Just back from Oasis transatlantic

[xxHadleyxx]

I want to say we had all of the usual shows plus four "headliners" which were:

 

Jerome Bell concert (he plays Seaweed in the current cast of Hairspray--came on as a replacement partway through the run--and was a semi finalist in American Idol at one point). We really enjoyed this and it was much better and more fully done than we expected.

 

a ventriloquist. We did not go. My in laws went and thought it was okay but not great.

 

a singer, Earl Turner. He did mostly Motown but some newer things and had some jokes and whatnot. Lots of energy and not too slow. A good show.

 

A "tribute band" (they were billed as the ultimate tribute band) which was not a tribute to anyone but played a variety of music from the 60s and 70s. No one in our group (spanning 3 generations) cared for it or lasted more than a couple of songs.

 

There might have been a fifth thing, but if so I cannot recall at the moment. I think I kept all of the compasses, so I will try to check tomorrow and say if there were more.

 

The "normal" things were:

 

Hairspray (they ended up doing 4 performances due to a glitch in the online system that caused many people to miss their show) but three were planned. This will be replaced by CATS (a long show for a ship!).

 

Come Fly With Me

 

Oasis of Dreams (dive show)

 

Splish Splash (comedy dive show)

 

Frozen in Time (ice show)

 

Comedy Club

 

Improv Show (not sure if they are keeping it with Hairspray leaving--since it uses primarily the comedy actors without great singing or dancing skills from Hairspray).

 

 

There were also many smaller cabaret shows using the various singers from Hairspray, etc. We really enjoyed the amount of entertainment on the ship, and the quality, and were glad to have so much time to see it all and soak it up.

[roe2ship]

The Concierge Club is being moved to the Viking Crown Lounge on Deck 17. This is a fact as is the Solarium Bistro will remain with some upgrades to the AC. Rumors are that the Loft (Pinnacle) Lounge and Pinnacle Chapel are being removed for luxury suites. Also that the Presidential and Royal suites will be removed and replaced with balcony (JS?) staterooms. Also a rumor that the "secret" balconies aft decks 11 and 12 will become suites like decks 8-10. Seafood Shack is being replaced. I've heard both Japanese and Mexican. At least we will know for sure in about a month⚓️

 

 

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This is what we heard on our cruise the last week of August.

 

Sad to hear about those secret balconies....love that area.

[bajathree]

When the CL is moved to the Viking Crown Lounge, will the breakfast and lunch end? That's one of our favorites. Many passengers pick their cabin based upon the CL's location. I am one of them!

 

I enjoyed the balconies in the aft on deck 11 too. Sad to see it go.

 

That is an interesting question i have been wondering on also. What further makes me wonder is how Royal's sister line Celebrity is rolling out an entire new suite program April 2015 including a suite ONLY dining room. While Celebrity also never had a dedicated concierge lounge they have now turned Michael's (public bar used to host Elite events) into a suite and upper most loyalty lounge...what would be equal to Pinnacle on Royal. I believe that Royal has announced that they aren't rolling out their new Dynamic Dining program until April 2015 on Oasis....hhhmmmm....same month Celebrity is rolling out their new suite program.....don't want to start any rumors....but does make one wonder a bit. With all that said....Windjammer sits right under the Crown Viking Lounge....soon to be the new Concierge Lounge...so theoretically I would think they can use Windjammers kitchen if they wanted to still do breakfast and lunch.

Edited September 15, 2014 by bajathree

[Ariel35]

How was the internet on the TA?

[tanzer22pilot]

Was the flow rider and rock wall open?

[ARCruisinNana]

How was the internet on the TA?

 

 

Internet was very good. I was able to video chat with family with Skype. .

 

 

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[Sunny AZ Girl]

That would be too bad if they replace the secret balconies on 11 & 12. That was one of the reasons we booked a cabin on 11 towards aft.

 

Oh well. Hopefully lots of great changes will be made in dry dock.

Same here! !!😨

[Sky616]

That would be too bad if they replace the secret balconies on 11 & 12. That was one of the reasons we booked a cabin on 11 towards aft.

 

Oh well. Hopefully lots of great changes will be made in dry dock.

 

Yes, this would be a huge disappointment if they take away the secret balconies. We have the last boardwalk cabin on deck 12 in November so it would be real close and with 2 kids it would be a quiet place for us to go after they go asleep.

