WOW ---- the 'Behometh'-of-the-Seas

[travelnap]

Time to post the picture of the Maasdam and Oasis o.t.S. at St Thomas again. Like others, I'd love to get on either the Oasis or Allure to walk around and gawk for a few hours, but I have absolutely no desire to sail on a floating mall.

 

 

Great picture for comparison. Any bigger and the Maasdam would look like one of their lifeboats or tenders.

[mtebor]

I was on Oasis in 2010. Great ship and it really didn't feel any more crowded than other ships I was on. RCCL does a great job with their product and because of the hype they are able to get a premium.

I am doing alaska in 2013 on Zuiderdam.

[LordSpain]

Last year in St Thomas we were docked next to Oasis of the Seas. When we returned from our excursion midday we were surprised to find that there was a line from the security checkpoint all the way back into the market area. We got in line to wait and soon security personnel arrived and said that the line was not for Noordam passengers - just Oasis passengers!

 

We took a leisurely stroll by everyone and walked right on to the ship (after receiving our cool towels and lemonade of course). This was simply the regular line that occurs when Oasis passengers need to return to their ship. Not my cup of tea, thanks.

 

 

[TrikeRider]

I loved our cruise on the Oasis, much better than our Noordam cruise. JMHO>

[FLACRUISER99]

Oasis - She is a wonderful ship, too bad a lot of you HAL folks are so cloesed minded you will never get a chance to enjoy her! Your loss!

[catl331]

Oasis - She is a wonderful ship, too bad a lot of you HAL folks are so cloesed minded you will never get a chance to enjoy her! Your loss!

I'm not close minded, I just know that the Nieuw Amsterdam is already too big for my tastes --- and legs and feet. No way could I "enjoy" a Shipzilla! :p

[ariawoman]

I have no desire to sail on one of those giant ships but a tour while it's in port would be an interesting shore excursion :)

 

Totally agree with this one! Would be nice if we could enter ships that were in port and see what they were all about.

[ariawoman]

Oasis - She is a wonderful ship, too bad a lot of you HAL folks are so cloesed minded you will never get a chance to enjoy her! Your loss!

 

One should be careful painting with such large brushstrokes.

 

Not every cruise goer is going to want to go on the Allure/Oasis just like not every cruise goer will want to go on the Seabourn Spirit (200 PAX). It's all about personal preference and has little to nothing to do with line loyalty. They won't be missing anything because to them, it's not something they want to see. And that's why freedom of choice is so great, we can decide what ship we want to take :-)

 

Personally, I love ships great and small, and would like to try a mega ship someday. I've done the small ship and the larger ship and found plus/negatives to each category.

[George C]

Oasis - She is a wonderful ship, too bad a lot of you HAL folks are so cloesed minded you will never get a chance to enjoy her! Your loss!

 

I love trying different ships and lines, you will not know if you like it unless you try it, have cruised RCCL/Celebrity/Costa/Carnival/MSC and HAL to name a few only line I would not try again is NCL

[maranelloboy05]

I'd love to sail on either, but for me RCL has shot themselves in the foot. Neither ship sails for more than a 7 day itinerary. There is no way I could fully utilize and enjoy all the features of the ship in 7 days at sea let alone with a multitude of ports. Sure the ships have tons of fantastic features, but what is the point if you can't enjoy them all. If they did a 2 or 3 week cruise to Hawaii or a transatlantic I'd really enjoy it, but 7 days is just not enough to make it worth it.

[bepsf]

You do not want to be at the airport when the disembark along with the other five or six ships in port. The number of people make for long TSA lines.

 

That's why I go to the Atlantic Hotel for the afternoon and take an evening flight home - Much shorter lines and no hassle at FLL.

Personally, I'd rather go to Las Vegas than spend a week aboard Oasis/Allure...

...to my mind - they're neither an oasis, nor very alluring.

[ariawoman]

I'd love to sail on either, but for me RCL has shot themselves in the foot. Neither ship sails for more than a 7 day itinerary. There is no way I could fully utilize and enjoy all the features of the ship in 7 days at sea let alone with a multitude of ports. Sure the ships have tons of fantastic features, but what is the point if you can't enjoy them all. If they did a 2 or 3 week cruise to Hawaii or a transatlantic I'd really enjoy it, but 7 days is just not enough to make it worth it.

 

That's a VERY good point. I can't even utilize an S class ship and all it's ammenities. Too bad the mega ships dont do transatlantic crossings it would be perfect! lol

[Hawaiidan]

I started with economy cruises, then slowly tried different experiences. Did this for 30 years, Found I like being as sea on a ship, not a resort .that leaves you to entertain your self with the world around you.

 

I would rather rent a cabin in the woods than a suite in Vegas..

To me the mega ships, with malls, shopping, dozens of restaurants , ice skate, lawns, trees, (remember Mr Roberts anyone), just makes me feel like its a floating las Vegas. The very last thing I want to experience in a cruise or at sea. A floating ant farm and carnival all in one.

I think they build them to seduce people into crusing who dont like ships all that much but want the all inclusive resort concept.

 

My experience with large ships in confined to Aircraft Carriers which were pretty impersonal and aside from the thrill of launching and recover I was happy to be on little Destroyers. They seemed at peace with the sea and made you feel part of it.

 

By the way Hollands new ships are too large for me really, I like the 1200, but love the 700 ships of Regent..

[FLACRUISER99]

I'd love to sail on either, but for me RCL has shot themselves in the foot. Neither ship sails for more than a 7 day itinerary. There is no way I could fully utilize and enjoy all the features of the ship in 7 days at sea let alone with a multitude of ports. Sure the ships have tons of fantastic features, but what is the point if you can't enjoy them all. If they did a 2 or 3 week cruise to Hawaii or a transatlantic I'd really enjoy it, but 7 days is just not enough to make it worth it.

