All things Oasis...back from a July 14-21 sailing.

[paramedicduo]

I'm going to make an attempt at a review...but, with 3 young boys at home (and 1 gone to summer camp), it may take a little more time than usual to get it finished.

A little background: dh & I (32 & 35) are the proud parents of 4 boys, work crazy shift work hours, plus run our own business and still new to cruising, our first sailing was Southern Caribbean last summer on the Serenade. Our first sailing had us hooked! It took us a long time to decide on ship, itinerary & timing, but back in March, we finally decided on Oasis of the Seas, during pretty much the same week we chose last year. I know most Canadians like to get away during the more inclement weather of our winters, but, working out child care during the school year is a nightmare for us, so we again went for the summer when we could just ship them to parent's place.

So, we chose our sailing, made the deposit with our TA & then talked the in-laws into joining us (also their second sailing...another couple of crazy Canucks...late 50's, empty-nesters).

MIL & FIL were flying on points, so because of black outs, they ended up flying in 2 nights before the cruise. FIL got a decent deal at the Hampton Inn North Cruise Port, we would all just share the 1 room the night before disembarking.

My parents only live an hour away, so we did the quick trip to their place on the 12th for drop off...last year was our first time leaving them for more than a couple of days, and I was just thankful the drop off wasn't the same gong show it was last year (I cried for whole drive home last year)! This year, there were quick hugs all the way around, a few tears from mama on the way out the door (behind their backs) and on our merry way...it may have helped that their own itinerary was well mapped out before we left (we left our camper for a weekend at the campground, beach days planned, movie night at the theatre, a day trip to an amusement park...).

We had some business things to take care of before closing shop for the week, so we stopped at the office on the way home...getting home to finish some last minute packing by about 11:30p. I hate coming home from being gone anywhere, to a messy house, so I was up until 2am scrubbing the floors, putting away laundry, etc...

The 4am wake up call, to be at the airport by 5am was a little ridiculous after that!! Flights were uneventful, all departing and arriving within a few minutes of their original schedule...we flew Charlottetown, PEI (I know that few of you will know where the heck that is...God's land, middle of nowhere, East Coast of Canada), connected in Toronto, then on the Ft Lauderdale.

Dh & I used points to rent a car for our day in FLL, thought with 4 of us, it would be cheaper than just a couple of taxi rides...it only ended up costing us $40 (that included taxes, adding a 2nd driver & topping up the fuel). Of course, it almost meant a divorce when we depended on the GPS on the cell phone instead of a talking GPS that would automatically recalculate after missed exits, but that just made it more interesting...yeah, that's the word! We had the rental & were all settled at the hotel before 2pm (landed at 11:30, but the wait at the rental centre was crazy). Directly across the street from the hotel is a little strip mall with a couple of take out places (Italian, Subway, mom and pop pizza shop & a bar/grill), so the 4 of us went over for a bite. We had originally thought we'd do the bar & grill, but when we opened the door, realized they allowed smoking, so we went for pizza...HUGE slices and yummy too. There's a Big Lots in the same strip mall & we later returned for a case of water and munchies.

Once our bellies were full, the malls were calling our names...well, at least to the ladies of the group, and we all know who's in control :) We started out at The Galleria Mall (Macy's mall on East Sunrise) and then drop over to Sawgrass Mills.

 

Embarkation Day:

 

After a good night's sleep, we took advantage of the free breakfast, then headed back to the airport to return the rental. IL's decided to stay at the hotel and take advantage of a pre-booked, free shuttle to the port at 11:00am. We didn't know how long it would take us to get the airport or how long we'd have to wait for someone who'd shuttle us to the port, so we headed there shortly before 10. Turns out, we certainly could have waited...we were shuttled with 3 other people to the port and were there by about 10:15. We paid tipped the driver, found a porter to hand our bags to (already had luggage tags on, for which she was thankful), tipped her & headed into the terminal. The lines were all short, we waited about 5 minutes until a rep was available; signed our health declaration thingys, smiled pretty for our sea pass cards, handed over a credit card & were smiling for the boarding shots within another 5 minutes. Up the escalator we went, and grabbed a seat in the Gold section. The staff in the waiting area upstairs are little OCD about how & where you sit, but I imagine that's why the process is so smooth! We had to sit for a while until the ship was cleared, boarding started at around 11:15, starting with suites & working their way down...we were boarding within a few short minutes and standing in the Royal Promenade less than 10 minutes from the time they called suite guests.

