Oasis - reading reviews not so great, getting nervous

[Husky1987]

4 hours ago, Liljo22 said:

There is always one on every forum that wants to claim that only "cheerleaders" have positive things to say about a line.  

 

It's pretty funny that there are also always a select few that like every complaint post.  

 

 

[xtremegk]

7 hours ago, Cruisegirl138 said:

Thank you.   I go august 4th.  Going with a group of 16 but I booked later than them so I’m the only one without a balcony and only single.  Most have kids but when they go off and go their own thing they will have eachother 🤷🏼‍♀️. My teen probably gonna leave me too lol. I’m sure I’m stressing for nothing 

We are on on the 4th with you, and really excited to go. We've been on the Oasis before, sailed Adventure last year. Oasis is a great ship with no shortage of things to do. I've seen more positive reviews of Oasis than negative, and I keep an eye out for them.

 

5 hours ago, Pandamonia said:

You are on the wrong forum.

 

Here there are RCCL employees posting against anyone who dares criticise the company as well as pure fans where royal can do no wrong. 

 

Fact is that ships vary a lot. Even month by month. They have little to no consistency even when serving the same drinks and food. 

 

My advice is to keep your expectations very low on quality and very high on what you will be charged for it. Then you wont get any shocks. 

 

10 years ago everything was likely better, cheaper and more consistent than it is now or ever will be.  

Man, I wish RCCL would pay me to enjoy their ships. I've peeked at your thread on Anthem, and obviously she has not had the best start over there. My folks were on her in February and had nothing but good things to say. But maybe life is better when the glass is half empty?

[KKB]

16 hours ago, Cruisegirl138 said:

I haven't been on RCCL in about 10 years and so excited for Oasis and reading reviews making me nervous.  People saying that it's too crowded, not enough to do during the day, everything closes early, no towel animals?  lol.  And just overall lots of complaints. I sure hope this isn't the case.  Anyone have good things to say?  I know it's not carnival but I do like to see cruise director and stuff and people bringing the fun on, hearing some carribbean music and to be entertained as well as relax.  Going with a variety of people, in our 50's and some 40's and kids mostly teens.  Just looking for some positives.  Thanks. 

I look for patterns in reviews.Are people making the same complaint over & over, or are people just complaining.

I read 2 pages of Oasis reviews...most people were very happy with their cruises & I didn't see a distinctive pattern of complaint other than crowds--uh, you booked a ship that can hold about 7K passengers. YEP, there are going to be crowds!

Ships are pretty full, that's nothing new.

Nothing to do? Usually means nothing they are interested in...ESPECIALLY on Royal! 

(I HAVE been on a Mariner cruise years ago & did feel that way--felt it was a CD issue)

I saw no complaints of things closing early?

And we all need to get OVER towel animals! I'd rather staff put their stretched time to other things. (Carnival seems to have premade towel animals that they use--brillian)

 

Look, I sailed MSC for the 1st time recently...I saw the complaints...I still sailed (too good a deal).

Did I still have a good time even with rude passengers, mediocre food & lack of activities.

Yep, because I ALWAYS have a good time--it's about attitude.

Plan on having a good time, see the good in every situation & ENJOY. 

(PS But I won't be sailing MSC again...I'll use my travel $ on lines I prefer)

 

[kruzerci]

It’s a very good ship she’s just gotten older and Royal Caribbean food across the board has become very poor quality. With those expectations, you should be fine. 

[mugtech]

Surprised no one mentioned the highly praised Cats, won't be crowded there.

[Cruisegirl138]

1 hour ago, mugtech said:

Surprised no one mentioned the highly praised Cats, won't be crowded there.

Yes I’m not hearing good things about cats 

[Tree_skier]

8 minutes ago, Cruisegirl138 said:

Yes I’m not hearing good things about cats 

Cats is awesome... Ignore the noise from the haters 🙂 

[FamilyCruiserUK]

Went on Oasis in Feb and loved it.

 

Yes was busy on sea days esp round pools.

Evening was never that busy as so many venues to go too

Didn't eat in main resturant tbh stayed in the buffet which suited us. Dau loved trying lots of little bits of different foods and they have a fab allergy chef named Jamie who cooked my mum a surprise gluten fee meal every night. And OMG is was super tasty.

Water show and ice skating show amazing.

Cats seen before not my cup of tea. 

