Is Bigger Always Better? - Oasis of the Seas March 12 2017 Review

[CanadaCathi]

 

When I was in high school there were several opportunities for trips to the big city (Toronto) to see broadway theater. Cats, Phantom, and Les Miserables were the options I remember. I got to see Phantom (hated it) and Les Miz (loved it, saw it three separate times, still randomly break into song to this day), but for whatever reason I missed out on Cats. So as an avid drama student (big shock there), I always felt like I missed out.

 

Now, I’d heard a LOT of mixed reviews of the Oasis performance, but most of them were very negative. Let’s break it down. For starters, it’s a much, much smaller stage, so the cast is working with what they’ve got. Secondly, let’s face it, this isn’t a broadway cast. And the lighting/sound is not going to be what you’d get in NYC (I have a buddy who didl ighting/sound on Carnival, and trust me, he was high for at least 72% of the time I’m sure). And, lastly, well, the story is awful. If you love Cats and are a big fan then I apologize, please remember this is just my opinion, but god it’s crap. The storyline is just crazy (thankfully I’d taken someone’s advice and read up on it before we left or I would have been TOTALLY in the dark, ha ha). And the music is repetitive, similar to Phantom. The cast did a terrific job, and I felt bad that we were two of those people who left during intermission, but really, I was surprised Jelly lasted that long and didn’t complain. It was a decent way to kill a little time on a sea day, but if the weather had been nicer I would have preferred pool time to this show. So there you go, my two cents. I would have preferred to watch a movie in an indoor theater.

 

So at 4p I rewarded my darling angelic child with a visit to the Pets at Sea FINALLY. We had noticed it in the compass for the first time and made sure to be at Adventure Ocean right on time. There were two animal choices, a generic horse and lion, for $10/ea, plus some little outfits that were also $10.

 

 

 

 

They did kind of a modified Build-a-Bear thing with the rub-the-heart, and let Jelly use the foot pedal, and then about 5 minutes after we got back home it had a big hole in it, but whatever, she was THRILLED.

 

After that she was hungry, so grabbed a kummelweck… and three slices of pizza. It was raining a little, we popped into one of the Promenade shops and I got a ‘Cruising Queen’ ball cap, and that was about it.

 

Then it was time for our Izumi reservation.

[jimheslin]

The chocolate cake and ice cream aren't just a dream come true for 8 yr olds. That is always my favorite.

Very much enjoying your posts. Can't wait for more.

[CanadaCathi]

There are just a few things in life people should know not to screw with. You don’t hurt defenseless animals. You don’t make fun of my kid (because that’s for ME to do, I have to live with her every day). You don’t leave your CruiseCritic readers hanging when you’re almost done a review. And you don’t screw up my food. It’s super simple. I try to see the positive side and the good in things and all that, blah blah, and I believe in second chances and that everyone has an off day, but Oasis, TWO bad specialty dinner experiences? Shame, shame.

 

We had made the reservation for 7:30p because I had FINALLY remembered late in the trip that we didn’t like to eat early, and then of COURSE we were starving at 6p and it was PJ Party/Movie Night in Adventure Ocean so we wanted to eat earlier. Because that’s just how we roll. Inconsistently. So we headed to Izumi in the hopes they’d be able to squeeze us in. The hibachi side was packed, but that was ok because we’ve done that to death, and we were there for sushi anyhow. The sushi side was EMPTY; like, 2 other tables of people. So we should have had amazing, attentive service, right? Ha ha ha ha. Our waiter, Ib, was very nice but I’m not quite sure what he was doing with his time, as he was painfully slow from the moment we sat down.

