My family and I were on the March 8-15th, 2014 sailing on the Oasis of the Seas on a 7-night cruise to the Eastern Caribbean. I must say right off the bat, this is one of the best vacations I have ever been on! We stopped in Nassau, Bahamas (Day 2), Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands (Day 4) and Phillipsburg, St. Maarten, Dutch Antilles (Day 5). And while these were all amazing ports (this was my fourth time in Nassau, but my first time to the other ports), the ship was unarguably the main attraction.

First off, we spent a night at a hotel in Fort Lauderdale, FL where we spent a day at the beach the day before boarding and I highly recommend spending a day here before you board, it saves a lot of time and Fort Lauderdale is just an amazing town in itself. The boarding process was no less smooth than it is cracked up to be. We were on the ship less than half an hour after entering the terminal, if even that long- the embarkation on the last day wasn't nearly as smooth, however, but still fairly smooth for 6,000+ people leaving the ship at once. As soon as we boarded, we were immediately in awe. We boarded in the Royal Promenade on Deck 5, which has everything you can possibly buy from food to merchandise, as well as great entertainment and easy access to the Opal Theater and Studio B (Entertainment Place). My brother is a bodyboarding addict so as soon as our rooms were ready, we headed up to the pool deck for some swimming and FlowRiding not even caring that our luggage had not been delivered and we were swimming in our shorts. We had plenty of time to familiarize ourselves with the ship since the mandatory guest assembly drill did not take place until 4:30 PM (you board the ship around noon or so).

Our staterooms were on Deck 7, forward. My brother and I stayed in an interior room, while our parents stayed in an oceanview balcony room across the hall. We mustered in the Opal Theater for the drill, which went very smoothly as well, and shortly after it was over it was up to the lido for the sailaway party! The first night we saw "Frozen in Time" in Studio B, which is the ice skating rink, used for shows and personal entertainment. Just like all other shows, it was fabulous! I recommend you book all the major shows if you have time, specifically those in the Opal Theater, AquaTheater, and Studio B. In Nassau, we did our family tradition of going over to the Atlantis waterpark, an attraction which I recommend for those docking in Nassau. That night we saw "Oasis of Dreams" in the AquaTheater, which was a show like no other of which I have seen before. Truly astonishing. All of my at-sea afternoons consisted of swimming, FlowRider surfing (boogie boarding, I cannot stand-up surf), and treating myself to complimentary poolside ice cream and frozen yogurt. The ship has four main pool areas, a solarium, sports court, minigolf course, and two FlowRider wave machines, one for stand-up surfing (aft port) and one for body surfing (aft starboard). If you are looking for serenity, Central Park is filled with real plants and the sound of (fake) crickets. The Boardwalk is the perfect place for those in search of an energetic, carnival-like atmosphere, where the Royal Promenade is not only something of which shoppers will love, but anybody looking for entertainment, food, and many other amazing things offered onboard. We had originally scheduled an afternoon showing of "Hairspray" for the first at-sea day, but we decided to pass up on it and enjoy keeping cool in the Caribbean sun instead. Read more