Cruised Oasis - major complaint

[jimmyatc]

First of all, we cruised on Oasis 2/13 - 2/20, and overall it was a great cruise......BUT there was one issue that really irked our entire group, especially the kids:

 

On Friday, 2/19 (port day in Nassau), the flowriders were closed for the day at noon. The zipline and rockwalls were closed at 2 PM, also for the day.

 

So on Day 7 of our cruise, all the favorite activities of all the kids came to an end by 2:00.

 

As far as I know, the cruise is not over on Friday, especially during the day. That left very little to do for a lot of kids on this cruise. I talked to many people who could not get a reservation for the zipline during the week. Well RCI, how about keeping these activities open to at least 6PM....and many more people could have tried the zipline. The kids ended up sitting at the aquatheater watching practice....not really what we paid for.

 

Since you really don't get a full 7 day cruise anyway (departure day being half a day), cutting out another half day of the main activities on the ship is just wrong....especially at the premium prices to sail on this ship.

 

COME ON ROYAL CARRIBEAN --- DO THE RIGHT THING :mad::mad::mad:

[pcutrone]

My major complaint would be having to get off the ship at the end of the week!

[pcutrone]

I do agree about not getting a full seven days. That's what appeals to me so much about the Independence of the Seas. You can do eight nights (which seems perfect) or 6 nights.

[bwest the man]

I couldn't agree more. Either cancel nassua or move it to Sunday. Friday or the last day should also be at sea. Just my opinion.

[arrow3]

I agree with this. You pay to use these activities. Especially since you mentioned that a lot of people couldn't get reservations for the Zipline. All of the paying passengers should be entitled to these attractions. They should keep the Zipline open as long as they need so as to make sure that everyone gets a chance to try it.

[pcl_cruiser]

I don't see what the big deal is, unless you were not warned ahead of time. But if you were then plan accordingly. However, I can undertand if there was no warning given.

[PineappleGal]

isn't everything normally closed once in the port of call?

 

Aren't you planning on getting off the ship and enjoying Nassau; your paying for the port as well so I would take advantage.

 

It would be a concern if they aren't opening it back up after you set sail; i've seen pics of the flowrider operating at night to.

 

I maybe wrong but your paying port charges so get off the ship and enjoy Atlantis; they have water rides there too.

[catlady27]

isn't everything normally closed once in the port of call?

 

Aren't you planning on getting off the ship and enjoying Nassau; your paying for the port as well so I would take advantage.

 

It would be a concern if they aren't opening it back up after you set sail; i've seen pics of the flowrider operating at night to.

 

I maybe wrong but your paying port charges so get off the ship and enjoy Atlantis; they have water rides there too.

 

The Shops are but not the Flowriders or eating venues or bars because many people stay onboard to relax. I would be torqued if I was staying on board to get in some quality surfing/boogie boarding time and they closed them down.

[4spring9]

I'm in agreement with you Jimmy! Whether you knew ahead of time or not (& you didn't specify), if you couldn't get reservations while the ship was at sea, then it makes sense to consider it while in port. I know some folks say get off the boat & do an excursion, but sometimes those can be pretty pricey if there already is something on the ship that you find interesting.

 

This does bring me to one question (& its probably an obvious one so humor me): Where do you find out what things are closed while in port? Is it on this website somewhere? On the ship's site? Or do you wait until you're onboard?

[Triciabrownbear]

Great question! I agree 100% that they should have kept the activities open on the last afternoon of the cruise, in port or not!! Hopefully, this was all noted on the comment cards and I am pretty sure that RCCI is aware of the Cruise Critic boards and comments. Thanks for sharing!

[cruiserbryce]

glad you enjoyed it other than that...one of the things we thought about when we saw the amenities and the capacity was how much trouble they would have getting people on things like the flowrider, aipline and rock walls...with that many pax they could let people go 24/7 and still maybe not get everyone on...I would have thought they would maximize the amount of time they offer these things

[soxfan7]

Was it just the last day/ Nassau that these activities were closed early or do they close the activities every time the ship is in port? I hope not as we were planning to try and do some stuff onbboard instead of heading into port at least one of the days to avoid the masses.

 

Good to know though and plan around, thanks for sharing even though it was terrible for your cruise :(

[jimmyatc]

Was it just the last day/ Nassau that these activities were closed early or do they close the activities every time the ship is in port? I hope not as we were planning to try and do some stuff onbboard instead of heading into port at least one of the days to avoid the masses.

 

Good to know though and plan around, thanks for sharing even though it was terrible for your cruise :(

 

In both St Thomas & St Martin, the flowrider was open almost all day (and the lines were MUCH shorter), and the zipline was open part of the port day. The rockwall was open at 4:30PM on port days.

 

It wasn't a surprise that they were closed on the Nassau port day (the schedule is in the compass)....the point is that it is the last day of the cruise....and I think most kids would have loved to get a few more rides (or climbs...or zips) in. I think an afternoon session would have been reasonable. I understand no late session, since most people are packing...etc.

[pscruzinboyz]

Originally, we were booked on the inagural......But we postponed it mainly because of problems like these and others. I hope by the time we sail on Halloween......All of these type of complaints will be addressed and gone. Keep up the criticism and hopefully RCL will hear all of you to correct these type of issues.

