A few Oasis thoughts...

[TNT]

We disembarked yesterday after our third cruise on Oasis. We had a wonderful time, but both DH and I thought things didn't flow as smoothly as in the past. It wasn't anything big, but it seemed a little disjointed at times.

This is just our opinion and I'm sure others will disagree with us. That's ok...that's what this forum is for.

 

*I had read about the crown and anchor coupons being preloaded on the seapass. We felt this was a good move; however, we seemed to have a few problems in some places. We ordered a "coke" in the dining room one night with our buy one/get one. The waiter came back and was very apologetic and said the computer would not recognize our discount. We ended up paying for both. That was ok, it was the first night.

Two days later we tried again at Sabor. The waiter told us we had to have the drink package. The buy one/get one didn't work there. Again, ok. I went over the the boardwalk bar and used our coupon and brought it back to our table. When the waiter brought our bill, we were charged for two cokes????? He did remove that charge.

No problem with shakes at Johnny Rockets. Easy transaction.

 

*We thought about eating at specialty restaurant on the first night, but DH really likes the dining room prime rib. We were surprised that the prime rib is no longer served on the first night. It's now the second formal night. The pork chop was really good though.

We noticed that the menus stayed the same..Mojo, Pimento,etc., but some entrees had been removed or served other nights.

No shrimp cocktail until night four.

The second formal night was prime rib and fisherman meal. Literally all tables in our section was ordering both entrees. The one table that didn't order prime rib ordered a total of 16 lobster tails for 4 people. No lie!!!

We ordered prime rib only,but the waiter added a tail to each of our plates.

I will say even though some of the food changed or was removed, we didn't have a bad meal the entire week.

 

*I found that a martini making class was offered on the first sea day at 3:00. I went to Rising Tide at 2:40 to ask if I needed to do anything. Not one person out of three there knew what to do. When others started coming in I found out it was full. The next sea day I went at 2:30 and was there when others started coming in. A couple sitting next to me said they had signed up at the Champagne Bar the day before. There was nothing to tell you that you needed to sign up. I did get to attend that day.

It was a blast. Iris, the mixologist from Champagne Bar, conducted the class. She was awesome! I put my name plus DH on the list for the next class. That class had all repeaters except for three people. Most fun we had all week! Highly recommended at $24.95 per person. Have already ordered my "bar tools" from Amazon! :D

 

*My DH who never complains about anything and rarely says anything derogatory wasn't too impressed with the cruise director. He said, where did they find this dude? Not bad, just not good in our opinion

 

*Shows- We were guilty of leaving CATS at intermission. The actors, choreography, etc. was good. It just didn't hold our attention.

The comedy show was the best ever. We laughed from beginning to end. The RCCL guy that gets it started had a good joke. He said, You're on the largest cruise ship in the world with the smallest comedy venue at sea. BUT there are more people here than the second half of CATS. Everyone clapped. Guess it wasn't just us.

 

*We took the Turtle Cove Snorkel excursion through the ship. We sailed on Stars and Stripes. Great day, saw lots of turtles, stingrays, fish and the crew was great. Money well spent.

 

*We had MTD and didn't wait over 5 minutes any night except Thursday. Our reservation was at 6:30 and we were seated at 7:20. The non-reservation line was much shorter.

 

We had a great week, it was a great cruise and we will return. We just felt sometime the right hand didn't know what the left hand was doing. Did it make any difference in our week, NO. So, why write all of this. I'm just trying to give a little information to pay back everything I've gained from this site.

[CVU]

I think there are some limits of places the free drinks can be used from the Sea Pass Card.

 

We too left Cats at Intermission-- on her Opening Night on the TA. Not a good choice of show for us, when we had so many other things on board to do instead!

 

Glad it went OK in the end.

The left and right hand often have trouble communicating on board or on shore.:D

[Grandma Dazzles]

Not sure, but would like to know, I think the sea pass coupons that you tried to use in the DR are not valid in the DR, just as the diamond coupons are not valid in the DR - you have to go to the bar. Perhaps someone could verify. Seem to think we tried once with a wine coupon and could not use in DR.

[TNT]

Not sure, but would like to know, I think the sea pass coupons that you tried to use in the DR are not valid in the DR, just as the diamond coupons are not valid in the DR - you have to go to the bar. Perhaps someone could verify. Seem to think we tried once with a wine coupon and could not use in DR.

