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Oasis of the Seas - August 2022
I took a relaxing solo cruise on a huge ship crammed with families!
My husband's family have been "Loyal to Royal" for decades, and introduced me to the fun cruising with Royal Caribbean early in my marriage. In 2022 it had been a while since I cruised, and I wanted a week-long break while my husband was out of town. I decided to try a solo cruise, and was curious to see if I could have a relaxing time on a huge modern cruise ship. The answer was YES! It turned out to be exactly what I wanted - a fun and relaxing and rejuvenating break!
I booked this cruise about 6 weeks before sailing (which is very last minute for a cruise), and chose Oasis of the Seas because I could drive to the departure port, and there was a nice looking cabin available looked that fit my budget.
Note that I didn't take many pictures on this trip, so a lot of the gorgeous shots below are courtesy of Royal Caribbean.
Pro tip for solo cruising
Cruise cabins are priced based on double occupancy. But you can look out for deals, and you won't have to pay taxes, port charges or gratuities for the second cruiser, so your price won't actually as much as two people would pay.
Highlights from my solo cruise
Although she's smaller than Royal Caribbean's more recent Icon-class ships, Oasis is enormous! Launched in 2009, she's 1187 ft. long, 215 ft. wide, and weighs 225,282 tons! There are 16 decks, and at full capacity there are 6,780 passengers and 2,100 crew onboard. On my sailing, there were over 6,500 passengers, almost all traveling in family groups.
I had a Central Park View cabin on Deck 9, close to the aft elevators. The cabin was huge for one person, and very quiet despite being close to the elevators.
I had a cozy window seat with a view in the Central Park area of the ship. I spent a lazy afternoon there on a rainy day, curled up with a book. It was so peaceful!
What I didn't realize when I booked that cabin was that there was a little balcony near the elevator lobby, that would allow a person to look right in!
Luckily the patterned sheer curtains made it hard to see in during the day, and at night I just closed the curtains.
I never noticed anyone trying to peek in, but I did see people on that little balcony occasionally.
My cabin overlook the ship's Central Park neighborhood - an actual park in the middle of the ship with trees and shrubs, as well as restaurants, shopping and a very pleasant outdoor bar!
There were umbrellas available at the doors on each end of the park, so you could use one to keep dry if it was raining. Bird and cricket sounds were piped in depending on the time of day!
I spent most of my time in the Solarium (also pictured above) - a huge adults-only area at the front of the ship. The solarium has its own bar and cafe, and a pool and hot tubs. The solarium is partially covered with glass canopies, but there's plenty of fresh air so it never gets too hot. Here's my little setup for the day! I never had trouble finding a good chair, and this was my favorite area.
Oasis of the Seas also features a very large open air sun deck in front of the solarium, overlooking the bow of the ship. It was perfect for serious sun seekers who also wanted peace and quiet, but it got very windy when we were underway!
In the evenings I would head to the Schooner Bar - a feature of every Royal Caribbean ship, and always my favorite bar! I joined other passengers in forming a group of regulars for the week, and we had fun comparing our daily adventures!
I had dinner in the main dining room most evenings, where I shared a table with a dad and daughter who were celebrating the start of her senior year of high school. The food and company were wonderful, and the staff was incredibly attentive.
After dinner I would take a swing through the casino. I love playing roulette and despite my best efforts to lose some money, I made enough to give my stateroom attendant, dining room staff, and favorite bartenders extra tips at the end of the week!