Oasis Review (Aug. 31-Sep.7) WARNING: LONG, DO NOT READ

[nickthecruiser]

Great review. Nice pictures. Can't wait for the rest.

[Yorkvillain]

If you're missing Crown & Anchor benefit items, the best person to go to is the Loyalty Ambassador. We were on this cruise, too. We were missing our 2 little bottles of red wine (had the snack basket). After notifying the LA, they were delivered within a few hours!

 

Thanks for the tip. If I was expecting the 2 little bottles of wine then I would have definitely done the same. But since it was only bottled water I decided to let it go.

[Yorkvillain]

I'm on the sept 21st cruise. Looking forward to trying the new MDR menus. What were your hits and misses?

 

I think the mushroom soup was my favorite item on the MDR menu. They only had it one night though. Does anyone know if the mushroom soup in the MDR is the same as the one they serve in Chops? If it's not, it is pretty close and both are very good. However I didn't have any other soups since I was trying to avoid the sodium build-up and resulting cankles.

 

We did the MDR 5 nights and then Chops one night and Giovanni's Table another night.

 

Lobster night was very good of course. The tails are much bigger now ever since they re-did the menus. I also had the salmon & crabmeat gratin or the escargot gratin pretty much every night.

 

I enjoyed the prime rib and steak, mushroom pastry thing and the shrimp cocktail.

 

Nothing was too terrible but I do remember one night not liking some eggplant appetizer. Food is so subjective though so don't let my opinions sway you too much.

 

I'm not a big sweets guy however I did have the chocolate sensation one night and it was pretty darn good.

[Yorkvillain]

Lovin' the review! Will be on the Oasis on 12/7. I too enjoy your style of photography, and your writing style. My favorite line so far " I could get it to work but only after I put my entire body weight with another 2600 lbs. of gym weights on it."

 

:-)

 

Can't wait for more! Subscribing!

 

Haha. Thanks. The muscles in my forearm still hurt from pressing that 'OK' button so hard last week.

[Yorkvillain]

Wow all junior suites on Oasis class have those? Or do you have to be 'in the know' to find those cabins.

 

I think all JS have them on the Oasis & Allure but I am not 100% certain. The last time I had a JS was on the Freedom and there was only one lounge chair on our balcony with a table and two regular chairs.

[hairymelon]

Loving the review and the photos. Can't wait for the next instalment :)

[Yorkvillain]

DAY 2

 

I love waking up, putting on the TV and seeing "12 New Messages" in our inbox. Of course they were all "Book your spa package today", "book your shore excursion", etc. However there was one message that was just so sweet. It was this one:

 

 

I mean how thoughtful it was of Royal to send us happy birthday wishes on September 1st, considering my b-day is January 23rd and Courtney's is May 13th. That was so nice, there's no way that was a mistake, right?

 

Anyway since we uncharacteristically went to bed so early, we were up and at it on Sunday morning. So for the first time in a long time we decided to go to breakfast and settled on Johnny Rockets since they had the outside seating on the Boardwalk and had freshly made omelets. (I campaigned hard for Wipeout Cafe but ended up losing on a recount). I had most of the ingredients for a Trainman breakfast special and was able to put together this sort-of masterpiece:

 

 

I only had 50 % of the required sausage elements but don't worry, I would hit the Windjammer a few days later and construct the REAL version.

 

We didn't register for the meet and mingle but we decided to show up anyway since we were now almost 24 hours into our vacation and hadn't made any friends yet. We showed up at Dazzles at 10:50 AM. (I thought it was an 11 AM start but it actually began at 11:15). There was a sign at the door that said "private event" and I asked the girl there if we could come in. She replied that we needed our invitation but of course we didn't have it because like an idiot, I never registered. So instead of feeling like we were crashing a party that we were not invited to, we decided to leave and head to the pool. Next time, I will not forget to register.

 

By now I am used to all the speedos that the European men like to wear at the pool and I have trained myself not to look down when one of these men pass by. Sometimes it is difficult though when you are trying to relax on your pool chair and a gentleman walks right by your head with Big Jim and the Twins staring right at you. At this point it is best to just close your eyes and be thankful you are not in prison.

 

So while I've mastered the "speedo ignore" technique, for some bizarre reason there were an abundance of women on this cruise that wore thongs to the pools. I'm not talking about flip-flop thongs on your feet but rather you know, the heiny floss kind. And guys, before you perk up and say "Oh yeah? Let's see THOSE pics!", I have to inform you that there was not one thong that you would have wanted me to take a snapshot of. Just trust me on this one.

