Oasis of the Seas Review 4/18-4/25/15

[Bird82]

Never again will I sail with Royal Caribbean. They are amateur, unpolished, and couldn't care less. All I will remember from my experience is lines of people for everything. From the start at the port lines to get on the ship. Lines to go to the Windjammer, Park Café, Guest Services, Main Dining Room, towel station (both to pick up and to return towels), bars to get a drink or water. Seas of people everywhere. Packed elevators. Also their stupid elevators have a major glitch. We tried to go to the gangway and it would take us one or two decks away and then shoot back up to deck 16. It did this twice before we finally got off on deck 12 and took the stairs.

 

Park café needs to be 4 times bigger for as many people as they stuff on this ship. No seats to be found in Park Café. When there are available tables they are covered in the previous guests dishes and when I kindly asked a waiter to clear the table he told me one minute and then walked away not to be seen again. We just ate at the table with other peoples dirty dishes and glasses. Several food venues kept running out of silverware and coffee mugs.

 

They are short staffed at every bar and the bar servers are very unfriendly. The Vitality bar was the worst. Absolute worst servers there and they need two full time servers instead of one. I blame the management and leadership in the company. Never once did I see managers or officers look at what was going on so they could coach their employees on how to do their jobs properly or add employees to the schedule.

 

The food was lousy. I would rate it overall as a 3 out of 10. Windjammer food reminded me of really bad hospital food. We came across many things that were broken on the ship. The lockers in the men's locker room in the Vitality Spa are mostly all broken. The temperature controls for the showers in there are broken too. The showers would get scorching hot and I could not make them cooler.

 

I spent a lot of money for this cruise vacation and I came away extremely disappointed. They are making way too many cut backs. They need to improve the quality of the food and add additional staff all over the ship. They also need to cap the number of guests. They just can't keep up with or accommodate 6,000 plus guests. I was expecting great food. I was expecting Hilton/Marriot caliber service and what I got was Motel 6 level service and hospital food. They got me once, but they will never see me again. Eventually people will get wise to them and stop sailing with them. They have pretty much ruined cruising for me. Maybe way way down the road I will give cruising another chance with a different company, but Royal Caribbean will not see another penny from me ever again.

[Coralc]

I'm sorry you didn't enjoy your cruise. We have never sailed on the largest ships so I appreciate your input.

[Grandma Petania]

I'm sorry you didn't enjoy your cruise. We have never sailed on the largest ships so I appreciate your input.

Don't avoid the Oasis class ships based on OP's very negative review. I have sailed on the Oasis twice with my live-in family, DD, DSIL & DGS - and once with just my other daughter. She and I will sail Oasis again in February 2016. I have not encountered most of the problems posted above. I only visited the Park Cafe once, and found the staff there to be the least friendly that I encountered on the entire ship. The venue did seem small, and I thought the "famous" roast beef sandwich was inedible. However, overall, I love the Oasis!

[Desertbelle]

We just got off the Allure and cruised on the Oasis about 18 months ago and I couldn't disagree more with the OP and I truly hope that people take such a negative review with a grain of salt.

 

Our experience is that other than on embarkation day and disembarkation day, which is horrible on all sized ships and all cruise lines, it's hard to believe that there are 6K passengers on the ship. The way they move people around and the numbers of open spaces and places to go, the people seem to "disappear".

 

I agree that the food in the MDR could be better, but it's better than what I make at home. We love the specialty restaurants and we ate at several of them last week....all delicious.

 

All the shows were excellent, we enjoyed them very much.

 

Lastly, there are so many things to see and do on these huge ships, it's hard to go back to one of the medium sized ones....they seem boring to us now.

[Ohiocruiser]

Was just on the Allure this March and had a WONDERFUL vacation. Food could have been better but food never makes or ruins our cruise. The only time we felt that there was that many passengers on board was when we first boarded the ship. In fact we laughed at the number of empty elevators that we had waiting for us. Everyone was nice and friendly and the kids on board 1600 of them were some of the most polite we have ever cruised with.We are booked for the Oasis next April, so the big ships are great! And keep in mind we were right in the middle of spring break.

[Sherri914]

It seems the OP had an experience contrary to what he/she had hoped on Oasis. I can certainly understand that. But I think it would be a shame for others to read this and consider it the norm for that ship (or class of ships).

