The Sea Called...We Answered! Our Week Onboard the Oasis 4/26-5/3...Western Caribbea

[At Sea 4Ever]

FANtastic review! I'm really enjoying reading and loving your pictures. The gnomes aren't so secret anymore. I've been seeing a lot of reviews lately with people finding them. Did it take you a while to find them?

I'm looking forward to reading more of your review.

 

 

It did take a awhile for us to find them lol. I know the trellis bar was a major clue which helped. Thanks so much for commenting on the review! Glad to see people are still following, I know I've been slow posting!

 

 

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[taylortime05]

Hi - You may have already answered this question but I am so tired tonight I can't go back and look. Was the drink package worth it? Do you think you spent more than the package cost?

 

Thanks and I am enjoying your cruise report. We leave on Friday to cruise on Sat on Oasis.

 

I still have not packed but I have my list ready so hopefully I will finish tomorrow.

[taylortime05]

Hi - just one more question. I am enjoying your review and your pictures. Do you have a DSLR camera? I wish I had bought a nicer camera but right now I just have a point and shoot Nikon. It takes ok pictures but not as nice as some I have seen posted.

 

Thanks again. :)

[At Sea 4Ever]

Hi - You may have already answered this question but I am so tired tonight I can't go back and look. Was the drink package worth it? Do you think you spent more than the package cost?

 

Thanks and I am enjoying your cruise report. We leave on Friday to cruise on Sat on Oasis.

 

I still have not packed but I have my list ready so hopefully I will finish tomorrow.

 

 

We both did the premium package. This may sound crazy but we did record every drink that we ordered all week including soda from machine and bottled waters from the bar. All together we more than broke even. Separately I consumed more than my DH. Just so you can get an idea this is an idea of how we drank. A few mornings we had mimosas. Everyday was spent at the pool and we had frozen drinks all throughout the day. We had about two to three bottles of water per person per day. Occasionally we used the soda cups but the machines were not conveniently placed. Maybe a cocktail before dinner. Two to three glasses of wine with dinner. A few cocktails at night in the shows and clubs. Would sometimes fill up soda cups at the end of the night. By no means were we ever drunk or even that tipsy for the matter. The amount of food we consumed absorbed it. It's vacation and we never drink like that at home but it was just so nice and relaxing to order as we chose and not have a crazy bar bill at the end of the week. In the future I will probably just get the package for myself because my husband can use crown and anchor coupons and Diamond cocktail hour drinks. We don't care if we drink bottle or tap water so that was not a big perk just convenient to have it bottled for carrying around. On the smaller ships the soda package works so much better. I hope this helps!

 

 

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[At Sea 4Ever]

Hi - just one more question. I am enjoying your review and your pictures. Do you have a DSLR camera? I wish I had bought a nicer camera but right now I just have a point and shoot Nikon. It takes ok pictures but not as nice as some I have seen posted.

 

Thanks again. :)

 

 

We have a Panasonic point and shoot. It worked great for us and I also love my iPhone 5s to take pictures as well.

 

 

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[At Sea 4Ever]

I will have posted a lot more by tomorrow evening. I'm sorry this is delayed a bit but that silly thing called work keeps getting in the way. They really should understand that CC comes first! Lol thanks everyone for still following!

 

 

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[Julia’s Journey’s]

I'm following and enjoying :)

Learning lots for our westbound TA in October - Thanks

[DreamingBig1]

Thank you for taking me along for your adventure! :)

[KikisDad]

... In the future I will probably just get the package for myself because my husband can use crown and anchor coupons and Diamond cocktail hour drinks. ...

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Loving the review. The C&A cocktail hour not have the drinks you like?

[At Sea 4Ever]

Loving the review. The C&A cocktail hour not have the drinks you like?

 

 

Oh no they had drinks I liked! Lol the drink package was great for all those tropical drinks poolside : ) thanks for following!

