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My Oasis impressions

steilkurve

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steilkurve

steilkurve

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Sailed Oasis on February 27th. Thought I'd share my quick impressions.

 

This was our 18th cruise so we tend to be pretty demanding. We're a couple in our late 30s traveling with our 4 and 7-year old daughters as well as my parents who are in their 70s. We couldn't be happier about our vacation.

 

While the engineering marvel lured us to Oasis of the Seas, I have to admit the amount of people onboard was creating a bit of anxiety for us. That was quickly put aside. This is by far the ship we felt the less crowded on. Aside from a few occasions such as the embarkation buffet at the Windjammer Marketplace and exiting the theatre after a show, there really wasn't ever that many people around. This ship is breathtaking but most importantly intelligently laid out. Having five pools in five different areas, landmark areas such as Central Park, the Royal Promenade and the Boardwalk cleverly scatters passengers throughout the ship on an ongoing basis.

 

As for dining, we tried 150 Central Park and Chops Grill which were both out of this world. Also went to Johnny Rockets, Sorrento's and Café Promenade but the real surprise of the cruise for us was Park Café. The food was nice with good paninis and a salad bar but the quietness of the place is what we enjoyed the most. So pleasant to walk the Central Park pathways to get to a quiet dining spot. Highly recommended! As for the the main dining room, another nice surprise. While we ran into the unavoidable average dish here and there, I would dare to say the quality resembled our Celebrity Solstice cruise of last year. Now, Celebrity has certainly made its menu more mainstream over the years but it remains above average. Oh and by the way, we had My Time Dining. We ate 5 nights there and showed up between 6 pm and 7:30 pm. Didn't really ever wait. Best of all, they always gave us one of two tables. So, we got the flexibility of eating when we wanted but also the comfort of familiar wait staff serving us. Definitely our choice moving forward.

 

As for the shows, we saw Oasis of dreams, Hairspray, Come fly with me and Frozen in time. Oasis of dreams was very good although I couldn't help myself thinking how it felt a tad like a less elaborate version of 'O' in Vegas. That being said, the divers were impressive. Hairspray and Come fly with me were by far our preferred. I recommend making reservations. We saw pour souls lining up for each show. We never had to.

 

Finally, our kids went to Adventure Ocean twice, affording the adults two nights out. The facilities are attractive for kids and pretty complete with things like a science lab and a theatre. That all got their attention right away. In fact, they were mad at us for picking them up so early and asked us to come back later... What parent doesn't want to hear that?!

 

These are my quick impressions. Any questions, let me know. Happy to help other cruises considering or booked for Oasis of the seas.

 

Smooth sailing!

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tomko2

tomko2

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Sailed Oasis on February 27th. Thought I'd share my quick impressions.

 

This was our 18th cruise so we tend to be pretty demanding. We're a couple in our late 30s traveling with our 4 and 7-year old daughters as well as my parents who are in their 70s. We couldn't be happier about our vacation.

 

While the engineering marvel lured us to Oasis of the Seas, I have to admit the amount of people onboard was creating a bit of anxiety for us. That was quickly put aside. This is by far the ship we felt the less crowded on. Aside from a few occasions such as the embarkation buffet at the Windjammer Marketplace and exiting the theatre after a show, there really wasn't ever that many people around. This ship is breathtaking but most importantly intelligently laid out. Having five pools in five different areas, landmark areas such as Central Park, the Royal Promenade and the Boardwalk cleverly scatters passengers throughout the ship on an ongoing basis.

 

As for dining, we tried 150 Central Park and Chops Grill which were both out of this world. Also went to Johnny Rockets, Sorrento's and Café Promenade but the real surprise of the cruise for us was Park Café. The food was nice with good paninis and a salad bar but the quietness of the place is what we enjoyed the most. So pleasant to walk the Central Park pathways to get to a quiet dining spot. Highly recommended! As for the the main dining room, another nice surprise. While we ran into the unavoidable average dish here and there, I would dare to say the quality resembled our Celebrity Solstice cruise of last year. Now, Celebrity has certainly made its menu more mainstream over the years but it remains above average. Oh and by the way, we had My Time Dining. We ate 5 nights there and showed up between 6 pm and 7:30 pm. Didn't really ever wait. Best of all, they always gave us one of two tables. So, we got the flexibility of eating when we wanted but also the comfort of familiar wait staff serving us. Definitely our choice moving forward.

