A Canadian takes on a B4B on Oasis 6/5/22 - 7/1/22

[JessyCruises]

Hubby and I are going to be boarding Oasis of the Seas on Sunday 6/5/22 for 4 consecutive cruises.  The 1st is a 5 day to Canada and the other three are 7 cruises with stops in Port Canaveral, Nassau and Coco Cay.

 

These will be out 13th-16th cruises since the restart, all but one of which have been consecutive cruises.  I have live threaded some of them, most memorable is probably our Oasis/Odyssey in January 2022 sailing which was supposed to be a S2S then a B2B but became a S2S and a long quarantine at the Embassy Suites in Fort Lauderdale because Hubby contracted Covid onboard.  If you want to check out that thread, hereis the link: A Canadian takes on a S2B2B on Oasis 1/2/22, Odyssey 1/9/22 & 1/15/22 (hopefully) - Royal Caribbean International - Cruise Critic Community

 

We have cruised a few times since that trip and we just got off a B2B on Ovation last month that had some challenges (a death at home in the family while onboard, lack of staffing causing some service and dining issues, horrible wifi when trying to telecommute, my dad testing postive upon his return home after the 1st cruise, just to name a few).  We still had a great time though 🙂

 

I decided to document these cruises as well, just as a fun way to share our experiences and because I simply enjoy doing it!

 

Please feel free to ask me any questions, and if there is anyone else onboard for any of these sailings who would like to post, please feel free.  The more the merrier!!

[JessyCruises]

My name is Jessica (Jess or Jessy works too) (45) and my husband Paul (47) and I will be travelling from Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada.  You may have stopped here as a Port of Call on a NE/Canada Sailing.  We actually moved into a condo in the city from a house in the suburb of Quispamsis in September 2020.  Our condo is directly across the street from the cruise terminal here so if you have stopped here on a cruise, you will definitely have seen our building. Here it is for reference.

 

 

 Because of Covid, we did not have any ships stop here until the 1st Regent of the Seven seas in April.  There was also one apparently one last month but we were on the Ovation and missed it.  

 

As I mentioned, the 1st leg of this cruise is a 5 night to Canada, so for this cruise, we will actually be pulling up right across the street from our front door!  https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10165112103060587

 

I am excited that this will be the 1st time the Oasis is coming here and will be the largest ship that has ever visited.  Saint John is doing alot of development on the waterfront including the Area 506 Container Village which is next door to the Marco Polo Cruise Terminal and SHOULD be opening for our visit.  We will be the 1st cruise that is able to experience it. AREA 506 | Container Village

[JessyCruises]

Getting There

 

Normally when sailing out of Bayonne, we drive and park at the terminal, but because this set of cruises is almost a month it seemed crazy to pay $25 a day for parking.  Our option then became to fly or still drive but see if there were other parking options.  Flights are nuts right now and we ended up finding a hotel that will allow us to leave our car there for the entire duration at no extra charge so once again we are going to be driving to New Jersey.  It is about a 1,000 KM (620 Miles) drive door to door to our hotel and it is normally a great drive, especially in the summer.

 

If we have planned it right, we are going to be stopping in Old Orchard Beach, Maine for lunch tomorrow.  It is a quaint little resort town where we used to have our 5th Wheel seasonally.  We will be hitting up Pier Fries for some poutine and fried dough before heading to our final destination.  Lunch of champions.

 

Testing

 

We just took our Covid tests a few minutes ago and are both negative. (YAY!)  I really recommend Switch Health for my fellow Canadian travelers.  We have used them many times since we started travelling again and never had an issue.  Their proctored antigen tests are only $79CAD + tax for 2 tests. Switch Health | Aeroplan Members Get More

 

Until our most recent cruise, we also had to get tested by Royal in between our consecutive cruises.  That testing day was always stressful waiting to get the results back to see if we would be able to continue our trip.  On the Ovation, we found out that they had just changed the rules and consecutive cruisers no longer needed to be tested in between cruises. At the time, we thought that was great and relieved stress, however on Ovation there appeared to be an outbreak as MANY people on the sailings Facebook groups reported testing positive when they got home.  It is likely that some of the other B2Bers were positive and likely spread it around the 2nd cruise. 

 

I am not sure why RCL stopped testing, probably $$ and limiting the amount of positive reports they would need to file.  I like not having to test, but also do not want cases on one leg to bleed into the next so it can spread further.  With that said, the crew is the same for both sailings.  I see all the sides of the issue and I am not sure what the answer should be and it is above my pay grade.  We are just going to follow all of the rules, take any extra precautions we feel we need to and enjoy our cruises 🙂

 

 

Edited June 3, 2022 by JessyCruises

[Travel R]

Following

[ticketsunlimited]

Lets do this again JESSY!!  Have an awesome time.  Dan

[clochette]

cannot wait to follow you, what a great trip.

