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2014 Oasis Transatlantic
  • Rulocal
October 2014

2014 Oasis Transatlantic

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  • Trip start
    October 15, 2014
    RulocalRulocal2014 Oasis Transatlantic

    Southampton, dreading the checkin

    October 15, 2014 in England ⋅ ⛅ 13 °C

    All ready to set off to Southampton, just dreading the check in after hearing all the horror stories from Rotterdam.
    Apparently they couldn't handle the amount of people boarding, and with Southampton being a pain in the arse at the best of times, today will probably be a nightmare!
    But believe it or not I have been wrong before so fingers crossed I'm wrong this time and we all board smoothly!!
    But I won't hold my breath lol.
    Watch this space!    Read more

  • RulocalRulocal2014 Oasis Transatlantic

    Southampton, I was right!!!

    October 15, 2014 in England ⋅ ⛅ 13 °C

    Well that was the WORST check in I've ever experienced, bar none.
    We arrived as usual at about 11.30am to find literally thousands of people congregated outside the departure lounge, which by the way was closed.
    When they finally did open the doors at about 1.30pm there where no organised queues just a mass of about 3,000 people trying to get in the building.
    We had to sit outside on the cold and bloody rain as I couldn't get near the service desk to get the wheelchair I'd booked for Sheila.
    Then we saw Maz and Sue who were on a consecutive cruise on the oasis and were inside the building.
    They got one of the service staff to let us in, so at least we where out of the cold.
    Paul and Lynn who were with us outside and also needed a wheelchair got in also.
    But it was another two hours before the staff could find wheelchairs for us.
    Anyway we're on board now, I've put in my complaint, so we can sit back and enjoy the cruise.
    There are some big changes to the diamond lounge and concierge lounge going on, and when they're finished it should be a big improvement.    Read more

  • RulocalRulocal2014 Oasis Transatlantic

    Rod Stewart's guitarist

    October 16, 2014, English Channel ⋅ ☀️ 16 °C

    The band on the theatre last night where very good, they were called Creagan & Company, and consisted of the original guitarist from Rod Stewart's band and the lead singer was an X Factor finalist from a few years ago, plus a drummer and an organist.
    They turned out to be a very good group, the singer had a superb rock voice, and the guitarist was brilliant and you could tell he'd been doing it for years.
    He also collaborated with Rod Stewart on a number of songs apparently, and co wrote the song Hotlegs, which Stewart had a big hit with in the 70s.
    The weather today is a bit iffy, and the ship is pitching and rolling a little.
    It will be quite interesting to see how a ship this size handles the rough seas.    Read more

  • RulocalRulocal2014 Oasis Transatlantic

    Progressive Quiz

    October 18, 2014, North Atlantic Ocean ⋅ 🌫 -14 °C

    We've entered the progressive quiz again.
    I just hope it doesn't turn in to the aggressive quiz like it did on the last cruise.
    Some people take it so seriously, even when they know that the prize is only a bag of plastic Royal Caribbean crap.
    The first round yesterday wasn't too bad with not much aggression or tempers lost.
    We're in joint 12th place with about 6 or 8 other teams, which is about average for us.
    We scored 14 out of 20 today which is a bit down on our average, but the main thing is everyone seems to be treating it as a fun quiz which is good.    Read more

  • RulocalRulocal2014 Oasis Transatlantic

    Friends old and new

    October 19, 2014, North Atlantic Ocean ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C

    Wow, we know so many people on board it's untrue.
    Last night it took me about 10 minutes to get from the door of the lounge to where Sheila and the others were sitting, because of me stopping to say hello to different people.
    As I've said many times before the meeting people part of cruising is the most important to me, and not just the passengers, but the crew also.
    I got talking to a Jamaican guy about 5am this morning who was cleaning the diamond lounge, and he got to telling me about his career as a pro footballer back home in Jamaica.
    Then I had an interesting conversation with an Indian bloke from Mumbai who was going home after this cruise to see his new born daughter, she is one month old and he'd never seen her.
    It's really tough on the ships crew being away from their families, but I suppose it gives them a better life back home with the money they earn.    Read more

  • RulocalRulocal2014 Oasis Transatlantic

    Jon & Bob

    October 19, 2014, North Atlantic Ocean ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

    Two friends of ours, John & Bob, from Canada, turn pinnacle on this cruise so Sue has arranged a small get together to celebrate the occasion.
    Israel the concierge has let us use a room on deck four, so it should be a nice hour or so.
    The boys are really touched that it has been arranged in their honour, but they're nice guys and good friends, so worth the effort.
    Speaking of Israel, he's a changed person, the last few times we've travelled with him he's been a prat and only interested in the suite guests, who are normally big tippers.
    Anyone else he wasn't interested in.
    But now he seems really good and very helpful, so he'll get a tip this time.    Read more

  • RulocalRulocal2014 Oasis Transatlantic

    Success!!