 

 

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[At Sea 4Ever]

Day 4: Vitality Spa, Starbucks, Pool Deck

 

Montego, baby why don't we go... to Jamaica! Day 4 we arrived in sunny Falmouth Jamaica. Once again we have chosen to make a port day our sea day. We weren't going to pull into port until 10:30 so we decided to have a slower morning. Well our version of a slower morning. The best part of having a balcony is having breakfast out there in the morning. We had room service delivered at 6:30. Every time during the week we ordered room service they always came right on time.

 

 

I had made an eight o'clock appointment at the Vitality Spa this morning for a deep tissue massage. Like everything else I know there are mixed reviews about the spa on CC. I find the prices to be the same if not better than the spas where we live. I do treat myself to a massage on every cruise. I look at it as a shore excursion. During port days they offer a discount which I believe is either 10 or 15 percent. I chose to use my C&A coupon instead to receive 20% off. The two different offers are not combinable.

 

I let my DH sleep that morning and I headed to the spa. The Vitality Spa/Salon/Fitness Center on the Oasis class is on a whole other level. Think NYC or Beverly Hills. Top of the line products and superior services are offered. We never made it to the fitness center but they do offer many classes including FlyWheel. The decor is very simple and clean. White tile floors, bamboo tables, glass stairs, and green plants. Not overwhelming very tranquil. The walls in the service rooms though are very thin and you do hear what's going on next door. The music was spa like but with a lively beat.

 

I walked past the salon and vitality cafe and headed towards the receptionist desk. They checked me in and I headed down the glass staircase to deck 5 where I was met by another receptionist who showed me to the waiting room. I filled out a quick questionnaire and helped myself to some cucumber water. The waiting room was packed for all the first appointments of the morning. In walked in a bubbly massage therapist who called my name. She introduced herself and led me to her room. We had a quick consultation and she instructed me on how to prepare while she stepped out of the room. I had gotten this same service down before and knew what to expect. She did a phenomenal job and I was quick to tell her that! She wasn't pushy with selling the products although I do understand that is a huge part of their job description. After the service she returned with my receipt. Like every service onboard a 15% gratuity is added but she deserved more than the recommended amount so I showed my appreciation. I have to say the whole experience was far beyond my expectations and experiences in the past. It was very well worth it! She then walked me out. I then headed back to the cabin, very relaxed, to get ready for the pool. Just a quick tip for anyone out there who receives a massage onboard. Always shower right after your service because if you sit out in the sun with massage oil still on your skin you will end up in the medical facility for sun poisoning! Needless to say first thing I did when I got back to the cabin was take a shower.

 

After our relaxing morning we headed out of the cabin and made our way down to the Promenade to Starbucks. I'm the coffee drinker not my DH and I do occasionally enjoy a Starbucks here and there. We went this morning more as a novelty than anything. A full service Starbucks at sea. Whether your a fan or not of the company, it's pretty cool. The precise were very comparable to home a few cents off here and there, nothing major. Also they take any Starbucks cards from home you may have. Only the Oasis and Allure take Starbucks cards because it is a stand alone store. We just used our Sea passes. The menu is current with that on land and offered their new Vanilla Macchiato. We grabbed some sweets as well since they do have their full pastry case. We took our breakfast and headed up to the pool deck unaware of what to expect since it was already going on 10am!

 

Since a good amount of the passengers were looking to get off the ship, finding a seat was as easy as finding hand sanitizer. We first headed into the Solarium with the assumption we would keep the relaxing tranquil theme of the morning going all day, but the heat was just to much to handle. The air was dead, no breeze. We decided to head over to the beach pool and hit up the Solarium later in the day. We did grab some pictures before we left!

 

 

 

 

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[At Sea 4Ever]

 

 

 

 

 

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[At Sea 4Ever]

Cantilevered Hot Tubs are located on either side of the ship, right before the entrance to the Solarium

 

 

ESPN seemed to be the channel of choice all week for the TV's in the hot tubs. Let's go Rangers!!

 

You can see the dome over the hot tubs. This picture was taken on deck 16. This was the upstairs entrance to the Solarium.

 

Solarium Bar and lounge area located on the upper level. Hey! Who's that at the bar taking advantage of their drink package?!

