Just Back from Oasis 4/6-4/13/13 - Helpful Tips

[NJMD214]

Hi everyone! Just got back from the Oasis of the Seas! What a magnificent ship. Despite everyone worrying how big it is, how many people are on board, etc...it never really felt crowded. CC message boards have been very helpful in preparing myself for my cruise, I wanted to add some of my observations and tips of my own. My top 10 tips are:

 

1. Regarding surge protectors - I brought 2 Belkin USB surge protectors with me packed with my camera equipment. Never questioned and believe it or not didn't need both. Apparently, RC has responded to the lack of plugs in the room, so they installed a 3 outlet dome strip on the vanity desk, plugged into one of the outlets underneath. If you need an extension cord

for medical equipment, the extension cord they gave my sister was a 2 prong outlet and she needed a 3 prong for the machine so bring an adapter.

 

There is another plug under the bed where the phone is plugged in as well.

 

2 - Bring a notepad and pen - there were none in the desk area

3 - Worried that the humidity causing a musty damp odor in the room? I brought a small Glade Glass Scent with me and placed in the room

 

4 - Bring your own lanyards for your cruise card - Cheaper at Staples and you may want to bring your own hole puncher since everyone is waiting in line to get their cards punched at Guest services

5- Parades in the Royal Promenade - best seating is by the CupCake place or at Sorrento's - facing the Rising Tide Bar -and get there early (at least 40 min before)!

6- Definitely pre book all your shows that you want to see as soon as they come out. The Comedy (+18) Show venue is smaller and gets "sold out" early.

7- Magnets -If your are traveling with other people in other cabins, I would recommend a small magnet you can post on the doors to leave messages. I saw one cruiser hang a small dry erase board on their door.

8- First day embarkation onto the ship - if you are looking for food, the Windjammer gets very crowded, so you may want to try going to the Solarium where there is a cafe and a bit quieter.

9. My Time Dining - Opus 5 -first night was a little disorganized and we were sent to Opus 3 to eat but no problem afterwards. Usually no waiting before 6pm, however after 6:30 pm you can expect to wait a bit for a table. We made "reservations" for My Time Dining for a party of 6 people and always got the same waiter, so if you have a large party, definitely do this.

10. Complimentary toiletries/ice - you have to ask your room steward for these.

 

As far as excursions, we were on the Eastern Caribbean itinerary. I book outside of the cruise line excursions and post on TripAdvisor.

[Peeker28]

Thanks for the tips, I'm going June 1st and these will help. What did you think of the food? I've heard good and bad reviews. What about the portion size, large or small?

[labeachcomber]

Thanks for the tips.

 

Which excursions did you do? Not sure how to find your posts on Trip Advisor.

[True Texan]

How was embarkation and debarkation? What time did you get onto the ship?

[powelweb]

We were also on this 4/6 oasis sailing, and we were able to board at 11:30, and we did express disembarkation and walked off the ship at 6:30am.

 

The shows were amazing. Our other tips would be to bring a highlighter, and use the interactive TV to check the dining venues before deciding where you want to eat as they give a traffic light indicator - green, yellow, and red - to give you an idea of how busy each restaurant is at that time. We found this system very useful for deciding where to eat.

[NJMD214]

Thanks for the tips, I'm going June 1st and these will help. What did you think of the food? I've heard good and bad reviews. What about the portion size, large or small?

 

I thought the food in the dining room was very good. Windjammer is buffet style and has the usual buffet items. Meals in the dining room were based on themes (items used to make the food, like Basil, Saffron, etc). The portions were more than enough and we were not shy in sometimes asking for 2 entrees!

 

Food at Johnny Rockets was the same. I didn't get to eat at the Solarium Cafe or at the Seafood Shack on the Boardwalk but the menus were interesting.

 

We did eat at Giovanni's where food is served family style so there was alot of food for the cover charge (and we were a group of 6)

[NJMD214]

Thanks for the tips.

 

Which excursions did you do? Not sure how to find your posts on Trip Advisor.

 

Our first port was Nassau, Bahamas - the ship docks there for only a short time - 7am -2pm - We met others who did excursions thru the boat to go to the Atlantis (most excursions leave at 8 or 9am) so they didn't have time to do much. Plus it was $$ - We ended up taking a taxi to the Ardastra Gardens ourselves (there were 3 of us) which opens at 9am. Had the whole park to ourselves for the hour before the other cruise excursions showed up at close to 10 am for the Dancing Flamingo show then after at 11am is feeding the Parrots- we had the taxi come pick us up at 11:30am and then dropped us into town near the pier for some shopping and back to the ship for lunch

 

St. Thomas - if you are not into shopping and doing a tour of the island - we took a charter - Simplicity Charters - private sailboat (party of 6) for a snorkeling and sail tour to St. John's -

 

St. Maarten -Speedboat tour - Soualiga Destinations- -

 

Still waiting for my contributions on TripAdvisor to be approved since I posted them a day ago. It takes some time

 

[Peeker28]

I thought the food in the dining room was very good. Windjammer is buffet style and has the usual buffet items. Meals in the dining room were based on themes (items used to make the food, like Basil, Saffron, etc). The portions were more than enough and we were not shy in sometimes asking for 2 entrees!

 

Food at Johnny Rockets was the same. I didn't get to eat at the Solarium Cafe or at the Seafood Shack on the Boardwalk but the menus were interesting.

 

We did eat at Giovanni's where food is served family style so there was alot of food for the cover charge (and we were a group of 6)

Thanks for the info. Has anyone gotten the picture packages? It's pricey and I don't know if it's really worth it. I was looking at the smaller packages but those are expensive

[NJMD214]

How was embarkation and debarkation? What time did you get onto the ship?

 

Well we took an early flight from NJ only to end up on the tarmac for 2 hours because the engine would not start :( -( Yeah that was fun)

by the time we arrived at the port it was about 2 pm and we got on board in 15 minutes!

Debarkation we also used express debarkation - that was fast until we had to go thru customs (budget cuts so there was only 1/2 the amount of custom officials there) but it went smoothly. We left the ship at 7am and was at the airport by 8am:)

[NJMD214]

The pictures are expensive- Each print was about 19.95 no matter what size you got- I ended up only choosing 3 pics I wanted to get.

Regarding pictures - unlike the other cruise lines where you go to the photo area and stare at a wall of photos trying to find yours...your seapass card has a photo binder number and uses face recognition so if you have photos, you have to find your binder where the photos will be placed and you can choose them there OR using the kiosk to view and order your prints

[ibfishing2]

Thanks for the tips