Scared by bad reviews!

[Natmom]

My husband and i just booked a cruise in May on the oasis. We will be celebrating our 15th wedding anniversary onboard ( plus a break from work and the kids). We have only cruised twice, both Disney and had a fabulous time. Suddenly I am reading these horrible reviews about the oasis and I'm wondering if I should rethink our trip!?? Has anyone had a good trip on oasis recently?

[Ocean Boy]

Other than the west bound trans Atlantic cruise that Oasis recently did where are you reading all of the bad reviews? That Atlantic crossing seems to have been a bit of an anomoly for the ship. The entertainment on the ship is great and the shows in the Aqua Theater are awesome.

[Big_G]

My husband and i just booked a cruise in May on the oasis. We will be celebrating our 15th wedding anniversary onboard ( plus a break from work and the kids). We have only cruised twice, both Disney and had a fabulous time. Suddenly I am reading these horrible reviews about the oasis and I'm wondering if I should rethink our trip!?? Has anyone had a good trip on oasis recently?

 

With exception of new builds and newly rehabbed ships for the pictures, we stopped reading too many reviews a long time ago and have never regretted it. Oasis just came out of a rehab and there was a plethora of negativity mostly about service. My experience is they'll have all the bugs worked out by May.

Edited November 27, 2014 by Big_G

[Clarea]

I would not be concerned about the recent bad reviews. There were many changes (some still going on) during the dry dock, and I would expect things to go back to normal soon.

[setsail]

No

 

Thousands

[f1mauro]

Just off the Oasis last week. 3rd Oasis class cruise. Gets better every time. Always remember, with 6000 guests you'll get 2 or 3 complainers that will voice their negative opinions. It's when you get thousands of people voicing their concerns THEN I would be worried.

 

Having said that, the TA cruise did sound like quite the disappointment.

[papaflamingo]

Don't "re-think." Everyone sees things through different eyes. On one of our early cruises, we talked some friends into going (their first cruise). The reviews were horrible, and I was really worried about how much they'd blame me for picking the ship. One review said that the food was so bad that their daughter only ate hot dogs for 7 nights! One of our friends was a very fussy eater.

Turns out the cruise was one of our best. We have cruised together since that first cruise in 1999! So, "read between the lines." You'll likely find that each negative review is quite limited in scope... long line at Guest Services, or no escargot, or no towel animal every night, etc. Yeah, annoying, maybe disappointing, but "worst time ever?" I don't think so. So use those reviews to make your expectations realistic. If a towel animal every night is a "deal breaker" for you, then you might want to reconsider. For me, Oasis or Allure has so much to offer that any negative is greatly outweighed by a positive.

It's a cruise. It's a cruise on one of the most beautiful ships ever built. If service is a bit "off," so be it. If the food isn't what you expected, so be it. But take a late stroll through Central Park, or ride the Zip line, or go see the Broadway Show or Aqua Show. Or ride the Rising Tide Bar, or sing a long in the Schooner Bar or Pub. Find a quite deck or sit on your balcony. Trust us, the small inconveniences will not even be a blip.

Give it a try. You'll love it!

[American Bear]

My husband and i just booked a cruise in May on the oasis. We will be celebrating our 15th wedding anniversary onboard ( plus a break from work and the kids). We have only cruised twice, both Disney and had a fabulous time. Suddenly I am reading these horrible reviews about the oasis and I'm wondering if I should rethink our trip!?? Has anyone had a good trip on oasis recently?

 

Are you taking your children?

Disney is expert at taking care of young children, no one does it better!

Disney's free food is really the best at sea! And their shows for the children can't be beat!

 

If you are not taking your children, there is no reason not to take the Oasis, and try out a new cruise line on one of their largest, newer ships! The ship is beautiful, very large, has terrific Broadway shows in the theater, and there always is something going on!

 

A bit of advice, on Oasis or Allure, book anything on the ship ahead of time you really want on a specific date(dining/entertainment, etc.)! Otherwise you might have to wait in line, or lose out completely that day!