 

 

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[At Sea 4Ever]

This area of the Solarium is used to host the Twenty by Absolute party and also the Escape by Malibu party.

 

We headed back over to the beach pool and grabbed two loungers under an umbrella. The same people who stayed on the ship in Labadee had stayed on the ship in Jamaica. On port days when heading over to the towel stand they were very diligent with asking if the towel was for the island or the pool. We saw many people saying the towel was for the ship yet they tucked it away in the beach bag and walked away. That really didn't make much sense since all you had to do was bring the towel back on the ship to avoid being charged. It was a nice quite day poolside because the ship was empty for most of the morning. The Solarium Bistro is only open for lunch on sea days so that was not an option today. Instead we chose to head to the Park Cafe but since the pool was getting pretty crowded by lunch we took our food back up the pool deck with us. This is where those mini tables attached to the umbrellas come in handy. Salads or a sandwich were quick and easy to transport and eat up at the pool. When we returned ten minutes later we could see people were on the prowl for seats. I was glad we took our lunch to go! We made sure to take any of our plates or silverware unto the bar once we were done. Once again we had perfect weather all day. We consider extreme heat and humidity with a very high UV index to be perfect! What can I say, it was a hard winter here! If I had to pick one picture to sum up our cruise this would be it.

 

 

 

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[At Sea 4Ever]

As the afternoon went on we decided to check out the situation in the Solarium. This time of the day there was a nice breeze coming from the shore and it wasn't as crowded as the main pool area. I wanted to just read my Nook and stare out at the ocean so we grabbed to lounge chairs by the glass in the Solarium. The ship is amazing, a wonder of architectural design but sometimes you loose the sense of being at sea. The Solarium is a great place to recapture the feeling of being on a ship because of the panoramic views of the ocean.

 

 

 

If only my deck at home had that view!

 

 

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[At Sea 4Ever]

Not a cloud in the sky. You can see the pink towel clips on our chairs. They come in handy for a windy day or to identify your chair.

 

We spent the rest of the afternoon in that spot. As early evening started to approach we made an observation about the Solarium Bistro. Although the restaurant is set back from the pool, those in the pool can see you eating and vice versa. So if staring at a rowdy crowd in the pool while your dining in a specialty restaurant doesn't bother you then your fine. However if that's not how you pictured your evening make your reservations for after the sun goes down because by then the pool is empty and the ambiance of the restaurant is there. They do drape the tables and chairs with white linens and have tea lights lit throughout. We dined at Samba Grill on the Allure and loved it. The water running in the stream below you as you ate gave us a sense of having one of those romantic beachside dinners you see on tv. However on the Oasis the menu for Solarium Bistro did not entice us.

 

 

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[At Sea 4Ever]

It was almost time to say goodbye to Jamaica so we decided to have our own sail away party on our balcony and watch the pier runners. I had chose the Starboard side of the ship when booking because I wanted to be facing the pier while in port. We had a great view of the compound and all it had to offer, including Margaritaville.

 

 

A view of the pier from our balcony

 

Ok every review is a loud one rant and here's mine! Pier runners or in some cases pier strollers. You have all day in a port. The Captain keeps us safe all week and provides us with a variety of beautiful ports. All he asks is that by a certain time you are back on the ship. Unless your tour is delayed or God forbid something happens to you there should be no reason why you are not on the ship on time! It delays the ships departure and adds unnecessary stress to the Captains already stressful plate. If you need more than the allowed amount of time at one certain port than maybe you should consider flying to the island and spending the week there at a resort. The crew was closing up the gangway when a couple pushing a baby stroller literally strolled down the pier with absolutely no urgency! The ship had started to pull its gangway and you don't consider to put a little pep in your step? I for one would not want to be stranded on an island with a baby and only have the clothes on our backs and whatever odds and ends are in my beach bag. But hey that's just me and this is just my opinion so to each their own. While we were on the Allure we had signed up for a stingray excursion thru Royal in Nassau. On the way back to the ship our boat died in the water and we were stuck for quite some time. After a decent amount of time had passed passengers were starting to get antsy because all aboard time was quickly approaching. Since I take my cell phone any time I step off the ship I called home and had my mom contact Royal Caribbean directly and also called the ship directly to alert them that an excursion was running very behind and may not make it back in time. She was assured the ship was already aware of the situation and that we had nothing to worry about that the ship would be waiting there when we arrived back. Although it was a nerve racking experience I understand things like that happen and the ship gets held. This is always why no matter what I'm saving or gaining I'll always book my excursions thru Royal and Royal only. Ok rant is over. I hope I didn't loose any followers!

