Cruise Chronicle: A Perfect Eastern Oasis 12/2/2025 5:34:38 PM
The trip my family took back in 2023 Saturday February 18, 2023
We Fly Away
Beep-beep-beep, beep-beep-beep.
Oh, quarter to five in the morning. Why did we have to get such an early flight?
But what am I complaining about? The day I’ve been waiting for these past four years is finally here. We are off once again on a Caribbean cruise, and this time, all four of us are coming. Somehow, it’s always better when the whole family travels together.
The sky is still black as night when we leave the house. I’m hoping we can see the sunrise at the airport. If you’ll remember, last time we went on a cruise we got lost on the way to the airport. But this time, we get there with no trouble at all. Now we just have to check in and then we can get a quick breakfast.
We find a nice little place and all get chocolate chip muffins. As we sit at our table away from the windows, the sun comes up. Oh well, you can’t get everything you want.
For this year’s trip we are going to Miami, Florida to spend a week sailing the Eastern Caribbean, on one of the biggest ships ever built: Oasis of the Seas! I had hoped to one day sail on an Oasis class ship, but I’d never dreamed I would get that chance on only my second cruise ever.
When we went on Adventure four years ago, we had a direct flight to Fort Lauderdale. But this time we have to connect thought Toronto on the way there, and Montreal on the way back. The fact that we had a terrible experience with connecting flights both ways on a trip to Dallas, Texas just before Covid hit makes me a bit sceptical about this. But we have our travel agent to help us this time, so it should be alright.
On our small plane to Toronto, I look at the screen in front of me, looking for something to watch while we take off to distract me from feeling queasy. Since the flight time to Toronto is only about an hour, I don’t have time for a full movie, but I can’t find any shows that interest me. Then I see something call Naturescape and choose one show titled Winter Wonderland. What it turns out to be is just an hour long video of Winter scenes with soft music playing in the background. It’s not bad, but I don’t watch to the end, because partway through I start to think I’ve seen the same images twice.
Once we get to Toronto, we find our way to our next gate, and since there are iPads here, let’s go online and play some Solitaire. My game is Canfield in which any card can lead and you can take three cards from a shuffled pile, but not from the stack to the left of the board. I don’t know why I picked this game as mine, because it’s really hard to win. But after a few tries, I finally succeed. After that I turn the iPad off and go exploring a bit.
After a Tim Horton’s, lunch we wait for our plane to Miami to board. For some reason it takes a bit longer than it should because the plane was late arriving. But eventually, we get on and take off for the south. Now that we’re on a three-hour flight, I have time for a full movie. Anything from ninety minutes to two hours should be good enough.
How about this old favourite, Jurassic World. A reboot of the Jurassic Park franchise in which, after being abandoned for thirty years, the dinosaur park is finally open to the public and everyone is welcome. You can get up close and personal with the magnificent herbivores in the Gyrosphere ride that rolls into the valley, see the mighty Mosasaur sea monster in it’s natural habitat, and even watch Her Majesty, Queen Rexy – the very same T. Rex from the original movie – devour a goat. I guess she’s gotten used to that by now.
However, the park’s staff are no longer satisfied with their guest satisfaction ratings and want to up the wow factor. So what have they done you ask? They’ve created an entirely new hybrid species of dinosaur that’s even bigger than Rexy. Is it a good idea? Well, when are we humans going to learn that every time we try to mess with powers we don’t understand, the result is always disastrous?
In typical Jurassic Park fashion, the hybrid escapes from it’s paddock and sets off on a rampage across the island. However, in non-typical Jurassic Park fashion, as our heroes chase the creature, they find that it has taken out half a heard of Apatosaurus, and left them there to rot.
After several failed attempts to capture or kill the beast, as it gets closer and closer to the main resort, where all the human guests have taken shelter, it becomes clear that the only one who can defeat the crazed monster is Rexy herself. Having run out of options the park crew unleash the dinosaur queen from her cage and the two giant predators go at it. It’s easily the best scene in the whole series; it’s like a natural world version of the rightful queen verses the murderous tyrant!
Eventually, with the help of Blue the Velociraptor, Rexy backs the hybrid to the edge of the water, and then, as if it was waiting for them, the Mosasaur leaps out of the water, seizes the beast in it’s jaws, and drags it below the surface, ending it’s mad rampage.
Alas, the damage is done and Jurassic Park is, again, abandoned and left to it’s prehistoric residents. In the movie’s final scene Rexy stands atop one of the buildings and gives us a final RRRAAAAAAAWWWWWWRRRRRRRRR!!!
Not long after the movie ends we get the announcement that we are thirty minutes from landing. Funnily, we left late, but since we had a good wind behind us we’re arriving early than we were supposed to. And since we got here faster because of the wind, that means we used less fuel, which is good for the environment.
When we land, I can immediately feel the heat of Florida, even from inside the plane. When we get off, the first thing I want to do is find a washroom so I can change into shorts and a t-shirt. If feels so weird wearing summer cloths in February, but this is Florida; it’s always hot down here.
It takes a little while for our luggage to arrive, but eventually the bag shows up and we’re ready to go. Now it’s just a matter of waiting for our shuttle to the hotel where we’re going to spend the night. It was by pure coincidence last time that we flew in the day before our cruise, but it turns out, that is one of the smartest things you can do. You really don’t want to be that guy who’s freaking out at the airport, because the latest delay just jeopardized the whole vacation.
Speaking of delays, where is our shuttle? Mom and Katie’s cell phones can’t get reception down here apparently, so Mom goes back inside the airport to try to find a payphone. When she comes back, she says the shuttle’s on it’s way. No sooner does she say that when our ride appears!
It’s not a long ride to the Best Western, and when we get there we make our way to our room. After settling in, we take a little walk around the block looking for somewhere to eat. But somehow, we get turned around and end up walking in a complete circle. Then we just decide to order pizza. Mom and I walk up to the nearby deli to get some pop while Dad and Katie head back to the room.
When the pizza comes we try to find something interesting on TV. What we find is a show called The Closer about a team of LA cops let by a badass Gorgia girl. You do not want to mess with this one, she’s the real deal.
Funnily enough, it’s actually a two-part Christmas show where our team is tracking a team of thugs who’ve attacked and killed two armoured car guards. Eventually, it is determined that the third guard who was injured in the attack was involved in it. And it leads to a cross-country chase to find the crooks.
At the end, the conspirator turns on the other two criminals to protect his brother from them, only to get shot himself. Our girl does not want to tell the brother what happened, so instead her father convinces her to say that the young man is undercover with them and won’t be home for a while.
After that, it’s time for bed. Hey look at the shower. The head’s hanging directly over you. It’s very old school. As I pull myself under the covers, I wonder if I’m going to get any sleep tonight.
Sunday February 19th, 2023
Embarkation Day
Ah, at last. The day I’ve been waiting for for the past four years is finally here. Today we are going to the port of Miami to get on Oasis of the Seas and head off sailing to the Caribbean.
The day actually gets off to a pretty good start. As we have a continental breakfast in the hotel lobby we befriend another family also going on Oasis. They’re from Atlanta, but they’re all wearing Kansas City Chiefs’ merchandise, some of which says Superbowl Champions on it. Oh well, we all have rights to cheer for whoever we want.
After check-out is when things start to get a little interesting. The vehicle that was supposed to take us there had broken down, so the coordinator has to call for a few replacements. A few because the vehicle we were supposed to take was a large van, and the replacements our simply cars, which can’t hold all of us and our luggage. Oh well, our check-in time isn’t for another hour. We should be alright. Besides, now I can watch the planes go up, since we’re right across the street from the airport.
After a bit of a wait, our car comes, and we’re on our way. It’s a nice day down here in Florida. But then again, I imagine that it’s always a nice day this close to the equator. As we drive along, we notice a transit train, running along some elevated tracks. I remember that, on the last family trip we took, which was to British Columbia, we spent one rainy day in Vancouver riding around on the SkyTrain. That’s actually a good thing to do on a rainy day when you’re in an unfamiliar city; buy a day pass and ride around on the transit system.
“Thar she blows!” I yell, a little too loudly as we climb over a tall bridge and get an amazing view of the cruise ships. There’re a lot of large ships docked here today. Nearest to us is Virgin Voyages’ Scarlet Lady, then there’s also, Carnival Celebration, MSC Seascape, Norwegian Encore, and there at the very end of the pier is our ship, Oasis of the Seas. She gleams like polished limestone in the afternoon light.
When our ride drops us off, we are greeted by Steve, the porter. “First things first, welcome to the Oasis,” he says. We’re a bit earlier than our check-in was supposed to be, but it doesn’t matter, we can still go in to the terminal and wait.
Upstairs and out the window, we can clearly see the ship towering above the terminal building. I can even see people leaning on their balconies. I try waving up to them, but I don’t think they can see me.
While we wait to get on, we have our little lunch that we bought at a nearby deli, just before we checked out of the hotel. When we all pour ourselves a cup of coke I raise mine and say “Here’s to Oasis!” I’m so excited, I can’t even sit down.
As we wait to get on board, I keep looking out at the ship and see a tank truck parked next to her on the dock. Must be refueling her. That’s one downside to a large ship; not very environmentally friendly. But I’m not going to let that thought ruin the trip.
After a couple of bathroom breaks, we’re ready to get on. A staff member checks our passports and asked if we have any symptoms, and since we don’t we’re on our way. We have to walk through a security check and go up a long escalator to the next floor. Just before the gangway to the ship are several photo backgrounds passengers can get their picture taken in front of, but that costs a little more money so we don’t bother with that.
The gangway is long and we have to make several turns along it, but at last, “Ooooooasis!” I cry, as I step onto the ship.
Right inside to where we step onboard is the royal promenade where there are lots of shops and restaurants. We are immediately greeted by a woman from Argentina who gets us checked in. There’s our first entry on our list of nationalities on the ship.
However, first things first. We have to go to our assembly station and watch someone tell us how to put our lifejacket on, should disaster strike at sea. When we went on Adventure four years ago, everyone on board had to go to their assigned stations at once for what was called the muster drill. Now with only a few of us at a time instead of everyone at once, it goes much more smoothly.
When we get to our stateroom we find our sea pass cards wedged into the number plate on the door. This is what we use to get on and off the ship at our ports of call and make purchases on board. We get settled in and find drawers for all the clothes we brought with us. I just had to bring the Royal Caribbean shirt I bought on Adventure that has the name of every ship in the fleet etched into the cruise line’s crowned anchor logo. Though it’s a bit outdated. Lot’s of new ships have been launched since then and there are at least two names there that didn’t survive Covid. Aquila (God), take care of our steel sisters. They might not be real to some people, but they are to me.
Alright, enough sitting around. Let’s go explore this fine vessel. However, at the elevators, we run into some problems. They’re all packed. It seams like a lot of other people had the same idea as us. I think we’ll just take the stirs up one deck.
