Finally!
We made it! We are now onboard Royal Caribbean’s Oasis of the Seas. And she’s everything I dreamed she’d be. So, this is how my day went.
Titusville, then on to Port Canaveral
We drove to Titusville on Saturday and stayed at the Days Inn on route 50. Not a bad place, not a great place, but we got it cheap on Hotwire, so it was fine. I didn’t sleep well at all, too excited, I guess. Then in the morning after breakfast we drove to Port Canaveral and parked our car at Park Port Canaveral. This was our first time trying this, we would normally stay at a motel that had a Snooze, Park and Cruise package, but since the cost had gone up by quite a bit this year, we decided not to do it. If you book with Park Port Canaveral ahead of time it’s cheaper.
Arriving right around 9:45 am, there were a few cars ahead of us, but the line went quickly. A very nice employee at the end of the line met us and took our name and told us what to do. We dropped our luggage off, then I found a parking place on the paved lot close to the luggage drop off area. Coming back to the luggage drop off area, we waited just a few minutes, and a shuttle bus came to pick us up to take us to the port. The driver was very friendly, and the drive was short. It looks like they are now working on building a parking garage, right now you park out in the sun.
The driver told us that the line was long to get to the port, but he took us in a back way and we had no line at all. We went into the terminal and there was no wait at all in any of the lines. After we checked in with a very nice agent, we sat in the terminal for less than half an hour till they called for boarding. So, overall, our experience in getting onto the ship was very good.
Onboard
Once we actually got onto Oasis of the Seas, we started exploring. You enter the ship on Deck 5 in the Royal Promenade. There were so many people wandering around there that we decided to go to a different deck to explore first. We went to the Central Park Neighborhood to explore. It really is a peaceful place in the middle of the ocean. Trees galore, and plenty of places to sit. You definitely don’t feel like you’re on a ship.
We had heard that the Windjammer Buffet was always the most crowded place on the ship as people board, so we found a table in the Park Cafe for lunch. I ended up with one of the famous Roast Beef Sandwiches and a fruit cup. The sandwich was good, the fruit cup was just okay. Some of the fruit didn’t have a lot of flavor. To drink I ended up with a mango juice drink. Really good and refreshing.
And then I had a really good chocolate mousse cake, and one of the famous Royal Ranger cookies. I’d heard about them, but never tasted one. Pretty good, it’s really a coconut cookie.
Exploring
We sat there a while and just relaxed, then we went to explore more of the ship. It was a bit overwhelming, especially when you’re trying to navigate your pull on luggage through crowds of people. Since no one could get into their rooms till 1:00 pm, everyone had luggage with them.
Royal Promenade
When we finally got to deck 5 to explore (the Royal Promenade) I did love it. It’s decorated for Christmas right now, with a huge Christmas Tree towards the center of the deck. It’s decorated really pretty, but for some reason the lights were not lit on it. I hope that they start lighting it so we can enjoy it. All of the stores were closed since we were still in port, but we did sit down at the Promenade Cafe and get a drink.
We got into our room at about 1:15 and at least were able to put down our carry-ons. Our luggage wasn’t there yet, so we decided to do more exploring.
Boardwalk
Our next stop was The Boardwalk neighborhood. It’s really kind of fun, and a good place for kids. I managed to get my picture taken on the Merry go Round before it got too busy. Fun ride. We saw the rock wall and the dive pool with the big movie screens.
I got plenty of pictures of everything. We went through the casino, which was not being used yet. I believe that you have to be 20 miles out to sea before you can gamble. We don’t really gamble, the one time I did use the slots, I won $7 and quit and considered myself lucky. Like I said, we’ll never get a free cruise for gambling.
Time to get ready for dinner
After a while of exploring, we went back to the room to get ready for dinner. We ended up getting our luggage around 4:00 pm, so we unpacked first. The cabin is smaller than the ones we normally get on Carnival, so it is a bit close in there, although the balcony is nice sized. There doesn’t seem to be as much storage space either. You’d think on a bigger ship the cabins would be bigger, but I guess they’re trying to get more people in. And believe me, there are a lot of people on this ship.
There are little storage cubbies everywhere, which is nice, but I can’t seem to remember which cubby I put things in, so I’m always searching. I’d imagine that on the last day I’ll finally figure out where everything is. There is an electric outlet on the desk with 3 separate outlets on, which is nice. And I like that there is a big light up vanity mirror in the room.
One thing that RC could do is put magnifying mirrors in the bathrooms like Carnival does. The beds seem to be comfy, and our steward, Valery, is very nice and has been very helpful. Our room was really hot when we first went in and didn’t really cool down, so we called maintenance. They came and fixed it quickly, and it finally cooled down in the evening. I’ll try to write more about the rooms as I go through the week. Let me know if you want to know anything and I’ll see what I can find out.
My Time Dining
Dinner was very good. We had the My Time Dining, and we had reservations for 5:30, so we got right in and sat by another couple who were very nice. It’s not enjoyable to us to have to sit alone without meeting anyone else. We do enjoy meeting people.
I had French Onion Soup, Prime Rib with Baked Potato and Broccoli, and the Chocolate Hazlenut cake with ice cream for dessert. Everything was very good, but my favorite was the cake. Better than Carnival’s Chocolate Melting Cake.
While we were eating, the Captain came on the loudspeaker and announced that the ship would be turning around and going back to Port Canaveral for a medical emergency. We watched from our balcony when we got to Port Canaveral, and saw a firetruck, an ambulance and two police cars at the port. I don’t know what happened, but how sad to finally be on the cruise you’ve been waiting for and the have a medical emergency and have to leave. I hope everyone involved is okay.
Comedy Show
After that we went to the comedy show. We saw two comedians, I don’t remember their names, but I enjoyed the first one, and the second was just okay.
After that we got a dessert and coffee from the Promenade Cafe, and then went to the cabin to relax on the balcony before bedtime. It was such a long busy day, but it was definitely a good day. Bring on Sea Day #2! Stay tuned.
The Quiet Cruiser 