Just off Oasis......still fine tuning

[Qcruise]

Our party of three anniversary couples just off Oasis this past Saturday and I can tell you they are working on some things. When I do write a review I plan to call it "Lemonade from lemons" multiple times. Overall we believe that RCI has understaffed the ship and it is reflected in the service and some attitudes of staff we spoke with. They are also working on fine tuning the dining process to figure out the new "dynamic dining" concept, and we're not sure how it will work. We were given as a group of six a standing my time dining time of 6:30pm all week by the RCI person by phone weeks prior to boarding. When we arrived the first evening, they did not know what to do with us. We were shuffled off to various people and told to wait over there, there were two lines of people waiting growing longer by the minute. After waiting about 30 minutes we were approached by the maître d and escorted away to Izumi for their first night opening the tepan restaurant at no charge. We were told they had been slammed with early diners and could not seat us in the Grand dining room. Our dining experience there was fantastic. When we returned to Grand on the third night (we ate at Chops on second night) we had to wait again and eventually given a table next to a busy station. That night we were approached by Anna a supervisor and asked if we would dine up at the Solarium Bistro the next night for free and report our experience back to them.....can you say YES...?? Our experience there was very good, but slow service as our waiter had to bus the dishes, keep water glasses full, do everything with no help. He did the best he could, but service was slow, while the food was very good and healthy to boot. We told Anna after speaking with our server that night they don't want to share the tips so request to do by themselves.....the customer suffers with this policy. Other servers were speaking of long hours and short staff, while trying to maintain happy attitudes to customers. I'll speak of lots more as this thread continues. We were very happy with Oasis, so many healthy choices for food, we never ate at Windjammer, we loved Solarium, Park Café, Promenade Café....the dining room for breakfast was terrible, only did that once. Ask away.....our Cruise Critic group was fun, with a cabin crawl and slot pull.

[firts]

I have never been to Chops but I am considering it for next cruise on Oasis. What did you have at Chops and how did you like it? Was there items on the Chops menu that had an additional fee? :)

[killtheump]

We also were on your cruise. We had a fantastic time probably our favorite cruise. We never ran into any crew with bad attitudes in fact we thought everyone was great. We had MTD 7:00 reservation and on the first night we did wait an extra 20 minutes to be seated, but many people were ignoring the two lines. People with no reservations were going into the prebooked reservation line because it was smaller and causing the wait. All the other nights we basically just walked up and we were seated. Yes the Dinning Room is understaffed, but we never waited long for our food. We had the same staff every night and they where awesome. I drink coffee with my meal and I had it in minutes along with my 2 Sourdough Rolls and water.

 

We never ate in The Windjammer either, but did eat breakfast in the MDR and had a good breakfast. Kinda hard to screw up Bacon & Eggs, Hashbrowns and toast. We usually went to Johnny Rockets for breakfast it was good & fast.

 

Sitting here thinking last week I was sitting in The Solarium listening to some people complain that it was too hot. Today here it is 25 degrees 2 in. Of snow and 40 mph winds! Wish I was back in The Solarium,

[nednrom]

Could you give more info on Izumi please? We will be on the Oasis in January and would like to know how the menu has changed? Do they have real Hibachi cooking with Hibachi grills?

[Cindy]

We didn't encounter any staff issues either -- as a matter of fact everyone we encountered was eager to please and attentive. We only ate in the MDR one night (Sunday). The reservation line was quite long, but they went through and found a group of us who were willing to share and walked us down to a table on Deck 3 in American Icon.

 

We never ate in the Windjammer...I never even saw it!:) Dinners were at Giovanni's Table, 150 Central Park, Solarium Bistro, Chops, and Coastal Kitchen (twice). I thought it was crowded in Chops, but the service was still fine, just not quite as attentive as it could have been. We ate most of our breakfasts in Coastal Kitchen, and lunches were at Coastal Kitchen, Sabor, and Solarium Café. My biggest worry (from stories I've heard) was being ignored for drink service because we had a package, but we didn't have any problems at all and we regularly got bottled water along with another drink.

 

We went to brunch at a nice restaurant downtown before a matinee yesterday. I wish the service had been even half as good as the service on the ship!:rolleyes:

 

Edited November 24, 2014 by Cindy

[nednrom]

I am sorry that you have observed that the dining rooms are short staffed. I hope that gets fixed soon.

