Oasis - The Chopped Liver Cruise

[travelgoddess1]

Congratulations on your upgrade. :) Since you state that it is your first, I can assure you, your experience is fairly typical. Unfortunately, your amenities do not always follow you to your new, upgraded accommodations. Having learned this shortcoming in the past, on various other ships, we usually take a proactive attitude and ask the LA for the things we know we are supposed to have. Going into your previous cabin and removing Diamond Plus amenity items on boarding day is problematic, and I can understand the room steward telling you no. Complaining about your upgraded cabin, however, is bad form. You got a nice upgraded cabin that you didn't have to pay extra for. I hope you were able to enjoy it.

[PLEIKU68]

This is a brief review of my December 11 Oasis of the Seas sailing. We are a mature Diamond Plus couple on our 50th cruise – 40th with RCCL – fourth time on Oasis. Number 50 turned out to be lucky in one respect; we received our first ever upgrade from a D4 ocean view balcony to a junior suite. I have heard of first-time cruisers and many others receiving upgrades/upsells, but never us until now. This was great I thought!

 

I only took a few photos with my little point and shoot since I have a gazillion from my past Oasis sailings.

 

I find Port Canaveral a most inconvenient port to cruise from if you are flying in (but yet I have two more booked from there). We did a package with shuttle pickup from MCO, overnight at Hilton Cocoa Beach, shuttle from the Hilton to the cruise port, and transportation from the cruise port back to MCO. Next time I plan to try something different as it is not fun traveling around to four or five different hotels cramped up in a van for an hour or so if you happen to be the last ones out. Post cruise it was a long wait for our bus to show and the representative failed to notify us when the bus arrived as promised. We just happened to inquire and made it on at the last minute.

 

On cruise morning we traveled around to different hotels picking up folks and then to different ships dropping off folks. Just not ideal.

 

 

Cabin:

 

We had junior suite 8630. It was not on the hump and had the smaller balcony. No loungers. The walk-in closets on Oasis class are not as large as Voyager and Freedom class but still a walk-in. It was very quiet until our neighbors went out on their balcony and started yelling. I requested and received an egg crate topper as the bed was extremely hard.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here is what we found as Diamond Plus welcome items when we arrived in our cabin

 

 

ABSOLUTELY NOTHING (except a letter welcoming us as Gold members)!

 

 

 

No Diamond Plus welcome letter

No letter from concierge

No three free drinks paperwork

No invitation to Top Tier Event

No tour invites

No meal with an officer invite

No welcome drinks as selected

No welcome water

No welcome fresh baked cookies

No upgraded toiletries (have never gotten these on any of my several sailings since reaching 340 points)

 

This is when I began asking - what am I, chopped liver?

 

I asked our cabin attendant where our welcome items were and he said he did not know and I needed to go to Guest Services. I asked him to check in the cabin we had initially booked and he said no. I knew not to go to Guest Services and instead waited until the Loyalty Ambassador arrived in late afternoon and got in line to inquire. He showed no concern at all and took notes. Chopped liver.

 

We still received nothing so the next day I spoke to the concierge who showed a little sympathy and took more notes. She did print her letter and a Diamond Plus welcome letter for us. Their excuse was it was due to our upgrade about a week prior to our cruise. Come on, it isn’t rocket science; just go to the booked cabin and move the stuff to the new one. We eventually received our drinks, water, and some cookies that anyone can pick up at the Windjammer. Never received any invitations to anything. Yep, chopped liver.

 

 

 

Chopped Liver : I would think that by now you would realize that they do not want the mature , loyal customer any longer. They want the young families with many kids to spend money. Mature cruisers may cruise more often but we look for the best prices and spend very little on their ships. Now which do you think RCL wants ??.. Now if you were a Pinnacle and was having your food cut, you would love every minute of it and I'm sure say it was deserved for your loyalty. Just sit back and chill or go to an upscale line .

