Is Bigger Always Better? - Oasis of the Seas March 12 2017 Review

[CanadaCathi]

We've had good luck with their shuttle, but the thing to keep in mind is they offer parking for locals who use the same shuttle, so when there are 3 or 4 ships in port you need to get out there 15 minutes ahead of time and make sure they know you are there. On the flip side, my last trip, we were on Majesty and it was the only ship in port, that was easy!

We were out early, let them know, and kept getting passed up. Maybe I should give them another chance, maybe it was a one-time thing. I will forgive them very easily.

[CanadaCathi]

Since you visited the Park Cafe, did you not notice that you could get flavored specialty coffees in there with your RR package???? We are just off the Oasis and went there every morning!! Delicious!! I handed the very handsome young man behind the counter $1 every morning and he always gave me double shots!! Fantastic wake-up!! Loving your review!! Thanks!! I booked a "girls" cruise for 3 of us in a JS next February on Oasis!!

 

What the... ?

 

NO! See, this is why a forum like this is so super helpful. There are so many little 'tricks' and insider tips! Like, I have never been to the MDR for lunch, but one day I walked past and saw a buffet in there that looked GORGEOUS. I was like, WHAT THE ACTUAL HELL?! There's just so much!

 

Omg love the idea of a girls cruise, that's brilliant! You're going to have so much fun!

[CanadaCathi]

Ok, so here we are, ready to explore the ship a little...

 

 

Yes, yes, she’s massive and gorgeous and it’s all just breathtaking and whatever. It’s not Disney-cruise-fancy, but we’re not fancy people, so we think she’s purty. One of Jenny’s very favorite things was coming across a new ‘small wonder’ – such a neat idea (example to follow).

The ship has several different areas; you’ve already seen Central Park. There’s also the Promenade, pretty standard and almost identical to Freedom’s, and a place I just mostly like to avoid, and then there's The Boardwalk.

 

 

I originally thought we’d hang out more at the Boardwalk rather than Central Park, so that was interesting; while people certainly do hang out there, it doesn’t have that peace and serenity of the park. It’s more for people watching. I got to see directly up a woman’s dress, which was terrific; she had a Boardwalk balcony cabin and was sitting outside and I’m assuming didn’t realize that everyone she could see, could see her. Lots of her. At least I didn’t see any nekkid people, like I’ve heard often happens, so I’m grateful for that.

 

 

It is kind of a neat area, but definitely a tease; Jenny was like, ‘Why don’t they actually HAVE these things?’, referring to some of the carnival signage. I don’t like to pay extra for stuff so we didn’t visit the ice cream place, but Jenny did drag me into the shop and I was forced to buy her an ‘Alex’ stuffy and picked up my usual souvenir, a ship ornament. We also never rode the carousel, I guess the kid was too old for it and I was too sober.

 

Dog House - review to follow

 

Johnny Rockets – Review to follow

 

I want to be BIG!

 

More On… the Drink Package

 

I’m going to be really straight up here, I just plain love to drink. I don’t appreciate fancy expensive wine or micro brews, but if it requires a blender or a garnish or rimmer, I’m there. I really tried this trip to get through all the Drink of the Day specials for y’all, but didn’t make it,I’m so sorry. So that being said, here’s why I DON’T get the ‘drinky-drink’ package, or what I like to call ‘Mama drinks’; it’s just too much. I might get a cocktail or two poolside, and a glass of wine with dinner, but other than that I’m not binge-drinking all day long. Plus, when we’re in port, I often have some sort of all-inclusive package where I can go ahead and drink my face off for way cheaper (you laugh, but last year in Cozumel I drank 10 banana daiquiris in about 3 hours). Plus, you never know what will happen; on this trip I had that obnoxious motion sickness the first few days, so only had one drink. Then in Cozumel I hurt myself and didn’t feel like drinking that evening. The sea days were cooler so there wasn’t as much ‘oh god I’m dying beside the pool fetch me something frosty’. And I’m not up late hanging out in clubs listening to music or socializing, I guess that’s the other time I’d be drinking potentially. So think about those things before you shell out the cash. FYI on Day 4 of this cruise they offered the 10 drinks for $79 card. There were also several opportunities to buy drinks in fancy light-up glasses, pineapples, or coconuts, so go crazy.