The Promenade definitely gives you the WOW greeting...Cupcake Cupboard, Sorrentos, the Rolls Royce, Cafe Promenade, Globe & Atlas, etc... GORGEOUS~

Not many people were on board yet, so we decided to head straight up to the Windjammer for lunch, there were no lines & plenty of seating available. By the time we were leaving about 1/2hr later, things were getting fairly jammed up. We decided to grab a drink and wander...when we made it back down to the Promenade, we bumped into the IL's (who indicated their wait times being similar to ours...minus the sitting for boarding to start, since they arrived after 11:00).

After wandering longer, we checked on our rooms shortly after 1pm, and both were ready ~ we split up again at the point. Dh & I discovered within minutes, that we were neighbors with smokers :( Being asthmatic, my exposure to smoke is always limited & when it does happen, it often causes unwelcome symptoms. While on the balcony (we were deck 8, Aft, starboard side), our neighbors came out, they were either on the phone or videotaping, because they started bragging about being on their balcony enjoying some smokes...ughhh.

Anyhow, after checking out the room, we hung out poolside until our luggage to get delivered. When we returned to our room at around 3:30ish, our luggage was waiting for us. I managed to get quite a bit put away before the Muster Drill started...we were in the Aqua Theatre...so a quick video and we were off to sail away. We had decided to do sail away on IL's balcony (deck 11, forward, port side) in an effort to get on the webcam & share with the kids later...it worked...we were visible with our PEI flag (and I'm sure, people watching the webcam, were like, what the heck is that??).

We had chosen My Time Dining for the 4 of us, and the only time that was available when I was booking, was 5:45 on embarkation day, so we decided to skip the MDR that night, rather than be rushed from sail away. When sail away was done (we were late leaving because of a freighter in the harbour), dh & I went back to our room to finish unpacking (I unpacked...he watched...very similar to the packing process, why ruin a good thing I guess?) and then Sorrento's for supper (we just went with the premade pizzas each time we went, didn't bother with made to order).

We all had Hairspray reservations for the night, having nothing to compare it to (not very cultured here...it was our first musical, other than Anne of Green Gables), but both dh & I enjoyed it. It was a late show, and when it was finally over, I was completely bagged and ready for bed! We may be young...but with 4 kids at home, we're quite boring when it comes to night life on the ship (at least the public night life...;)...sorry, had to go there).

 

Favorite finds of the day:

Wipe out Cafe for soft serve frozen yogurt, the Flowriders...neither of us were interested in risking injury to partake, but watching others afforded us some of our best laughs of the cruise!

 

Stateroom observations:

Our first cruise was in a GS on the Serenade, so we weren't sure what to expect from our D2 balcony. We were pleased with the set up & general size...our bed was closest to the balcony, which left lots of room to get in from the hallway without feeling like we were tripping over the bed. I found space to put everything away (even though I had over packed). The size of the bathroom was nothing comparable to the GS from last year, but it was an efficient use of space (in fact, we both said that if we ever decided to put a small bathroom in a basement or something, we'd likely use a very similar layout).

We were very close to the Aft elevators (just 1 room between us and the hallway, and we found everything to be quite accessible. We usually skipped the elevators & used the stairs and never found we were too far from anything...the farthest was the Windjammer & believe me, we could use the walk both before & after in order to make up for our consumption.

 

Anyhow...taking a breath to pick up DS at golf camp, I'll be adding pics from FLL & embarkation day later today.

Thanks for staying tuned.

[shonandsuzie]

Loving your humor, Amanda! (night life.... ;) cute.)

[Just The 3 Of Us]

Great start - patiently waiting for more... ;)

[eric1e]

do you have 150 Central Park menus by any chance?

[paramedicduo]

DISCLAIMER...I have a slightly past PG rated sense of humor...tread lightly if you don't share the same~

 

Alright, I thought I should share a few tidbits of information that are best for you to know sooner rather than later in your vacation...

