Brief Oasis review from a Regent Cruiser

[Emdee]

I know that this is off topic so to speak but I had a couple of requests from Regent cruisers to write about my trip on the monster ship.

Embarkation and debarkation: Absolutely amazing. Was ushered into the terminal with rows of agents to my deck line up and within ten minutes we were on the ship at 11.15am. Baggage arrived in an hour. Debarkation was a little longer but quite painless as well. Debarkation at ports were equally efficient no line ups at all and an escalator quickly took one down to the exit.
Food - Regent hands down there is no comparison. Specialty restaurants were ok and we enjoyed them at both lunch and dinner. Desserts were actually better than some of the Regent desserts and all of the Oceania ones! B52 almond lava cake was to die for.
The Ship: A work of art in design and concept. Seeing there were over 5000 passengers one never felt crowded. The only exception was when we went to the buffet once for an early breakfast as we were on an excursion. The various neighbourhoods really worked well as it divided the passengers up so not too many in one place at a given time. The ship was very tasteful and the decorative art works were unusual and very appealing.
The shows : Stupendous. There was one that was similar to Cirque combined with excellent singing . The mixture of gymnastics, aerialists etc was excellent . A classical guitar player who played in the open air on Central Park ( an open air park on a ship) or one of the lounges was superb. A 90 minute production of Hairspray was very enjoyable and authentic. The aqua theatre show combined gymnastics , diving, and syncronized swimming and was also unique.
Kidsclub: My friend's daughter went there and really enjoyed it. They were kept so busy in an entirely separate floor and even had their own kids pool area that we hardly ever saw them.

I went on this ship after the PG in November and was totally prepared to be horrified. Instead I enjoyed the ship so much for all the things that Regent doesnt have that I am totally prepared to go again for a weeks fun in the sun.

Of course I am nevertheless very much looking forward to the Mariner in April as well.....

[sundial]

It sounds like a lot of fun under the right set of circumstances. Probably ideal for a large family group of varying ages. Thanks for sharing your experience!

[esther e]

Thank you for sharing that with us. I was so impressed with your views, I made my husband come in and read it. I have to say, I'm surprised. I thought it would be a total zoo.

[OrpingtonT]

I have to say, I'm surprised. I thought it would be a total zoo.

I did too and I appreciate your time, Emdee, in telling us of your views. They carry a lot more weight than the usual sycophantic drivel written by the journalists in the industry.

[Roland4]

Thanks for an interesting view from a different perspective. It tracks almost exactly with what our clients who have sailed Oasis are telling us, even now that it is sailing at close to its 6200 pax capacity every week.

[chezcarp]

Many thanks for sharing your assessment of Oasis. Our daughter (24) has always wanted to go on a mega ship and Oasis is mega as possible at the moment! We sail May 22. We are hoping to do a Regent cruise in August 2011.

[Emdee]

Chezcarp,
My daughter is also 24 and really enjoyed the trip.

We have been sailing on smaller ships in recent years so booked with some trepidation. We really enjoyed the trip.

Have to say in all honesty that we avoided the crowded Windjammer for lunch and mostly ate at the specialty restaurants for lunch with one incursion to the dining room - food was fine there and once at Windjammer as we were late from an excursion.

The ship does have 6000 passengers so one does see people and elevators were full a couple of times . However I expected masses of people everywhere and was pleasantly surprized not to find that.

[hondorner]

Remember the old joke that Cruise Directors like to tell? It's about an old lady who asked, "Does the elevator go to the front of the ship?" We may chuckle, but that reminds me of one of my fears about a mega ship -- it's just so darn far from one end to the other, and it seems like I always need to be at the other end. Was that your experience on Oasis, or have they installed people movers?

[esther e]

Remember the old joke that Cruise Directors like to tell? It's about an old lady who asked, "Does the elevator go to the front of the ship?" We may chuckle, but that reminds me of one of my fears about a mega ship -- it's just so darn far from one end to the other, and it seems like I always need to be at the other end. Was that your experience on Oasis, or have they installed people movers?


Don, in your documents you find you are assigned to one part of the ship, either the front, back or middle. And that's where you stay; hence, not many people.;)

[gfranzen]

This isn't true.... Esther, what are you smoking?

[esther e]

Don has had the dubious pleasure of meeting me in person (:eek:) and knows fully well that I'm joking! Very rarely am I serious!!

[hondorner]

Why, Esther, I took you seriously. I thought it was like the old first class section on the Queen Mary where there were locked doors between the sections. Betsy remembers those well; she sailed on QM back in the early 60's as a college student heading to Europe. Of course, she was on the wrong side of the locked doors...:rolleyes: BTW, she came home at the end of the trimester on SS America -- what a memorable time!

As for Oasis, my understanding is that with 6,000 people aboard, half of them at a time have to walk very quickly in the hallways, which are actually treadmills used to power the ship. Saves on fuel...

[esther e]

Yup. And the hallways are all one way. You aren't allowed to turn back. If you start you have to continue till you get back to the starting point. That saves on congestion, I suppose.