A Quickie Review of the Oasis of the Seas--Just off her today!

[CarnyMan]

Well, we just got off the Oasis of the Seas today after our first cruise on one of the new RCL megaships! I wanted to post a short review while things were still fresh on my mind. The older I get the quicker things leave the brain, LOL!

Here it goes.....

Embarkation was an absolute breeze! The best we ever had for any cruise.

I am still in awe of the size of this ship. The biggest we have been on before this one is the Carnival Dream. OMG, It looks like a tugboat next to the Oasis!! But, does bigger mean better? There are positives and, sorry to say, some negatives. Overall our cruise was really good but we have never had a bad cruise and we have been cruising for over 20 years.

The ship is truly beautiful and amazing. I loved the Central Park neighborhood with it's plants, flowers and trees. And the sound of crickets at night as you strolled through this oasis was a lovely touch. The royal promenade is big and loud and gives one the feel of being in a mall with all its shops and restaurants. The Boardwalk reminded me of being at the county fair with its carousel, hot dog stand and ice cream shop. I loved this area of the ship also. To be honest, I just simply cannot fathom what it took to build this ship! Everyone that cruises should cruise at least once on one of these megaships. As big as this ship is I found it easy to navigate. We quickly learned how to get to the different neighborhoods from our cabin, which was a central park balcony cabin. It never felt crowded on this ship unless you were attending an event/activity in one of the bars and that is where one of the negatives shows up for the Oasis. The bars were mostly too small to handle the crowd during an event like the kareoke bar or the Dazzles nightclub. Dazzles was especially a bad design because it was long and narrow which made it impossible to sit where you could see the stage unless you were in the very front of the room.

There was never a long wait for the elevators which is very nice when someone in your party is wheelchair bound and must use the elevator all the time. This is a big positive.

I advise everyone to see all the shows. They are pretty much incredible. "Cats" might not be for everyone's taste but, for me, I loved it. The ice skating show is a MUST SEE! We made our reservations online weeks before we left and had no problem getting in to see the shows. You will see stuff in these shows that you will not see on any other cruise ship. They are that good.

We did not go to any of the comedy shows because none of them are family friendly.

I loved the park view from our cabin balcony but DW said she prefers the ocean view balconies. The cabin was clean and a little on the small side but the balcony was very adequate in size. I liked the shower doors instead of the usual curtain on other cruise lines. The layout could have been better, the closets were against the bed which made it difficult to get stuff in and out of them. I want to stress that it is EXTREMELY IMPORTANT to keep your balcony door closed completely if you want the room to stay cool. Once it gets hot from the door being open it takes a long time to cool back down. And if you want your room to be quiet MAKE SURE YOU TURN THE KNOB ON THE DOOR because this will seal out any unwanted noise very effectively.

NOW FOR THE FOOD....

We ate every dinner in the main dining room called The Grande. It was very grand looking with crystal chandeliers, beige leather chairs and sparkling decorative mirrors on the walls. However, the food was less than grand, at best it was average. I had prime rib, tiger shrimp, lobster, pork loin, pasta and a couple other items that I cannot remember right now. The shrimp and lobster were good, the prime rib was terrible and the pasta and pork loin were edible. Desserts were unimpressive. I had creme brulee every night but one. It was very good creme brulee but got a little monotonous. Note: If you like chocolate chip cookies they are excellent but not on the menu. The only place you can get them is the dining room or room service.

Buffet food was typically average. Buffet hamburgers were tolerable. Breakfast was actually better in the Windjammer than in the dining room. You had many more choices at the buffet including crepes made to order. Some days we didn't eat lunch because we ate breakfast so late.

We only ate at one of the "pay for" restaurants and that was Johnny Rockets. The hamburgers there are MUCH better than the ones in the Windjammer and the milkshakes are absolutely divine. If you are in a park view balcony room you get a free meal at one of the restaurants so take advantage of this perk!

