Live reporting oasis eastern Caribbean 6/11-6/18

About us- we are a party of eleven. This trip was planned to celebrate three anniversaries this year: my wife and my twentieth, my brother and his wife's fifteenth, and my parent's fiftieth. There were also five kids between four and fourteen. My plan was to have a basically no frills trip. It seems like so much on these boards is about extras, such as diamond c and a status, expensive excursions, and specialty restaurants. And though we did some of this, we stuck to the plan. I am not at all criticizing participation in those things, it is just not how we choose to cruise. One more thing-- five years ago we cruised on the Disney Dream for a similar celebration, and I may make a comparison or two along the way.

Day one

Parking: offsite at park port canaveral. Pros: $53 vs. $128 at the port, still very close, well run, friendly, free bottled water being handed out, efficient. Cons: very few, hot, a bit crowded at lot, but easy to find and get into line for our ship, very orderly. All in all, highly recommend, would definitely use again.

Boarding: this is where I most felt the size of the crowd. Still, like with parking, very efficient, not as bad as I feared. We did the non diamond, non platinum, non anything line. First line through security constant movement, not bad at all despite length of line. One note--we have two staterooms; one for kids, one for wife and me. We brought four bottles of wine due to the two per stateroom rule. We were worried they wouldn't let us have four since the kids are minors. No problems on this end. Next line to check in to ship. Again, very short wait. From there straight onto ship by 11:45. Entire experience from arrival at parking lot onto Oasis was about an hour. Not bad.

Our cabin: Central Park view staterooms 9251 and 9253. We were very happy with our choice of staterooms. This class of room has a window bench seat that is a great place to sit, read, and look at at Central Park. No outside noise.

Arrival lunch: this was a stressor for me in the planning stages. I had read many times to avoid the windjammer on embarkation day. We went straight up just in case to see. The reviews were right. It was about noon, and there was a long line to get in. We went down to park cafe where there was no line, we found a table outside and enjoyed a delicious lunch. The kummelweck you ask? Fantastic, maybe not as much as the hype though. Everything is great there though, and I highly recommend it as an embarkation day lunch option. We were able to go straight into our stateroom when finished lunch, which was around 1:00.

Dinner: we purchased the first night done right for $15 per person. They assigned us to Chops, but we wanted to go to Giovanni's. We were easily able to switch this. We wanted Giovanni's for several reasons based on its reputation. First is that they don't spend the entire night up-selling you. Second is its more casual atmosphere. Third is that they have the best filet on the ship. Long and short-we loved it. Jessie, our excellent waiter, began by recommending the filet, which he said is the best on the ship, and that includes chops. Three of the four in our party ordered it, and all loved it. The entire experience was fantastic. I did not intend to go to a speciality restaurant because I am happy with the MDR, but the FNDR offer was too good to pass up. I would definitely pay full price to go back in the future. Highlight of the evening was the grilled octopus appetizer. Outstanding.

After dinner: late night pool trip with kids, followed by an ever later night pizza run to sorrentos.

Random thoughts on the day:

-I lied a bit. We did purchase two frills. We got our kids the soda package and voom surf and stream internet. Internet works great. Daughters soda cup didn't work. I took it to the desk, and they swapped it out for a new one. That works fine.

-despite the ships size, it seems surprisingly easy to get around. Elevator waits have not been a problem.

- although the embarkation process was much easier than I expected, I think Disney wins on this one. I don't remember feeling like a cattle herd at all when boarding the dream.

-storage in room not bad at all. Large suitcases easily fit under bed.

Interesting start. That is a big happy group you have.

Looking forward to your review and comparison.

Happy anniversary to you and the others!

We are on board as well. Look forward to following your review.

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Day 2

Started day with an early morning cup of coffee and small pastry at park cafe. Sitting outside in Central Park early in the morning is an absolute must do. Breakfast at windjammer at 8:30. No problem getting a table for six. Breakfast was very good.

Morning by the pool. Seats available at ten, but they went very quickly after that. You could definitely sense the number of people on the ship on the pool deck today, though it was still easy to have a great time.