Oasis has so much to offer. The first place we look at is the music hall on deck 8, just above us. It’s a simple place with a stage and a drum set. Up on the balcony is a pool table. Kate really likes this place, but since she’s into music, that’s not surprising.
Right outside the music hall is Central Park. That’s right a park. With real plant and trees growing. Right here on the ship. And look, orchids. Just like the ones I take care of at home. Here’s a little tip for anyone who’s trying to grow orchids: Put ice cubes in them once a week; they like the cold. I’ve been doing that for years and the plants have been thriving.
Now let’s go back to the royal promenade and look around a little more. There are lot’s of places to eat here, including a candy store and a hot dog place. And there’s also a carousel here, and quite a handsome one to. Katie’s already riding it. It is free.
Behold Ultimate Abyss! The tallest dry slide at sea. It’s not a waterslide like on most ships, but it’s still pretty awesome. I intend to try it out at least once while we’re on board. Maybe tomorrow, while we’re at sea. Right behind that is the thing that most interests me most on the ship: the AquaTheater. Here they put on the most amazing shows at sea. I’ve never seen one of the shows here, but I’ve seen clips of them.
Up on the higher decks is the main pool and next to that, the Perfect Storm waterslides. Oasis just got these, and they’re a unique pink and gold pair. Oh wait, check that. That slide actually looks more orange than gold. There’s also a blue-and-green toilet bowl waterslide where you spin wildly around the large sides, then slide into a hole at the bottom. I’m not certain about that one, but at least you don’t fall out into the water below, like in some slides like this one.
At the back of the ship is the minigolf course, the flowrider surfing simulator, and the entrance to Ultimate Abyss. It’s a giant angler fish structure with it’s jaws wide open. I decide to read the safety rules for it, and it turns out this slide is a lot riskier than the waterslides. But nowadays, they wouldn’t have a ride like this if they knew it wasn’t safe.
Look! There go some more ships heading out ahead of us. I hurry over to the other side of the ship to watch them go. There goes Carnival Spirit. She’s smaller than us, but then again, most ships are.
All right, here comes a very special ship; Carnival Celebration. She and her sister Mardi Gras are the biggest and newest ships in Carnival’s fleet. They don’t quite rival Oasis, but they come pretty close. They’re also the first ships to feature a roller coaster at sea. But what’s the most awesome thing about Celebration you ask? She and Mardi Gras are the world’s first LNG battery powered cruise ships. Translation: Almost NO harmful emissions! This is a giant step forward towards a cleaner planet!
Alright, who needs a coke? I do! The four of us get drinks for the bar while we wait for the ship to leave. We’re supposed to leave at 4:30 pm, but for some reason, that time comes and goes and we’re still securely tied to the dock. After half an hour, it get’s too hot and we head back to our room. A watched pot never boils anyway.
* * *
Back at the cabin, the sofa bad has been made, but the bunk in the ceiling hasn’t been pulled down yet. We’ll ask our stateroom attendant about that when we get the chance. Still, we haven’t left yet. It’s just been one long wait after another so far this trip. First we had to wait for our plane in Toronto, then we had to wait for our luggage at the airport. Then we had to wait for our shuttles both to the hotel and to the ship, and now we have to wait for the ship to leave. This is getting frustrating. But in the meantime, here come some more ships. Next is Grandeur of the Seas, another Royal Caribbean Ship.
BBBUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUURRRRRRRRRRR!!! She may be small, but her horn shakes the air around her. BBUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUURRRRRRRR!!
After Grandeur comes Norwegian Encore, who’s docked right behind us. Now that we’re on our balcony we can wave to the people on these two ships as they pass us by.
At last, just after Encore has passed us, the water at the ships’ bow and stern churns as Oasis’ engines whirr to life. A minute later, we’re finally on our way. And I break into a chorus of Sailing for Adventure from the movie Muppet Treasure Island. Only, I can’t help but sub in with Oasis, instead of for Adventure.
Tonight, the cruise staff had booked us for dinner at the Solarium Bistro, but not until eight o’ clock. So let’s go down to Sugar Beach for some ice cream. I usually take vanilla, but they’re out of that. Oh well. Chocolate will do. Mmm, this is really good.
From where we’re sitting, we can see the evening sky from the open stern of the ship. Some old school cruisers say that Ultimate Abyss blocks the view from here, but I don’t think it’s that bad.
After our ice cream, we decide to walk to the back of the ship. When we get there, we find lounge chairs where we sit and put our feet on the railings and star out at the open sea. It would be nice and relaxing, if we didn’t have to speak loudly to hear ourselves over the roar of the ships’ engines and the swish of the water that churns into Oasis’ wake.
At about eight, we head off to the Solarium Bistro for a late supper. It’s a nice little place located near the front of the ship. Here, everything comes in small serving bowls. They’re not big, but they’ll do. How about chicken tonight.
Looking around, we see two hosts from India and Peru. Two more nations for our list. Only, this time we’re also keeping track of what position everyone from each nation we find, so that makes it a little more enjoyable. For example; so far we’ve got check-in agents from Argentina and the USA, restaurant staff from Ukraine and Peru and bar tenders from Nicaragua and Kenya.
Once dinner is over, I’m off to find a quiet spot with my iPod. Nast time, on Adventure I went and played my own music every night on deck 4, whilst staring out at the dark ocean, so let’s go do that again. The spot I find doesn’t have a very good view though, because there are life boats on either side of me. Oh well, this is probably the case all over this deck anyway.
For the first night, how about some Disney classics? Just Volume 3 straight though. I have five of these CDs that I like to mix up on iPod, so let’s start off this year by playing them in order. And Volume 3 is my favourite one so that’s a good place to start.
When I’m finished, a walk around the jogging track which is also on this deck. Wait, look. Here’s a spot with a much better view on the starboard side. I’ll come here tomorrow night.
Monday, February 20th, 2023
A day at Sea
When you’re on a ship, sleeping in is rather easy. When Katie gets up and opens the curtains, the sunlight streams in and I squint my eyes. But once my eyes adjust to the light, I get up, look out the window and, wow, once again there’s nothing but sea and sky as far as the eye can see. Just like it was on Adventure all those years ago.
However, the main dinning room isn’t open for breakfast until 9 am. What’s with that? Oh well, at least we get to look out at the ocean for a bit longer.
When we arrive at the main dinning room we find a table and I order pancakes. Strange, I’m not the biggest fan of chocolate chips in pancakes but I do like them in muffins. After we’ve finally had breakfast, Katie and I are off to the waterslides. This is exactly what I did on the first sea day of the last cruise I went on. But as we climb the stairs to the top, things start to get interesting.
The people in front of us start asking everyone which slide they want, blue-and-green, or one of the others. After a bit of confusion, in turns out that the toilet bowl slide has a separate line from the pink and orange slides, but both of them run up the same staircase. If you want pink or orange, keep to the right; if you want the toilet bowl, keep to the left. This isn’t very well set up at all. I should tell them that in my post-cruise survey.
At last we reach the top. The lifeguard tells us to keep our arms crossed and legs together and we’re off. We go zooming down the slides, through coloured rings and clear sections of the slides where we can see out and then, SPLLOOOOOOOSH! We hit the water at the bottom. Then we have to ger out quickly so the next pair can come down.
We each go up the waterslides three more time. One cool thing we can to while we’re waiting is watch sliders spin around in the toilet bowl. It looks crazy, but of course, like I said before, the cruise staff wouldn’t be operating a ride if they knew it wasn’t safe. That wasn’t the case back in the early days of theme parks and other attractions, but it is now.
Ooof, these slides are kind of hard on one’s back. Especially mine, since I don’t have a lot of natural padding. So let’s just go swimming for now.
In the pools we meet Mom and Dad, who aren’t that big on waterslides anymore. We just spend the next few hours hanging around in the pools and hot tubs, until it’s time for lunch.
Let’s go to the Windjammer café on deck 16 for our first lunch on Oasis of the Seas. And how about the old classic hot dogs. That’s what I get at least.
The whole place has big wide windows so we can see the ocean in all directions. It’s a really nice place for a decent meal this Windjammer.
Later that afternoon, we’re off to the Schooner Bar for the trivia challenge. The theme is 50’s and 60’s Name that Tune. Katie didn’t come with us on Adventure four years ago, but we told her all about Isaac the trivia guy. “Rule number one: I’m always right. Rule number two: Pay attention. Focus people, focus! Rule number three: Don’t argue. The prize is just a crappy little key chain.” Yep, that’s Isaac. It’s not him behind the mic on this ship, but it’s still fun none the less.
Last time, since I remember I wasn’t able to contribute very much to these trivia games, I decided to be the one who writes the answers down. I think I’ll keep my position in the team.
It turns out, this is the only trivia challenge the four of us compete in together on this cruise, but even though we don’t win, we do fairly well, getting about fourteen out of twenty. I don’t remember our exact score, but that’s as close as I can think of.
Back in our stateroom, let’s do some reading on the balcony like we did last time. It’s really such a nice thing to do with just the sound of the water crashing against the side of the ship. I’m reading a fantasy book series about two teenage twin siblings named Josh and Sophie whose lives are changed forever when the book store they’ve been working at for the past two months is attacked by a dark magician and his non-human minions. They abduct the stores’ owners wife, steal an incredibly secret book and then vanish without a trace.
In the aftermath of the attack, Josh finds he has managed to rip two pages out of the back of the book, so the dark magician will be back. Since Sophie and Josh are now deeply involved the store owner reveals to them that the stolen book is full of ancient spells and manuscripts; some of which could save the world, but also some that could destroy it. Then the owner reveals himself to be none other than the legendary, immortal alchemyst, Nicholas Flamel! Those of you who’ve read Harry Potter will know who I’m talking about.
Together, the three of them set off on a daring adventure across several continents searching for ways to find Flamel’s wife and recover the stolen book before Armageddon is unleashed. But while the book is lost, Flamel’s immortality begins to were off. And if all these revelations weren’t enough all ready, Flamel also tells the twins that he believes they are mentioned in an ancient prophecy about a pair of twins that will either save the world or destroy it. So he sets out to teach them how to use the magic within.
After that, I’m off to do my own thing, which is, like I said I was going to do, Ultimate Abyss! The top of the slide is on deck 16, way aft of the ship. First things first though, since this is my first time on this, I have to watch the safety demonstration for the slide.
The unique thing about this ride is that you have to have a mat to sit on as you ride it. I’ve been on mat slides before, but never one this tall.
Walking into the angler fish’s jaws is rather awe-inspiring. I know it’s safe, but still, it’s quite something. Right inside the structure is what looks like a spinal column. Do angler fish actually have their spines that close to their mouths? Probably not. This is just a recreation; it’s most likely not to scale.
Halfway up, the staircase leading to the slide splits and goes around the spine towards the two slide entrances at the top. One on the port side, and one on the starboard side. I end up on the port side, and when I finally get into the top of the slide I wait for the instructor to give me the green light.
