Just Back January 30th Sailing on the Oasis

[tncruzer75]

We are just off the January 30th sailing of the Oasis.

 

As a bit of background, we sailed with 5 other couples. This was our 3rd sailing with Royal and we have sailed Carnival and Princess. We have cruised a total of 22 times since 1998 so as you might imagine this is our favorite type of vacation.

 

Overall, this was a great cruise. I’ve often commented to my friends and family members that have not cruised, that you really have to work at having a bad time.

 

We arrived at the terminal at approximately 1:00pm and were on the ship in about 15 minutes. Our room was ready so we dropped our carry on luggage in our room and headed to the Park Cafe for our roast beef sandwiches and salad. Neither disappointed.

 

After lunch, we explored the ship - mainly the outdoor areas as the weather was nice and a welcomed half time from winter.

 

We purchased the Premium Beverage Package pre-cruise and had our traditional mojitos. We found the drink service to be good overall for the cruise with some exceptions. Bar service was hit or miss on some days while on the deck of the ship. On the miss days, we simply walked to the nearest bar and were served. We only had one issue with the Premium Package and that was at dinner, our table staff told us that the only wine available by the glass was $8.00 and under. After the second dinner, I inquired about this at one of the Promenade drink stations that was selling the packages. They confirmed it was up to $12.00 per glass pre-tax(which I thought was the case especially since were were served wine in this range at the various bars). They took our table number and it was resolved by the third night.

 

Bar wise, we found the best service and friendliest staff at the Champagne Bar(this became our favorite pre-dinner drink spot), Boleros(fun music and fun staff). We found the least friendly bar to be the Globe and Atlas, but it was a great spot for people watching on the Promenade. Outdoor on deck 16 immediately above the beach pool, Alexander made great drinks and without fail the hardest working Lido bar server was Madagascar. He was a trip!

 

We were happy with our balcony which was midship on the 11th floor. Our cabin attendant was Roy and he was hands down the best cabin attendant we’ve ever had. He had a great personality and was very efficient. There were a couple nights that our room felt a bit warm, but that may have been the sun talking.

 

We ate dinner at the Grande during the late seating. We had a good staff with Shirley and Jason. Our food was served promptly and was always at the right temperature. The found the food itself to be comparable to the other cruise lines we’ve sailed.

 

Breakfast and Lunch were either at the Park Cafe or the Windjammer. We enjoyed both and really didn’t find them to be overly crowded. This may not have been the case for everyone as we typically do not eat at the peak times.

 

We attended the Come Fly with Me, Frozen in Time and the Headliner Show. We enjoyed all. We had tickets to the Oasis of Dreams Show but it was cancelled several times due to weather and technical difficulties. Several in our group attended the Comedy Show and felt it was really bad. In fact, they thought the MC was the funniest of all. After hearing their input, we opted not to attend.

 

Our ports of call were Labadee, Falmouth and Cozumel.

 

For Labadee, we found chairs near Adrenaline Beach as some in our party were zip lining and we wanted to watch them. The beach itself is very rocky and not very picturesque. it was; however, relaxing and a good spot near the food, bar and bathrooms. All in all it was not a bad day.

 

We did the Blue Waters Beach Escape excursion in Falmouth. This turned out to be my biggest complained of the entire cruise. We were looking for an all inclusive similar to Mr. Sanchos or Nachi in Cozumel. The excursion was billed as an all inclusive and we verified this was going to be the case with the Shore Excursion Desk. The excursion started off great as the van was on time and air-conditioned( really important for my wife)! We had a nice greeting when we arrived and the place appeared very nice. It went downhill from there. First, there were not enough chairs available so we spent the first 30 minutes working with the staff to obtain them. They sent us to the bar for a drink while we waited. It was there we learned there was one drink menu for the all inclusive guests and one for the non all inclusive guests. As the day wore on, we also learned the all inclusive guests was largely ignored while other guests were waited on.

 

Back to the chairs, when we finally received our chairs, two were broken. Hours later we eventually found one additional chair that was not broken. The all inclusive guests received a so-so lunch buffet. If you wanted anything different, you could pay for it. To end on a positive note, the beach and water were pretty and the transportation back to the ship was good.

 

Our last stop was Cozumel and we went to Mr. Sanchos this trip. The food, drinks and service was awesome. We had a fantastic day there and it was truly all inclusive.

 

We enjoyed one last day at sea although cold and windy and then it was back to Ft Lauderdale. Our debarkation was at 8:30am and our group was called on time. Leaving the ship was quick considering the number of people.

 

Again this was a great cruise - so much so we booked another one on our last sea day. In doing so, we received an instant $100 onboard credit for this cruise and a $200 credit on our future cruise.

[Keith1010]

Glad you not only enjoyed the cruise but booked another one. Thanks for the report.

 

Keith

[Clarea]

Thanks for the report.

 

Curious about Mr. Sanchos. Was the food all via buffet or did they have some made to order choices?

[cincicruisers]

Thanks for taking the time to post your review.

[tncruzer75]

The food as well as the drinks are all ordered a la carte. The menu is fairly extensive. When we arrived, they assigned us a wait person and assistant, set up a section of beach chairs for our group and set up our own table next to the chairs as well.

Edited February 7, 2016 by tncruzer75