Oasis - Last Minute Random Questions....

[Cruise Leprechaun]

We are going on the Oasis on Saturday and just had a few random questions about the ship. I'll scroll through some reviews to find some of these answers but I would appreciate any adive you could offer if you have answers or experience.

 

1) We will be traveling with our two teenaged sons in a nearby cabin. We wont be using cellphones (or walkie talkies) so I was wondering if maybe the cabin phones can be used as a vehicle to keep in touch? Can we communicate with each other via vociemail on the cabin phones? Assuming we are out scattered around the ship can they call our room phone voicemail and say (for instance) "we are going to the flowrider at 3:00" and then can we call our room and retrieve our voicemail to see what their last update was? Just wondering if anyone has any experience in doing this?

 

2) We'll be eating our dinners in the MDR mostly (and assuming we didnt want to do any pay specialty restaurants), lets say we went up to eat Breakfast or Lunch at the Windjammer one day and it was too crowded, what other options exist for a less crowded breakfast and lunch? Are the MDR's always an option albeit a slower one? Also I have heard Johnny Rockets is a free breaksfast and lunch but is it usually crowded? I've heard Sandwiches on the Promenade Cafe? We are jsut normal balcony guys too - not suite guests in case that rules some options out. Any other thoughts?

 

3) Real specific and technical one here. I recently bought a FLIP video camera and was going to try to use it on the ship. If you know anything about these things they charge power by plugging them into the USB drive on your laptop. Assuming I didnt want to bring my laptop with me just to use as a big charging station, any ideas where I could charge it on board? Is there anything in the room? Its like a USB drive size to charge, not an IPOD charger size thing?

 

4) Where are the gangways to get off on the port days located?

 

5) Labadee - is the whole island just one big public beach and you just get off and find a chair or hammock to sit in or are there various beaches or neighborhoods with different themes? If so, where would be the most teen friendly, but not too cxrowded place to head to?

 

6) Ice in cabin? Is there a place to get it or do I jsut need to ask my room steward to keep it stocked?

 

7) Can we just lock up our passports in our safe once on board or do we need to bring them when we get off in Haiti / Jamaica / Cozumel?

 

8) My kids may be wearing a lot of bathing suits and / or basketball shorts that sometimes dont have pockets in them. Any good ideas on how they could carry their seapass cards around with them? Do they give out or sell lanyards on board anywhere?

 

Sorry so random - just getting in that mode of leaving in a few days and things just popped up. Thanks again.

[kgirlcruise]

We are going on the Oasis on Saturday....

 

 

Cruise Leprechaun- are you on the meet and mingle page for our sailing? My family and I will be on this cruise with you- as well as about 100 others that are on the meet and mingle board!

We'd love to meet you and your family!

Come on over to our board and sign up for the meet and mingle!

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1077651&page=37

[Sooner-b-Crusin]

We are going on the Oasis on Saturday and just had a few random questions about the ship. I'll scroll through some reviews to find some of these answers but I would appreciate any adive you could offer if you have answers or experience.

 

1) We will be traveling with our two teenaged sons in a nearby cabin. We wont be using cellphones (or walkie talkies) so I was wondering if maybe the cabin phones can be used as a vehicle to keep in touch? Can we communicate with each other via vociemail on the cabin phones? Assuming we are out scattered around the ship can they call our room phone voicemail and say (for instance) "we are going to the flowrider at 3:00" and then can we call our room and retrieve our voicemail to see what their last update was? Just wondering if anyone has any experience in doing this?

 

2) We'll be eating our dinners in the MDR mostly (and assuming we didnt want to do any pay specialty restaurants), lets say we went up to eat Breakfast or Lunch at the Windjammer one day and it was too crowded, what other options exist for a less crowded breakfast and lunch? Are the MDR's always an option albeit a slower one? Also I have heard Johnny Rockets is a free breaksfast and lunch but is it usually crowded? I've heard Sandwiches on the Promenade Cafe? We are jsut normal balcony guys too - not suite guests in case that rules some options out. Any other thoughts?

 

3) Real specific and technical one here. I recently bought a FLIP video camera and was going to try to use it on the ship. If you know anything about these things they charge power by plugging them into the USB drive on your laptop. Assuming I didnt want to bring my laptop with me just to use as a big charging station, any ideas where I could charge it on board? Is there anything in the room? Its like a USB drive size to charge, not an IPOD charger size thing?

 

4) Where are the gangways to get off on the port days located?