When she does I have to push myself in and it’s actually harder to do that than you might think with a slide like this. But at last, I’m off down the tallest slide at sea. It’s like racing down a long, dark tube and it would be impossible to see, if it weren’t for the effects on the slide walls. This is way cool!
When I come zooming out at the bottom, I quickly get out of the way for whoever’s behind me and wonder, do I want to go right back up again? Nah, how ‘bout some pool first. And by that, I mean the game pool, not a swimming pool.
I actually have my own pool challenge that I invented myself: Try to get both balls that are the same colour in the same pocket. However, I can only do that if it’s the kind of table where the pockets are just that; small pockets on the side of the table. It would be impossible to remember which ball went where with the pool tables that have the chute system that the sunken balls roll through. Unless you had a way to wright it down that is.
Thing is, as simple as this challenge sounds, it’s not that easy to accomplish. I’ve never gotten all seven pairs in the same pocket as each other. I’ve come close a few times, but I’ve never had a perfect score. Though it’s easier if you put each pair next to each other in the triangle before breaking it.
After that, let’s do Ultimate Abyss again. Once again, I end up on the port side slide. Oh well, no bid deal. Whooooo-hoooooo! Ultimate Abyyyyyysssss!
Tonight is formal night and Katie brought a nice dress to wear in the main dining room. But she has failed to make a reservation for tonight, so she’d going to have her own formal night with us in the Windjammer Café on deck 16. Tonight it’s a French theme in the Windjammer. I don’t remember what we all get, but I do know that I enjoyed it.
Mom and Dad and Katie are going to Karaoke again tonight. I think Kate’s obsessed with that. But I have my own music to enjoy tonight, so it’s back to deck 5 outside to stare out at the dark ocean and listen to my music.
And now, ladies and gentlemen, the Best of the Best! A playlist that consists of my favourite tracks on all the albums I have on my iPod. I didn’t play this when I went on Adventure four years ago, so let’s do it tonight. It includes lots of Disney Classics like Circle of Life from The Lion King, as well as Oo-da-lally, from the animated Robin Hood. And there’s also On the Open Road, from A Goofy Movie, in which Goofy and his teenage son are taking a cross-country Summer road trip. Throughout the song, Goofy acts like the two of them are having the time of their lives. As his name suggests, he is completely oblivious to the fact that his son Max is complaining his head off!
There are also some of my favourite hymns on this playlist, such as On Eagle’s Wings, Abide with Me and Make me a Channel of your Peace. I’m kind of a faithful guy.
And then there’s a track about a teenage girl who doesn’t like going to church, because she thinks being a Christian is uncool, so she’s afraid she’ll get laughed out of school if someone catches her at youth group, and would rather eat diesel fuel on toast than talk about God!
“Hey, that’s ship food, not human food!” says Oasis.
And then, there’s also Larry’s Christmas silly song; Oh Santa! Being in the Christmas spirit, when he opens his door expecting the big man, and instead get’s first a robber and then a Viking, he let’s them have a cookie which melts their hard hearts. But I believe you’ll remember what happens when an IRS agent knocks at the door.
“Who are you?”
“I’m from the IRS! And I’ve come to tax your – “
SLAM!!
Oasis cracks up at that. This just shows you that it’s be better to have thieves and pirates knocking at your door than the IRS.
After that, I head back inside to find Mom, Dad and Kate at the karaoke bar. What’s this? Looks like Katie signed up for a karaoke competition and made the final round! I didn’t expect that. The final round is on the final night of the cruise. I don’t know if I’ll watch, but I will support her nonetheless.
Tuesday, February 21st, 2023
Labadee, Haiti
The next morning, when we get up, Oasis is already docked in our first port of call: Royal Caribbean’s private island of Labadee in Haiti. This country may not be the safest place to visit right now, but the resort we’re docked at is surrounded by mountains so we should be safe from any local problems.
Thinking that the main dinning room wouldn’t be open ‘till nine again, we thought we’d have a late breakfast. But today it’s open at seven. It must be because today is a port day, and yesterday was a sea day. Hmm, let’s not wait any more; let’s go to the Windjammer for breakfast.
Afterwards, we head off to the gangway to go exploring on the island. This time we remember to pack our swimsuits in our backpacks, because last time, there was at least one place we went to that had a very nice pool, but we didn’t know that, so we didn’t bring our swimsuits. Let’s try not to make that mistake again.
First though, we have to go back to the pool deck on the ship to rent towels. While we’re there, Mom and Katie put their feet in the water. Not right in the pool, in the overflow around it where excess water flows on.
However, there don’t seem to be any towels at the usual stations. That’s because they’re all downstairs on the gangway. We should’ve figured that out. Oh well, we’ll know for next time.
Then there’s also one small inconvenience that is still left over from last time. Dad and I still have the exact same name’s on our passports, so we have the same names on our SeaPass cards. We might be carrying the other’s card without knowing it. But when we get off the ship, my face shows up on the scanner, so I must have the right card. Even so, I should remind myself to change the name on my passport to something like Joseph S. Gratton when I renew it.
After we get a little turned around as we all get off the ship, we start walking toward the island. But this is where is starts to really sink in that we’re on a cruise again, because you can’t really appreciate that you’re on a cruise ship until you see her from the outside. And look at the size of that puppy. She really is a huge ship. But not exactly one we’d want to sail on every time. Oasis is kind of like the Toronto to Adventure’s Ottawa; somewhere we’d like to visit from time-to-time, but not a place we’d like to live.
The crystal blue waters sparkle in the morning light. This little place looks like it’s going to be very enjoyable.
One of the first things we do is walk up a long trail on a hillside wondering what we can see up there. One thing we get is a really good view of the ship, and Mom takes pictures of me and Katie with her. Off in the distance we can see someone parasailing out on the water. I don’t know if I’d ever like to try that, it’s a bit crazy.
Further down the trail are what look like serval small fortifications that must have been built back in the old days of wooden sailing ships and pirates. I’ll bet that back then, no one ever dreamed that one day there’d be ships as big as Oasis sailing the seas.
After we walk back down the hill, we find our way along the main road around the island. Before we get very far, Kate spots a hammock and lies down in it. It’s kind of her thing to lounge about in places like this.
Then at last we come upon the beach. And over head is the zip line. It actually starts way up on the mountain and goes right out over the water. Apparently it’s one of the longest zip lines in the world. And all throughout the day, we see people go zooming down it overhead.
But enough talk. Let’s get in the water. There are lots of beach chairs here, but we have to walk a little way before we can find two that we can use. Two should be enough, right?
Anyway, I’m the one who’s got the swimsuits in my backpack, so Mom and Katie have to fish theirs out before we can all go get changed. When we finally get outside and all blocked we head down to the water for a nice ocean swim.
The water feels perfect, and the waves rise and fall gently. It’s just like being back at the old sand-banks beach we used to go to every summer out in Pickton. Of course the waves hit us much harder out there than they do here. But that’s probably because there’s a bank of rocks in front of us that’s holding them back. But occasionally one or two good ones makes it’s way past them.
Overhead, more and more people race by on the zip line and on the side of the mountains in the distance, I can see the track for the Dragon’s Tail roller coaster. That’s actually something I might be interested in, because it doesn’t have any loops or big hills. It’s just a solo ride down the mountain through the trees and other scenery. So yeah, sounds like my kind of ride.
In the water are strange looking mounds with large holes in them. They appear to be man-made homes for aquatic wildlife, so we should probably steer clear of them.
Dad and Katie decide to go back in a bit earlier than Mom and me and while it’s just the two of us out here, I tell Mom about Oasis’ reaction to the line ”I would rather eat diesel fuel on toast than talk about God,” from the song last night.
Anyway, we’re getting kind of wrinkled, so let’s head back in. Now that we’ve had our swim, how about a nice barbeque lunch. Labadee has a very nice barbeque joint that’s complementary with guests. Since I had hot dogs for lunch yesterday, I think I’ll have a burger this time. All around us, groups of dancers have been putting on shows all day, and as I’m getting my lunch I watch another group jump through hoops that other people are holding up in the air. It’s quite a spectacle; it must take a lot of practice to get it all right.
After we have a very nice lunch on the beach, Katie heads back to the ship because there’s a trivia challenge she wants to do. Mom, Dad and I stay out for a little longer. Why don’t we take a ride on the shuttle vans that drive all over the island? Wait a minute, this is taking us back to the ship. Let’s go back and try to find something else.
The mountains loom in the distance as we walk along the island. Out of curiosity, I suggest we walk up another trail and see what we can find. I don’t remember much about that, but we do see some interesting looking plants.
Speaking of interesting, when we get back down we find what appears to be a soccer pool table. I’m not joking, it’s actually pool played with soccer balls. It’s not tall like an ordinary pool table, it’s more like a miniature soccer field with sides to it and pockets. But as we watch, the white cue ball keeps flying out off of the table. Maybe these two games weren’t meant to be mixed.
Oh, here they come. A band of musicians and dancers dressed in colourful costumes is parading up behind us. So we step aside to let them pass. Some of them are in masks and one guy is carrying another on his shoulders. Wait a minute. No he isn’t! It’s just another costume. That had me really fooled there.
On we walk, passed more exotic plants and a beautiful butterfly sculpture. Before we head out, Mom goes back to the beach to take some pictures of it. And I can’t say I blame her; it’s quite a nice place, this island.
As we walk back to the ship, we see the band again. They are putting on quite a show. I’ve just never seen so many people dressed up in such elaborate costumes.
At the end of the pier is a big Labadee sign that everyone is taking pictures of with members of their parties standing next to it. Mom hands the iPad to someone and asks if she’ll take pictures of the three of us with it. She ends up taking about a dozen photos actually. Oh well, no big deal.
I ask Mom to take a shot of Oasis, so I can have something to put at the beginning of this chronicle. But her finger gets in the way. Rats, it would have been a perfect shot otherwise. But I can’t really use that one.
Well, might as well get back on board. We have less than an hour to go before the ship is supposed to leave anyway. We find Katie in the room and do a little more reading on the balcony. In my story, Flamel and the twins run into many creatures and people that would otherwise only exist in myth. But as they say, every legend has some basis around fact.
Towards the end of book one, Sophie had had the magic within her Awakened by the Goddess Hekate, but before she could get to Josh, the Dark Magician who stole Flamel’s secret book attacked, and our heroes were forced to flee. Leaving Josh feeling unconnected from his twin sister for the first time in their lives. But later on in book two, which I’m reading now, Sophie confesses to her brother that she would take back these new powers because they’re just overwhelming her. But Josh doesn’t see it that way, especially after he’s touched a mythical sword. Kind of ironic; the twin that has powers doesn’t want them, and the twin that doesn’t have powers desperately wants them. This could make for an interesting tale.
