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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.