Question for figure skaters about Studio B

[jcbsews]

Hello!

 

Okay, I know it's a very specialized question but this is a big enough community I hope someone knows the answer...

 

When we cruised on Freedom, they offered an advanced skating session if you brought your own skates, and then if there were people who came, they scheduled more of them (on all the at sea days). Most cruise compasses that get posted don't ever mention it past the first one, I assume because most cruises don't have anyone show up. On my cruise, actually, the people there were me and a teenager who skates at my rink (in Georgia!) her mom was a little stressed about the grown woman buddying up to her child, until she realized that we already knew each other from home.

 

Anyway, I wanted to find out if anyone had taken skates on Oasis and what they do about figure skating sessions. Thanks for any help!

 

JC

[skatie]

My daughter is a competitive figure skater and on our first cruise begged to take her skates along. There was no way I was going to take up precious packing space with her skates :) When we got there, we just used the blue skates (they had hockey and figure skates on Mariner), and she took a couple spins around the ice and got the novelty out of her system. She went one more time while we were there, but we were all good and ready to take a one-week break from the rink! Sun and fun for us - in 7 short days we were back to the ice and cold!

 

I recall on the Cruise Compass from the Mariner a year ago there was a special time called out for experienced skaters. On the Oasis compasses that I've glanced through, I don't see the Experienced skaters session called out. Maybe no one was attending so all skating levels are lumped together.

[NathanJax]

There were advanced skating sessions... I would HIGHLY recommend taking skates and going. I'm not a hockey player or figure skater, but I've skated and roller bladed for many years and it was very hard to have any fun skating with everyone who was trying to learn for their first time...

[jcbsews]

That's pretty much what I thought. I did find an Oasis compass online that showed an advanced skater time slot. On Freedom, I had seen the same thing online before the trip, but they scheduled more sessions on OUR cruise because we were there - it was open every morning at sea to us, for about 45 minutes before the general skating sessions started. The skating staff was surly about it sometimes, though (I think they weren't thrilled to have to get up early to let us in).

 

Anyway, since I'm a competitive adult skater, and my elder daughter plays ice hockey, I think we'll carry our skates and see what we get. We're driving to Florida, so an extra Zuca bag won't matter all that much!

 

Thanks!

JC

[kokonutkroozer]

Sorry, kind of a separate question.

 

Many years ago, it seemed RCCL featured rollerblading on the jogging track in their commercials.

 

I checked FAQs on the website and I seem to recall that you are restricted from bringing on your own rollerblades, so I would be surprised you can bring your own skates. That is neither here nor there though.

 

My question is this, I am wondering if they have rollerblades available for use and if anyone rollerblades up on deck?

 

Back to ice skating- do they have parkas or anything available to borrow while skating or is it best to pack layers to keep warm?

 

Thank you.

[jcbsews]

In reply about whether to bring warm things, I don't wear a jacket myself when I skate, But I can't recall them offering something, so I think everyone who came to skate had to bring their own jackets.

 

I just read on a review from the preview sailing, that Oasis is supposed to have a full size rink?!? Can anyone who's been on it tell me what the rink dimensions are? The ice surface on Freedom is TINY (which makes the ice show even more impressive, there's hardly enough room for the jumps they do), but thinking about it, since Oasis is supposed to be about 60 feet wider than Freedom class she *could* fit a regulation sized ice surface...

 

Thanks!

JC

[beastiemom]

Sorry, kind of a separate question.

 

Many years ago, it seemed RCCL featured rollerblading on the jogging track in their commercials.

 

I checked FAQs on the website and I seem to recall that you are restricted from bringing on your own rollerblades, so I would be surprised you can bring your own skates. That is neither here nor there though.

 

My question is this, I am wondering if they have rollerblades available for use and if anyone rollerblades up on deck?

 

Back to ice skating- do they have parkas or anything available to borrow while skating or is it best to pack layers to keep warm?

 

Thank you.

 

My 9 YO is a hockey player and it was recommended to me to bring his own skates so I had planned on doing so. Is it true you can't bring your own skates?

[jcbsews]

I know you CAN take ice skates onto the ships with ice rinks - I've done it. They have advanced skater sessions which require you to bring your own skates to participate. Oasis did offer an advanced skating session in the compass I saw online, so I'd say YES take them if your child would enjoy skating on the ship - just be aware that the rink is typically open on the "at sea" days, and it's a little disconcerting to have the ice moving underneath you!

