Miamia65

Zipline at Labadee is awesome.

e-coupons - the C&A benefits are loaded onto your sea pass and you will receive a flyer in your stateroom telling you what they are. Be sure to ask the staff when you want to use the benefit as they are not forthcoming with offering them to you.

deck 5 outside boleros or opposite starbucks, in windjammer and in the arcade game area (for kids).....

Yes I've had bircher muesli on oasis and rhapsody - also on both ships they had a berry coulis. It is really nice and is available at the MDR buffet. Never eat in windjammer so can't comment if its the same.

agree with cb at sea, switch when you are on board and ask for an extra card key for the other room as well, so you can get into both rooms if you want to.

We did a B2B and the travel agent put the room family members in the rooms, I had to go to guest services on the first day of each cruise and switch the seapass, they just issue new ones, no hassle just time waiting in the line.

orangepeel

If you decide to contact another dept of royal, ask them to consider checking their medical records in the computer system. When they confine you to your cabin the confinement is recorded in the computer system and as you said your seapass has the evidence of this because the alarm went off when you exited the ship. This evidence would show how long you were each confined / quarantined for and possibly support the promise they made to you verbally. Just a suggestion.

By the way we were on Oasis on B2B on 7 Dec and 14 Dec 2013, the 2 weeks before you, I can't remember if it was the first or second week, but one day I returned to my cabin and the room attendant was cleaning the walls and railings in his section outside the cabins. We had had noro in october 2012 on rhapsody (in the south pacific), it was awful. As soon as I saw him cleaning I knew. So I asked and he said that 6 passengers had a gastro virus and they were on deck 6, we were on deck 8. Since getting noro on rhapsody I NEVER eat from the buffet or use the public toilets. I also eat ALL of my food with the cutlery - crazy I know but I love cruising .... it's hard to remember to do this at every meal but I am paranoid because I hate the norovirus - especially vomitting.....

I checked in with him a few days later and he said the count was up to 22 .... I'm getting more stressed ... so was really diligent and tried really hard to remember not to push the lift buttons with my fingers and many other things ... he did say that its rare for oasis to exceed 30 sick passengers as they can't risk a major outbreak on such a big ship with so many passengers.

I'm so sorry to hear your story ..... and we did get compensated for being sick on rhapsody, 3 out of 4 of us were sick and it was myself and 2 of my kids and although it lasted for 24 or so hours, we all got it within 5 hours of each other, so really we were quarantined for about 48 hours and missed 2 ports. We were given a FCC equal to 1 day so it seems like the standard offer despite what staff might have told you.

We have cruised again, just my cautious and diligent with hand washing, buffets, public toilets and the like.

Anyway to end my story, we are from Australia and were away for 5 weeks, 1 week in Disney World, 2 weeks on Oasis, 1 week in Washington and 1 week in New York. We had a mild sore throat on Oasis .... 2 days after we arrived back in Australia I had a 24 hour vomitting bug. Likely picked up on the flight home - no compensation. Although you are disappointed because the promise has been broken, at least you are being offered something .... just a thought.

Just read on Jimmy Rhodes facebook page that he will be continuing therapy for his leg injury for a few more weeks. So sounds like he won't be back on oasis on 8 Feb.

Hilton FL Marina, tower water view, if you are a hilton honours member you can get some really good deals at this hotel. As jo24 said ask for a room facing the intercoastal waterway - get up at 5 am and watch the ships come in to the port.

Also check out the hilton mvp website - really good prices on here. In December I got a tower double intercoastal water view for $130 per night. The rooms aren't large but they are clean.

zjc

I just checked the paperwork we were given but it does not advise what time you have to be back on the ship. It does say that if you are self disemarking you have to do so by 10am.

Muster drill was at 4.30pm so I would aim to be back at the terminal by 4pm.

fillet mignon cooked medium, otherwise it will be overcooked.

We always requested the menu option but also went to the buffet for fruit, bircher muesli and other items. Best of both options.

I also grabbed a plate of food and got a room service lid and utensils which I took back to the stateroom - for one of my kids. No problem with doing this at all.

zjc - you seat yourself in windjammer.

Hi zjc

We did b2b on oasis in December 2013, you will be invited to a consecutive cruisers meeting on the Thursday of the 1st cruise. They will advise you that you can collect your seapasses and the 'in transit' card from Guest Services on the Friday night.

You will use your seapass for the 1st week to get off the ship and thenn the new seapass for the 2nd week to get back on the ship. When you come back to the terminal you can proceed through the middle of the check in counters after going through security, and go upstairs to scan back onto the ship. At this point they will take your photo again - this only takes about 20 seconds.

You can leave the ship anytime after 6.30am, however, unless they change the procedure (and I have given RCI feedback on this both onboard Oasis and in recent email surveys) it could take you up to an hour to get through the terminal. So I would recommend the earlier you leave the ship the better. Unfortunately there is only one line once you go down the gangway and enter the terminal building. You have to line up with all other passengers who are disembarking because there is not a separate line for 'in transit' passengers. Once you get down stairs in the terminal you can proceed to the customs and border protection queue (avoiding the baggage collection queue). CPB will check your passports and possibly any hand luggage/bags you take with you (not sure why and maybe this won't happen to you!

