Just off Oasis - my observations.

[Cruising89143]

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.

 

I just did a quick check on prices for Oasis between now and September. These were the lowest prices found for each month.

 

The prices are for a standard inside cabin and the lowest to get on the ship.

 

2/26 - 919.00 per person

3/19 - 849.00 per person

4/02 - 949.00 per person

5/14 - 799.00 per person

6/04 - 999.00 per person

7/16 - 1505.00 per person

8/27 - 1015.00 per person

9/03 - 875.00 per person

 

Would not call that inexpensive for a standard small inside cabin. Still some of the highest priced cabins in the RCI fleet.

[JeffersonSea]

If you hunt around, you can find some cheaper prices. We could do a balcony on Oasis in May for the same price as a suite on Freedom. I will see if I can find the prices I found yesterday. Note...these were for May '11, which I was comparing to what we booked on Allure and were pricing for the same cruise on Freedom.

[Cruising89143]

If you hunt around, you can find some cheaper prices. We could do a balcony on Oasis in May for the same price as a suite on Freedom. I will see if I can find the prices I found yesterday. Note...these were for May '11, which I was comparing to what we booked on Allure and were pricing for the same cruise on Freedom.

 

So you are stating that you can do a balcony on Oasis for the price of a suite on Freedom? How then are Oasis prices cheaper?

[Nebr.cruiser]

You definitely can get better prices than this--I just saw $899 for an Oasis balcony with $100 OBC, which I consider reasonable for this ship--high for other ships. It's not at a time we prefer to go, but checking around can certainly result in a better price.

[BillOh]

, 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.

 

 

 

I have fun picking out my cruise and planning the excursions in port, but I like to get up each morning and see what show is offered and go. If you had early dinner seating you went to one show and another if you had late seating. This is one thing I don't think I'm going to like.

[BrianAlt]

I have fun picking out my cruise and planning the excursions in port, but I like to get up each morning and see what show is offered and go. If you had early dinner seating you went to one show and another if you had late seating. This is one thing I don't think I'm going to like.

 

Understood. But there are plenty of other options that don't need reservations. And it's not as bad as it seems. After all, most of the headliner shows have limited times anyway.

[Cruising89143]

You definitely can get better prices than this--I just saw $899 for an Oasis balcony with $100 OBC, which I consider reasonable for this ship--high for other ships. It's not at a time we prefer to go, but checking around can certainly result in a better price.

 

I saw a price for a balcony guarantee for $899.00 in May which means that you will more than likely be placed in central park or boardwalk view balcony. To me that is no better than an inside cabin. If I have a balcony, I want it to be an ocean view.

[bajathree]

Prices on both Oasis and Allure are dropping quickly for this summer and many already have residency and senior rates out for quite some time already....heck my June sailing even has cat Y and Z guar's out already.....actually some prices are even cheaper than Freedom already. It's no wonder as I have been saying for some time now that there was no way they were going to fill those ships over the summer with a starting price of $1899/pp for a balcony. They have now dropped WAY down from that...I just had over a $750 price drop on my June sailing between 2 cabins and thats after the price dropping almost by that much a couple months ago....and Oasis Eastern is even pricing out cheaper than Allure western....first time I am seeing that. At least I am glad they are dropping prices now and NOT doing an after final fire sale like they were doing in the past. I expect to see prices for this summer drop even further as bookings seem way off and LOTS of available inventory in all categories. I think Royal shot themselves in the foot with keep the prices so inflated for so long....they scared a lot of people away with their pricing.

[JeffersonSea]

I saw a price for a balcony guarantee for $899.00 in May which means that you will more than likely be placed in central park or boardwalk view balcony. To me that is no better than an inside cabin. If I have a balcony, I want it to be an ocean view.

 

There are plenty of ocean balconies available on oasis right now at a greatly reduced price than from one year ago. Even from just months ago. I went through the booking process for Oasis just to see what kind of prices I could get, and the choices for balcony staterooms was wide open.

 

These are from RC's website, which you could prob do better with some good searching online. All are Western Carib.

 

Price for an oceanview balcony on Oasis, May 14th, $2766.

Price for an oceanview balcony on Allure, May 22nd, $3780.

 

That's a mighty big drop in 1 year. As i was saying, it's $800 cheaper to go on Oasis than Freedom right now.

 

Price for an oceanview balcony on Freedom, May 15th, $3591.

Price for an oceanview Jr. Suite on Freedom, May 15th, $4749.

[Nebr.cruiser]

I saw a price for a balcony guarantee for $899.00 in May which means that you will more than likely be placed in central park or boardwalk view balcony. To me that is no better than an inside cabin. If I have a balcony, I want it to be an ocean view.

 

You could be right; I didn't check on it further as we don't want to cruise in May anyway. I was just trying to point out that prices are often very fluid and not to go just by what the cruise line itself shows, or any one TA--it helps to check around and be flexible.

[Trekker954]

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!

