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Oasis of the Seas: Day 8 of 8 – Disembarkation

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Thoughts of being a stow-away come to mind!

The week went by so fast and we were already dreading our departure.

We had our very last breakfast in the main dining room.  We started with our favorite Austrian Strietzel bread.  When we returned home, I tried to bake this delicious bread using the recipe straight from the Royal Caribbean cook book; it did not taste the same!

The eggs over easy were perfectly cooked and we supplemented with crispy bacon and mushrooms from the buffet.

I didn’t add pictures of the pastries, as they were the same offerings as previous, and, since writing this post, I’ve become depressed all over again.

I made a special request for a late departure so we not in a rush to leave the ship.  We also had more time to take some last minute pictures.  What a photo opportunity!  The ship was empty since most cruisers took the early departure (to catch a flight home). This was the only time we would be able to see the suites (from what I read), unless we took part in the cabin crawl (which we missed).  The cabin crawl can be arranged on cruisecritic.com.  You sign up with other cruisers and arrange a day and time to view other staterooms, and in turn allow others to view your stateroom.  Depending on what type of stateroom cruisers booked, you can view a Junior, Grand, Loft, Owner’s, Royal or Aqua Theatre suite

Since the cleaning crew were busy getting the rooms ready for new guests, the rooms were all open.  We politely asked if we could take a quick peek!

Here are some additional pictures of Oasis of the Seas:

Central Park

A mini replica of Central Park in New York.  We loved this neighbourhood as it had sunny and shady areas.  There were approximately 12,000 plants on board, including hundreds of palm trees!

The Cupcake Cupboard

What a disappointment for a cupcake lover.  I read horrible reviews, but I really had to try for myself.  The cupcakes were huge, and looked beautiful, but the two that I tried on separate occasions were dry.  Dry as in, throw them against a wall and they’ll bounce!  The chocolate cupcake had the consistency of a hard muffin.  The coconut cupcake was also dry and lacked flavor.

Unless they’ve made drastic changes since, save your money and try one of the delicious desserts at the Mondo Coffee Bar, Park Café or the Cafe Promenade.  The coffees at the Mondo Coffee Bar are pricey, but all the desserts and sandwiches are complimentary at all the above mentioned places.

Library

A really nice and quiet place to get away.  For our personal collection, I told H to grab a book and sit down, and pretend to read while I took a picture.  It was funny because the book H grabbed was in Spanish!

Pool Area

I can’t believe we didn’t find time to lounge by the pool, or the Adult Solarium.  To be honest, we’re not sun worshippers, and we had too many other places to see.  FYI – it’s difficult to get a lounger unless you wake up at 7:00 a.m., and there is a rule of not leaving your lounge chair for over 30 minutes.

The washrooms were very cute – see pictures on the door.   There are 4 swimming pools.

Viking Lounge

Oasis has about 37 lounges and bars.  The Viking Lounge is by far the most beautiful, with scenic views!

Pinnacle Chapel

A very elegant and serene chapel.  It was empty when we visited.

Towel Animals

It was fun to come back to our stateroom at the end of the night, and see what creative creatures our room attendant came up with!  I was startled when I saw one of them; see if you can tell which one that was.

Some random pictures of the awesome Oasis of the Seas!


Some of our highlights:

Shows:  Oasis of Dreams, Frozen in Time, Come Fly with Me, Splish Splash, Belly Flop Competition, Staff Flow Rider Competition, Comedy Live

Not to be missed:  70’s Dance Party, Zip Line

Restaurants:  150 Central Park, Chops Grille

Ports of Call:  St. Maarten

Some of our disappointments:

Boardwalk Donut Shop, $99.95 photo book from Focus, Cupcake Cupboard, we didn’t make it to Sorrento’s for their pizza and forgot to visit the gym (lol).

In closing, I’m happy we chose Oasis for our first cruise.  We decided to incorporate so many activities into one week that we were completely exhausted and sleep deprived, but it was worth it.  Oasis is truly a magnificent ship and a most memorable experience.

Thanks for sharing it with me!