 

Happy Anniversary whatever you chose! :)

[cb at sea]

Stop reading reviews! You will have a lovely time...complainers are always more vocal than folks who had a great time!

[Natmom]

Thanks everyone! I'm feeling much better already :) no we are going on our own, no kids this time. I know that some people complain a lot and I will stop reading reviews! I hope everyone has a happy thanksgiving!

[Cindy]

We just got off the Oasis on Saturday...we loved the ship and had a fantastic cruise. I'll be writing a review, but I've been busy this week trying to get caught up at home and ready for the holidays.

 

If you're reading reviews, look for those that tell the good and the bad, and paint an overall picture. I've found things are seldom as good as the cheerleaders see them, and rarely as bad as others would lead you to believe. Go and enjoy...she's a beautiful, incredible ship.

[north29]

a bad cruise. Some just are little better/worse(I do not like the word "worse") than others. I was on the much criticized Oasis TA this fall and there were a lot of unfinished stuff, weather issues, MDR issues and even yes some crew attitudes, maybe the crew was frustrated too, but we still had a great time.

A cruising couples own attitude can make a cruise better or well not so good.

[vacation_junkie]

My husband and i just booked a cruise in May on the oasis. We will be celebrating our 15th wedding anniversary onboard ( plus a break from work and the kids). We have only cruised twice, both Disney and had a fabulous time. Suddenly I am reading these horrible reviews about the oasis and I'm wondering if I should rethink our trip!?? Has anyone had a good trip on oasis recently?

 

Remember people are more prone to write a nasty review then a positive one! You can never make everyone happy!

[breezy_carol]

Stop reading reviews! You will have a lovely time...complainers are always more vocal than folks who had a great time!

 

Remember people are more prone to write a nasty review then a positive one! You can never make everyone happy!

I agree with both of these. Stay away from complainers.

 

We have not been on Oasis but were on Freedom OTS last month. The first morning (the FIRST morning) we sat at breakfast with 2 women who had nothing but complaints. Could not get away from them fast enough. We had a wonderful time on the cruise.

[knittinggirl]

Go with the majority. If most of the reviews are positive, go with that. If most negative, then maybe it's time to look elsewhere. Sometimes, those negative reviews are first time cruisers with unrealistic expectations.

 

I also will check out other reviews from the same reviewer. Are they all negative?

 

Also, if they're are whitewash reviews (all glowing and no tips for improvement), that won't tell you much either.

[dpostman]

Hi NatMom,

 

We are pretty much in the same boat as you (Figuratively speaking). We've been on our first cruise on the Disney Dream with our 2 kids. We had the most amazing time. Amazing food. Amazing Crew. So four our upcoming cruise in April, we are going without the kids, and celebrating our 20th wedding anniversary. Our TA suggested the Liberty on RCCL. It also fit within our time constraints.

 

I started doing what I do best, and started going though reviews and like you, I also got worried a bit. the more I read, it seems the worse it got. Then after a while, I was able to filter through many of the negative complaints and started seeing all these great people on these forums with many thousands of posts and dozens of cruises behind them. And since I figure, most of them are not into self inflicting pain upon themselves and seem very happy to be going back again and again, RCCL must be doing something right.

 

Even though I feel that the bar has been set very high with our first cruise being on Disney, I am looking forward to our Easter cruise with an open mind. Also our expectations are quite different than when we cruised with the Kids. Thus explaining the validity of getting the Ultimate Beverage Package :D

 

dp

[LoneStarJeffe]

I read reviews to better understand options and choices once on board. I think "That is something I would like to be sure and see or try." I do not try to get a full picture of what my cruise experience will be like based upon someone else's experience.

 

I do pay attention to age and family mix. But if there is a quiet deck chair somewhere where I can see the water and read a book, I am generally happy. :) I judge a cruise successful by the degree I can relax while on board.

[bay guy]

We've always felt like the attitude of the cruiser can make or break their cruise experience. Some people travel with the attitude that their going to see if they can find everything wrong they can complain about.