[island lady]

Bob doesn't want you to know it, but he's a closet troll. ;) :D

 

LOL!! I love it when Bob does the rare step out of character. ;) :D

[island lady]

Thanks, I'll be doing another one for Oasis Jan 15th. I'll be a commoner of Central Park for this sailing.

 

Debating if I should carry on the 2am tradition and start posting Saturday "morning".

 

Sent from a mobile device

 

Ah...I am boarding as you are disembarking. Keep her warm for us,

we will wave to you as we arrive! ;)

 

Have a fantabulous cruise! :D

[island lady]

Well! A lot to take in at one time. This will be our first cruise on the Oasis and only our 2nd cruise period. All the concerns I am reading are apparently only regarding to certain "class" members of the Crown & Anchor? Please help as I don't want this cruise to be a flop for my family. What are "D" or "D+" guests, Wow bands, CL or DL decks? We are taking our 2 sons and their wives and 2 young (7 and 4) children and want everybody to enjoy the trip. Any suggestions or tips would be appreciated.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

 

Sorry about that. :( We all tend to forget how overwhelmed we were in the beginning.

Please don't hesitate to ask away. 99% of us are more than happy to help! :)

 

Crown and Anchor levels referred to as "D and D+" are Diamond and Diamond Plus

levels. Each level, starting with Gold (awarded after your first cruise) earns points as

one per night (two per night in a Junior Suite or above). You can sign up for Crown and

Anchor with the Loyalty Ambassador on board. It's free and easy.

 

CL and DL refer to Concierge Lounge and Diamond Lounge. Passengers that have made it

to the Diamond level and above have a dedicated lounge to use that has complimentary

cocktails in the evening, good coffee 24/7 (as long as the machine is working ;)), and

a dedicated concierge crew member to help you with questions, reservations, etc.

The Concierge Lounge (really the same set up as a Diamond Lounge) is for suites

guests that are staying in a Grand Suite and above, plus Diamond Plus and Pinnacle

level members have access also.

 

"SL" refers to the new Suites Lounge which is only Grand Suites and above plus Pinnacles.

Diamonds and Diamond plus would have to be in a full suite to access. The suites lounge is

on only select ships.

 

First and foremost, I know you and your family will have a good time. (No flopping ;)) Relax,

enjoy,and do take the time to explore the ship and ask questions. Have a wonderful cruise! :)

Edited January 8, 2017 by island lady

[krewzin]

Complaining about your upgraded cabin, however, is bad form.

 

 

:rolleyes:Yes, because you received an upgrade the handbook clearly states that you cannot complain.

 

Bad, bad form.

[mra9955]

Chopped Liver : I would think that by now you would realize that they do not want the mature , loyal customer any longer. They want the young families with many kids to spend money. Mature cruisers may cruise more often but we look for the best prices and spend very little on their ships. Now which do you think RCL wants ??.. Now if you were a Pinnacle and was having your food cut, you would love every minute of it and I'm sure say it was deserved for your loyalty. Just sit back and chill or go to an upscale line .

 

 

 

I'm one of those young with kids and money to spend. But am dismayed by what I'm learning are cutbacks. In particular the food cutbacks, even in speciality restaurants, and reductions in staffing that are obvious. We will hit Diamond on an upcoming cruise. We will remain loyal to a Royal for the kids stuff but once my children get older we will definitely move on to a better line. Oddly, the things that mater to me are more soft product and a relatively inexpensive list of things. We only sail in two bedroom suites so it's not that we're perk-less now. They're just so underwhelming relative to the price premium we pay.

 

 

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[troykahack]

Ignore much of the thread. People in here have gone down the rabbit hole and are splitting hairs and fighting about loyalty perks. 99% of this stuff will have no impact on your cruise at all.

 

 

Very well said. So many worry about FREE PERKS and lose site of the enjoyment of their cruise.

 

 

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[travelgoddess1]

:rolleyes:Yes, because you received an upgrade the handbook clearly states that you cannot complain.

 

Bad, bad form.

