Oasis Review, 11/7/15 with kids in GS 12730

[Travalerie]

Hello!

 

We are back from a wonderful cruise on Oasis of the Seas. There are a couple other reviews from this sailing so I will hope I can pass on some useful information as well!! This trip was a long time coming. I booked this cruise some time during the summer of 2014. Our last cruise was a wonderful cruise on the Celebrity Reflection in November 2013. Overall it was one of our best cruise experiences, but my husband was studying for a licensing exam so it was not a purely relaxing vacation. My husband had started a new job and it was kind of an unwritten rule not to take more than 1-2 days off until after you had been there for two years. He started in November 2013, so I booked this cruise right at the end of his two year hazing period.

 

I am 41, work part time and I homeschool my kids. DH is 43 and works in financial services. We have two girls that turned 11 and 8 the week before the cruise. I was hoping to make this their birthday presents but I still got roped into a sleepover Halloween weekend.

This was my 11th cruise. My husband has been on 9, our oldest daughter on 8, and my little one on 7. Like most people, we have busy lives with work and activities. Cruises are the best way for us to vacation. We have been cruising since my oldest was 2. My youngest had her first birthday on the Eurodam. We don’t usually travel with family or babysitters, so the kids clubs have allowed us guaranteed adult time during our vacations. We have sailed Celebrity, Disney, and Holland America two times each. Princess was our first cruise experience as a couple and RCCL was the first cruise experience as a family. I went on Carnival once in college and sailed Indy solo with a friend.

 

I actually really loved HAL and Celebrity. Everyone says HAL is not for families, but we loved the food and service and with young kids we did not mind the ship shutting down at 11. Since we have had the Disney experience I find it hard to put up the money when we can sail for a lot less on other lines. I sailed on the Indy on its inaugural sailing in the US. The ship was beautiful, but I honestly did not like the food, even in Chops! I am not sure what was off about the food on that cruise, but I really had no interest in sailing Royal again.

 

So how did we get on the Oasis? Classic ship envy…We were in St. Thomas on our Reflection cruise, doing the Kon-Tiki boat tour and we had to pick up some passengers from the Oasis. I was the total snob-all I could think that it was a ridiculously large ship and with tons of people. I was not jealous at all. However, my husband was drooling. Close your mouth honey. He decided right there that this would be our next cruise. I was actually kind of surprised because while he likes cruising I am always the one leading the choices, doing the research, and booking the trips. He is just happy to be along for the ride. The fact that he showed interest was exciting to me and so I decided to make his cruise dreams come true.

Edited November 16, 2015 by Travalerie

[Erwin Family @ Sea]

Looking forward to your review. We are on her in March.

[Travalerie]

So during our family vacation hiatus, I booked this cruise way in advance. We typically book under a year ahead, sometimes at around six months. While looking at prices, I saw that a Grand suite was only about $1000 more than we paid for the balcony, at least that is what I told myself. It was probably more like $1500 but I figured we should go for it. We had a long time to pay it off and up until now we had never done a suite on any of our cruises. We prefer balconies for the family, but we have done an ocean view twice and an inside on our spur of the moment Disney cruise.

 

I really needed something to look forward to knowing we would be waiting so long, so we agreed we would go for the suite. During the course of the year, we got a good resident discount, then were able to add on OBC using another promotion. After reading cruise critic for a year, you get a lot of good tips. My husband and I got BOA Visas for RCCL and ended up getting an additional OBC shortly before sailing just with the initial bonus points with first purchase and making our final payment. I will tell you that a few weeks before we sailed our suite had gone up almost a few thousand dollars. I feel like we got a really good deal.

 

So we initially had a regular GS but as the Oasis was undergoing dry dock I heard about the new aft suites. I know there has been a lot of controversy, but we are very happy with our choice. We had cabin 12730. Our last experience in a balcony was less than desirable as our kids were getting bigger. It was no longer two toddlers in a cabin, but these girls were starting to take up a lot of space! We were literally walking and crawling over each other. Another small annoyance was sharing the tv at night. We don’t let our kids watch just anything on tv, so at night we were watching cartoons or whatever family movie was available. I love to relax at night with a good movie, and that is not always possible with kids. The fact that these new suites had two separate rooms with two televisions was all I needed to hear. I did not care that there was only one sink or that the two rooms were small. There were two rooms-space for all of us. That would be a new experience for us so we jumped on it. I was a little concerned about not having a lot of privacy on the main side of the balcony, however it appeared the other side of the balcony was going to give me the view and privacy I enjoy. I will admit I was considering switching to a regular GS along the way when I heard about the low shower, I am 5’10”, but I decided the new factor and the two rooms was still a draw for me.