Oasis of the Seas: Day 7 of 8 – Sea Day

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A SAD DAY (PCD – Post Cruise Depression started early).

Our cruise was nearing an end and I could see what other cruisers meant by PCD.

You would think a ship as massive as Oasis would ensure smooth sailing, however, I’d have to say it depends on which itinerary you choose, the month you’re sailing, the unpredictable weather conditions, and how sensitive a person is to motion sickness.  This was the third time in one week I felt a bit queasy, despite the complimentary non-drowsy Bonine that was available.

I have to give kudos to Captain Trym Selvag for choosing the inside Caribbean passage on our return to Fort Lauderdale!  We were informed by Richard Spacey, our Cruise Director, that there were 12 foot waves, and the Captain wanted a smooth sailing on our return, hence the alternate route.

We returned to the main dining room for breakfast.  We had an ocean view table, but it wasn’t a good idea to look out at rough seas when prone to motion sickness!

I ordered the Crab Cake Benedict.  It was mushy on the bottom; however the yolks were perfectly runny. The broiled tomato half and asparagus spears were nice accompaniments.  H absolutely loves crispy bacon and he was quite happy overall.  He also ordered a ham, cheese & onion omelet.

Oh, and the delicious donuts – did I mention they have such a nice texture and are not too sweet.

The Madagascar characters made an appearance for the kids, and we had our picture taken with a few of them.

After breakfast, we returned to our room to start packing; how depressing!

We then headed out to explore the ship one last time.  This gave me an opportunity to take photos that I missed during the week.

For lunch, we returned to the main dining room.  We started with the delicious mini baguettes and multi-grain rolls with olive spread.  I was happy to see it was available again.

H ordered the Pulled Pork Sandwich with Coleslaw.  It was very good, and he was a happy camper (at sea)!  I picked at his fries since they were hot and crispy.  We also shared a plate of Chili Chicken with rice.

H eyed my Seafood Jambalaya and I was happy to give it to him and eat the delicious bread and olive spread.  You know what I was saving for anyhow!  The Jambalaya was okay; the seafood was tender, except the calamari, which was a bit chewy.

Now for my favorite part of every meal – desserts!

Wow, the B52 Melt was absolutely addictive.  I contemplated ordering a second one.  The combination of hot almond cake with a B52 gooey center was very unique.  I never tasted anything quite like it.  The menu stated almond pudding, but it was definitely more cake-like.  It’s similar to a Molten Chocolate Cake, but with an almond cake instead, and a nice hit of B52 liqueur!

The Lemon Curd Cake was heavenly, a generous square of crumble cake layered with tart lemon custard, surrounded with a strawberry compote, and topped with whipped cream.  I’m sure it would have been amazing if my mind were not whirling back to the B52 Melt!

We chose 150 Central Park for our last dinner.  It was the best fine dining experience we’ve had in a long time.

It was the small touches that made our experience so enjoyable.  The wait staff were all very elegant and soft spoken.  They opened the doors when we entered.  When I stepped out to the ladies’ room, they opened the doors for me again, even before I approached the door, and I noticed my napkin was re-shaped.

We started with an assortment of 6 sea salts to try.  The bread was shaped like leaves, which we noticed matched the leaf pattern that was on our cutlery.  We slathered the bread with unsalted butter (I don’t think we were supposed to “slather,” but what the heck) and sprinkled a few pebbles of sea salt on, as advised by our wait staff.  I can’t say which one was our favorite, they were all unique.  There was one that tasted just like eggs.

A bookmark of the set dinner menu was placed beside us.

The Crab & Avocado Salad had a very nice combination of flavors.  H and I love avocados.

The Camembert & Lager Soup was different.  Spiced caramel corn was suggested as a sprinkle however, we thought it deflected from the taste of the soup.

Our next course was Lobster Medallions.  I inquired if the lobster was the same as the ones we had in the main dining room, and our waiter confirmed yes, however, they were prepared completely different.  Wow, they were extremely tender and flavorful!

Due to a shortage of the Pan Seared Halibut, we were presented with Butter Fish which was tender and fresh.  It was suggested to break and crumble the Parmesan Crisp over our entrees; very complimentary in taste!

