Review- 2nd time on Oasis, June 5th- Tots, Main Dining, Florider etc

[waterdave]

Just got back again, after going on Oasis in February, finally found the time to get back on the ship last week, so thought Id write a quick review inlcuding changes in what i did. Everything was absolutely amazing, and the second time around, I did much less worrying what I should be doing- and just stuck with the parts of the cruise that I liked, so had an even better time...

 

Royal Tots program for 6mo-3years still had a couple of the same people working as 4 months ago, my 17 month old had a great time. The program had more babies now, so it was important to book ahead, because it tended to fill up. I put my kid in for 1 or 2 hours most days, in afternoons, and they took great care of him.

 

The schedule is changed as you all know so you go to Nassau on day 2 instead of day 7. So much better and more relaxing. In Nassau, I thought Id blaze my own trail to Atlantis on the 3 dollar water ferry. I would recommend you not do what i did, and buy the Ships excursion to Atlantis instead, Atlantis is a mile from the ferry dock at Paradise island and I found myself in a huge herd of walkers, and I ended up paying 110$ per person for a day pass.... Nontheless, if you love the Oasis for being an amazing beautiful ship, youll love atlantis for being an amazing and beautiful pool with amazing fish tanks! Apparently the happiest people were the ones that did the Atlantis swimming with the dolphins excursion.

 

St Thomas- stayed on the ship and relaxed some more.

St Maarten- dropped off my laundry at home, went by my office for an hour and got ride back to the boat on a small boat. St Maarten is awesome, not just because I live here, but because the island has really put major emphasis in giving the cruisers good facilities and lots to do.

 

Shows- didnt see any shows on the ship exept the Oasis of Dreams water show from my boardwalk balcony, and the Celtics on the Aquatheater screen. I saw a few of the shows last time, and they are good, but we spent more time on the promenade instead this time, getting after dinner pizza, coffees, looking at our pictures, at Boleros,etc. I did go on the stargazing guided tour at 10PM on one of the nights, where a crew member takes a group to the off-limits bow deck on the helicopter pad to point out stars with a laser pointer. I recommend it, the bow at night is quiet and awesome.

 

Stayed on 12th floor, room 711, halfway down on starboard side of boardwalk)

12th floor boardwalk view was good because its just low enough to see the horizon from your room, and starboard side was nice because you see zipliners buzzing by outside, which my kid fround amazing. being in the middle of boarwalk length allowed for a solid view of ocean from porch yet still wasnt too far to walk to elevator. Also, since theres no 13th floor, its only 2 flights up to the pool deck, so its convenient when your in wet pool clothes to not have to use an elevator.

 

Got 2 Wow Royal connect Iphones from ship on deck 3 on day 1, also had the Cisco phone that the royal tots baby program signs over to its registered users. The Cisco phone had great battery life, and good reception. The WoW iphones are a great idea, but still kind of quirky, for example you have to leave them on, and charge them every day or they lose all their settings, and sometimes they didnt connect. Heard a rumor from a ship staff that they are looking at making the app avaiable to run on your own iphone.

 

Did the 6pm main dining, and ate every night there, enjoying the nearby company, the great service, and the regular schedule of eating at 6pm for 7 days in a row. Every aspect of it was perfect. I didnt feel the need to go to the "specialty" restaurants, because I have plenty of them at home except I just call them "restaurants". Even though 6pm is early for dinner, there is always sorrentos pizza slices to eat before retiring.

 

Best bar for me is the cigar bar on the top bow deck above the solarium on. Good cigars, good people and conversations.

 

Did a lesson on the flowrider again and surfed on every morning at 8am for advanced flowrider hour. There are more people doing "advanced" flowriding now, its really caught on as a main attraction not just for kids but for grownups that like the challenge of learning a new fun sport. Did the flowrider competition on the last day which was a lot of fun, and I recommend it.

 

As for cruise directors,- last time in February was Richard Spacey, and this cruise was Ken Rush. Richard Spacey was hilarious, a real comedian with funny clips on the RCTV all week long. Ken Rush was a little boring for me, but maybe some people prefer Rush because he seems like a sane and organized guy. (Ken Rush did actually show up to CC meet and mingle, so you can give a point for that too.)