[Travalerie]

As the time drew closer, I was a wreck. I had planned to death and at one point there was nothing left to do but wait. I was always looking for a new Oasis/Allure review, so I am hoping my long diatribe will keep someone entertained while they are waiting. I am not big on pictures, because I am a slightly paranoid mom and I am always watching the kids. So this review will have more words than pictures. There are so many good picture reviews, so picture some of those as I continue, lol.

 

That was a lot of background, but remember I had been waiting two years to go on a cruise! So on to precruise planning.

 

Flights/Hotel: The weekend we were sailing was the same weekend as a big boat show in Fort Lauderdale. Thanks to my roll call, I found this out and booked hotels right away. We always come in the night before a cruise. At one point I had three hotels booked because I was not really sure what experience I wanted to have. When I first booked the cruise, I read a review where someone had stayed at the Ritz Carlton. I decided that is what I wanted to do for this cruise. We usually stay at a budget pre cruise hotel with airport/port transportation. It just makes sense, but I felt like this was going to be a special cruise and I wanted something different. However, when I checked the rates at the Ritz, the prices were almost $1000 for the night before the cruise. So my sensible side beat out my inner brat and we booked some of our traditional choices. I did have the Curio Diplomat (former Westin) but it was more expensive and with transportation it was not worth it since DH was coming in on a later flight. We ended up with the Comfort Suites. It just opened this past spring and I watched the reviews over the months and they were good. I usually don’t choose this brand but with it being new, airport shuttles, and the least expensive, we went with it. I was concerned about not having anything to do with the girls that day, but we were not arriving until 12 and will have been up since 4 in the morning, so a relaxing day would be in order. I decided to leave our city early to have some down time before the cruise. We seemed to always squeeze in that last work day and would fly out on an evening flight and not get to Florida until midnight. We were hyped because of the cruise so we would be ok, but it would take a few days to wind down from our regular lives. My husband still needed to work that day, so he decided to take a midafternoon flight and the girls and I took the first flight out Friday morning before the cruise.

 

Shows and Dining: When it was time to book shows and dining, I remembered that the comedy show was an important show to book ahead. We were able to plan our shows and dining based on the show times listed in our cruise planner. We had all that OBC so we did not want to pay in advance, but we made still made our dining plans on our personal planner. I have no spreadsheets, but we just did a simple word document with things listed on each day. We were doing Giovanni’s for lunch on boarding day. Sabor, Johnny Rockets, and Vintages for lunch during the week. We planned on the main dining room for the first formal night, CK three nights, Chops, and the Solarium Bistro. We wanted Izumi but were willing to risk not getting a table by not booking in advance. While it would be nice, we can also do hibachi at home. We planned to ask the concierge to help get a reservation if there was nothing available on boarding day. My girls love a buffet but mommy does not. They just love seeing all the choices. I did not really plan on eating at the Windjammer, but was sure I would be there with the kids at some point. We decided against drink packages because of the free drinks in the lounge and our onboard credit.

Edited November 16, 2015 by Travalerie

[wolfganghowell]

Looking forward to your perspective. Whenever I caught a glimpse of you guys, you seemed to be having a great time! :)

[LuCruise]

Funny as I can relate to your posts so far and (sortuv) feel like I'm reading my review in the future. Well, not all, as this is only the 2nd cruise for our kids, and close to that for DH and I....but the fact of booking so far in advance, reading CC and planning so much nothing left to do but wait....and totally get the no picture thing when traveling with kids.

 

How amazing that you were able to book a suite. Looking forward to reading more from a 'planner' and how you and your kids enjoyed.

[Travalerie]

Hi LuCruise and Erwin Family. I hope you enjoy your upcoming cruises. It is hard not to on a ship like this!!