[molsonschooner]

This is a good time to be a Canadian cruise addict. Andrew just go done his Harmony cruise now you are doing yours. You both have a writing style that makes people want to continue reading. I am looking forward to the rest of your review. Oh, the Leafs have a very exciting team this year. Much better than the Canes

[jpolm]

I'm a nervous nelly although my 9 year old son is quite responsible but I could never let him check out on his own on a massive ship like this. Glad u were comfortable and it all worked out.

 

 

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[MiniChunks]

Port Canaveral – Day 1 – Departure continued

Captain – Rob

Cruise Director – Patricio

Activities – Magic Marvin

 

 

First stop – Guest Services. I had received details on connecting to Voom when I checked in, which I hadn’t purchased. I actually LIKE to be disconnected for a week. So I’m not sure how that made it’s way onto my account, but I had them take it off and credit it, and went ahead and limited Jenny’s Sea Pass to $1 while I was there (note, they can’t totally disable spending apparently if they have a beverage package, but you can limit it so they can’t accidentally on purpose go crazy in the arcade or ordering hookers or whatever).

.

 

 

I guess I need to look into an Oasis cruise in the near future:')

[RCLcruiser2012]

LOVE your review... Keep em coming!!

[DrD]

Thanks again, loving the review. Funny you mentioned that about the MDR buffet, one of the reasons I first tried Royal years ago is because I read that they had an amazing salad buffet in the MDR where they make you a salad with all kinds of stuff you pick out, it's called "Tutti salad." This was more for the wife, I'm not a big salad guy.

 

As for getting lost, I just tell my kids "turn around if you get to water." Of course they are a lot older and when they are 8 I don't think I would have let them roam around then.

 

Anyway your review is timed perfectly for me, as can be seen in my sig.

[DrD]

 

 

 

I did, however, bring them all back with me, so will look up 1-2 things if you are desperate and ask nicely and have excellent grammar/punctuation.

 

 

 

So I’m not sure how that made it’s way onto my account, but I had them take it off and credit it,

 

Ahem, cough cough.

[CanadaCathi]

Ahem, cough cough.

 

 

Ahahahaha GUILTY! I knew as soon as I typed that smarmy comment that it would come back to bite me. I'm also having copy/paste issues so am having to re-read everything and edit my posts like, 7 times. Le sigh. At least it wasn't a there/their/they're, I guess.

 

 

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[KiwiGal117]

This is a good time to be a Canadian cruise addict. Andrew just go done his Harmony cruise now you are doing yours. You both have a writing style that makes people want to continue reading. I am looking forward to the rest of your review. Oh, the Leafs have a very exciting team this year. Much better than the Canes

 

 

I was just thinking the same thing and excited to see a potential meet up on Symphony for March Break 2019. I'm booked on that as well so fingers crossed all the plans hold for everyone!

 

 

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[crusinot]

Following! Wonderful review so far!

[CanadaCathi]

Water, Water, Everywhere

 

Thank you for all the lovely comments. If I don't address you individually, don't be offended, I crave the positive feedback so keep it coming.

 

Got it, the ship is huge and gorgeous and has lots of awesome areas. But what about pools?

 

Well, I’m gonna say it, I feel like Oasis has Freedom beat there. The Solarium is just crazy, it’s massive and there’s lots of different little areas for chilling, and WHY CAN’T I LIVE THERE?! One of my big regrets is that I just never made it to their bistro restaurant; that menu looks amazing. I think if I was cruising with another adult it would be super fun to dump the kids and go hang out there.

 

 

 

 

The H2O Zone feels bigger, but I’m not sure if that’s really the case, it might be just spread out more. But I’m too lazy to look up numbers so don’t quote me on that. Jenny once again loved the lazy river pool. And –how cute is this – KID DECK CHAIRS! We’re big fans of kid-sized things, it says ‘hey, kids, you’re people, too’. Yes, we had some chair challenges a couple times, but nothing to cry over. We don’t cruise to sit at the pool for hours on end.

