Day to Day Trip Report (review) – Family of 10 on Oasis May 4, 2013

[justschuttme]

I went back up to retrieve DS1 and to get dressed for our show and dinner and. We were to meet the rest of the family for Come Fly with Me at 5:00. I got all turned around and ended up having to take my 4 year old through the smoky casino, which he loved b/c of all the lights and what not…mom of the year, right here. We met the rest of the family and found seats with no problem. The show started soon after.

 

The show itself was good, it is just a shame that it is on the same boat at Oasis of Dreams and Hairspray, you can’t help but compare and the others were AMAZING so it makes you feel like this one wasn’t that good. It has a lot of the same performers from the other shows, which goes back again to how much they put in each week. The kids were not as thrilled with this show either, DS2 didn’t make it to the half way point but the others at least stayed still. This is DS2 before he lost interest.

 

 

We had already made 5:45 MDR reservations, which we knew we were going to late to. SO, when DS2 started to get antsy, DH just took him out and went to the MDR to let them know. When the show was over, we all made our way to the MDR and were seated without issues on our usual table. Tonight was our last dinner and it is always a bummer. I didn’t take pictures of all the meals, but I remember I got the salmon off the everyday menu and it was decent. This appetizer was DELICIOUS, I mean like really, really good. I almost stole DH’s when he wasn’t looking.

 

He also got this salad and I got the shrimp cocktail.

 

 

 

 

 

The kids did their usual, where good for the first hour and then needed phones/toys during the second. We were all sad to see the trip come to an end. Our server and assistant server (even our bar service waiter) were great all week. They received our money envelopes.

[justschuttme]

You can see the braclets for the older kids really well in this picture.....as well as the toy store on our table. :eek: :p

 

[justschuttme]

:(

 

After dinner we all went back to the OS, except DH and the PA Schutt’s who went to the rooms to start packing. :( The in-laws, the poor souls, were trying to pack as they had the kids playing all over the place. I have said it before, but it really was nice to have the bigger room to use…we said that one of the families will have to splurge and I said sounds like I plan as long as we don’t have to be the family for a loooooong time. :p We went back to the room after awhile and put DS2 down.

 

I wanted to end the cruise with a bang (with dessert, of course) and we had wow cards and money envelopes to hand out, so DH took DS1 around at night as a special treat and he was OVER THE MOON. It was so cute to see how excited he was. I went out onto the balcony and we waved to each other as they made their way through Central Park to Chops to give Shubert our wow card and he just looked so darn cute. They came back with my cupcake and I ended the night with this (again, the icing was a bit weird so I just ate the cake and the cookies…YUM). :)

 

 

[justschuttme]

It is sad to see the vacation over, but once you get to this travel day...you just want to be out and home!

 

 

This was the ONLY day my children slept in all week, of course. I assume this was due to the pool area not being set up on disembarkation day. Thanks. We all were to meet at the Windjammer for our last (and usual) breakfast. Us and the PA Schutt’s arrived to mass ciaos. We looked but were unable to find a table of any sort, so what do we do…? Head to the Owner’s Suite of course!! I grab a couple bananas and a few boxes of cereal to tide the kids over and bring the kids back up. The others stayed and piled plates up for the group. After two trips, we all have food and I am enjoying my last (2 ½, GASP) marvelous muffins. The kids play and we try to clean up as much as possible, however it is fruitless so FIL writes and apology note for the unexpected mess and throws an extra $20 on the table.

 

The PA Schutt’s did the luggage valet, so they could leave whenever. We were given a time of 9:45 (as we did not fill out the paperwork earlier in the week), which was fine with us. We watched the times on the TV and waited to be called. The kids were getting louder and louder, so the PA Schutt’s called the fight and went ahead and left. They had called up to 9:15 so much earlier, we were shocked we hadn’t been called by now. Since the in-laws were in a suite, they could also leave whenever they wanted. About 3 minutes after the PA Schutt’s were hugged and kissed out the door, we saw that our number had been called (about 9:15). Yippee. We rounded everything up and headed out the door, followed by the in-laws.

 

Let me tell you, the process is very quick and easy and there are people everywhere telling you what to do if you are unsure. I had left my pass in a pair of pants from the night before and they said it was no problem, I just had to show them my passport and they checked me off that way.