Hit the gym for a run at eleven. Plenty of equipment available. Gym seems well equipped, though I only did cardio.

Had lunch at solarium bistro. Our group was mixed on it. I enjoyed the curried chicken and pork goulash. Others found the menu a bit on the exotic side. It was quite full in there for lunch, by the way.

Back to the pool for the afternoon. The wife and I ditched the kids for a bit and headed to the solarium for some peace and quiet. So much for that. I will start by saying that the solarium itself is very well done. The problem is that it was packed and very loud. Adult area on Dream seemed much more quiet and relaxing. We honestly found it quieter by the kids pool, and soon headed back. We very much loved the lazy-river type pool in that area.

Tonight was formal night in the MDR. Someone had messed up our reservation and split our party of eleven into two different dining rooms. I have to say that royal bent over backwards to get it right. Well done. Dinner was mixed. It was formal night, and though these are certainly not what they once were, we found that most people were dressed very nicely. For example, the majority of men had on a jacket. There were people in jeans and shorts, but they were in the minority. Service was excellent. My 4 y.o. niece fell asleep in my brother's lap, and our waitress, Ming, cut his steak for him. The food was mostly good. My steak (the ny strip) was not great. The escargots were on the other hand. Dessert was good all around.

After dinner we had reservations for Cats. I have seen cats around half a dozen times, including its original broadway run in the 80s. I very much like the show, though I understand why many don't. Anyhow, the boys did not want to go, so I decided to skip out and take them to the pool. Word from those in our group who went is that the show was "phenomenal" and that 2/3 left at intermission. The show did not begin until 9, so that might have been due to the lateness as much as disinterest in the show.

Quick observations on day:

-Deck fifteen after dark was teen flirtation central. Deck seemed overrun with teenagers.

-several of us did zip line. Some were able to go multiple times. Line was at worst thirty minutes long. Also, even though I completed our sports waivers online, they had no record of it, so we had to do it again. No big deal.

-felt very little movement of ship.

-despite online complaints, rooms were very cool (tempwise).

-tried hard not to be a chair hog. Our spot was occupied most of the day. Went to lunch, worked very hard to do so within the thirty minute chair reserving rule, and returned to find that someone had moved our stuff and taken one of our chairs anyways. Perhaps there needs to be some name for this villain..the anti chair hog something or other. Who knows. I want to emphasize, we were gone less than thirty.

- there must have been hundreds of people crowded into the on air bar and outside of it watching the NBA finals. I'm not a sports guy, and I realize most people are. Still, I especially don't get paying so much money to do something you could do at home for free. Just me. If you're into that, yes, they show such things onboard, and it seemed like a pretty fun atmosphere to take such an event in. Everyone seemed pretty civil

Hoping you will continue to post your review for the rest of your trip - very informative!

A couple questions, if you wouldn't mind answering...

For the "First Night Done Right" - when did you purchase this - when you got on the ship or before online, and also, when and where did you make the switch from Chops to Giovanni's? And who picks the time of the reservation?

Thanks for your info.(y)

Enjoying your live report!

Hoping you will continue to post your review for the rest of your trip - very informative!

 

A couple questions, if you wouldn't mind answering...

 

For the "First Night Done Right" - when did you purchase this - when you got on the ship or before online, and also, when and where did you make the switch from Chops to Giovanni's? And who picks the time of the reservation?

 

Thanks for your info.(y)

We purchased the FNDR package on the cruise planner, perhaps one month before the trip. I went straight to Giovanni's after boarding. I then noticed on the info channel on our television that we were booked for bo chops and Giovanni's, I went to chops and cancelled there. It was a piece of cake. They will pick one for you, and you won't know until you board. But you can go straight to the restaurant you want to use it for, and they can set it up. You shouldn't have a problem. Let me know if I can help more.

Day three

Breakfast: back to park cafe. Why mess with perfection? My parents ordered off the menu in the MDR. They enjoyed breakfast there very much. They went around eight and sat right down. By 8:30 a line was forming.

