Newbie!! Questions about Oasis..

[cdm2]

Hey guys! It's my first time on this site and I'm addicted! I am going on the Oasis in August as a first timer! I am really excited, but I am definitely a planner. I have a few questions if anyone has any input. I would really appreciate it!! :)

 

Has anyone found that buying the Premium Beverage package to be worth it? We are going with another couple who are also in their 30's and want to have fun and relax. I thought maybe this package was the way to go. We don't drink a lot, but 4 or 5 a day possibly.. ??

 

Also, what is there to do as far as nightlife on the ship besides the theater and comedy club? And how late do the bars stay open? Are there dance clubs?

 

Pools.. Which is the best pool to go to on the ship? We love children, but (no offense to anyone) we would prefer an adults only area.

 

Finally, is it worth paying the extra money to go to the "specialty" restaurants?

 

Thank you soooo much! :)

[cdm2]

I also forgot to ask about the Central Park balcony room.. Is it worth the extra money vs. a traditional ocean view??

[At Sea 4Ever]

Welcome to CC!

 

As far as the pool situation goes the solarium is the adults only area. For my DH an I we felt like we were in a tropical oasis, no pun intended lol. It's 2 stories the bottom being the pool and whirlpool area as well as the solarium bistro. The bistro serves complimentary breakfast and lunch and at night opens up for dinner at a fee. Upstairs is a bar and lounging areas. Totally tranquil! The beach pool is always a great area. There are lounge chairs with umbrellas are actually in the water so you get the feeling of being at the beach minus the sand lol! This pool tends to draw a more younger to mid age crowd. Don't worry about the kids most are over in the kids area the h2o zone.

 

Hopes this starts to help... Have fun planning!!

[At Sea 4Ever]

I also forgot to ask about the Central Park balcony room.. Is it worth the extra money vs. a traditional ocean view??

 

This is more a matter of opinion. Ocean view balcony is a traditional setting for a ship whereas Central Park is a community feel. If you want total quite while on you balcony and no one looking up or in then go ocean view. If you prefer more action with site seeing and wanna be in the mix of it all go with Central Park. Central Park in my opinion is the most beautiful and amazing area on the whole ship! It's a real WoW! Lol. To answer your previous question about specialty dining, if you do decide to do a restaurant pick one in Central Park. At night it's super romantic especially when they have live music. Giovanni's is our personal favorite!

[cdm2]

Thank you soo much! You have really helped! We have the Central Park balcony room now because that is what our TA recommended.

[At Sea 4Ever]

Search the boards here for cruise compasses for previous sailings that way you can get an idea of what's happening on the ship each day. It will give you ideas as far as activities go and times on the bars and clubs. You want to be informed before getting on this ship so make cruise critic, google and rccl website your new best friend! Lol

[anandaindonesia]

Nothing beats having breakfast while watching the sea from your own ocean view balcony. That's real cruising at its best.

 

However, Oasis and Allure are the only ships where you can have balcony facing "inside". On a Central Park balcony, you will see - of course - a park. If you like parks, then it is a good choice.

 

Another option you have on Oasis/Allure is a Boardwalk Balcony. It combines the best of both worlds : you can see the activities on the boardwalk, AND you can still enjoy the view of the ocean. That's where I want to be!

 

Your miles may vary.

Enjoy your cruise.

Edited January 9, 2014 by anandaindonesia

[dreamer976]

I also forgot to ask about the Central Park balcony room.. Is it worth the extra money vs. a traditional ocean view??

 

Please be advised that an ocean view room is not a balcony stateroom, but a stateroom with a window. Depending on when you book, a Central Park balcony stateroom will be cheaper than an ocean-facing balcony stateroom. I prefer to look out upon the ocean whenever possible. Central Park is a beautiful space, especially after dark (they even pipe in the sounds of crickets!), but I'd rather walk through it or sit and have a cocktail and enjoy it.

 

As far as specialty restaurants go, I think they're worth the extra charge, for the most part. The Main Dining Room on Oasis is also a great space and the food is usually good, but I love to do at least a night or two at a specialty restaurant. Can't vouch personally for 150 Central Park, but Chops Grille and Giovanni's Table are great! Giovanni's Table is also available at lunch for only $15, I believe.

