Central Park

Central Park was not huge, but there was a lot to see.	Some Princess ships have lawns, which is sort of what I expected in this Central Park. But there was no lawn. Instead, there were lovely curving stone paths and lots of shrubbery to obscure the view, so that you really did feel that you might be in a park.
There were a few benches, and a lot of wooden chairs with fluffy cushions in the park. You could relax here, away from the kids screaming around the pool. It was pretty hot out here, which wasn't surprising since it was early August. Near the end of the cruise, the captain picked up speed and gave us a really nice breeze through this area.	Our cabin was near the park, so we walked through this area day and night. See the balconies near the top of this picture? I never saw anyone out on one of those inside balconies.  I saw a lot of bathing suits left out to dry. But it might have been weird to sit there on display...
After we snuck into our cabin and hid in the closet to get dressed for the wedding, we had time to wander around the ship and try to get a feel for the layout. Here is Karen in her pink suit in Central Park. This is very close to the Coach store, which might be why Karen has such a big smile on her face.	We ran into other wedding guests as we wandered around. Here's Kathy and Karen next to the merry-go-round and the  ice cream store on the Boardwalk.

 

Opus Dining Room

The dining room took up three floors, which you can see in the next couple of photos.	The dining room was really pretty, especially near the edges of the balconies for each floor.
We went to the main dining room for breakfast twice. One morning, we sat with a young family, and the husband told us at great length how much he was NOT enjoying this cruise. It was his first cruise -- and probably his last!	This is Wilmer, our excellent waiter, telling us that his assistant waiter has been promoted and will be a waiter on the next cruise. These guys took great care of us at dinner.
We had a fixed seating, 8:30 PM, at a table for eight tucked away in a corner. We had a great time at every dinner. Every night, we sat in different seats, so you got a different view and talked to different people.
Newlyweds at dinner.	Chris and Will do what they excel at - EAT! One great thing about the Oasis is that a lot of the dinners are casual.  You can show up in a t-shirt and jeans. Just no shorts, please.
Brian is not happy celebrating his birthday.  The head waiter came over and led everyone in singing Happy Birthday.     Birthday Video (Large QuickTime Movie: 40  megs)	Is Brian using his napkin to clean his cell phone? Maybe he got butter on it.

 

Rising Tide Bar

This glass structure is the upper berth for the Rising Tide bar. Like, the garage. The bar was practically right at the doorstep to our cabin, so we ended almost every night with a ride on the Rising Tide.	This was an awesome spot! The Rising Tide bar floats between Decks 8 and 5. This is a photo of the sparkly lights on the inside ceiling up on Deck 8
John and Doug One night, the entire gang took a ride on the Rising Tide. Here's the guys doing tequila shots. We heard that Doug bought some excellent "sipping" tequila in Costa Maya to bring home.	Ashley and Helen
The entire group:	Here is a shot from inside the Rising Tide, when we were halfway between Deck 8 and Deck 5. The walls were glass and about half high with a nice wooden raining to lean on. You can see down the entire promenade area from this bar.
	Here is another photo as we ride the Rising Tide. This time, we are looking right into the Schooner Bar. The music from the Schooner Bar was what you heard while you were in the Rising Tide.
So this is the water fountain area on Deck 5 where the Rising Tide lands. When the bar gets close, the water turns off.	Here is a funny shot looking up at the bottom of the Rising Tide as it comes down to Deck 5. It sort of looks like a spaceship.

 

Other Parts:

It was pretty easy to find your way around the ship. These interactive displays were scattered about, and would show you a map of wherever you wanted to go. Plus, you could see a list of all the open restaurants -- and see how busy they were. Really good if you wanted to avoid waiting for a table.	There is a cool merry-go-round out on the boardwalk.
	Yeah, yeah, pretty horsey. More importantly, that is a DONUT SHOP in the background, with a donut man wearing a white smock and cap.  Dear God. I like this ship.
Apa? Apu? Whoever he was, he was an excellent guitarist! This is in Central Park, one night. We settled down in some comfy chairs and listened to him for a long time.	Here is another shot of Central Park in the dark, with lots of sparkling lights.
	Good posture be damned after midnight.
So here is the Mondo coffee bar. They did a pretty good job making Americanos and lattes, plus you could get little sandwiches and pastries. Espresso was not free.	We spent a lot of time in this coffee shop area. Comfy chairs and caffeine, what more could you want.
another view of the elaborate kiddie pool area from the Viking	This is the view of the kiddie pool and Costa Maya from the Viking Lounge. We spent practically every afternoon in  the Viking. It was cool and quiet, with nice couches that we could stretch out on. We read our books here.
Later afternoon, there was musical entertainment in the Viking
Here is a cool shot from Deck 15, looking down into Central Park on Deck 8.	More amazing views from around the ship
	The adult pools were empty when everyone got off the ship. So we went swimming in like four different pools!  It was fun.
This is the pool in the Solarium. See the curved pipes? There were various spots were water sprayed out at you. It was neat.	The Solarium seemed like a good idea, an adults only section of the ship with a lot of chairs and pools and bars and hot tubs.  But it was entirely enclosed in glass, and it was just too hot with no breeze. We could hardly stand to walk through there, forget about hanging out for a couple of hours. I bet that if it were not August, this section would have been really perfect.  Like February.  We usually come to the Caribbean in February. Whose idea was it to come here in the heat of summer?  Oh yeah!  Cindy!  We came for the wedding.
Our cabin stewardess made us a bat one night. This reminded us of our first cruise, when the guy would make animals out of Karen's nightgown every night.  Sort of creepy.  Like, stop handing our PJs dude.

