Oasis of the Seas TransAtlantic Voyage Through the Eyes of Art & Ellie

[Redcat]

You said "We truly hate being nickeled and dimed and that is what it feels likes especially for your premium passengers."

What exactly makes you a premium passenger? :confused: I have always felt that Royal Caribbean treats everyone equally!

 

I to find many people who have cruised longer or in upper suites tend to feel elite but only come off as snobish. All passengers are Premium.

[rafinmd]

Art, take care of that knee.

 

Roy

[artbcpa]

Quick update from us. We had a good dinner last night in the MDR, it was formal night. Enjoyed prime rib and lobster (ordered 1 entree each plus a lobster). Dined with a very nice couple and we were last to leave dining room @11PM.

 

So funny. I ordered the same thing and were the last to leave 1st seating.

[denamo]

Too bad about your knee.:( Hope getting off of your feet will help.

 

Thanks again for the link to your pictures. I said it previously, but have to say it again! I really like inserting the link in your post with pictures. Such a great idea!

[artbcpa]

We just saw the Aqua Show. It was loads of fun. I have posted the photos in a separate album.

 

[Mrs.Dukes]

Sorry you hurt your knee. Hope it will be better soon! Really enjoying your trip report. Great pictures! Enjoy the rest of your vacation!

[Sunny AZ Girl]

Great pictures! Thanks.:)

[artbcpa]

Thank you all for your good wishes. It was a bit of a struggle, but I did a lot of reading and continued icing my knee. The only time it really bothered me was when I was sitting for a long time. Then it stiffened up.

 

I am reading a wonderful book by Leon Panetta, Worthy Fights. I am only one-third of the way through it, but it is well worth reading if you are into world events, politics or even just autobiographies. Panetta started out as a Republican and even worked in the Nixon Administration White House. He was fired he says for being too aggressive with civil rights enforcement and changed his registration to Democrat. He was a longtime Congressman from northern California and served in the Clinton and Obama administrations as budget chief, Chief of Staff, and director of the CIA.

 

Whatever your political philosophy, it is well written and tells a lot of inside information.

[artbcpa]

This morning we had breakfast on our balcony - what a treat!!!

 

[Paulette3028]

We just saw the Aqua Show. It was loads of fun. I have posted the photos in a separate album.

 

 

Wonderful photos....it reminded me of the Aqua Show on Allure, even though it had a different theme - the acrobatics and diving...WOW!

[kitten253]

I have added photos from around the ship, including our Grand Suite, fitness center, Boardwalk and more still to come.

 

 

Art I see you have s pic of some of my friends that are on your sailing the Pink Boa Cruisers

 

Karen:)

[artbcpa]

Now that I have some extra time (because of my knee), I just added Ellie's photos to my albums.

 

Here once again is the link to the London photos:

 

 

and photos on board the Oasis:

 

 

The last of Ellie's photos are from Vigo. She had quite a few pictures from Vigo; so I saved them for last.

[The Big Booper]

I'm sorry to read about your knee issue, hope it heals properly. At our advancing age, not good.

 

I like the concept of putting photo links in rather then the actual photos, makes scrolling a lot faster and easier. Really enjoyed the pictures and the availability of the exif information is a plus, on Flickr.

 

You can set up a custom white balance and use it for indoor pictures, gets rid of the yellow-orange cast on the non-flash shots. I use the white sheets on the bed as the target and it works for the cabin and most of the indoor areas on the ship when no daylight is available.

[Sunny AZ Girl]

I'm sorry to read about your knee issue, hope it heals properly. At our advancing age, not good.

 

 

Yeah, I know all about that. I hurt my knee in a fall on an excursion whle I was on the Jewel n May. I am still having major problems, but have avoided going to the doctor. Today it went out again while out on a walk and I almost had to be carried home. I broke down and made a doctor appointment for next week.:rolleyes:

[Paulette3028]

Now that I have some extra time (because of my knee), I just added Ellie's photos to my albums.

 

Here once again is the link to the London photos:

 

 

and photos on board the Oasis:

 

 

The last of Ellie's photos are from Vigo. She had quite a few pictures from Vigo; so I saved them for last.

 

Looking GREAT!

[artbcpa]

Last night we went to see the Ice Show. All I can say is WOW. I took lots of photos, but they can't capture the magnificence of the show, especially when you consider they were skating on a surface much smaller than a regular ice rink. The costumes were beautiful, but for me the highlight was the sand drawings done by a very talented lady named, Alexandra (please excuse me if I misspelled your name)

 

 

After the show we went to Chops Grille and had an outstanding meal - food and service. It was a very nice evening.

