Oasis reveals HER secrets: a long pictorial tour and review

[flagger]

I have just returned from my two day tour on Oasis of the Seas. Instead of a normal review, I thought I would share some secrets I discovered on this cruise. Honestly it is hard to give an honest review on what is essentially a preview, a shakedown cruise. With the various charge dining areas and free drinks, it is hard to tell what flow patterns will be like. Offer something up free and THEY WILL COME!

 

Things go wrong, misses happen and it is unfair to judge how the ship will be in a revenue operating environment. There are some criticisms, but also I am just putting information out there for you to take away for yourself. Walking in from either gangway into the Royal Promenade is breaktaking. This is not just a stretched Voyager as with the Freedom class...this is a while new experience. Clients whom I didn't think would be a good fit for this ship are people I want to tell the most!

 

Adam Goldstein commented that they had agents during these previews telling him "Why didn't you TELL us?" This was after three years of teasing, blogging, commercialling, blogging and Facebooking. You can be told by everyone you know and don't...but you don't get it until you experience for yourself. BTW, he is serious when he plays ping pong.

 

For example, I was moved to crying like a school girl watching the woman from the Ukraine who during the transition in the ice show worked with a simple light box, sand and her hands and told a story from a book to a prince and princess to they lived happily ever after. It was THAT powerful, beautiful and moving. The ice show was the best I have seen on an RCI ship or on land.

 

My observations come from attending a Q&A with management called "Common Ground" and A Technology seminar with the Captain Wright, Harri Kulovaara, the head of Medical, and Environmental. I did not take full notes so much of this from memory. The rest is observations I had in walking around the ship.

 

My first secret happened when I ran into a business development manager just before we dropped our bags in our room. If you ever want to know which way is forward on the ship while in a stateroom corridor. Just take a look at the numbers on the stateroom. There is a little notch in the circles showing the stateroom number that points towards the bow.

 

The cabin numbering system is set up like this:

 

Deck Number

Section of ship

Number

 

Just like there are seven neighborhoods, there are seven sections for the staterooms. Running down the port side the forward part is ONE, middle is TWO, aft is THREE. Down the starboard side, forward is FIVE, middle is SIX, aft is SEVEN. The middle section of staterooms in the forward part of the ship starts with FOUR.

 

For instance my stateroom, a D1 Oceanview balcony, was 11602. Deck 11, between the forward and aft lifts and stateroom #02. Oh and on rooms where the door opens into the hallway, there is a "cutout" in the hallway so no one is going to run into a door that is opening.

 

 

Though the Aquatheatre show are meant to be viewed from the chairs facing the pool, the public areas on the aft port and starboard towers above and below the Aquatheate Suites are really great locations as well. They are located on Decks 7, 11 and 12.

 

 

Also the area behind the launch location for the Zip line on deck 15 is another great spot. Just know you may have to stand for the 22 minute show in either area.

 

If they could pump in the sound from the AQ show into the Windjammer buffet area, that would be another great place to watch the show.

 

 

The area above the bridge is accessed by going to Deck 14 forward on the port side. Ms. Flagger worked on Crochet during one of my sessions and many people in the solarium asked "How do you get there?" Note: no water or bathrooms and it did get warm...but very peaceful. This is also right in front of the Adventure Ocean. You may have kids out there, but I was told by several members of the AO staff that this was opened to the public for more outdoor deck space.

 

 

There are very nice chairs on Deck 5 out of the path of the jogging track that can be turned around to overlook the wake.

 

They had waves of 80 feet during the crossing. The reason they know this is they had a wave radar position right at the tip of the bow looking straight down that they were using for purposes of passenger comfort. The last wave height recorded was 80 feet when a wave hit it and bent the radar out of position. During the crossing, there were people who were working on the Royal Promenade who went out on Deck 5 having no idea how bad the weather was.

 

The largest part of design of any ship is on areas that the public never sees. Figuring out the mechanicals from air conditioning, to water flows to level of lighting is a huge part of the project.

 

Oasis of the Seas is the first cruise ship to receive a Green Passport for its reduction in its carbon footprint. It is 40% less than ships built 10 years ago. The solar panels on the bridge and Loft Suites generate enough power to run the lighting on the Royal Promenade. During design and build, they thought ahead to 30-40-50 years to when Oasis would be decommissioned, sold and maybe even scrapped. They had every vendor be responsible to note the materials used in construction and now Royal is responsible for keeping up with this information.

 

Thank Captain William Wright for the policy which did away with requiring you to wear your life jacket to your muster station where they can tell you 'How to put on your life jacket!' He is also responsible for that extra space in your stateroom closet because they are now stored in your muster station. If a guest would be more comfortable having them there, they can request them. Scanning your seapass card when you muster shows the captain real time at what percentage the muster station has been filled. They can find people who went to the wrong station, they can match kids with families with this system.

