Oasis of the Seas Review - 4/2-4/9 (LONG)

[klove613]

First time on Oasis. Hope this is not too long. Please feel free to ask any questions.

 

Players: Me – 42 year old mom, DH – 42 (who had to join the ship in Jamaica due to some issues here at home), DS – 14, and DD- 11

 

Pre-trip:

Flew on a direct flight from Detroit to FLL around 3:30 pm, yet somehow one of our bags was routed thru Atlanta. We stayed at the Marriott Renaissance on 17th Street and the bag was delivered there. This is our second time staying at the Renaissance and will probably be our last. The location can’t be beat, but I paid a pretty penny to stay there and the room condition was fine with the bathroom being poor. There was grime in the corners of the bathroom and it felt worn out and in desperate need of a renovation. There was rust around the tub drain. There was trash in the garbage in the room upon arrival, so I didn’t feel the room was really that clean. When we stayed there last year, I didn’t notice any issues, so either we got a really bad room or the quality has declined considerably.

 

The bag was delivered to the hotel during the night, so we had breakfast and headed over to the ship around 11:00 am. The taxi ride over was quick and cost a little under $10.

 

Handed over the bags to the porter who blatantly told me to “take care of him” and we were on our way on.

 

Embarkation:

We were checked in very quickly. There was a slight hold-up as my husband wasn’t able to make it to Florida to catch the ship due to an issue here at home and he was on the reservation with my son. The check-in agent questioned that my son would be in a room by himself as he is only 14. I explained that we had connecting rooms and she checked with a supervisor who gave the okay.

 

They were not boarding yet, so we were directed to chairs to wait. They started the boarding process within 15 minutes of our arrival. All the bigwigs boarded first and then they started by rows. They were boarding on two sides and at one point our side got backed up and we had to wait about 5-7 minutes for them to clear things out. It was a minor delay, but it caused us an issue later.

 

Once we made our way slowly up the gangway and on to the ship, I hotfooted it over to Guest Services to try and get our dect phones for the week. Unfortunately, the people in front of us got the last ones. Word to the wise, if you want these phones during a busy holiday period, you need to be one of the first ones on the ship. It was okay in the end, as they looked a little bulky and not sure if we would have wanted to deal with them. I just had my son call the cabin at night to check-in and my daughter stayed with me the entire cruise.

 

First Impressions:

I was very impressed by the ship. I loved everything about the public areas. The artwork was so nice to look at and everything was well thought out.

 

We walked around the Royal Promenade and the Boardwalk. I got a drink at the Boardwalk Bar and then I wanted to go over to Central Park to get one of the famous roast sandwiches. Unfortunately, Central Park was closed due to some construction. There was an Oasis crewmember there and I asked him how long it would be closed and he said until dinnertime. We dropped off our bags and headed up to the pool deck. My son looked down and saw tons of people in Central Park so we ran down. Only one area of Central Park was closed and the crewmember should have directed us to walk around and enter through the other side. No matter, we got our roast beef sandwiches and they were delicious.

 

Cabins:

We had connecting D3 balcony cabins 10158 and 10160. The rooms were good on the surface, but upon closer inspection not as much. I was really surprised by how filthy looking both of our couches were. I didn’t notice at first but when you looked from the sides, you tell that they were 3-4 shades darker on the areas that were in contact with someone’s body. I am not sure if they were dirty or if there was some fabric dye transfer. We had that happen with one of our couches at home when people would sit on it with dark denim.

 

The closet in my cabin (10158) looked like someone had splattered some pop or something on them. It was only noticeable at certain angles, but it was like that the whole cruise. There were lots of dust bunnies under the beds and the shower shelf was broken in my bathroom.

 

I didn’t bring any of these issues to the cabin attendant because they didn’t impact my enjoyment one little bit, just mentioning it here as informational.

 

My room (10158) had the bed by the balcony while my kid’s room had the beds by the closet. Having experienced both, I would never want a cabin with the beds by the closet. Will it ruin your trip? No, but it is such a pain in the rear to get in and out of there. It was probably worse because the beds were apart in my kid’s room and there was literally no room to stand between the bed and the closet. I would have to get on the bed to access the closet. Very poor design in my opinion.

 

I thought there was adequate storage for 2 people, not sure how it would work for more then that. I unpacked all our luggage and stowed them under the bed. There was plenty of room for them and we had some large pieces.

