Oasis Review April 18 - 25

[royal girl]

After reading so many reviews of this ship, I was a little worried about this cruise. All of the comments about being too crowded or rude crew were not to be found (by us anyway). This was one of the best cruises we have ever taken and I would gladly go back on this ship again and hopefully one day we will!

 

We arrived at the port early... around 10 a.m. Only because we were unsure of how long the drive was from our hotel. Parking at the port was a breeze and the porter was very friendly to us. After checking in and getting our sea pass cards we literally waited about 20 minutes to be let on board. Around 11:20 a.m. we were on the ship!

 

The ship is amazing. It is no doubt the most beautiful ship we have ever been on. We made our way to the Solarium for lunch. Here you will find mostly healthy foods. And this is where we ate most of our meals, except for dinner. The Solarium itself is beautiful. 2 hot tubs and a pool with beautiful views of the ocean. We spent most of our time here too! We never sat around the other pools. Also, we never saw any children in the solarium.

 

One thing I did notice that has been mentioned is the lack of servers taking drink orders at the pool. There were some, but no where as many as before. But there were so many bars around the pool, it didn't take much to get up and get your own drink.

 

We hardly ever ate in the Windjammer which surprised me because you always think of eating at the Windjammer when you are on a cruise! It was the normal food you always find there and nothing really to write about. There's a little something for everyone there. There were just too many other places to grab a bite to eat.

 

We loved the Wipeout Café for a snack of fries or pizza. Also, you will find the strawberry/chocolate self serve cones here! You could also get burgers and hotdogs here. At the Park Café, there are ready made salads, made to order salads, different paninis and of course, the famous roast beef sandwich which you must try at least once! Over at the Boardwalk, you can grab a hot dog with the works on it! I think there were about 6 different kinds of hot dogs to try. Johnny Rockets is also on the Board Walk and we had lunch there once. All of these places were great and no problem finding seats.

 

We only went to two specialty restaurants. Chops and Giovannis. Chops was my favorite. The filet of beef was like butter. I must admit that I was not too happy with the fish at Giovannis, but my husband loved his steak there. The seafood chowder was excellent. Service at both restaurants was excellent.

 

The dinners in the Main Dining room were good as well. Although I did notice the portion sizes were smaller than before. I think the ceasar salad was about 1/4 of what it used to be. My husband actually had 3 shrimp cocktails because they were so small! We found the dinner to be good and had no complaints about any of the meals. Some nights the choices were better than others, but we always found something and left full! Our servers were excellent and we actually had the best Mater D (sp?) ever. Usually we don't even see them, but this one was so friendly and we actually looked forward to seeing him. His name was Marlito.

 

If I had to say anything negative at all, I would have to say that the Diamond Lounge really wasn't that great. No one really greeted you and it took forever to get a drink. I actually had to get up and go find a server to order our drinks. We went there two times and both times had bad service. We only went the second time because I got my boarding pass printed out on the last night there, which was offered to Diamond members and above.

 

We never had any problems finding two chairs together at the pool in the Solarium. I can't comment on the main pool because we never went to it. Also, the two times in the Windjammer we never had a problem finding a table and we were there at prime times. Both times servers came to me and offered to get my drinks and cleared the table right away.

 

Other reviews mentioned crowds. I can honestly say that never did we feel crowded. We never had any problems finding seats at the pool or in the restaurants or waiting for elevators. I would say the most crowded an elevator was for us had about 10 people in it. Most of the time, we had an empty elevator! The only time it was crowded was right after the muster drill and that was because you had A LOT of people in one area at once. Once everyone went on their way, the crowds were gone. We never had a problems with crowds. You have to wonder where everyone is!! People do need to learn elevator etiquette though... let the people off the elevator before you get on! We took the stairs a lot too... sometimes just quicker than waiting to go up a floor or two.

 

We never saw any lines anywhere. Even at guest services. The three times I went there, there was maybe two or three people in line. Of course on the last day of the cruise... the lines at guest services were long!

 

The crew on the ship were friendly to us. If we passed a crew member in the stairs or in the hallway, they always greeted us. The passengers also were a good crowd. Everyone was pretty friendly that we encountered.

 

We did not go to any of the shows. We just aren't 'show people', so no comments on them. The casino was busy at night. During the day, there was literally only one person playing slots when we cut through. We also did not do any shore excursions.

 

Getting off the ship was as easy as getting on. We chose self disembark and we were in the truck by 7 a.m. If you choose to self disembark, just be aware that no one will help you with your luggage, so make sure you can handle it all yourself.

 

I was at the airport by 8:15 a.m. (My husband was driving back... I had to be back in CT for work. Ugh) My flight was at 1 pm but I was able to change it to the 9:10 a.m. flight! I don't think I would book a flight this early, only because you never know if you will make it off this early. But maybe next time, I'd book an 11 a.m. flight.