 

We enjoyed the complimentary edamame and that was about it. We started with a soup appetizer; miso for Jelly, and wonton for me. Joke was on me, because the wonton soup was watered-down miso broth, which was startling, and it wasn’t terrific to begin with; even Jelly wasn’t a fan and she normally loves it. Jelly had enjoyed the California roll she’d made in class minus the avocado, so ordered that, and I ordered a rainbow roll, my favorite. They made her something with minced crab mixed with cream cheese, which almost made her burst into tears, and one of the pieces of sashimi on my roll was off and I gagged into my napkin, and then was horrified, and dumped it into my uneaten soup. We’re a class act. So that’s all I am going to say about that. I didn’t even take any pictures of our food. I took a picture of Jelly drawing because I was bored and it was taking so long for the badness to be made.

 

 

But we got 20% off, YES!

 

So, in summary – Oasis specialty restaurants lose quite badly to Freedom. I’ve heard that Giovanni’s is good, but we had eaten there on Freedom and weren’t crazy about it so skipped it. After I saw the galley tour and the bread they were making for it on Oasis there, I was kind of regretting it. So maybe try that? I dunno.I was sad. It was our last night, and we had a sad, quiet, lame meal. Boo. The MDR menu was lamb shank and stuff, can’t remember what else.

 

Two hours later at 8p we were finally free and I walked Jelly up to Adventure Ocean, where there was a minor issue with headcount (50 kids!) and not enough counselors, so we had to wait about 15 minutes to get in. No big deal. I was originally planning to go to the Solarium, but the thought of putting on/packing a wet bathing suit was just not something I could deal with, so instead I hung out in the room and compulsively re-packed. At 8:15p I thought I could see lights outside the balcony, but thought I was going crazy; nope, no crazier than usual, that was Florida. Noooooooooo!

 

And, Finally - Back to Life, Back to Reality

[gillme]

All I can say is THANK YOU!! You have brightened my days with your reports and I'm missing you already!!! We sailed on Freedom last May which we loved....had to cancel another Freedom in September (medical reasons) ...and going on Oasis this May (put the pins away that you've got ready to stick in me!!)

 

So just thank you! And safe journey home to you and Jelly.

[CanadaCathi]

All I can say is THANK YOU!! You have brightened my days with your reports and I'm missing you already!!! We sailed on Freedom last May which we loved....had to cancel another Freedom in September (medical reasons) ...and going on Oasis this May (put the pins away that you've got ready to stick in me!!)

 

So just thank you! And safe journey home to you and Jelly.

 

:-)

[CanadaCathi]

Day 8 – Florida and Home

Jelly and I woke up at 6:30a, threw the last few things in our bags, and headed down to self-disembark. Neither of us like to eat when we immediately wake up so we skipped breakfast this morning and planned to catch Chick Fil A at the airport. BECAUSE I CAN NEVER REMEMBER THEY ARE CLOSED ON SUNDAYS. Gahh. #MomFail.

 

 

 

We got to the Promenade at 6:50a, where of course there were a trillion other people already lined up, and got into line. I was pleasantly surprised when they actually started letting people off the ship at 7a, and the line moved very quickly. It took us approximately 30 minutes to move from there to the luggage hall, and then once there only 7 minutes to get to the security desk. Fantastic! WAYYYYYY better than last year. We were outside at the shuttle stop at 7:40a.

 

 

Celcius, people.

 

I used AA Transport this time, because I wasn’t happy with all the waiting around we did last year, and AA was terrific. MCO was a total zoo, which is pretty normal, and we finally got through security and to the food court around 10:15a, where I stood in line at Wendy’s for 50 minutes. FIFTY. And by then they were serving lunch, and it was gross, and we were sad again, but at least we had sweet tea. Our flights home were uneventful and on time, and everything was fine with the shuttle back in Toronto to get the car, and the car was there and safe and we were home by around 7p. I was smart and had booked Monday off work to catch up on my 700+ emails, but poor Jelly was sent off to school, and it was a very hard week for us both. There might have been tears.

 

And that was it!

 

I do have some Last Final Thoughts that I will put together for a final post. And then I will really truly have to let go and admit it's over. But that means I get to start planning the NEXT trip! OMG December 2018 dates are out, why didn't you tell me?!

[travelfool]

Following!!

