5/15/2010 Review from a Suite Guest Perspective

[DHooch]

First of all, the Oasis of the Seas is un-be-liev-able! My DW and I were in Crown Loft Suite #1708. So this review is from a suite perspective, with all the perks that suite guests receive. By the way, we are also Diamond-level Crown and Anchor members.

We took a few days to drive from Ohio to Ft. Lauderdale, arrived at 10:15 am, parked in the parking lot adjacent to the terminal after dropping off our luggage at the curb, where Royal Caribbean staff loaded them onto a cart. (By the way, the last piece of luggage arrived at our suite about 5:00 pm.) The terminal had an entrance marked “Suite Guests” so before we entered we were greeted by a gentleman in a suit who expedited our embarkation. After going through the metal detector we were escorted by another staff member to the registration desk to pick up our Sea Pass card and to take care of other matters. Along with the Sea Pass card you get a map of the ship, which comes in handy for the first few days. Registration took about 10 minutes. This was the fastest we were ever checked into a cruise vacation. We were then sent to get our pictures taken before going upstairs to a special waiting area for suite guests. There were other areas for Diamond and Diamond Plus guests. They had complimentary non-alcohol drinks in all these areas. By 11:15 am we were allowed onto the ship, but the cabins were not available until 1:00 pm.

My DW and I headed to the Park Café to get one of the world famous roast beef sandwiches. It was very good! The fresh hard roll and au jus made the difference. To get to the Park Café you had to walk through Central Park. Again, unbelievable!

It was time to go to our loft suite. As you walk in, you first see the two deck window that overlooks the wide balcony. There were two lounge chairs and a small square table (like a cube) on the balcony. Two towels were on the lounge chairs and stayed there the whole cruise without blowing away. Hence, the balcony was not very breezy. The view, however, was spectacular! Two-deck-high curtains and a matching set of shears were controlled by switches on the wall, since you could not reach the top of the curtains to open and close them. (Also, a switch to open the curtains, leaving the shears closed, was on the wall next to the bed, upstairs, so when you wake you can open the curtains without going downstairs, leaving the shears closed, for privacy.)

As you walk into the room, electronic mood-light switches (push buttons) were labeled “All On”, “Daytime”, “Evening”, “Late Night” and “All Off”. By pressing each button, the electronics rearranged the lighting in the whole suite to match a preset mood or to turn all the light off. It even had a dimmer to further adjust the lighting. The same mood lighting switches were available next to the upstairs bed.

Next to the front door was a bathroom. It was fairly large (probably typical of a balcony cabin) and had all the amenities you would expect from a nice hotel. Opposite the bathroom was a fairly large closet. In the living area a large flat-screen television with Bose speakers was on the wall opposite a large couch and coffee table. There was, also, a contoured chair with a matching ottoman in the room.

Going upstairs, a king-size bed awaited, along with a dressing vanity and another bathroom. There was another flat-screen television at the end of the bed that comes out of the ceiling by using the TV remote. Sweet! A shear curtain could be manually closed for privacy when in the upstairs bed. Side tables were on each side of the bed and two fancy reading lights above the bed were controlled independently. The upstairs bathroom was very roomy, with a shower that, I swear, could hold four people! There were hand-held shower heads at each end of the shower and a rain-shower head in the middle of the ceiling. Both bathrooms had contemporary fixtures that were easy to use.

At night, little lights on the sides of the stair treads could be turned on or off. However, two little lights at the top of the stairs stayed lit so you would not stumble down the stairs in the dark, by mistake. The bathrooms had night lights in the ceilings so you didn’t have to turn on the normal bright lights in the middle of the night.

The suite had more storage space than our house and so many towels that we almost ran out of space to hang them. The upstairs closets were large, self-closing and contained robes and slippers for our use. The personal-use safe was inside the closet and about twice the size as normal. The trash cans were in the inside doors of the bathrooms and the only complaint we had was that they needed trash cans in the living areas. Ironically, on the last day of the cruise we actually found two silver trash cans that we had thought were only ornaments under the desks. Do take an extension cord because the electric plugs are under the desks. In addition to all the storage space, a special piece of furniture that slid back and forth on rollers could be used as a desk or as a table, depending on how you arrange the room. Lastly, under the stairs were two decorative flower pots sitting on white river rock and accented by lights under the stairs. This just exemplifies how well done the decorations were, in our suite.

