Is the oasis of the seas really worth the price??

[Cruisekin2]

Ok...I'm sort of having buyers remorse and want to see what others have to say. My husband and I just booked a cruise on the oasis for our 10 year anniversary. We figured go big or go home. Well now I'm counting the cost and we're right around $4000 for flight, balcony room, premium drink package (what's another $700 bucks?!) And spending money. It just seems like a LOT of money for 7 days. I'm really looking forward to just relaxing, seeing some great shows and trying some of the specialty restaurants. Are we going to save a lot of money by going on a different ship and will we have as good of a time? Any favorite ships? I don't want to go on a super outdated ship and we definitely want to go for 7 nights

[chellecruise12]

We went on Oasis last June as our 1st ever cruise..Boy, was that a mistake!! Now we are going on Allure in May..lol We LOVED it!! There is soo much to do & hey..its a special trip..Your anniversary..Go for it..You will LOVE it!! We are taking our family of 4 so $ 4,000 sounds like a great deal to me..lol We are also doing the drink pkg. If you have any specific questions about Oasis, just let me know..Happy to help!! :)

[K1200S]

We leave Friday for our second time on Oasis. There are cheaper fares depending on sailing date.

[johneeo]

Ok...I'm sort of having buyers remorse and want to see what others have to say. My husband and I just booked a cruise on the oasis for our 10 year anniversary. We figured go big or go home. Well now I'm counting the cost and we're right around $4000 for flight, balcony room, premium drink package (what's another $700 bucks?!) And spending money. It just seems like a LOT of money for 7 days. I'm really looking forward to just relaxing, seeing some great shows and trying some of the specialty restaurants. Are we going to save a lot of money by going on a different ship and will we have as good of a time? Any favorite ships? I don't want to go on a super outdated ship and we definitely want to go for 7 nights

 

Our Oasis cruise was the best time I ever had.

 

Well worth it for me. Beyond fantastic.

 

But, it is good to do your research so you know what the ship has to offer, which is more than you will be able to do, so, pick your priorities.

[molly361]

Worth it to me as well. Going for the 4th time in October. Go for it:)

[Sherman793]

It is worth it. The ship is the destination, the shows are the best on the sea. The specialty restaurants are excellent and if you don't want to pay to go to those the MDR is still very good. It is an experience like no other ship we have been on. We booked Allure on Oasis for May of this year but ended up switching to Adventure in November to see the ports. The only negative about Oasis and Allure is the ports are limited to a basic few due to the size of the ship. We will sail one of them again in the near future. It never felt crowded and you will never sail a ship like it anywhere else!:)

[Dharma517]

How much is for the cruise? I wouldn't pay 4K for a cruise on RCI and drink package for 7 nights...no way. If your airfare is making half of that or almost I can see that.

 

I would pay that for a Disney Fantasy cruise...which I just did in December. My DH and I are taking a cheaper cruise for our 15th wedding anniversary in May. We picked a port we could drive to...Baltimore and then went from there. A cruise to the bahamas...7 nights...no airfare needed $1243.XX. We will be on the Grandeur which is older but recently refurbed. For us...the price was right and even if this cruise is akin to glorified camping we will just be happy to be away from the kids and soaking in the sun. We got the cheapest interior room as well.

 

We arent doing the drink package...will bring wine on board and get a wine package at dinner. I think for the most part you have to drink like 9 drinks a day per person to break even on that. Some days yes but not everyday!

[Verfai]

STRONG NO!!!! Not worth the money, worth the experience if you are a fan but not price wise imo. Read my review of the Allure last month for more explanation.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1798112

[Familygoboston]

Depends on what you want in a cruise...to explore ports- NO, these ships are too big and can't go to many places. Of the few places they do go, in Jamaica and St Thomas are docked too far from the stuff you want to do. There is not much to do on a private island or Nassau, so in a week, you get 3 ports, one is inconvenient and 1 is a little dull. Secondly when you get there you have at least 5999 other people in port with you (plus the other ships:eek:)

 

If you want to sail for the entertainment, dining options, sitting in the sun and activities- YES, it's worth every penny! I paid less for a cabin on Allure than I would have paid for 1 show on Broadway and a night in a NYC hotel for 4. So for essentially twice the price of a weekend in NYC, I can sail for a week on Allure or Oasis and see 6-8 shows and eat all week! There are 5 pools, and you'll always find a chair. Worth it!:D

[Aquahound]

Is the oasis of the seas really worth the price??

