A Few Observations from Oasis

[helen haywood]

We sailed Oasis for the first time last week. We've sailed Royal before but not Oasis. There have been lots of wonderful reviews of her so I won't go into too much detail but there were a few things I thought would be helpful to mention.

 

The water in our bathroom shower was so hot as to be almost scalding even in the coolest setting. We called Maintenance about it and there was a knock on our door in less than 2 minutes. I'm not kidding!! He "fixed" the problem by shutting off the hot water valve which gave us less water pressure but also meant we had mildly hot showers instead of too hot to bear. I mention this as a fix if anyone were trying to bathe their children! I don't know if our cabin placement (11728) had anything to do with the water temperature. I also mention it because it was indicative of the wonderful service at all levels on the ship.

 

We avoided the Windjammer for the first couple of days because every time I checked the occupancy on either the TV or the touch screens on the ship it was always showing Code Red. Finally when I tried it at 11:33 am when it had opened for lunch at 11:30 and it still showed Code Red we began to think they just leave it showing that designation in hopes to avoid overcrowding. We then went several times and never had to wait. So go see for yourself instead of taking the Code Red at face value.

 

We ate at the Seafood Shack and it was delicious. We had the crab legs appetizer and both also had salads. The portions were so huge that we could easily have shared one salad. We also went to Vintages for lunch on the next to last day and were the only people in the place. How nice! Our own private little dining room! Great food and excellent value.

 

I had thought that one needed to alert the staff as to what discount offer you wanted to use but found that they applied it automatically without my saying a word. I'd be handed a bill and the server would explain that I'd been given a BOGO or a 20% discount or whatever. In fact, our server at Vintages on the next to last day was worried I didn't know about all the offers I still had not used and he printed them out for me on a list without being asked!

 

We are Diamond level and I must say Royal puts the cocktail Elite party to shame. Longer hours, full bar, amazing appetizers.

 

Yes, with the slight exception of one time when it was my fault for not paying attention to when a parade was about to take place....the ship never, ever felt like it had 6000 plus passengers.

 

The beds were the most comfortable I've ever slept on in over 25 cruises!

 

That ship is absolutely beautiful!!

[JasonV1]

The beds have the memory foam mattress toppers on them; all boats should have that. For something that doesn't cost a lot they work really well.

[Loyal2RCCL]

I agree with you.. Vintages is a great place for lunch. We had lunch there on one of the sea days and it was a wonderful way to spend the afternoon. The food was great and the prices very reasonable. I'm surprised more people haven't done the same.

[Dave85]

Thanks for sharing! I've fortuntely never encountered the scalding hot shower but not know what to do if it happens.

[oneputt18]

Love Oasis and will be back on her in December for her fourth birthday.

 

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[cruzegurl104]

I'm beyond excited for my upcoming oasis cruise!! We're on deck 11, in cabin 11298... I'll be playing close attention to the water temp as DH is extremely sensitive to hot water!

Thanks for sharing!!!:)

[bradsnana]

We sailed Oasis for the first time last week. We've sailed Royal before but not Oasis. There have been lots of wonderful reviews of her so I won't go into too much detail but there were a few things I thought would be helpful to mention.

 

The water in our bathroom shower was so hot as to be almost scalding even in the coolest setting. We called Maintenance about it and there was a knock on our door in less than 2 minutes. I'm not kidding!! He "fixed" the problem by shutting off the hot water valve which gave us less water pressure but also meant we had mildly hot showers instead of too hot to bear. I mention this as a fix if anyone were trying to bathe their children! I don't know if our cabin placement (11728) had anything to do with the water temperature. I also mention it because it was indicative of the wonderful service at all levels on the ship.

 

We avoided the Windjammer for the first couple of days because every time I checked the occupancy on either the TV or the touch screens on the ship it was always showing Code Red. Finally when I tried it at 11:33 am when it had opened for lunch at 11:30 and it still showed Code Red we began to think they just leave it showing that designation in hopes to avoid overcrowding. We then went several times and never had to wait. So go see for yourself instead of taking the Code Red at face value.

