Carnival Diamond cruises on the RCI Oasis

[woodman]

;) Originally I was reluctant to post this type of review on the Carnival board but then thought it the best place for it. Hope you all agree.We booked a cruise on the Oasis departing on Sept.10,2017 (LOL)Like that would happen right? We had heard so much about this ship we had to see it for ourselves. The cruise was cut short to a 4 day cruise departing on Sept.13. We got back 50% of the fare and shore charges which was more then fair plus 50% off a future cruise. Now we have 45 cruises on Carnival and this was our third on RCI. Now we all know it is impossible to cruise from one line to another and not compare right?So I had to give in to the comparison.

First some of the good.

The ship itself was fantastic, the grandest ship we have ever been on. It is big and beautiful in almost every area. The entertainment was spectacular almost enough to make me think about cruising more on RCI. More on the entertainment later. The staff was just as friendly and willing to help as we have found on Carnival.Our cabin was on deck 7 facing forward (obstructed ocean view). It had a large window overlooking the bow of the ship that had to be 5 or 6 feet wide by 8 foot.A fun ocean view for sure.

The not so good and ho hum.

Most of the food was not what we expected. The Market place was confusing and the food was really cafeteria quality.

We purchased a 3 restaurant package which included Chops. $85 per person, not so bad. The first one we went to was the Italian restaurant that was just so-so.The second one was 150 Central Park. Sort of a French style. Again the food was just so -so. The last was Chops the steak house. Hard to describe but for the most part the food was good.

Nowhere near as good as the Carnival steak house,not even close. We walked away wondering what all the loyal RCI fans found so great.The last dinner we had was in the MDR and it turned out to be the best one of the cruise. Go figure right? Sorry we did not have all the dinners in the MDR.

The ship is big and confusing to the first time cruiser,the promenade is nothing but a shopping mall with in your face sales people selling stuff. There were a few bars along the promenade all very expensive we thought. We were in one club and ordered 2 glasses of red wine. The tab was $28. We drank it very slowly. My last comment on the ship has to do with the cleanliness of the ship. It is dirty from the couch in our cabin the carpet in the cabin along with the carpet in the halls.They were all dirty. Wherever we sat in a bar or restaurant with wood tables and chairs the arms of the chairs and table top was sticky. In the 4 days we were on the ship we never noticed any one cleaning the public areas.Again we came away wondering what other people saw that we missed.

We were on an empty ship and enjoyed all it had to offer. I kept wondering what it would be like with 6700 passengers. On this cruise we were 2 of only 2500 passengers who were able to take this 4 day cruise instead of canceling it.There were no reservations needed for any of the show and plenty of good seating for all.The highlighter for the cruise was a 3 hour production of the Broadway show "Cats" The dancers and actors were all top notch.What a show.The ice show was another one featuring world famous skaters.Great show also.The water show had champion divers from around the world that amazed us all. On the last day there was a party on what is called the Boardwalk.Cakes candy cupcakes drinks(ice tea, lemon aid etc) the band playing. Dixieland.There was a large cake maybe 4ftX30 " decorated as a American flag. Iced with real whipped cream and other icings. I had to have 2 pieces. It ended with a comedy show put on be the divers around the diving pool. Great party.

All in all we really enjoyed most of the food and service on the ship but would not go back on it with 6700 passengers. :cool:

[easyboy]

Thanks for the feedback. Sounds like your shortened cruise worked well for you.

 

 

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[nhsails]

Thank you Woodman for the review.

Believe Oasis is 5400 passenger capacity.

Oasis class is unlike any other and was designed specifically as such. This class in particular was with new younger families in mind that want a more resort style of cruise experience. The ships are the destination. For those of us who've been around forever it's hard to absorb the concept. Took me a couple of sailings now I enjoy it with the grands, so many more options for them. Food, as always is subjective. My best meal in a cruise ever was actually on Oasis, my worse was a Carnival, go figure. Safe journeys

[Budget Queen]

A very nice balanced review. You have a lot of cruises just on Carnival. They certainly do a good job too, but I find their itineraries way to limited to just stick with them. They are my top choice for my snorkel cruises.

 

Hopefully you will take advantage of your discounts and maybe work your way up to benefits of upper tiers with RCI? They have excellent itineraries and the Diamond and above tiers have nice perks as well.

I only post the "perks" since it's stated what tier you are on Carnival, but it really doesn't matter when comparing cruises anyway. :)

 

Many more to you.

[prettybrowneyes]

Thank you for your review. My husband and I sail on the Oasis in November after having sailed with Carnival 16 times. We have been curious for years about Royal Caribbean and finally decided to "bite the bullet".

 

I can't wait to come back and share my thoughts.

 

 

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[gkbiiii]

Well I am a Diamond, near Diamond Plus and agree with your reviews of Royal's dining, & excessively expensive drinks.  Sadly, most of the food has deteriorated over the pat 10 years.  Once you get to be Diamond the big benefits begin, such as the Diamond Lounge and the 3 comped drinks per day, on your card.  But I am wanting to book 36 days on the new Mardi Gras ship, leaving from Europe.  That ships could surpass what Royal has done to date.  I really want to try out this new ship and would recommend MSC Yacht Club and their status match to Black Card.

[Mikew0805]

4 hours ago, gkbiiii said:

Well I am a Diamond, near Diamond Plus and agree with your reviews of Royal's dining, & excessively expensive drinks.  Sadly, most of the food has deteriorated over the pat 10 years.  Once you get to be Diamond the big benefits begin, such as the Diamond Lounge and the 3 comped drinks per day, on your card.  But I am wanting to book 36 days on the new Mardi Gras ship, leaving from Europe.  That ships could surpass what Royal has done to date.  I really want to try out this new ship and would recommend MSC Yacht Club and their status match to Black Card.

I like both lines very much, but I do not understand what you mean by this?

[gkbiiii]

This is the first truly new ship design by Carnival in over 30 Years.  They could out do Royal's ships for the first time.  All other Carnival ships are just an enlarged version of the same basic structural design, with different decorating.