CRUISING THE CARIBBEAN
Something I haven’t written about before that I love to do is cruising. My wife and I have been on a number of cruises with quite a few different cruise lines. Each line has their own identity, standout features, and shortcomings. If you have cruised before you might have experienced the same feeling of awe that I had when your ship was docked alongside a Royal Caribbean Oasis class ship. If you are unfamiliar with these ships, all you need to know is that they are the largest cruise ships in the world.
When choosing a cruise there are a number of factors that contribute to your selection. For each person how much importance is placed on each factor is different. For me the factors in their order of importance are the location of the cruise, the length of the cruise, the ports the cruise will dock at, and lastly the cruise line. I just returned from my most recent cruise to the Caribbean, for one week, with stops in Labadee Haiti, Falmouth Jamaica, and Cozumel Mexico with Royal Caribbean cruise line. I would have preferred to have had one additional port but there aren’t many itineraries available that include a stop in Jamaica. My wife really wanted to see Jamaica because my mother is from there, and she had heard so much about it from me. Luckily for us Royal Caribbean’s Oasis of the Seas was the ship we would be on. Finally the opportunity to sail on one of these gigantic ships was ours. Needless to say that I was definitely excited.
The Oasis of the Seas has everything that you would expect to find on a cruise ship. It has pools, hot tubs, restaurants, bars, theatres, a casino, shops, a gym, a spa, and many many staterooms. It also has a few additional features that you might not expect like Rock climbing walls, a zipline, a miniature golf course, an ice skating rink, flowrider surfing simulators, and a carousel. Given it’s size it’s basically a floating resort town. With everything there is to do on ship the small number of ports didn’t concern me. Days spent at sea would be full of opportunities, or so I thought. For those of you that haven’t cruised before it’s important to know that each day has it’s own schedule of activities on board. The itinerary will usually include assorted shows, trivia events, karaoke, shopping events, sports, dance parties, scavenger hunts, seminars, and interactive game shows. Couple that with time spent on deck sun tanning, or in a pool, with all the other things to experience, and you are looking at quite a full day. At least that’s what you would expect.
Unfortunately what we expected was not what we received. Itineraries were uninspired, and poorly scheduled. During the early afternoon there was surprisingly very little of interest to do. Each day was divided into three distinct activity times. The mornings generally consisted of exercise, spa activities (at an additional charge) and simple kids games. Unfortunately my wife and I prefer to not work out while on vacation so we took our time having breakfast, and then walked the ship before going up on Deck 15 for miniature golf, or Deck 16 to relax in the sun. The afternoon activities were generally a barrage of sales that took place on the main promenade, and a series of sporting events like basketball, ping pong, or rock climbing challenges up on Deck 15. Neither of these really interested us so we would usually find ourselves at the Art auction during each day at Sea between 1:00pm and 3:00pm. It was actually supposed to run from 1:30pm till 2:30pm but registration begins at 1:00pm and it always ran late which caused some scheduling issues for a few people. My wife and I have attended a number of Park West auctions on other cruises, and generally found them to be informative, and interesting. Unfortunately on this particular cruise every auction we attended was filled with the same infomercial style information about the artist Peter Max. I get the feeling that Park West has so many works by Peter Max in their warehouse that they are desperate to develop an increased interest. Supply has definitely exceeded the demand. It didn’t matter how hard they tried, people just weren’t interested. From the very first time I saw a work by Peter Max I felt uninspired, and far from impressed. Art is truly subjective, and there are artists that have been regarded as masters that I have absolutely no interest in. Jackson Pollock, Andy Warhol, and Ed Ruscha would qualify as very successful artists that have absolutely no effect on me. Well you can add Peter Max to the list. After dinner the schedule usually included a trivia event, karaoke, and the main theatre show. We usually took advantage of one or two of these events depending on scheduling. What I quickly realized was that on a ship of this size (6490 passengers) you need to have a minimum of 30 minutes between events or there is no way you’ll