Royal Caribbean Blog contributor Michael Poole is on Oasis of the Seas this week.

I haven’t been to Labadee since 2012 and I was really excited to go back and explore. 

We docked at 8:00am and had the whole island to ourselves, well all 8,490 of us. 

We had originally tried to get a cabana, but we were unable to reserve one.  Now our plans were wide open and we took a shuttle over to Columbus Cove.  This didn’t take very long and I actually enjoyed the ride over taking everything in. 

Once you get to Columbus Cove you walk past some shopping, but we didn’t bring any cash with us so didn’t bother stopping. 

By now it was 11AM and they were starting to serve lunch, so we went straight to buffet.  This is the standard island lunch; serving ribs, jerk chicken, and burgers.  I thought the lunch was fine and nothing to get excited about, but I will say go early!  I saw the line an hour later and it was long, plus all the tables were full. 

Afternoon in Labadee

Well there was very little sun out but that was fine because we were sipping on a labadoozie. 

This is the signature island drink and it’s included in the ship drink package.  However, if you don’t have the drink package the cost is $14 for the drink, but you do get to keep the cup. 

By this point in the afternoon 3:00 – it’s starts pouring and I mean down pouring.  I laughed to my brother and said, “Just one more reason I like Coco Cay better.” 

We had a great time but we haven’t seen sun so far this the cruise.  We rushed back to the ship, well everyone did the same so the lines were long to re-board. 

Once we got back on board we headed to the pool deck to relax in the hot tub.  Well there was only one thing left to do… Nap! 

Dinner at Sabor

Tonight we headed back to Sabor for dinner at 8pm and it was packed! 

I didn’t take my camera again since I posted pictures of our lunch from yesterday and ate the same food.  I will note the service was a little slow tonight, but we didn’t mind since we had Patron Grand Margaritas flowing. 

My girlfriend does not have the drink package and the waiter just put her drinks on my card with my package.  I didn’t ask him to do this and was fully prepared to pay for hers, so extra tip for him. 

Evening Actives

After dinner we headed over to dazzles and the entire Cat’s cast was singing 80’s tunes.  This was the moment it hit me, you don’t get this kind of entertainment on the smaller ships.   If you haven’t listen to me on the podcast, I am a big fan of the smaller ships, but I’m really enjoying myselfd on Lady O. 

Headed off to explore in Falmouth, Jamaica and the sun is FINALLY out!   I’ll share my day with you tomorrow.  

On Quantum of the Seas, custom sounds, unique instruments and elaborate costumes are showcased in Sonic Odyssey. Watch as the Royal Theater transforms into the perfect stage for a musical experience unlike any other.

Royal Caribbean has filed a lawsuit against the owners of two web sites that have domain names that are typos of royalcaribbean.com.

The two sites, RoyalCaribean.com and RoyalCarribean.com, are lead generation sites that are meant to look like Royal Caribbean's official site.

The lawsuit claims these mis-spelled domain names aim, "to misdirect potential customers away from Royal Caribbean's website.  The Defendant Domain Names thereby wrongfully profit from the goodwill and reputation of Royal Caribbean and its distinctive Royal Caribbean mark."

It appears both domains are owned by the same person and the lawsuit claims the owner lives in India.

Royal Caribbean is seeking the two domains be transferred to Royal Caribbean's ownership and any other damages the court deems appropriate.

Aquatic Design & Engineering will be the creative designer for the water slides on Royal Caribbean's Harmony of the Seas.

In an interview with the Orlando Sentinel, Aquatic Design & Engineering President Josh Martin commented on the firm's task in creating the slides, "These are the first real water slides on a Royal Caribbean ship. The goal was to make this a part of the ship's design, to really blend it with the style of the ship."

Martin also revealed Aquatic Design & Engineering had done concept work for Royal Caribbean before but Royal Caribbean had never opted to go with the ship slides.

ADE has designed water features for theme parks and resorts including Disney, and fountains around the world including for the sprawling presidential palace in Abu Dhabi.

I had placed the room service breakfast card out for 7:30AM delivery and it arrived ontime.  I requesting orange juice to surprise my girlfriend with mimosas on our balcony, but we got apple juice – well it’s the thought that counts right?

By now it was getting close the 8AM and I wanted to head up to the pool deck because I know how the pool gets on the first sea day, well any sea day really.  And sure enough we were already beat by all the chair hogs.  We found a seat, just not front row center, cruise life problems.  

