|
WOW
CRUISING ON THE OASIS OF THE SEA
I
have had the pleasure of being able to cruise on practically every
ship you can think of, but nothing prepares you for the WOW factor
of the Oasis of the Seas. Let me give you a few quick facts just to
get you started:
 5,200
passengers in lower beds, 2,165 crew, 1,187 feet long, 208 feet
wide, 24 passenger elevators, 2.5 acres of galley space, 24 dining
options, a total of 16 passenger deck levels, public rooms on 7 deck
levels. It took Diana and I from around 4 pm on Friday until 4 pm
on Saturday to see most of the ship, and I am sure we missed some
things.
Your cruise starts out at the world’s largest and nicest cruise
terminal with over 90 check-in stations. The ship has two
embarkation points that take you directly to deck 5 and the Royal
Promenade. Embarkation was no problem at all. This 3 deck level
atrium area is enough to impress anybody. When you realize that you
cannot see all the way to the ends of the ship when you get on in
the middle, you start to get a feeling of how big this ship really
is.
The Royal Promenade houses numerous F&B and retail outlets all with
their own custom designed store fronts, Mall of the America’s at
sea. In one area in the center of the Promenade is the Rising Tide
Bar. This bar looks more like a space ship than a bar and moves up
and down between 3 deck levels with a water show going on a the base
of the area while the bar is moving up and down.
Want to get away from all of this action then just go up one deck to
the Schooner Bar and take a look and watch the action below you.
This is a good vantage point to take in how large an area you are
looking at. The Promenade lower deck level is home to 6 lounges
alone.
On the aft end of deck 6 is the Boardwalk area which is an outdoor
area with two tower levels of balcony cabins on two sides and a
total open stern. When entering this area the full size Carousel
might get your attention and tell you you aren’t on your
grandfathers cruise ship. At the end of this area is the
Aquatheater and two giant TV screens. The Aquatheater is home to
the only diving and swimming show at sea. Along the way is Johnny
Rockets and the Seafood Shack if you get hungry as well as Ice Cream
Parlor, a Donut shop and a candy store, and of course there is a
very handy bar as well. This area was always busy just because it
is so unique.
Located forward on deck 6 are the two deck level Spa and Gym areas.
Needless to say this is the biggest Spa at sea with 28 treatment
rooms and its own Café. You got to see to believe it!
Going up to deck 8 you will find Central Park. This area is totally
open to the elements with balcony cabins above you on both sides.
Central Park is a lush green park like setting with real trees and
plants. The ship carries 4 full time gardeners to handle all of the
plants on the ship. Here you will find 3 up market restaurants with
indoor and outdoor settings, these are the top 3 dining outlets on
the ship. You will also find a great wine bar and the Casual Park
Café plus a full size Coach bag store. At the end of this area is a
slick night club, Dazzles, that has 2 story glass windows
overlooking Boardwalk so you could make a night of it without ever
leaving this deck. This is a nice quite retreat from all of the
action on this ship.
Deck 14 is home to one of the youth zones far away from any adult
activities.
Deck 15 is really busy with all sorts of activities. On the aft end
of the ship is the sports zone with 2 flow riders, a full size
basketball court, a Zip line to run over the top of Boardwalk area,
mini golf, the teen area and a café. So all the action is away from
the main public area on this deck, which are the swimming pools.
There are 4 pools perched atop
the two cabin towers with a view to Central Park below. One pool is
for the kids while the other 3 are adult pools one of which is a
walk in beach type pool which becomes a night club in the evening.
In between the pools there are two bars and a walk way over the
center of the ship, creating two different areas on each side of the
ship.
Forward on deck 15 is the
entrance to the Solarium. This 3 deck level glass enclosed area is
fantastic and sure to be a favorite for our type of clients. You’ll
find 3 Jacuzzis and a great enclosed Bistro as well as a very nice
cocktail lounge. This is area is sure to be a hit as well and one
that you can spend the entire day in. This room is a tremendous hit
and very different than anything at sea, not to be missed.
In reading this I hope you get
the feeling what Royal has done in designing this vessel. By the
way the design took 37 design firms and 20 architectural firms plus
an in-house staff of 130 to design and build. They have created 10
different zones or neighborhoods to move the people throughout the
ship so you don’t feel like you are on such a big ship.
The Entertainment Place on deck
4 has the casino, the Ice Rink (the show is fantastic), a real
Comedy lounge, and Blaze which is the disco, plus the entrance to
the main Showroom. This is the spot to find late night
entertainment. Again this area is an entirely different area from
the rest of the ship.
Located on deck 3 are the
dedicated meeting and function rooms holding around 400 in 4
different rooms that can all be opened up. Adjoining this complex
is a board room and access to Studio B which can also be used for
meeting and presentations holding over 500.
This report could go on and on
but let me finish by saying that there are so many different things
happening on this ship that most people will find something they
really enjoy. Some differences to consider are that you can sign
up for going to the shows and spa in advance, special procedures for
our groups are in place. Don’t worry about there being lines, just
as an example 10 different restaurants serve breakfast.
Images |
