NouCruzer

Just getting another thread started ...

 

 

This article brought to my attention...

 

 

Melody of the Seas

 

https://www.schiffe-und-kreuzfahrten.de/kreuzfahrtschiffe/melody-of-the-seas/

Suggested Melody OTS for the name of Oasis 4 in the previous thread. Maybe that was a bit premature....

Melody, Symphony, Harmony..., has a nice ring to it, no??? Sounds like a Stevie Wonder song. :confused:

Are you for real? You can't borrow a child. What is wrong with you?

Actually, borrowing seems like the best option. Have you seen the monthly payments and contract terms for leasing a child? Unreal! And forget about buying one outright. Costs have been skyrocketing over the last several years... And interest rates are beginning to rise so the loan may be prohibitive.

...there are some changes you might want to be aware of. Gone from the ship are Knob Creek, Wild Turkey, Woodford, and Bookers.

That would be a shame if many of the upper end selections disappear. I initially thought that you meant Drink Package in the title of the post; now I realize that you may have just mispelled "Dreck"

It's that set up on Harmony as well.

Ack! you are correct. I was comparing to Oasis Deck Plan.

Haven't seen this posted yet, but a quick review of a certain RCI blog or a Google search will provide a link to the tentative deck plans for Symphony of the Seas. As expected, very similar to Harmony. One difference is the Comedy club on Deck 4 is now the Diamond lounge and the Comedy Club is relocated to the space occupied by Blaze. Looks to give the club more space to accommodate a larger audience.

....there are a good number of us here that know how to figure it out.

What a tease..., (I could tell but then I'd have to kill you... :)). Is there a pattern (maybe based on cabin number)? Specifically for ocean view balcony cabins; we've booked 8194 on Oasis for later this year.

I checked on that also, Royal won't let you do luggage valet if your flight leaves before 1pm out of MCO, we'll be lugging it with us.

Sorry, my mistake. Thought it was an 11AM cutoff. Maybe that was for departures from FLL when Oasis docked there.

And if you take advantage of luggage valet (a perk for GS and above), you don't even have to stop to pick up your bags. Go right through Customs and out to a taxi.

Seems like the more open canopy design on Harmony would make Solarium less useful if the weather is poor. When it showered during a sea day on Oasis recently, the only available loungers were under open space and subject to the rain showers. Would this be a problem?

To finish up, a few comments about the ports of call and our excursions, real or otherwise… :)

Much has been written about Labadee, so I cannot add much new insight. It showed virtually no damage from the hurricane earlier on October, but we were told about the extensive damage that occurred in the southwestern parts of the country. Oasis off-loaded a significant amount of supplies, presumably in support. For us, this was a beach day; relaxing on a lounger with a Labadoozie in hand. The zip line and other activities seemed to be just too costly to represent good value. So in essence, it was a sea day on land.

Next stop was Falmouth, Jamaica. Using a local company, we had booked a foodie tour of Falmouth that was combined with the Heritage walking tour, similar to the excursion that was offered by RCI. The attraction of this was that in addition to the historical perspective of the town offered by the walking tour, four or five local food tastings were also included. Looking forward to this, we were disappointed when notified by the local company that they would be unable to conduct the tour on the day that we were scheduled to arrive. Unlucky. Instead, we simply visited the shops at the pier for several hours and returned to Oasis. Turns out that this was not a bad decision, since minutes after we returned, the skies opened up and thunderstorms continued for the rest of the afternoon. We watched the fireworks from one of the hot tubs in the Solarium. Later after we had changed into dinner clothes, we encountered a soaking wet couple at the aft elevators. Looking at us, they remarked that it was obvious that we had not booked an excursion for the day since we were dry, and related how their beach excursion was marred by flash flooding and drenching downpours. Maybe unlucky was actually lucky… :rolleyes:

Our last port was Cozumel, where we booked a snorkeling tour with Cozumel H2O. Thoroughly enjoyable and professionally run; we visited 4 different reefs. Captain Miguel and crew were extremely competent, safety conscious, and provided an excellent tour of the reefs of Southern Cozumel. The tour was scheduled for 9AM to 1PM, but it was almost 4PM by the time we returned to Oasis. A completely enjoyable, full day snorkeling adventure for the price of a half day. We highly recommend this company.

