0ASIS of the Seas Dec. 7-14 blog and review

[EmpressofPurple]

Then it was back to the room, final packing, and putting the bag out into the hallway. Sigh. Another great cruise comes to an end… but the story isn’t over yet!

 

That night, envying my travel companion who had been sleeping on her balcony due to her sensitivity to the chemicals in this (relatively) new ship, I moved my bedding out to the balcony – and slept there all night! I didn’t have a lounge (my friend’s cabin attendant had brought her one when it developed she would have to sleep on the balcony), but between my egg-crate mattress pad, pillows and fluffy bed coverings, I was fine sleeping right on the balcony floor. What a magical experience, being lulled to sleep by the waves and the wind. My friend had described it as noisy, and said she needed earplugs to get to sleep… but I drifted off easily, only waking up to the smells of port as we were pulling into Fort Lauderdale in the early morning.

 

View from the balcony when I woke up as we came into port in FL

 

I remember having an aft balcony on the Mariner once, and almost never using it except to wait outside while others were changing clothes (I was sharing the cabin with my two then-teenage children) or to apply sunscreen – it was a HUGE balcony, with two loungers, a table and chairs, and plenty of room beyond that – and while I think I might have loved to sleep out there, as I recall there was a slight odor from the smokestack in the aft which could have affected my enjoyment of the experience.

[EmpressofPurple]

RETURNING HOME – SATURDAY, December 14, 2013 – Fort Lauderdale to NYC

Well, disembarking is never fun… but this was a bit of a nightmare. We went to final breakfast in the dining room, and it took OVER AN HOUR to be served. What?!?!? What’s going on? How is that possible? Just terrible service, unpleasant waiters, cold food, missed orders. What, we’re getting off, we can’t tip you anymore, you don’t care? What a TERRIBLE impression to leave on departing passengers! Shame, RCI!! Train your waitstaff better than that.

 

Empty hallways, bags waiting for stateroom laundry

 

Back to the room, clear out so cabin steward can get ready for the next influx… off to the Diamond waiting area in the Opal Theatre… waiting, waiting, waiting… finally called off at 10:30… then, waiting for over an hour for our pre-booked group taxi ride to the airport!!! Argh!! Told there were problems getting into the port area. This was poor organization.

 

Waiting for our taxi to the airport... forever!

 

To the airport. Checked in at the United kiosk; asked if I would be willing to be bumped for $200. I felt that was a low offer, so I completed check-in, then went to wait on line to talk to an agent and see if I could get a better bump fee, and when I would be bumped to.

 

FLL airport lines

 

Turns out that our flight was CANCELED due to weather issues in the northeast… and that they had NO other flights to put me on, nor would they offer any meal vouchers, hotel accommodations or local transportation, since this was a weather-related delay/cancellation! I invoked Rule 24 and asked for carriage on another carrier; they said they had no agreements with Southwest (which was flying to New York) but they could put me on USAirways to Philadelphia. And how would I get home from there? They had no idea.

 

I accepted the transfer, took my bags and walked outside to catch an interterminal bus to the USAirways terminal. They had flights going to New York, but they were overbooked (that’s why they said United only booked me through to Philadelphia). Despite all of my efforts to get booked through to NYC, no one could do anything. At least they did gate-check my carryon, so I could fly a bit unencumbered.

 

When I got to Philadelphia I called Carol, but she was home already and didn’t want to go driving on this snowy day, suggesting I take a SEPTA train from the airport to Philadelphia Penn station, and take an Amtrak to NYC.

 

Philadelphia Penn Station

 

I did this, and my daughter and her boyfriend (who had planned to pick me up at the airport in Newark, where my original flight was bound) took the subway down to Penn Station NYC to meet me and help me get my bags back home. I got home by midnight, having taken shuttle, bus, plane, local train, commuter train, and subway! What a dramatic (and tiring) ending to a long and delightful cruise!!

 

(It was a challenge catching up at work, and preparing for the busy holiday season, right after returning from this cruise. I understand why prices are so low in the pre-holiday season; I’m not sure I’d want to take a trip again on this particular week, especially with the possibility of weather interruptions to travel. I can’t believe it actually took me over two months to finally write up this trip report and another month to post it along with the photos. I'm sorry to have lost all of the interesting details, both positive and negative, that this delay has caused me to forget, without detailed notes to refer to for this period, just my fading memories, that of course focus on the more highlighted moments.)

