Oasis of the Seas - Photo Review

[BLAMBKY]

Yes, the review being referred to is the Carnival review. My daughter had no pants on that one, my husband had no pants on this one and apparently I will have no pants on the next one! :D:eek:

I did notice a pattern and OMG, I starting cracking up reading about "your turn" Pay backs are rough. I hope there is a gift shop or a Walgreen's nearby.....;)

[jennat]

I did notice a pattern and OMG, I starting cracking up reading about "your turn" Pay backs are rough. I hope there is a gift shop or a Walgreen's nearby.....;)

 

For the record.....my daughter packs herself so that one was not my fault. My husbands was my fault but he can't complain or he gets a job packing his own stuff.

Mwhahaha!

[BLAMBKY]

Must I wait until morning for more???!!! :( What are you doing don't you realize how addicting these things can be? I NEED my fix! :D

[BLAMBKY]

So you must be on here now. Tell ya what, I'll be a very patient lady for...o say 20 minutes?:rolleyes: Really, excellent job!

[jennat]

This is just for you.....

 

Jamaica, Jamaica, Jamaica.....I'm sorry but I love Jamaica. Yes, I am aware that there is a right way and a wrong way to experience Jamaica but I feel like, just chose the right way and it won't be a problem.

 

We awoke, grabbed some coffee, hollered at each other because there is no room to move in that stinkin' room, got towels from the pool deck (yes it would make more sense by where you exit the ship but no one asked me) and headed to deck three to exit.

 

 

Falmouth is very, very flat. Not the prettiest port to cruise into but it seemed clean and attractive. I had read such awful things, I didn't know what to expect......well, in my opinion, it was a lovely port. Very, very nice.

 

 

 

 

 

We have been to Jamaica three times prior to this and have always had good experiences. We have tubed twice, and climbed the falls twice and gone to Margaritaville in Ocho Rios twice and gone to the dolphin place once.

 

We decided to book with Carolyn Barret (she has a great reputation) and do the tubing and Carolyn's Secret Falls combination. Because there were over 7(?) of us, we got the group rate of $70 pp

 

We had brought about 75 lbs of school supplies and shoes and the lucky one carrying it off the ship got a full body search and 2nd degree.

Super fun!

[rubrrick]

Looking forward to more of your wonderful review!

 

Even tho I'm a member of the NOOTS (Not Oasis of the Seas) which simply stands for the fact that the ship is more like a floating city, too large for my taste (we were aboard for the Allure pre inauguaral) I thoroughly enjoy reading your review.......and remembering the spaces, that are the same on tha Allure as they are on the Oasis.

 

If you had a problem with the size of your stateroom...they remind me of the days of the Sovereign class, and yet the Monarch and Majesty continues to fill their ships.

 

There is so much to see and do on an Oasis class ship, that for many, this is "THE" ship to have one's first cruise, or 100th.:D

 

Thanks again........your review, so far............is "priceless"!!:D;)

 

Rick

[jennat]

 

 

We had about an hour drive to reach Ocho Rios

Our driver stopped along the way to pick a fruit out of the trees for us to try. It's like grapes, he told us.

 

 

 

We stopped at an overlook that had a lot of vendors at it. I have to say I hate when they do that (stop and make it so you have to look) but he did redeem himself when a vendor was politely but aggressively (and he really was polite) persuing me, by cutting the vendor off and shutting him down. I did appreciate that.

 

[cruisinskier]

Jen, thanks for taking the time to post your review. I know these are very time consuming!! And I really appreciate all the photos...there can never be enough photos of Oasis, I find I still learn new things when I look at them. And our count down is under 300 days :D

[Cupcrazy]

Jen, this is a great review. I read your Victory review and loved that too. Can't wait for more

[jennat]

The drive through the Jamaica was great. Over hillsides with a spotting of really nice houses. If you had never been to Jamaica or heard anything, you would be contacting a real estate agent to buy some property.

 

 

Soon we were climbing the narrow, neighborhood streets in Ocho Rios, making our way to Calypso Rafting. Like I said earlier, we have rafted in Jamaica before and just love the beauty to be found in this relaxing activity.

Jamaica is one of those places, even if you never meet any hagglers, where you never bring enough money. Our tour guide handed us off to the rafting guides (who are all life guard certified) and promised to watch our stuff (in the locked van) and wait for us at the bottom.

Soon we were off.

 

 

 

 

 

Good to know. See kids, don't do drugs, even in Jamaica, mon.

If you are not careful you will get in trouble by the Law Management.

That must be the peeps who manage the law.

[jennat]

 

 

 

 

 

 

[jennat]

As usual, the guides did a wonderful job. If you started heading toward the banks, they got you back on track. If you were going to fast or too slow they regulated your speed. There was always someone in the back making sure there were no stragglers. They were great.