Finally, a comment on the weather and sea conditions. We had sunny and clear conditions from Ft. Lauderdale to Falmouth. As mentioned above, storms were encountered in Jamaica and the sea day between Falmouth and Cozumel was a bit choppier, with some larger swells causing some side-to-side motion. We had dinner on deck 17 that night and it was interesting and amusing to see how the waiters dealt with the motion. They took it all in stride. The forecast in Cozumel was for more of the same, but we actually had partly sunny skies and reasonably warm temps for our snorkeling. Storms returned that night after we returned to Oasis. The final sea day was also predicted to be marginal weather, but actually turned out to be quite nice, albeit windy. We spent a good portion of the day lounging in a wind break on the pool deck. The Captain warned us of some choppy seas heading back to Florida, but to be honest, we didn’t really think there was much motion. Some reviews of this cruise noted rough seas during this time; maybe we had simply acquired our sea legs by this time.

Overall, a thoroughly enjoyable cruise on an amazing ship. Thanks to all who have endured through this long, multi-part summary.

Lastly, some comments on the onboard activities and shows. There is so much to do on Oasis that it is unlikely that one can experience al the activities in a single cruise. We pre-booked a few shows and stopped in a few other venues as well. On the first evening, we saw CATS. I can’t add much to all that has already been posted about the show. We saw the original version and this performance is extremely faithful to that. So on the plus side, we know what to expect and were aware of the length of the performance. Overall, we enjoyed he show, but can also understand why attendance usually decreases after intermission. We thought that the diction of the performers was below par (maybe it was an issue with acoustics of the theater?). It made the story line difficult to follow if one couldn’t understand the lyrics of the songs. Second, the precision and timing of some of the dance routines was off a bit. But hey, we didn’t expect the level of execution that one might see at a Broadway performance. That said, here were several performers that were truly talented and we really enjoyed watching their performances. Overall, we enjoyed he show; stayed for the entire show and were glad we did. The audience offered a standing ovation.

We also pre-booked Frozen in Time, an ice skating show based on Fairly Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. This was truly a surprise; first having an ice skating rink on a cruise ship? Amazing! Second, the quality of the performance and overall execution was excellent. Really enjoyed the show and would highly recommend it to future Oasis cruisers.

A real highlight of the shows was the Headliner show. On this cruise, it was the Black Street Boys. A comedy duo from Los Angeles that was truly sensational and hilarious. If they are performing, YOU NEED TO SEE THIS SHOW!! And a word of advice (Spoiler Alert); don’t be late or they will skewer you. Really funny stuff and thoroughly enjoyable.

We reserved seats for the Comedy club for a mid-cruise evening. Trying to remember, the comedian was a Mr. (Billy?) Miniardi?? This was a disappointment. He seemed disinterested and the performance was lacking. He never really connected with the audience and I don’t think that he really cared to do so. For us, it was a “I’m here to pick up a pay check” performance.

What else? Live jazz in the jazz bar on deck 4. We stopped in several times; good music in an intimate environment. Trivia at the Schooner Bar!! We suck at trivia and it was painfully obvious given our performance. The saving grace is that one can crash in flames with a Sapphire martini in hand…:)

Only one more post left; a brief description of ports and shore excursions that we took. Ports of call were Labadee, Haiti; Falmouth Jamaica; Cozumel, Mexico.

Dining on the Oasis.

Since this was a special cruise that celebrated not only our graduation to empty nesters, but also a 24th wedding anniversary and my birthday, we chose to splurge on dinners. We did not eat in the MDR, but instead reserved four specialty restaurants and ate in the Coastal Kitchen for three nights. Breakfasts and lunches were spread around the many other venues on the ship.

