newxmascruiser

Hey we were on oasis in December. We booked the zip line and coaster in labadee and a thriller boat ride in cozumel all once on board. We booked from the tv in our cabin and the tickets get delivered to your cabin the night before the trip, there were plenty of slots to choose from

Hey we were on oasis at christmas. The library had just been taken out with all the dry dock changes, there were some books available at guest services to borrow/swap. And yes there are self serve frozen yogurt machines it on pool deck choc and vanilla one side, strawberry and vanilla the other side

I was just checking in now that your cruise is over. How was it :) ?

 

Would you do a Christmas cruise again?

 

It really was truly a fantastic holiday. I loved every minute of it. I wouldn't cruise at christmas again though in fact I don't think I would go on holiday at all at Christmas again. There was a bit of carol singing and nice christmas trees, but it just wasn't like Christmas for me at all.

We just got back from the christmas cruise as someone else has said deck 3 american icon is traditional seating only, deck 4 grande is a mix of traditional and MTD and deck 5 silk is all MTD. We were allocated silk as our MTD location. That said 1 night we were taken down to deck 3 and 1 night down to deck 4 for a table as silk was full and the others had spaces. I didn't really like the decor so much in silk, eating in somewhere with oriental decor but not oriental food just seemed a bit strange, I preferred 3 and 4, but that's just me.

Hi everyone, just back from our first ever cruise which was on the Oasis 20th Dec 7 night western christmas cruise.

I read lots and lots of reviews and info on here before I went and thought id post my perspective from a first time cruiser.

 

Embarking was very slick turned up around noon despite and email saying my deck was allocated 2.30 boarding dropped bags at the kerb and walked in to the terminal, queued for around 10 mins to go through security screening then walked right up to a check in desk, photo taken, sea passes issued and we walked straight on.

 

There were lots of people milling about we entered on the promenade deck 5 grabbed a seat and a coffee at cafe promenade to read through the boarding day info we were given and then the fun began!

 

Dining

We didn't eat at any pay venues so can't comment on those had breakfast in windjammer once everything was hit and fresh and good choice. Preferred solarium bistro for breakfast similar choices with more cereals and much less hectic! Tried johnny rockets for breakfast once omelettes were good, it was almost empty! Ate breakfast in mdr three times on deck 3 choice of menu or buffet or both, everything delicious.

For lunches we used mdr twice again menu available as well as a small buffet, the freshly made/tossed salads were amazing.

Also tried the doghouse, nice but not amazing. Solarium bistro again nice choices, park cafe fresh salads, roast beef sandwiches and roasted to order paninis were all great, they also had a great cake counter! This place got very crowded most days.

For evening we are in mdr every night on my time so were in silk on deck 5. Food was really good every night with lots of choice all food came hot and service was as quick or as slow as you wanted it to be.

We also had got the premium drinks package, well worth it IMO and was good in all bars and restaurants.

Only complaint in terms of food is room service it was major busy everytime we called and I think an hour was the quickest delivery we got. We hung our order out on out door at night twice to get coffee and pastries delivered for the morning. Most times things arrived cold and or items missing. I think that if they can't do room service properly due to demand they need to change something, maybe make it chargeable that way people are only ordering when they really want it...just a thought.

Shows

Can't praise the entertainment enough. We went to every show except cats, we made reservations for all. Each show had a stand by line I saw for every show that the whole stand by line made it in except the comedy show where people were turned away. I really can't call it on what was my favourite show they were all world class.

Ports

Labadee was truly amazing we did the zip line and the coaster. Both brilliant! The weather was fantastic that day, the beach got really crowded but we had got there before 9am and had a great spot. The BBQ was delicious.

Cozumel was nice we had booked a jet boat ride but the sea was choppy so it was cancelled instead we wandered around and grabbed cocktails.

Jamaica we didn't have a tour booked so just wandered around the port area then headed back to the boat to make the most of the emptiness!

Service

Great all round couldn't have asked for more

 

Ship itself

Spotless, massive and fun are the 3 words I'd use to sum it up

 

All in all a really unforgettable holiday and I will definitely be cruising again!

At the moment American icon is deck 3 that is for traditional 2 seating dining. Also this level is used for mdr breakfast and sea day lunches. Deck 4 is grande which is some traditional seating and some MTD. Deck 5 is silk which is all MTD. Silk has curtains around different sections of tables which can be closed off or not to create feeling of separate spaces, didn't notice these is the other 2 dining rooms. Deck 3 is my favourite in terms of decor.

Since you are on board and posting. You must be using the internet. have they switched over to the OB3 faster internet? How fast? and what are the costs? Hoping it's up running by end of Jan. Enjoy your cruise.

 

We got the middle package was $150 for 2 devices unlimited for duration of cruise, there was a slower connection pack for I think $115 and a faster one for around $250. We have only been using email basic internet usage and Skype and the mid pack has been perfect for us connection is great

With MTD, is the line to get a pager or must you stand in line the entire time while waiting for a table? Wouldn't mind a pager and sitting at a bar for a bit.

 

No pager unfortunately you just have to wait, no system according to table size either so in our case there was a 6, 2 x 4s, then us a 2, all wait until the next at the podium are seated then they move on to try and sort the next group.

How crowded is your holiday cruise? Does it feel packed or manageable? Are you traveling with kids, and if so are they finding a lot of friends in the kids club? Are you noticing a lot of kids in the Barbie experience? What, if anything, special are they doing for the holiday?

 

Sorry also forgot to add they have been showing christmas movies each day, there are some nice decorations and trees up in the boardwalk and some others scattered around. Tonight there is carol singing and midnight mass, tomorrow santa comes in the morning for the kids and there is turkey dinner in mdr tomorrow.

