Just off the Oasis 8/8-8/15

[birdlord]

[ATTACH]359805[/ATTACH]

 

I think these are the ones I got for the kids! The sets I got for my husband and I came in red and light pink and had 5 bags each. Not the highest quality but very lightweight and can't beat the price.

 

Thank you! For the price, I can sacrifice quality. I had considered buying some for our last cruise but didn't want to spend the money on what I suppose are the "good brands". :-) I'd like to see how we benefit from them first (it's only two of us, but my husband loves organization).

[WyKnott]

Ikea sells packing cubes. Very reasonable, I think I paid $7-8 for a set of three. Not a lot of variety on colors, just two different colors.

[Happy2Cruz]

Great review and tips! Thanks!!

[clawmachine]

Popping back on for just a bit! Safe and happy travels to those leaving on the Oasis tomorrow! Looks like they get a Mexico itinerary instead of Eastern! I'm sure it will be fun though!

 

Ft. Lauderdale:

On our final day (boo!) we chose to book the Ft. Lauderdale Land and Sea tour through Royal because our flight wasn't until 4:30 (more on that later).

This turned out to be an excellent choice! The tour had a stated start time of 8:30 when we booked but when we got our tickets it said we had to meet in Studio B at 7:20. This had us groaning but it turned out fine and the breakfast options open up really early anyway. We were given number 1 luggage tags to put on and leave our bags out the night before like anyone else. Once in Studio B, they were very organized and gave each person a different colored sticker to wear indicating which tour they were on. At about 7:45 we departed the ship and it was awesome because they led us right to the number 1 baggage section, we got our bags, and quickly breezed through customs. Easy peasy! By 8:00 we were relaxing in a very nice tour van with our suitcases stowed underneath grouped by airline. We had time to use the port's outside bathroom (very clean) while waiting for a couple of guests (who did not follow directions and didn't use the number 1 tags on their luggage!) and then we were off by 8:30.

 

Laurie our tour guide was SUPER friendly, super upbeat, and super knowledgable. Honestly I've never had a tour with anyone as engaging as she was! We drove through some heavy downpour all morning but no one cared since we had had sunny weather all during the cruise. After getting a nice tour of the beach areas and city from the bus, we stopped right at the Carrie B, a nice two level boat with air conditioning and a snack bar on the lower level. From there we left for a 90 minute sea tour of the intercoastal waterway AKA "where all the super rich people live." :-) It was an absolutely pleasant ride and the homes and yachts we saw were gorgeous! They narrate almost the whole way, so you learn a lot.

 

Around 12:45 we were dropped off right at the airport check in level, and our friendly bus driver handed us our luggage from under the bus. No stress at all with this tour and it made disembarkation so much less painful! Highly recommend if you have a 2:30 or later flight.

Edited August 22, 2015 by clawmachine

[CruiseMor]

Thank you for the review of the Ft. Lauderdale Land and Sea tour. We were considering doing a tour since our flight was pushed back to 4:00 PM and it sounds like this tour will be a good choice.

 

Thanks!

[beachnative]

Excellent review because of your writing style and skills.

 

We love the Oasis and Allure and always have a great time on them.

 

We've used Eagle Creek packing envelopes for years and with only two of us we completely unpack them on Day 1.:):)

[clawmachine]

thanks everyone! I'm so glad some of it was helpful! My brain is about to explode with back-to-school details so if anyone has any questions on anything at all that I didn't cover here, please feel free to ask! I'm sure I missed stuff. I sure would love to be back on the ship right now instead of filling out school paperwork! ;)

[clawmachine]

oh - I know one thing I didn't cover!

 

After returning from the nice tour of Ft. Lauderdale, we were dropped off at the FLL airport only to quickly learn that all flights into the Baltimore/Washington area had been cancelled indefinitely due to a breakdown of some major FAA scheduling computer program! It was pure insanity in there as so many of us were flying on Southwest. You couldn't even find a free outlet to recharge your phone as we were all desperately draining them. By the time I was able to find out any more info, all of the flights to ANYWHERE near that area (including neighboring states!) were full until Tuesday! We were really in a bind because even though we might have found a couple seats on other airlines for Monday, they were MUCH more expensive than Southwest and they don't have a reciprocity agreement with anyone. I witnessed complete strangers (singles) offering to join up just to make a drive back to MD feasible - crazy stuff.