 

5) Labadee - is the whole island just one big public beach and you just get off and find a chair or hammock to sit in or are there various beaches or neighborhoods with different themes? If so, where would be the most teen friendly, but not too cxrowded place to head to?

 

6) Ice in cabin? Is there a place to get it or do I jsut need to ask my room steward to keep it stocked?

 

7) Can we just lock up our passports in our safe once on board or do we need to bring them when we get off in Haiti / Jamaica / Cozumel?

 

8) My kids may be wearing a lot of bathing suits and / or basketball shorts that sometimes dont have pockets in them. Any good ideas on how they could carry their seapass cards around with them? Do they give out or sell lanyards on board anywhere?

 

Sorry so random - just getting in that mode of leaving in a few days and things just popped up. Thanks again.

 

1. yes, you can use the phones in your room to leave msgs. there are phones in commom areas around the ship. Altho, you will need to be in your cabin to ck your msgs.

2.JR only has free breakfast (not lunch). YOu will not go hungry. The solarium bistro also has a lovely breakfast.

3.Not sure on this one.

4. differs

5.Labadee is awesome, you will want to walk around and enjoy the views. It is def teen friendly. You will love it. The zip line is costly, but should try it once for sure.

6. Your cabin steward will keep ice in your cabin & will refill twice a day. If you need more just let him/her know.

7. I made copies of our passports to carry with us off the ship. Just in case.

8. Yes, they sell lynards on board the ship in the gift shop, but those won't be available til you sailaway. Bring your own, that way you can have it right away.

 

So hope this helps a bit.

 

Enjoy and get ready for the time of your life.

[negc]

We are going on the Oasis on Saturday and just had a few random questions about the ship. I'll scroll through some reviews to find some of these answers but I would appreciate any adive you could offer if you have answers or experience.

 

1) We will be traveling with our two teenaged sons in a nearby cabin. We wont be using cellphones (or walkie talkies) so I was wondering if maybe the cabin phones can be used as a vehicle to keep in touch? Can we communicate with each other via vociemail on the cabin phones? Assuming we are out scattered around the ship can they call our room phone voicemail and say (for instance) "we are going to the flowrider at 3:00" and then can we call our room and retrieve our voicemail to see what their last update was? Just wondering if anyone has any experience in doing this?Not sure if you can access your room phone's voice mail from elsewhere on the ship, but they can certainly call your room and leave a message. Just not sure whether you can only retrieve the message from anywhere other than your stateroom

 

2) We'll be eating our dinners in the MDR mostly (and assuming we didnt want to do any pay specialty restaurants), lets say we went up to eat Breakfast or Lunch at the Windjammer one day and it was too crowded, what other options exist for a less crowded breakfast and lunch? Are the MDR's always an option albeit a slower one? Also I have heard Johnny Rockets is a free breaksfast and lunch but is it usually crowded? I've heard Sandwiches on the Promenade Cafe? We are jsut normal balcony guys too - not suite guests in case that rules some options out. Any other thoughts? Breakfast is free in Johnny Rockets but not lunch. Pizza and sandwiches are available at Sorrentos and Cafe Promenade and sandwiches, salads etc. can be obtained without an added cost in the Park Cafe (try the delicious roast beef sandwiches). The solarium cafe will also offer lunch. Where you stay will have no effect on your ability to eat at any of those venues.

 

3) Real specific and technical one here. I recently bought a FLIP video camera and was going to try to use it on the ship. If you know anything about these things they charge power by plugging them into the USB drive on your laptop. Assuming I didnt want to bring my laptop with me just to use as a big charging station, any ideas where I could charge it on board? Is there anything in the room? Its like a USB drive size to charge, not an IPOD charger size thing? Can't help you there.

 

4) Where are the gangways to get off on the port days located? I believe they are usually on Deck 4 but on Oasis the elevators are programmed so that by pushing the button marked Debarkation(?), they will take you to the appropriate deck

 

5) Labadee - is the whole island just one big public beach and you just get off and find a chair or hammock to sit in or are there various beaches or neighborhoods with different themes? If so, where would be the most teen friendly, but not too cxrowded place to head to? Check out the Labadee map to find which beach best meets your needs. No real themes at most of the beaches except the one where the Aqua Park is located, but crowds spread out among the various beaches so you should not have a serious problem finding a pleasant spot to enjoy beach and water.

