Live Review Oasis Of The Sea 1/30/2022 - 2/06/2022 Virtual Cruise Plenty of Pictures.

[Sherman793]

Following along and enjoying it so much. Just purchased my first UDP for our Symphony Cruise to give it a try and you are making me very happy I did! We are just getting back to our first cruise after cancelling and moving several the last two years. We were so bored we bought a Disney World Annual pass and did that while the crowds were all staying home. That is over now...back to the huge crowds so we are coming back to sailing. Really looking forward to it. St Thomas looked like so much has closed down and not reopened. Did it seem that way to you? So may stores boarded up. The last time we were in St Marteen was before the horrible hurricane so it has been many years. I will be very interested to see how much has been rebuilt and what is open as we are doing Eastern for our first cruise back in May.

 

[BennyBrun]

32 minutes ago, Sherman793 said:

Following along and enjoying it so much. Just purchased my first UDP for our Symphony Cruise to give it a try and you are making me very happy I did! We are just getting back to our first cruise after cancelling and moving several the last two years. We were so bored we bought a Disney World Annual pass and did that while the crowds were all staying home. That is over now...back to the huge crowds so we are coming back to sailing. Really looking forward to it. St Thomas looked like so much has closed down and not reopened. Did it seem that way to you? So may stores boarded up. The last time we were in St Marteen was before the horrible hurricane so it has been many years. I will be very interested to see how much has been rebuilt and what is open as we are doing Eastern for our first cruise back in May.

 

Welcome aboard the virtual cruise!  You will love the UDP.  We felt totally spoiled at dinner time because of the attentive service and going the extra EXTRA mile.

 

I think by May you might find ref crowd returning as well but I rather be on a cruise ship than at Disney World.  We were AP holders for many years and DVC members.  That place has changed so much now I no longer feel they are putting family first.  It is now all about the money but that is a different topic 😝 

 

There were still some stores that were boarded up but most have opened.  It was raining on and off so some store closes their doors and the sales people stayed inside to yell at you to come inside.

 

Stay tuned for the walking tour into St.Maarten.  It should be interesting!

[BennyBrun]

Day 5. St.Maarten

 

Because of how late I got up and went to the gym we did not want to get caught in that window where no food outlet is serving food before we get off the ship so we went to windjammer for a bite.

[BennyBrun]

Day 5 Windjammer breakfast

 

They also hand out numbers for your table if you order cooked to order eggs.

[BennyBrun]

Day 5 Windjammer

 

I know I have read that some people can’t find anything to eat at the buffet or the selection does not look appetizing.  My first walk around I thought there were plenty to eat and lots of options.  I wonder what they eat at home because to me it looks like they offered pretty much everything I could/ would make at home for myself and some I would never even attempt 😂.  Is it 5 stars Gordon Ramsey approved?  Probably not but it is a meal on the cruise ship and I am a happy camper!

[Jimbo]

38 minutes ago, BennyBrun said:

Day 5. St.Maarten

 

Because of how late I got up and went to the gym we did not want to get caught in that window where no food outlet is serving food before we get off the ship so we went to windjammer for a bite.

Breakfast scrambled eggs, any idea what they are made out of?  My guess......5 parts water, 1 part egg like substance?

Edited February 3, 2022 by Jimbo

[Shaded Lady]

2 minutes ago, Jimbo said:

Breakfast scrambled eggs, any idea what they are made out of?  My guess......5 parts water, 1 part egg like substance?

That's why I always get my scrambled eggs from the omelet station- I make sure they started out as real eggs in front of me!

[Jimbo]

14 minutes ago, Shaded Lady said:

That's why I always get my scrambled eggs from the omelet station- I make sure they started out as real eggs in front of me!

I thought some ships didn't have omelet stations now because of social distancing. There is always a line at those stations

[Dunnyboy]

On 1/31/2022 at 1:55 AM, BennyBrun said:

Day 1

150 Park Dinner / Appetizer courseS!

 

The pumpkin soup was amazing!  Creamy savory and the seeds/bacon/croutons they add created the perfect texture.  The picture of the soup was before the bisque.  They pour the bisque at the table.  The scallop was great too!  

 

On 1/31/2022 at 1:34 AM, Maitaivegas said:

Looks like you booked the whole restaurant for a private meal. I like that, social distancing at the finest.

Really enjoying your live report.

Hi. Loving this live blog - we go on this cruise 27/2/22. Is the ambience poor in the specialty restaurants if they are empty?

[Shaded Lady]

54 minutes ago, Jimbo said:

I thought some ships didn't have omelet stations now because of social distancing. There is always a line at those stations

I can only speak for Carnival, I haven't sailed on the other lines post-Covid... but Carnival still has the omelet stations, as well as the precooked, yucckkky powdered scrambled eggs (hence, my waiting in the lineup at the omelet station!)

[micruiser2002]

1 hour ago, Jimbo said:

I thought some ships didn't have omelet stations now because of social distancing. There is always a line at those stations

In the post above he does say they give you a number for cooked to order eggs.