 

All in all it was a great trip with the most amazing thing being how they maintain such a quality of service on such a huge ship, and how truly courteuse the entire staff is. I left feeling refreshed and inspired to try to and maintain that type of quality in my own proffesional life.

 

 

Recommendations for Royal Caribbean if they are reading this:

 

-More advanced flowrider time! maybe two times a day, or open at 730 instead of 800am... Since the flowrider is unique to your ships, you might find that its a major decision maker for some people.

-Longer time in Sint Maarten!

[bwest the man]

Great review and glad to see you had a great time again. I couldn't agree more about them needing more advanced time for the flowrider. I put that in the recommendation card every cruise so far with no luck yet but maybe one day. How where the lines for the flowrider all week. And is the competion still on Thursday or did they move it to Friday.

[Jerzgirl79]

thx for your review...

 

question...i have been hearing mixed information...

 

for the Royal Tots program...did you have to pay...i know with the regular (older kids) camp it was free up until 10.

 

my son is turning two next week and we are sailing next month...

 

im not even sure he will actually want to stay in the Royal Tots program...but i just wanted to know the cost if any?

[waterdave]

Bwest, they moved the "best of the best" flowrider friendly competition to 4pm on the final day, which was good so you can get one last morning sesion in. As for lines, On Day 3 of the cruise (the first day it opened for advanced surfing) there was about 6 people in the advanced hour. On day 7 it grew to about 12 people.

But in the competion it was 7 people, and it was all people that had been there every day, so we had a good time, and the winner actually juggled oranges while surfing, so second place isnt that bad. It had a big crowd, and luckily the Sports Deck people didnt jump on after and show off how good they are compared to us!

 

Jerzgilr, the cost for the Royal Tots program is $8.00 per hour, and so its pretty cheap if you only use it for an hour here or there. I considered it good for my kids socialization to be away from mom and dad, and learning how to place nice with other kids for a bit... He cried a bit but like it more and more each day.

The added bonus is you get the royal connect ship phone for free just for registering, which you can use to call back and forth to the room, call for reservations etc.

[catlady27]

Bwest, they moved the "best of the best" flowrider friendly competition to 4pm on the final day, which was good so you can get one last morning sesion in. As for lines, On Day 3 of the cruise (the first day it opened for advanced surfing) there was about 6 people in the advanced hour. On day 7 it grew to about 12 people.

But in the competion it was 7 people, and it was all people that had been there every day, so we had a good time, and the winner actually juggled oranges while surfing, so second place isnt that bad. It had a big crowd, and luckily the Sports Deck people didnt jump on after and show off how good they are compared to us!

 

Jerzgilr, the cost for the Royal Tots program is $8.00 per hour, and so its pretty cheap if you only use it for an hour here or there. I considered it good for my kids socialization to be away from mom and dad, and learning how to place nice with other kids for a bit... He cried a bit but like it more and more each day.

The added bonus is you get the royal connect ship phone for free just for registering, which you can use to call back and forth to the room, call for reservations etc.

 

One of these days I just want to be able to surf for longer than a minute or two :) We have our lessons booked already and we are always there early for the "advanced" even though I am far from advanced but like you said, it is nice when there are not a lot of people in line. :D

[Jerzgirl79]

Bwest, they moved the "best of the best" flowrider friendly competition to 4pm on the final day, which was good so you can get one last morning sesion in. As for lines, On Day 3 of the cruise (the first day it opened for advanced surfing) there was about 6 people in the advanced hour. On day 7 it grew to about 12 people.

But in the competion it was 7 people, and it was all people that had been there every day, so we had a good time, and the winner actually juggled oranges while surfing, so second place isnt that bad. It had a big crowd, and luckily the Sports Deck people didnt jump on after and show off how good they are compared to us!

 

Jerzgilr, the cost for the Royal Tots program is $8.00 per hour, and so its pretty cheap if you only use it for an hour here or there. I considered it good for my kids socialization to be away from mom and dad, and learning how to place nice with other kids for a bit... He cried a bit but like it more and more each day.