 

6) Ice in cabin? Is there a place to get it or do I jsut need to ask my room steward to keep it stocked? Your cabin steward will replace the ice bucket in your room, usually twice a day. If you need more ice you might have to call room service.

 

7) Can we just lock up our passports in our safe once on board or do we need to bring them when we get off in Haiti / Jamaica / Cozumel?You certainly can in Labadee but in the unlikely event that you missed the ship in Jamaica or Cozumel, having your passport safely locked up in your room safe won't be much help to you as you try to fly to the next port or home. If you are able to protect your driver's license, wallet, cameras and other valuables you should be able to protect your passport from losss or theft. I probably violate this particular advice more often than not, but I think it is still good advice to carry your passport with you when you are off the ship in most foreign ports.

 

8) My kids may be wearing a lot of bathing suits and / or basketball shorts that sometimes dont have pockets in them. Any good ideas on how they could carry their seapass cards around with them? Do they give out or sell lanyards on board anywhere? They sell water wallets and lanyards onboard the ship and there will be a hole already punched in the kids seapass cards so you can attach them to the lanyards. Better yet buy one at home where the cost will likely be lower.

 

Sorry so random - just getting in that mode of leaving in a few days and things just popped up. Thanks again.

 

Hope the above information helps you. Enjoy your time on Oasis. It is truly a spectacular ship and don't miss Hairspray, the Ice Show, or the Aqua Show. All are great.:)

[BrianAlt]

3. Plenty of devices use USB based chargers, iPods for example. You should look into using an external charger that plugs right into the socket.

 

Okay, looked into it...

 

Here it is... http://store.theflip.com/en-us/products/Product.aspx?SKU=APA1B

 

[GXmanDC]

We are going on the Oasis on Saturday and just had a few random questions about the ship. I'll scroll through some reviews to find some of these answers but I would appreciate any adive you could offer if you have answers or experience.

 

1) We will be traveling with our two teenaged sons in a nearby cabin. We wont be using cellphones (or walkie talkies) so I was wondering if maybe the cabin phones can be used as a vehicle to keep in touch? Can we communicate with each other via vociemail on the cabin phones? Assuming we are out scattered around the ship can they call our room phone voicemail and say (for instance) "we are going to the flowrider at 3:00" and then can we call our room and retrieve our voicemail to see what their last update was? Just wondering if anyone has any experience in doing this?

Yes, all staterooms have a phone with voicemail. We use it to communicate with friends and leave messages as to our plans.

 

2) We'll be eating our dinners in the MDR mostly (and assuming we didnt want to do any pay specialty restaurants), lets say we went up to eat Breakfast or Lunch at the Windjammer one day and it was too crowded, what other options exist for a less crowded breakfast and lunch? Are the MDR's always an option albeit a slower one? Also I have heard Johnny Rockets is a free breaksfast and lunch but is it usually crowded? I've heard Sandwiches on the Promenade Cafe? We are jsut normal balcony guys too - not suite guests in case that rules some options out. Any other thoughts?

MDR serves breakfast and sometimes brunch. I do not remember what the schedule is, but it will be posted in the daily Compass. Johnny Rockets serves breakfast, no additional charge. Lunch there is a cover charge. Cafe Promenade will have sandwiches and pastry. Park Cafe has breakfast and lunch. We ate breakfast there almost every day. They have breakfast sandwiches on English Muffins and they have a bagel bar. There are other venues that I did not visit, but they will be posted in the Compass, places like Wipe Out cafe and Solarium Bistro. There are many alternatives to Windjammer, we never went to the Windjammer on my Allure cruise last month. The interactive screens around the ship will tell you how crowded the venues are.

 

3) Real specific and technical one here. I recently bought a FLIP video camera and was going to try to use it on the ship. If you know anything about these things they charge power by plugging them into the USB drive on your laptop. Assuming I didnt want to bring my laptop with me just to use as a big charging station, any ideas where I could charge it on board? Is there anything in the room? Its like a USB drive size to charge, not an IPOD charger size thing?

I have a Flip Video camera. They sell an accesory that allows you to plug the USB cable into an electrical outlet. I have the extra battery and wall charger so I can have one battery carging while I use the other in the camera. http://store.theflip.com/en-us/products/Accessories.aspx#batteriesnpower

 

 

4) Where are the gangways to get off on the port days located?

They normally dock starboard side, Gangways are on Deck 3. There will be lighted signs directing you to the gangway. The elevators also have a gangway button.

