Oasis of the seas April 22 2018 "livish"

[paper1122]

Final sea day and it is raining so I am sitting on the balcony. We are near Cat Island in the Bahamas.

 

Back to the story.

 

We changed our dinner plans on account of my loss of appetite so we ventured into the dining room for our first dinner in the mdr. I really tried to make the best of it but we must have gotten the worst table in the place. We were basically in the middle of a walkway by the servers station. So it was constant traffic and we could hear the waiters arguing with each other. Our assistant waiter seemed like he was on a prison sentence. The head waiter on the other hand was great, but as many others have noted in their reviews they just have way too many tables.

 

I got the chicken cordonblue it was just ok. DW got the short ribs, she basically said the same thing. Service was quick and I think we were out in under an hour.

 

We had plenty of time to change and then go to oasis of dreams.

 

We showed up early but apparently half the seats in the theatre were either saved for suite guests or by rude people. Shortly after sitting down it started raining so we went to relocate to the last row where there was 1 person sitting. Well this exceptionally rude woman informed us that the entire row was saved and she proceeded to block the row with her legs. Not looking to get thrown into the brig for fighting with a 60 year old cat lady we stood up by the railing while it rained. They pushed the show back by about 15 minutes while the rain passed.

 

Once it stopped a team came out with squeegee and towel to dry the chairs. Even the cruise director was drying chairs.

 

Side note: we really liked the cruise director he seemed very engaged and had a good sense of humor. Not the typical cruise director humor, but actually funny.

 

We ended up with great seats, the first row of the beach chair style. The performance was very good but it started raining again at the very end.

 

I'm pretty sure we went back to the cabin to go to bed after that since Puerto Rico was an early day the next day.

 

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[paper1122]

We had put out the room service card again since the day in Puerto Rico was so short and we were docking so early. Based on the theory that when we did 630-700 delivery it came right at 630 we opted for 700-730 delivery. Well of course I was awake at 645 and the food didn't show up till almost 745.

 

We did not sit out on the balcony, the sun was so bright and hot and there was no air flow.

 

At about 815 or so we got off the ship. The only plan for the day was to go to the forts. My plan was to walk the outer city wall all the way to the fort. Unfortunately when we got to the western most point where the wall turns north it was closed for work. So we had to back track and take the "fast" route. It turned out to be a really nice walk through old San juan. We made it to el morro right at 9am when it opened. We walked the whole thing in about 1.5hrs and it was a challenge. All the elevation changes plus the heat were brutal.

 

Next stop was to walk along the northern city wall to San Cristobel. I think we arrived around 11am. The heat, plus lack of energy from not eating much had really done me in. I had to stop a few times before we started walking San Cristobel. Fortunately the visitors center had a.c.

 

It rained on and off while we were there. Again, I think we stayed about an hour and a half, maybe a little less. We stopped at Walgreens on our way back to the port. From San Cristobel to the ship is only a few blocks and it is down hill.

 

We were back on board before 1pm.

 

I wanted to watch for pier runners but locked myself out of the cabin. DW was reading on the balcony and couldn't hear me knock or calling the room phone. I had to get a key at guest services.

 

I made it to the front of the ship on 14 to see the last 2 coming down the pier. It was an older couple and you could tell she was pissed at him.

 

I went to the balcony to watch as we sailed out of the harbor. Then of course it was time for a nap. We covered a lot of ground in San Juan both in elevation and distance. By the end of the day I hit over 20k steps.

 

Here are a few pictures from San Juan

 

 

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[paper1122]

It was the second formal night so we went to the mdr so DW could get lobster. Tonight we had a much better table. It was along the back wall in the middle so you could see all the way up to the top of the 3 story dining room.

 

The wait staff tonight was much better. Early into dinner there was someone in the dining room whom I'm pretty sure hacked up several vital organs they were coughing so much and so hard.

 

I had been wanting to try the gnocki so that is what I ordered. It came with a gravy that had shredded beef in it. I am 99% sure that it was the previous nights leftover shortrib. It was ok nonetheless. DW enjoyed her lobster and prime rib, she said the lobster was a little overdone.