[JessyCruises]

2 hours ago, ticketsunlimited said:

Lets do this again JESSY!!  Have an awesome time.  Dan

Thanks!  I am sure we will!

[JessyCruises]

1 hour ago, clochette said:

cannot wait to follow you, what a great trip.

Thanks!  We are looking forward to it 🙂

 

This will be another working holiday for both of us so we will be working 8-4:30 most weekdays with the exception of Coco Cay days where we will be taking the afternoons off and hopefully enjoying what it has to offer!

[JessyCruises]

Here are some pics of how the Container Village and Market Square Boardwalk are

coming along in Saint John. Apparently there will be a Cannabis NB store in the village.  That is the govt run Cannabis dispensary.

[NSnewcruiser]

Following along. I bet it will feel weird sailing to your home and Halifax as well.lol I look forward to seeing Oasis in Halifax so my friends and family can see how big it really is. I tell them how big it is and show them pictures  but it does no justice till you see an Oasis class ship up close. The wife and I plan to go see it when it's in port in Halifax and hopefully watch the sail away from Point Pleasant Park.

[Bronx12]

5 hours ago, JessyCruises said:

Hubby and I are going to be boarding Oasis of the Seas on Sunday 6/5/22 for 4 consecutive cruises.  The 1st is a 5 day to Canada and the other three are 7 cruises with stops in Port Canaveral, Nassau and Coco Cay.

 

These will be out 13th-16th cruises since the restart, all but one of which have been consecutive cruises.  I have live threaded some of them, most memorable is probably our Oasis/Odyssey in January 2022 sailing which was supposed to be a S2S then a B2B but became a S2S and a long quarantine at the Embassy Suites in Fort Lauderdale because Hubby contracted Covid onboard.  If you want to check out that thread, hereis the link: A Canadian takes on a S2B2B on Oasis 1/2/22, Odyssey 1/9/22 & 1/15/22 (hopefully) - Royal Caribbean International - Cruise Critic Community

 

We have cruised a few times since that trip and we just got off a B2B on Ovation last month that had some challenges (a death at home in the family while onboard, lack of staffing causing some service and dining issues, horrible wifi when trying to telecommute, my dad testing postive upon his return home after the 1st cruise, just to name a few).  We still had a great time though 🙂

 

I decided to document these cruises as well, just as a fun way to share our experiences and because I simply enjoy doing it!

 

Please feel free to ask me any questions, and if there is anyone else onboard for any of these sailings who would like to post, please feel free.  The more the merrier!!

 

Let's get this party started!!!

The thought of being able to do my job on a cruise ship sounds quite nice, but I would have to change careers totally 🙂

[LorraineP]

5 hours ago, JessyCruises said:

Getting There

 

Normally when sailing out of Bayonne, we drive and park at the terminal, but because this set of cruises is almost a month it seemed crazy to pay $25 a day for parking.  Our option then became to fly or still drive but see if there were other parking options.  Flights are nuts right now and we ended up finding a hotel that will allow us to leave our car there for the entire duration at no extra charge so once again we are going to be driving to New Jersey.  It is about a 1,000 KM (620 Miles) drive door to door to our hotel and it is normally a great drive, especially in the summer.

 

If we have planned it right, we are going to be stopping in Old Orchard Beach, Maine for lunch tomorrow.  It is a quaint little resort town where we used to have our 5th Wheel seasonally.  We will be hitting up Pier Fries for some poutine and fried dough before heading to our final destination.  Lunch of champions.

 

Testing

 

We just took our Covid tests a few minutes ago and are both negative. (YAY!)  I really recommend Switch Health for my fellow Canadian travelers.  We have used them many times since we started travelling again and never had an issue.  Their proctored antigen tests are only $79CAD + tax for 2 tests. Switch Health | Aeroplan Members Get More

 

Until our most recent cruise, we also had to get tested by Royal in between our consecutive cruises.  That testing day was always stressful waiting to get the results back to see if we would be able to continue our trip.  On the Ovation, we found out that they had just changed the rules and consecutive cruisers no longer needed to be tested in between cruises. At the time, we thought that was great and relieved stress, however on Ovation there appeared to be an outbreak as MANY people on the sailings Facebook groups reported testing positive when they got home.  It is likely that some of the other B2Bers were positive and likely spread it around the 2nd cruise. 

 

I am not sure why RCL stopped testing, probably $$ and limiting the amount of positive reports they would need to file.  I like not having to test, but also do not want cases on one leg to bleed into the next so it can spread further.  With that said, the crew is the same for both sailings.  I see all the sides of the issue and I am not sure what the answer should be and it is above my pay grade.  We are just going to follow all of the rules, take any extra precautions we feel we need to and enjoy our cruises 🙂

 

 

Will be on Oasis in September for B4B & also don’t want to pay $25 a day to park. What hotel will you be staying at with free parking? Is parking lot gated & secure?