Next up was the Pancetta Wrapped Veal Tenderloin.  The tenderloin was quite chewy and very disappointing.

Our meal ended with 150 Park Bliss.  The Vanilla Crème Brûlée made an entrance again, what can I say.  The Mini Chocolate Cake with a Valrhona center was decadent, and the Cappuccino Gelato was delicious!  H was coffee deprived at this point, and loves anything coffee related in general!  The Grand Marnier Orange Salad was bland and lacked adequate liqueur.

A surprise dessert was brought out next!  We had originally booked our cruise for the month of May (our anniversary) but we changed the date to February.  Our anniversary was still celebrated with a lovely presentation, accompanied by song and dance from the waiters!  Again, very understated and elegant.

The regular coffee was made with hot whipped milk and was the best coffee H had on our cruise.

Dinner was a wonderful experience, but we were still hungry.

We dropped by the main dining room to say goodbye to our head waiter, waiter and assistant waiter, and give our gratuities.  Our head waiter had kindly put away two slices of Key Lime Pie for us, since we dined at 150 Central Park.

He also said he missed us during dinner, and asked about our experience at 150 Central Park.  Noting that we were still hungry, our head waiter graciously offered us a late seating in the main dining room (which we contemplated), but we had so much packing to do (before the midnight deadline of placing our luggage outside our cabin doors).  What a thoughtful gesture though.  We took our desserts to enjoy in our stateroom instead.  The pie was very creamy and had a nice tang.  Delicious!

Oasis of the Seas: Day 6 of 8 – Sea Day

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Chocolate Breakfast in the main dining room!!   Need I say more??  Royal Caribbean has a chocolate breakfast on every cruise.  It’s not advertised, so ask your waiter on your first day and he or she will let you know.  (It’s always on a sea day).

The choices on our sailing were:

  • Hot Chocolate or Chocolate Milkshake
  • Chocolate Banana Bread, Chocolate Muffin, Chocolate Croissant, Marble Cake with Nutella
  • Chocolate Waffles with caramelized banana topping
  • Chocolate Pancakes with whipped cream
  • Chocolate Cherry and Cream Cheese Trifle

Being a chocolate lover, H was thrilled.  From the Chocolate Breakfast menu, we ordered the Chocolate Croissant, Marble Cake with Nutella, Chocolate Cherry and Cream Cheese Trifle, and Chocolate Waffles.

The pastries came on a tray, with two of every item.  OMG!  We asked for only one of each but unfortunately, the trays were plated in advance.

The Marble Cake with Nutella wasn’t available and was substituted with Chocolate Muffins; they were hard and dry.  We were also brought some Chocolate/Cinnamon rolls, which weren’t on the menu; they tasted okay.  The Chocolate Croissant was quite average.  The trifle was really good!  We could taste the cream cheese, but it wasn’t overpowering.  The waffles were soggy and very disappointing.

We also ordered Eggs Benedict which were a disappointment as the yolks were over-cooked.  Overall, breakfast was disappointing, but there was absolutely no shortage of other items to try.

After breakfast, we watched the day time show, “Splish Splash” at the Aqua Theatre.  It was funny and entertaining.  I would say it was geared more towards children.

After the show, we walked a few steps to the Boardwalk Bar, and I tried my first ever corn dog!  How exciting; at my age, I’ve never had one.  It was delicious!  Wait a minute, it was my first, so I can’t compare it to anything … but it was good!

Our next stop was the Boardwalk Donut Shop.  We picked the Passion Fruit Glazed and Key Lime Glazed donuts.  We read mixed reviews and have to say, they were stale on the two times we tried them.  As mentioned previously, the donuts that are available for breakfast in the main dining room and at the Café Promenade are much better.

We heard that Oasis of the Seas has a very large and impressive art collection on-board.  They even have tours and an art gallery.  We spent the next few hours looking at hundreds of pictures.  I took over 60 shots but had to stop.  The collection was at the foot of every stairway (bow and aft), and throughout the entire ship.  I thought I’d start at deck 3 and work my way up to deck 18; that didn’t happen!

