Just back from Oasis - disappointed this time

There is a big difference between correcting grammar and spelling and pointing out that a post is difficult to read without some breaks.

Truly, there are some posts that are SO difficult to read because of misspelled, wrong words or tense.

The answer (as to almost all questions in life if you ask "Why?" often enough) is, money.

Exactly. We've priced DCL versus RCL for our most recent two cruises and DCL has been 40-60% more expensive. Not worth it for our family.

You cannot compare Disney to any other cruiseline. Disney is in a league of their own, with everything they do. Hotels, parks, ships, if it has Disney name on it, it's going to be the best of the best. And of course, you will pay 2x-3x as much for that experience.

RCCL has really been going downhill. I used to be " loyal to royal" and tried other cruise lines to find out that I have been missing out.

I am Diamond Plus and can tell you that I will be travelling less on Royal and more on other lines, Such as Carnival or Princess.

I just came back from a Jewel of the Seas a couple of weeks ago, and everything that could go wrong, went wrong.

The food was awful in MDR, no flavor, presentation is poor and luke warm at best. Chops meat was not good. Service slow and steak had to be sent back twice. And on another night we went to chops, we ordered the Lamb Chops and only one side of it was cooked, the other side was actually cold and raw!

In the MDR the menu's have changed to include desserts on them and they want you to order everything at once, including your desserts. The waiter said this was something new. I don't know about others, but I don't know what I want for dessert when I just first sit down to eat.

The coffee is like drinking tar! Absolutely disgusting and bitter. My goodness, cant even get a decent cup, unless you pay extra at a café.

The selling that goes on is intrusive. Everywhere you go, they are selling. And they produce these parties/events in the centrum or out on decks just to push there specialty drinks in cups/mugs that light up.

Production shows which were the best at sea, are now mediocre at best. More cuts.

Record profits for Royal and they put the staff in chaos mode and passengers satisfaction suffers! Greed!

Not even Carnival does this sort of thing, even with there reputation!

All Royal has going for them now, is new cruisers who don't know any better and the repeat cruisers who are diamond and higher and get free booze for a few hours a day. I guess if you get drunk enough, everything else wont matter.

My 2 cents.

Cheers

I was so surprised to read this review, our experience last summer was so different. I thought about it for a while. People complain about us families with our pesky kids, but I guess it does make a difference to things like how many people eat in MDR, how many people go to the shows etc. I guess when there are so many more adults on board, it adds an extra strain. I wonder if they are also training new staff to take over once Symphony launches.

I hope your future cruises are better.

I apologize if I offended you somehow. It was certainly not my intent to upset anyone.

Not offended nor upset. Life is good on any cruise line you wish to choose.

I have sailed on Oasis once and Allure twice. Oasis class remains my favourite class of ships but I have sympathy with OP's observations and experiences.

Two out of the three sailings, I was in a suite and this meant that I could avoid the problems with dinning, seat availability at shows etc. The third was in a balcony and given our approach of mixing up WJ, MDR and speciality dinning, plus getting to shows in good time meant that we didn't experience the same problems as others.

When we were in a balcony, the service from cabin steward was standard and not deserving of an extra tip, just the auto gratuity. When in a suite, the service we received was outstanding.

I would still book a cruise on Oasis class ships but would be mentally prepared for problems with MDR and look to either avoid or suffer. It is about balancing the positives with the negatives for me. I like all the things the ship offers and I find that I can navigate my way around some of the negatives.

I have to say, if the price is reasonable, I would always go for a suite on this type of ship. Remarkable difference to overall experience. Even with MDR, you walk past the line and get seated immediately. With shows there is reserved seating and no need to book. There is an exclusive sun deck with its own bar. The suite lounge and CK are amazing and the concierges do a great job to fix any problems you encounter.

WOW - just WOW.

It's amazing how some posts go off the deep end ranting and exponentially magnifying some of the most trivial things.

Bad cup of coffee - ask for another. Dish not perfect as expected - ask for a replacement. Not that big a deal.

When you're serving 6,000+ people on a ship...if its all 99% perfect...then 60 folks might have an issue. A major reality check desperately needed for some people. Problems - they happen. End of the world because of them - the sky is not falling.

These lame rant posts continue to pollute this website.

WOW - just WOW.

 

It's amazing how some posts go off the deep end ranting and exponentially magnifying some of the most trivial things.

 

Bad cup of coffee - ask for another. Dish not perfect as expected - ask for a replacement. Not that big a deal.

 

When you're serving 6,000+ people on a ship...if its all 99% perfect...then 60 folks might have an issue. A major reality check desperately needed for some people. Problems - they happen. End of the world because of them - the sky is not falling.

 

These lame rant posts continue to pollute this website.

So you're complaining about people making negative posts on a message board called Cruise Critic? OK then.:D

WOW - just WOW.

 

It's amazing how some posts go off the deep end ranting and exponentially magnifying some of the most trivial things.

 

Bad cup of coffee - ask for another. Dish not perfect as expected - ask for a replacement. Not that big a deal.

 

When you're serving 6,000+ people on a ship...if its all 99% perfect...then 60 folks might have an issue. A major reality check desperately needed for some people. Problems - they happen. End of the world because of them - the sky is not falling.

 

These lame rant posts continue to pollute this website.

Many people will complain after the fact, but they do nothing while on board to rectify the situation. Service in the dining room stinks? Don't settle for it, request a new server for the next day. Service still stinks? Chances are you're the problem, or you just have really, really bad luck and the other 5,000 people on the boat have "good luck" because they are satisfied.

Cabin steward not making enough animals for you? LOL, that's got to be one of the most ridiculous complaints I've ever read. Well, here's an idea, ask him/her, "can you please make a towel animal every night, I really enjoy it." I guarantee you'll get one if not more every night. Especially if you tip when you ask.

