A First Time Cruiser’s Review of Oasis! Spring Break Cruise 4/1-4/8

[FirstAnthem]

Hyerpraise—we stayed in cabin 7268.

 

 

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[FirstAnthem]

 

Our fabulous dinner on Cozumel day was at Giovanni’s Table. We were worried about straying from the gluten free security of the Main Dining Room, but we didn’t need to. From the second we sat down, our waiter knew exactly what Sophie would need and took care of her like she was his daughter.

 

 

We sat outside at Giovanni’s, so the ambiance was fantastic. Just able to look around Central Park, my favorite part of the ship, was really nice. One drawback—seeing an old guy come out onto his Central Park balcony in his underwear!

 

Our waiter explained the entire menu to us. My husband asked him what he recommended. He said “I’ll surprise you”. I was like “Uh, hold up. There are certain things I want!” So, he surprised Steve, and Jack, Sophie and I ordered. Then he told me I was going to cry because what he was bringing Steve was better than what I ordered! He was funny and polished. Good waiter.

 

I don’t have pictures of all the food—I don’t know how that happened. I think because we were just in the moment, having a wonderful dinner together. I was practicing my “island time” vibe on for size.

 

The waiter brought So. Much. Food. He did the appetizers for Jack, Steve and me family style. We had grilled octopus, mussels and caprese salad. That octopus—my lord. It was fantastic. It’s not something I would normally eat, and something Jack wouldn’t normally even LOOK at. We devoured it. Jack also got a Caesar salad. Sophie got the GF pork belly. She let us try it. It was amazing. She was in heaven.

 

Sophie’s pork belly. Gluten free never tasted so good.

 

For dinner, the waiter surprised Steve with the Osso Bucco. I got linguine w clam sauce and Jack got pasta carbonara. Then he came back with two more plates and put them in the middle of the table. It was another Osso Bucco and a Mushroom Risotto, for us to share! He said to me “I didn’t want you to cry looking at your husband’s dinner, so I brought some for you, too.” Lol! Sophie got grilled prawns and potato purée. The food was out of this world. Best meal I think I’ve ever eaten, actually.

 

Jack’s Carbonara

 

My Lingine with Clam Sauce

 

 

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[FirstAnthem]

Sophie’s amazing gluten free prawns and potato purée

 

Here is the Osso Bucco and Risotto for the table. Both were out of this world.

 

Then it was time for dessert. I ordered Tiramisu, my favorite. Then Jack asked “what do you recommend?” He just grabbed the dessert menu and said “I’LL SURPRISE YOU!”

 

He brought out a plate of two of the desserts, the chocolate cake and cannoli.

 

 

Then he brought out an enormous pan of Tiramisu, like the size of a lasagna pan but with a big handle, and proceeded to scoop out huge portions onto our plates! (Not Sophie’s, of course.) I have no picture because it was so good I ate that Tiramisu in three seconds flat.

 

Sophie had their one gluten free dessert choice—strawberry panacotta. She loved it!

 

We were so full after this dinner, we sat and enjoyed some coffee and people watching for awhile. Then we walked around Central Park. Musicians had started playing music, and it was just a really perfect night.

 

While we were walking around, I snapped a couple pics of the kids. They did not know I was taking their pictures, so these aren’t posed or exaggerated for the camera in the least. This is how they both felt this evening:

 

 

The music was playing, we were in food comas, and we were happy.

 

Jack posing us again. And a happy gluten free girl in the middle!

 

 

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[FirstAnthem]

Oh—another thing! We counted up what we had for dinner. The waiter brought us 5 appetizers, 6 dinners and 5 desserts. For four people. We had a voucher from our travel agent for a complimentary dinner for two at a specialty restaurant. So we only had to pay for the kids. So we got the bill, and it was $20! Twenty? Dollars? That’s it? He charged us only $10 for each kid, but we all ordered from the adult menu! $20 for that feast?! We were shocked, astounded, blown away. Needless to say, he got a VERY good tip.

