July 3: Got to the pier at 3:30 – the boarding process took 5 minutes. (Cruise tip: If you don’t want to fade throngs of passengers waiting to board the ship, plan to arrive between 3 and 3:30 – no later- and it will be a breeze.) Our room has a balcony and is centrally located on deck 6. The cabin is smaller than on many other ships, yet certainly comfortable enough.

The first thing we did inboard was make reservations for the shows for the week. Reservations are required for the ice show, Hairspray (a Broadway show), two production shows, the comedy show, and the aqua show. If you don’t have a reservation, you can show up just prior to the show and will get seated if there are some cancellations or no-shows.

Our muster station for the compulsory fire drill was in the ice rink – brrrr!…the good news is that wearing life vests hasn’t been required since 2009. We signed up for My Time Dining which means that we can eat dinner anytime between 5:30 pm 9pm. We were lucky to be seated with a newlywed couple who were both in the Navy. BTW, the prime rib was outstanding, as was the service!

After dinner, we toured the Royal Promenade area then went to Name That Tune. We teamed up with two fun guys and missed winning by ½ point. Next, we went to Hairspray in the main theater and were amazed at the talent of the entire cast…it was even better than when we saw it on Broadway.  The last activity of the evening was karaoke.

Our initial impressions of the ship: The 2,104 employees do a great job of taking care of the 6,000 + passengers and  it didn’t feel crowded. There were no long lines for anything. This ship is humungous!  It will take several days to see it all. We’ve heard there is a zipline, carousel, rock climbing wall, miniature golf, jazz club, miniature golf course, comedy theater, 20 restaurants, Boardwalk area, and an Aqua Theater,

Day 2: Nassau. Oops, we slept until the all aboard announcements came at 1:30pm. Sorry we can’t give you a Nassau report but the folks we talked to recommended having a massage on the beach at Cabbage Beach, the segway tour, the Blue Lagoon dolphin or sea lion encounter,  and the Atlantis tour.

Jan went to the gym at 2pm and says there is a lot of cardio equipment. I went to trivia. We also went to Oasis trivia at 4pm and were shocked to see that we were the only two who showed up out of more than 6,000 passengers. Since they had a prize for the winner, we played against each other. It was multiple choice and I guessed better than Jan, so I won 9-5. There were two incredible highlights of the day: dinner at Giovanni’s Table (an Italian restaurant with a $15 cover charge) and the aqua show. The weather was perfect for sitting outside in the evening to see the high dive pros and the synchronized swim team. They also had some great trampolinists. We rounded the evening off with the comedy show, the ship’s version of Who Wants to be a Millionaire (yawn), and I went to the Latin dance lounge while Jan went to karaoke.

Day 3: Day at sea – We slept in late again and missed the morning activities including trivia, the training session for the Aqua show performers, the Pirates of the Caribbean Parade on the Boardwalk, the port talk, the comedy improv workshop, the Hairspray dance class, bridge, and the Michael Jackson dance class. Our first activity of the day was the general trivia quiz. Do you know what the number one duty free purchase is? I said cigarettes but was outvoted by our team who insisted it was alcohol…I was right.  Lunch was burgers then I went to salsa dance class and Jan went to a game show. At 5pm, we went to the ice rink for a spectacular ice show…amazing costumes and great skaters.

Later, we stopped by the casino to check out the poker action. They use automated tables but they take a prohibitive rake – 10% up to $15 a hand making it unplayable, at least for us. Dinner was at 8pm…the  lamb shank and shrimp were terrific. The rest of the evening was spent watching the Newlywed Game  and karaoke, and then we stopped by the Absolut Escape party.

Day 4: St. Thomas – I slept late again (sensing a pattern yet?) then had lunch at the Windjammer (mediocre). Jan had a scuba trip which she said was enjoyable and convenient since she booked it through the ship. I walked around the shops in the terminal and spent time watching the iguanas roaming around the rocks, then got back on the ship and spent a few hours at the pool. The weather was perfect – not too hot and a nice breeze. I read for a while then walked around the Boardwalk and rode the carousel. We had dinner in the dining room and went to the production show with Mosaic as the headliner. This was a musical group who does not use any instruments…all the sounds are  made by the musicians. The highlight of the evening was the Quest, which is a goofy adult scavenger hunt.

