Oasis- Jan 23 Sailing

[island lady]

Yes, Solarium Cafe is open for lunch on embarkation day. So is Wipeout Cafe, Cafe Promenade, Sorrento's, Boardwalk Doghouse, and Vitality Cafe.

 

Thanks Bob! Only been on Oasis once, but do remember how much we loved Solarium Cafe for lunch. :)

[mystifyny]

I love your take on the Pizza! Being from Western NY it is hard to find decent pizza out of the area so I have learned to adjust my expectations.

[BillOh]

Welcome back.

 

Since there has been so much discussion about “CATS” on this board I thought I’d put in my two cents now that I’ve sailed. I was not going to go to the show but I did end up going just to be with the family. I haven‘t read that much good about it on these boards and I think it is way too long in duration for a cruise ship so I attended with a very jaded attitude. Now that I have seen it I still think it is too long for a cruise ship, it isn’t big on story line, BUT I completely enjoyed it.

 

Thanks for that, I am going in with the same attitude.

 

“Oasis of Dreams” left me absolutely awestruck as it does every time I see it. However, the Aqua Theater seemed to have some sort of curse on it this sailing. The sail from Ft. Lauderdale to the Caribbean was plagued with wind. The first night’s show (that I had reservations for) was postponed as were several other showings.

 

 

I'm about to go on Oasis for the first time after 2 Allure sailings. I have already booked the show for the first night. (I've had good luck with this in late April/Early May) I'm just expecting the same show as on Allure, but with a different theme for the trampolining/diving. Glad to see you enjoyed it.

 

 

 

 

 

The ice show was excellent. They still have the sand artist performing during the show. He is a different one than I have seen in the past with a different story line. I didn’t find it quite as emotionally touching as the one in the past but it was very good.

 

I'm glad you mentioned it. I don't think I have booked it yet.

 

The RC production show, Come Fly With Me, is still very good and much better than the typical RC Singers and Dancers show. The Comedy show was actually funny. The guest headliner was ok. I don’t re.

 

How do you think it compares to Blue Planet?

Edited February 2, 2016 by BillOh

[BillOh]

I just read your thread. You seemed to have a lot of the same experience that I did. The one thing I would say is I really did not like Quest at all. For some reason I didn't find it the slightest bit amusing on this sailing. Maybe I am getting old too? :confused: Maybe it is because I found Drew Devine to be a bit of an annoying CD.:rolleyes:

 

Anytime you mention the CD, you get the various replies about how a CD doesn't make or break a cruise, but I'm glad you mentioned this. Quest is one place a CD can make or break at least this show. Thanks for mentioning it. I beleive according to the thread Drew should still be there for my cruise.

[BillOh]

I love your take on the Pizza! Being from Western NY it is hard to find decent pizza out of the area so I have learned to adjust my expectations.

 

At the risk of being repetitive, I sometimes wonder if I'm the only person who has ever tried the made to order pizzas on the Oasis class Sorrento'. Expect another 1024x768 pixel picture of a pizza coming in May!

[Clarea]

Anytime you mention the CD, you get the various replies about how a CD doesn't make or break a cruise, but I'm glad you mentioned this. Quest is one place a CD can make or break at least this show. Thanks for mentioning it. I beleive according to the thread Drew should still be there for my cruise.

For an opposing data point, we have always enjoyed Drew, especially during Love & Marriage and Quest.

[Ocean Boy]

I love your take on the Pizza! Being from Western NY it is hard to find decent pizza out of the area so I have learned to adjust my expectations.

 

My expectations were adjusted. The pizza was still bad.

[Ocean Boy]

My understanding is the man is the husband of the woman who usually does the sand art. The husband tends not to do the thumbelina sand art, and the husband does a different story line. The woman who does it often has evening dinner in the WJ with officers. I have often wanted to tell her how much her sand art touches me, but just haven't gotten there yet. One day I will. I hope Harmony's ice show is more like Oasis's than Allure's.

 

The eight night sailings on Freedom sound interesting but with just one wave on the ship I will always go bigger. ;)

 

You can only ride one at a time! Funny, on the day we were to sail from Ft. Lauderdale it was a bit chilly. You could have ridden the thing for hours with just about no one else there. A couple of other evenings it was the same way on the ship.:)

[Ocean Boy]

For an opposing data point, we have always enjoyed Drew, especially during Love & Marriage and Quest.

