Quick Review Oasis of the Seas VS NCL Away Class

[Sotermarler]

We have been loyal to NCL but wanted to try something different.  I like new ships and new experiences. In the past we (DH and DS 10) have sailed the GA, BA, Escape and the Jade.  We really like the big ships for lots of activities with bells and whistles.  We sailed on 10/7/18 on the Oasis of the Seas.  I would have written this sooner, but the site was down and I had to get the hang of the new design.

 

 I originally had the 10/5/18, 8 day Bliss booked out of CA, but I couldn’t wrap my head around the cost to sail out of CA in an OV for 3 (around $3300).  We live in AZ so we wouldn’t have to fly, but I don’t love the Mexican Riviera like I love the Caribbean. I sat on the Bliss rese until just before final payment and when I saw a balcony on the Oasis out of Port Canaveral for $2100 I jumped on it. With flights and the drink package it worked out to about the same price, but with the benefit of a balcony, the Caribbean and being near Epcot. I was enamored with the Oasis class from a video I had seen and had always wanted to try it.

 

Embarkation went smoothly, we arrived at port around 11:00 am and the waiting area was overflowing with people.  Royal called our boarding  number 11 fairly quickly maybe 30 minutes went by.  To our dismay, once our number was called we were led to a separate long line to get a bracelet for our 10 year old son. The bracelet alerts staff of your child’s muster station, in the “unlikely event of an emergency.” It’s a good idea, but seems like there could be another way to do that.

 

We took the drink package so once onboard my husband quickly got a drink from the On Air Bar on the Royal Promenade deck. We found the drinks to be really good, and fresh, not pre made like Norwegian. Bar Service overall was friendly and not at all busy.  There were a lot of servers walking around with trays selling  drinks all week. I only saw that once on NCL. And they had straws!  I had actually brought some, but I never needed them as every Bar had straws.  That’s a big win for me.

 

The Promenade deck was really cool if you like the feel of a mall. There were shops, restsuraunts, bars and Starbucks. It was really neat and had lots of activies throughout the week. I really enjoyed the Cental Park  deck, with all of the flora and fauna, however it was mostly quiet and subdued. I really missed having a quiet place to sit and watch the ocean. You cannot see the ocean from the Cental Park deck nor the Promenade deck. I really missed the NCL Waterfront for the ocean sights.

 

After registering our son for the kids club we hit the buffet. We were surprised how small it was for a ship this size. It was nearly half the size of the buffet on the Away ships. Food was ok, nothing great. The buffet would be a bone of contention for us through out the week.  Being that this area was small we often ran into lines just to get into the buffet.  Sometimes it was so crowded that Royal would seat you like in a restaurant when a table was available. Also, there were no hand washing sinks like on Norwegian just the had sanitizer.  Our biggest irritation came when we returned from port around 3 pm and  the buffet was completely closed! No one could tell us where to go other than Sorrento’s and I was sick of pizza. While 24 hour pizza is a huge win, I don’t want to eat that all the time.  

 

Also annoying were the soda cups. I love love those COKE machines where you choose the soda and the flavor, but I hated carrying that cup around.  Several  times we found the machines out of ice or out of soda. We only found a total of 6 machines around the ship. If there were more I have no idea where they were. They really need to service these better if they want cruises to use them. Oh and did I mention they had coke? 

 

On a bright note, Oasis offers so many activities for families. We loved the aqua theater, with the 2 arial  shows, and the outdoor movies.  The headliner show was great, and I don’t usually care for Vegas stay shows. My son liked skating at the Ice Rink, the pool area, hot tubs, mini golf, rock climbing wall, carousel and the flow rider.  We were too chicken for the zip line.  My son did mention missing not having a water slide though.  The pool areas were double the size of the Away ships, but they were still super crowded. And the towel, situation, ugh.  Towels are not in your rooms, you have to find a towel station to pick one up and return it there too.  They are not even cute, no way I would want to steal one!