Day 5: St. Maarten – Jan got up very early and went diving with the excursion from the ship and I rented a car (Toyota Corolla) and drove all around the island. I stopped at lots of beaches and thoroughly enjoyed the trip. Jan’s dives were less than stellar with mediocre visibility and way too many people on the trip.

We were back on the ship by 4pm, in time for the disco line dance lessons and the ’70s name that tune trivia. Jan excels at that and we came in second, getting 13 of 15 song titles  correct.

We had dinner reservations at Izumi Restaurant, which is the Asian “pay-to-dine” outlet. I am sad to say it was the worst meal we’ve ever had on an RCCL cruise and won’t be back and can’t recommend it. The service was good but the sushi tasted terrible  and very fishy (probably because it had been frozen and wasn’t fresh), the beef in the sukiyaki was overcooked and tough, and the boneless chicken came with a big bone that almost caused a major choking problem. We spoke to the Maitre D’ and to his credit, he ended up not charging us for the cover charge or the food.

Next we strolled the Central Park district and looked at all the restaurants and their respective menus, then rode the Merry Go Round three times through. It’s day five and still we haven’t seen the entire ship! The evening activity was the “dancing in the street” 70s dance party on the Promenade. It was a crazy wild dance extravaganza and was a good time for everyone. It was a little different than on other RCCL ship,  but was a lot of fun!

By the way,  this ship is amazing because it never feels as though it’s moving. I have yet to take a seasick pill and haven’t needed one. Something to keep in mind for those of you who are afraid of becoming ill on a cruise. Have we even left the port?

Day 6 – Sea day: Did you know that there is a live webcam in real time on the Royal Promenade deck?…. shown here is Jan mugging for the camera as captured by her brother from his home in California!”

Today was another lazy sea day. Jan got up and went to the gym while I walked the length of the ship about six times.  I went to play bridge but there weren’t enough players so I did email and grabbed a salad in the Windjammer Cafe.  Jan went to a seminar about playing the bagpipes while I went to the art  auction. We saw a comedy water show – Splish Splash – that was amazing! The talent on this ship is great. There were gymnasts and high divers, some who dove from platforms as high as 57 feet high. Before dinner, we did some Latin line dancing then watched the Lollapolooza parade on the Royal Promenade. The characters and costumes reminded me something you would see at Disneyland. We  chose to eat early in the main dining room and had more great food…. the lobster was some of the best I’ve had on a cruise ship. Good thing… it made up for the lousy sushi last night!

After dinner, we went to a “Quinceanera.” I was unfamiliar with anything like this so will explain in case you are too.  In Latin America, there is a tradition to make a “Presentation in Society” when a girl turns 15 (similar to a “sweet 16 party”.) There were about 60 of these 15-year old girls on the ship and we had previously chatted with a few of them, thus we were given an invitation to their formal party. They wore beautiful formal dresses and had their hair and make up beautifully prepared. There was a dance to go along with the festivities and it was great fun to see these young ladies beaming as they were introduced to the crowd.

Later we attended the second production show called “Come Fly With Me.” Outstanding! The balance of the evening was spent at the fountain show at the Aqua Theater, the Latin dance lounge, piano bar, and the comedy improv show.

Day 7: Today will be the last day on the ship for most of the passengers, but Jan and I are lucky enough to be staying for another week. Jan started her day at the gym while I went to the captain’s question and answer session. I found him to be very interesting and charming and learned a lot about the inner workings of the ship. For example, the draft is 30 feet, the actual weight of the ship is 105,000 tons even though the gross tonnage is 225,000 tons, and at full speed (24 knots), it would take the ship seven minutes to come to a full stop and it would have to travel about three miles before it could stop.

We discovered a heads-up p0oker machine…Jan won the afternoon series of matches and I won the evening matches. Other activities for the day included blackjack (net result of +$30), the sunshine festival on the Boardwalk, the meeting for back-to-back cruisers, several trivia sessions, lunch at the fabulous Park Cafe in Central Park, Latin dance class, Jewish Sabbath Services for Jan, and a great dinner in the main dining room. It’s been a great week!

