Oasis Review- Cruising with kids ages 6 and 8

[whirlygal]

Hello! I just came off the Oasis 4/9 sailing and did a lot of searching and reading on CruiseCritic to find answers about traveling with kids. I found some great info, but most over 3 years old so I wanted to post a little about our experience. My hope is that more people chime in with their experiences and/or questions here.

 

First let me start by saying this was our first family cruise. My husband and I cruised together about 10 years ago, as late 20 somethings and found that cruising was not the best vacation for us at the time. We liked to explore places and felt that a few hours per port was not enough for us. Fast forward to this year, where we were searching for an all inclusive beach vacation for our family of 4- my husband and me in our early 40's, an 8 year old boy and a newly 6 year old girl. Somehow it was mentioned to look into a cruise, and before you know it, the Oasis/Allure are on our radar. With so many promising activities, we decided to give cruising another shot. Let's just say this trip exceeded our expectations. We have been to Disney twice, the last time in September 2015, and this trip by far was much more relaxing. I am happy to say it was kid friendly and really felt like a vacation. The kids really enjoyed themselves.

This Review will focus primarily on things kids related and what we did with our family.

 

Adventure Ocean We were very happy with the Adventure Ocean program. It is broken up into age groups. 3-5, 6-8, 9-11. Sometimes they combine the ages if not enough kids were there. A typical schedule for a sailing day are sessions: 9am-12pm, 2pm-5pm, 7pm-10pm. You can opt to send the kids all day, or just for a little bit. If your kids are there during lunch or dinner, they will take the kids for the meal. From 10pm-2am there is a fee of $7 per child per hour.

Each day, they print a page for the day's activities. Most of the time, our kids opted to attend the evening sessions. Or travel agent booked us for the 6pm dining time, because at 6:40pm some Adventure Ocean Counselors gather outside the dining room to pick up the children as we finished our dinner.

We found our wait staff knew nothing about this and the one night we took advantage of it, they missed dessert. (Not a problem in my mind.)

We found all the staff to be wonderful, excited and engaging. They had many team activities inside the main room, but also some outside. Going in, our worry was that they would be cooped up in the room. But we found each night had new activities in a new place. One night, there was a fun Pirate show on the Promenade. They painted the kids faces and did a little march down the Promenade, sang and danced. Another day there was a talent show. Another Evening there was a dance party in Fuel, the Teen club, where Puss in Boots came out to dance with the kids. There were games on the basketball court one night also.

My son was skeptical about going to Adventure Ocean before the trip. My daughter was excited to go. We told them that had to try at least once. Reading the daily flyer about the activities got them excited to go. Both kids had a Blast.

 

Family Activities We found many family activities scheduled on port days and sailing days. We did not take part in the Adventure Science but that looked like fun, Family Karaoke, Family Mini Golf, Family Dancing, Ice skating, Rock Climbing, and a ride on the Merry Go Round.

From 4pm-5pm each night is a Family Fun Carnival on the Boardwalk. This consisted of coloring, small games, and other fun activities. I would say this is best for the little ones- ages 2-5.

 

Character interactions This was an extra bonus that our kids did not seek out, but it was fun to see different Dreamworks characters on the ship. There is also a Character breakfast that you can sign and pay for. My kids were not into it so we opted out.

 

H2O Zone When all else failed, we were at the H20 Zone. Both of my kids loved this area. There is a pool up to 3.5 feet deep and a small splash park. All of this is flanked by a hot tub (the only one I saw kids going in and out no problem) and on the opposite end was a current pool. The current Pool is a circular pool that has a constant current going to make the kids go around and around.

Also nearby was a towel station, pool bar, and of course a frozen yogurt machine. My kids made friends easily in this area, and saw them more than once.

 

Shows Following some advice on Cruise Critic we opted to skip Cats for our kids. I did book 'Frozen in Time,' 'Come Fly With Me' and 'Oasis of Dreams.' before we set sail. They scan your SeaPass card before you walk into the show. We enjoyed all of the shows. But by far their favorite was Oasis of Dreams, and sitting in the front row aka The Splash Zone. Make sure you wear your bathing suits for that- you get very wet.

 

Just an FYI the Zipline and Flowrider have height restrictions and unfortunately my kids were unable to utilize them. Even though we prepared them, my 8 year old was very sad that at 50 inches tall he could use the Flowrider.

 

Food We ate in the Main Dining Room every night for dinner with the exception of one formal night. Most of their meals were preferred at the Wipeout Cafe.

