New to Royal

[Julia’s Journey’s]

I've booked Oasis of the Seas westbound TA for next October.

This will be our first RCCL cruise what tip do you have for a newbie?

[hellsop]

Bring half as much clothing and twice as much money?

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1679215 is fun -- tells how to get to "secret" public balconies on Oasis.

[Desert Cruizers]

Board with an open mind and enjoy each day as it comes. We have not sailed on the Oasis yet, but love RCCL. I see you have cruised 3 differant lines, I found Princess and RCCL to be very similiar however overall RCCL has provided us a more enjoyable cruise. Enjoy your first RCCL cruise. I also at sometime, recommend trying the Radiance Class with RCCL.

[maureencruiser]

Read all the reviews you can of the Oasis and her sister ship, Allure. Look at all the pictures so you can see what you would like and what you wouldn't. :)

[Hstergo]

Try to book all your shows and specialty dining online. Don't worry if you can't book everything sometimes it will tell you they are full. The moment you board ship go downstairs to to Studio B (the ice skating rink) there will be people there to help you set up anything you couldn't online.

 

Also if your a soda drinker you might want to look into the soda package it's worth it if you drink 3 or more soft drinks per day. you have to get that online or during the first day you board the ship.

[papaflamingo]

There is tons of stuff to do on the ship. Zip line, carousel, 2 flow riders, 5 pools, etc. So you'll really enjoy the crossing. My advice is to have realistic expectations. There are 6000 passengers. You'll be amazed at how well the crowds are managed. I've done Oasis and Allure twice and really don't feel crowded except during a special event like the 70's party on the Promenade.

Book all your shows ahead. The Comedy Club is very small and if you don't have a reservation, you'll likely not get in. Don't miss Hairspray, the Aqua Show, or Ice Show. The Aqua show and Ice Show are also smaller venues, but usually let standbys in. If you book a show and don't like the time, try standing by for an earlier one.

Food is good. Remember it's a cruise ship so they are cooking for 3000 each sitting. Keep your expectations realistic.

Johnny Rockets serves breakfast. Highly recommended (it's free). Typical "diner fare," but more fun and nice place to eat. The Solarium serves a healthy alternative for both breakfast and lunch. The Park Cafe in Central Park is also a great alternative. Bagels with a variety of cream cheeses, lox, etc. Breakfast sandwiches, cereals. Lunch in the Park Cafe is sandwiches, salads, etc. But it's usually more crowded.

Think about 150 Central Park. It's a tasting menu and a very nice experience for dinner.

Lot's of other options too.

Keep your expectations real and you'll be amazed by the ship. It is like no other ship in the world.

[Julia’s Journey’s]

Bring half as much clothing and twice as much money?

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1679215 is fun -- tells how to get to "secret" public balconies on Oasis.

 

Looks like I am going to need to bring twice as much clothes and money - I'm going to be missing my free laundry perk and onboard laundry rooms :D

 

Thanks for the link:)

[Julia’s Journey’s]

Board with an open mind and enjoy each day as it comes. We have not sailed on the Oasis yet, but love RCCL. I see you have cruised 3 differant lines, I found Princess and RCCL to be very similiar however overall RCCL has provided us a more enjoyable cruise. Enjoy your first RCCL cruise. I also at sometime, recommend trying the Radiance Class with RCCL.

 

I'm sure we are going to love RCCL from everything I have read and looking forward to the change, I booked the TA knowing that a 7 day on the BIG ship wouldn't be long enough to explore and enjoy.

Hopefully this is just the start of of our RCCL cruising but I need to still figure out all the rules of combining perks/OBC cause that's one thing about Princess we can get TA/FCC/Stock OBC all at the same time:)

[Julia’s Journey’s]

There is tons of stuff to do on the ship. Zip line, carousel, 2 flow riders, 5 pools, etc. So you'll really enjoy the crossing. My advice is to have realistic expectations. There are 6000 passengers. You'll be amazed at how well the crowds are managed. I've done Oasis and Allure twice and really don't feel crowded except during a special event like the 70's party on the Promenade.

Book all your shows ahead. The Comedy Club is very small and if you don't have a reservation, you'll likely not get in. Don't miss Hairspray, the Aqua Show, or Ice Show. The Aqua show and Ice Show are also smaller venues, but usually let standbys in. If you book a show and don't like the time, try standing by for an earlier one.

Food is good. Remember it's a cruise ship so they are cooking for 3000 each sitting. Keep your expectations realistic.

