Repeat Oasis Itinerary or New Adventure Itinerary with Small Kids?

[Gatordad815]

Hi all! I’m looking at Spring break 2019 cruises and could use some input. As the title implies, I’m trying to choose between the Oasis and Adventure (I’ve elimated the non-RCL options after much deliberation and research). Even though Port Canaveral is by far more convenient for us than Fort Lauderdale, I hadn’t initially even considered the Oasis Western Itinerary (Labadee, Falmouth, Cozumel), as we will be doing that exact itinerary this May and as an adult who wants to see it all, I wanted some variety.

 

I thought I had settled on Adventure’s 8-night itinerary from Fort Lauderdale that same week (Labadee, St. Marteen, St. Thomas, St. Kitts) and overcome my initial trepidation about being on a “smaller” ship, reasoning there’s still plenty for my kids to do on the Adventure, including a neat-looking Splashaway Bay for sea days that my kids would LOVE.

 

Wrinkle: I learned last night the kiddie slide on Adventure at Splashaway Bay has a 42” minimum height requirement. I doubt my 3 year old son will be that tall by March 2019 (impossible to really know). At first I thought “no big deal”, but the more I think about this, the more it concerns me as we have 2 sea days in a row to end the trip and I know that any time we spend at the pool area he will be begging to go on that slide. His sister will be plenty big for it so he would be left out. Seems insignificant in the grand scheme of life, but if every time we are at the pool (which I hope will be a lot), he can’t do the one thing he really wants to do, it’s a bummer.

 

 

So now I’m considering Oasis again as their H2O zone doesn’t have similar height requirements. Overall, Oasis has more to do for my kids, particularly with the pool areas. And Port Canaveral is way more convenient. BUT, it would be a repeat itinerary and not the most exciting one at that.

 

 

The adult in me wants that Adventure itinerary but the parent in me thinks Oasis is probably a better choice.

 

 

As the kids get older I’ll be able to pick more exciting itineraries that I really want, so I’m thinking repeating the Oasis itinerary won’t necessarily be a bad thing, but interested in opinions from people who have repeated itineraries or sailed both of these ships with small kids. Which ship would you choose for Spring Break if these were your options?

 

Thanks for any input!

Edited March 12, 2018 by Gatordad815

[cb at sea]

It will be a totally different experience with the kids, than it will be when it's an "adults" cruise. No fear! Even a "repeat" itinerary will have a different "feel", due to passenger mix.

 

I don't think the slide issue is that big of a deal. Kids learn all the time that there are limits, and rules....and the NEXT time he cruises, he will be big enough....something to look forward to!

[Starry Eyes]

I’d probably pick Oasis again this time since it sounds like a better fit for the kids. Plenty more years ahead to look forward to other islands.

 

Or if budget allows you to tie up some cash, you could place refundable deposits on both cruises and see which feels right (and how much the little guy has grown) as the date approaches.

[drrich2]

The water slide issue will be big with the kid, and more so than you expect, because once he sees he can't get on the purple slide, he'll want to get one the little yellow one where little kids are playing, and he may find out he's banned from that one, too.

 

I recently ran into this ugly issue - here's a link to the thread. Others have encountered it, too.

 

Put some baggy shorts on the kid, or find swim diapers he can wear. I chose AOS over Oasis-class to hit new islands, so I understand the appeal, and you might, too, but be aware of the issues.

 

Richard.

[Grandma Dazzles]

 

Put some baggy shorts on the kid, or find swim diapers he can wear. I chose AOS over Oasis-class to hit new islands, so I understand the appeal, and you might, too, but be aware of the issues.

 

Richard.

 

Please don't do the swim diapers! Cruise lines work hard to prevent noro and other viruses. Babies/young children and adults who need protection are not allowed in pools for very valid reasons. One accident and the pool is shut down for a long time.

[Gatordad815]

The water slide issue will be big with the kid, and more so than you expect, because once he sees he can't get on the purple slide, he'll want to get one the little yellow one where little kids are playing, and he may find out he's banned from that one, too.

 

I recently ran into this ugly issue - here's a link to the thread. Others have encountered it, too.

 

Put some baggy shorts on the kid, or find swim diapers he can wear. I chose AOS over Oasis-class to hit new islands, so I understand the appeal, and you might, too, but be aware of the issues.