We made our way down with no issues or even stopping really. We got a porter as soon as we made in off the elevator (due to the stroller) and he followed us to our bags. They put them all together and grouped by numbers so it is VERY easy and VERY quick to find your bags. We then made it to the line that seemed very long but moved very fast. We saw the PA Schutt’s one last time and we hugged and kissed the kids again over the railing. Customs was no problem and we were outside in no time…however this is Florida and from the time we were in the room (looking at a beautiful FLL day) to the time we were on the sidewalk (about 9:40) IT WAS POURING! So, instead of the porter taking our bags to our car (we had parked on site), he left them on the curb and I waited with the boys for DH to come back. He was back and we were loaded up and headed home by 9:50! If that isn’t wonderful……

 

 

We found a Starbucks (necessity) and started the drive home. We were back in Orlando by 1:15. Not at all bad.

[Familygoboston]

:(

 

After dinner we all went back to the OS, except DH and the PA Schutt’s who went to the rooms to start packing. :( The in-laws, the poor souls, were trying to pack as they had the kids playing all over the place. I have said it before, but it really was nice to have the bigger room to use…we said that one of the families will have to splurge and I said sounds like I plan as long as we don’t have to be the family for a loooooong time. :p We went back to the room after awhile and put DS2 down.

 

this worked out great for you guys, but it is precisely why I never, never, never, book a cabin below or next to a large suite or family cabin. It just has a much higher likelihood to become the hang out for a large and noisy family ( I'm not saying the four tots in your family are any louder than anyone else's, but lets face it 6 adults yakking and 4 kids under 8 running around are noisy no matter how you dice it!;). It's not always kids either- sometimes, especially for longer cruises its sometimes a group of friendly folks cruising together or who met up on their RC partying at all hours.

 

glad you enjoyed your cruise and hope you do not have to buy the the " host" suite for a while! :eek: Sounds like a great family time!

[joand452]

Thank you for your wonderful trip report! Your boys are adorable!!

[justschuttme]

Oasis is a dream, I have missed being on board since I left. The entire family had such a good time and I know the memories of this (and our other family jaunts) will stick with us and the kids forever. This is a perfect ship to spend time with extended family, as there is so much to do for everything as a single family and as a group. I will admit, however, that I thought once or twice (or a hundred times) what it would be like to be on a ship like that for a week without the kids……it is wonderful to have them there and see everything with and through them, but to have alone time with DH on a ship like this, oh my! I told him to take the family for a week and then just the two of us stay on for another….he said, right maybe in like 15 years. Oh well, a girl can dream…..I WILL do a back to back, at some point.

 

The food was great, the entertainment was great, the service was great, the kids programs were great, I could go on and on… I did so much research before hand, but it just doesn’t compare to being on the ship yourself. So, if you are thinking about it……DO IT. I was worried before we left if it would feel too big with just too much to do and too many places to go, but it really didn’t feel like that at all. You really do get a feel of her right away and they have done such a good job that it doesn’t feel like a city on the water. It is amazing to think that there was over 7000 people on the ship with us, including crew. It truly is amazing.

 

I am not sure if I mentioned our room steward during this review, if I have you must sit through it again…if I have not, then shame on me. He was WONDERFUL. His name was Garry Pinto and he did an AMAZING job the entire week. He joked with the kids (who are shy and pretty much pretended he wasn’t talking to them each time, eek), worked around our crazy schedule with DS2 napping each day, answered any and all questions, was friendly and just plain nice ALL THE TIME. It is amazing what they do and he did it so well. I hope he enjoys his job, as he is amazing at it. If his desire to advance is there, RCCL should know that he is a gem and would be hard working and personable with any position he would want. Thank you Garry, you made our vacation that much better, we didn’t have to worry about anything in our room and THAT is something coming from a mom of two young kids!

 

So, there you have it….thanks for trudging along with me reliving our week on Oasis, wish I was still there and wish I could go back. We shall see. Whistler, BC for snowboarding and skiing this winter (this is technically next year’s trip, we are just taking it before Christmas) for the Schutt’s. Can’t wait to have another cruise on the calendar to prep for. Enjoy to those on future sailings. See ya……… :)

 

Oh, if you have any questions.....ask away. ;)

[justschuttme]

Thank you for your wonderful trip report! Your boys are adorable!!