 

SO... long, long story short, I spent the entire day (6 plus hours) in many lines at both the car rental counters and the airline counters, trying desperately to find a way home. By the time I got down trying to get a decent price on a rental (they all wanted $600!) they actually ran out of 5+person vehicles! I seriously just wanted to sit down and cry, but my kids were really being troupers about the whole thing, so I pressed on. I even called a super nice travel agency in town (Liberty Travel if anyone needs one in Ft. Lauderdale!) and the lady there tried to find us seats to no avail. My parents and brother gave up and went to a hotel and eventually found seats on a US Air flight 2 days later. We must have had a guardian angel or something because just as I got up to the Southwest counter for the second time (after a 2.5 hour long line), having watched people just a couple spots in front of me leave the counter discouraged and upset, JUST at that very moment, the supervisor told the clerks that the FAA problem was resolved and evening flights were going to be re-opened!! We got super, super lucky, and were reinstated for a flight later that night. whew. Not a fun day, but we were definitely grateful to get home!

 

note to self: when your Mom generously offers to get insurance through Royal for the cruise portion, be more insistent on buying private insurance instead that covers the airline travel days as well!

[clawmachine]

p.s. in case I forgot to write this earlier, our Eastern cruise did NOT have a family comedy show or a Glow party. We had planned and prepared for both so I was kinda bummed. Not a huge deal. I don't know if they only do them on the Western route or if this was just an anomaly. Also on our cruise they had to cancel the last two ice shows on the final day due to an unprecedented amount of injuries from the night before. :( The activities director said he's never seen that happen to that extent before. I hope they are recovering!

[Momma of Two]

Thanks for the recap of your cruise! We were on the exact same cruise :) but had a totally different experience. :eek: My 7 year old son got sick and we had a medical disembarkation in St. Maarten. We were in the ship's medical clinic at 4:00 but it was busy that day. They finally saw him around 5:00 and by 5:30, we were packed and off the ship. As we were still standing on the dock with our luggage, the Oasis pulled away and I just wanted to cry. My little guy stayed in the hospital for 2 nights and we were finally able to rebook a flight off the island on Sunday. He's doing great now and I am grateful. Yet at the same time, I'm sad about little things that we didn't get to do and not being able to buy any cruise photos or ship souvenirs. This was truly a once in a lifetime trip so I don't know if we'll ever be able to try again.

[clawmachine]

Thanks for the recap of your cruise! We were on the exact same cruise :) but had a totally different experience. :eek: My 7 year old son got sick and we had a medical disembarkation in St. Maarten. We were in the ship's medical clinic at 4:00 but it was busy that day. They finally saw him around 5:00 and by 5:30, we were packed and off the ship. As we were still standing on the dock with our luggage, the Oasis pulled away and I just wanted to cry. My little guy stayed in the hospital for 2 nights and we were finally able to rebook a flight off the island on Sunday. He's doing great now and I am grateful. Yet at the same time, I'm sad about little things that we didn't get to do and not being able to buy any cruise photos or ship souvenirs. This was truly a once in a lifetime trip so I don't know if we'll ever be able to try again.

 

Momma, we saw you!! I am so very, very sorry!! We were looking out from our starboard balcony that whole afternoon and wondering why so many (drunk?) people were strolling back to the ship at a leisurely pace so late after boarding time, when we noticed that there was a medical evacuation at 4pm followed by another one around 5:30! I believe we saw your family on the dock and it was so heartbreaking we wanted to cry! I'm glad you posted here so that I can tell my family that you're ok. Can Royal obtain your photos for you remotely now? If you would like any of the generic personal photos I took onboard, please let me know. Blessings to your little boy!

