A First Time Cruiser’s Review of Oasis! Spring Break Cruise 4/1-4/8

[FirstAnthem]

 

Still on my jet ski high haha

 

This was a perfect morning. Such happy family memories. (It made us miss our oldest son, however!)

 

The view from our table at lunch. TIP! If you eat on the ship on Labadee day, you have the Windjammer practically to yourselves!

 

Today we asked for the chef and ordered Sophie a gluten free turkey sandwich on a bun and gluten free fries. What she got was a bun with lettuce and tomato and mayo, and also a turkey club sandwich on GF bread with mayo. No fries. Just a miscommunication, no big deal. We had a good laugh over how they thought she’d want two sandwiches like that. When we inquired, they said it would take 30 more minutes for gluten free fries. We passed. Sophie was fine with that.

 

Up next....the rest of our Labadee day! (Off to pick up the kiddos from school....)

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Gatordad815]

Great job on the jet ski! The Labadee photos in particular are awesome!

[FirstAnthem]

Day 3, Labadee, cont’d—

 

After lunch, Steve and I were ready to get off the ship and go back to Labadee to check out the beaches.

 

Us: “Ok! Let’s pack our bag and hit the beach!”

 

Kids: “Um?” That pause is never a good sign. “Can we stay on the ship instead?”

 

We just looked at each other. Surely they can’t be serious? They were. They had had enough sun and wanted to relax. Not sit on a beach relax, but go to our cabin relax. GAH. Not what we expected, but sigh, that’s what we did. I have learned, after 19 years of parenting, that if your kid verbalizes to you that they need down time, they really need it.

 

So with heavy hearts, we went back to the cabin. Sophie decided to bring her book to the pool deck, so we at least had a view of beautiful Haiti while relaxing. Jack wanted to listen to his audiobook on our balcony in the shade and quiet and watch the parasailing excursions out on the ocean. Steve and I traded off sitting with each of them so we’d each have a chance to sit on the pool deck. And we texted each other, agreeing that someday we need to ditch the kids and take a cruise just the two of us! This was the first of a few times this vacation that the kids were cramping our style! More on that later. ; )

 

After some chill time, Jack was ready to try Flowrider again. And so were the other 2,000 kids who all came back from Labadee by 3 pm when Flowrider started up again! He got there right at 3 and there were already at least 20 kids in line on each side. (When it’s crowded, they split the Flowrider in half with a blow up divider.) He stood in the hot sun for what felt like an eternity, but which was actually about 45 minutes, to get one turn.

 

At dinner that night in the MDR, fun was in full swing. The wait staff all danced around the dining room to fun music, then they asked everyone to get up out of their seats to do....the chicken dance!! I have no photos because I was too busy dancing, and laughing at the sight of everyone, but honestly, I’m not sure Jack smiled more than that night at dinner.

 

After dinner, Steve and Jack walked the ship doing Jack’s new found favorite activity: getting his photo taken. There are so many photographers on the ship, ready and willing to pose you 50 different ridiculous ways and take your photo. Jack finds this fun, I don’t mind it, Steve and Sophie hate it!

 

 

 

Our photo folder by the end of the cruise was FULL of photos of mostly Jack, but some of Jack and Steve, all over the ship. Sophie and I stopped to look at them one time and were doubled over laughing. One was Steve and Jack in BARE FEET sitting on the floor....it was just so funny, knowing what Steve must’ve been thinking right then. What we do for our kids, man.

 

Jack’s other favorite activity on the ship (besides Flowrider, whose lines had soured him at this point) was meeting the Dreamworks characters. This was so fun, and honestly, hassle free! It’s not like Disney where you stand in LINE for hours to meet a character. It was much more casual and easy! Jack liked messing with them, faking them out on a high five. It was fun.

 

 

 

 

 

These character appearances were in the daily cruise compass, but a couple of times we happened upon them by chance.

 

Footnote about the Flowrider lesson above: it was $79 for a group lesson. Jack’s group was 6 people, and he got two turns in the hour. They might let as many as 8 in a group, I’m not sure. Minimum is 4. I’d do it again if I knew it would be a group of 4. Not a 6 or 8.

 

Stay tuned for JAMAICA tomorrow...!!!