 

I sail out of PEV quite often, but its usually getting dark and while I have seen the flowrider and think its awesome to have it in their yard, I haven't seen anyone surfing there yet. I also love the lady in the highrise who puts out the Royal Caribbean flag. I often wondered if she changes the flag for each ship as it passes. We really do enjoy the enthusiams of those condo dwellers with their horns and flicking their lights on and off.

 

It must be fun watching the big ships come and go but also depressing knowing others are starting vacation and you are stuck at home.

[Cruising89143]

There are plenty of ocean balconies available on oasis right now at a greatly reduced price than from one year ago. Even from just months ago. I went through the booking process for Oasis just to see what kind of prices I could get, and the choices for balcony staterooms was wide open.

 

These are from RC's website, which you could prob do better with some good searching online. All are Western Carib.

 

Price for an oceanview balcony on Oasis, May 14th, $2766.

A D-1 on the Oasis on this sailing is $1369.00 per person or $2738.00 for two. Freedom is less expensive.

 

Price for an oceanview balcony on Allure, May 22nd, $3780.

A D-1 is $1439.00 per person. $2878.00 for two. Freedom is less expensive.

 

That's a mighty big drop in 1 year. As i was saying, it's $800 cheaper to go on Oasis than Freedom right now.

 

Price for an oceanview balcony on Freedom, May 15th, $3591.

Looking at RCI's website right now, a D1 is $1179.00 per person for $2358.00 for two people. Not $3591.00.

Price for an oceanview Jr. Suite on Freedom, May 15th, $4749.

Junior Suite is $1649.00 per person on this sailing. $3298.00 for two people. Or you can book a JS gurantee for $1439.00 per person. This is the May 15, 2011 sailing.A Grand Suite is $4298.00 for two people

 

I just checked each of those prices on RCI's website using no discounts such as military or senior. In the end Freedom is less expensive. The prices for Oasis and Allure are not what they were last year. Even RCI knew that the prices would come down. They have stated that but they are still getting premium prices for those two ships.

[PSU]

The Oasis is just wonderful. We had second seating in the dining room and our waiters really were great. We didn't have to wait at all and they were very attentive.

We went to the Solarium Bistro one night for dinner and the service was poor. The food was not that good either.

We had so much fun in the concierge lounge, meeting such nice people. It was great for breakfast and lunch too.

[berylde]

We were on Oasis 1/22/2011 to 1/29/2011 and had first seating in MDR.

 

Have never had such slow service. We were on time at 6 PM and just about the last table to leave the DR. The wait between courses was VERY LONG

[janetz]

I have fun picking out my cruise and planning the excursions in port, but I like to get up each morning and see what show is offered and go. If you had early dinner seating you went to one show and another if you had late seating. This is one thing I don't think I'm going to like.

 

 

This is where we found MTD a great choice. We booked all the shows for the times we wanted and ate according to that. Party of 6, never waited, no reservation. We ate around 7pm. it was perfect. :)

[klingoncruiser]

Thanks for the quick review. Good points.

[skeezix]

We were on this sailing as well! I completely agree about the HR issues! We had nothing but issues all week, have been on 4 other cruises on RC, in suites for all of them. We decided to book an aqua theater suite this time, and I regret it. For this ship you should book 2nd seating for the MDR, that way you will get your formal clothing back in time for dinner on the 1st formal night. I have to say our waiter was constantly at our table during dinner to the point we just wanted him to go away!! I guess we were his only concern, he would deliver food to another table and then head right back to us to "chat". One night he gave us a sales pitch for the cookbook, that ruined it for us that night. Would love to hear if anyone else got the sales pitch at dinner, last thing I want while I am eating is to be sold to. As far as chops we had a great dinner there but I think that it was because the conceirge made sure of it for us . They had a very nice bottle of champange on ice for us, and even brought us lobster since it was the 2nd formal night and my mom was disappointed at missing it in the MDR. I agree that the family style serving of aspargus is not nearly enough! I asked for a 2nd plate of asparagus and they gave us alot that time. Our waiter in chops was great, very attentive to us so we had a nice evening there.

 

I know they have a big issue in the customer service area on this ship not sure if it will get better, I have to say I saw a lot of unhappy staff around the ship. Even our room steward was a but testy. Our experience with CS was that they pass the buck if they can.

 

This cruise was a big disappointment for us , not sure if we will book on this ship again. At this point I can't even get my husband to consider using the 25% off of a future cruise that they gave us due to all the issues we had to deal with.

 

I hope they get things straightened out on this ship soon, I hope everyone else's cruise is better!

[bajathree]

We were on this sailing as well! I completely agree about the HR issues! We had nothing but issues all week, have been on 4 other cruises on RC, in suites for all of them. We decided to book an aqua theater suite this time, and I regret it. For this ship you should book 2nd seating for the MDR, that way you will get your formal clothing back in time for dinner on the 1st formal night. I have to say our waiter was constantly at our table during dinner to the point we just wanted him to go away!! I guess we were his only concern, he would deliver food to another table and then head right back to us to "chat". One night he gave us a sales pitch for the cookbook, that ruined it for us that night. Would love to hear if anyone else got the sales pitch at dinner, last thing I want while I am eating is to be sold to. As far as chops we had a great dinner there but I think that it was because the conceirge made sure of it for us . They had a very nice bottle of champange on ice for us, and even brought us lobster since it was the 2nd formal night and my mom was disappointed at missing it in the MDR. I agree that the family style serving of aspargus is not nearly enough! I asked for a 2nd plate of asparagus and they gave us alot that time. Our waiter in chops was great, very attentive to us so we had a nice evening there.