Morning by the pool again. My son did the flowrider. At perhaps it's most crowded, the wait was 20 minutes. Mini golf next. No crowd there. I must say, we have now had two sea days, and crowds have been noticeable, but very manageable.

Lunch at windjammer. At noon on a sea day, there was no line, and though it was full, there were tables to be found. By 12:30 there were many open tables. Lunch was very good, and they were serving hand dipped ice cream cones from a cart.

In the afternoon, my daughter wanted to participate in family karaoke in the on air lounge. It was packed. This was an awesome event. She loves to sing, and it was very cool for her to do so in front of a large, very supportive audience. It was a most positive atmosphere, and all participants got loud ovations. So far, a trip highlight.

I snuck in a quick trip to the boardwalk doghouse after that. I highly recommend the Sicilian. Sensational.

Back to the pool before dinner. By around 3:30, there were many open chairs at all pools. This was a great time to swim.

Dinner in MDR: much better all around tonight. Highlight for me was the profiteroles for dessert.

Immediately from dinner we went to oasis of dreams in the aqua theater. We told them in the MDR that we had 7:30 show tickets, and they got us out much quicker tonight. Still, by the time we got to the show, it was mostly full. If you are in this boat, so to speak, you might want to do windjammer for dinner. Anyways, based on a tip I read in another review. We headed up to the rock climbing wall area. We had an amazing view of the show. Oasis of dreams was spectacular. They earned their standing ovation. Just get there earlier than we did.

After the show, a late swim, and an even later dash to the promenade cafe for treats, it was off to bed.

Thoughts on the day:

-I have not felt much love for promenade cafe on these boards. Perhaps that is why it has been such a pleasant surprise. Very yummy. The pink strawberry tart is perhaps the best dessert I have had on board. Also, I would suggest that their King Arthur roast beef sandwich rivals the mighty kummelweck. There, I said it.

-we are Disney people. With that being said, I would hold the attentive service on board the oasis up to Disney any day.

- although the kids have not utilized the adventure ocean much, my four year old niece has enjoyed the couple of times she went. The teen area seems overrun with the type of kids who are glued to their phones, and that is just not my kids. Again, not knocking anyone, just a matter of choice I guess.

-teaser for tomorrow-there is a celebrity on the ship, and we met him this morning on the way into st. Maarten. Very kind.

Following

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Not sure why I didn't notice this until today. I just got off a similar family cruise on Oasis Sunday (our 15th anniversary, SIL's 10th, and sadly can't remember what # my FIL/MIL are up to but it's a milestone b/c we do these family cruises every 5 years). I already see many other similarities as well. My review if you're interested: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=53307645&posted=1#post53307645

Although I do enjoy our Diamond perks (mainly free cappuccino and free alcohol), our typical non-family cruise is no-frills. We booked a return visit in an interior cabin for July 9th mostly b/c a base price of $599pp popped up a few days ago and I couldn't resist.

We also had Jessie at Giovanni's and we almost all ordered the filet. I too had the grilled octopus just b/c it was different for me and enjoyed it but my niece's fried calamari was better (I think it was from the lunch menu). When DW and I go back alone next month, we're likely going to do FNDR at Giovanni's.

Agree with you about the kummelweck. I like it but it's at least slightly over-hyped at this point. I also enjoyed the cuban panini and the chihuahua quesadilla at Park cafe for lunch as well as their version of the egg mcmuffin for breakfast.

My issue with Cafe Promenade is that they don't rotate the food like they used to. That said, I did enjoy the pink strawberry tart. I'll have to try the roast beef there although it will be some sort of snack as I'm pretty married to Park Cafe for lunch if you couldn't tell (as is my salad-loving DW who had one with a cheese panini at least 6 of 7 days).

Looking forward to the rest of your posts. If you get the chance to read my food-heavy review, you'll understand how surprised I am that I missed out on the King Arthur. I can already tell we have similar tastes so if you mention anything else I failed to try that sounds appealing, it will likely go on my list for next month. Enjoy the rest of the week!