One really ugly surprise was finding out that room service requires a $7.95 fee!!! No matter what you order even if it is just a plate of cookies and milk you have to pay the $7.95. This is a first for us. We haven't cruised RCL in several years so I don't know when they started this but it is ridiculous.

Overall I have to say that the food is a negative for the Oasis.

Service....

All service, and I do mean ALL, was excellent. Every employee seemed happy and greeted you with a smile and a cheerful hello. We had to go to guest services a few times for various issues and they were all handled quickly, efficiently and professionally. The Oasis staff are a great bunch of people.

On sea days it can be difficult to find a lounge chair on the pool deck and the solarium area. But we found this wonderful treasure called the SUN DECK! On deck 14 go all the way to the front of the ship and you can use this sun deck with very few people and lots of empty loungers! It's quiet, less windy and generally blissful. (Be sure to turn in your pool towels or you'll get charged $25 per towel)

Ports: We had already been to all of them before so nothing much to say about Nassau, St Thomas and St Maarten. We did a little shopping and went to Magen's Bay beach.

Things I noticed....

Very few announcements over the speakers, especially the ones in the cabins ( a positive)

Photographers were not pushy at all to take your picture (a positive)

If you don't like rowdy and raunchy then don't go to the Globe and Atlas pub (a negative for me)

If you need something just ask....my FIL needed a shower chair and the room steward brought one promptly once we asked him

Check your account daily in your room TV because they do make mistakes and are quick to correct them (somehow a glass of wine got charged to us and we don't drink alcohol at all so we knew it was a mistake)

 

Overall we are glad that we cruised on a megaship and made many great memories. People on the ship were very polite and kids were well behaved. We enjoyed just going to the various dance bars and watching the people dance. Many cute older couples were dancing while the young set sat and watched them. Getting off the ship was a pleasure...it was the first time that we did the self disembark with our luggage and it could not have been easier. We were on the road headed home by 7:20 am.

If you have any questions I will try to answer them. Hope this little review helps.

[Cindylovestocruise]

My husband and I also got off the boat today. We usually get an oceanview balcony room but decided to try the central park balcony. Mostly because of the bottle of wine and lunch at Giovani's perk. The violin music in the park was very enjoyable in the evening.

We cruise alot and decided not to eat in the MDR on this cruise. We really enjoyed eating at the Solarium Bistro. We also enjoy the speciality restaurants.

Disembarkation was a breeze today. It was the fastest we've ever gotten through customs.

 

Sent from my SM-T700 using Forums mobile app

[easyboy]

Thanks for your review.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[Pennyscandy]

Nice review, thanks. We are up next, leaving the 21st. Can't wait.

[nyllrap]

Thanks! We are sailing on the Oasis in September.

[flamingos]

We also just got off. I will say that the most shocking new experience for us was the 3:40 a.m. wake-up by the captain, looking for the missing 14 year old girl. I ran to open the curtains to make sure we weren't sinking, as soon as I was jarred awake. Her parents must have been frantic and I'm glad she was found, but holy moly it was startling.

 

I agree, the ship was stunning and the staff were all wonderful, not a bad experience from anyone, and quite a list of names for the comments section in the survey.

 

I was disappointed in Schooner's, as the 'piano bar' was used for other purposes some evenings, and the man that we saw was using an assist machine with backup vocals and instrumentals. We never heard any traditional piano bar music.

 

I concur with the MDR menu - it was good, but not great, and the dessert menu was actually pretty boring. You should have tried the pavlova and the cherries jubilee. We had My Time dining, signed up for 8 p.m each night. After the 2nd night when we accidentally got the same waiter, we requested him each night and were easily accommodated at our own table, like traditional dining, and it was great. We ate breakfasts and lunches in the Windjammer, the Park Cafe and the Solarium. Wonderful smoked salmon and mackerel, good oatmeal with lots of mix-ins taken from the yogurt/muesli area - and give your waiter you seapass and a mimosa appears, albeit a few minutes later. The miso soup in the Solarium was wonderful - ask for extra shrimp.