 

We ate at the Seafood Shack and it was delicious. We had the crab legs appetizer and both also had salads. The portions were so huge that we could easily have shared one salad. We also went to Vintages for lunch on the next to last day and were the only people in the place. How nice! Our own private little dining room! Great food and excellent value.

 

I had thought that one needed to alert the staff as to what discount offer you wanted to use but found that they applied it automatically without my saying a word. I'd be handed a bill and the server would explain that I'd been given a BOGO or a 20% discount or whatever. In fact, our server at Vintages on the next to last day was worried I didn't know about all the offers I still had not used and he printed them out for me on a list without being asked!

 

We are Diamond level and I must say Royal puts the cocktail Elite party to shame. Longer hours, full bar, amazing appetizers.

 

Yes, with the slight exception of one time when it was my fault for not paying attention to when a parade was about to take place....the ship never, ever felt like it had 6000 plus passengers.

 

The beds were the most comfortable I've ever slept on in over 25 cruises!

 

That ship is absolutely beautiful!!

 

I agree 100%! We loved Oasis....I had the same concerns about being on such a huge ship.

I worried about lines, waiting, feeling overcrowded. We never had a problem. We never had an issue getting reservations. On the second formal night we had reservations at Giovani's Table.

The Hubs woke up feeling very under the weather from allergies. He tried to tough it out and we went to dinner. After the second course, I could see how miserable he felt so we left.

The head server asked if we were ok and we explained the situation...he offered to have our meal sent up to our room. We thanked him and told him we would come back for lunch.

 

On sea days we were approached by employees offering us discounts in the speciality restaurants.

We made out like bandits!

Vintages was phenomenal! The tapas were outstanding, and yes...we went for lunch and were the only ones there! Another hidden gem is the Solarium Bistro. Dinner there was 4 star...and we bought one got one free. It is tucked away and very quiet for a romantic dinner.

 

Park Cafe was another favorite...I adore Central Park...we found ourselves there multiple times a day. It is lovely to stroll through..you forget you are on a ship.

 

The only real complaint I had was room service. We ordered breakfast once and I ordered desert and coffee another time....both orders took forever and were cold. My coffee was actual tepid.

Also, the beds on Navigator were more comfortable...

I would love to try Allure....

 

 

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[helen haywood]

Forgot to add that we took the horticulturist's guided tour of Central Park. If you are at all interested in gardening, or feats of engineering, you will really enjoy this! Especially his tales of how it falls to him to be responsible for removing owls, birds, etc....

[transam84]

Thanks for the tips. We will be on Oasis 1 March 2014 and are extremely excited.:D

[sabres431]

It was great meeting you both for dinner the night before the cruise. You make great points. When I was reading reviews before the cruise I always wondered why everyone asked their stateroom attendants for ice every day. Then I found out the water temperature is never below lukewarm. Our stateroom attendant Jairo was amazing! Our ice bucket was always filled. When showering I never touched the temperature setting. If you went above the lowest setting it would get too hot.

I also agree about Windjammer. We went there twice, once for lunch and once for dinner. Even when it was red we were easily able to get a table. There are so many good free restaurants that you don't need to go to windjammer or even the specialty restaurants, unless you are looking for the experience.

[LBumb]

oasis was great now trying allure

[hcat]

I agree with you.. Vintages is a great place for lunch. We had lunch there on one of the sea days and it was a wonderful way to spend the afternoon. The food was great and the prices very reasonable. I'm surprised more people haven't done the same.

 

we'll be on board in a few weeks.. what's on the menu at Vintages and do you have to purchase wine w/ the lunch?

[neptune18]

We couldn't get our shower cool on the Allure either.

[alaska_planner]

thanks for the quick review!!

 

we just were on the allure and were lamenting not being able to go on her again any time soon.....but now i'm thinking maybe we'll try for the oasis next year when she's in europe..

only a few cruises to choose from, and not much availability, but we're strongly considering it now!!:)

[hollon]

can you tell us what Vintages has for lunch or dinner, i was on the allure and didn't go in, didn't know they had lunch/dinner. Also what type of food in the solarium bistro? thanks

[Big_G]

I agree with you.. Vintages is a great place for lunch. We had lunch there on one of the sea days and it was a wonderful way to spend the afternoon. The food was great and the prices very reasonable. I'm surprised more people haven't done the same.