 

1. When shopping at the mall, and your mother in law gets dragged into a kiosk area where a charming young Israeli man is selling his miracle products from the Dead Sea, do NOT go back and try to rescue her...you know better!! You cannot and will not be able to save her, instead, you will both suffer the same fate! The young Israeli man will flirt with you and charm you, promise you that when he sensually rubs this miracle cream onto a chosen body part, you will look 10yrs younger in no time at all. After you convince yourself that he has not already given this same song and dance to every warm blooded female in the mall today (or at some point over the last umpteen days), you will be convinced that you do in fact look younger & yes, the miracle cream is worth it! You will shell out the money to young Israeli dude & just as he hands you your receipt, he'll remember another product he hasn't shown you...an hour later, your husbands will be ready for a divorce (or some "night life" in order to erase the last hour from their memory). Another note, if you find Israeli boy's flirting to be funny and decide to chime in with your own inappropriate comments...take a look around and remember you're shopping with your MOTHER IN LAW, not your best friend :rolleyes:.

 

2. If you would like to make your husband feel like the $$ he shelled out for the balcony cabin vs the tiny little interior in the bowels of the ship was worthwhile...start reading "50 Shades of Grey" a few days prior to your departure! He will soon realize just how worthy the shower, bedroom, balcony, sofa, etc is of the extra coin! And, you'll both have a great getaway!

 

More shortly...

[paramedicduo]

Loving your humor, Amanda! (night life.... ;) cute.)

 

You don't end up with a house full of kids without figuring out the nightlife ;)

[paramedicduo]

Some shots from the ship:

Looking down on Central Park

 

I might have found my husband in here a couple of times throughout the week...the boys saw this picture and immediately said, "dad must have broken Steve's laws during vacation"...Steve is our personal trainer, haha!

 

Aqua Theatre

 

Night time from the jogging track, looking out at the rock climbing walls

 

Jogging track at night

 

The only time we found one of these vacant was shortly after embarking

[paramedicduo]

Day 2: Nassau, Bahamas

 

Knowing that we were only in port for a short period of time, and with 4 other ships in port with us, we decided against shelling out the mega bucks for Atlantis. The closest we would get was the awesome view from our balcony. Instead, we took our time getting off the ship & decided we would just wander the streets and check out the straw market.

Note to self...every vendor has the same stuff as the next guy, the best strategy (in my opinion), is to check out everything before choosing who you'll buy it from. Definitely try haggling...you're not in North America any more, that's for sure!

Biggest tip...if you slow down to take a closer look, the vendor automatically thinks you're interested and starts their sales pitch.

After the straw market, we just made our way a few streets back to the Pirate Museum...hubby was pretty keen to check this out. In my opinion, not worth the $19/ea we spent, but it made him happy, so it was a sacrifice I was willing to make.

We always complain about people's driving and parking at home, many people would fit in well with what seems to be the Bahamian way...don't bother parking, just pull up and stop! The street outside the museum was lined on each side with cars that were parallel parked, since there wasn't enough room for a big SUV to parallel park as well, he just pulled in, nose first, stopped & got out. He was blocking an entire lane of traffic & nobody seemed to care.

 

Notes for your safety in Nassau:

There will be oodles of tourists who feel they are expert scooter drivers despite never driving one...when you see them coming towards you, save yourself, the hell with the others, just throw yourself against the closest building ~ these guys are crazy!

Secondly, there will be numerous horse & carriage rides around town, they do not saunter along, they are in a full on trot...look out!

 

Seen on the streets of Nassau

 

 

Waking up to a view of Atlantis

 

Atlantis behind me...apparently hubby did not shell out all that money on a personal trainer to not take bikini shots all week...this is all I will share

 

Found on the Promenade on the first night...forgot to share earlier

 

Nassau was our first formal night...MANY people were dressed to the nines, but I'd say there were more shorts in the MDR that night then there was during our entire week on Serenade last year

[paramedicduo]

I could have had so much fun with this one...but the in-laws were with us (and the throngs of people in the area)

 

Onboard...the beginning stage of a horse for the carousel

 

Nearing completion

 

3 out of 4 ships in port with us...you can't even see the Majesty of the Seas

 

These were super cool & really helped with navigation

[paramedicduo]

do you have 150 Central Park menus by any chance?

 

Sorry, no Central Park menu...we did have a quick peek at the menu that was listed, but I'm such a picky eater that it certainly wasn't worth it for us. I think they had 1 menu for Saturday thru Tuesday and then another for Wednesday thru Friday.

