Just off Oasis - my observations.

[One Morlock]

Just sailed her from 1/29 thru 2/5. Background: My wife and I are late 50's and this is only our 5th cruise. Prior cruises were RCI Freedom, Liberty and Serenade, and last year tried Celebrity Solstice. I'll keep this brief and again, these are just my observations and experiences.

 

SHIP: Magnificent! The neighborhood concept was brilliant. Central Park, The Boardwalk and the expanded Royal Promenade were all great!

 

CABIN: Just like the other ships. Had a D1 on deck 10 right at the edge of the hump. Balcony was good size. Storage seemed less then other ships(??) Also, lack of outlets in room. Had to keep changing chargers during the week. No biggie though.

 

STATEROOM ATTENDANT: Terrific! If you get port/midship on deck 10, Wanda is fantastic. Saw her everyday of cruise and she couldn't have been more helpful!

 

MAIN DINING ROOM: OK, here we go....service was HORRIFIC! We had early seating (6 p.m.) Every night we did not get served desserts until 8:15! Slowest I've ever experienced on a cruise. Waiter and assistant waiter were nice but totally overwhelmed.

 

CHOPS GRILL: I fell in love with Chops on our first cruise on the Freedom. Not only was the food fantastic, but you had 4 or 5 people serving you and making sure you had a terrific dining experience. Not this time. On Oasis we had one waiter and the service here was also terrible. For those that have enjoyed chops, you know that sides are served "family style". We were a table of 6 and ordered a side of aspargas. Family style defined at chops is 4 pieces of asparagas. Who knew? Our waiter would disappear for 15 to 20 minutes at a time and would only come to the table if we could get his attention. Not like I remember.

 

ENTERTAINMENT: I learned the hardway but DO MAKE SHOW RESERVATIONS IN ADVANCE!! I did reserve Hairspray (great show by the way), the Aqua Theatre (great too) and the Headliner Show so we did get in to those. However, we did want to see the comedy show but it was full every evening with two performances a night and we couldn't get in.

 

Now for the "headliner show"....it was "Bowser and his rock and roll show" or something like that. For those that don't know, Bowser was with a band called Sha Na Na. Why RCI considers him a "headliner" is beyond me. Show was terrible. Many walked out in the middle of it.

 

SOLARIUM: Spent all our pool time in this area. Kudo's to the "Deck Patrol"! Anybody who tried to save chairs with towels, books, bags etc were surprised if they were gone longer then a 1/2 hour. Deck Patrol cleaned off the chairs for newcomers and items were placed in a holding bin for people to find when they returned. Great policy.

 

SUMMARY: One of the bar waitresses solved the problem for me. She seemed a bit "down in the dumps" and when my DW asked her if anything was wrong she replied that she - and "many other crew on the ship" - were not happy there. They were overwhelmed with all they had to do dealing with 5500 passengers. She said there weren't enough of them. She also told us that the day we boarded, 14 crew members just quit and walked off the ship! Seems RCI has some HR issues here.

 

Glad we went and tried this ship but as I said to my DW, back to Freedom class for me. Much better service. Any questions, don't hesitate to ask.

[Mewissy]

I agree with most of your assessment, especially Chops. I couldn't believe the lack of service we received there. It was very slow and we hardly saw our waiter as well. We may have waited a good 20 minutes before anyone came to our table.

 

I also think that overall I prefer the Freedom class. But, I LOVED Park Cafe. We were on deck 8 and I think I got breakfast there every morning and often and afternoon snack as well. What a great little place!

 

I also loved the Solarium, but thought the pool was small.

 

Our MDR experience seemed better than yours, though.

[MrsPete]

Somehow I'm not enamoured with Oasis -- when I looked at the deck plans trying to choose a room, I was so overwhelmed that I just gave up.

 

However, the best thing you said about it is that they're trying to combat the chair hog problem. It makes me slightly tempted to try Oasis.

[grand isle joe]

Thanks for the quick review One Morlock. I am with you and there is a limit on how large a cruise ship should grow. Hope things get back to "usual" on the Freedom class.:)

[sandytoes03]

Other than the ice show and getting tickets ahead of time, I've never had to reserve shows on RCI before. Is this just because of the large number of people? Are the shows still free? It seems a little crazy to have to make reservations even for a comedy show. I mean, how do you know exactly what you want to do each night so far in advance? Did you reserve online prior to the cruise?

 

Thanks!

[One Morlock]

Other than the ice show and getting tickets ahead of time, I've never had to reserve shows on RCI before. Is this just because of the large number of people? Are the shows still free? It seems a little crazy to have to make reservations even for a comedy show. I mean, how do you know exactly what you want to do each night so far in advance? Did you reserve online prior to the cruise?

 

Thanks!