 

Once I decided that I had enough skin cancer for the day at the pool, we decided to hit afternoon trivia where an Australian family ended up absolutely dominating the 80's music trivia. This was one of our bread-and-butters and we fully expected to win this one, but not this time. Later on that night we went to Boleros for Majority Rules game show where we once again did not finish ahead of the pack. Normally we go home with a big bag of trivia prizes or we hand out our winnings to fellow passengers however so far on this trip, we have put up nothing but doughnuts and bagels.

 

And for the second straight night, we were carried out of the MDR on a stretcher and suffering from full-stomach-itis. We blew off the 10:30 comedy show and went to bed early…again.

 

NEXT UP: Day 3 - A scorcher in Haiti, more beef on weck and dinner at Chops.

Edited September 10, 2013 by Yorkvillain

[Jim M]

DAY 2

 

 

And for the second straight night, we were carried out of the MDR on a stretcher and suffering from full-stomach-itis. We blew off the 10:30 comedy show and went to bed early…again.

 

NEXT UP: Day 3 - A scorcher in Haiti, more beef on weck and dinner at Chops.

 

If they needed a stretcher for MDR, they'll need a golf cart for Chops!!!

[Mickeefan]

I'm subscribing. I love that I can actually see your pictures while I'm reading this report at work. Most pictures are blocked by the stupid software...:mad:

 

Anyway, I'm looking at going on the Oasis sometime (hopefully in the near future) and love reading trip reports. Thanks for posting yours. I'm looking forward to more installments...

[Yorkvillain]

If they needed a stretcher for MDR, they'll need a golf cart for Chops!!!

 

Haha, so true.

[Yorkvillain]

I'm subscribing. I love that I can actually see your pictures while I'm reading this report at work. Most pictures are blocked by the stupid software...:mad:

 

Anyway, I'm looking at going on the Oasis sometime (hopefully in the near future) and love reading trip reports. Thanks for posting yours. I'm looking forward to more installments...

 

You are going to love the Oasis. There really is nothing like it.

[Yorkvillain]

DAY 3

 

Who doesn't love breakfast on the balcony? Well, do you still enjoy your hot, fluffy eggs and warm, crisp bacon when it is 185 degrees out at 9 AM? We filled out our breakfast order the night before and checked off the 9:30 AM - 10 AM delivery slot. So naturally, breakfast arrived promptly at 8:40 AM. Of course. Once the food arrived, I opened the balcony door but was knocked over by the wave of heat that poured in from Labadee. And as if we needed confirmation, I checked the cruise compass weather forecast for the day and sure enough Royal confirmed it that it was indeed hot out and not just a window washer baking cookies on our balcony.

 

 

So we decided to eat inside in the nice and cool stateroom that by the way, I have to say was very comfortable all week. Every time we check into our room on the first day of a cruise we turn the thermostat all the way down to COLD as most rooms seem generally warm to us. We also keep the curtains closed when we are not in the room to keep the sun from beating in. Our balcony room on the Allure last year was always on the warm-side however this year I was pleasantly surprised with the temperature in our JS.

 

If you would have told me 10 years ago that by 2013 I would have visited Haiti on 9 separate occasions, I would have thought that you had consumed a few too many dozen Labadoozies. But then again, I didn't know what a Labadoozie was in 2003. Alright, nevermind. Moving on.

 

It was brutally hot out, however we do love Labadee. We always go to Nellie's Beach and rent the floating mats. We never eat on the island, usually we just fill up before we leave the ship and then have a late afternoon snack at the Park Cafe or Cafe Promenade when we get back to the ship. The afternoon snack on this day was indeed the Park Cafe where I downed 2.5 more Beef on Wecks, bringing the total for the week to 4.5.

 

For some reason I enjoyed this shot of the shaded Labadee mountain in the foreground while the mountain in the background soaked up the sun.

 

We had enough sun and heat for the day and headed back to the ship. We also blew off the Crown & Anchor sailaway party on the Helipad since by this point we just wanted to bring our body temperatures down in some nice cool air conditioning.

 

Dinner on Day 3 was at Chops where we have never had a bad meal. The Forest Mushroom Soup is tremendous, the Roasted Potatoes with Prosciutto and Parmesan is tasty and the steaks are always cooked perfectly. Sorry, no food porn.

