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LIVE from Oasis of the Seas 9/16-9/23


Irieman

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I am still new to this board but have read and learned so much over the past few months. Thank you all.

Right now I am laying in bed on the 2nd day of an Eastern Caribbean itinerary. I have sailed Voyager and Freedom class before and was excited but worried about the size of this class. My verdict is in, Oasis class gets two thumbs up. Here are my observations from the first two days:

- it's all about the width. The extra space creates venues that are not just larger but not pass throughs to other parts of the ship. Boleros and the Schooner bar are two examples much more self contained and pleasing. 

- Where are those crowds? The ship seems less crowded than the other two classes I have sailed. Using advice from you all, embarkation lunch at the solarium, Park Cafe for snacks, first night at a specialty restaurant and even  using the Coke machine in the arcade all were great suggestions!

- Entertainment... I liked Cats. The talent was top notch. Oasis of Dreams was terrific unique. Spent an enjoyable hour in the Schooner bar listening to the piano player. 

- Having the solarium in front of the forward elevators makes the whole area more peaceful. Again less through traffic compared to other classes.

- Had a couples massage right at sail away from Port Canaveral. Got to say it was a great way to leave the stress at the Port.

The one thing I can confirm crowding were the pools for a few hours.  They seemed more like hot tubs with so many people in them.

Tomorrow is the first sea day so I am looking forward to exploring more and trying out some other RCBlog tips. Feel free to share more! ? 

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My wife and just completed a breakfast stroll through this ship to sample many of the possibilities. Here we go...

First stop at 7:30 was the Solarium Bistro. Wonderfully quiet and sat outside while having the basic buffet spread. Two thumbs up for the vibe and the view. A thumbs down for the coffee from the coffee drinker who said it was way to dark. 

Next up was the Park Cafe that was not crowded and very peaceful. The coffee was much better and noted the bagels and 3 types if cream cheese for tomorrow. We did grab a muffin and sat outside in the park watching people, workers tending to the plants and even a real bird who must have hicrhed a ride from Port. 

Now to Boardwalk at 8:30 and that must have been Johnny Rockets opening as there was a line of 20. I assume they would be seated fast and we may try it another day for the made to order food. 

Lastly was the Windjammer and there were still seats open but much louder and busier than the three other places combined. 

Now the hard choice, were to find the right setting to lay out. So many choices! I love this ship!!

 

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22 minutes ago, Irieman said:

Now to Boardwalk at 8:30 and that must have been Johnny Rockets opening as there was a line of 20. I assume they would be seated fast and we may try it another day for the made to order food

Definitely! Try "the works" on the menu, you won't leave hungry.:27_sunglasses:

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46 days.....

 

I enjoyed Oasis so much in Jan that I had to book another.  Last time we were in the aft section of the ship, 

but I loved the Solarium so I booked much closer to the bow so it would be a quicker walk.  Also, it may 

make it easier for dinner to elevate from up front and walk to the MDR.

 

I hope you have a wonderful time and I will be glued to this blog!

 

Agree with mbk - great to see my man rjac posting!   Praying for you and all of your ENC peeps.

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....and now the highlights from yesterday!!

After our breakfast stroll we made our way to the beach pool to relax. This is our first summer cruise and was glad for partly cloudy skies cause that sun was hot! After a couple hours of time we moved to the shade of the solarium and again was again impressed with the layout of the area on this class of ship.

We average one drink a day so we pay per drink and had a wonderful surprise. We decide to split a pina colada and our bartender asked if we wanted two straws. As we waited I gave my sweetie a kiss or two and bam, two drinks appeared. It was a nice gesture that will be remembered for years. 

Lunch was at the Park Cafe and featured the made to order salad.  Having the tongs not touched by thousands is a big plus.

Later in the afternoon I hit the track which I can confirm is the best I have seen at sea.  Being dedicated space on deck five makes its usable all day long and at 2.4 laps per mile limits the gerbil wheel feel of going around and around.