 

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[JaniceB]

Great start to your review. What kind of cabin did you chose for 4?

[FirstAnthem]

JaniceB—we had a spacious ocean view balcony. It was cabin 7268, port side. It was right near the stairs and elevator and it was a superb location. We didn’t experience any noise from the stairs and elevator, and it was so convenient to be right there, instead of having a cabin in the middle of a looooong hallway. It was tight for 4, but we made it work and really loved having a balcony.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[kennc]

Me, my wife, father and two boys (9 and 7) were on this sailing as well.

 

We had a great time and am enjoying reliving it with your posts.

 

About the lines, we were very fortunate and did not encounter as many line issues as you. Different circumstances account for that, but as a general strategy we will try to zig while the masses zag.

 

For instance, my wife and dad (75 years young) rode the zip line 8 times in a row. It was the afternoon of Falmouth probably around 4:00. We also enjoyed chairs near the pool. Of course, we sacrificed a Jamaica excursion, but it was a great day.

 

I am glad your family enjoyed it. Looking forward to more posts. Happy Cruising.

 

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

[Woodmnky]

Thanks for the post. Can't wait to read more.

[FirstAnthem]

Kennc—that’s so funny that you say you zigged when the masses zagged, because that is the exact phrase that kept running through my head the entire trip. “Must zig when others zag!” We attempted the zig zag strategy, but in terms of the Flowrider and rock wall, it just didn’t work, at least not for us. And at 4 pm on Jamaica day, we were just finishing our river tubing at Great Hope Estate! (More on that later!!)

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[ustasmom]

JaniceB—we had a spacious ocean view balcony. It was cabin 7268, port side. It was right near the stairs and elevator and it was a superb location. We didn’t experience any noise from the stairs and elevator, and it was so convenient to be right there, instead of having a cabin in the middle of a looooong hallway. It was tight for 4, but we made it work and really loved having a balcony.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

We are going to do this on Sunday except we will do 5 in the spacious ocean view balcony. My kids are less than excited about the characters. We don't know our Dreamworks characters.

 

Me: Do you know who Shrek is?

10 year old daughter: A big green guy?

Me: Yes (feeling pleased that we at least don't have to go back and watch it)

10 year old daughter: and he hates Christmas?

 

Okay, so maybe we need to watch some movies this week.

[kennc]

Yeah, flowrider and rock wall are hard. We had a boardwalk balcony room and they offer a perk of a wall climbing session. We had some issues getting that scheduled but ended up having about 15 minutes of wall time just for our family. No waiting. No lines. Another 15 minutes would have been perfect, but we were glad to get what we did.

 

As for the flowrider, the easiest way to get time is to buy it. I did the same $79 lesson on a previous cruise and was similarly disappointed. For $345 you can rent it for an hour. You get no instruction from staff. For instruction the price is $552 for an hour.

 

Once my boys are tall enough, they will get a present from Santa for one hour of flowrider time.

 

One last tip on the flowrider, and this is only for standup riding, not boogie board, but they have "advanced surfing " every morning for an hour. No instruction, no help. You need to be able to start on your own and at least be able to ride a little. It is a stretch if I say I am an intermediate rider, but I was out there most mornings usually with only 2 to 3 others (I am sure this varies by cruise). The last morning I went out, there was only 2 of us and he left after 30 minutes. I had the flowrider to myself for 30 minutes (enough time for about 20 wipeouts). I think that was Cozumel day.

 

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

[FirstAnthem]

Haha! My son has always loved meeting characters for some reason. I do too, actually! Lol

[FirstAnthem]

Kennc—that’s cool about the family rock wall time with the boardwalk balcony room! Jack would’ve loved that. Once he’s big enough to do stand up, he’d love that advanced surfing time! For now, our only strategy for our next cruise is to get out there 30 minutes before it opens and wait and expect to only go once, or skip a port. Although their favorite part of the cruise is the ports, so not sure that will ever happen!

[iuki]

Excellent review and well written.

[FirstAnthem]

Thank you everyone for your kind words and comments! I’m enjoying reliving our great vacation and hearing about yours as well. Looking forward to posting about our day in Jamaica tomorrow! :)

[Brewster]

I also want to say thanks for your in depth review. Enjoying it very much so far.

