Star Class on Oasis of the Seas Western Caribbean May 7-14 2016

[mkbruce]

Wanting to get away from daily working life for a week, my wife and I started looking at how we could easily do a one-week cruise. Living just outside Austin, TX, we looked at driving to Galveston and sailing on Liberty of the Seas, but the staterooms available for our early May timeframe (before schools let out for the summer) were uninspiring. We started looking at where we could get to on a non-stop flight. This led to finding the May 7 sailing of the Oasis of the Seas, which had an available SKy Loft Suite (1720). After doing some more research, seeing pictures of the suite and its balcony, and learning about Royal Suite Class, we were sold. We booked the cruise through our local warehouse club and got ~a 10% cruise fare OBC. We ended up adding a close friend as a third passenger for a very reasonable price, and increase in OBC.

 

We are in our 40s with no kids and normally cruise about once per year, usually longer itineraries on Celebrity and Crystal and have never been on an Oasis class ship. We are Diamond C&A members as reciprocal from Celebrity.

 

 

We flew in to FLL the day before departure, stayed at the Embassy Suites on 17th (should have picked Hyatt Place instead - Embassy Suites is a bit tired and overpriced). Had dinner at Gilbert's 17 Street Grill - highly recommended both for the food and service.

 

Our Genie had been in contact via email about one week before departure to figure out if we had any special requests, what we like to do, etc. (I posted the actual email a couple of weeks ago). We also got an email regarding the Loop messaging service (more on that later). We made arrangements with the Genie to meet at the terminal at 11:30 for an escorted embarkation. The Genie told us to not give our bags to the porters and that they should know what "Star Class" meant. We arrived ~10 minutes early and found the porters a little too eager to take our bags - they insisted that we didn't know what we were doing, but we didn't relent. I tried to contact our Genie via Loop, but got no response. We did find a very helpful man outside the terminal an ex-captain from RCCL who is now retired) who got us to the right place with the right porter - the Suites entrance to Terminal 18. If you have a Star Class suite, go straight here with your luggage. Once there, it was smooth sailing. The three suite classes (Star, Sky, and Sea) are split into two - Sky and Sea queue up (albeit a short line) and go through the metal detectors and check-in, while Star class goes to the front of the line at both security and check-in. Luggage is taken by a special porter for screening and brought directly to the suite.

 

Once checked in, we were taken upstairs where we met our Genie. He handed us our keycards and escorted us onboard. The Genie's keycard let him commandeer an elevator and take us directly to Deck 17 and our awaiting suite. From the suites entrance to the terminal to entering the suite was all of 10 minutes and our luggage arrived 5 minutes later.

 

One bonus of this sailing was the Fort Lauderdale Air Show taking place on the beach. Our suite was on the port side and faced the ocean, so we were able to watch the entire show right from our balcony. We had asked the Genie for binoculars and they were waiting for us in the suite. Turns out we didn't need them as many of the planes passed directly over the ship. The US Air Force Thunderbirds were particularly impressive with the solo planes making many passes not more than 500 feet above the ship.

 

The Genie came back later in the day to review our itinerary of dining and shows for the week. He had planned our dining in the various specialty restaurants based on our preferences. He also asked us where we would like to sit for shows. He had PDF diagrams of all the venues and reserved us exactly the seats we asked for. The only venue where this was not possible was the comedy show - but we did get reservations.

 

Muster was held in the Silk restaurant (Deck 4 or 5 - not sure - we never went there again). The Genie had also arranged a spa appointment for my wife, so after muster she went off to be beaten up by a small Philippine woman. Our friend and I wasted no time in locating the Suite Lounge and our best friend for the week - Wesley the bartender. We asked for a particular brand of bourbon, which he didn't have at the time. He promised he would have it the next day, along with a few others, and he delivered. Best. Bartender. Ever.

 

Dinner was at Coastal Kitchen - very good food, but a somewhat limited menu. I don't know if it changed throughout the week. After dinner, we went to see Come Fly With Me in the theater. We had made arrangements to meet the Genie outside, but when we showed up, he wasn't there. I tried to Loop message him, but got no response.... However, a friendly staff member saw us and took us to the reserved seats. Show was decent, but not really our taste (we don't tend to like musical productions).