 

 

We never ate at the Wipeout Café, it’s in kind of a weird place. Jenny got ice cream (froyo) and pronounced it delicious; there are two machines, in close proximity. Once had chocolate/vanilla/swirl, and the other had strawberry/vanilla/swirl. There was a great Caribbean-style band playing out on deck a few times that I very much enjoyed (think steel drum), otherwise the music was your standard stuff (think Jovi). There were two things I really missed; the smoothie stand, and someplace right in the thick of things where you could just walk up and get, like, good fries and chicken fingers (yes, that was a Disney ship, I know, but why can’t we have nice things too?). The wait service was very good any time I was out there. I only ever went in a pool once because most sea days were pretty windy/chilly out there, and the water was cold even for me, but I did enjoy some hot tub action; they never felt crowded.

 

One of the other things I didn’t check out this trip was the spa. Oasis has the thermal suite, which I TOTALLY forgot about, gahhh! They run a special, usually on the Falmouth port day when we're cruising, that I really like – it’s like 20 minutes massage, 20 minutes facial, 20 minutes something else for $99. However, this year we actually had a Jamaica excursion, so I didn’t take advantage of it. So I have no review for you of the Oasis spa. I’m a failure. Just a side note here for first-time cruisers; the spas usually are ok but not great. There is often a lot of product upselling, which detracts from the experience, and sometimes you can hear noise from other areas of the ship (like, the basketball court) which isn’t super-relaxing. But if you’re going to do it, do it early in the trip; a massage on your first sea day is a terrific way to start unwinding, and, more importantly – IT’S BEFORE YOU’RE SUNBURNED. I never promised I was smart.

 

Then, it was time for sail away. We like to find a quiet spot and wave to all the people (‘Look at us! We’re cruising! You’re not! We’re so sorry!’), and then after that head to the room.

 

 

Up Next – Superior Ocean View w/Balcony

[ramja96]

(I) went ahead and limited Jenny’s Sea Pass to $1 while I was there (note, they can’t totally disable spending apparently if they have a beverage package, but you can limit it so they can’t accidentally on purpose go crazy in the arcade or ordering hookers or whatever).

 

WAIT!! You can order hookers on board???!! :eek: Does that come with, or without, the new $7.95 room service fee? ;)

[Clarea]

WAIT!! You can order hookers on board???!!

Limited to Star class suites.

[barbeyg]

Limited to Star class suites.

 

 

[emoji23][emoji23]

 

 

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[newdinndo]

Ok, you are hilarious and straight to the point - LOVING your review so far Looking forward to reading more!

[CanadaCathi]

Limited to Star class suites.

 

Omfg you guys are killing me.

But you know the hookers would be all, "So, do you have any fine dining reservations yet? Have you had a chance to look at the great deals on watches?".

[MiniChunks]

Omfg you guys are killing me.

But you know the hookers would be all, "So, do you have any fine dining reservations yet? Have you had a chance to look at the great deals on watches?".

 

They'd have a better chance of me at least listening to their pitch

[CanadaCathi]

Our Room

 

And there it is – home, sweet home. Or as we like to call it, home away from home.

 

We don’t have cable (I’m not a hippie, I just did the math and realized I could have a cleaning lady once a month for the same $), so Jelly made a beeline for the TV and would have happily stayed there for the entire cruise if I’d let her. *sigh* kids these days, with their interwebs and constant Dreamworks movies.

For those of you with young 'uns - yep, there's a channel that plays stuff like Sofia the First and Jake and the Neverland Pirates and Doc McStuffins AD NAUSEUM. And there's a channel that shows nonstop DW movies (Monsters vs Aliens, Puss N Boots, Shrek, Kung Fu Panda). And then there are all the channels you'll never get to watch.

 

 

Now, here’s something I never realized that probably 99% of you already know but I’M A SLOW LEARNER; your room number will tell you whether your bed is beside the window, or the door. I KNOW, right?! So for example, on Freedom we had the opposite setup to this (beds by window), which I greatly preferred. As chance would have it, our Symphony room will be the beds-by-window, thankfully (see my Symphony name-dropping there? FYI Symphony is now finally showing up in the Cruise Planner, if you hadn’t heard all the screaming already). So yeah, I just find that the room feels a little closed off when you walk in the door and BAM THERE’S A BED. Plus it’s closer to the door so in my head you hear more hallway noise, although really, I hardly heard anything other than people occasionally letting their doors slam. Just catch it behind you, people, it’s really not that hard.

