Oasis of the Seas Photo Review - March 9th-16th, 2013 Sailing

[Russ Lomas]

Love that natural light in the Promenade. It really was nice. This photo shows you how much brighter it was in this area than on the Freedom class ships.

 

The Champagne Bar

The Champagne Bar lies at the opposite end of the Promenade from Starbucks. I never had a drink in here since I assumed it was mainly for serving champagne. I now learn that they make a pretty wicked selection of martinis there, including the chocolate martini that I love. Lesson learned. I will definitely give the Champagne Bar a try next time.

 

Inside the Champagne Bar

 

I took a few trips on the Rising Tide Bar. This is a really nice, unique experience that all couples should do a few times. It is really nice to do in the evenings, but was usually quite busy in the evenings and a lot less busy during the daytime.

 

The fountain show beneath the bar is neat to watch as well. I wish I had got a better photo of it than the one below...ah well...next time.

[jpolm]

Love that natural light in the Promenade. It really was nice. This photo shows you how much brighter it was in this area than on the Freedom class ships.

 

The Champagne Bar

The Champagne Bar lies at the opposite end of the Promenade from Starbucks. I never had a drink in here since I assumed it was mainly for serving champagne. I now learn that they make a pretty wicked selection of martinis there, including the chocolate martini that I love. Lesson learned. I will definitely give the Champagne Bar a try next time.

 

Inside the Champagne Bar

 

I took a few trips on the Rising Tide Bar. This is a really nice, unique experience that all couples should do a few times. It is really nice to do in the evenings, but was usually quite busy in the evenings and a lot less busy during the daytime.

 

The fountain show beneath the bar is neat to watch as well. I wish I had got a better photo of it than the one below...ah well...next time.

 

37 days and counting for that chocolate martini @ the champagne bar! Your review has me very excited for my trip!

[sunnygirl1975]

I agree Tim Hortons is the best. I grew up in the Detroit area and we would go to Ontario just to have one. Now Michigan has them, but I live in Georgia. Oh well...sigh:(

[Russ Lomas]

I agree Tim Hortons is the best. I grew up in the Detroit area and we would go to Ontario just to have one. Now Michigan has them, but I live in Georgia. Oh well...sigh:(

I know they have made their way across the border into several states such as Michigan and New York. It is only a matter of time. They are so popular up here that they are one opposite street corners in some places and there is still enough business to keep both stores open even though they are located so close together. Maybe this would be a great business venture for someone looking for one away from the US northeast...open a Timmy's franchise or two and then you could afford that amazing suite I shared photos of a few days ago.

[Amanda16]

Awesome review! I am going on the oasis in 3 weeks and can't wait! I read that you are a teacher in London. My husband is an EA with Thames Valley and i'm hoping to be hired on as an ECE.

[Sinduf]

Glad you are enjoying the review. We did the Liberty, then stepped it up to the Oasis this year. I found the food much better on the Oasis than the Liberty. That being said, it was a new menu, so that could be part of it as well. We are heading back to the Freedom class of ships next year. You will love it if have never been on one before.

 

 

Glad I could be of help. Just remember that the Liberty is not a 7 day cruise, so 2 of those menus will not be offered. Which ones, I do not know.

 

 

Drooling over the keyboard is never a good thing to do. My DW did not like me taking all the food photos, but I felt it was my CruiseCritic duty to report on the new menu. I was very happy with the MDR food on this last cruise and I hope that you enjoy your food on your upcoming trip as much as we did.

The trip we're doing is a 7 night in Europe so luckily we'll get to try the full new menu. Can I ask did you find the drinks package worth it? We still in 2 minds about buying it, I'm a little afraid I would not get the benefit of it every day.

[Russ Lomas]

Awesome review! I am going on the oasis in 3 weeks and can't wait! I read that you are a teacher in London. My husband is an EA with Thames Valley and i'm hoping to be hired on as an ECE.

I know you will have a fantastic time on the Oasis. I work in the TVDSB as well. I assume you will not be traveling with your husband since he will be working, unless of course he is a supply EA. If he is, I have a full-time EA in my classroom and sometimes we have a hard time getting a supply teacher for her. Let me know if he does supply work and maybe I could get him some work. Good luck with getting on as an ECE. We get full day kindergarten next year at our school and will be hiring 3 of them.

[sunnygirl1975]

I know they have made their way across the border into several states such as Michigan and New York. It is only a matter of time. They are so popular up here that they are one opposite street corners in some places and there is still enough business to keep both stores open even though they are located so close together. Maybe this would be a great business venture for someone looking for one away from the US northeast...open a Timmy's franchise or two and then you could afford that amazing suite I shared photos of a few days ago.