 

Richard.

 

Actually your story is the reason I’m thinking about switching to Oasis and repeating the same itinerary. So thank you for sharing something I never would have considered (especially looking at how small that purple slide is-most active 2 year olds would do fine on it).

 

Part of me thinks I’ll have plenty of future trips to try new islands so I should stick to the ship that’s best for the kids until he is big enough to enjoy that dumb little slide on the Splashaway Bay ships! The other part of me realizes my kids are privileged to have a cruise planned at all, as when I was a kid vacations like this weren’t even a consideration for my family, so he will be fine no matter what ship we are on.

 

Can I ask, if you had it to do over again, would you choose Oasis over Adventure even if it meant going to places you had been the prior year? Or stick to Adventure?

 

Thanks again for sharing the info. It actually is a consideration for a number of families as they choose the right ship, mine being one...

[drrich2]

The little yellow slide is in a special section intended to kids in swim diapers; it's legit there, that's what the section is for. The problem is, they won't let kids under 42" (who can't use the purple slide) use the yellow one unless they are wearing swim diapers (or staff in theory think they are), even if the kid's old/large enough the ship's swim diapers don't fit, and the parents attest the kid is fully potty trained.

 

So, if you've got a kid under 42" tall, regardless of how well potty trained he/she is, and that kid's likely to want to use the little yellow slide (basically the only alternative at that point), you'd better make it look like the kid's got (or might have?) a swim diaper. Probably easier with boys, who are likely to we are trunks. The swim bottoms on little girls tend to be scantier (which strikes me as nuts, but I suppose that's another discussion not worth veering off into), which tends to make the absence obvious.

 

When all the other kids are playing on the water slides & one youngster is left out, that's a problem. With some advance thought, you can probably solve it. That's why I'm posting about it.

 

Richard.

[Hopetotravel]

Please don't do the swim diapers! Cruise lines work hard to prevent noro and other viruses. Babies/young children and adults who need protection are not allowed in pools for very valid reasons. One accident and the pool is shut down for a long time.

The section with the little yellow slide IS only for kids with swim diapers. It isn't a big place and the water is only ankle deep, cleaned frequently. Swim diapers aren't allowed in any of the other pools,hot tubs or the other kid area in Splashaway Bay.

[Hopetotravel]

Richard, I guess we posted at the same time. Same experience. I went to Walmart between cruises ( we were B2B) and got large swim diapers.

[drrich2]

Can I ask, if you had it to do over again, would you choose Oasis over Adventure even if it meant going to places you had been the prior year? Or stick to Adventure?

 

Glad to help! Our daughter has been with us on 5 cruises now. I was raised in suburban & (mainly) rural Arkansas; knowing I'd been born in Florida gave me a sense of connection to an exotic place, more interesting to me, less mundane. My 1st cruise (& 1st time out of the U.S.) was our honeymoon in 2006; I'd just turned 37.

 

I want our little girl to grow up with a sense of connection some some special exotic places & be familiar with travel. She just turned 5, has flown multiple times, been to various foreign (Caribbean) holdings, played in the ocean, cruised 5 times, had a monkey on her head...

 

Jami & I hadn't been to St. Kitts or Curacao, and none of us had been to St. John (reached via excursion); all those and Aruba were new to Kadence. I know she probably won't remember much when she's older, but she'll know.

 

Because each year I make a big, 240-page large landscape image-wrap hardbound book on Blurb (there are other book-making services; this is the one I'm more familiar with). It's divided into chapters, and depicts photos with explanatory captions by month. It also reminds us to do something 'worth writing about' each month.

 

Got the inspiration years ago from the back of a Jack Nicholson movie cover at a Blockbuster Video (blast from the past!), 'The Story of Us.' Our lives are a story. So now I turn our family's into a book. I like Blurb, but I'm not pitching it as the best; I'm not that familiar with the competition.

 

All that said, for a little kid (who couldn't care less if she's on St. Thomas or St. Kitts), Oasis-class rocks. The carousel, the AquaTheater, the play structures at the back of the Boardwalk, the Dreamworks Experience, it's a better onboard experience for a little kid. Adventure's water slides are a pro. for kids who can use them; I was tempted by Harmony of the Seas (Oasis-class with slides), but that'd have cost a good bit more (even factoring in airfare).

