Oasis Eastern Caribbean Holiday Sailing Review

[zeppgirl]

We did the 7 night Oasis Eastern Caribbean Holiday sailing out of Miami 12/22-12/29 and went to Labadee, San Juan, and St. Thomas.  I wanted to share my experiences in the hopes that they might give people info.  I'll add info and pictures as I remember and have time.  Background- I have only done one cruise before this one, and this was my first Royal Caribbean cruise. I traveled with my husband and kids (13 and 10).  

 

I had requested check in 12-12:30.  We ended up getting there closer to 11:30 and this was not a problem.  The Miami cruise terminal is huge, but everything went smoothly.  We got dropped off in front with Lyft and gave our luggage outside (just had backpacks on).  I did pack one bottle of wine in my backpack.  We followed the signs to check in and while there were people, I would not say it was overly crowded.  I did see a separate line for the key, but we did not have this (and I never felt like I needed it, even with a holiday sailing).  A few minutes later, a rep took our pictures and looked at our passports. We passed through security easily and continued onto the ship.  Before boarding, we passed a table with multi colored bands.  My son had one put on his arm for the kids club (under 13 years old).

 

Upon getting to the ship, we were immediately offered treats and champagne.  I went to a concierge to make my restaurant reservations since I had done the 3 night dining package and RC automatically assigns you either day one or two.  I wanted to make sure I got specific restaurants on days/times I wanted.  This took just a few minutes.  I then went to Ocean Adventure to register my son.  My daughter is 13 so she could do the teen center and I filled in a box to allow her to drop off my son to Adventure Ocean, which came in handy.  Then got my internet set up (we had paid ahead of time but needed to create a code and login for this).  

 

We found our rooms 9th floor mid-ship.  This time around, we did connecting rooms with a central park view.  I loved this set up since it cost the same to do this versus one balcony room.  This gave us two bathrooms and more privacy.  The kids could have their own bed this way.  My son ended up sleeping in the window nook the first few nights.  Then he said it wasn't enough room (this works well for younger kids), so could either do the sofa (it did not appear to convert to a bed so it would be sleeping across) or share the bed.  They ended up sharing and it was fine.  I liked the natural light the rooms gave and while we did not see the ocean, it was a quiet room and centrally located.

 

Our luggage appeared in the hallway piece by piece within the next few hours which was great, because we had reservations at Chops the first night and needed to change before then.  The only suitcase that did not make it was my husbands.  Apparently it was being held in luggage jail deck 2 and he had to retrieve it.  We hadn't put anything illegal in it so went down to see what was up.  Turns out they thought he had a power cord in the suitcase, but they were unable to find this in the luggage...so they gave him the suitcase back and were really confused about this. 

[zeppgirl]

We did a tour of the teen hangout spot and got the schedule.  I took a few pictures before they were open.

 

Chops was amazing!!  The restaurant was really calm and nice on the inside (Central park has a few of the pay extra dining restaurants, which was great because everything was in one spot near us).  I could not get enough of the mushroom soup.  It was probably my favorite thing I ate the entire cruise!  We did not get the drink package since we mostly drink water (don't need bottled) and while we drink alcohol, it would be cheaper to pay as we drink.  We bought a bottle of wine for $40.  The service was great and everything we ate was wonderful.

 

That night we also attended a Hanukah service, which was packed!  It was at the windjammer. 

 

Late that night we had reserved a spot at the Aqua 80s, which was amazing. I had been wondering if it would get canceled because the weather was iffy, but it happened.  Highly recommended.

 

 

 

[zeppgirl]

Pictures here....deck 5 promenade with the stores, restaurants, parades, etc.

 

Central park promenade- deck 9 has these tables outside on either side of the elevators.  If you have an indoor room, you could come here to drink your coffee and relax.

 

The Solarium at the front of the ship is a 16+ over spot to relax and sunbathe.  It's open on the very front park but after that is mainly closed (you can open windows and some parts do stay open), which is nice when it's really windy because you stay protected.  It does fill up and I was unable to find a spot here later in the day, so we sat near the solarium restaurant.  The seats were comfy so it was fine.  