BTW, my SIL/BIL/nieces had central park view rooms and theirs were also cool while our ocean view balcony directly across the hall was quite warm. I'm convinced it's the balcony. Looking forward to my cold, dark, interior cave next month.

OCSC Mike...thanks for the link I look forward to reading your review. It sounds like we do have similar tastes. It has been park cafe at least one meal a day thus far, and I'm sure it will continue. I am glad you have enjoyed reading,

Loving your review.

Thanks for all the information. We're sailing Oasis in November so we're soaking in as much as we can. Appreciate the effort.

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I'll be embarking when you disembark. I'm really enjoying your live review and super appreciative of your insight! We are also "DCL People" and we're a little nervous about the differences. The ship is just so huge! Still, I'm excited :D

Day four

We ordered room service for breakfast, but it never came. They were running far behind due to it being a port day. Tip--if you want room service on a port day, you may want to have it delivered half an hour earlier than you might want it.

Today we are in St. Maarten. Keeping wth our no frills cruise, we decided to walk to Great Bay Beach in Phillipsburg. As soon as we got off the ship, I noticed the comedian Sinbad standing next to me. We said a quick hi as our kids love his movie Houseguest. He was very gracious, and then we left him to his vacation. We walked maybe ten minutes to the the beach. We were able to rent six chairs and three umbrellas, and purchase six beers and seven waters, and get wifi and bathroom access, all for a total of sixty US dollars. Similar deals can be found up and down the beach. The best seemed to be at the Holland House Hotel. We had a great beach day. Yes people try to sell things to you constantly. Yet everyone was pleasant, and responded to a no thank you. They are just people trying to earn a living. My wife did buy a scarf/wrap from a lady. We loved St. Maarten, and I hope to return for a longer visit one day. We returned to the ship around 1:30 to take advantage of low crowds. It was perfect. The views of the island from deck sixteen were incredible. There were plenty of chairs everywhere, and we ate a late lunch at an uncrowded windjammer.

I did notice they are offering the drink cards for the first time today. It is 10 drinks up to $13 each for $79. That is all I know as I likely will not purchase it, and therefore did not look too closely.

Dinner in the MDR was excellent again. I had the braised short rib which was delicious. For dessert, the chocolate cookie with ice cream was great. As others have said, its more like a warm brownie. We ordered seconds. Another hit at the table was sweet potato pudding. The lasagna was surprisingly good to those who ordered it.

Random thoughts on the day:

-Up until this point, I have not commented on an important aspect of our trip. My 13 y.o. Daughter is gluten free. The staff have been amazing in supporting her dietary needs. I would be happy to answer any questions about our experience with this. Long story short, there have been many options, and the staff have been patient and attentive in helping us with this. Again, royal clearly rivals Disney with this dietary attentiveness.

-getting on and off ship today was easy

-we purchased voom for two devices. If you log off one device and try to switch to another one, it takes several hours before you are able to do so. That makes no sense to me.

-we purchased voom for two devices. If you log off one device and try to switch to another one, it takes several hours before you are able to do so. That makes no sense to me.

That's not how it's supposed to work. We had Voom for one device and I switched between two instantly with no issue last week.

While I'm typing, glad to hear you're having a good experience with your daughter's food sensitivity. We had an equally good experience with my 3 year old niece's tree nut allergy.

Day five

Early start today as we were only in San Juan from 7-2. Decided to walk to the "el Morro" fort. Having never been to Puerto Rico, I didn't have many expectations either way for our visit. I like to explore new places on foot, and I am very glad we did. Old San Juan was a huge surprise...we loved it. It is an absolutely gorgeous Spanish colonial city. It seemed like every time we turned a corner, we came upon a small park. The buildings were colorful and well maintained, and the architecture was gorgeous. It is very hilly, so if you have physical limitations, walking might be tough. If you can, however, it is a great walking city. The fort itself was also a pleasant surprise. You could spend hours exploring its many levels. It is five dollars admission for ages 15 and up, and you can also then visit the other fort in town. Out front of the fort is a huge lawn/ green space overlooking the ocean. There were people picnicking, flying kites, and simply laying out. The walk back was a bit easier as it was mostly downhill. I wish we had more time. I hope to return here for a longer visit one day.