[paramedicduo]

More Bahamas...

This was our first seating in the MDR and while service was a little slow, but since we were on a ship, in the middle of the Ocean, we didn't let it bother us. As I mentioned earlier, there were quite a few shorts in the MDR this night, but the majority of people were very well dressed (or at least following the "rules"). Now, I don't let people who don't follow the "rules" ruin my dinner, but, I just don't understand showing up on any night, in such a beautiful venue, wearing shorty shorts, cut offs, jean shorts, etc... If it's not MacDonald's or a pizza place at home, I'm likely to leave the shorts for another time...but, to each his own I guess.

We took our place in line at each of the photo-op spots...much to dh's chagrin (but, I will remind you of the "50 Shades of Grey" comment from earlier...his patience was later rewarded...lol). I'm thankful that we did take so many pictures, since we don't have many of ourselves at home, let alone ourselves without kids in them.

When our pics were all done, we decided to change out of our formals in order to enjoy our show for the evening, "Oasis of Dreams" in the Aqua Theatre. While I wasn't able to follow the "story line" in the slightest...I didn't get it at all...I did enjoy the show...seeing wet, lean male specimens didn't hurt at all!

Once again, boring couple that we are...we skipped the night life after the show & headed for bed ;)

[mj]

Great review and sense of humor. Keep it coming.

[paramedicduo]

At this point of our vacation...I had come to realize a few other important facts:

 

1. The Oasis of the Seas IS large enough to lose your in laws for long periods of time! LOL...just kidding :) But seriously, if they were out of their room when we called, the chances of wandering to find them was slim to none...we only ran into each by chance twice during the whole week. So, if you're traveling with others, but don't want to commit to spending the week as siamese twins without having to resort to throwing someone overboard...it'll be alright, you will have tons of space to spread your wings on your own!

 

2. The couple of quinceanera groups that I saw on embarkation day, and was subsequently a little nervous about, would be spreading their own wings on the ship. The umpteen young girls seemed to be everywhere I went...butting in lines, crowding the elevators, etc. Nothing extreme, but certainly noticeable.

 

3. Be prepared for people to suddenly, just stop walking in front of you...sometimes causing you to shower them with your expensive frozen drink. Seriously people...until you install brake lights on your ass, just move to the side before coming to a complete stop in the middle of throngs of people! This is a huge pet peeve of mine, dh on the other hand, thought it was hilarious that it drove me so foolish...so at that point, I gave 50 Shade a break for a little while ;) An equally irritating pet peeve, if you're going to move along at a crawling speed, could you give the rest of us a laugh at least and get down on all fours and actually crawl...other wise, pick up the pace just enough to keep ahead of the snails on the ground!

 

Next up...Sea Day!

[Radio]

I am really enjoying your review so far ! I loved the Allure of the Seas and am looking forward to sailing her again . .

 

Keep up this great Review :)

 

 

Radio

;);)

[paramedicduo]

Day 3...Sea Day...some where between Bahamas & St Thomas:

 

We had no reason to get up early this day, so we had ordered our room service to arrive between 9-9:30am and woke at 9:04 when they called to say it was on it's way. Certainly didn't expect to sleep that late, but since we are balls to the wall all the time at home, it didn't come as a surprise that we were tired enough to sleep so late. Like the morning before, we enjoyed our eggs/bacon/toast on the balcony...heavenly! Yesterday a poor little birdie, hungry for our leftovers, got stuck on the inside of the balcony when I went into the room to grab my book (remember..50 Shades...LOL)...being at sea, at least that didn't happen on this day.

When breakfast was over, we went upstairs to catch some sun. We aren't much for pools...especially on sea days when it's a walking cesspool...so we stuck to getting some sun in the solarium or on the quiet outer deck area. We would alternate between sun & shade every 1/2hr or so...our poor Canadian bodies don't handle the Caribbean heat for long periods of time.

In the afternoon, we went to the gym for the Good Feet seminar. Dh complains every single day about his sore feet & sore back, so we figured that since it was free, we'd give it a whirl. We listened to the presentation, had a foot analysis done & then, sprung for the $200 insoles...he's already talking about his feet feeling better (which will in turn help with the back...it would also help if he wasn't lifting & lugging and tugging on his patients all day/night, but we'll go with the insoles for now).