 

And sticking with this week's theme, we left Chops and made our way back to our stateroom for the night (did you notice that I always say 'stateroom' and not 'cabin'?). We did have late reservations at Chops though so we actually stayed awake past midnight!

 

NEXT UP - Day 4: A day of firsts - our first trip to the Windjammer, my first ever attempt at the Flowrider and our first trivia victory!

Edited September 10, 2013 by Yorkvillain

[keishashadow]

I made my way over to Primanti Brothers for lunch. A few years ago I did a road trip to Pittsburgh for a Giants-Steelers game and became instantly addicted to these carnivorous concotions. The South Florida locations are obviously not as good as the originals (and last I checked there are no Caribbean cruises leaving out of Pittsburgh) however they get the job done. I ordered the Pitts-burgher AND the Ham and Cheese. Half of the Pitts-burgher had to go in a doggy-bag which came in handy at 3am after a long poker session.

 

on behalf of the inland port city of Pittsburgh thank you for the plug!

 

We live a few miles from one of primanti's outposts & indulged in a couple of those sammies last night during happy hour...he - roast beef, me - pastrami & washed it down with a couple of coronas. this is shaping up to be a good TR:D

 

new to RCCL, is the upgrade u speak of in earlier post the result of a price drop after final payment?

[Royals Carol]

Which view do you prefer?

 

 

I vote for number 2, please...enjoying your review...Thank you!!

[SnappyNappi]

York - I completely enjoyed your PREview and am thoroughly engrossed in your REview. You have got one hell of a sense of humor... something that this world definitely needs more of. Thanks for taking the time to write, share, relive your vacation for us poor suckers who were not on the ship with you... :)

Edited September 10, 2013 by SnappyNappi
My spelling stinks...

[Yorkvillain]

I made my way over to Primanti Brothers for lunch. A few years ago I did a road trip to Pittsburgh for a Giants-Steelers game and became instantly addicted to these carnivorous concotions. The South Florida locations are obviously not as good as the originals (and last I checked there are no Caribbean cruises leaving out of Pittsburgh) however they get the job done. I ordered the Pitts-burgher AND the Ham and Cheese. Half of the Pitts-burgher had to go in a doggy-bag which came in handy at 3am after a long poker session.

 

on behalf of the inland port city of Pittsburgh thank you for the plug!

 

We live a few miles from one of primanti's outposts & indulged in a couple of those sammies last night during happy hour...he - roast beef, me - pastrami & washed it down with a couple of coronas. this is shaping up to be a good TR:D

 

new to RCCL, is the upgrade u speak of in earlier post the result of a price drop after final payment?

 

Yes. When I originally booked this trip, I locked in a balcony room on deck six. Many weeks after final payment I read RevSmith's post about the W Guarantee. When you book a W guarantee, you are guaranteed a Junior Suite or above room however Royal decides what room you get. To us, it didn't matter. All of the JS are in the middle of the ship but can be anywhere from deck 6 to deck 14. And not to mention that the double points that come with booking a suite, we would become Diamond after this trip.

 

The W guarantee price dropped all the way down to the same price I paid for my balcony. I called my travel agent up and she switched our room from the balcony to the Junior Suite guarantee. Simple.

 

And FYI, if you are past final payment and the price drops on your cruise, your only option now is to upgrade to a better stateroom. You cannot get a refund or on-board credit for the difference.

Edited September 10, 2013 by Yorkvillain

[The Grumpus]

Which view do you prefer?

 

 

All of the above!;)

[keishashadow]

Yes. When I originally booked this trip, I locked in a balcony room on deck six. Many weeks after final payment I read RevSmith's post about the W Guarantee. When you book a W guarantee, you are guaranteed a Junior Suite or above room however Royal decides what room you get. To us, it didn't matter. All of the JS are in the middle of the ship but can be anywhere from deck 6 to deck 14. And not to mention that the double points that come with booking a suite, we would become Diamond after this trip.

 

The W guarantee price dropped all the way down to the same price I paid for my balcony. I called my travel agent up and she switched our room from the balcony to the Junior Suite guarantee. Simple.

 

And FYI, if you are past final payment and the price drops on your cruise, your only option now is to upgrade to a better stateroom. You cannot get a refund or on-board credit for the difference.

 

thanks for that info, will be watching the rates for our sailing closely;)

[Yorkvillain]

DAY 4

 

While in Samana in the Dominican Republic on our March Explorer cruise, cruise director Richard Spacey let everyone know that Samana is actually Spanish for "stay on the ship".