[driftersdream]

Can't wait to read about your stop in Jamaica!!:cool:

[JaniceB]

Thanks for the room information.

[Destaw71835]

Enjoying your review!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[LuCruise]

Really loving your review. Am so sorry for your original cancellation on Anthem. Can only imagine your disappointment....all that planning and anticipation and then the sickness.

 

But sounds like it worked out as you all seem like you're having a blast on Oasis. My son too loved the Flowrider...great that your son could even get a lesson in. And so happy to hear that Royal is accommodating to your daughter's gluten diet.

 

We were in Allure a few years ago and loved it (similar to Oasis). So much to do for the whole family...and Dreamworks was a fun touch too. We went early April and crowds were great...found best time for Flowrider and Zipline were right when they opened but had no issues. Next March Break we are taking a spring break cruise next year on Symphony....so I can imagine we're going to run into bad crowd issues like you are mentioning.

Edited April 17, 2018 by LuCruise

[accio_7]

Enjoying your review, keep up the great work :)

 

You have a lovely family btw!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[njmomof2]

I'm enjoying your review on Oasis. It's been a number of years since my boys were too small to do stand up but I remember the frustration of standing in line and only getting one ride. My older one is a flowrider junkie, so he's up and waiting each morning for advanced stand up, and will go to each stand up time all week. Neither one bothers with boogie boarding any more. When we sailed on Allure with just my younger one (my older one is in college as well), he got up each morning and did the advanced on his own. One of the best things about flowboarders is the comraderie that develops among the riders.

 

My boys only cruise on ships with flowriders, so I'm waiting until my younger one is gone (only 2 more years) and my mom and I will be able to expand our sailing choices.

[BillOh]

Ok—being the newbie that I am,

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

 

I can always find something of value in any review, so thanks for taking the time. I think we might have to visit that RonJon's everyone is talking about.

[reallyitsmema]

Enjoying your review. Who would have thought, that after all the flak I caught for actually suggesting the WJ for a celiac, that you would actually try it. I am glad your daughter had a positive experience as we have in the WJ.

[BigHouseFootball]

Add one more to the list of those enjoying your review!!

[FirstAnthem]

Day 4– Ya Mon, it’s Jamaica day!

 

We went back and forth on doing an excursion at the Falmouth Jamaica port. I read so many negative things about it, and about the danger and crime in the area. I asked for opinions on these boards, and talked to a friend who had cruised before, and decided to take the plunge and schedule an excursion for us. I am SO GLAD we made that decision. It was one of our favorite days. And now that we’ve taken one cruise, we all realized we cruise for the ports. The port days were, for us, hands down the best days of our cruise.

 

So we chose the River Tubing and Adventure Falls at Great Hope Estate. It was through the ship, and Chukka Tours sponsored the excursion. I liked the sounds of it because it was about 20 minutes from the port. Dunn’s River Falls, a popular choice, is about a 45 min to an hour drive, and we weren’t up for that.

 

Originally we scheduled an 11 am tour, but our excursion tickets said 1:45 pm. A visit to everyone’s favorite place, Guest Services, solves the mystery—there was only one tour going that day and they put everyone in the 1:45 slot. Gotta love the packed to the brim RC excursions. (Sense the sarcasm?)

 

So we had a wide open morning. The kids slept late, which was becoming a trend. Steve and I were waking up at 6 every day, ready to get to it. We didn’t want to waste one minute. Another way the kids were cramping our vacation style. We finally gave up on them and went walking on the track, went up to the top deck, got breakfast, while they snored away.

 

Jamaica sighting!

 

A Disney ship was docked here today as well

 

They’re awake! Ready to grab some lunch before getting off the ship.

 

We got lunch in the Windjammer. We ordered Sophie’s GF lunch the night before with our head waiter so it would be a shorter wait for her food. It worked out great! And she did get her sandwich and fries instead of two sandwiches today haha.

 

We got off the ship with enough time before the excursion to walk around and shop. The port area was very nice with a lot of shops, but our kids liked the craft market the best.

 

 

LOOK! A FOUNTAIN!

 

We’re in Jamaica!

 

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk