1st Time Cruiser Oasis of the Seas Review

[hbr777]

Hi all!

 

I hope this review is useful to those who have never cruised before, and who are considering a RCL cruise for s first time cruise on Oasis or Allure.

 

A little background on us: we've traveled all over Mexico and the Caribbean, and in the last five years we've stayed mostly at all-inclusive resorts, generally adult-only ones in Mexico. So this review will naturally be a comparison of our cruising experiencing compared to a resort vacation. Sorry, can't help it!:)

 

We are in our late 40's/early 50's and traveled with my sister and her teen daughter. We were all first time cruisers, except for my sister, who had cruised on Carnival back in the early 90's.

 

We originally were going to take a short Carnival cruise to see if we had sea legs. That short, inexpensive cruise morphed into Oasis of the Seas. In addition to simply enjoying a cruise experience, it was a dress rehearsal to see if we had sea legs for a possible Mediterranean cruise next summer. We discovered we had sea legs, but... we won't be taking that cruise. More on that later.

 

I need to figure out how to get photos on here - I'll be back with more once I do that!

[vivavegas]

Looking forward to reading your full review and seeing your photos!:)

[SailingSiren]

Subscribing! Looking forward to your review. We're on the Allure in October for our honeymoon! :D

[BillOh]

Qualifying your perspective is always a good way to start. Many of us get something out of every review posted.

[poncho1973]

Looking forward to reading your review. Although, starting for your very first cruise on the largest (and nearly newest) class of cruise ships in the entire world will probably leave you with nowhere to go but down! hahaha

[Sunny AZ Girl]

I am looking forward to your review.

 

If you are having trouble posting pictures - I upload my pics to Webshots (Photobucket and similar sites work just as well). From there you can link to the website. I believe that is the only way to post full size pictures on Cruise Critic.

[hbr777]

Thanks all!

 

I had tried posting on Flickr, but that didn't work. I'll try webshots.

[hbr777]

Webshots charges, so I am uploading some to Photobucket to see how that works.

[hbr777]

We arrived in Fort Lauderdale the day before sailing and checked into the Hampton Inn Cruise Port North. It offers a free shuttle from the airport to the hotel, and then a shuttle the next day to Port Everglades. It was an excellent bargain, nothing fancy, clean and convenient.

 

It was very exciting to finally arrive at the port!

[hbr777]

We arrived around noon. Embarcation was a breeze. It took us 15 minutes maximum from the curb to stepping on the Oasis.

 

You embark onto the Promenade Deck (Deck 5) and this is what you see - it looks like a giant shopping mall! On embarcation day it was as crowded as a mall at Christmas, but that was to be expected. Our cruise was at capacity.

[prettyNpinkpumps]

Excited to read your review! My husband and I will be taking our first cruise ever... on Oasis in October :)

[hbr777]

Excited to read your review! My husband and I will be taking our first cruise ever... on Oasis in October :)

 

Oh, congrats to you! It is an amazing ship.

[hbr777]

Is there a limit to the number of images I can post? It seems like I can't post any more images?

[joand452]

Is there a limit to the number of images I can post? It seems like I can't post anymore images?

 

I'm pretty sure you can include six photos per post, but maybe yours are a little too large. Try a smaller size, if you can.

 

Looking forward to reading the rest of your review. Even though we have no plans to sail Oasis again in the future, we always enjoy reviews.

[smeck]

Is there a limit to the number of images I can post? It seems like I can't post anymore images?

 

6 for each post

[BillOh]

Is there a limit to the number of images I can post? It seems like I can't post any more images?

 

Good job figuring it out, you should be able to post up to 6 in one message. Cary NC? Beautiful area. Can't remember the company I was visiting, but its a nice place.

[hbr777]

Third time is the charm. Images are posting again! Do you all mean "6 is one post" or... "6 in one thread." I hope it is 6 in one post.

 

Yup, I am in Cary. Nice, easy living benign place. We've been here for 15 years.

 

I will be honest - I had very mixed experiences with food on Oasis. My experience will of course not be YOUR experience. In general, I found the included food to be OK, nothing great, and not as well-prepared as food at most mid to upper range all inclusive resorts. The food you paid for was of higher quality, we found, which makes sense.

 

A bargain? One of these delicious cupcakes. Large enough to split with someone you like:

 

[hbr777]

And we're off! Adios, Fort Lauderdale. I lived there twice and I could see the office tower I worked in, from Oasis.

 

Next up, we'll talk a bit about seasickness.

 

[jennmaybe]

Hi all!

 

I hope this review is useful to those who have never cruised before, and who are considering a RCL cruise for s first time cruise on Oasis or Allure.

