First-Time RCI Cruisers on Oasis 3-Day Oct. 21-24

[Ciardasully]

I was on the same cruise but haven't started my review yet. I can't wait to read yours because, like you said, three days isn't enough and you probably did stuff I didn't do.

[jpm1973]

Opal Theater - this is the only time we set foot in here but it looks nice! This was host to the Welcome Aboard Comedy Show on night one and the one Cats performance and another comedy show on day 3.

 

 

 

 

Schooner Bar on Deck 6

 

 

 

 

Vitality at Sea Spa and Fitness Center - closest we got to working out on this cruise.

 

 

 

[jpm1973]

Alright that's it for tonight. Will be back tomorrow with lots more pictures from around the ship and our cabin with the rest of my Day 1 review. Thanks for being patient with me.

[3OhioCruisers]

Thanks for the review!

[coloradogirl63]

Looking forward to more. Thanks for sharing with us!

[jpm1973]

OK. Let's move to Deck 6 now with a few shots of the Schooner Bar, where most days you'd find trivia being played and most nights piano entertainment. Deck 6 overlooks the Promenade. Across from the Schooner Bar is the Photo Gallery.

 

 

 

 

 

Then we head outside on Deck 6 to one of my favorite spots, The Boardwalk. Out here you'll find a few shops including Candy Beach and Pinwheels and one of several art galleries on board. There's also a small arcade out here as well as the Carousel. If you're hungry you can grab a hot dog at the Boardwalk Dog House, some awesome guacamole at Sabor (more on this later - we ate dinner here on the second night) or a hamburger and milkshake from Johnny Rockets. At the far aft end here is the Aqua Theater, home to the Oasis of Dreams water show. We didn't watch this from the theater itself but had great "from above" seats on our own balcony. Lots of pictures to come from that performance.

 

 

 

Edited October 29, 2015 by jpm1973

[jpm1973]

Some more from the Boardwalk.

 

 

 



 

 



 

 



 

 

[jpm1973]

Next we head up to Deck 8 and Central Park, another great outdoor space on Oasis. Full of real trees and plants, Central Park really does feel like you're in a small park on land, complete with sounds of chirping birds. No mosquitoes though, which is nice.

 

Central Park is where you'll find several of the pay restaurants on board: Chops Grille, Giovanni's Table, Vintages and 150 Central Park, as well as the Park Cafe and Trellis Bar. On embarkation day we ate at Park Cafe. They have a order-what-you-want salad bar as well as several different sandwich and panini options. I chose the turkey and avocado panini and Will went with the three cheese panini - both very good. Neither of us is a roast beef fan so we didn't try the infamous sandwich but based on how many people were ordering it's definitely a popular item.

 

 

 



 

 



 

 



 

 

[jpm1973]

 

 



 

 



 

 



 

[gatour]

Love the review so far. 7 days is to short to fully experience an Oasis class ship much less 3 days. Thus our upcoming 14day B2B.

[jpm1973]

I just realized I duplicated two pictures from the Schooner Bar - sorry about that! Must not have been fully awake this morning. On to the upper decks now and then to our cabin.

 

All of the pools on Oasis (except for the Aqua Theater pool) are found on this deck. Most, if not all, of the ship's whirlpools are also found scattered around Deck 15. Sadly we never made it into any of these - not sure why, really. I was really wanting to try one of the whirlpools that hangs out over the side near the Solarium but it never happened. Just one more reason to take another cruise, right?

 

The Main Pool and one of the whirlpools

 

 

Another view:

 

 

The Beach Pool

 

 

Here's a better shot from our sea day, a bit more crowded:

 

 

Sports Pool

 

 

 

Edited October 29, 2015 by jpm1973

[jpm1973]

Love the review so far. 7 days is to short to fully experience an Oasis class ship much less 3 days. Thus our upcoming 14day B2B.

 

Thanks for reading!

 

Believe me I know that fully now. I'm still trying to convince Will to go on a 7 day...after this cruise I think he might be more willing but only if it's on an Oasis-class ship again.

Edited October 29, 2015 by jpm1973

[jpm1973]

The H2O Zone for kids

 

 

Moving back on Deck 15 to Oasis Dunes

 

 

 



 

 

 

The Wipeout Bar, located between the two Flowriders at the very aft of Deck 15

 

 

A view of the Boardwalk from Deck 15

 

[jpm1973]

At the forward part of decks 15 and 16 is the Solarium, the 16 and older partially glass enclosed sun deck with its own pool and whirlpools. There's also a bar here and the Solarium Bistro, which is open for breakfast and lunch. Even though it's mostly enclosed, there are windows and partial openings in the ceiling so it's not as stuffy or hot as it could be.

 

The Solarium

 

 

 



 



 

One of the cantilever whirlpools on Deck 15

 

Edited October 29, 2015 by jpm1973

[jpm1973]

Let's take a break from the ship tour and talk about our cabin. This was, by far, the best cabin we or I have ever had on any ship. Also the most expensive, but I guess that's to be expected. In hindsight I think we got a relatively good deal, especially since these rooms are now priced as Aqua Theater Suites and seem to have a much higher cost. We made the most of it since I highly doubt we'll ever be sailing in a cabin like this again. Unless we win the lottery.

 

We were in cabin 11330, completely aft on the port side of the ship. The suite includes a separate living room with a couch (convertible to a bed) and two chairs. The bedroom has one bed, small vanity/table area, and a large closet. There is also a second large closet in the living room right next to the main cabin door. The bathroom has a shower/bath combination and one sink. Oh and a toilet too, of course. Just to give you an idea of where we were situated:

 

 

Probably the best feature of this cabin in the amazingly huge balcony that wraps around the room completely, giving you views of the water off the port side all the way around to a great view of the Aqua Theater and Boardwalk as well as a nice water view aft. There are two doors to access the balcony: one from the living room and another from the bedroom.