Once back on board, we hit the windjammer for lunch. It was very busy, but we were still able to find a table, and the crowds for food were very manageable.

Dinner again in the MDR. It was our second formal night, and it also was lobster night. Dinner was delicious. Although the food hasn't been up to what we experienced in the main dining on Disney, it has been very good. The service, as I have said already, is every bit as good. I think you could eat in specialty dining every night on royal and still save big over Disney. Advantage Royal.

After dinner we had tickets for the ice show, "Frozen in Time." I wasn't feeling well, so I headed to bed. I will quote my fourteen y.o. son, who I least expected to enjoy it. He said the show was "fantastic."

Random thoughts on the day

- pool towel policy is very manageable. They don't seem to closely monitor the number of towels you are returning though.

-we needed a photo I.D. to reboard in San Juan. Everywhere else, sea pass card alone was sufficient.

-wow, there is so much to do on this ship. In addition, the huge variety seems to offer something for everyone.

-purchased a bucket of beers on the pool deck today. They off a buy four, get one free special.

-have been pleasantly surprised by the overall attitude of most other cruisers. I have seen very little ugliness.

-no problems whatsoever getting on elevators

Thanks for all the information, I have enjoyed following along this week! If I were to do a live or semi live report from our upcoming, it will be full of comparisons with NCL. That's an aspect of your review that I have had fun reading. Although I think we're too cheap to do Disney!

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I'm enjoying your live reporting! Thanks for sharing. Living vicariously through you this week!

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Day six

Labadee! I was very excited to visit Labadee, and in particular to compare it to Disney's Castaway Cay. We loved Castaway, and I didn't imagine that Labadee would come anywhere close to it. In addition, we had mixed feelings about vacationing this way in Haiti. My wife has done medical relief work in Haiti, and the idea of such an isolated resort away from the reality of life there was a tough one. This is probably true in any Caribbean port, but seems especially so in Haiti. I can't say that a visit there made that part of it any easier.

So I should focus on the visit itself. Keeping with our overall experience, it was fantastic. I researched heavily prior to our trip on what to do here. I decided to take the water taxi to Columbus Cove. We got off the ship as soon as we could. Again, very easy process. The water taxi stand is clearly marked and is right there on the main pier. You can only take it to the beach; there is no return. It is a quick trip, but it enabled us to be among the first people to that part of the beach.

We found a spot in the shade, and two of the beach attendants helped us set up chairs. We tipped them a dollar per chair.

Columbus Cove is beautiful, and was never overly crowded. There is mostly sand in the water. In other word, no rocks, and no sea grass as we encountered in St. Maarten. We had purchased water shoes, but no one needed them. Everything you need is right there, including: tram stop, bathrooms, bar, and lunch buffet. The water slide and aqua park are also there if those interest you. The water slide was 24.75 for an all day pass. My niece and nephew did it, but said it was too slow. I think the coaster might be more adventurous.

Lunch opened at 11:15. We were in line promptly to avoid crowds, but long lines never seemed to form. There was also plenty of seating available in the covered picnic table area. The food was surprisingly good.

My son wanted to shop at the market so he could have the experience of haggling. He was glad he did it, but it was hard for him. He didn't want to rip anyone off because he knows they need the money, but they were very aggressive. I lived in Jamaica for awhile, and studied in the Bahamas in college, so I am very familiar with straw market culture. This was the worst I have seen in terms of aggression.

We stayed on the beach until around three. We had decided to walk back so we could explore a bit. It is easy to detour around the market by following the path under the water slide. The walk back was great. It was cool to see the beach on the other side. It is also very beautiful. We made the right decision with Columbus Cove though. The adventure beach side was much more sunny, crowded, and rocky. There is a small water play park for kids about half way back. All five kids enjoyed this for about thirty minutes or so. Back through security and into the ship without a problem.

