Cruise on the liner Oasis of the Seas

[Traveler]

The thread of the route: flight Kiev - Warsaw - Miami - cruise with ports of call in Haiti, Jamaica and Cozumel - Miami - Key West - Everglades National Park - Miami - Warsaw - Kiev. Intercontinental flight by LOT airline. Inside the US travel by taxi and rental car.

The flight was well.

From the cruise in general, from this liner in particular, I am completely delighted. I like active educational trips. And I used to stereotypically think that on a sea cruise I would be too bored and feel sick.
It turned out that there was absolutely no time to be bored, and there was never any motion sickness, not the slightest sign. Although sometimes the Caribbean sea was quite restless. A week was not enough for me, which was exactly how long our cruise lasted, to fully enjoy this adventure. I did not feel satiety when we left the liner, I still did not want to go ashore. Now I have a new hobby - cruises. I also want to try the Mediterranean, and river cruises. A lot of interesting things are ahead!

view of Miami from deck 16 of the liner

view from deck 16

the liner has not had time to leave yet, but the passengers are already completely relaxed. And this is absolutely correct.

One of my favorite places on the Oasis is Central Park

view from the balcony of our cabin on the evening central park

Our Oasis in Haiti

in Jamaica (port Falmoose)

[Traveler]

In fact, the Oasis of the Seas is a huge, quite luxurious, floating hotel. I lived during my trips, already in hundreds of different hotels, guest houses, etc., but none of them had so many entertainments within walking distance, and for every taste. So on a cruise you can experience anything but boredom. At least when sailing for the first time, and on such a liner.

gingerbread houses on deck 5

Royal promenade on deck 5 - reception, cafes, bars and shops, and a Christmas tree

royal promenade

Party on the Royal Promenade

We were given a cabin with a balcony overlooking the central park. And we decided not to upgrade it to a cabin with a sea view. We have not regretted this decision. Since every day we enjoyed fresh air, night silence, daytime views of the flowering thickets of the central park, birdsong in the morning (recorded, of course, but hardly distinguishable from the real one), and beautiful live music in the evening. We could admire the view of the sea to our heart's content from the public decks. The cabin had a huge bed, with a comfortable mattress, and snow-white linen. Sofa, table, mini-fridge, TV, wardrobe, paintings. Lots of shelves and cupboards to fit all your stuff. The shower room is small but comfortable. Towels changed daily, cleaned twice a day. Bathrobes are brought at your request by the room attendant. Wine glasses are also brought by room attendant. The cruise company gave us a bottle of wine, one lunch on a sea day in a paid restaurant, and a casino lesson. But since the casino does not cause me anything but irritation, we did not use the lesson. But they drank wine in the evenings on their pretty little balcony to the romantic music coming from the park. And for lunch we went to an Italian restaurant in Central Park.

before dinner in the main restaurant on a formal evening

We only had dinner once at the main restaurant. It was a formal evening. Almost everyone dressed up, although there were some people swimming against the current, who came to dinner in T-shirts and sneakers. The cool thing is that no one sees anyone with judgmental or envious eyes. Do and dress what you want, most importantly, do not interfere with others. We had an inconvenient fixed dinner time at 20.30. But at this time we preferred to go to all sorts of shows and musicals. Therefore, we had dinner around 18.00-19.00, either in the buffet or on our balcony. In the buffet on deck 15, we collected cheeses and fruits, sometimes fish and vegetables, and carried them to our room. Dishes after meals are placed in the corridor at the door, and they are cleaned by room attendants. I liked breakfast in the main restaurant. There were very few people there. Once we had breakfast on the balcony. Breakfast delivery is free. Lunch is available both at the buffet on deck 15 and at the cafe in the central park. Also on deck 5 there is a pizzeria and a cafe where you can have a bite to eat. There are also several paying restaurants. Well, as paid, for a surcharge of $ 35 per person. For lunch and dinner, the choice of dishes in the buffet is much larger than in the main restaurant. There were two types of soup daily. And pretty well cooked. Several types of fish, and a lot of meat dishes, seafood was also enough, but I don’t like them, and almost didn’t eat them. Fresh vegetables and herbs, stewed, etc. Plus all sorts of pastas, pizzas, etc., which I didn’t eat here, so as not to get fat. Fruits - two types of melon, pineapple, watermelon, apples, pears, citrus fruits, bananas, kiwi. Desserts: jelly and cakes, Pavlova dessert.

