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Cruising on the Royal Caribbean Oasis of the Seas with Neurodivergent Kids
- That Was Fun Mom
- May 26, 2024
- 24 min read
Updated: Jul 18, 2024
Booking Summary:
Date of Cruise: 12–19 May 2024
Cruise Company: Royal Caribbean Cruises
Cruise Ship: Oasis of the Seas
Stateroom: 11134 / Oceanview for 6
Stateroom floor: 11th floor
In this post, I’ll be sharing with you our family’s experience on the Royal Caribbean Oasis of the Seas cruise that we took in May. What an adventure it was! It wasn’t even part of our planned journeys across Europe. It was a last minute decision I made with my hubby, and a birthday gift from me to him where we could enjoy a week of no cooking or cleaning, and just relaxation (to a degree).
I booked a 7-day Mediterranean cruise that started in Barcelona and stopped in Palma de Mallorca (Spain), Pisa/Florence (Italy), Rome (Italy) and Naples (Italy) before returning back to Barcelona.
I want to share how this entire cruise played out with four kids, one of whom is autistic and another who is waiting to be assessed for autism. It wasn’t easy at times, but despite my fears of doing a cruise with my neurodivergent family, it turned out to be the best time we all had and needed. We had some highs and lows, but it was such a great experience that we’re already looking into our next cruise, hopefully in winter 2024.
Pre-Cruise:
Once I booked our cruise (which was less than 3-weeks from the time of our departure (I know, very last minute), I received an email from Royal Caribbean Cruise encouraging me to download their app to expedite my family’s boarding process. I needed to make sure that I completed everyone’s online check-in (which needed to be done no less than 4 days prior to us sailing). I was asked to complete everyone’s personal information, provide passport details, headshot photos and set up our onboard expense account. I took photos of everyone on my phone and then uploaded them to the portal. You also have to provide a credit card to set up your expense account and on the day of your cruise, you’re given a RCC blue card, the size of a credit card, that has all your details of your trip (i.e. name, stateroom, account number, assembly station and main dining room table section). This card has your credit card details attached to it and anything that you buy onboard has to be with your RCC blue card.
Side note: If you’re having issues doing all that is needed on the app prior to your trip, don’t worry. I had the same problem, so I just logged onto their website, https://www.royalcaribbean.com/account/signin, and provided what was needed there.
Once I completed all the required steps, I had the option to download and print our luggage stateroom tags and boarding passes. I didn’t print them since I didn’t have a printer, but it was cool because Royal Caribbean provides them at the port terminal. If you download the app, you don’t need to print your boarding passes, for they’re available on the app. When you get to the port terminal on the day of, they will scan the barcode from the app.
Side note: If your phone font text size is set to large, you’ll need to reduce it to see the check-in barcode that is needed to check you in.
On the Day (Arrival):
Since we were coming from Gran Alacant, Spain by car, we drove about 4.5 to 5 hours to Barcelona airport. We parked in the secured short-stay ‘AENA General T1 Barcelona’ parking lot in Terminal 1. I paid in advance for a total of €95.99 (£82 GBP / $88 USD). I highly recommend paying in advance because a 7-day non-booking parking stay is just over €190.
Once we arrived at the airport terminal parking lot, we noticed the ticket from the parking machine had captured our licence plate number wrong, for it was missing a character. A day into our cruise, I got an email from the parking company, Parkimeter, saying they had no record of our car being parked in their lot. I called them and explained the email I received, in which they stated that sometimes their cameras don’t catch every character of a licence plate. They advised that upon my return from the cruise, I should contact the information desk at the pay machine and provide my reference number so they could void out the charge I would incur. Sure enough, when we got back, I did just that and didn’t have to pay anything extra.
Once we got all our gear onto the trolleys, we headed downstairs to the arrivals exit area at the airport and hailed a taxi. We only had to wait about 5 minutes for a taxi that could carry all six of us. I had tried to book a taxi in advance, but the cost for a van with child seats was €99, which seemed pricey since I read that the fare to Barcelona pier from the airport was €45/$48 USD flat rate. So, I took a chance and got a taxi when we arrived at the airport.
