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Oasis of the Seas 9/3/16 Trip Report

aubreyc1988

By aubreyc1988,
in Royal Caribbean International

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MikeBTN

MikeBTN

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You had to pay for a meal in the MDR? Seriously? Is this the norm on RC and do you have to pay for other meals? a bread roll? We're booked on our first RC cruise next month and I'm beginning to think we're paying a lot of money for a cruise with no meals.

 

You have an entire thread where 30+ people have answered this question already. You seem to not want to listen. Stop TRYING to have a bad time on your cruise!

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MikeBTN

MikeBTN

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There is lobster for SURE on the second formal night. I didn't dine in the MDR on the first one, but I am fairly sure they only offer it for free on the second formal night.

 

You can get the upcharge one on any of the nights, even formal nights, the upcharge items stay on the menu every night.

 

If you want lobster/a good filet but don't want to pay the Chops cover charge, I would pay the fee while dining in the MDR. It's cheaper, and the ambience is the same, not much difference I would assume and would save some $$

 

Chops is now anywhere from $40-$46 per person on Oasis now. You'll save at least 50% by just ordering the filet or lobster in the MDR. Probably what I'll do :-)

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Clarea

Clarea

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I've read there is lobster on one of the formal nights. Is there an upcharge on this night or only if you want lobster on other nights?

No upcharge for lobster tail when it is offered on one night of the cruise.

 

There is an upcharge for whole Maine lobster, which is available all nights.

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aubreyc1988 Great Review Rare

aubreyc1988

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Chops is now anywhere from $40-$46 per person on Oasis now. You'll save at least 50% by just ordering the filet or lobster in the MDR. Probably what I'll do :-)

 

Yeah I would recommend that. I had a free dinner at chops, but if I was paying, I'd just order the filet or lobster for the fee in the MDR instead of paying the cover charge.

 

AND if you go to Chops expecting there to be a lobster on the menu included with your cover charge, there is none, you have to pay a fee on TOP of the Chops Cover Charge to get the whole lobster or lobster of any kind in Chops Grille

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aubreyc1988

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Random thoughts, comments, musings, etc

 

This section will be about random thoughts, comments, etc about Royal Caribbean as a cruise line and Oasis of the Seas ship in their fleet, as well as sort of comparing them to what we have experienced on NCL recently.

 

Design of the Oasis Class

 

One big thing that stands out to be in design of ships. You never really feel crowded and the layout is *so* well done. I find this to be true for most Royal Caribbean ships, especially Freedom Class and Oasis Class.

 

My only critique is that I dislike the windjammer pods instead of the multiple buffet lines, like NCL has. But a buffet is hard to design so you don’t feel crowded, so not a lot of points taken off for that.

 

Casino Thoughts

 

I absolutely love that the casino is on Deck 4, kind of tucked away. If you enter on deck 4 instead of the promenade, there is a hallway which also helps in making sure the smoke smell doesn’t trail out of the casino to other areas that passengers are using. There was only one or two times in the casino that I felt like it was “pretty smokey” and even those times were not bad. The split in the middle separation actually did an OK job at making the non smoking side of the casino less smokey. If you are SUPER sensitive to smoke, you will still smell it, but it is in NO WAY as bad as we experienced it on NCL Getaway/Escape. A quick note about slot machines on the Oasis: they are in need of some TLC and some of the reels are pretty sad looking and a TON of old machines that need to be swapped out. We played bit of roulette, and were surprised they do allow you to do 1.00 min bets. *hint* Play the European Roulette, as it has slightly better odds. Some of the staff working at the tables were not very…pleasant. Like if I smiled at them, they just kinda stared back at me. If I said hi, how are you doing, it was even more awkward, haha.

 

Solarium

 

Another thought about the layout is that the Solarium layout is well done. It was almost always nice and breezy back there, except maybe when in port. I love that there is a nice sized little 3ft pool there, which NCL and Carnival are missing on a lot of their ships in the adults only area. I love the sheer number of hot tubs as well. Perfect design and lovely spot to chill.

 

That brings to me to CHAIR HOGS. I don’t know if this was just on my particular cruise, but I was SHOCKED at the LACK of chair hogs. at 10am on a sea day, easy to find a chair ANYWHERE on the Oasis, even by the pool. Always padded chairs and loungers available in the Solarium. When we sailed on NCL Getaway/Escape, it’s the complete opposite. I think it’s just that the Oasis has a more thought out design. NCL Escape is 4,266 at double occupancy, and Oasis is 5,400, but I definitely felt the crowds WAY more on Escape and Getaway. So if you are reading this review and worry that the Oasis of the Seas is too crowded, take that into consideration. Lots of pools and hot tubs to accommodate everyone

 

Gratuities

 

I know this topic breeds controversy, but I simply have to bring it up. My husband and I leave all of our tips in place. We are fine with paying 18% on drinks, specialty dining, etc. However, I did feel like Oasis/Royal Caribbean was very “18% happy”. They wanted 18% on all bar glassware, even though I had the beverage package and paid the 18% on that and just wanted the actual GLASS. It was confusing in specialty dining like Sabor/Chops if it was included, at least for us. Since we had the free dinner at Chops, all it said on the Gratuity line was 0.00. So I ended up tipping extra at each venue, but in Sabor and Chops, the gratuity IS included, even if you get a free meal from your TA. The tipping extra didn’t bother me, as service was good, but just thought it was worth mentioning. I also got the Cafe Select card for Starbucks and they charge 18% on that, which I think they shouldn’t charge for, because Starbucks on land, tipping your barista is optional. Also, not a big deal to me, but thought it was worth mentioning. I probably did more extra tipping and paid more in tips than I ever have before on a cruise and I always leave the auto tips in place. But now I know which venues include it, so I am better informed :) Also, if you go to Labadee, before you get off the ship they will tell you that ALL you need is your sea pass card, no cash needed. But this isn’t true. Local vendors I believe accept cash only, AND there are guys that drag chairs out for you who “Expect a tip”. Like I said, I normally don't bring up tips in a review, but hopefully this info helps someone in planning. Bring lots of 1.00 bills, esp

 

Best moments of our cruise

 

The QUEST was so awesome! We’ve done it before, on RCI and on NCL, and this one was by FAR the best one we’ve ever attended. Had a lot of excited energy at ours and it was a blast! Laughed so hard. Also the Ice Show and Aqua show were fantastic. Royal Caribbean really does WOW with their entertainment. San Juan was also a big high point for me, as it was my first time at San Juan and there’s that “First time at a port” excitement

 

Favorite Foods

 

We loved grabbing pizza at Sorrentos! We even ditched Formal Night Number 1 in favor of some pizza and drinks. I liked these beef taco rolls they served in the Windjammer on the day we were in Labadee. The bread/pastries in the Windjammer were also fresh and soft. Promenade snacks were all better than I anticipated. The cheesecake on a stick was good, as well as the cookies. Try doing breakfast at the promenade if you want a light one, the pastries are all flakey and good

 

Overall Impression of Oasis and Royal Caribbean

 

While I feel like the overall level of “deliciousness” of the food could be amped up considerably (and this could be due to the new menus), I was really impressed with Royal Caribbean and Oasis of the Seas. We had a fairly long gap since we last cruised Royal and I think our next few cruises will be with Royal Caribbean, because they continue to exceed in areas we find really important: Shows, Service, Layout of Ships.

 

Let me know if you have any other questions about Oasis or my thoughts on kind of comparing with NCL

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BillOh Holiday Sharing Rare

BillOh

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Shows/Entertainment Cont...

 

Cats

 

I had my husband tell me what he thought of Cats, because after the first 10 minutes, I went back to my stateroom to sleep :P But he stuck it out.

 

I stuck out the entire show of Cats, but I am also a marathoner, so I'm use to hours of punishment. I also enjoyed "Come fly with me" Regarding the Quest, who was the CD? Our quest last May was pretty good, but was tempered by an over zealous lady to injured her knee trying to be first.

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aubreyc1988 Great Review Rare

aubreyc1988

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A very nice review. I see you fell in LOVE with San Juan! :)

 

Oh absolutely, can't wait to go back, there is SO much we didn't get to do, 7am-2pm is simply not enough time to stay there. I would have preferred staying there longer and just not going to Labadee.

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aubreyc1988 Great Review Rare

aubreyc1988

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I stuck out the entire show of Cats, but I am also a marathoner, so I'm use to hours of punishment. I also enjoyed "Come fly with me" Regarding the Quest, who was the CD? Our quest last May was pretty good, but was tempered by an over zealous lady to injured her knee trying to be first.

 

 

Patricio was the CD, he was OK, but I think the people who came were high energy and also helped!

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MikeBTN

MikeBTN

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Oh absolutely, can't wait to go back, there is SO much we didn't get to do, 7am-2pm is simply not enough time to stay there. I would have preferred staying there longer and just not going to Labadee.

 

Next time sail from San Juan and do a Southern route. Then you can spend an extra day or two in San Juan :-)

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aubreyc1988

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Excellent job on the review, Aubrey. Thanks for taking the time to do it. We're looking forward to our Oasis cruise ... only 577 days away. :eek: Thank goodness we have Liberty before then. :D

 

I look forward to your liberty review, as we live in Dallas and that would be an easy cruise for us :D

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aubreyc1988

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Thanks for doing this review! This is the itinerary I will be on in 527 days. It will also be our first time in San Juan and on the Oasis. We were already excited but this review just upped it even more!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

 

you guys will have a blast on Oasis! 527 days is such a long time but it will be here before you know it!

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