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

[Neesa]

3 hours ago, OCSC Mike said:

It was an extremely tame summer here in central FL... and now we have a storm coming this weekend that is being described as the winter version of a tropical storm. Nothing to worry about at home (1-3" of rain and maybe 30-40mph wind gusts) but it could certainly affect some sailings and sea conditions. Weather just gets crazier and crazier.

AND my Christmas decorations outdoors. After the exhaustive but fun planning and execution my outdoor winter wonderland in Florida is coming inside, the inflatables the first to go. I did think wowza, I'm happy I'm not on a ship as I am super sensitive to motion. It was such a mild storm season, hoping the weather people are being overly dramatic which is usually always the case. They audition on a daily basis for who can be the most animated, voted most likely to be hired by a more mainstream program for a bumped up salary! 

[asquared17]

ITS ABOUT DAMN TIME!!!!

 

[OCSC Mike]

28 minutes ago, Neesa said:

AND my Christmas decorations outdoors. After the exhaustive but fun planning and execution my outdoor winter wonderland in Florida is coming inside, the inflatables the first to go. I did think wowza, I'm happy I'm not on a ship as I am super sensitive to motion. It was such a mild storm season, hoping the weather people are being overly dramatic which is usually always the case. They audition on a daily basis for who can be the most animated, voted most likely to be hired by a more mainstream program for a bumped up salary! 

Sorry about your decorations. I'm a lazy Grinch and we're always at my in-laws for Xmas so we don't decorate.

They are definitely being dramatic, as always. That said, tomorrow does look pretty nasty, and you're obviously near the coast, but I don't think it warrants too much concern. I think they keep comparing it to a tropical storm b/c we know what they are. Hopefully it's just a very windy, rainy day with no major issues for anyone.

[OCSC Mike]

42 minutes ago, Jax said:

Well this makes my kinda happy I’m flying into Houston this weekend.  

You should be, lol. Sunday doesn't look too bad later in the day where I am but tomorrow could easily have all types of travel delays, in Orlando at least.

[asquared17]

ugh i hope we fly home without incident on sunday

[SweetPea]

Good call to stay on the ship! We don't like Falmouth.

Enjoy what looks to be the start of a sunny day!

[asquared17]

4 hours ago, SweetPea said:

the start of a sunny day!

i’m dying laughing since we both know our “timing” of our days is wildly different 

 

me: START of my day? i’ve been up since five??

also me: wait this is @SweetPea. this IS the start of the day when on vacation. i remember what she told the genie on oasis!!

[SweetPea]

34 minutes ago, asquared17 said:

i’m dying laughing since we both know our “timing” of our days is wildly different 

me: START of my day? i’ve been up since five??

also me: wait this is @SweetPea. this IS the start of the day when on vacation. i remember what she told the genie on oasis!!

I you for remembering that!

 

In our defense, our dinner time is just about your bedtime.

[asquared17]

we had all aboard at 3:30… it is now 4:45 and we are still in falmouth. 

they also just called an ALPHA ALPHA ALPHA deck 15. 

[asquared17]

and another ALPHA ALPHA ALPHA deck 7 cabin 7226

[asquared17]

….what is up with this sailing!??

[ScottD]

Yeeesh...that's a lot of emergencies!  Hope everyone is OK. At least you got some sun,finally! 

[asquared17]

civilization reigns here for our dining experience!!

we are back in CK

white breezy maxi dress for formal night let’s hope i can keep it clean!!

upgraded to veuve for my tonite at vintages

[Ampurp85]

Is someone having double risotto tonight to get their truffle fix??? 

[asquared17]

captain just got on the PA - we are turned around and heading back to falmouth. medical emergency — maybe one of the alpha alpha alphas? — so that they can have care. 

we were doing a little less than 10 knots and now we are up to almost 21 knots after the announcement. 

i hope whoever it is will be okay

[asquared17]

29 minutes ago, Ampurp85 said:

Is someone having double risotto tonight to get their truffle fix??? 

i diverted and had lobster instead

[asquared17]

we are now at a cruising speed of 22.3 knots as we book it back to jamaica. 

on a completely different note; dinner was the best yet, lobster night in CK!!

