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Oasis or Vision. Big vs Small. Itinerary vs Ship.


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We have Oasis booked Dec 2020. Eastern Caribbean and coco cay. I’m thinking of switching to a 10 day Vision same week right before Christmas.  Booked refundable deposit so switching not a problem and the prices for the rooms being considered are very close. We’ve only been on Liberty thus far, (and some carnival and princess ships also) but do have bookings for enchantment and Freedom between now and then. I like the vision eastern Caribbean itinerary better and 10 days is better than 7 as far as I’m concerned. The wife and kids may be less enthusiastic about a smaller ship and the extra sea days could be a problem if the ship doesn’t meet their expectations. She typically doesn’t like to be involved in vacation planning. “Just plan us a good time and if I don’t like it, I’ll let you know.” Luckily I do enjoy the planning aspect but there may be consequences for not getting it right. After a “boring” princess cruise, we didn’t cruise at all for 5 years. Last year, Liberty of the seas came to the rescue, and for the next couple of years, Royal Caribbean is the preferred get away package. Disney world has been requested for 2021 :(     So with all that being said, I figure the safe bet would be Oasis 7 day since the kids are still very young. But I really want to try something longer than 7 days and see a few new ports. The oasis itinerary would only have only coco cay as a “new to us” port. Another bit of info, the excursions I’ve planned have been some of the high points for our family. So I think having 5 port days could make up for less activities on the ship. I’d love to hear some opinions, even the ones that stink :)

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4 minutes ago, Dan83 said:

The oasis itinerary would only have only coco cay as a “new to us” port. Another bit of info, the excursions I’ve planned have been some of the high points for our family.

The kids may really like the Perfect day attractions at CoCo Cay.

 

Biker, who is starting to sound like a marketing shill for CoCo Cay.

Edited by Biker19
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43 minutes ago, Dan83 said:

We have Oasis booked Dec 2020. Eastern Caribbean and coco cay. I’m thinking of switching to a 10 day Vision same week right before Christmas.  Booked refundable deposit so switching not a problem and the prices for the rooms being considered are very close. We’ve only been on Liberty thus far, (and some carnival and princess ships also) but do have bookings for enchantment and Freedom between now and then. I like the vision eastern Caribbean itinerary better and 10 days is better than 7 as far as I’m concerned. The wife and kids may be less enthusiastic about a smaller ship and the extra sea days could be a problem if the ship doesn’t meet their expectations. She typically doesn’t like to be involved in vacation planning. “Just plan us a good time and if I don’t like it, I’ll let you know.” Luckily I do enjoy the planning aspect but there may be consequences for not getting it right. After a “boring” princess cruise, we didn’t cruise at all for 5 years. Last year, Liberty of the seas came to the rescue, and for the next couple of years, Royal Caribbean is the preferred get away package. Disney world has been requested for 2021 :(     So with all that being said, I figure the safe bet would be Oasis 7 day since the kids are still very young. But I really want to try something longer than 7 days and see a few new ports. The oasis itinerary would only have only coco cay as a “new to us” port. Another bit of info, the excursions I’ve planned have been some of the high points for our family. So I think having 5 port days could make up for less activities on the ship. I’d love to hear some opinions, even the ones that stink :)

Although it may be a longer cruise and maybe a new port of call all our family would definitely prefer to stay with your Oasis cruise.

So many more fantastic options especially for the children l

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Oasis! Love that class. So much to do. It actually seems less crowded most of the time than a smaller ship. So many places to go on her and so much to do. No one will get bored! You can always go on the small ship with no kids : )

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You could always leave the kids at home and sail on the 10 day with just the DW😉

 

Okay, I kid......sorta.

 

While the Vision will not be as kid-friendly as Oasis, will they be enrolled in Adventure Ocean? That should take some of the boredom out of the sea-days. Just something to consider.  

 

Having said all that, Oasis would be the safe choice.

 

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5 hours ago, bigsky said:

Oasis! Love that class. So much to do. It actually seems less crowded most of the time than a smaller ship. So many places to go on her and so much to do.

I've been saying this ever since they started sailing! The size allows not only extra amenities, but also ooodles of deck space so they're never over crowded - even with 6500 capacity sailings!

The worlds biggest cruise ships .. and the worlds best cruise ships IMHO!

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6 hours ago, bonsai3s said:

Something you may not have even thought about....took us years to discover....how about a b2b on the Oasis? 😎

So far I've done a 7 nighter on Lady A (not long enough) and since then, my wife and I have done a B2B on both Lady O and Lady H! We've now got the 12 night eastern TA booked on Lady A and then another B2B later on next year on her too!

 

There's something that little special about a B2B and the way they treat you! Free Lunch at a specialist restaurant is one of the perks! 

 

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6 hours ago, bonsai3s said:

Something you may not have even thought about....took us years to discover....how about a b2b on the Oasis? 😎

This may be possible. Looking into this now. Still doesn’t get us down to the southern Caribbean but 14 days is better than 7!

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1 minute ago, DadPerson said:

Have you looked at the Voyager class? The Explorer has some Southern Caribbean itineraries, and you still get the Flowrider, ice skating, that kind of thing. 

 

Good idea, they would also get fewer people to dodge on Explorer.🙂

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DH and I did side by side cruises firstly on Vision, then on Allure of the Seas last month in the Mediterranean. Vision cruise was 12 nights which was a good amount of time, however we found there wasn't enough to do on the ship.

After the Allure cruise, DH said he doesn't want to cruise on anything smaller than Voyager Class in the future. For us, we love Vintages wine bar, entertainment in 270 as well as the pub. I also enjoy going to watch people on the flow rider and having plenty of room to roam around.

There is nothing wrong with Vision, the staff were fantastic and the ship is in good condition. It just wasn't for us.

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Based upon your information, definitely Oasis!  It is ideal to go on Oasis to ports you have been to.  Stay on the ship in port, and enjoy all it has to offer.  It is our favorite class of ship.  

 

I agree that you should look into Explorer also!  However, it still does not come close to Oasis, and if you can swing the back to back on Oasis, you will have a very happy life 😁

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13 hours ago, BOOKWYRM said:

So much more for children on the Oasis. The Vision is tiny and very basic. No Boardwalk, ice skating or huge slides

We are not Oasis class fans, and the smallest ships we've been on are Radiance.  But I have to say 10 days on something like Vision with young kids - not something I would likely consider.

 

Is there anything on Freedom or Explorer class that works for your dates?  Almost any other class than Oasis will usually have better ports:classic_biggrin:

Edited by bouhunter
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  I would have to vote for Oasis. 10 days is better than 7 but, there is no comparison between Oasis and Vision. I do think though it depends on if you are sailing for the ship or for the ports. We started out sailing for the ports. Now after 16 or so cruises, the ship has become more important.   

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If you decide to go with the 10-day Vision, one thing to consider: Keep the kids and wife so busy during the 5 port days so that they will be too tired to do anything other than sit by the pool on sea days.

 

That the only way I see the 10 day working successfully.

 

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Oasis all the way. Huge revamp, plenty to do and kids will love CocoCay.

 

Nothing about Vision is good for kids. Aside from a lack of amenities, the Adventure Ocean facilities are terrible on that class of ship compared to the big ships and there is only one pool area.

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Thanks for your responses! Oasis does make sense and really we’re doing this for the kids anyway.  And I’m happy with the room we already have booked. I’ll get to see the southern Caribbean on Freedom next spring. Dec 2020 will be our first opportunity to experience an oasis class ship. Hopefully Galveston will have one in the future. Texas is much closer than Florida! 

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