Just off the Oasis, March 9th 2013 sailing.

[ricardin]

I have some LV luggage and I do not check it with either the airlines or a cruise ship. I would run, not walk, to Wal-Mart for some cheapo luggage. Our airline/cruising luggage is Samsonite. So common that no one will steal it and it's very sturdy.:)

 

Of course you are special.

 

Enjoy your cruise. :)

 

Our luggage is Samsonite also, and very sturdy, and still managed to get smashed. I know it's not LV. Samsonite is still fairly pricey to get ruined.

[Stardoggy]

We always carry our luggage on and off the ship. No worries that way!

[Russ Lomas]

Do you happen to have the Compasses for each day?

I was on the March 9th sailing of the Oasis as well and did bring home copies of all of the Cruise Compasses with me. I can take a picture of each and send them to you, but it is late to do it today. Is there a specific question you have and I could easily answer it for you?

[Russ Lomas]

First of all, there really is no point in getting to the port at 10.30 am like we did. The check in process is really quite simple, quick, and once checked in we were unable to board until after 12 noon. The departure lounge is really quite dull. Once on board, we headed straight for the 'Solarium Bistro'. Given the fact that everyone had just got onboard and hed to wait until after 1pm before we could go to our cabins, the bistro was really quite busy. We did manage to get a table relatively quickly however, have a feed, and were then set for the day.

We were on the same cruise with you and I totally agree with there being no need to get to the pier early any longer. We arrived at 9:30am and did not board until 12:55pm. The departure lounge is boring, but at least they have the play structure for little kids to play in, which helped for the first hour or so of the wait. We were able to go to our cabins only 5 minutes after boarding because it was 1pm already. That meant we could drop off our carry-on bags (which was much better than dragging them around the ship with us). We went straight for the roast beef sandwiches and made-to-order salad in the Park Cafe when we boarded. Both were fantastic and it was our favourite lunch area on the ship, which we revisited almost daily.

 

Going back to the luggage, we were warned that due to the sheer number of passengers onboard, we could possibly have to wait until up to 8pm to receive our cases. Maybe we were just lucky, but we had our three cases by 2.30pm. However, one of them, a large, hard case, quite expensive Samsonite had been damaged quite badly. We reported this to Guest Services who said that they could repair it onboard, and we were to leave it in the room with a report form attached. However, ther next day, two members of crew came to our stateroom the following day saying that it was too badly damaged to repair. The offered a replacement, although this was quite a lot smalled than our original.. They said that we could choose either the replacement, or to be financially compensated. Given the fact we would need it once our cruise was over, we had no choice other than to accept the replacement.

We too had one of our suitcases entirely destroyed either by RCCL staff or the porters at the pier in Lauderdale on this cruise. Unfortunately, it was our only large suitcase that was destroyed. All of the smaller (cheaper and less useful ones) were delivered fine. It was the first time the larger suitcase had ever been used. They managed to clearly snap off one of the wheels on the bottom of the case. You could take a hammer to one of those wheels and still have a hard time knocking it off. Someone must have been totally careless with it. It really steams me after you tip the porters on the pier who take your luggage and it is treated with such disrespect.

 

I did not know my suitcase was damaged until we packed on the final evening to depart. My DW had unpacked the case and not noticed the wheel was missing. I did not realize it until I tried to stand up the case and it kept falling over. The Guest Services attendant was very helpful and applied a credit for the full value of the suitcase directly to our shipboard account, even without proof of the cost of the item. We had to struggle dragging a 65 lb suitcase through the terminal without the use of wheels, which was very annoying. We had 4 or 5 hours to kill before our flight, so we headed over to Target to purchase a replacement suitcase. I ended up picking up a replacement for $4 more than the credit I was given. In the end, things worked out ok, but I am still upset at how little respect someone has for other people's property.

 

The first night we went to see Hairspray. This was a fantastic production, and the storyline was only very slightly changed from the original West End version. As was all the shows that we saw. Frozen in Ice and Oasis of dreams were just spectacular. In fact Frozen in Ice I went to see twice. The only problem I had with any of the shows was when the cruise director, Amy Fickart, made very inappropriate comments, which I reported and complained to guest services about, and as the complaint is still with RCI, I shall keep the comments to myself.

I agree with your opinions of the shows, from which I saw. The crew commented on how rough the seas were, many saying that they had only experienced seas that rough on the Oasis once before. Many shows were either rescheduled or cancelled outright (the Splish Splash shows were cancelled). Hairspray was fantastic and most of my family went back to see it a second time. We enjoyed the ice show, but it was not as good as the one on the Liberty. Still, they do an amazing job for such a small rink on a ship that was rocking considerably. I missed Oasis of Dreams since my originally scheduled show was rescheduled to a time where I had other plans (I guess I will have to sail the Oasis again just to see that show).

 

Awesome Amy, or as I refer to her ANNOYING AMY, was the worst cruise director I have ever experienced. Her over-the-top personality is like one of those perky cheerleaders who you just hate like nails on a chalkboard. I know some people will rave about how good she is, but just as many others (or more) will cringe at the mention of Amy. It seemed all she ever wanted to do was dance for the audience. Great, go be a dancer, but if I ever have to hear that "I'm Amy, and you're awesome" one more time, I think I will jump overboard. She simply comes across, in my opinion, as trying too hard. It does not appear to be natural or sincere.

 

Outside, there are four pools and an abundance of whirl pools. I have never seen as many whirlpools on a boat before. Days at sea, the pools obviously did get very busy, although we never had trouble finding a sunbed. My top tip here to any suite guests is to to to deck 17, above the solarium which is open to only passengers with a gold coloured seapass. This was quiet, and sheltered from the winds of the sea, very close though to the pools, and has it's own bar. I did not have a go on tthe flowrider though it did look like a lot of fun, and it was fun to watch all the other budding surfers. As for the zipline, I had p[romised myself that I wanted to try it during the cruise. I had however read on cruiise critic that it costs $92 a ride, and takes something like 1.5 hours in total. I realised by the Friday however that it was free, and as it was almost 5pm, there were very few people waiting to have a go. I registered, got my harness on, and had two goes withing the space of 15 minutes. Wonderful.

I agree that you can always find a chair by the pools somewhere. If you wish to be by a specific pool, you may need to look for a bit, but if you are not too picky about which pool, you will easily find a chair. I never got to experience the "Suite passengers only" sundeck, not even after everyone had disembarked on the last day. I tried to just take a peek at it, but it was roped off for maintenance. I had enough rides on the FlowRider for myself, yourself, and everyone else on the ship! It was my favourite place to be, much to the displeasure of my poor DW. I am addicted to that thing and was there most days early in the morning until the line got too long. Andy (short spiky red hair) has to be the my favourite of the workers in the Sport Zone. He was full of encouragement and always remembered me by name from the first time I mentioned my name to him on the FlowRider. He earned my WOW card.

 

As mentioned previously, I think you misunderstood a Cruise Critic comment about the cost for zip lining. I think you are referring to the cost at Labadee. Everyone should try the ship's zip line at least once. Not really long or scary at all, but worth trying for sure. I must commend all of the workers and how safe the zip line experience is.

 

The MDR was very impressive, and set over 3 floors. We had made our reservations to work around the show reservations we had made, and we never had a problem getting a table. The food was good although the menus tended the repeat themselves, and there was little variety. Our waiters each evening were very pleasant. Thankfully, we had only plannned to eat at a speciality restaurant, and thankfully not more as we were very unimpressed. We ate at 150 Central Park and were very unimpressed with the hard sell on the wines. We explained that we had already purchased the premium drinks packagae for $385 each, and were happy with house wine. After desperatley trying to persuade us to go for a "very nice red" for $500, he explained that they do not have house wines in that restaurant, and that he would had to go to a different venue, which would take time. I was happy to wait. Then however, our six course tasting menu was so rushed, I think the whole meal took no more than 45 minutes. Not exactly a speciality, and I will not be repeting the experice with RCI. The other venues for eating during the daytime, Windjammer and Solarium Bistro were mediocre at best, with the latter being the healthier option. The waiters however always seemed busy 'doing something else' and we found it difficult getting drinks.

We loved the dining room, although we were stuck in a corner not in the main dining area, but we were beside a window, which was fantastic. Service from our waiter, Miller, was excellent on most nights. He was way off on 2 evenings however, not sure why. One evening it took us 40 minutes to just get out menus and a full hour before we got our appetizers. Still, I really enjoyed Miller and our assistant waiter overall.

 

I am unsure what you mean by the repeating menu comment. We loved how many different choices there were every night. Always something new and interesting. I was blown away by the quality of the food and the presentation as well in comparison to our cruise on the Liberty last March. It was 10 times better this time around. It is not $100 a plate dining, but for the price you pay for and RCCL cruise, the food was outstanding in the MDR in my opinion (I will post a more detailed Food Porn review with many pictures - hopefully starting this Saturday).

 

We ate at the Windjammer once. Too busy and we were not happy with the food there overall. We are not buffet people. The lunchtime sandwich stop on the Boardwalk was a nice treat that I had not read about before.

