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

[Buffett fan]

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...

 

 

I just found this thread....LOVE your sense of humor and the 50 Shades of Grey refernece. I also read the trilogy on a recent vacation :o;):rolleyes:

[johneeo]

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.

 

Nice review, lover reading others' experiences on the Oasis. Both to get opinions on things we experienced, and also to find out what we missed.

For anyone going on this ship, I really suggest they do the research to learn all about the Oasis, it is an engineering marvel, and it is huge. So much to see, so many things to do ..... you just cannot do it all, but have a plan.

 

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

 

 

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,

 

Same here, but worse, those that decide to come to a complete stop right in the middle of the busiest thoroughfare and decide that is a good spot to have a conversation. People, move out of the way.

 

Keep it coming.

[paramedicduo]

Thanks for staying tunes folks, we had an amazing time aboard and I'm all too happy to share our experience.

 

Day 6: At Sea

 

We slept late again, not like we had any place to be. After some breakie in the Windjammer, we were back out to get some sun at the Solarium. We loved the Solarium...as much as we love kids (you don't have 4 kids without at least liking them a little), since we left ours home, we didn't have much interest in listening to others, so we stuck pretty close to the Solarium or very quiet Aft decks.

I think this day was the Belly Flop contest & Splish Splash in the Aqua Theatre...very hard to keep track of which day was which, especially the sea days. We enjoyed the Splish Splash show more than the Oasis of Dreams show, definitely more our style. Those performers were jumping from so high! We stuck around for the laughs at the Belly Flop contest...I cannot imagine having the gonads to strut my big belly like I was king of the world, for all to see, but, it made for some good entertainment.

We had dinner booked early at Chops for this night...the only time that our TA was able to get us, so after the Aqua Theatre shows, we headed back for an afternoon siesta (yeah, that's what it called...haha) and to get ready for dinner. Chops was amazing! I wish I had fasted all day in order to truly enjoy myself! I don't have a very big appetite, so I always skip the starter & go straight to the entree in order to make sure I've got room for the yummiest of all...dessert! All 4 of us ordered the 10oz filet...oh my! Nobody finished their meat, not for lack of trying though. I found the way the served their side dishes to be interesting, family style, in the middle of the table. It meant you could sample a little of everything, which was great, but there wasn't much room with all the table settings in the way. When it came to dessert, MIL opted out, said she couldn't even think of eating anything else. I was stuffed to the brim...and worried the people behind me would soon be wearing my zipper, but I went for the red velvet cake anyhow. It was HUGE!! I hardly made a dent in it, but my God it was good! I talked dh into getting the chocolate mud pie, mostly because I couldn't decide between the 2 and figured that way, I could sample both...yum! Much like me, he hardly made a dent, but the serving size was monstrous.

After dinner, we wandered for a bit, hoping to wear off some of the food we'd just scoffed down. Dh was desperate to get out of his warm suit, so I told him that if he agreed to a few more photos (it was formal night after all), I'd happily take him back to the room & get him out of his suit...Christ, I think he ran to the Royal Promenade...he doesn't run unless he's being chased, so I took that as a yes!

After changing out of our formals, we headed down to the Comedy Club...I haven't laughed that hard in a very long time! If I had to do it again, I'd likely reserve the Comedy show for each night it was available...surely they don't do the same routine each night (there were others that had already seen a show), it's much more our style than the stuffy performances (no offense to the performers, or anyone who really enjoys them, it's just not our style).

We actually stayed up late this night! Of course, it was like 11:30 before the show let out, so that played a role...but, after the show, we headed to Globe & Atlas for a drink with the inlaws before calling it a night.

 

Photo op in the Royal Promenade

 

 

 

FIL's dessert...not sure what it was called (Raspberry duo something or other)

 

 

Next up...our last day...apparently they really will kick us off!

[Debathome]

Amanda, great review!! You're doing a fine job gal! :D

 

I am going to have to book a cruise on the Oasis with the family. It looks like a lot of fun.

 

Your pics are great and you look fabulous! Great choices on the dresses. ;)

Hate to see your cruise end. :p

[Shooraq]

Great review... very entertaining! You have a humorous personality and it shines in this review. :D

[paramedicduo]

Day 7 :(

 

Today was all about the elephant in the room...nobody wanted to talk about it, but our time was coming to an end. This morning wasn't much different than most of the others, we slept until 9ish again, but this time, we headed to Johnny Rockets for breakie and then back out into the sun. We spent most of our time between the Solarium and deck 11 Aft (it was so quiet back there...wish I had done it earlier in the week).

When we'd had enough with the sun, we grabbed some slices of Sorrento's and headed back to the room...dh watched me pack our suitcases.

It was a fairly lazy day for all, just basking in the last few hours of vacation. We ordered our photo CD the night before, thankfully we had decided on the digital shots and didn't have to wait in line with everyone else at Focus...I did help MIL pick some of her favorite pics.