Side Note: In Barcelona, it is not required for taxi drivers or passengers to carry car seats for children in a taxi. They just need to have a seat belt on.
When we got everything loaded onto the taxi, we made our way to Moll Adossat Terminal B pier where our gigantic ship was waiting for us. The entire journey from the airport was roughly 20 minutes and did indeed cost €45.
Side Note: We couldn’t get picked up at the airport by Royal Caribbean because we travelled by car and not by plane, and I was told by a representative that I could only book transfer services to and from if my cruise package included a flight.
Arriving To Barcelona Port:
Upon arrival, our bags were loaded onto a trolley and we were told to go to the kiosk next to us to get tags for our bags in order for the luggage handlers to know what room to deliver our bags to. Each bag needed to have a tag on it with our stateroom number to prevent our luggage from getting lost.
Word of advice, take what you need right away on the ship with you (i.e. a carry-on bag, diaper bag, etc.) because if you check it in, it can take a few hours before the luggage handlers drop off your bags to your room. For my family and I, it took over an hour before we received our bags, so we made sure to keep the kids nappy bag, handbags, knapsacks and my laptop bag with all our chargers in it.
Once our bags were taken away onto the ship, we were ushered inside the port terminal where we needed to go through security and show our passports for identity and verification. From there, we made our way through the duty free shop and then to our first family professional photo with Royal Caribbean Cruise photographers.
Throughout the entire cruise, photographers walk around asking if you want to take a photo. The photos they take, after you provide them with your stateroom number, go onto a digital database where you can view and buy your photos ranging from $25.99 — $600 USD. You can choose to buy digitals, prints, photobooks and customised wall art. It may sound pricey, but the photographers take amazing photos of you and your family. The photos are available to buy up until the last day of your cruise. After that, they are no longer retrievable or available to buy.
After taking our family photo, we made our way through the embankment walkway onto the ship where we were greeted by entrance staff who asked us for our passports to make sure our faces matched our passport photos.
On the Oasis of the Seas:
Once on the ship, we walked straight into the Royal Promenade on level 5. It felt like stepping into a high-end shopping street, complete with an all-you-can-eat pizzeria, a karaoke lounge, a café, a pub, a bionic bar, various retailer shops, and even a Starbucks. By now, it was after 4pm and we were starvin’ like Marvin, so we headed to our stateroom to drop off our belongings and get a bite to eat.
When we arrived at our stateroom, the blue card keys, also serving as our charge cards, were waiting for us in cardholders on our door. Unfortunately, our luggage hadn’t arrived yet, so we decided to head downstairs to grab a bite at the pizzeria called, Sorrento and indulged in some delicious margherita and pepperoni pizzas. My husband went and got us some drinks which consisted of pineapple juice, sparkling water and a cola, which unfortunately we had to pay for because we thought all juices were free. When I originally booked this cruise I was told that sodas were not free and we needed to purchase an unlimited drinks package, but juices and water were unlimited and free. I was fine with that, but to our amazement, the following day, we got a balance for just over $80 USD/£63 GBP for the six drinks we ordered. Crazy, right!?
So, the lesson learned here is, if you’re not sure if your food and drinks are free, ask before you tap/give your card or check the app, for it will tell you what food outlets are free to avoid being hit with a hefty tab on your credit card.
When we got back to our room after enjoying our pizzas, there was still no sign of our luggage, so we decided to walk around and explore the ship. We ventured on almost every single floor that was available to us and headed to the upper deck on level 15 and 16 where the children got super excited when they saw the kids waterpark and slides available to them.
The evening was a bit chilly so we promised the kids we would go swimming the next day, but we enjoyed some great Caribbean music from the live band, Umoja, who were absolutely amazing. They were playing some wicked old school reggae, calypso and soca which had the whole deck singing and dancing. After Umoja’s set was done we decided to go and have dinner at the Windjammer Restaurant which was the main all-you-can-eat food hall.
