Great vacation, even with hiccups. Oasis of the Seas is a vacation destination all by itself. The ports themselves really don't matter on this itinerary and Cococay is an extension of the ship for most purposes.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
Had a 10:30 arrival time which was enforced at the port. The line of cars to get into Costco was longer than the one to get into the port area. Security was the longest portion of the embarkation taking only 30 minutes from parking to boarding. Bags were already waiting when the cabins were opened.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
4 out of 5
Standard RCI fare, some was good, some not so good. For a ship at 109% occupancy, half of the stations in the Windjammer were unusually closed. Anthem's Windjammer had more variety.
Quick service specialty restaurant Port Side BBQ main entrees were excellent. The side items in comparison, were disappointing since they were also charged for items.
Johnny Rockets, has seen portion sizes cut. While it is still a flat fee, the smaller portions were noticeable. I'm sure additional food would have been provided if asked for but it wasn't needed. Just go to another restaurant like El Loco fresh or Park Cafe later for another selection.
Playmakers was better than expected but one visit was better than the other.
Chops Grille, offers a limited lunch menu. The food is EXCELLENT. If you get the UDP, it's a good value, if not, I think the high price for lunch isn't worth the cost.
Sorrento's wasn't consistently good on this sailing, a couple of visits were on the lower end of the scale.
Boardwalk dog house was good, although I personally missed having the coke freestyle machine nearby like Anthem. Had to go into Playmakers to get a drink for this venue.
Onboard Activities
5 out of 5
With the new waterslides and laser tag added to the ice skating, flowrider and zip lining there's always something to do during the day. Note you can only reserve the laser tag for one complimentary play per voyage.
Entertainment
4 out of 5
Unfortunately we lost one of the headliner comedy shows and the Aqua theater has had technical problems. This would have been a major disappointment had I not been prepared and booked the first aqua80 show. All shows attended were excellent.
Service and Staff
4 out of 5
RCI has very good people on their ships. They ensure a great vacation to the best of their ability. I think that some of the crew will be happy to get away from NYC as I suspect they have endured abuse from guests in addition to and because of staffing shortages this summer.
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
Even though the ship is almost 13 years old, the $165M amplification was well spent to make the ships public areas feel new and modern.
Cabin / Stateroom
4 out of 5
Standard cabin from 2009. No USB and only 3 US plugs, bring a USB hub.
Getting 6,000 people off ship seemed to be a breeze. Passport holders can use facial recognition and bypass the CBP agents. Was out very quickly and never stopped for more than a minute except to pay for parking. Was the quickest disembarkation ever.
@marla59.
Luggage tags are accessed with the cruise documents at RoyalCaribbean.com. You print them yourself.
They haven't mailed luggage tags in many years.
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