The dining highlight of the cruise was 150 Central Park. We approached this with some hesitation since the restaurant recently changed menus from a 6 course tasting menu to a more standard 3 course meal. Apparently, this was in response to customer feedback that complained about the small course portions in the tasting menu… :confused: Our fear was that the menu had been dumbed down but to our pleasure, this turned out not to be the case. It was a wonderful meal with attentive and impeccable service. The meal starts off with bread accompanied with unsalted butter. Then, a tray of six different salts was provided in a “salt tasting”. The flavor profile of each salt was described by our waiter and then we were left to conduct our own personal tasting. A fun and interesting experience. Appetizers came next and we ordered tuna tartare and a smoked tomato soup. Both were prepared at tableside by the waiter and were delicious. On the recommendation of our waiter, we each had mahogany black cod with bock choi as an entrée; it was wonderful and a stellar recommendation. For dessert, we opted for the cheese platter. Here the menu was a bit confusing and led us to believe that we had to select two or three samples from a menu of 7 cheeses. Our waiter simply said, “you want the cheese platter?” and brought out all 7 cheeses! And served a substantial serving of each to each of us! Great way to end the meal. Simply wonderful and we highly recommend.

Right up there with 150 Central was the Chef’s Table. We made a small mistake in reserving this for lobster night in the MDR which could explain why there was only 8 attendants for this dinner. Not a big problem, but a full table of sixteen that we had on our previous cruise led to more discourse between diners and the chef and sommelier. Chef’s Table is a 6 course meal with each course paired with wine. The preparation of each course is described by the Chef and the accompanying wine, and the reason for pairing with the food is discussed by the sommelier. This was another wonderful meal that spanned almost 3 hours! However, the portions were very large and no one at the table could actually finish the steak course and/or dessert. Here’s a case where smaller courses would have made for an even more enjoyable meal. To whet your appetite, here was the menu:

Hearts of Palm salad paired with 2014 Les Tuilers Sancerre

Sweet pea soup with truffle poached egg and nueske bacon paired with 2013 Mersoliel Chardonnay

Butter poached lobster, avocado, tomato with Champagne viniargrette; 2012 Fevre Chablis premier Cru

Braised short rib ravioli, horseradish cream; 2013 Lucente Montalcino

Beef tenderloin, morel mushrooms and smoked garlic-potato puree; 2013 Honig Cabernet Sauvignon

Chocolate sabotage (use your imagination); dessert martini.

Coastal Kitchen - This venue is available to Grand suite and above guests or breakfast, lunch and dinner, and to Junior suite guests for dinner only. The menu changed every other day, so while we dined here on three occasions, we never saw the same menu. These menus more closely reflect those in the MDR and indeed, offer many of the standard dishes that are present on the MDR menus. The main difference I think is the venue on the 17th deck of Oasis which offer tremendous views and the overall professionalism with which the dining room is run. I apologize that I never got the name of the Maitre’d but he ran an excellent operation that kept dinner service running smoothly; in constant communication with his servers as well as making a presence with each guest. He was a real professional and clearly deserved the extra gratuity that we left. Overall, the food was excellently prepared and served hot. Service was attentive but not intrusive. In our opinion, this venue is an outstanding perk that is offered to suite guests. We also had one breakfast and one lunch in Coastal Kitchen and our impressions of the food and service did not differ from our experiences at dinner. Simply excellent.

Giovanni’s Table - This was a notch below the dining experiences above, although certainly there were no major flaws. The menu had some interesting appetizers and entrees but overall we weren’t wowed by the food or service to the extent that we were in some of the venues described above. The stuffed veal tenderloin that I had seemed average and my recollection is that other dishes, such as the antipasti per due fell into the same category. This restaurant has garnered some very positive reviews from past cruisers, so maybe we caught it on an off night but our experience as so-so.