We disembarked on the changeover day at around 8.30 and it took 1 hour to get downstairs in the terminal and through the CPB line. I did notice that a lot of people were disembarking from 6.30 am, couldn't tell you if it was consistently busy but they did.

As I said I have provided feedback to RCI, because they asked me at Guest Services when I got back on the ship and have sent me email surveys since completing the surveys. I have suggested that they allow 'in transit' passengers to skip the queue (upstairs in the terminal).

If you are forthright enough, you could just try and skip the queue ... I did try that by showing my 'in transit' card but they told me I had to stay in the queue!!!!!

So my advice to you is to allow at least 1 hour to disembark. Sorry about the long reply but it is how it was for us.

Cheers

Hi Guys,

 

We are from Perth and are travelling to the USA again this coming Christmas. We have done a stack of research (probably like yourselves) and have decided to do a B2B on the Oasis. Too many things to see on here to do just one week. A week in Orlando to have a play around, a week in NYC for NYE then onto the Quantum. After that another week in Vegas, Portland and LA.When we booked we found the Oasis to be cheaper, but there are a lot of deals floating around!

If you can find a little bit more time, try to stretch the holiday out, 2 weeks is a VERY short time to spend in the states.

 

Oasis looks like an awesome ship and there are many many wonderful reviews and all the marketing hype on the Quantum looks wonderful too!! Flip a coin maybe..lol

Brad and Tez, sounds like a great trip .... good choices for your cruises. I would love to go on Quantum .... you will enjoy the 2 weeks on Oasis - it is an amazing ship.

You may have done some research on here about consecutive cruising and changeover day ... which is relatively easy. There is a meeting on the Thursday of the first week and they explain the process. We wanted to get off the ship and go and check out Fort Lauderdale, which we did, so if you are thinking about doing this on changeover day (between the 2 cruises) it does take about an hour to disembark. I did provide RCI with feedback on this process so maybe by the time you cruise they will have made a special line for consecutive cruisers and people using the luggage valet service.

We used the luggage valet service and everything I read on here was absolutely correct. Our flight was at 9.30pm from FLL to Washington DC, all bags arrived at the other end, no problems and they were not weighed so no excess charges (again something I read about on here).

If you have any questions about the ship or the itineraries, just ask....

punkybubbles

We cruised on the sister ship to Allure, Oasis B2B in December last year. The ships are the the same and the ports are the same. Awesome time - you will love it.

There is so much to do on these ships so make sure that you book the first week's entertainment in advance and then do it all again, or at least your favourites the second week.

What specific questions do you have?

We also stayed at Hilton FL Marina Hotel, great spot for watching the ships come into port and Hyatt66 is in a great location as well.

Didn't think much of Fort Lauderdale so don't expect to do a lot there. We hired a car and drove to Miami to check out South Beach, it was OK. Felt like the Gold Coast. 30 minute drive for FLL.

You should go to Disney World in Orlando it is so much bigger and better than Disneyland in California - 4 parks and 2 Universal parks, one with a Harry Potter World. If you a HP lover it's a must do.

I preferred the eastern ports but that's a personal preference. Mexico and Jamaica were way too hot for me and no moisture in the air.

Happy to answer any questions you have...

We were there on Rhapsody in Nov 2012, no fee then.

Do you pay the locals or the cruise line?

As Joelstone said, just take one invite (yours) to the helipad event and make out you are together they won't stop you.

There is also a welcome back event in the aquatheater, its a sales pitch by the loyal ambassador on board but you also get free champagne, OJ and I think bloody mary's plus a short aqua show. They also give out trophies to passengers are reaching pinnacle status or lots of cruise points.

Defintely happy, Oasis is a huge ship and GS is close to the hump where the JS are, so you won't be disappointed. We were on the first hump with 2 balcony cabins on deck 8, one day we walked past the GS on deck 8 and they were very very nice. The suite perks are worth it, enjoy the cruise and especially enjoy Oasis.

We just spent 5 1/2 weeks in the USA, left on 28 Nov flew to Orlando and went to Disney World, drove to Fort Lauderdale on 6 December and boarded Oasis of the Seas for back to back cruises on Oasis (so we did both western and eastern itinerary). We then went to Washington DC and New York arriving back on 3 January.

Whether you choose Quantum or Oasis, some time in your lifetime you have to cruise on the biggest cruise ship in the world .... Oasis. We preferred the eastern itinerary - Nassau (Bahamas), St Thomas and St Maarten. The western side, Labadee (haiti), Jamaica and Mexico were ok but St Thomas and St Maarten were very beautiful islands... I notice you are from the Whitsundays ... St T and St M are really lovely sea-side locations. We took a private catamaran from St T out to Turtle island and swam with turtles. In St M we had a private driver for 5 hours and went around the entire island (both Dutch and French sides). We also stopped at Maho (Airport) Beach - youtube this .... you will be surprised what happens at this beach!!!!