 

So I completely forgot to mention in my previous post about dessert. The previous night I had the warm chocolate cookie with ice cream. It was by far the best dessert of the trip thus far. Much better than the chocolate cake with ice cream.

 

Dinner service took right about an hour.

 

 

We had plenty of time to change before going to the comedy show. I am very glad I made reservations for this. When it was time to go in the guy in front of us did not have reservations, he sent his wife in while he argued with the host. After u successfully convincing the host that his casino priveledges should carry over he tried to tip her which also didn't work. He then suggested he needed to go in to get his wife. Well I knew where this was going. Yup... he just walked in and took a seat next to his wife. When the host realized this about 10 minutes later you could see her talking with the MC but I guess they decided to not cause a scene.

 

Both comedians Joe Yannetty and Jim Colliton were hilarious. They both picked on a guy named Eric who was on a cruise with his wife, in laws, and his parents, that his parents paid for. They were ruthless. The show was great and I didn't feel the comedians were vulgar for the sake of being vulgar. Some of the Carnival comedians just get raunchy to see how far they can push it.

 

The 70s disco party was afterwards. The RP was packed. It was a fun time.

 

I think it was off to bed after that.

 

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[BixBebe]

This is probably one of the most enjoyable and related reviews I have ever read!

[paper1122]

This is probably one of the most enjoyable and related reviews I have ever read!

Thanks so much for the kind words, I'm glad you are enjoying it!

 

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[paper1122]

Ok, time for labadee.

 

With a late arrival of 10am we were in no hurry. I think we may have slept until 8am. I believe we ventured to the WJ for the 2nd time. Our plan was to eat a hearty breakfast as we weren't planning on eating in Labadee, rather waiting until we got back on board and eat something.

 

After breakfast we were able to go to deck 14 forward to watch the captain precisely maneuver the ship into place. If you haven't been to Labadee before, be prepared as it is about as picturesque as it gets with the beautiful blue water and the mountains.

 

We hurried back to the cabin to lather up with sunscreen or "mayonnaise " as the cruise director suggested for the lighter skinned among us. Now at this point DW was making fun of me because I was yet again wearing a long sleeve Columbia shirt. While she has olive colored Greek skin I have white boy Swedish complexion and to top it off I have the albino farmers tan, but I digress.

 

Disembarkation was a breeze. They had 3 gangways open and we were off shortly after 10am. I am not a lounge on the beach guy so we found a nice spot on Nelies' s beach for DW to get more sun. Luckily I found a spot with a palm tree. It was still early so the guys setting up chairs weren't out in full force yet. So I grabbed two chairs off a stack and we were set up.

 

I wanted to explore the peninsula and pick up a few things in the artisan market. I started my exploration. I knew sort of what I was in for with the artisan market but it was an experience for sure, I had fun with it. In particular I was looking for a wooden fish for my aunt and uncle. And because you asked I'll give you the back story. The very first cruise I went on back in 96 my aunt and uncle came with my family. We took a tour in Jamaica which included a stop in a straw market. My aunt and uncle almost got left behind because they were negotiating a deal on this giant wood fish, the thing was easily 100lbs and 4 ft high. They barely made it back to the bus running trying to carry this fish.

 

Ok, back to the story at hand. After a successful barrage in the market I continued walking. I went to the base of the cliff where the zip lining starts and then all the way to the end of the zip line. I also checked out the "strenuous " trail. By the time I made it back to DW better than an hour had passed. It was time for some labadoozies and swimming. If you order the drinks from the bar in regular cups they are included in the package, if you buy them in the souvenir cups it is extra. We enjoyed a couple hours of drinks and back and forth to the water. It was absolutely beautiful, how it was quite crowded. We went back to the ship a little after 2pm, the sun had beaten us and we were hungry.

 

A quick shower to rid us of unwanted sand was in order and then off to get lunch at our favorite lunch spot, park cafe. Now remember how I mentioned DW made fun of my long sleeve shirt and sunscreen, well, despite all that I still burned...