 

We received a plate of pasties from C&A and enjoyed them on the balcony as we sailed away from the home of the great Bob Marley.

 

 

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[At Sea 4Ever]

Up Next: Giovanni's, Globe & Atlas, Comedy Club, and Blaze

 

 

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[At Sea 4Ever]

Night 4: Giovanni's

 

Giovanni's was the only restaurant that we made reservations for before we boarded thru our pre cruise planner. We originally made reservations for 8:15 but when the time came we wanted more towards 9 o'clock instead. We called down to the restaurant and the maître de told us anytime we wanted to show up would be fine. He said they would be waiting for us.

 

We had a quick issue that we got resolved at Guest Services before dinner. We then saw in the Promenade they had a photographer set up in front of the vintage car. On the Allure we had gotten great pictures there so we figured why not grab some shots now! The photographer was extremely talented and he veered away from the traditional poses and had some fun using the car as a prop. Needless to say that was the picture we used our C&A coupon on at the end of the week.

 

Once done with the pictures we made our way to Central Park. Giovanni's was by far our favorite dining experience on Allure so we were more than excited to dine there again. The menu had changed since 2011 and the only item that we really missed was the baked fontina and spinach soufflé but the baked soufflé at Chops was fantastic and made up for it.

 

When we arrived at the restaurant there was only one table on the patio left open. Our luck the two groups in front of us opted to sit inside so we were able to grab the patio table. We love to eat outside no matter what the humidity is like. The maître de grabbed two menus and walked us over to our table.

 

The menus are made out of wine corks

 

Our waiter came over to introduce himself and brought us some olive bread with olive oil and grated cheese sprinkled over it. That was a meal in itself with a glass of wine. Speaking of wine, the drink package did not stretch very far on the wine menu just like it didn't in other specialities. I am not very picky with wine so I ordered from what there was to pick from. My DH though enjoys one particular wine that is only offered in the Main Dining Room. Since we only ate in the MDR three nights the wine aspect of the package was kind of a waste for him.

 

Our waiter encouraged us to order different appetizers so that's what we did!

 

Mozzarella in Carrozza Alla Giovanni

 

Capes ante All Forno

 

 

 

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[At Sea 4Ever]

Melanzane Alla Parmigiana

 

We also had split a lentil soup which was very tasty. We had told our waiter that we wanted our food to come slow and that we were in no rush. Out came our pasta dishes.

 

Top right: Risotto Al Fungi Trifolati

Bottom: Ravioli Di Polpa Di Granchio

Those are the two we ordered our waiter surprised us with the top left pasta, Pappardelle Alla Crema Di Radicchio E Pancetta

 

After we finished our pasta our entrees came out.

 

Fagottini Di Vitella Ripieni Al Funghi Porcini, Provolone E Prosciutto Cotto, Salsa Al Tartufo Nero

 

Costolette Di Agnello Alle Erbe

 

During dinner there was live music set up across the way in the park. Every night there was a small concert in the park. They hosted it under the glass shell between Park Cafe and Giovanni's. There is plenty of seating with patio tables and chairs. It's a nice place to grab a glass of wine and listen to some live music with friends. This was a big reason why we made our reservations much later in the evening that way we could catch some music with dinner.

 

We ate a fantastic dinner while saving just enough room for dessert. We told our waiter to bring his recommendations for dessert.