The Windjammer had a variety of all around the world type foods that were quite good. Some things were a little bit too salty for my liking, but the desserts were really good. I had to do a lot of resisting and working out at the gym to prevent those extra pounds from creeping up on me. Every night at The Windermere there was a cultural theme where they served dishes related to a particular culture. During those 7 days on the ship, the themes I remembered wqere: British, Caribbean, American, Italian and Indian. Don’t worry, if you’re not into those dishes, for they have standards like salads, french fries, burgers, hot dogs and soups to enjoy. My autistic son’s favourite meal every day at lunch and dinner was fries and a cheeseburger with ketchup. Something I’m going to have to remove from his diet for a bit when we return back to the UK. (Good luck to me with that one!)
If you’re not feeling the Windjammer, there are a number of complementary restaurants that you can eat at and enjoy like: El Loco Fresh (Mexican), pizza at Sorrento, The Cafe, Dog House and the most elegant of them all, the Main Dining Room. They also have restaurants that are not included in your package and you pay using your blue card such as Portside BBQ, Chops Grille and Izumi.
After we finished our meal at The Windjammer, we returned to our room hoping to find our luggage, and thankfully, it had arrived. However, I was a bit concerned to see all our bags left outside our door. I would have preferred if they were safely inside our room to avoid any potential damage or theft.
Since we travelled by car across Europe, we only had duffle bags that fit in our roof box, and unfortunately, we couldn’t use luggage locks. If you’re going on a cruise, I recommend securing your suitcases with locks. You can also choose to carry your luggage on and off the ship yourself, but with four kids and eight bags, we had no choice but to check ours in.
Our Stateroom:
Our stateroom was an ocean view room that came with 1 x king size bed, 1 x bunkbed and 1 x sofa bed that opened up to a double. It was roomy enough for the family, but not to spend too much time in because everyone would have driven each other mad. We had a window in our room, which the kids loved and sat in.
There is ample storage for six people, and the amenities in the room included:
TV
Hair dryer
Vanity area
Hand and body soap
Towels and wash cloths
Housekeeping AM and PM
In-Room Safe
Phone and Voicemail Service
Left to right: Bunk beds (to the left and across from the bathroom as you enter the room), 1 x king bed and
1 x sofa bed that turns into a double bed.
The bathroom
We also had a housekeeper, by the name of Amanda, who came by the first day on our cruise to introduce herself to us and the times she would come by to clean our room. She saw we had two little ones, so she brought us bags to put their dirty nappies in and leave outside for her or another cleaning staff to pick up.
Included in Cruise Package:
When you book your cruise with a representative, make sure to ask as many questions as to what is included in your cruise package to prevent you from getting a huge surprise on your final bill when you exit the ship.
When I booked our family cruise I spent almost an hour speaking to the representative who walked me through what we would get with the package including prices. Near the end of the conversation, before I needed to pay with my credit card, the representative asked if I wanted to include the gratuity charge to my package. Not too sure what that was, the representative explained to me that it was a charge to reward their crew members for their services. I asked him if it was mandatory as I wanted to pay employees in cash. The rep told me that it would be okay, so I declined the charge.
Fast forward to the day before our cruise ended. At 6 am in the morning when everyone was sleeping, I made my way downstairs to guest services to make sure I had nothing outstanding to pay on my blue card. I did this because on the day when everyone needs to get off the ship, there are long queues and wait times to be serviced at guest services, and with my four kids and their lack of patience, sorting out final bills the last minute was not an option.
I made my way to the counter to be serviced and tapped my blue card on the tapping device for the receptionist to pull up my stateroom details. I asked him if he could let me know if I had anything else to pay other than the nursery fee for my daughter that I knew I needed to pay. As I patiently waited for him to pull up my account, he then came back with a total that almost had me drop to the floor. The total he gave me was an outstanding balance of $718 USD / £563 GBP. I thought he pulled up the wrong account, but when he printed off the charges for me to visually see, all I saw were multiple charges under everybody’s name that read, “Onboard Gratuities’. These were the charges that I declined when I originally booked our cruise with the telephone representative 3-weeks prior. I quickly told the receptionist what I was told by the telephone representative, but before I could finish what I was explaining, the receptionist politely cut me off and said he would wave all the charges. I can’t tell you how fast my blood pressure went down after hearing those words. Just like that, the $718 USD was removed and I wholeheartedly thanked the receptionist for making that goodwill gesture for me.
