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Oasis of the Seas Trip Report with Pics from First Time Cruiser! Oct 3-10 2015

Dianka25

By Dianka25,
in Royal Caribbean International

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Dianka25

Dianka25

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Sorry for the delay!

 

Day 7 At Sea

 

First timer tip: If you didn’t book any excursions before your trip- don’t worry! There is an excursions desk on the ship where you can book what you want… but don’t be surprised if the popular excursions are sold out. Based on our experiences though, I would try to research the ports ahead of time and take care of this before your trip- it will save you time and also give you the option to use a different excursion company that may offer more for your money and a better experience.

 

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The bird I hung out with.

 

p><p><img src=[/img]

Can you see the zipliner? We didn't ever try this either!

 

p><p><img src=[/img]

Ship art... you will see it if you take the stairs!

 

Finally it was time for our 8:30PM reservation at Izumi. We received a call from them bright and early that morning in our room, confirming our reservation, so they must have been desperate for business and we had a feeling that they would be pretty empty. When we arrived, the place was about 50% full, maybe less. The décor is lovely- dark browns and reds, and it is an intimate little restaurant divided into the “sushi” side and the “hibachi” side. I like that because the hibachi tables can get pretty loud and rambunctious but it wasn’t disruptive to us at all since they were separate from the rest of the restaurant. I don’t understand why this place is so far away from everything else though. If you didn’t do your research ahead of time or study the deck maps carefully, you would never even know it’s there! It is tucked away in the corner of deck 4. The prices are a la carte and are comparable to any other sushi restaurant in my town. We got the ramen soup to start, which came in a big bowl that could be shared between 2-3 people. The soup itself was good but the meat had a funny smell so I didn’t eat it ( I think it was pork, even though I ordered chicken). We also got two rolls which were tasty but did not blow me away. The food overall was good but I’ve had better sushi. I wouldn’t go back here or recommend it. If you have a larger group, maybe the hibachi side would be fun just for the experience.

 

We finished the night at, you guessed it, the casino, and did pretty well again. My DH was also pleased that the bartender there remembered his name and his usual drink. Another bittersweet moment. We were finally feeling “settled in” to the routine of the ship and it was almost time to leave!

We got back to our room around 11 and began to pack. We chose to do the express check out, which means we carry our own luggage out.

 

I felt that the checkout options were not explained very well, and we received a form a day or two earlier on which we were supposed to indicate which option we chose, but never did anything with it. The most helpful thing was a video they had on the TV cruise channel which explained the departure process. I think they started airing it a day or two before the end of the cruise. From what I can tell, the express check out people can leave between 630-830, and then all the others have set times to depart based on the luggage tags they receive in their room. Also if you have a shore excursion booked for departure day you will receive separate instructions for when and where to meet. We had to meet in Studio B at 7:30 for our shore excursion, so finished up our last bottle of wine and went to bed.

 

Next up... departure and final thoughts

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Dianka25

Dianka25

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Day 8 Good-bye Oasis!

 

First timer tip: Wake up early to take advantage of breakfast on departure day!

 

We woke up around 6AM on departure day. It was depressing to use an alarm clock again. We packed up the rest of our things and headed to the Windjammer for our last breakfast. We had received a short Cruise Compass (the daily activities and dining planner) the night before which listed the breakfast times around the ship for departure morning. We were also given an envelope for tipping our room attendant Ketut. Before the cruise, I didn’t think I would tip anyone, since we already technically paid for tips. However, we ended up leaving Ketut a $20 because he was so good. Throughout the cruise my DH would also sometimes tip the bartenders a buck or two, even though I repeatedly told him that the auto gratuity was already added! It is hard to break that tipping habit, which I think Royal Caribbean knows very well.

 

After breakfast we dragged our luggage down to Studio B, where we had been told our excursion group should gather. We were given blue stickers with the number 15 to wear. After about 15 minutes we were escorted to deck 5 and we left through the same doors we entered through one week ago. This is different than the gangway on deck 2 where we exited at each port. The line was pretty long but it moved quickly. One last scan of our Seapasses and we were off the Oasis.

 

Leaving the terminal building took a little while because you have to go down a level, and they won’t let you use the escalator unless you have a hand free to hold the railing. You wouldn’t have your bags yet at this point if you were doing standard checkout, but with our 4 suitcases plus bags, we had to use the elevator. However, I would really try to stack your bags so that you can use the escalator, because there are only 2 elevators and the line got quite long. Luckily there was a staff member at both the escalator and the elevator controlling the crowd and making sure there was no funny business. I hate line skippers so I was watching!