[Momma of Two]

Thanks, Claw Machine! I contacted the photography company that Royal uses and unless you bought the CD package, you are out of luck. No exceptions - not even for medical disembarkation. That really bugs me since I know everything is digitized and I'm sure it's stored somewhere. Though I didn't get to see all our photos, I really wanted our family picture in front of the backdrop of the Oasis upon boarding and the one with my son and the "real" live pirate at the St. Thomas port. He was so excited!

[Tony O]

Thanks for the recap of your cruise! We were on the exact same cruise :) but had a totally different experience. :eek: My 7 year old son got sick and we had a medical disembarkation in St. Maarten. We were in the ship's medical clinic at 4:00 but it was busy that day. They finally saw him around 5:00 and by 5:30, we were packed and off the ship. As we were still standing on the dock with our luggage, the Oasis pulled away and I just wanted to cry. My little guy stayed in the hospital for 2 nights and we were finally able to rebook a flight off the island on Sunday. He's doing great now and I am grateful. Yet at the same time, I'm sad about little things that we didn't get to do and not being able to buy any cruise photos or ship souvenirs. This was truly a once in a lifetime trip so I don't know if we'll ever be able to try again.

 

We also saw you and another passenger who was taken off the ship.

Glad to hear that all is well and doing fine. I can't imagine what you went through with everything happening so quickly.

[Momma of Two]

We also saw you and another passenger who was taken off the ship.

Glad to hear that all is well and doing fine. I can't imagine what you went through with everything happening so quickly.

 

Oh just to let you know, the gentleman who had a medical disembarkation before we got off the ship is also okay!

[clawmachine]

Oh just to let you know, the gentleman who had a medical disembarkation before we got off the ship is also okay!

 

Thank you- great news!!

 

Earlier in the week (Nassau, I guess) it appeared that a teen girl was taken away by ambulance. Hope she is ok as well!

[clawmachine]

Thanks, Claw Machine! I contacted the photography company that Royal uses and unless you bought the CD package, you are out of luck. No exceptions - not even for medical disembarkation. That really bugs me since I know everything is digitized and I'm sure it's stored somewhere. Though I didn't get to see all our photos, I really wanted our family picture in front of the backdrop of the Oasis upon boarding and the one with my son and the "real" live pirate at the St. Thomas port. He was so excited!

 

That's really a bummer. You'd think in this day and age it would be a no brainer for them to store digital photos for at least a short time after the cruise!

[johnstoc13]

He's doing great now and I am grateful. Yet at the same time, I'm sad about little things that we didn't get to do and not being able to buy any cruise photos or ship souvenirs. This was truly a once in a lifetime trip so I don't know if we'll ever be able to try again.

 

So sorry to hear all this, but glad he's doing well now! Was there any ship souvenirs you had your eye on? We're sailing Oasis next Saturday, and I'd be happy to pick something up for you!:)

[perfect match]

Clawmachine, thank you for your review and cruise tips. I've added several of your tips to the list I've been making for our upcoming Oasis cruise. I agree with you that a little planning goes a long way in making a cruise - or any vacation for that matter - go more smothly.

 

Momma Of Two, I'm sorry to hear of your son's medical emergency, but glad to hear that both your son and the other passenger who had a medical disembark are both doing well now.

[Momma of Two]

So sorry to hear all this, but glad he's doing well now! Was there any ship souvenirs you had your eye on? We're sailing Oasis next Saturday, and I'd be happy to pick something up for you!:)

 

Oh WOW, thank you, what a generous offer! All we wanted were a few t-shirts and a lanyard. My family said it's okay, they can do without. Thank you so much though! I hope you have a fabulous cruise and that the skies are clear!!

 

Seems like there were quite a few medical emergencies on our cruise. I wonder if this was unusual?!

[barbarah33]

Thank you for the fantastic and very detailed review. I'll be on the Oasis in two weeks and reading your review has me even more excited. We are doing the Western route - what is the glow party you mentioned? I'm wondering if I should be buying glowing things ahead of time. :cool:

[johnstoc13]

Oh WOW, thank you, what a generous offer! All we wanted were a few t-shirts and a lanyard. My family said it's okay, they can do without. Thank you so much though! I hope you have a fabulous cruise and that the skies are clear!!

