Oasis of the Seas | Coolest Travel Pictures

Top 10 items to pack for a cruise on Oasis of the Seas

The top 10 items to pack for your Royal Caribbean Oasis of the Seas cruise!

View from oasis of the seas boardwalk balcony stateroom — Taken with a Canon Powershot G11 camera.

Like many others who have cruised on Oasis of the Seas, I researched and purchased many items prior to my trip. Below are my picks for the most useful items I felt were needed. I’m not including the obvious items, like sunglasses, bathing suites, and suitcases but rather items that enhanced my trip and/or made my cruise more enjoyable!

1. Digital Camera – but not just any camera, a Point & Shoot compact digital camera with advanced features. You probably saw this one coming since this site focuses so much on travel pictures. For my trip on Oasis of the Seas, I packed two cameras; a digital compact camera and a digital SLR. My wife also brought along an additional camera, which I used often. My daily camera was the compact Canon PowerShot G16, it’s a very well constructed compact P&S digital camera with many features only found on digital SLR pro models. Its easy to operate for the average person but also gives advanced options for those who want to take pro-type images.

Here are a few sample pictures taken with the G Series camera: one, two and three. More than half of the pictures on this site were taken with a G Series camera. For a list of the three cameras I used during my trip and this site, take a look at my Best Travel Camera page.

2. Laptop sleeve – Be aware that the safe inside your stateroom is too small to fit anything larger than a small laptop. Storing it safely in your stateroom takes some planning. I purchased a laptop sleeve that fit like a glove and left the laptop case at home. While away from my stateroom I placed it in my suitcase between my clothes to hide it. Or better yet, I would simply take an iPad or other Tablet, that would fit perfectly in the safe with lots of room to spare.

3. Wrinkle Remover – Since Royal Caribbean does not allow nor provide an iron to be used in your stateroom, getting rid of wrinkles can cause a big problem, especially for those elegant nightly events! So besides packing your clothes very carefully, a travel size can of wrinkle remover was very helpful.

4. Insulated Water Bottle – Why a water bottle? If you don’t already know, you cannot take bottled water on-board Oasis of the Seas, they screen everything. Your only options are to buy bottled water packages that can run you about $4 per bottle if pre-purchased in bulk. But what people don’t know is that most of the restaurants on board have filtered water available at no charge (it’s a new ship so the filtering system is excellent). I could not tell the difference from the bottled and filtered water. For our day trips at the ports, I would make a quick stop at Sorrentos Pizzeria at the Promenade deck and fill up my insulated bottle with ice cold filtered water.

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Oasis of the Seas arrives at Nassau Bahamas and Atlantis Resort at Paradise Island

Oasis of the Seas Atlantis Resort Bahamas — View from Oasis of the Seas as we arrived at Nassau Bahamas

Day 7 – Oasis of the Seas arrives at Nassau, Bahamas

Friday, our last full day, Oasis of the Seas was scheduled to port at Nassau in the Bahamas. The previous night my wife and I picked out a spot just below the Solarium, it had a perfect 180 degree view of our approach to Nassau. And as the island appeared in the horizon, we were not disappointed. The ship neared Nassau and the Atlantis Resort towers on Paradise Island were plainly visible. Surrounded by the blue Caribbean Sea on the left and Nassau on the right, I new it would be a picture perfect moment!

It was a partly cloudy day, but the view was spectacular. Hundreds of other passengers were also watching as we slowly approached Nassau. For many others, they remained indoors at the Promenade area to watch a Bohemian festival-type parade, but for us it was all about the view outdoors.

As we approached Nassau, the Atlantis resort at Paradise Island was prominent on the horizon. When we entered the port I took some great pictures of the hotel towers. Also, there were three other ships and as we made our way towards where Oasis was to dock, the passengers of the other ships were all outside of their staterooms and along the decks watching as we arrived. I can only imagine the view they had as the largest cruise ship in the world sailed into the harbor! Walking off the ship and into Nassau, I took this picture of Oasis next to Carnival Sensation. Oasis was so large that my wide angle lens could not capture the entire ship!

Atlantis Resort view from Oasis of the Seas

In downtown Nassau we walked around Bay St. taking a few photos and buying souvenirs. After a quick stop at the courthouse and taking more pictures, we headed back to the port to purchase an island tour. In our case it was a mistake, we paid $50 for what the Atlantis Resort portion of the tour is something we could have done at no cost. The guide promised a full island and Atlantis Resort tour with admission to the aquarium. What we actually got was a drive around town in an old van, with a stop at Fort Fincastle. The Fort had some nice views, but more of a tourist trap for the local vendors. We then stopped at the local gas station because the van was out of gas. Finally we drove over the bridge to Paradise Island for a tour of Atlantis. I managed to capture this nice picture of Oasis of the Seas docked next to other cruise ships during the drive over. As for the “island tour”, it was more like a “drive by” on our way to Paradise Island/Atlantis.