 

 

Pssst! Hey, keep it on the down low will you or everybody will be in there?:mad:;):D

[drarill]

Thanks for sharing! Love the Oasis :):)

[ARCruisinNana]

can you tell us what Vintages has for lunch or dinner, i was on the allure and didn't go in, didn't know they had lunch/dinner. Also what type of food in the solarium bistro? thanks

 

Vintages is Tapas style. Order one or two for a snack. More for a lunch or dinner. Solarium Bistro is supposed to be healthier food, but I enjoyed the dinner:)

[smeck]

oasis was great now trying allure

 

You'll love her were the opposite the Allure last May now it's the Oasis's turn!

[helen haywood]

We had lunch in Vintages. You do not have to purchase wine...but I'm a wino and had two glasses. I didn't realize I had a 2 for 1 coupon (I ordered two different wines) but our server and the computer sure did and he applied the discount for me.

 

George and I shared two dishes. One was a grilled serrano ham and manchego cheese and tomato sandwich on sourdough bread and the other was grilled skewers with sausage, shrimp and scallops. We shared these two dishes and were perfectly full. (Of course this was the next to the last day of non-stop 24/7 food...)

 

Sabre431 we also enjoyed meeting you and your bride; hope the second half of the honeymoon was all you wanted. I loved the 15th Street Fisheries!

[riclop]

We sailed Oasis for the first time last week. We've sailed Royal before but not Oasis. There have been lots of wonderful reviews of her so I won't go into too much detail but there were a few things I thought would be helpful to mention.

 

The water in our bathroom shower was so hot as to be almost scalding even in the coolest setting. We called Maintenance about it and there was a knock on our door in less than 2 minutes. I'm not kidding!! He "fixed" the problem by shutting off the hot water valve which gave us less water pressure but also meant we had mildly hot showers instead of too hot to bear. I mention this as a fix if anyone were trying to bathe their children! I don't know if our cabin placement (11728) had anything to do with the water temperature. I also mention it because it was indicative of the wonderful service at all levels on the ship.

 

We avoided the Windjammer for the first couple of days because every time I checked the occupancy on either the TV or the touch screens on the ship it was always showing Code Red. Finally when I tried it at 11:33 am when it had opened for lunch at 11:30 and it still showed Code Red we began to think they just leave it showing that designation in hopes to avoid overcrowding. We then went several times and never had to wait. So go see for yourself instead of taking the Code Red at face value.

 

We ate at the Seafood Shack and it was delicious. We had the crab legs appetizer and both also had salads. The portions were so huge that we could easily have shared one salad. We also went to Vintages for lunch on the next to last day and were the only people in the place. How nice! Our own private little dining room! Great food and excellent value.

 

I had thought that one needed to alert the staff as to what discount offer you wanted to use but found that they applied it automatically without my saying a word. I'd be handed a bill and the server would explain that I'd been given a BOGO or a 20% discount or whatever. In fact, our server at Vintages on the next to last day was worried I didn't know about all the offers I still had not used and he printed them out for me on a list without being asked!

 

We are Diamond level and I must say Royal puts the cocktail Elite party to shame. Longer hours, full bar, amazing appetizers.

 

Yes, with the slight exception of one time when it was my fault for not paying attention to when a parade was about to take place....the ship never, ever felt like it had 6000 plus passengers.

 

The beds were the most comfortable I've ever slept on in over 25 cruises!

 

That ship is absolutely beautiful!!

Thanks for your review.

[maureencruiser]

Vintages tapas menu courtesy of Gambee

 

 

 

 

 

 

[maureencruiser]

 

[bradsnana]

Vintages was,probably one of my favorite lunch places.

I had gastric bypass surgery a couple of years ago and can only eat small meals. The tapas there was perfect for me.

 

We ordered the little red peppers stuffed with feta....OMG they were good! Not hot at all, sweet and tangy. We also had the paella, and then chicken and rice balls. We didn't drink any wine either.

Don't think you have to be a drinker to go in there. It is a hidden little gem..I recommend it for lunch.

That is when we went and we were the only ones there.

 

 

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