 

Ship Review:

This was our 15th cruise so we've been on a few ships.  We found this ship was WAY too big and crowded.  With 6,275 passengers and 2,100 staff, you can forget about using the pool.  We finally got into the pool on day 5 when most passengers went ashore.    There is one amazing pool, though. It is round, with glass walls, and a current that sweeps you along the perimeter at a fast pace.  It was totally awesome.   There are also two hot tubs, jutting out from the side of the ship, which makes for great views.  The deepest pool was 4 ft. 9 in.   The buffet, Promenade, jogging track, and many public areas were always crowded. Although there are many places to eat, most of them have a cover charge.   Considering how expensive this cruise was, having to pay for the good food was less than ideal.    Also a serious draw back with this ship is having to make reservations for night time entertainment and comedy show.  Other cruise lines have multiple shows per evening that you can attend without making a reservation.  What is the point of being on vacation if you have to carry a calendar!  We finally got to see the comedy show and the variety show on day 6 and 7. I would not go on this ship or anything of this size ever again.   Opal Theater: Roomy and comfortable.  Careful where you sit, otherwise you might have the safety bar blocking your view. Studio B: Skating rink is also comfortable for shows.  It didn't look like real ice, more like a slippery plastic surface. Like, there were no ice shavings to be seen. Opus Dining Room: Somewhat crowded.  Service was good.  Finely decorated.  Food is average for a cruise. Jazz on 4: Jazz band is quite good.  I was very happy with the music.  However, the hours were very limited. Comedy Live: Small comedy club.  One of the many shows you must make a reservation for. Casino: Standard cruise ship casino. Jogging track: Very nice jogging track.  One lane for jogging and one for walking.  They really should have had 4 lanes or double the width of the lanes.  It is not possible to walk side by side unless one person is in the jogging lane. On Air Club: Best Margarita on the ship. Mondo Coffee Bar: We spent a lot of time here.  Centrally located on the Promenade deck.  Good espresso. Guest Services: Very helpful and attentive.  No issues here. Globe & Atlas: Only lounge open before 2 pm when in port. Sorrentos: Descent pizza. Cafe Promenade: Strong coffee! Rising Tide Bar: Coolest lounge on the ship.  The lounge actually travels between decks 5 and 8.  When landing on deck 5, the bar lands on a fountain.  After lift off, the fountain begins again.  Very cool. Vitality Fitness center: Treadmills were quite good.  The recumbent bikes were in sad shape as the computers were hosed on 3 of the machines I tried. Schooner Bar: The piano player was just awful!  Royal Caribbean must of had an audition for the worse piano player they could find and succeeded! Seafood Shack: One of many eateries with a cover charge.  Food was good though.  If you have a need for fried fish, go here. Johnny Rockets: Another cover charge.  Excellent burgers.  Waiters were awesome.  This is a must. Park Cafe: No charge.  Coffee and sandwiches were fair. Giovanni's Table: Another cover charge.  Totally awesome food!  You must do this.  Beware that you will get a mound of food.  Crab Raviolis were totally awesome.  Veal was so tender I could slice it with a fork. Central Park: Very cool idea.  All that was missing was a mugger. Dazzles: This is the late night club.  Very loud but lots of fun. Solarium Bistro: We had lunch here.  No charge for lunch but there is for dinner.  Lunch food was just ok. Wipe Out Cafe: Burger joint but closed until 3 pm when in port. Izumi Asian Cuisine: Cover charge.  Food was ok, nothing special. Windjammer Marketplace: Buffett restaurant.  Every time we went it was jammed pack.  Then again with 6,275 passengers and so many eateries having a cover charge, well, what can you expect.  In true tradition of Royal Caribbean, the food in the buffet was the same every day.  You could go through here blind folded.  We noticed this as well on our 1st RC cruise 10 years ago. Viking Crown Lounge: This was awesome.  We spent at least 2 hours a day here.   Located on deck 17, it was the place to go to get away from all the noise.  Waiters were awesome.  Ask for Arthur.  At 4 pm, piano, guitar, and violin music is available.  Very soothing. Pinnacle Chapel: Great place to get married.  Or have a meeting.