 

The comedy show was great, but indeed adult. I loved the sand artist in the ice show! Come Fly with Me and the Aqua Show were fun too - and after the first night, there were lots of available seats.

 

We had an ocean balcony on Deck 8, which meant that we could walk to the Park Cafe for espresso each morning, and instead of walking down the hallway of cabins to get from fore to aft, we could always walk through Central Park. It was wonderful.

[mrpayroll]

Glad you had a good trip. We love the Oasis class ships for the different shows. We enjoyed all of them. Wife loved Cats on Oasis. I loved Mama Mia on Allure.

[mchin]

Thanks for the review. Glad you enjoyed your first time on a mega ship. We will be on Oasis again next month.

[whitsmom]

Thanks for the review! We sail in July and we will be doing self disembark for the first time too.

[George C]

Thanks for review, have long wait till we try Oasis for 1st time in Nov 2018

[SmoothFlying]

Thanks for review, have long wait till we try Oasis for 1st time in Nov 2018

 

 

Isn't she simply BEAUTIFUL!?! :) My wife and I did the OTS in 10/2013 and were amazed at the ship. We had a balcony deck 12 starboard side aft (actually the fourth ocean balcony from the end).My wife is an ocean balcony cruise addict ! We had only sailed 2 other RCL ships before the Oasis, we sailed the Navigator of the Seas twice, in 2008/2012 and we thought that she was HUGH? We also thought the Oasis was so beautiful inside as outside, with the gray carpeting w/gray and salmon wallpaper. Even the public areas at the elevators were sparkling clean. We definitely had no problems with either the embarkation or the beauty of the ship. We though it was so wonderful that when they opened the buffet at dinner, the entire wait staff would line up and clap and profusely thank YOU for dinning with them.One night, I told them, 'WE ought be clapping for YOU ! You are the ones, doing all the work!'.

 

You actually had the ports we wanted to visit but my wife could only get that particular week in Oct off so we had to settle for the Jamaica cruise. We may not do another mega ship cruise again, but I honestly believe after Oasis, it just couldn't be a better (maybe there are bigger) ship as the Oasis. Of course this just IMHO. :) we have the T.V. 'Mighty Ships' released in2009 taped and even though it's been almost four years since we've sailed on her, every time I watch that recording, I STILL get goosebumps seeing that beautiful HUGH white mountain, sailing effortlessly on that cobalt blue water.

 

Mac

[cleophus12]

Thanks for your review CarnyMan. You saved me a lot of time and trouble. I agree with almost everything you said. We also loved the Oasis as this was our first cruise on the Mega-ships. We experienced so many pleasant surprises on this ship.

Embarkation and Debarkation: Embarkation and debarkation were super smooth. We arrived at the port around 10:30 and were onboard by 11:40. When they began the TV crawl that boarding would begin at 12, we were a little disappointed, but they began much closer to 11:30 and boarding went very quickly. Debarkation was also very simple. We got in line about 6:15 and were in our car on the way to Disneyworld by 7.

Shows: We thoroughly enjoyed Oasis of Dreams and feel it is a "don't miss" show. The others were just ok IMO. Come fly with me is very technologically advanced, but the story line is somewhat weak, and the songs appear randomly selected. The show just felt old to me--just like something we would have seen on a cruise 30 years ago (except for the acrobatics which were great). The Dangerous Magic headliners were a little flat. Their show seemed better suited for a smaller venue, and they didn’t seem very dangerous. We did enjoy the ice show, and I saw the adult comedy show which was pretty good. We loved watching movies in the Aqua Theatre and saw LaLa Land and Rogue One there.

Crowds: We were also very impressed with the crowd management on the Oasis. I had heard the horror stories about the crowds and lines everywhere and we simply did not find that to be true. I’ve been on much smaller ships with longer lines to disembark at ports. We walked off at St. Thomas and St Marteen with no trouble or delay.

