We had visited three new countries, zip-lined, para-sailed, snorkeled, and climbed the hard side of Dunn’s River Falls in Jamaica.
But my traveling companion, my 12-year-old niece, Justina, and I were not ready for our cruise on Royal Caribbean’s Oasis of the Seas to be over.
We decided to make the most of Day 7, a day at sea as the ship sailed back to Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
We started Day 7 with breakfast from the Park Cafe on Deck 8. Rather than eating inside the cafe, we sat outside right in the midst of Central Park.
The fresh fruit, breakfast burritos and Maui Morning muffins had become our favorites, as was the beautiful surroundings.
A hint: this Cafe is popular. Arrive before 8:30 for a quieter experience.
On the other sea days, I mostly did whatever Justina wanted to do.
For the last day, however, I made some schedule negotiations. There were two events I wanted to attend. And, I would do whatever she wanted to do the rest of the day.
We both agreed we’d head to the Opal Theater around 4:30 pm, to get good seats for Hairspray at 5 pm. (We had reservations for the show on the first night of our cruise, but the show was canceled and rescheduled due to a sick performer.)
First, we attended the 9:30 am Central Park Tour with the Oasis’ Landscape Specialist. (This was not the 12-year-old’s idea, but she indulged her aunt.)
It was fascinating to learn about the challenges of having this garden at sea. (Washing the salt water off of the plants is one of the daily tasks for the gardeners.)
At 10 am, we headed to Studio B, where we both put on ice skates.
Actually skating on the rink made me admire the ice show performers even more.
The rink is relatively tiny to launch the jumps and complicated choreography that they displayed.
We both had a blast ice skating. Both of us managed to stay upright and the grandparents enjoyed watching.
Note: you must have long pants to ice skate. Luckily, Justina’s sweat pants qualified.
Next, I was off to change and meet with some adult friends in the Viking Crown Lounge. We heard a little of the “Meet the Stars” Experience for Crown & Anchor members.
Meanwhile, Justina and her grandparents took the Backstage Tour in the Opal Theater, getting an up-close view of the sets.
At 1 pm, we met for the Captain’s Corner in the Opal Theater.
After playing a video about the bridge and some other non-public areas of the Oasis of the Seas, Captain Trym Selvag spent a full hour answering the audiences’ questions, from the interesting to the ridiculous. He is a well-spoken and charming captain.
After sitting for an hour, Justina was ready for some activity.
We headed to the AquaTheater and watched up zip up the wall one last time. She says getting over that last “bump” before reaching the bell is the toughest. (See photo above.)
After rock climbing, we grabbed some quick lunch at the Park Cafe, and changed into clothes for “zipping” and “flowing.”
Justina went first on the zip line, and then took photos.
How to impress an adventurous 12-year-old? Do the activities they do. Yes, I zipped. (See above.)
One note: I took socks and used the Oasis “loaner” shoes for the Zip Line. Next time, I’ll wear my tennis shoes. They have better padding when you land.
All cruise, I had been trying to get Justina on the Flow Rider. For some reason, she was holding back.
But, she agreed she would try it if I would.
This takes courage – to hold the board and dive in.
The result was pretty, but I managed to stay on the board.
Wow, it was fun. I pretended to be 12 again.
Our day has flown by. We run to our cabin to change for the 5 pm show.
You aren’t allowed to take photos of the Hairspray show; this is the curtain before the show begins.
We loved the show.
The rescheduled time, however, made us very late to dinner. We had asked Eunice about it and she said it wasn’t a problem to come late.
Eunice, our waiter in the Main Dining Room is one of the best dining room servers at sea. She made our dining experience special every single night.
After a lovely last dinner, we had to go and pack. We used the Luggage Valet service for two bags, so they had to be outside of our cabin door by 11 pm.
I also had to return my book to the library. I usually read several books during a cruise.
On the Oasis with a 12-year-old, there was no time for reading.
We also made time for a few last laps around the jogging/walking deck.
This day was the perfect end to a fabulous, adventure-packed cruise.
If you’ve cruised on the Oasis of the Seas, what did you do on your last day on the ship? Please share in comments below.
If you haven’t already seen them, check out these other posts detailing the rest of Royal Caribbean Oasis of the Seas adventure:
- Cruising With a 12-Year-Old: Para-sailing from Cozumel, Mexico
- Cruising With a 12-Year-Old: Snorkeling and Climbing Dunn’s River Falls from Falmouth, Jamaica
- Cruising With a 12-Year-Old: Labadee, Royal Caribbean’s Private Resort in Haiti
- Cruising With a 12-Year-Old: A Day at Sea on the Oasis
- Traveling With a 12-Year-Old: Boarding Royal Caribbean’s Oasis of the Seas
- Traveling With a 12-Year-Old: Driving, Flying and Trying New Foods
- Traveling With a 12-Year-Old: The Hilton Fort Lauderdale Marina Hotel
- A Look Inside Interior Cabin #10425 on Royal Caribbean’s Oasis of the Seas