 

I know they have a big issue in the customer service area on this ship not sure if it will get better, I have to say I saw a lot of unhappy staff around the ship. Even our room steward was a but testy. Our experience with CS was that they pass the buck if they can.

 

This cruise was a big disappointment for us , not sure if we will book on this ship again. At this point I can't even get my husband to consider using the 25% off of a future cruise that they gave us due to all the issues we had to deal with.

 

I hope they get things straightened out on this ship soon, I hope everyone else's cruise is better!

What issues:confused:

[publicpersona]

I booked the 02/26 sailing just Monday (finally found a stateroom that met my price criteria). While I'm keeping a positve attitude and look forward to it, stories like these concern me.

 

Also, we do MTD specifically so we don't have to eat too early or too late, and I find that the only times for MTD dinner still available are like 5:30 PM or 9:00 PM. The best time I can get in a specialty is very late as well. I hope we can do better once onboard.

 

The Comedy Club show is all sold out as well.

[Kevdog71]

We were on the 1/15 sailing and didn't have any problems with our service in the MDR (efficient even with a table for 12) or Chops. We were told to allot 2 hours for our Chops meal, and that's about what it was, but with wine, salads, appetizers, steaks and dessert, it was well paced. Sometimes it just comes down to your individual server. I can confirm that there were quite a few new crew members on board after Allure took many of the Oasis regulars.

 

The reservations model takes some getting used to, but we're planners anyway, so we didn't mind working things out in advance. A quick tip for those booked for future Oasis/Allure sailings: if you aren't able to get the times that you want online before you sail, go down to Studio B as soon as you board the ship. They have a few computers set up to take reservations there and you can get pretty much whatever you want as long as you do fairly early that day.

 

All that said, I agree that cruising on Oasis is a bit of a double-edged sword: It's an engineering marvel that's unlikely to be rivaled anytime soon, and it's just unbelievable to experience, but the fact of the matter is that it's difficult to move and manage 6,000 people at once. As much as I loved my time on Oasis, we found Liberty to be wonderful and I can't help but think that the Freedom class may have hit the sweet spot on the size continuum.

[klove613]

Definitely a bummer to read this as I was hoping that some of the inevitable service issues with transferring personnel to Allure would be resolved by now. We are sailing in April and hope things will be smoothed out by then. We sailed on the Mariner when it was the newest ship...no issues; Liberty when it was the newest ship....no issues; Independence, a few months after the Oasis set sail and had lots of service issues (especially in the MDR).

 

I wonder if sailing on the second oldest ship is not advisable as they take a good chunk of the staff to the newest one. I really wanted to book Allure, but my family didn't want to do the Eastern route again, so I figured we would give Oasis a try.

 

I know we will have a good time, it is just disappointing to hear about service issues.

[kath00]

Do suite passengers need to make ressies for the shows as well or is there still a suite reserved section for shows?

 

Thanks! Katherine

[bajathree]

I booked the 02/26 sailing just Monday (finally found a stateroom that met my price criteria). While I'm keeping a positve attitude and look forward to it, stories like these concern me.

 

Also, we do MTD specifically so we don't have to eat too early or too late, and I find that the only times for MTD dinner still available are like 5:30 PM or 9:00 PM. The best time I can get in a specialty is very late as well. I hope we can do better once onboard.

 

The Comedy Club show is all sold out as well.

 

You JUST booked a sailing that is only 2 weeks out and you expect everything to be open and available to your liking:confused:....I am glad there at least some perks to booking in advance...like getting the time slots and entertainment reservation you want. You can't expect to grab a last minute deal and eat your cake as well.

[bajathree]

Definitely a bummer to read this as I was hoping that some of the inevitable service issues with transferring personnel to Allure would be resolved by now. We are sailing in April and hope things will be smoothed out by then. We sailed on the Mariner when it was the newest ship...no issues; Liberty when it was the newest ship....no issues; Independence, a few months after the Oasis set sail and had lots of service issues (especially in the MDR).

 

I wonder if sailing on the second oldest ship is not advisable as they take a good chunk of the staff to the newest one. I really wanted to book Allure, but my family didn't want to do the Eastern route again, so I figured we would give Oasis a try.

 

I know we will have a good time, it is just disappointing to hear about service issues.

 

The Eastern route has been much more in demand than the Western....you can easily see this when you start to look at the pricing/availability the closer you get to sail date.

[bajathree]

Do suite passengers need to make ressies for the shows as well or is there still a suite reserved section for shows?

 

Thanks! Katherine

 

No advance reservations required for suite guests in a GS or above with a gold card.