2012 Florida and the Oasis of the Seas

Besides that amazing pool in the Aquatheater which only the performers can swim in, there are quite a few pools and hot tubs for the passengers. On the Activities Deck there are 4 pools for adults. One is called a sports pool

A volleyball game in the sports pool

Others feature very sloped sides so you can drag a lounger into the water and sit semi-submerged. Most are fresh water but one is salt water.

The pool above is almost deserted because this picture was taken while we were in port and many passengers were ashore. That is often the nicest time on a ship. On sunny sea days the pools are quite crowded. Regardless, there always seems to be plenty of places to sit.

They have a lovely area at the front of the ship on a high deck overlooking the ocean called the solarium which is mostly glassed in and has an adults-only area, eternity pools and a number of hot tubs. We didn't get any pictures of this area unfortunately.

There are many, many hot tubs

There is a wonderful water play area for children called

The Kids' Zone

My favourite pool was a circular one in which the water flowed around and around swirling the kids with it. Here it is almost empty

and full

Much more fun for the older children and adults were the 2 WaveRiders where you could use a wave board

or surf

Surfing on the WaveRider

If you feel water-logged you can play a game of pick up basketball

Or play minigolf

Mini Golf Course on the Oasis

When you are tired of participating and want to spectate, there are a number of very high calibre shows on board. They have a full Broadway-style production of Hairspray which we were not permitted to photograph and a really amazing Cirque-style show featuring the most amazing trapeze work I have ever seen. In fact many of the acrobats and gymnasts performing on board cycle back and forth with the various Cirque shows. I have already spoken about the 2 water shows in the AquaTheater. Unique to cruise ships is the Ice Show which features several of the Hans Christian Andersen stories skated by world-class ice skaters. Although the rink is fairly small (40 x 60 feet)

it is plenty big enough for the performers to land triples and generate a lot of speed and excitement. The costumes are amazing

After all the amazing activities and entertainment we would return to our cabin often to find a new pet on our bed along with chocolates on our pillows

All in all spending two weeks cruising on the worlds largest cruise ship can best be described as a unique and fascinating experience which we thoroughly enjoyed. Probably the most frequent question we have been asked since getting off the ship is "would you do it again." That can best be answered by saying that like many experiences in life you would not have missed doing it but now that you have checked off that box you would not likely repeat the experience.

Probably the most astounding thing about the Oasis is the variety of activities availble for young and old. Since it is a ship, I'm going to start with the water-related activities. There are pools and hot tubs everywhere. Below is the AquaTheater with the deepest pool on any cruise ship at 17 feet. They need this depth because this is the pool where they perform their diving shows. In this picture there is a platform covering the surface of the water. Completely surrounding the pool is a large number of jets which spout water in a variety of patterns which are very effectively used both in the water shows as well as in a fountain show. The entire surface of the pool is covered by a three piece platform which acts as a stage but it can rapidly be dropped to the very bottom of the pool seventeen feet below the surface. So one minute you have a solid surface over the pool with people walking all over it then a few seconds later the platforms are dropped to the bottom of the pool and high divers are diving from high boards into the pool. If you look to the rear of the stage there is a beige colored area - this rotates up to provide a trampoline which the performers use for amazing acrobatics landing at the railing above (where the 2 people are standing) and also landing in the pool.

AquaTheater at the stern of the Oasis with the water platform up.

AquaTheater from above

Below is a shot of a practice - you can see some swimmers in the pool and someone on the trampoline. One of the 2 low level diving boards is down. They dive from three heights - besides the low ones there are platforms half way up those 2 large sweeping structures and 2 platforms at the very top of those structures. You can get a better idea by looking at the pictures above. Someone told us that it looks like you are diving into a shot glass when you are at the top.

AquaTheater from above

High divers on the top platform

They have 2 different watershows. One is offered in the day time only and is aimed more at the children with a lot of slapstick humour and clown like costumes. The other is more story based and adult. Both shows feature olympic calibre divers who dive alone

in tandem from each side

and side by side.

Another thing that happens in the AquaTheater is the famous

which features

Initially I was not planning on attending but it turned out to be great good natured fun.

That's about it for this post - more water features to come.

Living on board the world’s largest cruise ship has some similarities to other large ships and similarities to large all-inclusive resorts but it truly is quite unique. The sheer size of the ship means that there is a tremendous variety of activities and venues all operating simultaneously and all creating their own din of noise and buzz of activity. Just to add to the frenetic atmosphere many venues play loud rock music to pump up the level of hype and encourage the party atmosphere. Below is a picture of a Parade on the Promenade featuring all the nationalities of the crew.

We find ourselves frequently seeking out one of the many quieter areas for a break from the party atmosphere. One of our favourite get away spots is “Central Park” which is fashioned after Central Park in New York and has over 12,000 plants and 56 trees. It is open to the sky 9 decks up. It features lovely walkways weaving among the plants, secluded seating areas, several specialty dining areas, a café, an art gallery and a Coach store all discretely located just off the pathways.