 

My advice would be to take all overly positive or overly negative reviews with a grain of sea salt. Everything is subjective. Two people who experience virtually the same thing can walk away with polar opposite opinions of the experience.

 

We loved the Oasis last time, and we're going back in a few months. And I can't wait to experience a whole new vacation on a familiar ship.

[John&LaLa]

We were on April 11

MTD dining was painful, but we escaped to Coastal Kitchen

They did run out of flatware in WJ once

Park Cafe was fine, even in day 1

WJ food is always suspect

Never felt ship was that crowded

Bar service was ok and friendly

On the ship in 15 minutes, rooms opened early, luggage by 3:00

Elevators fine most of time

Edited April 28, 2015 by John&LaLa

[Cindy]

I also had a very different experience on the Oasis than the OP. My husband and I were very hesitant to try it because of the size and crowds, but we were very pleasantly surprised by how well the ship handles the people and how little crowding we experienced.

 

We thought the food was very good too...we ate dinners in specialty restaurants all but one night and never even stepped foot in the Windjammer, so our experience might not be typical.

[Grandma Dazzles]

I'm sorry you didn't enjoy your cruise. We have never sailed on the largest ships so I appreciate your input.

 

 

OP is really being exceptionally critical! Have sailed both Allure and Oasis and never encountered so many problems. Don't let this review influence you.

[wolfganghowell]

Bear in mind this is the OP's first cruise. Cruising is not for everyone. Their expectations apparently did not match the reality. I do agree that MOST Oasis reviews have been very positive. Even the negatives have not been this bad. As others have said, a grain of salt. I guess cruising is not for "the birds. Hope your next vacation is better.

[luvstocruzok]

I have been on the oasis and allure and loved them both. We never felt it was crowded except on embarkation day. We loved the food and all the choices for dining. Cruising is not for everyone and some people look for negatives and let it ruin their experiences. I am going on oasis in 32 days. I looked at smaller ships, but we felt that we would not be happy losing all the Oasis class options. My family favorites are the two flow riders, aqua theater, sports deck activities and food options.

 

 

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[racerxspeedy]

Not one positive comment from the OP.? I agree that the Park Cafe and Wj can get crazy at times, but this is where experience helps. Oasis has more free food options than other RC ships which helps. There's plenty of friendly servers and crew on the ship. CORRECT: it costs a lot to sail Oasis in the spring. Did you do your homework? Maybe the Op should of started on a small ship - less crowded, less$, more personal service.....

[Grandma Petania]

We just got off the Allure and cruised on the Oasis about 18 months ago and I couldn't disagree more with the OP and I truly hope that people take such a negative review with a grain of salt......

Lastly, there are so many things to see and do on these huge ships, it's hard to go back to one of the medium sized ones....they seem boring to us now.

Other than one cruise almost 50 years ago, Oasis is the only ship I have sailed on (3 times). At first I thought I "should" try one of the smaller ships, but then I decided why not stick with what I know that I enjoy, so I booked my 4th time on the Oasis for next February.

[laedw]

It's unfortunate that the OP did not enjoy his/her cruise. We sailed on the Allure in March. This was my second sailing on her and my sister's first. We love the Oasis class ship! We have sailed on other RCCL ships but this class ship has everything we love -- the Aquatheater, the Jazz Club, the Comedy Club and for me ---the shopping!:D Granted the food in the MDR and the WJ was not the best but it was satisfactory. We never felt crowded on the ship in spite of the 6,000+ guests.

[Grandma Petania]

My emphasis added

We loved the Oasis last time, and we're going back in a few months. And I can't wait to experience a whole new vacation on a familiar ship.

Two of my Oasis cruises were with my live-in family: DD, DSIL & DGS. DSIL is confined to a wheelchair with MD, and he spent many, many happy hours on the accessible ocean-view balcony. DGS & I were in a connecting cabin, and it was really convenient to be able to go back and forth between the rooms. We were delighted to be able to book the exact same setup (just one deck below) for our second cruise. I have always enjoyed returning to favorite accommodations, knowing exactly what to expect.

 

In between those two cruises, my other daughter and I sailed the Oasis in an interior cabin. We were fine with the cabin, except it was all the way forward, and made long walks for me to get to the dining, etc. at the aft end. While on board with my live-in family earlier this year, I booked another vacation for myself and my other daughter for next February. I was looking for an interior at the aft end of the ship, but none of those seemed to be available at that time. However, the agent onboard suggested that we book a balcony overlooking the Boardwalk or Central Park. The cost would be about $300 more than an interior, but the booking would come with $300 OBC. It only took a minute for me to agree to that. I've never been in an inward-facing balcony cabin, but I'm looking forward to spending time on the balcony over Central Park, hanging out and people watching. I also look forward to being close to the elevators in order to easily get to the many aft activities on different decks.

