get flagged. 

VNLL: [starts laughing]

me: …also there’s a 10lb weighted blanket in there, so. 

VNLL: i see

me: i know all the luggage has only starting being brought aboard but i have this ~feeling. 

VNLL: i am in charge of this luggage. give me til after 3pm and i will have an update for you. 

me: you are the BEST!! thank you!!!

 

so J and have unpacked (mostly) and we are now chilling near the mini golf where there is a little table and chairs set up off to the side. i think we will walk around in a bit, scope out our preferred pool deck seats, maybe check out the aqua theater and get some champagne from vintages for sailaway. 

prime time, baby. it’s Peak Promenade hour.

(we fled quickly after this photo was taken.)

 

[asquared17]

2 hours ago, SweetPea said:

First, Bon Voyage!

Second, 5pm?! You're going to make a GREAT vintage someday!

1 hour ago, PPPJJ-GCVAB said:

I was thinking the same thing!   

ahahahaha this is why i suspect we will be a nice fit for celebrity in 2025 but yes haha

1 hour ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

The fact that they’re letting you eat in the CK makes me hopeful that we will be able to get in when we cruise on OA in March.  That is the first upcoming cruise for us where I am apprehensive about being allowed access to the SL/CK…but this is a great sign !  Of course, being excluded from the SL can happen on any ship but I am the most concerned about the OA class and anything sailing out of PC.  Those are Pinn magnets

i was actually quite encouraged by the fact that the crew member would let us make reservations for the full week and not have us call/check in every day. 

5pm is surely not our preferred time, but we don’t love the menu on the other days anyway so we will just rock the MDR or another venue (maybe playmakers?) if need be. 

the funny thing is, we literally eat in 40-50 mins and we are pretty simple so i always feel like we can squeeze in whenever. but there are some large star class and sky class groups aboard, so i understand.  

i, too, am glad we were able to get in. he would have given us 5pm for the full week but we declined. it was very kind of him.

[OCSC Mike]

2 minutes ago, asquared17 said:

we are currently on our second meal. (@OCSC Mike aren’t you proud???)

we have just left el loco fresh — or, as we call it, el topo chieco — with quesadillas and chips in hand. the guac was passable once i squeezed another three lime wedge and mixed it up. 

Very proud… and shocked you found passable guac. You know I’m not picky but the stuff on Wonder was green sludge & I didn’t even try it on Allure. Have you ever tried tobasco chipotle flavor? Someone here recommended it to me & it was a game changer for ELF tacos. Smoky flavor, not spicy. They have it on CocoCay too. I bought some at Walmart after the last cruise it was so good.

Enjoy the week! I’m a bit busy these days but will be following along (especially when you tag me in food posts, lol).

[asquared17]

well, the bag hunt continues. 

we have made our second journey down to the brig and nothing. 

alas. currently we are on our balcony for sailaway (45 mins early) with champagne and snacks. 

 

this is the cute little seating area we find on the port side of deck 15, directly behind the mini golf. we took our el topo chieco here to eat

currently in port with us today: 

norwegian encore

two carnival ships

virgin voyages (in the back)

and you can’t see her, but serenade is tucked in there too. 

the line for the ultimate abyss!

[Neesa]

Personal question request, is J real? I saw the luggage, I see the champagne glasses.

Would you give me proof? Maybe a picture with sunglasses? A picture from the rear? Hiding behind a crew member?

Something? Inquiring minds want to know! Hey J it's me Neesa. Come on girl, show yourself! 

[WAAAYTOOO]

I can vouch. J is real, although I cannot verify that she is actually along on THIS trip.  

[asquared17]

@Neesa J and i are dying laughing right now!!!!

thankfully raye can vouch for her existence and YES i will try to get a suitable photo to prove it!!