[lbjen]

They've come a really long way with handing allergies/intolerances; the kitchen is really good about it and the menus are pretty varied. I think with enough notice they could take very good care of you. But - give them notice. When we did the galley brunch a woman said she couldn't have any of the desserts and they said they'd find her something - they brought her a bowl of what looked like orange jello, I was DYING, it was obviously NOT what she was expecting and she refused to eat it! But really, they do some great things if they have a heads up. And seriously - that salt. Worth it. Just got eat bread and salt. I'd pay $20 to do that.

 

Thanks, I'll give it a shot.

[CanadaCathi]

Final Thoughts

Summary – Is bigger always better? Not necessarily. There is a lot to love about the Oasis, namely Central Park and the AquaTheater, but I think we kind of liked Freedom a little more. We really don’t need all the extra stuff like the zipline and Boardwalk. I’m glad we did it, and we certainly enjoyed it, but we agreed we don’t feel a burning desire to return like we did with Freedom. The food was for the most part better on Freedom, namely the MDR and specialty dining, but we thought the WindBeneathMyWingsJammer food was way better on Oasis.

 

Despite the size and the number of people we never waited more than 2-3 minutes for an elevator, outside of expected crazy times like returning to the ship from port or after a show let out. We never waited more than 5 minutes in line for Guest Services, and all questions/issues were resolved right away. We never waited more than 2-3 minutes to be seated for dinner in the MDR.

 

Any regrets?

I’m disappointed we didn’t make it to any comedy-type shows, or the Come Fly With Me show. I like the shows. I wish we’d checked out the MDR for lunch on one of the sea days. I don’t feel like Jelly ate enough ice cream. I wish I’d eaten three pavlovas instead of just two. I wish I'd eaten fewer cheese rolls. I kind of wanted to keep track of how many small wonders there were and make sure we saw them all, especially when we got on board and I saw how excited Jelly was to find them, but I’m not going to cry about it. I wish I had eaten at the Solarium Bistro, or swum in the infinity pool. I wish I’d tried the tapas/wine flight at Vintages. I wish we’d eaten breakfast at Johnny Rockets.

 

Anything we learned on THIS cruise?

That Jelly definitely needs to pack her beach bag and mask/snorkel. That I need to pack a paperback novel for beach reading, because the older I get the more I just want to sit in a chair and relax, and I don’t want to take my tablet off ship (plus it doesn’t work so great in sun/heat). That I need to remember to take singles for tips to Labadee. That we need more underpants, there are never enough clean underpants. To make dining reservations for 7p or later whenever possible. To carry Tylenol in my beach bag. To teach Jelly how to use the camera because she swore she knew how, and then screwed up a potentially awesome pic of me doing that rope waterfall thing in Jamaica, and yes I’m a little bitter because pics or it didn’t happen.

 

Oh, and here are some final random pics.

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for hanging in there with us, and someday we hope to hang out with you! J

May all your future cruises be filled with happy memories in the making.

 

Cathi & Jelly

[wolfganghowell]

here's some fan mail:

 

But Cathi - I'm confused. You don't have a burning desire but your next 2 cruises are on Oasis? So you are going back to the big ships?

 

(I agree with you - we enjoyed our Oasis cruise and there were some things we liked better but overall we prefer Freedom and Voyager class.)

[Buffalo Joe Cruiser]

I really enjoyed your review! Thank you! We are going on the Allure in November.

[Pennyscandy]

Loved your down to earth and funny review. We will be on the oasis in May and can't wait. Have fun with your sweet daughter on your next adventure.

[CanadaCathi]

here's some fan mail:

 

But Cathi - I'm confused. You don't have a burning desire but your next 2 cruises are on Oasis? So you are going back to the big ships?

 

(I agree with you - we enjoyed our Oasis cruise and there were some things we liked better but overall we prefer Freedom and Voyager class.)

