I have arrived at the Oasis!

Incredible…Wow…Jaw dropping!

Yes, Royal Caribbean’s Oasis of the Seas is all this and more and if you have not heard about her; here is a recap of my 2-night preview cruise I spent on her on November 27th-29th.

I must begin by saying how fortunate I was to be able to join my colleagues from OSSN and how privileged it was to sail with such a fun and hardworking group of people. So, with much anticipation, I began my trip to Port Everglades and could not wait to see the Oasis in person. And as expected, there she was looming over the horizon, bright and shiny, as she is not hard to miss when you are in Ft. Lauderdale driving on I-95. The Oasis of the Seas is the largest ship in the world and was definitely giving the condominiums on the beach a run for their money in terms of size. In fact she dwarfs a couple of the buildings near the port and is unmistakably massive. At over 225,000 gross registered tons; she is larger than 5 Titanics and is 40% larger than any other cruise ship today. But is she too big?

Now I have sailed on most of Royal Caribbean’s cruise ships (not every one, but at least one in every class of ship) and they are in my opinion one of the best cruise lines out there, but this is not about comparing cruise lines, but about the evolution of their ships. The Oasis takes cruising to a new level and coupled with the entertainment and dining opportunities equal with the new stateroom designs and neighborhoods that are onboard, the ceiling has been reached and broken.

First this ship has an inside open-air design, so from the outside, it may look normal, but the interior has a Central Park that is filled with pathways and trees, shrubs and flora which is completely open to the sky, plus a boardwalk that is right out of Atlantic City that expands to the Aqua theater at the aft of the ship. The Royal Promenade is still included also and has been reduced to only 2 stories high but has been doubled in width that makes it more crowd friendly.

In terms of cabins, the standard inside and balcony rooms are still available, but they added a number of suites that can handle a large family or more and are larger than some people’s actual houses. Plus the addition of the stunning 2-story loft suites with floor to ceiling glass and a spectacular view, you have the most choices ever.

Dining is taken to a all new level also with over 24 dining options that include the tried and true Main Dining Room and Windjammer to specialty restaurants such as Giovanni’s, 150 Park Place and the Seafood Shack, plus numerous other pizza and sandwich style options. Gourmet to Italian, fried seafood to cupcakes; spread out over 17 decks, there is very little chance that one would have to go far or go hungry for that matter.

Along the expansive top deck are multiple pools, Jacuzzis, 2 Flow Riders, a miniature golf course, the exhilarating zip line 9 decks high and the extremely awesome Solarium in the forward of the ship which has to be seen to be appreciated. Water falls and incredible deck chairs, atmosphere and a view over the bow, this place was one of my favorites.

This ship is utterly fantastic and I could go on and on, but in my opinion, I also have a few thoughts about her that could be slightly negative; so here goes. I felt that the most important feature that disappointed me the most was the lack of outside viewing. Except from a balcony room or top deck; when you are inside the ship, there is not a lot of outside glass to remind you that you are at sea. Since the ship is so big and that you really do not feel her move, it would be nice to have the natural sunlight and ocean horizon available to enhance the cruise experience. Now there were some spots that light did make its way in, much of it was from the Central Park or Boardwalk but not with an oceanview perspective. Some of Royal Caribbean’s ships are designed just for that purpose such as the Radiance class of ships that have multideck glass on the sides of their ships.

Additionally, some of the specialty lounges such as the comedy club and the Jazz on 4 seemed too compartmentalized in their location while the gym looked like it was an after thought; after finally finding it housed up front of the ship. Another issue was the very narrow promenade deck where the life boats are kept; it felt small and uninspired, even though this has been a signature spot on cruise ships that have been a source of activity, relaxation and reflection for decades. I personally have always enjoyed this usually quiet part of a ship; strolling along the deck meeting people and gazing off to the horizon, but again, it is rather cold and plain on the Oasis. Another observation was the main dining room and although the Oasis has many other awesome dining environments I felt the main dining room could have had a greater entrance to show her off. It seemed hidden behind the elevators and was nothing special as opposed to the Opal Theater which was more inviting and extravagant. To be fair though the dining room itself was quite inviting and cozy.