After reading, I head back to deck 5 so I can watch the ship head out. There are others there to, so I’m not alone in my wanting. Hey look, the band that paraded by us before is back to see us off, and now they’ve got three huge Haitian flags with them. For a country that has had so much trouble with earthquakes, Haiti’s citizens still manage to make guests feel welcome.
BUUUUURRRRRRRRRR!! With a blast of the horn, Oasis sets sail for our next stop, which is in Puerto Rico. I keep standing there on deck 5 watching the island fade away into the distance. We were the only ship in port today, so I’m hoping we’ll meet more ships in the rest of our ports.
I go back to the room and find Mom, Dad and Katie. That’s when Katie tells us that she’s got us into the main dinning room for seven o’clock tonight. When we get there, there’s a bit of a lineup. But, eventually, we find a table and meet our waiter, Abeskak from India. The guy’s a real gentleman; As he leads us to our table, he talks with us and is quite friendly.
Tonight’s dinner theme is Italian. I don’t remember what everyone gets, but I’m pretty sure that I order spaghetti. This is quite nice, dinning here in this impressive room. Like on Adventure the Main Dinning Room encompasses three decks, all of them open and with staircases leading from one to the other.
After a very pleasing meal, I head back to deck 5 with my music. I was hoping to do a long CD tonight, but it’s getting late, so I’ll just shuffle all tonight. By that I mean I’m going to press the shuffle all key that plays any track from anything that’s on my iPod. That’s always fun, because I never know what’s going to come up. And also, I always know that I’m going to end with a good closer because when I’ve had enough, I always skip ahead until I find one. The one I find this time is Linnea Good’s Advent piece, Hope is a Candle, which I’ve always loved. I wonder how many lights are leading Oasis through the quiet, dark sea this evening.
Wednesday February 22nd, 2023
San Juan, Puerto Rico
This morning, when we get up, we are still sailing out on the seas. We’re not scheduled to arrive at our port of call for today until 2 in the afternoon. So we have the whole morning to hang out on the ship. Since we entered a new time zone and lost an hour of sleep last night, resting for a little might not be a bad idea.
After a quick breakfast in the main dinning room, I head off to the waterslides. At the top of the stairs I can’t see the island yet, but we can’t be that far away from it.
One advantage of coming to the slides on this ship alone is that you can jump the line if someone else is by themselves. This is because the lifeguard always sends one person down both slides at the same time. Hey, this might mean that I’ll get a few more slides in this time.
But after a couple of rides on the pink and orange slides, the blue-and-green toilet bowl catches my eye. What the heck? This time as I start up the stairs, I keep to the left. The line for this slide, which is unique to Oasis and her sister ships, moves a bit faster than the other one. Maybe because it’s just one slide that this one leads to.
At last, I get to the top and a moment later, I’m rocketing down the slide. Then I start circling around the bowl. I don’t know how many rotations I make, but when I slide into the exit at the bottom of the bowl, I bump my hip against the side wall. Next time, I’ll make sure I slide straight into that hole. Other than that, the ride goes pretty smoothly. I can’t wait to tell my family that I tried it out.
After a couple more slides, including one more ride down the toilet bowl, I head over to the cantilevered hot-tub that hangs over the side of the ship. It’s quite a view from up here, and it’s in a very relaxing setting. Looking over the edge, I can see the waves sailing past us. Adventure didn’t have whirlpools like this, so it’s an extra little thing that gives me a very nice view.
When I get out of the hot-tub, I get myself some ice cream which is available on the pool deck. Then I head back to the room and find Mom, Dad and Katie. Kate wanted to go on the zipline on deck 15, but she chickened out of it. And honestly, I can’t say I blame her. The thing goes right over the wide gap in the middle of the ship, leaving nothing but a ten-story drop between you and the hard boardwalk floor far below! Well, it’s no big deal. Everyone has their own limits, and part of life is learning what those limits are.
As we approach our next destination, the island of Puerto Rico, we start to sail past smaller islands that surround it. I would’ve liked to watch the ship come in, but lunch calls. Today, we’re going to the Café Promenade on deck 5 for some ham-and-lettuce sandwiches. I don’t think I’m the biggest fan of lettuce, but you get what you can get. Besides, they also have cookies here.
After a quick lunch, I head outside to see if there’s any other ships here. Low and behold, there is one other ship. It’s Holland America’s Nieuw Amsterdam. I saw one of their ships last time in Cozumel, but I couldn’t tell who it was.
I also step out just in time to see Oasis’ crew tie one of the lines to the dock. That’s pretty interesting to see. But I don’t stay out for long, since we have to get going. I find Mom, Katie and Dad back at the café, and we head back to our room to sun block ourselves and get everything we need for today, including our shore excursion tickets.
At this stop we are touring both the old and new cities of San Juan, but once more, when we get off the ship, we get a little bit turned around. Our tour doesn’t leave until a little later, so we actually have time to look around and see what this place has to offer.
The first thing we do is take pictures of each other in front of a large I PR sign. Me and Kate with Dad in the first few, and then the two of us with Mom which Dad takes with the iPad. Then we walk around and see some more interesting looking plants and some cool buildings that are painted multiple colours. A tall monument looms high above us, and large forts dot the landscape.
Hmm, there’s a couple of guys with parrots hanging around. They look kind of cool. At a small vendor, Katie buys some sugary snack, which she lets me have a bit of. It’s kind of sticky, and gets in my teeth, but it’s not bad.
Well, enough of that. We should get back to the dock. It’s almost time for our tour. When we get there, we eventually find our group and check in to the tour. Shortly after, we get on a bus, and are greeted by our guide Hector. You can just tell that this is going to be a good time just from the guy’s enthusiasm.
One of the first things he shows us is one of the oldest forts on the island which was built by the Spanish to defend their acquisitions. It actually took a hundred and fifty years to build that fort, if you can believe that. Why did it take so long, you ask? Because it was always being attacked by English, French and Dutch armadas! They kept having to rebuild it over and over. I don’t know about you, but if my fort was getting attacked so often by so many enemies, I’d probably surrender. But the Spanish held their ground and eventually succeeded in keeping their hold on the island. In fact, Hector tells us that the island’s name, Puerto Rico, is Spanish for Rich Port.
Hector is indeed an enthusiastic guy, but one slight problem is that he often switches from English to Spanish mid-sentence. While I’m sure that’s to accommodate the locals to the island, it can be a bit confusing at times.
What we see next is the Capital Building of Puerto Rico. It looks very modern and not unlike something we’d see back in mainland North America. That’s when Hector tells us that Puerto Ricans like him are in fact American citizens. I don’t remember how they got that distinction, but I know that that’s what Hector said and I trust him.
Now look at this. The bus has stopped at the edge of a wide-open plain which is so green and beautiful. Off in the distance, another fort looms against the horizon, and beyond that the sea sparkles in the afternoon light. At the bottom of a hill we are standing on is a cemetery in which people who died defending this little island are buried. From our vantage point, it kind of looks like a giant chessboard, midway through a game. Did anyone see Harry Potter walking by?
Looking at this beautiful plain now, it’s hard the believe that, back in the days of colonialism, this was a place of total war. But that’s what Hector says happened here all those years ago, when the European powers were all struggling to get hold of as much land as they could.
But now this place looks totally peaceful and calm. And from where I stand I can see countless people running around and flying kites. There may still be a lot of problems in this world, but the fact that what was once blood-soaked land is now green and peaceful is a sure sign that things are indeed getting better.
There are lots of monuments in this little area and one important one is a holocaust memorial for those Puerto Ricans who perished in those terrible gas flames. Inscribed on it in both English and Spanish is Let six million candles glow against the darkness of these unfinished lives. It’s still so hard to believe that one man could’ve conceived such destruction, and I still can’t help but wonder that, if Hitler hadn’t survived the First World War, would the second one ever have happened?
Now we come to the Walkway of the Presidents. Here, along the road are several statues of US Presidents that made visits to Puerto Rico of their own free will. Some of which are Barrack Obama and Bill Clinton. The Donald, however, is noticeably absent. He’s really not worthy of having his own statue anywhere. As we look at these statues, Hector tells us of a time when a visitor to this island was picking on a small, homeless boy, he told that bad person that because of Puerto Rico’s status as American Citizens, that boy could one day become president. “I just had to stop that,” he says. And we all give him a round of applause.
When we get back on the bus, we head now for the new city of San Juan, which, compared to what we just walked through, looks incredibly different. It’s almost like we traveled forward in time from a time of old forts and old monuments, to that of tall skyscrapers and highways.
We’re only making one brief stop in the new city and it’s at a fancy hotel so we can use the facilities and get ourselves something to drink. The bathroom in the hotel is quite impressive. I don’t remember much about it, but it’s not your average bathroom.
Once we all get cokes, we head outside to look at the coastline of the island. All around us, waves crash on the rocks and the ocean glimmers under the sun. Mom and Dad take several pictures of me and Katie with the other one of them against the backdrop of the Caribbean Sea. Like I said before, it is better with all four of us.
Then we walk down another pier and look out at a beach. There are lot’s of people down in the sand and who wouldn’t want to be out swimming on a day like this.
Having finished our tour, the bus takes us back to the port where Oasis and Nieuw Amsterdam await us. As we make the return trip, Dad tells Hector that this is one place we’d like to come back to. All the culture and nice beaches are quite attractive.
After Mom takes a few photo shots of Oasis, we decide to take another look around the island before heading back on board. We’re not leaving until ten o’ clock tonight so, there’s no rush.
As we walk along the pier, we find an impressive looking fountain which an old gentleman has his feet in. Who can blame him for that.
One thing we clearly remember from last time out on the sea was buying me a bamboo shirt which, by the way, looks really good on me. So we clearly have to get another one, or at least something made of bamboo.
After wandering around town for a little bit, we find our way to a shop that sells just about everything made of bamboo. There’re shirts, pillow cases, cushions, you name it. It’s in here and it’s made of bamboo. After looking over all the items, I choose a shirt that says Puerto Rico on the front and has a nice wave picture on the back.
But enough of that. Let’s get back to the ship. I kept hoping that the tour wouldn’t last too long because, shortly after arriving on the ship, we booked some entertainment for tonight at the aqua theater. It wasn’t until seven pm, but still, I tend to get a bit nervous about these things.
As people file into the seats around us, hit’s from the 80’s play on the loudspeakers. The name of the show is Aqua 80, so that’s why they’re playing all the hits. One of which it Cindy Lauper’s Girls just wanna have Fun, my personal favourite 80’s hit, and I can’t help but bop along to it. Dad thinks I shouldn’t do that because it’ll attract attention, but what’s wrong with that?
Anyway, enough talk. It’s showtime. And what a show it is! It starts with a guy flying in on Marty McFly’s hoverboard while the theme from Back to the Future plays. Then we have dancers emerge from the water in front of us and there are divers leaping into the pool. I’ve always enjoyed watching diving at the Olympics, but I’ve never seen it in real life before. This is quite the treat.