 

Thanks

 

Mike

[Hobiecat01]

I'm in agreement with you Jimmy! Whether you knew ahead of time or not (& you didn't specify), if you couldn't get reservations while the ship was at sea, then it makes sense to consider it while in port. I know some folks say get off the boat & do an excursion, but sometimes those can be pretty pricey if there already is something on the ship that you find interesting.

 

This does bring me to one question (& its probably an obvious one so humor me): Where do you find out what things are closed while in port? Is it on this website somewhere? On the ship's site? Or do you wait until you're onboard?

 

The casino and the shops are always closed when a ship is in port. I have never seen other amenities, i.e. Flowrider, rockwall, etc. closed while in port. On several Western Caribbean cruises on RCL, we always stay on board while in Jamaica ( That's a story I won't go into here...) and have always enjoyed the Flowrider, rock wall, pools and other fun things to do. Besides, that you are usually the only ones aboard...NO lines!!

 

I am not aware of any on-line (web) schedule published of things closed in port. Your Daily Compass should have that info but you won't find that out until the night before.

 

Surely RCL had a reason for this (maintenance??? - but why not at other off hours??), but I do agree the zipline and Flowrider should be open even when in a port... especially on the last full day of the cruise, port or no port.

-----------------------------

Sea ya!

Ron and Lee

Canton, Ga

Proud RCCL Platinum Member

"In wine there is wisdom, in beer there is freedom,

in water there is bacteria." – Ben Franklin

We are proud Oasis Camel Cruiser – April 17, 2010

The Oasis Camels Website

Previous Cruises – 59 Days at Sea!

Carnival Mardis Gras - 3 Day Bahamas - April 1982

Carnival Destiny - 7 Days Western Carib. - April 1998

Princess Grand Princess - 7 Days Eastern Carib. - April 1999

Princess Sea Princess - 7 Days Western Carib. - March 2000

Princess Grand Princess - 7 Days Western Carib. - March 2002

RCCL Navigator of the Seas - 7 Days Western Carib. - March 2003

RCCL Mariner of the Seas - 7 Days Western Carib. - April 2005

RCCL Freedom of the Seas - 7 Days Western Carib. - 6/18 - 6/25/2006

RCCL Liberty of the Seas - 7 Days Eastern Carib. - 7/19 - 7/26/08

Planned Cruises

RCCL Oasis of the Seas – Our Friends Cruise - April 17, 2010

RCCL Allure of the Seas – Our Neighborhood Cruise - 2011

The BIG One - Southeast Asia 14 day – 2012?

Princess Cruises - The Med – 14 day – 2013?

[diamondcruiser87]

Technically cruises are counted by nights not by days. However, if you get on the ship at the earliest boarding time - usually 11am to 11:30 am...that first day will give you 7 full days on board the ship to enjoy everything. That is unfortunate that they closed things early on that Friday, but it's the Oasis of the seas - how could there not be something to do!!!!! There is so much to see ... I understand your major complaint, but just feel fortunate enough that you were able to go on this amazing ship. So many people can't even afford the cheapest cruise that any cruise line sells.

[alphakitty]

The Flowrider was open on our last night of the cruise in Nassau. We were up there watching people, though it could have been a private session as there were only 2 young men using it over and over.

 

In this thread, I see mention of RCI via the President's blog, asking for feedback on whether to keep the visit to Nassa the way it is, or switch to Sunday. OP, you might want to leave feedback here. http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1146080

[dickens56]

What did kids to on the ships before all of these activities were added?

[Bothofus]

What did kids to on the ships before all of these activities were added?

 

They probably stayed home. Didn't cruising used to be considered to be mainly for the newly-wed or nearly-dead?

 

Rachel

[CanuckMO4]

They probably stayed home. Didn't cruising used to be considered to be mainly for the newly-wed or nearly-dead?

 

Rachel

Oh I dont think so my freind

[Bothofus]

Oh I dont think so my freind

 

No? I wouldn't know, because I'm relatively new to cruising, but that is how they refer to it in all the crusing books I've read--that cruising has come a long way in the past 10-20 years, from when it was mainly geared to honeymooners, or retired folks.

 

Rachel

[alwayshappytocruise]

Very little left for the "kids" to do on the Oasis of the Seas? You have got to be kidding me. That is unless you left the rock climbing wall and flo-rider to the very last afternoon on the ship. If so, what did the "kids" do on the at sea days? Please, there is so much to do on that ship for people of all ages........

[alwayshappytocruise]

No? I wouldn't know, because I'm relatively new to cruising, but that is how they refer to it in all the crusing books I've read--that cruising has come a long way in the past 10-20 years, from when it was mainly geared to honeymooners, or retired folks.

 

Rachel

 

Sorry, Rachel, you aren't reading the right kind of books about cruising....not even sure if that's possible! Life is an adventure, you gotta try it first.

[Crewmates]

I may have missed it but did anyone mention if this was a scheduled closure? Did the Compass say that it was to be closed? The reason I ask is when we were docked at Nassau the week before, it was very windy. Unfortunately, I did not notice if the Flowrider or Zip Line were operating. My thoughts are that they may have been shut down do to high winds. I have been on several cruises where the upper deck was closed do to high winds. Just a thought.

[triplej2484]

It is 6 1/2 half days. But that is why they call them 7 Night Cruises.