If I had to grade the ship after spending seven days on board, this would be the Oasis of the Seas’ report card:

Amenities: A! This ship has everything you could possibly want.

Cleanliness: A+! The ship is spotless. I never saw dishes sitting in the halls, restrooms in need of attention, or trash anywhere except in trash cans. Very impressive!

Ship staff: A+ They must have recruited the best of the best for this incredible ship. Everyone on the staff was friendly and went out of their way to be sure the passengers needs were met. Each employee we passed in the halls said hello and they seemed to enjoy their jobs. The cruise director works very hard at his job and is entertaining and keeps it fun.

Entertainment: A+ We went to each of the shows offered. They were all terrific!

Food: Mostly an A. The dining room was consistently outstanding and the service was great. Most of the specialty restaurants were wonderful with the exception of Izumi… do NOT eat the sushi ! Even the other items on the Izumi menu were not good! Also,  the Windjammer Cafe is only average in my opinion. I wish the iced tea was brewed of course and also wish the chefs understood that some people don’t like peppers in everything.:) The pizzeria was excellent. They not only serve several pizza of the day selections but have a pizza to order where you choose your own toppings. Be hungry! I wish we had discovered the Park Cafe earlier in the week. They had a make your own salad buffet and incredible roast beef sandwiches and paninis.

There are some areas that have room for improvement:

1. I don’t really like having to make reservations for the shows and having to get there 10 minutes early, though it seems like there is usually seating (or at least standing room) if you want to show up at the last minute without a reservation. I would like to see an additional production show since there are only six major shows.
2. They need to have one line for people waiting to speak to someone at the guest relations desk. It is set up now so that there are multiple lines and you have to choose the one you think will be the fastest…sort of like at the grocery store where you always choose the wrong line. This could be easily remedied by adding ropes and stanchions.
3. Do away with the Izumi Dining Room.
4. Enforce the “adults-only” zones. For example, the evening karaoke was supposed to be for passengers 18 and over, yet there were always lots of younger people there,

I hope you’ve enjoyed reading this cruise blog, Tomorrow we go back to Ft. Lauderdale in the morning and then leave again in the late afternoon for the Western Caribbean. Next week will be part 2 written by Jan Fisher …yay!!!!

This report written by Linda Johnson

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Day one – July 10, 2010

After a morning of announcements over the Oasis of the Seas’ PA system, we got off the ship and headed to the casino …

(Hard Rock Hollywood) to play poker! Before that, we toured some of the amazing cabins. There are two- story lofts overlooking the sports courts and putt-putt golf course as well as huge suites that sleep 8 or 9 and overlook the aqua park and theater.  The passenger disembarkation process begins at 6am which is good for those wishing to catch early flights. The entire procedure is finished by 10am, quite an amazing feat for the crew and more than 6,000 cruisers! We reboarded the ship about 3pm and settled back into our same cabin.

Our cabin is nice, but a bit smaller than balcony rooms on most other ships. It is advertised as 182 square feet. The amenities are very comfortable (have we mentioned the “comfort” beds that are wonderful?), but the first week the room air conditioner was mediocre at best.  We mentioned it several times to maintenance via the front desk during week one but nothing happened and there was no follow-up. We spoke to the concierge in the Diamond Lounge tonight (the lounge is for those guests who have reached Diamond status by cruising ten or more times with RCCL) and as I write this blog on evening #1 of cruise #2, the room seems cooler…. Stay tuned for updates on that.

We watched the Rockin’ Rhythm Nation Parade on the Royal Promenade earlier tonight (we missed it the first week) and were blown away by the talent from all departments as well as the amazing sound system and colorful costumes. Then we joined in for another game of music trivia with the piano player but were disappointed that it was the same songs as week one. While we know that the entertainment will in most spots be repeats of last week, how tough would it be to have more than one version of Name That Tune? There are many who do this cruise as back-to-backs (much like CPC will do next year on the new Allure) so change the games! We checked out the Windjammer for a light supper and then headed to the main theater to see “Hairspray” a second time.  I am guessing we’ll see it again before the week is over. The talent in this show is the best we’ve ever seen on a cruise ship and certainly could rival the best Broadway has to offer!