[cruisin4kicks]

We were also on the Oasis crossing that left Fort Lauderdale Sep 1. We talked to the Food & Beverage manager at the D+/Pinnacle officers lunch and he mentioned that Izumi was going to be moved from deck 16 to deck 4 someplace near the dining room and that the Windjammer was going to be expanded into the Izumi space. He also said the Seafood Shack was going to be replaced by Sabor, an upscale Mexican restaurant that's currently on the Navigator.

 

From the Royal Caribbean website...

Sabor - in Spanish, it means flavor. But here, it's that and so much more. A feast - or shall we say fiesta - for the eyes. A vibrant dance across the plate and palate. A long heritage of fresh, simple ingredients, reimagined in full bloom.

 

Some other changes were mentioned (didn't hear anything concerning secret balconies) but most of those have already been discussed earlier on this thread.

 

Tim

[xxHadleyxx]

Was the flow rider and rock wall open?

 

Yes. For several hours every day. :)

[UNV-IT!!!]

How were the food selections in the MDR for dinner? I'm on the TA back to Florida and have booked 150 CP for 4 nights already. I was worried they may repeat items so figured I would do more specialty restaurants.

[ARCruisinNana]

How were the food selections in the MDR for dinner? I'm on the TA back to Florida and have booked 150 CP for 4 nights already. I was worried they may repeat items so figured I would do more specialty restaurants.

 

 

There was a different menu each night in the MDR. 150 CP now has only one menu. It does not change mid-week.

 

 

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Edited September 15, 2014 by ARCruisinNana

[UNV-IT!!!]

There was a different menu each night in the MDR. 150 CP now has only one menu. It does not change mid-week.

 

 

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What? Say it ain't so. When I contacted F&B they told me 150 would not only have multiple menus as per usual they said there was at least 3 planned and a 4th was possible for the TA sailings.

 

So your certain the menu never changed at all during your sailing?

[Merion_Mom]

I want to say we had all of the usual shows plus four "headliners" which were:

 

Jerome Bell concert (he plays Seaweed in the current cast of Hairspray--came on as a replacement partway through the run--and was a semi finalist in American Idol at one point). We really enjoyed this and it was much better and more fully done than we expected.

 

a ventriloquist. We did not go. My in laws went and thought it was okay but not great.

 

a singer, Earl Turner. He did mostly Motown but some newer things and had some jokes and whatnot. Lots of energy and not too slow. A good show.

 

A "tribute band" (they were billed as the ultimate tribute band) which was not a tribute to anyone but played a variety of music from the 60s and 70s. No one in our group (spanning 3 generations) cared for it or lasted more than a couple of songs.

 

There might have been a fifth thing, but if so I cannot recall at the moment. I think I kept all of the compasses, so I will try to check tomorrow and say if there were more.

 

The "normal" things were:

 

Hairspray (they ended up doing 4 performances due to a glitch in the online system that caused many people to miss their show) but three were planned. This will be replaced by CATS (a long show for a ship!).

 

Come Fly With Me

 

Oasis of Dreams (dive show)

 

Splish Splash (comedy dive show)

 

Frozen in Time (ice show)

 

Comedy Club

 

Improv Show (not sure if they are keeping it with Hairspray leaving--since it uses primarily the comedy actors without great singing or dancing skills from Hairspray).

 

 

There were also many smaller cabaret shows using the various singers from Hairspray, etc. We really enjoyed the amount of entertainment on the ship, and the quality, and were glad to have so much time to see it all and soak it up.

 

Just a couple of notes:

 

Jerome Bell has been doing his little extra show for a while now. I saw him do it a year ago.

 

Earl Turner is a "staple" on RC cruises. He is a favorite headliner and has probably performed on every ship in the fleet.

 

Singers from Hairspray have been doing a "cabaret" style show in the VCL for a while, too.

 

:)

[steamboats]

We´ve been to the 150CP. Yes, since a couple of weeks there´s only one menu. There are three standing appetizers plus three courses where you can chose one out of two offerings (chicken or halibut, beef or pork, chocolate dessert or lime tarte). Actually I was not impressed. The three standing dishes were excellent. The halibut was good but the chicken lacked any kind of sides (no comparison to the halibut!). The beef was greasy and no sides (unless you call that squash puree which was used to "stick" the beef on the plate a side) and the pork was not really tender at all (but there were mentionable sides). The chocolate dessert was great. The lime tarte was... oversugared meringue and I wasn´t able to find any lime or lemon filling at all.

