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Trip Report! Oasis Of The Seas - 1/6-1/12 - Nurovirus Cruise

ashezap

By ashezap,
in Royal Caribbean International

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joyful1nh

joyful1nh

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We were on this cruise as well - I'm very sorry I didn't meet you because we certainly seem to have similar opinions on the cruise...   We were in a Grand Suite and I don't think I will ever cruise again without being in a suite.  

 

We too got turned away the from the ice show performance due to "technical difficulties" on Day 2.  We did see it on Day 6 and the music stopped during the sand artist and they announced technical difficulties.  My daughter is a competitive skater and we've been to a LOT of ice shows - I'm pretty sure at least two of the cast were recovering from being ill - they toughed it out but I felt for them.  There were some impressive moments during the show (back flip and triples on a postage stamp size rink anyone?), but the cast obviously was not in top form.

 

Cats -- not my favorite but the cast was amazing and there were some good moments.  

 

I was at the late night Day 1 comedy show as well - and it was strange with the 'tipsy hecklers.'  We went to the comedy show two more times including the final show Day 6 - Joe just kept getting better!  I'm from the Boston area so I will definitely look to go see him when he's in town. 

 

Kind of looking forward to the rest of your adventures...  We had one person out of three ill.  

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ashezap

ashezap

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3 hours ago, amybk27 said:

I didn't think Johnny Rockets was included with the Ultimate dining package.  You got it for free the first day?

 

Yes, it was included for the whole time according to our info on the package. Izumi hibachi is the only one that’s not included but we got it on the first night and they even offered it to us in another night as well. 

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ashezap

ashezap

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Day 4 
 
Jamaica the boat crazy 
 
Upon waking up I found Matt on the couch having not slept all night due to his muscle cramps and pain and I myself was incredibly stuffed up with a head cold that had gotten much worse. This was possibly made worse by the alcohol and rich food from the day before but here we were on the verge of Jamaica and feeling like we had been run over by a truck. ... maybe rummed over is a better term LOL 
 
We had booked the Go Native Jamaica tour which included lots of walking etc. and I thought I better see if I can switch it out or cancel because I doubt we were up to it. So I called guest services and they sent me to the very busy shore excursions desk on deck 6. I stood in line half awake and feeling like hell. And they told me they would refund me no problem. I asked about the ships VIP Tour that I saw advertised but was told that all behind the scenes tours had been canceled. Strange but ok. 
 
I went back to the room to check on Matt who was feeling a bit better but exhausted. I got him to take a hot shower and went to look outside. Wow! We were already in port... how did I not notice this. Jamaica looked beautiful and my friend the Disney ship followed us over (Disney somehow follows me everywhere in some form on every vacation) 
 
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Matt was feeling a tiny bit better and we decided we would go check out the port shopping area of Falmouth to get a souvenir for Matt’s mom. We got ready and got in the elevator to go to the gangway. That’s strange... the button didn’t work. So we went down to three and down the stairs to two and were met by a crew member who was in gloves and a mask. She said “are you here for medical?” And we said nope! we wanted to use the gangway and were told the ship hadn’t been cleared for entry into Jamaica yet. ... what?!? It was nearly 12:00pm by this point and we were super confused. We went back to the room just in time for an announcement that due to an outbreak of gastrointestinal Illness the Jamaican authorities were going over all the cases and they hoped to have it resolved in the next 15 minutes or so. It was at least an hour or more before we heard from him again and the next message was that due to the many cases of illness onboard we would not be disembarking in Jamaica and instead would get an early start for Cozumel. 
 
At the end of the day I wasn’t horribly upset because I had my personal reservations on spending tourist dollars in a place that is very closed minded and against the LGBT community. I waved goodbye to the kids on the Disney ship as we sailed away... weirdest cruise stop ever. 
 
Still, I had a partner who still wasn’t feeling the best, was disappointed and was suppose to be celebrating a milestone birthday! 
 
So speaking of Matt’s 40th  Birthday,  I reserved the Chefs Table for dinner. We went up to the Suite Lounge/Coastal Kitchen and initially couldn’t get in but eventually someone assisted us. We were given a glass of champagne and we sat down and waited for them to call us in. 
 
I’ll start by saying for a suite lounge this is an awkwardly designed and decorated place. It over looks one of the pool areas and It’s a space that can’t decide if it wants to be modern, kids club fun, or traditional. Bright purple and blue flooring clashes with off yellow furniture... also this once luxurious velvety furniture now literally looks like someone shaved it down the middle. I’m a bit shocked that they keep furniture in this type of condition especially in their area for the most affluent of Guests. 
 