Checking Out Pool Towels

Royal Caribbean recently changed the process for getting pool towels, where you no longer have to scan your sea pass card to check out a towel.  Well I guess they forgot about Lady O, because guess what - I had to provide my seapass card and check out a pool towel.  I’m not sure if they are bringing to program back or they just forgot to change it on Oasis.  This is really annoying because you have to stand in a line to return the towels, or to simply get fresh towels. 

I’m currently writing this from the Beach Pool with my feet in the water, and the sun’s starting to come up.  Today should be a great day, I look forward to sharing my day with you on the next post!  

Well I’m sad to report we never saw the sun today, just clouds and high wind.  This did make me a little sad, but a cloudy day at sea is better than a sunny day at work.  Around 11:30AM we decided to head to the boardwalk and eat lunch at Sabor. 

This was my very first time dining at this restaurant, and based on all the reviews my expectation were pretty high.  Well they lived up to what I was expecting and surpassed a bit. 

We started out with some Margaritas, which are included in the unlimited alcohol package.  Followed by some guacamole, which is made table side, I do recall its $4, and worth every penny.  For lunch they had beef/chicken tacos and I had a chicken Quesadilla.

Cats

Since the weather was not up to par today we headed to our reservations at Cats at 2pm.  This is the first full length Broadway show at sea and they have intermission halfway through.  My thoughts on Cats are the performance was outstanding, actually the best I’ve ever seen.  The story line is very slow, and I saw people walking out quite often. 

I must report about an hour in I actually left myself, I think during the 80’s this was an amazing show but times have just changed.  I would recommend seeing Cats it just wasn’t for me. 

Afternoon Time On Board   

Well now what should we do, it’s the afternoon and we are hanging out on board?  Well I wanted to take my girlfriend on the rising tide bar since I’ve talked about it so much.  This is a moving bar that takes you between deck 5 and deck 8; once we got to Central Park we grabbed a snack at Park Café.  They have a great salad bar with so many toppings, you could latterly eat here every day its so great. 

Formal Night

Tonight was formal night and the Captain’s reception on the Royal Promenade.   If you recall from last week’s podcast this is one of my favorite traditions and just makes me so happy.  Everyone is all dressed up and free champagne is offered for everyone.  The captain came out and introduced his team and does a quick intro about the ship. 

One interesting fact is our sailing; March 28th holds a record for the most people ever on a cruise ship.  Our total with crew and passengers is 8,490 people on board.  The captain said this has never been done before between the Allure and Oasis, so very cool! 

Dinner

Tonight we headed to the main dining room and we were on deck 3, which is the American Icon Grill.  I’m going to be honest I tried to talk my group into something else, but off to the dining room we went. 

Dinner was at 8:30pm and surprisingly not that bad.  I had the lobster bisque soup, well okay I’ll be honest I had two lobster bisque soups to start.  Followed by the filet of beef and it was amazing! 

I couldn’t believe the quality of the beef for the main dining room.  The service was a little slow, but the waiter said many times, if you want me to speed up tell me.    

Overall was a great day after all.  The weather is something you can’t control so I don’t let that control my vacation.  You just have to find something else to do and on the Oasis that is not hard.  

Royal Caribbean Blog contributor Michael Poole is on Oasis of the Seas this week.

I have been counting down to this day and it’s finally here!

My plan was to sleep in since I had such a full day on board, but who can sleep in when they are going on a cruise?

Woke up around 6am and looked at the webcam of the Oasis already dock and watched her sisters, Liberty and Independence pull up. To say the excitement level was up is an understatement. We found a nice local diner for breakfast and cruised around town to kill an hour.

As we were pulling up to the terminal I saw a Walgreens right at the light, so we stopped in there for some last minute items.

10:00AM – Headed to the pier.

Usually I arrive around 11:30AM and walk right on, but we wanted to rent a cabana in Labadee so early we went. Once we arrive to the pier there was very little traffic, so maybe this 10AM stuff is not so bad.

They were not boarding yet so we all sat in the Diamond section. This is one Crown and Anchor perk they allow you to bring non-diamond members with you. At 11:40AM they started boarding suite guest, and down the C&A tiers.

