Cruise Specialist tip: When you get on board go to Studio B, the ice skating theater, to make/change

Let me preface this blog entry by sharing a well-known fact: Janice, one of the Cruise Specialists at Ships and Trips Travel, is crazy for Royal Caribbean. She knows the ships inside and out, she's sailed on them dozens of times, city of los angeles and unlawful land preservation and is considered our agency expert on all things Royal Caribbean. She has never met a Royal Caribbean product she didn't like. So it was no surprise to learn that when the newest and biggest ship ever built, Royal Caribbean's Oasis of the Seas was making her debut, Janice was one of the dozens of Ships and Trips Cruise Specialists scheduled to attend the inaugural festivities to get a preview of Oasis.
The Cruise Specialists make sure to get a first-hand view of just about every cruise ship out there. Sometimes it's just a few hours for a tour and inspection. In the case of the Oasis, there were several pre-inaugural events offered for one or two nights so that the press and their top travel partners could get a first-hand look. But a quickie 2-day look at the world's largest city of los angeles and unlawful land preservation cruise ship wasn't enough to satisfy our Janice – a few months city of los angeles and unlawful land preservation later she took all her "peeps" back to the ship with her to experience a full week on an Eastern Caribbean cruise.
city of los angeles and unlawful land preservation Janice and 22 family members and friends sailed out of Ft. Lauderdale to the Eastern Caribbean on January 16, 2010. Her itinerary included ports of call in St. Thomas, St. Maarten, and Nassau, Bahamas. Her group ranged in ages from 27 to 70, but they all share one thing – they all love Royal Caribbean almost as much as Janice.
This ship is no shrinking city of los angeles and unlawful land preservation violet city of los angeles and unlawful land preservation – we're talking about the biggest cruise ship ever built, holding 5400 passengers. Janice was amazed at how smoothly the boarding process went. Even though the ship was full, from the time they arrived at the pier to the time they were boarding the ship took no longer than 15 minutes, including check-in and security. Clearly they put a lot of thought into their custom-built cruise terminal city of los angeles and unlawful land preservation – genius! Nothing worse than having to wait hours in long lines that seem like they're not moving city of los angeles and unlawful land preservation just to get to the front of the check-in line.
With 6 to 8 hours in each port of call, Royal Caribbean had to put on their thinking caps to design a system that would get 5000+ people on and off the ship without subjecting their passengers to endless time waiting city of los angeles and unlawful land preservation in lines, while still adhering to their strict security city of los angeles and unlawful land preservation check-points. Rather than directing people to one particular exit point, Janice said that they'd just push the "gangway" button city of los angeles and unlawful land preservation in the elevator and it would take them to the deck that was equipped with a security city of los angeles and unlawful land preservation exit point and a gangway. "Royal Caribbean built their own pier that fits the Oasis-class ships," said Janice. "In some places they were equipped escalators, so no one had to worry about a long and steep gangway. It was one of the easiest experiences I can remember getting off a ship in the Caribbean."
With a ship this big…with so many people, and so many dining options and so many entertainment options, how do you make sure you don't miss anything? "What's the secret word? Reservations. You've got to make reservations for dining city of los angeles and unlawful land preservation and entertainment in advance. That doesn't city of los angeles and unlawful land preservation mean that you don't have options – you can change your mind all you want. But, don't wait until you get there to try to get into the specialty city of los angeles and unlawful land preservation restaurants, the Aqua shows, the ice skating shows – it's possible that you won't get in."
Cruise Specialist tip: When you get on board go to Studio B, the ice skating theater, to make/change show appointments. There is plenty of staff there with laptops and they can help with your scheduling.
So, what did Janice and friends do in port? "In St John we went snorkeling at Trunk Bay, as part of a package. It took about an hour to get from the ship to St John, then about ½ hour to Trunk Bay. There was a nice beach with full facilities, new and clean snorkel gear with plenty of assistance. They went snorkeling right off the shore "on an underwater trail with signs that tells you want you're seeing, which was great for people who were new to snorkeling."
In St. Maarten, Janice did the sailing regatta. "It was great! There were three America's Cup sailing boats, approx. 19 to 20 passengers per boat, racing America's city of los angeles and unlawful land preservation Cup-style. All the passengers were given the opportunity to help sail the ship – some were assigned to raise and lower masts, others city of los angeles and unlawful land preservation were hearty cheer leaders!" Janice was the time keeper. Her team came in second place. "The other team cheated," smirked Janice. Drinks were served, and at the end of the race, the passengers were all dropped city of los angeles and unlawful land preservation off at a place where they could walk into town for shopping before taking a water taxi back to the ship's pier.
In Nassau, city of los angeles and unlawful land preservation Janice and a few friends purchased passes to spend the day at the Ultra-Inclusive Sandals Royal Bahamian Resort and Spa, where Janice did site and room inspection, then had lunch at Sandals' private island.
