OASIS pros and cons

[USS Cheers]

We sailed Oasis on June 5- Eastern. I don't want to let anyone down, but I just cannot give this cruise a perfect score. We are a family of 5. DH and I are 39/40 kids are 8, 10, 13. This was my 6th cruise.

Pro's

*Embarkation and disembarkation throughout the entire cruise. RC is completely prepared for the crowd this ship holds. We were ON the ship in 25 minutes from the taxi and we did not have a suite!! Very quick at port as well. We had a number of over 5000 for our sailing.

*Cabin. We have chosen upper end suites in the past. This cruise was too expensive so we had to scale back. We had adjoining CP balcony rooms. The storage looked like little until we started unpacking. We had room for everything and room to spare. Creative nooks, shelves throughout. Luggage fit nicely beneath the beds. The decor is very tranquil. Comfortable bed. I did not miss the Ocean view as much as I thought I would. Viewing Central Park was serene. (mostly- Bagpipes echoed up annoyingly)

*The beauty of the ship itself....what a magnificent creation and it was marvelous to just roam and look at detail. It was worth taking stairs to view art on each floor.

*Pool Deck Chairs/Loungers- Plenty of them and we never couldn't get one near if not exactly where we wanted to be. Chair hog problem solved!

Touch Screens. We most appreciated being able to see current events.

Shows. We saw them all and we most enjoyed Come fly with me. It was very energetic . The stage settings were impressive. The ice show was cute and I was impressed with the effects on board- as I also was on Liberty. Hairspray was great. We very much enjoyed it, but it was probably 3rd of favs. Oasis of Dreams- aqua show was okay. Cast was spectacular but I don't think it was the best use of space for this ship....more details in the "con" section.

Stability. Hardly know you were cruising. I personally like a bit of sway, but the rest of the family does not and we very rarely felt a thing.

*The Living Room for teens. My daughter had a fun time there. Loved the "Fuel" dance club, scavenger hunts, and other activities. Andy was great.

*Cabin steward. Far and above the best employee we encountered. Consistently happy, positive, professional and sure of himself- in a confident way. Thanks Romel.

*Maitre-D- The first time I have ever tipped him extra. Just a wonderful attitude, funny personality and he really tried to fill in when waiters simply could not keep up.

*Lobster- The second formal night was Lobster night. Pure White, slightly firm and delicious. The only superb meal of the week out of MDR for us. (others ranged from ok to good)

*Dessert at Chops- this is the place to go ahead and get a gut ache. Mud Pie and Cheesecake-mmmm.

Family dance in the Blaze. Since the boys were with us most of the time it gave us a fun option.

*Park Cafe- We prefer a light breakfast and the atmosphere has the element of health and breakfast was light and quick here. Nice salad selection for lunch as others mentioned.

*Escalators to the gangway. Just added to the speed of embarking and disembarking at ports.

Con's

*Adventure Ocean. For a ship of this size with amenities such as a carousel and boardwalk which appeals to families, I would have expected Adventure Ocean to be huge. It was smaller than that of Liberty of the Seas. My 8 and 10 year old boys were in different groups so I have decent perspective of both programs although the conclusion for both was the same. They HATED "school" on board the ship. They wanted gaga ball, treasure hunts, games, jokes, dance parties and all the fun they had on Liberty. The first couple times they tried to go it was closed. Throughout the cruise we discovered that hours are more limited on Oasis than Freedom class. Then, when open, they seemed to show up at "quiet, listening and learning time. Their next complaint was that it was way too crowded and I could see why. They had to give 5 minute time allotments for Wii. Not enough to complete any level of any game, so they opted out of that too. The whole program was a complete disappointment for them. We ended up buying arcade cards for them. They love basketball and chose to hang out with us much of the time. The court is the next "con".

*Basketball court- With Adventure Ocean being a wipeout for our boys they attempted the basketball court. It was good about 1/2 the time. The other half, upper age teen boys would come in, steal the balls from younger and basically bully them off the court by charging into them with full court BB. It was near impossible to get any sort of supervision by RC staff for this area on the ship. We witnessed the bullying one evening from the Windjammer and tried to get help for the situation to absolutely no avail. RC seems to be avoiding this problem. I suggest 2 courts on the next ship or time allotments for different age groups. A bad situation for sure.