Trivia for the day – there are 2,104 crew members on the ship with a combined 6,627 years of experience. I am guessing that the Oasis took the best of the best!

Day two – July 11,2010

We slept late again, imagine that. Perhaps this is a pattern when there isn’t a poker room to attend in the morning? I started the day off by going to a “Hairspray” dance class out on the Aqua Theater and then to the gym. Linda walked the track four times… 2.4 laps is a mile on the outside track so that gives you an idea just how large this ship is. You don’t get dizzy running tight circles. While I was at the gym, Linda went to a dance class that featured Michael Jackson steps. We also saw the “sexiest man” competition and truly some guys deserved to win, while others should have stayed in bed! Later in the day we played the ’80s music trivia and finished second, and also general knowledge trivia where we fared the same. The bagpipe player (yes, there is one on board) roamed the promenade and entertained but did interfere with some activities due to the loud nature of the instrument. Salsa class again was offered in the afternoon and was fun.

Before dinner, the captain addressed the formally clad crowd for his “welcome to my ship and introduce the staff” speech and then we enjoyed a stylishly late dinner in the “My Time” dining room, clearly not dressed formally. After dinner, we went to the Aqua Theater for the amazing show ”Oasis of Dreams” featuring high dives, gymnasts, synchronized swimmers, and other amazing talents. It was breathtaking and wondrous. For me to explain it, I would just say it’s a little bit of Mystere, O, and Ka all rolled into one.  It was then back to the showroom to watch the last performance of Hairspray. The talent continues to amaze and dazzle us and the staff delights us with their friendliness.

As previously mentioned, our air conditioner in the cabin didn’t seem as good as it should be. Somewhere along the line, the engineer must actually have checked into theproblem as it seems a bit better today. There was an ’80s music disco party in the Dazzles Lounge and we stopped by briefly… it was too crowded for my taste. Since we hadn’t eaten in nearly 2 hours, we stopped on deck five for pizza before heading to the room at 2am.

Trivia for today –Did you know that Oasis of the Seas has two incinerators that can burn 25 cubic meters of garbage  in 12 hours? What an efficient way to reduce and dispose of waste.

Day 3 – July 12, 2010

We were in port today, on the private island of Labadee, Haiti. It is eerie to think that just the other side of the mountain is poverty, hardship, and a country in ruins from the recent earthquake. Where we visited was a lushly landscaped oasis with beautiful beaches, private cabanas, jet skis, zip lines, snorkeling as well as many, many other first-class activities combined with several cafes where we could  enjoy gourmet buffets of chicken, ribs, burgers, shrimp, etc. We were on the island about an hour before returning to the ship in time to catch the daily trivia game, Tribond, a game at which I seem to excel! We scored 14 out of 15, mostly due to my ability to figure the common denominator of three words given, yet still we only finished second.  We also visited one of the many pools and enjoyed  swimming and relaxing to the sounds of a great band during the sailaway festivities.

For dinner, we ate at Chops, one of the optional pay restaurants, and enjoyed a leisurely dinner of appetizers and fine steaks. Linda read aloud from a book she checked out at the Library aboard. Actually, there was no check out procedure. The library is the honor system and you are merely asked to return that which you borrow. She’s been buried in this book about the only survivor of a Navy Seal mission that turned catastrophic in Afghanistan. It’s a true story called Lone Survivor written by Marcus Luttrell. It will bring out the patriotism in anyone.

After dinner we watched the comedy show and were pleased to see two new acts aboard since last week. They were very funny and were impromptu so likely we’ll see them again this week since the act will definitely have different material because the crowd will be different. After that, we caught the end of the Love and Marriage show. The cruise director, Richard Spacey, makes even the silliest of shows quite entertaining. We have learned from the other cruise staff that he is a joy to work for and he is very, very energetic, silly, fun, and charming. I know our guests will find him captivating.

