Oasis - Observations from 3/24 sailing

[Belle5129]

We were on the Oasis sailing 3/24/2012. We are a family of four - myself, DH, and DS (age 9) and DS (age 7). MIL and FIL accompanied us (Diamond Plus members – sometimes, it felt like we lowly Platinums were travelling with royalty!!) It was probably the best cruise we have done. For me, a lot of the fun is the anticipation and planning, so I spent the year-long wait researching. Lots of great advice from CC. Much of it has been said already, so I will just comment on a few things:

 

It’s true – it does not feel like you are sailing with another 6,200 people. I read this on the CC, but still had my doubts. Even panicked a bit right before the cruise, thinking I may have made a big mistake. But with the exception of trying to get an elevator around dinner time, it really did not feel crowded. We were always able to get a chair around the kid’s pool and it seemed like there were barely lines for the rock climbing. Absolutely no line for the carousel. My sons and I liked to get up around 6 or 7am and “go exploring”. It was just our chance to walk around the ship and have it practically to ourselves. We really enjoyed that time together. Plus, we would make a stop at the doughnut shop to pick up a few treats to take back to the cabin!

 

Boys loved the Adventure Ocean. On our last cruise (Radiance, March 2011) they spent almost the entire day there. Here, it seemed like there was so much to do as a family during the day, they typically just went at night. We were told there were about 1,300 kids on board, but the Adventure Ocean did not seem that crowded – although I certainly wouldn’t want to work there! I give the counselors a lot of credit! It was still a lot of kids – but they had fun. DS reports that the late-night party zone was fun. Usually, they have to be in bed by 8pm, so to stay up until midnight was a pretty big deal.

 

Obviously, we knew that it would be crowded with kids given that it was our own kids’ Spring Break. So I was prepared for the worst. But really, it was not an issue. Maybe twice we saw a band of teenage girls acting silly on the boardwalk. But no elevator button pushing, rude children, etc.

 

D1 rooms are pretty crowed with 4 people. We were in cabin 10598 – with a hump balcony. On our previous cruise with the boys, MIL and FIL had the boys in their cabin (how nice is that??), so we never really appreciated how small the room would be with all of us in it. The cabin had the pullout sofa, so once the bed was made up for the night, there was practically no floor space – just a little path from the balcony to the bathroom. We learned quickly not to leave shoes in the path. And I was grateful for the balcony as it definitely gave us some extra breathing space.

 

This was by far the nicest group of fellow passengers we have experienced. With this many people, I figured there was bound to be a fair share of obnoxious people – you know, the ones with whom you seem to constantly cross paths. Maybe we were lucky, but everyone was polite, happy to be on vacation, and friendly. Even in stressful situations like waiting endlessly for the elevator, everyone would just joke about the wait and whether we women should take off our heels and hit the steps. No pushing, people even for the most part, waited for people to exit before jumping on the elevator.

 

I thought I was in decent shape – I try to fit in a couple of runs each week. I seriously thought I would devote some time each day (or even every other day, if I was really lazy) to going to the gym. Boy, was I kidding myself. Never saw the place, never even made it to the outdoor track. I kept telling myself that we were doing other active things like rock climbing, but that may be just an excuse! I was surprised to find, on the second day, that my calves were sore! We did a lot of stair climbing (again, who needed the gym, right?), and walking around, but still. I did learn to bring a bag with me everywhere with all the essentials – sunscreen, Compass, Soda container, sunglasses, socks, etc so that we would not have to spend time going back to the room if inspiration struck and we decided to go rock climbing or sit in the sun, whatever.

 

I am a planner, and I got some good ideas about how to manage this trip. Like many others, I created a spreadsheet based on past Compasses, so I knew when all the pertinent activities would be open, when we had reservations, kids activities, etc. I pdf’d it so that I could easily access it on the ipad or iphone. For me, it was a lifesaver because on a ship this large, it seems easy to get overwhelmed with all that is going on. I realize that this may be too much planning for some, but if you like to plan, I would highly recommend it!

 

Overall, it was a great trip and even though I promised my husband that I would not book another cruise for next year, I am already on the lookout:D

[shonandsuzie]

Thank you for sharing and so glad your trip was fun. I cant wait to experience it for myself!

 

What excursions did you do?

[Familygoboston]

So pleased to hear you and your family had a good time! We travel frequently with the grandparents and I think it makes such wonderful memories!

 

Glad your spread sheet worked out for you...there is so much to do that it's easy to " miss" something on an Oasis compass that you would not miss on another compass. It's like 4 pages long!!!

 

Unfortunately, we had the same experience with the gym :o went once then thought, " gosh, we can work out at home, where else can we use a Flowrider!?;)

 

Thanks for sharing your report! ( Now Laundry;))

[drmomto3kids]

Thanks for the report!

[melly424]

Our family also was on the 3/24 sailing of the Oasis and we all enjoyed it. We had 5 in our cabin, which I was very worried about, but it ended up not being too bad. We played "Musical Beds" so not one person was stuck on the pullman bed everynight. I do wish we would have had a balcony to give us a bit more room, but all in all, not too bad.

