Jump to content
Cruise Critic Community

SmileUSC

Members
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    34

  • Joined

 Content Type 

Posts posted by SmileUSC

    Oasis Review: Sept. 3, 2016

    in Royal Caribbean International

    Posted

    Thanks for the review. When we sailed the Oasis, I felt claustraphobic with all the people, especially with Dancing in the Streets night, you couldn't move and there was no getting into Sorrento's or the Promenade Cafe any night on our sailing.

     

    Didn't you just LOVE the diving show and the ice skating show? I was very impressed with them.

     

    We didn't get to see all of the diving show and I'm very sad. We had reservations for one of the days at sea and it started downpouring less than 20 minutes after it started. They made an announcement they would wait 5 minutes to see if they would continue but we decided not to wait. There really isn't a lot of room out in Boardwalk area to stand to stay dry.

     

    And we ended up missing the ice skating show.. I think it was one of the nights I fell asleep early. :(

    Oasis Review: Sept. 3, 2016

    in Royal Caribbean International

    Posted

    We returned a week ago from our first ever Royal Caribbean cruise and I can't wait to go on our next. We were on the Oasis of the Seas Sept. 3-10th.

    A group of 8 of us went from South Carolina. We're all former cruisers with Carnival and this was everyone's first RCCL cruise.

     

    I have to say I was very impressed from start to finish.

     

    The check in process took less than 10 minutes. Yes, we were one of the first ones at the terminal but it was very easy and painless. Just make sure you have done everything online before you arrive.

     

    The cruise was sold out but I never felt like there were more than 6,000 people on board. There were several times I was in an elevator by myself going from the 5th floor to the 15th. There were only about 1,000 kids on board as we cruised Labor Day week. My family and I tend to like to cruise at this time of year because of that.

     

    FOOD:

     

    I will admit it varied every day. Food was never really "hot", just warm.

     

    Park Cafe: Everyone is right - the best roast beef sandwiches ever. We went there for lunch once we got on board and it was somewhat crowded. It got worse though when a crew member told us that we should have been in 2 lines (1 for salad, 1 for sandwiches) even though people who got salads also wanted sandwiches. It was really chaotic in that tight space and lots of people were getting frustrated.

     

    Wipe Out Cafe - Always a good place to stop for burgers, hot dogs & fries... and of course ice cream

     

    Windjammer - pretty decent variety of food. We only ate breakfast and lunch there.

     

    My Time Dining in American Icon Grill - We had reservations every night and I recommend you do this ahead of time. The line for reservations was always shorter than those who didn't. We had great servers (Joel from Jamaica & Wally from the Philippines). These two guys were fantastic, had us laughing all week and always brought us extra food to the table. (We had 5 guys who could really eat). The new menus are decent. I really wish they offered the new crispy shrimp more than one night.

     

    We had reservations for Chops for the last night of the cruise but decided to cancel so we could enjoy the last night with our group. I went ahead and ordered the Filet from Chops in the dinning room and it came out a little over cooked. Taste was decent but it was a little tougher than I liked.

     

    We also at at Sabors one day for lunch. My husband just wanted to guacamole and I had a chicken quesadilla. Cheesiest quesadilla I've ever had! He also love the table-side made guacamole. I didn't try to the hot dog place or the Solarium. I did love the pizza though on the main promenade. Make sure to also try the cheesecake pops at the Promenade Cafe! DELICIOUS!! Wish I would have found these earlier in the week.

     

    ON BOARD ACTIVITIES:

     

    We had a great time with all the things the Oasis has to offer. I had previously made reservations for all the shows I could before we left. I hate that the venues are very small. We saw the comedy show 3 times because we enjoyed 2 of the guys so much (the host and the 2nd guy AJ Jamal). We also attended the Love & Marriage Show along with Cats. I read how many people will get up and leave Cats so I wasn't shocked at intermission to see how empty the theatre was but I was disappointed. It's a great show and you get to see it for FREE on the ship! Take advantage of that if you love Broadway shows.

     

    A lot of the late night activities I didn't make it to. I'm in my early 30s but after having so much fun during the day, I could barely make it to the late night things, like Quest! I'm so mad I missed it!

     

    I enjoyed rock climbing while some of the guys in my group tried the Flow Rider. None of us zip lined on the ship but I plan to next time. We also didn't ride the carrousel. There is literally so much to do on this ship, it's really impossible to do it all in one week.

