Had Amazing Jan 16 Cruise - Details

[kruthcruiser]

I recently returned from the Jan 16 sailing and had an amazing time. I really do not know how I could possibly go on another type of ship. I will post my key perspective points while attempting not to really duplicate much of previous postings. I spent a lot of time exploring and enjoying the ship so please post away and ask me any questions on your mind.

Some quick personal info: I am 39 married with 2 children from Long Island. I have been cruising since the 80’s mostly on RCI ships including everything from Sovereign to Voyager to Freedom, but have been at least once on Carnival, Princess, NCL, and Disney.

· As many have commented the first reaction and overall feeling is WOW.

· Embarkation and disembarkation was the best I have experienced.

· Staff and crew provided great service and were very friendly

· In my opinion the stats on paper in terms of size increase is nowhere near as impressive as when you get on the ship. It has the sense of 4 ships combined and I was surprised at the perception I had of how significantly larger and different it was compared to Freedom. This is a much larger leap then it was from Voyager to Freedom Class ships. Some of the hallways when you looked down them seemed endless. I loved the size of the ship and everything it had to offer. However, we did meet people from some small towns or foreign countries that felt overwhelmed so if you do not like large scale resorts or action then skip this ship.

· Our sailing was a 100% booked but everyone I encountered agreed it just did not feel crowded. In fact I felt it was less crowded than every ship I have previously been on. This is not just because of size but the endless options. Typically on a regular ship there is primarily the pool and bingo type activities during the day causing crowded venues and at night one or two show like entertainment options. On the Oasis during the day there was the Amazing Solarium, Regular Pool, Beach Pool, Sports Activity Dedicated Pool, Kids Pool and H2O Zone, lots of Hot Tubs, Aqua Theater which besides the shows sometimes showed sporting events and movies, Zip Line, 2 Rock Climbing Walls, 2 Flowriders, Ice Skating, Sports Court, mini golf, table tennis, Boardwalk activities, huge fitness center, dedicated jog track with 2 lanes, and Promenade shopping along with multiple classes including Cup Cake decorating class that my wife did. The Promenade was just so large, 2 levels, very wide with shopping in the middle aisle besides dedicated stores, and much improved for parades. Speaking of Jog track we were in port next to the Equinox and could see someone running on a track on the top deck and at times having to avoid people and chairs whereas on Oasis that is a non issue. In terms of the Flowrider as compared to the Freedom Oasis has 2 so there is a dedicated one for Stand Up Surfing and another for Boogie Boarding so there was much less wait time. At night there was so many options for example on one night there was so many activities going on at the same time that dispersed the crowd such as Hairspray, Aqua Show, guitar in the park, Jazz, Comedy Shows, Disco dancing in Blaze, Dancing in Dazzles, Dancing in Boleros, Karaoke in On Air, singer in Schooner, singer in Globe and Atlas, etc… There is just too much going on to have any one place crowded. We had no problem getting deck chairs. Also the elevators were plentiful and had the shortest waits I have experienced on a ship

· I really loved the separate dedicated Jazz and Comedy Clubs. If you enjoy Jazz then you must check it out as it was great. They also had multiple Comedy shows including two back to back comedians, a late night comedy show by them, and on different nights improv shows.

· somewhat similar to Vegas such First Class Spa, Hairspray, Aqua Show somewhat like “O”, Bellagio Fountain Show, Cirque type show, thrills, state of the art casino, etc…

· The ship felt higher end than other RCI ships. The art was fantastic, the finishes and furniture was higher end, etc.. We also took the art tour and enjoyed the dedicated art gallery.

· Technology was great such as the interactive TVs and hall displays. Also the photo technology and elimination of time spent sifting through photos to find yours is eliminated and great. The Internet access and WiFi on the ship was great to have and eliminated the hogging and teen hang outs in Internet areas on other RCI ships.

· We did MTD and loved it as we never waited more than 8 minutes and enjoyed the flexibility and lack of pressure of a set time. Just be aware that MTD reservations for specific times or tables are not taken on the first 2 days. Also there is really no point in making reservations with MTD as you still wait on the exact same line and have the same wait as someone that did not make reservations. Reservations only serve the purpose of allowing you to have the same table and/or waiter if you choose which they will block during the time you specify but you still wait on the same line. Again though the line goes very quick.