Look up there. There’s a guy standing on a sixty-foot ledge. There he goes! SPLASH!! You definitely won’t catch me doing that.
Then they also have guys bouncing on a trampoline and doing incredible flips, just like the divers. And some on them are leaping up and down on wires above the pool. And in the midst of all this, water jets are going off everywhere, soaking the keeners in the front row. I hope they knew what they were getting into when they decided to sit that close.
For the finale, all the performers pull off one last big dance and then leap backwards into the water. There must be a hidden entrance to the pool at the bottom, because performers have been emerging from it all evening.
At the end of the show, we all stand up and give a huge ovation. I turn toward the ship and say “Oasis, that, was, awesome!” It was just so spectacular and very well done. I think this show is going to be the highlight of the entire cruise.
After that, we head for a quick supper at Sorrento’s Pizza. It’s kind of thin, but it’ll do for tonight. Not long after, Mom, Dad and Katie head of to karaoke leaving me to enjoy my dinner and then look around a bit more.
Since we’re not leaving Puerto Rico until ten tonight, I feel no rush to get to deck 4 with my music. So for now, let’s take a look at the Bionic Bar, where your drinks are served to you by robots. I’m not joking, guys, this is the real deal. You just place your order via a tablet and the robot mixes the drink by selecting the ingredients from dispensers overhead. Then they shake it up and when it’s ready, they pour it into a cup which is delivered to the customer by a conveyor belt. It’s pretty cool, and even though I don’t drink, I can’t help but enjoy watching this anyway.
Well, it’s getting late, and I think now would be a good time to go do the music. Tonight it’s the soundtrack to the stage musical Starlight Express, which, believe it or not, is set inside a little boy’s dream in which his model train set comes to life and the engines race each other around the tracks. Our hero is Rusty the steam engine, who finds himself in quite the pickle when he’s coaxed into a big race against Greaseball the world-champion diesel, and Electra the superstar challenger electric.
Rusty doesn’t seem to have much chance, until he gets a visit from the mythical Starlight Express, who knows everything about everyone. With the mysterious engine’s help Rusty finds the power inside himself, and ultimately wins both the race, and the heart of Pearl the first-class coach.
Okay, I bet you’re all wondering how does a human play a talking train on stage? I can’t describe the full costume design, but I do know that they ride around the stage on specially made roller skates to make them look authentic. I’ve never seen this show, but it looks spectacular. And hey, it’s talking trains so that’s definitely right up my ally. And not just talking, but singing and dancing trains! Now I’ve seen everything!
Midway through the story is when Oasis finally heads out for the next island port, and as Rusty and Pearl confess their love for each other, I watch the incredible island country of Puerto Rico fade into the distance.
Thursday February 23rd, 2023
St. Thomas, USVI
I can’t explain why, but Oasis somehow isn’t as easy to sleep on as Adventure was. You’d think that, being a bigger ship, and therefore not one that rocks too much, she would give us a good night’s sleep. But maybe that’s because Adventure rocked just enough to help us sleep. Oasis doesn’t seem to have that ability.
Anyway, it’s another morning out on the Caribbean. The show last night is still fresh in my mind, and I wonder if anything will be more enjoyable than that amazing performance last night.
On this Thursday morning, our amazing ship has docked in one of the United States Virgin Islands. I don’t know much about this island, other than we are now back in American Territory. Also, before we left Puerto Rico last night, Hector told us that we would be sailing right through the infamous Bermuda Triangle, where many ships and planes have gone missing. But I’m sure Oasis has navigated those rough waters numerous times. And anyway, we’re here at our next port of call, so we must have had no trouble getting here.
Today we’re having breakfast in the windjammer café on deck 16. Looking out the window, I can see that there’s another ship docked next to us. It’s Celebrity Beyond, the newest ship in their fleet. And while we’re here, I just have to mention that Beyond’s sister Apex is Captained by a woman. And of course, some jerk just had to comment “You can’t be Captain, your a woman.” But how did Captain Kate respond to that you ask? She corrected his Grammer. I don’t know if this was intentional or by accident, but what the guy rote was what I rote above. So she went and corrected him on that. Two points, ma’am.
Katie doesn’t want to get off the sip today because of a trivia she’s interested in, so it’s just me, Mom and Dad today, just like old times. When we get off the ship one of the first things we see is a guy in a tall clown costume preforming for us guests. Looking up at Beyond we can tell that she doesn’t have as many balconies as Oasis does, so maybe Celebrity isn’t the cruise line for us.
Hey, check this out. There’s a bunch of cool lizards hanging out on the rocks by the water. They are so well blended in with the rocks that it takes us a moment to spot all of them. There’re about five or six lizards hanging around, including one that’s quite a bit bigger than the others. As the sign says though, no feeding the wildlife. I don’t really know what these guys would like to eat anyway.
It's going to be another hot day out here, so before we head off, we all get our own cokes. From our perspective, we can see a large, yellow mansion on a hill in the distance. I wonder what it would be like to live in a house like that. There’s also an old windmill that’s been converted into a bar. It’s pretty cool to see something like that up close.
The only thing that really interests us here is shopping for souvenirs. Taking a cab would be a bit expensive, so we decide to walk downtown and see what we can find. The hills on this island are dotted with houses, all of them able to see out to the ocean.
Wait a minute. This is the United States Virgin Islands, right? And the locals are all driving American-built cars meant for right-hand side driving, are they not? But for some reason, everyone’s driving on the left like they do in Britain! What’s going on here? The only explanation for this is that these islands must have been British territory once, and when the States took it over they ended up sticking with left-hand driving. Now that I’m sitting here thinking about it, I’m glad we weren’t driving our own car down here, otherwise we may have been in trouble since we’d probably assume we were supposed to drive on the right. I mean, we’re in US territory.
Well anyway, on and on we walk, exploring the sights of the island of St. Thomas. Look over there, it’s a family of chickens. The little chicks are so cute; I just wanna hold one. On our right, the view of the sea is incredible. The water sparkles under the morning sun and sea birds fly overhead. And look, there’s another cruise ship from Holland America docked on the far side from where we are. That couldn’t be the same one we saw yesterday, could it?
Next we pass a building that says it’s the Legislature of the US Virgin Islands Capitol Building. It’s not as impressive as the Capitol in Puerto Rico we saw yesterday, but still interesting to see. As always, there are lots of cool looking trees and other plants on the island that we don’t usually see back home. I wonder what all their names are.
We’ve been walking quite a way, but now we’re getting the feeling that we got turned around. Sure enough, after checking a map we find that we’ve walked right passed the shopping district. It’s up on another road that runs parallel to the one we’ve been walking along. Let’s back track and try again.
Walking up another street, we pass a vendor selling souvenirs. Jokingly, I pick up a wooden sword, put it on my shoulder and say, “Hey look, I‘m General Naniska!” For those of you who don’t know, she’s from the movie The Woman King, a true story of a small African kingdom who was on the verge of collapse due to neighbouring kingdoms capturing it’s citizens and selling them into slavery. I mean, good God! They’re pretty much your own brothers and you sell them to these awful people! However, thanks to the efforts of the afore mentioned General Naniska, and her unstoppable – and might I add all female – army of warriors, the slavers eventually retreat and leave the kingdom in peace.
Anyway, back up this new street is where we find the shops we’ve been looking for. But I don’t remember if we found anything worthwhile though. However, there is an ice cream place here which is always a good thing. After we get our cones we start the long walk back to the ship.
One last sight worth mentioning is a cool looking foot bridge over the road we’re walking along. It’s not particularly impressive but it’s still worth taking a picture of.
It is lunchtime when we get back on Oasis, so today, let’s head to the boardwalk doghouse on deck 6. After we get our wieners, Katie joins us saying “Rule number 3: Don’t argue. The prize is just a simple keychain.” As she says it, she holds up the keychain she just won at the trivia thing. She also says she went down the toilet-bowl slide three times. That’s one better than I did yesterday.
After lunch we head back to our room to watch the ship depart. Though it seems we are a bit late in leaving, though that’s probably because there are dark clouds in the distance, so the captain must be waiting for the storm to pass before he sails the mighty ship out to open waters again.
Eventually, the storm does pass and with a blast of the horn Oasis of the Seas sets sail, homeward bound. Why don’t we go for a swim before supper tonight? Like on Adventure the main pool on Oasis is a little small and crowded so we head to the solarium. The pool’s not very deep here either, but it’ll do.
After a nice, relaxing swim, I head off to deck 5 with iPod. I’m going early tonight because we’re hoping to go to a pool-side movie this evening. If you remember, back on Adventure, the pool-side movies were our favourite on-board activity. But Oasis doesn’t have a screen that’s uniquely built for that like Adventure did, so they don’t show movies as often on this ship.
But first things first; let’s go to deck 5 and put on some Stuart Stories! More hilarious fun from the late Stuart McLean who hosted the Vinyl Café radio program every Saturday morning. Well all miss him dearly here in Canada, but he left behind a treasure trove of stories, so let’s continue to immortalize him.
First we have one where Dave, who’s always the main character is these stories, agrees to look after half a dozen dogs while their owners are away for Spring Break. Six dogs in one house. Good idea? Let’s see. The first walk. Dave picks up one of the leashes and gives it a jingle. Instantly one of the dogs goes from sound asleep to full speed running and barking with one thing on his mind. Birds! he barks. Birds! Birds! Birds! Another dog joins him. Garbage! Garbage! Garbage! Birds! Garbage! Birds! Stuart just dose that so well. You should hear him do it.
Next is a story, funnily enough, where Dave and his wife Morley go on a cruise like we’re doing. Only to find, to their great distress, that they’re the youngest people on board. They got this cruise from Morley’s mother who didn’t know it was seniors only. Midway through the trip they run into a storm and the ship rocks from side to side. Morley starts to feel sick, but then Dave remembers that he’s left an old, wheelchair-bound man outside in the rain. He runs back to the deck to check on him, but when he gets there he doesn’t see anything. Then the ship pitches to Port and Zooommmmm! A wheelchair hurtles past the window. Dave rushes to fetch his companion who is soaked but beaming. “Haven’t – had – that much fun – since my wife’s wake!” he says.”
Oh here’s a very funny story. Dave’s son Sam’s best friend Murphy is having his Bar Mitsvah. That’s a Jewish coming of age ceremony in case you didn’t know that. Dave and Sam are invited, but an enormous misunderstanding over the phone results in Dave believing that he’s expected to show up in a rabbit costume. In his defence, he was talking to someone who didn’t use English as a first language. When Sam sees his dad dressed as a giant blue bunny, he’s like “Uhhhhhh!”
Meanwhile, in the basement of Beth Israel Synagogue where the service is going to take place, Rabi Killburg is having a bad day because his Cantor has been insisting that he retire for months. To be fair, the Rabi is almost eighty years old. But he doesn’t seem to like the idea of retirement. Then, just before the service starts the Rabi runs into the bunny Dave in the bathroom. For a moment he thinks Oh my God! Is the Cantor right? Am I losing it? No. That bunny’s real. And so is the Rabi’s new plan.
