Lisa Bauer - Senior VP, Hotel Operations
It was a very busy day on Oasis. On my way to the gym, the spa manager asked me if I would participate in a stress test for a spa treatment. Stress testing in a spa is a bit of an oxy moron, but I agreed. The idea is to give all the therapists a chance to try out all the new treatments, and I got a Bamboo massage, which is a new treatment. Alina was awesome. With this massage, it is a partial regular massage, and then similar to a hot stone massage, but instead of stones, they use various sizes of bamboo. The bamboo is heated and then they use various sizes of bamboo and apply pressure. No stress in this test – all 100% relaxation. I think it was one of the best massages I’ve ever had. The spa actually officially opened for the crew today. There are 25 different treatment rooms, in addition to a full beauty salon. The salon has 5 manicure and 5 pedicure stations, an eyebrow bar, and full hair salon offerings. We also moved the Clean Shave services to the spa area as well. We are also getting ready to announce the ability to pre-book spa appointment pre-cruise (stay tuned for the actual press release, and I am sure I will get in trouble for even writing about it!).
Lots more unpacking is taking place. As I was doing my daily walk through of various areas, I saw that we actually put out the outdoor dining tables and chairs in Central Park. All the venues here, except 150 Central Park, will offer outdoor dining. I couldn’t believe that we had some crew members who were actually dining al fresco at Park Café today for lunch. It is still quite cold outside, but they said they found it refreshing. I think I will wait until we get into warmer weather to try a meal al fresco. The overall unpacking is on-going and so far we can’t find the table and chairs for Cupcake Cupboard. We have an APB on them right now.
The facilities team was very excited today because their “remote AVO” went live. What that really means is now all our facilities team has hand-held wireless devices, and when there is a maintenance issue, we can send it directly to whoever is closest to the area, rather than have to dispatch from one central location. They love it and the testing is going very well. (I guess it would be another oxymoron if they had to report a maintenance issue on the handhelds if they weren’t working???)
Entertainment is practicing everywhere. Today I saw a run through of one of our parades, “Rockin Rhythm Nation.” There is also so much happening behind the scenes. Entertainment has turned one of the rooms in Adventure Ocean into the costume fitting shop. There are 3 seamstresses working day and night to finalize all the costume sizes now that the fittings have taken place. It is a quite a production in itself.
We are currently just outside Southampton. There are a number of yard workers that are disembarking today, and a number of new workers joining us for the remainder of the crossing to put the final touches on some key areas.
On my way to a meeting, and hoping I get invited to some more stress testing in the spa!!!!
Thanks so much Lisa for your inside info! You know when you first announced this ship, all I heard about was the carousel and I thought I’d never want to go on it, but now I cannot stop reading and following EVERYTHING in sight about Oasis. I even broke down after not getting an invite (boo) to get onboard one of the preinaugurals, paid for the one night Make a Wish Cruise just to see her. It will cost me PLENTY, but I absolutely cannot wait! Kudos to everyone onboard, and the teamwork it must take to get her ready for the public. She is most definitely your finest yet! WHOOOEEE!!
I have been anticipating arrival of the Oasis since the Name that Ship contest last year! Only two more weeks to go and the more I read, the more excited I am. I will be on the pre-inaugural November 20th-22nd and was wondering if the specialty restaurants and Cupcake Cupboard will be open for guests during this time.
Thanks for your excitement, Jennifer! The Cupcake Cupboard and specialty restaurants are all scheduled to be open for your sailing with us. We look forward to having you.
I will also be traveling the pre-inaugural November 19th-22nd. So excited!! Is there a way to get tickets for the musical Hairspray before boarding the ship?
How much do massages cost onboard?