 

We got outside and were directed to the end of the parking area, right where we were dropped off a week ago. On the way out I saw the rows and rows of luggage brought out by the crew… everything seemed pretty organized but I would still prefer carrying out my own bags if possible. We boarded a tour bus with an open top deck and waited. Unfortunately, we had to wait 30 minutes for the last two members of our excursion to arrive. I was also surprised that the top deck on our bus wasn’t covered. There weren’t really many seats on the lower level to sit, since that’s where our luggage was, so I don’t know what they would do if it rained. Luckily, the sky was clear, and we were still shaded by the building while we waited so it was pleasant and not too hot.

 

I won’t go into the details of our excursion, but I will say that we enjoyed it overall but it got very hot whenever the bus was not moving. We were in the open sun on the top deck, and we probably got more tan that day than the whole rest of the trip! If you do one of these excursions, bring sunscreen and a hat! It probably said that somewhere in the excursion info but we missed it.

 

<a href=IMG_1119_zpsgcaumire.jpg' alt='IMG_1119_

On the tour bus... note we are still wearing the blue stickers given to our excursion group.

 

Final Thoughts:

 

Wow! This was our first cruise, but definitely won’t be our last! The beauty of the ship, customer service, and quality and number of entertainment options made the biggest impression on us. You will notice that we didn’t try the Flow Rider, zipline, or rock climbing wall, things the Oasis are known for and initially attracted us to the ship. We didn’t force ourselves to run around and do everything on the ship, which allowed for a more relaxing vacation. And I don’t regret it! My perspective changed a bit from feeling like I had to take advantage of everything available, to realizing that there were activities designed to appeal to all sorts of people and the whole point isn’t to do EVERYTHING, at least in my opinion.

 

This ship was absolutely amazing, and I wonder how any of the other RCCL ships can compare! My DH is already looking into booking our next cruise, maybe on Liberty of the Seas. What do you guys think, do other ships feel like a let down after Oasis? I would also like to pick an itinerary including Labadee or Cococay next time.

 

Thanks for reading my review everyone, it was fun to relive every day as I wrote about it! Please post your tips for my next cruise!

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LuvWilliam

LuvWilliam

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Day 8 Good-bye Oasis!

 

 

 

First timer tip: Wake up early to take advantage of breakfast on departure day!

 

 

 

We woke up around 6AM on departure day. It was depressing to use an alarm clock again. We packed up the rest of our things and headed to the Windjammer for our last breakfast. We had received a short Cruise Compass (the daily activities and dining planner) the night before which listed the breakfast times around the ship for departure morning. We were also given an envelope for tipping our room attendant Ketut. Before the cruise, I didn’t think I would tip anyone, since we already technically paid for tips. However, we ended up leaving Ketut a $20 because he was so good. Throughout the cruise my DH would also sometimes tip the bartenders a buck or two, even though I repeatedly told him that the auto gratuity was already added! It is hard to break that tipping habit, which I think Royal Caribbean knows very well.

 

 

 

After breakfast we dragged our luggage down to Studio B, where we had been told our excursion group should gather. We were given blue stickers with the number 15 to wear. After about 15 minutes we were escorted to deck 5 and we left through the same doors we entered through one week ago. This is different than the gangway on deck 2 where we exited at each port. The line was pretty long but it moved quickly. One last scan of our Seapasses and we were off the Oasis.

 

 

 

Leaving the terminal building took a little while because you have to go down a level, and they won’t let you use the escalator unless you have a hand free to hold the railing. You wouldn’t have your bags yet at this point if you were doing standard checkout, but with our 4 suitcases plus bags, we had to use the elevator. However, I would really try to stack your bags so that you can use the escalator, because there are only 2 elevators and the line got quite long. Luckily there was a staff member at both the escalator and the elevator controlling the crowd and making sure there was no funny business. I hate line skippers so I was watching!

 

 

 

We got outside and were directed to the end of the parking area, right where we were dropped off a week ago. On the way out I saw the rows and rows of luggage brought out by the crew… everything seemed pretty organized but I would still prefer carrying out my own bags if possible. We boarded a tour bus with an open top deck and waited. Unfortunately, we had to wait 30 minutes for the last two members of our excursion to arrive. I was also surprised that the top deck on our bus wasn’t covered. There weren’t really many seats on the lower level to sit, since that’s where our luggage was, so I don’t know what they would do if it rained. Luckily, the sky was clear, and we were still shaded by the building while we waited so it was pleasant and not too hot.

