This is the diagram of the ship you get in your stateroom to help you find your way around. If you double click on it you can make it big enough to read. After seven days Debbie and I had the main areas we frequented figured out but still had trouble with exactly what was on decks 5-6-7 without referring to this. Deck 8 was easier as it was Central Park and our cabin was here as well. All of Central Park is restaurants....well except for the Coach store which I think is why Debbie wanted to be on this deck..LOL The pool and sports deck was all on the same deck just a long way apart forward, midship and aft and of course a long walk from one to the other. I found it amusing that they didn't call this or any of the other decks by a name like "Lido". I suppose because it is considered a "neighborhood" instead of a deck. Most large ships now are going to this two sets of elevator banks instead of three...one forward and aft because of the open atriums. This of course means that elevators are full all the time and sometimes pass the floors all together. On Oasis those in the most expensive suites also had an elevator key which gave them priority which caused the elevator to skip to the floors where the keys were entered bypassing all others made people angry. The buffet on this ship (Windjammer) is much smaller than it is on other ships causing huge crowd control issues and it is not open 24 hours like on other RCL ships which is also weird. The premise here is to have breakfast and lunch available in different venues throughout the ship but with this many people, it does not work well. The food was okay with a few good items across the cruise. We ate in the dining room every night but one when we went to Johnny Rockets because the kids wanted burgers. The ship is the destination and food is not the main item anymore and I think this is not just RCL but on most of the lines now. The pay venues are the quality of what used to be in the dining room, now they just want you to pay for it.
The service on the ship was excellent regardless of where on the ship it was. Actually superior to even Celebrity I thought. The crew just seemed to be happy. The kids that gave the Flow Rider lessons to Chris and Paige were so good and took all the time with them. What was to be a half hour lesson for 5 people went almost an hour and a half! Although I paid for each of them, they did get their money's worth on that class. The things on Labadee were a different story. The prices were ridiculous for everything and there was nothing the kids could do there but swim in the ocean that didn't cost an arm and a leg. The vendors they have now let into the "Artisan Village" are aggressive and make you not want to even look. I specifically chose this cruise because it went to Labadee. When I was here in 2003 it was such a fun day but they were just beginning to develop the area so there were no "pay" areas. The Zip Line that goes across the water is $99 and it is over in less than a minute. I was watching it while I waited for the kids on the coaster (also $24/pp per ride). To play in the Aqua Park ( blow ups in the ocean) was $22/pp for an hour and the water slide another $22/pp.....really? The people would go down the zip line on 6 separate lines at the same time. While I waited I counted over $20,000 in people went down. I don't believe the lounge chairs and padding have been replaced in the 11 years since I have been here. They were extremely uncomfortable regardless of what position you had them in and even the plastic bases sagged in the middle from wear. I would not come here again but would choose the Eastern route if I ever did this ship again.
Falmouth, Jamaica is an RCL developed port specifically for this size ships. It is in between Ocho Rios and Montego Bay. The area is a lot like the port that Carnival developed in Grand Turk or Roatan. It is made into a huge square of vendors and kiosks in and around with Margaritaville being the anchor for all of it. The kids wanted to shop for the family so they had a good time doing that and the vendors were very nice to them here. We did not venture outside the compound. Our waiter John is from Jamaica and he was meeting his wife and children today too. Unusual that the crew has the opportunity to see their family during their contract. Anyway, this is a very nice little port area to shop and walk around.
Debbie being the top travel agent she is was able to jump on an upgrade to the Junior Suite we got and it made this cruise so much nicer. It wasn't only the size but the walk in closet doubled as a dressing room for all of us when someone was showering. It was soooo nice. Our room steward was Stanley from St. Vincent a.k.a Stan the Man. He was great about giving us everything we asked for. The other shocker was the cabins were ready at 1 PM the day we got on and our luggage was outside the cabin when we got there! I have never had luggage that early...ever! We were unpacked and had everything put away by 2 PM and the kids had their bathing suits and were in the pool shortly thereafter. After being on the ship I would not book the neighborhood inside balconies either on the pool area or the boardwalk. The ones on the boardwalk are always exposed to the sports decks and are noisey and the same for the ones on the front under the pool areas. The ones above Central Park are better if you must have one but still have music and noise at times. Our cabin was very quiet and we did not hear noise from anywhere which was nice.
The entertainment was wonderful. The only issue on this ship is the same as on the Epic. If you don't reserve the shows before you get on the ship, it is likely you will not get into any of the shows because the venues are not big enough to hold everyone. I did reserve them online prior and the system used to track this is amazing. It is all on your Sea Pass card given when you board. They scan the card with hand held computer scanners at the door to each venue and it has the information on your ticket and show time. Very nice. The first night we saw Frozen in Time which was the ice show. The next day we had a matinee of Hairspray which was great and I was surprised the kids really like it best of everything they saw. After dinner that night we saw the Oasis of Dreams show at the Aqua Theater. This venue is remarkable and an engineering marvel. The pool covers rise and fall into the water to let the walk on it then dive and swim, then fountains rise and fall and they also had aerial people flying down from the top decks. The next night we saw fly on entertainers called Savannah Jack...mostly country music but the main guy asked for favorites from the audience and he was really good at the impersonations. The next afternoon we saw Splish Splash at the Aqua Theater which was really cute and funny and again the diving and arcrobatics was amazing. Our last show was Come Fly with Me which was a production show with high flying arcrobatics and singing. It was very good.
This was a great cruise with my best friend and my twin grandchildren and I loved every minute of the time I got to spend with all of them. Debbie and I got to spend an hour in the casino while the twins were in the kids program and we both won which never happens. It was fun and the kids had fun too. It is a great ship for families but as I said whoever said it doesn't feel crowded lied. On sea days and all times in restaurants it feels very crowded so you have to be prepared for that to sail on this ship. The twins loved this ship.
The Solarium which is adults only is a really beautiful area and also has its own Bistro area or buffet really adults don't have to mingle with families if they don't want to but still I don't think I would cruise on this ship again unless traveling with the kids.
Thanks to Lady Kay and my friend Dave for following. It was so pleasant to post photos today without it just sitting and doing nothing.