*Zip line- Absolutely no shade for gear hook up and very little shade for the wait- very hot and the ride is very short. Fun few seconds while it lasts though. I heard Allure is being fitted for shade.

*Food- We could not get hot food on the ship. MDR was consistently luke warm. I totally understand the problem. They are simply feeding too many people and food is sitting out too long before being served. Presentation was grand though. Our server in MDR did the best he could, but he was overwhelmed and said his workspace is shared with 8 other servers- once on board you would see how tight these quarters are. He wants to go back to a smaller ship, but has to go to Allure first- he stated that RC is transferring much of the crew b/c RC doesn't want to re-train for set up on Allure and the Oasis crew already knows the routine.

We had the same problem at Chops. Sides and Filet mignon are prepared too far in advance. Filet is slow baked rare, then charred to order. DH ordered MW and had a luke warm steak. A steak freshly prepared to this degree of doneness would be hot. We did not have this problem at Chops on Liberty. Prep like this is acceptable in the dining room, but not at Chops in our opinion. So my advice is to order another cut- I got the rib eye and it was grilled fresh- my only hot item outside of tea, coffee and crème brulee for the entire cruise. Our sides were only warm as well. Chops does not have an Ocean view- all specialty restaurants view Central Park.

*Pool Count- Love the pools they have, but since my boys did not like adventure ocean at all they were with us which made the solarium out for DH and I. The family pools were too crowded and the water got very murky from all the bodies and sunscreen. They needed one more large chlorine pool in the back for public use- this is why I personally didn't appreciate the aqua theater as much- it took away what is usually a nice place to gaze at the ocean and space for a much needed extra family pool. The beachside pool is salt water- nice to have beach entrance, but my youngest DH has allergies and ocean water always sets off his eczema....so nice for most, but we choose RC for chlorine pools for him = 2 pool choices and no room to splash even a little unless he wanted to join the kiddie pool- perfect 2 years ago, not so much this cruise. The chlorine pools have a sign stating that they are open 24 hours except for cleaning. Cleaning is every night (understandably) and to well past midnight so my son with allergies could not swim when the pool was not crowded. Wish they could clean one at a time for families with a situation such as ours. The ocean water pool truly appeared to be a 24 hour pool-I don't know when it is drained as it was the one that was always open when we tried to swim at night.

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My best suggestion for anyone who has not cruised yet is to make all show reservations in advance of your cruise. I advise you to print out your reservations and take it with you to the show. Our reservation for Hair Spray was somehow dropped but I had my reservation printed out as a "just in case" and I was sure thankful. All other reservations were fine. We did this and signed all waivers in advance and did not have to wait in any lines upon boarding. It was very nice.

I was a little disappointed in the clientele of this cruise- maybe it was time of year. Many patrons seemed impatient. I never felt over crowded on this ship and I saw no reason for it.

I'll end on a positive note- none of us gained an ounce. The ship is huge and requires a great deal of walking.

Allure will not be in our future and I'm still very happy we tried Oasis. It is a beautiful ship. Our cruise on Liberty of the Seas is #1 for us thus far. When we mentioned Liberty to one of the bar tenders he said...."Awww, that's my ship and I'm going back to her." We heard this more than once and we agree. We will cruise RC again.

[steamboats]

Actually AO on the Oasis is way larger than on the Liberty (having been on both ship with our DD). Maybe the group rooms are smaller because of the separate room (science lab, common play area, crayola art studio).

 

Food temperature might depend on the location of your dinner table in the MDR and your waiter. We never had a problem with the temp of our food. Can´t comment on Chops.

 

steamboats

[marci22]

Nice review, thanks for posting. Not sure I would ever book it but I do like to hear about others' experiences.

[BrianAlt]

Too bad about Adventure Ocean. My kids have always had a blast there. Usually have to fight to get them out.

 

Thankfully we won't have to worry about that this time.

 

Thanks for your review.