 

To be continued.....

[mkbruce]

Next day was a sea day on route to Labadee. We ordered room service breakfast which was delivered by friendly staff in 30-45 minutes. Coffee was pretty horrible, but nothing that a quick trip to the suite lounge for a cappuccino couldn't fix. We stopped ordering coffee from room service after that. There was a suite reception with officers in the Suite Lounge that morning. My friend and I went, had a glass of champagne and sat around for 20-30 minutes. The officers didn't mingle at all - they seemed to find someone they already knew and talk to them the entire time. Not a big deal, but made the whole event pointless.

 

We went to lunch at Vintages, having a couple of glasses of wine and some tapas. We were surprised that the tapas were not included with Star Class. We asked our Genie about it and he confirmed. He offered to comp us, but we declined. It just seemed a little odd that this one venue was not included.

 

That afternoon we had a small cocktail party in the Royal Loft Suite with some friends from CC. We did a cabin crawl amongst our cabins and got to see the Owners Loft Suite, Grand Loft Suite and Sky Loft Suite. The Star Class 'hand crafted cocktails' provided the libations. It consists of a bar cart that makes rounds to the Star Class suites every day between 3 and 5 (you Genie can have them come at a specified time). The menu is fixed (7-8 choices), but the three or four that I tried were all delicious. One drink per person....

 

That night was formal night and we had reservations for Chef's Table. Food and wine pairings were excellent, with the possible exception of the dessert martini and accompanying dessert. Overall a good experience and included with Star Class at no extra cost.

 

 

The next morning we awoke in Labadee - the only ship in port. We again had breakfast on the balcony. Around 11 or so we walked ashore and wandered over to the suite beach. Can't say that I was a huge fan - lounge chairs packed so tight it was hard to see the sand. Frankly it's too small to accommodate the number of people. We found a couple of chairs under a nice shade tree and relaxed with a cocktail. While the ship bar staff provides bar service on Labadee the selection is a bit limited. The only frozen drink available is the Labadoozle. We had lunch at Barefoot Beach - standard beach BBQ - although all overcooked. The fish was the texture of chicken. After lunch, we walked around a bit and headed back to the ship. The beaches are definitely nicer on the Barefoot Beach/Columbus Cove side than the Adrenaline Beach side, but Adrenaline Beach had a much nicer sea breeze. I definitely preferred Coco Cay over Labadee - much more room to spread out and plenty of hammocks strung between palm trees on Coco Cay. Didn't see a single hammock on Labadee.

 

We had dinner at Izumi (sushi side). Good quality sushi and excellent service. With Izumi being al-a-carte pricing, the way Star Class works there is that you get $30 per person applied towards the bill. Anything over that you pay for yourself. We had a good amount of sushi and left with a $35 tab for three people. Later that night we went to the the comedy show. Again, the Genie said he would meet us outside the venue, but didn't. I didn't bother trying to contact him. The comedy show was pretty good - the host was hilarious, while the two performers were a little hit and miss.

 

Falmouth, Jamaica was next. We slept in, had breakfast in the suite - this time they forgot multiple items we ordered, but quickly fixed their mistakes. The weather was a bit iffy - very humid and on the verge of raining, so we just went ashore briefly to shop a little. That evening we had dinner at Giovanni's. The Osso Bucco was fantastic, as were most of the other dishes we tried. No cost for Star Class, other than the bottle of Brunello we ordered.

 

The Genie must have realized we were having a hard time connecting with him. That day he gave us a cordless phone like the staff uses so that we could contact him directly. We didn't use it much, but it was an acknowledgment that Loop wasn't working the way it was intended for either side. It turns out that the Genies could only get Loop messages on their laptops, which isn't particularly convenient or timely. Expect some changes coming with Loop as the current system is not really usable in its current form while onboard.

 

Rain fell as we left Falmouth, but it quickly cleared for the next day at sea. Our original schedule called for a tour of the bridge at 9:30 on the sea day, but the Genie called us the day before and said that all bridge tours except the All Access Tour were cancelled due to an "audit". We didn't think anything else of it until we found out that our friends in other Star Class suites all went on bridge tours that day. In fact, there were tours at 9:00 and 9:30 that day and neither was the All Access Tour. At that point we were ready to ditch the Genie, but gave him the benefit of doubt that he may have been lied to as well. We didn't ask what really happened. Not really a big deal, but we were genuinely disappointed.