Back to the MDR for dinner, our waiter & assistant waiter confirmed that in the morning, if we tried to hide, we would be found and kicked off the ship...crap! We wandered the ship some more, hung out for drinks at Globe & Atlas and then back to our room in time to throw a few last things in our suitcases & get them out into the hallway by 11p.

We knew Saturday would be a long day & I was anxious about the disembarking process of such a big ship, so we hit the sack after another drink on the balcony.

 

Disembarking:

We headed to the Windjammer around 7:30ish, it wasn't crazy busy (I had checked out on the TV before leaving, to see how full it was...it was completely full shortly after 7, but much better by the time we were ready). We had signed up for an 8:30-9 departure and the departure screen was showing that our luggage tag number should be called around 8:30. We were back to our room before 8am when FIL called to say that they were getting close to calling our number, so we decided to head down to our meeting place - Opal Theatre. We got off the elevator, found In's and our number was called to go ahead & disembark...easy peasy so far! We got in line, stuck our sea pass in last time and headed to collect our luggage. Coming down the escalator, we spotted our luggage tag group, and headed straight for it. We had our luggage in our hands within about 7 minutes of hearing our number called.

Now, I've read many times about the Customs line, US & Non US, I have read that US actually means North American...well, I'm from Canada, which to me, means Non US...so that's where we headed. Unfortunately, it was actually a much longer line than the US line. But, we were still headed curb side within about 10min.

The whole process was completely stress free! We grabbed a cab with the IL's, even though we were flying different airlines. Our destination was the same, but with them flying on points, we had no choice but to be on different airlines. The cab driver was a little crabby I think about having to drop off at 2 different gates, but whatever...you got your money honey :rolleyes:

We were at the airport before 9am (God it's close to the airport...we could see the Oasis when sitting at our gate) for our 12:05 flight, but it gave us plenty of time to get checked in (couldn't get it to work online when I was aboard the ship), get through security, grab some snacks & read some more 50 Shades.

We were flying FLL to JFK, then JFK to YYG. No big problems with the flights, FLL left & arrived on time, which gave us plenty of time to grab something to eat at JFK (Chili's Too). We were due to start boarding at 5:25pm, but we had no airplane to board, it was late arriving. It was right around 6p before we started to board our little puddle jumper (God it was tiny!), but the flight attendant was not wasting any time...everyone wasn't even sitting when she started her quick safety blurb...seems they were determined to take off on time ~ I was so grateful for this, 3 of our kids were going to be waiting for us at the airport! We ended up deplaning about 20 minutes ahead of schedule...yay!

Our tiny little airport is so conducive to families just wanting to get the heck home after vacation...we were first in line at customs (thankfully, our first flight was so full, we were offered to check our carry ons to our final destination, so getting off the plane at home was very quick), our luggage was sitting on the carousel by the time we finished with Customs and we were walking out of the airport, with kids hanging off us within about 10 minutes of stepping off the plane!

A quick stop at the grocery store for some bare essentials for the following morning & we were home very shortly after 10p! The kids were so wound up, nobody would stop talking...diarrhea of the mouth! We finally tucked them in around 11:30 (yep, you read that right) and they only stopped talking because we walked away after our cuddles in bed.

We've been home for 3 days, and they're still going balls to the wall, trying to make up for all their lost time with us :)

[paramedicduo]

Odds & Ends:

 

If you book Oasis, don't complain about how big it is...you should already know this!

Don't be surprised by how much you will walk, no matter where your stateroom is located...it will help you make room for all the grub you're going to eat.

Don't try to take it all in on the first couple of days...there is so much to see!! Pace yourself!

We didn't eat everywhere, but we were very happy with all the places we did try (keeping in mind we've got 4 young boys, a pizza restaurant is a treat for us). We ate at Windjammer, Wipe Out, Sorrento's, Johnny Rockets (definitely take advantage of the milkshake coupons!! YUM!! We did Johnny's for lunch one day and breakie another) and Chops. We went into Park Cafe once, but it was really busy, so we just headed elsewhere. Dh went to Cupcake cupboard a few times & the Donut Shop...he enjoyed the cupcake, but threw out a donut because it was so stale (this coming from a guy who will eat anything warm & dead...apparently he's a little fussier with his sweets).

Try at least some of the shows, even if it doesn't seem to be your "style", you may enjoy them. We had ressies for Come Fly With Me, but we ended up skipping out, in favor of some more sun time (I think our ressies were on one of the last 2 days at sea).

If you're looking for some place quiet, even though it's a ship with 6200 passengers, you'll definitely find some place...just keep looking!