 

Yes. Three times on that ship class and I was still in awe. It's a marvel of engineering and design and it is amazing. Keep that reservation. You won't regret it!

[blonde1981]

Oh wow! I can see how you'd have buyers remorse with that price tag. That said, Oasis is suppose to be a fabulous ship and is probably worth that price tag. If you want to cut costs I'd start with the drink package. My husband and I are drinkers but we've never had a bill anything close to the cost of the drink packages.

 

Maybe check the difference between the Freedom of the Seas and Oasis of the Seas as far as onboard activities/restaurants/etc if you are really worried about the cost.

[Tyler80]

You get what you pay for. You're paying a lot of money for a lot of ship, included activities, included entertainment, and the claim that you've been on one of the largest cruise ships in the world.

 

Personally, I would nix the unlimited alcohol package as I don't see it being worth the extra $700.00. I know alcohol is expensive, but the number of drinks you must consume per day is really terrible to get your money's worth.

 

I hope you keep your Oasis cruise and take advantage of all that ship has to offer. Make sure you reserve your entertainment in advance, even if you think you may not go. You don't have to go even if you have a reservation. Enjoy!

[hazeleyez3]

I have had just as much fun (and somtimes more fun) on other ships.

 

It all depends on what you like and want to experience. Some hated it, others enjoyed it, and are glad they experienced it, and other will cruise her or Allure time after time.

 

For us, we saw the shows, he rode the zip line, and I rode the carousel. Thats about all we needed to do. We can go to specialty restaurants on other ships, we can see shows on other ships, "people watch" on other ships, etc.

 

If we choose to go on an Oasis-class ship again it will be on the Allure since there are different shows. Any reason why we'd do Oasis again is if friends wanted us to join them.

[DevonianCruiser]

Ok...I'm sort of having buyers remorse and want to see what others have to say. My husband and I just booked a cruise on the oasis for our 10 year anniversary. We figured go big or go home. Well now I'm counting the cost and we're right around $4000 for flight, balcony room, premium drink package (what's another $700 bucks?!) And spending money. It just seems like a LOT of money for 7 days. I'm really looking forward to just relaxing, seeing some great shows and trying some of the specialty restaurants. Are we going to save a lot of money by going on a different ship and will we have as good of a time? Any favorite ships? I don't want to go on a super outdated ship and we definitely want to go for 7 nights

 

I would just look forward to the fabulous holiday that you're going to have. I've just booked and then cancelled the drinks package as I can see us drinking that much, but everyone's different.

 

Enjoy it all :-)

[Let'sGo!]

I was one of those people who said "we'll never cruise on one of those monstrous ships -- too many people!" And now I'm counting down until our Oasis cruise in May.

 

We previously had a GS booked on Freedom and switched to Oasis. Unfortunately staying in the GS category on Oasis was cost prohibitive... so I get what you are saying.

 

But, as several others have said -- we consider Oasis as our destination. This is a new ship for us and I'm sure we'll enjoy our time on board. We usually choose our cruises based on itinerary, looking for favorite or new ports. For us, we don't even care about the ports this time - we're looking forward to just exploring the new ship.

 

Yes - it is a pricey outlay for this particular class of ship. (We too have pre-purchased the premium alcohol pkg, and have airfare to Florida). But we are looking forward to enjoying it. We only cruise once a year and this is our choice for this year.

 

If you cancel and move to another ship -- you may always wonder what you missed. I say just keep your booking and look forward - not backwards.

 

Just my 2-cents of course!

Ann

[teajak]

I agree the drink package is a lot of booze and wouldn't do it for us. We just booked the Oasis ocean view balcony,our preferance,total cruise price for 2 with tax ,gratuities,and insurance is $2537.32. Not a special deal but the on line price.

[DM_KidAtHeart]

I was originally booked on Oasis for my yearly birthday cruise. I switched to Freedom because of the price and a closer port. It was around 200 less per person plus a cheaper commute to the port as we could take the MegaBus. This allowed us to still have Christmas. Plus, our room is actually an upgrade IMHO; we went from an interior to Promenade window.