Five minutes later the service starts at last. The Cantor opens it with “Hear oh Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is, one.” That’s strange. Why’d he stumble there? And he keeps stumbling all through the service. No one’s really noticing except the Rabi, though, because he knows what’s going on. At his request, during the service, every time the Cantor steps up to say something, up in the unoccupied balcony, where nobody but the Cantor, the Rabi and Murphy can see him . . . Hop, Hop, Hop goes Dave! It’s easily Stuart’s most hilarious punch line ever. I just double over laughing every time I hear it!
Well, enough of that for one evening. It’s dinner time. Tonight we’re going back to the main dinning room for some Mexican style food. Again, I don’t remember what I had, but whatever it was, I do know that it was a very enjoyable meal. Though, last time, when we went on Adventure, we had almost every meal in the main dinning room because we thought we had to go there. This time we’ve been spreading our meals out a bit to other restaurants and I think we’ve made the right choice.
I finish dinner first and head off to the Aqua Theater where the movie is going to be so I can get a good spot. But when I get there, I see signs advertising the Aqua show we saw last night. Turns out there was a technical issue with the later show last night, so they had to postpone it to tonight and cancel the movie. Oh well, it wasn’t one I was particularly looking forward to anyway.
How about a ride on the carousel then? After waiting for a staff member to wipe it down I climb on and choose a lordly lion. I’ve always kind of been a carnivore at heart and a lion is quite a beautiful creature. But while we’re here, I have to say that, if lions are king of the cats, I think tigers are queen of the cats.
After the ride, I’ve got nothing better to do than head back to deck 5 and play more Stuart Stories. Next we have one where Mr. Harman, the local grocer, hires Dave’s son Sam in his store. Although, the thing is, instead of offering the job right to him, Harman slips a hand-lettered sign into the window every time Sam passes: Boy Wanted. And as soon as Sam’s gone, he takes it down. Kind of weird if you ask me. But eventually, Sam finds his footing in the store and starts to learn Geography with his tongue and stomach. Which is the best way possible.
Now Dave is flying home to Cape Breton to help his aging, widowed mother with Spiring chores. Take down Winter windows, turn the garden, stuff like that. But when he arrives, he finds a stranger named Smith working along side his mom. Then later that night he sees the dinner table set for three. For years he’s been sitting in his late father’s place at the table. That chair has a place set in front of it, but so does the chair where Dave sat when he was a boy. Outside Dave remains calm and sits down, but inside he’s thinking I don’t want to sit in my boyhood spot if the man is in Dad’s place.
The whole trip is full of moments like that, but eventually, Dave and Smith end up standing together at Dave’s dad’s grave and Smith mentions that he was thinking of proposing. In his heart, Dave wants his mom to be happy so he more-or-less gives him his permission.
Let’s wrap this up with another hilarious one. Dave is driving to the airport to pick up his neighbours Bert and Mary Turlington. On the way he spots a car wash and decides to take the car through it. But when he pushes a button to open his window, the trunk pops open. Dave is struggling because this isn’t his car.
Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh no!
“Don’t be getting ahead of me,” says Stuart.
The car belongs to Bert and Mary. Now Mary and Dave have had a lot of difficult moments over the years, you can read about it all in other Stuart Stories, so Dave wants to do this thing right. When the window finally opens, he choses the Premium Super-deluxe wash which includes an undercarriage pressure rinse and a hot-wax treatment. Then he sits back and lets the car roll in. That’s when he sees the open trunk icon on the dash. He leaps out of the car, only to get nailed right in the crotch by the undercarriage pressure rinse. He staggers to his feet and quickly closes both the trunk and the drivers door to keep the car from getting soaked. Except now he’s looked out of it.
Someone who’s thinking straight would step back and let the car roll on by itself. But that wouldn’t make a very good story now would it? Dave tries to push the car back through the entrance. Then suddenly he starts getting smacked left and right by a giant wet hula skirt. And, oh no, here come the giant brushes! They might have finished our friend Dave if he didn’t grab the car’s windshield wipers. Which then snap off and get caught in the brush and spank Dave’s bottom with disturbing enthusiasm. Leaving him spread eagled on the hood. The perfect position for the hot-wax treatment.
Anyway, after all that he still makes it to the airport on time and in one piece. Mary and Bert spot him right away. He’s wearing one of Mary’s yoga outfits. Bert looks at his wife and says “Should we ask?”
“No,” says Mary. “Don’t ask. I just don’t wanna know!”
Friday February 24th, 2023
Singing Cats of Oasis
It’s another beautiful morning out on the Caribbean Sea. Let’s have another breakfast in the Main Dinning room this morning. I don’t remember what I have. Meals aren’t that easy to remember. One morning, I might feel like pancakes, the next morning French toast, etc. But of course, one breakfast thing that’s just not good enough to be had on a ship like this cereal. It’s just so bland compared to everything else on board. They really feed you well on a cruise ship.
After breakfast, Katie and I are off for one more ride down the waterslides. This time around, I go for the orange and pink ones first, but the toilet-bowl keeps calling out to me, so I try it a few times. For anyone who’s interested, that slide is wicked-fast but so worth it. It’s quite the ride.
In the background is something that looks like a trivia challenge by the main pool in which, if you get too many answers wrong, you gotta jump into the drink. Apparently it’s called the Wettest Link game show, and it’s pretty crazy. I don’t remember seeing exactly how it works, but it must have been fun to watch.
Anyway, after I’ve had enough of the waterslides I head back to the cantilevered whirlpool that hangs over the side of the ship. Looking down at the water passing by below me, I reflect on all that had happened so far on this incredible trip. Once again, it seems like a lot more time than a week has passed since we got on this ship. Though, not exactly as much time as it did on Adventure. Like I said before, Oasis is kind of like the Toronto to Adventure’s Ottawa. Somewhere we’d love to visit from time to time, but not where we’d like to live. Specifically, compared to Adventure, the amount of stuff to do on Oasis is kind of overwhelming. Maybe we should save the bigger ships like Oasis and her sisters for special occasions like the Christmas Cruise I’m hoping to take one day.
On the way out of the pool area, Kate and I pick up some ice cream cones like we often do when we’ve come here this past week. Mom and Dad are off doing their own thing today, so Katie wants to get changed quickly so we can go to the Bid Oasis Boardwalk Celebration on deck 6. And boy is she right about that. There’s a jazz band playing all the great tunes and cornhole board games littered everywhere. This is definitely a good place to be today.
As I look around the area, I start to notice a few more nationalities that I don’t have written down yet. There are so many that after a little while, I run back to the room and grab the iPad so I can write the new ones down as I see them. Writing down all the nations we find on the ship has been even more fun on this cruise because this time I am also writing down what everyone from each country does on the ship. And, as I predicted, since we started writing these countries down the minute we got on board the ship we’ve found quite a few more than we did last time. However, I think that to find someone from every nation on board this thing, you’d have to go over the whole ship with a fine-tooth comb. That’s just not possible in only a week-long cruise.
Speaking of nations, here at last is someone from Canada! She’s a musician named Shannon whom Katie has befriended. Since Adventure’s Captain was from Canada, it’s been a bit disappointing that we haven’t found a fellow Canuck here on Oasis. Until now!
After the party, Katie and I are off to lunch at the Park Café in Central Park. Mom and Dad are still doing their own thing today so it’s just me and my sister. That’s not to bad when you think about it. It’s nice to be with just her now and then, especially on a ship like this.
The Park Café has delicious beef sandwiches and lemonade that we both enjoy very much. Now I feel like heading back to Ultimate Abyss for another ride. Once more I climb up the stairs into the giant angler fishes’ jaws. In the center of the structure is what appears to be the fishes’ spine running vertical from the top of the fish to the deck. Anglers don’t have their spines that close to their mouths, do they?
Anyway, once again I’m off down the world’s tallest slide at sea. The inside of the slide is dark, but it also has tons of effects which light it up and make it look really cool. I’ve never had second thoughts about trying this ride. It just kind of grabbed me, you know.
When I get to the bottom, I see the Johnny Rocket’s restaurant on my right. Katie says that their vanilla milkshakes are really good, and since vanilla is my favourite flavor, I just have to try one. Of course, since it is now officially Lent, I shouldn’t really have that because vanilla flavoured things are what I usually give up for Lent. But since we’re out here on a cruise ship I think I can make an exception for now.
Mmm-mmm! They weren’t kidding. This is indeed really good. I don’t know if it’s the best vanilla shake I’ve ever had, but it sure is one of the best.
I want to do Ultimate Abyss again, but since I can’t really take my shake down it with me, so let’s look around for something to do while I finish it. Since I’m near the top deck, why don’t I go up one more level and take a look around the suite hallways. I can’t go into the suites, that would be trespassing. And anyway, my Sea Pass card will only open the door to my room, but there’s no harm in looking around the hallways, is there?
As I walk around, I find several portraits hanging on the walls. I don’t remember what they are, but I can tell, even from out here that this part of the ship is more extravagant than other staterooms. That’s about all I do remember, so let’s head back down.
How about this little arcade, which you use your sea pass cards to play at? When I tried to use my card on Adventure’s arcade, I couldn’t get it to work. But this time it does work and I’m rolling at my favourite game: Ski Ball. For those of you who don’t know, it’s kind of like bowling but with much smaller balls. You roll them up a ramp and try to land them in targets. That smaller the target, the more points it’s worth. The ones at the top are worth the most points and I think I’ve learned that, it you’re trying to go for one of them, don’t throw the ball too hard because doing that makes it easy to miss them and then the ball will land in the lowest point target.
After a couple of rounds of that I finish my delicious shake and head off for another ride down Ultimate Abyss. When I get to the top and look through the glass floor, I can see the World’s Sexiest Man competition happening in the Aqua Theater. Mom and Dad said they might be checking that out, but I’m not into stuff like that. Let’s just go down the slide and see if we can find another nation for the list. But this time, halfway down the effects cut out and I spend the bottom half of the ride in total darkness. But I emerge safely at the bottom and I haven’t been deterred from this.
Oh, I just remembered. I haven’t done the mini-golf course yet. So let’s grab a ball and a club and head off for a bit of fun. I’ve always liked mini-golf; ever since we went to Florida for a March Break trip and found quite an enjoyable course there. This one on the ship is pretty straight-forward, although I’m right behind a family of four, so I kind of have to wait my turn at most of the holes.
Out here at the back of the ship you can see nothing but open water in all directions. It’s almost like you really are in the middle of nowhere and it would be perfect, if it weren’t for the putrid smell of diesel fumes pouring out of Oasis’ stacks. I’m serious. The exhaust smells quite strong out here, and if that wasn’t bad enough, I can actually see it sinking lower towards the water, it’s so heavy.