J got the sashimi appetizer and caesar, and lobster. 

i got the caesar, lobster and gnocchi.

mark, our server, saw that we had done our tails justice and looked at J and said, “I will bring you another!” before she could say anything, he was off!

i sat there thinking, man, where will she put it? and thank god he didn’t offer to bring me one, since i have this delicious gnocchi to eat.

oh, foolish, FOOLISH me. 

he came back in record time with a bowl — to which i wondered “why would he need a full size bowl???” with TWO TAILS 

AND THEN GENTLY PLACED ONE IN FRONT OF EACH OF US. 

(round 2)

it was sooooooo good. perfectly cooked, tender and not chewy. 

 

in fact, it almost made up for the fact that we had a table with two australians talking about how you have to eat kangaroo cooked rare or else it will be too tough to chew.

thankfully there was lemon sorbet for dessert to cleanse the palate and make us feel slightly less ill.

between that, the mint tea, AND the charcoal capsule — don’t cruise without it tbh — i feel like a new human. which could be considered fairly shocking, given the two glasses of champagne, two lobster tails, and who knows what else  

after dinner, we briefly rallied to retrieve some ducks for hiding. J hid hers and i hid one on top of the slide exit at the abyss on the boardwalk. i watched a little kid grab one of J’s, which always makes me happy. 

and as we stood for seven minutes (or so it seemed) waiting for a non-packed to the gills elevator, i realized: i have yet to find a SINGLE DUCK.

so we came back to the cabin and i decided i would try to find one tomorrow. 

now i am not quite sure how things will shake out; the captain said our situation is “very fluid” — whatever that means — so i wonder if we will even be back to port in time on sunday at all. 

i just hope whoever got hurt is okay

[SweetPea]

2 hours ago, asquared17 said:

how you have to eat kangaroo cooked rare or else it will be too tough to chew.

No. Just no. 

[jbrinkm]

2 hours ago, asquared17 said:

IMG_7319.mov 34.73 MB · 2 downloads

Most dramatic glass of champagne I've ever seen

[SweetPea]

1 hour ago, jbrinkm said:

Most dramatic glass of champagne I've ever seen

Oh i missed the vid! That's the Vueve, right? All hail the Vueve!!! Yum!!!

[asquared17]

8 hours ago, jbrinkm said:

Most dramatic glass of champagne I've ever seen

this is fitting for me

8 hours ago, SweetPea said:

No. Just no. 

i was horrified. it may take weeks (or more champagne) to erase thugs from my memory. 

 

we are currently flying — doing 21.6 knots — presumably to make up time from yesterdays turnaround. once we finally docked in falmouth around 10:25ish last night, i don’t think we were fully stopped for more than five minutes and then we were off and sailing again. 

the last day is always windy but this might take the cake. i am not sure how long we will last up on deck with the seats but we can try. maybe we will go the solarium instead?

i skipped my morning workout and tried to sleep in for the first time, figuring we’d wake up to doom and gloom — but it’s sunny out (for now) albeit hella windy. 

going to enjoy my cold brew for now and then discuss the day’s plans with J. 

i can’t believe it’s the last day?? where did the week go!!!

[OCSC Mike]

31 minutes ago, asquared17 said:

maybe we will go the solarium instead?

That's our go-to. Give it a shot. I hear it's perfect for non-vintages with vintage tendencies.

I haven't been following offshore winds but it's gonna be awful here in FL today.

 

31 minutes ago, asquared17 said:

i can’t believe it’s the last day?? where did the week go!!!

Says every cruiser.