If you've got kids, whether they're traveling with you or not, check out the Adventure Ocean area! WOW!! Of course, check it out VERY early in the cruise, BEFORE kids start arriving, you'll look much less creepy...especially if you're taking pictures!

Like all other cruises, don't be afraid to try something different in the dining room, you can definitely send it back if you don't like it.

Also with the MDR...you're on a floating city, what is the rush?!? Unless you have show ressies, just sit back and enjoy...have another drink while you wait if you have to.

The dining room got a little chilly for me, so I usually had a little cardigan or wrap to throw around my shoulders.

If you're on vacation on this gorgeous ship alone with significant other...let loose and have some fun, forget about the gadgets, let go of some of your inhibitions (think, balcony club...lmao!), strut your stuff on the beach/pool deck, enjoy formal night together...a chance to oohhh and aahhh at how hot each of you looks, take some time to reconnect!

 

If all else fails, go back to your room, open 50 Shades and you'll all be happy again :)

 

I think that's my book on Oasis...I'm sure there are lots of things I've forgotten to add, some things I missed all together on the ship & others that I might not think are all that significant, so I just skipped.

None the less, if you've got any questions that weren't answered here, feel free to ask!

 

Thanks for sticking with me this long :p

[paramedicduo]

I forgot the most important detail...the 4 of us all made it back in 1 piece!! It was our first ever vacation with my inlaws, and while I love them dearly, and they love us, I'm sure we were all a little apprehensive on how it would go.

Nobody was thrown overboard or left behind at a port...in fact, we all got together at Gma IL's on Sunday to tell everyone about our week :)

[shonandsuzie]

Great job!!! Perfect attitude for a vacation. :)

[angelsop99]

Wow awesome review, I enjoyed every second of it :-) I can't wait to be on Allure next Aug. Thanks you again for taking the time to write it!

[neptune18]

Nice review. I was on the same cruise and did a mini review a few days ago. One thing I forgot to mention was how packed the pools were on sea days. They looked extremely uninviting, so much so that even my kids (18 & 16) had no desire to go in.

 

Other than that it was a great cruise on a great ship.

[S.A.M.J.R.]

Now, I was surprised to hear of the current/wind problems because I never felt movement all night!

I thought you said you used "50 Shades" to reward your husband. :p

 

Great review, BTW. We sail in 318 days (but who's counting?).

[Pancake16]

I thought you said you used "50 Shades" to reward your husband. :p

 

Great review, BTW. We sail in 318 days (but who's counting?).

 

Bwa hahahahahahahaha!

[paramedicduo]

I thought you said you used "50 Shades" to reward your husband. :p

 

Great review, BTW. We sail in 318 days (but who's counting?).

 

Touche, touche...there was some rocking going on, but I don't think it was to attributed to the currents/wind ;) Dear God, I hope my mother in law doesn't read this...it was bad enough that I made some rather inappropriate comments to the Israeli man to begin the vacation...LOL...certainly, she knows me well enough by now to expect no better :D

[Familygoboston]

Fun review! Sounds like a great week...but whatever you do don't share your screen name with your kids:eek: Maybe yours are little enough, they don't read yet;) If I told the whole story...mine would say " awk sauce!":rolleyes:

 

We are planning to do the Segway tour too...did you prearrange that or just turn up? I don't want to book through RCL because it's too easy to get there on our own and save a couple of bucks, even though the website says "we can't accommodate crusie ship pax- book through the ship" I think I just won't tell them where we came from :rolleyes:

[maryanne356]

Great review!! Thanks for the info about the Segway. Can't wait to sail on the Oasis on Aug. 18,2012.

[CAC104]

Amanda....this was a great review and the photos were really nice. I am sure all the men reading wish you had included photos from Orient beach:eek::D;)

I have a question....Did you have a balcony cabin that faced the ocean, or did you look into the interior of the ship?

[Russ Lomas]

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. 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.

 

We went to St. Thomas only once on a cruise a few years back and we felt much the same way you did about the garbage. And what is up with all of those abandoned cars on the roadside EVERYWHERE? We were very disappointed overall with the island (we too went to Sapphire - we enjoyed it, but thought the "sand" was very coarse - more like crushed shells). We will be trying St. Thomas again in March and will give Magen's Bay a try. We would like to go to St. John's for the day, but with 4 young children, I think it would be too much of an adventure.

[paramedicduo]

Amanda....this was a great review and the photos were really nice. I am sure all the men reading wish you had included photos from Orient beach:eek::D;)

 

I have a question....Did you have a balcony cabin that faced the ocean, or did you look into the interior of the ship?

 

We went with the Oceanview Balcony...much more conducive to Balcony Club ;) We really enjoy the sound & view of the ocean on our own private balcony. I was quite motion sick last year, and the fresh air (with the privacy incase I actually got sick) was perfect, so we went for it again...can't imagine doing it any other way.