 

The main differences in the ship as I can tell: no Broadway show (which I will miss alot), no zip line (miss a little), and no Central Park (don't see the appeal). All differences are I can live with for the cheaper price and better room. So the question is what can you live with. You can go down a further level that the Freedom class and get even cheaper and mostly all you'd give up would be a Flowrider. So it really just depends on which of the ship features you'll think you are likely to use and enjoy.

[Cruisekin2]

You guys are giving me a lot to think about. I'm just so confused and feeling cheap all of a sudden. We're paying over $600 for our flight so that's a chunk of change right there. Our actual cabin is $2300 with taxes. I'm going back and forth about the drink package, we're not huge drinkers, but i also don't want to be shocked by our bill at the end of the week. In my head I'm thinking I would like a couple drinks by the pool, a glass or two of wine at dinner and then a couple of cocktails during shows. Will we be be close to the $700 mark drinking that much or significantly lower?

[glituner32]

What month do you plan on going?

[Cruisekin2]

Next february

[Aquahound]

I'm going back and forth about the drink package, we're not huge drinkers, but i also don't want to be shocked by our bill at the end of the week. In my head I'm thinking I would like a couple drinks by the pool, a glass or two of wine at dinner and then a couple of cocktails during shows. Will we be be close to the $700 mark drinking that much or significantly lower?

 

No way! Even thinking high and figuring $10 a drink, that would only be $60 a day, not $100. Considering you would both have to purchase the package, you're better off not getting it.

[39august]

Many of the "worth it" responses are from Florida residents. They don't have to pay airfare! I wouldn't pay $4000 for a balcony for two on any ship! Freedom from Port Canaveral would cost less and you'd enjoy it just as much in my opinion. I've done both ships. I got a super deal on Oasis for a Jr. Suite for less than $1500 pp. But I was not so overwhelmed with Oasis that I would pay more than that to cruise that class again. Whether the drink package is worth the price, only you can determine. But I do suggest that you look into pricing on Freedom, ASAP. The prices are only likely to go up as the date gets nearer!

[Cruisekin2]

Many of the "worth it" responses are from Florida residents. They don't have to pay airfare! I wouldn't pay $4000 for a balcony for two on any ship! Freedom from Port Canaveral would cost less and you'd enjoy it just as much in my opinion. I've done both ships. I got a super deal on Oasis for a Jr. Suite for less than $1500 pp. But I was not so overwhelmed with Oasis that I would pay more than that to cruise that class again. Whether the drink package is worth the price, only you can determine. But I do suggest that you look into pricing on Freedom, ASAP. The prices are only likely to go up as the date gets nearer!

 

We would be paying $4000 for everything....including flight and spending money. Is that pretty typical considering we have to fly in?

[DMickey28]

We booked Allure last March for over $3k because we really really wanted to go on her. We loved it.

 

We booked this year,same category, for $2400 including everything. Our flights are another $499. We looked into the drink package but I totaled up our food and drink bill from last year and we just hit $700. That included two Giovanni's and one Chops and a bottle of wine. We never felt lacking in the drink department.

 

We've sailed on Freedom, Navigator and Adventure as well and loved them all. I really wanted to try Oasis class and my husband really liked I but we would have happily gone back to a different ship. This just worked out best timing wise and price wise including flights.

 

The best I've paid is $1600 for the two of on Navigator balcony, Tuesday sale.

[HaraldOslo]

I'm going back and forth about the drink package, we're not huge drinkers, but i also don't want to be shocked by our bill at the end of the week.

 

My advice would be to skip the drink packages.

 

If you enjoy wine for dinner you can get them by the bottle for $35 and up, and they keep the bottle for the next days.

 

You are also allowed to bring 2 bottles of wine aboard, and can drink it for free in the stateroom (or elsewhere not in a restaurant/bar).

 

The soda package on the other hand.. :-)

 

If you want to go all out with regards to alcohol one of the days, just book a shore excursion with all inclusive and enjoy. Other than that, a few cocktails here and there are far away from the daily $55 pp that the drink package is.