Jamaica and Mexico are both fenced ports with duty free, watch, diamond, jewellery and souvenir shops. It was very hot in Mexico I could barely breath ... and we live in Queensland so are used to the heat but the air was so dry.

Oasis is an amazing ship, so much to do and you barely notice the 6000 passengers. So many shows and other entertainment , sporting activities etc etc etc.

I notice you have been on Radiance and Voyager ... we have been on Rhapsody so am comparing to it, but the Cruise Compass has extra pages for evening activities and events, ie. more pages than on Rhapsody.

Many more shops and places to eat ...... Whatever ship you choose you will enjoy and i have seen the ads for Quantum BUT if you are going to go all the way to Florida and have kids I would go on Oasis or Allure.

re: Disneyland (California) vs Disney World (Orlando) - we have been to both now, I would recommend Disney World, more parks, much bigger, more to do .... everything in America is big.... you can also go to Universal's Islands of Adventure / Universal in Orlando ... if you like Harry Potter there is a whole world / HP ride. It's really hard to describe the size of Disney World and Disneyland on forums, but I had been told by friends that Disney World was bigger and better and now I understand what they meant.....

Happy travel planning ....

We really loved the Oasis last month. I did think the main dining room was pretty bad. The service and the food. It's funny, we made the same remark, "they must be killing the MDR to encourage people to go to the specialty restaurants." After two nights, we had seen enough. The food was cold and the waiters were ridiculously understaffed. We ate at specialty restaurants for the rest of the week, aside from the WJ the night of St. Thomas.

 

Other than that, the cruise couldn't have been any better. We actually thought the WJ was much better than the MDR. Probably because the food was warm-hot instead of cold. I know people always say "food is subjective." Quality and temperature is not, though.

 

We loved our cruise, but it is a shame that the MDR is so bad. I think they're just slashing quality wherever they can to cut costs. From now on, we will just plan on dining in specialty restaurants table 4-5 nights, but that does add a good bit of cost to the cruise.

kruzerci

I notice you were on Oasis the same week as we were ..... what time did you dine in the MDR and what level?

As I said in my previous thread, we cruises B2B on 7 and 14 december, during the first week the head waiter asked us where we would like to sit for the 2nd week and we said "next to the captain's table" .... that's where we sat.

The service was the same both weeks, as was the food and it was never cold..... well except for the desserts LOL

Admittedly I don't have the cruise experience of some of the posters on this thread BUT the service we received on Oasis on our recent B2B cruise was excellent.

Both weeks the staff were very attentive and the food was great. If we wanted to try multiple starters, entrees or desserts we could. The food was always hot and one of the teenagers was a very fussy eater who ordered meals with and without certain items. They came as requested and at the same time as everyone else

The food was always hot and sometimes the desserts (over the 2 week period) were slightly not as a good as the week before and we did notice a change in the lobster on the second week in that it was larger than the week before. But the wait staff told us that the ship was trying out a different supplier hence the difference.

I do also enjoy the speciality restaurants particularly chops grille but the MDR whilst not a 5 star restaurant (which I don't believe it's advertised to be) is very good.

Like I said, downunder here in Australia, we would love an Oasis class ship and I have to say the MDR is just as good on the big ship and the small ship (Rhapsody).

If I lived in Florida I would be cruising on those ships as much as I could....

Chops, try the oysters, the filet mignon and either the brulee or choc mud cake - it takes like peanut butter.... also if you dine there make sure you ask for all the vegetable sides.

Are these certificates combinable with the current early bird sale? I'm thinking the answer is no????

OMG I'm going to be flamed BUT I can't believe the complaints on here .... I live in Australia, we have 3 Royal Caribbean ships that come here for 6-8 months of the year, Rhapsody, Radiance and Voyager.

Other cruise lines operate here like P&O and Carnival, I think all year round.

In the US the number of choices in ships is amazing and I suppose this is due to the population. Australia's population is 25 million .... if one of the big ships, ie. Oasis or Allure came to Australia WE would be so happy. We travelled to the US and cruised on Oasis in December on a B2B, had the best time and had nothing to complain about.

Perhaps you just take for granted what you have there! Sorry just sayin !!!!

There is also the sun deck, forward on port side, go all the way to the front of the ship. There is a auto opening door.

Are you a Crown & Anchor Society member? if so what level?

As there are some events you can attend and you will get an invite in your stateroom.

Ice skating show is also great and there is a new party on the last night of the cruise called a "Glow Party" ... it starts after 10pm in studio B .... 45 minutes of the latest music and dancing... lots of fun.

Chops Grill restaurant is great, try the oysters or mushroom soup as a starter, the fillet mignon and then the brulee or choc mud cake for dessert. We cruised for 2 weeks on oasis in december and went to chops twice because we loved it so much.

Make sure you observe everything you can, there are surprises everywhere.

No escargot on oasis in December....