So, make sure when you are booking a cruise to add on the gratuity charge to avoid disappointment. However, the receptionist did explain that the onboard gratuities charge can be waived when booking a cruise by asking during the booking process. Not only that, Royal Caribbean Cruises has promotions throughout the year where these charges are removed in your package.
Excursions:
Because I’ve been on a cruise before, I knew how expensive excursions can be when you book solely through the cruise line (in this case, Royal Caribbean). I did one with Carnival Cruises which was a bike ride tour through Belize that cost $100 USD, and that was back in 2012. It was an alright excursion, but not worth $100 USD. So, when I booked the family cruise with Royal Caribbean, I knew right away that any excursions I wanted to do with the family were going to be on our own. Besides, like I said before in my previous posts, I enjoy exploring different towns and cities as if I were a local, which is exactly what I wanted for the family as we embraced different cultures and languages.
I think if it’s your first time going on a cruise you should experience a cruise excursion. I encouraged my husband to do one, but he didn’t want to, for he’s like me and wanted to explore on his own.
Gay-Odin, a chocolate factory in Naples that sells gelato ice cream that is DE-LIC-OUS!
Our favourite place we enjoyed on the cruise was, hands down, Naples. We went strictly for the pizza, as it is the home of the pizza. However, it was nice going through hidden bazaars that were a photographers paradise and enjoying some real and authentic gelatos. We also did a hop-on and hop-off bus tour with CitySightseeing Italy that was absolutely breathtaking. The coastline of Naples from the top of the hills was paradise in itself.
We purchased our tickets at a shop a block or two from the terminal port entrance. You can buy it at the first stop of the CitySightseeing Naples tour, which was a 5 minute walk from the terminal and right across from Castel Nuovo.
24h Bus Ride Tickets Through Naples Cost:
€26 x Adults (+16)
€13 x Children (5–15)
We only brought our youngest son into Naples, and he went free because he was under 5.
Ship Activities:
There was an assortment of activities to do on the ship that everyone from toddlers to seniors could enjoy. Most of the activities were repeated throughout the 7 days on the ship, but at various times of the day. Some of the activities on the ship include sudoku challenge, karaoke, basketball, football (soccer), ice skating, rock climbing, a carousel ride, The Ultimate Abyss (a massive winding slide), an arcade, zip lining, mini golf and the favourite for my kids, the splash park.
There were tons of evening events taking place for everyone, including some that were for 18+ and went right through the night.
Some of the various activities on the ship. From top left: A carousel ride, water surfing,
mini golf, ice skating and a gigantic slide.
Kids Club: Adventure Ocean
When I think of Adventure Ocean, I think of summer camp at the local recreation centre where I grew up. A place where kids get to hang out, play with each other and participate in various activities. The club is catered to children ranging from 3–17 years old. There is also an Adventure Ocean Babies that is for babies and toddlers ranging from 6–36 months.
You will also find a soft play, movie theatre and arts and crafts room in the club as well.
Note: I will speak about my experience with Adventure Ocean with my kids, who were, at the time 2, 3, 5 and 8.
On the first day of the cruise, we went to check out Adventure Ocean, which is situated on deck 14 at the front of the ship. As you walk through the rainbow illuminated coloured hallway, you will find the play rooms for 3–5 year olds and babies 6–36 months. Straight ahead is the theatre and around the corner to the right is the soft play area, arts and crafts room and the playroom for 6–9 year olds. If you want to have your kids play in one of the three age appropriate play areas, you have to register them. So, on the first day in the theatre, I registered all my children. I was given a tablet to fill out four forms that required information such as their name, age, special needs, allergies, secret password, emergency contact and any other important information for Royal Caribbean staff members to know about my kids. When I filled out the form for my eldest son, I had to state that he was autistic and fill out more details about what his needs were and how staff members could assist his needs.