 

We asked about using the coupon in the Dining Room. Waiter said we could. It just wouldn't work. When we tried to use it in Sabor, he said you could only use it in Dining Room. We knew it wouldn't work in Champagne Bar and Opal, but nobody could really tell us where they worked. Diamond Concierge said it should have worked in Dining Room, they were just having some problems. Really, I'm not sure.

[Wildcatfish]

Glad to hear you had a great time with your "Stars and Stripes" sailing! I really am looking forward to this on our upcoming cruise. How long was it? Was there any shade on the Stars and Stripes, or will I need a gallon of sunscreen to protect my pasty white northern skin? Any additional information will be appreciated.

[Lionesss]

OP

 

Thanks for the nice review.

 

I like how you addressed both the good with the bad.

 

Looking forward to our August Cruise

 

Thanks again.

[TNT]

Glad to hear you had a great time with your "Stars and Stripes" sailing! I really am looking forward to this on our upcoming cruise. How long was it? Was there any shade on the Stars and Stripes, or will I need a gallon of sunscreen to protect my pasty white northern skin? Any additional information will be appreciated.

 

We were a little concerned when we were the only ones at station #9 for the tour A lady came over to make sure we were with that tour and told us to move over to Del Sol where it was shaded and cooler. There were 31 people on our excursion. There is seating underneath or up top in the sun. When you anchor one of the guys gets off with you and shows you where to look for turtles, etc. You then have some time to explore on your own. We had about an hour in the water. I'm not positive, I think about 3.5 hrs start to finish.

 

On the way back the sails went up and we sailed back. A great punch "Painkiller" was served along with cokes, etc. They also give you peanut butter crackers ( Nabs as my grandmother called them). The crew served you, made pictures for you and also with you to post on their website. The crew was awesome!

 

I'll be glad to answer any specific questions you might have. Have fun!

[TNT]

If you have Facebook, search for Stars and Stripes Catamaran and there's pictures of the crew and boat there. May give you a better idea of what to expect.

[cflower04]

What was involved in the Martini making class?!

[snorkelman]

Did you provide your negative feedback about Cats being boring to RCI or only here on cruise critic?

[birdlord]

Curious -- for your one night you had a wait for the MTD reservation -- if the non-reservation line was shorter, would it have been "okay" to just go to the non-reservation line instead? I am not being a smart alec - I'm genuinely curious what would be wrong in doing this because we have never tried MTD before and we have Oasis in December (a long, long, long time from now...) and I'm anticipating my husband getting all annoyed about something like that.

[John&LaLa]

What was involved in the Martini making class?!

 

We made 4 martini's, dirty, cucumber, berry, chocolate. If repeated, the dirty is swapped for lemon drops. You learn technique of shaking, straining and muddling. Takes about an hour. Drinks are about half of full size, which is good, since you drink 4 in an hour.

 

Cucumber was biggest surprise for me. It was really good. :D

[TNT]

What was involved in the Martini making class?!

 

John and LaLa gave you the same scenario we experienced. The third day was Key Lime Pie and Blue Iris (created by Iris the mixologist). The last two stayed the same which was fine because they were delish!

 

snorkelman Did you provide your negative feedback about Cats being boring to RCI or only here on cruise critic?

Yes, I put our feelings about CATS on our survey.

 

birdlord Curious -- for your one night you had a wait for the MTD reservation -- if the non-reservation line was shorter, would it have been "okay" to just go to the non-reservation line instead? I am not being a smart alec - I'm genuinely curious what would be wrong in doing this because we have never tried MTD before and we have Oasis in December (a long, long, long time from now...) and I'm anticipating my husband getting all annoyed about something like that.

 

We actually did discuss going to the non reservation line. The party in front of us said they had discussed it also and thought it might make things more confusing. We liked the waiter we had each night and decided to just waitit out. I don't think there would have been anything wrong with moving though. We really enjoyed talking with the people around us and time seemed to move quickly.

[Big_G]

We've experienced BOGO coupon issues too. If they couldn't fix it right away, we stopped by Guest Services or the Diamond Concierge and they were able to credit the account. I find it easier than trying it elsewhere on the ship and hoping for a better result.

