Oasis Review - Amazing Ship - Too Crowded

[undercat]

I agree with the previous post

I have sailed almost every class of RCCL ship.

There are always lines... How can there not be??

and yes, you can learn what is peak and not peak???

It's kinda like walking into a land based resteraunt at 7pm on friday and NOT expecting to wait????

And I have never been to a concert/ theater or sporting event. where I didn't have to arrive early and wait in a line to get in? so for me, 15 minutes early is simply par for the course.

 

However..... I have sailed on the Allure twice now, and I have to say that I have not found it ANY more crowded than any other ship I have been on... And it some cases.. I think it's less crowded

 

For example. Yes... I stood in line outside of windjammer for about ten minutes. BUT on the allure ( and I am sure it's the same on the oasis) they take you right to a table... as opposed to the other ships where you go through the buffet line and then walk around for 10 minutes trying to find a place to sit....

 

So...I dont think it's so much Altering your plans... IT's more like managing your expectations.... Sure there are some sailings, (maybe) that might go out only 70% capacity.... but if the ship is full... there will undoubtedly be some lines...

 

To those that think the ship is simply too big, thats another issue all together... but .... as I said... I really have not found it to be more crowded than anything else. AND hands down the oasis class ships have the fastest boarding process of any ship I have ever seen. The last two sailings I was on the ship within 15 minutes of arriving at the pier. ( the trick of course, is to not show up two hours before boarding time and complain that you are waiting in a line)

 

Just my experience. so Crowded, (maybe) but no more than any other ship I have sailed on

 

I haven't sailed Oasis-class yet but I understand the big city analogy and altering one's expectations should they choose to engage in the city experience. I used to live in a big city and I agree - popular venues at popular times are going to be crowded. Living in the city isn't for everyone. I loved it. The traffic congestion, crowds, lines, and higher prices were the price I was willing (not excited, but willing) to pay to live in a vibrant environment with lots of options that I enjoyed. But it's not for everyone. I found that I was more willing to tolerate traffic congestion and lines to access a venue I felt was "worth it" to me.

 

You see - this is EXACTLY What I'm Talkin' 'Bout!

You say you haven't experienced "Long Lines"/ crowds; but then you say you must COMPLETELY CHANGE all the things you like to do on a cruise. Why can you not see the complete Contradiction in Terms that you are stating?

You had to EXPERIENCE the crowds and lines before you "learn to work the system".

 

Why would I book a cruise where I have to give up or change what a I like to do in order to STAY SANE ???

OP, you raise a good point, although I see it as an adaptive tradeoff moreso than a contradiction. The tradeoff of modifying one's schedule vs. doing what you want but putting up with crowds can have different results based on the opportunity cost of modifying schedule vs. the reward of a more pleasant experience, the individual's tolerance level for lines and crowds, and so forth. But forewarned is forearmed, and future Oasis-class cruisers can take the knowledge in this thread and decide what works best for them. I'm glad you posted your impressions of your Oasis cruise and thanks for sharing your experience!

Edited July 12, 2015 by undercat

[SherriZ366]

Maybe crowding and lines on the Oasis class depends, at least in part, on when you go. We were on Oasis the week before Thanksgiving, and didn't experience the crowds you describe. I also think whether you encounter lots of lines depends on your cruise habits. We never stepped foot in the Windjammer,:) but we did have access to the Suite Lounge and Coastal Kitchen. Those factors probably greatly impacted our experience with crowding.

Summer has more kids so more 4 in a cabin. We are booked on the week after Thanksgiving 2016 and in Feb. 2017 so hope they will be less crowded.

[riclop]

We are finally home from our Back-2-Back on the Oasis -

A really different experience from all our other cruises; but…. That’s why we booked it after all these years of saying we would not like the 6,000 pax + 2500 crew. 8,500 people on a ship is a LOT – I don’t care how big she is.;)

 

I should start off by saying the ship is ABSOLUTELY MAGNIFICENT. We spent the frist day walking around saying “WOW” a lot. Even at the end of the first week, I was still getting confused as to “where” certain venues were. “Let’s see, is that on the Promenade, or Central Park, or maybe it was on Deck 4”…..

 

And the entertainment was UNBELIEVABLY AMAZING! Everything we saw was really good. We reserved all the shows for the first week because my sister was cruising that week too. CATS was awesome, even though it was almost 3 hours. A lot of people left at intermission (assuming because it was too long), but they missed the best part. I thought the second half was the best. The dancing and singing was VERY talented.

The Ice-Show was also the best we’ve seen on any other ship (have seen 4 others).