 

To be certified as seaworthy, they ran countless simulations on evacuations. They know how long it will take to have the lifeboats in the water with the ship clear. In these simulations, they were able to demonstrate as part of the certification process people who were not as mobile as others, people who went to the wrong muster station, people who froze in place. While people complain about the location of the lifeboats, that is primarly for your safety. Without having to wait to lower the lifeboats, they can load people straight from the deck in four access points. They hold 370 people including 16 crew each. They have the ability to have the center aisle clear to allow crew get from the back to the front.

 

The windows in the dining room of deck four do happen to have an obstructed view which includes the bottom hulls of the lifeboats.

 

The pool in the Aquatheatre is 40 feet wide, however there is a platform that can descend to the 18 foot depth but does not which creates two 20 foot deep pools for high diving. The reason for this is to serve as a break for waves that will develop in the pool when the ship moves. If it was 40 feet wide, there would be far more motion for the swimmers, divers and much more splashing out of the pool! That nugget came from Richard Fain himself. The flowriders push 35,000 gallons a minute. Imagine filling a swimming pool every minute.

 

I saw several tables for two on deck four of the Main dining room.

 

 

They are highly aware of the design issue of the electric plugs as even the VP of Hotel Operations bumped her head plugging in a hairdryer.

 

 

That being said, one of my colleagues was in a HC accessible room and there were plenty of plugs available even next to the bed. One for plugging in her scooter and one for plugging in her CPAP machine. I dont have pictures of their room unfortunately.

 

While you can Create your Pizza in Sorrentos, do not expect the fritatas and olives and cheese which were located to the front where you get drinks like on the Freedom Class ships. This was a nice snack that I happen to miss.

[flagger]

You may not get the same views in the fitness center as on Freedom Class ships, but you still get a pretty nice view when working on the Treadmills.

 

 

Take the time to explore the artwork around the ship. Imagine watching Star Wars without any music on the soundtrack. These special finishing touches (including the lighting at night) around the ship absolutely make Oasis a world of imagination. Take time to stop taking pictures when you sail on her and take a look up and and look closer.

 

 

A couple final secrets: Certain Central park View staterooms have have DOUBLE the balcony square footage as the mechanical space next to them does not go into the balcony area. I would not call certain staterooms Oceanview staterooms but more like helicopter pad view staterooms where someone on the pad could actually get pretty close to the window and look in if so included.

 

I hope you have enjoyed my tour of some of the secrets that Oasis of the Seas revealed to my wife and I during our preview. Ask any questions and I will do the best I can to answer.

[CruiseLover15]

Great review and pictures. Thanks a bunch for all the secrets, I hope I can remember them come September.

Is it true that the helipad area at the bow will not be open to the passengers?

[zales]

Goodnight Flagger, how was your D1 balcony, did it have a lounger chair, and in your opinion, do you think the size is worth the extra money over D2-D8?

[Silvery Seas Cruiser]

Many thanks for revealing some of the secrets of Oasis. I loved your photos too. I aim to get out on that area over the bridge, but thanks for saying there is no water or bathroom. I'll be sure to bring water and make a pit stop before I go to that area.

[nursewurmy]

can you describe the handicapp rooms a little bit more? What does the bathroom look like? Did it have a seat in the shower? We may bring my mom on the cruise and I am wondering what this is like for her.

 

Becky

[flagger]

Becky, I can ask my colleague who was staying in one these questions and try to get back to you and maybe some photos. There was just too little to do and so much time.

 

Wait, scratch that...reverse it! ;)

[DEIx15x8]

Thanks for all the secrets. I hadn't hear of many of those. Now I really want to know which CP rooms have larger balconies, not sure if that's enough motivation to go without the ocean though.

 

For the decks 7, 11, 12, and bridge observation decks do you have to walk through cabin corridors to get their? Do they advertise them at all or do you think they will be another one of those secret areas where only the privileged know they exist, lol.

[RoyalCruiser2007]

I board Oasis in the morning for the Make-A-Wish cruise. I was already in bed but couldn't fall asleep so I came back online. I can't even begin to describe how happy I am to see this review. This is by far the most informative review done so far for upcoming Oasis cruisers. :) Thank you!

[Copper Lanterns]

Thanks for a post I have enjoyed reading.:D

 

The pictures were wonderful.

 

Thanks again

[emmy]

Wonderful information here..thank you. :)I am printing it out to check out some of these things/areas in person when I board on Dec 5.:)

[ahornb]

Flagger, that was awesome!!! THANKS! :)

[flagger]

Is it true that the helipad area at the bow will not be open to the passengers?