[Irisheyes61665]

Art, thank you so much for this wonderful review. Your pictures are breathtaking! My family of 10 will be on Lady O for Thanksgiving week and I'm just loving following along with you. My daughter did her study abroad in Copenhagen last spring and will be so excited to hear that the ice show is based on stories of Hans Christian Andersen. He is from Denmark and we went to see so many sights based on his life, especially The Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tale House.

Once again, Thank You for all of the time that you are putting into this amazing review!

Kathleen

[JohnGaltny]

I am sorry if you took offense to my reference about "premium passengers". To answer your question, we are in a Grand Suite.

 

Actually we would much prefer that Royal Caribbean treated all of their passengers more equally, but that is hardly the case. This may be the most stratified of any cruise line we have ever been on. There are special perks for diamond members and more perks for D+ and more still for Pinnacle members. There are rooms just for premium members and special packages for them. They are even in the midst of building a restaurant just for certain members.

 

Remember that the point I was making was that EVERYONE should be compensated for being on a ship that is in the midst of construction and not quite ready for prime time.

 

Nicely done. :) There will always be someone from SOPO (Society of Perpetual Outrage) looking to be offended.

 

Thanks for taking the time for a VERY balanced review, especially with WiFi on a ship. I always wait 'till it's over because I can't stand the speeds aboard.

[masonpips]

My family of 10 will be on Lady O for Thanksgiving week and I'm just loving following along with you.

Kathleen

 

Kathleen, come join the Thanksgiving roll call! We have a cabin crawl planned and are all starting to get excited!

Thanks to artbcpa for helping us build the excitement!

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1830674&page=22

Edited October 24, 2014 by masonpips

[chloe kitty]

Art,

Sorry to hear about your knee. Enjoying reading your review, thank you. We are also on this cruise. I usually try to look at the bright side of things, but I am finding it hard to do it this time. The entertainment on this ship is excellent!! The food is fairly good. The cabins are nice, we only have a balcony. Dinner at Chops a few dYs ago was excellent. That is all that is favorable. Horrendous boarding in Rotterdam. Misinformation on board this ship. Customer service should rename itself as Customer non-service. When I went to the shop to buy a ship model, I was told they were sold out (this was on the first day). When I asked how we could get one, I was told to go to EBay . What a stupid comment. We booked this on the first day it opened for sale and were really looking forward to it. Very disappointed. I also play MajJongg and noticed that most of the sets were incomplete. Trying to enjoy ourselves.

Ellen

Edited October 24, 2014 by chloe kitty

[artbcpa]

Art,

Sorry to hear about your knee. Enjoying reading your review, thank you. We are also on this cruise. I usually try to look at the bright side of things, but I am finding it hard to do it this time. The entertainment on this ship is excellent!! The food is fairly good. The cabins are nice, we only have a balcony. Dinner at Chops a few dYs ago was excellent. That is all that is favorable. Horrendous boarding in Rotterdam. Misinformation on board this ship. Customer service should rename itself as Customer non-service. When I went to the shop to buy a ship model, I was told they were sold out (this was on the first day). When I asked how we could get one, I was told to go to EBay . What a stupid comment. We booked this on the first day it opened for sale and were really looking forward to it. Very disappointed. I also play MajJongg and noticed that most of the sets were incomplete. Trying to enjoy ourselves.

Ellen

 

Ellen, I agree with much of what you say. Ellie and I spoke yesterday about how difficult it is to come to any kind of conclusion in reviewing this ship and voyage.

 

Overall we have had a very nice time. As you said the food and entertainment has been excellent. I don't remember the Oasis being listed among the ships with outstanding food, but having sailed on some that are, I would rate it right up there. And the entertainment has truly been top notched. Yes there were downfalls, but everyone has those. The best (like the ice and aquatic shows) were out of this world.

 

We have also noticed a marked improvement in the service as the cruise proceeded. At first, everyone on the ship seemed to be extremely defensive. As you said, it was Customer non-service. We heard that part of the problem was that much of the staff was new and the experienced staff was transferred over to get ready for the launch of the Quantum of the Seas. Whether that is true or not, we do not know. But lately the first response has been an apology and a sincere effort to make things better. That is the way it should be.

 

In any business, things do go wrong. That is your opportunity to show your true colors. As my fellow lecturer W Mitchell says, "It is not what happens to you, but what you do about it." Perhaps RCI has also come to that realization and will react differently in the future.