See additional threads for more of our Oasis experiences.

[DHooch]

Suite guests have their perks.

My DW and I were both Suite passengers and Diamond Crown and Anchor members. The first day of our cruise we had a complimentary fruit plate waiting in our suite. The second day we had a fruit and cheese plate. The next few days we had cookies, more fruit and more cookies arriving, which we could barely eat. Chocolates were placed on our pillows each night. Almost every day we received envelopes inviting us to various functions, including a Captain’s Cocktail Party for Suite guests. Strangely, it was in the morning on the next to last day. Drinking before noon was never a problem for me. We received a coupon for a free book of the Oasis artwork, which was, also, available for purchase.

There was a mini-fridge in the suite and we asked about getting booze delivered to the room. However, we were told that you could not have booze in your suite, except for the guests staying in the Presidential Suite. More rank has even more privileges, I guess. We could, however, have wine delivered to our room, which we did on one occasion. Without going into detail, we had a bottle of Champaign waiting in our room, compliments of the Hotel Director, who we spoke to that day. There was no problem. He just wanted to show his appreciation for our discussions with him. He was a very nice person, just like all Royal Caribbean staff on this ship!

We got to meet Cruise Director Ken Rush, who is a very likable person. We talked with him for a while and even had a chance to get a photo of him, which he happily obliged our asking.

Concierge service and a lounge are available to suite guests. We took advantage of that on many occasions. Make sure you go to the Concierge and get a “VIP” sticker applied to your gold Sea Pass so you can get into the shows without reservations. We could get into every show, including the Comedy Club. Get there early because they have special suite guest areas at these events. They fill up fast.

We had lunch in the Concierge Lounge one day and I had the best club sandwich I have ever had. It was almost like a Panini. Speaking of food, my DW and I had room service for breakfast one day. Except for taking an hour to figure out how to ask for room service (dial “0” on the phone and it will walk you through the process) since dialing “Star 6” did not work on the phone. Anyhow, the breakfast arrived when they said it would, it was hot and it was very, very good – in fact the best breakfast we had on the ship. Unfortunately, the Windjammer was not that good for breakfast, since the eggs and bacon were cold. The fruit and pastries were good, though. We did not have a chance to eat there for any other meals.

On Labadee suite guests had their own beach and walled-in area. You need your gold Sea Pass to enter. We rented a Cabana, which came with two Cabana guys, an ice chest with bottled water and special food choices. The Cabana, itself, had a ceiling fan, bench seats, lounge chairs and towels. It held six and we were lucky to have a couple of table mates join us, for a great time! There are a variety of Cabanas and we got the one on the beach, under overhanging trees. We were glad we did that since the day was hot, along with the sand. The Concierge will set up the Cabana rental for you and there is one price for the Cabana for the day, not separate prices for each guest.

Both the Diamond members and Suite guests get free drinks in their respective areas between 5:00 and 8:30 pm. We definitely took advantage in that perk. The Diamond members didn’t use the Diamond Lounge, but, instead, met in the nightclub called Blaze. There was hot food there, along with the drinks. The Concierge Lounge also had food but we did not partake in the food there, so we don’t know what that was like.

The Concierge Lounge overlooks Boardwalk and the back of the ship. It was a wonderful view. Dazzles has a view, also, but the stage is located next to the window so you don’t get as close a view (of Central Park) as you do of the Boardwalk in the Concierge Lounge.

The Concierge Lounge has a self-serve espresso machine that makes some pretty good specialty coffee! It does all the work for you, including frothing the milk. Nice!

See additional threads for more of our Oasis experiences.