 

We had lunch at the Izumi hibachi side. We had the same great waiter from sushi a couple of nights before. Food was good, but the presentation a bit canned (as are pretty much all restaurants like this). Dinner was at Chops. We all ordered filets - two medium rare and one rare. I ordered mine rare in order to get something closer to medium rare that I really wanted. It was still overcooked - somewhere between medium rare and medium. However the meat was quite tender so I didn't send it back. The medium rare filets came solid medium. The waiter noticed they were a bit overcooked and offered to remake them, but we declined. The thick-cut bacon appetizer was as good as I was hoping for - don't miss it. Again, no cost for Star Class. Dry aged steaks are also included.

 

To be continued.......

[mkbruce]

Cozumel was up next. I had chosen to go scuba diving (I don't think I have ever stepped off the pier in Cozumel - always straight onto a dive boat). I booked through RCCL excursions who uses Sand Dollar Sports. They are a quality dive operator using modern boats. Friendly and helpful staff, good diving - what more can you ask for. If I had to complain, it would be on the size of the boat - a bit larger than I would like, but since it wasn't full (maybe 60%), it meant more space for everyone. I could imagine it being a bit of a zoo when at 100% capacity. Highlight of the first dive was a 5-6 foot nurse shark just having a nap on the bottom. She slowly swam off as our group passed. At the end of our second dive a rather large eagle ray circled below us as we waited for the boat to pick us up. For scuba, Cozumel doesn't disappoint.

 

For dinner, we went to 150 Central Park. I had high hopes going in, but the first course was a huge disappointment - we described it as mayonaise and coffee grounds...... it was pickled beets and olives on al-dente quinoa with some white sauce. The second course was a butternut squash soup with toasted pumpkin seeds. Both dishes were just trying too hard to be unique and different and neither worked. We did do the wine pairing option (included with Star Class), and the wines were definitely good by themselves and as matches to the food - it was just the food that didn't rate. Next was a fish course (cod) that was tasty, followed by a meat course (beef tenderloin, if I remember correctly). Both of these were quite good, especially with the wine pairings (a Chablis and a California Cabernet, if I remember correctly). Dessert was unremarkable, but the ice wine pairing was excellent. 150 Central Park changes menus mid-week - I would suggest going early in the week for the seemingly better menu.

 

One last day at sea. Perhaps seeking to make up for the bridge tour f-up, our Genie had arranged for a small galley tour with just a handful of people. It was quite interesting and personal with an executive sous chef walking us through. The others in the tour didn't seem interested at all, but we enjoyed it. We also got a private tour of the workings of the Aqua Theater with their production manager. He showed us all the technical aspects of the pool, platforms, diving boards, lighting, rigging, safety, etc. Really cool.

 

Dinner on the last night was at the Solarium Bistro. Food was quite good and the space itself really neat, especially at night. It wasn't crowded at all and the service was excellent. Cover charge was again included with Star Class.

 

During the day, our Genie met with us to discuss disembarkation. We chose to do Luggage Valet (no cost for suite guests) - fantastic. After putting our luggage out at 11P on the last day, the next time we saw it was back in Austin. Highly recommmended. The plan was for us to meet in Vintages for breakfast (unique to Star Class) and do an escorted disembarkation at 9:00.

 

Breakfast at Vintages was nothing special - just some cold sandwiches, granola, coffee, fruit, but it was nice, quiet, and private. At 9:00 we walked out with the Genie, past the lines of people waiting to get off the ship. The gangway was closed due to crowding in the terminal, but we walked right past it, down the gangway, and up to an empty customs/immigration officer. We said goodbye to the Genie and went out the door. From leaving Vintages to getting in the cab for the airport was 10 minutes top. In another 10 minutes, we were at FLL Terminal 3 and through security (thank you TSA PreCheck!). Our friend was flying SouthWest from Terminal 1 and he wasn't allowed to go through security until 3 hours prior to his flight. Terminal 3 didn't have this restriction.

 

 

Summary coming next.....

