Oasis of the Seas Pools Fresh Water? Gluten free dining?

[NeurosurgeryNP]

Hello - we are booked with our TA on her reunion cruise (with a large group) for November 2011. This will be our first sailing on RCI. Have 2 major questions to ask -

 

1) Are the pools freshwater or saltwater?

 

2) How is RCI in accommodating special diets? DH is gluten free. I know with Princess, we fax our request in a couple of months before hand and requety the diet on the cruise personalizer. How do we request this for our RCI sailing?

 

Any other tips or tricks for the Oasis would be greatly appreciated! :) We are definitely going for the experience of the ship, not for the itinerary. How is the crowded factor - do you feel crowded all of the time on the Oasis? That is a big worry for us.

 

Thanks for your time!

[will773]

From what I remember, I believe that all of the pools are freshwater except for the beach pool.

 

As for the gluten free food, I don't know about that but I'm sure you can request it.

[Eng23]

Hello - we are booked with our TA on her reunion cruise (with a large group) for November 2011. This will be our first sailing on RCI. Have 2 major questions to ask -

 

1) Are the pools freshwater or saltwater?

 

2) How is RCI in accommodating special diets? DH is gluten free. I know with Princess, we fax our request in a couple of months before hand and requety the diet on the cruise personalizer. How do we request this for our RCI sailing?

 

Any other tips or tricks for the Oasis would be greatly appreciated! :) We are definitely going for the experience of the ship, not for the itinerary. How is the crowded factor - do you feel crowded all of the time on the Oasis? That is a big worry for us.

 

Thanks for your time!

 

1. The pools are freshwater but the water was saltwater first. When the pools are drained for cleaning they are refilled with sea water that has gone through the ships desalinization process making it freshwater. There may be just a small trace of saltyness but overall it will be fresh. Interesting trivia too as to this process.

2. If you notify Royal Caribbean in advance that you need a special dietary menu they can accomodate that.

From what I have heard and read here on cruisecritic the ship is awsome, it truly is a destination of it's own. Many people have reported that even when sailing full (6,130) passengers the size of the ship contributes to distributing the people very well so as not to feel like being bunched together like cattle. You should read some of the reviews posted on this site for a better description of what it is like on this ship. Have a great cruise! :D

[slyster]

1. fresh water

2. My friend had their gluten free food and she RAVED about it. She requested it before she arrived on the cruise and they actually offered her a menu of gluten free food. She would order her food the night before.

[ehfl]

When you complete your profile on the RCL website, you can put in special menu requests, including gluten free. Be sure to check with your waiter too.

[Beth C]

We sailed Oasis at under capacity ~ to quote Capt Wright "We didn't fill the ship so you could all experience without crowds" so I was a little concerned with heading onto the Allure at capacity. The ship does an amazing job of spreading the people out - I was on the Grandeur with 1/3 the passengers and THAT was crowded!! I always wonder on Oasis/Allure what I am missing because everyone else has to be somewhere! You'll find crowds after shows, dinner times etc but after 10-15min the crowds disperse and it's smooth sailing ;)

 

The best place for information is on CC - read away and you'll find out everything you ever wanted to know about Oasis/Allure and then some! They're amazing ships!

 

Feel free to ask myself anything, i'll try my best to answer :)

[barb in ga]

We have been on six RCCI and 2 Celebrity Cruises since my DH has been diagnosed with Celiac Disease. We let our Headwaiter know the first night that he needs GF. Every night the waiter brings the menu for the next night and helps to plan selections. There are always grilled meat, fish and poultry items that can be prepared GF. We did well for breakfast and lunch in the Windjammer Cafe. Just make your needs known! Fruit and ice cream are always available for dessert.

Barb

[awboater]

For the Allure at least, the beach pool was salt water. The rest were fresh water.

[EdandMary]

We sailed on the Oasis last September and I am also Gluten Intolerant. The Oasis will attend to your needs. Most food activities on board have G.F. offerings, just ask. You can get a G.F.Pizza in the prominade, but you must ask for it as they make it on the spot. The Windjammer can have some cross contamination, so be observant. the only thing I found a bit tiring is that while they bake all the breads on board, they only offer one type of G.F. bread, and it gets old after a few days. I wish that RCL would just bring in frozen G.F. breads and rolls and microwave them as requested.The main advice I can offer is to notify RCL in advance of your needs, and on the first day, check in with the MaitreDe so he is aware of your needs. Enjoy your trip and the great food offerings.

[Trekker954]

I was pretty sure the beach pool is saltwater, but that contradicts other posts here, so now I'm wondering. Nah, its salt. All the others are fresh water. The hot tubs are great.

 

Can't help you with the diet thing.

 

crowds in November, unless Thanksgiving shouldn't be too bad feeling the crowds so long as its not full of kids.

 

Make your show reservations ahead of time, so you aren't standing in the standby line (they feel crowded), try and get the compasses beforehand to help you decide which nights to chose you shows. You can do that 2 months ahead of time. We just got off the Oasis today. The elevators was where I felt the most crowds. Also wasn't able to get a seat for the belly flop, so we just ran up to our boardwalk balcony which overlooked the aqua theater. That was great. Although we had reservations for the headliner, we didn't get to the theater until the exact time and they were still scanning people in, there were no seats left. We stood by the next night and got in, only to run (not literally) from the theater b/c the show was awful.

 

You should enjoy the Oasis, she's a beauty.

[David4]

I was pretty sure the beach pool is saltwater, but that contradicts other posts here, so now I'm wondering. Nah, its salt. All the others are fresh water. The hot tubs are great.

 

Can't help you with the diet thing.

 

crowds in November, unless Thanksgiving shouldn't be too bad feeling the crowds so long as its not full of kids.

 

Make your show reservations ahead of time, so you aren't standing in the standby line (they feel crowded), try and get the compasses beforehand to help you decide which nights to chose you shows. You can do that 2 months ahead of time. We just got off the Oasis today. The elevators was where I felt the most crowds. Also wasn't able to get a seat for the belly flop, so we just ran up to our boardwalk balcony which overlooked the aqua theater. That was great. Although we had reservations for the headliner, we didn't get to the theater until the exact time and they were still scanning people in, there were no seats left. We stood by the next night and got in, only to run (not literally) from the theater b/c the show was awful.

 

You should enjoy the Oasis, she's a beauty.

 

 

You are right about the beach pool being salt water. Well it was when I was on the Oasis in May.