Finally Onboard

We are finally onboard, now what? Well we headed to the excursion desk and didn’t have much luck there booking a cabana, “suite only” Oh well.

I decided to head up to central park for lunch at Park Café. I was going to have lunch at Sabor, but I was not that hungry so we all had a small salad. After which we headed over to check out the menu for 150 Central Park – Guess what they are doing ½ off the first night, that’s right dinner for $15pp! We are dining tonight at 8pm, so review on dinner tomorrow night.

Overall thoughts so far on Oasis. The ship looks great, I can tell the flooring on the boardwalk looks very fresh, and the dining room is ready for dynamic dining. My cabin is on deck six right by the boardwalk, so it’s nice to run out there for a cocktail. Also, my cabin is 6274 D8 Balcony on the port side, very nice cabin and I’m so sorry for not taking pictures, but I will.

This evening we are having dinner at 150 Central Park and then headed to the Aqua show, which is my favorite show all week.

Drink Prices 

There are four of us in my group and three purchased the unlimited drink package at $49 per day, totally $404 each. I feel like Royal might be pushing more people to this package, because the cost of cocktail A la Carte have gone up. My girlfriend Courtney ordered a Stella Beer it was $6 + 18% = $7.44, also a Mojito was $12.

So if you are on the fence about the drink package, this might push you over the “value” mark.

PS. I thought you should know I currently at the pub writing this… Let me know what you what to know about Lady O!

For the sailaway we met new friends for the at the wipeout bar.  This is a great place to enjoy the sailaway on the Oasis.  The views of south Florida as you sail into the gulf are quite amazing.  After spending an hour or so we decided to get ready for our dinner at 150 Central Park. 

Dinner at 150 Central Park

As I mentioned earlier, they were doing a half off price to dine here for the first evening, so only $15pp cover charge.  The Oasis was in for a dry dock in November and 150 had some changes.  Previously they had a six course tasting menu, which is actually how it still is on the Allure.  However, now 150 Central Park is a full meal, with four courses, with much larger portions. 

I’m going to be honest I was not really excited about coming back here, because last time I didn’t enjoy the tasting menu, but boy am I glad I did!  This meal for $!5 is the best value and quite frankly maybe the best meal I’ll have all week.  The service was top notch and yes they try to sell you a cookbook, a kitchen tour, bottles of wine – but I just say no thank you. 

Since my girlfriend did not have the drink package I brought a bottle of wine to dinner, no problem and Royal no longer has the cork fee.  Now I was sipping on the cucumber Martini, which is only serve at 150 and it’s the best martini I’ve ever had.  I usually don’t enjoy Martini’s because how strong they are, but you couldn’t even taste the alcohol.   We had a fresh salad, veal pasta, filet (I asked for two cuts of meat), and chocolate pie.   My brother does not like chocolate, I know who doesn’t like chocolate, but they ran over to chops for a blueberry cheesecake for him. 

For the value, quality, and service you can’t go wrong dining here. 

Post Dinner - Aqua Show

After dinner we changed and headed to the boardwalk for the aqua show.  I don’t make it to all the shows, but this is one I don’t miss.  In fact, I might even try to go see it again! 

I like the show so much because you can’t find something like this on any other royal ship, well maybe you can on the Allure.  The show only last 40 minutes, but you need to arrive at least 30 minutes early for a seat.  After the show we wanted to do a little dancing, but most everyone had called it a night, so we followed and got a greats night sleep. 

It's our last day onboard Quantum of the Seas and so it's time to squeeze in as much fun as Royal Caribbean can throw at us!

I woke up at about 9am this morning.  The ship was definitely feeling the motion still and continued to feel the motion all morning long.  It wasn't enough to make you sick, but it made walking a little more involved an activity.

I went up to the Windjammer for breakfast and as I got to deck 14, I could feel the cold wind blowing in from the pool deck. We're not in the Caribbean anymore!  The high today is around 55 degrees Fahrenheit.

I had a quick bite to eat and went on my way down to the Royal Esplanade for the last day t-shirt sale.  Every Royal Caribbean cruise, Royal Caribbean has a selection of t-shirts for $10 each.  I picked up one for me, my wife and my daughter.  We will be able to wear it in July when we go on Freedom of the Seas!

I then headed back up to the pool deck to see how warm (or not so warm) it was in the indoor pool.  I was wearing jeans a t-shirt and it was warm enough to be comfortable in there but there was barely anyone in the pool or around it.