 

Rooms We opted to get adjoining oceanview balcony rooms. This worked very well for our family. We had the adjoining door open the whole trip and well as on the balcony. This meant 2 bathrooms so 2 people could shower at the same time. Also 2 tvs which was great for downtime in the room and keeping the kids separate for a bit. Something I wished we had done on a port day was order breakfast to the room and eaten on the balcony. The kids were in bed by 10/10:30almost every night and I am glad we had the Oceanview balconies vs the Boardwalk ones because its is quiet and private.

Hope this is helpful!

Edited April 18, 2016 by whirlygal

[LuCruise]

Great comments. We are in similar situation and just returned from Allure (similar ages of DH and I to you and your spouse and same with our kids). Sorry that your kids didn't meet the Flowrider and Zipline height requirements...I can see how they would be disappointed. But these ships are amazing for families, and ours in particular loved all the DreamWorks stuff...and sounds like they had a great time in the Adventure Ocean kids club. Thanks for sharing as I'm always interested in others experiences.

[Tin can]

Thank you for that.

 

We are on Oasis next Easter and that was very useful.

[alexkrn46]

Nice report glad you liked your cruise.

[whirlygal]

Great comments. We are in similar situation and just returned from Allure (similar ages of DH and I to you and your spouse and same with our kids). Sorry that your kids didn't meet the Flowrider and Zipline height requirements...I can see how they would be disappointed. But these ships are amazing for families, and ours in particular loved all the DreamWorks stuff...and sounds like they had a great time in the Adventure Ocean kids club. Thanks for sharing as I'm always interested in others experiences.

 

 

 

That is one of the things I liked about the ship. So many activities available and you can pick and choose to suit your family. We knew going in that the kids would not be able to use the Flowrider and Zipline and were ok with that. We even tried to prepare the kids ahead of time. Oh well.

[Tropikali]

Thanks for posting your review, it actually convinced me to sign up on the site so I could ask a few questions:

 

1. Was there a height restriction for rock climbing?

 

2. Was the kids club ever full, meaning do you have to sign the kids up the second you get on the ship or can you decide on a day-to-day basis?

 

3. (This was my kid's question) Do they still give out medals at the talent show? My kid watched a YouTube video where someone got a medal and is now obsessed with that.

Edited April 19, 2016 by Tropikali

[whirlygal]

Thanks for posting your review, it actually convinced me to sign up on the site so I could ask a few questions:

 

1. Was there a height restriction for rock climbing?

 

2. Was the kids club ever full, meaning do you have to sign the kids up the second you get on the ship or can you decide on a day-to-day basis?

 

3. (This was my kid's question) Do they still give out medals at the talent show? My kid watched a YouTube video where someone got a medal and is now obsessed with that.

 

 

1. For Rock climbing you had to be at least 6 years old. My daughter turned 6, four days before we set sail. I am not sure of a height requirement and to give you an idea, she is 42 inches tall and was fine climbing.

 

2. This was a worry for me too. We did not run into a problem with the sessions having too many kids although I did read on CruiseCritic that some people did have that problem. We heard that there were about 2500 kids under age 12 on the ship (a very high number for them.) my kids mostly did the evening session from 7-10pm. I would say there were about 25-30 there every night.

To sign them up for Adventure Ocean, you fill out a form- the kids name and cabin # and they people who are able to pick them up and cabin #. The rest of the trip was a drop in situation. We did not sign up for a session ahead of time.

At drop off they would look up the kids' stateroom # and sign them in. At pick up, they would look up their stateroom number and confirm we were on the list to pick up. As you check in to the ship, they take your picture to pair with the SeaPass card. That pops up every time it is scanned,and when you pick up the kids.

 

 

3. We did one morning session for the talent show- they combined ages 3-11 for just the talent show. I would say there were about 50 kids there. After every act, the counselor would ask- what does she/he deserve? And the audience yelled "1st prize!" While holding up our finger to show #1. So no trophy during the talent show. But, during the other activities like trivia and gaga and other competitive games there are opportunities to win prizes. My son won a little keychain octopus that they called "Inky." When we picked him up, he was sure to tell them that he was owed a prize.

Also there were other keepsakes. For example they decorated bandannas for the pirate show that they brought home. This was on the second night. They also decorated pillowcases on the last night. Both of these said "Adventure Ocean" on them.

 

Great questions! Please let me know if I can answer any more. I wish I had asked some questions before going on the cruise.

 

******This reminded me of a huge tip I wanted to give to people traveling with kids who plan to sign them up for Adventure Ocean. Before boarding, there is a kiosk to buy lanyards to hold your SeaPass cards. I almost bought them for the kids, but decided to wait until we got on the ship. At Adventure Ocean sign ups they were giving out lanyards (that say Adventure Ocean on them) for Free. The kids wore them everywhere!!*******

[Aggiecruiser01]

Hello! I just came off the Oasis 4/9 sailing and did a lot of searching and reading on CruiseCritic to find answers about traveling with kids. I found some great info, but most over 3 years old so I wanted to post a little about our experience. My hope is that more people chime in with their experiences and/or questions here.

