Fizzlewicket’s Adventure on Oasis of the Seas

[Fizzlewicket]

From the dining room areas you can just take the elevators to deck 6 to the area right before The Boardwalk. But since we are here, let us take a quick look at the Focus which is where you buy your photos …

 

 

 

 

 

And then over to the NextCruise on the opposite side …

 

 

[Fizzlewicket]

And finally a stop at the Schooner Bar …

 

 

 

 

 

They had some type of piano entertainment most nights and while I wanted to experience it, I found myself drawn to Jazz on 4 and Boleros. This whole cruise was a just filled with daily entertainment and activities and it actually hard to remember what we did, when and where. It was all just a blur of fun, excitement and tasty meals. Which is why is just easier to tour from place to place and relive what we did in just that area.

 

 

Did I mention the Schooner Bar has some really some really comfortable seating, especially near the back? I keep my iPhone on my at all times and was tracking my steps each day. On average, I was walking around the ship to a tune of 8 miles a day, so finding a cozy buttrest was essential.

 

 

 

 

Right in front of the actual bar itself, is a fantastic place to view the Royal Promenade events like parades and the 70’s night. But get there early because it is a prime viewing location and gets crowded quickly.

[Fizzlewicket]

And now welcome to The Boardwalk.

 

 

 

 

 

 

These carvings show the progress to creating a riding sculpture for the carousel. But actually what really caught my eyes where the colorful and color changing light on the ceiling area. That seemed to be a theme throughout the ship, color changing everything. The ceiling light on the Royal Promenade changed colors during events; the fountains under the Rising Tide bar also changed colors and now globe lights on The Boardwalk ceiling switched from color to color.

 

 

 

 

Honestly, there were times when I was truly almost hypnotized by the changing colors there. If really take the time to look around at everything, you will find Royal Caribbean has an amazing attention to detail.

[Fizzlewicket]

So how about that hot dog? The Boardwalk Dog House is just left as you enter and offers a delectable array of sausage and frankfurters. I did not choose to eat here until after we decided to go completely complimentary for dining. If I knew what I know now, on embarkation day would have made a bee line to get a couple of dogs from the dog house.

 

 

 

 

 

So, now the moment of truth. Which one will you get? The first time I came here I ordered one Sicilian and the crewmember gave me two. That was not a problem at all. Both were fantastic with some mustard and mayo. I never tried a dog with mayo and thought I would just give it a try. It turned out very tasty.

 

 

And with that … I will have …. A Sicilian and … Hmm something different. How about The Big Apple? Hey, they are “free” so if I do not like it, no harm and no foul.

 

 

 

 

 

My wife always got herself a classic Coney Dog with mustard. But my favorite became the Sicilian and we frequently would have one (or two) for a late afternoon snack.

 

 

 

 

There is a seating area was right across from the Dog House.

[Fizzlewicket]

Here is the carousel on the Boardwalk.

 

 

 

 

The periodic ringing you hear means the carousel controller is starting and stopping a ride.

[Fizzlewicket]

Other either side of the carousel are shops and restaurants. Let us start on the side with the Cups and Scoops ice cream shop and make our way around to the Aqua Theater and then other side.

 

 

 

 

 

The cupcake shop was replaced during the last dry dock but for those who enjoyed the cupcakes …

 

 

 

 

They are still there at Cups and Scoops (for a fee still, of course).

[Fizzlewicket]

As we move on, we find a small art gallery and a very small arcade.

 

 

[Fizzlewicket]

Not sure why the pictures are suddenly larger than others. :confused: I shrink them down to 25% just like normal. I hope this isn't a problem for anyone.

Edited February 2, 2016 by Fizzlewicket

[Clarea]

Not sure why the pictures are suddenly larger than others. :confused: I shrink them down to 25% just like normal. I hope this isn't a problem for anyone.

Working OK for me, but I'm using a laptop.

[Fizzlewicket]

The right after that is the Sabor restaurant.

 

 

 

 

 

My wife and I really like Mexican and Tex-Mex food and this is the restaurant I was really looking forward this meal. We decided to stop in and each lunch there on day two which was the same night we ate at Izumi.

 

Looking at the menu I really wanted to try everything, but we started with the tableside guacamole. Our server told us we could have it however we wanted to and we just said bring it on and make it hot. He looked rather taken back by that comment because other people always requested no tomato or no jalapenos and wanted it (to him) kind of bland. He seemed really excited that we went with the tradional full recipe and even spicier. The meal came with a brimming basket of crispy tortilla chips and a chunky salsa. Normally, I make my famous salsa at home heavily blended and everyone just loves it. So I was a bit leery of having a chunky salsa, but I am the adventurous type when I comes to food (wait to you hear about the coconut). This salsa totally worked and I found myself getting a big dip of guac and then a bit of salsa on my chip and was flown to flavor heaven. My wife and I devoured the guac without a problem and agreed it was some of the best we had ever had.

 

 

 

For an appetizer, we ordered the bacon wrapped Chicken Stuffed Jalapenos. They came highly recommended and we destroyed that appetizer. They were so good.