    October 21, 2014, North Atlantic Ocean ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

    Well done to Sue, Sheila and Lynn, the little celebration they arranged for John & Bob reaching pinnacle, was a big success, and I know that the guys where genuinely touched that it has been arranged for them.
    Personally I think that more thought and preparation went in to our little party, than did in the official presentation.
    Only three people were reaching pinnacle status on this cruise, and for those of you who know about cruising, especially with Royal Caribbean, know that it's quite a big thing.
    But the presentation last night, fell flat.
    You would have thought that the guys were reaching 7 nights cruising not 700, which is what you need to reach pinnacle.
    But that's just my personal opinion.
    On a lighter note, we went to the Comedy Club last night, and once again it was brilliant.
    Two British comedians, Gary Thompson, who was good and the second one was Tom Pepper who hails from my home town of Liverpool, he's quite a big name in the city and has been around for years.
    They are both a bit blue, but then again it is advertised as an adult show.
    I think the comedy club is the best addition to the entertainment program for a long time.
    The Aqua Theatre and Ice Rink etc are all brilliant, but the Comedy Club is just so different from anything else.    Read more

  • RulocalRulocal2014 Oasis Transatlantic

    More rumours

    October 22, 2014, North Atlantic Ocean ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

    The latest rumour is that firstly there will be no concierge lounge on Oasis or Allure.
    The new wonderland restaurant will be using the full concierge lounge, and not just the upper floor as first thought.
    The suites and pinnacles will have the new suites lounge on deck 17, and the diamond plus guests will only be able to use the diamond lounge on deck 4.
    If this is true, it will mean the diamond plus benefits will have been reduced and the so called extra benefit of three drinks loaded on to your sea pass will become an inferior replacement for what was a really good benefit for reaching diamond plus.
    Anyway as usual this all remains to be seen.
    Watch this space as no doubt I'll be having a bitch about it if it happens.......    Read more

  • RulocalRulocal2014 Oasis Transatlantic

    Could just be me!

    October 23, 2014, North Atlantic Ocean ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

    This crossing doesn't seem to be as good as the east, west crossing last month.
    Everything seems to be very disorganised and the staff don't all seem to be on the ball.
    I know there is some refurbishment being done, so you've got to expect some disruption, but it seems like a lot of the staff are new and not properly trained.
    And the previous cruise was a lot better.
    We did get off to a bad start with the boarding fiasco at Southampton, so that won't have helped with my mind set.
    But as I said it could just be me being picky.
    On the plus side we are having some lovely evenings up stairs in the lounge with some great company.
    And the bar servers up there are very good.
    One in particular is James, he's from Barbados and has been with the company for 35 years, now that's what you call being loyal to royal.
    He got a long service award at the top tier event the other night, which was nice.    Read more

  • RulocalRulocal2014 Oasis Transatlantic

    Chops Grill

    October 26, 2014, North Atlantic Ocean ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

    One of the benefits of a transatlantic crossing on the Oasis it's that diamond plus and above get to use Chops Grill for breakfast, which is nice.
    Well a couple of mornings this week the food and the service wasn't up to standard, and we had to speak to the head waiter, not lots of moaning but just a quiet word.
    The change has been amazing, the service has been spot on and the food right back up to standard.
    We've also been to Chops three times for dinner and it's been absolutely top notch.
    So it just goes to show that a quiet word to the right person does work.    Read more

  • RulocalRulocal2014 Oasis Transatlantic

    Cats oh rats!

    October 26, 2014 in England ⋅ ⛅ 13 °C

    Those of you who have sailed on the latest Royal ships will know that they recommend booking all your on board entertainment on line, weeks before you cruise, which we did.
    It's all worked quite well right up until last night, when the first production of cats, the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical was on.
    We arrived as recommended 30 mins before the start, well when we got in to the theatre it was already jam packed full.
    There was not one seat to be found, and still lots and lots of people coming in.
    We decided to cut our losses and go back up to the lounge and have a drink.
    The girls went and spoke to Israel, the suites concierge who managed to get us seats for the matinee the next day.
    Having said all that, the show is two and a half hours long plus a 15 minute interval, so I may give it a miss.
    If I find out that it's really worth seeing I can always see it in November when we're back on Oasis.
    I must apologize for the number of moans in this latest blog, but it's just been one of those cruises.
    Also I do think it's helpful sometimes to know about the things that go wrong, so you can possibly stop them happening to you... Well that's my excuse for being a grumpy old man lol.    Read more

  • Trip end
    October 29, 2014
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