I’ll admit, as much as I love these ships, this heavy exhaust they give off is not something I like to look at. But as I said earlier, they are now building LNG powered cruise ships so, hopefully, in a few more years, it may not matter that some of them are still bad for the environment.
Anyway, I have a good time at the mini-golf; I even get two holes-in-one. How cool is that? When I’m finished, how about one more Ultimate Abyss and then we’ll call it a night? After the slide I head back to my room. But I’ve been feeling a bit under the weather since yesterday. I’m not seriously sick, but I’m not quite well either. And I hope to God that what I’ve got isn’t you-know-what. That would just ruin the rest of the trip because they’d have to kick us all off at the next stop, or at least lock us in our staterooms. But I had COVID once before and it didn’t feel like this. In fact, I’ve had colds that felt worse than that did, but I will admit it was quite a gut-punch to see that second line appear.
Mom suggests that I go for a walk to make myself feel better. Taking her advice, I head down to the jogging track on deck 5 and do a few walking laps. She’s right. Moving your body does make you feel better sometimes. As I walk, I think about one of my favourite scenes in one of my newest story ideas. I’m not sure if I’ll write this one or not, but it’s a good thing to keep working on these ideas.
After a few laps around the track, I find that I do feel a bit better, so I head back to the room and meet up with my family so we can go have dinner.
Tonight we head to the Windjammer café for a taste of India. That must be what the theme in the Main Dinning Room. I don’t remember what I had but I know that I enjoyed it. Outside the windows, all we can see is total darkness. It’s almost as if we’re just floating along in our own empty space. That’s not too bad, but I know there’s a big world out there anyway.
Enough of that, though. Tonight we have more entertainment. We’re off to the Royal Theater on decks 3 and 4 to see the stage musical Cats. This is another one done by the same composer of Starlight Express which I played two nights ago; Andrew Lloyd Webber. He’s done a lot of great musicals over the years, such as Joseph, Evita and Jesus Christ Superstar.
This show we’re going to see tonight is set in a junkyard and is about a tribe of cats called the Jellicles. Every year they come together to make the Jellicle Choice where one of them is chosen to be reborn to a newer life. I’m not sure what that means but I can tell that it’s a great honor.
Most of the show involves the cats introducing themselves to the audience and showing off their unique talents. One of them even lived on trains for years. They even bring out props that they make into a train.
Suddenly, in the middle of the Jellicle Ball, the infamous feline trickster Macavity appears and abducts the Jellicle leader Old Deuteronomy and then vanishes into the night. The cats try desperately to find the great leader but to no avail, even when the chase Macavity away. Things look dire, until the magician cat known as Magical Mister Mistoffelees uses his powers to make Old Deuteronomy reappear.
With the threat of Macavity no more, the ball goes ahead, and the tribe choses Grizabella the Glamour Cat, who until then had been an outcast in the tribe to be the one to be reborn to a new life. And she sings us out with the Memory song.
When the show ends, it’s quite late. But I still want to go to deck 5 with my music, though I think I should do something short tonight. How about my year-round lullaby hymns, which I sing to myself when I’m out at night. It’s a fun little way to mark the passing months. As I watch the water pass me by while the soft music plays, I feel like it was worth the long wait to get to this trip. But don’t look towards the mainland yet, because we’ve got one more stop to make.
Saturday February 25th, 2023
Perfect Day at Coco Cay, Bahamas
At last! The day I’ve been looking forward to since we’ve got on this ship has arrived. Our final port of call for Oasis of the Seas is Royal Caribbean’s private island of Coco Cay in the Bahamas. But just after we got off Adventure four years ago, they completely revamped it into the most amazing get-away destination you could imagine and have called it Perfect Day at Coco Cay. It can be pronounced either Coco Cay or Coco Cey, but Coco Cay sounds a not better because it rhymes.
When I look outside the window, I can see a tall red tower in the distance. That’s where we’re going. Coco Cay is home to Daredevil’s Peak, the tallest waterslide in North America. As well as the largest wave pool in the Caribbean; Oasis Lagoon Pool, the largest freshwater swimming pool in the Caribbean; and Up, up and Away Helium Balloon, the highest vantage point in the Bahamas. I think I’ll give that a miss though.
I can also see two other ships docked near to where we’re going. One of them I recognise as Norwegian Prima, the newest ship in their fleet. The other one is another Royao Caribbean ship so she must be docked at Coco Cay to. I can’t tell who that ship is, but she looks about the right size. Could it be?
From the position of our ship, it looks like we’re going to sail right past the island. But eventually Oasis starts to turn toward it. In fact, she spins almost completely around to come in and dock with her starboard side facing the dock. Once we’re finally docked it’s time for breakfast. Let’s go back to the Windjammer on deck 16 this morning.
From the café windows you can get a pretty good view of the island, and the more I look at it, the more amazing it seems. Anyway, how about bacon and eggs this morning? There’s lots of people here so finding a seat takes a while but we do get one eventually, right by the windows on the starboard side. From here we can clearly see the ship docked next to us. Is it . . .? Nope. It’s Freedom of the Seas. Too bad. I was hoping it was Adventure. Oh well, maybe we’ll see her again next time.
As we’re heading out of the Windjammer, what sounds like a theme song for Perfect Day at Coco Cay plays over the ship’s loud speakers and our cruise director welcomes us to the incredible island. I think it is going to be quite a good day.
We quickly get our swimsuits on in our room and then head out to the island. Wow. It’s quite amazing. Finally seeing it with our own eyes. Dominating the skyline of Coco Cay is Daredevil’s tower; the tallest waterslide in North America. There are lots of slides coming out of it at different levels, but at the top is one long red slide that curves wildly around the tower. I’m not interested in that one. Or am I?
When we get to the entrance of Thrill Waterpark, the security guard scans our sea pass cards and let’s us in. That’s where you have your pass for the waterpark; we were kind of wondering where our tickets for that would be since we found our tickets for the city tour in Puerto Rico in an envelope on day one in our stateroom. Once we’re in, we find a table to leave our things at and agree to meet up at one thirty pm. With that done, let’s go have a perfect day.
At the base of Daredevil’s tower is a weigh scale. I’ve never seen that in a waterpark before. It’s probably there because some slides aren’t designed for people of a certain weight. Anyway, I’m allowed up. The first slide I want to try is the Green Mamba. I brought my water shoes with me to keep my feet from getting hot, but apparently, you’re not allowed to wear them on the slides. Oh well, a minor inconvenience.
After a bit of a wait, I’m finally off down the Green Mamba slide. Compared to the slides on both Oasis and Adventure this one feels much better. When I splash down at the bottom I want to head right back up again. But the line for the green slide is a bit long at times, so let’s do one of the Manta Racers this time.
These are a pair of slides a level down the tower from the Green Mamba. They’re kind of short and tame compared to other slides, but they’re still a lot of fun. Interestingly though, one of the racers is open, while the other one is closed in. It’s an unusual pairing, but being different from time to time is never a bad thing.
On the same level as the Green Mamba is a blue slide that drops straight down. I don’t remember its name. I might try it later. One level up from the Green Mamba and the blue slide are two slides that drop you through a trap door. Definitely not! Being dropped like that is not for me.
It doesn’t take long for me to decide that I like the green slide best. Sometimes the line for it is a bit long, so that’s when I go for either the pink or yellow ones a floor below. Hmm, do I want to do the blue one? Let’s try it. When Katie sees me in line for the blue one, she askes if I’m crazy. Maybe she was right, the drop is right there. Okay maybe this was a mistaaaaaaa-aaaaaaake! Yeah, that was really steep. I thought I could handle that because I’ve done slides like that before. But no, I’m not doing that one again.
Well, back to the Green Mamba and the Manta Racers for the next few minutes. But after a while, I look up at the top of the tower at the big red slide known as Daredevils’ Peak. I was never interested in trying that one, but somehow, ever since we got here, it’s been calling to me. But I also heard that it could be an hour long wait to get to it. Since I don’t have a watch on me, I ask someone the time. It’s 12:04. About an hour and a half until we’re supposed to meet up. What the heck? I’m going for it!
The first few flights of stairs are empty but about halfway up is when I run into the line going to the top. From where I am now, I can see the entrances to the drop slides right below. I’m still not trying them out, but it’s pretty fun to watch others disappear down them. And also, they have a countdown warning you when you’re gonna drop. That would be a bit of a relief, knowing when you’re going down, but it still won’t talk me into it.
Another flight of stairs later I see a sign that says it’s forty-five minutes to the top. This is going to take a while. And the big major downside to that is that a long wait gives you lots of time to think about weather or not you want to do it or not. Let’s not think about that; I’ll just distract myself with other thoughts.
It is indeed a long wait to get to the top of daredevils’ tower, and once or twice, I feel it shaking slightly which unnerves me a bit. It’s supposed to do that, I quickly remind myself. And the feeling vanishes just like that. And anyway, you can’t beet the view from up here. You can see the whole island from this tower, and as far as the eye can see, there’s nothing but ocean all around us. Oasis, Freedom and Prima gleam in the noon sunlight. It was definitely worth the wait for this trip.
At last, I pass a sign that says the wait is now fifteen minutes and I feel a rush of pride and excitement. There’s no turning back now! It’s either what could be a several minute walk all the way back down the stairs, or a twenty-five second rush to the bottom. Besides, I’ve done Ultimate Abyss and the toilet bowl slide on the ship, I can handle this. Now there are only twelve people ahead of me and I can finally see the slide entrance. Thank heavens it isn’t a drop slide like the one’s downstairs. But I’ve come this far; I’d probably do it even if it was a trapdoor.
Finally, it’s my turn. The lifeguard gives me the usual instructions and I’m off! Whooooo! Whoo-whoo-whoo-whoo! This is wicked! I’m hurtling down a long red tube who knows how fast. I race past more light rings and glowing poka dots too fast to tell what colour they are. The whole ride down is a wild left turn. But at the bottom it swerves right and I lose track of where I am. Then, splooooooosssshhh! I hit the water at the bottom and pump my fists triumphantly.
Oh, and what luck! There’s a photographer from Oasis standing right there. I stand next to the slide exit and strike a heroic pose while he snaps a picture. Now I have living proof that I, Joseph Samuel Gratton, have concurred the tallest waterslide in North America!
* * *
But I think that’s enough slides for now. Why don’t we head over to the wave pool. I remember that I always loved wave pools when I was younger. And then there was Sandbanks Park in Prince Edward County where, if the wind was good, the waves were always great. The wave pool here is just like any other though, aside from being the largest in the Caribbean.
As I swim to the far end of the pool, I notice Katie is there to. I swim over to join her and tell her that I just went down the big red slide. Saying it somehow makes it more real to me.
Katie and I don’t stay in the wave pool long because it’s almost time to meet Mom and Dad for lunch. We find our way back to our table, and Mom is already there. That’s when I tell her that I went down Daredevil’s Peak. Mom reacts with total surprise. I have to say, it was fun but I liked the green one better. And I don’t think I’ll do the red one again today because I’m not gonna wait in another hour-long lineup. I have no idea what made me go up there. I guess being on a cruise ship just makes you do crazy things that you otherwise wouldn’t.