 

Seems like there were quite a few medical emergencies on our cruise. I wonder if this was unusual?!

 

No problem! Hope the skies stay clear too! As for medical emergencies, I've never been on a cruise with one (at least that all the passengers were aware of). I'm sure they're more common on Oasis& Allure though, based on passenger count alone. More people, more chances.

[maureencruiser]

what is the glow party you mentioned? I'm wondering if I should be buying glowing things ahead of time. :cool:

 

It's a fun party under black lights. You should buy glow stuff at hometo bring with you , they are much cheaper at home. Everybody says wear white, but if you wear neon colors, you will really glow! :D:D

 

[clawmachine]

Thank you for the fantastic and very detailed review. I'll be on the Oasis in two weeks and reading your review has me even more excited. We are doing the Western route - what is the glow party you mentioned? I'm wondering if I should be buying glowing things ahead of time. :cool:

 

 

 

That's very kind of you! I haven't been on cruise critic in a while due to back-to-school madness and didn't realize there had been a couple new posts. I am glad it was helpful!

 

Like others said, the glow party sounded really fun to me and to my kids. I have no idea why it didn't happen on our cruise. I had packed QUITE a bit of Dollar Tree glow stuff to use! Maybe next time! :)

[clawmachine]

I just re-read my review and noticed that I hinted about "rudeness" issues but never addressed them in a post. Like I said before, the Oasis is essentially a small city, with the variety of people and behaviors that you would see in a diverse city. It was definitely a wider range of behavior than I have experienced on some smaller ships. Some behavior differences can be attributed to nationality and culture and others are simply people acting selfishly. The former didn't bother me on the Oasis, but the latter definitely did. Did it ruin my time? Not in the least. My husband tends not to notice much that is going on around him and was blissfully unaware of many of the things I noticed. I did get exasperated a few times though:

 

Seat Saving: The issue of seat saving has been discussed ad nauseum on cruise critic, so I'll just mention one extreme example we witnessed. After intermission of an afternoon performance of CATS, where 70% of the audience left and never came back, I witnessed a young man telling everyone who tried to sit in the row in front of him that the ENTIRE row was saved for his friends who were "in the bathroom." The ENTIRE row of like 25 seats was empty, and the second half of the show had already started! Guess who never came back from "the bathroom" and guess who just selfishly wanted to have an unobstructed view? ugh.

 

Parade Pushing: Most people were reasonable about choosing a spot on the Promenade to watch the parades, but there were a few who couldn't seem to behave in any sort of reasonable fashion. Some folks were taking nearly every single chair out of Sorrentos to line up along the side (unoccupied), thus leaving actual pizza eaters to stand up for their whole lunch. Then there was the "lovely" woman who pretended she had to look at something in a store window that was behind where my 2-year old nephew and his Mom were standing, and then after 5 seconds of her "looking" she promptly turned around and planted herself right in between our group and stayed there, effectively stealing a spot and separating our group. Then she had the nerve to claim that we were encroaching upon her space. This was the only time all week that I actually couldn't keep my mouth shut about behavior and she eventually walked off (because she knew what she had sneakily done!)

 

Drunken Obnoxiousness: Now keep in mind I am not a drinker myself and thus probably have a lower than average tolerance for this stuff, but some people really were over the top at times. Honey, I really don't care that you know every line of "Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You" and want to sing it at the top of your lungs to your UNCLE who's sitting 5 chairs down. Your chest is hanging out right in front of my kids and I just want you to sit down and watch the dive show!

 

OK, all that being said, MOST people were not seat hogs, MOST people were not rude at parades and MOST people did not act like drunken fools! I only cite these worst case scenarios because it just helps to know that you will most likely encounter some similar things yourself. There's no way that I was going to let any of it ruin even an hour of our trip, and we didn't. :)