Several interesting and great things about this ship include an interactive board at the end of the elevator banks where you can punch in questions and get immediate answers. For those who’ve had too much liquid libation, there is even a “find your room” option where it will diagram the route to get from “you are here” to your cabin. Also, there is an option to see what is happening at that moment according to the daily cruise compass…. It’s great if you’ve left your daily schedule in the room. In the cabin, another great feature is the big-screen, flat TV and the pay-per-view movies. While the movies are steep at $12 a piece, there is a huge number of options from which to choose including new releases as well as some classic older selections.  There are also free movies available on some of the channels. Tomorrow we are at sea so I am sure there will be lots of silly on board activities we’ll join. More to come!

Day four -  July 13,2010

Again, we slept in but before I went to the gym, we attended an Improv workshop. It was entertaining but the funniest part about it was how “IQ-challenged” some of the attendees were. We were given some easy “exercises” in comedy that for some, were quite a problem. I guess Second City isn’t in their future. Afterward I went to the gym and ran the track three times but the humidity made it more of a challenge than I liked, and I retreated to the gym to do my weights.  Linda joined me for lunch at the Central Park Cafe which is one of our favorite lunch spots. They have tasty roast beef sandwiches, and salads made to order with a plethora (good word, eh?) of toppings and dressings. We then headed to the Aqua Theater for the afternoon production show Splish Splash Comedy Aqua Show which even with the technical problems they had, was  very entertaining and amazing. The talent on this ship is second to none…. but I digress.

We had a meeting with Alan, the on board ship coordinator and Savio, the guest relations manager.  They gave us a tour of the huge conference room where we’ll build our poker room during the September 25 cruise. We spent some time with them providing our feedback about the Oasis and the cruise experience. Mostly the ship is awesome and some of the places where they fall a little short are things that will get fixed in time (other than Izumi!) We told them of the wonderful restaurants we’d visited and how amazingly great the service is in every department. Well done, RCCL!

The evening began with dinner at Giovanni’s Table, where we dined outside in Central Park. There are more than 12,000 live plants and trees in the park area and it is just lovely. There are photographers who will take your photo in a myriad of poses and by swiping your card when he “shoots you,” it is very easy to find you photos electronically rather than by looking through photos of 6,000 of your not-so closest friends.  We then set out for a marathon of shows. We enjoyed the comedy show for the second time this week. Tonight’s headliner show was billed as “Two Funny Guys” who were, in fact, quite funny. They are touted as Las Vegas performers but I’ve never heard of them, nor has Linda, but if we remember, we can Google them when we return. Or not…. Next, we went to the Quest, an always good time. It’s an adult scavenger hunt and showcases Richard Spacey, the Cruise Director, at his silliest and zaniest. He has grown men and women taking off clothes, putting on clothes of another, and showing tattoos best left for a loved one. It’s all good. From there it was off to bed albeit too late to call it an early evening!

Day Five – July 14, 2010

We are in Costa Maya today. I just realized that there are only three sleeps left before I return home. Where did the time go? Linda and I had breakfast in the Windjammer before going our separate ways for the day. She went into town and had two one-hour massages on the beach for $20 each. Not a bad deal. She enjoyed the shopping along the boardwalk and in the shops at the newly built pier. I remember from my last visit there how nice and laid back it is without the high pressure sales of some other ports we’ve visited. There is a huge swimming pool in the port area before you venture out into the actual city. She took a dip before returning to the ship and was surprised to find the pool salt water!

I joined an RCCL excursion and did two tanks of some great scuba diving. The water temperature here is much more to my liking than on other recent cruises recently. Whether it’s the time of year or the port, I’m just saying that 85* water works well for me. The dive was well organized and I went with the smaller of the three groups from the ship so was on a boat with only five divers, rather than like last week when there were 26. That was just too many people all on the same reef at the same time. The visibility was much better as well. I am already looking forward to tomorrow when I go diving in Cozumel.