Where was I? Oh, yes, but the beds closer to the door are convenient for late night bathroom breaks. And sitting and getting dressed and being practically inside the closet.

 

Noobs – You can request (or ask your TA to request) the beds together or apart. Don’t say to yourself, ‘eh, I’ll worry about it when I get on the ship’, because last year I was like that and the beds were together and then they ran out of bedding and I had a crap blanket for the whole trip. So heeeeeeeeeed my warrrrnnnnnnning!

 

Side note on room temperature – I like it COLD for sleeping.I think it’s because I grew up in a drafty farmhouse in Northern Ontario with baseboard heaters and I swear one morning I had snow on my bed (not really). I kept the AC on max and kept the balcony door closed (although I forgot about the curtains, which would have helped), and the room was an ok temp, but there was definitely no snow. Nights we both usually ended up kicking off even the sheet. Keep in mind we have extra body padding and are warm-blooded, so if you’re a scrawny little thing who’s always cold, you might need the heat. I never thought ‘I wish I’d brought a fan’, because that seems excessive and would mean less shoes, but if you have hot flashes or are a sweat-er, keep your balcony door closed and your curtains closed as much as you can.

 

Additional note on sleeping – Look what I took a picture of for all y’all!

 

This bed was C O M F O R T A B L E. I’m a very light sleeper and have trouble falling asleep, and this thing was like Tylenol PM with a side of Xanax. Man, did I sleep great. I have a white noise app that I love (‘WhiteNoiseHD’),and between that and this bed – zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. I didn’t have to request it, it was already on there. Michael – still thinking about you. Smooches.

There were lots of little nooks and crannies around the desk, plus the drawers, that ended up being totally fine for all of Jenny’s stuff, so that was super convenient, because I got the whole closet. I even counted the hangers for you guys – 30 of ‘em, which was more than enough for me.

 

I thought this bathroom was gorgeous. I am one of the few people who doesn’t like the Disney split bathrooms, and I’m a tiny bit claustrophobic, but I was totally fine in this…

 

There were two bars of soap in the shower, as well as an el cheapo shampoo dispenser (just bring your own, you’re going to be doing so much damage to your hair), plus two plastic hooks which were great for wet bathing suits. There was one bar of soap for the sink. I’m a bit of a cheater here; I snag the extra soaps from the hotel the night before we leave, they’re usually slightly better quality and at least better smelling usually. But I bring my own travel shampoo and conditioner and face wash. The kid has to use the cheap stuff because she’s a second-class citizen.

There were also a few hooks on the bathroom wall near the towel bar.

 

I had a pretty enormous suitcase (but just one! So proud!), but it fit under the bed no problem. I also tested fitting it in the closet, and it made it, but just barely. No need, under the bed was fine. The minifridge was empty and ready for the few spare bottled waters we had brought (in our suitcases). Go ahead and wet a washcloth and stick it in there when you first get in, you’ll thank me later in the trip when you have an icy cloth for your warm skin or face. Also, don’t forget a small tube or container of aloe – put that in there as well. I also throw some face wipes in there. So yeah, not a lot of food, but lots of things to help us recover from long, hot days in port. Jamaica, I’m glaring at you.

 

Our luggage came LATE this time – while we were at dinner. So be prepared for that. I know people hate to see SHORTS and T-SHIRTS in the MDR, heavens to Betsy, but I think people (me) should be comfortable on vacation. I sure as heck ain’t packing spanx or heels. If I’m going to go to the WJ it’s because I want to, not because I feel shamed into it. So yeah, we ate in American Icon like the sweaty slobs we are.

 

Lastly, our muster station – we were in the Promenade, which seemed strange, but at least it wasn’t standing out on deck or wearing a life jacket. We accidentally ended up right beside where the dude makes the announcement, so Jelly got to wrap things up and tell people to enjoy their cruise.

 

 

Up Next – My Time Dining at 6p in the American Icon Grill, Deck 3

Edited March 23, 2017 by CanadaCathi

[ramja96]

Now, here’s something I never realized that probably 99% of you already know but I’M A SLOW LEARNER; your room number will tell you whether your bed is beside the window, or the door.

