Christmas on Oasis Review

[dchppage]

We were on the Dec. 22nd sailing on Oasis.  We were in a 2BR Aqua Theater Suite (10330).  This was our first Star Class Cruise so I will make comparisons to this one and the one we did 2 years ago on Liberty in a Suite with no Star Class.

 

Allan was our Genie and he was perfection!  He was always available and was able to get all 11 of us (we had 3 other family members in a Crown Loft Suite) into the activities and shows we wanted to go to!  All of our dinner reservations were made prior to the cruise and the Restaurants were surprisingly not very full!

 

Day 0 - we stayed at the Hampton Inn Midtown Miami and it was a great location.  Go to Lagniappe!!!  A fabulous place with lots of wine and the best Churrasco steak I've ever had!  I would stay at this Hampton Inn just for this restaurant again!

 

Day 1 - We were to meet Allan at 11:15 to board Oasis.  We arrived at 11:00 (no traffic and plenty of ubers) and went straight to the Star Class banners.  We were met with porters and someone to check us in immediately.  We had 17 bags total so we tipped our poor guy well!  I cant remember the lady's name that checked our passports outside and escorted us up but she was lovely and so friendly!  She took us up to a lounge area and told us Alan would be there shortly as he had just taken another family on board.  Allan arrived at exactly 11:17 and off we went.  They checked our set sail passes at this point and then on to the BOAT.

 

We went straight to our Suite and Allan gave us all of reservations, activities, etc.  Let me just say, he smelled so good that I bought his cologne at the end for my Husband so I could take home just a little bit of Allan!!!  Off to Coastal Kitchen...  Advice:  My MIL is a Kendall Jackson Chardonnay drinker.  House wine is not Kendall Jackson.  They will get it for you if they see your purple wristband or sea pass.  It took one glass of whatever the house wine was for us to figure that out.  She was served Kendall Jackson the rest of the trip when we "flashed the purple".  We all then went to Playmakers to watch the Cowboys.  Well, you all know how that ended...At least we have finally fired Garrett as of this writing.  Playmakers is excellent "bar food"!  My 24 yr old son had their wings many times throughout this cruise and loved them.

 

Dinner this night is at CP 150 at 7:00pm and we were 11 of only 24 people there at the time!  It was of course fantastic and our server was top notch.  We all ended the night in the Casino.  Yes, it is very smoky but it is a Casino...  Luck was not on my side but I gave it hell!

 

Day 2 - At Sea We had breakfast on the balcony with lots of champagne.  We ordered the champagne through Allan, then when we were out, we just call room service and ask for 7 more glasses.  (One Minor was in our room so we could only get 7 at a time).  If you want a piping hot breakfast of eggs and bacon you have to go to the restaurant.  It's not cold when it gets to your room, it's just not piping hot...  After a lazy morning looking at the sea fly by, we went to the Suite sun deck.  Our bartender was Milos and he was fantastic.  So good that we probably ended up tipping him $200 over the week.  We sat there all day until dinner.

 

Dinner is at Chops.  Loved everything.  The Mushroom soup is to DIE for!  Only hiccup which was rectified.  When we got there they told us we were at 2 tables.  I told them this was unacceptable and we would be happy to wait for 1 table.  We had a table for 11 in less than 10 minutes.  This was the only time they tried to split our group. Thanks and Cheers to making this right Royal!  Once again, off to the Casino.  This night was so fun.  I didn't win anything but a few in our group did on Blackjack.  We were 5 of 7 people at the table and we became family with those other 2 guys for the rest of the cruise!

 

Day 3 - Labadee  7 of our 11 were zip lining at 8:30am.  Allan met us and zipped us down, walked us to a private golf cart, and made sure we were taken care of.  (this same golf cart driver would take care of us all day)  Our group did the "flying" one and all said if doing it again they would sit.  The helment is heavy and you can't really look around much.  After this, we went to the Suite Beach.  We were well taken care of and the water was perfect temp and clear!  We did the Roller Coaster and It was so much fun!  Get an all day pass or a pass where you can go more than once.  It's a blast!  Back to the boat around 2:00 and up to the Suite sun deck for sail away and to visit with Milos!  Pre dinner drinks on the Rising Tide.  

 

Dinner at Izumi.  This night we were a party of 17.  (We had 6 other family members on board that joined this night)  Everyone Loved it and all said these cooks were so much more entertaining than the cooks at the hibachi restaurants we go to at home.  My Sushi was just so-so.  Back to our deck to watch Aqua 80 again!  It is a GREAT show!  We saw almost every performance of it.  It's just that good and the Music was a throwback to when My Husband and I started dating!  

 

Day 4 - Puerto Rico  Christmas morning (Yes, Santa came to see everyone under 25) We had Christmas with our 11, then had Breakfast for 17.  This deck can handle 17 pretty easily.  Not everyone is bellied up to the table but plenty of room.  It was wonderful to have all of us there and we lazed on the deck until Puerto Rico came into sight.  A handful of our group went ashore, most of us went to the Suite sun deck and enjoyed actually having a lounger.  We always had places to sit, but this was the only day we got a lounger.  Chair hogs are in full force on deck 16 too!  Puerto Rico at night is absolutely stunning.  This sail away is one you don't want to miss!

 

Dinner at Giovannis.  My opinion was this was the best food..it was also the most.  They brought out more than 20 of us could have eaten.  One of my Nieces is Gluten Free (Celiac) and has a tree nut allergy.  She said this was the best Gluten free pasta she's ever had.  The mushroom risotto is out of this world...  Now , off to the Casino.. My luck still hasn't changed but at least I'm still trying!