 

I'm giving some serious thought to trying to sail on the Allure or Harmony in the future - something that will be quite similar to the Oasis, but enough different to feel "new".

Edited April 28, 2015 by Grandma Petania

[COCKYMARK]

This seems to be an ongoing theme....someone will post about a awful cruise experience and then a bunch of others ....some that were actually on the same cruise do not have the same problems. what gives? I wonder if some of these people actually even went on the cruise! they are probably fans of another cruiseline and enjoy saying bad things about other ones.

[sky0000547]

I agree that the lines could be long in the Windjammer and the Park Cafe could be busy. I tried to skip around these issues by going to these places at different times than everybody else. Like I go to the Windjammer at 12pm rather than 1pm for lunch and it makes a big difference on crowds.

 

You make the cruise how you make it, waiting in line will not ruin my cruise.

[FlyStef]

This seems to be an ongoing theme....someone will post about a awful cruise experience and then a bunch of others ....some that were actually on the same cruise do not have the same problems. what gives? I wonder if some of these people actually even went on the cruise! they are probably fans of another cruiseline and enjoy saying bad things about other ones.

 

Two people can walk into the same restaurant at the same time and have two completely different experiences. On a ship that holds 6K people, I have no doubt that many people have very different experiences than other people on the ship. I don't think anyone should necessarily discount someone's experience, as much as learn from it, and figure out if these are issues that would bother you, or if the issues were somehow avoidable (ex. going to windjammer at off peak times).

[heatherandfred]

Everyone 's perspective is different. Unfortunately when you go certain places like the supermarket, amusement park, the movies, even a public bathroom you have to stand on line. Is that doing is that going to discourage you from going to those places?

[refPete]

I am not sure what 'lines' OP is talking about. Yes Park Cafe had a small one sometimes, but it always moved steadily. Of course after a big show or muster drill,etc,, the elevators will be busy, there was no shortage of spaces to sit, wait and have a drink. Maybe time things a little better.

Never saw a line up at a towel station.

Slept in most days and never had trouble finding a chair.

Of course Oasis is no 6 star hotel, no should it be expected, but the food all around was more than acceptable and of course some, quite delicious.

Guess you just can't please certain people, ever. Nit pickers in every group.

One thing our group said over and over is, "you sure would never know there were 6000+ people on this thing"

Also I find in life that if you o out of your way, just a little to talk or smile to people (staff in this case) they react positivly back. It's just human nature. Is what you make it.

Oasis is truly one of the worlds Wonders!

[John&LaLa]

Just curious, Oasis is the only ship I have been on lately that still checks towels to your seapass. Has anyone else run across this lately

[Clarea]

Just curious, Oasis is the only ship I have been on lately that still checks towels to your seapass. Has anyone else run across this lately

Only if we are leaving the ship at a port, and we are picking up towels on deck 1 near the gangway.

[libertybelle41]

We just came off our April 11th Oasis cruise. The only thing I agree with op was our dinner at Giovanni's Table. Worst service I've ever received, anywhere! ever!

 

Other than that we expected a few lines, waits etc...HELLO....it's a huge ship. Beautiful, clean and we had very good experiences with bar staff, windjammer is....well, windjammer. Not the best, not the worst, always pretty consistent.

[libertybelle41]

This seems to be an ongoing theme....someone will post about a awful cruise experience and then a bunch of others ....some that were actually on the same cruise do not have the same problems. what gives? I wonder if some of these people actually even went on the cruise! they are probably fans of another cruiseline and enjoy saying bad things about other ones.

 

Could possibly be a "troll" especially posting something like this negative thread and not come back to at least discuss. :rolleyes:

[sailor05]

Could possibly be a "troll" especially posting something like this negative thread and not come back to at least discuss. :rolleyes:

 

If you look at all of their previous posts you'll see this has been planned on and looked forward to so I don't believe them to be a troll. It's simply a first time cruiser that apparently had thoughts of it being a week of being catered to and that's just not going to happen on one of the largest cruise ships in the world;)