JimInBuffalo

The process as described is very similar to when Royal had the drawing for the test cruises. You submitted your email address and within one day, they selected all of the “winners”. My wife and I won a 7-day trip on the Oasis out of Bayonne. 

We were skeptical when we submitted the entry but the results were pretty nice.

The difference on that drawing was that as soon as Royal started the process, you could put your email address in but you had to do it by midnight that day. 
With this one, you can’t start putting in your address until the contest starts. 

I will be online at 12:01 AM Friday to try but I expect the website to crash very promptly.

As someone said in the thread previously, RCL is getting a ton of (free) publicity with this promotion and it seems like the less they say about it now, the faster the word gets out virally.

-Jim

We are on the Oasis Sunday Oct. 10th. How many formal nights did you have on your cruise?

10 minutes ago, cruisin56 said:

Thanks... so we are on the port...and I can still switch to starboard...just a toss up if I want to see the Statue of Liberty from my balcony or go with starboard for the view of Cococay...we are also stopping in Cape Canaveral  and Nassau so not sure what to expect there....but thanks for the pic!

 

I’m not sure if there is any specific way for the captain to pull aside the dock on any given day. For example, there could be more than one ship at the island and both side would be needed. Also, the wind condition and direction will affect the position of the ship when docking. In our case, the wind was coming from the starboard side and the captain used those winds to hold him against the dock rather than be on the leeward side and Hanle the wind pushing the ship away from the dock. I may be over-simplifying it but I m sure that the position of the ship is flexible 

34 minutes ago, bayonnejoe said:

I agree with pretty much what everyone said about this sailing. The ship is amazing. The staff, crew, and officers were all fantastic.  They couldn't do enough for us. They are obviously thrilled to be back working. 

       And just to put my two cents in about people who are now being dubbed 'pool hogs', yes I saw the. four being flamed on all the different threads about this cruise They were in the pool standing at one end when we got there, while we in the pool (we stayed in for a reasonable half an hour), and until we left. At least three to four hours total. They never moved from their spots. I am not sure that the pool capacity will be as strictly enforced on  the regular sailings,  as the CDC was onboard observing everything. So if the pool capacity said seven, seven was it. This inconsiderate behavior should be addressed by Royal if capacity stays at these numbers on the regular sailings with 3000 people onboard. 

      I think it would be entirely reasonable for Royal to post signs stating something like 'Due to reduced pool capacity we ask that everyone limit their usage to half an hour at a time so that everyone can enjoy. You may reenter at a later time.'

I agree. 30 minutes should be the limit. When we we’re in the pool and someone walked up to the edge of the pool we offered to get out if they wanted to get in. Others did the same. Credit is given to those who were considerate enough to offer. 

2 hours ago, cruisin56 said:

Thanks again...and sorry I should have asked before...what side is Perfect Day on

 

When we we at Cococay , the dock was on the port side, with the best views from the starboard side. See the picture below taken from the bridge on the island. 

9 minutes ago, slotmomma3 said:

Did you hear of any cases on board this sailing??  

No, nothing. We we’re told that there might be testing as we left the ship but that never materialized 

As a wrap up from our cruise:

we we’re totally satisfied with the ship and the service. I’ve already filled out the survey with all 10’s. 
We felt that the protocols were proper and that the staff was well informed and enforced the rules evenly and politely. ( I am wondering if “paying” customers will be as willing as most of my shipmates on a free cruise were to listen and obey).

Additionally, we had a small population of guests onboard. How will the protocols fly with a larger amount?

The staff was superior. Knowing what they went through during the shut down should give us all pause and cut the required slack in future situations where we might feel slighted. 
The ship is beautiful and recently upgraded or “amplified “ on the lingo of RCL.

Our cruise had a few gaps in the activity list for the day but I am sure that will be corrected on future trips as the schedule shakes out to normal. 

 De-embarkation was the smoothest I’ve ever seen. We entered the gangway at 9:00 and we in our car headed out of the port at 9:15 am. We carried only two small bags and had the others waiting for us downstairs. Grabbed the bags and went to customs. No officers at the booths, just look into “facial recognition “ camera and go. We parked (for free) in the garage about 100 feet from where you exit the terminal. I was on the second floor but the elevators were not working. Left all the bags on the first floor, got the car , drive down, grabbed the bags and took off. Lots of personnel on hand to direct traffic. 
( Another note about baggage, there was so little of it on the floor that it was almost comical compared to previous cruises. Another testament to how small our group was)

I don’t expect that we will ever encounter the same conditions as this cruise. We are back on October 10th and I hope that the mask rules have changed and there are fewer protocols to deal with. This is just being  greedy on my part, as they weren’t that bad and we were fully prepared for what we saw and more. 
We we’re treated to some nice perks on our trip and I expect those to change as well. 
Thanks to the RCL crew, staff, officers, fellow passengers and entertainment for making our cruise memorable for many reasons. 
I am sure we will never have another experience like this and will be the source of many memories for years to come. 
Sunny and 88 degrees in Buffalo today as I sit on my deck wishing I was back onboard!

