first time cruiser with RCI , initial impressions off the Oasis of the Seas

[trlnlty]

Just got off a 7 day Eastern Caribbean Cruise on the Oasis of the Seas and to be honest was quite disappointed with the whole trip. Perhaps my expectations were too high and that could have been my fault for not managing it correctly.

 

Anyway, I thought I would share some of my experiences so someone can make the best out of their cruise in the near future.

 

The Good:

Overall food was very good.

 

Windjammer constantly provided above average food for the amount of covers that they face. Breakfast and lunch were very good. Only had dinner once there which seemed less impressive. I would avoid it for dinner unless you don't have a choice (we were press for time that night)

 

MDR was very good as well and our server (Albert) was amazing. Constantly aiming to please with great suggestions on entrees and bringing more portions if needed.

 

We dined at Chops one night which was probably our best dining experience the whole trip. Much more intimate. Appetizers were great, steaks were okay (I'd go for the Filet instead of the NY Strip)

 

Wipeout Cafe/ Park Cafe were decent. Good for a snack. One thing to mention was that the fries on board were out of this world good. I don't know how they make them so delicious.

 

TIPS: You need to use My Time Dining. Every night there were about 20-30 people just waiting to get into the MDR.

 

Drink Tips: Since the packages are such a hot debate on the forums, I want to share my strategy on this. What I did was to bring in 3 bottles of wine and drink that every night. On the 4th Day, I got the Premium Package which came out to around $230 bucks. Let me know if you want to know why I did this. They did offer the drink cards on day 4 I believe. Also, you can purchase the package up to 2 days before the last day ( I previously thought it was 4)

 

We stayed in a stateroom and felt that the room was really big for 2 of us. Great shower pressure and generally the room was nice. Beds and pillows were a tad soft but overall the room was really good. We stayed on Deck 8 which was quite central to everything.

 

The Bad:

 

Service was generally quite bad on the ship (save for the MDR / Chops and our stateroom attendant) It always felt that we were being told what to do / what not to do. For example, on our 5th night at the MDR, while walking to our table, I walked to the bar to get a drink and the lady bringing us to the table basically said, you must walk with me to the table and order a drink there. It just felt very robotic and transactional. There are other examples and we were not the only ones who felt this. It just felt that they had so many guest that the staff were just tired of dealing with us.

 

Dealing with Guest Services was almost like a meeting with the principal's office. It seems like their first option is to always say no to any request.

 

Secondly, there is just so many people on the boat! I was hoping that due to the size it would be pretty spread out but really thats not the case. You will be constantly waiting in lines (bar / restaurants / walking around)

If you are looking for an intimate holiday, this is not for you.

 

Would have been nice to have a non smoking section in the casino, it seemed like most of the smokers were just sitting by the bar drinking anyway and most of the gamblers were not smoking. Funny story, on the last night, someone stole my Coca Cola drink cup when I wasn't looking. Not sure how much free soda they wanted to get on the last 8 hours. But do take note on your belongings on the ship.

 

Overall, it felt life a very mass consumer product offering. I would describe it as a Marriott Courtyard experience as opposed to a proper Marriott. Again, this could be my fault as my expectations were not managed properly at the start.

[JimAOk1945]

Thanks for your review. I'm sorry to hear you were disappointed. We haven't cruised on the Oasis, but been on other RC ships and have had great experiences as well as excellent service.

 

You haven't mentioned your itinerary. What were your ports of call? Did you go on any excursions or did you stay aboard for your entire cruise? Did you have good weather? Did you attend any shows?

Edited April 23, 2016 by JimAOk1945

[uksimonusa]

Don't understand your casino smoking statement, the left hand side of the casino, from the bar left when looking at the bar, is non smoking, the right side is smoking, in my experience the cut off line is the center of the bar, smokers to the right of me, non to the left.

Edited April 23, 2016 by uksimonusa

[BettyGiggles]

I'm sorry you didn't love it as much as we did on our first cruise with RCCL and Oasis in November last year.

 

We had no problems at all but our experience might have been different, we only dined in MDR on My Time Dining the first night, we did Windjammer for breakfast or Coastal Kitchen (we were in a suite for the first time too). We had several dinners in the specialty restaurants. Chops, Giovanni's, Sabor and Johnny Rocket's and once Windjammer for dinner.

I had a drink package for myself, $35 a day, DH had the Royal replenish as he really doesn't drink much and we bought some drinks out right that weren't included.

We were on deck 11 in a GS.

Never thought it was really crowded anywhere except after muster drill and after shows, of course on disembarkment day.