 

[Dunnyboy]

On 2/1/2022 at 4:41 AM, BennyBrun said:

The shows you will have to reserve once you are onboard and not before.  They have this really handy entertainment guide that’s in your room with all the times but you cant get to that until after 2PM or when your room is ready.  So you have to go through each day on the app to make the reservations.  Turn on airplane mode and connect to the ships Wi-Fi then open the app otherwise it will error out and tell you that you need to connect to the ships Wi-Fi.

We are a party of 4 (travelling in from London, UK) - can I use my app to reserve 4 spots at the restaurant, shows etc or does each person have to do it? I guess if our booking is linked and there are 2 cabins, i need to open the app and get it sorted. The beauty of your live blog is that assuming it is repeated on 27/2/22, I can print from this and plan dinner timings (I have UDP) and shows. Sadly a few shows it seems overlap 

[Dunnyboy]

On 2/2/2022 at 1:51 AM, BennyBrun said:

Day 3

 

Appetizer course.  We each had 3 😂.  We both had the scallop, then the pumpkin bisque (LOVED IT), the short rib, crispy pork belly, and Caesar salad.

Hi. Sorry for asking so many questions - do they allow you to have more than 1 starter on the UDP? if so, wow!

[BennyBrun]

2 hours ago, Jimbo said:

Breakfast scrambled eggs, any idea what they are made out of?  My guess......5 parts water, 1 part egg like substance?

I am not sure but you can ask them to scramble eggs with real eggs at the egg station.  You get a number and they bring it to you!

[BennyBrun]

1 hour ago, Dunnyboy said:

 

Hi. Loving this live blog - we go on this cruise 27/2/22. Is the ambience poor in the specialty restaurants if they are empty?

Welcome aboard the virtual cruise.  I don’t think it takes away from your experience at all.  It is nice and quiet with very attentive service.  It’s better than when we were in the Harmony when it was packed every night and you have to allocate 2 hours for dinner which was nice but it took a nice chunk out of your time.

[BennyBrun]

2 hours ago, Jimbo said:

I thought some ships didn't have omelet stations now because of social distancing. There is always a line at those stations

No there is a place for you to order eggs any way you like.  You get a number and they bring the eggs to your table!

[Jimbo]

2 minutes ago, BennyBrun said:

No there is a place for you to order eggs any way you like.  You get a number and they bring the eggs to your table!

Must be a beetch, when they try to find you and your eggs get cold.

[BennyBrun]

1 hour ago, Dunnyboy said:

We are a party of 4 (travelling in from London, UK) - can I use my app to reserve 4 spots at the restaurant, shows etc or does each person have to do it? I guess if our booking is linked and there are 2 cabins, i need to open the app and get it sorted. The beauty of your live blog is that assuming it is repeated on 27/2/22, I can print from this and plan dinner timings (I have UDP) and shows. Sadly a few shows it seems overlap 

If it’s linked you should be able to and if you are doing the same itinerary as this review then the royal shows should be the same unless there is a conflict with headliner shows as those people can leave at a port and new headliner performers come onboard.

[BennyBrun]

Just now, Jimbo said:

Must be a beetch, when they try to find you and your eggs get cold.

Yeah I don’t know how they do it but I try to give them a heads up where we are to avoid cold eggs and the server don’t have to play find Waldo.

[BennyBrun]

57 minutes ago, Dunnyboy said:

Hi. Sorry for asking so many questions - do they allow you to have more than 1 starter on the UDP? if so, wow!

Please keep asking questions.  They are easy to answer.  You can pretty much order as many starters as you like but please don’t waste food.  If you just want a taste let the server know so that can arrange it.  The only time you will run into an issue is at Chops where they are pretty strict about ordering one steak / entree.  If you want steak and maybe some shrimp on the side they can probably accommodate but not two steaks side by side unless you want to pay $20.00 for an additional entree plus service charge.

[BennyBrun]

5 minutes ago, Jimbo said:

Must be a beetch, when they try to find you and your eggs get cold.

My approach on the cruise ship is help the people that take care of you to make it easy so that they can care for your better.  I find that you usually have a better experience that way.

[Jimbo]

Just now, BennyBrun said:

My approach on the cruise ship is help the people that take care of you to make it easy so that they can care for your better.  I find that you usually have a better experience that way.

Just curious, what part of NJ are you from? Lived my entire life in  NJ until about 13 months ago

[cruisecookie]

How does service in the Windjammer buffet work now?  I had heard that because of COVID-19 precautions, passengers could not take their own food.  Servers would hand your food to you instead.  Is this true?

[Oceansaway17]

26 minutes ago, Jimbo said:

Just curious, what part of NJ are you from? Lived my entire life in  NJ until about 13 months ago

 

i will answer tho:

and then you went south to VA.  I lived in Willingboro for 18 years and moved away to KY and then to PA near Valley Forge.   I miss getting charlie chips in the grocery stores but I find them sometimes at outlets.

[Biker19]

8 minutes ago, cruisecookie said:

Is this true?

Mostly. Some items are pre-plated for you to take - varies by ship.