The added bonus is you get the royal connect ship phone for free just for registering, which you can use to call back and forth to the room, call for reservations etc.

 

thx for the info.

[onefishtwofish]

You live on St. Maarten and fly over to Ft. Lauderdale to cruise? Go home in the middle of your cruise?? Wow!

 

I wish they had the flowrider open all day every day with no down times! I think that's a good idea though to have Advanced times to give those of you who know what you're doing some dedicated time!

 

:D

[Babyberger]

Waterdave - thanks for the great reveiw!

 

I am really hoping that they decide to do the app for the iPhone by November! Myself, my husband, and older son all have iPhones, and would just be so much easier to download the app before we go instead of waiting in line. I will keep my eyes open for this!

 

I have heard about the cigar bar from other posters...a suite only area, correct? Did you have any problems going there not being a suite passenger? My hubby is an avid cigar smoker and we were told that is THE PLACE for cigar smokers.

[Puffinater]

Great review. I agree with the change in the intin. more relaxing with the sea days at the end.

[bwest the man]

Bwest, they moved the "best of the best" flowrider friendly competition to 4pm on the final day, which was good so you can get one last morning sesion in. As for lines, On Day 3 of the cruise (the first day it opened for advanced surfing) there was about 6 people in the advanced hour. On day 7 it grew to about 12 people.

But in the competion it was 7 people, and it was all people that had been there every day, so we had a good time, and the winner actually juggled oranges while surfing, so second place isnt that bad. It had a big crowd, and luckily the Sports Deck people didnt jump on after and show off how good they are compared to us!

 

Jerzgilr, the cost for the Royal Tots program is $8.00 per hour, and so its pretty cheap if you only use it for an hour here or there. I considered it go

od for my kids socialization to be away from mom and dad, and learning how to place nice with other kids for a bit... He cried a bit but like it more and more each day.

The added bonus is you get the royal connect ship phone for free just for registering, which you can use to call back and forth to the room, call for reservations etc.

 

good to here they moved the contest to Friday. I wonder why they don't have the advanced time on day 2? Jugling oranges is crazy while surfing so I would be thrilled with second place too. When I was in the contest I got 3rd but they 2 people in front of me have a flowrider real close to them and do it all the time. They were real good and did lots of tricks. Hopefully it's not too crowded on my cruise. The advanced line goes pretty fast anyways.

[kamusta1]

 

Did a lesson on the flowrider again and surfed on every morning at 8am for advanced flowrider hour. There are more people doing "advanced" flowriding now, its really caught on as a main attraction not just for kids but for grownups that like the challenge of learning a new fun sport. Did the flowrider competition on the last day which was a lot of fun, and I recommend it.

 

 

I'm reading this post and i'm like wow all this sounds familiar. Then I get the to the flowrider part and and see you were there at 8am every morning and im like like I was out there every morning too..and it all clicked...i know this guy..David is that you? It's me Leo!

[kamusta1]

good to here they moved the contest to Friday. I wonder why they don't have the advanced time on day 2? Jugling oranges is crazy while surfing so I would be thrilled with second place too. When I was in the contest I got 3rd but they 2 people in front of me have a flowrider real close to them and do it all the time. They were real good and did lots of tricks. Hopefully it's not too crowded on my cruise. The advanced line goes pretty fast anyways.

 

You should have seen what the OP did during the advanced time the last day. He came out and rode in his robe for a bit.

[waterdave]

onefishtwofish, I havent gone up solely for a cruise yet, but after i visit my family in boston, i take a flight from boston to FLL, do the cruise, and then fly to st maarten direct from Miami. So that way, im not really paying extra for airfare since I would have had to buy it anyway. (the whole idea is how do you find a good excuse to go on a cruise) :)

 

babyberger, the cigar bar above solarium has wooden swinging half doors in front of the stairway to deter people from going up there, and some evenings it has a "Gold Colored Card Guests Only" sign at that entrance. However, they are not strict about that, especially considering the place is rarely crowded, and if he is polite to the bartender and the other guests which Im sure he is, no one will mind. After all, the ship has a no-cigar policy except for this area, so they wont turn away a fellow cigar smoker just because of the color of his card.