 

Now here we have a person who knows how to disagree in a non-disagreeable way.:D:D

[Ocean Boy]

Welcome back.

 

 

 

How do you think it compares to Blue Planet?

 

Very different type of show but I enjoy both. I think come fly with me is a more high energy. The acrobatics are very good.

Edited February 2, 2016 by Ocean Boy

[Clarea]

Now here we have a person who knows how to disagree in a non-disagreeable way.:D:D

Well, that's a nice thing to say.:)

 

I have to say that we are biased about Drew. We have seen him on Mariner starting in 2008, Monarch for years, and then Oasis last September. So our opinion of him is based on our cumulative experience. I'm sure he is like anyone else and can have his off days.

[Ocean Boy]

Thanks Bob! Only been on Oasis once, but do remember how much we loved Solarium Cafe for lunch. :)

 

Bob already gave you the answer. The thing is I didn't really like the food that they had in there for lunch. I really wanted to as we were usually in the solarium when lunch time came around but I couldn't much to my liking. I usually ended up taking a walk elsewhere. Breakfast in there was great.

[Clarea]

Bob already gave you the answer. The thing is I didn't really like the food that they had in there for lunch. I really wanted to as we were usually in the solarium when lunch time came around but I couldn't much to my liking. I usually ended up taking a walk elsewhere. Breakfast in there was great.

How was the turkey bacon?

[Ocean Boy]

How was the turkey bacon?

 

I knew better than to even attempt it.:eek::eek::eek::eek:

[BillOh]

For an opposing data point, we have always enjoyed Drew, especially during Love & Marriage and Quest.

 

Thanks Bob, If I get a few new Quests, or questions I haven't heard before, I'll be happy. Not sure if we will audition for the middle couple this time or not, I may have to ask the wife. We won a bottle of Champagne on Jewel, but the prize package the winners got on Allure included a couples massage. One more detail to work out!

[BillOh]

How was the turkey bacon?

 

I'm going in with an open mind, but my expectations are

 

[Langley Cruisers]

How was the turkey bacon?

 

I knew better than to even attempt it.:eek::eek::eek::eek:

 

You boys. *sigh*

 

I think I'm the only one on these boards who likes it. :D

[Rcarper4001]

At the risk of being repetitive, I sometimes wonder if I'm the only person who has ever tried the made to order pizzas on the Oasis class Sorrento'. Expect another 1024x768 pixel picture of a pizza coming in May!

 

Hey Bill, We also like make made to order pizza. It may take 10 to 15 min but worth the wait. On our last visit on the Oasis my kids ad one for lunch each day. But I never saw that many people making them.

[island lady]

Bob already gave you the answer. The thing is I didn't really like the food that they had in there for lunch. I really wanted to as we were usually in the solarium when lunch time came around but I couldn't much to my liking. I usually ended up taking a walk elsewhere. Breakfast in there was great.

 

Actually we only ate there a couple of times, and agree the breakfast was good. However, I can't remember anything we disliked at lunch or breakfast. The rest of the cruise we enjoyed the CL (now DL) for both breakfast and lunch with the sit down menu and free beer/wine at lunch. Will miss that for sure. :(

Edited February 3, 2016 by island lady

[Big_G]

I'm going in with an open mind, but my expectations are

 

 

If that's the bar you set, you'll still be disappointed. :D

[Big_G]

Nice review OB. On our last Oasis it dawned on us that Royal has us trained well. The only time we visit the Windjammer is immediately after boarding or when we need an afternoon snack. We avoid it all costs during breakfast and lunch. As for the lobster, it only makes it worse when your from Rhode Island. The best I've had on a ship was in CK.

[puffy]

Oasis of dream had been cancel due to technical problem, ours reschedule to day 6, there are few outdoor movie in the aqua theatre , they are the second run like intern , Jurassic world, it is enjoyable. I miss headline show, but my hubby says it is very good with muppet. cAT is surprising good, I read the play before I go in and kind of know the plot, originally we planed to leave if we didn't like it, we stayed the whole time and the singer and dancer are excellent. Do come in with open mind, it may surprise you, I even see some young adult to stay the whole play. But there a few left during intermission :(

[bs0755]

We were also on the Oasis last week. I agree with most of the comments so far, particularly in regards to the friendliness crew and the excellent condition of the ship.

