Oasis of the Seas Feb 27 to March 6

Our group of more than 90 people traveled to Ft Lauderdale a day early. We stayed at the Sheraton Beach Hotel in Ft Lauderdale. Our original flight from Manchester was supposed to go through Baltimore but was canceled because weather.
We were to travel in two groups. Southwest arranged to put both groups together and get a flight non stop to Ft Lauderdale. This stroke of luck got us in before out original plane would have.

Saturday we were bussed from the hotel to ship at noon. We were 20 minutes from the bus to on the ship with room key in hand and rooms were available. Best registration I have had on a cruise. One of the things they did to improve the process was having several stations that you could get you get your welcome aboard picture taken. You could also opt out also. We had a stateroom with a balcony. It was comfortable but not spacious. We were on deck 12 starboard the next to last stateroom to the stern. At the end of the corridor a door opened to a large balcony that overlooked the Aqua Theater and the Rock Wall. The Aqua Theater in addition to hosting shows with Swimming and Aerial acts had two large theater screens. The screens showed Ship TV and the week we were onboard showed the Olympic live. The ship was looked huge from the outside but was very comfortable when you were onboard. There were several open public spaces featuring shops and restaurants including Central Park, Board Walk and the Promenade Deck. These areas we busy but not crowded.

Our group had arranged for the Premium Beverage Package. This included all soft drinks, all drinks at the bar drinks including Top Shelf Brands, House White and Red Wines. This worked well. All you had to do to get the drink was show your card. You did not sign a slip as you usually do. The Bartenders get tips via the slips so there must be a plan to compensate them but you had the feeling that the Wait staff was skeptical.


On the Sixteenth Deck the Windjammer Buffet was open for all meals. We ate breakfast and lunch there several times. Food was good although as the week went on the food offering remained the same. Food in the Main Dinning room was good and a step up from the last RCCL cruise we were on. As a large group we had a section of the dinning room but among that section we switched tables. This and the fact that many went to specialty restaurants seemed to confuse the wait staff. Gratuities were prepaid and individuals added cash envelopes on the last night as is traditional. It may be because the ship is new but service in the Main Dinning Room for dinner and breakfast didn’t seem to be at the same level as in the past. The Solarium restaurant offered a healthy menu. It was both highly praised and panned. We had the buffet on two occasions and found it to be good.

We had Saturday, Sunday, Monday, and Thursday as sea days. There was plenty to do and the entertainment and sports crew had many events that were well presented. The flows riders rock wall and zip line were busy most of the time. When they were very busy people could make appointments latter in the week.

The Ports were St Thomas, St Martin and Nassau. St Thomas we were able to go ashore between 8 AM and 5PM. We chose to go to Means Bay although it was crowded
I enjoyed it. We were able to get chairs and find a shade tree. Beverage service was available on the beach and you could get food at the snack bar. The water was great.
In all the ports we had a leisurely breakfast on the ship. Debarking and Boarding the ship was easy and not crowded.

Entertainment was great we had reserved our show online and it worked well.
We saw “Hairspray, The Drifters, The Comedy Show, Ocean of Dreams, Come fly with me and the marriage game. All were very good. We enjoyed the piano bar. They had a 70’s street dance. All were well done.
We were disappointed that we had to get back to the ship in St Martin by 3:30 ships time. We went to Orient Beach and camped out at Andy & Cheryl’s new beach bar.
We usually are in St Martin in January and were busier on the beach than I was use to. But less crowded that Megan’s Bay. It was a great day but all to short. We walked up as far as Waikiki and would have liked to gone to see Palm Beach but wanted to swim a little more.

In Nassau we decided to see Atlantis. It was under construction the last time we were there. It is impressive. The area has come a long way since we stayed there when Merve Griffin owned it. The only hassle was getting a cab at the Cruise Dock all the cab drivers are very competitive and try to fill their cabs at the expense the system in place. It gets wild. When we got back our group had arranged to rent the flow riders for two hours. It was great fun to see members of the group surf & fall time and time again. The sports crew did an excellent job in coaching everyone.

On Saturday leaving the ship was fairly simply and efficient. We were off before 9 AM.

Delray