5 hours ago, cruisin56 said:

Thank you for this heads up info…All looks good.  We will be on her Sept 12th.  Can you tell me which side of the ship was facing the Statue of Liberty when passing by…we are on the port side…hoping to see her from our balcony!

Yes the statue was on the port side. Have fun!

23 hours ago, ticketsunlimited said:

Jim, how did this band turn out.  Any good?

Sorry but due to the reschedule of the show on Thursday night we ending up going to the Aqua80 on Friday at 10 pm. The band started at 10:15 so we didn’t make it in time. Hopefully they will be there on October 10th cruise

Random thoughts for the next cruisers on Oasis:

- Be prepared to wear you mask everywhere while inside the ship. The staff will tell you when it’s ok to remove and they will let you know is you should be wearing it if you’re not. 
- The Windjammer has nothing that is self serve. Staff hand you everything including the plates, bowls and utensils. No salt and pepper shakers. 
- If the amount of passengers remains low compared to the capacity of the ship, expect the staff to be at your beck and call. They are happy to be working and want to help!

-Use the app as soon as possible (before boarding if available) to see dining times and to reserve shows. Avoid being shutout of anything you really want to see. 
- Remain as flexible as possible with your expectations for the shows because as we found out, there have been changes to the schedule and postponements/cancellations of some shows. Have a back-up plan. 
- There will be limited seating at the pool and limited capacity in the water itself. Example: in the Beach Pool on deck 15, only 9 people are allowed in the water at one time. The will allow others to sit on the side of the pool however. Please be considerate of others and get out if you have been in the water for a while and relinquish your spot to someone else. We saw people who literally spent 6 hours in the pool without getting out. 
- At the pool, the deck chairs have been set up in a social distance protocol arrangement. You are not allowed to move the chairs/lounges from where they sit! You can have the attendant move an umbrella to give you shade if one is available. 
- If you are on an outside deck, say at the pool and you want to use a restroom, you need to have your mask on when you enter the restroom. 
- More to follow……

Day 6

First hiccup of the cruise tonight. The main show with”MO5AIC” (sic) a cappella group originally scheduled for 7 pm got moved to 10:15. 
That left a big gap in the entertainment for the evening. 
We had gone to dinner early so that we could make our reservation at 7 pm and at 6:40 the CD made the announcement that the show had been moved out. 

Tonight was lobster night. 

1 hour ago, Dajbman22 said:

If anybody onboard could report on the current beer list at Playmakers for Oasis, that would be awesome! Thanks, and enjoy your cruise!

Here’s the list:

1 hour ago, Oceansaway17 said:

 

Yes just about every test cruise had to rest a week for final results and then the could start the already booked first cruise.  I have heard no ship has failed a test.  They all have the same startup rules for testing.

We just heard from a fellow passenger that RCL will be providing Covid tests for those on this cruise when we arrive in Bayonne. The man is scheduled to board another Royal ship in Texas on Sunday after disembarking in Bayonne and was worried about how he would get a test in before departure. RCL then informed him about the testing. If I get more info I will post. Anyone else hear about this?

1 minute ago, PistolPete13 said:

 

Do you know when the ship is scheduled to get back to Bayonne?  Saturday or Sunday morning?

 

Thanks.

On Saturday at 6 am according to the captain about 1 hour ago

Today’s rain

we had a good storm this morning. Heavy rain. They had just cleared the pools out before it hit. Clearing up now and 84 degrees. We are just west Datona beach heading north to Bayonne 

Quick tip that I learned the hard way. When in a cabin that has a “Master Switch” for the lights. Don’t turn this switch off at night when sleeping. It also adjusts the air conditioner so that it is set at a warmer temperature. 
We were  very warm in the cabin at night and it turned out that by hitting the master switch I was creating the problem. 

Day 5

9 hours ago, Trailcon said:

DW and I are booked on 24 Oct.  We are very excited as I feel this will sail.  Thanks for the nice pictures.  This will be our first time on Oasis after two cancellations.

We are back on October 10th with a large group from Buffalo and Boston. Sorry to hear about your cancellations. It’s a great ship and the staff have been wonderful from the minute we walked on. They can’t do enough for you. We’ve been able to keep the same table and wait staff in the MDR every night. Hoping to get them on the next cruise. 

In the Music Hall now for the Orchestra doing Big Band Music

2 hours ago, Jimbo said:

Internet must be bad, not one picture from anyone from the island today or the weather was crappy.?

Weather was ok for a couple hours. Got some swimming in and beach time. Then we moved to the water park and was impressed. They have some attractions that I’ve never seen before, especially the Slingshot Raft ride. 

No. We didn’t. Congratulations 

1 hour ago, ticketsunlimited said:

They look like they would be fun to see

Will see them tomorrow night. I’ll let you know