Loved the Oasis and would in a heart beat go again.

Maybe Mid November had something to do with lack of crowdness, we sailed with 6K, max is more.

Then again, we all experience our cruises differently. :)

[M_BA]

Would have been nice to have a non smoking section in the casino, it seemed like most of the smokers were just sitting by the bar drinking anyway and most of the gamblers were not smoking.

 

Liberty of the Seas has a non-smoking section where the casino meets the middle of the ship. It's a few blackjack and poker tables, no slots. It's not 'smoke free' but certainly much better than the center of the casino.

 

 

Funny story, on the last night, someone stole my Coca Cola drink cup when I wasn't looking. Not sure how much free soda they wanted to get on the last 8 hours. But do take note on your belongings on the ship.

 

RCCL will replace it, it is $4.95 IIRC. Some places swipe cards for drinks, though most don't.

 

Overall, it felt life a very mass consumer product offering. I would describe it as a Marriott Courtyard experience as opposed to a proper Marriott. Again, this could be my fault as my expectations were not managed properly at the start.

 

Everyone's expectations are different. I can relate to the Courtyard vs. Marriott comparison.

 

So, will you cruise RCCL again?

[trlnlty]

Thanks for your review. I'm sorry to hear you were disappointed. We haven't cruised on the Oasis, but been on other RC ships and have had great experiences as well as excellent service.

 

You haven't mentioned your itinerary. What were your ports of call? Did you go on any excursions or did you stay aboard for your entire cruise? Did you have good weather? Did you attend any shows?

 

We need Nassau > St Thomas > St Martin

 

We did island tours in St Thomas and St Martin and kinda did our own thing for Nassau. Probably our best thing we did all tour was to experience the jetblast at St Martin (thank God it was a smaller 737 I think and not a A340 or B747.

 

Nassau was a short port of call, so we walked around the city for a bit, found a nearby beach and drank for about an hour.

 

In terms of shows, we saw most of them. Shows were generally very good. The best 2 being frozen in time and oasis of dreams. Cats was not fantastic but a lot has been written about that here. Comedy shows were good and The Quest was a pleasant surprise ;)

[Clarea]

Appreciate the feedback.

[trlnlty]

Don't understand your casino smoking statement, the left hand side of the casino, from the bar left when looking at the bar, is non smoking, the right side is smoking, in my experience the cut off line is the center of the bar, smokers to the right of me, non to the left.

 

Whoops, I didn't notice that. Overall the casino felt very smoky in general. Guess they did try to have 2 sections !

[Langley Cruisers]

TIPS: You need to use My Time Dining. Every night there were about 20-30 people just waiting to get into the MDR...

 

Sorry, pardon? I'm afraid I don't understand this comment.

 

...smokers to the right of me, non to the left.

 

"Here I am, stuck in the middle with you..."

 

*sorry, couldn't resist* :p

.

[SPacificbound]

Thank you so much for starting with what you liked about your experience, and not focusing first on what you didn't like. That is so important. :)

 

We have not cruised on Oasis or any of the other really big ships and likely never will. Just no interest in them.

[trlnlty]

Liberty of the Seas has a non-smoking section where the casino meets the middle of the ship. It's a few blackjack and poker tables, no slots. It's not 'smoke free' but certainly much better than the center of the casino.

 

 

 

 

RCCL will replace it, it is $4.95 IIRC. Some places swipe cards for drinks, though most don't.

 

 

 

Everyone's expectations are different. I can relate to the Courtyard vs. Marriott comparison.

 

So, will you cruise RCCL again?

 

Im not sure to be honest. Of course one cruise is not a proper sample size to judge the entire fleet but put it this way, RCCL didn't wow me enough to make me a guaranteed repeat customer. I'll not say no to it but will definitely shop around first before committing.

[trlnlty]

Sorry, pardon? I'm afraid I don't understand this comment.

 

 

 

"Here I am, stuck in the middle with you..."

 

*sorry, couldn't resist* :p

.

 

There was a constant line of people with no reservations waiting to get into the MDR.

 

It just funny i guess especially on the formal nights to see guys and girls dressed in their suits and dresses waiting in line for dinner.

[uksimonusa]

Sorry, pardon? I'm afraid I don't understand this comment.

 

 

 

"Here I am, stuck in the middle with you..."

 

*sorry, couldn't resist* :p

.

 

 

Funny enough that was why it was worded the way it was, I was singing that in my mind:D

Edited April 23, 2016 by uksimonusa

[CaptDJB]

Regarding smoking unless it's changed since our last cruise - they had a Non Smoking night in the Casino ~ I'll review smoking policy, might well be different on different vessels. I don't smoke but do have an alternative whereas Hubby does smoke.