A typical solid dining room dinner was followed by a set at the piano bar, the headliner show and then some funk by the ship orchestra at dazzles. The headliner was Savannah Jack and kept the almost full Opal hopping for about an hour. I was a tad disappointed in the funk set at dazzles cause a lead singer was missed. 

All in all relaxing sea day with good food and still overwhelmed with so many entertainment options at night. 

My mission today is to have a blast taking the "5 star tour" and pricing out the vodka and soda! 

 

 

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Was curious and looked up your itinerary:

16.9.2018 Port Canaveral, Florida 06:00-16:30
17.9.2018 Nassau 08:00-15:00
18.9.2018 Cruising n/a
19.9.2018 St Thomas, US Virgin Islands 10:30-19:00
20.9.2018 Philipsburg 08:00-17:00
21.9.2018 Cruising n/a
22.9.2018 Cruising n/a
23.9.2018 Port Canaveral, Florida 06:00-16:30

Seems like the perfect blend of port and sea days, I hope you and your SO have a fantastic time in St. Thomas today!

(Btw, have you dined at Johnny Rockets for breakfast yet?)

 

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Hello all, will post a review of the day in just a bit but wanted to answer some questions that have been posted...

1. There is live Central Park music! I haven't gone back through but so far I remember Jazz on the park on the second night and tonight was string melodies with delite duo.

2. The vodka and soda water price was $9.38 checked at a bar POS.  Not sure if that included the 18 percent gratuity but the wierd number suggests that.

3. For those about to go on Oasis, the ship will not disappoint!  

Recap to follow. 

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Another happy Oasis day in the books! Here is my happiness list worth noting...

A nicely timed stop at St Thomas from 10:30 to 6:30 allowed for a relaxed morning while watching the arrival and late enough to have significant time in port. Nassau was a 2:30 all aboard that just felt like we left to early. 

Breakfast was at the Park Cafe and we took some snacks for our day ahead. Then up to see the ship sail into the harbor. We walked around a bit and then started our "five star" tour if the island. Honestly some of the tour was lacking but the full two hours at Megan beach was worth all five stars.

The shopping on the Main Street was nothing to write about so I looked to see what was around.  We saw that the second oldest synagogue in the western hemisphere was a 5 minute walk so we header there. The suprise was we were just in time for Yom Kippur services and were welcomed in. The building itself is amazing with white sand floors. 

Back on the ship and to the main dinning room with our usual table. I wasn't sure what to have for dessert so I said surprise me.  Well, when dessert rolled around I had a large mashup of I ice cream and cookies. A fun surprise. 

We were tired so we didn't do much of the normal entertainment. Sometimes it's the unusual that is most enjoyable. We went down to the track took a seat the back of the ship where there are about a dozen wooden recliners. From there we watched St Thomas vanish in the night ski with the sound of the water churning by the props. While we were there the water show began and we were able to see the behind the scenes hustle and bustle stage crew and performers moving from stage left and right. 

Some quick thoughts- elevator banks can get busy but it's mostly the set at the back - I have seen more organized kids events which have made me smile such as the pirate parade and games on the board walk. - The captains update on channel 14 is a first for me on my 4 cruises and very much appreciated. Way more useful than the public address announcements during the day. 

Another port tomorrow with more beach time. Love the carribean sand and water!!

 

 

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Yes, Jeffrey is the cruise director. I know people have different preferences in cruise directors but I like him. Two years ago on Liberty we were soaking up the sun and lost track of time. We were literally the last ones off and there was Jeffrey greeting us in the terminal. He said no worries and that is truly the way to finish off every second the cruise. ?

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8 minutes ago, Irieman said:

Yes, Jeffrey is the cruise director. I know people have different preferences in cruise directors but I like him. Two years ago on Liberty we were soaking up the sun and lost track of time. We were literally the last ones off and there was Jeffrey greeting us in the terminal. He said no worries and that is truly the way to finish off eveey second the cruise. ?