 

Glad we did not try a specialty restaurant after reading about your experience. Speaking of expensive wines....did you happen to see that $1996 bottle of wine on the wine list in the MDR? Not to mention the $300 mandatory tip for bringing the wine to you!!!

 

We were not too impressed with the excursions we chose, although maybe we just had bad luck. The trip in St Maartens seemd a bit of a watse considering the ship was in port from 7am to 5pm, and yet we only went for a excurions at 2pm. Having said that, the ship was a very pleasant place to be when most others were onshore.

We did beach excursions on our own at all stops for the kids. Junkanoo Beach in Nassau is exactly that...JUNK. It is a pretty beach with beautiful water, but there are many large piece of coral you stub your toes on. Also, there is garbage everywhere...plastic bottles, broken glass, etc. It is pretty to visit, but I would not recommend this beach for swimming due to this.

 

Did Megan's Bay in St. Thomas via a cab ($9 per person each way and our 4 year old DDs were free with a bit of bartering - there were 8 of us, so $72 for a 20 minute cab ride each way seems steep). Beautiful beach. Very crowded where you are dropped off, but the further you walk to the left, it becomes almost deserted. Beautiful sandy bottom. Big waves on the day we were there, but I hear that is unusual. The older DDs liked the waves, but the younger ones were too scared to go in the water too much.

 

Did a $8 per person cab ride to Mullet Bay in St. Maarten (little DDs 1/2 price this time). This was our favourite port. We felt very safe there and are looking forward to returning to St. Maarten again. Mullet Bay is gorgeous. Great sand, pretty water, all sand bottom water with no rocks, a small food and bar set up, and supposedly great snorkeling. I was looking forward to the snorkeling, but waves were over 10 feet high that day - once again, we are told this is very unusual for this beach. Once again, kids were too scared to go in the water (even my 9 year old). The adults took a pounding until you got out beyond where the waves were breaking. We had a fantastic day at Mullet, and I would go back again in a heartbeat. We planned to walk over to Maho Beach from Mullet to watch the planes land and take off, but ran out of time.

 

I guess I can only compare this cruise experience with the one other I have done on Princess. All in all the food, and service were better on Princess by quite a way. However, this is a fantastic boat, with fantastic facilities, amazing show productions, and perfect for the late night boogey. Would I do RCI again? Absolutely. We booked Allure for Western Caribbean next year whilst we were onboard.

Any questions please feel free to ask.

I fully agree with the Oasis being a fantastic ship with unbelievable amenities. We found the service and food on this ship to be the best we have yet to experience, compared to previous NCL, Carnival, and RCCL sailings. I worked on the Sun Princess 15 years ago, but have never yet sailed with them as a passenger, so I cannot comment on how they compare (yet...one day). I do remember the food on Princess was outstanding when I worked there 15 years ago.

 

To Ricardin...sorry I hijacked your review, but I thought it would be helpful for people to see my opinion along with yours together. Overall, we agreed on most of the things on this trip.

[voyager89]

I have some LV luggage and I do not check it with either the airlines or a cruise ship. I would run, not walk, to Wal-Mart for some cheapo luggage. Our airline/cruising luggage is Samsonite. So common that no one will steal it and it's very sturdy.:)

 

Of course you are special.

 

Enjoy your cruise. :)

 

 

Aww that's sweet thanks, I feel special now :)

 

I guess you are right, we always travel with those but only through airlines. I really dont wanna go and try it at a cruise terminal and experience it by getting our luggage distroyed.

 

Thank you all for the input

[kath00]

How was your departure on the last day? I am reading horror stories of hour long lines to get off the ship because of the reduced customs agents...

 

Thanks. Kathreine

[Russ Lomas]

How was your departure on the last day? I am reading horror stories of hour long lines to get off the ship because of the reduced customs agents...

 

Thanks. Kathreine

Departure was delayed an hour or an hour and a half I believe. We had a 5 pm flight, so we were supposed to disembark the ship at 10:30. We were not called to disembark until about noon. It was a very quiet and leisurely morning on the ship sitting sunning in the Solarium. We loved it. For those who had early flights, I guess they were in panic mode and huge line-ups. We walked off, went straight to our luggage and were in the customs line for about 15 minutes. It was great for us, but only because we were likely one of the last 500 or so to disembark. Hint...book a later flight and enjoy the morning on the ship.

