Oasis of the Seas Cruise Trip Report

[polyfan]

We have found booking the private session instead of the lesson works even better. My oldest son has won the Best of the Best on the Freedom the past 2 years in a row.

 

[Piglets Mommy]

Oops! I missed a couple of replies.


It's easy to get hooked, isn't it? Did you find HAL to be a much older crowd? Do you have kids and were there many kids onboard? I think you're right, we probably have similar tastes in cruises.

I had read on Cruise Critic that HAL was an older crowd, but on our sailing, it wasn't...I'm 37 and DH is 40, and there were people of all ages. We have kids, but didn't bring them...this was DH's big 40th B-day getaway. There were lots of kids on board...I'd say about 200-250. The staff did mention that our sailing was the youngest crowd they'd seen. A lot of the entertainment and activities were geared towards an older crown even though our sailing had a lot of younger folks. The service was INCREDIBLE. Being a Disney nut, I am used to Disney's friendly service. Every crew member we encountered smiled and said hello...many greeted us by name. They really made you feel like VIP, even though we had the cheapest inside stateroom. That being said, I think we just want a newer, bigger ship esp. if we take the kids. (not sure I want something as big as Oasis, but I like that you said it didn't feel crowded) The one "big" thing I didn't like was that they did not have enough deck chairs in the sun...like the flowrider is the make or break for you, reading a book in the sun with a fruity drink was a must for me, and it was suprisingly difficult, esp. the first few days. That and the A/c was broken in our cabin at first, but that could have happened on any ship in any cruise line, I think.

I can't wait to hear more about your wonderful cruise!

 

[mumom95]

Love the trip report. Can't wait to hear more.

 

[jrnunzio3]

I can't wait for more of the TR. I have been lurking at least 2 times a day, just waiting for a new post.

 

[swwake]

We have found booking the private session instead of the lesson works even better. My oldest son has won the Best of the Best on the Freedom the past 2 years in a row.

That sounds like a great idea. One hour private was about $475 on Oasis. But I have read that sometimes people combine a private with a bunch of people they meet at the FlowRider. That is awesome that your son wins Best of the Best. He must be pretty good. What kinds of things does he do? Later, I will talk about our Best of the Best on Day 7.

I had read on Cruise Critic that HAL was an older crowd, but on our sailing, it wasn't...I'm 37 and DH is 40, and there were people of all ages. We have kids, but didn't bring them...this was DH's big 40th B-day getaway. There were lots of kids on board...I'd say about 200-250. The staff did mention that our sailing was the youngest crowd they'd seen. A lot of the entertainment and activities were geared towards an older crown even though our sailing had a lot of younger folks. The service was INCREDIBLE. Being a Disney nut, I am used to Disney's friendly service. Every crew member we encountered smiled and said hello...many greeted us by name. They really made you feel like VIP, even though we had the cheapest inside stateroom. That being said, I think we just want a newer, bigger ship esp. if we take the kids. (not sure I want something as big as Oasis, but I like that you said it didn't feel crowded) The one "big" thing I didn't like was that they did not have enough deck chairs in the sun...like the flowrider is the make or break for you, reading a book in the sun with a fruity drink was a must for me, and it was suprisingly difficult, esp. the first few days. That and the A/c was broken in our cabin at first, but that could have happened on any ship in any cruise line, I think.

I can't wait to hear more about your wonderful cruise!

Sounds like it would be an awesome cruise. You wouldn't find the same problem with deck chairs on Oasis. There were always open chairs. Unless you want to be right by the poo.

Love the trip report. Can't wait to hear more.

Thank you! I'm trying to keep it moving.

I can't wait for more of the TR. I have been lurking at least 2 times a day, just waiting for a new post.

Thanks for the interest. Sorry I'm not able to update even as often as I'd like to.

 

[swwake]

Tuesday was St. Thomas day. We had put the sign out the night before to order a variety of breakfast items from room service this morning. We scheduled breakfast to arrive between 8am and 8:30, and the ship was scheduled to arrive at 9am. Room Service called ahead at about 8:25 telling us it was on its way. Breakfast arrived at about 8:35, and we tipped the server. Then we realized we were without napkins and flatware. Ugh! Chris ran down the hall and caught the guy and got us some silverware.