 

 

 

 

 

 

When we were there in 2007 with Mike's family we went rafting in the same section of river. My FIL went with us even though he couldn't swim. I can't remember why he chose to go but looking back after doing it this year, it must have been because the river is very shallow. However, of course, in the only section of river that is deep, he falls in. At the time, he probable weighed 230 pounds. We all see him go in but we can't get back due to the current. The guide who was in the back went in for him. This guide could not have weighed more than 120 pounds. We see my FIL come up with this terrifying but resigned look on his face and go back under. The guide comes up for a breath and dives again. Sure enough he saves him. It was tense. My father in law lost his glasses in the 'whole nearly drowning thing' (hey, sometimes it is the little things) and the guide went under and found them also.

 

I think that the guide we had was the same guide. He looked like the same man. What is scary is, he seemed to remember it but wasn't sure. I thought, "how many people do you save that you don't remember saving someone's life?"

Anyway, obviously we were extremely grateful but it just makes you realize, here you are in the middle of a third world country, in a rainforest and if something happens I'm not sure you can count on flight for life coming to your rescue!

 

About halfway through they had us pull over at what used to be a shopping area. I always thought that was kind of silly because who carries money while tubing. Now they are selling pictures. They take pics of you right at the end of the river and another of you after you get out.

 

 

There is an area up ahead where you have the opportunity (?) to jump off a cliff. The photo place used to be after that and that made more sense to me. Anyway the pics are $6 a piece and they meet you at your car with them. Great deal (but yet another reason you need extra $$ in Jamaica).

[jennat]

While we were getting out the tube at the first stop, we noticed a Royal Caribbean camera crew and the group was some of the ice skaters and divers. The man with the camera was filming us getting out of the tubes (such a graceful and beautiful site) and said they were filming an "explorations" video for RCCL. Well I have to say, I am really hopin' they don't use it. It was not a shining moment for me, my thighs, or much else. Stick to the divers tight little bodies, por favor!

But if in the future you see me in the explorations commercial. DON"T JUDGE!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sorry these are so small, they are really small files.

 

I remember standing here 4 years ago with Mike's family and my parents and watching family member after family member jump off the cliff. Finally, my BIL gets ready to go, and gets ready to go, and gets ready to go. My dad looks at him and says "Hey Charlie, you know that hesitation you feel? That's your brain, telling your body you are about to do something stupid." Well said dad! More inheritance for me!!!

[jennat]

 

And we're off again....

 

 

 

 

We exit the river, and the guy with the pictures is there to meet us. We pay him the money and tip the guides and I hear "Mom, come here, I really want to buy this" Yeah!

There is a little shop there and sure enough, it has the one thing my daughter can't live without (and bright green tank and short set that says Jamaica in bright yellow). Jealous? Anyway, I tell her I will buy it if she pays half (making sure she is willing to spend more than just my money). She says yes and we start negotiating a price. Well, it was only $20 to start, I got it down to $16 and then gave the woman $20 anyway. My daughter could not understand that at all. I tried to explain to her that that $4 is much more important to the lady than it was to us. She didn't like that, miss spoiled thang.

Anyway, the extra money we spent so far was well earned and we had yet to encounter any negative experiences in Jamaica.

Next we were off to the "secret falls" It wasn't a terribly long drive but the road conditions had a little to be desired. Our guide, Shawn, told us that anywhere the tourists don't go, the roads are really bad.

That brings up something funny. When we got in the van, the guide introduced himself as Shawn. our two guides rafting were Mike and Sean and the guy who sold us the photos was Mikey. In case you missed it, our husbands names are Mike and Sean. At first I was thinking this was by design but my friend pointed out that we never told anyone their names prior to arriving. Just thought that was a big coincidence.

 

Let me start by saying that my pictures absolutely do not do this justice. It was stunning and my camera chose to suck on this day.

 

 

 

We (read:they) started by jumping off the rocks into the water.

 

[jennat]

 

 

 

 

I sat in the shallow above the pool and enjoyed myself immensely. And if you're wondering, yes, Karin and I have on the same swimsuit and no it wasn't planned. But I totally think we pulled it off, don't you (wink)

 

 

[jennat]

We started the climb up to the next section of cascading pools. The path was through the woods. On the way we met a man with a machete. Yeah, not scary at all.

I didn't take a picture because, well, I was scared for my life. Way out in the woods, no one to hear me scream (wink)

 

 

 

The path was slippery in parts and more difficult to negotiate in others. My mom and dad were kicking around coming with us and honestly I think it is good they didn't. Plus if you want to get into the water and don't want to jump off the cliff, sometimes you have to climb down a steep, rocky hillside.

 

Anyway, soon we come upon this.

 

 

Absolutely stunning

 

 

This is where you have to climb down. Everyone starts jumping off the side, but me of course. Hey, I made it just fine.