 

Gee, this is news to me (one of the only times, I guess, that I'll be part of the "1%" ;p). Can someone please explain???

[m-of-connor]

Great review!! You just need to post faster...

[CanadaCathi]

Gee, this is news to me (one of the only times, I guess, that I'll be part of the "1%" ;p). Can someone please explain???

 

Thank you for making me feel better.

Good explanation here - in summary, 'right is always right' if you like the bed by the balcony.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1516781&highlight=oasis+bed+placement&page=2

[CanadaCathi]

Man, we’re still on Day 1? I’m wordy! Let's get Day 1 put to bed.

 

I had made reservations every night for dinner, either for MTD or for one of the specialty restaurants. We are impatient and fall to pieces if we wait more than 7 seconds for anything, especially anything related to food. One thing I always forget, every cruise – because we’re snacking all day long, and eating lunch at weird times – we’re NEVER in the mood for dinner at, say, 5:30p or 6p. Jelly goes to bed at 8p on school nights so we usually eat at 6p on the nose at home, so it’s very foreign to me to book dinner at 7p, but that’s when we usually felt like eating. Plus on the ship she was up later anyhow. So I’ll try to remember that next time. However, you have to plan your entertainment schedule around your dining reservations, so it usually resorts in a lot of shuffling. And don't forget to check what time you leave port that day; if you have a later excursion, that might bump things out.

 

We got to the restaurant, on deck 3, and I could feel more ship movement and was like whooooooaaahhhhh, forget about the shorts and t-shirts, I’m going to blow chunks in here and that’s going to be REALLY embarrassing. So not only was I not very hungry to begin with (cough cough kummelweck), I was a little queasy. I’m going to be a sucky baby and admit I didn’t like the new menus; I thought the old ones with the illustrations were more friendly. And I oddly enough didn’t find anything super-appealing any night we were there. Night one was the Salmon/Prime Rib/Pork Chop night. Jelly started with the calamari, which was actually pretty tasty, and had a Caesar salad and chicken fingers (she likes to put the fingers on her salad for a chicken Caesar salad, because god forbid we do anything the easy way).

 

She didn’t like any of the dessert options that night so passed on that. She got a chocolate milk for dinner each night, a special treat. I had the shrimp cocktail, which I feel like had more shrimp than the one on Freedom but I might be crazy. No, wait, I’m not, I just went back and looked at the pics, and Freedom gave you four while Oasis gives you six. So, go Oasis. I also got the least offensive of the entrée options, the NY Strip, which was mostly cold but not terrible. Ok, I’ll admit I ate four damn cheese rolls, so I guess I wasn’t in that bad of shape. I can never change cruise lines solely because of those rolls, I don’t know if they sprinkle them with meth or what, they’re so freaking good.

 

I didn’t get a cocktail to start (I actually had the drink of the day earlier – it was a 'Caribbean Sling', it was pretty good), but I got a pretty nice Chilean red wine from their ‘adventurous wines’ section that was what I commonly drink at home, Casillero. We only saw one of our servers during dinner, and as mentioned she wasn’t super friendly, so we didn’t build the same kind of rapport with her like we have with others in the past in the MDR.

I didn’t get dessert either because sugar seldom tempts me and dairy hurts me.

 

After dinner we went for a stroll in the park, and took a ride in the Rising Tide bar.

The bar would be fun with, you know, another grown up. And a drink.

 

Just. So. Damn. Beautiful.

 

After dinner I walked Jenny to the kid’s club, which was only open from 8p-10p that first night (for free), and then got my swimsuit and headed to the Solarium. It started raining just a little bit, but it was lovely in the hot tub, which was partially covered. The next day’s Compass had been dropped off to the room while we were at dinner, so I poured over that for a little while.

 

And then, we were cooked. Fried. Done. So very, very wornout. So around 9:30p we headed back to the room and crawled into those cozy beds.

 

Day 1 was done!

 

Side note on the in-room safe –

I’ve seen lots of questions about how big they are and what you can fit into it. Here’s what I kept in there; our passport books, my travel wallet, my envelope of extra cash, and my tablet. Plenty of room.

 

 

Up Next - Day 2 - At Sea

[CanadaCathi]

Ok, small pause here - everything ok? Anyone need a refill? More pics? Less pics? Questions on anything?