[sweetdarlin26]

Departure was delayed an hour or an hour and a half I believe. We had a 5 pm flight, so we were supposed to disembark the ship at 10:30. We were not called to disembark until about noon. It was a very quiet and leisurely morning on the ship sitting sunning in the Solarium. We loved it. For those who had early flights, I guess they were in panic mode and huge line-ups. We walked off, went straight to our luggage and were in the customs line for about 15 minutes. It was great for us, but only because we were likely one of the last 500 or so to disembark. Hint...book a later flight and enjoy the morning on the ship.

 

 

Russ,

 

Thanks for the Review that was a good idea. I could see both views at the same time. Did you happen to save the compasses from your sailing? Do you know why they changed or cancelled so many of the shows?

[ricardin]

To Ricardin...sorry I hijacked your review, but I thought it would be helpful for people to see my opinion along with yours together. Overall, we agreed on most of the things on this trip.

 

I don't feel as though you hijacked my review at all. It's really nice to hear what people think of my thoughts, and how their overall experience was compared to mine. Thank you for commenting.

[ricardin]

Departure was delayed an hour or an hour and a half I believe. We had a 5 pm flight, so we were supposed to disembark the ship at 10:30. We were not called to disembark until about noon. It was a very quiet and leisurely morning on the ship sitting sunning in the Solarium. We loved it. For those who had early flights, I guess they were in panic mode and huge line-ups. We walked off, went straight to our luggage and were in the customs line for about 15 minutes. It was great for us, but only because we were likely one of the last 500 or so to disembark. Hint...book a later flight and enjoy the morning on the ship.

 

 

Hahahaha, sounds like we had very similar experiences, and scarily anough I realise you are from London (although Ontario, not UK) We too asked for a late departure, and didn't actually leave the ship until 11.30, when they were just opening the bars for the next passengers coming on. We had some breakfast and coffee in the lounge. What we didn't realise though, was that most of the ship's communal areas were open. We had realised by 10am though, and went to sit by the pool for our last hour an half of sunshine.

Edited March 22, 2013 by ricardin

[voyager89]

We always carry our luggage on and off the ship. No worries that way!

 

How do you do that? I know you can disembark with your luggage, but when checking in? I thought you had to leave it and you would just get in the ship with your carry on... Could you tell me how do you do it?

[teajak]

Russ we totally agree with you about Annoying Amy. We are booked on the Oasis for Sept. 14 and sure hope she isn't the CD.

[Motorman23]

First rule is never,ever take expensive luggage on a cruise. Better yet don't buy expensive luggage as it is treated like trash on airplanes or cruises.:eek:

 

So true, I travel 3-4 round trips a year and have learned that I only buy cheap softside luggage that usually is good for about 10 round trips. I have gotten it replaced by airlines sometimes depending on what damage occurs but have accepted the fact that the only place good luggage belongs is in my cars trunk. :eek:

 

Mike

[ricardin]

About to start a new thread from this sailing with quite a few pics. Have just downloaded over 200+ FROM The Oasis. Hope they either bring back memories for you, or give you an idea of what to expect. Enjoy.

[Russ Lomas]

About to start a new thread from this sailing with quite a few pics. Have just downloaded over 200+ FROM The Oasis. Hope they either bring back memories for you, or give you an idea of what to expect. Enjoy.

I look forward to seeing your photos. I have over 1000 pictures (and I already deleted another 1000). I too hope to post them to share in the next few weeks. My plan is to start one tomorrow totally dedicated to the food in the MDR. Food Porn at its best!

[Russ Lomas]

Russ,

 

Thanks for the Review that was a good idea. I could see both views at the same time. Did you happen to save the compasses from your sailing? Do you know why they changed or cancelled so many of the shows?

I have all 7 days of Eastern Oasis Cruise Compasses in front of me right now from the March 9th, 2013 sailing. I think I saw you were asking about the times in St. Thomas....

9am ship's arrival time (ship time)

9:15am gangway open

5:30pm all aboard (ship time)

 

Remember that they did not dock in Havensight, not directly in downtown Charlotte Ameile. A Disney ship and 2 Carnival ships were docked directly in town that day. You had to take a 5 minute cab ride to the main town if you wanted to shop there.

[sweetdarlin26]

I have all 7 days of Eastern Oasis Cruise Compasses in front of me right now from the March 9th, 2013 sailing. I think I saw you were asking about the times in St. Thomas....

9am ship's arrival time (ship time)

9:15am gangway open

5:30pm all aboard (ship time)

 

Remember that they did not dock in Havensight, not directly in downtown Charlotte Ameile. A Disney ship and 2 Carnival ships were docked directly in town that day. You had to take a 5 minute cab ride to the main town if you wanted to shop there.