[Travalerie]

Looking forward to your perspective. Whenever I caught a glimpse of you guys, you seemed to be having a great time! :)

 

We did have a good time-now they are giving me all the sad faces about math and grammar...what to do :)

[Travalerie]

Shore Excursions: It is a bit strange, I love cruises but we are not big beach/ outdoor activities people. Maybe I should say I am not. I am sure my husband and kids would love to do more adventurous shore excursions, and even though my kids are older I have not adjusted to doing a lot on port days. I love being on the ship and I love sea days. We decided that we would stay put in Jamaica and just explore the inner courtyard area. DH and I vacationed in Montego Bay before we had kids, and have been to Dunn’s River Falls. The kids probably would have liked that, but again I am paranoid and just decided I would let this be a day we could hang out on the ship. Labadee would be a beach day and we would be on Barefoot Beach. I thought about a cabana, but I know my limit would probably be 3 hours out there so if I was not going to use it all day I thought it would not be worth the money. I decided the water and the floating mats would be enough entertainment, so we did not sign up for the zpiline or the roller coaster. Did I say I was paranoid? We have been to Cozumel several times. Our first time we actually rented a car and went on our own, ate a restaurant on the beach and had a whole stretch of beach to ourselves. This was our Mariner cruise when DD was only 2. I had not had a chance to read a lot of CC and was not so paranoid back then. Since then I have read about some scary rental car stories!! I thought about Playa Mia but I am not big on crowds, so when I heard about Nachi Cocom we jumped on it. Only 100 people a day and everything was included. Of course the taxi ride there would be on our own and I started worrying about safety and all of that. There is no other way to get there, so I just had to get passed that part of it. I normally like to book things through the cruise line but I figured if we left shortly after 1 we should have no problems. I had planned to arrive between 9 and 10, and with my three hour beach limit it seemed like a good plan.

 

Onboard activities: I decided I would step out of my box and do the zipline. I decided that I would do it on boarding day before the lines and before I lost my nerve! We also wanted to do the rock wall. We were undecided about the flowrider but at one point considered getting private lessons. We want to do the cupcake class, but with so much conflicting info about the kids classes vs the adult classes, I just decided to wait until we board to judge our interest there. We wanted to see Cats. We planned that for the afternoon show on the last day. My girls are dancers, so even if the story was above their heads, I figured they would enjoy the dancing and the costumes.

[Bobal]

We were on the same cruise and I see you were at Nachi Cocom. Were your girls the two girls building sandcastles with shells about half way down the beach? if so they were directly in front of us and I loved watching them playing so well and so imaginatively together :)

[Travalerie]

Our day started early due to a 5:50 AM flight. I regretted this a few days before we left, and looked into changing it, but ended up going with it. We were on a small plane into Charlotte and I saw people leaving their bags by the door of the plane. I assumed it was too small to take carry on bags, so I just gave it to the guy standing there taking the other bags. I would regret that move because upon our arrival in Charlotte they told me I would have to go to baggage claim to retrieve my bag because it did not have a gate check tag on it. I was totally flustered. I had less than an hour connection and Charlotte is a big airport. We were in terminal E which is pretty far from everything. I would have to go back through security after getting my bag as well. I told the girls that we were going to have to run. And we did. We made it down to baggage claim. I sat them down with all of our things and I rushed to try to find the bag. People kept telling me different things and my bag was nowhere to be found. This had all of my daughter's clothes in it for the week so we had to get that bag. Finally I found it in the American Airlines baggage office. She asked for my ID and I had left it with the girls on the other end. She must have seen the look on my face and the sweat pouring down and had some sympathy. I told her I could tell her exactly what was in it, and thankfully she just let me have it. We rushed back upstairs to security and there were only 2 people ahead of us!! Once through security we got picked up by one of the assistance carts when she saw us running. I will say this was the most stressful part of the trip. So now that craziness was out of the way, we were on the plane to FLL. I figured that was my one mishap and was proud of my girls for hanging in there with me.

 

We arrived and called the airport shuttle for the Comfort Inn and Suites. It took 55 minutes for the shuttle to come. I almost didn't get a seat because by the time he came, many others had arrived. It is the newer one next door to the Cambria Suites, so there were others going to that hotel too. The hotel was just ok. Even though it was new I already saw some wear and tear in the rooms. It was very clean and that was important. There was a sandwich shop nearby and I think if you had walked further you could have found a drug store or something. I basically ordered food and we hung out in the hotel the rest of the night.

 

My husband got in close to 11 that evening and only waited about 10 minutes for his shuttle. I got butterflies when he walked through the door-still in love after almost 15 years, lol. But I think I was finally able to relax and get excited knowing we were all together and we would be cruising in just a few hours!!!

[Travalerie]

We were on the same cruise and I see you were at Nachi Cocom. Were your girls the two girls building sandcastles with shells about half way down the beach? if so they were directly in front of us and I loved watching them playing so well and so imaginatively together :)

 

Yes! They were building the castles and burying treasure!! They had so much fun!! I am glad they didn't disturb you. I did not understand why they did not play in front of our chairs!! I kept trying to encourage them to come over a bit-no luck;)

[Travalerie]

We woke up and had the free breakfast offered at the hotel. We had arranged for a taxi to get us at 10:15. The lobby was bustling! I enjoyed watching all the pre-cruisers with the bags, meeting up with friends and family, and the excitement we all shared.

