The Sea Called...We Answered! Our Week Onboard the Oasis 4/26-5/3...Western Caribbea

[At Sea 4Ever]

 

 

 

 

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[At Sea 4Ever]

Day 6: Pier at Cozumel

 

The Carnival Elation and Paradise were also in port with us. Although there were a few ships in port the pier and shopping area was not very crowded. We did notice there was not as much haggling with the vendors as there usually is. We did some quick shopping and found what we were looking for. We then took a walk to grab a picture of the ship from across the water.

 

Taken in front of Senior Frogs

 

We always take that same picture when we visit Cozumel. We even used it for our "Save the Date" a few years back for our wedding!

 

Directly behind us was the Humane Society of Cozumel.

 

 

As dog lovers this broke our hearts. Very pathetic but we were glad to see it was being run by a very caring woman. For $250 they would ship you a dog back to the States. Another smaller way to help was to make a donation in exchange for some pet goods. They had squeaky toys and some doggie clothes. We knew our little guy back home would get a kick out of a new toy and we felt that was the least we could do for the dogs in Cozumel.

 

 

 

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[At Sea 4Ever]

Day 6: Cozumel

 

Once back onboard the ship we noticed a decent number of passengers choose to stay onboard. We headed back to our cabin to settle back in from being off the ship. At this point the sun was fighting to come out so once we put our stuff away we headed up to the Solarium. We were able to have our pick at seats so we chose our usual spot with a perfect view Cozumel. Since it was window washing day and the solarium is covered in glass the crew was busy at work.

 

There was something about the day that made it my favorite of the week. Maybe because the weather was slightly less perfect which drew a smaller crowd poolside. It was beyond relaxing and a perfect day to finish off a good book. Later in the afternoon the sun was high in the sky and the heat was prevalent! Although the Vision is a decent sized ship, Oasis class towers over all. We snapped this up close and personal picture of the Crown and Anchor sitting on the smoke stacks of the Vision.

 

 

We were getting hungry so we thought we would make it a Johnny Rocket day and have lunch there as well. We were able to be seated inside right away which on other ships there always seems to be a wait especially in the middle of the afternoon. Let me just say, and I do remember it being the same on the Allure, that the inside of Johnny Rockets is the coolest area temperature wise on the whole ship! Save eating there for a hot day because it's very cold inside. Unlike breakfast, lunch is a small fee of $5.95 for all you can eat. Soda, floats, and shakes are an additional fee. The soda package does work here as it does all around the ship. Also Crown & Anchor coupons for buy one get one free shakes are applicable as well.

 

 

Just like with everything there are conflicting reviews of this restaurant on CC. We can say like always we enjoyed Johnny Rockets.

 

Once finished with lunch we were freezing and full so we left the Boardwalk and headed back up to the Solarium to relax for the rest of the afternoon. We noticed sail away time was approaching and there were no signs of us leaving on time. A boat tour was delayed getting back to the ship which held us up. There had to be at least 250 people exiting this one giant boat. A great perk of booking excursions thru the ship is that the ship will still be there for you when you return!

 

 

 

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[thethreechunks]

Following! Going on a western Caribbean in September on the Allure! Can't wait to read more about your trip!

 

 

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[At Sea 4Ever]

Day 6: Come Fly with Me, MDR, The Quest

 

After we got ready and left our cabin for the evening we headed for the Royal Promenade. We wanted to pick up some souvenirs from some of the shops. We also had our C&A discount for logo merchandise. We figured we would shop tonight and skip the crowds on day 7.

 

We noticed we were cutting it close on time for the show so we headed down to Entertainment Place for Come Fly With Me. It was being shown in the Opal Theater.

 

 

Directory for the ship located at the forward and aft

 

Seats filled up quickly and it was a packed theater once the lights went down. Come Fly with Me was very lively and upbeat. It kept the crowd entertained and drawn in. We did however prefer Blue Planet on the Allure.

 

An observation about the theater that we made is that there is no bar to order drinks. Drinks are only available thru bar service which was not heavily staffed considering the size of the theater.