When I returned to the cabin, Linda was there and talked me into going to the ’70s disco trivia…. me in my towel and swim suit! It’s a good thing we went since we finally nailed one and took down the coveted prize of a coffee mug! Later I got dressed in my very best clothes I’d brought (can you say I don’t do formal night?) and went to the concierge lounge compliments of the guest relations manager. It is a beautiful private lounge reserved for suite guests and diamond plus members.  The room is stunning…it is spread over two floors and overlooks the Aqua Theater. Upstairs they have the “Chef’s Table” which is a $75 per-person sit down gourmet dinner with wine pairings. Though it is far more food than I can eat and includes numerous amounts of wine, which I don’t drink, I wish it was a good value for me to go as it looked so awesome. I know some of our guests will enjoy it and for the price, if you enjoy fine dining and good wine, it looks to be a “must do.”

Next we headed to the Solarium for dinner. It is a $20 per person healthy dining alternative. We’d seen the menu in the lounge and wanted to try it. On our way there, we got off the elevator at the wrong floor by the Windjammer so decided to look to see what they were serving. We immediately ran into Henry, who’d been our assistant waiter most nights last week in the My Time dining. He asked us where we were sitting so he could dash off to get us our hot water, ice, and Lipton tea bags. Not wanting to disappoint him and also happy to have another opportunity to tip him, we ended up eating there and the found the food to be perfectly suitable for our taste. The view from the Windjammer is second to none, high atop the 16^th deck. After dining we caught the second half of the ice show before returning to our cabin for an early night. Tomorrow, Linda has an 8am tour to Cancun, and I have a 9:15 am dive trip.

Day 6 – July 15, 2010

It finally happened… Linda got up and was out the door before I! It must be a red letter day. She left at 7am for her trek to Cancun and took a 45-minute ferry ride and a one-hour bus ride each way just to reach Cancun. There was three hours of free time in Cancun and Linda took a taxi tour of the city and island, had lunch, and did some shopping.

I slept in until a comparatively late 8:30. Finally trying the Diamond Lounge for breakfast (they only serve until 10am) before my trip, I was pleasantly surprised by the array of fresh fruit (something slightly lacking on this ship) and the English muffins and bagels complete with toaster and cheeses, jams, and spreads. Topped off by a complimentary cappuccino, I was set. I walked to the end of the pier to meet my dive group and found the sign along with many, many other tour signs at the edge of the pier. And there we sat, and sat, and sat. Clearly, they could have moved the trip back an hour as it was very disorganized. Once the dive shop staff decided it was time to go (by whatever standard was used),  off we went to board two taxis and head to the dive shop. I wasn’t impressed by the dive shop or the equipment. While it was ok, they had nothing size wise for fins between small and large. Hmm…. anyway, it started off badly and our group of eight was unhappy to be kept waiting in a huge downpour on the ship with little cover. Of course, we all knew we’d be getting wet today anyway, right? We motored a short distance to our first dive on the Santa Rosa wall, one of my favorite dive sites, and each of us had a little problem with our gear. Nothing serious but a little unnerving. Some tanks were switched, a regulator was swapped out, and into the water we went. Any bad feelings about the dive went away as soon as we descended to 60 feet of clear, warm, beautiful water. It was a perfect dive… bottom depth of about 90′ (except for one guy who had to hit 115′ for some unknown reason) for 10 minutes then back up the wall in ten-minute increments to our safety stop at 15′. The dive time was about 45 minutes and it was lovely. The dive shop also had a videographer who shot the entire dive and made the video available for purchase. Anyway, dive two was lovely as well and we saw the biggest turtle I’ve ever seen in the wild. That will definitely make me buy the video! The site was San Clemente and I remain faithful to Cozumel as being my favorite dive destination for never letting me down.

Once we both were back on the ship, we went to yet another trivia game; this one was TV theme song Name That Tune. Of the 20 questions, I knew exactly one. It was all recent shows, not the stuff I’d have been good at had the questions involved the classic shows of the 60′s and 70′s. With my addiction to TIVO, I rarely hear the lead-in music any more and was lucky to have joined a team that did watch the shows. Amazingly, we won and I earned yet another useless gift! We enjoyed the second production show of the week, Come Fly With Me, as much the second time as the first and highly recommend every bit of entertainment we’ve seen on the ship. We opted for the Windjammer for dinner and found seats in Henry’s section. He’s the assistant waiter whom we’ve adopted and who has adopted us…. always providing us good service and the fixins for our brewed Lipton Ice tea without us having to explain why we need hot water and copious amounts of ice. Intending on an early evening, we found more inane TV to watch and again didn’t get to sleep as early as we’d have liked!