 

 

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[onthewater51]

OP...OUTSTANDING JOB here. thank you

 

Question for you regarding pre-cruise planning. DId you reserve anything beforehand? Shows, etc? Not necessarily talking about shore excursions really, I'm talking about on-board shows. If so, was it a good thing you did, or wasn't really needed.

 

Thank you

Bob

[mac_tlc]

Thank you for posting a great detailed review. If you enjoy fountains, you must go to Rome some day. We were there in the summer and my wife had all she could do to not dive it!!!

 

 

mac_tlc

[FirstAnthem]

On the water 51–thank you for your kind words! Yes, we reserved shows ahead of time. For the diving show, they did scan sea pass cards as we were going in, so I guess if you didn’t have reservations you couldn’t go in until closer to show time. Although the bench seating in front of us was empty the whole show, so there would have been a place to sit without reservations. The ice show—I forgot to mention that one in my review! It was pretty full, but I think you could have found a couple of seats without reservations. The stage show, I think it was called “Come Fly With Me”? We didn’t have reservations for that one. I thought we did but our best friends Guest Services said we didn’t. I remember making the reservations, but noticed while on the trip it wasn’t listed in our itinerary on the tv. ANYWAY, Sophie and I just went to that one. We luckily got two seats together, but the theater was pretty packed. People without reservations had to wait in a line until 10 minutes before the show beforehand going in.

[FirstAnthem]

Mac tlc—it’s so funny that you said that about Rome because we were just toying with the idea of going to Rome in the next couple of years. Upon initial research, we were looking at pictures online and I said to my daughter “LOOK AT ALL THESE FOUNTAINS!” Hahahaha

[onthewater51]

On the water 51–thank you for your kind words! Yes, we reserved shows ahead of time. For the diving show, they did scan sea pass cards as we were going in, so I guess if you didn’t have reservations you couldn’t go in until closer to show time. Although the bench seating in front of us was empty the whole show, so there would have been a place to sit without reservations. The ice show—I forgot to mention that one in my review! It was pretty full, but I think you could have found a couple of seats without reservations. The stage show, I think it was called “Come Fly With Me”? We didn’t have reservations for that one. I thought we did but our best friends Guest Services said we didn’t. I remember making the reservations, but noticed while on the trip it wasn’t listed in our itinerary on the tv. ANYWAY, Sophie and I just went to that one. We luckily got two seats together, but the theater was pretty packed. People without reservations had to wait in a line until 10 minutes before the show beforehand going in.

 

 

 

Thank you so much. My wife & I gave our son & his fiancé a cruise on Oasis this Fall as a honeymoon present I want to make sure they do this then. Safe travels. Bob

 

 

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[starrcards]

Gatordad and Lawstuff—we found the crowds and lines did interfere with our full enjoyment of the cruise. I know cruises pretty much always sail full, but the amount of kids on the cruise was unreal. Maybe that’s why it felt so crowded? Don’t get me wrong, I like kids! I have three! But it was definitely overwhelming. I read before our cruise so many people saying even with 6000 passengers, Oasis never felt crowded. That must be because they weren’t there on spring break! And Gatordad, yes, the lines were off-putting enough to steer us away from a spring break cruise. We already booked a cruise for our President’s week break in February next year. It’s still a school break, which we are unfortunately tied to, but not everyone gets an entire week off for President’s week, so we are crossing our fingers. We booked on Adventure to see if maybe we are smaller ship people. Time will tell!

 

We did Oasis President's week 2018. Some lines but not as bad as OP says. You will have to wait for Windjammer (Try Solarium Bistro instead) and the flow rider but noty enough to detract from the cruise.

[FirstAnthem]

Starrcards—thank you for your insight into Presidents week!

[Gatordad815]

Just caught up on your report- haven’t been on here all weekend. We are Disney for the weekend and every time I see a fountain I’m tempted to tell the kids to go sit for a pic in front of it after reading your report-You guys are too fun! Our port days will be less adventurous with our little ones, but you all give inspiration for the future! Looking forward to the rest of your report!