 

We had dinner reservations at 9:30 for MTD. 9:30 is the latest reservation that can be made for MTD. For us that's great because we could never eat to late! We requested that certain assistant waiter that we enjoyed dining with and we were very happy to see he had a table available in his section. We ended up being the last people left in the dining room but that was because we thoroughly enjoyed our dinner and took our time savoring every bite. The highlights of our meal were the Braised Beef Duo and the Jaffa Cake.

 

Rum Baba

 

Cherries Jubilee

 

Jaffa Cake

 

After we closed out the Dining Room we headed downstairs to the Quest held in Studio B. The Quest is an adult game show that is a staple on every Royal Caribbean ship. If you are in a mood for a great laugh and a good time then don't miss it! The best part about the show is that it's all about crowd participation! The passengers are the entertainment with the Cruise Director as the host. Every time we have been to the Quest it has always been a packed house. No matter how early you would get there getting a seat was almost impossible. On this sailing though seating was ample and crowd participation was lacking. Our Cruise Director though did a stellar job at turning out a great show with what he was given.

 

After the Quest the Cruise Director kept the party going by inviting everyone up to the Solarium for the Twenty by Absolute Party. We had stopped into this before on other sailings and decided to give it a go again. It was an outside under the stars club vibe with the resident DJ and full service bar. Maybe it was because we were getting tired but it did not thrill us so we decided to walk the ship. It's nice to stretch your legs walking thru the Promenade or Central Park before heading to bed!

 

Up Next: Day 7

Our last sea day

 

 

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[At Sea 4Ever]

Day 7: At Sea

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[At Sea 4Ever]

Day 7: At Sea

 

 

 

 

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[AndreaArn]

Thanks so much for a terrific review. I absolutely loved your theme days and your spontaneous nature as well. Such a nice balance! I hope I can strike that same chord.

 

I absolutely loved battle of the pool chairs and port runners!

 

You answered so many of my questions and gave me so many great ideas for our upcoming cruise.

[At Sea 4Ever]

Thanks so much for a terrific review. I absolutely loved your theme days and your spontaneous nature as well. Such a nice balance! I hope I can strike that same chord.

 

 

 

I absolutely loved battle of the pool chairs and port runners!

 

 

 

You answered so many of my questions and gave me so many great ideas for our upcoming cruise.

 

 

Thank u so much for the kind words! I will be posting more this weekend so stayed tuned!

 

 

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[Lejardin]

am loving your review. :) thanks so much for sharing.

[evoni]

Enjoyed your review a lot. Thanks for taking the time to write it up!

[dancinman66]

Now that is what I call a review

Thanks

Very well put together

 

 

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[At Sea 4Ever]

Day 7: At Sea

 

We woke up to our final sea day being hot and sunny. We enjoyed a slower paced morning by having room service on our balcony. We headed up to the pool deck around 8:30 and by then finding a pool chair was like finding a lime onboard, impossible! We had spent a great deal of time by the beach pool all week so we figured to end the cruise relaxing by the solarium. There were still quite a few spots open there. Breakfast was still being served in the Solarium Bistro so I decided to see what they had to offer. They had a granola bar with all sorts of toppings, pancakes, egg whites, turkey sausage, fruit and a bunch of other healthy options. As much as breakfast in the solarium was appetizing something else peaked my interest.

 

The most delicious drink poolside! The Cactus Pear! It's pretty pink color doesn't hurt either!

 

One thing always remains the same on any warm weather cruise. The last sea day every single passenger onboard suddenly discovers the pool deck. It seemed like all six thousand passengers were hanging out poolside!

 

 

 

The crowd on deck 15 was overwhelming to say the least and the amount of smokers by the main pool port side was disgusting. It was just a giant cloud of smoke!