Thanks to an active lifestyle, I did not gain an ounce during the cruise. Although the food is quite good, in unlimited quantities, it is available here around the clock. Our morning began with penetrations on the 5th deck. There is a running track around the entire liner, with views of the sea or lifeboats. After a couple of penetrations around the liner, I worked out for 20 minutes in the gym. After we went to breakfast. Then they played mini-golf on deck 16, or table football, or billiards on deck 6. Tables with table football, and billiard tables not far from the carousel, which I also rode with great pleasure.
Mini golf is my favorite. In the summer, I had several training sessions at a golf club with a huge territory. But there I, like any newcomer, was only allowed to go to the training grounds. It was possible to walk around the territory as a spectator. For short blows, the field was not at all interesting, not like on the ship )). Of course, since the summer I forgot everything, both the correct grip and the blow.

the carousel is handmade here, how not to ride on such a charm

Instead of the elevator, they often tried to walk up the stairs. The stairs are elegant, decorated with interesting paintings and photos. As a result, every day passed at least 11 km a day. On port days, there were 16 km. During the day we had a siesta for a couple of hours. Because in the morning they got up before 7.00, and at night they went to bed after midnight. After the siesta, we also did a few circles on the 5th deck, worked out in the gym. Although sometimes I liked to just read in silence on my balcony, or somewhere in the wilds of Central Park.

in the wilds of central park

wallowing in the jacuzzi is also such a lazy activity

[Traveler]

In my personal rating of the shows that I saw on the ship, in the first place is the performance in the water theater. It was divine, breathtaking and unforgettable. The stage constantly transformed, then into a deep pool, into which the performers-athletes jumped from a great height. Then in a trampoline, on which various pretzels were also made. That again turned into a stage on which they danced very cool. Then the ropes were stretched, and different numbers were made on them. Then from somewhere in the sky, almost to the audience, an angel-faced young man flew. In general, the performance is mega-spectacular and well-staged.

In second place is a performance on ice (yes, this boat even has an ice rink). Ballet on ice, I would call it that, was magical and created a pre-Christmas mood. Our Ukrainian artist was a special guest in this show. Yes, I did not make a reservation, namely, the artist, his number with drawing was harmoniously built into the canvas of the entire performance.

Further musicals in the royal theater. We watched a musical about cats, I liked it more. The second one was supposedly called "In Heaven", and was somehow less memorable. Both were well made though.

You can go to each show, or musical, as many times as you like during the cruise, if you like it.

We've been to Aerosmith concerts twice. First time at the music hall. In which, by the way, live music sounded every evening. And the second time they performed on the stage of the aquatic theater. These are generally great guys. Not only to listen, but also to look at them was a special pleasure. It had to be seen, a complete separation, both performers and listeners.

On board were mostly Americans, and the company seemed to be American. So I can state that Americans know how to organize a great vacation and have a nice rest. Cruisers, although they were often tipsy, but no one was barking anywhere, and no one was lying face down in the salad. On the contrary, everyone is polite, smiling, and kind to each other. We have never seen any conflicts. The children seemed to be on board, but they did not interfere at all. There was enough to do for them. Despite the huge number of people in a confined space, there were so many attractions. Everyone sort of dispersed around the ship. And nowhere was there any crowds or crowds.
Thank God, there were no mass viral infections either. It is important to wash your hands frequently. Code words meaning that someone has become ill and honey is required. help sounded four times for the entire cruise. These words are heard everywhere and always on the entire liner. Even the performance in the theater is interrupted, and you hear that on the deck (deck) such and such in the paragraph such and such "alpha, alpha, alpha." It is not fun and a little disturbing, but everywhere it can become bad for a person. And on a cruise, at least he will receive quick qualified assistance. Since the team has a doctor and nurses.

In general, I liked it, I really liked this type of holiday. We must once again pay tribute to the Americans, if they get down to business, they do everything with the highest quality.

[Traveler]

Labadi (Haiti) is the first port on our route. In fact, this is a private beach owned by Royal Caribbean, created specifically for the company's cruise tourists. On Labadi in bars and cafes, you can pay with your ship card, with which we enter (and leave from) the ship, and to our room, and with which we pay on the ship for an additional fee. options. You can top up your account on this card in cash at the ship's reception, as well as link a payment card to it.