 

Two lessons that I will emphasize from this experience:

 

1. Don't sail on a ship right after drydock.

2. The Oasis class ships are primarily designed for sailing in warm weather where more indoor facilities are not needed.

 

Management also needs to do a better job of communicating with their passengers. We spoke to so many passengers, like ourselves, who did not know how so many things worked on the ship (like when we stood with several other passengers in a line outside of a venue and no one announced that people with reservations could walk in - no sign, no nothing.)

 

Will we take another voyage on the Oasis? That is a tough question. There are lots of positives. There is also lots of competition out there. It would probably have to be the right situation. We do lots of cruising and we are not ruling it out.

[dutchclogs]

Art, thank you for taking the time to write this live review. As others have also posted, having been on the last cruise prior to dry dock it is very interesting to read and see the changes. One question, have you or perhaps someone reading your review, dined at 150 Central Park? I found the chairs uncomfortably low (I'm not so short 5' 4) and was told that it was planned to replace these during dry dock. Just curious!

[FirstCruise2331]

Thanks for the review, interesting to hear honest evaluation. I am on Allure TA next Oct. We shouldn't have post dry dock problems (as Allure in dry dock when she arrives in Europe before summer in the Med) but wondering was there any nice weather days? I know you said Bay of Biscay was rough seas but with Solarium being quasi outdoors, Central Park, Boardwalk, etc. all outdoors did you get a chance to enjoy or was weather poor / cold all the way across?

[artbcpa]

Art,

I also play MajJongg and noticed that most of the sets were incomplete.

Ellen

 

Hi Ellen; this is Ellie. I agree; the mahj sets were terribly disappointing. For a ship of 5,000, you would think they would have at least 5 or 10 complete new sets with racks. I also felt the "card room" on deck 14 was terribly undersized for the amount of people on board (relates to Art's comment about too little indoor space). To add to the noise and confusion in the card room, the ship also chose to use it as a computer room. At times the noise level was off the scale.

 

I noticed that many game players found unconventional spaces to play like the tables at the front of the spa and in other restaurants. My friends and I went to "customer service" asking for an alternate game room and they suggested the library. We went up there and in addition to not having any tables for games, everyone was doing what we suspected; READING!! We were then routed to the conference workrooms on deck 3 which had long rectangular tables which weren't appropriate. Perhaps it was cultural, but "CS" had no clue as how to help.

 

I found this trait frequently in all areas of concern as the cruise progressed. Art has been kinder than I in his evaluation. It took 3 days and finally contacting our suite supervisor just to get fruit in our room. Our room attendant told us "they had run out of fruit" and this was the 2nd day of the cruise. Would I try RCI again? Perhaps it's like having a baby; you eventually forget the pain & do it again anyway :)

 

Best,

Ellie

[Cindy]

Two lessons that I will emphasize from this experience:

 

1. Don't sail on a ship right after drydock.

2. The Oasis class ships are primarily designed for sailing in warm weather where more indoor facilities are not needed.

 

Management also needs to do a better job of communicating with their passengers. We spoke to so many passengers, like ourselves, who did not know how so many things worked on the ship (like when we stood with several other passengers in a line outside of a venue and no one announced that people with reservations could walk in - no sign, no nothing.)

 

Will we take another voyage on the Oasis? That is a tough question. There are lots of positives. There is also lots of competition out there. It would probably have to be the right situation. We do lots of cruising and we are not ruling it out.

 

I like balanced reports where I can read the good with the bad and form my own opinion, so I've just loved your report.:D I do think there's a lot of merit in your points above, particularly #2. From all that I've read, the Oasis TA experience has been very different than a typical Oasis experience. That seems to be primarily because of the weather, but also because the staff has struggled with unfamiliar ports and situations that aren't usually encountered. As for #1, that was a decision my husband and I made quite a while ago, after reading of numerous problems and closures both right before and right after dry dock. We try to allow at least a month on either end when we look at booking a cruise.

 

For what it's worth, I'm a Royal Caribbean fan, and I think this Oasis refurb has been handled very poorly. I'll never understand the lack of communication and information, and it appears to me that the dry dock was overly ambitious for the time allotted. The paying customers are suffering through construction and closures because of it, and cruisers even a month after dry dock (like me) can't get a straight answer about what the status of the renovations will be when we sail.

 

While RCI is a solid mass market cruise line with strengths and weaknesses, I feel like they usually deliver a decent product and shine in the area of on-board customer service. That hasn't been the case for you, and I hope if you give Royal Caribbean another chance they can provide a better experience in that department!