When on the boardwalk, dh & I were commenting on how warm those balconies must be, there didn't seem to be a breath of air through the Boardwalk.

[paramedicduo]

We went to St. Thomas only once on a cruise a few years back and we felt much the same way you did about the garbage. And what is up with all of those abandoned cars on the roadside EVERYWHERE? We were very disappointed overall with the island (we too went to Sapphire - we enjoyed it, but thought the "sand" was very coarse - more like crushed shells). We will be trying St. Thomas again in March and will give Magen's Bay a try. We would like to go to St. John's for the day, but with 4 young children, I think it would be too much of an adventure.

 

We will in all honesty, likely end up back in St Thomas again...we love St Maarten, so for that reason, we will definitely be looking for an Eastern itinerary again. We would, like you, likely end up trying Magen's Bay next...it was between the 2 this time.

Dh & I both commented on the coarse sand at Sapphire, especially once we were in the sand in St Maarten...definitely a noticeable difference.

[paramedicduo]

Fun review! Sounds like a great week...but whatever you do don't share your screen name with your kids:eek: Maybe yours are little enough, they don't read yet;) If I told the whole story...mine would say " awk sauce!":rolleyes:

 

We are planning to do the Segway tour too...did you prearrange that or just turn up? I don't want to book through RCL because it's too easy to get there on our own and save a couple of bucks, even though the website says "we can't accommodate crusie ship pax- book through the ship" I think I just won't tell them where we came from :rolleyes:

 

We booked an RCCL excursion for the Segways, it's not likely the way I'd do it again (although, one Segway excursion in my life time is likely enough...cool to say you did it, but that's about it). I think we paid $79/ea, which included the taxi ride into town and a voucher for a return ride via water taxi. We likely only spent about 1/2hr on the segways, so it's not as long as the excursion description leads you to believe.

Doing something similar again, I would likely choose this excursion for the morning & then Orient in the afternoon...the water taxi line up at the end of the day was crazy!! We ended up being among the last 20 or so people boarding the ship at the end of the day...all aboard was 4:30, but it was definitely closer to 5 before we were on the ship. By the time we got up to the Wipe Out Cafe, grabbed our burgers & sat down, we were already pulling away from the pier...too close for my comfort.

[newcrew42]

I've really enjoyed your review! My daughter and I were on your same cruise. Reading your review, and other reviews from the same cruise, it so interesting how everyone has a different experience.

 

Thanks for sharing!

[erin_cruisers]

Terrific review / report, Amanda. :) Really enjoyed the wit & the pics. :D

Thanks for posting the link on our Canada, eh? thread.

 

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

Great compliment, coming from one of the best Review writers on Cruise Critic, IMHO. ;)

 

Amanda....this was a great review and the photos were really nice. I am sure all the men reading wish you had included photos from Orient beach)

I have a question....Did you have a balcony cabin that faced the ocean, or did you look into the interior of the ship?

Having been to Orient Beach before, and also with Amanda & her DH, I can tell you that she really improves the look of the beach. ;)

 

We will in all honesty, likely end up back in St Thomas again...we love St Maarten, so for that reason, we will definitely be looking for an Eastern itinerary again. We would, like you, likely end up trying Magen's Bay next...it was between the 2 this time.

Dh & I both commented on the coarse sand at Sapphire, especially once we were in the sand in St Maarten...definitely a noticeable difference.

St. Thomas is one of our FAVORITE Eastern Caribbean destinations, and I'll tell you why - we usually take a catamaran over to St. John for the day. ;)

Its gorgeous over there.

[CAC104]

We went to St. Thomas only once on a cruise a few years back and we felt much the same way you did about the garbage. And what is up with all of those abandoned cars on the roadside EVERYWHERE? We were very disappointed overall with the island (we too went to Sapphire - we enjoyed it, but thought the "sand" was very coarse - more like crushed shells). We will be trying St. Thomas again in March and will give Magen's Bay a try. We would like to go to St. John's for the day, but with 4 young children, I think it would be too much of an adventure.

With 4 children in tow please take my advice and take a taxi to Coral World http://www.coralworldvi.com/

I have been there many times and it is the best day trip you can spend in St. Thomas. Not only are the exhibits, aquariums and sea lab excellent, but they have lockers to rent, changing rooms and showers. Right next door to Coral World is Coki beach, which has some of the best snorkeling in St. Thomas. They have a private board walk connected to the beach, so you can leave your valuables in the Coral World lockers and not worry about anything. Coki beach has a snorkel shack to rent equipment, and Coral World has a package that would include this. We also found discount coupons on line that we used. They also have a good snack bar with reasonable prices.

Amanda...I always want to look at the ocean, and don't think those interior balconies would be to my liking. Down here in Florida I just spent a great day on the beach. I am spoiled by being able to go to the ocean all the time.

[kac31]

great review!