Day 7 – July 16, 2010…the last day of the cruise!

I got up fairly early and did a brief workout before meeting up with Linda for a backstage tour and a question and answer session  with the cast of Hairspray. It was a fun experience and we were able to meet the actors who played two of the leads in the show and tell them how much we had enjoyed  watching them perform. We learned about the fat suits they wore and how some of the stunts were done. After that, we grabbed some lunch and attended the “meet the captain” briefing and learned of his 40-year career with RCCL and how he became one of the two captains of the Genesis Class’ Oasis Of the Seas. Also, a brief movie was shown that discussed how the Oasis was built and so forth. It was a very informative hour. From there, we went to the Sunshine Celebration at the Aqua Theater then on to our first of three trivia games of the day. We actually won the RCCL trivia, not too surprising since we have been on so many of their cruises.

In the evening, we saw the fountain farewell show in the Aqua Theater, caught up on some email, and ate at the Windjammer. Linda finished a book about the first woman to row solo across the Atlantic. There’s always last-minute chores like packing, completing the survey, and hurrying to do all the things we had neglected during our trip such as visiting the few venues we hadn’t yet seen. Even though we were on the ship for two weeks, we hadn’t found time to miniature golf, zipline, use the Surfrider, or visit most of the shops. Somehow we managed not to buy any artwork, go into the ice cream shop, or eat any of the yummy looking cupcakes in the Cupcake Hut.

The two weeks on the Oasis of the Seas were thoroughly enjoyable. You will love the ship, the food, the staff, and the entertainment. I am looking forward to my return in September!

if you celebrated a special event, did something exciting or special on the cruise, if you enjoyed the cruise, or even if you didn’t.

Comment on anything at all about poker cruising.

I’ve been sick and home bound, so yesterday I decided to play some online poker. I NEVER play online tournaments unless they are SNG or heads-up but I saw a $20 MTT with a $33,000 guarantee so on a whim, I decided to register late and play it…….

I had no idea how long these things take! There were a few thousand players. I had a commitment to be at Karina Jett’s fundraiser at 6pm and never dreamed I would still be in the tourney since they are 10 minute rounds and we only start with $3K. Anyway, as luck would have it, I make the money about 5pm. We hit the final table at 5:55pm and I was the chip leader. I had called the Nugget and knew they were running late for the tournament so as long as I got there by about 6:45, I would be able to play and make a rebuy for charity. It was heavy traffic hour, so I had to either leave right then or not make the tournament at the Nugget.

First place in my online tourney was $8K. 10th was about $250 (in that range).

Here were the approx chip counts for the start of the 10-handed final table:
Hero (me): $1,180,000
Player 1: $1,005,000
Player 2: $875,000
Player 3: $650,000
The rest were between $400k and $600K except one person who had about $220K.
Blinds were $12,000-$24,000 with $3K ante.

Payoffs were approx $8,000, $5,000, $3,300, $2,200, $1,500, down to about $250 for 10th. What to do?

I really wanted to keep my commitment to Karina, so I decided to leave the tournament and let myself blind out. Figure out where you think I finished and then scroll down and I’ll give you the answer.
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With the above chip stacks, I figured I could finish at least fifth and probably fourth, by being blinded off, which might be better than I would do if I stayed and played, especially since I had been playing really fast and could get trapped. Of course I would have no chance to finish first or second if I left. I ended up coming in third for $3,300 which is probably better than I would have done if I had played it out.:)

Linda Johnson
Card Player Cruises

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Card Player Cruises has been in business since 1992 and has hosted more than 25,000 poker players. We are the poker cruise pros!

Enjoy our parties, poker seminars, free poker instruction, tournaments, wide choice of games and limits, and a friendly, professional poker staff. Don’t miss the boat!

Card Player Cruises

In 1992, approximately 550 poker players sailed to the Mexican Riviera on the first Card Player Cruises poker trip. “I was lucky to be on that cruise; it changed the course of my life,” said co-owner and recent Poker Hall of Fame inductee, Linda Johnson. “Prior to the cruise, I was a professional poker player and that’s all I wanted to be. My friends and I had so much fun on that cruise that we knew we never wanted to miss another one. A week later, we signed papers to buy Card Player Magazine and Card Player Cruises.”