 

For the entrée, I ordered the Pork Carnitas Tacos and my wife ordered the Pollo Picante with a side of Mexican Rice.

 

 

I was expecting a full made taco to come out of the kitchen, but they brought out everything in separate containers. The lettuce, cheese, sour cream and verde (green) sauce came out in a four part stone like container and the meats came out in its own small stone like container. The freshly made tortillas came out on a piece of parchment on a plate. Hmm … not what I expected, but I’m game. Actually overall, I truly preferred it this way. It was the same type of build your own presentation that I was used to with my fajitas from On the Border restaurant. This allows us to create our taco exactly as we wanted. A warm flour tortilla with … some meat, cheese, lettuce with sour cream, verde sauce AND guac AND salsa. First bite and I was the King of Flavortown! The Duke of Deliciousness! The Jarl of Yummy! I think you get my point.

 

And yeah, I wish I took pictures too. We did not get dessert as we were honestly about to burst at the end of the feast. Though I did hear that the dessert empanada was amazing.

[Fizzlewicket]

Now on to the Aqua Theater.

 

 

 

 

 

And on either side you have the rock climbing walls.

 

 

 

 

 

[Fizzlewicket]

Before our reserved evening presentation of Oasis of Dreams we were able to observe some of the performers having fun and practicing in the Aqua Theater. The performers were incredible just seemingly goofing around and having a good time.

 

 

 

 

(During the day too)

 

 

 

 

One female performer was balancing on one hand on top of a barbell looking thing. Needless to say, it made me eager to see the full performance of Oasis of Dreams in just a few hours time.

 

 

 

When we finally saw Oasis of Dreams we were blown away. The music, the theatrics, the dancing, the acrobatics, synchronized swimming and amazing dives were all truly amazing. These were award winning acrobats, divers, and synchronized swimmers and it showed. It was a veritable feast for the senses and another show that I can totally recommend not to miss.

[Fizzlewicket]

Behind each of the wind screens of the Aqua Theater was a place to play shuffleboard and an excellent view of the wake of the ship.

 

 

 

 

I am not sure why the wake of a cruise ship fascinates me. Maybe it is the beautiful rhythmic dance of waves and foam that intrigues me.

 

 

I invite you to join me in my fascination ...

 

 

 

[YOUTUBE]UcmbqqB39sA[/YOUTUBE]

[Fizzlewicket]

If we do a 180 from the front of the Aqua Theater, we see the Sabor bar. (It looks better at night.)

 

 

 

 

 

Just up ahead from there is Johnny Rockets.

 

 

 

Johnny Rockets offers a free breakfast and lunch and dinner for a fee. While I did want to try all the complimentary breakfast places during my cruise, I always found myself back at the Windjammer for a solo quick grab and go and afterword it was very easy to grab a quick plate of food for my wife and take it back to cabin.

[Fizzlewicket]

After Johnny Rockets is a shop called Star Pier that sold things like clothing-shirts, sandals and other beach related items.

 

 

 

 

 

And lastly we have Pinwheels and Candy Beach ...

 

 

 

Pinwheels sells childrens' clothing and accessories ...

 

 

 

And Candy Beach which is a shop selling inexpensive hard liquor and a variety of hand rolled cigars. (Nah, I just wanted to see if you were paying attention.) Anyway, they sell prebagged candy and candy by weight.

 

 

 

 

By the way, which hot dog did you have?

[Fizzlewicket]

So where to now? How about the Central Park?

 

If we take the elevators near the boardwalk entrance, we can head right to deck 8 and enter from there stroll through the port side of the Park and do a full circle around to the Starboard side.

 

Sound good? Here we go …

 

 

Welcome to Central Park ...

 

 

 

 

We start out on the side with the Coach and Tiffany and Co shops and a very small place called Picture This.

 

 

 

[Fizzlewicket]

If we move through the strange sculpture garden, we end up at Park Café.

 

 

 

 

 

They offered breakfast sandwiches in the morning and salads, paninis, and others items for lunch and dinner. I was never very hungry during the cruise (can you believe that?), so I kept forgetting to grab a popular roast beef sandwich from the café. One afternoon, as I remember about the sandwich, I still was not hungry, but I decided to head down to the Park Café and jump face first into a freshly made roast beef sandwich and a side of salt and vinegar potato chips. I watched as the preparer cut three long slices off an end piece of slowly cooked roast beef, place those pieces on top side a soft salted bun and then add a drizzle of au jus to the bottom bun slice. He then combined the two pieces on to a small red plate and presented me with my first Park Café roast beef sandwich.

 

 

I grabbed my sandwich and chips and then my wife and I found a couple of surprising comfortable wooden chairs not far from the café to where I proceeded to enjoy my delightful meal. There were a few small pieces of fat along the meat that I had to peel off before I began eating but overall, it was very good. Was it mind blowing as all the hype has suggested? No. But it was complementary, tasty and I was full which, to me, are all good things.

[Fizzlewicket]

As we stroll further, there is plenty of plant life to admire and along with the Trellis Bar.

 

 

[molsonschooner]

Working OK for me, but I'm using a laptop.