With the motion of the ocean, the pools became wave pools and everyone inside them did not seem to mind.

Next up was a Q&A session in Two70 with entertainers from the ship's shows, like Starwater, Sonic Odyssey and Mamma Mia!.  Guests asked all sorts of questions about work, time off and life on a cruise ship.  Pretty interesting stuff!

For lunch, I wanted to try the burger from Devinly Decadence so I went back up to deck 14 to eat there.  

For lunch, Devninly Decadence is served buffet style but I was disappointed nearly all the food from last night's dinner was what was being offered for lunch.  

I did manage to get my burger, although it was create it yourself, which I'm quite terrible at.  The burger tasted good enough but I was hoping for it be different than the burgers from the Windjammer (if they are different, I cannot tell).

I wanted to see if any brave souls were trying the FlowRider but the high winds forced Royal Caribbean to close off the top pool deck and the sports decks around it.  

Given the cold weather, there were limited things to do so I went back to my stateroom to pack.  It's the least fun thing you will do at any point on your cruise but it has to be done and I figured if I had a little time now to do it, then may as well get it taken care of.

After packing, I decided to take it easy and I turned on the TV for perhaps the first time to actually watch TV on this cruise.  I managed to catch Guardians of the Galaxy and I enjoyed watching this movie again.

At 4pm, I went down to the Royal Esplanade to meet up with the folks from the group cruise one last time.  We had drinks at Michael's and then wandered over to Boleros for mojitos. 

I have to mention again what a great group we had for this cruise and I can't wait for our next group cruise adventure (details on that forthcoming)!

I had lofty aspirations for dinner at a restaurant but between having to pack and just feeling like I was in a mood to take it easy, I ended up eating in the Windjammer for dinner.  They had a great Mongolian stir fry that I really enjoyed.

After dinner, it was over to the Royal Theater for Sonic Odyssey.

Sonic Odyssey is a mix of percussions, string instruments and singing with each element infused with a ton of energy.  Someone described it as being similar to the show Stomp.

I enjoyed it and felt Sonic Odyssey was a good change of pace. Certainly not something I've ever seen before and the earth harp is really impressive.

And so, my live blog for this Royal Caribbean cruise comes to an end. I had so much fun sharing my adventures with all of you.  

I tip my hat to the wonderful crew on Quantum of the Seas.  I know so many people had a great time and the crew clearly worked hard to make our vacations so much fun.

Thank you for all the wonderful comments, tweets, messages and questions.  It made writing the blog all worth it!

Stray Observations

• A friend mentioned the gym got progressively less and less crowded as the crew went on. Her flywheel class for the last day had next to no one in it. Seems folks lose interest/motivation to continue as the cruise goes on.
• The chopiness never really subsided much.  I think we all got used to the motion but the Captain did a wonderful job and the ship can handle these seas quite well.
• We have heard all guests, including back to back cruisers, will be forced to leave the ship for a ship-wide sanitzing before next sailing's guests are let on.
• If anyone wants a very quiet inside stateroom, 12231 is a keeper!
• Speaking of staterooms, I liked being on deck 12 for access to Windjammer and pool deck but I think I'd prefer a lower deck stateroom because I felt like going down to decks 3, 4 or 5 was a hike.
• Will someone make me dinner tomorrow? Or pick up my towels from the ground at home? I can't go back to real life "cold turkey"!

I think everyone on Quantum of the Seas woke up this morning with one thing on their mind: the storm.

Since late yesterday, the Captain indicated we would run into a low pressure system that will bring with it high winds and rough seas.  Today, the news was more of the same and the worst of the storm would begin around 8pm tonight and last until some point tomorrow morning. 

I slept in today until about 9:30 and slowly made my way out of the room, managing to lock myself out of my stateroom again.  Thankfully my stateroom attendent (Peter) is usually around the hallway somewhere and was able to let me back in.

My first stop this morning was the pool deck to get some fresh air.  I was feeling a little sleepy still and just enough energy to get upstairs and enjoy the sun.  

Despite the impending storm, it was a sunny day outside.

After a little fun in the sun, I went downstairs to record a live podcast episode with some of the folks in our group.  It was a fun discussion of our time onboard and you can look for that episode (and others I've recorded while onboard) to come out in the coming weeks.