 

Lol..I will keep that idea on the back burner. Right now I am teaching kindergarten and it would be hard to give up the classroom. On a side note...is there a place in London called Storybook Gardens? I remember my mom taking me there.

[Russ Lomas]

The trip we're doing is a 7 night in Europe so luckily we'll get to try the full new menu. Can I ask did you find the drinks package worth it? We still in 2 minds about buying it, I'm a little afraid I would not get the benefit of it every day.

I did not really save any money if you calculated the actual cost our individually. What I did find nice was not having to sign for drinks, not having to check my account daily to see if it was correct and no extra beverage charges were on it, being able to try new drinks I would not normally try and then simply telling them to take them away if I did not like them, sitting by the pool and if the icy drink became to watery or beer became too warm you can simply order another one for "no charge".

 

My DW would not have got her money's worth if she had to purchase the package, so we would not have purchased it if both of us were required to, as per RCCL policy. We had 2 rooms, so we listed one adult in each room and listed one child in the room with me and 3 in with my DW. This way, we were both not required to pay for the package.

[Russ Lomas]

Lol..I will keep that idea on the back burner. Right now I am teaching kindergarten and it would be hard to give up the classroom. On a side note...is there a place in London called Storybook Gardens? I remember my mom taking me there.

Yes, Storybook Gardens still exists here, but it is very different than you likely remember. They did an overhaul of it costing taxpayers about 7 million dollars a few year back. They actually took out most of the storybook references during the refurbishment, they removed most of the animals there (they shipped all the seals to some place in the USA and they all died except for one due to stress and some problems I believe with overheating during the journey there, they have added a few rides (which you have to pay for in addition to your park pass), they put in a splash pad for kids (although the city has loads of free ones). I remember as a kid traveling 2 hours from Toronto to London to visit Storybook Gardens and I loved it. I now live less than 5 minutes from it and do not bother taking my kids to it - that alone should tell you what I think of it. Keep your fond memories and do not bother to bring your children there (it is not the same as your remember it).

[Amanda16]

I know you will have a fantastic time on the Oasis. I work in the TVDSB as well. I assume you will not be traveling with your husband since he will be working, unless of course he is a supply EA. If he is, I have a full-time EA in my classroom and sometimes we have a hard time getting a supply teacher for her. Let me know if he does supply work and maybe I could get him some work. Good luck with getting on as an ECE. We get full day kindergarten next year at our school and will be hiring 3 of them.

 

 

He is a supply EA, covering an LTO but he is joining me. Thanks, I have had a few good signs (references called), and some hints but now I just have to wait to hear back.

This will be my 6th RCI cruise, they have all been amazing. They keep pushing the limits, I'm looking forward to the new ship coming out next year.

[sunnygirl1975]

Yes, Storybook Gardens still exists here, but it is very different than you likely remember. They did an overhaul of it costing taxpayers about 7 million dollars a few year back. They actually took out most of the storybook references during the refurbishment, they removed most of the animals there (they shipped all the seals to some place in the USA and they all died except for one due to stress and some problems I believe with overheating during the journey there, they have added a few rides (which you have to pay for in addition to your park pass), they put in a splash pad for kids (although the city has loads of free ones). I remember as a kid traveling 2 hours from Toronto to London to visit Storybook Gardens and I loved it. I now live less than 5 minutes from it and do not bother taking my kids to it - that alone should tell you what I think of it. Keep your fond memories and do not bother to bring your children there (it is not the same as your remember it).

 

I am so sad about this I could cry. It is ashame about the seaIs. I loved the Three Bears and the Jack and Jill hill. Thank you for the update.

[Russ Lomas]

He is a supply EA, covering an LTO but he is joining me. Thanks, I have had a few good signs (references called), and some hints but now I just have to wait to hear back.

This will be my 6th RCI cruise, they have all been amazing. They keep pushing the limits, I'm looking forward to the new ship coming out next year.

 

Being a teacher, I am limited to the time I can travel. I hope the Quantum fits into our March Break week, and I would love to try it. So expensive flying 6 to Florida during the break and there is not enough time to drive there and back for a 7 day cruise and be back for work on the Monday still. NJ would be drivable in less than half the time, so it its planned sailing dates fit into our scheduled time off, it will definitely be high on our list of possible cruises to do.

[Russ Lomas]

I am so sad about this I could cry. It is ashame about the seaIs. I loved the Three Bears and the Jack and Jill hill. Thank you for the update.

 

The Jack and Jill hill slide was the one memory that both my DW and I have of Storybook Gardens some 35 year ago. Sadly, they were removed many years ago.