 

Based upon recommendations here, I bought an over the door organizer for my toiletries. I hung it on the inside of the bathroom and it worked out so well. I highly recommend that. It kept me from having to looking in drawers and such for stuff, as it was all there to see.

 

Our cabin location was slightly forward and I loved that I had to walk to get to most places. It really kept me from packing on extra pounds.

 

Our cabin attendant was fine. He was not overly friendly and did not introduce himself to us. We got towel animals 4 or 5 nights in both rooms and my daughter liked that. He did a solid job of maintaining the rooms, but I definitely could see that he was not a deep cleaning sort of guy given what I described earlier.

 

I did not find the rooms to be small, as some have reported here. I thought they were a good size and two of us had no issues moving around in them. Again, more then two and I might have had issues.

 

Dining:

We ate in the dining room every night. Our server was Olando. He had one large party of 10 and three tables of 4 that I could see. We were right up against a partial wall, so he might have had a table or two over on the other side, but I didn’t see them.

 

I don’t think I have ever had better service in the dining room on a cruise. We are not lingerers, so we don’t really enjoy 2-hour dinners. I don’t know if he could sense this or not, but we were out of there by 7:15 every night except for the last when they hold you there for the singing and farewell stuff. Even if we ordered last, we received our food first. Not sure why that was, but I was very happy about it.

 

The food was very good to me. Probably some of the best I have had on a cruise. We all enjoyed everything that we ordered. We even had some delicious desserts.

 

Some of the other venues that we ate in were as follows:

 

Central Park – loved having those tasty roast beef sandwiches, also solid for breakfast as they had the to-go fruit cups and different breakfast sandwiches. When it was busy it was tough to get water and silverware as that area is tight and not many people could access it at a time.

 

Solarium Bistro – had breakfast up there once. It was really lovely and had a good selection of food.

 

Sorrento’s – I don’t know why this place gets such a bad rap. I am from Chicago and love good pizza. I found the pizza to be totally acceptable and sometimes very good.

 

Promenade Café – we would get desserts mainly here. They had a good selection of cookies and mouse type desserts.

 

Wipeout Café – got ice cream and French fries here mostly. Did try the chips and guacamole and it was good.

 

Windjammer – never had a desire to go there which surprised me, as this was our main breakfast and lunch spot on other cruises. I heard how congested it got, so I would have avoided it completely, but my daughter wanted to go, so we ate lunch there once and had a snack another time. The crewmembers were really friendly and helpful on finding us seats. The food was about the norm and it wasn’t over-crowded the 2 times we went.

 

Giovanni’s – had lunch here one day. It was just okay to me. Maybe I didn’t order the right items. I had the Antipasti, Lasagna and Tiramisu. I wasn’t super hungry, so skipped the other entrees. My husband and son got the Frittura Mista (my husband said it was better with the lemon squeezed on it) and my daughter had some type of flat bread with melted cheese that was good for their appetizers. My husband got the Sole for his entrée and he said it was delicious. My son got the Chicken Breast with ricotta, mushrooms and prosciutto and he liked it as well. My daughter ordered the Risotto and she did not like it. I tasted it and it was not good.

 

The service was somewhat slow which I know is to allow you to savor your food and not rush.

 

Character Breakfast – signed up for this on-line and although it was on my daily planner through the interactive television, they had no record of us reserving. We were asked several times if we reserved and then they found us a table. It was definitely an enjoyable experience, but our server was not good and didn’t bring us several of the items we ordered. We didn’t end up wanting it anyway, so no worries. We had the Madagascar penguins, Alex and Kung-Fu Panda.

 

They way it was set-up in the dining room with others who didn’t sign-up caused some issues as people who were clearly not supposed to be there, just came over and crashed to get photos. One group ran over and actually pushed aside some older kids who were getting their photo taken to get there own shots. Very tacky and they probably should consider holding it in a closed venue.

 

Johnny Rockets – had breakfast there. It was very tasty, but busy and service was slow.

 

Boardwalk Donuts – had one the first day and it was terrible, but my daughter had another a different day and it was much better. Maybe early in the day is better?

 

Boardwalk ice cream shop – my daughter had ice cream there a few nights when I was too tired to tromp up to the 15th floor to get the free stuff. She seemed to enjoy it. They only had one person working there and a few nights there was a crowd and it took a long time to get here ice cream.