 

We arrived at the port with no problem. Our taxi fare was about $20 with tip. We quickly went through security and checked in with no problems or lines. We purchased lanyards before we got upstairs and went to the suite waiting area. We were able to get the wristbands for the kids that showed the muster station while we waited. They also had a little paly area that kept the kids occupied while we waited. My youngest met her first friend of the cruise while there. They hung out the entire cruise. Most of you know boarding was delayed because of the accident on the sailing before ours. It still was not a bad wait.

 

We finally boarded and headed straight to Izumi to make a reservation. They still have many dates and times available. I am sure that is not always the case. We also found a kiosk where they were doing other specialty restaurants. He gave us a hard sell for 150 Central Park. We politely declined. I would have loved to try it, but we already had a full schedule with dining.

 

I was amazed at the size and we made our way to the Boardwalk. We were one of the first ones out there and I think the first to get the carousel going!! The girls were in search of the candy shop but that would have to wait until later. We were hungry and decided to go up to Giovanni's for lunch. We walked up and I said 4 for lunch. The host looked up at us kind of rudely and said well there is a cover charge for lunch and looked back down at whatever he was doing. I guess he thought we were going to walk out. I told him I was aware of the charge and we would like to be seated. He got himself together and said of course. He proceeded to seat us and was then very nice to us after that. I am used to very nice staff on cruise ships, and was hoping that was not going to be representative of what I would encounter the rest of the cruise. I am happy to say it was not. I am sure on boarding day there are plenty of people who wander in and assume it is included. I was not going to let that bother me, I was ready for lasagna!

 

Lunch was good and worth the cover charge. We had good service in spite of it being fairly crowded. The food was good an was served piping hot. After lunch, the rooms were ready. We made it to the 12th floor and made it all the way back to our room. We loved our room. The balcony was amazing. We were able to have the traditional balcony experience with the side portion which was private and the aquatheater part was fun just to see what was happening in the Boardwalk. There was some black residue on the floor of the balcony, but our steward must have wiped the furniture because we never felt it on there. The 12th floor was really too high to watch the show, but it was fun watching practices and rock wall climbers. We met our downstairs neighbor in the waiting area before boarding-and our upstairs neighbors at Izumi. They were both lovely couples and we saw them throughout the cruise.

 

The cabin had plenty of storage and the cabin was spacious enough for us. I had no problem fitting in the shower. The shower did drain slow, after a few phone calls it was working better by the last night of the cruise. We did ask for the shower curtain to be replaced. I think it was just stained, but I didn't want to risk it:eek:.

 

We all enjoyed our separate spaces. The couch let out and it was not the most comfortable. We agreed to let the girls sleep in our bed one night and it was pretty bad for us. It was too short for anyone taller than 5'8". I think it is fine for kids, but if any adults are planning on sleeping there I would be prepared. It won't be your best sleep ever.

 

Duty calls-I must go fix dinner. I will finish up with Day 1 later tonight or tomorrow.

[RoyalFan2011]

Great review and I am looking forward to the rest of it. We will be on the Oasis in January.

[Travalerie]

I found my way to the zipline before muster drill. We had filled out our waivers online, but you still have to go get your card punched so that you can participate in the activities. There is a place next to the flow rider where you can get this done. I was nervous, but I was determined to get this done and out of the way before my fear got the best of me. I can’t say it was fun, I was so focused on following instructions and holding on, it was over before I even realized it.

 

Our bags did not arrive until after muster. For us, it was in the aquatheater. Not much to say; it was the typical safety information given. They scanned our cards so they wanted to make sure everyone was there. After muster we returned to our cabin, but our bags had not arrived yet. We decided to go to the Sun Deck on 14 for sail away. A lot of people were out there but we found a good spot. We stopped in at kid’s club and got the girls registered. The hours were basically 9-12, 2-5, and 7-10. You can pay $7/hour per child if you want them to stay after 10. From 5-7 they will take them to dinner for no additional charge. They also will pick them up early from dinner in the main dining room. We never did that so I don’t know the details about that.

 

Dinner the first night was in Coastal Kitchen. CK and the Suite lounge is simply a beautiful space. The lighting and the music were very inviting and we enjoyed our time there. We enjoyed everything we ordered. We had the best server-Rico. He was amazing. We had him for two nights and unfortunately a different server on our last night. He was also very nice, but Rico was exceptional.

