Come Cruise with Me-Oasis Review-11/2/13-Tons of Pics-Family Cruise #3 (Long)

[bionicman97]

Hello everyone! We got back a little over a month ago from 7 days on the Oasis of the Seas, Eastern Caribbean. It took a while to get all the photos edited and uploaded and then figuring out a time to get started, but I am as ready to start a review as I'll ever be.

 

I call what I do a review, but it's probably a little different then most reviews. What I will be doing is sharing a week in the life of my family. It will be long and detailed. I took over 2,000 pictures on the ship and some video, so I'll have plenty to share. I will be leading you through the cruise, step by step, day by day, just like you were there with me.

 

This review definitely isn't for everyone, especially those who are weak of "patience". It will not be quick.

 

I have pages of notes from every day (along with those previously mentioned photos and videos), so if you like those quick, to the point reviews, please go ahead and hit the back button on your browser. This is the only way I know how to review ;)

 

If you like tons of what I would generally consider decent quality pictures, with descriptions of what we did throughout the cruise, with all the details both good and bad, follow along. I definitely gear towards photos (You won't get paragraph after paragraph from me -- despite the fact that I am doing that right now :D ). Also, I won't hold back. If something was great, I'll tell you about it. If it wasn't, I'll share that too.

 

On my last family cruise review, I struggled to figure out what perspective to use to give the review. This time, it isn't much of a struggle. The bulk of the content will be from the perspective of a family cruising.

 

Everything that I will write comes directly from notes made on the day it occurred, except for the occasional thought I throw in from time to time. I find it best this way to present the facts as they were instead of how I remember them.

 

This will probably be the longest post I have for words. If you made it this far without hitting the back button, I hope you enjoy the rest.

 

If you are kind enough to make a comment or question, I will always do my best to reply. :)

 

Cordially,

 

Curtis

 

[ryano]

Its about time! :p

 

Been looking forward to this one!

[QTMichele]

Ugh! WOULD YOU HURRY UP ALREADY?!?!?!!!!!!

 

:)

 

Looking forward to another Bionic review, Curtis!

[bionicman97]

I guess before I continue on, I should probably explain why I didn't review the last cruise we went on (Family Cruise #2). That was the cruise we took on the Navigator in December of last year (2012).

 

View on the Navigator from New Orleans

 

 

It was by no means a horrible cruise, but it was one of the most blah cruises we had went on. But that isn't why I didn't review it. There were two main reasons for skipping the review.

 

#1 - It's hard to do a review in December for obvious reasons.

 

#2 - On Day #7, I got Norovirus. That was the exact same day that the New Town shootings occurred.

 

I have never been as sick as I was on the last day of the cruise and the road trip home. In the course of the 10 days that we were gone, I came back either 12 or 13 pounds lighter then when I had left.

 

Between getting so sick and watching what occurred on the TV while I was confined to my room, I just didn't care to do a review when I got back. It was as simple as that.

 

Coming up a little later today (I know, I know) - A quick recap of our family from the last cruise to this one...

[bionicman97]

Its about time! :p

 

Been looking forward to this one!

 

Thanks Ryan!

 

Ugh! WOULD YOU HURRY UP ALREADY?!?!?!!!!!!

 

:)

 

Looking forward to another Bionic review, Curtis!

 

I know, I know -- and I'm already bailing to go to lunch!!! I'll be back later this afternoon and really get it started. Had to at least get the thread started to get myself moving!

[cruisesR4me]

Looking forward to another one of your reviews as I have enjoyed your other ones.

[BonTexasNY]

Looking forward to your review. I know I don't only speak for myself when I say you've been missed on this board. Can't wait to see how your little guy has grown :) So, bring it on!!

[Familygoboston]

Yeah!

[bionicman97]

Looking forward to another one of your reviews as I have enjoyed your other ones.

 

Thanks :)

 

Looking forward to your review. I know I don't only speak for myself when I say you've been missed on this board. Can't wait to see how your little guy has grown :) So, bring it on!!

 

Thanks & it's coming! :)

[bionicman97]

Yeah!