Others realize that whenever you travel there are likely to be some things you may not care for that others love and visa versa.

It's up to you to make the cruise what you want it to be.

 

We went on a cruise many years ago, not an RCI ship, where we were literally towed into Bermuda because the engines went down because the company didn't do things properly during a dry dock. Realistically, the ship should have never left port in the first place. Despite the extreme discomfort due to hot cabins with no AC and other things we had to deal with, we still remember it as the cruise with the best food we ever had on any cruise and in many restaurants on land. Plus we got to spend an extra day in Bermuda while the cruise line arranged charter air flights for us to get back to the US.

 

So, we turned lemons into lemonade and made the best of it and had a good time instead of spending all of our time bitching and complaining and raising our blood pressure as many other passengers did.

[nelblu]

My husband and i just booked a cruise in May on the oasis. We will be celebrating our 15th wedding anniversary onboard ( plus a break from work and the kids). We have only cruised twice, both Disney and had a fabulous time. Suddenly I am reading these horrible reviews about the oasis and I'm wondering if I should rethink our trip!?? Has anyone had a good trip on oasis recently?

 

We've cruised the Oasis twice in the past and had a blast. Other than DD and some other minor changes (add'l suites) I don't foresee any problems as I've got 2 Oasis cruises booked in early 2016. One is scheduled for Easter and a month later, based on what I read on this board, she will be gone to China. We'll enjoy her one last time.

[JasonV1]

This is why I never write purely negative reviews. My NCL Getaway cruise review from last summer is reasonably balanced between what I loved and what I felt could have been done better.

 

Just remember how many people cruise on a given ship on a year. On Oasis that is easily over 100000 families a year (or over 300000 people if you prefer). Even if you read 100 "worst cruise ever" reviews, that means that over 99% had a good time.

[LBumb]

oasis is awesome

cruise away youll have a great time

[Natmom]

Hi NatMom,

 

We are pretty much in the same boat as you (Figuratively speaking). We've been on our first cruise on the Disney Dream with our 2 kids. We had the most amazing time. Amazing food. Amazing Crew. So four our upcoming cruise in April, we are going without the kids, and celebrating our 20th wedding anniversary. Our TA suggested the Liberty on RCCL. It also fit within our time constraints.

 

I started doing what I do best, and started going though reviews and like you, I also got worried a bit. the more I read, it seems the worse it got. Then after a while, I was able to filter through many of the negative complaints and started seeing all these great people on these forums with many thousands of posts and dozens of cruises behind them. And since I figure, most of them are not into self inflicting pain upon themselves and seem very happy to be going back again and again, RCCL must be doing something right.

 

Even though I feel that the bar has been set very high with our first cruise being on Disney, I am looking forward to our Easter cruise with an open mind. Also our expectations are quite different than when we cruised with the Kids. Thus explaining the validity of getting the Ultimate Beverage Package :D

 

dp

 

yes, we do sound in the same 'boat' lol. the ultimate beverage package is top on my list!!

 

Sent from my SGH-I337M using Forums mobile app

[Natmom]

Thanks again everyone! All of your posts pointed out things I hadn't thought of. my husband and I are laid back and we will have a great time no matter what:)

 

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[trev71]

Ive been on the Oasis twice and I would not hestiate at all to book it again

[dstein]

Many years ago (long before the internet arrived) the automakers did a study and determined that, given a group of 100 happy customers and 100 unhappy customers, 2 of the happy customers would tell a friend they were happy...but 11 unhappy customers would complain to a friend. In other words, people were 5.5x more likely to complain than compliment.

 

So, as a very general statement, you're likely to see WAAAY more negative than positive.

 

I personally think that, in the age of the internet where folks can hide behind anonymity, that we get even MORE negative comments than the 5.5x that used to be "normal".

 

If you go through life looking for excuses to be annoyed you'll definitely find them. Of course, if you instead look for reasons to enjoy things you'll surprise yourself at how many things there are to enjoy! :p

 

(We were on Oasis in June 2014. Loved it!)