 

working perfect for me on my desk top

[Fizzlewicket]

After the you pass the Trellis Bar to come to the location of the Rising Tide Bar which did not constantly go up and down to the from the Central Park to Royal Promenade (as I had thought it might), but did so just a few times a days.

 

 

 

 

And to your right or starboard (I still hope I am getting those right), you have Chops Grill with has outdoor seating along with wind guards.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Fizzlewicket]

Before we head in the other direction, let us take a look at Dazzles since it is only right through those doors.

 

 

While I really wanted to attend a Dazzles music show, we were always so busy. There just is not enough time to enjoy everything the ship has to offer. We had to make sacrifices because so much was great entertainment or activities were happening all at the same time.

 

 

This is one of those rare times where there is no private event happening, so let take a peek inside.

 

 

 

 

[Fizzlewicket]

Heading back out to Central Park, we find the 150 Central Park Restaurant.

 

 

 

And just off to the right of the entrance of 150 is a cozy little gaming area. Though I am not sure where you would get the pieces.

 

[Fizzlewicket]

As we pass 150 Central Park, we discover a variety of just really relaxing places to sit. My wife and I traveled through this area very slowly when we first found it just to take in all it had to offer.

 

 

 

I call this place my own secret garden.

 

 

While my wife was observing all the different types of plant life since she enjoys gardening, I was focused on more of the how Royal Caribbean built this area. But at the same time, it does not mean I also could not see the visual beauty of Central Park.

 

Edited February 2, 2016 by Fizzlewicket

[Fizzlewicket]

Next is Giovanni’s Table.

 

 

 

 

This is where we dined on embarkation night. When we walked in, we noticed the restaurant was low lit. This made reading the menu a bit difficult. At the 6pm seating, there still was some daylight outside and we were sitting within the light of the front door, so it was not so bad for us. But as the evening grew later and more customers arrived, I noticed people sitting around us using the glow of their cell phones or even their cell phone flashlights to read their menus.

 

I had done a lot of research on this restaurant and took note of what people had highly recommended. With that, for an appetizer, I ordered the oven baked, almond crusted scallops and my wife ordered the Caesar salad. I asked her how her salad was and she just kept reminding me of how good the one was from Chops on the Liberty. My scallops were good, but mainly just a placeholder for the entrée. I also ordered the potato gnocchi with thyme scented baby lamb and root vegetable sauce and for an entrée ordered the grilled 8 oz. beef fillet tenderloin, garlic oil flavored fries and Gorgonzola butter. My wife ordered the grilled lamb chops with the baby vegetable coponata, sautéed spinach and Merlot reduction. Our waiter recommended that we enjoy the pasta dish (gnocchi) at the same time as the entrée as is traditional. So we did, and while we were waiting, we enjoyed some delicious Italian olive bread with a fantastic dipping sauce made of olive oil, a balsamic vinegar and parmesan cheese.

 

To be perfectly honest, my steak was not as good as I expected. When your garlic fries are the highlight of your dish because they are salty and delicious with a meal that includes a filet mignon then you know something is wrong. I chalk it up to just being under seasoned. My wife enjoyed her dinner too, but when I asked her if she would order it again, she said she probably would order something different next time. My wife found the gnocchi dish rather salty, but I enjoyed it quite a bit. As we polished off our plates, the waiter asked us to select a dessert. We both choose the cannolis and we ordered one of each. One being the traditional ricotta and the other being the filled with chocolate rum and hazelnut. It is strange to say that out of all that food, the highlight of the meal was the cannolis and especially the chocolate hazelnut one. What is it about desserts at the specialty restaurants being nearly the highlight of the meal? There was that amazing red velvet cake at Chops Grill and the incredible Tiramisu at Portofino in the Liberty of the Seas. And now, the sensational strawberry ice cream at Izumi and the fantastic cannolis at Giovanni’s Table.

 

 

All in all, a great meal and when we were done, we asked the staff to bring up two wheel barrels for our overstuffed bodies and for transportation to the next event of the evening. I can actually understand why my wife was happy not to have to go to specialty restaurants anymore. They stuff you to the brim with delicious food and then you are in a food coma for the rest of the evening. But isn’t that what cruising is; drinking, fine dining, world class entertainment and beautiful exotic destinations?

[Fizzlewicket]

Before I forget, I have to mention the music in Central Park. I read on the Cruise Compass that classical music was played there in the evening. I enjoy all types of music and I could also see how Central Park could be the perfect for that type of music.

 

I remember coming from the elevators and then passing through the door near the Coach shop. The beautiful classical music seemed to fill Central Park (they had speakers all over). It was wonderful and relaxing and I had to find the source. As I continued through and came to the Park Café area, this area seemed to have been transformed. You could hear the light clinking of plates, glasses and silverware from the outdoor dining section of Giovanni’s Table and there were several dozen people quietly enjoying the soothing sounds from a violinist and a keyboard player.

 

 

 

But why do I continue to describe it? Here, take a listen …

 

 

[YOUTUBE]HEm8U_9Z24w[/YOUTUBE]