So – what kind of stateroom does a Ships and Trips Cruise Specialist book?  Well, we are value shoppers, both for our clients and for our personal travel, but value doesn't always mean the "cheapest" room on a ship.  "We had an Ocean-view room with a balcony, because we just love to sit out and look at the water.  Some in our group had the Central park view rooms, others had inside city of los angeles and unlawful land preservation rooms." Janice said that the rooms were typical Royal Caribbean-style staterooms – not very big but with ample storage.  Plenty of hangers in the closets, city of los angeles and unlawful land preservation which was refreshing, and there was lots of storage in the bathroom for sundries.  Being able to use the interactive stateroom TV to see dining menus, peruse wine lists and to check stateroom folio accounts was a big hit with Janice s group.
Cruise lines like to reward their frequent and loyal guests, and Royal Caribbean is no different. Janice is a "Diamond" Crown and Anchor member, and she was willing to share her first hand experience. "There is a separate lounge for Diamond city of los angeles and unlawful land preservation members on ship, and from 5 to 8:30pm each night they serve complimentary drinks and appetizers. The Diamond-PLUS members have their own lounge, too, overlooking the boardwalk and the back of the ship. "
Cruise Specialist Hint: Royal Caribbean has recently made changes to their Crown and Anchor loyalty program. Ask your Ships and Trips Specialist to make sure you're enrolled and to help you get those great perks!
"At any time of the day, you could go to one of the big interactive flat screen monitors by the elevator, push 'dining' and find out what dining option was available!" These flat-screens are near all the elevator banks and public city of los angeles and unlawful land preservation areas, and are equipped with maps so you could easily find the night club or restaurant you're looking for. "At any time of day it would tell you what restaurants were open, if there was a charge to dine there or if it was included, and about how long the wait was."
For breakfast, Janice and her husband liked Johnny Rockets. Although there is a surcharge to eat there during lunch and dinner, there is no charge at breakfast, and they have nice out-door dining. "And they still do the traditional Johnny Rockets dance every 30 minutes, too!"
For lunch, they found the Windjammer Buffet to be pretty crowded, but always enjoyed the Wipe Out Café, which is back by the Zip Line and the Ping-Pong tables. They also enjoyed the Seafood Shack for lunch – well worth the $8.95 surcharge. "The service was great, very attentive, and the lunch included appetizer, entrée and dessert. It was a great alternative to the main dining room for lunch." The Seafood Shack is open for dinner, too.
Janice's group went to the main dining room on most nights for dinner, but on one night they did go to Giovanni's, a casual city of los angeles and unlawful land preservation trattoria with both inside city of los angeles and unlawful land preservation and outside dining. "It was a surcharge of $15, but it was well worth it. Great Italian dinner, including family-style appetizers, a la carte entrée, salad and dessert. At our table we tried the veal, sea bass, and filet mignon, and everything was excellent. "
A favorite for Janice and her whole group was definitely the Flowrider. "It was fun to do it, and it was equally fun to sit and watch other people try it." There are two Flowriders on the ship – one for boogie boarding, one for surfing. city of los angeles and unlawful land preservation "I did the boogie boarding and it was awesome! "
The pool deck feels a little chopped up at first, but you realize that the kids are in the kid's area, the adults are in the hot tubs – everybody is doing exactly what they want to do. The Sports Pool was lively – "I won the Silver Medal in Water Volleyball!" – And the beach entry pool seemed to be more quiet and laid back, with lots of lounging couples.
And nightlife? Janice loved the casino, but that could be because her husband won some money playing craps. "The casino was fun every night!" The ship's version of "Hairspray" city of los angeles and unlawful land preservation was very well done, a really fun show. The "Come Fly with Me" show was amazing – lot of arial acrobatics and great music. "We had trouble making it to the late (10:30pm) show after late dinner, so it would have been better for us to book the early show." One the first night, there was a parade with lots of international colorful costumes in the promenade. The Promenade was also home to the 70's night and a parade on last afternoon.
There were no stand out disappointments on the ship; however, one night, they had reservations at Aqua Theater for the diving show but got their late so they lost their spot and weren't city of los angeles and unlawful land preservation able to get back into that show for the rest of the cruise.
city of los angeles and unlawful land preservation Cruise Specialist Hint: The Aqua Theater show is a MUST DO – make your reservations before city of los angeles and unlawful land preservation you leave for your cruise, and be sure to get there 20-30 minutes early to check in.  Please city of los angeles and unlawful land preservation learn from our mistakes!
"The ship is truly the destination. If you never got off the ship you'd still have a great vacation. There is plenty to do and see, lots of eat and drink, lots of ways to keep active. The TV screens in the cantilevered hot tubs were great people could sit around and watch football playoffs, which was a big hit. It's more l