Carnival cruiser tries Oasis of the Seas

[Doug910]

...Jimbo, great review. We started sailing Carnival 20 years ago when the kids were young. They enjoyed Camp Carnival so much that we returned year after year. Took a few other lines in between.

 

...Our Grandeur OTS cruise 15 years ago turned us off to Royal. We encountered rude staff and really disliked the food. Fast forward 15 years later and we are ready to try Royal again. We are looking to sail one of the Oasis/Allure sisters are soon as the Quantum starts to sail. We hoping for a little price drop.

 

...Thanks again for taking the time to write your review. It has opened our eyes so that, as Carnival lovers, we know what to expect from Royal.

[kybluecruiser]

Traitor !!! Just kidding lol very good review. Glad you had a good time. Thanks for an honest comparison that wasn't skewed either way for one line. Good job!!!!!!!!!!

[irishnyc]

I definitely appreciate your RC review, and your candidness. We will be considering RC for our 15th anniversary, most likely the Quantum, as we will prefer to sail from NYC, but it's looking less likely, as the cost will just be entirely too much when you factor in the already hight fare, then higher drink charges, etc.

 

 

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[tanyaewa]

Great review, really enjoyed it and thanks for taking the time.

 

FWIW- dont blame RC for the lack of lime. ;) The price skyrocketed out of sight during that time and the price went from $40 a case to $400 a case literally! Plus, were very hard to get....

I admire them for trying to make light of a situation they could not control.

Just thought I'd share :)

Edited April 2, 2014 by tanyaewa

[snownyet]

Great review! We agree with the Disney feel and the Oasis class being just too big. We like to meet new friends on a cruise, but on the Oasis you can meet someone, then part ways and never see them again. Having cruised Carnival many times along with Princess, HAL and RCCL we tend to like the Radiance class RCCL ships the most so far and will probably try a different class next. We just returned from a week on the Carnival Valor and as we sat discussing our trip on the last day, we decided we've both had it with Carnival. We ate 3 nights in the steakhouse just avoid what's become (in our opinion) a barely edible dinner in the main dining room, and we're not foodies. I will say the Valor's crew was one of the best we've encountered and they played a big role in making our trip enjoyable regardless of the other shortcomings. We discussed our past experiences and feel Royal has Carnival beat in 3 categories in our opinion, food quality/variety, entertainment and crowd control, all of which play a major role in our decision making. We kept coming back to carnival based on price, but I'm past the savings now. I'm disappointed to say my money is going elsewhere next time, we really wanted to reach platinum level but I just don't see it happening.

Edited April 2, 2014 by snownyet

[jimbo5544]

...Jimbo, great review. We started sailing Carnival 20 years ago when the kids were young. They enjoyed Camp Carnival so much that we returned year after year. Took a few other lines in between.

 

...Our Grandeur OTS cruise 15 years ago turned us off to Royal. We encountered rude staff and really disliked the food. Fast forward 15 years later and we are ready to try Royal again. We are looking to sail one of the Oasis/Allure sisters are soon as the Quantum starts to sail. We hoping for a little price drop.

 

...Thanks again for taking the time to write your review. It has opened our eyes so that, as Carnival lovers, we know what to expect from Royal.

Thanks for the nice words! Perspective is a good thing to have, it makes for a much better experience and appreciate the good things.

[jimbo5544]

Traitor !!! Just kidding lol very good review. Glad you had a good time. Thanks for an honest comparison that wasn't skewed either way for one line. Good job!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks, it made me laugh out loud reading your post.:D

[jimbo5544]

I definitely appreciate your RC review, and your candidness. We will be considering RC for our 15th anniversary, most likely the Quantum, as we will prefer to sail from NYC, but it's looking less likely, as the cost will just be entirely too much when you factor in the already hight fare, then higher drink charges, etc.

 

 

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Quantum was pricing out rather high when we looked. All of the "added" features that are on Quantum don't really appeal to us.

[jimbo5544]

Great review, really enjoyed it and thanks for taking the time.

 

FWIW- dont blame RC for the lack of lime. ;) The price skyrocketed out of sight during that time and the price went from $40 a case to $400 a case literally! Plus, were very hard to get....

I admire them for trying to make light of a situation they could not control.

Just thought I'd share :)

YEah, I do get it (the lack of limes) and it was not all that big a deal. Just not the way I wanted to start off my cruise. My wife thought it was a hysterical response :D("pretend the lemon is green") comment from the bartender.

[TNCruzer56]

We, like you, have cruised Carnival exclusively the last 15 times. I did want to try the Allure because of all the toys aboard and see for myself if that big monster really floats.

 

Agreed, that the entertainment blows away CCL. There`s also usually some live music playing somewhere.

 

Two things we did not enjoy. The mere size of the boat makes you feel like you`re (in) a hotel, not (on) a ship.

The buffet food and even MDR food was mediocre to terrible. 1st time I ever had a ¼” thick prime rib.

The NHL would turn down the regular burgers as being too hard. We did Jonnie Rockets (upcharge) and got a pretty good burg(not even close to Guys though!).

Everybody should try it once…waverider, zipline, carousel and 1st class shows. The interactive mapfinder was great for getting where you wished to go.