Haitians greet tourists with national music and dance - authentic and incendiary

Our floating hotel away

trails

We spent 4 hours on Labadi. When it became too hard to endure the heat, and we wanted to eat, we returned to the ship. We managed to climb all the trails, sunbathe a little, and swim a little in the sea. The beach is well maintained and beautiful.

stunned by the unexpected heat, I, and the ship, well, nothing without such pictures ;-)

my favorite ship also from this angle

[Traveler]

Our second island is Jamaica (Jamaica). Her port of Falmoose is such a pretty, ennobled one. I didn't want to go outside of his territory.

sailing to the port

port Falmoose

But we saw sightseeing buses. And we took a tour of the historical part of Falmuse. The tour lasted 1 hour, the guide spoke in English, the cost was 25 dollars.

To be honest, there isn't much to see there. A couple of old churches. We stopped at one for about 15 minutes. The locals are trying to earn some money by selling souvenirs here. Knowing that basses with tourists constantly moor here. Souvenirs are cheap, obviously made in China, I did not want to buy anything. The heat and stuffiness is strong. Very poor and dirty streets. All this trash was brightened up by the smiles and greetings of the locals. They are all so relaxed, as people in tropical countries are usually relaxed, and quite friendly. They understand that tourists bring money to the treasury of their country. The question is where then the money from that treasury disappears. Since poverty is depressing, outside the port.

view from our Oasis to the port and another cruise ship

We were happy to finally return to a clean, well-groomed, guarded port. The devil pulled me to try rum with Coca-Cola, like we're in Jamaica. Shit is rare, I never drink strong alcohol, but here I became a victim of a stereotype. I don’t understand how you can drink it, although you took it in a decent bar.

I was even happier when I finally returned to our Oasis. How I love this ship.
Some of the few cruisers from our ship went somewhere to the beaches of Jamaica. They say there are good beaches and snorkeling. I can't go snorkeling because of breathing problems. On the beach, I would get bored, hot, and would want to leave in an hour. So I didn’t see the point of dragging myself somewhere to the beaches. So we enjoyed our stay at the Oasis.

[Traveler]

The third and last of the islands we visited was the Mexican Cozumel. Here we did not go anywhere beyond the port. Since there was little time left before the end of the cruise, and we had not yet watched all the shows, and not all the activities available on the ship were experienced.

We got off the Oasis to the port, and began to watch how cruise ships of other companies moored. And then right in front of my eyes there is a collision of the ships Carnival Legend and Carnival Glory. The crackling, grinding and rumbling was impressive, but the damage to the liners was not very strong, there were no deaths, few injured, thank the Gods. Carnival Legend maneuvered unsuccessfully and swam into the second liner. It's good that everything ended well.

There are many shops in the port. You can buy interesting, bright, Mexican souvenirs. We wandered here for an hour, and returned to our marine oasis. I never thought that I would become an ardent supporter of cruises. But never say never.

[Traveler]

On the penultimate day before the end of the cruise, we made the final payment for any additional options that are not included in the price of the cruise, such as internet packages, drinks, etc.
We had breakfast in the morning before leaving the ship. At 07.00 he was already moored in the port of Miami. So I didn't want to leave him. I had to have at least another week to cruise (in English, a cruise sounds like a cruise, so I say this and that).
We packed our things last night. Suitcases were not handed over. Both when boarding the ship and when checking out from the ship, we transported our luggage ourselves. It's faster and more convenient than handing over, and then waiting for him there, or there.
Receipts for the final payment of the room attendants left at the door of the rooms. We paid off the day before, as our bill stated.
So without going to the reception any more, we went to the exit from our Sea Oasis. Simplified formalities were passed in the port. Everything is very fast paced and well organized.

Near the port terminal, we took a taxi to the car rental office. And we went to pick up a pre-armored car. We arrived at the car rental office around 09.00. We booked a car for 10:00. Through long negotiations, we managed to get a car early. At 9:45 we left the office. Today we are on our way to Key West.

stopped at a restaurant about halfway to Key West

we went to some local park

Road to K.V. - just awesome. You can't drive fast. There are a lot of cars, the road is narrow, and the views are cool. Unusual such vegetation, pleases darling. And you always remember that in your country it is winter, cold and gray. And here and now palm trees, mangrove forests, everything is in bloom.
On both sides of the road are the famous Florida swamps, and then the endless expanses of water. There are view points, and regional parks. You can go there, take a walk and enjoy nature, which is so unusual for Europeans. There are so many different kinds of birds here. In particular, I saw a lot of pelicans that are not too afraid of people.

