TeamTrom’s Vacation Review: Oasis of the Seas (10.29.16) plus More

[TeamTrom]

Day 6: Day at Sea

We get up to another beautiful skyline...

 

 

We put our breakfast on repeat by heading to the windjammer. Today we had to try and do anything that we hadn't done during the week. We took the schedule and highlighted our wants. We started off by heading up to the zip line on the sports. Once we got their the line wasn't too bad so we decided to get in it. We got to the entrance and saw that we needed shoes or sock to participate and we only had sandals so we headed to our room and grabbed our required items. When we returned the line was significantly longer and despite wanting to do it, we know it wont be anything like what we did in Costa Maya and the wait isn't worth being able to say we did it. We skipped instead to the FloRider. We went to the stand up version first so I could give it a try. And try I did lol. I have done this before on Freedom with success and I also wakeboard behind our jet ski but man it was not the same and it had been years since Freedom. After my quick run on the standup side we headed to the lay down side. We both gave it a shot and we had significantly more success. Here is Wifey giving it a go...

 

 

And here is me.

 

 

It is incredible what some of these KIDS can do. I am talking about young kids that are incredibly talented. Realistically it is stuff I would do at their age and would like to do still at my age now but I just don't have it anymore :D We attempted to make it to the dodgeball tournament and coming up disappointed. I showed up 15 minutes, which is when the signup is. When I walked up the staff member was pulling the dodgeballs off the court and with confusion I asked if this is where it was being played. He said yes but unless I wanted to pay by myself their would be no game because no one showed up... I thought it was strange how early he bailed on the idea but what was I to do... I left and about 30 minutes later my dad found us in the solarium and asked why I wasn't there, I explained myself and he told me he just walked by and there was a dozen people playing... :mad: Argh... I knew I should've stayed a couple minutes. We then wanted to swing by the sports pool because Adult Volleyball was to start soon. We waited around until it began people watching. It was strange because one minute the volleyball net wasn't up, next thing it was, without us even realizing it happened and there was no staff member in sight. No one ever returned and there were 3 kids in the pool from before that were now playing volleyball. :rolleyes: Strange of them not to announce the activity and to clear the pool for adults. Without any structure its no wonder the activities that we tried to participate in were no good.

[TeamTrom]

We were hungry at this point so we decided to head to Sabor, something we had planned on doing when on this ship since before we even booked it. This restaurant is an ala Carte menu and is fairly reasonable price wise, most items are $5 or $6. We have heard so many good things about their tableside guacamole so we had that in mind immediately. The experience was not as I expected. I feel that the stories I have heard was them bringing a table to your table and hand making this delicious side in front of you and by request of what ingredients you liked. I remember people saying they were asked whether they like is spicy or not. None of which happened for us... He did make it in the same room as us but not within sight and no requests on how we wanted it. The guacamole was still good just lost a little of the experience we expected. We did have to add extra salsa into the guac ourselves to make it a little more our style.

 

 

I ordered the chicken stuffed jalapenos, even though I knew this was far from something Wifey would enjoy. This is right up my alley and I was very happy with this. Definitely the best part of the meal for me. These were just the right amount of spicy mixed with great flavor.

 

 

Wifey ordered the calamari which were crispy and pretty good, but not spectacular.

 

 

Now this part was disappointing. We order the fish tacos and they were not as expected. Really they weren't even as good as they looked. They were truly tasteless which left a bad taste in our mouths.

 

 

Sabor left two very different opinions from the two of us. She did not have anything that was great, like she expected. But on the other had the chicken stuffed jalapenos will be remembered as one of the best things I ate all week and I love guacamole so that itself was still good so my experience was still above average, maybe short of what I wanted but still good. She was still hungry because of said experience so we headed next door to cups n scoops and got ice cream and a cupcake for desert. Vanilla cream cheese cupcake and I forget the flavor of my ice cream but it was very tasty.

 

 

Now that I say this I completely forgot to mention that we ordered a root beer float and a milkshake at Johnny Rockets. Now the root beer float was exactly that, we know what to expect but my vanilla milkshake was amazing. It was a vanilla cake batter type of flavor to it and I cannot stress how amazing it was. Absolutely fantastic and I would recommend everyone to make it there just for that. We ate our cupcake and ice cream at one of the high top tables overlooking the aqua theatre just to enjoy the boardwalk and this was the only time I noticed the big tv screens like this but it is worth bringing up that they were not working right.

 

 

we kept busy for the rest of the afternoon, a lot of time spent in the solarium just relaxing. We didn't try any more activities and I am okay with that. We have reservations for 150 Central Park tonight and we have rearranged the times so that we could combine our reservations with Jennifer and her parents David and Mona from the Cabin Crawl. We change the time til 630 and we all arrived on time. This was a disappointing meal on so many different fronts. This specialty restaurant is much more strict on what you can order, no extra appetizers and they have a meal on the menu that is a steak for two... so both you and your partner must order this together to get the entire size, otherwise they cut it in half... I did not take any pictures from this meal to respect our company but there wasn't much to take. They had the different salts they offer with their bread and it was okay. I ordered the Scallops for dinner and it came with 3 regular sized scallops for the entire meal so you can see why we may want an extra appetizer. I also had the duck confit for a starter and that was pretty tasty but by the time it was said and done this meal left us wanting so much more. Now I haven't mentioned the service yet, which was far and away the low light of our entire cruise. This meal took two and a half hours from start to finish and not because we took our time by any means. I am being truthful about the time frame. Our food took a really long time to come out and when it did we would get two or three of our plates while the rest would wait... and I am not talking about a minute or two, it was sometimes up to ten minutes later that we would all finally be served so those that had food it was now cold at this point. There was one time when my fathers starter was sitting a couple feet from the table on the tray while they waited until the rest of the meal was being brought out. And this was one of those moments that took several minutes. That is not acceptable. After we finished our main courses we waited about 30 minutes for our server to take our desert order. All in all there was no food that was memorable and the service was terrible. But there was one thing going for us... The company was fantastic and somehow we all ended up having a great time due to conversation so it wasn't a total loss... This left us close to the time to get back to the room and get completely packed up for disembarkation tomorrow morning. We spent the night relaxing and just enjoying ourselves the best we could.

 

 

 

[poffles]

Loving your review and your pictures are awesome. So want to try an Oasis ship, or any RCL ship really since haven't sailed them yet.

 

Carry on .... :)

[lexdog]

I was on the same cruise and was aliitle disappointed in the cruise itself.I was going to write a review but I didn't want to sound so negative.

[TeamTrom]

Day 7: Disembarkation Day/Travel back to Orlando

The dreaded day has arrived :( It always comes so much quicker than vacation does... We wake up after were already docked at Fort Lauderdale so we have a similar view as to when we originally got to our balcony room on embarkation day. We head down to Windjammer for breakfast and with prior experiences we fully expect this to be a train wreck with everyone running to meet here as well. It must have been close to 9am but we had no trouble finding a place for us to sit together, and the be honest there was plenty of tables coming available through our time in there. Usually we come in to every table being hoarded until the person in them disembarks. I think that on Oasis they don't make this a location to wait in so it really keeps the room moving along. Great call!!! Afterwards we head down to MDR on promenade deck. We once again found a table here and many more where that came from while we wait for our deck to be called. We all played some cards together for the duration. Here are our custom made cards that my sister gave to us... Love em

 

 

We had to wait here for about an hour, it seemed as though there was a delay in luggage clearing customs because they told us we could leave the ship but then we would be waiting to pick up luggage. Id much rather wait on board. Once we were cleared to go we got off the ship quickly, made it to luggage quickly but then we had about a 45 minute wait to make it through customs. I supposed we should expect this with so many passengers on board. Now I don't recall my two embarkations on Royal in my past but I do remember, nor will I ever forget, my experience from Carnival Pride which was terrible. We were forced into areas that cannot hold the guests comfortably in any way. I remember seeing people scattered all over the floors, sitting on their luggage or just on the floor in itself. We were ushered to the theatre room, which was extremely crowded even though the room directly next to it was completely empty. They said that room was off limits. On Oasis this was a completely different and fresh experience. Thank You Royal!!!

 

We have a shuttle there to take us to Dollar Rent A Car for our rental. Really short drive there and while it was busy it didn't take too long to get our rental. This rental did have scratches and scuffs all over that we had to report so we wouldn't get charged on return but it never became a problem so oh well. A few hours back to Auburndale and we get to see our baby boys face. My grandparents tell me he was an angel and I feel relieved. We just sat around for a few hours, eat and talk about our vacation. It was lots of fun to relive some memories. This day went by pretty quickly.

 

Day After: Fly Back Home/Unpacking Day

We fly out of Orlando at 6am so we have to wake up and leave the house by 3am so we can get there with enough time. None of us got much sleep but it will be nice to get the travel back home out of the way and a decent amount of day light left for the day. Caleb enjoys exploring in this very large airport. Here he is eating in one of the many stores... he just popped a squat to get comfortable.

 

 

Our second flight from Atlanta to Akron/Canton had around 60 empty seats so we were able to spread out, get comfortable and allow an extra seat for Caleb which was nice. We were in the airport at home by 1030 and all the day ahead of us...... to unpack, unwind, relax and what not. And that is exactly what we did, plus throw in our laundry so that I don't drag it out over the next few days.

 

2 Days After: Vacay isn’t over yet!!!

Dad and I ended our vacation in the perfect way. We had tickets to go to the Cowboys/Browns game in Cleveland. We head down early, tailgate with some friends from work and watch our Boys beat up on Cleveland just like we expected. Here we are from our seats.

 

 

And here is the American flag, in shape of the USA for the national Anthem. I love how this moment always gives me chills.

 

[TeamTrom]

The Final Review!!!

I am going to take a short period of time to just give my final thoughts on our entire cruise and specific parts.

The Ship- To no one’s surprise this ship was absolutely huge. For a ship this size it is incredible how immaculate they keep it presentation wise. The colors in the royal promenade are amazing and the experience on the boardwalk and in central park are like nothing else you can find on a ship. I have heard many people say that this ship is laid out so well that it really doesn’t feel as big as it is but I am not sure that I agree. Not that it is laid out poorly because we never came across that as a problem but there is no denying how big this ship is. It took significantly longer for me to get the layout of the ship down than on previous ships but at no point during the cruise did we ever feel like there was anywhere near the number of people on board that really were there. Although it is so large there were quite a few times that we felt the ship rocking. Specifically, on day one with nine foot waves we felt it more so than any other day but sparingly through the week we felt movement. None of which caused any seasickness to anyone we heard from but there was certainly more movement than I ever expected. There was more things on this ship for us to do than we could fit in over a week. I really would have like water slides on board, that is one of my only faults to this megaship.

Final Grade: A

 

The Food- I have cruises as my top vacation because of the high quality food that you receive on board. My expectations are now very high for my week on board. The MDR was a disappointment overall. The new menu had very little that we just had to have which is a surprise. The food was good, better than we have at home at almost any restaurant, but definitely not what I have come to expect. Giovanni’s was absolutely fantastic and If my Final Grade was based on this alone I would have to come up with a new letter in the alphabet. Izumi was good but exactly what I could get at home. 150 Central park was okay but the experience there was terrible so it is a good thing that the Final Grade isn’t on this alone. I thoroughly enjoyed Sabor while Wifey did not, and the same goes for Johnny Rockets but mainly because she ordered the chicken instead of a burge. Breakfast at the Windjammer far exceeded my expectations. Central Park roast beef was good and the pizza at Sorento’s was better than expected due to CC saying it would be so bad. I enjoyed my Boardwalk Dogs visit and I wish I had come back. Room Service food (besides breakfast, we avoided this due to terrible reviews) was also good, nothing that puts it over the top but to be honest, anytime I am in bed and have food delivered to me I am a happy camper.

Final Grade: B

 

The Service- Our stateroom attendant, Puncho, took care of our room perfectly fine. He was not a personable attendant like we have had in the past but he took care of his duties to perfection. Our MDR servers were both nice and took care of us fine but once again, never did anything to put our experience over the top. The bartender that we constantly went back to over and over again was Ramesh in the Schooner Bar and he alone made our experience a great one daily. He was very personable and I wish there were more staff members like him. Aside from Ramesh the staff on board left a lot to be desired, we were met with nice people, but nothing that made me feel like I have on my previous cruises. I am going to try and not let the service at 150 Central Park take complete control of the Final Grade.

Final Grade: C

 

The Balcony Cabin- This was our first Balcony cabin and I will always remember this one. We have never spent much time in our cabin but that changed a little on this one because of the perks of a Balcony. Additionally it was a slightly bigger room but the layout with the balcony is what made it really feel bigger. The bathroom was similar to what we had on any other cruise which met our needs but nothing more. Room location was not directly next to any elevators so that was a little disappointing. The extra $100 it cost for us to upgrade to this was one of the best deals of my life lol.

Final Grade: A-

 

The Itinerary- We did not pick this cruise for the itinerary, we picked it for the deal and the ship. The only port that we were intrigued about was Cozumel. We would much rather prefer a Eastern Caribbean itinerary but we came out pleasantly surprised with our ports when it was said and done.

Final Grade: B-

 

Nassau, Bahamas- There is nothing particularly spectacular about Nassau. This is my only repeat port, and I am sure I will spend many more port days here moving forward because it is incredibly common. I would never make a trip outside of a cruise to this port. The water appeared nice, the weather was okay and the port within walking distance was just fine. We had a good experience here because we enjoyed our excursion enough.

Final Grade: C+

 

Costa Maya, Mexico- This port was different than any I had ever been at. I do not know if this is a newer port but I can tell you that it feels as though it is. The port area was really cool, it had a great welcome party and a neat pool/restaurant area unlike anything I have seen at any port and it was free to swim. The port area was pretty small so to get to anything other than our adventure park it seemed to be a long drive. The shop area was small enough that you could walk through quickly. I came out of the port day having enjoyed the port more so than expected but there is so little to do that you would not want to return too often.

Final Grade: B

 

Cozumel, Mexico- I am not a big shopper so the large shop area is not something I desire. It seems as though most people come to Cozumel for one of the many all-inclusive resorts and Mr. Sancho’s was well worth the cost. The water was very warm and the weather was the best we had on the entire vacation. It was a short drive to most of the resorts. We already have our next visit to Cozumel planned for a year from now and I am looking forward to this visit.

Final Grade: A

 

Internet Package- The internet package worked out fine for our needs. It was sometimes frustrating how often you have to log back in. The speed would’ve been more than satisfying if I hadn’t read so many people say how fast it was, but the hype was a little bigger than the actual thing. We would much rather not have the internet at all, it is nice to be disconnected but having Caleb with our grandparents it was a must have.

Final Grade: B

 

Our Cruise on Oasis of the Seas- It is a complicated matter to add it all up and grade it out in its entirety. My vacation was fantastic but I was on vacation so of course it was. The ship met its expectations of being a megaship. The food was good but we would’ve like better. The service left more to be desired. Comparing this to previous cruises is what brings on the Final Grade that I have given.

Final Overall Grade: B

 

Today is one week from stepping off of Oasis and now is the end of this review. It is time to put this trip in the rearview mirror and look towards our next cruise which coincidentally is exactly one year from today. On November 12, 2017, we board Carnival Vista for a 6-night cruise from Miami. This was my first review and I am torn as to whether I will continue to do this moving forward. This was a lot of work but I am glad that I did it. Thank you for reading my Trip Review. I hope that you enjoyed yourself and that I helped you in some sort of way, whether it was reliving your vacation or deciding on Oasis for your future cruise.

TeamTrom OUT, Vacation Anticipation Counselor is no longer in the office ;)

[joand452]

Thank you posting such a thorough review with so many great photos! We'll be on our first Carnival cruise on Vista a couple of weeks after you.

 

Hope you'll ll have that review finished so I can read it before we board! [emoji6]

 

 

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[trihawks1]

Awesome review! I missed my Oasis of the Seas cruise last December because I broke my left leg, tore the meniscus in the knee, and broke my radial head in my elbow...all on the left side. I thankfully had trip insurance to cover this...just really disappointed that this happened 6 weeks before the trip. My daughter and her two friends went anyway. They had a balcony on the "hump" starboard deck 8. They loved the larger balcony, but wish they would have been closer to the elevators lol. They enjoyed the food, the ship, and comedy club. Disappointed in the solarium because the glass kept the heat in too much for their liking.

 

I am now trying to book either Oasis or Allure hoping to get a Junior Suite or Grand Suite. I'm still using a cane at times when walking long distances which is frustrating. We usually book "hump cabins" and always midship. We loved Independence of the Seas especially the adult area/pool and our "Hump" cabin on Deck 6. I am hoping that when we get things booked and on the ship, we will enjoy the Oasis or Allure as much as Indy.

 

 

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[poohnpals]

Thank you for your great review. We are sailing her in January and cannot get enough information. Thank you for taking the time.

 

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[easyboy]

Thank you for that wonderful review.

[cruising twosome]

Thank you for taking your time to do the review, enjoyed it!

[bradleyk]

The Final Review!!!

 

Today is one week from stepping off of Oasis and now is the end of this review. It is time to put this trip in the rearview mirror and look towards our next cruise which coincidentally is exactly one year from today. On November 12' date=' 2017, we board Carnival Vista for a 6-night cruise from Miami. This was my first review and I am torn as to whether I will continue to do this moving forward. This was a lot of work but I am glad that I did it. Thank you for reading my Trip Review. I hope that you enjoyed yourself and that I helped you in some sort of way, whether it was reliving your vacation or deciding on Oasis for your future cruise.

TeamTrom OUT, Vacation Anticipation Counselor is no longer in the office ;)

[/size']

 

I loved your review and would really like to read your insights into the Vista!

[lisakoivu]

We have probably been on 10 cruises, but our first with RCCL will be on Freedom in March. Your review was great and gave a real "feel" for RCCL. Thank you!

[DChamp]

Nice job on the review... hopefully, next time we actually get to meet!

[RoperDK]

Thank you for taking the time to do such a detailed and interesting review! I so enjoyed reading it.

 

Dawn

[harryfat1]

Wifey checking in!!! I see that some of you have said you like to prepare like he does but seriously, this guy is so obsessed he has a color coded excel spread sheet...

 

 

I’m a tad late to the party here but just had to comment at the Excel spreadsheet. I also included my Excel schedule in my Allure trip report from couple years ago and it was interesting reading people’s comments after I posted it. As a frequent member of the “Friends of Excel” support group, I can appreciate a fellow cruiser in doing a similar schedule.

 

That’s one thing about cruise critics, no matter how anal your family and friends thinks you are, you come out to cruise critics and meet other similarly anal people and you feel much better that you are not alone. The support group does wonders.

 

I’m just waiting to see if anyone color code their underwear to match the color spreadsheet…:p

 

[hanoudi]

I’m a tad late to the party here but just had to comment at the Excel spreadsheet. I also included my Excel schedule in my Allure trip report from couple years ago and it was interesting reading people’s comments after I posted it. As a frequent member of the “Friends of Excel” support group, I can appreciate a fellow cruiser in doing a similar schedule.

 

That’s one thing about cruise critics, no matter how anal your family and friends thinks you are, you come out to cruise critics and meet other similarly anal people and you feel much better that you are not alone. The support group does wonders.

 

I’m just waiting to see if anyone color code their underwear to match the color spreadsheet…:p

 

 

Can you be so kind an post the excel sheet please? I find it very useful.

 

Thank you

[cruisequeen4ever]

I thoroughly enjoyed your review and hope you do another one next year! It's always a delight to see fellow young couples enjoying cruising!

 

 

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[harryfat1]

Can you be so kind an post the excel sheet please? I find it very useful.

 

Thank you

 

Ah, another member of the “Friends of Excel” schedule. Good to meet another member of the support group.

 

There’s nothing really special or magical about these schedules. All they are is basic Excel spreadsheet with dates and events. TeamTrom does his with color coded dates and fonts. I color code mine based on activity type. You can color code anyway in order to help you organize for the cruise. Come back and share your color coded spreadsheet when done.

 

If you want a template to get you started, you can download it from post #16 here:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2146596

[hanoudi]

Ah, another member of the “Friends of Excel” schedule. Good to meet another member of the support group.

 

There’s nothing really special or magical about these schedules. All they are is basic Excel spreadsheet with dates and events. TeamTrom does his with color coded dates and fonts. I color code mine based on activity type. You can color code anyway in order to help you organize for the cruise. Come back and share your color coded spreadsheet when done.

 

If you want a template to get you started, you can download it from post #16 here:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2146596

 

Thanks Much!!

[PattiRedRabbit]

I’m a tad late to the party here but just had to comment at the Excel spreadsheet. I also included my Excel schedule in my Allure trip report from couple years ago and it was interesting reading people’s comments after I posted it. As a frequent member of the “Friends of Excel” support group, I can appreciate a fellow cruiser in doing a similar schedule.

 

 

 

That’s one thing about cruise critics, no matter how anal your family and friends thinks you are, you come out to cruise critics and meet other similarly anal people and you feel much better that you are not alone. The support group does wonders.

 

 

 

I’m just waiting to see if anyone color code their underwear to match the color spreadsheet…:p

 

 

 

 

 

Great idea on the color coordination of the spreadsheet and undies. [emoji23]

 

 

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[heatheranderson13]

Can i get in on a copy of this spread sheet?

 

 

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[Ander026]

This was our room. For those following along this was an A3 One Bedroom Aqua Theater Suite, cabin 11330. We loved the views and the extra space. We were traveling with our two girls so it was a nice fit for our family. We did not like the lack of storage space for the 4 of us. The bathroom was not an issue for us but could be for some as it is only accessible through the bedroom and only has a single sink. We also decided that if it were just my wife and I we prefer the GS or CLS but this was perfect for the kids. Great to meet all those on the cabin crawl, we were glad to take part.

 

This was my parents room for the following cruise on November 5th out of Port Canaveral. They had to get to the door fixed in the living room for the AC to work. This was a great suite. Wish this was 2 bedroom which was originally planned for.

[justus3!]

We are starving and thanks to the suggestion from some fellow Cruise Critic friends we head straight to Park Café and boy was that a good suggestion!! It's a small place but after a short line we had a delicious roast beef sandwich and even found an open table! (hint: we would not have been able to say the same about the Windjammer)

 

Don't keep track how often(or not often) you receive a photo pre-eaten in some capacity lol I am pretty forgetful.

 

Funny story: we sit next to a group of friendly strangers who turned out to be on Cruise Critic who recognized us from our pictures in my review! The lady leans over "Are you the guy doing the Cruise Critic review?"

Why yes, yes I am. lol This was interestingly the only time this happened on the cruise, which quickly humbled me from feeling like a celebrity, to being back on earth. If you are said people please call yourself out, I failed to get your username nor do I remember your name. Sorry

 

Took this photo of the Promenade from our table, pretty cool how incorporated this ship is from area to area.

 

 

We then explore the ship a bit, skipping the Windjammer because, SURPRISE! It's beyond packed, there's a line past the elevators and the stairs one floor down. Impressive. Me and dad get some more drinks because we can, my wife nurses her first one which is okay by me because like Kristie she did not get the package. only dad and I are the alcoholics lol :p. Now is a great time to mention Ramesh. We met him very early this day at the Schooner Bar. He bartends there every night and he was our favorite of the entire week. It just so happens this bar was the closest one to our Cabin which really made it that much better. He was very personable and we enjoyed each and every conversation we had with him. He took great care of us, remembering our names from the first interaction. Go and pay him a visit.

 

Hi Loved your review! Had a few questions about the drink package, was there any issues with getting drinks? Did you just show your sea pass and was that it? Can you order any mixed drink off there menus with no extra charge? Do you by chance have any pics of the drink menus? YouTube has some from a few years back but don't know how much they have changed ;)

[TeamTrom]

Hi Loved your review! Had a few questions about the drink package, was there any issues with getting drinks? Did you just show your sea pass and was that it? Can you order any mixed drink off there menus with no extra charge? Do you by chance have any pics of the drink menus? YouTube has some from a few years back but don't know how much they have changed ;)

I do not have any pics, I am sorry. They have a different menu at every bar but they make basically every drink at each one anyways, just ask for what you want. They have to take and swipe your card as if they are charging you bjt they will give you a receipt for zero dollars, pretty easy process. You are technically only allowed a max at $11 drink for free and then your supposed to pay the difference but my experience was that they found a way to get the drink included in your package because I never paid the extra $$$.

 

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