 

Thanks for the info. Our time as changed cause we have confirmed we will arrive at 10am.

[172pilot]

We were also on the March 9th sailing. It's funny to read comments as I agree with many of them. We also found Andy to be excellent in the sports zone, both at the zip line and rock wall. I found Amy to be annoying but my wife thought she was ok. To each his own I guess.

 

We ate in the MDR each night and found he menu to have enough variety. We were a group of 22 so we were going to have a good time regardless. We did put all 7 of the kids at their own table for dinner so that the 15 adults could eat in peace. The children's waiter was fantastic and earned an extra tip from us for his efforts.

 

We enjoyed the quest even though its a different format on the larger ships (large teams in the ice rink vs. small teams in a bar). We were the team 3 captains which was a blast!

 

We ordered the drink package and found the service to be excellent. If you frequent the same bars over and over the waiters get to know you and really do go out of their way.

 

All the shows were excellent especially considering the ship was moving quite a bit. We were annoyed that our adult comedy show was replaced with the family show on the last day. What was the worst was RCI saying it was going to be the same show. Really? Then why is it normally 18+? We never did get to see the proper show.

 

The photo studio is painful. Especially if its a large group and you want to buy a CD. It took multiple trips and 2+ hours to finally get it right. The problem was getting all the various people into the same file. I must say Celebrity has a much better package here. Strange that for the same parent cruise line they don't compare notes? I did like that you don't have to play where's Waldo anymore and your photos are placed into folio automatically.

[Russ Lomas]

We were also on the March 9th sailing.

 

We enjoyed the quest even though its a different format on the larger ships (large teams in the ice rink vs. small teams in a bar). We were the team 3 captains which was a blast!

My DW and I were on team 3 for that sailing. I wish I had pictures of you and that other guy you ran up to centre ice with to demonstrate your favourite sexual positions on each other. PRICELESS!!

[172pilot]

My DW and I were on team 3 for that sailing. I wish I had pictures of you and that other guy you ran up to centre ice with to demonstrate your favourite sexual positions on each other. PRICELESS!!

 

It's probably better that you don't. Not something the kids need to see. :)

[Wuvs2Cruise]

I fully agree with the Oasis being a fantastic ship with unbelievable amenities. We found the service and food on this ship to be the best we have yet to experience, compared to previous NCL, Carnival, and RCCL sailings. I worked on the Sun Princess 15 years ago, but have never yet sailed with them as a passenger, so I cannot comment on how they compare (yet...one day). I do remember the food on Princess was outstanding when I worked there 15 years ago.

 

To Ricardin...sorry I hijacked your review, but I thought it would be helpful for people to see my opinion along with yours together. Overall, we agreed on most of the things on this trip.

 

Wonderful Review! I will be on the Oasis the week of May 17th, and I enjoyed reading your experiences. I just happened to come across your reviews while I was searching for topic "Amy, Cruise Director". Was she really that bad?

[Vanilla]

Did you have trouble using your Premium drink package in any other venues? Did you try to use it in Vintages? Wondering about it being cost effective for us and hassel free. I hate to purchase it, thinking I have $12 on wine and $8 on drinks - just to have to argue with the bar staff.

[rodenboy]

How do you do that? I know you can disembark with your luggage, but when checking in? I thought you had to leave it and you would just get in the ship with your carry on... Could you tell me how do you do it?

 

 

Yes, I would like to know this as well as I would much prefer to take my own luggage on board.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Russ Lomas]

Wonderful Review! I will be on the Oasis the week of May 17th, and I enjoyed reading your experiences. I just happened to come across your reviews while I was searching for topic "Amy, Cruise Director". Was she really that bad?

 

As for Amy, I think she is one of those CDs you either love or hate. I put myself into the latter of the two choices. I did not find her funny at all and really did not want to listen to what she had to say. I see that she is now working on the Radiance and no longer on the Oasis. Not sure of the reasoning on that, but that is where she is

 

She was very energetic and loved to show off her dance moves. She seems to try REAL hard, too hard. I prefer a CD who seems more genuine and who I would like to talk to. I just returned from the Independence a couple of weeks ago with Joff Eaton as CD. He is, by far, the best, and most memorable CD (for the right reasons) that I have encountered. I ran into him several times at Cafe Promenade and he always seemed happy to have a conversation. Overall, a great guy and a funny one at that (like a younger John Cleese - so you should like him if you like that type of humour). As you can see from my signature below, I have booked again on the Independence for next year already. Joff told me he is off to the Anthem next year, so I will dearly miss him on the Independence on our next RCCL cruise. Fingers crossed his replacement will be a good one.