 

:)

 

I'll be reading yours soon ;)

[iCruise717]

Really looking forward to this! :)

[smeck]

Hello everyone! We got back a little over a month ago from 7 days on the Oasis of the Seas, Eastern Caribbean. It took a while to get all the photos edited and uploaded and then figuring out a time to get started, but I am as ready to start a review as I'll ever be.

 

I call what I do a review, but it's probably a little different then most reviews. What I will be doing is sharing a week in the life of my family. It will be long and detailed. I took over 2,000 pictures on the ship and some video, so I'll have plenty to share. I will be leading you through the cruise, step by step, day by day, just like you were there with me.

 

This review definitely isn't for everyone, especially those who are weak of "patience". It will not be quick.

 

I have pages of notes from every day (along with those previously mentioned photos and videos), so if you like those quick, to the point reviews, please go ahead and hit the back button on your browser. This is the only way I know how to review ;)

 

If you like tons of what I would generally consider decent quality pictures, with descriptions of what we did throughout the cruise, with all the details both good and bad, follow along. I definitely gear towards photos (You won't get paragraph after paragraph from me -- despite the fact that I am doing that right now :D ). Also, I won't hold back. If something was great, I'll tell you about it. If it wasn't, I'll share that too.

 

On my last family cruise review, I struggled to figure out what perspective to use to give the review. This time, it isn't much of a struggle. The bulk of the content will be from the perspective of a family cruising.

 

Everything that I will write comes directly from notes made on the day it occurred, except for the occasional thought I throw in from time to time. I find it best this way to present the facts as they were instead of how I remember them.

 

This will probably be the longest post I have for words. If you made it this far without hitting the back button, I hope you enjoy the rest.

 

If you are kind enough to make a comment or question, I will always do my best to reply. :)

 

Cordially,

 

Curtis

 

 

Looking forward to your review. Funny I read your Radiance review

Months before cruising her, now just months before sailing the Oasis your review pops up.

[bionicman97]

Well, first I should probably introduce the guests in this little review.

 

I'm Curtis and along for the ride you will see guest appearance by my wife Heather and our son, Keith. This was taken in December of this year.

 

 

In the last review we did, you saw us in September of 2012. Here are a few highlights since then

 

Pumpkin Patch

 

 

First Birthday

 

 

 

Trick-or-Treating (2012)

 

 

November 2012

 

 

Up next - more of getting up to speed...

[bionicman97]

Really looking forward to this! :)

 

Thanks :)

 

Looking forward to your review. Funny I read your Radiance review

Months before cruising her, now just months before sailing the Oasis your review pops up.

 

I'm like a bad habit, just keep popping back up ;)

[bionicman97]

A few more from the past 12 months to get you up to speed

 

 

 

 

 

 

[bionicman97]

So at this point, we've made it up to December of last year, which was when we went out to New Orleans for the Navigator cruise that I never reviewed.

 

At the hotel in New Orleans

 

 

In a park at New Orleans

 

 

By the river

 

 

Keith at the Fisher Price play time on the Navigator

 

 

Up next, we've made it to 2013...

[bionicman97]

So now we've made it to 2013. Quite a few things happened this year.

 

First off, work wise, in addition to what I usually do, towards the beginning of the year, I started co-hosting a podcast on Internet Business. Like most people, I'm still not very excited about speaking in public, but this has gotten me used to speaking to an audience on a weekly basis.

 

 

This is from Keith playing in February. As you can see, he started getting older quickly!

 

 

This is from the county fair in March.

 

 

This is from Keith's first trip to Busch Gardens in April at the Critter Show.

 

 

This was from Mother's day

 

 

Up next, Summer of 2013...

[bionicman97]

And now we're up to the summer of this year.

 

Keith took some swimming lessons

 

 

 

 

And apparently discovered how to smile

 

[bionicman97]

And for those of you that have read the review I did on the Jewel that ended with us getting a farmhouse in West Virginia, we still go there several times a year.

 

Here is Keith trying to start a fashion trend

 

 

At the West Virginia State Fair

 

 

 

 

And the walking trails in Anstead

 

 

[Arizona Cruz Chic]

I found a few minutes to read your review.......Love, it, I'm hooked!!! :)

 

Love all the pictures of Keith and how he has grown....isn't he ready for a play mate by now? :D

 

Love the picture of your office...my goodness Curtis, you are a busy boy!