 

Cupcake Cupboard – we got cupcakes there one day and also did the decorating class. I wasn’t impressed by the cupcake that I ordered (German Chocolate). It tasted like it had just came out of the fridge and was not moist at all.

 

The decorating class was fun, but a little of a rip-off to me. I booked online and it stated that it was an hour. We were done in 25 minutes. We made a hamburger and french fries and it was cute, but again not worth $22 a piece. We also received an apron, so I guess that was where some of the cost went.

 

Seafood Shack – had lunch here one day. The reviews weren’t promising, but I was pleasantly surprised. I had the crab cakes and the Cajun seafood plate and everything was very tasty.

 

Shows:

We did all the main shows (Hairspray, Come Fly with me, Ice show, Diving show, Beatle’s headliner) and they were all excellent. I highly recommend them all. We booked online and had no issues getting in.

 

There was some bad behavior at some of the shows we went to. Many people were talking in their full-on voices not caring how it affected those around them. I am not talking about random comments, but complete conversations.

 

 

Excursions:

In Labadee we did the hydro-boat tour up the coast and it was a lot of fun.

 

In Jamaica we went to the Hilton Rose Hall for the day. It was a lovely hotel with a nice beach, pool with slide, lazy river, and water activities. The food and drinks were solid. We road on a Hobie cat twice, played in the ocean, road the lazy river and did the slides. I had several drinks as did my kids (virgin of course) and had a nice lunch. We were there for about 5 hours and booked it through JamaicaForaDay.

 

In Cozumel we went to Chankanaab and swam with the Manatees. What an incredible experience. We actually just swam around with them for about 30 minutes feeding them and having fun. We of course then had to do the photo op stuff, but I highly recommend this if you had any interest in manatees at all. Definitely the highlight of our trip.

 

Disembarkment:

They were running about 40 minutes behind calling people off the ship. I had a time from 7:40-7:50 and we got called around 8:30. Our flight was 11:25, so I was sweating a little, but we had tons of time in the end.

 

Summary:

One of our best cruises yet. There were some negatives, but they were so completely out-weighed by the positives. I am already looking at a Spring Break 2012 trip on Allure, as I would love to try her out. These ships are excellent for handing the number of passengers it takes. There are just so many places for people to hang out and be. A huge group from my town were on the ship for Spring Break (with their High School Seniors). One of my friends was with this group. I assumed that I would run in to her and neglected to get her cabin number before we left. I did not see her until the second to last night. She actually thought we missed the ship because she could not imagine not running in to us.

 

There were so many things to do and see and we didn’t make it to them all obviously. Some of the other random things that we did and enjoyed were: Michael Jackson trivia, riding the Rising Tide bar, 70’s party, hanging out in the hot tub after dinner (so not crowded), watching the diving show for the second time from the 11th floor public balcony, seeing the fountain show, comedy dive show (don’t miss this), Make-a-wish walk, movie under the stars, strolling thru Central Park at night, hanging out on the boardwalk at night, and just relaxing.

[SciFiCruiser]

Thanks for the review! This is me and my family next week!

 

Glad to see you had no problem with your flight home. Ours is at 11:55 so I will relax a bit more about that!

 

Where the bed was next to the closet...would it be more accessible with the beds pushed together? From what I've seen, our cabin will have the bed by the closet.

 

Also, where did you wait to be called off the ship? Was it easy top get something to eat before?

 

Can't wait!

[klove613]

Thanks for the review! This is me and my family next week!

 

Glad to see you had no problem with your flight home. Ours is at 11:55 so I will relax a bit more about that!

 

Where the bed was next to the closet...would it be more accessible with the beds pushed together? From what I've seen, our cabin will have the bed by the closet.

 

Also, where did you wait to be called off the ship? Was it easy top get something to eat before?

 

Can't wait!

 

We had plenty of time as our flight was actually delayed to 11:55. We were thinking of walking off, but my kids are so hard to get up and I figured that we would still have plenty of time. We waited in the Opal Theatre and they had a set-up of coffee, juice and breakfast rolls. We did not go and get anything before as my kids could barely make it out of the room by 7:45, but we usually do. The Windjammer started serving at 5:30 am and the Dinning Room at 6:00 am, so if you are an early risers, you can just pop up get something and then come back to the room to collect your stuff.

 

The beds were incredibly close together (6-8 inches), so you would probably have at least that much extra space.

 

I know you will have a great time! Enjoy!