Solarium Bistro - The disappointment of the cruise. We had reserved this online for $20 per person, and then read several reports of Oasis cruises where dinner at Solarium Bistro was complimentary. So we cancelled our reservations. Once on board, we asked the concierge about the status of Solarium and were informed initially that dinner reservations were $15 per person; but then corrected to $25. After booking, we were informed at the restaurant that a 30% discount was being offered so we paid $17.50. Go figure. But the next day while having lunch in Coastal Kitchen, a waiter offered us dinner that night in Solarium for free. So it seems that RCI doesn’t really know what to do with this venue, and it shows. Our dinner was buffet style appetizers followed by an entrée served by the wait staff. We ordered seafood entrees, but mid way through, the waiter delivered a complimentary steak entrée…:confused: Not only did it not complement our meal, but it was a poor cut of meat that was difficult to cut even with the steak knife provided. This is a venue that seems to serve a purpose for complimentary breakfast and lunch, since it seemed to be crowded during those times, but lacks a real identity for dinner. It’s a huge space that could be put to much better use in the evening hours.

Vintages - A nice venue that seems to be under utilized. One of our concerns was that a recent change from a fairly extensive tapas menu reduced to a very limited menu. Maybe RCI realized that this was a mistake since the tapas menu was more expansive on this cruise. We liked this and enjoyed several selections. We would consider visiting on a more regular basis on future cruises. An added benefit is that C&A members can get a BOGO free, which we used to purchase a free glass of Caymus Cabernet Sauvignon. Sweet!

Sabor - We agree with all the positive feedback that this venue has received. Table side guacamole is excellent! Snacked on chicken tacos, which were also excellent. This is an great choice for an informal meal at any time of the day. Be aware; the margaritas are potent; which in our view is a good thing… :)

Park Café - A go-to place. Excellent roast beef sandwiches for lunch, especially with horse radish. Coffee and egg sandwiches for breakfast and all in a Central Park setting which in our opinion is probably the best neighborhood on the ship.

Johnny Rockets - A good made-to-order breakfast. Great neighborhood and a good alternative choice for a complimentary meal to start the day.

Wipeout Café - Made the mistake of visiting this venue in the late afternoon for a snack. The hot dogs seemed like they had been dessicating under the heat lamp for hours. But well attended in the morning for breakfast where they make made-to-order omelets. I guess that we visited at the wrong time.

Continuing with some general observations from the cruise and that relate in some cases to comments that we read in reviews of Oasis. One point that is mentioned often is the less enthusiastic reviews is that the ship is crowded given the number of passengers aboard. We were told that our cruise had 6000 passengers and I can honestly say that we never felt that any venue was over crowded, including the Promenade on sale days. Of course, there are times that crowds cannot be avoided, like dismissal from muster. We had muster on deck 5 along with multiple other groups. When dismissed, everyone headed towards the elevator banks on deck 5 and yes it was crowded, but a few smart individuals took the stairs from the Promenade to Focus on deck 6 and beat the rush. Similarly, I imagine that Windjammer could get crowded at noon. We didn’t venture there at that time but visited on two occasions at 1PM. Each time, we found plenty of unoccupied tables. Also, our cabin on deck 8 was centrally located to many of the public spaces of Oasis so we routinely used the stairs. Finally, this was the first vacation that we have taken without the kids in a long time, so where ever we went, it seemed like there was just the two of us…;)

We found the overall condition of the ship, and particularly our stateroom to be excellent. So from our experience, I don’t understand comments that the ship is showing its age. Aside from a few dings here and there if you look hard, Oasis seems to be very well maintained. Also, everyday, we saw crew conducting basic maintenance on fittings, cleaning the public areas and stairwells and vacuuming the carpets. Carpet and furniture in our stateroom was clean and in excellent condition. And to get a great perspective on the size of Oasis, the hallways on deck 8 extend all the way from fore to aft. Standing at one end, it looks like the hallway extends forever…:) Check it out.

The crew was engaging and friendly. Most offered friendly greetings in passing and many made the effort to learn our names, so in many of the dining and bar venues we were greeted by name. There was also little waiting for bar service at the pools and on sea days, we saw at least six waiters in the adult pool area alone, making the rounds to serve passengers on loungers. Some loungers by poolside were often “reserved” with towels early in the morning but there was never a shortage of loungers to be found. Since we were suite guests, we also had access to the suite sundeck deck on deck 17 which was never crowded and had the added benefit of its own bar. We encountered only one rude guest who decided while we were at lunch that our towel and pool bag was insufficient evidence that the lounger was occupied and proceeded to relocate them to the deck floor….:mad:

So in general, many of the more negative comments that we previously saw in reviews of the Oasis were not consistent with our experience onboard. In fact, we’ve already booked another cruise on her for next year.