 

Regarding the room and storage- there is tons!  There are so many places to store things and you can put your suitcases under the bed.  I had brought magnets and hooks and things, but they were not needed.

 

Labadee- we did not book any excursions ahead of time.  When we got to port, we got off the ship pretty early, as we wanted to make sure to get a spot in the shade.  We really could have waited a few hours, as it did not start to get crowded until 11-12 and even then, there were plenty of loungers.  We made our way to the back and found a hammock in the water.  I enjoyed that for a bit and we got our loungers in the shade facing the cove.  The water temperature was perfect, not cold at all, and it was pretty clear.  We were not bothered by vendors until the kids decided they wanted to check out the booths.  Then, everyone was yelling out to us and it was a bit overwhelming.  But otherwise it was not bad.

 

We did try out the roller coaster there.  The cost is $26 per cart and we could have an adult and child go in one cart.  It was pretty fun- just a few minutes ride but something interesting to do.  It's a little cart and you control how fast you go down the mountain. I went at a slower rate than my husband/son because the track takes you over the edge and that scared me a bit.  But it was fun.  You can also do zip lining, water playground, etc, but I think in the future I won't book anything either.  Just a good day to relax.

 

At 11 we at lunch, which was a buffet set up near the beach.  A bit later we headed back to ship, as we were good.  That was nice, because the ship was pretty empty and we could lounge wherever we wanted.  

 

 

 

 

Edited January 6, 2020 by zeppgirl

[zeppgirl]

The next day we went to San Juan, Puerto Rico.  I also hadn't booked anything, but not because I hadn't tried!  This was Christmas Day.  Originally we were not set to go here then, but the itinerary got changed.  I wasn't happy because a lot of the excursions (private ones) were not happening and the RC ones were full.  I had no clue what we'd do, but we ended up walking around the old area.  I thought it would be dead but it was pretty happening and many stores were open. We got these ice cream drinks at a stand and they were amazing- such a great deal- I recommend this place.  

 

We walked to a fort and while it was closed, we saw great views from there.  There's probably tons we missed, but we worked with what we had with it being Christmas.  

 

Regarding meals on the ship, we had now eaten at the main dining room and Windjammer, plus gotten quick meals at the central park cafe, Sorrento's pizza (my son lived here- he must have eaten 6 slices each day), and desserts at the cafe on the promenade.  I know many will disagree with me here, but I did not like eating at the main dining room.  We did the my time dining and I had reservations made several nights.  One night we came earlier and the wait wasn't long, but it was just too many people in one spot and so chaotic.  While the menu options sounded good in theory, the quality of the food wasn't great and was served lukewarm.  

 

Now Windjammer buffet was also crowded at times, but I really liked the food.  We didn't find this out until almost the end, but if you keep going towards the back, there's a huge dessert section.

[Ourusualbeach]

44 minutes ago, zeppgirl said:

Then he said it wasn't enough room (this works well for younger kids), so could either do the sofa (it did not appear to convert to a bed so it would be sleeping across) or share the bed.  They ended up sharing and it was fine.

That large king size bed separates into two twin beds.  It’s unfortunate your cabin steward did not suggest this. 

[zeppgirl]

Dec. 26th we went to St. Thomas US Virgin Islands.  We arrived right as a Carnival ship was leaving, so after we got off the ship, we had to wait 10-15 minutes until the ship left port so we could continue on the dock.  We immediately found where we were supposed to go for our Five Star Tour booked through RC.  It took us to a scenic outlook that was located at a giant store (tourist trap).  While fun to see the goodies, they were way overpriced and we didn't need to stay there very long.  From there, our ride (a covered outside seating truck/van- a few rows of seats) took us to Magen's Bay.  While it was nice as far as a beach, there weren't any fish in the water and the temperature was cooler than Labadee.  Still very nice.  The kids played in the sand, we went in the water and walked. The weather was cloudy and not too warm and before it was time to go, started raining and did not stop.  At that point we were under a covered section and getting ready to go to the shopping part of the tour, so that worked out.  However, the rain ended up starting to pour and did not let up.  The shopping is all outdoors, and this wasn't enjoyable at all.  We did have umbrellas and rain jackets, but even so, the area is not set up well with drainage and there's tons of flooding.