 

 

Why thank you, we think they are pretty great! :)

[justschuttme]

this worked out great for you guys, but it is precisely why I never, never, never, book a cabin below or next to a large suite or family cabin. It just has a much higher likelihood to become the hang out for a large and noisy family ( I'm not saying the four tots in your family are any louder than anyone else's, but lets face it 6 adults yakking and 4 kids under 8 running around are noisy no matter how you dice it!;). It's not always kids either- sometimes, especially for longer cruises its sometimes a group of friendly folks cruising together or who met up on their RC partying at all hours.

 

glad you enjoyed your cruise and hope you do not have to buy the the " host" suite for a while! :eek: Sounds like a great family time!

 

I would like to say we kept the noise level down at all times, but..... However, all the kids were in bed between 8-9 each night, so we at least weren't LOUD into the night :p I will say that if SIL and I had a penny for every time we said "inside voice", we could afford to take another week on the Oasis! :)

[jpolm]

thank you so much for your fantastic and entertaining review. It kept me occupied while daydreaming before we took our family trip June 1-June 8th and it kept me from being too sad after we came back. This has been a tough week. All that planning, anticipating and now it's over :(.. like I said earlier i'd love to go back next spring for our annual spring break vacation unless we decide to do our land beach vacation

 

Again thank you i enjoyed your writing style and you did al ot more than i did !! Our kids loved the kids club soo much they did a lot w/ them.. It's one of those type of vacations at least for us that we got to have some down time as well :)...

[tarajean1962]

Thank you so much for writing this review!!:D You guys are an adorable family and I'll bet you find adventure wherever you go!!

 

Tara

[Familygoboston]

I would like to say we kept the noise level down at all times, but..... However, all the kids were in bed between 8-9 each night, so we at least weren't LOUD into the night :p I will say that if SIL and I had a penny for every time we said "inside voice", we could afford to take another week on the Oasis! :)

 

LOL, I totally get that! I work with preschoolers, I'd be a rich lady if they paid me for every, "use your inside voice "and " walking feet"... Honestly, I think that the kids ( with their early to bed ways) would be less disruptive than a hard drinking crowd of retirees:rolleyes: Either way, I just avoid proximity to those cabins- we all know you can't change your mind in the regular cabins much less host a soirée!;)

Thanks for your review! It's such a fun ship with as many "ways to play" as their are different family configurations! So glad your family enjoyed!:D

[NOLA3cruisers]

Really enjoyed your review! But now I am worried. I did not give my wow cards directly to the crew members. I handed them in to guest services...they said they would put them where they belonged...oops. Did I screw up?? :eek: our stateroom attendant was wonderful. His name was Oneal Orr. Always smiling and singing! Loved him!

[swim13]

Hahaha! I am loving your review, it is pretty funny! :p:D

[justschuttme]

Really enjoyed your review! But now I am worried. I did not give my wow cards directly to the crew members. I handed them in to guest services...they said they would put them where they belonged...oops. Did I screw up?? :eek: our stateroom attendant was wonderful. His name was Oneal Orr. Always smiling and singing! Loved him!

 

 

We just got off our mini (no kids) weekend cruise on the Enchantment and we didn't hand our WOW cards to the folks (no time!!!), so we handed them in at Guest Services. It seemed like a few others were doing this the last night too. No worries, I am sure they got them eventually. :)

[tbag124]

We just got off our mini (no kids) weekend cruise on the Enchantment and we didn't hand our WOW cards to the folks (no time!!!), so we handed them in at Guest Services. It seemed like a few others were doing this the last night too. No worries, I am sure they got them eventually. :)

 

Will you be doing a review of that? I'm interested in your take on that as well! :)

[justschuttme]

Will you be doing a review of that? I'm interested in your take on that as well! :)

 

I will, just catching up at home and work and then will dive into that. Spoiler, it was AWESOME!!!!! :p

[jpolm]

I will, just catching up at home and work and then will dive into that. Spoiler, it was AWESOME!!!!! :p

 

Can't wait to read either!