be able to attend. It took me a few days to figure that out. You would think that the Cruise and Activities Director would have that figured out by now. If karaoke in the On Air bar ends at 8:00pm, then there’s no way you can make it to the Trivia night at the Schooner Bar at 8:00pm even though it’s only a couple minutes walk away because all of the seats would already have been taken 30 minutes ago. Another issue with a ship this size is that even the largest theatre can’t accommodate everyone so you are practically forced to reserve your spot in the main shows. On any other ship I’ve been on you just had to show up and find a seat, overcrowding was never an issue. Of course those ships only had around 3500 passengers. Which brings me to another observation. The Oasis of the Seas is huge. There’s no denying that. To be honest though, it doesn’t feel that much larger than any other large ship. There are times when we would have to make the long walk from our cabin which was at the very front of the ship to the American Icon main dining room at the absolute rear. It was a bit of a hike, but nothing overly strenuous. Although if you are out of shape, or mobility challenged I would suggest that you select a cabin in the middle of a ship this size, or avoid Oasis class sized ships altogether. The evening’s activities usually included a number of themed dance parties, live music in a number of the bars, and a late night club. Although some of these events interested me. Late night events are often too late to attend because we are going on a shore Excursion the next morning. The last thing you want to happen on a cruise is to be too tired or hungover to enjoy the amazing places you visit. So as great as their late night itinerary appeared to be. It was too late to really take advantage.
Now before you begin to think I had a terrible time on this cruise, let me stop you right there. My wife and I had a great vacation. Although it wasn’t because of the Oasis of the Seas, but in spite of it. I’ll begin with the three places we visited.
LABADEE HAITI
I have never been to Haiti before, and that shouldn’t come as much of a surprise to most people. Haiti isn’t high on most people’s preferred vacation destinations given it’s economic, and political issues. It wasn’t on mine either. Now I should clarify that a visit to Labadee isn’t at all like visiting Haiti. Why I say this is because although it’s attached to Haiti, the entire peninsula is owned by Royal Caribbean cruise line. There are advantages and disadvantages to this. If a realistic representation of Haiti is what you are looking for, well you are definitely going to be disappointed. If you would prefer beautiful beaches, Zip-lines, mountain coasters, and watercraft, well then you will absolutely love it. Labadee is like being at an all inclusive resort only about 5 times the size. You don’t even really need to bring cash with you, except a few dollars to tip with because you can pay for any of the additional activities on shore with your Royal Caribbean ID card. To sum it up it was simply a day of relaxation, and fun in the sun.
FALMOUTH JAMAICA
I have been to Jamaica many times, and still have family that reside there. If you have ever been to Jamaica you’ll already know how beautiful, and unique the island is. This being my wife’s first time there I wanted to provide her with an experience that wouldn’t be overcrowded with tourists. This meant that typical excursions like Dunn’s River Falls, or visiting one of the many “private” beaches was out. Instead we booked a private bamboo raft ride down the Martha Brae river.
It turned out to be the perfect choice. We had a great tour guide in the bus on the way to the river, an excellent raft captain (Nelson) and a fantastic day for a relaxing ride through the jungle. The views, sounds, and feel of the ride were just fantastic. Luckily for us the excursion is only about 2 hours long, and shortly after we returned back to Falmouth the rains started. This is the Rain season in most of the Caribbean but other than a few showers we mostly avoided it. Some of the longer excursions did return to the ship soaked though so keep that in mind when planning your next trip.
COZUMEL MEXICO
My wife and I didn’t actually spend much time in Cozumel. Upon departing the ship we immediately boarded a Ferry over to Playa Del Carmen. We spent a short amount of time in Playa Del Carmen, and then boarded a tour bus for the ancient Mayan city of Chitchen Itza. By the time we reached Chitchen Itza we were closer to Guatemala than Cozumel. Chitchen Itza is of bucket list proportions to me, and it did not disappoint. This was actually one of those rare occasions where the experience exceeds the expectations. I was completely blown away by everything I saw. The main attraction is of course “El Castillo” the largest temple there.
