Oasis of the Seas 4/12 - 4/19...first time on an Oasis class

[njmomof2]

So we sailed on Oasis last week, western Caribbean itinerary. Had 2 D5 cabins, deck 7, 7210 and 7212, port side.

 

Our cabin steward was able to open the balcony divider, so we used that as our means of moving from one cabin to the other. My mom (78) and I in one cabin, my boys (16 and 11.5) in the other.

 

We have sailed a lot on Royal, and our last few cruises have been on Freedom (I think we did 3 in a row on her). I found a great price on a sale on Oasis and decided to bite the bullet and pay the higher air fare to try her out.

 

I read so many reviews about this ship, all of the new things that are not on Freedom class ships, things that are different or changed, about the crowds and the size, etc., that I thought I was really prepared for it.

 

What I found was this (and your impression may be different so please understand that this is our opinion only)...while we enjoyed the Aqua Theater show, thought Hairspray was wonderful, loved that there was a flowrider dedicated only to surfing, the new stuff and improvements just were not game changers for us.

 

There were so many reports of the ship being so large that the crowds are spread out, so it's not really crowded for me was not true. Not that this ship was jammed, it was just "appropriately" crowded. It all seemed proportionate to the amount of passengers. The one time that I really felt that the crowds were significantly diminished was during the sales on the promenade. On Freedom, when they set up those tables, you can't move because of the crowds. On this ship, because of the extra width to the promenade, it was definitely not a problem. But the shows were crowded, the dining room was crowded (tables are really close together), the pools were crowded, the flowriders were crowded (and they really reduced the amount of seating around each one from the Freedom class), the ice skating rink was really crowded, the Windjammer was crowded.

 

I also felt that while there were so many different venues for food, many seemed to have a lot of the same things, just packaged differently. We went to Park Cafe for lunch on our first day. They had freshly prepared salads. But very limited ingredients, unlike the dining room's Tutti Salad bar. The paninis didn't seem to change over the course of the sailing. I wanted to love it. I just didn't feel it. We had My Time Dining. Because we booked late, we were unable to make reservations for our preferred dining time. So the first night we went and hoped for the best. They seemed unable to get us a table, were all confused and left us standing there for a while. After a call to the concierge (mom is D+) he seemed to work something out so that we were seated around the same time each night with one of 2 serving teams.

 

The menus are the "new" menus but we've had them on the last few cruises we did. This time, I went in with some issues, having changed my eating habits prior to the cruise (and having lost 20 lbs). I found that I had a hard time finding things that I could eat because many were so high in sugar. I ended up having pretty much the same breakfast and lunch most days. Tried a few new items for dinner that I would not have had otherwise, and some were good, others were inedible.

 

We loved the shows, really enjoyed seeing new entertainment so that was a definite hit. But overall, we felt that while the staff was nice, we didn't get that warm and fuzzy feeling we've always had (from the sports staff particularly). While we enjoyed the cruise, I personally was not too happy with the ports, because the ship is so large. And if I do Allure in August, it's the same exact ports.

 

In closing, while being on a cruise is never a bad thing and there were no real problems, I do have to say that our sailing on an Oasis class ship again will be totally dependant on the price as compared to Freedom (or other ships in that class). Nothing bad, just not enough to make me run back again. I'm glad we did it and I know that others simply love it. I guess that's why it's great there are so many options out there for all passengers.

Edited April 21, 2014 by njmomof2

[comxkid]

Thanks for taking the time to post your review. I will be sailing on the Oasis for the first time in November during Thanksgiving week; so the number and type of passengers will probably be similar to your Spring Break cruise.

 

This will be the last time that my family and I get to cruise together and we were all curious about the Oasis class ships, so I bit the bullet and booked it. I too am not overly excited about the Western itinernary ports, but our primary goal for this cruise is to enjoy the ship and everything it has to offer.

Edited April 21, 2014 by comxkid

[skyking]

Your review is very fair. Sure the Oasis is not for everyone, but we loved it and can't wait to sail Allure next April.

[maggieq]

Hi Janet,

 

We didn't really enjoy our first oasis cruise. In fact, we left saying that we didn't know if we would go on another oasis class again. Freedom class was our favorite. Well we tried the allure and had a great experience. I can honestly say that oasis class is our fav having now been on each twice now. If we didn't want to go southern this May, we would be booked on the oasis/allure for sure.

[BobbyD]

I have been on Freedom twice and it is my favorite ship so far. We are looking forward to our Allure cruise this summer but are wondering if the ship is just too big. Looking forward to the experience and know that we'll have a great time. Will it be life changing? We shall see!

[Lookin2cruise23]

Hi Janet,

 

We also sailed this same cruise and completely agree with you. On sea days this ship just has to many people on board. Before I get smashed let me also say that Oasis is simply amazing. The shows were the best I have ever seen on a ship and wonder just how long it will be before RCCL starts to charge to see them. They were that good.

The staff as a whole were not as friendly as they have been on the smaller ships. Our main dining room waiters and two of the flowrider staff were the only stand outs. Most everybody else looked like they did not want to be there.

My main complaint would have to be that the beds and the bedding should have been changed a year ago. The mattresses and comforter were in terrible shape and it was the same in other rooms. I realize she is scheduled for a update but it is long overdue.

Overall it was a good cruise with perfect weather. It would be soooo much better if the Oasis class ships had four ports instead of three. On port days the ship is awesome and on sea days not so much.

[njmomof2]

Thank you all for your responses. I really did have a lovely time, but I think that reading all of the amazing reviews had me thinking that there would be angels singing and butterflys dancing when I boarded LOL!!!

 

Looking to cruise...it's funny you'd rather have port days. For us, we'd rather have sea days. My older son is a flowrider junkie and on sea days spends pretty much the whole day on it. Port days, they shut down earlier and didn't open up til later so he had this big chunk of time to wait. Plus, my kids are just not that much into the ports. I also think it's great that you had 2 of the sports staff take an interest in your family. We've had that every single time on Freedom, but this time, even though we knew one of the staff who had moved over, none of them really took any time to get to know my older son, who was there early each morning they had advanced surfing, like we've had on Freedom.

 

Since I already have air booked for August, I can wait until well after final to look for a great price on either Allure or Freedom. Since we booked the air to get us in and out at times that are conducive for either ship (we have enough time to drive from West Palm up to Port Canaveral and back) we'll just wait and see which one comes in at a better price. I'd like to try Allure specifically for Rita's and Samba Grill (provided I am in the position to eat food like that in August) plus I'd like to see Chicago and Oceanaria.

 

ETA: Interesting comment on the beds. What is so funny for me is that this year I slept about the best I ever have on a ship. Now, I get up each day by about 5:30 to walk our dog, then shower and get a teen up for HS and then a middle schooler out the door and leave for work. So for me, sleeping until 7 is unheard of. Well, there were a couple of days I slept until 8:30. I thought my pillows were outstanding and the bed was perfect. Isn't it strange how we all have different personal experiences with things like beds, pillows, food, etc?

Edited April 22, 2014 by njmomof2

[portofrome]

Thanks for your review.