Royal Caribbean Oasis of the Seas vs Norwegian Getaway Comparison (sailed both)

[Teibban]

Hi everyone,

 

Just came back several weeks ago from my cruise in WesternCaribbean (February 26th departure) with the Oasis of the Seas andwould like to offer to all the members for this forum my personal opinionbetween the OTS and the NCL Getaway.

 

I will not compare the excursions/stops as OTS was Western andNCL was Eastern Caribbean. I will compare only what is comparable soEmbarkation/Disembarkation, restaurants, Drinks, service, rooms etc...

 

1- Embarkation:

Getaway was our first cruise and OTS our second. So we did nothave any recognition on each of them yet. Both went fairly smoothly but withGetaway we had a stroller with 2 young kids which they boarded us priority.With OTS we were assigned the number 10 for embarkation and from security toembarkation, everything took less than 30min. I would say it is a draw for thispoint. However, Port of Miami is much more easy to access with taxi/shuttlethan Port Canaveral where we had to wait in the shuttle for more than 30min.

 

2- Rooms:

OTS rooms and Getaway rooms are similar in size. On Getaway, wehad the pullman bed and sofa near the bathroom while on OTS we had them nearthe balcony. This seemed like the room was a little bit smaller. All in all,both had great space for clothing and luggages fit under bed in both cases.Great news on OTS as you do not have anymore to ask to empty the fridge.Balcony on OTS is larger which is nice when taking breakfast the 4 of us on thebalcony. Rooms are a little more dated (older ship) on OTS but still very clean.Getaway was only 3 months after her first trip in Caribbean so it seemed morenew. I would give a slight advantage to the OTS on this one because of thelarger balcony.

 

3- Restaurants/MDR/Menus

OTS is filled with free food and therefore we did not try any ofthe specialty restaurants and only went to the Windjammer once for breakfastand once for dinner. Rest of the time was MDR for breakfast and Dinner exceptfor 2 times room service for breakfast. Also went for lunch at Sabor ($), Café Promenadeand Park Café. With the Getaway we went 1 time for dinner at the MDR and 1xTeppanyaki, 1x brazilian steak house and the rest at the buffet. Buffet forbuffet, we found that the food on the Getaway was better. MDR menus on the OTSseemed to be similar with the Getaway and we had very good service on bothships. Buffet on the Norwegian was never crowded and Windjammer was a completemess. No waiting time at MDR for OTS using the reservation and My TimeDining. Big difference is that OTS offers many more free options thanGetaway which helped us avoid the Windjammer. The thing we loved on the Getawayis that the buffet has seatings right outside. Overall, we will give a slightedge to the Getaway on this matter.

 

4- Entertainment

On the Getaway, we went to Burnthe Floor only. The Illusionist was paid and I would not pay for it. On theOasis, we went to CATS, Oasis of Dreams, The Headliner show, Come Fly with Meand Frozen in time. CATS was a little bit long and had to leave with 1 of thekids. Oasis of Dreams was amazing and Come Fly with Me and Frozen in Time(where my kids got picked on the ice) were also amazing. Headliner show wasjust ok with the 5 guys singing and making the music/sound by themselves withoutany instruments. Overall, Oasis is way ahead of NCL on this topic. Best part ofour cruise.

 

5- Activities for Kids (5 and8)

Getaway had the splash parkand the waterslides. There was also a kiddie pool but so small. Pools ingeneral on the Getaway are way too small and the same for the hot tub. On theopposite, the OTS had much more pools and no problem to find any seats aroundany of them. No waterslides but the kids had fun with the Carrousel and findingthe treasures on the Oasis. They also had fun on the mini-putt and the sportcourse. They were too small for rock climbing, zip lining and flowrider. OTSseems for me more targeting family with teens while Norwegian seems to be targetingthe families with your children. Overall, on the view of the kids it is a drawbut for an adult, OTS is way better.

 

6- Bars/Drinks

To be noted, we did not takeany drinking package on both cruises. Not worth it with 2 young kids whenmostly drinking during dinner. Getaway seemed to have more wine by the glassand the prices were cheaper (in 2014). Maybe this changed though. We also tooksome specialty cocktails and they all seemed to not have a lot of alcohol onOTS. Machines for wine by the glass on the Getaway (did not see any on the OTS)was helpful for a late night drink on the balcony. Overall it is a draw for usand it is not a point of sale when selecting a cruise.

 

7- Service

This is where Getaway shinescompared to OTS. While people were friendly on the OTS, on the Getaway, theywere playing with the kids, smiling, asking us everytime how we were doing etc…much more friendly on the Getaway. Our room attendant on the OTS did his jobbut not more. On the Getaway, he was bringing cookies in the room before dinnertime for the kids, was making setups with their plush toys etc… I have seendifference in the staff nationality also. On Getaway, they were mainly comingfrom South East Asia while on the OTS, we mainly had people from the Caribbeanand from China. Maybe, it is in the personality which is different. Same thingat the bar, went mostly on the OTS Sabor bar and while there was no one, staffwas mainly talking together without coming to see you. Getaway had people withglass of water, wet towels etc.. when coming back to boat. Overall, we willgive an edge to Getaway on this matter.

 

8- Excursions

While I will not compare theexcursions (Getaway: Sint-Marteen, St-Thomas and Nassau vs OTS: Labadee,Falmouth, Cozumel), I can say that for both cruise we had 1 stop we could haveavoided (Nassau and Falmouth) and 2 that we really loved. However, Getaway ismuch more organised for the excursions initiated by the cruise company. It wasvery clear where to go with the Getaway, while in Falmouth with OTS, we had tosearch for 10 min because we could not find the lady with the sign. Excursionsseemed to be priced similarly by both companies. In other words, try to arrangeyourself locally to pay cheaper (did in Sint Marteen and in Cozumel).Disembarkation for the excursion is much more smooth on the OTS even if it is abigger ship. Overall a draw on this one.

 

9- Cruise Ship Layout

OTS being a bigger ship, wethought it could be nightmare walking around. However, reading on CruiseCritics made ourselves confident it should be no problem… and there was absolutelyno issue at all, even at the end of shows. Getaway on the other side can be anightmare. Also, you have often to go through the casino which I did not likeat all. Advantage to OTS on this one.

 

10- Passengers

Much more kids on the NCLthan the OTS.I would say that on NCL the average adult age was 35-40 while onOTS was closer than 50. While being on OTS we had 2 Alpha Alpha Alpha calls, 2helicopters to pick up people at Labadee and had to go back to Cozumel afterhaving left for 30 min for an emergency but this did not alter our experienceat all. I would say that in general our kids behave well but sometimes they canrun. Overall, people in the OTS seemed to appreciate them (a lot recognizedthem later on in the cruise after the Frozen in Time show). Different mood buta draw here for us.

 

11- Disembarkation

Getaway was a nightmare. Whencalled by our number, we had to wait 2hrs to disembark. Imagine doing that withthe a 3 and 6yrs kids. OTS, 25min from getting called to getting to theshuttle. Much more smooth. I understand this can be problems coming fromcustoms but in my view, it is part of the complete satisfaction from a cruise.Advantage to OTS.

 

Overall we appreciated bothcruises, and the kids more importantly also appreciated both. We will choosewhich company we go on next time based on the itinerary and not on the company.NCL has a nice South America Cruise I am looking at (Santiago to Buenos Aires)while RCL has a nice one going from NY to the eastern isles of the Caribbean.

 

 

If you have any questions,let me know and I will try to answer my best.

Jonathan