 

As for the shows, we saw Oasis of dreams, Hairspray, Come fly with me and Frozen in time. Oasis of dreams was very good although I couldn't help myself thinking how it felt a tad like a less elaborate version of 'O' in Vegas. That being said, the divers were impressive. Hairspray and Come fly with me were by far our preferred. I recommend making reservations. We saw pour souls lining up for each show. We never had to.

 

Finally, our kids went to Adventure Ocean twice, affording the adults two nights out. The facilities are attractive for kids and pretty complete with things like a science lab and a theatre. That all got their attention right away. In fact, they were mad at us for picking them up so early and asked us to come back later... What parent doesn't want to hear that?!

 

These are my quick impressions. Any questions, let me know. Happy to help other cruises considering or booked for Oasis of the seas.

 

Smooth sailing!

 

Thank you for posting this review. We will definitely plan on reserving show tickets in advance. Very pleased that the MDR food was good.

Glad you enjoyed your cruise.

Kathy:)

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dbail4

dbail4

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Love your review. I have a few questions. How early did you get to the shows? When do they let in the people who do not have reservations? When you first arrived on the ship could you have dined elsewhere?

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Cruising89143

Cruising89143

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Glad that you and your family enjoyed the Oasis and your comments seem to reflect what most of the other members of this board have posted.

 

Funny that before the Oasis entered service, all most could talk about was the crowds and size of the ship. Seems all of that has been put to rest. RCI is the master of ship design and it shows more than every in the Oasis.:)

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steilkurve

steilkurve

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Love your review. I have a few questions. How early did you get to the shows? When do they let in the people who do not have reservations? When you first arrived on the ship could you have dined elsewhere?

 

I'd say we pretty much always got to the shows 15 minutes in advance. I think the cut off time is 10 minutes. At that point they let standbys in. As for embarkation lunch, Park Café was open. I wish we had gone there. Windjammer was, as I mentioned, a bit more crowded. Not certain but I would assume Café Promenade, Sorrento's, Johnny Rockets and Sea Shack were open as well. Next time, we'll head straight to Park Café.

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steilkurve

steilkurve

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RCI is the master of ship design and it shows more than every in the Oasis.:)

 

They most certainly are. Not only do to beat their peers on design but also then manage the ships in a clever way. On our cruise, they held popular events in the AquaTheatre in the afternoon on sea days. That draws people away from the main pools. Not a coincidence.

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sandgrace

sandgrace

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Thanks for posting your impressions, it helps me be less anxious about the crowds for our cruise in May. Good to hear that your kids liked Adventure Ocean, I'm hoping our daughter will like it too so we get some alone time and relaxation!

 

A question, do you have to pay for your child to be in Adventure Ocean during the evening hours?

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steilkurve

steilkurve

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Thanks for posting your impressions, it helps me be less anxious about the crowds for our cruise in May. Good to hear that your kids liked Adventure Ocean, I'm hoping our daughter will like it too so we get some alone time and relaxation!

 

A question, do you have to pay for your child to be in Adventure Ocean during the evening hours?

 

Adventure Ocean was free up until 10 pm. At that point there is a fee although I couldn't tell you what it is.

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sailor05

sailor05

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Adventure Ocean was free up until 10 pm. At that point there is a fee although I couldn't tell you what it is.

 

 

I've read that it's the same as the other ships, which is $5 an hour. Worth every penny of it too!!:D DD (10) wants to stay every night and has already started asking us about staying late on our upcoming cruise in June.

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Head Shot

Head Shot

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OP is right on the money.

 

The ship is well laid out and thought of. The only unenjoyable part of our vacation was the airline flight experience. Now I just have a harder time of booking for a cruise on a "lesser" ship.

 

Royal Caribbean really delivered the WOW experience.

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CanuckMO4

CanuckMO4

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Enjoyed your review, we are on the Oasis in April for our first ever cruise! We were concerned about overcrowding but are not now - thank you.

The OP is correct to say crowding is not an issue,this really was a pleasant treat to go to the pool on sea days and have no problem getting chairs too.I have been on a number of cruises and often felt crowded on smaller ships.Never a problem with elevaters either, We thought it a joke when RCCL said 15 min from curb to ship but I can tell you it took us only 16min.I have to give them there props for all of that.

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dbail4

dbail4

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Thank you for the info...We have dinner reservations for 8:30 and have a show at 10:00 so we will have to eat quickly...I don't know if we can eat in an hour. Hopefully the waiter can help expidite our meals and most importantly desert...

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