 

A little background on us: we've traveled all over Mexico and the Caribbean, and in the last five years we've stayed mostly at all-inclusive resorts, generally adult-only ones in Mexico. So this review will naturally be a comparison of our cruising experiencing compared to a resort vacation. Sorry, can't help it!:)

 

We are in our late 40's/early 50's and traveled with my sister and her teen daughter. We were all first time cruisers, except for my sister, who had cruised on Carnival back in the early 90's.

 

We originally were going to take a short Carnival cruise to see if we had sea legs. That short, inexpensive cruise morphed into Oasis of the Seas. In addition to simply enjoying a cruise experience, it was a dress rehearsal to see if we had sea legs for a possible Mediterranean cruise next summer. We discovered we had sea legs, but... we won't be taking that cruise. More on that later.

 

I need to figure out how to get photos on here - I'll be back with more once I do that!

 

Hey fellow North Carolinian! We did Oasis last year (our 1st RCL cruise) and we loved it! We won't even go back to Carnival now. Can't wait to see all your pics and allow it to bring back so many memories!

[hbr777]

So, this might be too much information, but I hope it will help someone who hasn't cruised but it worried about being seasick.

 

Four of us cruised. Three of us get motion sick. Badly. My sister and I have positional vertigo. My husband just gets motion sick, even in a car as passenger; he can't sit in the back seat. Yup, seriously.

 

My niece is 17 and never gets motion sick.

 

My sister and I went back to the doctor for the "head shaking" treatment for vertigo prior to the cruise. I only needed one treatment. My sister needed four.

 

We had in our arsenal: Dramamine, Bonine, ginger pills, sea bands, Scoplomine patch, and some chemotherapy anti-nausea meds.

 

When the ship started moving my sister was terrified. Anyone who has vertigo or has been badly seasick will understand the terror. I was fine, as were my husband and niece.

 

The first night at dinner, I could feel that I was sitting backwards and the ship was moving forwards. I could feel the motion but it didn't bother me.

 

My niece who never gets motion sick felt it, and took a Bonine. It took care of the nausea.

 

Two days in my sister was not feeling great so she put on a patch. Which she kept on until we were in Cozumel and I looked at her and one had almost no pupil and the other was ALL pupil. She freaked out a bit and I made her take the patch off immediately.

 

Anyway, the whole week I felt the motion. Sometimes I be walking down a hallway and I'd sway side to side.

 

I took ginger pills I bought on Amazon - so did my husband. They worked like a charm.

 

I never felt sick until I got off the ship in Haiti. Then I felt somewhat nauseated.

 

In Jamaica, I felt downright gross, but that was right before I was getting back on the ship. I drank a full-sugared Coke and took a Bonine and felt fine.

 

When we disembarked in Fort Lauderdale, I was dizzy, rocking and nauseated. Badly. Which was made worse then the taxi driver accidentally closed the taxi trunk door on my head:(

 

I remained dizzy and rocking for about 5 days. I popped a lot of Bonine.

 

Seriously. I was not sick ON the ship, only OFF.

 

Seas were calm the entire trip, by the way. The captain said he never needed to use the stabilizers.

 

I think the rocking was excellent for sleep - I slept like a baby on the ship.

[sdear]

 

When we disembarked in Fort Lauderdale, I was dizzy, rocking and nauseated. Badly. Which was made worse then the taxi driver accidentally closed the taxi trunk door on my head:(

 

quote]

 

Ouch ! It's bad enough having to get off a cruise ship, but OUCH !

 

Hope your head has recovered.

 

Nice review so far !

[marci22]

Two days in my sister was not feeling great so she put on a patch. Which she kept on until we were in Cozumel and I looked at her and one had almost no pupil and the other was ALL pupil. She freaked out a bit and I made her take the patch off immediately.

 

She might have touched the medicated side of the patch at some point, and then touched her eye. Always wash your hands after applying or adjusting the patch.

[hbr777]

She might have touched the medicated side of the patch at some point, and then touched her eye. Always wash your hands after applying or adjusting the patch.

 

Marci, that was exactly what happened! We were afraid she was stroking out (she has had a cardiac arrest and lived to tell the tale) so we were all like, "Take that patch off NOW!"

[hbr777]

The Promenade area is the main social center of the ship, apart from the pool deck.

 

The Promenade is a place where they sell "art" - I guess people buy this or they wouldn't do this:

[hbr777]

Amy the cruise director got Zumba-certified so she could teach on the Oasis. She offered two classes per week in the Promenade which was a lot of fun and well attended. Albeit people eating donuts and coffee were weaving among the Zumba participants since we blocked the entire Promenade!