BTW, we`ve sailed both the Breeze and Dream and this thing felt twice as big! JMHO

[jimbo5544]

We, like you, have cruised Carnival exclusively the last 15 times. I did want to try the Allure because of all the toys aboard and see for myself if that big monster really floats.

 

Agreed, that the entertainment blows away CCL. There`s also usually some live music playing somewhere.

 

Two things we did not enjoy. The mere size of the boat makes you feel like you`re (in) a hotel, not (on) a ship.

The buffet food and even MDR food was mediocre to terrible. 1st time I ever had a ¼” thick prime rib.

The NHL would turn down the regular burgers as being too hard. We did Jonnie Rockets (upcharge) and got a pretty good burg(not even close to Guys though!).

 

Everybody should try it once…waverider, zipline, carousel and 1st class shows. The interactive mapfinder was great for getting where you wished to go.

BTW, we`ve sailed both the Breeze and Dream and this thing felt twice as big! JMHO

I agree on the size comments. It is almost unthinkable how big the ship really is. Speak of lack of movement....wow. You might be right on the comparison thing (at least the feeling). We have sailed all three Dream class and the sheer size of Oasis blows them away.

 

I thought the food on Canrival was marginally better in the MDR, was not all that impressed in the Wind Jammer (although I did like the station concept) and agree about the Johnnie Rockets / Guy's Burger Bar comparison. Also thought that the Carnival Steakhouse was significantly better than Chops (at least in terms of the cut of beef).

[KPfromCT]

Hello, my fellow CT cruiser:D:D

Really enjoyed reading your review.

We actually priced out the Allure, and just couldn't justify it...

While I love the looks of Central Park, etc, we just wouldn't use the Flowrider, rock wall, ice skating, boxing rink, etc....

Maybe once the Quantum comes to town, the prices will drop.

We are going on our 2nd Breeze cruise in July:D

Just love love love that ship!!!!!!

The other BIG issue.......the ports!!!! Those large ships can only go to the same old boring ports.

Last year on the Breeze, we did Antigua, Tortola, St. Thomas, and Nassau.

This year on the Breeze, we are doing Aruba, Curacao, Dominican, and Grand Turk. Much better itineraries.:D

[jimbo5544]

Hello, my fellow CT cruiser:D:D

Really enjoyed reading your review.

We actually priced out the Allure, and just couldn't justify it...

While I love the looks of Central Park, etc, we just wouldn't use the Flowrider, rock wall, ice skating, boxing rink, etc....

Maybe once the Quantum comes to town, the prices will drop.

We are going on our 2nd Breeze cruise in July:D

Just love love love that ship!!!!!!

The other BIG issue.......the ports!!!! Those large ships can only go to the same old boring ports.

Last year on the Breeze, we did Antigua, Tortola, St. Thomas, and Nassau.

This year on the Breeze, we are doing Aruba, Curacao, Dominican, and Grand Turk. Much better itineraries.:D

Thanks. We did not do, nor probably will never do any of the amusement park rides as well (although I did take my grand kids on the Carousel). We absolutely loved Tortola. I was very disapppointed when they pulled out of there.

[irishnyc]

Quantum was pricing out rather high when we looked. All of the "added" features that are on Quantum don't really appeal to us.

 

They don't appeal to us either. The kids might disagree, but they're not paying for it, so tough!

[jimbo5544]

They don't appeal to us either. The kids might disagree, but they're not paying for it, so tough!

The other thing that was interesting was when some of these "venues" were open or not. It might have been in the Compass (Royal version of Funtimes), I never looked, but it seemed somewhat dis-jointed from my perspective. It might hold the appeal longer I guess (the limmited hours).

[jimbo5544]

Great review! We agree with the Disney feel and the Oasis class being just too big. We like to meet new friends on a cruise, but on the Oasis you can meet someone, then part ways and never see them again. Having cruised Carnival many times along with Princess, HAL and RCCL we tend to like the Radiance class RCCL ships the most so far and will probably try a different class next. We just returned from a week on the Carnival Valor and as we sat discussing our trip on the last day, we decided we've both had it with Carnival. We ate 3 nights in the steakhouse just avoid what's become (in our opinion) a barely edible dinner in the main dining room, and we're not foodies. I will say the Valor's crew was one of the best we've encountered and they played a big role in making our trip enjoyable regardless of the other shortcomings. We discussed our past experiences and feel Royal has Carnival beat in 3 categories in our opinion, food quality/variety, entertainment and crowd control, all of which play a major role in our decision making. We kept coming back to carnival based on price, but I'm past the savings now. I'm disappointed to say my money is going elsewhere next time, we really wanted to reach platinum level but I just don't see it happening.

I can't argue with the "if your not happy, go elsewhere logic". In regards to the Disney feel, it was a pretty strong feeling.

[ccarpenter1963]

Very balanced I thought. I am not sure how big I will want to go if I enjoy my first cruise, but I look forward to trying as many lines as I can.

[jimbo5544]

Very balanced I thought. I am not sure how big I will want to go if I enjoy my first cruise, but I look forward to trying as many lines as I can.

 

 

Thanks I appreciate the feedback

 

 

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