 

Top: Zuppa Inglese

Bottom Left: Tiramisu

Bottom Right: Cannoli & Flourless Chocolate Cake

 

Just a few comments on our meal. Everything was excellent like we expected. The eggplant parmigiana was very comparable to that served in the MDR except it was hotter and the cheese was more melted. I like my food to be piping hot. The Zuppa Inglese was our favorite dessert. The sponge cake gave it a nice balance. The risotto was the best dish of the meal. On the Allure the outside patio was roped off and blocked by planters and tables. On the Oasis the patio was very open which caused a decent amount of foot traffic during dinner.

 

 

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[At Sea 4Ever]

We still had some free time before the comedy show so we decided to stretch our legs around the ship. We made our way down to the Promenade to walk thru all the shops. On the Allure Regalia the jewelry and watch store was combined into one store beyond Guest Services. On the Oasis the jewelry and watches were split into two stores. The extra spot on the Allure was the Guess store. What's nice about the Oasis class is that there are more than just souvenir shops throughout the ship. You get the feeling of being in a mall while walking thru the Promenade. A large area of the Promenade is the Globe and Atlas Pub. My DH loves a good variety of beers and that exactly what the pub has to offer.

 

An extensive list of beers from all over the world

 

We grabbed a seat at a high top table and ordered some drinks. We were enjoying people watching when we were interrupted by a couple behind us.

 

They really should get a room! (or a cabin)

 

I had ordered a sour apple martini which if I had finished I would not have made it to the comedy show and my DH ordered a strawberry infused beer which he said was alright. After a short while we checked the time and left the pub to head to the 11:59pm showing at Comedy Live.

 

Up Next: Comedy Live & Blaze

 

 

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[DerbyDarling]

Just like a great book series, your review has me hanging on for the next edition! You answer my questions before I can ask them (though I do have a few :))

 

I've seen a lot about the solarium being very hot, especially when there is not a breeze. With all the glass, I'm wondering is this a good spot to soak up some sun?

 

You mentioned earlier "Speaking of wine, the drink package did not stretch very far on the wine menu just like it didn't in other specialities." Can you expand on what you mean by specialties? (Featured menu drinks or top shelf liquors?) I admit to being picky and just wondering if the ultimate is worth the extra money or if the premium is pretty inclusive.

 

Thanks for taking the time to share your detailed review! Can't wait to set sail on the Oasis in 3 weeks!

[At Sea 4Ever]

Just like a great book series, your review has me hanging on for the next edition! You answer my questions before I can ask them (though I do have a few :))

 

 

 

I've seen a lot about the solarium being very hot, especially when there is not a breeze. With all the glass, I'm wondering is this a good spot to soak up some sun?

 

 

 

You mentioned earlier "Speaking of wine, the drink package did not stretch very far on the wine menu just like it didn't in other specialities." Can you expand on what you mean by specialties? (Featured menu drinks or top shelf liquors?) I admit to being picky and just wondering if the ultimate is worth the extra money or if the premium is pretty inclusive.

 

 

 

Thanks for taking the time to share your detailed review! Can't wait to set sail on the Oasis in 3 weeks!

 

 

Wow! That was such a nice comment. Thank u!

Don't be fooled by the glass. The Solarium is a great place to soak up some sun. We got better color in the Solarium then we did by the beach pool. Grab a seat by the very front of the solarium where the sliding windows are and you should be fine.

 

There is no alcohol difference between the premium and the ultimate package. By specialities I mean restaurants. In those restaurants there are not many wines that are under $12 or even just offered by the glass. They push the bottles in the speciality restaurants. In the MDR there is a much larger selection of wine that fit the package criteria.

 

 

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[Ocean View]

Wow! Once again perfect just perfect review. I am getting great visuals feel like I'm there with you!!! I leave for the allure in about 20 hours I just can't wait!! I saved reading your last post to get me thru the final hours. Hope to have another "chapter" to read before I head off. Thanks again for your time and insight :)

 

 

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[At Sea 4Ever]

Thank you to everyone who is following! Please if you are following along just let me know. I appreciate it : )

 

 

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