The el loco fresh was tasty and as a brit the bbq was tasty too. Prob no where near proper bbq food in the states. 

Central park, great to grab breakfast or just chill with a coffee. 

 

Over all i think Oasis clas is our fav ship 👍

[Liljo22]

8 minutes ago, Tree_skier said:

Cats is awesome... Ignore the noise from the haters 🙂 

We enjoyed Cats but I can see why its not everyone's favorite.  The story is hard to follow because its all singing and is mostly each type of cat singing about their situation.  You don't really pick up on the main reincarnation story line unless you know that going in.  

[Tree_skier]

13 minutes ago, Liljo22 said:

We enjoyed Cats but I can see why its not everyone's favorite.  The story is hard to follow because its all singing and is mostly each type of cat singing about their situation.  You don't really pick up on the main reincarnation story line unless you know that going in.  

I always tell folks to read the wikipedia page for the play.  It'll give you a quick synopsis and aid your understanding what is happening.

[Farmer_John]

I was on the Oasis over the New Year, and I believe the ship is still in excellent shape.  I am very detail oriented and I have noticed the cutbacks, but it was still a great time and bang/buck on a vacation.  

The Oasis class stands out for entertainment.  The Aqua show is probably the best of the fleet.  Cats had good quality performers, but they still have to work with a shortened version of the musical which is hard to deal with in the first place.  The comedy club was fun as usual and the ice shows were average, but nice.  The cutbacks in the MDR are noticeable, but I could usually find something descent to eat.  I usually have a plan to avoid most crowds (New Year's Eve was an exception) and I do not typically like buffets so I did not eat in the Windjammer once that entire cruise.  Over the years we have learned to add in a specialty dining or two to change things up and 150 has yet to disappoint.  I am in your same age group, but I have been sailing Royal (as well as several other lines) for 30+ years.  Some of the negative reviews are people going in looking for something to complain about because it isn't what it used to be.  The long story short is the adaptation of specialty restaurants (and ability to uncharge) has decreased the MDR food quality and service, but the entertainment is significantly better than what it used to be in decades past.  One word of advice, if your cruise visits Nassau just stay on board and enjoy the activities on the ship.

[RedJessi]

12 minutes ago, Tree_skier said:

I always tell folks to read the wikipedia page for the play.  It'll give you a quick synopsis and aid your understanding what is happening.

Cats was the first play I ever saw - I think I was 10 - and it kicked off my love of musical theater, so it always holds a special place in my heart and I am glad I got to see it with my daughter on Oasis way back in 2016...but I am really surprised it's still on the ship!

[RedJessi]

2 minutes ago, Farmer_John said:

Over the years we have learned to add in a specialty dining or two to change things up and 150 has yet to disappoint. 

150 remains one of the best dining experiences I ever had on a cruise ship

[bigque]

Oasis with bad reviews??? Hell my first cruise was on Sovereign of the Seas back in 2008. If I would have went by what I read about that ship back then I wouldn’t be cruising today. I went in spite of what I was reading and had the best time of my life and been cruising ever since. Stop reading all the negativity and go make your own experience and enjoy. If you don’t like it then you don’t like it and move on! 

Edited June 30, 2023 by bigque

[ARandomTraveler]

This thread got me over to the review page and I started reading reviews for fun. 2 things I found interesting:

 

1) Reading reviews from people who have never cruised before make it evident that Royal is doing the right thing for themselves financially because the new people have nothing to compare things to, and they seem to be highly impressed with the big ships and all there is to do on them. No food complaints, and no recognition of the reductions in daily room cleaning etc. New cruisers think it's great. 

 

2) I just found out Harmony doesn't have a Playmakers or a Hooked. How did I never come across this information before? I never see it listed as one of the differences between Oasis class ships (or I guess I've just never noticed). I booked Harmony for a January cruise. I fully intended on watching football games in Playmakers, but that's obviously not gonna happen. This was really just a placeholder, "just in case I feel like getting out of the cold" booking anyway, so there was a chance I wouldn't go, but I'm seriously considering changing ships to the more expensive Symphony now. Or maybe canceling altogether and going to a resort, because the itineraries aren't really speaking to me anyway. 

[LuCruise]

14 hours ago, Tree_skier said:

I always tell folks to read the wikipedia page for the play.  It'll give you a quick synopsis and aid your understanding what is happening.