 

I have to say that MTD and automatic gratuities isn't new to the Royal fleet. I do know the servers work very long hours. However, I also have to say that there will always be those that complain to get sympathy or more tips. There are many more who have a terrific attitude and provide excellent service.

[Qcruise]

In Chops my favorite appetizers (the two I ordered) were a slice of bacon that our server told us he had helped the chef prepare that day. It was glazed, the size of a New York strip steak and delicious. Also the shrimp cocktail....the largest freshest I've ever seen or had. The steak I had was the 6oz filet cooked perfectly, everyone was very happy with Chops. I believe there were some upcharge menu items to select from. Izumi was incredible....one of our party ordered a sashimi appetizer I had to take a picture of it was so pretty.....the tepan show was amazing and the food was great. Let me be clear, the staff we spoke with were not cranky but expressed the lack of staff and how the work load impacted their ability to stay positive. We mostly ate at Park Café, Solarium or Prominade Café, the Sabor chips and quac with a margarita was great too. Never got to Johny Rockets......

[Qcruise]

As to the "my time" dining problem for us.....we finally found out that because we were given a 6:30pm dining time for a party of six, by that time every night the venue was completely full, so no place to put a party of six. This was told to us finally on Thursday night by Anna the supervisor. We had been bounce all over the ship at dinner. So we never got the same wait staff, we got the same staff on two nights, day four and day seven. On the last night Herb and Hichem gave us such wonderful service, they got many staff members to sing "happy anniversary" to our group once we told them we were three couples celebrating 30. 25 & 20 years. We tipped them well on that last evening, and Anna too. If we had been told earlier just to move our time to 7:30pm it could have been avoided, but nobody told us of the problem. It makes for very frustrated guests when each time you arrive for dinner at your reserved time they can't accommodate you.

[nednrom]

i am sorry that you have observed that the dining rooms are short staffed. I hope that gets fixed soon.

 

I have to say that mtd and automatic gratuities isn't new to the royal fleet. I do know the servers work very long hours. However, i also have to say that there will always be those that complain to get sympathy or more tips. There are many more who have a terrific attitude and provide excellent service.

 

posted in the wrong thread sorry

[knewcrewzr]

As I posted on another thread, we had traditional early seating in the MDR at 6pm. Every evening as we walked to our table we passed a long line of MTD'ers waiting to be seated. Our server and assistant server were absolutley the best we have ever had on a RCCL cruise. I felt sorry for him, however, as he had to accomodate many people who were sat in his area for MTD and he had to juggle diners ordering apps, entrees and desert all at different times. He always gave us a run down of the menu with the chef's recommendations and then his own recommendations. He checked with us to make sure we were happy with our choices both for the entree and desert. The assistant server never stood still as he was on the move filling water glasses, taking away plates, serving bread, answering questions, fetching the next course, etc. We also saw the head waiter several times inquiring obout our meal and service. At the conclusion of every meal we were informed about the next day's meal and schedule both for port times and meal times. Only once did our server talk about the survey we would fill out at the end of the cruise. I have had servers who harped on and on every night about rating them, so much so that I told them if I heard it one more time I would note on the survey how annoying it was.

 

We ate at the Windjammer twice, on day 1 for lunch and the last day for breakfast as it was the only place open at 530am as we had early depart. We ate breakfast at the MDR every morning except one when we at at JR. Lunches were at the Dog House, Park Cafe, or Solarium Bistro. All were fantastic. We ran through the Wipout Cafe once but DH only got ice cream.

 

Only one thing marred our cruise (next paragraph). The entertainment venues are so small, everyone needs a reservation for all the major shows. There was always a long line of standy cruisers hoping for a seat. We had made our reservations online prior to boarding but the show times got changed on several of them without my knowledge. Thanks to our cruise critic friends, who posted about their conflicts or cancellations, I would have never known. CHECK your reservations several times before you board to make sure your reservations are still as you made them.

