Nola93

1 hour ago, ckrobyn said:

Food 🤔. Disclaimer : food is subjective. My opinion only.

 

I will say the WJ food is mediocre. The MDR has been hit or miss, more on the miss side. Our table mates are amazing so the overall MDR experience has been great.

There is NO horseradish onboard. I am told there is a shortage (there’s none) fleet wide. So, if you enjoy prime rib or the roast beef sandwich at Park Cafe, don’t expect to find any horseradish. The same goes for shrimp cocktail sauce, it’s now ketchup with wasabi mixed in lol 😂.

So far we have not been to any specialty restaurants, mainly because we really enjoy our MDR table mates. That being said, I plan to order a Chops steak tonight to go with my lobster 🤗

OH!  I did not understand that "cocktail sauce" on the final night in the WJ!  Where were my lumps?  But when I (cautiously) tried it, I was pleasantly surprised it had a little zip, and wasn't actually just ketchup.  Guess that was the wasabi.

For what it's worth, I just returned from my first cruise.  I was with my large husband and two kids, 12 and 9, who also would not do well sharing a bed.  We booked an Oceanview Balcony room through a RC agent, who told us our room would have the pullout sofa bed and a pullman bed.  We failed to verify this with the online ship map once we got our Summary, which indicated a class 1D stateroom, and realized too late that there was no pullman bed. I think b/c we booked before the renovation, they had not updated their info. with their agents.  Or else my husband, who did the actual booking and who is terrible at detail-level planning, just got messed up!  Long story short, we ended up having the steward convert the "king" bed into 2 twins for the kids, while my DH and I slept on the pullout sofa.  It turned out to be a generously sized double, and comfortable--if you like hard beds, which we do.  So you could try that. Be forewarned that once the sofa bed is pulled out there is NO ROOM to move though!  I'm sorry but we just had a regular sized balcony; don't know anything about the ultra-spacious.  Also, we cheated a bit b/c we had my mom and mother in law in the adjoining stateroom, and we could open the door between the two.  So we had 2 bathrooms for 6 people. And on rare occasions, could convince the grandkids to go next door and play cards with their grandmas!   

We just got back a few days ago, and it sounds like the same deal (first come/first served for laser tag with no fee; extra fee for escape room).

On 3/2/2020 at 1:11 PM, ckrobyn said:

Is it ice cream or yogurt?  Was it ever yogurt or is my memory just that foggy?

My daughter and I asked, and the reply was "frozen mix".  Whatever that means!

On 2/29/2020 at 4:25 PM, vacationlover_mn said:

This is our last day on Oasis.  We have done Allure, Harmony, and symphony, in this class.

 

love: great staff, great shows, great food, great excursions.

 

don’t love: MDR is so time consuming. too much waiting.  Technical difficulties in shows.  Computer problems at stores. only one ice show.  No Central Park tour.

Which excursions did you do? We had a heckuva time with our Dolphin Cove excursion in Jamaica (though my kids loved it), and all the Cozumel water-based ones were canceled, inc. the snorkeling trip to the national marine park we had booked.  We had booked both through RC, but honestly, my husband and son had a better time when they hired their own taxi/guide in Cozumel and toured ruins after our snorkel trip was cancelled. They even found out that you COULD snorkel on the other side of the island despite the red flag warning, so they rented equipment and did it. I understand the conditions that day led to cancellations, and we were aware that could happen. What pissed me off (sorry to be blunt!) was that we had gotten up early, gotten ourselves and the kids ready, got through Customs to the designated meeting spot, only then to find out about the cancellation.  Again, not RC/Oasis' fault, as I learned later they had not been appropriately warned by the authorities. Where they failed, IMHO, was not having Oasis reps on the ground at the pier to answer questions, to direct people, to help out in this situation. Freedom OTS had two reps sitting at a table in the pier bar to help their customers.  I got misdirected there by one of the port staff. Then I had to hunt around, with a crying 9 year old in tow, asking several port staffers where I could find an Oasis rep before I finally found one who was able to point me towards "the short woman," who you literally couldn't see b/c she was surrounded by a throng of other passengers whose trips had been cancelled (Daisy from the Excursion Desk). She was obviously overwhelmed and had hand cramps from writing on all the cancelled tickets.  Oasis needs to put more staff on the ground to help their passengers who book through them, until they're sure everyone is on the merry way, and to help those who aren't.  As much as we all loved the ship itself, and many aspects of it, this experience made me think the next time my family wants to do a "big" vacation we'd be better off at a resort in Cozumel, where we're not subject to the whims of the weather and to absentee staff.

I would say average dinner in the MDR was about 90 mins, with apps, main course, and dessert.  If they're really busy, or it's a special night like lobster tail night, it could take 2 hours. You could try to get to the MDR 10 or 15 mins before your scheduled reservation time and perhaps they'll let you in early. The staff aims to please and if you tell them you have show reservations for 8:30 pm, they also might put in the extra effort to get you out on time.  We found that regardless of whether we had show reservations or not, we could have gotten into any of the shows we attended, as there were always empty seats (except the adult comedy show, which was in a small lounge that filled up quickly).  The difference is whether you want to be selective about where you sit.  So, even if you show up a few mins late, you'll likely get in, but won't get spend any time scoping out the good seats. You can always skip dessert if the clock is ticking! (Then pick up something after the show at the Windjammer). It's so nice that there's no waiting around to pay the check--that helps a lot!

On 2/25/2020 at 10:03 AM, jammer1000 said:

Hi All, does anyone have any knowledge of the current sofabeds on Oasis and Allure? I thought it would mean my 2 boys sharing a double bed (which is a no-go!) but a bit research has indicated the sofabeds may be like 2 single beds, one upper and one lower pullout/trundle bed. Does anyone know if this is the case? If so this would work fine for us. Many thanks in advance.