[asquared17]

44 minutes ago, OCSC Mike said:

That's our go-to. Give it a shot. I hear it's perfect for non-vintages with vintage tendencies.

i feel like i’ve earned my vintage card this trip

we have set up in the solarium. the ship is very sleepy, quiet this morning. 

despite there being a lot of kids, for the most part, almost all of them have been well behaved (at least the ones on our deck/nearby). our neighbors are present, but not overbearing, and certainly not creeps like the last time on deck 11/symphony. 

it does feel weird not to go to next cruise to get our next cruise booking, but we are all set until february 2025… and if the royal prices don’t come down, we may be switching to celebrity, depending on how our ascent sailing goes. 

once icon, utopia and star kick into rotation, the itinerary for the remaining oasis class ship (which very well may be oasis) for the caribbean is not great. no PDCC, no st maarten. it’s like labadee and falmouth — which is fine, when sandwiched with other ports that we like. 

we have this ship and itinerary in 50 days, so we will get a do-over on everything that didn’t work out — including, i hope — the weather!!! check-in is next week and i hope RUB choices. 

today we will stay in the solarium as long as we can. the wind is present but bearable, unlike where we normally sit. 

tonight we have aqua show reservations at 7, which i would be inclined to go to if we can get our packing started/a good deal finished. 

breakfast soon the biscuits are calling me

[asquared17]

ALPHA ALPHA ALPHA  deck 16 windjammer 

[LandstromCruise]

13 minutes ago, asquared17 said:

ALPHA ALPHA ALPHA  deck 16 windjammer 

you have had an awful lot of this.  Hope everyone is ok.  

[Neesa]

Wow, another medical situation? Would you say the demographic includes many first time cruisers? Did I miss the C & A numbers? AND, did I understand you correctly, you are doing the same itinerary on the same ship in a few weeks? I am embarrassed to say I get bored easily, if I sailed a ship 2X I'm good unless it's an amazing itinerary that I haven't experienced before. 

No Next Cruise? Do they do placeholders still? Grab yourself one, actually do they sell them for Celebrity? 

Make the most of today, this has been an entertaining experience from here! 

[Ampurp85]

I believe NC does sell celebrity,  so maybe look into that.

But yes so many medical emergencies, I hope it's nothing too serious.

I feel like we are all pre-vintage. Nothing wrong with that.

Also RUB is on one, so I think I'm no longer going to hold off for them. Just book the room I want.

[Lovetocruise2002]

Jumping back in here after being away for the last week and a half or so. Life has thrown us for a loop (more on that at a later date), but I have been following along.

First of all, I have been loving the pre-dinner selfies! Happy to hear that there have been no accidents down flights of stairs, and I am cracking up at all the vintage status comments. We're not there yet, 5pm dinner is way too early for us, but hey, if that is what gets you in to CK consistently, take it! Enjoy your last day cruising, make the most of it. 

[Neesa]

@Ampurp85 thanks for the 411 on NC & Celebrity. Good to know! Also i agree 100% book a cabin you will be happy in, RUB is a nice treat if you score, but if not booking that initial cabin you are comfortable with makes for an amazing sailing!

 

[asquared17]

1 hour ago, Neesa said:

Would you say the demographic includes many first time cruisers?

honestly, i still can’t pin this demographic. i wonder if there is a way to get the C+A numbers if i go to the loyalty desk because i would love to know. 

a really mixed group for sure; definitely a lot of families, a lot of nationalities (which is nice to see).

i can’t tell if it’s a ton of first timers necessarily, but i would say not as many seasoned cruisers for sure. 

1 hour ago, Neesa said:

another medical situation

2 hours ago, LandstromCruise said:

you have had an awful lot of this.  Hope everyone is ok.  

 i don’t know that i’ve ever heard so many ALPHAS called. i can tell you i’ve NEVER heard an OSCAR called before. that was insane and scary. 

thankfully it seems like everyone is okay? i don’t know that i’ve ever been on a cruise where we turned back to the port for medical emergency. i do remember being on the demon ship last december and getting to miami EARLY because of the medical emergency. and the fire department came to rescue the people to safety before we officially docked. 

1 hour ago, Neesa said:

did I understand you correctly, you are doing the same itinerary on the same ship in a few weeks

we are indeed!!!!!