One last thing; there were alot of internationals on this cruise from all over the world; Japan, Croatia, England, France, Poland and other eastern European countries. This was something that I didn’t expect but hearing so many different languages provided an interesting aspect to the cruise. There were also several groups on the cruise. One was the Buddy Group (I think that’s what it was called) which was comprised of individuals with Downs syndrome or other mental challenges. What a great venue for this group! And everyone certainly seemed to enjoy the ship. On several days, one of the pool bars was reserved for the group and in the afternoons and some evenings, Dazzles was reserved for private functions for another group which I did not identify. Didn’t bother us, but one might have been disappointed if Dazzles was your favorite entertainment venue.

Up next, food and dining, onboard activities; then ports and excursions.

Hang in there, folks. Been busy with work the last few days. Should have another update soon.

Well, darn. I booked Giovanni's specifically for the "Fagottini di Vitella Ripieni ai Funghi Porcini, Provolone e Prosciutto Cotto, Salsa al Tartufo Nero" and that's now not on the menu. The new menu does not look appealing to me at all. I may cancel.

It was still on the menu on Oasis last week. I ordered it. :)

It was a real thrill to look out of the hotel window early Saturday morning and see Oasis docked at the port. She dwarfed everything else in port. After a quick breakfast, our choices were to wait in the hotel or wait in Terminal 18, so we took a cab to the port and arrived at around 9:30AM amidst the chaos of passenger departure from the previous cruise. Nonetheless, we were directed to the new arrivals line and realized that about 200-300 other passengers had also elected to arrive early! After only a few minutes, the Terminal doors opened and we were escorted to the check-in line. After another brief wait in line, we passed through security, were checked-in in less than 10 minutes, and directed to the waiting room. Here, we waited and waited. Even Star Class passengers were directed to sit. The problem was that the Coast Guard had decided to run a full inspection on Oasis prior to boarding new passengers. A minor inconvenience and passengers were allowed to begin boarding at around noon. Fortunately, we had booked a Sky Class suite and were one of the first groups to board. So by 12:15PM, we were happily parked in the sunshine in Central Park at Park Café munching on a roast beef sandwich.

Staterooms were opened promptly at 1PM. Our stateroom was cabin 8260, a midship Grand Suite on the Port side on deck 8. This was a great location; we could walk out of the cabin to Central Park, it was convenient to the aft elevators, the Boardwalk and Promenade. The room itself had plentiful storage, a separate seating area and a large balcony, which we enjoyed many times during the week. While waiting for the luggage to arrive, we visited the Promenade and explored the other neighborhoods. Couldn’t resist texting photos of the ship to our daughters, who were amazed! Our youngest was astounded that there were real trees on the ship, and not only that, but live birds and butterflies! Who needs the recorded bird songs and crickets; the real things were on board…

After muster, we relaxed on the balcony and watched the beaches of Fort Lauderdale disappear in the distance. Our agenda for night 1; dinner in the Coastal Kitchen followed by CATS.

My wife and I just returned from a 7 night cruise of the western Caribbean on Oasis of the Seas (Oct 22 – 29). This was only our second cruise, but we really enjoyed both, as different as they were. The first was aboard one of RCI’s smaller ships (now sold), the Splendour of the Seas with an itinerary in the Eastern Mediterranean including Venice, Croatia, Turkey and Greece. While this cruise had excellent ports and excursions, we felt that it was lacking in entertainment and dining options. In large part, this influenced our decision to book on one of RCI’s largest ships. While we did not really know what to expect on a ship with a capacity of 6000+ passengers, clearly there were many more choices in dining and entertainment than Splendour, and this was very attractive. In addition, although in general Oasis receives positive reviews, several points are consistently raised by people who are less enthusiastic about the ship. I’ll address this in greater detail later on, but we evaluate all cruise reviews with a grain of salt since each individual has their own perceptions and expectations of a ship or cruise.

