Now usually I find blogging about my life at sea rather monotonous and boring, BUT now there is change! For the first time since the Oasis started cruising the Caribbean back in 2009 we took a break from the Eastern/Western Caribbean cruises and pointed the ship East to Europe. This is all part of the plan to drydock the ship in Rotterdam for 2 weeks in October. There aren't many drydocks available for a ship this large so the company sent us for a couple weeks of cruising based out of Barcelona to show off the ship before we head to the dock. There will be quite a few projects going on during drydock but mostly it's just planned 5 year maintenance. The crossing was pretty much non eventful. We had extremely good weather. It was ... read more

Hello again, I left you off last time as we had just arrived in Ho Chi Minh City. Since then we've spent a few days in HCMC, bussed to Phnom Penh in Cambodia, spent a few days there, boated to Siem Reap to see the temples of Angkor, and then bussed to Bangkok. HCMC: was really cool and we did some pretty awesome things. Vietnam is seriously cheap so things like the zoo cost 60 cents... But on the plus side the western world hasn't intervened here so you can get 6 feet from a rhino. We also went and visited the tunnels that the Viet Cong had used during the Vietnam war. These were pretty interesting and even though the tunnels had been enlarged for tourists it was tight. Let's just say I'm not the ... read more

Well it has been a very long time since I’ve blogged, but here I am! After a year away from the Oasis of the Seas I am now back onboard. Things have been pretty good so far, and it’s been very nice coming back to a ship I know. That being said, this will be the first time I will be at sea over the holidays which other than the Royal Caribbean Christmas gift I assume will be business as usual. The weather has been a very interesting blend. It’s obviously not summer as there is worse weather in the atlantic which kicks up some decent waves for the run down to theVirgin Islands. And just last night while approaching theYucatanPeninsulawe ran into 5 meter waves being blown out of theGulf of Mexico. But then you ... read more

Hello again! This has been a fantastic week in and around Melbourne. The weather has been mostly cooperating, and today it was 39.5 degrees! It hardly cooled down so we found ourselves seeking refuge at the beach as it was still 38 at 7 pm... Earlier this week 3 of us suited up in the VW camper van and drove the Great Ocean Road. This road heads west towards Adelaide along Australias southern coast. It's a beautiful drive and it's full of different landscapes that range from jungle to rocky headlands. We saw dozens of wild koalas, emus, parrots, and even an echidna (which is similar to a porcupine and is one of only a few egg laying mammals). But unfortunately we didn't see any kangaroos. Then I did the sightseeing thing in town and spent ... read more

The last time I had blogged I was still at sea. The last month of my contract went well. But basically nothing interesting happened. I didn't leave the ship, but I had my parents and a friend onboard. My parents planned their cruise for late in the fall to avoid the brunt of the hurricane season. But they happened to be onboard for our encounter with Hurricane Sandy. Which was hands down the worst weather I have ever encountered at sea. The weather reports showed a rather conservative outlook on reality and the morning of our arrival in port everglades we had encountered waves that were 30 feet tall, and winds in excess of 100 km/h. We somehow managed to get the pilot onboard and safely entered Port Everglades. But now I'm in a completely different ... read more