Oasis of the Seas - Will I be nickled and dimed?

[Matter-T]

I've been on multiple cruises before but this will be my first time on RCI in many years. I keep reading that I'll be nickled and dimed on the Oasis of the Seas, is this true? We've already booked and are getting very excited but I'm not 100% sure what to expect. Will I be able to easily find places to eat that are included in our fare? I get that things like the carousel will cost us, but I'm mostly concerned about dining. We don't sail until May 2012 but I'm hoping to get a better idea of what to expect!

 

Thanks so much!

 

We are schedule to go Sept 17th. You can't go wrong with the free buffet.

But for the most part the other cruises we have been on the formal dining in the main dinning room did not cost anything, even in Europe on RCCL. I believe it's your signature restaurant that cost a fee. Try not to focus much on the cost of food, there's plenty of places on board to eat free. :confused:Still not sure, just double check upon arrival, ask questions, and enjoy, enjoy, enjoy. talk to ya soon:o

[Guest]

"Nickled & Dimed"

You have to pay for the steam room.

[negrilbride]

The TA my MIL used actually went on the Oasis of the Seas, so obviously it must have been something she misunderstood while her time on board, whatever, not a big deal. My main concern was paying for meals on board as we all know dining at the specialty restaurants can add up quickly! I've read about places you have to pay for coffee, cupcakes, etc.

 

We took our first cruise on Oasis last November, and we were over-prepared for the cost of cruising, and were delighted to be! We got an ice cream cone one night, and went to Izumi one night, (but found we liked the MDR, which is free, better.)

 

If you stay out of the gift shops, you'll be just fine! All regular ship activities such as the zip line, carousel, rock climbing wall, ice skating, etc are included in your fare.

 

For Breakfast we usually at at the park cafe, but we also ate at the buffet two mornings, and at Johnny Rockets one morning (At least in November, Johnny Rockets was free for breakfast, so that was a great time to go there, since you have to pay at lunch and dinner.)

 

We generally ate lunch at the Park Cafe, Solarium Bistro, or Wipeout cafe. We never made it to the MDR or the Buffet for lunch, but both are free options as well.

 

We had a $150 OBC, and wound up buying several pictures in order to use it all up!

 

Also, there is free coffee in the Cafe Promenade, and at the Donut shop, as well as at most of the free dining facilities. There are free beverages such as punch, lemonade, and tea, but you do pay extra for sodas if you want those.

 

Cupcakes are an extra charge, and we never did make it to the cupcake cupboard. The Cafe Promenade is right next door and has free desserts, so we passed it up, but I think a cupcake is maybe $3, so if we had really wanted one, we would have had one. There was just so much else! Also when you have a sweet tooth there is the donut shop on the boardwalk with free donuts!

 

Also, it seemed like Sorrentos (the free pizza place on the promenade) was always open. We went there for evening snacks several times.

 

I really think it just depends on your style and priorities when you travel as to how much you will spend. We felt like there were PLENTY of free options on the cruise, and never got bored of the included choices! At breakfast and lunch it seemed like there were at least 4-5 free options every day, so you can get lots of variety without paying a penny! For dinner you can order room service, go to the MDR, or the buffet for free, or get pizza at sorrentos or sandwiches at Cafe Promenade. Also, the MDR menu changes every night so there was always variety there!

 

If you have kids, a visit to the boardwalk will be difficult. They have the RCI version of "build-a-bear" there, an ice cream parlor, a toy/clothing store and candy store which will all cost you. I can see where families on a budget would avoid the boardwalk. BUT one way you could combat that is by getting free soft serve ice cream on the pool deck and then taking it to the boardwalk with you if you have kids, or hitting the free donut shop up as soon as you get there as an excuse to not spend money on other sweets! That way they won't go wild when seeing other people eating ice cream.

 

I hope this helps! Being a first time cruiser last year, I didn't know what to expect and I had many of the same concerns as you, but we found that we just really didn't spend hardly anything at all on the ship! There were so many options that were included in the price, at least in our perspective!

[Aquahound]

My main concern was paying for meals on board as we all know dining at the specialty restaurants can add up quickly!

 

If you want to sample the specialty restaurants, but save a little money doing so, try lunch. Both Giovanni's and Izumi are open for lunch with discounted prices (Giovanni's is $10). The food is excellent. We found we love the quiet lunch in Central Park at Giovanni's. Make sure you grab an outdoor table. :)

[jmspcl16]

I found this link very useful!

:D

 

http://media.royalcaribbean.com/content/en_US/pdf/Oasis_Restaurants.pdf

[niki1785]

Thank you, thank you, thank you!! Vanessa, all of that information you provided was just what I wanted to hear and you've made me that much more excited!

 

Thanks to everyone who contributed to this thread!

[Cruising89143]

I found this link very useful!

:D

 

http://media.royalcaribbean.com/content/en_US/pdf/Oasis_Restaurants.pdf

 

Keep in mind that the prices have been raised for some of the specialty dining locations.

[grand isle joe]

....more like sawbuck and double sawbuck.....;)

[mac_tlc]

Pumbaad, I just made reservations for Rita's Fiesta on my Sept. 18th cruise on Allure. Careful, I've seen the deck plans of the RCCL site and although they are labeled for Allure, the one's I've seen were actually for the Oasis.

 

Often times the deck plans are for one ship in a given class, but may not be exactly correct for the other ships in the same class.

 

mac_tlc