The three girls arrived in our stateroom shortly after. We could tell we were getting close, as we were passing by the beautiful Virgin Islands.

Ok, let me tell everyone now. This was the best thing we did on our cruise. Very intimate, very memorable. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND room service breakfast on your balcony while pulling into a port. There was just something magical about it.

A photo of the port:

By the time we finished our casual, unrushed breakfast, it was time to head down to the pier. We had a tour scheduled with Sunny Liston starting at 10am. I wanted to get down there by 9:30am because I wasn't quite sure how it all worked with him picking us up, since it's not a RCCL-sanctioned excursion.

We stopped and took a photo with the pirate as we left the ship.

And the girls had their photo made with a ship steering wheel (I guess?).

We were definitely early, but I always prefer to be early over being late. So we found a nice bench and rested and just took it all in. Just on time, at 10am, our open-air taxi arrived. Being originally from Memphis, TN, we found it ironic that our driver's name was...(drumroll please)...

Here are Caitlin and Katie in the taxi, ready for the tour.

Our first stop was downtown St Thomas. We had two hours here on our own for some shopping. Since Katie's handbag shopping had been cut short in Nassau in favor of Senor Frogs, she wanted to head for the market first.

We were in the market for about 30 minutes. It was very hot. Prices were comparable to Nassau. We took this time to call home and check into our offices, and the girls to check in with their boyfriends, etc. Since St Thomas is a US territory, cell phone service is "free" without roaming or international charges.

We shopped a little in the jewelry stores, but none of us were really in the market for anything special, and I had worn a mean blister between my toes from my flip flops, so we found a little drug store that sold band-aids. Then we decided to find a spot to relax and feel the local vibe. We found a cute little bar & grill (I wish I remembered the name of it. If you walk down the main street that heads from the market to town, then take a right in front of Little Switzerland, you will find it a few yards ahead on the left.)

I ordered some conch fritters, thinking maybe everyone would try this local favorite. The girls had been so interested in the big conch shells in the Nassau Straw Market. Well, I couldn't get anyone but Kellye to share them with me. And both of us knew them, so it was nothing new to us - like hush puppies.

Katie, being drinking age, ordered a beer. I need to teach her a thing or two about trying to order local food and beverages when you're on vacation. For example, in Jamaica, I drink Red Stripe. This was Katie's choice.

You can see that Foo Ball was also enjoying the Corona with lime.

We visited with the bartender, Marty, and some of the locals for awhile. We learned some things about the culture and politics of St Thomas. It was very interesting.

Then we decided to walk a little farther and visit more jewelry shops. We found one that sells one of my favorite brands, Roberto Coin. Every piece of his jewelry has a ruby embedded in it. Some of his jewelry is "motion jewelry", which I also love. Very expensive, but I love his stuff.

Soon it was about 11:55am and time for us to head back to meet Elvis for the rest of our tour.

Next up: Island tour and beach time

 

[cdotla]

Wow - what a fantastic time you all seem to be having.

Those photos of the ship are amazing!!! I seriously can't believe all that stuff can fit onto one cruise ship.

What a great graduation trip this is turning out to be for your daughter - something special you will all remember!

 

[Pooh_Friend#1]

Your trip sounds so nice! I just started P90X too, that is intense!

 

[swwake]

Wow - what a fantastic time you all seem to be having.

Those photos of the ship are amazing!!! I seriously can't believe all that stuff can fit onto one cruise ship.

What a great graduation trip this is turning out to be for your daughter - something special you will all remember!

It's crazy how much is on that ship. I'm not even sure you could see and do everything with a Back-to-Back cruise on her! Those were some great memories we made.

Your trip sounds so nice! I just started P90X too, that is intense!

Thanks so much! Yes, P90x is killing me. Tonight was Core Synergistics. Bring it!

 

[swwake]

When we met Elvis again, he loaded us up (very tightly) in the taxi. Unfortunately, our party was split with me on the first bench row, Kellye and the girls somewhere in the middle, and Chris on the last row. As we headed up the moutains on the winding roads, Elvis played music, sang along, and taught us some of the songs. We learned “Follow the Leader”, “Who Let the Dogs Out?”, and “Every Day of the Week”. This made the tour fun and interactive.