 

First let me start by saying this was our first family cruise. My husband and I cruised together about 10 years ago, as late 20 somethings and found that cruising was not the best vacation for us at the time. We liked to explore places and felt that a few hours per port was not enough for us. Fast forward to this year, where we were searching for an all inclusive beach vacation for our family of 4- my husband and me in our early 40's, an 8 year old boy and a newly 6 year old girl. Somehow it was mentioned to look into a cruise, and before you know it, the Oasis/Allure are on our radar. With so many promising activities, we decided to give cruising another shot. Let's just say this trip exceeded our expectations. We have been to Disney twice, the last time in September 2015, and this trip by far was much more relaxing. I am happy to say it was kid friendly and really felt like a vacation. The kids really enjoyed themselves.

This Review will focus primarily on things kids related and what we did with our family.

 

Adventure Ocean We were very happy with the Adventure Ocean program. It is broken up into age groups. 3-5, 6-8, 9-11. Sometimes they combine the ages if not enough kids were there. A typical schedule for a sailing day are sessions: 9am-12pm, 2pm-5pm, 7pm-10pm. You can opt to send the kids all day, or just for a little bit. If your kids are there during lunch or dinner, they will take the kids for the meal. From 10pm-2am there is a fee of $7 per child per hour.

Each day, they print a page for the day's activities. Most of the time, our kids opted to attend the evening sessions. Or travel agent booked us for the 6pm dining time, because at 6:40pm some Adventure Ocean Counselors gather outside the dining room to pick up the children as we finished our dinner.

We found our wait staff knew nothing about this and the one night we took advantage of it, they missed dessert. (Not a problem in my mind.)

We found all the staff to be wonderful, excited and engaging. They had many team activities inside the main room, but also some outside. Going in, our worry was that they would be cooped up in the room. But we found each night had new activities in a new place. One night, there was a fun Pirate show on the Promenade. They painted the kids faces and did a little march down the Promenade, sang and danced. Another day there was a talent show. Another Evening there was a dance party in Fuel, the Teen club, where Puss in Boots came out to dance with the kids. There were games on the basketball court one night also.

My son was skeptical about going to Adventure Ocean before the trip. My daughter was excited to go. We told them that had to try at least once. Reading the daily flyer about the activities got them excited to go. Both kids had a Blast.

 

Family Activities We found many family activities scheduled on port days and sailing days. We did not take part in the Adventure Science but that looked like fun, Family Karaoke, Family Mini Golf, Family Dancing, Ice skating, Rock Climbing, and a ride on the Merry Go Round.

From 4pm-5pm each night is a Family Fun Carnival on the Boardwalk. This consisted of coloring, small games, and other fun activities. I would say this is best for the little ones- ages 2-5.

 

Character interactions This was an extra bonus that our kids did not seek out, but it was fun to see different Dreamworks characters on the ship. There is also a Character breakfast that you can sign and pay for. My kids were not into it so we opted out.

 

H2O Zone When all else failed, we were at the H20 Zone. Both of my kids loved this area. There is a pool up to 3.5 feet deep and a small splash park. All of this is flanked by a hot tub (the only one I saw kids going in and out no problem) and on the opposite end was a current pool. The current Pool is a circular pool that has a constant current going to make the kids go around and around.

Also nearby was a towel station, pool bar, and of course a frozen yogurt machine. My kids made friends easily in this area, and saw them more than once.

 

Shows Following some advice on Cruise Critic we opted to skip Cats for our kids. I did book 'Frozen in Time,' 'Come Fly With Me' and 'Oasis of Dreams.' before we set sail. They scan your SeaPass card before you walk into the show. We enjoyed all of the shows. But by far their favorite was Oasis of Dreams, and sitting in the front row aka The Splash Zone. Make sure you wear your bathing suits for that- you get very wet.

 

Just an FYI the Zipline and Flowrider have height restrictions and unfortunately my kids were unable to utilize them. Even though we prepared them, my 8 year old was very sad that at 50 inches tall he could use the Flowrider.

 

Food We ate in the Main Dining Room every night for dinner with the exception of one formal night. Most of their meals were preferred at the Wipeout Cafe.