I’ve attached a lot of beautiful artwork below.  If you find it too overwhelming, you can just scan through or skip the picture gallery.  Perhaps you can tell me which one is your favorite?

We returned to the Aqua Theatre to watch a Fountain Show, and then stopped for a few minutes to  see the Lollapalooza Parade on the Royal Promenade.

For dinner, we were excited to experience “Lobster Night” in the main dining room.  We read so much on the cruise forums that this was one night not to miss, so we had to see if it lived up to our expectations.

To start, we ordered the Creamed Wild Mushrooms in Puff Pastry.  I ate only the top of the puff pastry (saving room for you know what)!

The Seafood Salad consisted of waterlogged shrimp, but H liked the smoked salmon.

The Fisherman’s Plate – ahhh, we waited 6 months for this!  Sorry to say, we were very disappointed.  The lobster was quite rubbery (cruise ship lobster tails are obviously frozen).

The lobster was a disappointment so I ordered the Thai Chicken Breast.  Wow, the chicken was extremely tender.  I had to do a double take!  The skin was crispy, and the sauce had a very nice and mild curry flavor.

For dessert, I chose Cherries Jubilee.  I was so excited to try this dessert.  I spoke to soon; it was awful.  I tasted something that was off, and it wasn’t the Kirsch, I’m not sure what it was.

The Dessert Sampler was quite good, except for the Savarin. It looked and tasted like the dessert from night 1.  The Warm Chocolate Cake was very decadent and a hit! The cheesecake was rich and tasted very much like a New York style cheesecake.  I read that cruisers often ask for just 3 of the Warm Chocolate cakes!

After dinner, we headed to the Opal Theater.  We had a 9:00 p.m. reservation to watch “Come Fly With Me.”  I wish I hadn’t spent so much time taking pictures and just enjoyed the show.  Flash photography is not permitted, so it was a challenge to focus my camera.

If you’re ever on Oasis, do not miss this show!

Oasis of the Seas: Day 5 of 8 – St. Maarten and St. Martin

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Another port day and a rush to leave the ship to meet our tour guide.  We ate breakfast at the Windjammer Buffet (we personally enjoyed breakfast and lunch in the main dining room or Park Café).

The eggs over easy were perfect this time; there’s nothing worse than not being able to dip your toast! The bacon was crispy; just the way we like it.  We loved the thick slices of Austrian Strietzel, our absolute favorite new find!  H doesn’t like cranberries or raisins, but he was crazy over this bread (go figure).  Something we rarely do at home is indulge in bread and butter, which we did on our cruise, and enjoyed immensely!

After breakfast we were excited to start our 6 hour island/beach tour of St. Maarten and St. Martin.  I had reserved this excursion in advance with “Bernard Tours.”

Our favorite part of the tour was Maho Beach.  It’s a famous spot for watching planes fly in VERY close overhead.  There is also a posting of all incoming airplanes.

We had very limited time due to our tour schedule so we positioned ourselves as best as we could.  After missing a few photo ops, we figured out where I should be, and where H should stand.  I was blinded by the sun as we were all standing on the beach, hot and tired, looking in the far distance for the tell-tale red dots of in-coming planes.  When someone would spot them, they’d yell and we would all be shooting in continuous mode!  H was very appreciative of the shots I captured with a plane flying right over his head!  I was also able to capture a video of him (for our personal collection).

Despite how common it is to get sand blasted, we didn’t even feel a flicker.  I also didn’t smell any intense fumes.

The experience was truly thrilling!  Do not miss Maho Beach if you visit St. Marteen!  It was the highlight of our day!

We returned to the ship tired and sunburnt and had a snack at the Wipe-out Café to tide us over (no pun intended) until dinner time.  We enjoyed the tacos, fries and hotdog, and we had to have more of the chips with salsa and guacamole!  We finished with  frozen yogurt twists; chocolate/vanilla and strawberry/vanilla.  So refreshing!