 

Hi Sandytoes,

Yes, I actully was advised on this board to make reservations before I sailed. You can do it under your reservation on the RCI website. The shows are still free but because of the number of passengers, the theatres fill up quickly. What they do is let all the people with reservations into the theatre first, and if there are empty seats they then let those without reservations in til they're filled. Your reservations are on your seapass so you give your seapass to them when you get there and they scan it. When I went to make my reservations, I was two weeks out and there weren't many shows available believe it or not so I didn't have much to choose from. Never even thought I would have to make reservations for the Comedy Club.

[BrianAlt]

When I went to make my reservations, I was two weeks out and there weren't many shows available believe it or not so I didn't have much to choose from. Never even thought I would have to make reservations for the Comedy Club.

 

You didn't pay enough attention to these boards. It's said over and over again, make your reservations! If you don't go, no problem, but at least you'll have your spot.

 

So to all of those future Oasis/Allure cruisers out there, BOOK YOUR SHOW RESERVATIONS and do it as soon as you can. I actually had fun doing it, planning out all of our evenings ahead of time. But that's me.

[cooncat]

I have to agree with the review of the dining room. Yes, the food was good, but the service was very slow. The one night I told my server, I had plans, she was fast. I should have told her every night. Also, on previous cruises, once it was established I drank diet coke, it was there very quickly after I arrived on other cruises.

 

I found very few deck chairs saved on this ship and never had a problem getting one where I wanted to sit.

 

I loved the Oasis, but did miss the traditional welcome and farewell shows. Don't get me wrong, the Oasis is a great ship and it was great to do it at least once.

 

I would have no problem going back to the Freedom class myself.

 

I have to say, when I was on it, it was only five months old. That was neat being on a brand new ship.

[Sashamcg]

Thanks for the review! We leave on Saturday for our Oasis cruise.

 

I am going with a group and they reserved all the shows for me except for the Headliner show. They had it reserved but then it conflicted with another event so they said we had to reserve it ourselves. When I tried all was booked and I was bummed. BUT now that I hear who it is I know we won't miss it! LOL

 

We plan to spend all our pool time in the ADULTS only solarium as well! I'll just dip in the pool as needed but I am glad to hear about the chair patrol there!

[One Morlock]

When you are sailing out of Port Everglades, stand on the port side where the folks stand in their yards and bid you bon voyage. There is a home about 1/2 way out that has it's own Flowrider in the side yard! As we sailed, someone was surfing on it and waving to us as we passed. Unbelievable!

[Ocean Boy]

Your comments on Oasis are very interesting and thanks for posting them. We are sailing in 17 days and I booked this just because I have to experience this ship for myself. But I have had concerns and you seem to have experienced some of what I have been concerned about.

 

As of now the Freedom and Voyager class ships provide all that I need on a cruise. I will see if my perspective changes after this upcoming cruise but right now I am still a bit skeptical about this ship.

[Mary Ellen]

Thank you for sharing your experience with us.

[Groucho]

SUMMARY: One of the bar waitresses solved the problem for me. She seemed a bit "down in the dumps" and when my DW asked her if anything was wrong she replied that she - and "many other crew on the ship" - were not happy there. They were overwhelmed with all they had to do dealing with 5500 passengers. She said there weren't enough of them. She also told us that the day we boarded, 14 crew members just quit and walked off the ship! Seems RCI has some HR issues here.

 

 

We also heard from a crew member that the crew is not happy with their situation (overworked and lack of a place to spend their free time outside).

 

With the above said, we loved the Oasis and we were treated well by the crew!

[One Morlock]

Your comments on Oasis are very interesting and thanks for posting them. We are sailing in 17 days and I booked this just because I have to experience this ship for myself. But I have had concerns and you seem to have experienced some of what I have been concerned about.

 

As of now the Freedom and Voyager class ships provide all that I need on a cruise. I will see if my perspective changes after this upcoming cruise but right now I am still a bit skeptical about this ship.

 

I - like you - had to try it once and I'm glad I did. At the Captains meet and greet, he mentioned that RCI is planning to build two more ships that are "Freedom class" size but will incorporate some of the neighborhood concepts found on Oasis and Allure. Sounds like they too realize that bigger is not always better.

[MickeyB426]

Thanks for the review!

 

Not to defend or excuse RCCL by any means, but I am guessing that a lot of the staff on Oasis is new to the Oasis ship. From what I've heard, many of the former Oasis crew moved over to Allure.

 

Hope the kinks are worked out by the time I go back in April.

[jennmaybe]

You didn't pay enough attention to these boards. It's said over and over again, make your reservations! If you don't go, no problem, but at least you'll have your spot.

 

So to all of those future Oasis/Allure cruisers out there, BOOK YOUR SHOW RESERVATIONS and do it as soon as you can. I actually had fun doing it, planning out all of our evenings ahead of time. But that's me.

This might be a dumb question, but our cruise in Oct will be our 1st RCL cruise. I've never had to make reservations on Carnival for shows.