 

The cabin itself was very quiet despite overlooking the Boardwalk and Aqua Theater. When the balcony doors were closed we never heard a thing and had no issues with noise from above or the cabin next to us.

 

[jpm1973]

After we had wandered around a bit we decided to check out the Suite Lounge on Deck 17. I believe this used to be the old Viking Crown Lounge that was converted and is for guests in Grand Suites or above and Pinnacle Club members.

 

About a week prior to our sailing we received an e-mail from Federico and Allan, the two concierge on board the Oasis. The e-mail outlined everything that our Suite included, which was good to know since we really had no idea.

 

On embarkation day the lounge included a small amount of food as well as drinks. I grabbed a few things to eat and some champagne and we spent close to an hour chatting with two Pinnacle Club members who were nice enough to invite us to join them at their table.

 

Once underway there were drinks and appetizers available in the lounge each evening and a continental breakfast each morning. Being in a suite also gave us access to Coastal Kitchen for breakfast, lunch or dinner, but we never took advantage of this. We heard from others on board that the food here was excellent.

 

Once 1 p.m. hit we left the lounge and made our way down to deck 11 to check out our room. On our way there we met our steward, Gilbert, who did a great job throughout the cruise. We always had ice available and our cabin was always kept very clean. Once inside we found our cups as part of the drink package we purchased as well as the bottle of wine we were promised for the issues redeeming our gift card. We also had a plate of fruit.

 

From the door to the cabin you walk into the living area with one large closet on your right.

 

 

 

The bedroom

 

 

 



 

The bathroom

 

 



 

In researching this cabin the only complaint seemed to be about the lower ceilings in the bathroom and how anyone over 5'9" might have to duck to fit in the shower. I'm right at 6' and Will is slightly taller than me and while we could stand up fully without hitting our heads, we definitely had to duck down a bit to get under the water. Not terrible by any stretch but I could see anyone much taller than us would be a bit uncomfortable in the shower.

 

Otherwise we had no complaints about this cabin. Temperature was always comfortable for us, clearly there was plenty of space and storage, and although it was completely aft, it wasn't such a terrible walk to get to where we needed to go. This ship is so big anyway that anywhere is a bit of a walk so what's another 1/4 mile to get back to your cabin. :-P

Edited October 30, 2015 by jpm1973

[jpm1973]

And let's move on to the beautiful balcony. Right outside the door from the living room there are two chairs with ottomans. Immediately to the left around the side overlooking the Boardwalk there are three high stools which were perfect when we watched the Oasis of Dreams show. Around the port side overlooking the water there was a large table with two additional chairs. So plenty of seating, but we were disappointed there were no actual lounge chairs. We noticed there were some across the way on the balcony for 11730 and above on 12730. We asked Gilbert about it but he said only the Aqua Theater Suites have lounge chairs. Technically those rooms across the way weren't Aqua Theater Suites either but whatever; we didn't press that issue.

 

 

 



 

 



 

 



 

 



 

 

[cruisexlife]

Hello! I loved your previous reviews, and I am very optimistic for this one. I am considering a switch to Royal sometime soon, and you and I both are experienced with Carnival, so I cannot wait to read the rest.

 

Thanks for taking the time to write it! :D

[jpm1973]

Hello! I loved your previous reviews, and I am very optimistic for this one. I am considering a switch to Royal sometime soon, and you and I both are experienced with Carnival, so I cannot wait to read the rest.

 

Thanks for taking the time to write it! :D

 

Thanks for reading! Always enjoyed your reviews so happy to share our experiences. We had a great time on the Oasis and already have another cruise booked with RCI for February; no complaints at all. I may even succeed at getting Will on a five-day cruise after this one - he definitely liked the Oasis class.

 

I'll make some comparisons between our experience on RCI vs Carnival at the end.

 

Sent from my KFTT using Tapatalk

[PR Cruisers]

Thanks for reading! Always enjoyed your reviews so happy to share our experiences. We had a great time on the Oasis and already have another cruise booked with RCI for February; no complaints at all. I may even succeed at getting Will on a five-day cruise after this one - he definitely liked the Oasis class.

 

I'll make some comparisons between our experience on RCI vs Carnival at the end.

 

Sent from my KFTT using Tapatalk

 

 

Looking forward for the comparisons. We always have been on RCL but sometimes look at Carnival prices, itineraries to see if there are something interesting to book.

 

Which cruise have you booked for February?

 

 

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[perfect match]

Thank you for your review. I am really enjoying it. We will be sailing Oasis next year, so I am reading as much as I can about her before we sail. Your pictures are beautiful, too!

[LuCruise]

Wow...what an amazing cabin.

Really loving your review. Looks like you were having a great time. Thanks for sharing.

[jpm1973]

Looking forward for the comparisons. We always have been on RCL but sometimes look at Carnival prices, itineraries to see if there are something interesting to book.

 

Which cruise have you booked for February?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

 

We'll be on the Enchantment for a three-day out of Port Canaveral.

[jpm1973]

Thank you for your review. I am really enjoying it. We will be sailing Oasis next year, so I am reading as much as I can about her before we sail. Your pictures are beautiful, too!

 

 

Thanks for reading and for the compliment on the pictures! I always take a ton so hopefully I get some good ones :-)

[jpm1973]

Wow...what an amazing cabin.

 

Really loving your review. Looks like you were having a great time. Thanks for sharing.

 

 

It really was awesome. Thanks for reading!