     

    We did some shopping on board the ship. Some of the deals are really good but beware, they all aren't. My husband went to the watch sale and was sold a watch that was compared to Seiko for a "great deal." Well we ended up getting Zoom on board and he started doing his research and found that he could get that same watch for half the price at Wal-Mart. He ended up getting a refund so buyer beware, do your research.. and know that they say they will price match, but they are very limited to what they will match.

     

    CABIN:

    We were on the 9th floor in an ocean view balcony and I loved our room. Pretty decent space but I'm really glad I brought an over-the-door organizer for the first time as that really helped my husband and I keep up with things because the bathrooms are SUPER SMALL! (One of the comedian kept joking about how you can't fall down in the shower because they are really that small).

     

    Our steward, Lambert, was fantastic. He always greeted us by name in the hallway and kept me up to day on things he would be doing. Our room was always spotless when we returned. It was also nice that my parents/grandpa's room steward got to know us. They were just 4 doors down but had someone different. He got to know us as well so when were were looking for one another, he would let us know where the other was. Turned out to be pretty helpful.

     

    PORTS:

    We made stops in:

    Phillipsburg, St Maarten

    San Juan, Puerto Rico

    Labadee, Haiti

     

    St Maarten: Absolutely beautiful. We spent the day here really just walking around and shopping. We should have made it a beach day because there is only so much shopping you can do and feeling pressure from every other person on the street by the beach got really annoying. My husband and I both agree we should have done some sort of excursion here instead.

     

    San Juan: LOVE THIS PLACE! I just wish we had more time at the port. We arrived a little earlier than scheduled so we were off the boat by 7:15am but nothing opens until 9am. So we took a tour with a local company (not RCCL affiliated) who showed us around old & new San Juan for 2 hours before things really started to open. We walked around one of the forts before doing some shopping and eating at a local restaurant. We really wish we could have had more time there to explore.

     

    Labadee: We rented 2 beach loungers at Adrenaline Beach. We read somewhere that this area had servers from the bar. Turned out not to be true so we were a little disappointed to have paid for loungers but we did have front row access to the beach and provided shade in that hot sun. The only bad thing about this beach is that it's full of rocks so I would recommend you wear some sort of water shoe. My mom went over to Columbus Cove and said that area was much nicer. My husband and I also did the Zip Line. I will say that was a thrill and gave us such a beautiful view but it's pricy. Nearly $100 per person for one small line then the big one over the water. There is a ship photographer taking pictures at the end but our pictures came out blurry. The rest of the day we spent on the beach or in the water. This is a long beach day, too long in my opinion. I much rather have come to this port later in the day so we could have stayed in San Juan longer.

     

     

    DEBARKATION:

     

    We had a flight out of FLL at 2pm and we did the luggage valet service. You have to sign up for this by Wednesday night. It's a $25 fee per person but they will directly transfer your luggage to your airline. This made things so easy. We walked out of our room at 7:45am with just our carry ons and were done with customs by 8am.

     

    FINAL THOUGHTS:

    We loved Royal so much we went ahead and booked a cruise on the Harmony for next summer. Since we didn't get to do everything on the Oasis, we'll have a second chance next summer.

    Yes the Oasis is a big ship but you make what you want out of it. So go enjoy your vacation but don't feel like you have to be rushed to get everything done.

    Charleston hotel & things to do while in town

    in East Coast Departures

    Posted

    I live in the Charleston area and everyone is right. You won't get a hotel downtown for that price and you'll end up paying for transportation to get you to and from downtown tourist area. So save your self the time and stay downtown.

     

    Tourist things to do:

    Carriage ride

    Museum tours

    Walk the Historic Market, Rainbow Row, The Battery (most carriage tours will take you by these places) -- must shop in the Market though

     

    I recommend Fleet Landing for good seafood. Avoid Hyman's-- it's a tourist trap and not the best seafood. :)

    Special Requests from Room Stewards

    in Ask a Cruise Question

    Posted

    I'll be cruising for my first time on RCCL this September. Previously cruised with Carnival twice but it's been 5 years.

    I've read several RCCL reviews and have seen people talk about asking their room stewards about "special requests". I'm wondering what some of these requests are...

    Thanks!

    Oasis Formal Nights

    in Royal Caribbean International

    Posted

    We are going on the Oasis first week of Sept. Eastern itinerary except our ports include St Maarten (Day 4), San Juan (Day 5) and Labadee (Day 6).

    Days 2,3 & 7 are all at sea.

    Im assuming our first formal night would be on Day 2... but will the second formal night be on day 6 (like normal) or Day 7 when we are at sea?

    We are in port in Labadee until 6pm.

     

    Any help is appreciated.

     

    Thanks!:)

×
×
  • Create New...