 

Richard.

[peckfamily5]

I'd definitely go with Oasis. Besides the kiddie pool area they have the carousel and some fun small climbing objects on the Boardwalk. We took our granddaughters last April and they LOVED the Oasis.

[bobbie0253]

I think I’ll pack the unnecessary swim diapers for my 4 yr old. [emoji37]thanks for the heads up

 

 

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[brevardcruiser]

I’ll let you know how the repeat is for us. We are repeating oasis in May minus one port. We were supposed to go eastern last year but hurricanes changed that!

 

 

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[Gatordad815]

I’ll let you know how the repeat is for us. We are repeating oasis in May minus one port. We were supposed to go eastern last year but hurricanes changed that!

 

 

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Well actually we are doing Oasis twice in 2018 (Western in May & Eastern in November), so spring break would be the 3rd time on Oasis and second time on the same Western Itinerary. Perhaps we are on the same May sailing!

 

It looks like such a fantastic ship for families (with relatively good pricing), it’s hard to justify driving to Fort Lauderdale for a smaller ship with fewer kids activities & a small slide that’ll disappoint my kid all week... (even though the itinerary looks awesome to me)....

[Gatordad815]

Glad to help! Our daughter has been with us on 5 cruises now. I was raised in suburban & (mainly) rural Arkansas; knowing I'd been born in Florida gave me a sense of connection to an exotic place, more interesting to me, less mundane. My 1st cruise (& 1st time out of the U.S.) was our honeymoon in 2006; I'd just turned 37.

 

I want our little girl to grow up with a sense of connection some some special exotic places & be familiar with travel. She just turned 5, has flown multiple times, been to various foreign (Caribbean) holdings, played in the ocean, cruised 5 times, had a monkey on her head...

 

Jami & I hadn't been to St. Kitts or Curacao, and none of us had been to St. John (reached via excursion); all those and Aruba were new to Kadence. I know she probably won't remember much when she's older, but she'll know.

 

Because each year I make a big, 240-page large landscape image-wrap hardbound book on Blurb (there are other book-making services; this is the one I'm more familiar with). It's divided into chapters, and depicts photos with explanatory captions by month. It also reminds us to do something 'worth writing about' each month.

 

Got the inspiration years ago from the back of a Jack Nicholson movie cover at a Blockbuster Video (blast from the past!), 'The Story of Us.' Our lives are a story. So now I turn our family's into a book. I like Blurb, but I'm not pitching it as the best; I'm not that familiar with the competition.

 

All that said, for a little kid (who couldn't care less if she's on St. Thomas or St. Kitts), Oasis-class rocks. The carousel, the AquaTheater, the play structures at the back of the Boardwalk, the Dreamworks Experience, it's a better onboard experience for a little kid. Adventure's water slides are a pro. for kids who can use them; I was tempted by Harmony of the Seas (Oasis-class with slides), but that'd have cost a good bit more (even factoring in airfare).

 

Richard.

 

Love the book idea! I need to figure out what to do with the 20,000 pictures we have of our kids over the last 4 years!

 

As a Florida native, I know we can find new Adventures as the kids get older much easier than people who have to fly for a cruise vacation. I was hoping spring break next year would be one of those times, but I know we can have a fantastic time on Oasis (perhaps a better time, given the amount of time we will spend on the ship).

 

Thank you again for the info and input.

[brevardcruiser]

Well actually we are doing Oasis twice in 2018 (Western in May & Eastern in November), so spring break would be the 3rd time on Oasis and second time on the same Western Itinerary. Perhaps we are on the same May sailing!

 

 

 

It looks like such a fantastic ship for families (with relatively good pricing), it’s hard to justify driving to Fort Lauderdale for a smaller ship with fewer kids activities & a small slide that’ll disappoint my kid all week... (even though the itinerary looks awesome to me)....

 

 

 

May 27 sailing! Kids out of school on 25!

 

 

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[Gatordad815]

May 27 sailing! Kids out of school on 25!

 

 

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May 6 here- taking advantage of the lower prices while kids are still in preschool! Have a great time!