[asquared17]

serenade just left us!! we are up next for sailaway!! (everyone is definitely running late today )

let’s see if my timelapse will load. apologies for the shakiness at that end; i had my phone resting in the railing and the folks in the next cabin down were thumping on it in excitement

[asquared17]

it is now dark and we are still in miami.

our cabin attendant let us know that we wouldn’t be leaving til 8pm due to something with maintenance. he said last week’s sailing also departed at 8. 

when i looked at the roster, valiant lady had the last departure - so im not sure if we took her spot or if we are both leaving this evening. 

we were on the balcony around 6 when our cabin attendant knocked on the glass to let me know that my bag, was in fact in the brig. 

as suspected. 

however i had made the rookie move of purchasing a new power plug that had a longer than typical cord… and they took that sucker.  

anyway, everything else is unpacked and we are at portside bbq now for dinner! we’ll eat some for you, @ScottD!!

[asquared17]

Just now, asquared17 said:

when i looked at the roster, valiant lady had the last departure - so im not sure if we took her spot or if we are both leaving this evening. 

welp. 

 

[SweetPea]

3 hours ago, asquared17 said:

we have just left el loco fresh — or, as we call it, el topo chieco

Every Mexican restaurant is "Baha Fresh" in this house! 

And love the size of your room! However, i stand by my 90s College Decor comment! I know she just got a refurb pre-CV19, but the cabins got no love. They need some.

[asquared17]

8 hours ago, Ampurp85 said:

the tuna has guacamole and mayo??????

i saw a sign at cafe promenade that had the tuna sandwich set up and they were calling it pesto. 

it was not flavored like pesto, but what do i know?!

i think the mayo is supposed to help it on the panini press, since it’s technically a tuna melt at park cafe and i never get them melted.

[WAAAYTOOO]

So, has the errant bag been retrieved from luggage jail ?

I have a plug extender with a removable power cord.  I always remove the cord, stuff it (the cord) inside a pair of sneakers in a SEPARATE suitcase from the unit.  I actually don’t think it violates any “rules” but since that extender is vital to our comm setup, I takes no chances.  So far, no problems.  

[asquared17]

portside bbq was nice and quiet, we had the place to ourselves. 

J had brought two ducks along to hide and i was less ambitious, bringing one. the crewmember who took our order was so delighted that we were crusing together — she thought we met on the cruise and then became cruise buddies. (i, meanwhile, was feverishly thinking of all the shenanigans that @Ampurp85 has witnessed on her cruises and knew i could never have that kind of fortune to fine a solid cruise buddy that way ) 

we got to chatting before ordering and she loved that it was our second time together on oasis. she also saw our ducks and was super intrigued. 

we ordered our food, it was delicious! i got the kids meal, and J ordered the 2 cuts with two sides. 

after dinner, my family (at home) had requested we make the rounds in the jammer to inspect dessert. i really like the way oasis jammer is laid out, but the place was packed and we only stayed long enough for J to grab a small cheesecake. 

however they were playing the chainsmokers over the speakers, so that was a nice moment

feeling comfortably full, we decided to venture down to deck five to see what kind of offerings cafe promenade had. i particularly was interested in peppermint tea. 

would you believe no one on board has peppermint tea right now?!

we people watched for a bit and then the promenade got quite busy due to live music beginning, so we headed to the vitality cafe, where — they did not have peppermint tea, but i was able to use to my last diamond voucher for chamomile tea with fresh mint leaves inside. 

then we walked to central park, to sit in some absurdly low seating and listen to the nice guitar melodies. 

J hid her last ducks and then we finally came back home. 

now we are on our balcony, staring out at the miami skyline. 

meanwhile cars, yachts, and planes continue to roam by.

J, [just now, all dejected]: “everybody’s going places but us!”

amen, J. 

 

 

[asquared17]

14 minutes ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

So, has the errant bag been retrieved from luggage jail ?

I have a plug extender with a removable power cord.  I always remove the cord, stuff it (the cord) inside a pair of sneakers in a SEPARATE suitcase from the unit.  I actually don’t think it violates any “rules” but since that extender is vital to our comm setup, I takes no chances.  So far, no problems.  

alicia just advised me to do the same. 

i didn’t know the cord could come detachable! 

yes, the bag was retrieved from jail and i am grateful for it because it has my weighted blanket and mattress air pad — i know i am bought maintenance

smart to put in a separate suitcase though… i’ll have to grab a photo of the plugs we do have — thankfully i had several backup plans in place. 