[mkbruce]

Overall, RCCL has created a nice product with the introduction of Royal Suite Class and its top tier Star Class. The Star Class suites are fantastic and the all-inclusive nature of the program is very nice. Staff that knew about Star Class and recognized the dark purple card couldn't do enough to please you, but there are still many onboard who had no idea it even existed or what it was. RCCL set the expectations of Star Class pretty high, and struggled a bit to meet them. But, as with anything new, there are growing pains that will subside with time.

 

This leads to a 'awesome, good, not-so-good, and bad' conclusion:

 

Awesome:

- assisted embarkation and disembarkation

- Deck 17 suites

- Suite staff (loft attendant Zerwin and his assistant were amazing - best of the best)

- Suite Lounge (bar tender Wesley is a rock star)

- the ship itself (the sheer size is unimaginable)

- all-inclusive nature of Star Class (gratuities, speciality dining, drink packages, internet, mini-bar, etc.)

- reserved seats at shows

 

Good:

- food at speciality restaurants

- ship maintenance - looks pretty much new

- Genie assisted itinerary (really nothing a concierge coulnd't do)

 

Not so good:

- value add of Genie other than the above is marginal

- crowds in common areas

- some food (trying too hard to be chic and overcooking of meats)

- wine selection by the glass

 

Bad:

- noise everywhere, particularly from flow-riders (if you want quiet, don't even think about booking an aft-facing suite on Deck 17)

- Loop system

 

 

Star Class is a step above the standard RCCL cruise product. It's not quite at the level of Celebrity full suites with butler service, nor is it anywhere near the standard Crystal experience, but it is a definite big step towards a more luxury experience. Would we do it again? Yes, but not on an Oasis class ship - it's just too big and too many people. If this were rolled out on some of the smaller ships, we would be all in, but for now we'll likely stick with Celebrity and Crystal.

[PompeySailor]

Thanks for taking the time to report on the Star Class experience

Perfectly detailed

Answered a lot of the questions I no longer need to ask

 

Thanks again :)

Happy Days!

[Clarea]

Excellent report, thanks.

[reallyitsmema]

Thanks for sharing your experience. We were on the same sailing and loved how all the US planes made a pass over the US Navy ships to salute them. My DH got a great picture of the Joint Strike Fighter during its salute.

[bertrande]

Thank you for this. We are booked on Sky class on the Harmony and Star class on the Oasis and this report was very informative. Our next few cruises are all in suites (with the exception of Crystal where we are in the Penthouse Verandah) so it will be a nice exercise in comparison.

[crusinthrough]

 

 

 

Awesome:

 

- Deck 17 suites

 

- Suite staff (loft attendant Zerwin and his assistant were amazing - best of the best

 

 

 

Bad:

 

- noise everywhere, particularly from flow-riders (if you want quiet, don't even think about booking an aft-facing suite on Deck 17

 

 

I also had Zerwin as an attendant. I agree, he was awesome!

 

I was in a L2 starboard side (above golf course) and thought it was a bit noisier than usual outside. If Sitting downstairs, the balcony door had to be closed and locked to keep out most of the noise. However, upstairs I heard nothing. The sounds I heard were mostly from someone using a loud speaker.

 

I have not had this issue before.

[reallyitsmema]

Do either of you know what happened to the family in the Royal Loft Suite whose kid was throwing stuff down into the aqua theatre during the top tier event? We saw the Captain looking up to one of the balconies after a hat landed on stage, then a ball or something landed in the back rows and something else at the base of the rock climbing wall. The Captain had been waiting to be introduced by Drew but went back up the stairs and spoke to another officer who got on his radio. I never saw anyone on that balcony again.

[terkov]

HI, thanks for the review. I am hoping some kinks get worked out by our 8/21 sailing on the allure.

We are in 1720 on the allure (which I understand is almost the same as the oasis) and was promised we would not hear any noise from the golf or flow rider.

Now I am worried...... also not sure I love hear your genie was not where he said he would be? I don't need him/her to meet me everywhere, but IF you say you will be somewhere, I do expect you to be there....