[JessyCruises]

46 minutes ago, NSnewcruiser said:

Following along. I bet it will feel weird sailing to your home and Halifax as well.lol I look forward to seeing Oasis in Halifax so my friends and family can see how big it really is. I tell them how big it is and show them pictures  but it does no justice till you see an Oasis class ship up close. The wife and I plan to go see it when it's in port in Halifax and hopefully watch the sail away from Point Pleasant Park.

 

Yes it will be.  My husband was born in Halifax and we lived there for a few years in the early aughts and my son was born there.  I do not think we will be getting off in Halifax as we will be working that day and I think the ship leaves sometime after 5PM.  

 

I am also looking forward to showing off my favourite ship!

 

[JessyCruises]

23 minutes ago, Bronx12 said:

 

Let's get this party started!!!

The thought of being able to do my job on a cruise ship sounds quite nice, but I would have to change careers totally 🙂

 

Yes we are very lucky.  I have been working remotely for around 10 years.  Luckily my boss does not care where I physically am as long as I can do my job,  Hubby changed jobs during covid and is now remote as well and his work feels the same.  It is a lovely feeling to shut down at 4:30 EST and then go enjoy the ship.

 

It was NOT fun to get up at 4AM last month on the Ovation so I could work my normal shift.  I will not be doing that again lol

[JessyCruises]

22 minutes ago, LorraineP said:

Will be on Oasis in September for B4B & also don’t want to pay $25 a day to park. What hotel will you be staying at with free parking? Is parking lot gated & secure?

 

The Hilton and Hampton inn in Staten Island both include parking.  I am not sure if they are gated.  I am guessing not.  Apparently they used to include a shuttle but no longer do since Covid so we will be Ubering

Edited June 3, 2022 by JessyCruises

[LorraineP]

3 minutes ago, JessyCruises said:

 

The Hilton and Hampton inn in Staten Island both include parking.  I am not sure if they are gated.  I am guessing not.  Apparently they used to include a shuttle but no longer do since Covid so we will be Ubering

Thank you. We are driving from Pennsylvania so most likely have to stay in Newark. Looking for somewhere to park that’s gated & secure so we don’t have to worry about leaving car for 28 days. 

[JessyCruises]

9 minutes ago, LorraineP said:

Thank you. We are driving from Pennsylvania so most likely have to stay in Newark. Looking for somewhere to park that’s gated & secure so we don’t have to worry about leaving car for 28 days. 

I will let you know how we make out.

 

[barbienj]

Following...

[MLAW]

 I am excited to follow along.  I am curious if the wifi connection is sufficient enough for you to work from your cabin or do you often have to find a location outside your cabin to work.  Asking for a friend.  lol

[JessyCruises]

5 minutes ago, MLAW said:

 I am excited to follow along.  I am curious if the wifi connection is sufficient enough for you to work from your cabin or do you often have to find a location outside your cabin to work.  Asking for a friend.  lol

 

It is normally ok in the Cabin on the ships we have been on.  Unless you are in the absolute bowels of the ship.  We like to be somewhere around decks 6-8. I do not do video calls, just audio but I do connect to a VPN.  Hubby does video calls and normally has no issues.  There are some days when there are satellite issues which cause problems but I find more often than not we are good.  That was not the case in Alaska.  it was terrible.  I would never work on a ship there again, and the time zone change was a killer.

[JessyCruises]

This is our dog Shadow the Shichon who we will be leaving in the capable hands of our son and his GF while we are gone. It will be nice to see him on 6/8.  I wish we could bring him onboard for a few minutes when the ship is here.

Edited June 3, 2022 by JessyCruises

[cynt]

I'll see you Sunday Jessy aboard the Oasis. Super jealous you will stay on for another 3 cruises. Man, if I could cruise for a month, I would not go back to work. LOL!! I would be too spoiled. LOL!! 

 

Safe travels. 

 

O and what should we really see in Halifax besides the tourist stuff? What's a couple of things off the grid that you would recommend? Restaurants, check this out spots, incredible view spots, I bet you haven't seen this spots, etc. Thanks. 

[JessyCruises]

1 minute ago, cynt said:

I'll see you Sunday Jessy aboard the Oasis. Super jealous you will stay on for another 3 cruises. Man, if I could cruise for a month, I would not go back to work. LOL!! I would be too spoiled. LOL!! 

 

Safe travels. 

 

O and what should we really see in Halifax besides the tourist stuff? What's a couple of things off the grid that you would recommend? Restaurants, check this out spots, incredible view spots, I bet you haven't seen this spots, etc. Thanks. 

Get a donair in Halifax!!

[cynt]

Thanks Jessy!!

Edited June 3, 2022 by cynt

[trotzoll]

OMGeee! I totally want to be you when I grow up!! 🤣

So excited to follow along. Enjoy!!!!!