Review - Oasis of the Seas April 17-24, 2010

Just got off the Oasis, and the only thing I can say is WOW. Amazing 7 days. I'll jump right into major review sections with little intro as most of you are experienced cruisers.

Dining

We did the MDR every night, and it was a standard RCI menu. Menus for the entire week were available on the interactive TV, so it was fun to plan ahead and figure out what nights to "splurge". The Grand Marnier souffle, sadly, is gone and replaced with a chocolate souffle. Still good but different.

The Windjammer was laid out with food stations on either side of the ship and seating on the sides and overlooking the boardwalk. It's a great place to catch a fountain show in the Aquatheater and to see zipliners. I imagine it would be ok for the Oasis of Dreams show, too, but still better to be in the theater itself. Food was standard Windjammer fare- not the greatest but good enough to make me happy with the variety. Ribs on the last day were outstanding. For breakfast there is no omelette station anymore, but they had a pan full of fried eggs (over-medium) already done in addition to the scrambled eggs they usually have.

The Solarium Bistro was a nice reprieve from the hustle bustle of the Windjammer. They had a nicer salad bar and usually some kind of lighter, grilled meat and various hummus/tapanade-like dishes for lunch. There were also savory crepes which looked very good, but I did not get the opportunity to try. Dessert was also healthier, and they had a surprisingly good soy panne cotta one day and almost always some really good in-house granola or bran bars. For breakfast they had a few selections of muesli, nuts and I think a bowl of wheat germ. (Hey, I love being healthy but wheat germ and cruising do not mix in my book.)

We loved the Park Cafe, and by the looks of its almost always "full" indicator on the dining availability screen it seems like everyone else did too. There was outdoor seating, and you can always grab a light sandwich, soup or some fruit cups (nicely cut up and in plastic cups) and enjoy it literally like you're on a lunch break at a really nice park. The famous roast beef sandwich is as good as it's been purported to be. If you have nothing else on this cruise, try one of these sandwiches. Warm, tasty and just small enough for it to be a legitimate mid-meal snack.

We did not try the Boardwalk restaurants, as we ran out of meals on the ship! I did try the donuts though. Key lime, passion fruit and nutty nougat were the ones I thought most interesting. Nothing too special but fun to enjoy. They also had corn dogs and chicken nuggets, salad and sandwiches at the Boardwalk Bar. I had a corn dog- so much fun to have one while on a ship!

Digression: I was standing in line for a corn dog while the bartender helped someone else, when a woman came up behind me and bellowed to her male companion that she needed chicken nuggets. The bartender finished with the customer in front of me then turned to me to ask me what I'd like, when chicken nugget woman barged in and bellowed in the bartender's direction that she needed chicken nuggets.

The bartender looked at me again, and since I realized that being between a woman needing chicken nuggets and the aforementioned chicken nuggets wasn't the safest place for me I told him to go ahead and motioned to chicken nugget woman.

That said, this was the only rudeness I ever saw in a week, and that's on a ship of 8000 people. I'll take that anytime.

Entertainment

We booked all of our entertainment online and were glad we did, as standbys were only allowed in 10 minutes before showtime and the box office had a huge line on the first day.

Day 2- Hairspray 10:30pm

Day 3- Oasis of Dreams 7:30pm (WOW. By far my favorite show.)

Day 4- Comedy Show 10:30pm

Day 5- Headliners (Nelson Brothers) 7:30pm

Day 6- Frozen in Time (Ice Show) 3:00pm

Day 7- Come Fly With Me 7:30pm

Other notable entertainment/activities:

Day 5- Platinum and Diamond Party 6pm. This was in the Opal Lounge, as it was explained that it was the only place large enough to hold the 1000+ P&D members!

Day 6- Captains Corner 2pm. We had to leave early to get seats for the Ice Show but fortunately we'd met and heard the Captain speak at the P&D party already.

Day 7- Bonus Nelson Brothers concert in the AquaTheater 1pm. They also were nice enough to perform at the P&D party so we got to see them 3 times in all. That's a lot of Ricky Nelson songs.

Sports and Pool Zone

I think this is one of the places the Oasis really shines, and that says a lot given the extraordinary features on the ship. There was tons to do, and there were rarely any crowds. Highlights:

Zip Line

SO much fun. It's about 80 meters, so not the longest zip line you'll find, but IT'S ON A SHIP. The woman behind me asked if there were lots of 80-year-olds doing it like her husband, and the sports staff gal answered that not only were there many 80-year-olds, the record is held by a 96-year-old! Sign up on the Sports Deck next to the Starboard Flowrider on the first day to get a reservation, as they go fast. Note that although signups are listed as being on Deck 16 in the Cruise Compass you have to go out from Deck 15 all the way to the aft of the ship and take the special stairs up to the Flowrider area.

If you don't get a slot, don't worry, there was open time from 4-6 on the last day, and they are strict in making sure that only those who did not get a turn yet were allowed to go during the open time.

Flowrider

Never did this before, but wow is it fun and HARD. What upper body strength surfers must have! Boogie boarding was mostly on the starboard side, stand up surfing on the port side. On the last day they had a best of the best contest with passengers trying to outdo one another.

Health Club

Not a huge fan of the layout of the gym which was on Deck 6. On the other ships they are on an upper deck with floor length windows, looking out the front of the ship with tons of light. While the total size was very large, it felt a bit cramped and claustrophobic. Machines were very nice, though, with state of the art screens and technology.

I'll focus on other "neighborhoods" in the next few parts. Any questions so far, ask away!

Thanks for all these great tips. We are going on Allure on 5-Jun-11. My DS really wants to zip line so will be sure to sign up as soon as we get on the ship! Have been wondering about this. Also, can you sign up for the flow rider also the first day? Thanks again. We are very excited! Laura

Thanks for your review. We're on Allure for April 2011.

Can you tell us what cabin category you booked? I'm desperate for information on the Central Park View cabin.

Thanks for all these great tips. We are going on Allure on 5-Jun-11. My DS really wants to zip line so will be sure to sign up as soon as we get on the ship! Have been wondering about this. Also, can you sign up for the flow rider also the first day? Thanks again. We are very excited! Laura

Glad to help!!!

There are no signups for the Flowrider except for private lessons (which you can do online before embarking and cost I believe $60/hour). It is open on the first day, though, and very few people were there. I also found it to be quietest when it first opened at 9 on the first few days, and the line rarely was more than 3-4 people long.

Thanks for your review. We're on Allure for April 2011.

 

Can you tell us what cabin category you booked? I'm desperate for information on the Central Park View cabin.

We were on a hump D1 starboard side, so unfortunately I can't provide any insight other than seeing that the CPV cabins looked super lovely. It's rarely loud there, and outside of some classical music and the occasional bagpiper there's little noise.

Have fun both of you on the Allure!!!

PS: I've abandoned this review in favor of a list of the 25 most memorable things of the Oasis:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=24242815