 

Rooms We opted to get adjoining oceanview balcony rooms. This worked very well for our family. We had the adjoining door open the whole trip and well as on the balcony. This meant 2 bathrooms so 2 people could shower at the same time. Also 2 tvs which was great for downtime in the room and keeping the kids separate for a bit. Something I wished we had done on a port day was order breakfast to the room and eaten on the balcony. The kids were in bed by 10/10:30almost every night and I am glad we had the Oceanview balconies vs the Boardwalk ones because its is quiet and private.

Hope this is helpful!

 

Thanks for this post.. we are actually going on the Liberty of the Seas but have a 6 and 8 y/o as well. I'm curious how they will like RCCL as we have sailed Disney the last 2 cruises... But, what is the height restriction for the flowrider!? They've always done them at water parks so I didn't even think about a restriction.. they are 48 and 50 inches. (they will be so sad if they can't do it)

[srk70]

Thanks so much for your review! We are going on the Allure in July with our 8-year-old and are so looking forward to all of the fun activities! She is a tiny 8-year-old (46" tall), so the zip line and FlowRider will definitely be out for her.

 

How was the ice skating? Did you have to sign up in advance for a time or just show up when you wanted to? If it's a "just show up" situation, were there long waits?

[Clarea]

That is one of the things I liked about the ship. So many activities available and you can pick and choose to suit your family. We knew going in that the kids would not be able to use the Flowrider and Zipline and were ok with that. We even tried to prepare the kids ahead of time. Oh well.

This info will be very useful for folks with kids, thanks.

[whirlygal]

Thanks for this post.. we are actually going on the Liberty of the Seas but have a 6 and 8 y/o as well. I'm curious how they will like RCCL as we have sailed Disney the last 2 cruises... But, what is the height restriction for the flowrider!? They've always done them at water parks so I didn't even think about a restriction.. they are 48 and 50 inches. (they will be so sad if they can't do it)

 

I have not been on a Disney cruise, only Disneyworld, but I assume they do not have the Disney touch on RCCL. As long as you go into it thinking that, I think you will be fine.

Taken from the RCCL website: Guests participating in the FlowRider®, for example, must be at least 52"/132 cm tall to use the bodyboard and 58"/147 cm tall to use the flowboard.

So it looks like your kids, like mine will not be able to use the Flowrider this time.

[whirlygal]

Thanks so much for your review! We are going on the Allure in July with our 8-year-old and are so looking forward to all of the fun activities! She is a tiny 8-year-old (46" tall), so the zip line and FlowRider will definitely be out for her.

 

How was the ice skating? Did you have to sign up in advance for a time or just show up when you wanted to? If it's a "just show up" situation, were there long waits?

 

The times for the ice skating are published in the daily Compass. They are in half hour shifts. Our experience went as follows. My husband and son walked up to the entrance of the ice skating about 5 minutes before the session started. They waited on a small line, signed in and were able to do the time slot. Some people had come earlier to sign up for the time slot they wanted. No one had a problem getting in this time slot. They did report ice was crowded. It is not the size of a large ice rink. They went during day 5, after a 2nd port day. This was the 2nd or 3rd day that ice skating was offered.

[whirlygal]

This info will be very useful for folks with kids, thanks.

 

Your comment is much appreciated, especially coming from someone with many posts.

[LuCruise]

That is one of the things I liked about the ship. So many activities available and you can pick and choose to suit your family. We knew going in that the kids would not be able to use the Flowrider and Zipline and were ok with that. We even tried to prepare the kids ahead of time. Oh well.

 

Totally agree. There is so much to do and watch for everyone, and if you miss out on one, there is still tons of other stuff to do.

So guess you'll just have to go back again when your kids are taller. ;)

Btw, my DS was half an inch short for the zipline but they still let him on. Guess it depends on who is there and how strict they are.

[Tropikali]

1. For Rock climbing you had to be at least 6 years old. My daughter turned 6, four days before we set sail. I am not sure of a height requirement and to give you an idea, she is 42 inches tall and was fine climbing.

 

2. This was a worry for me too. We did not run into a problem with the sessions having too many kids although I did read on CruiseCritic that some people did have that problem. We heard that there were about 2500 kids under age 12 on the ship (a very high number for them.) my kids mostly did the evening session from 7-10pm. I would say there were about 25-30 there every night.

To sign them up for Adventure Ocean, you fill out a form- the kids name and cabin # and they people who are able to pick them up and cabin #. The rest of the trip was a drop in situation. We did not sign up for a session ahead of time.

At drop off they would look up the kids' stateroom # and sign them in. At pick up, they would look up their stateroom number and confirm we were on the list to pick up. As you check in to the ship, they take your picture to pair with the SeaPass card. That pops up every time it is scanned,and when you pick up the kids.

 

 

3. We did one morning session for the talent show- they combined ages 3-11 for just the talent show. I would say there were about 50 kids there. After every act, the counselor would ask- what does she/he deserve? And the audience yelled "1st prize!" While holding up our finger to show #1. So no trophy during the talent show. But, during the other activities like trivia and gaga and other competitive games there are opportunities to win prizes. My son won a little keychain octopus that they called "Inky." When we picked him up, he was sure to tell them that he was owed a prize.

Also there were other keepsakes. For example they decorated bandannas for the pirate show that they brought home. This was on the second night. They also decorated pillowcases on the last night. Both of these said "Adventure Ocean" on them.

 

Great questions! Please let me know if I can answer any more. I wish I had asked some questions before going on the cruise.

 

******This reminded me of a huge tip I wanted to give to people traveling with kids who plan to sign them up for Adventure Ocean. Before boarding, there is a kiosk to buy lanyards to hold your SeaPass cards. I almost bought them for the kids, but decided to wait until we got on the ship. At Adventure Ocean sign ups they were giving out lanyards (that say Adventure Ocean on them) for Free. The kids wore them everywhere!!*******

 

Thank you!! This is all stuff that I have been searching for. Like you, I searched the boards for information but most of it seemed old. I heard that the kids club was entertaining, but I'm glad to hear from someone whose kids were actually in it.

 

I'm so glad to hear that my girl will be able to rock climb. I told her and she is excited too!

 

I'm not worried about her not getting a medal or anything, but she really wants to perform in the talent show so I'm happy to hear that they still run it.

 

 

Another couple of questions:

- Do they still have a face painter? I read in a previous thread that they were getting rid of that.

 

- Was there anything your children didn't like about the ship?

Edited April 19, 2016 by Tropikali

[Keith1010]

Excellent review.

 

Keith

[whirlygal]

Thank you!! This is all stuff that I have been searching for. Like you, I searched the boards for information but most of it seemed old. I heard that the kids club was entertaining, but I'm glad to hear from someone whose kids were actually in it.

 

I'm so glad to hear that my girl will be able to rock climb. I told her and she is excited too!

 

I'm not worried about her not getting a medal or anything, but she really wants to perform in the talent show so I'm happy to hear that they still run it.

 

 

Another couple of questions:

- Do they still have a face painter? I read in a previous thread that they were getting rid of that.

 

- Was there anything your children didn't like about the ship?

 

I was hoping that this post would help at least one person, and I am glad it has helped you.

I did not witness a face painter (or balloon person) onboard. I read about them doing away with them too. It seemed like it would have been done on the Boardwalk during the 4-5pm Family Carnival Fun. To be honest we went the second day, and it seemed more for the younger kids and a bit lame for my 6 and 8 yr olds. I think if the face painter and balloon person was there it would be more exciting. We did not go every day after that, so I cannot be sure.

 

What didn't my kids like about the ship....at times I think my 6 yr old was just overwhelmed with so much to do and so much sun. By day 3, which was a port day in Jamaica for us, she needed some down time. We had put a deposit for a resort for a day in Jamaica. But I made the call to stay with her on the ship and relax while my husband and son went to resort. It was the right decision for us. She stayed in and watched some tv. I sat on the balcony and read. I took her to the spa for a pedicure, and we just had a chill out kind of day.

 

Another thing I thought of....all over the ship, they have there little viewfinders with pictures in them. Every time we passed one, my kids had to stop and look in them. A nice touch in my opinion.

[CruisingMom-2016]

Awesome review and very helpful! Will be going in July with my just turned 6 year old and about to be 9 year old (turns 9 2nd day on the ship). Both will be under the height requirements for flow rider / zip line - glad to hear about other things they can be doing.

 

As my son will be turning 9 on day 2 - I wonder which part of kids club he will be in? My daughter will probably not be too happy to be separated - but hopefully they will each make new friends.

[Tropikali]

Awesome review and very helpful! Will be going in July with my just turned 6 year old and about to be 9 year old (turns 9 2nd day on the ship). Both will be under the height requirements for flow rider / zip line - glad to hear about other things they can be doing.

 

As my son will be turning 9 on day 2 - I wonder which part of kids club he will be in? My daughter will probably not be too happy to be separated - but hopefully they will each make new friends.

 

Your son will be in the Voyagers group (ages 9-11) and your daughter will be in the Explorers (6-8 years old). The staff in Adventure Ocean is really good about making all the kids feel included, so I wouldn't worry too much about them be separated. They shouldn't have any problems making new friends.

[douknowme]

Great review!!!! I have a 7 year old, soon to turn 8. All of this is great info to have[emoji846]

 

 

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