Oasis Review -- 5/26/12 sailing. The "WOW," the less than "WOW," and the HUH?

[Dave85]

My husband and I are around the same age as you two with no kids, and we'll be on the Allure in November for Thanksgiving, so it's good to hear some feedback that feels relevant to us!

 

Would you say that the kids were obnoxious?

 

Considering how we like to spend our cruises, do you think that we'll feel the influx of kids? I'm actually open to rescheduling to earlier in the month to avoid screaming brats if it means saving our sanity...

 

Glad you found the review helpful!!!

 

This is a bit of a difficult question to answer... I think the largest annoynce for us relating to the large number of kids was that there were just that many more bodies on board the ship. The fact that (in many cases) they were child-sized bodies didn't completely mitigate the fact that there were hundreds of more people on board the ship. (As you probably realize) this happens because when there are lots of kids on board there are more 3rd and 4th cabin berths occuped on the ship that would otherwise be vacant at other times of the year. Since the ships calculate the first 2 in the cabin in determining when they're "100% full," I'd venture to say that the Oasis well exceeded "100%" on this sailing. There were some moments on this sailing when I actually felt crowded (never happened in November), and I'm pretty sure the extra bodies onboard were the reason. Rest assured those moments were fleeting and didn't comprise the majority of the trip (the first afternoon when everyone and their grandmother was out exploring the ship was one of those times).

 

With very few exceptions, the children themselves were very well behaved. The Oasis just has so much to offer them that they're very often engrossed in age appropriate activities / swept away from areas where adults are doing their thing. It's a real benefit of this class of ship. If you're worried about kids, I'd think of it more in terms of extra bodies on board competing for the amenities of the ship than worring about the behavior of the kids. If you sail when there are a lot of older children / teenagers / college age young adults, you can expect much longer lines for the zip line, flowrider, rock walls, etc. How much that matters you'll have to decide!

[Dave85]

Thanks for your insight! Gosh, I never realized that DJ Splash Academy was a rent a DJ! But now it makes total sense ...it's like an internship; they are bad because they are total newbies!

 

We had one on Oasis like you, who was just awful, totally could not pace the crowd:mad:. We left both the disco and the club 21 party because you couldnt dance to him. But you are right about the in house DJ- we had the same guy and he was an absolute riot at Quest...knew exactly how to get the crowd going (and boy did he need to work hard-we had a real dud Quest...speaking of mature:eek: I'm nearly half a century and this group was old, old old;) and worse, they were real sticks in the muds)

 

Anyway...good to hear your thoughts!

 

Oh no! Sorry to hear that you had a similar experience haha. You characterized perfectly how I felt about "DJ Synapse." His sets were just so disjointed that it was very difficult to dance to!

 

Hopefully RCI will hear our cries and do a little more quality control with their "Celebrity" DJs. :p

[yogaddict]

Would you say that the kids were obnoxious?

Considering how we like to spend our cruises, do you think that we'll feel the influx of kids? I'm actually open to rescheduling to earlier in the month to avoid screaming brats if it means saving our sanity...

 

I actually thought that, while the kids weren't obnoxious, the college-aged kids WERE. They were rowdy throughout the ship, and had no dance-etiquette (I was literally pushed out of the way a few times while I *GASP* tried to dance at Club 20). Between the horrible DJ and new-to-drinking college kids, we left our favorite party on the ship very early.

 

I prefered the more "couples" vibe of the November cruise, but really didn't have trouble with the kids being there this sailing.... I'd avoid late May because that's when the college kids get out of school!

 

(This post makes me feel SO OLD. Should I start shouting "get off my ship" soon??)

[LBumb]

great job. on many cruises i have had trouble with bar waiter in mdr even when i ordered drinks on first night.

[Papaya0301]

(This post makes me feel SO OLD. Should I start shouting "get off my ship" soon??)

 

Haha-I know how you feel about that! DH and I (when he was still BF) went on a spring break cruise when we were in college and we were endlessly annoyed at the rowdy college kids, but we were only 21 at the time! Talk about feeling prematurely old!

 

I'm also glad to hear that the kids seemed to actually participate in the age appropriate activities, thus removing them from the rest of the ship.

 

You have assuaged my fears-no rescheduling for this cruiser!

[clarkscove1]

Great review! Can you tell me about the pools on your cruise? How crowded were they and could you find a couple of chairs each afternoon? Thanks

[klingoncruiser]

Nice review, thanks for posting.

[grabitall]

I see you are on the Breeze for New Years, I hope you come back and give us a review!:)

[Dave85]

Great review! Can you tell me about the pools on your cruise? How crowded were they and could you find a couple of chairs each afternoon? Thanks

 

Sure! We absolutely love the Beach Pool, so that's where we went every day... so what I can tell you specifically pertains to the Beach Pool. On the two nice weather sea days (the third was a washout), the pool got a bit crowded. It wasn't so crowded that you couldn't get it or were uncomfortable when you did, but it was quite a busy spot. We were able to get a couple of chairs in the beach pool area each day and we didn't get there at the crack of dawn (we usually arrived around 10am on the sea days). Best pool day of the entire cruise was when we were docked in Falmouth. Beautiful day, pool wasn't crowded, couldn't have been happier!