 

The week that we sailed had over 1100 kids  on board so the kids club was chaos.  The kids club was our biggest disappointment. We always arrived 20 minutes early and lined up for our age group because it maxed out at 50 kids. The  space was very small and it smelled bad in the room.The doors to the kids club never opened even one minute early. Grr.. I can recall many times on NCL, when the staff was ready they opened the doors with a smile. The Oasis staff was clearly not happy to be there, nor were they friendly. One time I picked my son up, I watched the staff sitting on the couch with a micro phone barking out orders. The group played a lot of games,  but it never once used the Lab that you see in the ads, nor did other activities.  My son said there were too many kids and said it wasn’t as good as Norwegian.  I have always tipped the staff, but this time I didn’t feel the need to tip them. While the check in process was easy, the staff and activities were unsatisfactory compared to Norwegian.

I wanted to love the Solarium adult area, but since it was at the front of the ship it had a plastic wind cover which made it hot there all the time and there was only 1 bar upstairs.  

 

Our room steward was the best we have ever had. She was friendly and accommodating.  We had new animals every night and the room was as clean as it could get. This ship is showing wear, black lines in the toilet, stains on the couch, rust in common areas etc. The Jade is older than the Oasis and we were on her pre-drydock and she was in better shape. 

 

I  was excited to try the traditional dining where you share a table, but we were stuck in the nose bleeds in a back corner on the 5th floor with just the 3of us.  Our server was good, but we only ended up in the MDR 3 times. We didn’t feel bad about not going half the time since it was just the 3 of us anyway. The food was comparable to Norwegian, except the lava cake.  They had one, but it didn’t hold a candle to NCL’s lava cake.   We ate at Chop House one night and we were disappointed. It was ok, nothing special. I’m pretty sure I ate exactly the same thing the next day in the MDR.  I thought people dressed up way more on elegant night than on NcL’s Dress up or not night.  We prefer the Not and Royal had 2 elegant nights. I’m pretty sure that was overkill. Finally. I didn’t mind eating at the same time every night as much as I thought I would. 

 

We enjoyed St Martin and San Juan. We didn’t do any tours, just a taxi to Maho and walked around San Juan.  We also visited Labadeethe private island. I have mixed feeling about this private island. On the positive side, I can say we actually made it to the island as opposed to last year on the BA when we missed GSC.  I did visit Harvest Cay though so I can compare it to that. Labadee is in Haiti and is a beautiful island, BUT the island is a literal trash dump.  Check out 4Ocean for videos.  That said, we could see the trash in the water as we pulled into port from the 10th floor. We had booked the Dragons Coaster which is is awesome! It’s a coaster/slide down the mountain. Too chicken for zip lines? Do the Dragon Coaster!

 

The coaster was near the back of the island so we took  a shuttle there then parked our butts on the beach thinking it would be a quiet spot. Nope, people soup comes to mind.  There was a floating bar that was cool that you swim out to, but the water was churned up and I was skeptical of the what may lie beneath, although I saw no trash while swimming. The color was a beautiful blue and the sand was soft and white. I understand they put a lot of TLC to keep it nice.  We were served lunch and our beverage package worked on the island. Score! I would say that Harvest Cay is nicer and newer, but Labadee had beautiful sand and was more rustic, plus free food. 

 

Disembarkation was amazingly easy. We wanted to waste time and get off as late as possible because we were meeting our ride next door at Grills for lunch, then off to Orlando to do Epcot.  While we were stalling, they  called last call for all remaining guests to leave at 9:30. We were shocked, there was absolutely no line. Last year in NYC we didn’t get off until around 11:00 and that was a nightmare.

 

I had heard complaints that the Away ships rock more than other ships. Well I can attest to this now. We actually love to feel the movement but I never felt it all week, except maybe once or twice.  Apparently the Oasis has a broken stabilizer, but you would never know that. I was Like this is BS, I can’t feel the movement or see the ocean any where (other than my balcony cabin). 

 

Overall we enjoyed our trip, but I really missed the Waterfront, free drinks and don’t care to have a mall on my ship. This might sound crazy but I actually prefer to see the ocean while cruising.  We won’t rule out Royal, but will probably go back to Norwegian. Oh I booked a little 4 day on Carnival today, to hold me over to next year’s Bliss cruise! 

[amyh13]

Thanks for the comparison.  We live within driving distance of Port Canaveral.  I have always wanted to try out the Oasis.  I just can't seem to justify the cost for an itinerary that I have done more than once.  The cost is about $2k higher than NCL or Carnival over spring break.  And my kids also like the waterslides.  

