At the beginning of May, CJM and I went on our third cruise, a Western Caribbean cruise on Royal Caribbean's Oasis of the Seas. We've always cruised RC, but this was our first time on such a large ship. We left Sunday morning from Savannah, and arrived at Port Canaveral about 12:30 p.m. On our last cruise, we were the last people on the ship, and basically ran through the gate at 2:57 p.m. This time we hit it right in the middle of the busy time, but it really only took us an hour to get from our car to our cabin, which wasn't bad to me. It definitely helps to be loyal to a line, because our Crown & Anchor Society membership allowed us to get checked in faster in a special line versus waiting in line to our corresponding deck number.
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| Oasis of the Seas |
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| Oasis of the Seas--The Boardwalk at Night |
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| Oasis of the Seas--Central Park from inside |
Going through cruise check-in is a lot like going through TSA at the airport, and then checking in on the other side. Once we got on the boat and checked in, we got a cocktail and started exploring. This ship is so huge, and there was so much to see. It started raining once we got through security, so we didn't get to explore the pool area much {it also rained every cruising day, so we really only spent any time on the top deck on the second day for a quick drink}. We did try to make the most of the huge ship and all it's amenities by being sure to exercise each day we were at sea, eating at all the different dining options, and checking out all the bars.
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| Oasis of the Seas--Aqua Theater |
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| Oasis of the Seas--Champagne Bar |
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| Oasis of the Seas--American Icon Grill Main Dining Room |
On the ship, we enjoyed the main dining room each night thanks to amazing food and waitstaff, visited the casino a few times, and loved all the shows and entertainment. We ended up doing a ton of things, but there were still activities on board that we missed even with our week long itinerary!
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| Haiti |
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| Oasis of the Seas in Haiti |
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| Haiti |
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| Labadee, Haiti |
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| Oasis of the Seas at Labadee, Haiti |
Our first stop was at the private Royal Caribbean beach of Labadee in Haiti. It was absolutely amazing, and way better than CocoCay. It was a beautiful beach, with tons of different sections to lay out at. The water was beautiful, and we spent too much time swimming by the floating bar which ended up with me getting my first real sunburn!
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| Bamboo Beach Club in Jamaica |
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| Falmouth, Jamaica |
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| Falmouth, Jamaica |
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| Bamboo Beach Club in Jamaica |
Our second stop was Falmouth, Jamaica. I had read a bunch of questionable reviews about this port, so I booked a shore excursion through the cruise line. We boarded a bus and drove over an hour to the Martha Brae river where we tubed with our group down crystal clear cool water for about 45 minutes. Then we were taken to the Bamboo Beach Club where we received a sampling of Jamaican delicacies. On the way back on the ship, we picked up beef and cheese Jamaican patties which was delicious and so spicy!
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| Cozumel, Mexico |
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| Cozumel, Mexico |
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| Cozumel, Mexico |
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| Cozumel, Mexico |
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| Cozumel, Mexico |
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| Oasis of the Seas in Cozumel, Mexico |
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| Catamaran in Cozumel, Mexico |
The final stop on our trip was Cozumel, which we both absolutely loved. I had the best margarita of my entire life at the Thirsty Cougar Seaside Boozery {cucumber + jalepeno for the win!} and a delicious steak burrito at like 10 a.m. thanks to the time change. We explored some, and then walked {and walked, and walked...we clocked over 5 miles that day!} to a ocean side beach club to wait for our next excursion. I had booked a catamaran sail and snorkel via Viator that had great reviews. We got nervous because no one else showed up, but it turned out to be our lucky day! We were the only two on the tour, and go to snorkel privately for over an hour before cruising around the bay while eating homemade guac, margs, and delicious fruit and pico de gallo!
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| Oasis of the Seas Central Park at night |
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| Oasis of the Seas Ice Show |
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| Oasis of the Seas Ice Show |
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| Oasis of the Seas Ice Show |
Overall, we had the absolute best time. I keep saying it was more fun than our honeymoon because we weren't as tired, and we really maxed out all of our options and experiences this time. We really love cruising, and I can't wait for our next one. We're thinking about doing Cuba next year!