 

Thank you for reading along, and thank you to all of you who write similar detailed reviews of your cruise travels. I love to “travel” with you, and learn so much from your tour planning, menu selections, entertainment reports, etc. I know we all have different interests, and trip reports allow me to experience ways of cruising that diverge from my own natural choices. I hope that my attention to the little things helps to broaden your view of cruising, and lets you see another way to do things, too.

 

Next up: Explorer of the Seas, March 21-28!!!!:D

[Wildcatfish]

Wow, quite a trip home! Fortunately, you persevered and made it home the same day.

 

Really enjoyed your review! Looking forward to hearing about Explorer.

[EmpressofPurple]

Thanks Catfish, yeah, getting home was definitely an adventure...

 

Explorer was terrific, I'm really looking forward to writing up that trip next.

 

I'm glad some people enjoy these long, detailed reviews -- they are my FAVORITE to read. It's hard including photos; it takes a lot of time, and in a way I'm not sure they add to the review. I no longer have to work so hard to create "word pictures" of the events, so the writing is a bit less vibrant in my text-only reviews...

 

Also, while I know many people don't do the same things I do on vacation, it's fun to hear about other people's interests and activities and see the cruise through their eyes. I hope others feel the same way, so even if they don't frequent the early morning gym classes, or try every appetizer (or entree!), or play every Trivia game, or attend every mainstage show, they enjoy reading about someone who does. I assure you, I love reading about people who do all the things on cruises I never get to do!!

[Mrsfabo]

Can't wait to read the explorer review done of the things were totally things I would never ever do on a cruise so I'm glad you wrote this I definitely can't wait for explorer this is my first RCCL cruise so I will love to see what can be done in that beautiful boat.

 

 

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[mamaehen]

Enjoyed your review! Thanks for taking the time to post it.

[TheBuick]

A most excellent review. Thank you very much for your time and sharing your great vacation with me. You answered a lot of questions I had about our upcoming cruise and you gave me a few new ideas of things to add to our itinerary ... and ... BTW, when you have conflicts/issues getting home from a trip (and boy did you have a heck of a time), you know it was an awesome trip.

 

Loved your writing style and I hope I can do half as well when we return from the Oasis in August! :D

[EmpressofPurple]

MsFabo you will adore Explorer and RCI! Great ship, great crew, great time. Welcome.

 

I know, some people cruise to stay on the pool deck all day... others to go bar-hopping or club-hopping... some to have special spa treatments and shop in foreign ports and eat in specialty restaurants... others to listen to various live music (piano bar, guitar in the pub, caribbean music on deck, dance band or dj in the club, orchestra in the theatre, etc.)... I see people playing dominos or mah-jongg on the pool deck, cards in the library... enjoying bingo, art sales, sports on the big-screen tvs... playing basketball, ping-pong, rock climbing... I have never done any of those things on a cruise!!!

 

Also, I usually do very active excursions (pedal & paddle, snorkel sail, kayak and swim, jetski, horseback riding, etc.) -- this was an unusual cruise where all of my land tours were food-related. I love hearing about different shore excursions, too, like historical tours, sightseeing bus trips, 4-wheelers, ziplining, etc.

 

Thanks Mamahen and Buick for your kind words. I have some nice notes on planning a cruise on the Oasis if your upcoming trip is on that mega-ship. Even with all my cruising experience, it was quite different cruising on a ship of this size. True, the smaller ships also offer "too much" for any one person to do on any one cruise... but these bigger ships make it clear that it would take several cruises to even begin to make a dent in their offerings, and that only if you planned carefully and rushed from event to event so that you would need a vacation when you came home to recover from your vacation!!!

 

Explorer review coming soon, I promise...

[EmpressofPurple]

Hi Oasis review friends, fans and subscribers! The promised EXPLORER review is finally underway -- come join in:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2028938

[jean9999]

Mkv

 

 

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[EmpressofPurple]

???

 

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[EmpressofPurple]

Wow, re-reading my own review and I realized I omitted photos from the real sit-down restaurant in the Falmouth Food Tour!! This should come between posts #79 and 80:

 

Then another walk around the town, to a local restaurant where we had lovely plates with jerked chicken, festival bread, carrots and peppers.

 

Neighborhood looks a little rough, but the restaurant was a gem

 

Here's the unassuming entry sign on the street

 

Walking up the alley to Peppers Jerk Centre

 

The gang's all here... and waiting for jerk!

 

Receiving our food, as our guide looks on

 

Jerk chicken and festival bread on a plate decorated with pepper slices and, oddly, carrots (i guess for color?)

 

It was GOOOD! I wish they'd sold jerk spices or seasonings there, for sure I would've bought them...

[yarlenna]

Yes, you can get decent jerk spices on the internet. google it