Oasis of the seas review oct. 22-29!

[93beachbum]

Group of 4 friends early 40's were on the October 22nd sailing of the Oasis. Which by the way was the ships 100th sailing. Had a great time and would definetly do it again. Here's how some things broke down.

Embarkation/debarkation-

 

arrived at port at 11:30am and was on board in 15 minutes! Seamless operation! Stayed at the Hampton north cruise port location. They had a free shuttle to and from the hotel. Also, left my car there for the week. Highly recommend this option.

 

Did express walk off with luggageat 8:00am and was off ship and waiting for hotel shuttle in less than 15minutes.

 

Room-

 

balcony stateroom on deck 7. Loved the location! The only time you really had to use elevators was to go up to pool deck. Everything else was in easy walking distance. Room was about 10 rooms from the elevator lobby, which was extremely convienant. Our friends room was way down the long hallway, which added significant walking to their daily activities. Room steward was great, room accommodations were good. Loved the new shower design with NO shower curtain. Made getting ready much easier. Plenty of storage for 2. The extension cord I brought came in handy to plug things into. Mimi-fridge was also an added bonus.

 

Entertainment-

 

booked all shows ahead of time. Saw most of them, but there is so much to do we missed a few. Hairspray was a great production if your a musicals fan. Come Fly with Me. Was top knotch! Highly recommend! Oasis of Dreams diving show was also great. (original scheduled show was cancelled on Monday due to weather, but was rescheduled for Friday. Quest- is the most hilarious thing you will see! Friends saw comedy show first nite and thought it was hilarious. Headliner show was a ventriloquist. He was funny and very good at what he does. And the cruise director Richard Spacey was amazing! Really kept the party going during the events he MC'd and introduced. He's leaving the ship in the next week to go to a new one. I'm sure he will be missed.

 

Dining-

 

Had My Time Dining. The first night was a rocky start. The hostess had no idea what she was doing and it took 20 minutes to get seated. We pre planned reservations but never ended up using them because we didn't keep a consistent schedule. Over the course of the week the hostess got better, but was still not impressed. We ended up sitting in 4 different locations over the week. Service in all areas was good. But I missed the one on one service your waiter would give you when you saw them every nite. Monarch of the Seas does a better job with making dinner an event, not just a meal. But every waiter went out of their way to accommodate your needs. The actual food was good, obviously not 5 star quality but definetly was satisfying. We also ate at Jade one nite for something different. Food was good and worth the additional expense for sushi and other Japanese cuisine. Wipe Out Cafe is insane! The traffic flow needs to be improved! Windjammer was typical but decent. Extremely crowded though. Solarium bistro has a good breakfast and lunch for those who don't want to deal with the crazy's in the windjammer. Central Park cafe- yes, the roast beef is that good, but the salads and deserts are great as well. Loved the flavored water that was everywhere on the ship. And as always the late nite pizza snack was good if you got it fresh!

 

Excursions:

 

Nassaua- only in port till 3, so we just got off the ship for a couple of hours to walk around. Not my favorite port, so I was happy to get back on the boat.

 

St. Thomas- did the Bimini Breeze snorkel excursion booked through the cruise line. Definetly worth the money and had a great time! Would highly recommend! Did a little shopping and lunch in town after.

 

St. Maarten- walked through town a little bit and then took a cab to Orient Beach. Hung out on some beach chairs at Kakoa Beach. It was a nice relaxing day. Did a little more shopping on the way back to ship. Cruise port area here is large and very clean.

 

I think the longest lines we had to wait in all week was getting back on the ship when we were in port.

 

Ship Impression-

 

Ship was immaculate with some great spaces to see! It will live up to your expectations. It definetly has that resort feel. And for those of you who think you won't feel like your on a ship, the ship does have movement. You will feel it. (and for a couple of days after you get home). There is so much to see and do. I know we didn't take part in half of what was offered. But we accomplished everything we wanted to see. Tip. On deck 14 in the front of the ship there is a balony deck which is a great place to sit when coming in or leaving port. It's right below the solarium, but you have to go through a stateroom hallway to get to outside doors. Never had any issues finding chairs by the numerous pools. We mostly hung out at the sports pool. Zip lining was fun for my friends who did it. All venues and bars were clean and tastefully decorated.. And I have to say the public restrooms are the biggest I have ever seen on a ship! I guess it's the little things that impress me... Disappointed in the casino pay outs. The Monarch ship slots pay out extremely well. This ship not so much, didn't win anything and lost my daily gambling budget quickly. They did have up to date machines with paper ticket payouts which is nice. Elevators, not really an issue, there are plenty of them. And most venues are between decks 5-8 so you can walk to most. Loved the day of the week signs in the elevators. Overall impression of the ship was a WOW!

 

final thoughts...

 

Would I do it again? Absolutely! The ship was amazing as was the service and entertainment. I feel I did get real value for my money. I would highly recommend to anyone who is new or old to cruising. This ship has something for everyone, young or old. You can select your course of action daily on how much or little you do.I can't wait to go again :)

[will773]

Glad to hear you had a great trip!

[Rich56]

I was on this sailing as well and for my first cruise had a great time. The weather was beautiful the whole trip. Glad you had as good a time as I had. The ship is amazing.:)