[A&L_Ont]

The Jack and Jill hill slide was the one memory that both my DW and I have of Storybook Gardens some 35 year ago. Sadly, they were removed many years ago.

 

Do you remember the pink mice in Hickory Dickory Dock?

[Russ Lomas]

Overall, I enjoyed the shows on the Oasis. Personally, I enjoyed the show on the Liberty slightly better last year, but I still found the ones on the Oasis to be superior to what I have seen on Princess, Carnival, and NCL.

 

Oasis of Dreams (the diving show) - as I discussed earlier in this thread, due to rough seas, the show kept being rescheduled, cut short, or cancelled. Do to this fact, I only caught about 5 minutes of this show. I cannot comment on it appropriately however since I saw so little of it. The people I asked who did see it, enjoyed the performances, but had no clue what the "story" was about.

Both performances of the Splish and Splash diving show were cancelled.

 

The ice skating show with the Hans Christian Anderson theme was good, but I enjoyed the one on the Liberty slightly more. There was a bit more daring aerial work on the Liberty. The sand art performer in the Oasis show was phenomenal and you should go to the show just to see her. The skaters were very good, but I was not so crazy about the "story" of this show. Hint: two kids are selected to go for rides on the ice in the swans as part of the show, so sit near to the stairs if your little one wants to be selected. It would be a priceless photo opportunity. I still find it amazing that RCCL can put on such a good skating show on such a small rink on a rocking ship.

 

3D Movie Theatre

I saw a couple of movies in 3D on the Liberty and the sound and screen were great. I did not get the opportunity to see any on the Oasis this year. They advertised The Avengers late at night, but I was too tired to stay up. We went to see The Guardians, but there was a sign posted on the doors when we arrived saying that it was postponed to a different date and time in the week. My kids really wanted to see it so we went back to see it on the time and date it was posted but nothing was going on in the theatre at all. Not sure if the one below was shown or not.

 

Hairspray was OUTSTANDING. Watch the movie with John Travolta first and you will enjoy this since you will be familiar with it. We enjoyed this version better than the movie version. We also enjoyed the performers better in this one (all of them). Tracy's mother and father were great. Jim J. Bullock played the mom in RCCL's version and he did a great job. He played Monroe back in the 80's in Too Close for Comfort (in case you ever saw that show.) We saw him sitting right in front of us in the Comedy show the next night, which was nice to see him out enjoying the ship as well. Everyone in my group loved the show so much that they went back to see the afternoon performance on the following day (except me...more Flowrider time for me without being nagged at for always being on that Flowrider). Hint: in case you may wish to see the show twice, reserve your first viewing of the show early in the cruise because the afternoon show on day 3, you can get a walk-in seat.

 

Several of the performers from Hairspray also sing in one of the lounges one evening. I never made it out there to see them however. They also put on a version of the TV show, Whose Line is it Anyway, in Studio B one night. We went to see this improv comedy show and were on the floor we were laughing so hard. This was an additional show added since the diving show was cancelled that day. They did another improv show the next night (the originally scheduled one), but it was no where near as good as the previous night. Different situations, smaller crowd, different "games" played...just ok.

 

The Comedy Live Club was good. Be sure to book tickets ahead because the venue is so small that they sell out quickly and only a few are admitted to fill no-show seats. Our comedians for the week were Dan Wilson and Eric Lyden. I knew this ahead of time and searched for them on youtube. I was looking forward to both of them and both were good. I was really looking forward to both of their performance after seeing them on youtube and both did a great job. However, it was the local RCCL comedian, Simeone, that stole the show. His countless Carnival Cruises jokes had us in stitches. Now, two more Carnival ships broke down during the week of our sailing, just a couple of weeks after the disaster of the Carnival Triumph. The material kept writing itself, and Simeone was only happy to keep telling Carnival jokes. His Burl Ives snowman impersonation stole the show (those who have seen his impersonation and remember the classic Christmas TV show will know what I mean).

 

I never made it to the 80's flashback party. I really wanted to go to it because I grew up in the 80's and love the music (as corny as most of it was)...the hair, the clothes, the god-aweful techno beats...it brings back fond memories (my DW and I love the 80's trivia in the Schooner Bar). Now, then I saw the sign below...

Hosted by Annoying Amy. No way was I going to let her destroy my memories of the 80's by seeing her do her imitations of those classic dance moves with her own. I skipped the show.