 

This was a great cruise and I wouldn't hesitate to sail on the Oasis again. While on board we booked the Anthem of the Seas for June 2016. :D

[Tommy3putts]

Thanks for the informative review. We sail on Allure in Feb. and it will be our first time sailing from Ft Lauderdale. Good info.

 

You sound a lot like me and my wife. On our 11 night med cruise last July aboard celebrity reflection, we spent 80% of our time at the Sunset bar at the back of the ship. Awesome place with no crowds. Saw no shows. Best cruise ever.

[Mr. Bungle]

Looking back, was there any 1 thing that you wished you did do or see on Oasis?

[alocsin]

Thank you for the review. We sail on the Oasis in November. If I could ask a couple of questions:

 

- Were there no lines at the Windjammes? You were able to walk right in? What times of day did you go there?

 

- Did you have My Time Dining in the Main Dining Room? What time did you usually eat there?

 

Thanks again.

Aurelio

[royal girl]

We never made it to the Sky Bar...it is a glass enclosed bar that goes up and down.

 

We never encountered any lines at the Windjammer. We went twice...once for breakfast & once for lunch. No lines & plenty of seats. We had 8:30 pm dining... Not My Time.

[LuCruise]

Thanks for the great feedback. We will be on the Allure so should be similar experience. Sounds like you had a wonderful cruise and everything was quite positive.

 

P.s. - good tip about trying Solarium on first day. You hear people suggest Park Cafe but it sounds like its getting busier and busier.

[cruzingduo]

Glad you had a good cruise. We love the Oasis class ships. Can you remember was it cold in the casino? Did you notice a lot of smoke?

[Sherri914]

We never made it to the Sky Bar...it is a glass enclosed bar that goes up and down.

 

I think the bar you're talking about is the Rising Tide bar. It goes up & down 3 decks.

[royal girl]

Yes...Rising Tide Bar! I think Sky Bar was in Vegas!! Lol. It wasn't really cold anywhere on the ship & I'm always cold. I did bring a light sweater with me to dinner but I always took it off...even in the casino and yes it was smoky in some parts.

[sojodave]

Great review, it sounds like you had a blast. What deck was your room on?

[Winghunter]

Yes...Rising Tide Bar! I think Sky Bar was in Vegas!! Lol. It wasn't really cold anywhere on the ship & I'm always cold. I did bring a light sweater with me to dinner but I always took it off...even in the casino and yes it was smoky in some parts.

 

We were on the same cruise, our experience mirrors yours. We ate at the windjammer for dinner twice (didn't feel like getting ready after port days) and at 7:00pm, there was no line and plenty of seating. We also commented on how there are 6K people on the ship and it did not seem crowded at all.

 

My take... The famous Park Café sandwich is just ok, not bad at all but not sure how it became "famous". The food across the board was on par with RCCL, declined from years ago but I was never hungry or disappointed. Drink prices are a total joke, wife ordered a blended drink and I had a Vodka & soda water.. $26!!! Two rounds of drinks while dancing and you're $50 into it, ironically the prices are higher than the FLL airport. That needs to be addressed for "moderate" drinkers like us, we don't drink enough to justify the package but also don't want to get a second on the mortgage to enjoy a cocktail or two while dancing. The ability to use the 3 free Diamond drinks in any bar is nice, problem we encountered was getting ready for dinner, eating & going back to room to change after dinner ate up most of the happy hour. But the system is good even though it didn't really fit our schedule.

[royal girl]

We had an inside cabin on Deck 7. It was good enough for us.

 

Yes...the drink prices were quite high. At the Sail Away I ordered a frozen drink and it was $14.80! The 3 free drinks came in handy as Diamond members & saved us a bundle. Our dinner was at 8:30, so we would be ready to go at 7 so that we could get our free drinks before dinner!

[libertybelle41]

 

 

 

 

 

If I had to say anything negative at all, I would have to say that the Diamond Lounge really wasn't that great. No one really greeted you and it took forever to get a drink. I actually had to get up and go find a server to order our drinks. We went there two times and both times had bad service. We only went the second time because I got my boarding pass printed out on the last night there, which was offered to Diamond members and above.

 

 

T:D

 

 

I had to do a double take to see if this was part of my post. It it EXACTLY the way we were treated in the diamond lounge.

[libertybelle41]

Glad you had a good cruise. We love the Oasis class ships. Can you remember was it cold in the casino? Did you notice a lot of smoke?

 

 

We were on the April 11th cruise. The casino in the evening was the major hangout for smokers whether they were gambling or just standing around to smoke. I would have loved to gamble a bit, but it was too much smoke for me.

Edited May 5, 2015 by libertybelle41

[calypso73]

thankyou for your review. I'm sailing on Oasis in January and was a little concerned about the crowds and kids in the Solarium (although i guess that bit does depend on how considerate your fellow cruisers are). I love reading everyone's reviews. It gets me really excited for my trip!