Stateroom: Our cabin 11276 was an oceanview balcony and it was great. Our stateroom attendant was also amazing. I will say that if I were able to make the choice, I would choose a cabin with the bed by the balcony. I like to go out on the balcony early in the morning, but since my daughter’s bed was there, I couldn’t go out without disturbing her.

Dining and Drinking: We ate several meals in the MDR on My Time dining. We did have the same wait staff twice and they were terrific. In fact, everyone who waited on us in there was great. We found the food to be quite good. My favorites were the Mushroom Risotto and the Rack of Lamb. Our FNDR dinner was in Chops and it was outstanding. We also ate in the Solarium Bistro for dinner one night and loved it. My husband also loved his lunch there one day. I agree with your assessment of the desserts. They all sort of taste the same. The Crème Brulee was good though. All service was excellent, but bar service was the most frustrating. We only used the pool bars, and the staff was stretched way too thin. Simply no tenough bar tenders for the amount of guests they are required to serve. This is not the fault of the bar tenders themselves. They were great. I purchased the ten drink card on Day 4, and felt it was a good value since we could share it.

One more tip: I would encourage everyone to make sure you get that first boarding picture taken. My hurried husband insisted we skip it and we never found a single one of our pictures in the photo gallery.

I would gladly cruise on another Oasis class ship. It was a wonderful trip.

So now that I've looked over my post, I see than I spent more time than I meant to. Your review was thorough and on point.

[cruising maniac]

Dear Cleophus12 - Could you please tell me about the drink card? First I have heard about that. Thanks to everyone for the reviews.

[phantom728]

We also just got off. I will say that the most shocking new experience for us was the 3:40 a.m. wake-up by the captain, looking for the missing 14 year old girl. I ran to open the curtains to make sure we weren't sinking, as soon as I was jarred awake. Her parents must have been frantic and I'm glad she was found, but holy moly it was startling.

 

We were just off Oasis and that was the first ever being awoken in the middle of the night by the captain (and we cruised thru hurricane Sandy on Explorer). I thought the same thing that something was wrong with the ship:eek:. I was glad she was found, but really was scary at first.

 

Otherwise - great cruise!

[jjtt]

I also have a question about the drink card. How do you know if it is offered on our sailing? Meaning where did you see it advertised? What is the cost and can you purchase more than one? Is it only offered for a short period of time and at a certain location? Thank you in advance.

[Clarea]

I also have a question about the drink card. How do you know if it is offered on our sailing? Meaning where did you see it advertised? What is the cost and can you purchase more than one? Is it only offered for a short period of time and at a certain location? Thank you in advance.

I've seen it advertised in the Cruise Compass and at bars. Just ask bartenders.

[SherriZ366]

thanks for all the information. We sail on OA on 8-20-2017 -- our second time on the ship.

[flamingos]

I also have a question about the drink card. How do you know if it is offered on our sailing? Meaning where did you see it advertised? What is the cost and can you purchase more than one? Is it only offered for a short period of time and at a certain location? Thank you in advance.

 

It will be on the Royal Caribbean website: Already Booked; Cruise Planner; Beverage Packages. Get the price and then keep watching, as there are occasional sales at 20% and sometimes even 30% off. If you prebuy before the cruise, it's already on your SeaPass, and you can walk straight to the nearest bar and get a drink. ;-)

[John&LaLa]

It will be on the Royal Caribbean website: Already Booked; Cruise Planner; Beverage Packages. Get the price and then keep watching, as there are occasional sales at 20% and sometimes even 30% off. If you prebuy before the cruise, it's already on your SeaPass, and you can walk straight to the nearest bar and get a drink. ;-)

Drink card, other than coffee, is never in the planner. It is a desperate attempt to boost alcohol sales if the bar revenue is beneath projections.

 

Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Forums mobile app

[John&LaLa]

Thanks for your review CarnyMan. You saved me a lot of time and trouble. I agree with almost everything you said. We also loved the Oasis as this was our first cruise on the Mega-ships. We experienced so many pleasant surprises on this ship.

