On November 14th we departed on a seven day cruise to several Eastern Caribbean ports (Nassau, St Thomas and St Maarten) on the world’s largest cruise ship, Royal Caribbean’s Oasis of the Seas. This is a really spectacular cruise ship that has so much to see and do on board. We went on this cruise because one of our customers (and friends) wanted to go on a group cruise with her family. There were 15 people in her group of 7 cabins. When we mentioned this cruise to some other customers on an earlier cruise this year, they showed interest in joining this group because of the great prices we had been able to lock in on this very special ship. These people mentioned it to other people they knew who mentioned it to more people and before you knew it we ended up having 42 people going on this group cruise in 20 cabins. Group cruising can be very beneficial since cruise lines will provide you with On Board Credit for each cabin in a group. In this group each cabin received $100 to spend during the cruise. In addition to this amenity, the group leader receives an additional bonus of a free cruise fare (less taxes and some other fees) for every 8 cabins booked. This should be a great incentive to anyone who can pull together a number of people that want to cruise together.
We enjoyed ourselves in the various ports. We have been to Nassau many times and during this stop we spent a little time exploring some sights we had not seen previously: The Queen’s Steps and the Governor’s Mansion. In St Thomas we helped some of the group members find a nice island tour to visit some of the beaches and see some of the pretty sights. In St Maarten we had booked a Snorkel Tour for some of the group and went on this excursion with them. It turned out to be a great trip where we had 2 snorkel stops, one with turtles and a 3rd stop where we went ashore to a beautiful beach for relaxing, shopping and eating/drinking.
Most of the cruise was spent on the ship enjoying the great entertainment. We saw the Broadway Show CATS for the first time and really enjoyed watching it. Although it is somewhat long (2 ½ hours with an intermission half way through), it is a very entertaining show with some great singing and dancing. The costumes/makeup were awesome! We watched the ice skating show onboard called Frozen in Time. We have seen this show several times previously but this particular performance was one of our favorites. The jumps and spins performed on a moving ship by ice skaters are always amazing. We also saw the dive show called Oasis of Dreams which is a uniquely different show with acrobatics, synchronized swimming and diving from many locations (including some 50 foot dives on a moving ship in the middle of the ocean). In addition to the acrobatics they also do some very entertaining performances on a trampoline. It is really a unique show that you should not miss if you are on this ship. Their production show is called Come Fly With Me and combines the normal singing and dancing you see on most ships with some entertaining aerial performances. Most cruise ships have really good entertainment but Royal Caribbean’s newest ships have some of the best entertainment in the industry.
Eating on the Oasis of the Seas is another great adventure. The food in the main dining room is very good and comparable to most cruise lines. There are other restaurants such as Park Café (one of our favorites) which serves salads made to order, freshly cut roast beef sandwiches and a myriad of other sandwiches. You can eat at the Hot Dog House or Johnny Rockets depending on what you are in the mood for. We took a few members of the group to Chops Grille one night, which is a specialty restaurant that has some really great steaks along with other items. Their appetizers and sides at Chops are really great also along with their amazing desserts. On another night we took the group leader and her family to Giovanni’s Table which is an Italian restaurant with some really great appetizers, pastas and entrees. The Filet Mignon at this restaurant might have even been better than at Chops. Desserts at Giovanni’s were also really great if you like fresh cannoli or tiramisu. There are many other restaurants to choose from on this ship and you will never go hungry when you are cruising!
All in all this was a great cruise. It was great to meet new friends and enjoy the company of old friends. The weather was great and it was a shock to come back to the real world with 30 degree temperatures! We enjoyed watching the people doing the rock climbing and zip line rides from the balcony of the cabin over Board Walk. The internet on this ship was also amazing and was uniquely designed for cruise ships to allow truly high speed internet while at sea. We typically spend a lot of time in the casino playing slot machines and black jack but with so much going on with such a large group, we really didn’t get a chance to play until day six. It was a good thing we did play a little though since we won over $1200 on this cruise in the casino! We don’t often win but it is amazing what a straight flush in three card poker will pay!
We don’t have another cruise planned until March, 2016 as we have been asked to be a “Travel Agent Host” on a Distinctive Voyage onboard the Celebrity Equinox for 12 days visiting the Exotic Caribbean Islands.
Greg and Sharon
We enjoyed ourselves in the various ports. We have been to Nassau many times and during this stop we spent a little time exploring some sights we had not seen previously: The Queen’s Steps and the Governor’s Mansion. In St Thomas we helped some of the group members find a nice island tour to visit some of the beaches and see some of the pretty sights. In St Maarten we had booked a Snorkel Tour for some of the group and went on this excursion with them. It turned out to be a great trip where we had 2 snorkel stops, one with turtles and a 3rd stop where we went ashore to a beautiful beach for relaxing, shopping and eating/drinking.
Most of the cruise was spent on the ship enjoying the great entertainment. We saw the Broadway Show CATS for the first time and really enjoyed watching it. Although it is somewhat long (2 ½ hours with an intermission half way through), it is a very entertaining show with some great singing and dancing. The costumes/makeup were awesome! We watched the ice skating show onboard called Frozen in Time. We have seen this show several times previously but this particular performance was one of our favorites. The jumps and spins performed on a moving ship by ice skaters are always amazing. We also saw the dive show called Oasis of Dreams which is a uniquely different show with acrobatics, synchronized swimming and diving from many locations (including some 50 foot dives on a moving ship in the middle of the ocean). In addition to the acrobatics they also do some very entertaining performances on a trampoline. It is really a unique show that you should not miss if you are on this ship. Their production show is called Come Fly With Me and combines the normal singing and dancing you see on most ships with some entertaining aerial performances. Most cruise ships have really good entertainment but Royal Caribbean’s newest ships have some of the best entertainment in the industry.
Eating on the Oasis of the Seas is another great adventure. The food in the main dining room is very good and comparable to most cruise lines. There are other restaurants such as Park Café (one of our favorites) which serves salads made to order, freshly cut roast beef sandwiches and a myriad of other sandwiches. You can eat at the Hot Dog House or Johnny Rockets depending on what you are in the mood for. We took a few members of the group to Chops Grille one night, which is a specialty restaurant that has some really great steaks along with other items. Their appetizers and sides at Chops are really great also along with their amazing desserts. On another night we took the group leader and her family to Giovanni’s Table which is an Italian restaurant with some really great appetizers, pastas and entrees. The Filet Mignon at this restaurant might have even been better than at Chops. Desserts at Giovanni’s were also really great if you like fresh cannoli or tiramisu. There are many other restaurants to choose from on this ship and you will never go hungry when you are cruising!
All in all this was a great cruise. It was great to meet new friends and enjoy the company of old friends. The weather was great and it was a shock to come back to the real world with 30 degree temperatures! We enjoyed watching the people doing the rock climbing and zip line rides from the balcony of the cabin over Board Walk. The internet on this ship was also amazing and was uniquely designed for cruise ships to allow truly high speed internet while at sea. We typically spend a lot of time in the casino playing slot machines and black jack but with so much going on with such a large group, we really didn’t get a chance to play until day six. It was a good thing we did play a little though since we won over $1200 on this cruise in the casino! We don’t often win but it is amazing what a straight flush in three card poker will pay!
We don’t have another cruise planned until March, 2016 as we have been asked to be a “Travel Agent Host” on a Distinctive Voyage onboard the Celebrity Equinox for 12 days visiting the Exotic Caribbean Islands.
Greg and Sharon
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