I had heard that about the Oasis thinking bigger meant less crowded.

Thank you for the Feedback - I still favor the Freedom :)

Edited April 23, 2016 by CaptDJB

[reallyitsmema]

Regarding smoking unless it's changed since our last cruise - they had a Non Smoking night in the Casino ~ I'll review smoking policy, might well be different on different vessels. I don't smoke but do have an alternative whereas Hubby does smoke.

I had heard that about the Oasis thinking bigger meant less crowded.

Thank you for the Feedback - I still favor the Freedom :)

 

Oasis does not have a non smoking night in the casino since it is already half smoking/half non smoking.

[Artemus]

"For example, on our 5th night at the MDR, while walking to our table, I walked to the bar to get a drink and the lady bringing us to the table basically said, you must walk with me to the table and order a drink there"

That reminds me of when my wife and I were on Allure a few years ago. Drink service seems notoriously really slow in the dining room on just about every ship we've been on. We would always bring a drink into the dining room on Allure with us and the same lady would always come up to us every night and insist we not bring drinks into the dining and allow the dr staff to get us drinks. By about the fourth night she finally gave up, lol.

[PompeySailor]

You mentioned you stayed in a "stateroom" what category was this, intrigued that it was too big for the two of you.

 

Thanks:)

Edited April 23, 2016 by PompeySailor

[trlnlty]

You mentioned you stayed in a "stateroom" what category was this, intrigued that it was too big for the two of you.

 

Thanks:)

 

 

We got the large interior state room. Honestly the room surprised me in terms of size. I was expecting rooms like the one's we gotten in Tokyo but really it was quite nice.

 

We didn't have to put our luggage under the bed and had enough space to put it in the closets.

 

I was debating between spending the extra $ to get a balcony room but the room we got was good enough

[PompeySailor]

We got the large interior state room. Honestly the room surprised me in terms of size. I was expecting rooms like the one's we gotten in Tokyo but really it was quite nice.

 

We didn't have to put our luggage under the bed and had enough space to put it in the closets.

 

I was debating between spending the extra $ to get a balcony room but the room we got was good enough

 

Thank you:)

[reedprincess]

There was a constant line of people with no reservations waiting to get into the MDR.

 

It just funny i guess especially on the formal nights to see guys and girls dressed in their suits and dresses waiting in line for dinner.

OK, I'm confused. In your initial review, you say "

TIPS: You need to use My Time Dining. Every night there were about 20-30 people just waiting to get into the MDR."

Do you perhaps mean to say "You need to use RESERVATIONS" with MTD? As there was a line for those without reservations?

Or did you mean "You need to use TRADITIONAL dining" as there was always a line for MyTime Dining?

We've done all three ways on Oasis, and yes, either traditional set dining or making reservations is the way to go if you don't want to wait on-line like in land restaurants. Just confused as your posts seem contradictory.

Sorry you had a less than stellar experience. Oasis is one of our favorite ships, have sailed her 5 times, and have not experienced lines and masses such as you described, except waits on MTD during peak times or of course, when a show ends and everyone is piling out of the theater. We have always found folks well spread out around the ship. It's unfortunate you didn't enjoy her as much as others seem to.

Happy cruising, wherever the ships may take you.

[Rosy1013]

How did you feel about the excursions you did?

[CaptDJB]

Oasis does not have a non smoking night in the casino since it is already half smoking/half non smoking.

 

Ah yes RCCL changed ALL Casino Non-Smoking Nights - guess they were loosing too much $$

I searched Smoking this is new since the last Cruise for me..

Q: When is the new policy in effect?

A: The policy will be effective for all cruises departing on or after January 1, 2014.

You may also want to know:

What is the Smoking Policy onboard?

Why is the smoking policy changing?

Edited April 24, 2016 by CaptDJB

[yj_eugene]

Regarding smoking unless it's changed since our last cruise - they had a Non Smoking night in the Casino ~ I'll review smoking policy, might well be different on different vessels. I don't smoke but do have an alternative whereas Hubby does smoke.

 

On which side and what decks of the Oasis are the outside smoking areas now?

[Clarea]

On which side and what decks of the Oasis are the outside smoking areas now?

Don't recall which side, but it's decks 15 and 16.

[mooseman52b]

On which side and what decks of the Oasis are the outside smoking areas now?

 

Just read in another thread that it was port side.

 

I seem to remember the smoking area being on the starboard side away from the towel station on the port side.