J and i are very low key cruisers; we want the peace and quiet of a sunshine vacation. if we we make it to an aqua show, that is the extent of our “evening plans” so this will be okay by us, as we love oasis and would rather be on her than a quantum class ship (which was the only other availability at the time we wanted to sail that wasn’t icon pricing)

8 minutes ago, Ampurp85 said:

I feel like we are all pre-vintage.

i know i am

7 minutes ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

Jumping back in here after being away for the last week and a half or so. Life has thrown us for a loop (more on that at a later date), but I have been following along.

i was just thinking to myself last night that i hadn’t seen or heard much from you and hoping all was okay

9 minutes ago, Ampurp85 said:

Also RUB is on one, so I think I'm no longer going to hold off for them. Just book the room I want.

true. we went pretty basic fare for an aft balcony for feb but i don’t mind seeing if we have a shot at a RUB. if we don’t, we will still be happy with the cabin.

8 minutes ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

First of all, I have been loving the pre-dinner selfies! Happy to hear that there have been no accidents down flights of stairs

i am also quite glad to have remained on solid ground without falls but i will admit to walking a lot more slowly these days. it helps that we are going up via the elevator to deck 17 for CK than down to the MDR haha

9 minutes ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

5pm dinner is way too early for us, but hey, if that is what gets you in to CK consistently, take it

our thoughts exactly!!!

[Neesa]

The Suite Lounge concierge can pull up the numbers on their computer for the sailing. That is where I located mine on the Wonder this past summer! She turned he screen and the breakdown was there to jot down. 

[asquared17]

well folks the hits keep coming.

the captain just got on and said we won’t be docking into miami until best case 10am. he doesn’t expect us to clear customs until 11, at best. 

because we are sailing into the storm tonight AND there will be storms in NJ tomorrow later afternoon, i am concerned we won’t make our flight.

BUT the storms at home could mean flight delays too. 

our flight is at 1:48 out of FLL. 

not sure what to do. 

[asquared17]

27 minutes ago, Neesa said:

The Suite Lounge concierge

maybe i will try to inquire of the nice (not snooty) suite concierge. i wonder if they would know in the crown lounge. 

[asquared17]

i think we are going to try and hold for now. but really, y’all. this is not ideal

waiting for any type of communication for RCI to put on their homepage or in the roll call for tomorrow’s sailing or paperwork in our room. 

i guess… we get breakfast on board? 

[asquared17]

also i’m not sure if they’re afraid of civil unrest or what but i have seen so many groups of officers clustered in clumps all over and walking around, making the rounds on the ship. 

this has been a truly eventful sailing. 

[Neesa]

Oh no! Yes in the Crown lounge as well. I am sad to say flying looks to be a mess tomorrow. From my personal experience coming in late on the Serenade due to the fog, it maybe ugly tomorrow disembarking. See if the concierge is making arrangements to get suites off. If you could push your flight I just might. Everyone and I mean everyone disregarded directions and practically stampede to the exit on our late arrival. Anger, frustration, yelling, fighting, please take care of yourself and pack your patience. I hope for you as smooth as can be off the ship tomorrow. And the Serenade was small, gosh I feel for you.

[Neesa]

Yes, they take care of you. For us they fed us all day and extended wifi and drink packages. If I recall we disembarked around 5 pm. Oh and we had our luggage as we packed light. It took a hot minute for all the luggage to get taken off the ship. Maybe just browse the airline and see if there is an alternative flight, early bird and all.

 

[Neesa]

Okay maybe not popular but see if you can take out the very first flight Monday morning. Take your time disembarking. Maybe wait for the initial rush and stay overnight at the airport for as stress-free as you can be.

[OCSC Mike]

Just now, Neesa said:

Okay maybe not popular but see if you can take out the very first flight Monday morning. Take your time disembarking. Maybe wait for the initial rush and stay overnight at the airport for as stress-free as you can be.

This may wind up being not only a good idea but a necessary one. I'll admit I selfishly don't follow storms very closely once they leave us but from what I've gathered, this goofy winter non-tropical storm is headed up the east coast and into the northeast.

Hoping things go as smoothly as possible for you @asquared17 !

[jbrinkm]

It's also possible that the storms might delay flights as well, both coming into and going out of FLL.