Just returned from a cruise (my 1st) on Oasis, with 2 kids in tow who also would not share a bed peacefully. We booked through RC, and were told our room would have what you described--a pullout sofa, with another "layer" for the other kid (my husband talked to the agent, so I was never clear whether it was supposed to be a trundle, or a pullman--we assumed the latter).  We did not do our due diligence, and never checked the online ship map until 2 days before flying. Turns out our 1D class Oceanview Balcony room was just a "king" bed and pullout sofa; no trundle or pullman.  And too late to change.  The agent we spoke to this time told us the room was really meant for 2-3 adults, but you could make do with 2 kids by separating the "king" into 2 twins, and the parent get the sofa bed. I wasn't thrilled, since my hubby is 6'2" and weighs 240 lbs, and the sofa bed is listed as "double." We went into it thinking the kids were just going to have to suck it up and deal. It turned out that the sofa bed was a very generous double, and pretty comfortable (if you like a hard bed, which we do). So we took the 2nd agent's advice and had the steward make up the king as 2 twins.  It worked fine, though I will say a couple mornings I woke up with a stiff lower back. If I had to do it again, I would specfically request a room with the Pullman, as long as I could get it in a similar location to the one we had which was fantastic.  (Note: once the sofa bed is made up for the night, it was VERY difficult to move about, esp. with 2 kids, so only do it when you're out for the night and going to crash as soon as you get back!).

On 3/2/2020 at 1:07 PM, Carlo16 said:

Just called for dining reservations for August 2nd sailing. The earliest time i could get for main dining room was 7pm. Does that sound right this far out? I'm traveling with a 6 and 11 year old. They told me to explain that late time with young kids when I board. I just see myself wasting time dealing with something on board that should be handled now. 

I guess my question is if its normal 150 days out for dining room to be booked up?

 

Thanks

I understand your concern.  I was traveling with my 12 year old and 9 year old (as well as 2 grandmas), with everyone used to eating at 5:30 PM. My recent experience, as a first time cruiser, was this: when we first booked the cruise, we chose "My Time Dining," assuming that meant we could go when we wanted.  Shortly before embarkation, we finally made reservations, and the earliest we could get was 8:30 pm (8:45 pm the first night).  My mother-in-law, who has been on several cruises and is a member of the RC loyalty club, swore up and down that it was ok to go earlier.  Turned out she was right.  We showed up around 5:30 pm on Deck 3 MDR and waited in one of the lines--I can't even tell you which ("No Reservations" vs. "Reservations"), since we HAD reservations, just not for that time. It took a short time but it really was no problem, perhaps b/c of the kids, or maybe b/c of my MIL's Diamond Club status. We were seated at a lovely round table way in the back. We were also told that we could start showing up at 5:30 pm each night. The next morning there was a card on our door stating such, with a new table number. Because my 9 year old is picky, and my husband has many food sensitivities, we ended up eating at the Windjammer buffet the next night (where you can go any time they're open, though you may wait in line). The following night was formal night, and we all went back to the MDR. I didn't realize I was supposed to bring the card--I thought it was all in their computer system (though it was still showing up as 8:30 pm reservations on the app). It wasn't a big deal--it took a short time again, but they did seat us at a different table than the one that had been listed on the card. The following night we were back at the buffet (I think--it's all starting to blend!), and the next night my husband took the kids to the buffet while the 2 grandmas and I went to MDR.  This time I brought the card, and they seated us at the table # displayed. Which was fine that night, since there were only 3 of us--but it turned out to be a table for 4, and we had initially been a party of 6!  So it worked out, with a small amount of effort and patience.  To be honest, the MDR is all about the ambiance, which was elegant and lovely, but we found the food to be on par with the buffet food, with each venue having some items that were totally delicious and other items that were "meh."  And at every meal, even in MDR,  they gave us a hard sell trying to get us to buy a specialty dining package. So for the rest of the cruise (except the final night) my family of 4 went to the buffet. The grandmas wanted to be waited on, and stuck to MDR. Hope that helps!

On 2/29/2020 at 7:16 PM, tanderine said:

We love deck 8 and being able to walk right out to Central Park.  We also love the hump cabins. The cabin is the same size but the balcony is bigger and they are right in the middle of the ship; very convenient!

Just got back from stateroom 8188 (port-side, mid-ship, class 1D, Oceanview Balcony). We booked it somewhat blindly, this being our first cruise, and were thrilled.  Very easy to Central Park, which I loved. You can grab a quick cup of coffee at the Cafe, which was the only place on the whole ship that had paper to-go cups. Room was totally quiet. I don't know what a "hump" cabin is. I noticed the balcony immediately to the left (aft) of ours bumped out a bit, so I assumed they paid extra for the Oceanview with Larger Balcony. Bit of a hike to the Windjammer or pool but I was prepared for that on a cruise ship of this size. Would book this location again in a heartbeat.

On 3/2/2020 at 12:59 PM, Plum Happy said:

Oasis is included on the App.  So, you can use the chat feature.

Hi everyone,

Builder31, this (above) is not accurate unless you purchase the VOOM for each device you want to text with. I just got back from my first cruise 4 days ago and although we thought we had done our research, and my mother-in-law and I both had read that you could use the app w/out internet to message each other, texting was NOT available through the app on Oasis OTS unless you bought the VOOM package. We confirmed this twice at Guest Services (the 2nd time b/c a fellow passenger misinformed my MIL while we were cruising, and made us think we were doing something wrong). It was very disappointing and very difficult to wrangle 6 people spanning 3 generations on such a large ship.  I wish I had discovered this whole Cruise Critic forum more than just a couple of days prior to flying to Miami!  This would have been a good heads-up.  You're doing the right thing.