 

As for the changes:

 

* Izumi will be relocated to deck 4 - one of the private dining rooms (and make some space for the Windjammer on deck 16)

* new Teppanyaki restaurant will be built into the other private dining room on deck 4

* VCR will be converted to Concierge Lounge (someone said partially, but I don´t believe in that)

* current Concierge Lounge will be a specialty restaurant for suite guests only like on Quantum

* MDR might be changed either totally to MyTime or directly to Dynamic Dining

* Cupcake Cupboard will make room for a shop and move to the Boardwalk (Pets at Sea is already closed)

* rumors were that Seafood Shack is replaced by Rita´s Cantina but might be Sabor

* rumors were that the Donut Shop is replaced by the Boardwalk Doghouse

 

As for the cabins:

 

* Pinnacle chapel and lounge will become two Royal Suites

 

Haven´t heard anything about the secret balconies. The conversion of the Presidential Suite or Royal Suite hasn´t been confirmed but also not denied (no clear answer on that).

 

steamboats

[dancinman66]

Just a couple of notes:

 

 

 

Jerome Bell has been doing his little extra show for a while now. I saw him do it a year ago.

 

 

 

Earl Turner is a "staple" on RC cruises. He is a favorite headliner and has probably performed on every ship in the fleet.

 

 

 

Singers from Hairspray have been doing a "cabaret" style show in the VCL for a while, too.

 

 

 

:)

 

 

Can't wait to catch hairspray

How long is it due to keep running

 

 

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[cruisin4kicks]

Someone on the current Oasis cruise may correct me but we were told the final Hairspray on the Oasis was on the crossing. They're switching over to Cats. I don't know if the Oasis will have Cats for the return crossing but we're back on it Nov 15 and have already booked Cats

 

Tim

[ChipLondon]

I love the way that EVERYBODY refers to the loss of the so called Secret Balconies as being such a disaster. Really they were hardly secret any more ( thanks to CC ) so therefore would be busy and as such not a real benefit, or very few people actually used them and therefore not such a great loss.

I think they will be better used as Suites and certainly raise revenue as such.

Anyone of us that run our own businesses would never allow possible revenue generation opportunities to sit idle, when there was an option to create better business.

Clearly the money crunchers at Royal have looked carefully at several areas that have not proved to be used in the best way. The VC has rarely been as busy as it is on other ships, and it makes sense to consider other options. Yes I personally think it is a shame if the CL is moved up there as I love it where it is, but I will soon get used to it, and will probably really like any new Restaurant that occupies that space. As for The Chapel and adjoining lounge that is also only used on a few occassions, and therefore this space should be reviewed and Royal are clearly focusing on any area where additional cabins can be added.

I personally respect the fact that they review all areas in order to generate extra revenue, as this normally means better facilities for guests, for example the need for better AC in the Solarium if they intend to use it as an attractive dining area in the evenings or a social space for parties.

I am now really looking forward to seeing the changes after Dry dock and into next year as they introduce Dynamic Dining.:D

[Sunny AZ Girl]

If it means that we are losing our cabin 11329 that we booked almost two years in advance for our May cruise just to get that cabin then YES, I'm upset! I know that people on the Westbound TA in the aft cabins on decks 11 and 12 have all had to move. Now I am just going to have to wait and see if that is a permanent change and are those B1 cabins really going away, or if that is just an unfortunate temporary inconvenience for the people on the TA while they complete construction on the new Aqua Suites.

[xxHadleyxx]

How were the food selections in the MDR for dinner? I'm on the TA back to Florida and have booked 150 CP for 4 nights already. I was worried they may repeat items so figured I would do more specialty restaurants.

 

As someone said above, we had different menus every night, and the food was pretty good (better than some RCI sailing and better than CC had led me to expect on this ship).

 

We only saw one menu at 150 CP (as others state) and ate there only once. Some of the he food was great, some was average (about 50/50 ) but we had the worst service we have had in a specialty and some of the worst we have ever had at all. That and Johnny Rockets (and the scheduling snafus that were land based, I think) were the only blights though--service overall in dining and everywhere else was fabulous.