[DHooch]

Décor and artwork on the Oasis:

The Oasis of the Seas is gorgeous. There is supposed to be ten million dollars worth of art on the ship. I believe it! In addition, there is so much detail that you can’t take it all in. For example, in the Aqua Theater there is a sea gull sitting on one of the railings on the side of the theater. It looks so real that you think that it IS real! There are 3-D binoculars and vertical glass sights that you find all over the place that, once looked into, you see three dimensional views of various nature scenes. Try to find them all.

Central Park feels like you are in a park. See Central Park in the daytime and at night for contrast. Boardwalk does seem like you are on the boardwalk. Depending on the event, Boardwalk could be crowded or somewhat empty. It was always fun to walk through. The Royal Promenade is huge! It was nice standing on the mezzanine level of the Royal Promenade having a drink in the Schooner Bar, people-watching or enjoying the various parades and entertainment presented below.

Each venue and public room has so much detail that you wonder how anyone could come up with the ideas during the design process. Just sit down and take in the wonder of it all.

By the way, the “Live the Oasis” book that they sell is for a scavenger hunt. It is not just for seeing photos of the ship. It gives you hints on how to find some of the aforementioned ship details.

See additional threads for more of our Oasis experiences.

[DHooch]

Food on board the Oasis:

As usual, the Main Dinning Room food was very good. There was nothing we didn’t enjoy. The bartender had my Rusty Nail drink ready when we arrived each night and my DW had our wine bottle poured within minutes of sitting down for dinner. We were second seating (8:30 pm) for dinner and were always finished by 10:00 or 10:30 pm, depending on what we were doing after dinner. We had a large table and our table mates were a joy to be with.

My DW and I had lunch at Giovanni’s, one dinner at 150 Central Park and the Chef’s Table on the last night of the cruise. All three were exceptional with the Chef’s Table being incredible! I would recommend all three to anyone willing to spend a little money on specialty restaurants. I could go into detail about the meals, but, other people have written about them. We didn’t have the wine pairing at 150 Central Park, but, the Chef’s Table wine pairing was out-of-sight! Not only were the wines exceptional, by themselves, they were paired perfectly with each course. If we had to pick only one of these specialty restaurants, the Chef’s Table would be on top of the list, by a large amount. Don’t miss it!

We eat at Johnny Rockets and the Seafood Shack for two of our lunches. Both were very good. Johnny Rockets had the best plain hot dog on a bun that I have ever had. The Bun was grilled to perfection and the hot dog was had the desired snap that you expect from a good dog. My DW had the fish at the Seafood Shack and it could have fed three people. She really liked it, but, could not finish it. I had Clam Chowder, which was good, but, not the best I ever had. I asked for it in a normal bowl instead of a bread bowl, which our waiter provided. I probable got twice the amount of chowder that I would have gotten, if it came in a bread bowl. We had some pizza at Sorrento’s for one of our lunches. It was satisfying. Even though we had more than enough “free” drinks as suite passengers, the extra alcoholic drinks we ordered were very good. Mondo Café had the hottest coffee I have ever had. You could hardly handle it, even with the extra sleeve they put around it.

See additional threads for more of our Oasis experiences.

[DHooch]

Entertainment on the Oasis:

Since we had our gold Suite Sea Pass with VIP label attached, we walked into all the shows except for the Oasis of Dreams Aqua show. We missed it because it was held at the beginning of the week and not at the end of the week, which we didn’t foresee. If you want to see the Oasis of Dreams Aqua show, do it early.

Hairspray was wonderful, the Headliner show was very good, the Come Fly with Me production show was very good and Karaoke was always fun. No I cannot sing. The Comedy Club had a mixed review. A slapstick comedian was only okay but the stand-up comedian was very funny.

Dazzles had a very good orchestra and vocalist, Boleros had very good Latin entertainment and dancing, Jazz on 4 had a good band. The only disappointment was late night in Blaze, which had a DJ playing hip hop and other modern music. I’m not saying the music was bad, but, while my DW and I were there, a waiter dropped a tray of dishes and five couples got up to dance!

There was enough entertainment throughout the week that you couldn’t go anywhere where there wasn’t something to see, hear and enjoy. Don’t miss the bagpiper.

See additional threads for more of our Oasis experiences.