[asquared17]

the horn just sounded!! it’s 8:01pm!

we are leaving at last!

[SweetPea]

24 minutes ago, asquared17 said:

the horn just sounded!! it’s 8:01pm!

we are leaving at last!

Yeah! 

[asquared17]

we are officially at sea! 

1 hour ago, SweetPea said:

love the size of your room! However, i stand by my 90s College Decor comment! I know she just got a refurb pre-CV19, but the cabins got no love. They need some.

yes, agree on all counts although i quite like the random metal sculpture above the bed that somehow throws a sort of lighting moment. i’m not sure what to make of it, but it’s grown on me. 

 

other random cabin observations:

- our mini fridge is not even slightly cold. i know they are not real fridges but even our stateroom attendant was like — yeah, no. i will have someone look at it. 

- there are so many cabinets and nooks and crannies in this room!! the newer setups — harmony and beyond — have a more streamlined look, and that’s fine, but we have so many drawers and vanity cubbies. hopefully we don’t forget anything!

 - it’s ICE COLD in here. last night’s stay at the holiday inn express was fine for our purposes, but they have those big AC units by the window that don’t run constantly and shut off during the night. every time they’d shut off, we would wake up, because it got so hot. and then when it ran, it was loud. maybe we just had a bad unit? UNSURE. but after windstar and wanting to be FRIGID 24/7, this is a DREAM.

- J reports that the shower is both HOT and the pressure is STRONG. what a dream come true!!!  

[asquared17]

6 hours ago, OCSC Mike said:

Have you ever tried tobasco chipotle flavor? Someone here recommended it to me & it was a game changer for ELF tacos. Smoky flavor, not spicy

no, but this sounds amazing! i will look for it now. 

you would have liked portside bbq i think — even though it was pay to play

[asquared17]

goodnight from us and our ducks! 

 

[OCSC Mike]

35 minutes ago, asquared17 said:

you would have liked portside bbq i think — even though it was pay to play

I definitely would (my picky wife would order chicken fingers or something though, not BBQ). We eat at Playmakers whenever we are without the family. I'm frugal, not a complete cheapskate.

[Ampurp85]

I am glad you made it in one piece after another crazy Uber driver. But wow sailing away so late, takes away some of the fun.

You JS looks huge, it might be angle of the picture taken but its ample. I loved Portside on Oasis, I really wished they had put it on more ships. 

[ScottD]

That Portside sure LOOKS good... I can only imagine.. LOL.  MAYBE we will get on Oasis a third time, and if so- I will make that the first damn place I go so I don't miss out again! 

And we thought the same thing about the rooms on Oasis, soo many cabinets- like what are those skinny ones next to the vanity even for- they were hidden behind the balcony curtain, and I wouldn't dare use them, knowing I'd absolutely leave something in them!!

 

[WAAAYTOOO]

Concur re:  Port Side.  I love it.  Wish it was on more ships.

[Sweety]

This is one of my bucket list cruise. Can't wait to try Port side bbq.

[asquared17]

good morning from nassau!!

we slept… better. not great, but definitely better than at the hotel and i think once we get to sleep tonite, we will be in business!

i was up around 6, and got going around 6:30 to work out. it was a fairly disjointed workout, however, as we were coming into nassau and i needed to stop several times to capture both the sunrise and coming to park next to the celebrity ascent! 

fun fact, we are booked on celebrity ascent in february 2025… and may have special friends joining us… i will let them decide if they wish to reveal their presence or not

but back to our regularly scheduled programming!

after my workout, i went to the crown lounge. J texted me that the la vazza machine in the cabin was not working so i grabbed her an americano. i then diverted to the jammer for some almond milk, since our fridge is not cold and i didn’t want to open my almond milk and put it back inside to spoil. 

a quick shower and change later and we headed to park cafe for a light breakfast bite. it is definitely busy on the ship this morning; typically day two is a sea day and everyone is getting acclimated and waking up slowly. but because we are in port, there were many folks already up and about, getting ready to go ashore, i imagine. 

we scored our happy seats on the sundeck and are camped out for the day. not too many folks up and about up here but i’m sure they will come soon.