That's awesome! He was our cruise director on both Navigator and Liberty and we really liked him too. He's a really good host at all of the shows, especially the Love and Marriage game show, the Quest, and the morning show. Watching the morning show as we wake up and get ready for the day is one of our favorite cruise past times. Can't beat that feeling of excitement and anticipation for the day to come! Glad to hear he's still out there because I know he had retired at one point and came back.

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Day 5!

Our last port day was a full beach day at Great Bay Beach. It started relaxed with room service and breakfast in bed. Just fun to do it once during the week. ? After that it was a leisurely get ready to meet the group at 9:45. We did the typical herding in line to and from the water taxi and were sheparded to a fairly packed area with chairs, umbrellas with drink and food service. It was definitely a party feeland  fun to meet others. Also we were informed that since there was not a second group our 3 hour beach adventure was actually all day with the return taxis running every ten minutes or so. It was enjoyable but completely opposite of the relaxed, room to spread out beach time of Mehgan's beach yesterday. Vote goes to yesterday!

Back on board with a fantastic dining room dinner. Service has been top notch with offers of seconds every time we finish our plates or for something different if we leave a bit left over. 

We tend to search out quiet places on the ship so we strolled around the track after dinner taking in the moonlight and the appearance of the planets as it got darker as more stars could be seen.

The ice show on the Oasis was more high energy than the others I have seen and was appreciated. Studio B on the Oasis seems to be the same size than other classes but better designed to move crowds in and out. The Freedom and Voyager versions all had a single choking point. 

Talking about quiet spaces, we finished the evening with the Central Park violen concert. 6000 people on the ship and you can find entertainment with a few dozen people spread out under the stars and among the plants listening to a pair of talented artists. 

Next up is a first of two sea days! Who knows what Oasis adventures awaits!!

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Day 6 mid-day live update

(Wrote it but never sent it until now. Consider part one of today!)

A relaxed start of the day led us to Johnny Rockets for breakfast. The sweet spot seems to be about 15 minutes after opening so you miss the line waiting to open and it filling up later on. Service was spot on and the food delicious. 

We took the back stage tour and learned a lot. Of note was that the Andrew Loyd Webber company has sign off on each performer and the music is not live as the company was worried about quality. With that said each instrument has its own track so mixing is up to the director. 

Since I know some do not appreciate the show I asked if it will be replaced at the next dry dock. No confirmation on that but I was told that the agreement was for 6 years or 10 performing groups which will be close to being done at drydock. They could always negotiate a new contract but I would bet on a new show. 

Some odds and ends. The water was shut off shipwide at night for maintence and the Opal theater shows had to be cancelled last night due to a computer malfunction. They are working on it today and promised at least a variety show as a replacement. That may be interesting!!  In name of live, I leave you with my current view. Enjoy!

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Day 6 continued...

The weather was fantastic with following winds keeping the wind well in check on deck. With us doing 20 knots, I would say the apparent wind was about 10 mph. Super comfortable as we made home base on the sundeck right before the solarium starts. It's a great place to have the best of both the solarium and pool deck fun. 

Finished the daytime off with a five mile run on the track. Hope to do another five tomorrow as it's my incentive to eat just a bit more ?

Talking about eating, the food on the 2nd formal was delicious as the lobster tails came out. What was lacking was the organization. This particular service was slow while the wait staff seemed to be running  around.  Please share, if anyone knows, what is so different about the 2nd formal night that makes it so hard?

The main stage computer was still down so no show tonight besides a comedic magician who did a fun yet corny 25 minute set. He is a current entertainer on the ship who offered to do magic. The effort was appreciated. 

Although disappointed with not seeing Come Fly With Me we stumbled into Dazzles and stayed 90 minutes listening to an talented and energetic band called the Temperature. We missed their Motown show a day ago but caught this country and rock themed show that had us dancing the night away. Just wish Dazzles was a but bigger as the audience was full and chairs hard to come by.

A stroll around the ship took us to midnight so we turned in. One more day and we hope go out with a bang!!

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Day 7!!