 

I try and soak in as much ocean views as I can get the last day. It needs to hold me over till the next cruise. With the sun blaring down and the music playing in the background we just relaxed in our lounge chairs for the entire afternoon. Of course we took some time out of our very busy schedule for a well deserved lunch! We mixed it up with both the Park Cafe and the Solarium Bistro. It was great to have the flexibility to grab food from wherever and bring it back. I enjoyed this amazing spinach and orange salad that was so light and refreshing. Of course we had to take advantage one last time of the famous Kummelwreck sandwiches. By lunchtime the solarium had gotten so packed that even the pool itself was full. You could not even get past the stairs. We used the showers located next to the pool to cool off.

 

The worst part of every cruise for me is leaving the pool for the very last time. I can't explain it and no one would understand even if I could, but for me it's the worst feeling! The time came though when we had to pack it up and head back to the cabin. As we passed by Dazzles we noticed they were having a Barbie event. It looked super cute!

 

 

Once back in our cabin we quickly threw all of our stuff into the luggage. We always bring our luggage weigher which makes the packing process go smoother. We piled the luggage into the corner and got ready for our last dinner onboard. We left the cabin and did one final walk thru of the shops in the Promenade before heading to the MDR.

 

 

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[At Sea 4Ever]

Day 7: MDR, Comedy Show, Fountain Show

 

We originally had dinner reservations at 9 but because of show times we headed there at 7. The lines we're long but they were able to accommodate us quickly. The only thing that we were bummed about was not being able to be seated in our favorite waiters section. The MDR felt more like a cafeteria that night. The tables were so close together they might as well been put together and the noise level was so high there was no real conversation that could be had. Between them playing that "Happy" song, the crew singing the farewell song and then the constant announcements about filling out the survey it was all a bit to much. This was when my DH and I decided that MTD was not for us and that it loses something this way. We had missed our regular second seating dinner in the MDR.

 

Some pictures from our last dinner

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[TeamH]

Great review. Thanks :)

[jesron1269]

Love this TR! Cannot wait to see how your vacation ends. We travel on her June 13th with the Eastern Caribbean route. Thanks for everything!

[wolfganghowell]

Wait! I just discovered this and she didn't finish! Oh The Horror! Thanks for the review in case you come back! :)

[At Sea 4Ever]

Wait! I just discovered this and she didn't finish! Oh The Horror! Thanks for the review in case you come back! :)

 

 

I'm back! Been super busy lately don't worry I'm gonna finish. Thanks for following!

 

 

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[Babyrocko1908]

I'm back! Been super busy lately don't worry I'm gonna finish. Thanks for following!

 

 

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I honestly cannot remember where I left off.... somewhere in July I think.

 

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[At Sea 4Ever]

Day 7:

 

After we thanked our dining staff and gave out final gratuities and wow cards we made our way to the family friendly comedy show in the Opal Theater. The show started at 8:45 and it featured some of the comedians from the comedy club. Again bar service was very scarce before the show. The show was considerably toned down compared to Comedy Live a few nights back. It was very funny though!

 

Since it was our last night, we wanted to keep going so we decided to attend the fountain show in the Aqua Theater at 10:45. They had two shows that night. One was at 8:15 and the other 10:45. We still had some time before the show started so we did what everyone does on their last night. We took a trip over to the Photo Shop! Crowded was an understatement, but waiting till the last night allows you to take photo's up until the last possible minute. Our Crown and Anchor coupons allowed us to receive two free pictures. We found our binder and selected our two photos. We like to purchase the black folder frame that has the picture of the ship on one side. We have one for every ship we've been on.

 

It was time to head over to the Aqua Theater for the fountain show. It was pretty empty when we first got there but then it filled up with a few other couples. This show did not require any type of reservation. The show was great! It was 15 minutes long and reminded me of a mini version of the fountain show at the Bellagio in Vegas. They did have an incident of a group of misbehaved kids running on the stage. The producers of the show made several announcements for them to sit back down but the first few attempts did not work. Finally a couple sitting near them threatened to call security and the kids finally stopped.