Embarkation and Debarkation: Embarkation and debarkation were super smooth. We arrived at the port around 10:30 and were onboard by 11:40. When they began the TV crawl that boarding would begin at 12, we were a little disappointed, but they began much closer to 11:30 and boarding went very quickly. Debarkation was also very simple. We got in line about 6:15 and were in our car on the way to Disneyworld by 7.

Shows: We thoroughly enjoyed Oasis of Dreams and feel it is a "don't miss" show. The others were just ok IMO. Come fly with me is very technologically advanced, but the story line is somewhat weak, and the songs appear randomly selected. The show just felt old to me--just like something we would have seen on a cruise 30 years ago (except for the acrobatics which were great). The Dangerous Magic headliners were a little flat. Their show seemed better suited for a smaller venue, and they didn’t seem very dangerous. We did enjoy the ice show, and I saw the adult comedy show which was pretty good. We loved watching movies in the Aqua Theatre and saw LaLa Land and Rogue One there.

Crowds: We were also very impressed with the crowd management on the Oasis. I had heard the horror stories about the crowds and lines everywhere and we simply did not find that to be true. I’ve been on much smaller ships with longer lines to disembark at ports. We walked off at St. Thomas and St Marteen with no trouble or delay.

Stateroom: Our cabin 11276 was an oceanview balcony and it was great. Our stateroom attendant was also amazing. I will say that if I were able to make the choice, I would choose a cabin with the bed by the balcony. I like to go out on the balcony early in the morning, but since my daughter’s bed was there, I couldn’t go out without disturbing her.

Dining and Drinking: We ate several meals in the MDR on My Time dining. We did have the same wait staff twice and they were terrific. In fact, everyone who waited on us in there was great. We found the food to be quite good. My favorites were the Mushroom Risotto and the Rack of Lamb. Our FNDR dinner was in Chops and it was outstanding. We also ate in the Solarium Bistro for dinner one night and loved it. My husband also loved his lunch there one day. I agree with your assessment of the desserts. They all sort of taste the same. The Crème Brulee was good though. All service was excellent, but bar service was the most frustrating. We only used the pool bars, and the staff was stretched way too thin. Simply no tenough bar tenders for the amount of guests they are required to serve. This is not the fault of the bar tenders themselves. They were great. I purchased the ten drink card on Day 4, and felt it was a good value since we could share it.

One more tip: I would encourage everyone to make sure you get that first boarding picture taken. My hurried husband insisted we skip it and we never found a single one of our pictures in the photo gallery.

I would gladly cruise on another Oasis class ship. It was a wonderful trip.

So now that I've looked over my post, I see than I spent more time than I meant to. Your review was thorough and on point.

Oasis pictures are usually in binders with your stateroom number on the spine. Great system.

 

Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Forums mobile app

[jjtt]

I've seen it advertised in the Cruise Compass and at bars. Just ask bartenders.

Thanks Bob! You are once again a wealth of knowledge!

[cleophus12]

Dear Cleophus12 - Could you please tell me about the drink card? First I have heard about that. Thanks to everyone for the reviews.

The drink card was sold at most of the bars on the 4th day of the cruise. It was $79 for ten drinks and the bartenders punch your card each time you get a drink. Be warned, gratuity is added so the total comes out to approximately $93. Unlike the drink packages, the drink card is shareable. Once you purchase it, you can let anyone in your party use it. It worked great for us because my daughter and I were each able to have our pool drink and a couple extras to spare. I also found that most bartenders did not give me a receipt when I used the card. They punched it and sent me on my way.

[cleophus12]

Oasis pictures are usually in binders with your stateroom number on the spine. Great system.

 

Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Forums mobile app

It is a great system. However, my understand is that it only works if you do the boarding picture for facial recognition. We skipped that step and no pictures were ever in our binder. Furthermore, we never found a single one of our pictures in the gallery. It was kind of a bummer, but it was our fault completely.

[DISFANS3]

Great trip report..

[whalerowner]

Nice review, thanks. We are up next, leaving the 21st. Can't wait.

We too are on the 21st sailing:cool: