When a Princess isn’t a Royal, Our first RCCL experience on the Oasis!

[Steelers0854]

Ok that did it, the photos of the food at Giovanni's!! We always go to 150 Central Park 5 nights and one evening at Chops and Giovanni's after looking at those photos we are going there twice! :D

 

 

 

You will not be disappointed!

[Steelers0854]

[Steelers0854]

Day 5 San Juan

 

 

I woke up around 6:45 as we were just approaching Puerto Rico. It was a beautiful morning (pictures above) and we leisurely strolled into port. It was just us today. We hung out on the balcony enjoying the morning when the phone rang about 7:15, our breakfast was on the way! Not 5 minutes after there was a knock at the door and our order was here. I was super impressed, the bagels and english muffin were toasted and still piping hot! You win breakfast room service.

 

We finished getting ready and headed down to meet our tour group. We boarded an air conditioned bus and the driver gave us a play by play as we headed over to new San Juan. He pointed out land marks, talked about the hurricane and the impact that the island is still reeling over. His own home still has no electricity and he says he cant start to rebuild because he needs power for his tools. The San Juan area is in remarkable shape. The only signs of a hurricane I saw were a few bent signs and a tree that had been uprooted. Of course this is the first place services would be restored and the people int he outlying areas are still facing an uphill battle. We stopped near the beach and walked around a bit (again photos just above) and walked through a beautiful hotel (Condado Vanderbilt) and in case you were wondering, tonight an ocean view room was running $623. We boarded the bus and headed back towards old San Juan. He showed us some more landmarks, talked about where J-Lo and others had condos, showed us were they filmed Despacito, and showed us the first church, fort and open air market. He let us off at the center of Old San Juan, we could meet him back there in an hour or just walk back to the port. We elected to walk back to the port. Our guide was really fantastic, had a lot of knowledge and was easy to understand. We gave him a good tip as we headed out for the rest of the day.

 

We walked up to the fort that was closest to downtown and saw some amazing views and learned a lot about the history of the fort and how they lived back in the day. There were some amazing views of the city from way up in the fort itself. It was $7 per adult (kids free) and that got you into this fort as well as the one a decent walk down the coast.

 

It was about 10:45 at this point and we started to walk in and out of shops. Now I usually like to eat local, I find you get the best food avoiding the touristy spots and the chain restaurants. But, the home of the Pina Colada is here, and how on earth can you pass that up? I love a good Pina Colada so we made it a mission to head to Restaurant Barrachina, where the first Pina Colada was made. We got there about 11 (its a bit of a walk from where the ship is, but not too bad) and we had to wait 20 minutes for a table. I saw 2 local cops walk in and eat lunch and knew this place had to be good, the cops I know only eat at places they trust. I ordered a Pina Colada ($7) and DW (not a drinker) got a virgin Pina Colada ($4). I was hungry and had wanted to try a local dish, mofongo. I was really sad we were in port for such a short period of time so I ordered the shrimp mofongo ($20) and DW (not anywhere close to an adventurous eater, she would have been happy to see a McDonalds) decided to wait til we got back to the ship. This dish was delicious! Lots of shrimp, great flavor, a light sauce but jam packed with flavor I just wished it had a little kick to it. Im hooked. The Pina Coladas were worth every sip. It’s hard to describe but there was such a balance between the sweetness and the rum it was like no other Pina Colada I had before. Order another round! I would highly recommend this place, it is super touristy but worth every penny of the price.

 

 

After (my) lunch we headed to ship for our scavenger hunt. We went up to the buffet to get DW something to eat, there was a long line but it moved quickly. They were seating people by number in your party so it was very efficient. I have to admit, even with all the people there the buffet itself was still very easily manageable, RCCL really has this down to a science, now if we can change a few of the menu selections around it would be perfect! We got a seat but DW didnt find a lot that excited her so we grabbed a couple of lemonades (this is the only place onboard that I found that has them) and dropped them off at the room. We went to the Park Cafe because you can get small bags of chips there, and went to the hot dog place where she grabbed a Sicilian Dog, on a cheddar bun with onions and peppers, it looked delicious. Then back to the cabin where she could enjoy her lunch and we were ready for sailaway. Scavenger hunt complete!

 

They paged 8 names at 1:45, multiple times, so I hope they all made it back onboard!

 

Sorry for any grammar or spelling errors in this post. I am feverishly typing before I loose my cell signal as we depart and wanted to get this posted. Won’t have internet for the next couple of days.

[JimAOk1945]

Your review is fantastic. Can't wait to see more.

[Steelers0854]

We totally have fallen in love with San Juan. It’s such a beautiful island with such rich history and culture. We have generally always dismissed cruises out of San Juan just because of the increased airfare costs and time it took to get there. Now, we are actively looking for our next cruise to go out of there so we can spend some extra time there before and after the trip.

 

DW decided it was time for a nap and I went to tackle book #2 for this trip. Before we knew it, it was time for dinner, tonight was formal night and lobster night so this one you don't want to miss.

 

Let’s talk about formal night for a minute to get it out of the way. I have seen all manner of dress all week, and no one (including myself) really cares what you wear on any given night. Tonight was no exception as I saw everything from a graphic t-shirt and shorts to a tux, both of which were the exception, with everyone else wearing something in between, usually a polo and slacks. The other nights of the cruise in the specialty restaurants and MDR were pretty dressed down, lots of shorts (albeit nice shorts) and jeans with polos etc.

 

We got the same table as our last MDR dinner, not sure if this was by design or chance, but I will probably find out the next night if we are at the same table or not. Our waiter was great, as he was previously. Sorry no photos today, guess I am running on autopilot and totally forgot until it was past dessert. DW got the strawberry bisque soup, the cheese tortellini, and the chocolate lava cake. I got the tomato soup, shrimp cocktail, 2 lobster tails and chocolate lava cake. DW remakred the strawberry bisque is one of the best things she has had on the cruise. She also really liked the cheese tortellini, although the gnocchi from Giovannis was still the clear pasta winner thus far. My tomato soup was, well tomato soup, and was unremarkable. My lobster was well cooked, for being mass prepared, good sized, and was a winner for me. Dessert was terrible, they really need to call carnival for a recipe for lava cake. Ours was both cooked solid, in fact it was over cooked and was a dense spongey mess. Definitely didnt need any more calories this week so it wasnt a total loss.

 

We walked around the ship, ran into some friends we met during embarkation and chatted with them for a while and called it an early night. We skipped the comedy show we had reservations for and just wanted to relax in the room

[Steelers0854]

Day 6 Labadee

 

 

I woke up around 6:45 and DW was firmly passed out so I headed up for breakfast as I knew she wouldn’t be up for atleast another hour or 2. It was blissfully quiet in the buffet at this time of the day and I enjoyed a leisurely breakfast of steak and eggs. While the lunch buffet has been disappointing the breakfast buffet has been better than any other cruiseline I have seen.

 

Ill catch up on some other random thoughts/observations thus far:

 

-No drink punch cards in sight yet, maybe we won’t be seeing them this cruise.

-Even with as many passengers on this ship as there is, I have never once felt like it was crowded.

-I have the layout down pretty well at this point but find it frustrating that no public deck goes all the way from one end of the ship to the other, everything is on different decks. While I understand it from strictly a design perspective its kind of a pain to move up and down decks to go from Central Park to the promenade.

-Lifeguards are at every pool, I had previously only seen this on DCL and I thought this was a nice thing to have.

-I have yet to have anyone try and hard sell us anything onboard. Yes they do try and sell drink and dining packages but no one has ever been over the top with us.

 

We decided a little exercise was in order so we headed down to deck 5 and did a little walk/run (ok way more of a walk let’s be honest here). This is the best jogging track I have ever seen on a ship. I loved the motivational messages all along the way too! lol

 

 

 

We were ready by 9:30 and had been docked for a bit. We decided to head down to the Promenade and wait until the rush headed ashore. As we were walking down Master Claus came on saying we could now go ashore so we decided to roll the dice and see what the line looked like. We got lucky and literally walked right off the ship. From that point on until about 11:00 there was a steady stream of people leaving the ship.

 

I wasn’t sure exactly what I was expecting at Labadee, frankly it wasn’t much, but it blew away my expectations. This place is beautiful, lush and the water is crystal clear. Now we aren’t beach people, but I think I would seriously contemplate getting a cabana if we come back. They have their own little section of beach near the dock and it looked perfect. We walked around a bit and I grabbed a labadoozle, the special drink ashore, and it was delicious! $12 and a pineapple later and we were off.

 

 

Pro Tip: DW isn’t a drinker so got the virgin version. If you do, get it in the souvenir cup, you get twice as much for basically the same price and you get to keep the cup, her drink was just over $7 with the gratuity.

 

 

We walked down the beach until we got to the Haitian Market. Now for those that complain about the hard sells onboard the cruise ship you clearly have never walked through the Haitian Market at Labadee. It was a full on assault and because it was early in the day we were basically their only targets. It didn’t take long to see that every stall basically had the same thing and we turned tail and headed out very quickly.

 

We had been ashore a little over 90 minutes and decided to head back to the ship. It was really hit today and the lack of a breeze made it that much worse. So we got back to the ship and headed up to the Solarium where we found some loungers, shade and a slight breeze. We relaxed out there until it was time for lunch and we grabbed a quick bite at the buffet. It was nice and quiet there since almost everyone else was ashore.

 

After lunch we hung out in the Solarium a little longer and then DW decided it was time for a shower and an afternoon nap.

[Steelers0854]

Some photos from Labadee

 

[Steelers0854]

While DW napped I headed to the casino. They were having game lessons and I wanted to learn about 3 card poker. The staff in the casino was really great and it was fun to learn a new game. I was actually really surprised to find the casino open while we were at Labadee. After the lesson I headed over to a slot machine and promptly donated my $5 promotional credit in about 35 seconds.

 

When I got up to the room DW was stirring. So we walked around the ship and people watched and read for a bit before we had to get ready for dinner.

 

We headed down to the dining room for dinner. On tonight’s menu was the pork tacos, salmon tartare, the tiger prawns, tagliatelle in a pesto cream and sun dried tomato sauce, a brownie and an apple pie. The salmon was not good and lacked flavor. But the pork taco was great. Not so much a taco as it was in a bao bun (a personal favorite of mine) and was on top of a delicious slaw. I shoulda ordered 3 of them! DW loved her pasta and said it was almost better than the gnocchi from earlier in the cruise. The tiger prawns were good, well cooked, a solid dish. DW’s brownie was more like a cake and was just ok. The apple pie was very good. I missed the entrees, but basically picture shrimp on one plate and pasta on the other and you’ve basically got it [emoji6].

 

 

After dinner we did some laps around the promenade and Central Park before finding 2 chairs and listening to a strong harmony duo in the park as we enjoyed the evening.

 

We called it a day and headed back to the room. We swung into the buffet to grab drinks before we got to the room and found it was Mexican night. DW immediately regretted not checking it earlier as they had her personal favorite, nachos. Too full to possibly eat anything else we grabbed a couple glasses of water and a plate of chips and salsa and called it a night [emoji6].

 

Someone had broken into our room and played a mean joke on us by leaving luggage tags on our bed. Damn you Friday the 13th! This is literally the worst time during the cruise. I still feel like we just got here.

 

In case anyone was wondering here is the internet speed of the surf (NOT surf and stream). It was offered at $18 for 24 hours today. If you get it tomorrow you get a second device free.

 

[Steelers0854]

Another beautiful day aboard the oasis.

 

[Steelers0854]

If any is interested here is the menu from the cafe in the vitality spa.

 

[PSU]

Ok so I just found the Wikipedia page for the yacht parked next to us. It’s the second largest in the world and has its own missle detection system. Crazy!

 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eclipse_(yacht)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[Steelers0854]

Week long fitness schedule.

 

[The sea calls my name]

Ok I,m Old here!:p

What is DINKS?

 

So glad you had the courage to ask. You aren't alone in not understanding Text lingo.

:')

[Steelers0854]

We did have quite a few towel friends visit our cabin this week as well.

 

[Steelers0854]

Day 7 Day at Sea

 

 

I had spin class booked this morning but got up around 7:30 on my own. DW was still sound asleep and I got ready and headed out to get a little breakfast before class. The buffet was it’s usual quiet self this time of the morning and it was easy to get something quick and go.

 

Spin class was excellent again this morning and I’m glad I had booked it. I was surprised to only see about 10 people in class both days I went.

 

I Headed back to the room to get ready for the day and DW had left to go run the track. It wasn’t long before we were both back and ready to tackle our last full day. We headed down to On Air for a napkin folding class. This class just proved as a reminder that I do not need to work in the restaurant industry. The basic ones I got, kind of, the more advanced ones well not so much. After the class was Harry Potter trivia and we stuck around for that. I thought we did well but the people who only missed a half a point on 23 points made us all look like idiots lol. But we had a good time and chatted with another couple that sat next to us.

 

Afterwards of course it was time to eat again. I had wanted to go to Sabor and talked DW into it as well. We got there just before noon. We didn’t have a reservation and had to wait about 10 minutes for a table. I would recommend getting reservations if you want to go on a Sea day. I got me a margarita because when in Mexico, why not?! We got the beef empanadas and chicken/bacon jalapeños. We also got the guacamole, shredded beef and shrimp tacos, yucca fries, corn, and a chicken quesadilla. Yea I’m spending $40 so I’m trying whatever I can possibly fit in there. Well this proved to be a little too much food, I’ll get it it in a minute but basically skip the quesadillas- not worth it.

 

The starters were excellent. The guacamole was almost worth the cost of the meal by itself. Ok, Not really, but it was really good and clearly fresh made. The empanadas have a wonderfully flaky crust and a lot of flavor. I had such high hopes for the chicken/bacon jalapeños and they were ok, kinda dry, spicy and just ok.

 

The tacos are where this place really shined. The shrimp tacos were killer. My pictures don’t do them justice but there were grilled and packed full of flavor. You also get quite a bit of shrimp with them. The pulled beef tacos had a great BBQ flavor as well, and they were not dry which I was concerned about and can happen. Skip the sides all together here. The yucca fries were just ok and the mango habanero sauce was terrible. The corn was corn, well cooked but lacking any kind of flavor, polar opposite of any street corn I have had in the past.

 

We knocked out most of the food (save one part of the quesadilla) and I was stuffed. DW somehow managed to save room for churros. She said they were very good.

 

So, question of the day, is it worth the $20pp? DW, the serial saver, said she enjoyed it more than one of the meals at Giovanni’s and would definitely come back. I thought it was good, now that I know what to get I think I would definitely go back. I wouldn’t even hesitate if I was in a suite or had a dining package where it was included.

[Steelers0854]

 

Pulled BBQ Beef

 

Shrimp Tacos

 

 

Churros

[Steelers0854]

The service was a little rocky to start, but once we got past that we had excellent service the remainder of the meal.

 

While we were waiting these kids had been trying unsuccessfully for about 20 minutes to get these buckets stacked. They tried everything from sitting in each other shoulders to using a chair. They finally succeeded before we were seated. The entire boardwalk had a variety of offerings from cake, cupcakes to candied apples. It was a fun atmosphere, too bad it was a pretty hot day out.

 

 

It took us more than an hour to clear lunch and it was as time for our reservations for Cats.

 

 

We are broadway people. We regularly see shows and enjoy almost all of them. Neither DW or I had seen Cats before. So we were cautiously optimistic given reviews we had previously read. While we were waiting for the show to start an Alpha call came over the PA to the solarium and I pray that individual is doing ok.

 

We gave it the old college try, we really did, but 30 minutes in we bailed. Everything about the show was fantastic but the story line was just not our cup of tea. I know others have said if you give it til after intermission it gets better, but we didn’t want to make the investment, which was too bad because the acting, signing and costumes were just great. Instead we found comfy seats by the wipe out cafe to enjoy the little bit of beautiful weather and pristine waters that were left.

 

[Steelers0854]

We had looked at the dinner menu and didn’t see anything that really overly excited us so we decided to head to the buffet for dinner. I am glad we did, it was Mongolian night, and while it took a little bit to get through the line the food was delicious!

 

 

After dinner we walked around the ship one last time and hung out in our spot on the Promenade near the starbucks. It’s was still on the early side so we grabbed drinks and headed to our balcony to wrap up the evening. It was a beautiful evening, the sun was on the opposite side of the ship so it wasnt overly hot and we enjoyed relaxing and reading on the balcony until it got dark outside.

 

We headed in and put our suitcases in the hallway and shed a tear, our wonderful vacation was rapidly coming to an end and we didnt want to leave.

[Steelers0854]

Day 8 the Saddest Day of the Cruise

 

We woke up this morning to the sight that no one ever wants to see, Port Canaveral.

 

 

After getting ready we shot up to windjammer for a quick breakfast. It was about 7:30 and the place was busy but we easily found seats and never had an issue maneuvering around to get food.

 

After breakfast we headed to the room, grabbed our luggage and proceeded to Deck 5 dining room to wait for our number to be called. It was a little after 8 at this point.

 

RCCL is insanely organized, it was extraordinarily easy to find where we needed to go and to get seats. I guess with so much capacity its easier for them, sometimes on Princess I feel like it’s Lord of the Flies trying to find a place to wait to leave the ship, even in the priority lounge. So I am mentally preparing myself at this point for a longer than usual process given that we are getting off with 6,000 of our closest friends. Spoiler Alert, it was the easiest process we have ever had.

 

We were #12 and we waited all of 5 minutes to be called to disembark. From this point until we hit the transfer I never stopped walking. we walked right out of the dining room and had our seapass cards scanned and walked straight to get our bags. They were easy to find, and then it was off to customs. They had 5 agents working and we had 1 family in front of us in line. We were well under the declaration limits so no paperwork for us to fill out. We handed them our passports, they made sure it was us and we were off. We walked straight to the bus where they checked our names off, told us what bus to get on based on what airline we were flying and we were all set! It was a quick 35 minute drive and here we are at the airport.

[Steelers0854]

The Wrap Up

 

We had a blast on our trip. The Oasis is a beautiful and awesome ship. Just like any cruise and any cruise line there were things we liked and things we didn't. But overall it was one of the best cruises we had taken.

 

The Food

 

Food is very subjective, so these are our thoughts, YMMV. We had my time dining and the 3 night dining package. I had made standing reservations for 5:30 each night in the MDR when we didn't have a specialty reservation.

 

MDR

 

We weren’t impressed with the quality of food in the MDR. The service was outstanding though. We were always at a table for 2 in the same section with the same waitstaff. The food mostly lacked flavor, and was just boring. I usually can find something each night to be excited to try and there was one night I found nothing on the menu that looked interesting, and I will literally eat just about anything.

 

Specialty Restaurants

 

Some of the best food we have had on a cruise. The service was always excellent and the food exceeded my expectations each time. Chops, Giovanni’s, and Sabor were all excellent and I would highly encourage anyone to get a dining package and give them a try.

 

Buffet

 

I think its the best buffet out there, with some caveats. I never had an issue with overcrowding, and we went at both peak and off peak times. The layout was great, the food was always hot and the food at breakfast and dinner was stellar. The food selection at lunch was not the best, but it grew on me as we progressed through the cruise. My biggest complaint is the operating hours. This is where Princess really excels. No matter what time of day it is Princess always has one side of the buffet open. This makes it always easy to grab a quick snack at any time during the day. Plus their buffet stays open til 11pm. Also there were gaps in the day, especially between lunch and dinner where it was closed altogether. Having the buffet close at 8:45pm seems unnecessarily early. I would love to see expanded hours with a limited selection. That would make the buffet perfect.

 

Other venues

 

Operating hours seemed confusing. Every day places like the dog house, wipe out cafe, etc had different operating times. I know while we are in port there isnt a demand but it would have been nice to have some consistency, and later hours. The dog house for example would close at 6, so if you wanted that for dinner you had to get there early. While we are on the subject of the dog house it was the best hot dog I have had in a long time, I am so glad this place replaced the donut shop!

 

The lack of food rotation was also disappointing. From the MDR lunch to the food at Cafe Promenade it never changed. It was always the same food each day. It would be nice if they mixed it up a bit with different offerings.

 

Entertainment

 

The best entertainment at sea, with the slight exception of DCL. And its really really close to be completely honest. The quality of the acts and the performers were unmatched. I am always used to the cruise ship style performer, just an ok singer or just an ok actor, these guys gave their counterparts on land a run for their money. From the ice show to the aqua theater it was some of the best entertainment we had seen in a long time. Cats needs to go away. Sorry, but its time to move on with so many wonderful broadway shows out there, put Cats out of its misery and move forward. We love broadway shows, and regularly go to them at home. The performers, costumes, and sets were all wonderful in Cats, the story, not so much.

 

Service

 

From soup to nuts the service onboard was excellent, and everything we would expect while cruising. We never had an issue, the staff all over the ship went above and beyond to meet and exceed our expectations. Our cabin Steward, Christian, was one of the best we have had.

 

Cabin

 

We stayed in 12700. The location was perfect in my opinion. It was in the aft so close to everything we used most often, dining room, buffet, wipe out cafe, etc. It was 3 decks down from buffet, and 4 decks above Central Park. It was so easy to access everything I would stay in this location again in a heart beat. The room itself was well designed, The couch was very comfortable and DW’s favorite parts were the night light in the bathroom, foot bar in the shower, and the shower door (no more shower curtain assaults at sea). Our balcony was large and the only thing it was missing was a small foot stool and then it would have been perfect. Not sure if we could have asked for one or not, but we enjoyed our time on the balcony none the less.

 

Ship

 

We didnt do the zip line, flowrider or rock climbing, but we enjoyed the ship as a whole. The concepts for different neighborhoods was a nice touch. The Promenade was a wonderful place to walk around. Central Park was a relaxing space to enjoy every day, and the boardwalk held a fun atmosphere. While I would have liked a few more places that were comfortable to people watch from and read, all in all its a great design and a beautiful ship.

 

Overall

 

We had a great time. We only sail Carnival when we go with family as thats all they sail because they look for literally the cheapest option out there and nothing else. Disney was wonderful but insanely expensive. NCL was good but nothing great. I think we found our second favorite line. While it didnt unseat our favorite, Princess, it was damn close. I am not sure that Oasis Class is the best fit for us. I think when we book our next RCCL cruise it will be on a smaller (not small but closer to the size we are used to 2-3k passengers) ship. I never once felt like the ship was crowded, and that in and of itself was impressive. We wouldn’t hesitate to book another cruise on RCCL at any point and I would encourage anyone else who hasnt tried it to give it a whirl, you’ll constantly be surprised with new experiences.

 

Thank you all for tagging along on our vacation. I hope you enjoyed the review and hope some found it helpful in their planning efforts.

 

Happy cruising to you all!

[A&L_Ont]

Thanks for your honest take on RC. With the broad variety of lines that you have sailed on it, it sounds like they did a great job in pleasing the both of you. Perhaps you want to try the Freedom Class next, so you sit get the Royal Promenade without the entire big ship feeling. It still might be a few more people than you wish to sail with.

 

Thanks again and I’d love to read about your next adventure if you go live again.

[Steelers0854]

Thanks for your honest take on RC. With the broad variety of lines that you have sailed on it, it sounds like they did a great job in pleasing the both of you. Perhaps you want to try the Freedom Class next, so you sit get the Royal Promenade without the entire big ship feeling. It still might be a few more people than you wish to sail with.

 

 

 

Thanks again and I’d love to read about your next adventure if you go live again.

 

 

 

Thank you for the kind words. We really did have a great time. Sometimes I go back and reread things and it sounds so dire, but it definitely wasn’t the norm for us this trip.

 

I appreciate the suggestion on Freedom class. I will take a look, I get anxious if we don’t have a cruise booked in the future. Thankfully we have a New Years cruise booked with the Family this year, on Carnival [emoji20] lol! (I jest because we really didn’t have a bad time on Carnival. Just not our favorite)

[accio_7]

Thanks for your great review, OP, I’m glad that you and your wife enjoyed your first sailing with Royal and Oasis. :) Loved your photos!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[AF-1]

Great review; it was packed with so much information. I like how you compare this ship to other cruiselines and what you liked or did not like. You mentioned being docked next to the old Splendor of the Seas in St. Martaan. My wife and I sailed that ship and it was great. We have been on small, medium, and large Royal Caribbean ships. They all have a purpose and picking the right ship for a cruise means everything. Look forward to your next post. Thanks again

[#55worktoplay]

Great review and your pics were all really good.

 

I have been on the big girls and to be honest Oasis was just off for me. I have sailed The Liberty many times she was my favourite however Harmony was pretty darn good (casino staff were awful) all else great. I want to try the smaller ships next. I have only been on CArnival and Royal but I would like to try princess too. I am sure I will like them based on food alone likely. I am not a foodie by any means but I like good food!

 

I will watch for any of your future reviews- well done. Thanks