 

It took us almost an hour to find a dry spot where we could eat, at one of the restaurants in an ally.  We found a table outside with an umbrella and the food/drinks were good.  But after our appetizers, they told us they were short on cooks and it would take an hour to get our food.  We opted to go elsewhere, but before we had that option, doors in shops were closing and everyone was leaving because the water was getting high at our feet.  We went back to our ride, where some other people were already sitting, and just waited.  We could not go inside anywhere because shops were closed and it was just miserable walking around.  We sat for about an hour while the rain continued and finally we got back to the ship.  This excursion may have been better on a sunny day, but even so, I'm not sure it was worth the money.  I think it would have been just as easy to get a ride to the beach and/or shopping (the beach does charge per person to use).

 

We got back to the ship and showered.  The nice thing with the Central park is the part in the middle with the glass where you can sit even when it's raining.  We took advantage of this since it did rain about 1.5 days during the cruise.

 

Karaoke-I love it, as does my son.  We spent a lot of time in the Karaoke area doing family karaoke and the private karaoke.  We had a great time here.  The first time we went, Neil from Brazil (love him) was hosting a fill in the lyrics game show.  My son ended up winning this game and it was really fun to watch!  Family karaoke was also fun but I think there should be a limit of one song per family.  Some families had several kids and they did one song per kid, so no kidding, had one family take up half an hour of the one hour family karaoke time just on their family.  A lot of people couldn't do this because time was up and had filled up during the first 5 minutes.  When I asked the lady about it, she said they had signed up first.  

 

The private karaoke was great.  We got a bit more than an hour for $35 and had fun. Not all the songs we wanted were there, but most were.  It included food/drinks. We wanted beef jerky (listed as an option) but they were out.  We were also given sprites and water.  We repeatedly asked if this was the beverage included in the package (it said drinks were included) and was assured many times that they were, but it turns out, we got charged for them as we saw this the last day upon check out.  We were able to get this off the bill, but double check if you don't have the package that you don't get charged.  It was a $30 charge for a few waters/sprite.  

 

We also did the mini golf and the giant slide.  

[zeppgirl]

The other specialty restaurants we ate were 150 Central Park and Giovanni's- both I highly recommend.  Giovanni's was more laid back as far as the style, but the food was very good.  I do think the cost to do these is worth it.

 

There's tons of stuff to do on the ship. I did not do the bionic bar as far as a drink, but it was fun to watch drinks being made.

 

I really loved the cruise!  My negative is that many people did hold pool chairs for long periods of time.  If you did not get out there fairly early, it was hard to find a chair.  Some people held rows and I noticed they were gone for hours at a time.  I wish staff would put a limit on how long people can leave their chair without checking back in or using it.  Others could use it during this time.

 

I also loved the entertainment.  Every night we saw a show.  I did not see Cats (after hearing from people it wasn't great), but saw the Frozen ice show (pretty good), the headliner (a ventriloquist- he was awesome!), the stand up comedy (also hilarious).

 

There were also several musical parades and a guy that plays the piano in the elevator, which was really cool!

 

Overall, I had a great time and can't wait to do another cruise!  If you have any questions, feel free to ask.  

 

 

[Ourusualbeach]

Great review.  Were you at the Lime and Coconut bar boarding day?

[zeppgirl]

13 minutes ago, Ourusualbeach said:

That large king size bed separates into two twin beds.  It’s unfortunate your cabin steward did not suggest this. 

The bed did get split after one night after we asked, since the couch wasn't turning into a bed(;  They were happy about that!

