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pre-cruise we stayed at Hilton Marina which was filled to capacity as there were
4-5 ships leaving Ft. Lauderdale that day. We arrived at 1:30 pm and notified the
hotel of an early arrival but our room was not ready until check in time, 4PM.
Great hotel and great location. We could see the ships from our room facing the
causeway. Because things seemed so chaotic, and we couldn't wait to get on board
the oasis, we left our room around 10:15, shared a van ($6.pp) to the port. the process was extremely fast and we went to inquiry with port coordinator to see if
any upgrades were available. everyone on that line was told the same thing. they
wanted $2,000 for an upgrade to a jr. suite, which was more than if we had arranged it on line.by 11:20 we were sitting at the Park Cafe eating the famous
roast beef sandwich, which was very good. We then wandered around the ship and
checked our room at 1:30 which was available. The room was very nice and the ship
was amazing.
Entertainment - the best of any cruiseship. You could be in las vegas with what was offered. My favorites were Dream (the aqua show) Hairspray, comedy club (very politically incorrect) beatle show, come fly with me, and edna and tracy live. On a scale of 1-10 I would give a 15, although this is subjective, as my husband would give an 8-9
Food- We never ate at the Windjammer. Most meals were either the main dining room
(my time dining)Park Cafe, or Solarium buffet. I thought lunch and dinner in the
dinning room were very good, breakfast all around was not great. eggs were awful. My special request for berries at breakfast was mostly ignored. We ate
at one specialty restaurant - Chops and service and quality of food was very good.
Fitness- i took one spin class $15) and one "gravity" class ($30) which is similar to pilates. both were good not great. the machines could be crowded
at times, and even though they had windows looking at the sea, they didn't
give a great view. We enjoyed the gym on the Epic more. For so many people on
the ship it was not very large. after the first day I didn't have trouble finding an eliptical to work out on.
Pools/recreation- the zip line was a disappointment, but the flowriders looked
really cool and there were tons of things to do.
Things disappointed with:
The solarium was beautiful but it was always chaotic in there, noisy and busy.
We looked for a quiet place just to relax or read but on seadays this was difficult.
Our large balcony - the chairs were very hard and uncomfortable plus since RCI
allows smoking on the balcony there were many times we couldn't use it.
Worse coffee and eggs
The best things on the boat were-
Entertainment, thermal spa, staff, room, activities.
The "secret" balconies on 11, 12, 14 (aft) These areas overlook the back of the
ship and there are comfortable lounges and chairs. Unfortunately, sometimes it
is "noisy" due to events going on in the Aqua theater.
ports- we did not pick the ship for the ports.
Labadee - turned out better than anticipated. vendors were pushy, and we had
fun watching folks use the zipline over the water.
Jamaica- went on Chukkah beach excursion (no lunch) which can only be booked on board
Unfortunately, it was overcast and drizzling, but i'm still glad we went.
Cozumel- Went to Nachi chocum an all inclusive (booked on line $55pp) including
lounge, all drinks (including alcohol) and lunch. It was our best day. I got
a 1/2 hour massage (40.00) there is also a pool/hottub
the stores in falmouth were not impressive.
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