[DHooch]

Miscellaneous observations about the Oasis:

I think I counted twenty four passenger elevators. The elevators were not crowed except for about 15 or 20 minutes after Mustering and after parades in the Royal Promenade. I agree with others that people wouldn’t let you come out of the elevator before they tried to come in.

Our sailing was completely full. Even then, there were more than enough lounge chairs for use on the sun decks and the pool areas. They had little private sitting areas all around the ship where you could go to read a book or just get out of the sun. The Solarium seemed to be the best place to get some shut-eye, since you saw so many people taking a nap in that area.

The people enjoying the Flow Rider and Zip Line were fun to watch. You could spend all day watching whether someone was going to wipe out on the Flow Rider or not. The miniature golf course seemed to be a big hit, also.

In one port we were docked next to the Grandeur of the Seas. I am not saying the Oasis is big, however, I was standing on the Sport Deck looking onto the Grandeur’s Sport Deck and you could barely see the passengers sunbathing down below. Well, not exactly, but you get the point. The Oasis is huge!

The Windjammer seemed to be smaller than expected. We didn’t have too much trouble finding a table, however. I think the Windjammer is smaller because there are so many other options available for eating.

We were on somewhat of a transition cruise. Cruise Director Ken Rush was leaving to go to the Allure of the Seas in the future. The Hairspray cast was being replaced by a new cast. The same thing was happening with some of the other acts. I hope the new cast members are as good as the ones we got to see.

There is more to do on the Oasis than one week allows. I guess that is why so many people do a B2B cruise. If you can afford it, do a B2B cruise on the Oasis.

All in all we had the best big-ship cruise we have ever had. Only a small five-masted schooner cruise ship we have been on was as enjoyable -- for different reasons. Considering the cost of this cruise, compared with the inflation-adjusted price of our first cruise ship (the Song of America in 1987) the Oasis is a real bargain! Where else could you get this much entertainment for so little cost? Hats off to Royal Caribbean Cruise Line!

[transam84]

Thanks for a "suite" review! Very helpful. We have an aqua theater suite reserved for June 2011.

We were thinking of renting a cabana on Labadee. There are 4 of us in the suite but my DS's friends are staying in a regular cabin. If we rent the cabana can 2 of his friends join us, even though they are not in a suite?

Thanks again. Laura

[DHooch]

I am not sure if they check all gold Sea Passes or just one in the group. Also, there really is room for only six people in a cabana so someone will not have a seat in the cabana and will have to sit on a lounge chair, that are all over the place.

[catlady27]

Thanks for all the info :) We are sailing in September and have a CL Suite - WOOOOOOOO HOOOOOOOOOOO :D

 

So, what is the secret to getting a bottle of champagne delivered to the room? Was not sure if they would let you purchase one or not, but that would be nice for our first night on board :p

[catlady27]

According to the website, it is a queen bed:

 

Two deck high stateroom with panoramic views. Master bedroom and bath on second level. Bedroom has two twin beds (can be converted to Queen).

 

Is it actually a king??? that would be kewl :D

[lizmit]

Thanks for the excellent review. I can't wait for our B2B on Allure in April!!!!

Happy sails

~ Liz

[RevSmith]

Thanks for the fantastic review...

If you recall, could you tell me what the special food choices were for the Cabana guests on Labadee.

Thanks in advance.

Rev

[DHooch]

According to the website, it is a queen bed:

 

Two deck high stateroom with panoramic views. Master bedroom and bath on second level. Bedroom has two twin beds (can be converted to Queen).

 

Is it actually a king??? that would be kewl :D

 

We have a queen size bed at home and this was definitely bigger, so I am pretty sure it was a king size bed.

[DHooch]

Thanks for the fantastic review...

If you recall, could you tell me what the special food choices were for the Cabana guests on Labadee.

Thanks in advance.

Rev

 

There was grilled, skewered shrimp and steak, along with the usual hamburgers, hot dogs and all the sides and deserts.

