The Oasis of the Seas Inaugural Sailing: 24-26th November 2009

I felt extremely fortunate to be invited on board the Oasis of the Seas for her inaugural sailing on 24th November. I was joined by Bill Gibbons, Director of the PSA, Penny Guy, PR Director, and Maggie Gibbons, PSA Membership Executive. We all flew to Miami with BA along with a whole host of industry partners, press and travel agents. Before leaving I realised that the ship, at double occupancy plus crew, will take about 4 times the population of the village I grew up in. It takes between 7,500-8,000 total!

It was all very organised when we landed, we sleepily boarded coaches for the hour long trip to Fort Lauderdale port. The Oasis of the Seas came into view and almost cast a shadow over Miami, there were audible gasps from the coach!

We walked swiftly through the enormous and modern purpose-built terminal and excitedly leaped up the escalator to board the ship. We dumped our things in our cabins then ran around like hyper children who've eaten too many smarties and tried to see everything!

My cabin was inside with a window overlooking the central park, which was a rather bizarre experience to wake up on a cruise ship to see trees and plants outside! The cabin was adequately sized with a nice window seat/sofa and an enormous bed which was very comfy. The width of the ship is really what shocked me, it is too enormous to really describe but I'll have a go.

We started from the top deck (number 17!) where the Windjammer restaurant is located for buffet breakfast and lunch plus an Asian restaurant and the Viking Crown lounge bar. We walked down to deck 16 to find the top level of the pool area, with an enormous amount of sun loungers, pools on each side and Jacuzzis. It took a good few minutes to walk to the other end, where we discovered a cocktail bar and three more Jacuzzis in a lovely, almost secluded area which looked gorgeous in the sunset light.

We also discovered the flowriders, where brave young men and woman were surfing happily away, occasionally showcasing a spectacular dismount! We also noted a very large basketball court, six table tennis tables, a very high zip line, and the 'wipeout cafe' (very aptly named as it caters for flowriders.)

The excitedness had not worn off but we now looked a little more slack-jawed as we wondered around open-mouthed at the wealth of activity available from the kids area near the pool to the teenagers area with playstations, a lounge and their own disco area.

We carried on and took a peek at the Royal Promenade on deck 5 which is essentially a busy shopping street including the entrance to the Opus dining room (over 3 floors, silver service for lunch and dinner), boutique and souvenir shops, an English pub, a nightclub, guest services and a champagne bar to name but a few.

We decided we needed a pit-stop and headed for the rather serene central park and found the bar that rises, called the 'rising tide bar' that travels vertically between the Royal Promenade and Central Park neighbourhoods. We discovered another lovely little bar and sipped kir royals whilst being serenaded by an impromptu bagpiper.

Dinner was a lovely experience, our waiter and waitress, both from the Philippines, were a delight and the food was amazing. I was impressed by the choice; healthy-options and lardy chef recommendations for all types of diet!

The next two days were taken up with going along to business sessions where we were given the opportunity to ask RCCL senior staff questions; everything from smoking on board to gratuities were discussed, then lots of eating, drinking, and finally some sunbathing when the captain announced he was 'going in search of sunshine' having been disappointed by the rain.

I have barely touched on all the areas of the ship and activities available; we visited the loft suits and other cabins (the Royal Loft Suite was particularly impressive with a piano, mini library and hot tub on the terrace), the enormous spa with every treatment imaginable available, the aqua theatre with synchronised swimming shows, huge rock-climbing walls, an indoor theatre seating 1,380 with top-notch entertainment such as the musical 'Hairspray', the impressive casino, 'Comedy Live', a karaoke bar, jazz bar, 1940's style cupcake shop, burger bar, seafood cafe, fantastic speciality restaurants and a hand-whittled wooden carousel. Of course.

You've got to see it to believe it! A huge THANK YOU to RCCL for the invitation, it was truly breathtaking.

For more photos please visit our facebook group, called the Association of Cruise Experts (ACE).

Flo Powell, Director, ACE