5) Labadee - is the whole island just one big public beach and you just get off and find a chair or hammock to sit in or are there various beaches or neighborhoods with different themes? If so, where would be the most teen friendly, but not too cxrowded place to head to?

It is actually a private area in Haiti that Royal Caribbean leases. There is a lot to do, many areas. We usually hang at Columbus beach, but I do not have children. There is a waterpark, an alpine coaster, the zipline. I think those all have additional charges. There are a few other beaches, I find the beaches to the right of the dock when you leave the ship are better for swimming than those to the left. The ocean side is very rocky.

 

6) Ice in cabin? Is there a place to get it or do I jsut need to ask my room steward to keep it stocked?

The room steward will keep it full if you ask.

 

7) Can we just lock up our passports in our safe once on board or do we need to bring them when we get off in Haiti / Jamaica / Cozumel?

You need your SeaPass and sometimes a photo id. Honestly they always tell you to bring a photo id, but I'm not sure if they ever ask for it. Usually the SeaPass is sufficient. Some people like to carry their passports. I'm not sure if I would let teenagers carry their passport, definitely not my neices and nephews. Some kids are more forgetful than others. The only time I actually needed my passport was when I took an excursion to a different country from the one we docked in. Carrying passports ashore usually sparks a big debate on cc

 

8) My kids may be wearing a lot of bathing suits and / or basketball shorts that sometimes dont have pockets in them. Any good ideas on how they could carry their seapass cards around with them? Do they give out or sell lanyards on board anywhere?

They do see a lanyard in the giftshop. They also offer them for free in Adventure Ocean, at least that is what I recall.

 

Sorry so random - just getting in that mode of leaving in a few days and things just popped up. Thanks again.

 

Other CCers will comment and correct anything I may have wrong. Have a wonderful trip. Oasis class is awesome.

[Lizcourt]

Other CCers will comment and correct anything I may have wrong. Have a wonderful trip. Oasis class is awesome.

 

Only one thing that might be a little off -- gangways are not always on deck 3 (at least not on the eastern itinerary). That's why the "gangway" button on the elevator is such a great innovation. If you push that button, it takes you go whatever deck is the gangway for that day. On the eastern itinerary, for example, the St. Thomas gangway is on deck 2, while St. Maarten is on deck 3 (or the other way around, don't quite remember). But you didn't have to know any of that. Just push the button marked "gangway" and it will automatically take you to the right deck on the right day.

[Artemis]

Hi, Cruise Leprechaun,

 

We just got off the 3/5 sailing with two teen boys--they had a blast, and we did, too. You are going to have an amazing Spring Break!

 

All good info above. Just want to add on #1 that the Oasis offers cell phone rentals for $50 for 2 for the week, but they have an extremely limited supply, so go very fast (and weren't even promoted--just went to those "in the know"). If you're interested, go to guest relations as soon as you board. They only work onboard, i.e., you can't take them ashore or use them to call home.

 

(Yes, there will be horrible embarkation day lines at guest relations, but I assume you will be there anyway to switch over your room keys/sea pass cards to mom/dad + son/son. They won't do it at the pier check-in.)

 

On #5, if the boys are interested, the teen program will have some scheduled activities on Labadee, e.g., beach volleyball. We had a weird experience that day...surely this doesn't happen every week?...but when the food service was discontinued around 2p, there was a mass exodus back to the ship. At first, we thought we missed an announcement of some emergency cutting the port time short. It felt like we were on a deserted island the rest of the afternoon--delightful!

 

Have a wonderful cruise.

[fletch5727]

For the flip video charger question, if you can't find the flip video branded charging adaptor locally I would suggest taking you camera to Radio Shack. I can't count the number of charging cables for various devices that have gone missing in my house and Radio Shack has always had a solution. For example, I've gotten charge cords from them for my Kindle, Nintendo DS, and Olympus camera.

[GXmanDC]

Only one thing that might be a little off -- gangways are not always on deck 3 (at least not on the eastern itinerary). That's why the "gangway" button on the elevator is such a great innovation. If you push that button, it takes you go whatever deck is the gangway for that day. On the eastern itinerary, for example, the St. Thomas gangway is on deck 2, while St. Maarten is on deck 3 (or the other way around, don't quite remember). But you didn't have to know any of that. Just push the button marked "gangway" and it will automatically take you to the right deck on the right day.

 

That is an excellent point. Now that you mention it, we always used the gangway button in the elevator so I probably never knew what floor we were actually on!