For dinner, we returned to the main dining room.  It was always such a pleasure to see the wait staff, especially after a day in port. They welcomed us back, and asked how our day went and what we did.  When we informed them we had a show immediately after dinner, they did their best to rush everything through, and ensured we were finished on time.  Here’s a tip: let your wait staff know what time you need to be out, and they will be more than willing to accommodate you.  Your dinner may be a bit rushed, but you won’t be late.  Keep in mind the long walk to your venue, and the long line ups that quickly start.

This was the evening they changed the menu twice.  In the morning, they had posted the entrée would be a T-bone style Osso Bucco.  H was excited!  At dinner, we were informed the Chef from Miami was on board.  We were also looking forward to trying the Rack of Lamb (as first time cruisers, we wanted to try everything).  We asked our head waiter why it wasn’t available, and he informed us they testing a new menu, and we were the guinea pigs!

Our poor waiter, he had recommendations every night we dined in the main dining room, but he was confused on this night.  Later we laughed and told him he’d have recommendations for the 8:30 p.m. seating, since H felt the Chef from Miami should fly back via the helipad immediately!  Just our thoughts.

H started with the New England Clam Chowder and said it was okay; the clams were a bit chewy.  I decided to try the Green Gazpacho – chilled lettuce and cucumber soup with diced tomatoes and chopped parsley.  H thought I was brave!  It looked worse than the liquid greens I drink each morning.  It wasn’t awful, but after two spoons, I passed.  I did try to eat healthy!

The Crab Cakes were average; they paled in comparison to Chops Grille.

H ordered the Pan Seared Sole Fillets.  He’s not a picky eater, and loves food in general, so I was surprised to see he just picked at his entrée.  I asked him what was wrong, and he said it smelled and tasted off, and the fillets were not pan seared, just mushy.  We noted the large table beside us left theirs barely touched.  The asparagus was also overcooked and mushy.

Our waiter immediately noticed H’s plate, and suggested the Shrimp Gyoza Dumplings.  They were very good!  As suggested by seasoned cruisers, trust your waiter, he or she knows what dishes are hits or misses.

H was in the process of ordering the Slow Roasted Double Cut Pork Loin, when our assistant waiter brought the Conchiglioni Pasta (from the Spa Vitality menu) to our table by mistake, so he ate that instead!  Since it was already placed down, our waiter advised her not to give it to the correct table, and we didn’t want it to go to waste.

Wow, the pasta shells stuffed with ricotta and spinach were scrumptious!  I felt sorry we didn’t have time to try any of the other healthier food items from the Solarium Bistro (on our next cruise for sure).

I chose the Beef Stroganoff and it would have been great, however, this particular Chef from Miami decided to add slivers of pickles.  I hate pickles!  I picked out all the pickles, but the pickle taste was already incorporated.  Boy that was a mouthful (no, not of the stroganoff).  I couldn’t finish it.

Our head waiter was kind enough to save two desserts from the night before (since we dined at Chops Grille).  The Banana Cream Pie was delicious!  The chocolate custard was super creamy, with a hint of Kahlúa.  I’ve never tried it this way, as most times I’ve had it with just vanilla custard and sliced bananas.  Very unique!

The Coconut Crème Brûlée was heavenly!  I can’t stop writing about the brûlée, or craving it.  I normally don’t order this dessert, but this one, and the Vanilla Crème Brûlée from Chops Grille – OMG!  I absolutely love anything with coconut and vanilla beans.  H kept laughing, and saying “so embarrassing,” as I was spooning into ….. nothing.

The dessert from the new menu also listed an individual Lemon Meringue Tart.  You know I ordered it right.  It was your typical lemon pie, if I had to describe the taste.  The meringue had been lightly torched.  The filling was very tart!

Oasis of the Seas: Day 4 of 8 – St. Thomas

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We woke up early as Oasis arrived in St. Thomas at 9:00 a.m.  We were in a hurry to leave the ship and meet up with our tour guide, so we chose a quick breakfast at the Park Café.

I reserved a 6 hour tour/shopping excursion in advance with “Godfrey Tours.”  I noted it was a very cloudy day, and wouldn’t be the greatest for photo ops.