All in all, though I would still rate Castaway Cay higher, Labadee was sensational. It is a very close second. One advantage I will give Labadee...it seemed like at Castaway there was a constant barrage of waitstaff hocking tropical drinks. Although these things are available at Labadee, we didn't encounter one walking waiter. This was much more conducive to r and r. Castaway wins for included extras, such as the water park. But then again, you pay for it up front.

Dinner again in the MDR was wonderful. Our waitress, Min, is the best I have had on any cruise. She is fantastic.

Random thoughts for the day

-it's worth getting up early and watching the ship come into Labadee from the sun deck on 14. If you don't know about this spot, go all the way forward on portside (left). Follow the signs for sun deck.

-I am, to my own fault, a generally critical person. That being said, I am having a hard time finding anything negative to say about this trip.

-as the week comes to an end, only the four year old has made regular use of adventure ocean, but she has loved it.

-several of our party had dinner in windjammer tonight. I had read that dinner is much less crowded. They said that it was very crowded, and that there were long lines, more like mobs, at the food stations. Apparently, only one side was open though. I have no idea why the crowds. There seems to be little rhyme or reason to crowds on the ship.

-sabor seemed crowded for the first time today.

Dinner: we purchased the first night done right for $15 per person. They assigned us to Chops, but we wanted to go to Giovanni's. We were easily able to switch this. We wanted Giovanni's for several reasons based on its reputation. First is that they don't spend the entire night up-selling you. Second is its more casual atmosphere. Third is that they have the best filet on the ship. Long and short-we loved it. Jessie, our excellent waiter, began by recommending the filet, which he said is the best on the ship, and that includes chops. Three of the four in our party ordered it, and all loved it. The entire experience was fantastic. I did not intend to go to a speciality restaurant because I am happy with the MDR, but the FNDR offer was too good to pass up. I would definitely pay full price to go back in the future. Highlight of the evening was the grilled octopus appetizer. Outstanding.

Great review! So glad it seems like you had a good time as we sail on Oasis in a month or so.

I do have a question about FNDR. Is it $15 per person regardless of what restaurant you choose or is it 50% off the base price? I can't figure out out if it's $15pp or 50% off based on info in cruise planner.

Great review! So glad it seems like you had a good time as we sail on Oasis in a month or so.

 

I do have a question about FNDR. Is it $15 per person regardless of what restaurant you choose or is it 50% off the base price? I can't figure out out if it's $15pp or 50% off based on info in cruise planner.

It's 50% off (however, if you see Giovanni's at $21 in the cruise planner, I'm pretty sure you still pay $15, not $10.50) so it's not technically as good of a deal but if that's the only specialty restaurant you want to eat at, it's still a savings.

Great review! So glad it seems like you had a good time as we sail on Oasis in a month or so.

 

I do have a question about FNDR. Is it $15 per person regardless of what restaurant you choose or is it 50% off the base price? I can't figure out out if it's $15pp or 50% off based on info in cruise planner.

Good question. I cannot give you a definitive answer aside from Giovanni's. We were not charged anything other than the initial 15 per person. I had read elsewhere that people have dined at 150 Central Park and not been charged any additional. One thing I learned on this trip though, nit everything one reads on these boards is accurate. Gasp! Regardless, $15 was a steal for Giovanni's.

Good question. I cannot give you a definitive answer aside from Giovanni's. We were not charged anything other than the initial 15 per person. I had read elsewhere that people have dined at 150 Central Park and not been charged any additional. One thing I learned on this trip though, nit everything one reads on these boards is accurate. Gasp! Regardless, $15 was a steal for Giovanni's.

Giovanni's would be my top choice too! Thanks for info!

I'll be embarking when you disembark. I'm really enjoying your live review and super appreciative of your insight! We are also "DCL People" and we're a little nervous about the differences. The ship is just so huge! Still, I'm excited :D

Perhaps we passed you today. Have a great trip. I'm sure you will.