The weather has really been perfect. For all our concern about hurricane season it was by far the best cruising weather of my 4. All the others in January had days that were to cold or rainy.  Today was the best of the best with super clear skies and temps in the mid 80's.

So with Jeffrey reminding us of the hundreds of things to do we wound up doing none of them. What we did do was...

- have breakfast at the Park Cafe

- start the sun bathing on deck 16 close to the solarium like yesterday. 

- explore more of the ship and have lunch at the Wipeout buffet. 

- move to the sundeck to relax and read. Seriously a dozen people max there. Took some great photos!

- ran five miles again around what must be the best track at sea. 

The evening was a nice solid meal at the main dining room followed by packing. A long relaxing hot tub soak by ourselves was in order to reflect on the past seven days. After a quick change we capped of the night at Dazzles with some music with the house band. 

Like many people posting on the RC Blog, I was a little worried about trying the "big" ship. For all those who may read this at some point, the Oasis class is worth doing and will not disappoint!

I will get back to land and write a recap of  the good and the bad in the next day or so.  Thank you all who with your discussion posts have guided me to make great choices for the past seven days and those following and posting on this thread. I didn't think I would do this but am glad I shared. 

Enjoy a few photos from today!

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Recap!

Back up north and a day at work already complete. Disembarking was smooth except for a lengthy line through customs. Rented a car to fly out of Jacksonville and had enough time for two beach stops. Now on to the recap...

The ship. Although my posts tend to be fan boy positive it really is that I don't sweat the small stuff.  Case in point was that the technical glitch prevented Come Fly with Me and that the main dining room ground to halt during the second formal night. With that said, stuff happens. So many other new things dwarfed those issues. For me the top take aways from Oasis were:

5. You can find quiet spaces among the 6000 guests. From the sun deck to the few chairs at the back of the track to Central Park, you can find space

4. Talk about Central Park, RC designers nailed that space

3. The solarium forward of the aft elevators transformed the feeling of the space compared to Freedom and Voyager classes

2. The extra width of the ship is evident on the extra space for the Royal Promanade. It makes a big difference on flow. 

1. I am an explorer big time and thought I would do and cover everything within a week. Not so, I have venues and places on my list for the next time on an Oasis class ship. 

Port stops:

Bahamas - the Segway excursion was a bucket list adventure that was worth it. Although it's packaged with beach time it is so limited just book it in your mind as  a Segway event. We did it at Blue Lagoon which has an amazing history. Worth the read of the book they give you at the end of the tour. 

Saint Thomas - The five star tour is really two and a half stars. I  hoped for a island wide tour with history and it really was a shuttle between 3 places. As mentioned, the Mehgan's beach stop was the highlight. Of course our self walking to the 2nd oldest synagogue in the western hemisphere also made the port stop worth it. 

Saint Maarten - We did the simple Great Bay Beach day and it was nice. It is totally a commercial beach so I guess you get what you pay for. We did meet a lot of nice people on the lounge chairs around us. Still, I think we will go off on our own to some other more isolated location. 

Finally, we have been a once a

January cruiser for just a few years. This was a special trip so we opted for an inside room. I was a bit worried but we were totally fine. If we can cruise twice a year with one being inside I would gladly do it each and every year! 

Again, I hope this was helpful. Let me know if you have any questions from what I posted. If not, I will see you on the other threads and in 118 days, I will be back here for my January cruise out if San Juan!!

Happy cruising!!

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3 hours ago, Kansas Cruiser said:

I thank you also for the wonderful posts....we have a lot to look forward to in just 19 days!

We are not late night people so I'm not sure how much of the night life we'll see.....but I'm now intrigued to at least try!

So happy for you  enjoy!! 

We really are not late people either. We my time dined at 5:30 and then walked or went to the schooner bar for some piano music. Most nights we had a reserved show booked at 8:30. Except for Cats, they are about 45 minutes. 

Anything after that was totally up to how we felt. We could call it a night, stay mellow with music in Central Park or listen to music in Dazzles. After that our big excitement was watching the captain do his 10 minute update on TV. ? Captain Claus rules!!

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