 

I missed the Quest game show when I sailed on the Liberty because it was too late for me and I was dead tired that night. I have regretting missing it ever since and vowed I would go to it on the Oasis this trip. It is held on the Oasis in Studio B, the skating arena, which is very different than in the theatre where it was on the Liberty. I had heard so many stories about how there are a few selected teams of about 10 people selected from the audience and the rest of the audience is there to view the insane antics. Warning: the show is different on the Oasis. The entire audience is divided into 8 sections and each section has two captains. Everyone in the audience is expected to participate, so be ready to get up and dance because if you do not, your team will not get points for that task. We enjoyed the show and will definitely go see it again. I really am looking forward to seeing the version on the Independence next year with selected teams participating instead of myself.

 

One of my favourite shows every cruise is the Love and Marriage show (newlywed game). It always provides lots of cheap laughter. The show on our cruise was my least favourite one I had ever seen. The show always rides on who the contestants are. The largest problem was that the couple who represented the longest married couple were so shy and quiet and the poor gentleman could not seem to hear and understand anything the cruise director (Annoying Amy) said. I felt bad for her in this situation. Amy is a cheerleader who loves to dance, but she does not have the comedic ability that many other cruise directors have. Some of them would have turned this situation into a riot, but Amy was clearly getting flustered by this couple and did not know what to do with them and how to handle them.

[Russ Lomas]

Do you remember the pink mice in Hickory Dickory Dock?

I must admit I do not. I seem to remember some shoe that Old Mother Hubbard lived in and I think there was a slide in it as well in Storybook Gardens, but it was the Jack and Jill slide that sticks out in my head.

[Russ Lomas]

The headliner show was Scott Record on this trip. He is a musical comedy impressionist. I watched him perform on youtube and was really looking forward to seeing him. On youtube, he wowed me. I enjoyed his show, but not as much as I thought I would. He just appeared to be going through the motions and not like he really wanted to be there. I did run into him on the Flowrider (not literally) several times. Turns out he is an avid Flowrider junkee. He was nice to chat to in line and friendly. Maybe his mind was more on the Flowrider than on the show that night (I could not blame him for that...my mind was more on the Flowrider than his show that night as well.)

 

The "In the Air" show was good, but I did not enjoy it as much as the Cirque du Soleil style show on the Liberty last year. I had not taken any photos of the show previously because I thought that RCCL did not permit that. I listened closer to the disclaimer before the show tonight and it said no videoing or flash photography permitted. That means I could have been taking photos without my flash all week of the shows...darn. Anyways, here are some of the photos from "In the Air."

 

All of the performances in the show were good. As in all musicals, certain ones stand out more than others. Thinking back, I can only recall a couple of the act (the ones I have pictures of), whereas I can clearly still remember several performances on the Liberty over a year later.

Up, up and away in that balloon on the stage. Very nice visual. I cannot say I honestly remember what song she sang.

 

One of the neater visual effects of the show was for the following photo. The aerial work must be tricky for those walking upside down foot to foot up in the air on land, never mind at sea on a rocking ship.

 

The two aerialist performers were outstanding. Beautiful.

 

I assume that they must have safety harnesses on to do this but I did not see any. Performing 20 feet above the hard stage on wires swinging on a rocking ship. Well done.

 

Where did they get that plane and how did they get it on stage? This is one of the most memorable images from the entire show. My DD did a backstage tour and said she got to see the plane all folded up in back (I missed the tour...probably at the Flowrider once again).

 

The costumes and the lighting for these shows were outstanding as well.

[Silvery Seas Cruiser]

Russ Lomas, many thanks for this review. All the wonderful photos bring back so many happy memories.

[m*u*g*]

 

One final photo for the night since it is almost midnight. This is one of my favourite candid shots of the entire cruise. My 9 year-old DD with our waiter, Miller.

 

Finally, the link below to the food review I wrote previously for those who may have missed it...

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1813591

 

Have a good night and I look forward to your comments and questions. Til tomorrow....

 

This photo reminds me to buy some of those flower things for your hair. I was taking a photography class last month and wish I had one for the model. We saw these on one of the islands.

[Russ Lomas]

Russ Lomas, many thanks for this review. All the wonderful photos bring back so many happy memories.

You are welcome. Looks like we have similar tastes looking at your upcoming cruises. We are booked on the Independence for next March and will be taking our first Celebrity cruise this coming December. I hope all your future cruises continue to bring you wonderful memories like those of the Oasis.

[Russ Lomas]

This photo reminds me to buy some of those flower things for your hair. I was taking a photography class last month and wish I had one for the model. We saw these on one of the islands.

The flower was not something that I planned. Our friends who were traveling with us on this cruise bought one flower for each of our 4 DDs. They all loved them and wear them all the time. I never even thought about how nicely the flower fits into the photo until you mentioned it, but you are right, it really adds to it. I will have to remember to bring these on future cruises.