[bluegirlum]

I don't have kids, so don't understand Adventure Ocean. What is "school"? This is not meant at you OP, but why don't kids just hang out with their parents on vacation? That's what we did. We didn't have Wiis and stuff. We turned out ok. ;)

 

I don't think Oasis has to be for everyone. We loved it, but Liberty is our other favorite. We were not impressed by the food in the MDR and would not eat there again. Oasis certainly isn't perfect and I think anyone who says it is is just an RCI cheerleader. I would definitely go again, but definitely understand those who go and don't want to go again.

 

Thanks for the review!

[BrianAlt]

but why don't kids just hang out with their parents on vacation?

 

When we go on a cruise, we make friends. Or at least we try to make friends. When my kids are with us, they like making friends too. And we encourage it. AO has been a great way for them to meet other kids their age. It's not about playing Wii, or any other activity, it's about the people you meet. They're welcome to hang with us, but they know us already. Be social and meet people, I think that gives them a better vacation. And when they're having a great time it's easier for us to have a great time too.

 

As I've always said to them, it's your vacation too, do what you enjoy.

[Lizcourt]

Interesting comments on the use of AO. I don't have kids, but usually cruise with my family including four nieces, who, depending on the cruise, have ranged in age from 3 to 18. On all of those cruises, not just RCCL, but also Carnival, Celebrity, and Cunard, no matter what the kids programs offered, we could not get them interested. They always seemed to want to hang out with family (and each other) instead. On the other hand, I hear time and again about parents who can't get their kids out of Camp Carnival or Adventure Ocean or whatever the program is (and, frankly, having read what those programs offer, if I was a kid, you couldn't get me out, either!!). I guess like everything else, its just a matter of personal choice.

[BrianAlt]

I guess like everything else, its just a matter of personal choice.

 

No doubt about it. Not to characterize your family in any way, as I don't know them, but I have found that many kids that don't want to at least try out AO refuse to because of anxiety over being put in an uncomfortable position initially. That is to say, not knowing anyone and not knowing what to expect prevents them from trying it out.

[catlady27]

No doubt about it. Not to characterize your family in any way, as I don't know them, but I have found that many kids that don't want to at least try out AO refuse to because of anxiety over being put in an uncomfortable position initially. That is to say, not knowing anyone and not knowing what to expect prevents them from trying it out.

 

See, cats are easier, they don't go on vacation with us and they don't care what we do as long as we feed them, love them, and scoop their boxes :D

 

[BrianAlt]

See, cats are easier...

 

Wow! That's one hungry cat!

[catlady27]

Wow! That's one hungry cat!

 

HEY, look at you Mr. 17 days from embarkation :D Y'all all packed and ready to go? Did you book Flowrider lessons? If you did can you let me know if they have lessons on both at the same time? Reason I ask is because about 13 people have signed up for lessons at the same time on our cruise and on the Freedom they usually didn't have more than 8 at one time so I am assuming they will split people up between the two. We are 12 weeks out and I just can't stand the wait :eek:

[BrianAlt]

Did you book Flowrider lessons?

 

You'll have to read part 2 of my review tomorrow. ;)

 

Ok, I won't make you wait. Yes, I booked a lesson. It doesn't specify which one. I guess one is on a stand up type board and one is boogie board style, right? I also can't tell how many people are booked. But since this ship has 2 of them, I'm sure they would book up to two groups.

[bwest the man]

You'll have to read part 2 of my review tomorrow. ;)

 

Ok, I won't make you wait. Yes, I booked a lesson. It doesn't specify which one. I guess one is on a stand up type board and one is boogie board style, right? I also can't tell how many people are booked. But since this ship has 2 of them, I'm sure they would book up to two groups.

 

That would be very interesting are creative. I like that idea. When you come back let us know. Thanks and have a treat trip.

[catlady27]

You'll have to read part 2 of my review tomorrow. ;)

 

Ok, I won't make you wait. Yes, I booked a lesson. It doesn't specify which one. I guess one is on a stand up type board and one is boogie board style, right? I also can't tell how many people are booked. But since this ship has 2 of them, I'm sure they would book up to two groups.

 

When we took lessons on the Freedom no one was learning to boogie board, it was all stand up surfing :D

[BrianAlt]

When we took lessons on the Freedom no one was learning to boogie board, it was all stand up surfing :D

 

I would assume that's what everyone would want to learn. Seems the boogie boarding is easy enough to pick up on your own.