· The food options seemed endless. In addition to all of the restaurants already identified there are so many snack places to get different sandwiches at each venue and dessert options such as Park Café, Boardwalk Bar with items such Corn Dogs, Mondo Café, Promenade Café, Doughnut Shop, Ice Cream Shoppe (addl charge), Ice Cream Machines on Deck 15, Tapas at Vintages (addl charge) and then pizza at Sorentos including make your own, Wipe Out Café, and on and on. Again all of these eating options again aid to crowd disbursement.

· We absolutely loved Park Café and the Solarium Bistro and overall felt the food was great on the ship. In fact the Solarium Bistro had grilled Lobster one day for lunch.

· Really enjoyed eating in Central Park for lunch at the Park Café and relaxing outside in great chairs. We even saw some butterflies in CP and liked the piped in birds and cricket sounds. Also at night it was a cool chill out area and enjoyed when they had the guitarist playing.

· The specialty restaurants were also more enjoyable by being bigger and having both inside and outside seating in Central Park adding to the atmosphere and drawing on the magic of Central Park.

· Isumi is a great addition for very good sushi, try the lobster roll. We prefer Portifinos over Giovanni’s especially Portofino’s Risotto and Tiramisu. SeaFood Shack was a bit disappointing, food was nothing special, and it was surprising that it charges $8.95 per person with a 3 item limitation when compared to all of the amazing free options, only $4.95 for Johnny Rockets and $15 for Giovannis.

· Room Warning: The rooms on deck 7 directly under the Park Cafe are very noisy dut to high traffic early in the morning and during the day with many tables and chairs being moved around on tiled floor. Rooms under the other restaurants of Central Park are not really an issue as they have carpeting, less traffic, and are shorter operating hours. Also we heard the boardwalk balcony rooms right under the Zip Line landing area were noisy due to the people landing.

· We spoke to a number of people and they said the kids and teens programs were great

· We received Dove chocolates and towel animals every night which I mention as some earlier posted indicated this was not happening but Oasis has changed this policy for itself

· Diamond Lounge is hardly ever used and does not really serve much of a purpose. However the Diamond nightly event in Blaze were great and provided you with any type of drink at no cost as long as you did not take your drink out of Blaze

· Casino had many different game options and the latest from Vegas type of digital slot machines, scrabble, etc… and in terms of tables regular Blackjack tables as well as one single deck blackjack, different poker game types, etc… Speaking of Poker I enjoy playing and was looking forward to the Poker room. However, I was a bit disappointed that there was no live dealers and it was all digital touch screens around a table. It was like playing on-line poker but with all the players around the same physical table. There was a timer for betting and it was easy to make betting mistakes with the touch screen that you would have to quickly correct before the timer ran out and no real opportunity to read your opponents. Also the rake was high as for cash games it was 10% up to $150 for each hand. They did have poker tournaments where you would pay $100 and would have to win your 8 person table to advance to the final table on Day 6 and you would need to win that to get a free cruise and play in a large scale poker tournament.

We already booked a cruise on Allure for next year and are bringing our kids on that cruise as we left them at home for this trip. We found out that the Allure will have different art and all different shows including a yet to be named Broadway show all of which will be announced 6 months before the handover. The Loyalty Ambassador said Oasis would have the same shows as it does now for at least the next 3 years.

I can not see how anyone could not love this ship and find something that they really enjoy with all the options. The most important thing is to realize you are on vacation and look for things to enjoy and not pick on.

[kruthcruiser]

I should also mention that I love the new lifeboat drill that does not require to bring and wear jackets and onlyt lasted 15 minutes. This added to a great first day as we boarded by 11:15 AM and had our bathing suits with us so we did not actually go to our cabin until after the sail away around 6:30 PM and took full advantage of exploring, enjoying, and relaxing for a pretty full first day.

[Mamacane71]

Thanks so much for the review. We will be boarding June 5th. It will take forever for that day to get here. I have a question about MDT. Were you seated by yourself or at a table with other people? There are 5 of us and we would really like to be seated by ourselves, as my son-in-law is somewhat shy. Again thanks again for raising my anticipation to another level...

[kruthcruiser]

For MTD we sometimes sat with other people and sometimes by ourselves as we wanted to try both. It is really up to you. You can certainly request a table for just the 5 of you and they will accomodate. Have a great time!!

[GXmanDC]

Thanks for the detailed review. I felt like I was there. I can't wait to sail on Oasis or Allure.