Once I was done filling out the forms, we headed to the soft play room because at the time, I thought I had to pay per hour for each child to play in their various play rooms.
Side note: The soft play room is free and is not monitored by any staff, so you need to be with your children at all times.
I believe it was day three or four into the cruise when we took advantage of the kids club one evening when I accidentally was enquiring more about the club, and one of the staff members said it’s free to leave my kids with them.
When we got to Adventure Ocean, it was roughly around 7:30 in the evening and my husband and I decided to leave the kids at the club. For my 8-year-old he had to go into the club for 6 to 9-year-olds and for my 5 and 3-year-old they went to the 3 to 5 years old club. We had to keep our youngest one with us because they had no more availability that evening, but they booked her in for 2 hours the next day to see how she would get on since this would be her first experience in a nursery. We were given a mobile phone to use to make or receive calls from the staff and in case of an emergency. The phones are nothing fancy. They’re actually similar to the classic Nokia phones that you can shove in your pocket and walk around with.
Can I tell you when I walked out of the kids club I kind of felt a sense of relief because my husband and I only had to deal with one child for the next two and a half hours? I was looking forward to the next day where all of them were going to be at the club and my husband and I would be child free. I’m keeping it real with you all. I really needed a break because by then, I was feeling burnt out.
For the rest of the evening my husband, youngest daughter and I hung out in the soft play room and walked around the ship before heading to our stateroom to put our baby girl to bed and then picking up the other three from Adventure Ocean.
During the two and a half hours of our children playing at Adventure Ocean, less than 30 minutes in, we received a phone call on the emergency phone from one of the staff members who called to say that our youngest son was trying to draw on the walls with crayons and didn’t really want to participate in various activities they had for the children. I didn’t see it as a problem and they asked me if there was something I could suggest to them that would divert his attention to something else. I mentioned how he loved trains, in which, they brought out a train set for him and another kid, and for the rest of the night, my son was good.
Out of all my kids, my eldest was the one I was most concerned about because of his autism. However, he proved me and his dad wrong because when I picked all of them up that night, the staff said he was really good and had a lot of fun. Not only that, my son also stated that he had enjoyed himself at the club. My daughter showed off her paintings she created and my youngest son was having so much fun that he didn’t want to leave.
The next day we were arriving in Rome, Italy which my husband and I had been to before. My husband didn’t want to go off the ship into the city and decided that he would hang out for the day, but I wanted to go into Rome to get a postcard and eat a lemon Italian gelato while walking around the Coliseum. My husband and I agreed that we would put the kids in Adventure Ocean while he would catch a break and relax.
That morning before I headed into Rome I dropped the kids off to Adventure Ocean. When I went to drop off my 3 and 5-year-old I was told that my 3-year-old son would not be able to attend the club because he was still in training pants. They noticed he was in training pants and I disclosed on the form that he was potty trained. Technically he was, for he was starting to get really good at going pee on the toilet, but that was with reminders and I wasn’t confident enough to have him in underwear while out and about for periods at a time.
I decided I’d give my son a try and got one of his sister’s underwear to put on him. The staff reassured me that all the kids were constantly reminded and ushered to frequent toilet breaks, so I felt my son would be alright. Boy was I wrong, because 1 hour into me dropping him off, my husband called me to say that our son pee’d himself and he had to collect him from the club. Luckily it was almost lunch time and my husband decided to keep him and take him and his younger sister to Windjammer for lunch. After they had lunch, I advised to my husband to take our son back to Adventure Ocean, even though the staff weren’t keen on taking him due to his accident. I told my husband to ask the staff if they would be ok if every 1–2 hours we came by to collect, change and bring him back to the club. They agreed, and we did just that.
