ChristyLNDRN

Day 1 continued:

After relaxing in the solarium for awhile, it was getting close to 1:00, so we figured our room would be ready soon. We took one more lap around the pool deck:

And then took a quick peek down onto the boardwalk:

And then it was on to Deck 7 to check out our room:

My father, one of the sweetest guys in the world, had flowers waiting for us in the room:

Day 1 continued:

Continuing to explore the pool deck:

Awesomely huge hot tub looking over the side of the ship:

And then we walked into what quickly became my favorite place on the ship:

The Solarium! We spent far more time here than anywhere else on the ship. So peaceful, and relaxing! Tons of chairs, two hot tubs, and one (cold) pool in the middle. It was love at first sight, and then when you add this to the mix......

Now that's happiness right there:)

Francis, one of the solarium bartenders, was great! Always remembered my name, and DH's as well. I haven't quite adjusted to not having my 10:30 am pina colada yet.

Day 1:

Our first stop once onboard was Guest Services. Not the most exciting place to start, but I wanted to sign DH up for the All-Access Tour. It was the one thing I know he wanted to do, having previously done Carnival's behind the scenes tour and loved it. Had to wait just a few minutes in line, and got that taken care of. There were multiple tours for him to pick from. He ended up picking 9:15 on the last sea day (Friday). Cost was $150. After getting that taken care of, we headed up to Central Park:

I wanted to make reservations for the Central Park dining package I had pre-booked. We ended up walking by Chops first, so we stopped in. Having pre-booked all the shows, and 4 nights of MTD, I knew exactly when I wanted to eat in each place: Monday night for Chops, and Friday night for 150 CP. Was able to schedule both easily right there at Chops. Once that was done, that was all the business we had to take care of. We had already eaten two breakfasts, and were not hungry at all, so we decided to hold off on eating. Time to explore the ship:

Giovanni's Table:

Pool deck I think:

Beach Pool:

Hi All,

This will be my first attempt at a review! I'm a long-time lurker, and am very appreciative of all the reviews and tips I've picked up from Cruise Critic, so I wanted to share in return. Let's jump in!

Background:

This was the 5th cruise for myself (32) and DH (35). Our 2nd cruise with Royal, having previously cruised on Explorer of the Seas. Previously cruised once each on Princess and Carnival, and 2 on Windjammer Barefoot Cruises. We have two adorable kiddos, DD 3 1/2 and DS 5, who got to spend a wonderful week with their awesome grandparents, because Mommy and Daddy were cruising solo! Wooohoooo!

I booked rather late, 46 days out from sailing. I had been watching prices for both Allure and Oasis, knowing that I wanted to try one of the big girls. My original plan was to do the Eastern route on Allure....so of course we ended up on Oasis for the Western route! Long story short, we were pretty flexible for dates, with my in-laws being retired and available most of the spring. In early January I caught a C&A preview sale and snagged a D1 Oceanview Balcony, 7th deck on the hump for $899pp, which I thought was a crazy good deal....it was just too good to pass up. When it came down to it, I was more excited to see the ship and wasn't really particular about the itinerary.

As soon as I booked, I immediately went online and was able to make all show reservations, as well as MTD reservations, with no problem at all. I pre-booked the Central Park dining package, which required us to eat the first night at Giovanni's Table, with a reservation made ahead of time for that night. 150 CP and Chops would have to be scheduled once onboard. The only thing I was unable to do at this time was book a cabana...the Nellie's beach cabanas were all gone already. However, with some help from my cruise critic friends, you will see later on that I was able to take care of that as well:) Within a day or two, there was nothing left to do but sit back and count down the days....so let's jump ahead in time to the day before:

Pre-cruise: Friday March 1st

We left DE around 8 AM friday morning to start our looooong drive to Ft. Lauderdale. Yup, we drove that far. Yes, I know I'm crazy. Booking late, near spring break=very high airfare prices. Or I'm just using that as an excuse because I don't like to fly:) Made it to Melbourne FL and around 10pm decided we were too tired to drive any further. Pulled in to a Hampton Inn and was able to book a room with my credit card reward points while we were sitting in the parking lot. Had trouble sleeping as I was so excited! Finally fell asleep a little after midnight....and then woke up excited again just after 4 AM. Managed to stay quiet for awhile, then gave up at 4:45 and turned on my ipad to check out the webcam. Hubby was less then thrilled at being woken up so early, but here's what I saw 30 minutes later:

If you look closely you'll see I was not the only one up that early!!! I was so excited to see the ship sailing in!

Breakfast was served in the lobby at 6 AM, so after a quick shower and bite to eat, we were on the road again by 6:30. We made it to Ft. Lauderdale around 8:30. Coincidentally, my sister-in-law was spending a few days at the Marriott Harbor Beach, so we swung by and picked her up there for a second breakfast.

After 2nd breakfast, and a quick trip to Publix for some wine to carry on, we dropped his sister off and we were finally on our way to the Oasis. Here's our first view:

We arrived at the port around 10:30. DH dropped me off at the curb with luggage while he parked the car. I had to wait a few minutes for a porter as the curbside was a little chaotic with lots of passengers leaving and lots of cars dropping off. Still, we were in the terminal very quickly, after one last nervous look over my shoulder at our bags. The porters just had everything piled up on the curb, with a few carts behind waiting to be loaded. Just bugged me a little not to see our bags go directly onto a cart. Still, everything did arrive just fine. I tipped the porter $5.

Once inside the terminal, there were only a few people in front of us, and plenty of people to check you in. I think the whole process took about 5 minutes. We were given two WOW cards as we checked in, and then we headed upstairs to the gold seating area. Boarding started just after 11. I would estimate that we were onboard around 11:15, as I took this picture after we had already made a few stops elsewhere:

On the gangway:

Next up: Taking care of business!