Johnny Rockets serves breakfast. Highly recommended (it's free). Typical "diner fare," but more fun and nice place to eat. The Solarium serves a healthy alternative for both breakfast and lunch. The Park Cafe in Central Park is also a great alternative. Bagels with a variety of cream cheeses, lox, etc. Breakfast sandwiches, cereals. Lunch in the Park Cafe is sandwiches, salads, etc. But it's usually more crowded.

Think about 150 Central Park. It's a tasting menu and a very nice experience for dinner.

Lot's of other options too.

Keep your expectations real and you'll be amazed by the ship. It is like no other ship in the world.

 

How far in advance can you book the shows? I'm thinking of doing a package for dinner but not sure if 150 Central park will be for us as we don't eat pork and DH doesn't eat some other items and is more a steak person - can you book the package and do one of the other restaurants twice?

From all the reviews I have read I'm sure we will loooove this ship - that may be a problem and I may switch to take my kids (16 & 19) on this instead of Regal for Thanksgiving :)

[Clarea]

How far in advance can you book the shows? ...

They don't have a set time to release show reservations. I'd start checking the website periodically about 5 months in advance of the cruise.

[Julia’s Journey’s]

Starbucks, does it get charged to your onboard account or can we use the multiple gift cards we have?

[Clarea]

Starbucks, does it get charged to your onboard account or can we use the multiple gift cards we have?

So far, you can only use Starbucks gift cards on Oasis and Allure.

[jo24]

Starbucks, does it get charged to your onboard account or can we use the multiple gift cards we have?

 

Hi there

 

I haven't sailed Oasis but have been on Allure 3 times. The TA will give you the necessary time to explore most things but I can guarantee there will still be things that you miss.

 

My understanding about Starbucks is that the gift cards are accepted but you can also have drinks charged to your onboard account.

 

The Oasis Class shops are truly unbelievable. The facilities on board and the activities available will easily fill your time aboard :)

 

Jo :)

[Julia’s Journey’s]

I hope I can stay out of the stores, I am trying to get rid of 'stuff' and definitely hope not to bring more home.

We are not big drinkers but there is a Portuguese wine we like so I'm hoping to bring some back, will Royal take it till we get back to FLL? Hopefully we can find it on our one stop in Viga ;)

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk - Oy, excuse the auto correct ;)

[MermaidWatcher]

Try to book your shows ahead of time. We found the water show and ice show to be our favorites.

Don't fret the huge number of people, the ship is massive and there are so many different venues to attract passengers.

The one exception is the pools on sea days. They are packed in the am, but we found that if we did something else during that time, by early afternoon most of those had reached "well done" and headed inside, so there was space.

This might be an issue to big time "poolies", but we are not, so it was insignificant.

It may be much better known now and thus more crowded, but we would sit in total relaxation in Central Park daily.

No, everything is not going to be perfect, but IMO you will have to work very hard to not find enough enjoyable things for a positive trip.

[ehfl]

Book as much as you can online before the trip. Try a few of the specialty restaurants. Check the displays throughout the ship to avoid long lines at the dining venues...they will tell you whether there is a short, medium, or long wait.

[Julia’s Journey’s]

Try to book your shows ahead of time. We found the water show and ice show to be our favorites.

Don't fret the huge number of people, the ship is massive and there are so many different venues to attract passengers.

The one exception is the pools on sea days. They are packed in the am, but we found that if we did something else during that time, by early afternoon most of those had reached "well done" and headed inside, so there was space.

This might be an issue to big time "poolies", but we are not, so it was insignificant.

It may be much better known now and thus more crowded, but we would sit in total relaxation in Central Park daily.

No, everything is not going to be perfect, but IMO you will have to work very hard to not find enough enjoyable things for a positive trip.

 

We have a Central park balcony so hopefully we enjoy that :)

How long in advance do booking open online? I'm hoping that with all the sea days on the TA we will have lots of times to see shows again if we want :)

[SA Traveler]

There is quite a large roll call for this cruise. You might not want to wade though all the pages but do come join us.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1812370

[Julia’s Journey’s]

There is quite a large roll call for this cruise. You might not want to wade though all the pages but do come join us.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1812370

 

Actually I started reading the roll call when I first decided this would be a great first on Royal and even before I booked and have posted there a bit :D

[micmacmissy]

Read Gambee's awesome photo review of the Allure (sister ship to Oasis) here:

 

http://www.cruisewithgambee.com