 

I'm just saying that you can look at the glass half empty or half full. A complimentary cabin upgrade is worth more (if you're keeping track) than a couple of Diamond Plus amenities. Anyone has the right to complain. :rolleyes:

Edited January 8, 2017 by travelgoddess1

[island lady]

Anyone has the right to complain. :rolleyes:

 

Complainers keep CC postings up. ;) :D

Edited January 8, 2017 by island lady

[travelgoddess1]

Complainers keep CC postings up. ;) :D

 

I agree, to a point. Some take the "critic" part very literally. :D

[SherriZ366]

Hi Sherri! Drop me an email after I get back on the 29th. I will give you what info I can. :)

Will do --- I put a tickler on my calendar.

[island lady]

Will do --- I put a tickler on my calendar.

 

Okey..dokey....wish you were joining us! :)

[Big_G]

Congratulations on your upgrade. :) Since you state that it is your first, I can assure you, your experience is fairly typical. Unfortunately, your amenities do not always follow you to your new, upgraded accommodations. Having learned this shortcoming in the past, on various other ships, we usually take a proactive attitude and ask the LA for the things we know we are supposed to have. Going into your previous cabin and removing Diamond Plus amenity items on boarding day is problematic, and I can understand the room steward telling you no. Complaining about your upgraded cabin, however, is bad form. You got a nice upgraded cabin that you didn't have to pay extra for. I hope you were able to enjoy it.

 

We upgraded twice before one cruise and it was no surprise that my tuxedo didn't show up in our cabin. I called GS and when it finally showed up it had all three cabin numbers written on the tag. The tailor was out of breath when he delivered it so I'm guessing he had to retrieve it from it from our second choice cabin. :D

[Big_G]

Although the title may have signaled otherwise, I didn't get the impression that the C&A snafu ruined their cruise. The review seemed to be pretty balanced but that just my opinion.

[travelgoddess1]

Although the title may have signaled otherwise, I didn't get the impression that the C&A snafu ruined their cruise. The review seemed to be pretty balanced but that just my opinion.

 

The "chopped liver" phrase told me a different story.

[SherriZ366]

Okey..dokey....wish you were joining us! :)

We wish we were sailing with you too. Maybe we can coordinate in the future.

[mek]

No offense, but how can you go on 40 RC cruises and still like it?

 

I have been on over 20 voyages, 8 with RC and am almost done with cruises.

 

Not just because of the cut-backs, but the repetition & similarity.

 

They are almost a disappointment.

 

Most are the same. And the ports have become mundane.

 

Its not like they are going anywhere new.

 

I cancelled 2 future cruises, but kept the Harmony because I already had airfare for the exact dates.

 

You should check out the AI instead.

 

Now that my kids are getting a little older, we are doing other types of trips....

 

 

 

 

I'm feeling the same as you. We returned from a cruise on HAL last month that was less than satisfying and as you can see from my signature, I'm taking a break.

 

I don't have any interest in AI's though because the thought of staying in one place for a week is not my idea of fun.

 

I'm having a hip replaced in March, so part of me staying home has to do with that and recovery, but I do have some things on my bucket list that don't involve cruising and I think it's time to do those.

 

Maybe I'll feel differently by fall, then again I may not.

Edited January 10, 2017 by mek

[island lady]

We wish we were sailing with you too. Maybe we can coordinate in the future.

 

Sounds like a good plan! :)

[NuovaVita]

Random Shots:

 

 

 

Lovely Solalrium

 

 

 

To the Windjammer

 

 

 

Beautiful Central Park at night

 

 

 

General:

 

Voom was pretty good.

 

Debarkation was good. We used luggage valet and opted to depart about 7:30 a.m. The wait to go through customs wasn’t too long but the wait for our bus back to the airport was.

 

We are easy going and don’t require coddling. We always find a way to have a good time despite the kinks. I must say, however, the failure of Crown and Anchor to recognize us and the lack of interest in correcting the situation was quite a turnoff. Therefore I dub thee “The Chopped Liver Cruise.”

Great photos! Thanks for sharing them with us.