 

So hurry...hurry, hurry with the rest of your review!!!

 

***

[bionicman97]

So now we've made it to September.

 

If you haven't guessed yet, I really love photography. I've enjoyed taking photos since digital photography became affordable. Over time, I've slowly built up my skills, learning how to shoot in manual, hundreds of hours of photoshop, etc. In 2011, I had the opportunity to assist on a wedding shoot and enjoyed it a lot.

 

Since then, I've been steadily upgrading my equipment and working on my skills in case I wanted to try to get into at as a hobby business. I really enjoy shooting weddings, as I like taking pictures of things that matter and it provides a nice challenge. It also gives me the opportunity to take creative images. For weddings, I'm more interested in conveying emotion then just the standard portrait list.

 

This year, I got to shoot two weddings. My cousin got married at the end of September.

 

 

 

 

The following week (yes, only 7 days later), I got to shoot my sister-in-laws wedding.

 

 

 

 

I really enjoyed shooting both weddings, but I'm still going through, sorting and cleaning them. Altogether, I took approximately 5,200 photos.

 

This has already led to some other photography work. I hope to expand on this in 2014 as I am getting close to having all the equipment I need.

 

Up next, we're getting close to the cruise!

[bionicman97]

I found a few minutes to read your review.......Love, it, I'm hooked!!! :)

 

Love all the pictures of Keith and how he has grown....isn't he ready for a play mate by now? :D

 

Love the picture of your office...my goodness Curtis, you are a busy boy!

 

So hurry...hurry, hurry with the rest of your review!!!

 

***

 

Thanks Linda :)

 

I'm sure he's ready for a play mate, but I'm not sure the parents are!

 

I do try to stay busy ;)

[mdxter]

Hello everyone! We got back a little over a month ago from 7 days on the Oasis of the Seas, Eastern Caribbean. It took a while to get all the photos edited and uploaded and then figuring out a time to get started, but I am as ready to start a review as I'll ever be.

 

I call what I do a review, but it's probably a little different then most reviews. What I will be doing is sharing a week in the life of my family. It will be long and detailed. I took over 2,000 pictures on the ship and some video, so I'll have plenty to share. I will be leading you through the cruise, step by step, day by day, just like you were there with me.

 

This review definitely isn't for everyone, especially those who are weak of "patience". It will not be quick.

 

I have pages of notes from every day (along with those previously mentioned photos and videos), so if you like those quick, to the point reviews, please go ahead and hit the back button on your browser. This is the only way I know how to review ;)

 

If you like tons of what I would generally consider decent quality pictures, with descriptions of what we did throughout the cruise, with all the details both good and bad, follow along. I definitely gear towards photos (You won't get paragraph after paragraph from me -- despite the fact that I am doing that right now :D ). Also, I won't hold back. If something was great, I'll tell you about it. If it wasn't, I'll share that too.

 

On my last family cruise review, I struggled to figure out what perspective to use to give the review. This time, it isn't much of a struggle. The bulk of the content will be from the perspective of a family cruising.

 

Everything that I will write comes directly from notes made on the day it occurred, except for the occasional thought I throw in from time to time. I find it best this way to present the facts as they were instead of how I remember them.

 

This will probably be the longest post I have for words. If you made it this far without hitting the back button, I hope you enjoy the rest.

 

If you are kind enough to make a comment or question, I will always do my best to reply. :)

 

Cordially,

 

Curtis

 

 

Being from new orleans, when i first saw this picture without reading, i thought to myself.. that is not PE. that is the Crescent city bridge!!! sorry to hear your trip out of new orleans was not the best.

Edited December 13, 2013 by mdxter

[bionicman97]

So, now we are in mid October, just before the cruise. For Keith's second birthday, we took the day off work and went back to Busch Gardens

 

 

 

 

We went to Chili's for his birthday dinner

 

 

We had his birthday party a few days later

 

[bionicman97]

Being from new orleans, when i first saw this picture without reading, i thought to myself.. that is not PE. that is the Crescent city bridge!!! sorry to hear your trip out of new orleans was not the best.

 

I wondered if anyone would catch that!

 

I'm sure we'll go back one day and hopefully no one will get sick ;)