We arrive in Key West with the rain, around lunchtime. This town is just the cutest. But unfortunately, during a downpour, walking along it was somehow out of hand. Almost everything we saw from the windows of the car. The downpour was warm, tropical, the temperature dropped from +29 to +25. We decided that Key West was worth spending the night there, and more familiarization, on our next visit to Florida.

And we're on our way back to Florida City. There we have booked a room at the Travelodge by Wyndham Florida City Homestead Everglades motel.
Along the way, we stop at a restaurant marked in advance, and have dinner with fish and seafood, which I do not like. But if fate brought them to these sea lands, then it’s a sin not to try. A buffet is organized in the restaurant, you pay 37 dollars, and you get everything your heart desires, and as much as you like. It fits me a little, and I tasted garbage stuffed with some kind of seafood. Such dishes on the cruise were much tastier and we were a bit disappointed with this dinner. Although there were many people in the institution, and apparently, locals. Probably, we just snickered on the ship, since it seemed to us not very tasty. Well, everything was edible and fresh, and thanks for that.

It was already dark when we arrived at the motel. We were quickly registered. We were treated to fresh popcorn at the reception. And we went to check into our room. I was pleasantly surprised that for such a small price, they gave us such a large and very clean room. White linen and towels.

After accommodation and shower, we went out for a walk for 10 minutes before going to bed, and saw a skinny black cat. The poor fellow hid from us, apparently afraid and does not trust people, and meowed from under the car. We went to the nearest subway, it seems, and got some bread and ham. The ham was placed near the car. The poor fellow, bit by bit, dragging her under the car, ate everything. So sorry for the cat, for the first time in the States they saw such an unfortunate animal. I hope this cat finds a loving home.

The motel turned out to be good in all respects, and we had a great rest there. The next morning we are going to the Everglades national park.

[Traveler]

I would like to say a few words about gas stations that we came across in Florida. It was tough, to be honest. They are all so messy. We have a poor quality of road surface, almost everywhere, but gas stations are almost always clean and tidy. As a rule, everywhere you can calmly rest, have a good snack and drink good coffee. In Florida, we stopped at 3 gas stations, and all 3 were in such a state that we wanted to get out of there as soon as possible. You need to rest from driving here not at gas stations, but at viewing platforms.

From our motel to the Everglades we drove for an hour at a leisurely pace. This is an absolutely amazing nat. the park.
There were few people there in the morning. Everyone was wearing long pants, except for me. I wanted the last moments before returning to winter Europe, to enjoy summer clothes and warmth. Everyone wears long pants, because in this park you can easily meet a snake. There is a lot of water and mangrove forests around. Ideal places for reptiles of all kinds.

at the Everglades headquarters

the weather is cloudy, which is good, the temperature is +28

Alligators are lying on the swamps 2 meters from the path along which tourists walk.

such cute cattle, in general, zero attention to tourists, they lie basking in warm water

swamps that alligators love

After half an hour of walking along the trails, the sight of alligators is already "boring", it becomes familiar, since these "guys" are everywhere. You just have to look carefully. There are many different birds. You can also watch them for hours. They are very unusual for us.

We traveled to several major points in the Everglades. We spent several hours in the park. We walked along the trails of the mangrove forests. At the point "Flamingo" we were lucky to see no, not flamingos, but elephant seals. People opened a tap with fresh water and elephants swam there, maybe they could drink water. It was so cool to watch them. But then a ranger came and the water had to be shut off. And the elephants immediately swam away.

walking among the mangrove forests

After visiting the national park, we stop at Burger King for a bite of typical American fast food. I recklessly took the BLT sandwich. Here it turned out to be disgusting, not like I once ate in Springdale. The french fries were also not very good. And after that even half-eaten snack, I felt terrible until I returned home. Fast food is not my thing. And I don't know how people consume these "inventions" of civilization every day.

After that, so to speak, lunch, we go to rent a car at the rental office, and then to the airport. There are Christmas songs on the radio and I love them. But the mood is still sad. I have to leave my beloved country again. The car rental company provided us with a free shuttle to the airport. At the airport, for some reason, we had difficulty orienting ourselves.

The flight went well, everything was on time. There are no special claims to LOT. But still, my favorite is Air France, so far one of the best airlines I have ever used.