[FloridaPalms]

Thank you so much for posting this in-depth review.

 

We will be sailing this same itinerary on the Oasis next month. Can't wait!

 

Was your second formal night on night 5 (at sea)? The menu for night 5 on older menus included Scallop Risotto (starter) and Garlic Tiger Shrimp (main). Do you know what night those items were served? Some ships would swap night 5 menu with night 3. But, with the change in formal night, I was wondering if Oasis swapped night 5 with night 6. I just want to make sure our specialty restaurant reservation is on a DIFFERENT night.

 

Also, I am trying to get the Compasses or even just the Daily Planner for Oasis western since the ones online are all pre-Falmouth. Would you possibly be able to scan and email to me? (floridapalms - my screen name - at att.net). If you can, I will put them online and post a link so that others may download them directly.

 

Thank you.

 

~ Judy

[ChickonRules]

Also, I am trying to get the Compasses or even just the Daily Planner for Oasis western since the ones online are all pre-Falmouth. Would you possibly be able to scan and email to me? (floridapalms - my screen name - at att.net). If you can, I will put them online and post a link so that others may download them directly.

 

Thank you.

 

~ Judy

 

I would love one too!

[nativetexan]

Thanks for the review - we're going in July with kids similar in age. Good info!! Would love to have the Cruise Compasses if you're able to share them!

[nmel187]

I am also western carib net month. What nights are the formal nights? I heard they switched the nights. Glad you enjoyed it. Looking forward to it. Thanks!

[KJENN]

Thanks for your review! We will be going on the 30th and can't wait!!

 

If you do have the compasses I would LOVE to see copies...we are trying to plan our week and don't want to miss anything!! kjbortle at aol.com

[xmasteach]

We are on the Oasis in June. Counting the days.

I enjoyed your review of the Main Dining Room, since there have been some really poor reviews. I did not catch it but I take it you did not do MTD.

How did you sign up for the character breakfast? Although we are both adults, but kids at heart. I want to go to it!

Thanks again:D

[will773]

Thanks for the review!

[jacksmom09]

Hi! Loved your review! I just had a couple of questions about Chankanaab! We are doing the Manatees in a couple of weeks on Allure!:D Just wondering what time you booked it for? And if it was good timing? Also wondered what, if anything else you did at Chankanaab? Snorkeling? Any info appreciated!

[cruzkitty]

Enjoyed your Review!! We will be cruising the Eastern Iten on Oasis in September-can't wait! Reviews like yours make me all the more excited-thanks again.:D

[flannbarr]

Yes, the second formal dinner is on night 5.

 

Thank you so much for posting this in-depth review.

 

We will be sailing this same itinerary on the Oasis next month. Can't wait!

 

Was your second formal night on night 5 (at sea)? The menu for night 5 on older menus included Scallop Risotto (starter) and Garlic Tiger Shrimp (main). Do you know what night those items were served? Some ships would swap night 5 menu with night 3. But, with the change in formal night, I was wondering if Oasis swapped night 5 with night 6. I just want to make sure our specialty restaurant reservation is on a DIFFERENT night.

 

Also, I am trying to get the Compasses or even just the Daily Planner for Oasis western since the ones online are all pre-Falmouth. Would you possibly be able to scan and email to me? (floridapalms - my screen name - at att.net). If you can, I will put them online and post a link so that others may download them directly.

 

Thank you.

 

~ Judy

[klove613]

We are on the Oasis in June. Counting the days.

I enjoyed your review of the Main Dining Room, since there have been some really poor reviews. I did not catch it but I take it you did not do MTD.

How did you sign up for the character breakfast? Although we are both adults, but kids at heart. I want to go to it!

Thanks again:D

 

 

We did the main seating. I booked the character breakfast a few weeks before sailing thru the Specialty Dining area on the RCCL website. Just keep checking for it as you get closer in. The funny thing is that I signed-up for 4 of us, but my kids didn't want to get up, so just my husband and I did it. I say go for it!!!

[klove613]

Hi! Loved your review! I just had a couple of questions about Chankanaab! We are doing the Manatees in a couple of weeks on Allure!:D Just wondering what time you booked it for? And if it was good timing? Also wondered what, if anything else you did at Chankanaab? Snorkeling? Any info appreciated!

 

We booked the Manatees for 10:00 am. They are an hour behind, so this gave us plenty of time to get there. It is only about 10-15 minutes away by taxi from the pier.