 

I gained a vast amount of knowledge from this board prior to the cruise, so for what it is worth, I will add my two cents worth:

 

We arrived at the pier at 10:45am, and it was a nightmare because they were not done with debarkation. I later learned that passengers were late in getting off of the ship because many people were trying to change travel plans due to the blizzard. However, even if this were not the case, I believe that the next time we will plan on arriving at 1:00pm and walk right on the ship. I took note of the traffic, and by early afternoon, the drop off area was wide open. Also, there are so many people in the waiting area, that even being a Diamond member, it is impossible to to be among the first onboard. We went straight to the Park Cafe, and by the time we got there, the line was outside the door. However, the roast beef sandwiches were as good as advertised, and they had a nice selection of salads, paninis, etc. At the end of the week, we did the self debarkation, and it went very smoothly.

 

We were extremely disappointed with the Windjammer. Years ago, we accidentally discovered the Windjammer dinners, when we had an issue with our table in the dining room on the Grandeur. We went there on the first night of the cruise, and have not returned to the dining room of any ship since then. Both the food and the atmosphere were delightful, and at that time, they even had a pasta station were it was freshly prepared. Our favorite Windjammers were to be the ones in the Radiance class ships. I did not care for the layout of the Windjammer on the Oasis--it just did not seem to flow smoothly at all. Also, while it was very conveniently located just outside the elevators, it created a jam at peak times. In the evening, the noise level and crowding was just the same as at lunchtime. I am not fussy when it comes to eating out--I am happy going to Olive Garden. However, on the first night the roast beef at the carving station was inedible. In past cruises on the Radiance/Jewel, I often got a minute steak made to order. On this cruise, they were precooked and stacked in a pile--They were not much better than the roast beef. To sum it up, in past cruises, we would usually circle around the stations, and try to narrow down what to get to eat. On this cruise, we had to circle around and try to find one or two things that looked good enough to try. I should mention that is has been 5 years since our last cruise, so I don't know how much of the change in quality is specific to the Oasis, or if it is company-wide.

 

One pleasant surprise was the Solarium Bistro for dinner. On the second night, we were approached with a 50% discount offer, and we liked it so much, that we went back later in the week. The overall atmosphere reminded us of the way the Windjammer used to be in the evenings, and the quality of the food was excellent! We also ate at Giovanni's, and while it was very good--the Solarium Bistro was a better value.

 

We spent the majority of our evenings in the casino, and it was by far, the largest and nicest one of all the ships we have been on--even though we did not have one winning night. I thought they did an excellent job of air circulation, and did not notice any cigarette stench at all. I was a bit apprehensive prior to the cruise, since the casino is the only inside area that allows smoking--To me, defined smoking areas where everything is permeated with the stale odor, always smell worse than the live smoke. Neither was an issue in this casino.

 

Room service was excellent--They were always prompt, and the food, while limited, was very good. We also had breakfast on our balcony every morning. With the exception of the "fake" eggs, it was always very tasty. The eggs are a small tradeoff for the convenience and pleasure of eating while gazing out at the ocean.

 

Overall, I would say that Royal Caribbean has greatly improved the quality of the coffee--The coffee in the Solarium in the evening was excellent, and room service coffee was very good. We did not have any from the Windjammer...

 

We are very torn regarding the choice of ship for our next cruise. For such a large ship, the Oasis is very well laid out and easy to get around. On the other hand, the Radiance class has a much better Windjammer and better views.

[puffy]

I also agree the windjammer food is not great, but you won't get hungry, tonight is second formal night and they have snow crab leg, it is the first time I see in cruise. I find the MDR food is ok. We did try chop grill and Central Park. Both are excellent. The staff at Central Park gave you detail about each dish, it is good experience angry again in future cruise

[bs0755]

We definitely did not go hungry! I forgot to mention that this is the first ship we have been on where the mini fridge actually kept the contents cold!