[Socalev]

Thanks for posting the very enjoyable review!!

 

[Sotermarler]

4 hours ago, amyh13 said:

Thanks for the comparison.  We live within driving distance of Port Canaveral.  I have always wanted to try out the Oasis.  I just can't seem to justify the cost for an itinerary that I have done more than once.  The cost is about $2k higher than NCL or Carnival over spring break.  And my kids also like the waterslides.  

 

I am very glad we tried it and we got a smoking deal. The Bliss is brand new as you know, so was commanding a hefty price tag.  If I was you I would watch sales like a hawk, and jump on it if its cheap. I totally understand your hesitation though of paying money for ports you have done repeatedly.  I hope to get to that spot someday though!  :)

 

 

[ashleyriley]

Sotermarler, thanks so much for writing this. We also love NCL but are thinking of trying Oasis. Your review was very helpful. We live very close to PC so we are deciding between NCL Epic in the Haven or trying Oasis in a suite to splurge for an anniversary. Thanks again!

[bigblue1952]

Very informative comparison. Thanks.

[Sotermarler]

4 hours ago, ashleyriley said:

Sotermarler, thanks so much for writing this. We also love NCL but are thinking of trying Oasis. Your review was very helpful. We live very close to PC so we are deciding between NCL Epic in the Haven or trying Oasis in a suite to splurge for an anniversary. Thanks again!

 

Oh wow, tough choice. I am not sure what Royal suite life is like, but I know the Haven experience is supposed to be great.  Good luck with your choice!

[ashleyriley]

Thanks! I might start a new thread  asking for opinions for people who have sailed both Epic and Oasis. 

Edited October 27, 2018 by ashleyriley
Typo

[Aprille]

15 hours ago, ashleyriley said:

Sotermarler, thanks so much for writing this. We also love NCL but are thinking of trying Oasis. Your review was very helpful. We live very close to PC so we are deciding between NCL Epic in the Haven or trying Oasis in a suite to splurge for an anniversary. Thanks again!

 

We've sailed RCCL 15X (3X on Oasis) and NCL 4X (3X in The Haven - twice on Jade, once on Bliss). We are Diamond Plus on RCCL and always sail in suites. RCCL has nothing to compare to The Haven experience on NCL, in my opinion. RCCL has a dedicated restaurant/area for breakfast and lunch for suite guests. On Oasis it's the Concierge Lounge. People talk about the limited menu in The Haven restaurant. It's even more limited on RCCL and the food it not as good in dedicated RCCL suite restaurant vs The Haven restaurant. Again, in my opinion.

 

Oasis is an amazing ship. I've never been on Epic. But I would choose The Haven experience over Oasis any day. 

[ashleyriley]

Thanks Aprille😀 We also sailed on the Jade in the Haven and loved it. Epic is supposed to have one of the best Havens in the fleet so we would be excited about that. Something we enjoyed in the Haven was the perk of the escort off the ship while in port. Is that a suite perk with RCI on Oasis also?

[Aprille]

52 minutes ago, ashleyriley said:

Thanks Aprille😀 We also sailed on the Jade in the Haven and loved it. Epic is supposed to have one of the best Havens in the fleet so we would be excited about that. Something we enjoyed in the Haven was the perk of the escort off the ship while in port. Is that a suite perk with RCI on Oasis also?

 

I believe suite escort off the ship in port on RCCL is limited to tender ports and, in our experience, it's not nearly as efficient as NCL Haven escorts off and on the ship. I could be wrong about that. RCCL may also do suite escort off the ship at all ports but I don't recall ever using that perk if they do have it. 

 

Our first 2 Haven experiences were also on the Jade. Even that small Haven sold me! The one on Bliss was awesome. We're thinking about trying Getaway next time. 

[ashleyriley]

Thanks again!  I felt the same about Jade. Getaway is great also, with the Waterfront and the show Million Dollar Quartet is supposed to be excellent. 

[portofrome]

Thanks for your review and comparison!

[Sotermarler]

On 10/27/2018 at 6:40 AM, ashleyriley said:

Thanks! I might start a new thread  asking for opinions for people who have sailed both Epic and Oasis. 

 

Epic and Bliss are on my bucket list!