When it came to my eldest son that morning, he almost didn’t get into the club as well because of his autism, and here’s why…
If the ship is at port for the day and your child has a special need, Adventure Ocean staff feel that it might be a risk should something happen to your child and you’re not on the ship to be reached. Remember, the phones they provide you only work on the ship and the staff will not call you on your personal mobile. The staff were concerned that my son would have issues during lunchtime when they had to transition from one area of the ship to the other end, where they take them to Windjammer for lunch. I had to reassure them that my son would be alright, because I knew he would be, and he was good with following directions with a bit of guidance if need be. Yes, my son has his sensory needs and stims a lot, but nothing to the point where it would disrupt or cause harm to the staff, other children or himself. Once the staff received the go ahead from the Adventure Ocean’s manager, who agreed to allow my son to stay the entire day, I kissed my son goodbye and I went off to Rome.
For my baby girl, my husband and I decided to do a 2-hour trail, and if she was good, we would book her to stay that evening from 7pm-10pm.
In order to place your child in the baby room, you have to book with a staff member onsite. Spots fill up quickly, particularly in the evenings, so it’s good to book in advance.
When the ship is at port, Adventure Ocean is free from:
9am to 5pm (lunch is provided in the Windjammer restaurant. Kids have the option to choose from nuggets, chips/fries, pizza and/or a burger)
7pm to 10pm
10pm-1am is a fee of $10 USD / £8 GBP per hour, per child.
Note: If you view the photo of the timetable above, you’ll notice that on port days it’s says you can arrange to drop off children earlier upon request.
When ship is at sea, Adventure Ocean is free from:
9am -12pm
2pm - 5pm
7pm - 10pm
10pm - 1am is a fee of $10 USD / £8 GBP per hour, per child
Nursery costs at AO Babies (on or off the ship):
9am - 6pm | $6 USD / £4.60 GBP hr per child
6 -10pm | $8 USD / £6 GBP hr per child
10pm -1am | $10 USD / £8 GBP hr per child
My youngest absolutely loved the nursery. I honestly thought she was going to cry, but she didn’t pay us any mind when we walked away and out the door.
When we dropped her off to the nursery, we needed to provide nappies (diapers) and wipes. I added extra clothes in a bag just in case she had an accident. The staff also provided us with a phone for emergency calls, but note that if you have kids in other rooms, one phone is needed and the staff from each room will jot down the telephone number associated with your phone, that way you won’t have to carry more than one at a time.
The nursery is very clean and before I handed off my child to the nursery staff, I had to wipe her hands down with provided wipes and take her shoes off. I found it was quite cool in the nursery, so I made my girl dress in long sleeve shirts and leggings.
I should mention that in all the kids clubs all my kids had to take off their shoes and wash their hands before heading off to play.
Our Departure:
The annoying thing about the cruise was the early checkout. The ship returned back to Barcelona at 7am and at that time, some of us were still sleeping or just waking up. The night before, all the kids went to kids club and got picked up at 10pm, so by the time we all went to sleep, it was just after 11pm. Everyone had to be up at 6:30am to make our way to the Windjammer for breakfast and then back down to collect our bags before checkout, which was 8am. I was told by the customer service rep, who I booked with, that we had to exit the ship by 8:30am.
The night before, I noticed people’s luggage outside their staterooms, and thought nothing of it, so the next morning when I was trying to figure out how we were going to get all our luggage out and off the ship. I asked our housekeeper if I could get help with our luggage. She was shocked that no one had come to collect our luggage because the night before we should have gotten tags to put on our bags and leave out for the luggage handlers to pick up and bring downstairs.
What happens is that all luggage gets picked up in the middle of the night to the luggage area of the ship. When the ship arrives at port the next morning, everyone’s luggage is taken off the ship and placed in the terminal holding area where you then search for your bags based on your tag number. You do have the option to decline the baggage pick up and take your own luggage on and off the ship.