[SuperPlanner]

Love your review! Quick question...you posted pics of a show "Up in the Air"...I have not heard of this despite hours and hours of research. I am going on the Oasis in 3 weeks. Is that the same as "Come Fly with Me"?

[Russ Lomas]

Love your review! Quick question...you posted pics of a show "Up in the Air"...I have not heard of this despite hours and hours of research. I am going on the Oasis in 3 weeks. Is that the same as "Come Fly with Me"?

You are totally correct. I meant to say the show was called "Come Fly with Me." I probably would not have made that mistake if I could have found the time to write this review a month ago when I had just completed the cruise. Thanks for correcting me. I tried to go back and edit my post, but it looks like it is too late to do so now.

[Russ Lomas]

I had never been to St. Maarten, but I had read very good things about it in terms of cleanliness, safety, nice beaches, people not being too aggressive trying to sell things, etc. This was by far my favourite port of our 3 stops. I kind of feel jealous of those who were on the Carnival ship that broke down right beside us in port and were "force" to spend 3 days in St. Maarten and fly home from there. Not too bad of a deal in my mind. If the Oasis had been "stuck" there for 3 days, I would have been able to visit so much more of this beautiful island and then still had my great food, entertainment, and flowrider back on the ship.

 

Below is the Carnival Dream docked next to us. Little did its passengers know that it would be docked in this same location for the next 3 or 4 days. I never realized before that the bottom of the Oasis is painted light blue. I always thought that the entire ship was painted white.

 

Welcome to St. Maarten. Nice and clean. We did not stop in a single shop here, but went straight to the cab area. This area was very busy, but we got a cab to take us to Mullet Bay.

 

I chose Mullet Bay because I read that the water there was very calm almost always. I also read about how good the snorkeling can be there and I really wanted to do some snorkeling after not being able to do so on our first two stops. I wanted to stick with the family at a beach for the day since my little ones are too young to take a snorkeling boat trip. The photos I saw of this beach looked beautiful and the sand looked nice. Overall, it looked like a great safe place for the family to spend the day. I had also hoped to walk over to Maho Beach to see some of the planes fly in later in the afternoon and then catch a cab back to the ship.

 

Our cab dropped a few people off at Maho on the way to Mullet. Maho did not look like a great beach, but it sure looked like an experience. It looked packed and the beach was relatively small for all of the people crowded there. I hope to go back and see it next time I visit when there are far fewer ships in port that there were on this visit. As we arrive at Mullet, the driver warns us that the waves have been very big the past few days on this side of the island and to be careful. He said that the winds were blowing the opposite way this week and the far side of the island, which is usually much rougher, was actually calm this week. Too late now...but jumping around in the waves can be fun too.

 

As the cab pulls away, we hear what sounded like cannons being fired. It turns out is was the waves crashing ashore. We make our way past a little food and bar stand ($2 beers). There are 3 rows of chairs and umbrellas set up for rent. The first row is already taken. We place our stuff under some shade in the trees. We had already been burnt to a crisp earlier in the week and did not want any further torture. The beach is very large and there were not too many people there for saying so many ships were in that day. The sand was nice as well. There is a little drop off in the water about 15 feet out that drops about 2 feet to waist level, then gradually works up again getting shallower on the sandbar. You know what sandbars mean...waves. The waves crashing here were over 10 feet tall (no exaggeration). You will be able to see this in some of the photos. Adults who were only 10 feet into the water were being hit by the rushing white water and knocked end over end. It looked fun, but very intimidating.

 

My twins refused to go in the water and that was probably a good decision on their part. They had fun playing in the sand all day and in a little tidal pool they found. My 9 year-old did come out in the waves for a bit, but was very nervous. My 11 year-old did come out for quite a while, but we made sure she was always within an few yards of us. Once you got out beyond the crashing waves, the swells were quite fun to play in. You would be in water that was up to you neck, the next second a wave rolls in and you are either 8 feet in the air or are 8 feet below the surface with the wave rolling over you. There was actually a surfer out here and I took some videos of him with my GoPro camera as he rode the waves towards me.

 

The waves look large, but look closely at the person right in the middle of the photo just about to be hit by the whitewater. The wave was a good 10 feet above the surface of the water.

 

Another nice shot taken standing by that little protected tidal pool I mentioned my twins liked playing in on the left side of the beach. You can see how few people there were there that day, even though there were many ships in port.

 

The waves were the biggest and most frequent earlier in the day. The photo taken below was taken about 1/2 way through the day when the waves were actually significantly smaller. They still look pretty intimidating to little ones, but the adults were having a blast riding them.

 

Keep in mind that I hear that having waves like this at Mullet Bay is RARE.