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

[TamaLee]

More! More! More! We too are sailing on the Oasis after a fabulous cruise on the Allure. Like you we have no plans to leave the ship!

[Rcarper4001]

Thanks for reviewing, another following along:)

[readytolose]

Looking forward to your review!

[niksmom630]

Subscribing and looking forward to your review! We sailed Allure last year and have Oasis booked in February. Will be interested to see your comparison of the ships!:D

[At Sea 4Ever]

Hello all! Will be posting this afternoon. A silly thing called work got in the way lol.

 

 

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[At Sea 4Ever]

Day 1: EWR to FLL

 

Yes, we did fly in the same in the same day as the cruise. I know, gasp in horror, we took the risk of a two hour flight down to Florida the morning of. Every cruise we have taken we have always flew in the same day. With our schedules it's really the only way we can do it. We arrived to Newark airport around 4:30 for our 6:00am flight. Check in and security was a breeze. We were up in the air by 6:00 sharp which was a relief considering the rain that was coming down. We flew Jet Blue which worked out great because of their non-stop choices, early flight times, free first checked bags, and also their inflight complimentary tv. Our flight arrived earlier than expected which is always a plus.

 

 

 

 

Up Next: Embarkation

 

 

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[cruisingsince94]

I have wanted to take my wife on Oasis since it came out. We cruise whenever we can and have to save to for each that we do take. Until this most recent RCI promo Oasis has been out of our budget. I have seen so many wonderful CC reviews and pictures the past 5 years. Unknown to her, today I booked a cruise on Oasis for next August. I got a balcony overlooking Central Park for $615pp and our TA had perks giving us $150 OBC and dinner for 2 in Chops Grille which she loves.

I am so looking forward to seeing her face light up when I tell her about it. We are in our 40's and 50's but still young at heart. I can't wait to ride the zip line and the carousel that was made here in Ohio near where we live. :D:

[pixiemama91]

I am here following along. My DH and I are cruising next August on Oasis. This will be his first cruise and my first since I was a teenager. I am so excited to follow along and learn even more about this ship

[workinmom3]

Also following your review. We are sailing Allure in just 11 short days & although you were on Oasis I'm hoping there will be some things that are similar. Also, we are doing Western.

 

 

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[autumnquest]

So excited to read this! We are on Oasis on June 7th with the same itinerary. I hope you had a wonderful vacation. We are also flying out of Newark and live in Flanders, NJ. But we are flying the afternoon before and spending time with an old school friend in Ft. Lauderdale the day before the cruise. So excited!

[Jax129]

YAY! I'm hoping to sail this class of ship soon & always love a good review.

[shelpt]

Following along and looking forward to your review as Im less than 60 days away from my Oasis trip!

[At Sea 4Ever]

Day 1: Embarkation

 

We gathered our luggage and headed over to the Royal Caribbean transfer stand. This is where things got a little bit hectic. Every cruise line at this point had their posts set up with their transfer people waiting and ready to gather everyone except Royal. Royal/Celebrity had their post set up but no one there. At this point a large crowd was gathering and the transfer person from Norwegian noticed everyone getting restless. He told us that Royal should be showing up soon. At this point I called Royal myself from my phone to ask them if they knew what was going on. They told me that transfers usually happen anywhere from 10:30 to 1:30. We have always done transfers thru Royal and have always gotten to the pier well before 10:30. Other people in the group were also starting to complain about the long wait. Finally someone from Royal showed up. Years ago when Royal used to mail you your documents your transfer voucher was always included in the paperwork. When they went digital we started just giving our name at the airport and they would look it up on the manifest to verify and we would be good to go. Well the agent that first arrived at the pier told us we needed proof of payment for the transfer because the other agent with the manifest would not be arriving for awhile. I pulled out my printed travel summary with the transfers listed and was told that would not be good enough. At this point I was considering just jumping into a cab, but along came the man with the manifest! He was super friendly and even wished my DH and I a happy anniversary. Once they gathered and sorted everyone by ship there was a small wait time for the shuttles to start running. We boarded the shuttle a little after ten.

 

The bus ride from the airport to the pier was super quick and easy. Seeing that first glance of the ship is just so exciting. The day I stop getting goosebumps is the day I stop cruising.

 

 

 

When we arrived to the entrance of the pier the K-9 unit was waiting for us. A two second search of the outside of the bus and we were on our way. We pulled up to Port Everglades Terminal 18.

 

 

When we arrived at the curb we got off the bus and the driver unloaded our luggage. At that point the luggage was loaded onto carts and delivered to the ship. Even though we never had problems in the past, knock on wood, I always get nervous about leaving my luggage behind. The entire check in process was super fast. Security screening, check in, welcome aboard photo, and making our way to designated waiting area took about ten minutes. Very well organized.

 

The waiting area is located upstairs. It is broken up into Crown & Anchor level as well as suite guests and first time cruisers. They even have a kids play area. We waited maybe 15 from the time we got upstairs till the time we were able to board. Within two minutes we were walking up the gangway onto the ship.

 

 

 

There are two gangways to enter. Both take you to Deck 5 The Royal Promenade but one leads you to Sorrento's and the other right in front of the Rising Tide bar. We entered in front of the Rising Tide.

