The Oasis of the Seas offered the variety of an urban vacation wrapped up by views of the Caribbean Sea. The ship exceeded our expectations in almost every category.
The crew proved to be accommodating and eager to please. Our regular servers in the Main Dining Room, for example, served me Diet Coke, no ice, at every meal, without my asking (I had a soda package) or would bring extra helpings of snacks or appetizers. Not once did I feel any pressure to tip, even in the bars and restaurants, which only prompted me to offer gratuities voluntarily.
Fellow cruisers were pleasant and friendly. Spend two minutes in an elevator with somebody and you'd be greeting them like old buddies when you saw them on-board. A few well-behaved kids and teens made an appearance but they mostly disappeared into their own dedicated spaces through most of the day.
During check-in at the cruise port, we discovered a surprise upgrade to this 175-square-foot wonder of ergonomics and technology from 8145, a Category M inside cabin. Although the closet came with about 25 wooden hangers, we brought about 20 more hangers to accommodate our clothes.
We only saw our efficient steward a couple of times, even though he cleaned our cabin twice a day. But all it took to get stuff done by him was a written note or a request to a fellow steward.
As much as we enjoyed being able to look out the window, we would never voluntarily spend the $150-plus per person that it normally costs to book an oceanview cabin over an inside one. We were never in our stateroom enough to justify such a price increase.
One tip: there's typically enough room under the bed to store even fat pieces of luggage. Store all your bags under there and you free up the closets enough to use the fold-out lower hanging rack.
Everyone's ideal of a Caribbean town with well-kept shops fronting a beach filled with lounge chairs looking out onto blue water.
An extension of the high-priced jewelry section in the Royal Promenade.
Take a day or two before or after the cruise to enjoy museums, restaurants, and shopping.
Even five hours is too much time at this dumpy port where you're beset by vendors selling the same overpriced cheap souvenirs, most likely made in China.