The staff wants you to be happy. They rely on it, it's their livelihood. Those survey results determine whether or not they keep their job.

Sometimes in life, you just have to ask for what you want instead of expecting everyone to know all of your wants and needs.

So you're complaining about people making negative posts on a message board called Cruise Critic? OK then.:D

Why does every observation have to be "labeled" complaining. That kind of post feeds the trolls.

Many people will complain after the fact, but they do nothing while on board to rectify the situation. Service in the dining room stinks? Don't settle for it, request a new server for the next day. Service still stinks? Chances are you're the problem, or you just have really, really bad luck and the other 5,000 people on the boat have "good luck" because they are satisfied.

 

Cabin steward not making enough animals for you? LOL, that's got to be one of the most ridiculous complaints I've ever read. Well, here's an idea, ask him/her, "can you please make a towel animal every night, I really enjoy it." I guarantee you'll get one if not more every night. Especially if you tip when you ask.

 

The staff wants you to be happy. They rely on it, it's their livelihood. Those survey results determine whether or not they keep their job.

 

Sometimes in life, you just have to ask for what you want instead of expecting everyone to know all of your wants and needs.

BRAVO!

Great post, and obviously from someone who has great experience and lives in the "real world".

Nice.

Why does every observation have to be "labeled" complaining. That kind of post feeds the trolls.

 

So you think saying "These lame rant posts continue to pollute this website" is not complaining? I'm not sure what your definition of complaining is then.

I agree with OP that the overall Oasis experience has declined. The upselling everywhere infuriated me. However, if you book shows before you get on the ship and opt for traditional dining, that does significantly cut back on the time spent in lines.

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It is really quite difficult for us to rate a cruise as bad since we only cruise once a year, but after reading your concerns, I truly feel your pain (directed to the OP).

However, having sailed on both the Oasis and the Allure, we have found our experience to be more satisfactory on our Allure sailing.

To put it mildly, the friendliness and eagerness of the staff to assist you on the Allure.

We were in suites on both of these ships and the cabin attendants on the Allure were so ready to work.

Where-as on the Oasis we had to call and call for basic room cleaning, when in fact we left the cabin by 7am and never returned till after lunch.

Then the phone service on the Oasis, I timed a call that took 45 min. to be answered.......yea I was upset, but it proved a point when I met with one of the officers and shared my experience with him. I could only state what if it was an emergency and some one was in dire need of help and could not stay on a phone that long and ask for help.

I realize everyone's experience is different on all ships, but the Oasis never impressed us.

Thanks OP for sharing.

Safe travels.

So you think saying "These lame rant posts continue to pollute this website" is not complaining? I'm not sure what your definition of complaining is then.

Nope...an observation.

Just because it's called CruiseCritic...doesn't mean posts like that have to feature critical commentary.

To put it mildly, the friendliness and eagerness of the staff to assist you on the Allure.

As most seasoned cruisers know...crews are rotated regularly...so the odds of getting a bad egg once in a while is just an odds game. Kinda like any hotel, airline, car rental, or customer service department at any company.

Post-cruise whining (in contrast to speaking to someone when it happens) is fruitless.

Happy sailing.

Just walked off the Oasis three hours ago and everything was fine. Had a wonderful cruise!

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As most seasoned cruisers know...crews are rotated regularly...so the odds of getting a bad egg once in a while is just an odds game. Kinda like any hotel, airline, car rental, or customer service department at any company.

 

Post-cruise whining (in contrast to speaking to someone when it happens) is fruitless.

 

Happy sailing.

Not whining, just stated the facts.

That Is why we met with an officer while on board to address the issues. just shared the wealth here.

Have a good day.

Nope...an observation.

 

Just because it's called CruiseCritic...doesn't mean posts like that have to feature critical commentary.

No, they don't have to. But some of us prefer to hear about both the positive and negative experiences people have.

Then the phone service on the Oasis, I timed a call that took 45 min. to be answered.......yea I was upset, but it proved a point when I met with one of the officers and shared my experience with him. I could only state what if it was an emergency and some one was in dire need of help and could not stay on a phone that long and ask for help.

Just to make sure you're comparing apples to apples here, were you on hold for 45 minutes on a call to 911? If not, I would hope that in the case of an emergency, one would call 911 and not someplace like guest services, and I'd hope/expect that that call would be answered promptly.

Just to make sure you're comparing apples to apples here, were you on hold for 45 minutes on a call to 911? If not, I would hope that in the case of an emergency, one would call 911 and not someplace like guest services, and I'd hope/expect that that call would be answered promptly.

Can you even call 911 from a cruise ship?

Just walked off the Oasis three hours ago and everything was fine. Had a wonderful cruise!

 

 

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Right On, some people have good experience and some don't. Glad your cruise went well.

Just walked off the Oasis three hours ago and everything was fine. Had a wonderful cruise!

Nice to hear from the majority side of things... nice. :)

Not whining, just stated the facts.

 

That Is why we met with an officer while on board to address the issues. just shared the wealth here.

 

Have a good day.

We know you weren't whining. There's some on here that just can't stand it when anything negative is said about their cruise line.

As most seasoned cruisers know...crews are rotated regularly...so the odds of getting a bad egg once in a while is just an odds game. Kinda like any hotel, airline, car rental, or customer service department at any company.

 

Post-cruise whining (in contrast to speaking to someone when it happens) is fruitless.

 

Happy sailing.

So no one should talk about those times when things don't go right even if they are not the "norm"?:confused: If all people talk about here is the stuff that goes well then what is the point? Just assume everything is great, no need to post about it and the boards will be pretty boring. It is good to hear all sides.