 

 

 

When we had boarded the Allure we entered by Sorrento's and we actually preferred that entrance because it provided more of a "wow" factor because it is directly located in the middle of the Promenade.

 

Up Next: Making our way around and Sail Away

 

 

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[pixiemama91]

Loving your review so far. Sorry there was so much confusion about the transfers. But I am glad everything ended up working out. You never want to start a vacation that way

 

I cannot wait to pull up to that ship for the first time. Your pictures are making me sooooooooo jealous!

[Kimmy47]

Following!!!

[Ocean View]

Wow!! Off to a great start. Love all the little pre cruise details. I felt like I was there with you I could picture your every step.. Keep it coming. :) :)

 

 

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[prekteacher]

Enjoying the start to your review. Will be on Allure for Thanksgiving but I imagine a trip on Oasis will likely follow if my kids have a say! Looking forward to reading the rest of your adventures.

Barb

[Eliisa77]

Looking forward to your review! I´ve sailed Oasis once before and just booked a new cruise :)

[At Sea 4Ever]

Day 1: Making our way around

 

No matter what ship we go on we always have our embarkation lunch in the Windjammer. I know not everyone on here is the biggest fan of that place but to us it's more of a tradition. For us it's the start of our cruise! We headed straight there once onboard to beat the crowd. We arrived up to the Windjammer by 11:30 and were the first people there. Any seat we wanted was ours. We got a great window seat to get a view of the Liberty and Independence which were also in port that day. As I was heading over to the buffet, I recognized an assistant waiter that we have sailed with before. He came over and greeted my DH and I as we were so excited to see him.

 

Of course most of us repeat cruisers look forward to the staples in the Windjammer on the first day. The roast beef from the carving station, paella, baked pasta, and of course the famous Honey Stung Chicken. I knew Honey Stung was no more but was looking forward to the replacement chicken tenders. Unfortunately there was no chicken tenders either.

 

 

We finished up our lunch and left the Windjammer at noon. By that time it was wall to wall people wandering around looking for a seat. We had timed it perfectly, although I did come up with a theory on this. Boarding order allows Pinnacle, Diamond Plus and Suite Guests on first followed by Diamond and so on. I believe a lot of those passengers already know the craziness of the Windjammer the first day and opt to dine elsewhere such as the Park Cafe, Cafe Promenade or even Giovanni's. When newer cruisers board they tend to head straight to the Windjammer.

 

After lunch we cut thru Central Park to make our reservations for Chops for the first night and also to request outside seating at Giovanni's for our reservation on night 4. The second we walked into Central Park we were swarmed by the crew from the specialty restaurants. They seemed almost desperate to have people make reservations with them. At the time we figured it was boarding day and it was their job but we later learned it was the theme of the cruise. We headed over to Chops and made reservations for 6:15 because we see going to Hairspray at

8:45. Just as I was about to ask the Maître D if we could request an outside table he quickly said oh yes don't worry you will get 20% percent off. It wasn't the answer to my question but a great answer none the less. We then headed to Giovanni's to put in a table request. Little did we know that the restaurants would be so empty throughout the week that we could have pick of any table at any time we wanted.

 

After our adventure thru Central Park we headed forward to Deck 6 to the Spa to make another reservation. Yes these reservations can be made online at home in the pre-cruise planner but I prefer to do some once onboard. I enjoy the deep tissue massage that the spa onboard has to offer. I know a lot of people feel that the services are way over priced and not worth it but compared to the prices where we live at home, the ship is a much better deal. They do offer port day discounts and daily specials and of course Crown & Anchor discounts. I made my appointment for 8am day 4 Jamaica.

 

We had great weather in Florida that day and wanted to take advantage of it since our past two sailings were from Bayonne off season. We headed up with our carry on bags to the Sand Bar on Deck 15, the Pool Deck.

 

 

Our first drinks onboard with our Premium Package

A Mango Tango for me and a boring Coors Light for DH

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[At Sea 4Ever]

We sat at the bar for a few minutes to let the fact that we were finally on vacation set in! It was a few minutes before 1 when we headed to our cabin. We knew what to expect with our cabin since we had it before but walking into your cabin for the first time is always exciting.

 

 

 

Our soda cups for the Freestyle Machine and our gift from Crown & Anchor were waiting for us.

 

Outlets are located on top of vanity on Oasis where on Allure they are located underneath.

 

 

 

We quickly threw on our bathing suits and headed out to the beach pool to relax in the sun and enjoy some tropical drinks before the Muster drill.

 

 

Up Next: Muster Drill & Sail Away

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[Ocean View]

Very get out there!!! Fantastic pictures. Just love your step by steps. We are in a CP balcony will my cabin look like yours? You said you changed for the pool was your luggage in your cabin by 1? Or did you bring it in your carry on bags? Can't wait to hear the rest!

 

 

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[MANDMTRAVEL]

Great review!!!! Can't wait for the rest.:)

[swim13]

Loving the review so far! :)

[pixiemama91]

That Mango drink looks delicious. I could definitely drink one of this right now.

[vmt514]

Great review! We were on Oasis in 2012 and again in a few weeks. Is the desk top outlets new? I know we didn't have them last time. In 2012 we were in a balcony over the Boardwalk. Now we are in an ocean view balcony.

 

The desk top outlet would be a great plus.

 

Thanks.