We were called over to the chefs table which was in front of the coastal kitchen bar and met the other two couples dining... there were only three couples here tonight. We were introduced to our chef and sommelier.
 
What followed was a classic chefs dinner with wine pairings. I felt like it could have benefitted from its own private room instead of being in the coastal kitchen... there were many times when I couldn’t hear either of our hosts because of the constant chatter behind us. They both did an amazing job but I wish it was in a more intimate setting. We also found out that the menu is set by the home corporate RCL office in Miami and not by the chef himself which was disappointing to hear. I had hoped the food was coming straight from the creative mind who designed it... but never mind... anyway... 
 
Let’s get to the food! 
 
The first course was a scallop ceviche and I absolutely hate when people overcook scallops... that’s not a problem here because they are served raw, very thinly sliced in a vinaigrette... this is something I’d never order on land but it was so buttery and delicious.  Good stuff! 
 
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It was paired with a Riesling that was appley and tart. Nice combination 
 
The second course was a smoked tomato soup with cheese croutons... really simple but delicious. I was impressed until the chef went on about how he used liquid smoke because there is no open flames aloud on the ship lol... I use liquid smoke myself quite a bit. Allright then... it was still savory and delicious 
 
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This is also where the wine pairing impressed me the most. I had always heard how Chardonnay can be buttery and have hosted many wine pairing events with my job, but never fully tasted what I’d consider a buttery Chardonnay. I wish I had the name of the wine but this Chard complemented the soup perfectly with its smoky buttery notes. Very very good. 
 
The third course was blanched lobster salad with hearts of palm and pineapple served with a pineapple vanilla bean sauce.
 
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 This one was surprising too! I would never think to serve lobster with vanilla bean but it makes lobster even richer turning it into a sweet and savory, decadent taste of the ocean. The only thing I had to remove was the cilantro because I am one of those weirdos with genetic aversion to cilantro... it tastes like straight up hand soap to me! If you don’t like cilantro, look it up... it can literally taste completely different to two different people! 
 
I couldn't tell you what wine was served with this one but I remember I wasn’t hugely fond of it as it was a very dry white wine. But I got lobster! So I was happy!! 
 
The fourth course was a filet with truffled potato purée and veggies. It was very good and rivaled the filet we had at 150 Central Park but I think 150 actually won. Served with a very oaky spicy red wine 
 
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We also each shared a portion of tagliatelle with truffle cream sauce which was very rich. 
 
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Dessert was delicious but there was allot going on. A chocolate “world” over caramel gelato, chocolate mousse, peanut butter mousse and rice crunch.hot caramel was poured over the top to reveal the dessert. 
 
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This was served with a chocolate martini. 
 
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After dinner we managed to get out to the diving show “oasis of dreams”. We felt the same way about this that we felt about the ice skating... just okay. Again, really cool that it’s on a ship but we have seen it done before and done better at places like cirque or sea world. We are so spoiled! 
 
Our next event was the love and marriage game show. This was really fun and something appropriate to do on your anniversary. We played this same game show at our wedding reception and it was great because our host/DJ was a prior cruise director from Disney where they do “Match Your Mate” , and he was amazing so I knew what we were in for. Or so I thought. But those darn retirees from Margaritaville strike again. They all kept looking at each other and putting their hands over their head making a shark fin in solidarity hootin’ and hollerin’ and carrying on. It was allot...  especially since I heard several off color remarks and even got one long stare from one of them while we were in an elevator. I’m not easily offended so it didn’t bother me... in fact halfway through I stared back which makes for a fun game LOL... The couple that was selected for the show from Margaritaville was borderline inappropriate even for an R rated game show, simulating sex acts and putting her hand down her husbands pants at one point... whooooa thank you alcohol! Also.. umm.. washey washey?!? ... LOL but it made it interesting to watch in a “can’t look away from a train wreck” kind of way LOL... it ended up being a fun night and the couple that had been married the longest, Larry and Mary (and Raymond?! LOL) won.
 
I think we then retired for the night as neither of us were feeling all that well but at least we didn’t have the nurovirus! Looking forward to getting some rest, feeling better, and another relaxing sea day on the way to Cozumel. 
Edited by ashezap
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