 

[jennat]

Looking forward to more of your wonderful review!

 

Even tho I'm a member of the NOOTS (Not Oasis of the Seas) which simply stands for the fact that the ship is more like a floating city, too large for my taste (we were aboard for the Allure pre inauguaral) I thoroughly enjoy reading your review.......and remembering the spaces, that are the same on tha Allure as they are on the Oasis.

 

If you had a problem with the size of your stateroom...they remind me of the days of the Sovereign class, and yet the Monarch and Majesty continues to fill their ships.

 

There is so much to see and do on an Oasis class ship, that for many, this is "THE" ship to have one's first cruise, or 100th.:D

 

Thanks again........your review, so far............is "priceless"!!:D;)

 

Rick

 

I have to say, I kind of agree with you. I will explain later.

As far as the size of the rooms, the smallest room I have ever been in was an inside quad on the Carnival Freedom. EEEKKKK! I think this had more to do with the fact that the couch makes out to a queen size and that my kids keep getting bigger and bigger.....oh and they are always in my WAY!!!

 

This cruise was the 99th voyage of the Oasis. I was so glad to have gotten to see her and experience her.

 

Thanks for the "priceless" comment. I think that is because no one would pay for it though :D

[jennat]

So we have to go back to the tiny pictures for a second. There is a cave under the waterfall you can swim under. Then there is a secret passageway out. Kind of like watching the rock give birth.....

 

 

 

 

 

 

I didn't try the secret passageway because I think that the rock might have needed a cesarean. Not pretty I think.

I did however go under into the cave.

 

[jennat]

In the cave

 

 

 

A couple of the kids went with the guide (by the way, this is a new guide $$ NOT named Sean or Mike) to walk out onto the waterfall and jump. I know, where the heck are these kids mothers!!

 

At one point, my daughter walked out with him and he asked her "are you ready to jump with me?" He meant someday, she thought now and went. He wasn't expecting it so it looked a little scary but he was able to get her and him to clear the rock. Yeah but it was a little nerve racking.

 

 

 

 

 

It was time to head on up river.....

[jennat]

 

 

 

 

 

 

[jennat]

The wonderful swimming holes and areas for suitable to 'break you spine" kept coming and coming. I did actually jump off one of the rocks. mostly because I didn't want to climb back down and my laziness won over my fear. All to quickly it was time to go. I would have liked to spend a lot more time here. If I ever go to Jamaica, and after this trip I would love to, I will spend the whole day here.

We climbed back down and headed into a village to drop off our supplies. Our "falls" guide decided to go with us. He was trying to decide which school to go to based on what we had brought (elementary, secondary). I told him to take a look at the supplies. When he saw the bag of shoes, it was like Christmas. I asked him if he knew anyone who could use them and he responded with an "absolutely". Our driver later explained that the shoes Jamaican's get (along with other things) are often very low quality and don't last. Such an easy thing to bring along and to think what a big difference something you are going to throw out makes is amazing.

We ended up going to a kindergarten and Kevin (waterfall guide) took out the protractor and spirals, etc to deliver to a different school.

 

 

 

 

 

They were very happy to get the supplies and the kids were so stinkin' cute! They sang to us and the teacher had each of us introduce ourselves and for our kids to tell what grade they were in. She then explained it all to the kindies.

 

 

 

 

How cute is this little girl.

[jennat]

we decided we could survive without lunch but wanted to stop for some water. Then we were on our way.

 

 

 

 

At no time did I feel unsafe in Jamaica. Even the poorer areas we went through just reminded me of little villages not the projects. I am fully aware that there is the "other Jamaica" out there and that it can be dangerous and, let's face it, annoying. But most of the people there are wonderful and the country is beautiful and exciting. I would love to go back and spend a week there. i would just make sure to stay on an all inclusive and just call someone like Carolyn Barrett to take me out to different places on different days. Our experiences with tour guides like her and Marva Shaw have been wonderful. I would encourage all the "Jamaican haters" out there to give this country another try.

 

Yea mon!

 

 

 

 

when we got back on the ship, Mike and I headed straight to the Park Cafe for a sandwich....just in time too, it was about to close. The other couple didn't make it in time and had to settle for cardboard pizza.

[BLAMBKY]

Oh My Goodness, you had me wanting to take this excursion...right up to the point where your daughter jumped! I would have pee'd my pants, closed my eyes and prayed for a miracle within a fraction of a second! SCARY!!!!

[BLAMBKY]

Hee hee, the one little boy right up front with his mouth WIDE open...I have a couple of those boys in MY class this year. I bet that teacher goes home and shares story after story about him. ;0)

[roe2ship]

Great pictures!

 

What time does the Park Cafe close everyday?

 

I sent you an e-mail about those wonderful shirts.