You could B2B, 14 days, different ports.

[Homosassa]

Totally agree with this one! Would be nice if we could enter ships that were in port and see what they were all about.

 

Once upon a time, you could do just that. When we cruised in the 70's and 80's, we often spent our afternoon time in port visiting the other ships.

 

All you needed to board was a current boarding card (cardboard with your name, ship name and cruise dates typed on it). You showed it to security at the gangway, they welcomed you on board and most of the cruise lines (never Carnival) told you where the lunch buffet was being served and to eat if one wanted to.

 

It was a good way for the cruise lines to attract potential customers to their line and we did try some different lines (RCL and Sitmar) as a result of the port visit.

[tcook052]

Oasis - She is a wonderful ship, too bad a lot of you HAL folks are so cloesed minded you will never get a chance to enjoy her! Your loss!

 

I'm sure she is a wonderful ship, though why we're talking about Oasis on the HAL board is beyond me.

[kelmac]

I've got an open mind about these two ships. I'm very curious about what the experience is like, so why not? (I'm booked on the Allure next Nov for the Thanksgiving cruise)

 

There are a lot of misconceptions in the cruise industry:

 

--Holland America is for old people

--Everything was better in the old days (crusing)

--Smaller ships are better

 

I'm not going to pass judgement until I've tried it. I never say anything bad about Carnival Cruise Lines, because I've never cruised their ships. As of now, my favorite ships are the Solstice class of Celebrity (122,000 tons); we love the Maasdam (cruised it three times), but the size of the ship has little to do with the quality of the cruise. (IMO)

 

Enjoy!

Kel:)

[JJ33328]

We went on the Oasis. There are good points and bad points to a megaship.

Good:

The entertainment was first rate.

The neighborhoods were nice.

The wide variety of dining options was nice.

The in-room computer screens were nice.

Bad:

Size, it took 15 minutes to get from one end of the ship to the other.

6,000 passengers made for interesting mornings at the buffet. (I'll never complain about the Lido again).

There were not enough elevators to move everybody at meal time 20 minute to get to the dining rooms.

Pool decks were always crowded.

[ariawoman]

Once upon a time, you could do just that. When we cruised in the 70's and 80's, we often spent our afternoon time in port visiting the other ships.

 

All you needed to board was a current boarding card (cardboard with your name, ship name and cruise dates typed on it). You showed it to security at the gangway, they welcomed you on board and most of the cruise lines (never Carnival) told you where the lunch buffet was being served and to eat if one wanted to.

 

It was a good way for the cruise lines to attract potential customers to their line and we did try some different lines (RCL and Sitmar) as a result of the port visit.

 

That sounds awesome homosassa. I didn't take my first cruise until 3 years ago, so I missed that ship, literally LOL. :-) I'm punny.

 

I think it's a great way to convince people to come cruise on your line, so really, it's a great benefit to them. It's a shame that the world has become a place where they have to worry about letting us on due to terrorism and vandalism and the like. So sad.

[olefin32]

Time to post the picture of the Maasdam and Oasis o.t.S. at St Thomas again. Like others, I'd love to get on either the Oasis or Allure to walk around and gawk for a few hours, but I have absolutely no desire to sail on a floating mall.

 

 

Don't knock it until you try it. ;)

[SwissMyst]

I was watching the cruiseships arrival at FLL on the webcam' date=' this morning, and saw the 'Silver Spirit' pass in front of the already docked 'Allure of the Seas' ------ she was completely dwarfed!!!! This sure put the size of that monster in perspective for moi !![/quote']

 

Kind of like the HAL logo with the little Henry Hudson Half Moon over-shadowed by the modern HAL ship. :p

[YOW]

i've got an open mind about these two ships. I'm very curious about what the experience is like, so why not? (i'm booked on the allure next nov for the thanksgiving cruise)

 

there are a lot of misconceptions in the cruise industry:

 

--holland america is for old people

--everything was better in the old days (crusing)

--smaller ships are better

 

i'm not going to pass judgement until i've tried it. I never say anything bad about carnival cruise lines, because i've never cruised their ships. As of now, my favorite ships are the solstice class of celebrity (122,000 tons); we love the maasdam (cruised it three times), but the size of the ship has little to do with the quality of the cruise. (imo)

 

enjoy!

Kel:)

 

+1 ... always nice to see open-minded folks on CC. :)

[twinkletoes4445]

For us, we just don't want to sail on a ship that large. I am sure it's beautiful, but it's just not for us. It's nice to have options. :)

 

I will say that after the Costa sinking I would probably not sail on any large ship. I can't imagine trying to abandon ship being on a ship that has thousands and thousands of passengers and crew.

 

Our kids are a different story. They have talked about sailing one of the bigger ships and that's entirely their choice.

[cmdchiefthom]

My dear wife and I both agree there ain't no way I'd spend the money to cruise with 6000 people!:eek: It looks sort of like the old projects along the Outer Drive in Chicago, and an inside balcony looking across to another inside balcony...I don't think so!

[Robin7]

We've been considering Oasis of the Seas because we will have (in 2013) 17, 16, and 13 year old boys with us. I don't know about the rest of you, but most of our 16 cruises (adults only) have been on HAL or Princess, and I don't think my boys would be happy on HAL. I've been thinking one of the mega-ships (we'd rather do Disney but, oh, the $$$!) on RCI or Carnival. I just have to convince myself that the Concordia incident is a 100-year thing, and it won't happen again in my lifetime!

 

Robin