Later in the afternoon, we were booked to take in "Frozen in Time"...now, being a hockey player myself, I was more than a little apprehensive about this being a waste of our time...but, I was willing to experience my first figure skating show as part of the cultural experience. It got off to a very boring/rocky start, I was ready to head back to the room and try crocheting by the midway point...much like the diving show, I found the story line impossible to follow, so nothing made sense. But, at about the same time as I gave up trying to understand the show, the performers picked it up a notch (as did the music) & started landing their jumps on 1 foot instead of 2 and picked up the pace...the last half was pretty darn good!

We headed back to the MDR again for dinner & enjoyed quicker service than the night before. After dinner, we wandered the ship, grabbed a drink at Globe & Atlas (loved this place) and eventually retired back to the pricey room to get more of our money's worth again ;) Seems we were lucky enough that our balcony neighbors seemed to stay out later than us, so we were able to enjoy some balcony time each evening before they were ready for their smokes...phew!

[vivavegas]

Welcome Back! Really enjoying your review! Thanks for taking the time to share with us!

[paramedicduo]

If you are still with me at this point, I figure you are one of two things: a glutton for punishment OR a future Oasis traveler! Either way, I thank you for your loyalty & apologize for the long windedness.

 

Day 4: St Thomas

 

Apparently the ship struggled all night against winds & currents, and despite having all horses engaged...pedal to the metal, we were late docking. The Captain therefore extended our time ashore to make up for the late docking...it was only a 1/2hr. Now, I was surprised to hear of the current/wind problems because I never felt movement all night! I had quite a few bouts of sea sickness aboard the Serenade last year, and I was pretty nervous about that, especially since we had 3 sea days this year compared to just the 1 last year. No issues at all!

We purchased Skyride tickets while on the ship so we could enjoy Paradise Point for the morning. Little did we know how difficult it would be to get a cab with the throngs of people here! We were the only ship docked where we were & it was pure insanity! When asked where we were going, we'd say "Paradise Point" and the driver would move on to the next group...most were either downtown or Magen's Bay, so they were filling taxis with those people. Eventually the dispatcher came out to help organize everyone, and we went thru the same process with her. Some would tell us, "no, taxi at the front" or "no, back to the back of the line"...either way, after an hour of standing in the sizzling sun and cursing under our breath (remember we're polite Canadians, haha), we gave up hope of getting a taxi & returning in time for our afternoon excursion to Sapphire Beach, so we wandered the port area a bit & then headed back to the ship for lunch. We later went down to Guest Services and had the money refunded, no problems whatsoever...if only getting a taxi had been half as easy, we'd have enjoyed Paradise Point.

We met up with IL's on the ship, and headed off to meet our group for our afternoon excursion. We were barely in the line up when the skies opened up and it poured down rain! It rained really hard, so we were shooed under a nearby canopy to wait for it to die down. When it died down, we were herded to our taxi...reminded me of cattle going to slaughter, but we knew we were in for better (we hoped!). Sapphire Beach was about a 20 minute drive...I couldn't believe how filthy the area was...the amount of litter on the roadways & ditches was unbelievable (we later noticed the water at the pier full of garbage as well). I had really high expectations for St Thomas after reading so many great reviews on the internet, but I was sorely disappointed. Now, mind you, part of that might have been my sour humour from the morning's events, but I was definitely in awe of the garbage. The beach itself was nice, but I would likely prefer my favourite beach at home over Sapphire. It's not likely to be a port I'll seek out in the future.

 

Once again, back to the MDR for dinner...more than satisfied leaving! Can't remember what we did after dinner that evening, but I'm sure that at some point, 50 Shades of Grey played a part in the night's activities ;)

[paramedicduo]

Photos from St Thomas:

 

At the platform we stopped at for photos after Sapphire Beach

 

Sailing away from St Thomas

[paramedicduo]

On to my favorite stop...ST MAARTEN!!

 

We arrived on schedule today, grabbed breakfast at Windjammer and headed off the ship by around 10ish for a cab to Orient Beach. We shared a cab ride with about 8 other people for a cost of $11/each for the 25ish minute ride. I should have thanked this cabbie for the feeling of Deja Vu! He brought me back in time, by about 10 years to my early days working as a paramedic. I often worked with the ambulance company's owner & his brother...they had 2 speeds in the ambulance: WO & GO...I quickly got my sea legs in the back of the ambulance, being able to tend to patients while being thrown all over the place. This driver was exactly the same! He would practically come to a complete and sudden stop for a speed bump, pedal to the metal immediately & then 25ft later, another speed bump, so another quick stop..they must go through a lot of brakes!

