2/4/24
I was so honored to be able to attend my agency’s Agent of the Year trip this year, which happened to be a cruise on Royal Caribbean’s Oasis of the Seas. I joined 9 other fabulous agents from my agency, and we had a blast!
I flew Frontier Airlines into Fort Lauderdale on February 3rd, and got a hotel in Aventura area. We found flights for $105.00 round trip plus $100 for checked luggage. So $200ish for a roundtrip flight was not bad at all! Flying into Miami airport was much more expensive! And the drive to Miami isn’t that bad. We lyfted/ubered everywhere. The hotel was a Residence Inn and it was very nice. It was in a great area and was very clean.
Our original boarding time was 10:30 a.m., but prior to the cruise, we were notified that our time would be pushed back one hour due to a Coast Guard inspection. We took a Lyft from our hotel to the port, which was about a 40 minute drive time with traffic. We were at the port by 10:55 a.m.
Since we were staying at different hotels, we decided to just all gather together once we were on the ship.
There were multiple ships departing today, so there was a lot of traffic right at the port. There she is! I have only previously cruised on much smaller ships through Royal Caribbean.
Our Lyft driver dropped us at the port, porters immediately grabbed our luggage (Be sure to tip them! They are not cruise line employees!), and we were on our way to the line to board.
Because we were staying in a 2 bedroom Grand Suite, we had special embarking procedures. There was a separate line for check-in where I had no wait at all.
I did still go through security screening but there was no line! (This is the main area screening as I was passing through.)
Main check-in area:
My check-in area was actually in a lounge! There were tons of seats, refreshments, and a few staff members with ipads to check us in.
I was on the ship within 15 minutes!
Every other cruise I have ever been on, I’ve entered into a big atrium. Not on this ship! It put us on deck 5 I believe, on the track that runs around the outside. This was kind of awkward to me. I found my way inside and was greeted with a mall-like setting. Seriously…it was a mall inside! This was the Promenade, filled with shops, eateries, bars, and more!
We would end up spending a lot of time here:
If you didn’t prepurchase a beverage package, you can do so onboard. I recommend purchasing in advance though because it is usually less expensive. There are specials throughout the year, and if you ever see the price go down, you can cancel and rebook.
We would also spend many late evenings here!
Another complimentary eatery on the Promenade deck:
Here were some of the offerings for lunch upon boarding:
So I forgot to mention that when we woke up in the morning, we were issued a tornado watch, and severe flooding rains… We lucked out and made it onto the ship before it even started raining. However once we got onto the ship:
The plan was to meet at the Schooner Bar, but that changed to the Suite Lounge on Deck 17. The Suite Lounge had snacks, beverages, a bar, concierge staff members, and lots of seats.
After we all met up, we had lunch in Coastal Kitchen. A restaurant only for suite level guests. This was a nice change from the buffet that I normally eat upon boarding a ship.
Today’s lunch menu:
I present to you, the best rolls ever. They call them “soft rolls,” and they are amazing!
My appetizer was from the kid’s menu….Vegetable Crudites with ranch dressing.
These were good!
My entree:
Spaghetti All’Arrabbiata–al dente pasta tossed with a spicy garlic-tomato sauce and parmesan cheese
This was yummy, but spicy! It definitely had a little kick!
My dessert:
Dark Chocolate Cookie served warm with vanilla ice cream
This was the best thing I ate the entire week! It was SO GOOD I wish I ordered three.
After lunch, it was time to head to our stateroom! I was so excited, because I mostly sail in inside cabins. One time I had a balcony, but this was a 2 bedroom SUITE!
Here’s a full tour:
This suite had a large sitting area, with a couch that folded down flat into a bed. We also ordered a rollaway cot that we put up against those windows, and just moved the chairs.
One of our balcony doors:
This tv and storage are to the left in my photo above. There was seriously so much storage in this cabin!
This was the room I stayed in. You can see the two beds that fold down from above. This room got super dark which I love!
Here you can see with the bed pulled down:
The desk area and some storage in my room:
One of the bathrooms:
I spent a lot of time on this balcony throughout the cruise! Working, napping, watching…it was so spacious!
The view of the port from our cabin:
After checking out the room, we decided to head to the promenade and check out Globe and Atlas Pub. (You can find signs like this at all of the elevators.)
(Beverage Package? These are included!)
We then did some more exploring including the casino and the theater.
Believe it or not, it was soon time for dinner! I was eating in Coastal Kitchen (reserved for suite guests only). I forgot to take a photo of the menu!
Caesar Salad:
This was absolutely delicious!
Maybe the Burrata:
This was not mine, but I snagged a pic!
This was definitely filet of some sort, and it was SO GOOD!
Dessert menu:
Apple Pie ala Mode
This was mine and it was okay. Not bad and not outstanding.
Warm Honey Pear:
Not mine, but super interesting to try!
After dinner, we strolled through the promenade on the way to KARAOKE! It was packed with people enjoying the live music.
Right across from Karaoke is the pizza place! So convenient for some snacks.
Stay tuned for more!
Taryn's Mad Hatter Adventures 