[JustmySyd]

Oh—another thing! We counted up what we had for dinner. The waiter brought us 5 appetizers, 6 dinners and 5 desserts. For four people. We had a voucher from our travel agent for a complimentary dinner for two at a specialty restaurant. So we only had to pay for the kids. So we got the bill, and it was $20! Twenty? Dollars? That’s it? He charged us only $10 for each kid, but we all ordered from the adult menu! $20 for that feast?! We were shocked, astounded, blown away. Needless to say, he got a VERY good tip.

 

 

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What a great review and wonderful photos!! We are taking our grandkids, girl 11 and boy 7 on July 29th Western Caribbean. Can't wait. Is there a fee for rock climbing and zipline for children?

Did you watch CATS?

[momofmab]

Momofmab—omg I cannot believe guest services did that! The last thing we wanted was a 1:45 excursion. Which is why we chose the 11am. I’m so glad to hear someone got to enjoy Adventure Falls! But so disappointed our day turned out so rushed. If we ever end up back in Jamaica, I will figure out how to spend time at Adventure Falls!

 

 

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yeah - something got messed up somewhere because there were a lot of people outside our full bus with 10:30 departure time tickets, but no bus to get on. The Chukka people were scurrying around, looking very frustrated. My guess is that the shore excursions people overbooked this excursion without telling the people on the ground.

[FirstAnthem]

JustMySyd—thank you! And no, there’s no fee for rock climbing or zip line. We did not watch Cats. I read so many bad reviews of it for this ship that we passed.

[FirstAnthem]

Gatordad—haha! Glad I can be an inspiration! Start those fountain pictures ASAP—you won’t regret it! Lol

[starrcards]

JustMySyd—thank you! And no, there’s no fee for rock climbing or zip line. We did not watch Cats. I read so many bad reviews of it for this ship that we passed.

 

Why does everyone bad rap Cats? We went to the Saturday afternoon performance of Cats in February. My wife and son had seen it on Broadway. My son's "ship" and I had never seen it (and truth be told I'm not a real Broadway fan). We all loved it. It was a well done production. We sat in the front row on the right (as directed by many posters) and had a great view and the cast interacted with the boys. Certainly worth the time.

[FirstAnthem]

Starrcards—that’s great! I’m glad you enjoyed the show! As a first time cruiser, I wasn’t sure how the show would be, but I knew the majority of things I read about it were negative for whatever reason, so we decided to pass. I knew my kids wouldn’t make it through it if they could barely make it through the diving show! Lol

[starrcards]

In the interest of full disclosure, my son was 11 and his friend was 10. My son is more artistically inclined (Dance and music) and his friend is a swimmer. And they both sat mesmerized for the entire performance. Different strokes for different folks.

[FirstAnthem]

Starrcards—absolutely! Everyone is different! That’s how two people can be on the same cruise and have completely different experiences. I realized after this first cruise that the only way to really know anything is to just do it and find out. Research is helpful, but it doesn’t 100% tell you how your experience will be. So glad your family enjoyed the show!

[KansCocoa]

I have enjoyed following along on your fabulous trip with your family - and I am celiac, so it was with interest that I read about your daughter’s GF experience.

 

I laughed out loud at the “people soup” description of your catamaran excursion...so descriptive, and so funny! On Hubby & I’s first cruise, many years ago, we were scared of doing excursions on our own - like you - and we had our share of “people soup.” I started calling massive amounts of tourists “barbarians” - and they were to be avoided at all costs! It has come with confidence & practice that we ONLY do excursions on our own now - and no more “people soup”!!! :)

[FirstAnthem]

After our blissful dinner at Giovanni’s and a stroll around Central Park, Sophie and I decided to go to the show Come Fly With Me. (I believe this was the name of it—sorry, the days are all blending together, and I swore I would remember what we did every day. The only days that are crystal clear are our port days!)