 

We heeded Richard's wisdom that day and staying on the ship is exactly what we did on Day 4 in Jamaica. We have been to Montego Bay, Ocho Rios and Falmouth before and now prefer to take advantage of a relatively empty Solarium pool.

 

Come on Royal, there has to be a better way to say this.

 

However even with less people on board, the Solarium was just too hot so we moved over to the main pool for the rest of the afternoon.

 

In the morning we decided to go to the Windjammer for the first time this trip. And I can happily report that I successfully assembled and consumed a Trainman breakfast special. I usually budget my belly for one a trip but since I failed at Johnny Rockets a few days earlier, I decided to bend the rules this one time.

 

FOUR sausage links, the way Jim prefers it.

 

 

This was the 7th cruise that I was on that had at least one Flowrider on the ship. However I had never given it a shot, until this day. I tried the surfboard (key word - tried) but I kept on wiping out just moments after the instructor let go of my hands. I did leave with some pretty neat parting gifts in the form of bruises on my elbows and knees. I decided to give the boogie board a try a few days later. Spoiler - much better result.

 

We popped into Sorrento's in the afternoon for a few slices. This would be the only time that we would go to Sorrento's this week. We also went to Cupcake Cupboard. I had a pistachio cupcake, Courtney had a coconut one.

 

We also attended the tri-bond trivia in the afternoon and had a decent showing except for the fact that we couldn't find the connection between: The Kennedy family, lingerie store, toy store. Obviously they all have "Teddys", but we couldn't figure that one out somehow. We also went to (and did not win) '50's & 60's' music trivia and the 'Who in the world am I?' trivia contest. However later that night at the 'Finish That Lyric' game show in Dazzles, we…I mean, Courtney broke threw. For her win, we..I mean, she won all the usual stuff: keychain, pen, highlighter, camera case and a document holder. They also included a bottle of champagne that we polished off a day later.

 

Dinner on Day 4 was at Giovanni's Table. This was the 2nd time that we have gone to Giovanni's and I think it will be the last time. To us it's just ok, not bad, but nothing special. I think I prefer Portofino much better. Next time we will try 150 Central Park.

 

We were so full from dinner at Giovanni's that we incredibly blew off the Quest. Wow, this is getting sad.

 

NEXT UP - Day 5: How to buy friends on a cruise.

[Yorkvillain]

thanks for that info, will be watching the rates for our sailing closely;)

 

Yes, do so. And don't forget about Cruise Critic, that is where I found out about the price drop.

[MbaLady]

One of my favorite moments on any vacation is the actual moment when you get up from your desk and leave work on the last day before vacation. And like every vacation I performed my last day of work tradition of taunting my co-workers, dropping my pants and mooning them on the way out the door and then holding my arm up and pointing and chanting "I'm #1, I'm #1, see ya in a week, losers!".

 

LOL I love this! I'm enjoying your review! Keep it coming!

[flyawayca]

Thanks for the laughs. I'm really enjoying your review :D

[ContessaK]

Great review so far! Loving all the pics! What camera are you using? Can't wait to hear more!

Edited September 11, 2013 by ContessaK

[Yorkvillain]

York - I completely enjoyed your PREview and am thoroughly engrossed in your REview. You have got one hell of a sense of humor... something that this world definitely needs more of. Thanks for taking the time to write, share, relive your vacation for us poor suckers who were not on the ship with you... :)

 

Thank you and everyone else for the kind words. I'm glad you are enjoying it. If you think my review is funny, have you ever read a SailorJack review? His reviews are absolutely epic. He is a very good writer, has an incredible sense of humor and has his own unique style. I could not recommend them enough. I think I have 7 of his reviews bookmarked. Here is one of them. Search the rest, trust me, they are so worth it.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1534248

Edited September 11, 2013 by Yorkvillain

[Yorkvillain]

Thank you and everyone else for the kind words. I'm glad you are enjoying it. If you think my review is funny, have you ever read a SailorJack review? His reviews are absolutely epic. He is a very good writer, has an incredible sense of humor and has his own unique style. I could not recommend them enough. I think I have 7 of his reviews bookmarked. Here is one of them. Search the rest, trust me, they are so worth it.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1534248

 

Actually, he has all of his reviews bookmarked in his profile. Here you go:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/member.php?u=275213