We stopped at a couple of points along the way for photo opportunities and to hear a little about the history and landmarks of the island. From our first vantage point, you could see two Carnival ships (the Dream and maybe Valor?) at port.

The next stop gave us a nice view of Magens Bay beach. This is one of National Geographic Magazine’s Ten Most Beautiful Beaches in the world.

More vistas:

We met our first friendly iguana (I think that’s what this was). They like to climb in trees and bushes.

And then, another indigenous tree-climbing creature appeared:

Yep, that’s Katie. She said she climbed this tree because “we don’t have these at home”. We said “no more beer for you.” Haha

As we continued climbing the mountain in our taxi, we had many beautiful views, but since the day was a little hazy, we couldn’t see as many of the islands as we could have on a clear day.

Headed back down the mountain, we stopped at Beacon Point, where they had daiquiri samples and full cocktails, a quaint shop, more beautiful views, and the all-important restrooms. I got a banana daiquiri, which was very good. The Cruzan Rum sits on the counter and you can add your own floater as you wish. We also got some sort of rum punch that was just way too much. None of us drank that one.

Next, we had our choice of Coki Beach, Sapphire Beach or Magens Bay, or we could go back to the ship. Which did we choose?

 

[gm]

was that a tour that takes you to see all the nature/the iguanas/etc? Like the tree climbing and stuff or was it a just a taxi stop?

Thanks

 

[swwake]

was that a tour that takes you to see all the nature/the iguanas/etc? Like the tree climbing and stuff or was it a just a taxi stop?

Thanks

It was just a taxi stop. This tour was not at all what I would consider "active". It was more informational.

 

[swwake]

For weeks, Caitlin has been wanting to go to a beach. Any beach. So I knew she’d love our scheduled two hours at the beach in St Thomas. I was excited to get the girls there.

At this point, Kellye decided she’d prefer to head back to the ship, so that was the option she took. The rest of us were offered Coki (pronounced “cookie”) or Sapphire Beach. I believe Elvis would also have taken us to Magens Bay, but nobody on our tour opted for that, avoiding the $4 per person entry fee.

During my planning, I had read online that Sapphire Beach’s bar and restaurant had not been open for a long time, and that the restrooms are dirty, not maintained and in bad condition. One tour guide says he won’t take tourists there until the problem is solved. So I had it in my head that we would choose Coki Beach.

Well, only one couple on our taxi elected Coki Beach, and when we pulled in there (the first beach stop), it looked dirty and run-down from the outside, and there were police officers all around for some reason. I consulted with our crew and we decided to wait for Sapphire.

So that’s what we did. We walked in through an older resort, which seems a bit run-down. But when we got to the beach, it was BEAUTIFUL.

It was about 2:00 at this time, and we were very hungry. So we asked around and were directed to a little bar and grill on the beach (which was NOT closed, by the way). They offered hamburgers, hot dogs, and wraps, fries and chips, and cold drinks. There were two runners working the beach and 2 workers at the stand and they simply couldn’t keep up. We waited 15 minutes just to place our order, and another 30 minutes for our food. BUT, the food was really good. The burgers were angus.

Then we found some lounge chairs on the beach and made ourselves comfortable. The girls went out for a swim.

All I can think is there MUST be sand in their suits!

They really liked swimming in the ocean, until Katie felt a fish swimming around her legs.

The look on her face is priceless!

A little girl named Angelina decided to play with my teens. She was so adorable.

I ended up going to the restrooms to change into my suit, and they fully met expectations. Although there was toilet paper, the toilets did not flush well, the restroom was dirty, the doors were unfinished plywood that wouldn’t stay closed, and there was no soap or paper towels. It was pretty disgusting, as reported.

In hindsight, I wish we had gone to Magens Bay for $16 total. I bet it would have been a much better experience.

We were scheduled for 2 hours at this beach, but Elvis had promised to pick us up at 4:30 (2.5 hours after he dropped us off). This concerned me a little, since our All Aboard time was 5:30pm. It was also interesting, because the website for this tour group says “Your tour ends back at the ship on time between 4:00pm and 4:30 pm.”