 

A few pictures from the Aqua Theater

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[At Sea 4Ever]

Day 7:

 

After the fountain show we just sat in our seats and hung out for awhile. The Aqua Theater is so peaceful and relaxing at night. It's hard to believe your floating out in the middle of the ocean. I then began to think of what a wonderful week we had and looking back it seemed to go slow but yet so fast in ways. We were only a few hours away from Florida and I was getting excited for the people getting ready to board and start their week onboard this beautiful ship. Even though it was getting late I still had a few things left to check off my list so off we went! Everyone on Cruise Critic talks about the "secret balcony" so curiosity got the best of me. We traveled up to deck 14 and walked down the long stretch of cabins before we arrived at the doors leading out to it. Wow, what a view from up there! If you are not ok with heights than maybe it's not for you. After we took it all in we made our way to the Viking Crown Lounge. This is a staple on every ship. The decor and lighting was just beautiful. It is shaped a lot differently though than on other ships. It is more of a crescent shape rather than circular. From there we went to check out Cigars Under the Stars. They hosted it on the top outside pool deck where the suite guests are allowed access during the day. The concept was a nice idea but with the wind it just seemed impossible to make it work. On the way back to our cabin we took some last minute pictures around the ship.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[At Sea 4Ever]

Day 7:

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[At Sea 4Ever]

Day 7:

 

When we returned to our cabin we were shocked to see our luggage and those around us to still be sitting in the hallway. We had our luggage out by 11 like requested and usually they start taking it by then but tonight it was not picked up till after 1am. It didn't really matter to us because we have no problem doing walk off with our luggage but we were curious as to what was going on. Once the luggage was collected we settled in for our final night onboard. We had a busy day ahead of us!

 

 

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[At Sea 4Ever]

Disembarkation Day:

 

Unfortunately the day finally arrived where it was time to go home. I'm not sure which is worse, knowing that we are leaving the ship behind or knowing what a travel hectic day we have just to get home.

 

The ship pulled into Port Everglades at 6am. By the time we got up and ready and gathered our belongings we didn't leave the cabin till 8:30. We headed over to the Windjammer for breakfast before we left the ship. Because it was so busy and they wanted to keep things organized they were actually seating people. This worked out great. From past experiences on other ships I know how much it stinks trying to navigate the Windjammer with luggage looking for a seat. Besides the Windjammer, the dining room, Solarium Bistro, and Starbucks were also open for breakfast. After we finished breakfast we took a final walk of the pool deck to get to the Promenade to disembark. We had my mom back home checking the web cams constantly throughout the week to see if she could grab a glimpse of us. Finally, the last possible moment of being on the ship the camera captured us! We took a screen shot with our phone to save the moment.

 

We made our way off the ship and down to the terminal. This part was very long and unorganized. The line to get down the escalators to get to your luggage was extremely slow. We spotted our luggage coming down the escalator which saved us a few minutes of searching. Once we grabbed our luggage we joined the customs line. Every ship we ever sailed on always separated the line for customs into Non US citizens and US citizens. At this pier it was just one long line and boy did it take forever. Once we made it through that mess we found the transfer shuttle and loaded our luggage and ourselves and headed off to the airport. It was a quick five minute drive with a few stops at each terminal at the airport. Once we checked in and found our waiting area we grabbed some lunch from the food court. This was the biggest wake up call that the cruise was over. The quality of food and the fact that our Sea Pass no longer worked was a bit depressing. Oh yea did I mention that our drink packages were considered inactive!

 

Our flight was delayed by 2 hours but not until we had already boarded the plane. There was a bad storm in the area that had knocked out the power at the airport for a few minutes. This caused the run way to shut down while we waited on the tarmac. Thanks to Jet Blue we were able to watch the Kentucky Derby just before taking off. Because of the storm the flight home was very rough. We landed safely and claimed our luggage with no problem.

 

The ending of every cruise is always sad but it is also good to be home. The best remedy of cruise blues is spot start planning your next one! And that's exactly what we did! Thanks for joining me on my journey onboard the Oasis and I hope that you join me again in a few weeks after we sail the beautiful Jewel of the Seas.

 

 

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[KikisDad]

Thank you for the great review.