Hazel in Central Park

Cemtral Park from above

The main congregating area of the ship is a large pedestrian mall (The Royal Promenade) running down the center of the ship with stores and eating establishments lining the mall much like one on land. This is where they had the parade pictured above. Here are some other views of the Promenade at quieter times.

Just behind and one deck up from the Royal Promenade is another mall area called the Boardwalk.

Dave at the entrance to the Boardwalk area.

This mall area is also lined with shops and eating venues. The Boardwalk is open to the sky and runs to the back of the ship where the large Aquatheater, Climbing Walls and Zip Line are located. When you look up you see the many cabin balconies which look down on the Boardwalk.

The Boardwalk from above looking towards the stern of the ship. Note the Aquatheater at the end.

This is one of the climbing walls. People are well harnessed in and climb up and ring a bell before rapelling down

The Boardwalk is child and activity-oriented. As you enter you see 4 carvings-in-process of a carousel horse and then the handcrafted carousel.

There are also several restaurants including a Joe Rockets Diner, a seafood shack, a candy store, and an ice cream parlor.

Dave in front of the Ice Cream Parlor

and in front of Joe Rockets.

In the next blog we will show you some of the activities and entertainment on board. Stay tuned....

When visiting Jack and Jacquie Howell (Kimberley Spiteri's parents) last year in Florida we talked about the huge mega ships, the Oasis and her sister ship the Allure. We had all experienced and liked the mid-sized ships but none of us was sure if we would like these huge ones. We decided that we wouldn't know unless we tried - so we booked 'em Danno.

The Beauty or the Beast?

At a cost 1.4 Billion USD the MS Oasis of the Seas was ordered 2006 and built in Finland. She was christened 30 November 2009 during a charity sailing for Make a Wish Foundation. In the fleet of Royal Caribbean International she was the first of her class and was joined by her sister ship Allure of the Seas in December 2010. Both vessels cruise the Caribbean from Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. She set a new record of carrying over 6,000 passengers.

She is 360 meters (1,181feet) long, 47 meters (154 ft) wide at the waterline. Her 18 decks rise 72 meters (236 ft) above the waterline.

There is an interesting story about her departure from Finland for the United States. When she exited the Baltic Sea, the vessel passed underneath the Great Belt Fixed Link in Denmark. The bridge has a clearance of 65 m (213 ft) above the water; Oasis normally has an air draft of 72 m (236 ft). The passage under the bridge was possible due to retraction of the telescoping funnels and an additional 30 cm (12 in) was gained by the squat effect whereby vessels traveling at speed in a shallow channel will be drawn deeper into the water. Approaching the bridge at 20 knots (37 km/h, 23 mph), the ship passed under it with less than 2 feet (60 cm) of clearance! We wonder how many times those calculations were checked and cross-checked.

The ship features a zip-line, a casino, a mini-golf course, multiple night clubs, several bars and lounges, a karaoke club, a comedy club, five swimming pools, two surf simulators, volleyball and basketball courts, a running track, a fitness center, a skating rink, two rock-climbing walls, theme parks, nurseries for children and a temporary tattoo parlor. (I have no idea where that idea came from - there are no Harleys on board!)

We heard that it takes a week just to find your way around this ship - so we booked two! We will hook up with Jack and Jacquie for dinner the Friday night before Saturday's departure and then on Saturday, January 21 we will all begin the next adventure. Stay tuned for pictures and updates.

We are spending a most relaxing and enjoyable time in Ft. Lauderdale ( which apparently used to be called Ft. Liquordale when the college students went on their annual rampage in the 70s and 80s).

We usually rise late - much later than the 5:30 am when we were madly rushing to work - and have a nice relaxed breakfast and sit checking in with the world on the internet while we have a coffee. After we read and respond to all your messages (!!!???) we have been doing little jobs related to the house here. We have blazed a trail to several Home Depots which we so far have visited on a daily basis. We have had keys cut, picked up mulch for the gardens (16 bags so far), searched out cabinet hardware, found a doorbell button and generally did the kinds of things we enjoy doing at home. Dave accumulated so much landscaping debris that we had to borrow 2 additional green bins from the wonderful neighbours for the garbage people to take away this morning. Ft. Lauderdale is officially a tropical rain forest biome so the growth of the gardens is amazing. It is almost impossible to keep ahead of,.

After being told by Jeannie and Eric to stop with the house-related work we have also been stopping at several of the lovely beaches down here and going for a walk for an hour or so in the late afternoon. We then return home to have a cocktail, make dinner and have a boo at the tube before heading for bed and starting again the next morning. Retirement continues to be one great adventure after another. On this adventure we are trying to make chillin' and swillin' an olympic sport!