 

You specifically asked about the afternoon. I'd say peak hours by the pool were roughly 11am - 2pm. That's when the pool deck was in full mob scene mode. Around 1:30 or so, some of the people who arrived to begin their tanning very early in the morning gradually decided they had enough sun and would move out, freeing up some room for late arrivers. The pool area is such a good size that if you're diligent in scanning the area and your timing is right, you should be able to find a spot. People are constantly in and out. Good luck!

 

I see you are on the Breeze for New Years, I hope you come back and give us a review!:)

 

Absolutely! We really wanted to try the Breeze as we haven't been on a Dream Class ship and it (at least purports to) represent the latest evolution of Carnival's product. We also really wanted to go on a New Years Eve cruise, but Royal (particularly Oasis / Allure) were soooo much more expensive! :eek: ...Figured this was a good time to try the Breeze. I'm a little worried that I'm permanently spoiled after taking 2 consecutive cruises on the Oasis, but I'll be going in with an open mind! Should be a blast.

[hiccups]

My husband and I are around the same age as you two with no kids, and we'll be on the Allure in November for Thanksgiving, so it's good to hear some feedback that feels relevant to us!

 

Would you say that the kids were obnoxious? DH and I always like to try and visit every bar on a ship (likely not possible on the Allure, I know) and spend a lot of time in the Solarium and being active out in ports and on the rock wall etc. We're more laid back type drinkers as opposed to partiers, but we always like to see some energy around us. We probably won't do too many specialty restaurants (we live in a great food city, so no need to pay extra for food that won't be as good as back home) and eat in MDR, Windjammer, and Park Cafe instead.

 

Considering how we like to spend our cruises, do you think that we'll feel the influx of kids? I'm actually open to rescheduling to earlier in the month to avoid screaming brats if it means saving our sanity...

 

We were on same cruise (we're in our 40s, no kids, and I'm a former teacher), and we didn't have any trouble with kids. I saw them on the elevators and in the dining areas, but never saw any that were misbehaved.

[CaroleC]

 

Hi Dave,

 

Can you remember the earliest time for disembarking you can check on the form AFTER self-assist?

 

Great review btw, really enjoyed reading it.

 

Thanks, Carole

[Kylie]

We were on the May 26 cruise too. This is the least amount of movement we have ever felt on a cruise ship. We couldn't tell we were moving no matter where we were on the ship. Our cabin was on deck 11 toward the aft of the ship and also the quietest week - never once heard anyone else in the halls or closing a door. There are door pumps (not sure what to call them) that prevented our door from slamming shut which was nice too.

[Dave85]

Can you remember the earliest time for disembarking you can check on the form AFTER self-assist?

 

Hmm, I really didn't notice because we were intent on getting off later... I'm sorry. Perhaps someone else who has sailed recently can pick me up. Things definitely do skew early on Oasis because they're just so darn efficient getting people on and off.

[mets550]

Great review Dave! We hope to try Oasis or Allure sometime in the near future, although I truly enjoy some of the smaller ships, e.g., Explorer, as we don't tend to use many of the bells and whistles on the bigger ships (we did Liberty in 2010). However, it seems like Oasis/Allure are just in a league of their own, so I'm sure we will make it out on them in the near future.

 

BTW, I love the lawyer's disease that you have acquired. See supra The Comparison (comparing "[t]he 5/26/12 sailing ('the May sailing') and the 11/5/11 sailing ('last November')").

[Dave85]

Great review Dave! We hope to try Oasis or Allure sometime in the near future, although I truly enjoy some of the smaller ships, e.g., Explorer, as we don't tend to use many of the bells and whistles on the bigger ships (we did Liberty in 2010). However, it seems like Oasis/Allure are just in a league of their own, so I'm sure we will make it out on them in the near future.

 

Without a doubt... you just have to try them! It's really mandatory sailing (at least once) for a Royal Caribbean shippie. Glad you enjoyed the review, even though it wasn't in your preferred day-by-day format :p.

 

BTW, I love the lawyer's disease that you have acquired. See supra The Comparison (comparing "[t]he 5/26/12 sailing ('the May sailing') and the 11/5/11 sailing ('last November')").

 

It is indeed a curse LOL.

[OHCruisin]

Dave,

 

Great review. But what I was replying to is your cruise history. I see you sailed on the Meridian. That was my very first cruise, back when it seemed cruising was newly wed or nearly dead! How funny to see someone else out there that had been on that ship.

[Dave85]

Dave,

 

Great review. But what I was replying to is your cruise history. I see you sailed on the Meridian. That was my very first cruise, back when it seemed cruising was newly wed or nearly dead! How funny to see someone else out there that had been on that ship.

 

 

In all her glory! ;)

 

I must say that I was sad but not at all surprised when I heard that she sunk. That was one rickety ol' ship!