Here are some of our favorite memories of St. Thomas:

We had a great time and headed back to the ship well before the required time of  5:00 p.m., tired and hungry.  We headed to the Wipe Out Café for a snack, and to try the Pretzel Dog we read about.  It was a bit mushy inside, however the guacamole and chips were great.

There were 6 flavors of self serve frozen yogurt (strawberry, strawberry half and half, and vanilla) (chocolate, chocolate half and half, and vanilla).  That’s technically only 5, but whose counting!!

For dinner, we had a reservation at Chops Grille Restaurant; located in Central Park.

We started with rye bread which was fresh and warm, and offered with 2 flavored butters.  For our appetizers, we chose the Shrimp Cocktail.  Wow, what a difference from the main dining room.  These were huge, jumbo shrimps; tender, with a nice punch of horseradish in the cocktail sauce.  I had to take an angle shot to fit the shrimps in the photo!

The Shrimp and Dungeness Crab Cakes were amazing,  again, completely different from the main dining room.  I could actually see and taste the crab meat.

H ordered his favorite French Onion Soup, and thoroughly enjoyed it.  There was a generous portion of onions and Gruyère cheese.

The Chops Signature Salad was good, but nothing out of the ordinary.

We both ordered the Filet Mignon.  The steaks were perfectly cooked (medium), and very tender.  H, being a meat and potatoes kind of guy, was very happy!

We tried all the sauces: Béarnaise, Green Peppercorn, Chimichurri (H’s favorite) and Cabernet Reduction (my favorite).

For sides, we shared (family style) the Steamed Asparagus and Cremini Mushrooms and Leeks (OMG, did I really have to share this one).

The Roasted Potatoes with Prosciutto and Parmesan were heavenly.  I have never tasted such a wonderfully prepared combination of carbs!!

For dessert, we shared the popular Chocolate Mud Pie.  The pie had a very firm mousse-like texture, and was delicious, but I had enough chocolate for the day.  H had no problem finishing it.

We also tried the Red Velvet Cake after seeing it at the table beside us.  It was moist, but tasted awful from the bitter red food coloring.  It “looked” good at our neighbor’s table, until we noticed they barely touched it.  Red Velvet Cake is not one of my favorites, but I really wanted to try Oasis’ version.  If you’re a fan of it, I would suggest baking with Wilton color gels.  They have a red “no taste” color which is perfect for this type of cake.

The Passionberry Duo was very refreshing, and a nice change from all the sweet chocolaty desserts.  We both finished it with no problem!  It was also beautifully presented.

And yes, I still had room for a 4th dessert.  The table beside us had ordered the Vanilla Crème Brûlée after their disappointing Red Velvet Cake.  Since it was a new dessert item, I was intrigued.  I could smell the hit of vanilla bean when the woman beside me cracked into it!  I was taking so many pictures for my food review, so I could not miss this one.

The brûlée came out flaming!  Oh, such smooth, creamy, velvety vanilla-ness!  I enjoyed every bit!

We had a reservation at 8:30 p.m. for the Headliner show.  We were both exhausted and sleep deprived, so we opted out, and headed back to our room.  Tomorrow was another port day, which meant a super early wake-up call again.

We had a previous issue in our stateroom, and informed our room attendant about it earlier on.  There was a pink box with 4 cupcakes from “The Cupcake Cupboard” in our room.  I was so excited, having glanced many times at the daily selections, but we were not willing to pay the extra cost after I read horrible reviews on the forums.

I opened the box, and being a baker, I knew they lived up to their reputation.  First off, the chocolate had bloomed.  While it’s perfectly safe to still eat bloomed chocolate, they didn’t look very appetizing.  H picked up one of the cupcakes and took a bite and promptly spit it back out.  To be honest, the cupcakes were hard and dry, quite like a very hard muffin.  H joked about throwing them against the wall to see if they would break.

We thought the gesture was very nice, but we were not craving cupcakes again (not while on board).  H couldn’t understand why they would offer up such awful rock hard cupcakes at all.  Unless Oasis has made enormous changes, save your money and try the delicious (and free) desserts from the Mondo Coffee Bar.