By about 3:30 we had had enough of the heat and were ready to go back. Katie was sunburned from the taxi tour before we even got to the beach, and she is quite fair, so she didn’t need any more sun. We thought about taking a cab, but I didn’t know how to let our tour director know we were leaving. So we just waited it out.

On our way out to meet Elvis, we greeted another native species.

It’s hard to tell how HUGE Miss Charlotte was from the photo!

It was 4:25, then 4:30, then 4:40 and no Elvis. Would we make it back to the ship on time? (OK, not much of a cliffhanger – you MUST be able to figure out the answer to that one.)

 

[Curtis McCrea]

Great review, makes me feel like I'm actually there!

 

[swwake]

Great review, makes me feel like I'm actually there!

So glad you're enjoying! Will your Disney cruise hit some of the same ports we did?

 

[swwake]

Finally, around 4:45 I think, Elvis arrived to pick us up. He said he had waited for the first couple at Coki Beach for 20 minutes and they never showed up. We caravanned with the other taxi from the same tour group. I thought, we have 45 minutes before All Aboard, I’m sure we can make it. But I do prefer to be early, and not just on time.

On the way back, the music continued to play, and all the sunburned and overheated guests did their best to sing along. Soon, we pulled up to the pier where the two Carnival ships were docked. Right near the pier was a butterfly farm that I thought was kinda neat.

At this point, Chris told me he was worried about us getting back on time. I thought, we still have over 30 minutes, we should be fine. We dropped off the passengers for both ships, and we were the last four on the taxi, the only ones headed to Oasis. I was keeping my chin up, singing in my head that line from “Friends in Low Places” that says “think I’ll slip on down to the OOOOOasis…”

And then.

It’s 5pm. You know what that means.

Rush hour in St Thomas.

And, there was all kinds of construction funded by the ARRA, along with about 75 stop lights. It was stop-and-go. I felt a pit in my stomach. I thought to myself, this is why they say NEVER book excursions that aren’t through the cruise ship.

I knew we wouldn’t be the last to the ship, but I don’t like being right on time, much less late. It was a horrible feeling. Let’s cut to the chase. We made it to the ship right at 5:30 and were allowed to board with no problem. Whew!

Back on board, I needed a tall cool drink like never before. So Chris and I met Kellye at the Mast Bar.

That’s something Kellye ordered, a frozen mojito for Chris and a Midori lemonade for me. The drinks were beautiful (and cold), and the bartender was very personable. I could not drink my Midori lemonade – too tart – so Chris was a good hubby and traded with me. I loved the mojito.

We walked around on deck, sadly missing the afternoon Flowrider session in favor of a wind-down cocktail. The ship seemed to never leave. It certainly didn’t leave at 6pm.

Some photos I took around the ship:
Sports Pool

Oasis Dunes

Wipe-Out Bar (between the two Flowriders)

And the funnel at the back of the ship, above the Wipe-Out Bar

Finally, sometime after 6, probably closer to 7, we left. Here’s a nice photo leaving St Thomas from the back of Deck 16.

Tonight’s theme was Colorful Caribbean, with Calypso music all around the ship. We missed the Battle of the Sexes game show at Dazzles after dinner. I don’t remember exactly what we did – must have either been Schooner Bar or the casino.

Then later – Quest!

 

[Curtis McCrea]

If one of your ports included Nassau, then yes, my cruise will go to one of the ports you did. (We are only doing a 3 Night)

 

[MM27]

Great trip report. I love Royal Caribbean, but I'm still not too sure about the larger ships. I can only travel during school vacations and the amount of people that fit on those ships scares me

Did you say you are posting this report on Cruise Critic too? If so, you might want to avoid too much info about Quest. They'll skin you for letting the cat out of the bag.

Personally, I love Quest when people play fair. I was on Navigator one year and this group in front of us had one lady with them that brought a huge beach bag filled with things for the game. Our cruise director said in the beginning of the game that those that brought bags of items needed to put them away, but these people did not. I can't believe how people cheat just to get a plastic keychain. Plus, it's so much more fun when you actually have to go on a Quest

 

[swwake]

If one of your ports included Nassau, then yes, my cruise will go to one of the ports you did. (We are only doing a 3 Night)

Yes, our first port was Nassau, but we were only there from 7am to 2pm. Back on board by 1:30pm.