How crowded is your holiday cruise? Does it feel packed or manageable? Are you traveling with kids, and if so are they finding a lot of friends in the kids club? Are you noticing a lot of kids in the Barbie experience? What, if anything, special are they doing for the holiday?

 

No kids with us so can't comment on those bits however there is lots and lots of kids on board but they all seem to congregate on the sports deck with the basketball courts etc so they must be happily occupied! Sea days are very crowded on the pool decks most loungers are full around noon. Evenings it seems really spread out haven't had trouble getting a table in any of the bars or anything like that.

Also we reserved all the shows but it seems as though everyone in the standby line is getting in each night anyway at the ones we have been to.

One more- how was the weather in FLL and how is the weather in your ports? Are you doing eastern or western?

 

FLL was warm but cloudy. First sea day not a cloud to be seen labadee glorious Falmouth hot sunny but windy, today's sea day rained til 8am then cloudy for an hour or so now glorious again!

Yea there are 2 lines 1 for with reservation 1 for without neither were going anywhere for ages. We got to the front of no res and the lady said with res were being given priority but still seemed as though they were being checked in and then just held at the seating outside the door so the line moved quicker but actually they were still taking as long to be seated. Like I said though last night was a breeze so hopefully whatever the issue was it is fixed. Service food etc once in have been fantastic. 4 different tables with 4 different wait staff so far and all great

Is the Wonderland restaurant ready yet?

 

No not open. We are on my time in silk deck 5. Day 1 and day 2 were chaos with or without reservation. We are only a 2, walked up around 7 waited 40 mins we luckily were only 4th in line and it took that long the line behind us just grew and grew when we left after our meal the queue was still right out the door. Last night was good walked up and straight in but we were in port til 6.30 yesterday so today being sea day we shall see if it's overloaded again

Hi everyone

Merry Xmas eve! First cruise and having the most amazing time.

I am currently on oasis today at sea, any questions ask away!

Yeah all they have is under balcony is gty, then only suite listed is GS which is over £4000 more, over £8000!!

Hi all

 

I have just made the silly mistake of a mock booking on my upcoming western caribbean christmas cruise on oasis. We booked direct through RCCL website (uk). We have a D5 booked final payment made, they are now offering a balcony guarantee for over £1000 less than we paid :((( is there anything I can do? Or should I just forget I ever saw it?

 

Thanks

Thanks everyone, great advice, will stick with the Westin seems like I'm worrying about nothing!

Thanks for the replies. It wasn't so much the cost of getting taxis bothering me, just the distance and whether traffic in the area is bad, I mean in london a 5 mile cab ride can take an hour at peak times!
I did check with the westin and they don't run a shuttle, how do cans in FL work, should we pre book, do you just hail them in the street, or can we just ask the hotel desk to call us one in the morning when we are good to leave?
Thanks again

Hi all, we have our first ever cruise booked sailing 20th Dec on Oasis from Fort Lauderdale. We fly in to FLL on 19th from the UK.
We currently have the Westin booked (corporate drive) as part of our flight deal. I have looked on the map of FL and realised we are going to be paying for a can to go right out there to pay for a cab back again the next morning. The hotel is non cancellable so I'm considering writing that off and booking a different hotel myself near to the port.
I've seen Hilton marina at a good price, and seen on here lots of people recommend embassy suites.
My question is am I being too fussy and is corporate drive not really a hassle to go to and from?
And if I book the Hilton will we need to take a cab to the pier on the morning or could we walk it?
Any advice appreciated
Many thanks

For sure, for me kinda the point of tipping is cash, there and then to say thanks and genuinely recognise great service rather than just auto charging/paying a fixed fee which doesn't then show my appreciation or disappointment either way.

I'm happy we have Pre paid the expected standard and now will feel happy to cash tip great service to my hearts content :)

Lovely thanks again. I booked directly through the royal caribbean website so paid for cruise in £s then booked drinks package afterwards so paid for that in dollars the exchange rate did mean it was less than I thought :)

Great, Thankyou so much for replying, so helpful. I hadn't thought about room service being inc or not so thanks for clearing that up. We are normally all inclusive resort holidayers so feel more comfortable with paying upfront for as much as poss with the cruise so we know where we stand iykwim.

Seems amazing to me so much is included.

So sounds like we will have lots of things to use up our OBC on....and the rest lol. That spa is calling my name already! But really good to know.

Just 1 more thing though if I pre book excursions or speciality dining via the website I'll be charged prior to sailing therefore can't use my OBC but if I wait until we sail and book once on the ship I can use my OBC to pay for those same things is that right?

Hi everyone, I'm new to both the forum and have just booked our first cruise which is oasis 20th dec 14 Xmas cruise. So excited and so happy to have found this forum the info on here is vast!

I have a couple of questions even after ready lots and lots of posts so wondered if you guys could help me clarify a couple of things in my head please.

So we have booked MTD so we have pre paid out grats, and we have also already booked and paid for the premium drinks package which I think is inc grats also.

So couple of questions -

In this scenario there will be no fixed daily gratuities added to our seapass acct is that correct?

With the drinks package is that good for all bars and restaurants including the speciality dining venues?

When I sign for drinks does the gratuity still get billed to me each time or am I literally signing a zero charge receipt?

We also have 200 OBC - am I able to use this for literally anything? So Starbucks? An excursion? The spa?

Just want to make sure I am fully planned for budget and don't get any nasty surprises at the end. I have seen tipping cash is fine, which I lie and think is much more personal when I've had great service.

Any help with these questions greatly appreciated.

Thanks :)