since tonite is CK — and our 5pm dinner reservation — we will have to kick away from our seats at 4pm the absolute LATEST. we also have the aqua show tonite at 8 (hope we make it!) 

looking forward to a relaxing day in the sun

another note: we decided that portside bbq night one is the way to go and will definitely be returning in night one in february. given the die of this ship, the number of pax, and how insane night one is, we were delighted to have the place to ourselves before folks discovered it. no rush to dine, no drawn out dining experience either — and we could go when we wanted to. truly the best of all worlds. 

also todays shopping recommendations (these links do not give me a kick back ) and i scored most of this on black friday shopping deals so i cannot speak to the prices now:

- drink clip for coffee // https://a.co/d/1vk7LOD

- waterboy hydration packets (pricier than liquid IV but also more packed with good stuff) // https://a.co/d/5zANOoS

- iron flask coffee mug // https://a.co/d/j688DHE

- iron flask 40 oz canteen // https://a.co/d/4YjjK9Q

i like the iron flask because it has a wide mouth and it’s easy to clean. also it comes with three different lid styles.

- best travel pillow ever // https://thecushionlab.com/products/travel-deep-sleep-pillow

- weighted travel blanket! // https://a.co/d/dfZSIZG

just in case y’all want to know why i travel with a caravan of bags

[asquared17]

11 hours ago, OCSC Mike said:

definitely would (my picky wife would order chicken fingers or something though, not BBQ

you are in luck! they had chicken fingers for her!

10 hours ago, Ampurp85 said:

glad you made it in one piece after another crazy Uber driver. But wow sailing away so late, takes away some of the fun.

You JS looks huge, it might be angle of the picture taken but its ample. I loved Portside on Oasis, I really wished they had put it on more ships. 

same. that was like mr toad’s wild ride. i think it was the first time i gave a three star rating on an uber ride. we were trying to decide if the 32 min ride to hell was better than a prolonged ride of 45+ mins of agony and couldn’t decide.

it’s definitely the angle; my dad said the same thing about the room

also agree about the late sail way; especially since we had so many false starts. at least we got to watch everyone else leave!!

3 hours ago, ScottD said:

That Portside sure LOOKS good... I can only imagine.. LOL.  MAYBE we will get on Oasis a third time, and if so- I will make that the first damn place I go so I don't miss out again! 

And we thought the same thing about the rooms on Oasis, soo many cabinets- like what are those skinny ones next to the vanity even for- they were hidden behind the balcony curtain, and I wouldn't dare use them, knowing I'd absolutely leave something in them!!

you have to go!!! you will love it!!

packing up is certainly going to be an adventure; i hope we don’t forget anything  

J mentioned she didn’t remember the curtain separating the couch from the rest of the room being so prominent, either. i can’t remember if they were just tied back on other oasis class ships or simply not there. in any case, we like our cabin

3 hours ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

Concur re:  Port Side.  I love it.  Wish it was on more ships.

agree!! i think it is the only ship in the fleet?? maybe they were planning to install on allure after her amplification. it’s a great venue, and i am shocked, given how everything these days seems like it’s a $ grab at times….

18 minutes ago, Sweety said:

This is one of my bucket list cruise. Can't wait to try Port side bbq.

you are going to love it!!!

oasis is an older ship, and she shows her wear in certain places, but there are also a few things that are so unique that it more than makes up for it!! please let me know if there is anything specific you’d like pictures of, and i will try to grab for you!!

[Sweety]

I am 85% sure, I will book for 2025 for Christmas. Hubby credit card is very low.

[Neesa]

54 minutes ago, Sweety said:

Hubby credit card is very low.

I spit my morning tea across the table, thank you so much for this one! I love it!!!

You have no idea how much I needed some laughter this morning

[Ampurp85]

Nothing like a sun rise on a cruise ship . It's like 30 degrees in Chicago

I couldn't imagine eating dinner at 5pm but I probably would to avoid the MDR

But we.....meaning my brother, mother and I.....will be lucky enough to sail with @asquared17 and J on the Celebrity Ascent in 2025. I am excited to finally sail with them but also try a fully smoke free casino