 

DH and I went to see the Majority Rules Game (or show, whatever it was)at Studio B but we were told at the door that it required reservations. We were not allowed in as we didn't have one, but they were admitting "Gold Card" holders. We were "invited" to stand by and wait for seats. We had gone down 30 minutes early as we knew there would not be enough seats for this one time showing. We did not want to wait as both of us have knee problems and standing for 30 minutes is not a option so we left. I was reading our Daily Compass and noted that shows that required reservations had a "ticket" icon printed next to them. That show did not have the "ticket" icon and therefore did not require reservations. We went down to GS the next morning to inquire about the show and as were speaking to a non English proficient young lady it took us several minutes to make her understand our displeasure about the situation. She printed out our reservations to show us that we HAD reservations. We had a hard time telling her what show we were complaining about. There was no place to make a reservation for those small shows/games and it was not noted in the compass that reservation were required. She finally got the idea of what we were saying and said she would get a message to those in charge of entertainment personnel to let them know what happened. We were not supposed to be denied entry into that show. We were not looking for anything to make up for it, just wanted to make sure we hadn't missed where to make reservations for shows like that. We did go to see the Love and Marriage show, which is aways a hoot. If you did not get there early, your choice of seats diminished as the Opal Theatre is not big enough to seat every guest on the ship. We did not go to Quest, having experienced it many times on other cruises, or any of the other small, one time shows. The Comedy show place is really small, so if you intend to see the comedians, make reservations!

 

We ate breakfast on the last day with another couple who were very dissapointed with Oasis. They said it was too crowded. We never experienced any place overly crowded except the pool deck on sea days. We used the pool deck on port days when we did not get off the ship or returned early and practically had the entire deck to ourselves. We have been on enough cruises to know that if we want a good seat anywhere, to get there early. We are early risers so we never had a problem just walking into breakfast. When we left, there would always be a long line waiting to be seated. We also heard from another cruiser that there were too many kids on board. We hardly noticed them at all. We did hear that this week, over 2000 children would be onboard. I am glad we booked last week!

 

Overall, we had a fantastic cruise and would do the Oasis again. This cruise was selected by my DH as he wanted to go on the BIG ship. I was very hesitant as I love the smaller ships. I couldn't have been more wrong. Granted, we are a couple, who at 60 years of age, don't do many of the things a younger couple or family would do on a cruise. I "crispy critter" in about 10 minutes in the sun so we don't hang at the pool unless I know I can find a lounger in the shade. DH is on meds that don't allow much alcohol, so were don't frequent the bars, except the Schooner where we usually sat in their comfy chairs and listened to the trivia games almost every day. We loved both the Central Park and Boardwalk. Our stateroom on deck 6 was near the aft elevators so we were right around the corner from both and could easily get there without too much walking. I imagine anyone with a far aft or forward cabin had to traverse the entire ship to get anywhere.

 

We didn't miss the "secret" balconies as we really didn't know about them. I felt sorry for those who had the huge new GS rooms with those beautiful huge balconies at the aft by the aqua theater. There didn't seem to be any privacy for those who had them. There was music playing all the time, lights on and plenty of people hanging around. Yeah, we've had aft staterooms and love looking at the wake but I wouldn't want a public balcony where I was on view of everone on the boardwalk or aqua theater.

 

The Oasis crew that we encountered every day were friendly and helpful but obviously stressed with their long hours and crowded areas to work. The pool towel stations were often empty, offerings in the windjammer were not refilled very quickly, bar servers in many entertainment areas were few and far between, and there were often long lines at GS. Almost every crew member we passed in the hallways greeted us. Our stateroom attendant was excellent, and provided us with everything we requesed, like keeping the ice full on our bottles of wine, extra towells, and whatever else we needed.

 

 

Enjoy your cruise!!

[killtheump]

 

Only one thing marred our cruise (next paragraph).

 

DH and I went to see the Majority Rules Game (or show, whatever it was)at Studio B but we were told at the door that it required reservations. We were not allowed in as we didn't have one, but they were admitting "Gold Card" holders. We were "invited" to stand by and wait for seats. We had gone down 30 minutes early as we knew there would not be enough seats for this one time showing. We did not want to wait as both of us have knee problems and standing for 30 minutes is not a option so we left. I was reading our Daily Compass and noted that shows that required reservations had a "ticket" icon printed next to them. That show did not have the "ticket" icon and therefore did not require reservations. We went down to GS the next morning to inquire about the show and as were speaking to a non English proficient young lady it took us several minutes to make her understand our displeasure about the situation. She printed out our reservations to show us that we HAD reservations. We had a hard time telling her what show we were complaining about. There was no place to make a reservation for those small shows/games and it was not noted in the compass that reservation were required. She finally got the idea of what we were saying and said she would get a message to those in charge of entertainment personnel to let them know what happened. We were not supposed to be denied entry into that show. We were not looking for anything to make up for it, just wanted to make sure we hadn't missed where to make reservations for shows like that. We did go to see the Love and Marriage show, which is aways a hoot. If you did not get there early, your choice of seats diminished as the Opal Theatre is not big enough to seat every guest on the ship. We did not go to Quest, having experienced it many times on other cruises, or any of the other small, one time shows. The Comedy show place is really small, so if you intend to see the comedians, make reservations!