It was open during our sailing. It is up to each Captain whether it is open or not. I know for safety, they have closed off access to others when at speed between ports.

[Older Party]

can you describe the handicapp rooms a little bit more? What does the bathroom look like? Did it have a seat in the shower? We may bring my mom on the cruise and I am wondering what this is like for her.

 

Becky

 

I was in one of these rooms and they are terrific. Very large with enough room for a chair in both the room and the bathroom. Yes, the shower has a fold down chair and handrails throughout and is flush with the rest of the bathroom floor, having two shower curtains and drains for water. There is also a phone in the bathroom as well as emergency signal buttons by the bed and in the bathroom. They can be reset by a button by the cabin's door if they are accidently pushed. The balcony has a metal strip that pops down when the slider opens serving as a small ramp. The electrical plugs are under the lighted mirror and there is another one by the bed as well.

 

Honestly, this is one of my favorite cabins hands down!

[flagger]

Goodnight Flagger, how was your D1 balcony, did it have a lounger chair, and in your opinion, do you think the size is worth the extra money over D2-D8?

We did not have a lounger chair on ours. I did not get a good look at the other balcony categories of D staterooms. If having guests or a family in a D1, it would be worth it for the extra room. We were barely in our room on this short trip to make an accurate judgment.

[flagger]

For the decks 7, 11, 12, and bridge observation decks do you have to walk through cabin corridors to get their? Do they advertise them at all or do you think they will be another one of those secret areas where only the privileged know they exist, lol.

You walk through cabin corridors to get to them. The ones on Deck 7 where the rockwall is can be accessed by a set of stairs from Deck 6, but it was blocked when they started checking passes for the show/ rehearsal.

 

They are not advertised but there were plenty of people who discovered them.

[Cruise_Kitten]

Flagger thank you for giving a very different outlook on Oasis rather then the usual reviews. I cant wait to get on her next year, excitment is just to much :)

I'm staying in cabin 14154 so will have great access to the viewing area above the bridge as well as being able to go to my balcony to have a look in there to.

Loved the pictures

 

CK x

[mafig]

You must be a mind reader.:eek:

You answered all my questions.

:)

[CruiseLover15]

It was open during our sailing. It is up to each Captain whether it is open or not. I know for safety, they have closed off access to others when at speed between ports.

 

 

Ok. Thanks, Flagger.

[zales]

We did not have a lounger chair on ours. I did not get a good look at the other balcony categories of D staterooms. If having guests or a family in a D1, it would be worth it for the extra room. We were barely in our room on this short trip to make an accurate judgment.

 

Thank You Flagger, you don't know how many times I asked that question, and you were the only one that answered it, your response was greatly appreciated.:D

[Tyron]

flagger, thanks so much for your review and pics.

how is the viewing area outside the kids area accessed? :cool:

[flagger]

flagger, thanks so much for your review and pics.

how is the viewing area outside the kids area accessed? :cool:

I know my review was long, but it is in there.

 

The area above the bridge is accessed by going to Deck 14 forward on the port side. Ms. Flagger worked on Crochet during one of my sessions and many people in the solarium asked "How do you get there?" Note: no water or bathrooms and it did get warm...but very peaceful. This is also right in front of the Adventure Ocean. You may have kids out there, but I was told by several members of the AO staff that this was opened to the public for more outdoor deck space.

[Tyron]

I know my review was long, but it is in there.

 

 

thanks! :)

[flagger]

Here are a couple more secrets I wanted to share.

 

From what I can tell disembarkation luggage tags will not be by colour for Oasis, but by number. I was unable to take pictures but in the terminal when we left I noticed several scrolling type LED signs hanging from the ceiling all over the area where luggage would be. They had a one or two digit number on them.

 

On my stateroom attendant's cart, there was one set of luggage tags with a number on it. They were bright green, but did not say green. They just had a number on them. It will be interesting to see how it goes when revenue starts.

 

Secondly, I saw two pool towel issuing stations back by the AQ theatre on the port and starboard sides. Just behind JR and the Seafood Shack. From a Press Release I have and other collateral, the intention is for AQ to serve as a pool by day and theatre by night. It may not happen right away for the first few sailings as they are still working out the bugs in the system that raises and lowers not only the floor of the pool but the doors on the access points where rescue divers can swim in from the sides.

[cruisequeenUK]

Thanks flagger for your review as others have said it was nice to have a differant kind of review from the 'norm' and you stayed in the cabin next to the one I've booked! #11600 :D Did you get a good view from the hump balcony?