 

Leo! Thats awesome you found this, I was trying to rememberwhat tracys email was, but I wrote it on a clean diaper by the flowrider because we had no paper, and then my wife used that diaper by accident later so I lost it. But if you can PM yours that would be great so i could request on fbook, I think Tracys picture taken by her while she was surfing on the flowrider should be posted, I dont think there is many pictures ever taken from that angle! and congrats on winning the champagne raffle btw

[kamusta1]

 

Leo! Thats awesome you found this, I was trying to rememberwhat tracys email was, but I wrote it on a clean diaper by the flowrider because we had no paper, and then my wife used that diaper by accident later so I lost it. But if you can PM yours that would be great so i could request on fbook, I think Tracys picture taken by her while she was surfing on the flowrider should be posted, I dont think there is many pictures ever taken from that angle! and congrats on winning the champagne raffle btw

 

haha lol..yeah def. i will PM you our info. We can't find yours either. Tracy wrote it down but we cant find the paper. Thanks man, the "Champagne Raffle" worked out perfect. She had no clue I was gonna propose to her that night.

 

Here is one of the pics she took during the Best of the Best competition while riding the wave.

 

[kamusta1]

It seems they disabled the PM's..email me at tarectecan@yahoo.com

[waterdave]

 

 

I love the shot, and you can see how fun it was in the picture, and we see the camera is waterproof!

[gkdk24]

Hi waterdave. We are interested in seeing Atlantis but not participating in the waterpark. Would you still recommend taking a water taxi from the pier over to Paradise Island? What will be able to see if we don't purchase an excursion?

[catlady27]

haha lol..yeah def. i will PM you our info. We can't find yours either. Tracy wrote it down but we cant find the paper. Thanks man, the "Champagne Raffle" worked out perfect. She had no clue I was gonna propose to her that night.

 

Here is one of the pics she took during the Best of the Best competition while riding the wave.

 

 

She must be a really good surfer to have been in the contest AND taking pictures this good WHILE surfing - NICE :D I am hoping that one day I will get that good but I think that means I will have to either (a) go to the water park in Galveston or (b) go on more cruises. I am thinking (b) would be a lot more fun :)

[kamusta1]

She must be a really good surfer to have been in the contest AND taking pictures this good WHILE surfing - NICE :D I am hoping that one day I will get that good but I think that means I will have to either (a) go to the water park in Galveston or (b) go on more cruises. I am thinking (b) would be a lot more fun :)

 

yeah she is pretty good..im not gonna lie..better than me..we did flowrider the first time when we were on Freedom and fell in love with it. We have went to a few more times in a mall in Florida and in Texas. The lessons help out alot and you get alot more ride time.

[waterdave]

Hi waterdave. We are interested in seeing Atlantis but not participating in the waterpark. Would you still recommend taking a water taxi from the pier over to Paradise Island? What will be able to see if we don't purchase an excursion?

 

gkd, The water taxi was fun for us, because we love boats, but it seemed like some of the cruisers were annoyed because the ferry operator didnt leave until the whole boat was full of cruisers, and it was hot and crowded. a land taxi would take you to the entrance of atlantis, instead of to the dock a good distance away. You can then visit all all of the stores and casino for free. there is literally a thousand people doing the same exact thing. But you need the magic wristband to get into the aquarium walkthough, and to the pools. Once you get the wrist band, you can go through the little aquarium tunnels and enjoy luxuries such as unlimited towels, beach chairs, rapid river rides etc. I would have loved to do the deep water dolphin excursion where you swim freely with the dolphins at atlantis, but since i have a young baby and pregnant wife I could not all go on that tour....

 

Leo, Tracy definitely rips, but if you werent nursing your glutomous maximus im sure youd be giving her a run for her money. You two really abuse eachother for newly engaged couple! I saw the bruise on her arm, but I just dont believe it could possibly be from flowriding! I think you and tracy need to councilling because you beat eachother up too much!