 

So, Jack wasn’t interested in any more of these shows. After the ice show, which I forgot to talk about (I’ll do a general show post later), and the diving show, he was done. Sophie agreed to come with me to Come Fly With Me.

 

I made reservations before the cruise, but somehow it wasn’t showing up on our reservation. So we had to wait in a line outside the theater until 10 min before the show. When we got in there, the place was almost full, but we happened to find two seats! The show was okay—I liked it more than Sophie did. They had talented aerialists and gymnasts who were impressive. It was a little boring though. We weren’t blown away. But it was fun to go out and do something.

 

Steve and Jack went to Rock Climbing Under the Stars. Jack LOVED this. He loved the rock climbing anyway, but doing it later at night just made it more fun for him.

 

 

Then Steve and Jack went to a comedy/music show that was listed as family friendly.

 

It was at the comedy club. Jack was excited about the thought of a comedy show. They said it was more music than comedy, but again, they had fun just going out and doing something. There was a family friendly comedy show listed for the next night, so they were looking forward to that, too.

 

Tomorrow will be my post of our last sea day! (Only one more chance to get my lovely salad at lunch....)

 

 

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[catrip1024]

Thank you so much for this wonderful review! I'm traveling in June and although I'm not visiting the same ports, I have enjoyed your report and will use some of your ship tips! You have a beautiful family and I am so glad you enjoyed yourself.

[Mott1086]

FIRST ANTHEM:

 

Great Review, My Friend!

 

The Oasis Is My All-Time Favorite Ship We (Wife And I) Have Ever Been On.

 

We Tend To Cruise In May, So, We Don't Have The Massive Lines, And / Or Ship Filled With Lots Of Kids.

 

Your Review Is Well Written, Great Humor, And Stunning Pictures.

 

Makes Me Get More Excited For Our Upcoming September Cruise On Harmony.

 

-Michael

[FirstAnthem]

Thank you for everyone’s kind words—I’ve enjoyed writing this review and glad it brought something positive to each of your days.

 

And now on to our final Sea Day, the last day on Oasis!

 

I’m afraid there is not much exciting to report on these sea days. It was more of the same.

 

Still no return to Flow Rider for Jack, unfortunately. He adored it, but as you know, didn’t adore the line. He spent a lot of time rock climbing on this last day. He enjoyed it so much, we have been going to a local place called Rock Ventures since we’ve been home. He’s getting really good! So he was proud to take that away from the cruise with him.

 

Sophie and I discovered some nice chairs at the back of the ship next to the track. We all ended up there late morning just reading and hanging out. It’s a great spot.

 

 

 

We had a wonderful final lunch in the main dining room. The salad was a good as ever. Sophie got her customary GF shrimp risotto! She could have branched out a little, but didn’t want to. She loved that risotto. TIP! If we had ordered her lunch the night before with our head waiter, she would have had even more GF options for lunch.

 

We spent the afternoon just walking around the ship, soaking it all in.

 

Sophie’s favorite store—Kate Spade. She’s a purse and shoes girl. We are in trouble.

 

The Rising Tide Bar as it’s rising.

 

Dinner in the main dining room was bittersweet on this last night. We loved our wait staff so much. The dinner tonight, just like every night, was excellent. We really enjoyed everything we ate!

 

This is Marvalyne, our dear waitress. She is from Jamaica and has three kids and was able to get off the ship in Jamaica to see her family. Our assistant waiter, Clifton, was headed home for two months after the ship docked in Port Canaveral. He was so excited to see his two very young children and his wife. It was wonderful getting to know the staff’s stories. It really opened our children’s eyes—how hard people work on that ship and how much they sacrifice for their families. This vacation was a good lesson for my kids. They really got it. Seeing how some people live in these countries, the struggles they have, and how hard the staff works to give us a good vacation. Sophie felt guilty sometimes and wanted to do more, to help. She still talks about it, three weeks past our trip.

 

A beautiful sunset to close out a beautiful day.

 

 

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