 

Enjoy your cruise and welcome to CC!:)

[Clarea]

..Also, what is there to do as far as nightlife on the ship besides the theater and comedy club? And how late do the bars stay open? Are there dance clubs?..

The Blaze nightclub has dancing late.

[Tyler80]

Hey guys! It's my first time on this site and I'm addicted! I am going on the Oasis in August as a first timer! I am really excited, but I am definitely a planner. I have a few questions if anyone has any input. I would really appreciate it!! :)

 

Has anyone found that buying the Premium Beverage package to be worth it? We are going with another couple who are also in their 30's and want to have fun and relax. I thought maybe this package was the way to go. We don't drink a lot, but 4 or 5 a day possibly.. ??

 

Also, what is there to do as far as nightlife on the ship besides the theater and comedy club? And how late do the bars stay open? Are there dance clubs?

 

Pools.. Which is the best pool to go to on the ship? We love children, but (no offense to anyone) we would prefer an adults only area.

 

Finally, is it worth paying the extra money to go to the "specialty" restaurants?

 

Thank you soooo much! :)

 

Welcome to Cruise Critic!

 

Oasis of the Seas is a fantastic ship and you will really enjoy it!

 

To answer your questions, I'm in my 30's so I can relate:

 

1. My opinion on drink packages (especially the premium one) is that the folks that will benefit the most with these are those who drink a lot. They are expensive and if you only plan to drink a few drinks a day, then you will probably save money by just paying for each drink rather than buying a package. Otherwise you might drink more than you normally would in order to make sure you are getting your money's worth. ;)

 

2. There are several places to go for nightlife activities. Boleros (Latin), Blaze (club), and Viking Crown Lounge (live music) are a few. Check the Cruise Compass for the Bicardi sponsored party that happens in the Solarium. It also might be listed as "21 Party" or something like that. It happens in the Solarium at night.

 

3. The best area for quiet relaxation is the Solarium. The Solarium on Oasis is 2 decks high. I always lounged on Deck 16, 1 deck above the Solarium Pool. There is a bar near by, and you can always just walk down a flight of stairs to cool off in the pool. Also the Solarium has a Bistro on Deck 15 with lots of healthy choices if you get hungry. Another pool I would recommend is the "walk in" beach pool which has loungers that are in a shallow area of the pool. Very refreshing! :)

 

4. I would recommend you try a specialty restaurant just so you can see if you like it. If I could recommend one I would say Giovanni's Table (Central Park, Deck 8) for lunch. The lunch price is cheaper than the dinner price, and if you like Italian food then you'll be happy with the selection. The attention to detail, service and food is better in the specialty restaurants in my opinion. But you'll still find great food and service in the Main Dining Room. Also if you like burgers and fries don't forget to try Johnny Rocket's in the Boardwalk on Deck 6. It is only $4.95 per person and includes unlimited onion rings and fries.

Edited January 9, 2014 by Tyler80

[houstoncruisers2001]

i think ANY balcony beats just an ocean view room. I also think the drink package is worth it if both people are above average drinkers.

 

We were on Oasis twice and there was live music in Dazzles every night until 1-ish, if i remember correctly. We danced in there all 7 nights after the show.

 

Solarium is awesome, but it's sometimes hard to find a chair let alone two chairs.

 

Never tried a "pay" restaurant on Oasis, but have on other ships. Check out the main dining room menu in advance and pick a night where the food doesn't appeal to you and try a speciality place.

[gwb2004]

Need to drink 7 drinks a day to break even for the drink package. We made out on our drink package.

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

[debbs0723]

Look on Royals website. There are so many different categories of rooms. We, personally, do not care about a balcony but would rather have two different rooms for us and our kids. We found that the central park view rooms were good for us. (I should note I haven't been on the ship, just booked) The rooms are just bigger. The next choice I would make would probably be a boardwalk balcony over a central park balcony because I think it is a really cool view, unlike you will get on any other ship yet still not quiet as expensive as an ocean view balcony. If you book a room next to your friends, you should be able to combine your balcony if you want to make a larger balcony to hang out on.

