Oasis First Time Mini Review

[I&J Cruisers]

It’s been a couple of weeks since we returned from our Oasis cruise. This was our 29th cruise. From the perspective of experienced cruisers we found the ship to be an amazing feat of engineering. There were almost 6000 people to the ship that week and at no time did we feel the “crush” of all those people. The only place that ever looked and felt crowded was the Royal Promenade area during parades, of which there were many. The service was overall better than we’ve experienced lately from most mass market lines. Our Cabin Steward, Hubert, was by far the best we’ve experienced in years. Everyone we encountered from wait staff to deck staff to housekeeping staff in the public bathrooms, to activities staff was exceptionally pleasant and helpful. The entertainment was excellent and there were certainly a multitude of activities available at any hour of the day and night. I do appreciate what RCL has accomplished with this amazing ship. However, it didn’t feel like a cruise. The only thing that made the experience feel a little bit like a cruise were the people we had met through cruise critic. I was surprised how often we kept running into people we knew all over the ship given the size, the number of venues and the shear number of people that were onboard. We ate in several specialty restaurants and found the quality and presentation of the offerings excellent with one exception. We loved the Solarium Bistro (twice), I think that if they stopped describing it as “healthy” it would be far more popular with passengers. 150 Central Park may just be the best meal I’ve ever had on a cruise ship. Chops is well, Chops. What can I say. A good steak is always appreciated. We only ate dinner in the MDR twice and it was OK, not great but certainly good satisfying food. We had lunch once in Izumi and loved it. The Park Café was a very nice venue, the Roast Beef sandwiches were very good, as advertised. The only disappointment we experienced was Giovanni’s Table. I don’t think the food was any better than the MDR. In fact one of the nights we ate in the MDR DH had the lamb shanks and he said the osso bucco in Giovanni’s was indistinguishable from the lamb shanks. I found too many heavy cream sauces. The desserts were the biggest disappointment. The cannolli were soggy. Obviously not filled before serving, but sitting around all night on a tray waiting to be ordered. We had lunch once in the MDR and had one of the best chopped salads ever. We had breakfast once in Johnny Rockets and enjoyed it.

Loved the Solarium, a nice quiet place to read. We were surprised that we never had difficulty finding a place to our liking. This ship is very well laid out. Guest Services was a problem. There were always long lines. The staff tried to trouble shoot while you were on line and that was a nice touch, but it seemed that they were allowing people to sign up for shore excursions at Guest Services and that is what slowed up the process. The Shore Excursion desk was always very busy so people tried to bypass it by using Guest services which made the wait very long for other isssues. Not having been on RCL for several years, I found the pool towel process a chore. On port days there was only one towel station and this is a BIG ship. I also miss the atmosphere on formal nights which is all but non existent on this ship. Before I get anyones dander up, I’m not complaining. I pretty much expected what we got, mostly from reading these boards. These days I prefer Cruising Celebrity Style and back to Celebrity I’m headed. However, I never say never. I think that if you know what you are buying you won’t be disappointed in what you get. It’s just that I love cruising and this did not feel like a cruise. It felt like a resort. That said, I think if we had gone to a resort and eaten the way we ate on Oasis and been entertained like we were on Oasis, it would have cost us a lot more $$ than it did. So I do congratulate RCL on a really revolutionary Cruise Ship.

[alaska_planner]

thanks for the review!

sounds like something that would be fun to do at least once!:)

 

regarding celebrity -what is it about celebrity that you like so much?

i've never been on a celebrity cruise, but am considering the millenium in alaska...

[lrn2cruise]

The whole towel station on FOS this summer was terrible too. That would be one of my complaints.

 

One Towel station open!!!!! For crying out loud:eek:

 

We made some mistakes too. We turned our towels in and said we would get new towels in the morning before Cancun-MISTAKE. Note to all-get towels for Ports the day before!!!! The line was a "mile" long.

 

There are 2 towel stations. No telling why they open 1:mad:

[LBumb]

good job

[I&J Cruisers]

AlaskaPlanner-- I don't know how else to say it but Celebrity feels like a cruise used to feel. It's more laid back than Royal. Passengers tend to dress up in the evening. It's very much like HAL except the entertainment is better. They always have a roving acapella group that plays at different venues for about 30 minutes at a time. We always enjoy that. Not as much activity as you find on Royal. It just seems to "fit" us. Whatever yu choose Enjoy!

[sunrise2]

Thank you for posting your mini review. We will be on the Oasis in December. This will be our first cruise with Royal and we understand that the Oasis is a different cruising experience. Looking forward to our cruise and just counting down the days! Also, enjoy Holland and looking into Celebrity, since it has been awhile since we cruised on that line.

[I&J Cruisers]

Thank you for posting your mini review. We will be on the Oasis in December. This will be our first cruise with Royal and we understand that the Oasis is a different cruising experience. Looking forward to our cruise and just counting down the days! Also, enjoy Holland and looking into Celebrity, since it has been awhile since we cruised on that line.

 

Sunrise, I'm sure you will enjoy your Oasis experience. It is different and it is something to see. My only recommendation is to read these boards so you know what to expect and are not disappointed. You can get a really good feel for what you will experience from these boards.