We left our prudish Canadian personalities in the cab, and headed straight for the Club Orient side of the beach. I lost my pride after Thing 4 was born, so heading to the nudie side didn't faze me at all...and I'm not ashamed to admit it...and hubby is not ashamed to admit that he likes to see me nakie, lol. Thankfully, the 400lb woman with the nipples that were able to tickle her toes was not on the beach this year (first thing we saw last year & I was worried she was the Mayor of the beach or something). We did however catch a glimpse of another jaw dropping sight...opposite sex...pretty sure he was part of the meet & greet...'nough said! We grabbed drinks & loungers...the downside to this side of the beach...unless we got ripped off, you don't get a free drink with the purchase of your loungers. We paid $20 for the loungers (no umbrella) and another $9 for a couple of rum punch (YUMMY though). We hung out in the sun & went for a swim before packing it in so we'd have time to get back to the ship for our afternoon excursion.

Apparently my husband was not the only person who was enjoying looking at me, I had no sooner pulled my swimsuit back on, when a gentleman with a strong Southern accent, says, "oh, you guys are taking off are you?" We gave him the whole, we're disappointed to be leaving, but we've got another tour to get to...'though, nothing as good as Orient ;)

Back at the ship, we met the inlaws in line for our Segway Tour...took a taxi ride to downtown, got a 10 minute overview of the segways & then we each got our own. The biggest laugh of the trip soon came at my expense. Our guide hadn't give us the "don't let your moving segway touch anything stationary" talk, and while I was coming to a stop next to a lamp post, the corner of my tire rubbed against the concrete at the base of the post...I got run over by own damn segway when it tipped me on my ass! I was so happy to give everyone a good chuckle :rolleyes: Other than a massive bruise on my leg, and an even bigger bruise to my athletic ego, I was good to go. They uprighted the segway, everyone (my darling husband mostly) caught their breath from laughing and we continued on (to the talk about stationary objects).

Note to husband, the ridiculous, can't catch your breath laughing at your wife, is likely the reason that I didn't take 50 Shades out that night...hmmm...put that in your pipe, eh!

I think this night was the 70's Dance party in the Royal Promenade, we watched from the Schooner bar for a bit, but then called it a night...NOT to get our money's worth out of the stateroom though, haha.

 

In port with Carnival Dream

 

After I was run over by my segway...the bruise just kept getting worse over the week

 

 

 

Now, if only I hadn't used up all my images in this post, I could post the Orient Beach shots...oh well, will have to save those for the private collection...muahahaha.

 

Next up: back to back sea days on our way back to FLL

[RazorbackIslandGirl]

Really enjoying your review! Glad you had such a great cruise! I'm boarding in 66 days!! But who's counting? Right?;):D

[maryanne356]

Oh no, how did you run your own leg over? We have booked this excursion in Cozumel with 3 kids(ages 22, 20, and 17) Is it really that hard to control?

[paramedicduo]

Oh no, how did you run your own leg over? We have booked this excursion in Cozumel with 3 kids(ages 22, 20, and 17) Is it really that hard to control?

 

No, rest assured, it is not that difficult at all!! You just have to stay away from stationary objects. It's not hard to maneuver at all, lean forward to move ahead, stand straight up to stop, lean back to go in reverse, tilt the handle left to go that way and tilt right to go right...simple...just stay away from stationary objects :) I think it's because the wheels themselves don't turn at all, so when they bump, they just end up skidding. When it skid, I lost my balance, fell sideways and since the base of it is heavy & was still moving, it toppled over and landed right smack on my leg (didn't technically run my over I guess...but te story is funnier that way).

Anyhow, no worries about your upcoming excursion...have fun!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[UNDCruisers]

Loving your review! Thank you! DH and I sail on Allure in less than 4 weeks without the kiddos as well (though we only have 2 boys!). CAN'T WAIT!

[JamesEM]

Thanks for sharing, looking forward to the rest of your review and pics.

[Just The 3 Of Us]

Hysterical!!! Enjoying your review immensely!