[Eve]

Can you tell me if there was a discount offered at the speciality restaurants on the first night on Oasis?

[nelblu]

Not sure, but would like to know, I think the sea pass coupons that you tried to use in the DR are not valid in the DR, just as the diamond coupons are not valid in the DR - you have to go to the bar. Perhaps someone could verify. Seem to think we tried once with a wine coupon and could not use in DR.

 

I've used the coupon for both beer and wine. The problem is that some are knowledgeable and others not. As an example, on our Quantum cruise one of the pre-loaded coupon was free specialty coffee at a paid restaurant. When I ordered the coffee at Jamie's I reminded our waitress of this. To my pleasant surprise, she took the beer cost off and not the coffee which was cheaper. The 3 drinks allowed each night are not to be used in restaurants.

[TNT]

Can you tell me if there was a discount offered at the speciality restaurants on the first night on Oasis?

 

I'm sorry,but I didn't notice the first night specialty discount. I'm sure someone will be able to answer that for you. We always eat in MDR first night due to DH liking the prime rib previously offered on that night.

 

Something else I forgot to mention is the Walk for Wishes at Sea is no longer offered. We've participated in this on several cruises. When asked, a crew member told us that they had discontinued the walk. She wasn't sure why.

[Natmom]

Thanks for your review. Was it an eastern sailing? If so, what night was the second formal night?

[tmac04]

Thanks for the review! My family and I can't wait for our first RCI trip in June!

[TNT]

Thanks for your review. Was it an eastern sailing? If so, what night was the second formal night?

 

Yes, it was an Eastern sailing. The second formal night was on Thursday.

[CP3o]

 

*I found that a martini making class was offered on the first sea day at 3:00. I went to Rising Tide at 2:40 to ask if I needed to do anything. Not one person out of three there knew what to do. When others started coming in I found out it was full. The next sea day I went at 2:30 and was there when others started coming in. A couple sitting next to me said they had signed up at the Champagne Bar the day before. There was nothing to tell you that you needed to sign up. I did get to attend that day.

It was a blast. Iris, the mixologist from Champagne Bar, conducted the class. She was awesome! I put my name plus DH on the list for the next class. That class had all repeaters except for three people. Most fun we had all week! Highly recommended at $24.95 per person. Have already ordered my "bar tools" from Amazon! :D

 

 

Thanks for the info on this class!

[gatour]

Ahh there is a clue in you wait for a table, not only did you want a specific time you also wanted a specific waiter. Would your wait have been less if you hadn't asked for a particular waiter?

 

John and LaLa gave you the same scenario we experienced. The third day was Key Lime Pie and Blue Iris (created by Iris the mixologist). The last two stayed the same which was fine because they were delish!

 

 

Yes, I put our feelings about CATS on our survey.

 

 

 

We actually did discuss going to the non reservation line. The party in front of us said they had discussed it also and thought it might make things more confusing. We liked the waiter we had each night and decided to just waitit out. I don't think there would have been anything wrong with moving though. We really enjoyed talking with the people around us and time seemed to move quickly.

[RocketMan275]

The second formal night was prime rib and fisherman meal. Literally all tables in our section was ordering both entrees. The one table that didn't order prime rib ordered a total of 16 lobster tails for 4 people. No lie!!!

We ordered prime rib only,but the waiter added a tail to each of our plates.

 

*I found that a martini making class was offered on the first sea day at 3:00. I went to Rising Tide at 2:40 to ask if I needed to do anything. Not one person out of three there knew what to do. When others started coming in I found out it was full. The next sea day I went at 2:30 and was there when others started coming in. A couple sitting next to me said they had signed up at the Champagne Bar the day before. There was nothing to tell you that you needed to sign up. I did get to attend that day.

It was a blast. Iris, the mixologist from Champagne Bar, conducted the class. She was awesome! I put my name plus DH on the list for the next class. That class had all repeaters except for three people. Most fun we had all week! Highly recommended at $24.95 per person. Have already ordered my "bar tools" from Amazon!

 

First, thanks about the info on the second formal night menu.

Second, could you expand on the Martini class? Wife and I love Martini's and it sounds wonderful.

 

We're on Oasis this Saturday.

 

Thanks.