 

After lunch you probably know the next step... yup that's right another nap... I could get used to this.

 

I'll pause for now as the last comedy show is about to start.

 

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[paper1122]

Here are a few labadee photos.

 

I took more with the world's worst underwater camera but those will have to wait until I am back to a computer (something I am not looking forward to)

 

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[Woodmnky]

How was the water temp in Labadee?

[chawkjewel]

How was the water temp in Labadee?

 

 

 

Very refreshing. I live in Florida so am happy when the temp is in the 80s. I would say it was very high 70s.

 

 

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[paper1122]

Yes, probably very close to 80.

 

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[paper1122]

Well cruise is over and we are already home. We did self assist and were off in about 40 min. I will try to get the rest of this knocked out today.

 

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[paper1122]

Ok, Labadee was a huge success, minus the sun burn. My recommendation is to get off the ship as early as possible as it became hard to find a good spot very quickly.

 

We enjoyed a lazy rest of the afternoon. Not 100% sure what all we did but I'm sure it included a trip to the RP for a drink and a snack. DW really enjoyed the antipasto bar at Sorrentos for a pre dinner snack.

 

We had 8pm reservations for Chops. I believe DW had the crab cakes and lobster bisque for appetizers, I had a salad and bacon. DW had the petite filet and I had the ribeye. The steaks were cooked perfectly but were not the best cuts. My ribeye had a lot of grizzle. We got the tater tots mashed potatoes and asparagus. The mashed potatoes were probably the highlight of the sides. DW was full and didn't have dessert, I got the key lime pie which was very good.

 

Afterwards we attended the come fly with me show. The acrobatics were amazing, the singing not so much.

 

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[paper1122]

The final sea day was unfortunately here. We decided to go to the solarium bistro for breakfast which pretty much has the same food as the WJ. I tried two things there that I really enjoyed, the challah bread and the muesli. I eat muesli regularly, but I found this one to be quite good.

 

DW wanted to try to the zip line, fortunately we did this right after breakfast at 9am when it opened because shortly thereafter it started raining. The sales on the RP became very popular that morning as it rained until early afternoon. We hung out in the cabin and read for awhile. Knowing that we had Giovannis table for dinner we opted for a lighter lunch. DW got an Asian salad from park cafe and I had a couple slices of pizza.

 

We took it easy for a couple hours and then went to see the second act of Cats. It is true the second act is better.

 

This is probably my pro tip, go see the first half the first or second night of the cruise and then come back the last day for the second. It is a long production and you will be tired from travel but this way you don't give up your entire last day afternoon.

 

Afterwards I bregudenly went to the cabin to begin packing. Before too long it was time to get ready for dinner. We decided to go to central park for pre dinner drinks. The trellis bar was packed but we saw the rising tide bar was up at central park. We had been wanting to try that, unfortunately it was broken and was not rising or lowering. The good thing is that even "broken " it still makes a fine bar.

 

We sat outside at Giovannis. The weather was perfect. Initially we were our servers only table so we had his undivided attention. DW got the caprese salad and I got the argula salad. We shared the cured meat plank. DW got the pasta Bolognese and filet while I got some creamy pasta and the veal. The desserts weren't the best we've had, cannolis and gelato.

 

Overall this was probably the best meal we had on the ship. The only sour part on the experience was the waiter at the end giving us a speech about how we had to rate the service a 10 because a 9 was a failure. I am half tempted to say something about that in my survey. I would have gladly given a 10, but the lecture I got about it was unnecessary.

 

After dinner we went to the final comedy show that was held in the main theatre at 10:30. There was plenty of seats available. Jim was very funny again but Joe really wasn't.

 

It was off to bed for an early morning.

 

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[paper1122]

6am came way to early. We were doing self assist not because we had anywhere to be, but we had group 43 luggage tags and figured we should get home early to see the kids.

 

We had a quick breakfast in the WJ and we were walking off the ship around 6:50. There was no line on the ship but once we were off there was a pretty good line. We made it through customs right around 7:30. There were 5 customs agents working. They looked at our passports and waved us through.