A poker cruise is a great way to combine travel and poker. You can play as much or as little poker as you want. The poker room is closed when we are in port and during dinner so our passengers can enjoy the cruise experience. Cruising is a great opportunity to visit exotic ports while only having to pack and unpack once.

Card Player Cruises has hosted more than 37,000 poker players on more than 100 poker cruises. They have at least five poker cruises per year; four of them are to destinations like the Caribbean, Alaska, Panama Canal, Mexico, and New England, and at least one cruise annually has a very exotic international destination. The 2012 exotic cruise is going to Dubai and India. They have had poker cruises all over the world and even chartered an entire cruise ship four times. The charters were amazing. They brought 2,500 poker players, 185 dealers, and enough equipment to outfit a 60-table poker room.”

It’s cheaper to go on a 7-night poker cruise than most people would spend going to Las Vegas for a weekend. Prices start at about $100 per day. This price includes your cabin, all-you-can-eat, nonstop entertainment, a plethora of activities, and a first-class poker room.

They set up a Las-Vegas style cardroom and offer live games and tournaments. The game selection varies from cruise to cruise since they will spread any game that enough players want, but the usual spread of games includes $1-$3 and $2-$5 no-limit hold’em, $2-$4, $4-$8, and $10-$20 limit hold’em, and $4-$8 and $10-$20 Omaha/8. They often have a mixed game or HORSE. Occasionally they have PLO or seven-card stud. They have at least seven tournaments on their domestic cruises, mostly in the $75-$125 buy-in range.

Their two best attributes are great customer service and a well-run poker room. They do a tremendous repeat business. Players love the camaraderie of the cardroom and the no-abuse policy. Everyone has a great time in and out of the poker room. They offer lessons for absolute beginners, complimentary seminars, private parties, and even offer private shore excursions on some of their cruises. They also have a “refer a friend” program that enables anyone to earn a free cruise, a discounted cruise, or cash, by referring their friends, family, and associates.

A complete list of the 2012 itinerary as well as other poker cruise information can be found at www.cardplayercruises.com  or you can call the Card Player Cruises office at 888-999-4880.

A Suggestion for the Perfect Holiday Gift

If you are looking for the perfect holiday gift for that special person in your life, family members, or close friends – something that you also will enjoy, and something for which he or she will thank you forever – you definitely should consider a Card Player Cruises poker cruise vacation.

If you’ve never been on, or never heard of a poker cruise, you don’t know what you are missing.

A poker cruise is less expensive than traveling to a destination resort! Most people are shocked to learn how affordable a cruise vacation really is. Included in the fare of about $100 per day is the cabin berth, all the food you can eat including complimentary room service, nightly Las Vegas-style entertainment, and amenities such as a fitness center, spa, pool, Jacuzzis, a movie theater, and much more. Non-poker playing guests will have plenty of activities to keep them occupied, and the poker room closes for dinner and while in port.

Card Player Cruises co-owner Linda Johnson, aka “The First Lady of Poker” said, “We run a friendly, no-abuse card room with an experienced staff. Play as much or as little poker as you want. Our number one priority is that our cruisers have a great time!”

The poker room is closed when in port and during dinner so that players can take time to enjoy the cruise experience. Card Player Cruises offers welcome-aboard gifts, free lessons, free poker seminars, and exclusive private parties. Most of the players are recreational players who want to combine cruising and poker, so games usually go from $1-$2 to $20-$40 and occasionally higher. Card Player Cruises will spread any game that enough people want to play. We have been in business since 1992 and have hosted more than 25,000 poker players. We offer the most poker action, most limits, and the best poker tournaments at sea. If you love poker and travel, you will have the trip of a lifetime by going on a poker cruise! For more information, visit www.cardplayercruises.com or call the office at 888-999-4880.  For best availability, book today.

Please visit www.cardplayercruises.com or call (888) 999-4880 for more information on this exciting way to play poker and sail the high seas.

Gift certificates and layaways available!