The Aqua-Theatre Dive Show was also AWSOME. Of course we had not seen that anywhere else.

And then the Come Fly With Me near the end of the week was kind of like the “Cirque Du Soleil” show. It was a lot of fun, and much larger production than what we had seen on other ships.

The Topper to the entertainment was the band that played in Dazzles just about every night. Centerpiece is a 6-person group (other ships won’t spend for a band that large – I think 4 is the largest) that blew everyone away every night. They played EVERY kind of music you can imagine and made it look easy. We were there til closing every night because it was Sooooooo good.

 

Another venue the Oasis has that no other ship has (yet) is the “Suite Lounge”. They took away the Concierge Lounge – the Diamond Plus have to share the Too-Small Diamond Lounge now; and replaced it with the lounge room for ONLY suite guests and Pinnacle Members. You have to have a Gold Card to get in. If you can qualify, it is very, very nice. The room used to be the Viking Crown Lounge, and it is HUGE -- Two-Story panorama windows that cross the beam of the ship. It was never more than 2/3 full even during the happy hours.

 

Now, for all of the people who have written reviews and said that the Oasis was NOT CROWDED…….

“Sure there are 6,000 pax, but you never see the people because the ship is so big.”…………..

THEY LIE!!!! :p :D

The ship was CROWDED A LOT !!!

Any show you are planning to see, even with a reservation, you better get there at least ½ hour early or all the seats are taken.

When we went to CATS, we got there 15 minutes before the show and the 3rd Deck room was almost full. After that we started planning differently.

Even in the Dance Lounge late at night – the Centerpiece would be on the Compass to start playing at 10:00, and if you get there at 10:00 there are no tables available.

Try to go to the Windjammer for lunch, and there was a line down the hall and down the stairs; the staff was asking people to go somewhere else “Because the Windjammer is too crowded”. We went to the Park Café – there was a line of about 30 people out the door. We went to the Solarium Bistro – the line was through the café and out the back. :eek:

We always had room service for breakfast, so didn’t experience first hand, but were told the Dining Room and the Windjammer were “impossible” for breakfast.

If there was anything at all going on in the Promenade (even one of the stores having a sale) you could hardly get from one end to the other because of the CROWDS. We were sitting in the Schooner Bar on deck 6 looking down on the Promenade once, and talking about how noisy it was. Donna said, "It reminds me of the Mall at Christmas".:rolleyes:

 

I can say that the first week, we had one of the best waiters and the best assistant waiter we have ever experienced in the Dining Room. We had a large table (there were 9 of us), made good friends with our table-mates, and had a blast every night. The food was really good and the service was waaaaay over and above what we expect.

 

Overall….

We had a really great cruise, a lot of fun, a truly unique experience, and can once more say we have cruised the Largest Ship On The Ocean.

We prefer the smaller Radiance Class with 2400 pax.

 

We were amazed of how many people were on the ship and yet it never felt crowded.

[SherriZ366]

Does the DL on OA have a continental breakfast like DLs on other ships?

[Clarea]

Does the DL on OA have a continental breakfast like DLs on other ships?

Yes, I've read posts than mention the continental breakfast.

[John&LaLa]

Susie;

You will LOVE the Jewel.

 

She hasn't gone through the "Rebuild" yet that all the other Radiance Class ships have done. That means the SeaView Café is still there.

Be sure to go there late at night (it is open til 1:00 or 1:30 am) and get the "Feathers & Fingers" with an order of ONION RINGS!! :D:rolleyes:

THEY HAVE THE BEST ONION RINGS IN THE WORLD!!!;)

 

That's a pretty bold statement. Below are from Jazzys Mainly Lobster in Cocoa Beach.

[John&LaLa]

Before Oasis and Allure, every cruise ship that I was on, during sea days, every pool chair was taken. Never a pool chair to be found.

 

On Oasis and Allure, I have NEVER had a problem finding a chair.

 

I like the folks who show up at the pool around 11AM and act surprised that all the loungers in front of the pool are taken. ;):rolleyes:

[John&LaLa]

Does the DL on OA have a continental breakfast like DLs on other ships?

 

Yes, I wouldn't go out of my way to go there though. Much better elswhere

[SherriZ366]

Yes, I wouldn't go out of my way to go there though. Much better elswhere

I like the lox, bagel and cream cheese in the CLs and DLs with the specialty coffee but will try Johnny Rockets and the Solarium Cafe on OA. The JS we booked for both of our upcoming OA cruises is near the DL also. Edited July 13, 2015 by SherriZ366