Great trip report. I love Royal Caribbean, but I'm still not too sure about the larger ships. I can only travel during school vacations and the amount of people that fit on those ships scares me

Did you say you are posting this report on Cruise Critic too? If so, you might want to avoid too much info about Quest. They'll skin you for letting the cat out of the bag.

Personally, I love Quest when people play fair. I was on Navigator one year and this group in front of us had one lady with them that brought a huge beach bag filled with things for the game. Our cruise director said in the beginning of the game that those that brought bags of items needed to put them away, but these people did not. I can't believe how people cheat just to get a plastic keychain. Plus, it's so much more fun when you actually have to go on a Quest

Yes, this is posted on Cruise Critic as well. I won't be spoiling Quest. I totally agree with you about the cheating for a keychain. Some people...

 

[swwake]

(For the Royal Loyals, I promise NO spoilers on Quest items in this post! – But I am including one of the tasks. I am not sure anyone could actually prepare for this one, so I don’t think it spoils anything.)

We had reservations for the Headliner show at 10:30 tonight, but none of us were really interested in the Texas Tenors. Kellye was the only one who had watched America’s Got Talent last season (which I heard they were on). The rest of us had never heard of them. The show was apparently well-attended though, because we saw lots of people leaving after it. Also, I heard very good things about this show during the week.

Before dinner, I advised our group that Quest was that night, and that we all WILL be going to Quest. They asked why and I couldn’t really tell them anything.

For those who don’t know, Quest is a game played on Royal Caribbean cruises, once each cruise. It is a scavenger hunt of sorts, and it is very fun. I remember this game (or something similar) on my very first cruise when I was about 15 years old. People were literally running back to their cabins to get items for the game.

Quest often fills up quickly, and we missed it on our Liberty cruise, so I insisted that we arrive early. The doors opened at 11:15pm and the game started at 11:45pm. We found seats on the second row and relaxed and enjoyed our beverages while we waited.

At about 11:40, the music started and got everyone really pumped up. Then the Cruise Director, Kevin Spacey came out in what looked like track shorts, knee-highs and a headband. The entire Studio B (where the ice rink is) was divided into 12 teams. Four representatives, including a team captain, volunteered or were coerced from each team.

We were Team 2, and Kellye was one of our representatives.

I can’t tell you how the game went, or what items were included in the scavenger hunt. Many people who have cruised with RCCL before know the game and, let’s just say, they come prepared. This really takes away from the game, and I wish they wouldn’t do this. Not sure how the cruise line could stop it though.

There was one part, though where the tallest and shortest male member of each team had to come out onto the floor. My husband is my height (5’6”), so he got the honor of being the shortest in our section (though he was happy not to be the shortest in Studio B!).

There he is in the middle:

These pictures aren’t too great because of the lighting in Studio B.

And, here, they were completing their “mission” of skipping together across the floor.

Richard replayed the skipping in slow motion and called my husband "Michael Bolton". The funny thing is, later in the cruise, someone called out to my husband "hey, there's Michael Bolton!" That's one of the fun parts of a cruise - you see the same people over and over, and get to know them pretty well. This was one of those "moments" that the Cruise Director actually created for us all to remember.

We all really enjoyed Quest, and our team came in 3rd place. It was lots of fun.

After Quest, I think Kellye and I went to Blaze for awhile. The girls went off on their own, and Chris enjoyed a cocktail out on our stateroom’s balcony.

And soon, our puppy towel animal welcomed us to bed. We called this one “Magic” because she reminded us of our golden retriever back at home.

Tomorrow will be St Martin. We have a tour scheduled, similar to the one we took in St Thomas. Kellye told us that she has been to St Martin before, so she’s going to stay on the ship and forgo the tour. I told the girls we would call them in the morning to wake them up. But history shows, it is VERY hard to wake these teens up.

So, will I get the girls up and will we make the tour on time tomorrow?