[PompeySailor]

Do either of you know what happened to the family in the Royal Loft Suite whose kid was throwing stuff down into the aqua theatre during the top tier event? We saw the Captain looking up to one of the balconies after a hat landed on stage, then a ball or something landed in the back rows and something else at the base of the rock climbing wall. The Captain had been waiting to be introduced by Drew but went back up the stairs and spoke to another officer who got on his radio. I never saw anyone on that balcony again.

 

They must of been able to throw a very very long way

The RLS is no where near the aqua theater:eek:

 

Edit: if it was a kid who was staying in the RLS but near the aqua theater, then less further to throw :)

Edited May 17, 2016 by PompeySailor

[reallyitsmema]

They must of been able to throw a very very long way

The RLS is no where near the aqua theater:eek:

 

LOL What is the suite at the top corner of the boardwalk then? If you are sitting in the aqua theatre, it would be the one on the left top.

 

Edit: Looks to be an aqua theatre suite.

Edited May 17, 2016 by reallyitsmema

[PompeySailor]

LOL What is the suite at the top corner of the boardwalk then? If you are sitting in the aqua theatre, it would be the one on the left top.

 

Edit: Looks to be an aqua theatre suite.

 

One of the A4 ATS 14330 or 14730:)

Or lowest 8330 or 8730

Edited May 17, 2016 by PompeySailor

[RFerrington]

They must of been able to throw a very very long way

The RLS is no where near the aqua theater:eek:

 

Edit: if it was a kid who was staying in the RLS but near the aqua theater, then less further to throw :)

 

Not just a long throw, but one hell of a curve ball, to boot.

 

:)

[reallyitsmema]

One of the A4 ATS 14330 or 14730:)

Or lowest 8330 or 8730

 

Most likely 14730. We never saw anyone on that balcony again when we were at Ocean of Dreams or at other events in the aqua theatre.

[TrojanUSC]

Do either of you know what happened to the family in the Royal Loft Suite whose kid was throwing stuff down into the aqua theatre during the top tier event? We saw the Captain looking up to one of the balconies after a hat landed on stage, then a ball or something landed in the back rows and something else at the base of the rock climbing wall. The Captain had been waiting to be introduced by Drew but went back up the stairs and spoke to another officer who got on his radio. I never saw anyone on that balcony again.

 

There's no way for something thrown out of the Royal Loft Suite to reach the Aqua Theater. Your views from that suite are basically the basketball court/flower rider and the ocean. Further, you have the entire length of the boardwalk standing between you and the theater stage.

[reallyitsmema]

There's no way for something thrown out of the Royal Loft Suite to reach the Aqua Theater. Your views from that suite are basically the basketball court/flower rider and the ocean. Further, you have the entire length of the boardwalk standing between you and the theater stage.

 

I already acknowledged I made a mistake in identifying the suite.

[mkbruce]

HI, thanks for the review. I am hoping some kinks get worked out by our 8/21 sailing on the allure.

We are in 1720 on the allure (which I understand is almost the same as the oasis) and was promised we would not hear any noise from the golf or flow rider.

Now I am worried...... also not sure I love hear your genie was not where he said he would be? I don't need him/her to meet me everywhere, but IF you say you will be somewhere, I do expect you to be there....

 

You will definitely hear music from the flow riders and announcements during ping pong and minigolf events. While on the balcony it will be loud, but the doors seal noise quite well.

 

Yeah - meeting the Genie at appointed times became a bit of a running joke for us, but it wasn't really a big deal. We are low maintenance and don't need handholding.

[Hotel CA]

Informative review--greatly appreciated, thanks

[drdestructo]

Thank you for your detailed review. We have booked a Sky Loft on Allure next year and was interested in your experience.

[douknowme]

Do you know if Sky Class can also use the Suite entrance at the terminal?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[mkbruce]

I already acknowledged I made a mistake in identifying the suite.

 

Do you know if Sky Class can also use the Suite entrance at the terminal?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

 

Yes - all suites

[crusinthrough]

I already acknowledged I made a mistake in identifying the suite.

 

 

I was on the Boardwalk taking pictures and a ball came down from above. It hit a Johnny Rockets table. Everyone looked up and security came but I don't know what happened afterwards.

[maryjaden]

Thank you for writing this wonderful review. I hope they roll out a similar program on some of the smaller ships.