 

I also was worried about having to share a ship with 6,000 other people, but honestly it didn't feel that crowded at all. We made all of our show and dinner reservations in advance which I think is very important. I would see a long line of people waiting for shows (who didn't make reservations) everytime we went, so I am thankful that all of ours were booked before boarding.

 

My daughter (16), who is the family social butterfly, participated in a lot of the teen activities and we only saw her occasionally on the sea days. The boys either explored on their own or hung out with us. Neither have strong social skills (taking after their dad in that area), they preferred to not do the teen activities.

 

This was my first time on RCL and we had a positive experience. Since we have only done Carnival and RCL, we want to experience Norwegian next time so we can make a true comparison. We are hoping to go again in October 2013.

[Belle5129]

Thank you for sharing and so glad your trip was fun. I cant wait to experience it for myself!

 

What excursions did you do?

 

 

We only did one excursion - St Thomas Magen's Bay. 2 hours at the beach plus a jaunt over the mountain. It was really a beautiful place - but crowded. We saw a bunch of sea turtles, fish, and some kind of ray - just with goggles. We made a conscious decision to limit excursions so that we could focus on the ship. Port days on the ship were great - kids had the rock wall all to themselves at one point.

[Belle5129]

So pleased to hear you and your family had a good time! We travel frequently with the grandparents and I think it makes such wonderful memories!

 

Glad your spread sheet worked out for you...there is so much to do that it's easy to " miss" something on an Oasis compass that you would not miss on another compass. It's like 4 pages long!!!

 

Unfortunately, we had the same experience with the gym :o went once then thought, " gosh, we can work out at home, where else can we use a Flowrider!?;)

 

Thanks for sharing your report! ( Now Laundry;))

 

I should thank you as alot of my information I culled from your postings - including the spreadsheet concept. I poured over your Compasses - it was so helpful! Sadly, I manage to still come up with excuses, so I have yet to make it to a land gym, oh well, one of these days...:eek:

[jules1962]

I totally agree with the OP. We were on this cruise, too. It was a very pleasant cruise and the majority of people we made contact with were a very nice group to spend a week with!

[irishgal432]

What room category did you have for the 5 people?

 

Thanks!

[3dog]

You might also scan http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1606980, as it has a review (with pictures) from someone else on the same cruise.

[beachnative]

I'm glad you had a good experience. Your review really shared the "spirit" that we have found on the Oasis and the Allure.

 

I'm a an overplanner also and soften doubt my plans. Isn't it wonderful to finally be on a vacation and realize that you stressed for no good reason.:)

[will773]

Glad you enjoyed your cruise! The Oasis class ships are really spectacular!

[BalekFekete]

Our family also was on the 3/24 sailing of the Oasis and we all enjoyed it. We had 5 in our cabin, which I was very worried about, but it ended up not being too bad. We played "Musical Beds" so not one person was stuck on the pullman bed everynight. I do wish we would have had a balcony to give us a bit more room, but all in all, not too bad.

 

Glad to hear this, as I'm sailing with my family (DW, DS(17), DD(14), DS(11)) in June, and we're in a D3 5-person cabin. I don't figure we'll be in the room but for a few minutes when we're not unconscious, but it's good to know that it won't be like sleeping in a closet. It won't bother me all that much (used to small hotel rooms while traveling on business in Europe) but it might be shocking for the family. :D

[millwright2007]

Hi I have been on Oasis before and Allure this year. Allure had ipod docks and electrical outlets on the table. Oasis did not have these when we sailed. Can anyone tell me if Oasis now has ipod docks and elec. outlets like Allure. I had heard that it might.

 

 

 

Freedom of the seas, 2010

Oasis of the seas ,2011

Allure of the seas, 2012

[NORCal916]

Any chance you could email that PDF schedule you put together?? We sail on 5/19 :) (Me, DW, DS9 and DD7)

Thanks!

 

email to : ryan.mcginnisATsbcglobalDOTnet

[fred20155]

Hi I have been on Oasis before and Allure this year. Allure had ipod docks and electrical outlets on the table. Oasis did not have these when we sailed. Can anyone tell me if Oasis now has ipod docks and elec. outlets like Allure. I had heard that it might.

 

 

 

Freedom of the seas, 2010

Oasis of the seas ,2011

Allure of the seas, 2012

 

As of the January 28 sailing the Oasis did not have ipod docs or electric outlets on the table. That would be a nice feature, I would hope at some point they do add those to the Oasis.

[Belle5129]

Any chance you could email that PDF schedule you put together?? We sail on 5/19 :) (Me, DW, DS9 and DD7)

Thanks!

 

email to : ryan.mcginnisATsbcglobalDOTnet

 

Will do. Our 7 and 9 year olds really loved the trip. The schedule made sure that we didn't miss any of there events too! Hope it helps - have fun:)

[vivavegas]

Glad you enjoyed your trip! The Oasis class ships just seem so big to me!;)

[OCruisers]

:) Glad you and your family had a wonderful time on Oasis!

 

Like you, we were a bit concerned about the size and number of passengers. No need to have been. We also enjoyed Oasis.

[Sgroi135]

Glad you had a good time on your cruise. A while ago you posted in one of my threads about the Adventure Ocean and the ages of your children and what group they would be allowed in.

 

Did they let your older son slide into the younger group.

 

I really wish this board had Private Messages :)