First, a bit about us. We are a middle aged couple (average age of 57 years) from Louisville, Kentucky who in the past have enjoyed active vacations like self guided bicycling in Europe and the US, and day hiking in National Parks in the US. But kids and family obligations began to limit these activities and cruising became an attractive option. This year, our youngest daughter went off to college and we are now “empty nesters”. The Mrs. was not entirely happy about the prospect of a childless house and during the first weeks of September, she had some difficult days adjusting. In my view, this was to be expected but the really hard time would be later on when the kids returned for Fall break, only to leave once again. She didn’t know that I had booked the cruise for the week after Fall break until I told her in September. And it worked; I don’t think that she missed the kids much last week… ;)

We flew from Louisville to FLL on the Friday before embarking, arrived at 1PM and were greeted by cloudless sunny skies, temps in the low 80s with low humidity and a refreshing northwesterly breeze. We had booked a room at the Renaissance on 17th St. near the port and checked into a spacious room (configured more like a suite with separate sitting area) overlooking the pool. Off to a good start! The hotel is within walking distance of several good seafood restaurants and we took advantage by visiting Kelly’s Landing for lunch and Southport Raw Bar for dinner. Both were excellent but the nod goes to Kelly’s, which serves up great New England seafood with a Cape Cod accent. The lobster bisque was to die for and just about everything on the menu was appealing. Our lunch consisted of a shrimp/scallop burger and a grilled lobster and cheese sandwich; both were excellent and were accompanied by a Sam Adams Boston Lager.

Next up; embarkation, the Coast Guard, and Day 1 aboard Oasis.

Thanks for the menu link. Do you know if there is still the $20 charge for dinner?

Just returned from Oasis on the 29th. Solarium menu has changed; no more filet or bison, among other things. Appetizers and salads are now presented in a self serve buffet. Main course is provided by waitstaff. We reserved through the Concierge and the price quoted was $25 per person. At the restaurant, we were given 30% off and ended up paying $17.50 per. The next day, a waiter in Coastal Kitchen offered us dinner in Solarium for free.

Our dinner was so-so. Ordered a seafood entree and midway through the course, the waiter delivers a complimentary steak :confused:. It was a poor cut of meat and difficult to cut even with a steak knife. We will not return, unless they get their act together.

We did. Loved the food! Especially the sweet treats at the end. The guides Sherrie lee and tonya were sweet and wonderful. You are walking past the gates and are in a rough area. you will not want to wear any jewelry or look like u have money. My husband put my Nikon in my purse! My husband got cornered by a guy that demanded we buy him food. Only problem is that if u buy one food they will all want food!

It's disappointing that you were confronted. I had read that the locals mostly left this tour alone since it was conducted by local citizens, but I guess maybe not. How did the guides react to your situation?

We are going to be there the 20th. I wonder why they closed on the 25th?

 

San :)

Did you go on the tour on the 20th? Curious to hear your impressions. We contacted the vendor again just before we departed and she confirmed that there would be no tour available on our date.

Thanks -- that's what I have on the Google Doc. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1hKBiGZ9Gqcp2G2owtX3RyQy7yQ0ijgxCL0nPjQKK8j4/edit?pli=1#gid=0

Oops! Sorry, I must have looked at an older version that listed someone else on Oasis through early 2017.

Just received a note from the concierge on Oasis. Currently Federico Taylor and Claudine Benjamin.

We are going to be there the 20th. I wonder why they closed on the 25th?

 

San :)

Got me... :confused: Why don't you ask and let me know. Or better yet, tell them that a really enthusiastic foodie couple is still looking for a tour on the 25th. ;)

Hi,

Did you book this tour? We are going to be in Falmouth this month and I am looking forward to trying this tour.

We are going to be in Falmouth on Oct 25. I contacted the company for info and to make a booking but was informed that no tours were offered on that date for administrative reasons. :( I will contact again about a week before departure to see if anything has changed, but as of not it;s a no-go.

Doesn't it depend on how much you drink and how active you are on the cruise? Wake up at 7AM and run 3 miles on the track each day and you are good to go!