 

Just a couple of notes:

 

Jerome Bell has been doing his little extra show for a while now. I saw him do it a year ago.

 

Earl Turner is a "staple" on RC cruises. He is a favorite headliner and has probably performed on every ship in the fleet.

 

Singers from Hairspray have been doing a "cabaret" style show in the VCL for a while, too.

 

:)

Sorry, I did not mean to indicate that the cabaret acts (heck, they have those on every RCI sailing with singers from the show, so far as I know), or any one Headliner was "new" My understanding though was that normally not as many "headliners" would all be in one sailing together.

I was just listing what all was offered in the way of show style entertainment since someone asked.

[xxHadleyxx]

Can't wait to catch hairspray

How long is it due to keep running

 

 

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Someone on the current Oasis cruise may correct me but we were told the final Hairspray on the Oasis was on the crossing. They're switching over to Cats. I don't know if the Oasis will have Cats for the return crossing but we're back on it Nov 15 and have already booked Cats

 

Tim

 

Several members of the cast told us they are contracted until 30 September--so I assume they will still perform Hairspray on the last three pre dry dock cruises. The Cats cast boarded in Malaga and is rehearsing, but will not have a set and be able to perform until the crossing after the rehab.

[Cindy]

We were also on the Oasis crossing that left Fort Lauderdale Sep 1. We talked to the Food & Beverage manager at the D+/Pinnacle officers lunch and he mentioned that Izumi was going to be moved from deck 16 to deck 4 someplace near the dining room and that the Windjammer was going to be expanded into the Izumi space. He also said the Seafood Shack was going to be replaced by Sabor, an upscale Mexican restaurant that's currently on the Navigator.

 

From the Royal Caribbean website...

Sabor - in Spanish, it means flavor. But here, it's that and so much more. A feast - or shall we say fiesta - for the eyes. A vibrant dance across the plate and palate. A long heritage of fresh, simple ingredients, reimagined in full bloom.

 

Some other changes were mentioned (didn't hear anything concerning secret balconies) but most of those have already been discussed earlier on this thread.

 

Tim

 

Sabor has been very well received on the Navigator. Considering the Navigator sails from Galveston with tons of Texans who are accustomed to excellent Mexican food, that says something!:)

[emmy]

Can't wait to catch hairspray

How long is it due to keep running

 

 

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CATS will replace Hairspray and I have it booked on the westbound TA crossing

[Cindy]

Did they change the 2 level concierge lounge on deck 11? Did they put cabins in that space?

 

If so, where is the suite concierge located?

 

Latest speculation (I'm still on Oasis;) is that it will become a restaurant, possibly Wonderland or Coastal Kitchen. Many rumors. Captain Trym was asked questions about the dry dock during the Captain's Corner, but didn't give any answers other than a lot will be done.

 

 

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I'm a little apprehensive about this change...specifically the impact on cruises in the "interim" time period between the end of dry dock in October and the beginning of DD in March. One of the reasons we decided to upgrade from our center hump JS to a full suite for our November cruise was to have access to breakfast and lunch in the CL (we make it a goal to never grace the threshold of the Windjammer!).:) We would both be disappointed if that wasn't available on our cruise due to the venue moves and transition period between two styles of dining.

 

I can't help but wonder why all this is so secretive.:confused: My last experience with following a dry dock closely because I was sailing soon after was with the Navigator, and they really advertised what they were doing.

[steamboats]

Emmy,

 

Word was on the Eastbound that they might not be able to perform a full show but might start with a soft opening of Cats by the end of the Westbound TA. They have to change the stage settings and the new stuff will come aboard during the drydock. Not until after the changes the new cast can start the rehearsals. I know that you were able to book Cats for the Westbound. Anyway when we boarded our show schedule was totally changed and we had to get it into a new order at Studio B.

 

ChipLondon,

 

The VCL was packed during the TA. And it´s the only indoor place you actually have a nice view on the ocean. Might not be as busy on the regular Caribbean trips.

 

NHDisneylover,

 

Saw you at 150CP. As I said I was not really impressed by the meat dishes. Service was o.k.. But the Cucumber Martini did lack some vodka (much more vodka in the Cosmo I had daily during the cocktail hour). And I was so much looking forward to the Cucumber Martini :(.

 

steamboats