 

Later that night we went to Come Fly with Me. I thought the show was great. It had a lot of tumbling and fun dancing so my girls loved it. I thought the shows overall were excellent. Before this cruise I would always say that Disney had the best shows, hands down. I will now add that these shows are just as good.

 

After the show we walked through the Promenade. This was not my favorite place. It was very crowded when sales were going on and in the evenings. It is just hard to work your way through the crowds and making sure your kids did not unintentionally cut someone off or get run over by someone not paying attention. Central Park became the place where we would go from one side to the other. It was always peaceful and never crowded. It is as beautiful as you can imagine at night. We enjoyed music there the nights we were playing.

 

We went to sleep fast that night, but the girls stayed up watching cartoons. They fell asleep watching tv every night. This is why there will never be a tv in their bedrooms at home! It was vacation so we let them enjoy it, and they took full advantage of their liberty.

[Travalerie]

Great review and I am looking forward to the rest of it. We will be on the Oasis in January.

 

Thanks! That will be a lovely break from MN that time of year. I traveled to the Mayo Clinic for some meetings one February and that was an experience!!!

[RoyalFan2011]

MN in January or February can be challenging and I try to get out as often as possible [emoji3]. We will be in 11330 and can't wait to hang out on the balcony,

[wampuscat7]

Following along. Great review so far! Thank you for posting

[MeLike2Travel]

Thank you for taking the time to do this review, and for adding so much detail! We're staying in the same room in January with our 6 year old. Looking forward to having two rooms. I was hoping to watch the shows from our balcony. You mention that it's too far away though. Is it not worth it at all to try to watch the shows from the balcony?

[catr13]

Loving your detailed review so far!!! Looking forwards to more!! Quick question did you feel any ship movement within your cabin. I am like the third cabin back aft on deck 12.

[Cruise a holic]

My DH and I will be sailing on at Allure with our son, dtr in law and 3 grandchildren during New Years. Similar to the Oasis! I am sure they will also love the ship. It is a wonderful experience for all! We are also staying at the Comfort Inn pre cruise. While they do not have a grand suite, as the rates double during peak periods, we were able to snag a family oceanview for them.

 

Enjoying your review.

[Travalerie]

MN in January or February can be challenging and I try to get out as often as possible [emoji3]. We will be in 11330 and can't wait to hang out on the balcony,

 

Yes, they said the same thing! I think many were headed to Mexico the week after we left!! I hope you enjoy your cabin. Your balcony will even be more spacious and we loved the size of ours. I will say if you have any collapsible storage cubes that might be helpful for little items to store in the night stands. There is a slim drawer and a large cabinet at the bottom. It was a nice space but I could not really figure out what to put in there. I bought these storage containers for my Reflection cruise from the dollar store. They did not have the hard thing in the bottom but still stood up enough to put things in. It took no room at all in the suitcase. Just a thought!!

Edited November 17, 2015 by Travalerie

[Travalerie]

My DH and I will be sailing on at Allure with our son, dtr in law and 3 grandchildren during New Years. Similar to the Oasis! I am sure they will also love the ship. It is a wonderful experience for all! We are also staying at the Comfort Inn pre cruise. While they do not have a grand suite, as the rates double during peak periods, we were able to snag a family oceanview for them.

 

Enjoying your review.

 

Thank you! We went to Mr. M's for lunch. It is a local sandwich shop a block away on the same side of the street. Everything is fresh and they were very nice. It was a local spot and you they were very busy. They had a lot of regulars that the staff knew by name. That was a good sign!! They deliver but it is very close to walk there. The rooms at the hotel are very spacious so that will be good for the grandkids. They also have a small pool. Have fun on your cruise:)

Edited November 17, 2015 by Travalerie

[Travalerie]

Following along. Great review so far! Thank you for posting

 

Thank you! This is also a habit for me after a cruise. I just like to get it all out and process;)

[Travalerie]

Loving your detailed review so far!!! Looking forwards to more!! Quick question did you feel any ship movement within your cabin. I am like the third cabin back aft on deck 12.

 

Thanks for sharing my experience with me! I actually did feel more movement than I expected!! I don't think I felt more on any other cruise except for my Alaskan cruises after leaving Seattle. That first day is always rocky. There was some noise and vibrations as the ship docked too. It did not make me sick but I did notice some motion. The seas looked calm too, we were not in bad weather of anything. I was not sure if it was because we were higher??