 

Excellent question. We want to check out a ship with water slides! (no, really, that's pretty much it - that, and I really, really want to check out Wonderland). Also, I'm a sucker for anything new, so I want to see the newer ships. And I kind of want to just confirm that we're really more small-ship girls, that it wasn't just a fluke. And, finally - no Freedom sailing for Christmas 2018. I just checked and literally just updated my signature. Otherwise I would TOTALLY be doing that.

Yay, real fan mail! :hearteyes:

[CanadaCathi]

I really enjoyed your review! Thank you! We are going on the Allure in November.

 

Thank you! Happy cruising!

[CanadaCathi]

Loved your down to earth and funny review. We will be on the oasis in May and can't wait. Have fun with your sweet daughter on your next adventure.

 

Thank you so much for all your pleasant and positive feedback, and have a WONDERFUL time!

[mrlddst]

Thanks for the recap!! I was so excited when I saw you posted a new review!! The adventures of Cathi and Jelly!! Can't wait until next year.

[CanadaCathi]

Thanks for the recap!! I was so excited when I saw you posted a new review!! The adventures of Cathi and Jelly!! Can't wait until next year.

 

You're welcome!

 

You and me both LOL!

[lovelycruiser87]

So the solarium is open at night? I thought it was a restaurant at night hubby and I would love to do some night time hot tub relaxing.

 

 

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[CanadaCathi]

So the solarium is open at night? I thought it was a restaurant at night hubby and I would love to do some night time hot tub relaxing.

 

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So the Solarium is the adults-only area, which includes several pools and hot tubs, as well as a bar and the Solarium Bistro (the restaurant). It's my understanding it's free for breakfast/lunch but that you have to pay for dinner. The menu looks amazing. At night it's absolutely GORGEOUS and very quiet/peaceful for hot tubbing, and also partially enclosed in the event of bad weather.

[TxStacey]

Thanks for your very entertaining review! You girls are precious and you are such a fun mom! Jelly is a lucky girl!

PS: You will love The Harmony! I'm hoping I will love Oasis after sailing Harmony last year...she is beautiful and the slides are super fun!

[Ellipooh]

An absolute delight to read. I waited for updates every day, as we take Oasis in three weeks. Thank you for all the helpful tips, I now plan to make good use of the Solarium. And i have even got DH on board (technically, off-board but you know what i mean) with the idea of a resort day pass.

 

You have a wonderful style and i hope Jelly knows what a terrific mom she has (that chocolate-chocolate-chocolate meal should have given her a clue).

[CanadaCathi]

Thanks for your very entertaining review! You girls are precious and you are such a fun mom! Jelly is a lucky girl!

PS: You will love The Harmony! I'm hoping I will love Oasis after sailing Harmony last year...she is beautiful and the slides are super fun!

 

You're welcome! Yes, slides, must try! I'm sure you'll love Oasis.

[CanadaCathi]

An absolute delight to read. I waited for updates every day, as we take Oasis in three weeks. Thank you for all the helpful tips, I now plan to make good use of the Solarium. And i have even got DH on board (technically, off-board but you know what i mean) with the idea of a resort day pass.

 

You have a wonderful style and i hope Jelly knows what a terrific mom she has (that chocolate-chocolate-chocolate meal should have given her a clue).

 

I'm so excited for you, three weeks, omg. Yes, the Solarium is a wonderful space, I hope to hear back what you think of it. And I hope you do a resort day pass, it's soooooooo relaxing.

 

Thank you. I think Jelly and I have a good idea how lucky we are to have each other :-). I give her a lot of guff, but she gets to do a LOT of fun stuff, so it balances out.

[lovelycruiser87]

Thanks for clearing that up, I thought the whole thing was closed at night for dinner so the dinner area is In a separate area and others(adults) can still use the pools and hot tubs. If that's the case I'm even more excited. I'm so looking forward to our July cruise

 

 

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[JRS1962]

So enjoyed your review! We are Oasis April of 2018! Did Allure last year April and leave on April 8th for first B2B on the Navigator :)

 

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