 

 

 

 

!!

 

Well I think the problem you had seeing the Majority Rules game is you were at the wrong venue. The Majority Rules Game was on Deck 5 at The On Air Club. The Ice Show was in Studio B at the same time, that is what you needed reservations for.

Also there were plenty of seats in The Opal Theater for The Love & Marrige Game.

[Clarea]

Well I think the problem you had seeing the Majority Rules game is you were at the wrong venue. The Majority Rules Game was on Deck 5 at The On Air Club. The Ice Show was in Studio B at the same time, that is what you needed reservations for.

Also there were plenty of seats in The Opal Theater for The Love & Marrige Game.

Glad you explaned that. I was thinking, "Tickets for Majority Rules"?:confused:

[Cindy]

We didn't miss the "secret" balconies as we really didn't know about them. I felt sorry for those who had the huge new GS rooms with those beautiful huge balconies at the aft by the aqua theater. There didn't seem to be any privacy for those who had them. There was music playing all the time, lights on and plenty of people hanging around. Yeah, we've had aft staterooms and love looking at the wake but I wouldn't want a public balcony where I was on view of everone on the boardwalk or aqua theater.

 

 

Don't feel sorry for us...we LOVED the Aqua Theater Suite and we would choose it again in a heartbeat.:D The balcony had as much privacy as we wanted on the side, and watching the shows and action from the balcony was a lot of fun. To me, cruising in the Aqua Theater Suite was a unique experience for a unique ship. It wouldn't be right for everybody, but we thought it was just fantastic and an opportunity we couldn't have on any other class of ship.

[killtheump]

Don't feel sorry for us...we LOVED the Aqua Theater Suite and we would choose it again in a heartbeat.:D The balcony had as much privacy as we wanted on the side, and watching the shows and action from the balcony was a lot of fun. To me, cruising in the Aqua Theater Suite was a unique experience for a unique ship. It wouldn't be right for everybody, but we thought it was just fantastic and an opportunity we couldn't have on any other class of ship.

 

Everytime we were by The Aqua Theater I would look up and think what a great view you must have! I am glad you liked it.

 

We have taken 7 cruises now, our first was an inside stateroom, the next one was a balcony, on the next 4 we had D1 balconies and this time a JS. My wife loved the walk-in closet and bathtub. Looks like no more D1's for us. lol

I better not surprise her with a Aqua Suite or she will really be spoiled.

[killtheump]

Glad you explaned that. I was thinking, "Tickets for Majority Rules"?:confused:

 

Yes Bob I was confused on that too! With so many venues it is easy to get confused, especially if first time on Oasis Class.

[Shippy]

We were on the same cruise. We booked only 6 weeks out and got confirmed early, traditional dining with a large table, just as we requested. We were in American Icon, the lowere dining room. Had a table for 8 & met wounderful dining guests.

The service & food were fantastic.In fact, on the night they offered the salad with crab on it, I asked our waitres if I could just have the crab. She brought me a bowl of crab legs :O)

I had eggs benedict in the MDR every morning & they were great. I will admit breakfast dining service is very slow but we have sailed ths ship before drydock & it has always been that way. We do not care as we have nowhere else to go in the morning. We ususally go about 8:15am & have no problems. However, by the time we leave, there is a gigantic line & we had been told by some of these later diners they were unhappy with food/service.

[Qcruise]

Our experience in the main dining room for breakfast was pretty bad....the eggs benedict I ordered the eggs were hard boiled, very little hollandaise sauce on them...my wifes was the same. As you said service very slow, our friends tried breakfast there one time and he sent the eggs benedict back and ordered scrambled eggs.....they never went back. With the solarium and Park café available for breakfast we went there and loved it.