We almost had to take all our luggage and stroller off the ship ourselves, which would have been a nightmare, but our housekeeper, Amanda, stepped in, got her manager to get some tags for us (which I still can’t understand why we never received) and got our bags collected. Amanda was on it! Mind you, once the luggage handlers pick up all the luggage the night before, they don’t come back to pick up any the next day. If you missed putting your bags out, it’s now all on you to get them off the ship, so I was grateful to Amanda for going above and beyond for us. She definitely deserved the gratuity I gave her. Once we departed the ship, we made our way down to the luggage claims area and collected our luggage. We had a luggage handler place our bags on a trolley and take them to the taxi area where we waited to get a taxi to take us back to Barcelona airport.
We waited about 25 minutes for a taxi because there were six of us and we needed a van taxi, which were not as frequent as the car taxis. I guess this is where booking in advance comes in handy, but I didn’t mind waiting. There are staff at the pier terminal who assist with hailing down a taxi for passengers, so you don’t have to worry about doing this yourself.
Once we got our taxi, we made our way back to Barcelona airport, packed up our car and made our way to Saint Tropez, France. The next leg of our European road trip.
Other Cruisers:
There were a variety of people on the cruise from young to old and of all nationalities. A lot of people who we met were from USA, Canada and parts of Asia. Everyone on the cruise was very friendly and accepting of our neurodivergent family. I remember telling my husband on the cruise that it felt like Christmas time for everyone was jolly and kind. We didn’t deal with inconsiderate, arrogant and ignorant individuals. Instead, everyone was understanding and accepting. Maybe it was the t-shirts I made that we wore on the cruise that made people think twice about stepping to us, but I beg to differ and truly believe that everyone on the ship, including the staff, were genuinely kind.
We did get a lot of support, shared stories and compliments about the shirts from people who either had a child on the spectrum or was a grandparent to a child on the spectrum, which really warmed my heart.
The t-shirts I made for the cruise, which you can buy here.
Extras and What You Need To Know:
Beach towels are complimentary and you can get on deck 15 on both sides in the middle of the ship. You have to use your blue card to rent them out, and if you forget to bring your towels back to the towels desk, you will be charged $25 USD / £19.50 GBP per towel. So, no need to bring any towels with you, which can save you lots of room in your luggage.
I am a seasick person and I was afraid that booking an ocean front stateroom with a window that was at the front of the ship was going to make me sick. However, I was reassured that the Oasis of the Seas ship was so big that no matter where I was on the ship, I wouldn’t feel the motion of the ocean, and I didn’t. I was absolutely fine the entire time and most times forgot I was even on a ship. I did bring with me seasick bands just in case, but didn’t have to use.
I was happy with were our stateroom was situated on the cruise for it was in the same section of Adventure Ocean kids club, which meant I didn’t have to walk far to drop off or collect my kids. Our room was about a 2-minute walk from the closest elevator and way on the other end of the ship from the restaurant, Windjammer. I think next time I book a cruise, I would like to be in the middle of the ship by the elevators because it’s easy access to everything. However, I’m not gonna lie, I walked a lot of steps on the ship and my Fitbit Inspire 2 was constantly going off notifying me of my exercising achievements.
Overall:
My family and I really enjoyed Royal Caribbean’s Oasis of the Seas. I don’t know what it was about this cruise, but it made me feel incredibly relaxed which I haven’t felt like in a very long time. Maybe it was having everything pretty much right at the foot of my doorstep, or in this case stateroom, that made everything feel like a luxury to me. Things like not having to cook or clean and having available babysitting services when needed made the cruise an enjoyable one. Now don’t get me wrong, there were some minor and major hiccups I experienced with the kids, mainly my second son, but these were learning hiccups that taught me how to deal with certain scenarios when traveling with my children.
The Adventure Ocean crew were phenomenally amazing with my kids, particularly with my boys. They were always so warm and welcoming every time my husband and I dropped off and picked up our kids. I appreciate them for making the exceptions they did to accommodate my sons and their needs. I can definitely say that booking a cruise with Royal Caribbean Cruise is a great option for families with neurodivergent children. They definitely care about their needs and there is so much for them to do and explore on and off the ship. Not only that, the childcare services given to you comes in handy for those days when you want a moment to yourself to relax, unwind and simply enjoying the luxury of cruising.
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