 

We thought about the drink package on our last trip. For us it just isn't worth it. I might drink 5-7 drinks in one day or late evening but am I going to do that 7 days in a row? probably not. That is the question you have to ask yourself. There are drink menus you can view to see what the average drink is. I also have to think about how I'm going to feel the next day. If I drink all the specialty cocktails am I going to ruin my next day planned out in the Caribbean heat? That answer might be no for a day or two but in my case that is eventually going to catch up with me.

 

With the way the packages are now if one of you is a much heavier drinker that person could get the package while the other person buys a la carte. Look at some of the menus and see what kinds of things and how many you would order. If your average drink is $9 and you drink 5 that is $45 per day instead of the package price which I think is around $55? If there is even one day on that trip that you do not feel like slugging back all those drinks you are ahead by far.

 

Debbie

[Jmfletcher825]

I am going to be sailing on Oasis for the first time as well in March. So I can't answer questions about specialty restaurants etc...yet!

 

But I can speak to the drink package. We were on Independence last march and got the premium package. This was before the packages included bottled water and the Freestyle machines but it was the same $55 price. My husband and I are probably considered "above average" drinkers. We are also in our late 20s/early 30s. I found this package (even without the water and soda) to be worth it. All of your gratuities are also included. I think sometimes people forget about that. So if you drink 5-7 drinks a day a are tipping on each of those drinks, you can add anywhere from $10-20/day depending on how generous you are and what you drink. Plus, you never have to sign a receipt with the drink package which is just very convenient. I also liked the fact that if we didn't like a drink, one got spilled or just didn't want to finish it, we never felt bad about it! I guess needless to say, we are big advocates for the drink package. And we are thrilled bottled water is included now!

[JasonV1]

You can pre-book (or buy onboard) a selection of dining packages that get you into a collection of specialty restaurants at a discount (20% I believe). If this is your first time, I would consider this at you'll get to try most of what the ship has to offer.

 

I personally would not book a central park balcony unless you just like to have somewhere outside to sit in the mornings/evenings. I typically can't afford balconies during prime season, but on my summer Oasis cruise I booked the furthest back boardwalk balcony which has a very nice view of the ocean (for a cabin that is technically on the inside of the ship anyway).

 

Just remember the #1 rule of Oasis: Pre-book your comedy club reservation as early as possible, unless you like waiting nn standby. You can pre-book everything, but the comedy club is very small and the reservations are typically gone before the boat sails.

 

Also, if you want to try the flowrider I suggest paying for the lesson. It is a group lesson, but worth it as it takes a few tries to learn to stay up. During public flowrider hours (particularly when they are busy) your ride lasts as long as your ability to stay on the board. The staff sometimes gives you another shot if you immediately fall, but not always.

 

Review this post from yesterday for some other good info on Oasis. I posted in there a list of things that newcomers might not know where/how to find.

[cdm2]

Thank you all so much!! I love CC. You are all so helpful!!

 

What about the "my time" dining? I know you have to prepay the gratuities, which is fine with us, but why else would one pick this over the traditional dining?

[Clarea]

Thank you all so much!! I love CC. You are all so helpful!!

 

What about the "my time" dining? I know you have to prepay the gratuities, which is fine with us, but why else would one pick this over the traditional dining?

Most often I hear people say they don't want to be tied down to specific times, or the traditional times are either too early or too late.

[Tyler80]

Thank you all so much!! I love CC. You are all so helpful!!

 

What about the "my time" dining? I know you have to prepay the gratuities, which is fine with us, but why else would one pick this over the traditional dining?

 

One note about My Time Dining: If you want to same wait staff every night you'll more than likely have to make a reservation for a specific time and request that staff's table to ensure you have them each night.

 

My personal opinion about My Time Dining is that sometimes it can be a hot mess depending on how many people utilize the service. I've seen the lines backed up for people waiting for tables because a lot of people want to eat at the same time and the My Time Dining section is only so many tables.