 

We walked our to the garage and there was a very long line for the elevator. We chose to carry our bags up the stairs instead. We were in the truck and in the road in no time. We were home right around 8:30.

 

Up next will be my final thoughts and tips for other travelers.

 

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[paper1122]

Some of my final thoughts. There are some things my wife said I should mention and I'm sure I'll forget some so once she reads this she'll remind me of what I missed... I'm sure....

 

First and foremost I would book this ship and itinerary again. All of our cruises together have been western or bahamas and it was nice doing an eastern route again. The ship was a lot of fun and grew on me as time went on.

 

Probably my favorite area was central park followed by the RP and the outside jogging track at the aft. We really enjoyed the solarium bistro as well.

 

This was our first time doing speciality dining and we enjoyed it. If we sailed the ship again and they offer a similar deal I would probably do it again.

 

Drink package, despite the 2 days where I didn't drink much I think we still at least hit break even. I am torn in this for a 7 day cruise. I really like the freedom of being able to get a drink whenever and getting bottled water. However, there is no doubt we got drinks for the sake of getting them, I bet if we ordered a la carte we would have spent half as much. I'm not saying I won't get it again, but I will probably think twice about it for a 7 day cruise.

 

One thing we didn't like about the ship was the lack of relaxing outdoor areas where you could see the water. This is something the older ships do really well.

 

The shows are by far the best we've ever seen at sea. The ice show was at the top.

 

We barely scratched the surface of the available entertainment and this was by far the most we've ever done on a cruise ship as far as going to shows, etc.

 

I think DW rates the food as follows: Giovannis, 150CP, Chops, Solarium, park cafe, WJ, mdr.

 

Do not miss the park cafe, it was certainly a highlight for casual eating.

 

The 2 best desserts were the vanilla mousse and the warm chocolate cookie with ice cream in the mdr.

 

If I think of anything else I'll add it.

 

Let me know if you have any questions.

 

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[lazydayz]

Thanks so much for your review. It was fair and balanced. We did Oasis last September and loved it. Now planning our Allure cruise for this September. We love this class of ship, especially the entertainment. Happy you and your wife enjoyed your vacation.

[Cruise-mom]

Loved reading your updates, thanks for taking the time to do this review.

[TimeToGetNauti]

Thanks for sharing your experiences. I will keep in mind about seeing the major production shows over 2 days. Last year I was on Allure and saw the first half of Mamma Mia and then left. I never thought about going and seeing just the second half later.

[accio_7]

Thank you for your review, glad to hear that you and your wife had a blast on Oasis :)

 

 

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[joand452]

Thank you for sharing your trip with us. We’ve been on Oasis for a total of three weeks (a b2b, then a single week). We really like this class of ship.

 

Is you stand facing the bed, the outlet is behind the right side of the bed, but you have to lift the mattress to see it.

 

 

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[paper1122]

Thank you for sharing your trip with us. We’ve been on Oasis for a total of three weeks (a b2b, then a single week). We really like this class of ship.

 

Is you stand facing the bed, the outlet is behind the right side of the bed, but you have to lift the mattress to see it.

 

 

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Wow, definitely jealous of you, one day I want to do a b2b.

 

That would make sense since the phone is on that side.

 

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[paper1122]

Glad you enjoyed!

Loved reading your updates, thanks for taking the time to do this review.

 

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[paper1122]

Something I think I missed.

 

We were able to get robes, ice bucket, and extra pillows by asking our steward.

 

Also the pillows were pretty terrible, my neck and back hurt by the end if the cruise. I am a pillow snob so most may not have that problem.

 

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[Tssweety]

Just wondering are the comedy shows all 18 plus? Are there family shows? I know Carnival has both but I can't find if these are 18 plus or not.

[Clarea]

Just wondering are the comedy shows all 18 plus? Are there family shows? I know Carnival has both but I can't find if these are 18 plus or not.

Any comedy show that you can reserve is adult. There is usually another "family friendly" comedy show that is first come, first served.