[DHooch]

I forgot to mention that disembarkation was the fastest my DW and I have ever experienced. As suite guests we had a very low number (#4) that is used to announce when you can leave the ship. We left at 8:00 am although we could have left at 7:00 am. We walked off the ship, got our luggage in about one minute (it was located by using the same number, in the terminal), handed the customs officer our customs form and walked out to the parking lot to get to our car. We loaded the suitcases, paid the parking by credit card and we were on our way back to Ohio. We would (almost) drive to California to take our next cruise, to keep from having to hassle with the airlines again.

[RevSmith]

There was grilled, skewered shrimp and steak, along with the usual hamburgers, hot dogs and all the sides and deserts.

Thanks...I was hoping for grilled lobster tails, which they present on the Princess cabana special suite menu...out of this world. But grilled shrimp and steak sounds fine.

I'm going in ten days and I will book a cabana.

[danzur]

We were in the Royal Suite on the 5/15 cruise...the docs said we had a queen bed too, but it seemed larger than that. We had the same stuff mentioned above....champagne the first day, cheeses day 2, some chocolates a couple other days. There was NOT free booze in the frig...LOL. There was a "suite wine list" that you could order from, but we never did. We grabbed wines around the ship and brought them back to the room. Had coffee delivered each morning and sat on the balcony to plan our day. Our son's plan was pretty simple....go to the Flowrider...LOL. He loved that thing.

 

We're booked in a CL on Allure next year. We loved the Royal Suite for sure, but the library and piano were a bit much...LOL. The spa tub on the balcony was pretty nice however :).

[Iron ranger]

The wife and I were on our first cruise and in a D room on Deck 9. So for kicks I went down to guest services at about 3:00 am and thought since I had already spent so much on the cruise what's an extra $50. So with a couple of winks we had the gold seapass for the rest of the trip. It was nice enjoying some of the perks without paying for a suite!

[danzur]

Also...the cabanas/beach/lagoon in Labadee was fantastic. That was a great day. It was the Corona commercial with the OASIS in the background. Zach and I did the waverunners at the end of the day which were great too. The waters were pretty rough at 2-3pm, would have been better in the morning...FYI.

[catlady27]

We were in the Royal Suite on the 5/15 cruise...the docs said we had a queen bed too, but it seemed larger than that. We had the same stuff mentioned above....champagne the first day, cheeses day 2, some chocolates a couple other days. There was NOT free booze in the frig...LOL. There was a "suite wine list" that you could order from, but we never did. We grabbed wines around the ship and brought them back to the room. Had coffee delivered each morning and sat on the balcony to plan our day. Our son's plan was pretty simple....go to the Flowrider...LOL. He loved that thing.

 

We're booked in a CL on Allure next year. We loved the Royal Suite for sure, but the library and piano were a bit much...LOL. The spa tub on the balcony was pretty nice however :).

 

NICE :) ONLY 99 days to go now :D

[BrianAlt]

NICE :) ONLY 99 days to go now :D

 

Now you can start singing...

 

99 bottles of booze in the suite bar

99 bottles of booze

Take one down

Pass it around...

[catlady27]

Now you can start singing...

 

99 bottles of booze in the suite bar

99 bottles of booze

Take one down

Pass it around...

 

 

HA HA HA HA - exactly :D

[Puffinater]

Thanks for the review. Great information and well done.

[TheYoungFamilyCruisers]

Now you can start singing...

 

99 bottles of booze in the suite bar

99 bottles of booze

Take one down

Pass it around...

 

BrianAlt - you crack me up - We can't wait to meet you in 37 DAYS!

37 bottles of booze hidden on my balcony

37 bottle of booze...

 

The wife and I were on our first cruise and in a D room on Deck 9. So for kicks I went down to guest services at about 3:00 am and thought since I had already spent so much on the cruise what's an extra $50. So with a couple of winks we had the gold seapass for the rest of the trip. It was nice enjoying some of the perks without paying for a suite!

 

Iron Ranger - can anyone go down and pay for suite benefits?

[Cruising89143]

 

Iron Ranger - can anyone go down and pay for suite benefits?

 

In a word "no". They are for those that book the suites or have earned this through being a repeat cruiser and working themselves up to Diamond +. Also, you need more than a gold SeaPass to enjoy all of the benefits.