I could write about a great many more details of the Oasis in depth and maybe at another time when I would feel more inclined, but overall this ship has a lot going for Royal Caribbean and when her sister ship, the Allure of the Seas comes out in 2010, the opportunity to sail on one of these magnificent ships will become more available as the premium pricing starts to drop. It definitely is an amazing ship with plenty to do and enjoy and the few knocks I made about her does not diminish how much I enjoyed and was honored to sail on her. The crew was very friendly, the captain was a pleasure to meet, the service was, as always quite attentive and the friends I sailed with made this quite the experience and one not to forget, even though it was only for 2-nights. The Oasis of the Seas is truly a destination to see and although, as some say, that she is a game changer, and I can understand why, she is still a Royal Caribbean ship which makes her worth taking a cruise on.

Time to Travel Again...

Unfortunately, I have not been traveling much this year other than my annual trip to Peace River, FL and Busch Gardens in Tampa. It seems that some years are quieter than others and the consensus opinion of the economy this year has proven that I am not the only one that has experienced similar slowdown.

But, in the upcoming weeks I will have a reprieve as I sail on back to back weekends on one of the newest ships out there and one of the oldest ships still in the mass-market cruise industry. The day after Thanksgiving, I sail on the Oasis of the Seas; Royal Caribbean’s goliath ship that has been the talk of the industry for a couple of years now, and the following weekend, I board Carnival’s Imagination for a light 3-night cruise to the Bahamas with the family. What a difference these two ships are, but if you love cruising the way I do, I will enjoy them equally, yet differently.

And finally, somewhat off topic, I managed to join Facebook after all the requests from friends and family. Although I am somewhat reluctant about it, I have come to grips that it is here to stay (in some format or another) and figured if I was to be on it, I would use it as a tool to reflect my travel business. Look me up and read about what is happening in the Travel sector and look for the other specials and group opportunities that I will be posting there. Till next time…http://www.yecks.com/.

Celebrity Solstice

She has been the most talked about ship in the industry lately. The green real grass lawn on the top deck, the glass blowing show and even the solar power solarium has caught attention by the media and consumers alike. On November 12th, we had a chance to sail on her as she had just arrived from Europe and I can tell you, everything that has been said (and a lot has) holds true. This ship is remarkable in so many ways, and I will try to touch upon the details that I was impressed with.

Beginning with the ship design, this ship is the largest Celebrity has built and not only does it have a multilevel dining room, a buffet and pool side grill; she also sports 4 specialty restaurants that include a Spa, Asian, Italian and French styled choices. We had Dinner in Murano’s which is the French restaurant and the food and service was top notch. I still look at pictures of my baked lobster and escargot stuffed tortellinis with much enjoyment. Getting to the restaurants is also a delight since you walk through a hallway off to the side of the ship that is dimly lit with flowers painted on the walls and insects on the walls and floors. The scent of flowers and the crickets chirping while mood music played completed the effect, which I thought was extremely unique.

On the top deck where the now famous lawn club exists, you can play bocce ball, take in putting practice or just sit and enjoy the manicured grass. I must say it is rather surreal walking on grass in bare feet steaming about in the middle of the Caribbean, but nonetheless relaxing. Next to the lawn, they have a glass blowing show designed and created by Corning which is a fun diversion, where you can have the chance to win one of their creations. Unique, but once you see it, you probably will not go back to see it again.

The Solarium, as I mentioned earlier has great cushioned lounge chairs and a number of small cabanas for relaxing while above you thousands of small solar panels suck up the sunlight. They use this electricity on board to supplement the generators, but I do not think it really adds to the bottom line. Interesting, yet undecided.

The cabins are quite nice with leather couch, 32” LCD TV, comfortable beds and bathroom amenities. Our cabin was a balcony room and that is definitely the way to cruise if you can afford it.

Overall this ship has plenty more to offer, from pool side to entertainment to shopping; but let’s just say, spending time on her would definitely make one agree that they went to great lengths to make this a great ship to sail on. I guess that is why they plan to build 3-4 more just like her.