Our third day was another at sea but we weren’t complaining as you need several days to explore and experience everything available on a ship of this size.
We started the day with breakfast at Johnny Rockets, the American style diner situated on the Boardwalk. You have to pay for lunch and dinner but the breakfast menu is free although I don’t think many people have realised this as it was quiet and we were quickly seated in a booth inside. We had eggs, beef pattys and country potatoes with English muffins which definitely set us up for the day.
After breakfast we explored some more of the ship and enjoyed a round of mini golf on the Harmony Dunes. We also watched some spectacular falls on the flow riders and the constant stream of people zip lining across the huge drop to the Boardwalk. I had a quick peek into Fuel the teenage nightclub on board which looked fantastic if only I was 30 years younger!
Finn had a quick video game fix in the arcade then it was time to sample the Costal Kitchen lunch, located on deck 17. The restaurant adjoins the suite lounge and serves an al a carte menu with free flowing wine which is very civilized and much more relaxing than the main dining room. The chicken baguette I ordered was gorgeous, Finn wolfed a tomato soup served with a mini Croque Monsieur while Andy enjoyed a much healthier salad.
We posted a Periscope live video from Costal Kitchen using the Zoom wifi which is free for suite guests and is possibly faster than our Internet at home. If you need to pay its around $20 a day per device and definitely the fastest internet we’ve ever had at sea. Even better, there’s none of that annoying logging in or out.
After lunch and a few glasses of Dutch courage Andy decided he was ready to face the Abyss, a dry slide from deck 16 which descends to the boardwalk on deck 6. Finn and myself much more sensibly took the lift! There were no queues and Daddy swiftly arrived with not too much screaming, declaring it great fun and not scary at all! I might even try it myself later in the week…
We sat enjoying the sunshine and a glass of red from Sabor while Finn played on the lucky climbers, a great addition to Harmony that wasn’t on Oasis and which he loves.
Finn then decided he wanted to sample Adventure Ocean the kids club on board and happily skipped in past the kids theatre, science lab and art studio to Explorers where the 6 to 8 years olds hang out in a huge room filled with board games and x boxes and brilliant staff who welcomed Finn like a long lost friend. We took advantage of a child free hour to look around the huge 3 storey adults only solarium at the front of the ship and then visited the suite sun deck which overlooks the water slides and pools and is filled with day beds, loungers, a bar and a hot tub – I am so loving the suite life!
Before we boarded we fully expected to visit the main dining room on a few nights and had booked tables ahead but Costal Kitchen has already won us over so we had dinner there, a short stroll from our room. The service and food is exceptional and it’s my new favourite destination on an Oasis class ship.
After dinner Finn wanted to go back to Adventure Ocean so we dropped him off, grabbed a glass of red from the Suite Lounge and sat on our balcony in the warm summer air to watch the premiere of the Aqua Show, a fabulous performance with death defying high dives and synchronized swimmers all set to lights and music. Then it was time for the late night comedy show in the Attic on deck 4. This is strictly adults only so we’d signed Finn up to late night party zone, a $7 an hour optional service in kids club which runs from 10pm and where the kids watch movies, eat pizza and generally have a great time – you just need to remember to collect them before 2am! The comedy was great, two comedians and a compere of similar high quality to The Comedy Store back home.
The late night resulted in a lazy start to our first port day in Vigo as Finn was exhausted by all the fun of Adventure Ocean and slept in to 11am! I was hungry so visited a very quiet Windjammer, the buffet restaurant on board, grabbed a bowl of strawberries and a few pastries and used the free flow Coca Cola machines. As a huge Diet Coke fan I love these and they’re activated by the cups you get on the drinks package so you can have unlimited soda in over a hundred flavours!
Finally Finn awoke so we had lunch onboard at Costal Kitchen where I sampled the fabulous flatbread and we met the very friendly assistant hotel director Pepe who was also having lunch but took the time to say hello and chat with us.
After a good lunch and a few glasses of red and we were finally ready to head ashore. Vigo’s one of the easiest ports to get around as you just walk straight off the ship into the city and there’s even escalators through the port side shopping centre which effortlessly get you up to the level of the old town. We wandered around the shops, had another glass of red in a pavement cafe then got back on board. It seemed like half of Vigo had turned up to wave and watch the ship as we sailed away.
At dinner, Finn was given a tour of the kitchen by one of the lovely chefs and saw his chocolate melt in the middle pudding being made. He then went to Adventure Ocean for PJ movie night whilst we enjoyed a couple of hours of grown up time in Central Park before picking him up and going for a quick night cap in Schooner Bar. There we bumped into some of our Cruise Critic cabin crawlers and Finn’s new best friend so that ‘one drink’ soon turned into quite a few and we all staggered home at 2am after a really lovely evening.
The cabin is absolutely beautiful, a two story loft with floor to ceiling windows, two bathrooms (one with a bath and one with a shower) stocked with L’Occitane toiletries, a bedroom, a sofa bed for Finn, a dining area and spectacular views from our balcony across the sports decks and the Boardwalk to the rear of the ship.