Yesterday I covered some of the nighttime entertainment options on the Oasis of the Seas, Royal Caribbean‘s brand new megaship that debuted late last year. This month, Allure of the Seas, the sister ship to Oasis, debuts. You can expect many of the same services, amenities, and entertainment that can be found on Oasis plus a few differences. Instead of the Seafood Shack on the Boardwalk, Allure has Rita’s Cantina. They also just announced the addition of Samba Grill at the location of the Solarium Bistro as it transforms itself into an authentic churrascaria. New stores include a GUESS accessories store, the first Romero Britto store at sea, and a the first Starbucks at sea. If you haven’t seen the commercials, Allure will have the Broadway show, “Chicago” as well as the DreamWorks Experience which will extend to the entire Royal Caribbean fleet. The Allure arrives in Florida in less than two days and you can follow her progress and learn more about her here.
Now back to the Oasis. During the day there are plenty of activities to do or you can do nothing at all. How about lounging privately in the Solarium area in one of these?
For a bit of comedy, you might enjoy (like I did) watching your son take a private Flow Rider lesson. To be young and naive! The only thing I didn’t like was that the idea of a “private” lesson I thought was him and him alone, but it was him and about 8 other people so it was hardly private and he had to wait for the other people to go ahead of him. A one hour lesson was probably a 15-20 minute lesson overall. Regardless, as you can see from the picture — he gave us enough to laugh about!
If you are interested in getting fitted for a wetsuit or trying out scuba gear, head up to Seatrek. I am sure I am not the only one who would check to see if someone was trying to squeeze themselves into a wetsuit. Free entertainment! You can take the PADI Scuba Diver course onboard and scuba gear, dive computers, and mask/snorkel and fins packages can be purchased onboard at no-tax and duty-free prices.
Then head down to the kids area at the pool. I know the kids love this area, but I still wish they had stuff like this in the adult area. Check out the great colors!
How about a round of mini-golf? I have to say what I love about all of the Royal Caribbean ships with mini-golf is that no matter how many passengers are on the ship, you can easily play mini-golf without having anyone trying to rush you through a game and it’s great for kids of all ages, especially with a tropical drink in hand.
Speaking of drinks, how about a trip on the Rising Tide bar? This bar travels between deck 5, the Royal Promenade, and deck 8 on Central Park. It moves slowly enough so you don’t feel like you are on a carnival ride, but it moves enough to make it worthwhile. I was surprised that more people weren’t on it. Please excuse the shakiness of the video although I know I wasn’t drinking when I took it!
Walk on over to the Boardwalk to have a bite at the Seafood Shack and then ride the first carousel at sea.
If you must go online while onboard, don’t think about playing any games online or checking your FaceBook page. The price to go online is exorbitant, but if you are a Crown & Anchor Society member (you are after your first cruise with Royal Caribbean), you’ll get a coupon book with a coupon for free time on the Internet. We decided to use our minutes and we were so surprised at the size of the Internet cafes aboard the Oasis. I thought I was in a broom closet.
There were two of these onboard on different decks and they were exactly alike. Although I loved absolutely everything about the Oasis of the Seas, this was the one area that Royal Caribbean really missed the mark. I’m guessing they had a meeting and when the topic of the Internet came up, someone said, “No one’s going to want to be on the Internet when they are on this ship.” Royal Caribbean‘s sister line, Celebrity Cruises, teamed up with Apple to offer the first ever Apple retailer at sea so why wouldn’t people want to be on the Internet on the Oasis? Strange, but true.
Regardless of the Internet issue, the Oasis of the Seas is a beautiful ship and provides an abundance of entertainment options. In fact, they are now set to renovate some of their other ships with some of the amenities of the Oasis class ships. Radiance of the Seas, which is set for a mid-2011 refurb, will get specialty restaurants Samba Grill, a Brazilian churrascaria; Rita’s Cantina, a Mexican eatery; and Giovanni’s Table, an Italian restaurant. The Radiance also will get the Park Cafe deli and the Chef’s Table dining experience. Royal Caribbean also is adding a Diamond Lounge for Crown & Anchor Society loyalty program members, the Royal Babies and Tots Nursery, interactive flat-panel televisions in all staterooms and Wi-Fi throughout the ship. The Splendour of the Seas will receive two new specialty restaurants, the Park Cafe, the nursery, the Diamond Lounge, flat-panel TVs in staterooms and Wi-Fi throughout the ship. Additionally, the Splendour will get new balcony cabins and upgrades to public areas, including the Windjammer Marketplace. Some cabins will receive enhancements, Royal Caribbean said.
In early 2011, Freedom of the Seas and Liberty of the Seas will introduce new dining, entertainment, children’s programming and other enhancements made popular on the Oasis-class ships, including the Royal Babies and Tots Nursery, The Cupcake Cupboard, the groundbreaking Wayfinding navigation system for guests, and an oversized outdoor video screen in each ship’s main pool area. In addition, the DreamWorks experience, 3-D movies and complimentary guest service kiosks, which will be introduced on Allure of the Seas, also will be implemented onboard Freedom of the Seas and Liberty of the Seas, as well as sister-ship Oasis of the Seas. Saturday Night Fever: The Musical, Royal Caribbean’s third licensed main-stage musical production, will debut on Liberty of the Seas in the main Platinum Theater.
Get ready to experience Oasis-type entertainment on many of the Royal Caribbean ships. If you have been thinking about taking a cruise, this is the time to do it. What are you waiting for?