Agree.  I "studied" beforehand by reading the description with the songs and also listened to (and watched you tube videos).  I quite enjoyed Cats, but I know many do not.  Performers were amazing.

Edited July 1, 2023 by LuCruise

[smokeybandit]

Simple solution. Stop reading reviews

[BecciBoo]

On 6/29/2023 at 8:24 PM, Cruisegirl138 said:

too crowded, not enough to do during the day, everything closes early, no towel animals?

Rediculous!  I've never felt any of the Oasis ships were too crowded, maybe after a show let out...NOT ENOUGH to do...what????? We love Oasis class BECAUSE there's so much to do!  LOL There's always stuff to do and food to eat all the time.  Towel animals, what are they?  You'd choose a line because they make little animals out of towels.  Sorry, don't mean to be a put down, but I think honestly, you've been reading too much.  You will probably agree with the rest of us, Oasis class is great.  The take back is, A cruise is what you make it.  Go and have a blast!

[BecciBoo]

8 hours ago, ARandomTraveler said:

Symphony

Symphony is our second favorite sister, Allure being the first.  I just can't get past her little creek feature in Solarium...melts my butter!  But Symphony is way cool too.  Never liked Harmony because no real pool in Solarium.  But any sister is OK with us. Haven't seen Wonder yet but already drooling over Utopia.  Now where will I fit them in..............................

Edited July 1, 2023 by BecciBoo

[BecciBoo]

On 6/30/2023 at 6:02 AM, Cruisegirl138 said:

I’m sure I’m stressing for nothing 

How can a cruise be stressful?  Don't know....wish I were going with you, Bon Voyage!

[Cruisegirl138]

16 hours ago, Farmer_John said:

I was on the Oasis over the New Year, and I believe the ship is still in excellent shape.  I am very detail oriented and I have noticed the cutbacks, but it was still a great time and bang/buck on a vacation.  

The Oasis class stands out for entertainment.  The Aqua show is probably the best of the fleet.  Cats had good quality performers, but they still have to work with a shortened version of the musical which is hard to deal with in the first place.  The comedy club was fun as usual and the ice shows were average, but nice.  The cutbacks in the MDR are noticeable, but I could usually find something descent to eat.  I usually have a plan to avoid most crowds (New Year's Eve was an exception) and I do not typically like buffets so I did not eat in the Windjammer once that entire cruise.  Over the years we have learned to add in a specialty dining or two to change things up and 150 has yet to disappoint.  I am in your same age group, but I have been sailing Royal (as well as several other lines) for 30+ years.  Some of the negative reviews are people going in looking for something to complain about because it isn't what it used to be.  The long story short is the adaptation of specialty restaurants (and ability to uncharge) has decreased the MDR food quality and service, but the entertainment is significantly better than what it used to be in decades past.  One word of advice, if your cruise visits Nassau just stay on board and enjoy the activities on the ship.

Agreed. I have been to Nassau several times to me it’s one and done.  Not a Bahamas fan. Ty for your reply!  

[Cruisegirl138]

16 hours ago, RedJessi said:

Cats was the first play I ever saw - I think I was 10 - and it kicked off my love of musical theater, so it always holds a special place in my heart and I am glad I got to see it with my daughter on Oasis way back in 2016...but I am really surprised it's still on the ship!

Same.  I saw it with my dad as a kid. My 15 year old has no desire to see it so I guess not the worst thing if I miss it lol 

[Cruisegirl138]

1 hour ago, BecciBoo said:

Rediculous!  I've never felt any of the Oasis ships were too crowded, maybe after a show let out...NOT ENOUGH to do...what????? We love Oasis class BECAUSE there's so much to do!  LOL There's always stuff to do and food to eat all the time.  Towel animals, what are they?  You'd choose a line because they make little animals out of towels.  Sorry, don't mean to be a put down, but I think honestly, you've been reading too much.  You will probably agree with the rest of us, Oasis class is great.  The take back is, A cruise is what you make it.  Go and have a blast!

You’re right. Thank

you! 

[Jerseygirl1416]

On 6/30/2023 at 7:16 AM, Cruisegirl138 said:

Thank you.  Hopefully can find a pool chair lol 

Go to the pool before 9am and you’ll find one😎

[Husky1987]

2 hours ago, smokeybandit said:

Simple solution. Stop reading reviews

 

This.  If you read Yelp enough, you'll figure out that every restaurant in the US has the best food ever and also makes people sick every time they've eaten there.