 

We didn't do a ton there. We got there about 9:00 local time and we sat by the beach area. My daughter got some braids (half-head) and then it was time to check-in for the Manatees. After we finished and viewed the photos, we had lunch (which was very good) and headed back to the ship. We were pretty wiped by this point in the trip, so I barely even stopped to shop on my way back in. I saw many people snorkeling though, so that is a good option. Also saw many people in the pool. We hung out there the last time we went for the dolphins. You can definitely make a day of it if you want.

 

Thank you so much for posting this in-depth review.

 

We will be sailing this same itinerary on the Oasis next month. Can't wait!

 

Was your second formal night on night 5 (at sea)? The menu for night 5 on older menus included Scallop Risotto (starter) and Garlic Tiger Shrimp (main). Do you know what night those items were served? Some ships would swap night 5 menu with night 3. But, with the change in formal night, I was wondering if Oasis swapped night 5 with night 6. I just want to make sure our specialty restaurant reservation is on a DIFFERENT night.

 

Also, I am trying to get the Compasses or even just the Daily Planner for Oasis western since the ones online are all pre-Falmouth. Would you possibly be able to scan and email to me? (floridapalms - my screen name - at att.net). If you can, I will put them online and post a link so that others may download them directly.

 

Thank you.

 

~ Judy

 

As you already heard from Flannbarr the formal night was on night 5. The Scallop Risotto and Garlic Tiger Shrimp were on night 3.

 

I do have the Compasses, but I have a new printer and haven't used the scanner before. I can try to work at a bit tomorrow and see about posting them or emailing them out.

[ChickonRules]

I just wanted to know if everyone allowed in the Concierge Lounge?

[jacksmom09]

Thanks! We booked the 10am also but then worried if we would have enough time to get there!:o Also, Is there a good place to eat there?

[KJENN]

I do have the Compasses, but I have a new printer and haven't used the scanner before. I can try to work at a bit tomorrow and see about posting them or emailing them out.

 

 

THANK YOU! This just made my week, i've been searching everywhere for the new compass and can't find it. We're sailing with our toddler, so trying to plan our nursery time around the things we really want to do...again thank you!!

[stbonthebeach]

Did you book the manatee swim thru RCCL (all I see is a 4 hour snorkle/swim tour ~ it doesn't say anything about manatees) or did you just take a taxi to Chankanaab and book the swim directly from them??

 

Awesome review BTW!

[sleepless]

A new Compass sounds wonderful to me also, as I will be doing the Western route on the Oasis in July also.

 

Thanks.

[FloridaPalms]

As you already heard from Flannbarr the formal night was on night 5. The Scallop Risotto and Garlic Tiger Shrimp were on night 3.

 

I do have the Compasses, but I have a new printer and haven't used the scanner before. I can try to work at a bit tomorrow and see about posting them or emailing them out.

 

Night 3 - that's great! :D doesn't conflict with our specialty restaurant reservations.

 

Compasses - that would be SUPER GREAT!!! :D:D:D And, like I said, I am willing to put them online (upload them to my server) and post a link so that others may download them directly (and keep you from being inundated with emails). I know it would make a whole lot of future Oasis western cruisers very very happy, including yours truly.

 

Thank you.

 

~ Judy

[klove613]

Did you book the manatee swim thru RCCL (all I see is a 4 hour snorkle/swim tour ~ it doesn't say anything about manatees) or did you just take a taxi to Chankanaab and book the swim directly from them??

 

Awesome review BTW!

 

No we booked it directly thru the website. Just search on Dolphin Discovery Cozumel and you will find it. I would definitely recommend booking in advance if possible. We then just took a taxi over which was about $10.

 

Glad you enjoyed the review!

[klove613]

Thanks! We booked the 10am also but then worried if we would have enough time to get there!:o Also, Is there a good place to eat there?

 

We ate at the restaurant which is closest to the beach area. Sorry I don't know the name, but once you get there you will see it. It is under a huge palapa. We sat right by the ocean and had a lovely view.

[Nannypie]

So Original Day 5 (scallop risotto & garlic shrimp) menu is on Day 3 and Original Day 6 (lobster) menu is on Day 5 and Original Day3 menu is on Day 6, is this correct? I want to make sure I make Chops reservation on the right night.

[Puffinater]

Thanks for the review. Good information.