 

I just looked for info on inline skates, and it appears to be a waivered activity offered on a specific class of ships (Voyager class). Since there's no waiver for it on Oasis, I assume that there are no inline skates available, BUT I didn't see anywhere that said you can't bring them, and they do mention that you can get a map of the trails in Labadee if you want to skate there. Whether they'd allow it on deck or not would be a different question, but since there's not a waiver I bet they'd tell you not to.

 

JC

[Bonnie Voyager]

Sorry, kind of a separate question.

 

Many years ago, it seemed RCCL featured rollerblading on the jogging track in their commercials.

 

I checked FAQs on the website and I seem to recall that you are restricted from bringing on your own rollerblades, so I would be surprised you can bring your own skates. That is neither here nor there though.

 

My question is this, I am wondering if they have rollerblades available for use and if anyone rollerblades up on deck?

 

Back to ice skating- do they have parkas or anything available to borrow while skating or is it best to pack layers to keep warm?

 

Thank you.

 

 

Only a few specific ships have the inline skating track. Voyager, Explorer, and I believe Adventure, have a very small inline skating track on the top deck. It is NOT part of the walking/jogging track. They provide roller blades free of charge or you can bring your own if you want to (my son did several years ago prior to the 50 pound rule on airplane baggage, but I would never do it again due to the weight of the skates). Roller blades are not allowed anywhere else on any of the ships other than the designated track on those 3 ships.

[jhodg56010]

I watched the free skating by passengers on the Oasis 12 days ago and most did not wear a coat and many were beginners barely moving. It is not cold in the room (studio B), but if you fall onto the ice, as many did, then that is cold. Also, the rink size seemed to me to be the same as on the Explorer which we traveled on nearly 2 years ago. I was not aware of an advanced skater time, although with tons of activities every day, I could have overlooked it in the daily compass. The ice show was excellent and the audience reaction very positive. I heard words like "superb", and "spectacular" and I watched it twice. Jim

[basst82]

I'm actually debating this wih my wife right now; we leave on the Adventure on Sunday. I see mention of additional sessions added if there is interest on at-sea days but since we only have one of those, anyone have experience with the rink being open on port days as well (for advanced skaters ... this is more a debate over stink than size, any hockey players can appreciate that :) )

[krisko]

I was on Mariner a few weeks ago and I saw a few people with their own skates. There is no requirement but jackets but there is a requirement for long pants. I don't know how they did advanced sessions as I am decidedly NOT in that group.

 

I'm jealous.

[Geoinftl]

"Advanced" sessions are reserved for those who bring their own skates. (That should answer the question of whether you can or cannot bring your own.) There's no proficiency standard so you may have someone working on jumps and spins on the ice with somebody that's just starting out. (As long as you brought your own skates, you can get in on the Advanced session.)

 

I find the rink is extremely warm compared to those on land so I doubt you'll feel like you needed a jacket. Long pants are a requirement though.

 

I haven't read anything that the rink on Oasis is regulation size and would imagine keeping a sheet that size from cracking would be an absolute nightmare! (Would be nice though!! :))

[mike45orlando]

Does anyone know if they have hockey style skates to use in addition to the figure skating type thanks :-)

[Geoinftl]

I'm not a hockey but couldn't tell the difference in the skates. The "Figure" skates had such a small toe pick, you couldn't do any damage with them and almost no rocker. Now, if you're a hockey player, you might feel the difference but, in that case, you may not like the "hockey" skates either.

 

The skates offered are your basic 'garden variety' plastic boot rentals you'd see at most rinks. If you're an experienced skater, my suggestion is: bring your own. (You'll also get to skate at an "Advanced" session just because you brought your own.)

[dcherry]

Can anyone confirm how small the skates are that they have onboard? My daughter skates but she needs no larger than a youth 13. I thought I read on the RC website that they start at a youth size 2??

[coolest-travel-pictures]

Hello!

 

Okay, I know it's a very specialized question but this is a big enough community I hope someone knows the answer...

 

When we cruised on Freedom, they offered an advanced skating session if you brought your own skates, and then if there were people who came, they scheduled more of them (on all the at sea days). Most cruise compasses that get posted don't ever mention it past the first one, I assume because most cruises don't have anyone show up. On my cruise, actually, the people there were me and a teenager who skates at my rink (in Georgia!) her mom was a little stressed about the grown woman buddying up to her child, until she realized that we already knew each other from home.

 

Anyway, I wanted to find out if anyone had taken skates on Oasis and what they do about figure skating sessions. Thanks for any help!

 

JC

 

Yes you can take your own skates and as you can see below from a scan of the Cruise Compass from my trip on Oasis, on day 3 at 9:15am-10am they had advanced skating time. I believe they had this once or twice during our cruise. Hope this helps. Click on image to enlarge.

 

Ray