I have to say, the people I've cruised with this week have been so much fun to hang out with.  It's been great having friends everywhere I go around the ship!

Right around this time the Captain made another announcement about the weather.  He said we could expect swells up to 30 feet and the storm to begin at 8pm, be at its worst around 2pm and by 2pm tomorow it should be much smoother. 

We've been re-assured many times not to worry and to take things easy and use the handrails where possible to brace yourself.  For the crew, this isn't a big deal but I think us passengers are a little worried.  

After the podcast recording I grabbed a quick lunch from Two70.  I had to get more of those wonderful roast beef sandwiches!  

I took my lunch back into Two70 for the Captain's Corner.  This is a wonderful impromptu Q&A session with the captain, cruise director, head engineer, head of food and beverage and more.  

The questions asked where all over the place, although many of the initial questions were about the storm.  The captain indicated this ship can easily handle a category 3 hurricane and something like what we will run into is not a big deal. 

I really enjoyed the insight into the operations of the ship based on the questions asked and it was well worth my time.

I didn't go anywhere after the show because Two70 had another Roboshow to see and I did not want to miss it.  

The Roboshow is undeniably cool and really impressive from an artistic and technological standpoint.

I think the roast beef sandwiches calmed my nerves because I went upstairs to the pool deck and quickly found myself dozing off.  I tried mightily to stay awake but the ocean breeze, warm air and music playing did me in.

I didn't sleep that long, perhaps 45 minutes, and got up to see what else was happening around the ship.

Right around 3 or 4pm, the captain provided a new forcast on channel 18 in our staterooms and he indicated the new weather models looked much better.  We'd still hit a storm, but waves shouldn't be more than 15-20 feet and it would be done earlier than we thought.

I felt greatly relieved, so much so that I went down to the Cafe Promenade to indulge in a favorite Royal Caribbean tradition, those little sandwiches at Cafe Promenade.  And also a few slices of pizza from Sorentos.  Ahhh, the cruise life!

Following my late afternoon snack, I gambled the last $10 I had allocated for gambling in the casino. At first I doubled it and then like any good gambler, I lost it all. Oh well.

Vistarama was being shown in Two70 so I headed there to check it out and met up with some folks from the blog group cruise and enjoyed the show while having drinks.  My new favorite drink might be the blue ed.  Very tasty!

Dinner tonight was at Devinly Decadence, the former specialty restaurant and now complimentary restaurant on deck 14 near the Solarium.

The restaurant has an interesting set up.  You get a menu of just entrees with an appetizer and dessert bar at the rear of the restaurant.  It's certainly an interesting concept.

I ordered the enchiladas and ahi tuna tacos but the star of the meal for me was the Morrocan tomato soup appetizer.  I may have had multiple refills of it.  

I will be going back tomorow for lunch because their lunch menu features a Big Mac clone they claim is less than 500 calories. Now we're talking!

After dinner it was 9:30pm and the ship was moving no worse than earlier, so I decided to ignore my mother's advice of not swimming after eating and go for a night swim.  The pools were empty and I had barely swam this trip so I figured why not.

I spent a little time in the pool and then some more time in the hot tub. Time well spent!

Tomorrow is our last day of the cruise and yet another sea day.  Should be rather smooth sailing tomorrow and I have a few plans already to get done.

Stray observations

• I freely admit I let the weather forcast get me too nervous to enjoy my day.  I eventually made peace with the news but as it turned out, it was nothing to worry about.
• The pools, North Star, casino and many other otherwise extremely popular public areas are virtually empty during dinner hours.  
• The crew has been sanitizing the ship non-stop for this Norovirus problem. I give them a huge amount of credit for constantly cleaning everything.
• Others have noticed it's quite difficult to get water onboard.  Meaning, geting a cup of water does not seem to be as easy to get to as on other Royal Caribbean ships.  

Royal Caribbean is kicking off a new Weekend WOW deal that offers a deal on cruises booked this weekend.

Royal Caribbean is offering BOGO50 Offer (50% off the second guest + 50% their beverage package + 50% off your deposit) + Onboard Credit:

• $25 Interior/Oceanview Staterooms
• $50 Balconies/Suite staterooms

The deal is valid on all 2015 sailings made between March 27 - 29, 2015, excluding Quantum of the Seas.