 

Do we have to wait until we make final payment before making reservations?

[Cruising89143]

I - like you - had to try it once and I'm glad I did. At the Captains meet and greet, he mentioned that RCI is planning to build two more ships that are "Freedom class" size but will incorporate some of the neighborhood concepts found on Oasis and Allure. Sounds like they too realize that bigger is not always better.

 

There are all kinds of rumors out there as to what size the next ship will be. Just because RCI has no immediate plans to add any additional Oasis class ships does not mean that the ships are not working. Right now Oasis and Allure are demanding the highest per diems than any other ships in the fleet and they have the highest percent of on board spending of any ships in the fleet. That alone will make the management and stock holders very happy. Also, with ships this large and limited ports that can handle a ship this size, it really makes no sense to build any additional Oasis class ships at this time.

 

I just spent two weeks on Allure and over 400 of the crew came from Oasis. This was the best crew that I have experienced on any ship. Not sure what is going on with Oasis but hopefully they will figure it out.

[Cruising89143]

This might be a dumb question, but our cruise in Oct will be our 1st RCL cruise. I've never had to make reservations on Carnival for shows.

 

Do we have to wait until we make final payment before making reservations?

 

No, shows usually open up around 75-80 days out from sail date.

[BrianAlt]

I've never had to make reservations on Carnival for shows.

 

Do we have to wait until we make final payment before making reservations?

 

This is a first for RCI also. Reservations are open 60-90 days before your cruise. Seems like 70-80 days is the norm. That's before final payment is due, so you can make your show reservations before final payment.

 

Have a GREAT cruise!

[CP3o]

I think they may be trying to use less staff on other ships too. Less than they need to have the same service, that is. I think some Liberty reviews recently have mentioned staffing problems in the MDR. They are just too busy.

 

I'd rather pay a little more and have better service and staff that like their jobs while on vacation. I use to read reviews about interaction with the staff and making a special spicy Indian dish and whatnot. You never read about that anymore. Cuttbacks may have gone beyond quality of meat.

 

I'm most disappointed about specialty restaurant reviews lacking. That was a place where you could decide to spend the money to get better food and service if you wanted it. Sounds like cuttbacks are happening there too but no change in the fee so they are looking for larger profits there.

[sandytoes03]

Thanks for the info! So, it's just Oasis and Allure booking reservations? Or, are other ships starting to?

[Cruising89143]

Thanks for the info! So, it's just Oasis and Allure booking reservations? Or, are other ships starting to?

 

Just the two Oasis class ships but I was told on Allure that they would be adding this to Liberty and Freedom.

[Tamerella]

I was on this same 1/29 sailing and I have to agree.....the service at Chops was horrible!! We had heard from two different parties that it was bad earlier in the week (they were given the "we are short staffed" reason). My group figured we would give it a chance....and we were sorry we did. It was just horrible.

 

We did, however, have the best experience at the Chef's Table. That was the highlight of the meals!

[houstoncruisers2001]

We also cruised Oasis 1/29-2/5 and we have ZERO complaints.

 

Our MDR service was above & beyond. Our guy, Miguel did a great job. Sure, on formal nights things ran a little slow, but in 10 cruises that always happens.

Big deal. Our 8:30 seating usually lasted until 10-10:15 which left plenty of time to make the show.

 

We reserved the shows online before our cruise and were glad we did. Most shows did have seats left, but those without reservations had to stand in line until those with reservations showed up.

 

We LOVED the Oasis class. The ship was big, but not too big. Never really seemed crowded either.

 

We thought the crew was great. Always helpful, always smiling.

 

This was our 10th cruise, the 6th on RCCL and the 3rd different RCCL ship.

Without a doubt this was our best cruise.......BY FAR!!!

[JeffersonSea]

Thanks for the review!!!

 

We sailed Oasis last April, and had an excellent cruise in all respects. The service was very attentive. We only ate in the MDR twice all week (too many other great choices) and while service was good, I don't need to spend 2 hours in the MDR, especially with a 4-yr-old.

 

We've also heard that all the best people from Oasis were sent over to Allure, and that might explain it. If you go look at Oasis prices now, they are unbelievably low for that ship. We're on Allure in May, primarily because of the restaurants (we loved Izumi, Vintages and Giovanni's) and the other amenities like the two flowriders and exceptional Adventure Ocean which is so much more fun for our DS. (they have the additional laboratory, craft room, puppet theatre and the "shows" on the aqua theatre stage)

 

But this will definitely be our last cruise on the "big" ships. Next time will be a step back to the Freedom. After another year of everyone trying Allure, I think the initial fascination with sailing one of these ships will die off (as it obviously has with Oasis) and many people will realize that there is something of a more personal attention from a smaller ship.

 

We never felt like there was a crowd on Oasis, could always get a pool chair, and never waited for a drink or anything else. But if the rumors are true about Oasis, that would definitely be a downer.