Atlantis Resort Bahamas while on Oasis of the Seas

Once at the Atlantis resort, the tour included a walk through the lobby, followed by a quick view of the Casino to see

Temple of the Sun Atlantis Resort Bahamas — Temple of the Sun inside the Casino at the Atlantis Resort

the Temple of the Sun artwork. Our tour ended back in the lower lobby where a small portion of the aquarium is visible. This was not the actual full aquarium and when I asked if we were going to enter and view it all, the guide said no. Apparently he was only taking us to the free public areas within the hotel, something we could have done ourselves! I was disappointed and especially not happy when the driver on the way back to the port stopped to pick up his girlfriend and give her a ride home from work!

TIP: To visit the Atlantis Resort take a water taxi from the port. It only cost a few dollars and takes you directly to Paradise Island where Atlantis is located. There are areas that are free, like the huge artistic lobby, the halls with awesome art pieces, and the Casino area where the Temple of the Sun is located. You can also see a small portion of the aquarium and visit a few restaurants. Again all free, something that a guide will charge you $25 per person, but you can do at no cost. And if you want to see and use the rest of the resort, like swim in their pools, see the full aquarium or play in the famous water slides and river rides, a one day pass can be purchased in the lobby. Spend your money here instead of the overpriced “tour” offered at the port.
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Golf, Pools, Jogging Track and Come Fly With Me on Oasis of the Seas

miniature golf Oasis of the Seas — Playing golf on Oasis of the Seas

Day 6 – At sea exploring on Oasis of the Seas

The 6th day on Oasis was spent at sea as we took this opportunity to relax and do more exploring throughout the ship. I’m not one to exercise while on vacation but I was curious to see the jogging track that runs around the ship. It’s actually very nice and has some nice views. To travel one mile we had to walk 2.4 laps. We walked the entire distance enjoying the fresh air and funny quotes aligning the track. Towards the area near the gym, a mural of runners encouraged us to try a second lap!

running track on Oasis of the Seas — Running track on Oasis of the Seas

Later in the afternoon we spent time playing miniature golf. Its not very big, but perfectly situated near all the water sports and Zip Line. The panoramic views of the ocean were wonderful from this area. Along the edge of the 3rd hold you’re literally standing on the side of the ship with a breathtaking site of the Caribbean Sea. The golf area is lined with fun bronze-like statutes…the dog was my favorite.

The rest of the day was spent relaxing by the pools. We headed to the top deck and with a couple of towels blocking the light breeze, we waiting for the sunset. The ship is so large, there’s room to spare for all to enjoy. As you can see from the picture, it’s not crowded at all. We expected to be overwhelmed with people since the ship holds over 6000, but its so large that space is plenty to go around.

Finally, at night we returned to The Opal Theater for a show called Come Fly With Me. I won’t give too much away other than it was a spectacular experience that kept the audience constantly surprised with aerial events. All three shows at this theater have been great, but I suggest to arrive early so you can appreciate the beauty of the theater before the show starts.

bronze dog on Oasis of the Seas — Doggie statute on Oasis of the Seas

top deck oasis of the seas — Top deck on Oasis of the Seas

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Oasis of the Dreams Aqua Show and Frozen in Time Ice Show

Oasis of the Dreams night Aqua Show picture water show — Oasis of the Dreams Aqua Show

Day 5 – Night shows on Oasis of the Seas

Earlier in the day we had a wonderful time in St. Maarten/St. Marten, but at night it was time for two great shows onboard Oasis of the Seas. As I mentioned earlier on day 3, the aqua show Oasis of the Dreams was canceled due to excessive movement of the ship, so it was postponed for tonight. However, we were also booked for the Ice Show later that night, two shows, one night, it was going to be a spectacular night!

We arrived early to the Aqua Show of Oasis of the Dreams and chose a couple of seats near the center. We had a wonderful view of the stage and unlike a couple nights ago, tonight the ship was still docked in St. Maarten, so no rocking of the ship. It was about 6pm or so and the night sky was a perfect backdrop to the wonderful lights illuminating the stage. The show consists of dancers, divers and music. I was surprised at how short the program was in duration, however it was well worth the time. I was enjoying the show so much, I only paused to take a couple of pictures. The images you see were taken at the start of the show.

Later that night, we headed over to the Ice Show Frozen in Time at Studio B. Only one word can describe the show and that is WOW! The studio is large and seems like 97% of the seats all have the same excellent view of the rink. (TIP: Arrive early to get your seats. Although most of the seats have a great view, there are a few which are blocked by support columns. I noticed a few people sitting behind them having to move their head left and right to see the show.) Once again we had center rows, right in the middle as I normally like it (see photo). The place must hold a few hundred people but because of the configuration of the seats, you feel very close to the ice skaters. The performance was wonderful and surprisingly a few were doing some very high level skating maneuvers. A special treat during the ice show included the world renowned Ilana Yahav creating her beautiful sand art. Not sure if she is doing this on a permanent basis on Oasis, but she was featured during that night. You can see more of her sand art on her website SandFantasy.

Oasis of the Dreams night pictures Aqua Show — Oasis of the Dreams Aqua Show

Studio B Oasis of the Seas Ice Show — Oasis of the Seas Ice Show Studio B

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