The ancient sports stadium was equally as awe inspiring. Second only to the Roman Colosseum for me. Another attraction that exceeded expectations by the way. The history associated with the site is as interesting as the structures themselves. Our two tour guides did an amazing job of not only educating us about Chitchen Itza, but the Mayan history and culture as well. This tour was so amazing that I wouldn’t hesitate to do it again.
OASIS OF THE SEAS
I’ve already discussed the scheduling shortcomings on the ship, but there are a few highlights that I’d like to mention as well. I’ll begin with the exemplary service we received from our staff in the main dining room American Icon.
AMERICAN ICON
From day 1 they were excellent. Not a fork out of place, attentive caring service, genuine interest in who we were, and a willingness to adjust things (even the menu) to insure our satisfaction. Although there are many people involved behind the scenes. I’d like to thank those few that took the time and effort to make every dinner special.
Thank you GLANE CARVALHO, GLENN RADA, and ADRIAN DALEY.
These three went above and beyond what should be expected. So much so that my wife and I had considered sampling some of the other specialty restaurants, but decided not to. We didn’t want to miss one dinner with exceptional service. This might actually be counterproductive to what Royal Caribbean is trying to achieve. Most nights we were brought additional sample dishes to try, or even offered meals that weren’t on that evening’s menu. ADRIAN DALEY went as far as purchasing some local treats while we were docked in Jamaica for my wife to try. If that isn’t going above and beyond then I don’t know what is. By the way she loved the coconut drops Adrian. On days at Sea that felt particularly lackluster, the American Icon Dining room still left us feeling satisfied.
OASIS DUNES
This is obviously a personal favourite of mine due to my love of Golf. This is, and probably will remain the only cruise ship I ever sail on with a Miniature Golf course. Given the amount of free time during the day while at Sea, my wife and I had ample opportunity to play the course. As miniature golf courses go it was more about reading the break, than navigating your way around gimmicky obstacles. It wasn’t easy by any means, and I wish I could have brought my Putter with me. My wife had as much fun as I did playing this course, and golf really isn’t her thing, so I feel confident saying that most anyone would enjoy a Round. Another bonus to having unlimited access to the course is that the majority of passengers seemed disinterested in Golf, so it was never too busy. Try your best to get around that course and finish under Par. It won’t be easy.
SMALL CAFES AND RESTAURANTS
On a ship of this size with almost 6500 passengers you need more than a buffet to keep people well fed. This is where the assorted cafes and restaurants situated all over the ship play an important role. Whether it was grabbing a slice of pizza a couple of hours before dinner from Sorrento’s, a bratwurst from the Boardwalk Dog House, or just a cup of coffee from the Promenade Cafe so you can sit back and people watch. These additional food and beverage locations meant we never had to walk very far to enjoy a snack. Smart planning on Royal Caribbean’s part.
SHOWS AND ENTERTAINMENT
I don’t really want to go into any detail about the shows. All I can tell you is that the majority of shows were amateurish, and only mildly entertaining. A couple of the shows were bad enough that I was relieved when they were over. The best of the remaining shows was the Headliner. Edge Effect is an acapella group with a truly great beatboxer as the lone standout. That show was worthwhile. I could have missed any of the others, and it wouldn’t have disappointed me.
CONCLUSIONS
Would I consider this trip a success? Yes I would. Was the Oasis of the Seas as spectacular as I had hoped? Yes it was. Did the places I visited live up to their expectations? Yes, in fact they exceeded them. Was my first Royal Caribbean cruise as wonderful as I had hoped? No unfortunately it wasn’t. Will I sail with Royal Caribbean or suggest sailing with them to others? Probably not. It would take an exceptional deal to get me back on one of their ships, and it definitely wouldn’t be an Oasis class ship. I simply can’t trust that I won’t encounter the same uninspired daily events, and poor scheduling I experienced on this cruise.