[zeppgirl]

2 minutes ago, Ourusualbeach said:

Great review.  Were you at the Lime and Coconut bar boarding day?

Yes!  We met, right?  You were traveling with your daughter?  It was great meeting you!

[zeppgirl]

Forgot to mention the Apollo 18 escape room.  If you want to do this, book ahead of time or right when you get on the ship.  It costs $20/person, which is what you'd pay outside the ship.  This was really well done and I highly recommend it.  We ended up solving the puzzle with 19 minutes to spare, which was the best time on this cruise.  We got a cool patch(:

[Ourusualbeach]

11 minutes ago, zeppgirl said:

Yes!  We met, right?  You were traveling with your daughter?  It was great meeting you!

Yes that was us.  I never did get your screenname but I recognized your picture.  It was great talking to you and it sounds like you had a great time.  I can see my son in line at the flowrider...big surprise.

[Ourusualbeach]

1 minute ago, zeppgirl said:

Forgot to mention the Apollo 18 escape room.  If you want to do this, book ahead of time or right when you get on the ship.  It costs $20/person, which is what you'd pay outside the ship.  This was really well done and I highly recommend it.  We ended up solving the puzzle with 19 minutes to spare, which was the best time on this cruise.  We got a cool patch(:

Wow! You rock.  We escaped with 4 1/2 minutes left.  The patch was a nice touch.  We enjoy these and are now 2 for 3 in escaping.

[zeppgirl]

10 minutes ago, Ourusualbeach said:

Yes that was us.  I never did get your screenname but I recognized your picture.  It was great talking to you and it sounds like you had a great time.  I can see my son in line at the flowrider...big surprise.

Awesome hahah!  My kids never ended up trying it- my daughter was scared she'd fall and not get up.  We tried talking them into trying, but they were busy doing other things.  

 

9 minutes ago, Ourusualbeach said:

Wow! You rock.  We escaped with 4 1/2 minutes left.  The patch was a nice touch.  We enjoy these and are now 2 for 3 in escaping.

That was not me rocking hahah!  If left to me, we'd still be locked up.  Our family was with others and some of them took charge and directed the rest of us.  I was thoroughly confused but the kids had a blast hahaha.  

[zeppgirl]

Zoom internet- we used this and it was great for us.  Not cheap by any means to have this on 4 devices, but was handy.  We had the RC app we used a lot during the cruise, but in order to communicate, we used texting via our phones.  This was needed when our kids were out and about or we were doing our own thing on the ship.  Never had any issues until the day before last/last day, when the internet was sporadic and texts had trouble going through.  At one point I got 10 texts that hadn't gone through earlier.

 

Mobile passport- I tried using this since people had said they had done it through Miami.  It was a pain because the internet was having issues that last day.  It took about an hour to get things through but finally worked...and then we got to port and was told they weren't using it:(  Going through customs was pretty quick though.  

 

We did not get the Key and I did not feel we needed it at any time because we were always able to find good seats at shows and boarding/exiting were always fast.  

 

My son did like Adventure Ocean but sometimes preferred to roam the ship with my daughter. 

 

The ship has flash sales with goods on the Promenade.  Hubby bought $10 sunglasses (they broke the first time he touched them, but was able to exchange the next time they had the store sales) and daughter bought  some earrings and a bag.

 

Keep remembering that I forgot to put info...so I will add as I remember things. 

[Jragland]

Thanks for a great review!  The mushroom soup is my favorite. I could eat it for breakfast!😂

[renza]

Do u recall what time my time dining started. It was alway 5:45 and some report they do not open till 6:45 now

[Ourusualbeach]

35 minutes ago, renza said:

Do u recall what time my time dining started. It was alway 5:45 and some report they do not open till 6:45 now

It was 6:45

[cruisegirl1976]

Thank you for the review.. looks like you had a great time.

[renza]

2 hours ago, Ourusualbeach said:

It was 6:45

Thank you