 

 

 

I won’t go into the details of our excursion, but I will say that we enjoyed it overall but it got very hot whenever the bus was not moving. We were in the open sun on the top deck, and we probably got more tan that day than the whole rest of the trip! If you do one of these excursions, bring sunscreen and a hat! It probably said that somewhere in the excursion info but we missed it.

 

 

 

<a href=IMG_1119_zpsgcaumire.jpg' alt='IMG_1119_

 

On the tour bus... note we are still wearing the blue stickers given to our excursion group.

 

 

 

Final Thoughts:

 

 

 

Wow! This was our first cruise, but definitely won’t be our last! The beauty of the ship, customer service, and quality and number of entertainment options made the biggest impression on us. You will notice that we didn’t try the Flow Rider, zipline, or rock climbing wall, things the Oasis are known for and initially attracted us to the ship. We didn’t force ourselves to run around and do everything on the ship, which allowed for a more relaxing vacation. And I don’t regret it! My perspective changed a bit from feeling like I had to take advantage of everything available, to realizing that there were activities designed to appeal to all sorts of people and the whole point isn’t to do EVERYTHING, at least in my opinion.

 

 

 

This ship was absolutely amazing, and I wonder how any of the other RCCL ships can compare! My DH is already looking into booking our next cruise, maybe on Liberty of the Seas. What do you guys think, do other ships feel like a let down after Oasis? I would also like to pick an itinerary including Labadee or Cococay next time.

 

 

 

Thanks for reading my review everyone, it was fun to relive every day as I wrote about it! Please post your tips for my next cruise!

 

 

Excellent review... We were married on Liberty and have been on her sister ship Independence two other times and honestly, it was hard to go down from Oasis. The size of Oasis and the amount of activities are just second to none. Mind you, we've never had a bad cruise. We enjoyed ourselves so much on every class ship but Oasis takes the top spot. We will be on her in 14 (!!!) days and then trying Anthem next year.

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wolfganghowell

wolfganghowell

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Wonderful job - welcome to the cruise addiction support group. :)

 

I think you would enjoy Liberty - we have never done Oasis and were definitely of the mindset that it's too big, too overwhelming, too many people blah blah blah. But sure enough - we'll be on her in 3 weeks. I expect it will be a different experience. Freedom and Voyager class ships are great - we love them. Many of the things you mentioned being important to you you can find on those ships. They all have the pub, plenty of activities, big casinos. I think you will also see more of a personal touch from the crew - it's just easier to get a routine going on those ships.

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novalab

novalab

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Loved your review! Thanks so much for posting it (and all the pictures). We will be sailing on Oasis in April (first time for DH on this class of ship) & are really looking forward to it!

 

About your question concerning other ships possibly being a little bit of a let down after sailing Oasis class. This was my big concern also. Last year, DD & I sailed on Allure. We were blown away by this class of ship! We wondered if future cruises on smaller ships would be anticlimactic. We were concerned because we had a Jewel (Radiance Class) cruise booked for Oct. 2015 (our first Radiance Class ship). Well, I shouldn't have worried. LOVED the smaller Jewel of the Seas & loved the cruise we just took on her. The smaller size ships have a different feel & experience all to themselves. Lots of pluses & we never once wished we were on a larger ship.

 

And, just in case you might not realize this yet...cruises are addictive:D

Edited by novalab
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Dianka25

Dianka25

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We are already planning our next cruise everyone! This time with another couple. We have two itinerary requirements- visit St Maarten and a private island. I am looking at a Freedom of the Seas itinerary right now for March.

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garnetpalmetto

garnetpalmetto

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We are already planning our next cruise everyone! This time with another couple. We have two itinerary requirements- visit St Maarten and a private island. I am looking at a Freedom of the Seas itinerary right now for March.

 

Freedom is a fantastic ship. We loved our cruise on her and we really enjoy that Eastern itinerary, a little more than Oasis' Eastern itinerary. We'd much rather have Coco Cay than Nassau.

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Dianka25

Dianka25

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Just a quick update... We are booking our second cruise (last minute!) in April on Navigator of the Seas. I am prepared that it will be quite a different experience two classes down but we are looking forward to it. Oasis was actually priced similarly (maybe a couple hundred difference) but we wanted to try a smaller ship this time. And we are doing a balcony for the first time and also stopped at Labadee so there is plenty to look forward to!

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