[catlady27]

I would assume that's what everyone would want to learn. Seems the boogie boarding is easy enough to pick up on your own.

 

Yep, very easy to boogie board and a lot of fun. I have a tip for those who have not surfed on the Flowrider yet and that is, if you feel yourself losing your balance, don't fight it, just SIT DOWN. Hurts a lot less that way :D

[bwest the man]

I would assume that's what everyone would want to learn. Seems the boogie boarding is easy enough to pick up on your own.

 

Yea unless you wanted to learn a few tricks. I think 90% of people who take lessons do it to surf. That's is good that they have both sides open for lessons. Catlady what day are you taking your lesson on?

[steamboats]

BrianAlt,

 

Don´t worry my DD (10 yo) didn´t want to leave AO like on all other ships except for the fact that she was allowed self sign-out this time :D and that was more attractive than staying.

 

But actually the Oasis has so much to offer for kids that she didn´t spent as much time at AO as usual (we´ve been on the Majesty after the Oasis and she stayed all day long - not regarding the port times).

 

By the end of the cruise she was thinking about how to stay as stow away. But then she decided to say good bye to each of the caroussell animals and come with us:D.

 

steamboats

 

PS: Catlady, I´m not sure if my cat doesn´t want to travel with us. Each time we are packing our suitcases she´s the first one in :D!

[BrianAlt]

By the end of the cruise she was thinking about how to stay as stow away. But then she decided to say good bye to each of the caroussell animals and come with us:D.

 

Lovely! :D

[catlady27]

Yea unless you wanted to learn a few tricks. I think 90% of people who take lessons do it to surf. That's is good that they have both sides open for lessons. Catlady what day are you taking your lesson on?

 

Monday evening at 6:15 pm :) We wanted to have our lesson early in the cruise. It has been two years since we have sailed so I am sure we will be a bit "rusty" :D I seriously doubt I will ever be good enough to compete in the best of the best at the end of the cruise, but I hope to be able to at least stay up longer than 1 minute :eek:

[catlady27]

BrianAlt,

 

Don´t worry my DD (10 yo) didn´t want to leave AO like on all other ships except for the fact that she was allowed self sign-out this time :D and that was more attractive than staying.

 

But actually the Oasis has so much to offer for kids that she didn´t spent as much time at AO as usual (we´ve been on the Majesty after the Oasis and she stayed all day long - not regarding the port times).

 

By the end of the cruise she was thinking about how to stay as stow away. But then she decided to say good bye to each of the caroussell animals and come with us:D.

 

steamboats

 

PS: Catlady, I´m not sure if my cat doesn´t want to travel with us. Each time we are packing our suitcases she´s the first one in :D!

 

They always seem to know you are leaving don't they? :p

[bwest the man]

Monday evening at 6:15 pm :) We wanted to have our lesson early in the cruise. It has been two years since we have sailed so I am sure we will be a bit "rusty" :D I seriously doubt I will ever be good enough to compete in the best of the best at the end of the cruise, but I hope to be able to at least stay up longer than 1 minute :eek:

 

That's a good idea. It is hard to go out there and pick back up where you left off when you only do it once a year or every other year. I think we might get a lesson on day 1 or 2, so we can get back in the hang on things again. :)

[TrishOB]

PS: Catlady, I´m not sure if my cat doesn´t want to travel with us. Each time we are packing our suitcases she´s the first one in :D!

 

Steambouts, our cat does the same thing. She sits on top of a suitcase, actually, not so much because she wants to go with us, I think, but she's trying to prevent us from leaving!

[steamboats]

They always seem to know you are leaving don't they? :p

 

Yes, they definitely do!

 

Steambouts, our cat does the same thing. She sits on top of a suitcase, actually, not so much because she wants to go with us, I think, but she's trying to prevent us from leaving!

 

I´m not sure if she wants to prevent us from leaving or if she wants to come with us :D!

 

Our tom cat doesn´t show any interest at all.

 

steamboats

aka Carmen

[CruiseLover15]

Thanks so much for taking the time to do a wonderful review.