 |
| Oasis docked in St. Maarten |
This was an Eastern Caribbean itinerary departing from Port Canaveral, with stops at St. Maarten, San Juan, and Royal Caribbean's private destination of Labadee. Port Canaveral is just a couple hour drive from home and we love leaving from there. Very happy that Harmony of the Seas will be leaving from there next year.
As usual, we didn't plan anything or have any excursions booked for any of our stops but we did get off the ship to do a little walking around in St. Maarten and San Juan. On St. Maarten, we just wandered around the port area and did not go into town since it requires a water taxi. In San Juan, we did some walking around town, window shopping and ducking in here and there to get out of the heat. It was pretty hot even though it's getting later in the year. San Juan seems to be recovering from the affects of last year's hurricanes, though some areas are better than others.
 |
| Downtown Old San Juan |
For this cruise we had a standard inside cabin which was plenty comfortable for the two of us. Only time we were in the cabin was to sleep or shower and get dressed, that's about it. Plenty of space for two people and their stuff. No real complaints about the cabin except that we noticed a bit of a "funky" smell in the cabin when we first got onboard but that either went away or we got "nose blind" to it after day one.
We also chose not to visit the dining room on this trip, opting instead to "graze" on the selection of free dining options on-board Oasis. Some days we had a big breakfast at the Wipe Out Cafe (made to order omelettes still available there) and a late lunch at Windjammer, followed by the mandatory slice....or three....of pizza late at night. Other days we skipped breakfast and hit Park Cafe for a delicious roast beef sandwich or the Doghouse for a couple of tasty dogs, then went to Windjammer for late dinner. We found dinner in the Windjammer to be very good on this cruise. The options are literally endless on Oasis.
*On a side note, we have heard that Royal has been working hard on improving the pizza at Sorrentos and it shows. It was actually pretty good on this cruise.
 |
| Central Park on Oasis |
Overall, Oasis is in good shape but she could use some freshening up soon. She is pushing 10 years old now and could benefit from some new carpets, furniture, and paint in some areas. Even with her minor imperfections, she's still one of the most amazing cruise ships in the industry today.
One of our favorite things about Oasis is her Diamond Club. It has to be the largest in the Royal Caribbean fleet. The Diamond Club is open to all guests who are Diamond level and above in Royal Caribbean's loyalty program and the one on Oasis is huge, consisting of two floors on decks 11 and 12 with a floor to ceiling wall of windows overlooking the Boardwalk area of the ship. I believe it is the same space that is occupied by the Wonderland restaurant on sister ships Harmony and Symphony. Unfortunately, there are rumors that the Diamond Club will be turned into Wonderland on Oasis next time she is in for drydock. If/when that happens, I believe the plan is to move the Diamond Club downstairs to deck 4 next to the Jazz Club, where it is on Harmony and Symphony.
As usual, we had a great time and we're counting the days till our next cruise. We won't have to wait very long either since we actually have 2 more booked between now and February 2019. One in December onboard Brilliance of the Seas and another on Allure of the Seas in January. Looking forward to Brilliance since we have never been on that class (Radiance Class) of ship before.
Hits:
- Diamond Club
- Pizza at Sorrentos has improved quite a bit
- Temperature band in Dazzles
- Meeting new friends
Misses:
- Ship showing its age in some areas
- Aqua show postponed or cancelled several times due to rough seas (can't do anything about that)
No comments:
Post a Comment