Anyway, the four of us sit down to a nice lunch of hot dogs and fries and lemonade. This place is pretty impressive. Mom and Dad say that while Kate and I were enjoying the slides, they went to Chill Island beach and went swimming with fish that were ten inches long. I think I might check that out later today.
After that, we head off to do our own things again. I think I’ll let my food digest a bit before I get back in the water, so I think I’ll look around a bit first. It doesn’t take long for me to find Oasis Lagoon Pool, the largest freshwater pool in the Caribbean. I think I’ll go in there later. There are also lots of restaurants on the island of Coco Cay, all with similar menus I assume, but they all look good.
When I feel like lunch has digested enough, I head over to the other waterslide tower on Coco Cay. Yes, there’s more than one here. This one has two enclosed slides that require rafts to go down them. One of them however is what they call a zoomerang, which goes into a steep drop and then sends you hurtling straight up a wall on the other side. Then you slide back down to the bottom. I seems crazy, but like I said before, they wouldn’t have any kind of ride if they knew it wasn’t safe.
The other slide looks normal, but it has larger sections that bloom out of the rest of it and from what I’ve seen on YouTube, that makes it faster than it looks. I consider trying it for a moment, but the sign says it’s a half hour wait. I don’t think I want to go through another long line after waiting nearly an hour for Daredevil’s Peak.
This tower also has a set of racing slides that you go down on mats and your stomach. Let’s try one of these. They start plainly enough, but then they drop down really fast and I get sprayed in the face. I don’t know if these slides are my type.
Why don’t we go to Oasis Lagoon Pool for a swim? The thing is large and crowded. I don’t remember much about that, but I do know that there was music playing from speakers all around it. And suddenly, a shadow falls on the pool. The giant helium balloon that takes people up in the air has blocked the sun! I am definitely not interested in that! The waterslide tower I can handle, but being that high in the air while not moving? I don’t think so.
The pool is quite crowded and not very deep, so I don’t stay in it for long. So next I head back to Daredevil’s tower for a few more rides down the Green Mamba. The big red one was fun, but I still like the green one best. And yeah, the slides here are way better than the ones on the ship. As I go down them, I call out “Perfect Day at Coco Caaaaaaaaayyyyy!”
Now let’s head to the beach to see if we can find the large fish that Mom and Dad saw earlier today. There are lots of beaches here and I’m not sure I’ve found the one Mom and Dad went to. But it looks nice and the blue flag is up which means there is wildlife present. Let’s go check it out.
I don’t find any large fish in these waters, but there are some sea urchins here as well as the tiniest hermit crabs. Too cute. And there are also lots of little fish swimming around. They look safe enough to swim next to. Although, I’m not really worried. If there were more dangerous fish in these waters, the lifeguard wouldn’t be letting us swim here.
There are also floating rafts out here which I lay down on for a minute or two. They’re made of – well, to be honest I’m not sure what they’re made of but they’re quite comfortable.
From the beach, I can see Oasis and Freedom docked at the peer. Freedom looks bigger than Adventure but smaller than Oasis. Maybe we’ll take her next time.
But anyway, I have a feeling that my perfect day at Coco Cay has been perfect enough. Let’s find Mom and Dad and head back to the ship. On the way I stop for ice cream. Mmm, this stuff is perfect.
When I find Mom and Dad – Katie has already gone back to the ship to get ready for the karaoke contest she entered – we head back to Oasis. Before we get back Mom heads off to take pictures of the beach. But she gets hopelessly turned around and Dad and I spend several minutes wondering where she went. Eventually, she does reappear, and we join the throng of people heading back to the ships. It takes a little while for us to get there, but at last, we step back aboard Oasis of the Seas for the last time.
With nothing better to do, we head back to our room and wait for the ship to leave. With our balcony not facing the dock, we can’t see the workers untying the ship’s lines. So I’m the first one to notice that we’re moving. Oasis’ engines are so quiet that you can barely hear them up on the balcony. As we float away, I turn to the front of the ship and say “Oasis, take us home!” But I don’t say it without a tiny pang of sadness inside me.
Now that we’re away, I head back to the rear of the ship and watch the island of Coco Cay recede into the distance. As I watch, Freedom departs behind us. It won’t be until I get home that I learn that Justin Hirsh, a YouTuber who I’m subscribed to, was on that ship. Basically, what I do with trains, he does with cruise ships. And it’s quite entertaining. I would’ve liked to have run into him. Oh well, maybe I’ll spot myself in one of his videos.
After hanging around the boardwalk for a little while, I return to the room and meet up with Mom and Dad and we go souvenir shopping. There are lots of choices to make on a ship this size. One thing I’m tempted by is a model of the ship. But that’s a little expensive. Deep down though, I know I definitely want a model of Adventure. I mean, she was the very first cruise ship I sailed on.
By the time we find everything we’re looking for, it’s almost time for dinner. For the last night on the ship, we just have to go back to the main dinning room on decks 3, 4 and 5. The theme tonight is Bon Voyage. I take one quick look at the menu and know instantly what I want. French Onion soup, Turkey dinner and vanilla cake. I remember the onion soup on Adventure was delicious. Once again, Abeskak is our waiter. When we get our drinks, I raise mine and say “Here’s to Oasis and her crew. A truly amazing ship, staffed by truly amazing people!” We all drink to that.
The onion soup c’est bon. And the main course, mmm-mmm, tastes like Christmas dinner. And desert; well I don’t remember the taste exactly, but I do know that it was really good.
Tonight is Katie’s karaoke contest. I don’t think I’ll go to it but I’ll still support her anyway. Besides, I have a souvenir I want to buy for myself. As I said, someone got a picture of me standing at the bottom of Daredevil’s Peak this afternoon and I’d like to keep that. So I head to the photo shop in the Royal Prominade to see if I can afford it. I think it’s either that or the ship model I saw earlier.
I enter my Sea Pass card number at one of the kiosks and look through the photos of the four of us. There aren’t that many, but the last one is the one I’m looking for. It is quite a good picture and it’s only about twenty-two dollars. I think that’s worth it. But it won’t be ready until 11:00 tonight. I’ll ask Mom and Dad to pick it up.
Well, anyway, let’s go back to deck 5 for one last music session. I was planning to do another Classic Disney CD tonight, but I don’t know of the one I had in mind is a good one to end the trip on. So instead, I decide to do Silly Songs with Larry from the Christian kid’s show Veggietales. The crazy cucumber brings out all his best funnies tonight, including the one silly song that’s actually better than his Christmas one.
In it, Larry plays a slightly loopy veterinarian who believes he can heal sick animals just by yodeling to them. Long story short: He can’t really. Behind his back, his nurse always whispers in the owners’ ear what will really help their furry friends. That is until one day, when the nurse askes for a pay raise and instead gets “No way, Jose!” Not long after, someone brings in a full-grown bear! Doc Larry does his yodeling thing, but all the nurse says this time is “Oh yeah, that’ll woik. He’s good.” It doesn’t work of course, and the huge animal tears the whole office to shreds! This just goes to show you, if you go a little loopy better keep your nurse well paid!
“Yodelaeeee! Yodelaoooo! Yad-a-yad-a-layde-laydeo-OO-OO-OO!”
“WHOA!! Some would stand in silence while some just scratched their scalps, for the curious ways of the Yodeling Veterinarian of the ALLLLLLLLPS!!”
Sunday, February 26th, 2023
We Fly Home
Once again, my alarm goes off early in the morning. This time though, it’s not for a reason I like. I hate being kicked off the ship like this, but they have to get Oasis ready for her next cruise and I don’t want to hold anyone up.
When I get up, I spot stains of earwax all over my pillow. I haven’t been using q-tips recently because they have a habit of clogging my ears. Maybe I should start that again. But not every day.
It is with a bit of a heavy heart that we head back to the windjammer on deck 16 for one last breakfast on the ship. How about French toast today? As we sit by the window staring out at the rising sun, Katie gets a little emotional. And who can blame her? This has been yet another amazing trip.
Packing up is always the heard part, since we’re coming home with more stuff than we had when we got on the ship. Speaking of which, the photo place delivered my picture last night, and it looks great. When I get the chance, I am definitely putting that on the wall. Living proof that I went down the tallest waterslide in North America.
When we leave our stateroom for the last time, we join the crowds heading off the ship. Just like I did last time, as I step off the ship, I pat the wooden railing and, not without some sadness, say “Good-bye Oasis, thanks for everything.”
When we get back to the parking lot in front of the terminal, we get a shuttle back to the airport. On the way, we see the pretty much the same view on the way to the port, but that felt so long ago it’s hard to remember what the view looked like. At least, I think it felt so long ago. Was it really only a week?
Well, we get to the airport and find our way to our gate. This first flight is only taking us to Montreal where we’ll get another plane back home. That’s such a short flight, that I think next time, we’ll just take the train for Montreal.
While we’re waiting for our flight to board, we have a quick lunch and I play the Disney disk I had in mind for the ship. The last track on this one isn’t exactly the highest note to end on, so that’s why I didn’t play it on the ship last night. I also get to have my fist diet Pepsi in a week with lunch. Mmm. Coke’s okay, but Pepsi is my go-to drink.
We get on the plane at last and take off for home. For the movie I watch to distract myself during takeoff, how about one I’ve never seen before: Journey 2: The Mysterious Island. Dwayne the Rock Johnson plays a man who embarks with his step-son on a quest to find the Mysterious Island where the boy’s grandpa, played by Michal Caine, disappeared years ago. When they get there, with the help of a cheeky tour guide and his teenage daughter, they find the lost man as well as a whole assortment of unusual creatures; including tiny elephants and giant bumblebees. Which you can ride if you don’t look them in the eye. Eventually, after many harrowing adventures, they make it home and tell their story.
When the movie ends, there is still lots of flight time left, so let’s see if we can find any good games to play. Hey look who’s here! It’s the angry birds. Let’s go on a world tour with them as they chase the greedy green pigs who have stolen all their eggs again. Who wouldn’t be angry if someone had basically kidnapped all their children.
Me and the birds chase the pigs all over the world, from Miami to Brazil to the deepest jungles of Africa to the Middle East. But that’s where they get away from me. I can’t beat them at the Middle East airport because the plane has started its descent. Oh! Okay word of advice, don’t leave your headphones in your ears while the plane is going down. I hit an air pocket and my ears pop badly. I’ll have to move my jaw a lot for the next little while.
But don’t let that deter anyone from flying. Especially if you’re going on a cruise. Our time on Oasis may not have been quite as enjoyable as our time on Adventure, but was still one of the most amazing trips I’ve ever taken. And as I sit here writing this, I can just picture Oasis of the Seas sailing into the sunset.