 

Day 5 St. Thomas  We leisurely all got off the boat and headed out to shop.  Side note:  We cruised here on Freedom years ago.  We went to a place called Bumpas and had hamburgers and potato salad.  We couldn't wait to go back.  We get there and they are OUT OF HAMBURGERS!!!!  My 22 yr old son looked like his toys had all been taken away.  He says " I've waited 7 years to come back here and you're out"!!!  Oh well...  We shopped, in the drizzle, and looked for a restaurant.  We literally ducked into a great little Italian place 30 seconds before the heavens opened up!  It rained so hard we thought we might need a boat to get back to the boat.  Can't remember the name of this place but it's Italian and at the end of the street with all the shops. We let the rain die down then flagged a car and went back to the ship.  We were going to go to Megan's Bay but the weather didn't cooperate.

 

Dinner at CP150.  Wonderful again, same server who even remembered all of our drink preferences.  Awwww Hell, lets try the Casino again.  Same result.

 

Day 6 at Sea  Slept in for the 1st time in months.  I woke up at 10:00am and was the first one up in my cabin.  Wow, that was awesome.  Off to the Suite sun deck, same stuff.  Milos was awesome.  Sorry for the next cruisers, he was being moved to Schooners, but I'm sure he made many people happy there!  It was a great Sea Day with crazy seas.  We had a lazer tag session at 5:00 I believe.  We were to get there 5 minutes early to meet Allan and he would sneak us in the back.  This was only one of two times I felt the stink eye.  The line to play was very long and our group went first.  It was alot of fun and a complete 7 minute workout!

 

FYI:  No one in our group got sick but the bags went on the staircases that evening.  You could here the ship creaking on the staircases and definitely could feel it.  

 

Dinner at Chops.  Same server again and by this night I'm so stuffed that I only ordered mushroom soup and the goat cheese salad.  Our poor server wanted to get me a main entree so bad!  I told him He had fed me too much earlier in the week and I was still full!  Food was awesome once again and service top notch!  Should I try my luck one more time?  Maybe it was the sea day, maybe it was that I didn't eat enough, who knows but I got a little tipsy!  We had so much fun with our Casino friends this night and I just couldn't stop trying.  My Husband's version of this story may be a tad different but I gave the espresso martinis and the slot machines hell.  I even tried the blackjack table, same luck!  

 

Day 7 at Sea  To the Suite sun deck until 1:00.  We had a bridge tour at 2:00.  We arrived at 1:50, checked in, got wanded and in we went.  Very cool!  First officer explained how he tried to find calmer seas the day before by zigzagging to make the ride a little smoother.  He said the seas were moderate.  Great view for those guys up there as it should be!  Well worth the time to go do this.  Next, we go straight to the Escape Room.  All 11 of us did it.  It was a blast, no pun intended.  We sent our rocket to the moon and all felt very accomplished!  So fun!  Now, it's the dreaded time to go start packing.

 

Dinner at room 10330.  We went down to Portside BBQ and got to go food!  We all wanted to watch Clemson and just hang out in our room!  That BBQ is Fantastic and I'm from Texas!!!  The brisket is so good!  We later ordered cookies and milk with a couple sides of Baileys Irish Cream and watched Clemson WIN!!!  If you're wondering I did hit the Casino at some point during the day and nothing had changed down there.  My 22 yr old Son, did get back $100 on his last session at the black jack table though.

 

Day 8 GET OFF  We were up at 6:00.  Our bags were being picked up at 7am.  After they were picked up, the rest of the crew got ready and we met in Coastal Kitchen.  Allan was taking us off at 9:00am.  This was the 2nd time I felt the stink eye.  We were whisked by everyone standing in line to get off the ship and someone didn't like it and started yelling at someone with Royal.  I didn't turn around, I just wanted to get off quick so the stink eye would go away...

 

Last thoughts: My MIL treated us all to this trip!  My FIL passed away nearly 20 years ago at the age of 57 and she just wants to have fun with all of us while she is still 75 years young!  It was so much fun, we all enjoyed being together and can't wait to do it again!  We were, MIL 76, my Husband 51, me 50, BIL 45, SIL 46, my kids 24, 22 (sons GF 21), by BIL's kids 16, 14, 13.

 

If you are going Star Class, there is no request they won't ry to fulfill!  Allan was a phone call or email away, we communicated both ways, and responded to either immediately.  Our Room Attendant Anne Marie was the dearest Lady ever!  On to tips:  Ours were pre paid so I know they were already paid...I know this is debated here but this is what we did.  Our room had 8 people.  We tipped Anne Marie $500  We tipped Allan $1000  Throughout we tipped at every dinner around $100-150.  Every bartender at least $1 per drink.  Since we were with Milos on the Suite sun deck so much he got around $200.  We feel we got every dollars worth, except in the Casino...HA HA!!!

 

Let me know if you have any questions.  I'll try to figure out how to get pics onto this site.  They're on my phone and I'm writing this on my desktop..

 

 

 

[blueridgemama]

Thanks for the great review. What a wonderful mother-in-law you have😊 Sounds like you had a fantastic family cruise.

[portofrome]

Thank you for the review!

[renza]

Thank you for the review 

[TBone2K]

Nice to hear how the "other half" lives, lol. Thanks for sharing the review.

[Clarea]

Thank-you for the detailed report.

[zeppgirl]

Thanks for sharing!  I was on that same cruise and posted my review yesterday.  Definitely agree with the mushroom soup and about the chair hogs.  We got poured on in St. Thomas:(  I agree the waters were a bit rough that one day, but glad it got better the next.