Just off Oasis..Short review/thoughts/comparisons to Freedom,Drink Cards & Norovirus

Having Sailed Freedom each of the last 2 years and just gotoff Oasis on Sunday I thought I would do a mini review…seeing as I asked andread so much about Oasis and Freedom before this cruise, hope I can answerothers questions.

These are just my thoughts and observations…Maybe it will help someone.

Please feel free to ask me anything about either ship and ifI can answer, I will.

Is Oasis too big compared to Freedom?

Well yes it is huge but we NEVER felt like it was crowdedand I felt RCCL did a nice job with the neighborhoods and spreading people out.

Is there a lot of noise with the Boardwalk balcony rooms?

I would say the only time there is noise is for the 45 minAqua Theater show. Other than that we never heard a peep from the Boardwalk.

I will say that we learned we are ocean view people though.Nothing against the BW balconies but we prefer the ocean sounds.

Is the WindJammer crowded?

I guess I will have to put an astrek next to my firststatement and say that the Windjammer was crazy busy most mornings. If you wentfor breakfast anytime after 8am you had to wait in a descent line to get in…before8am, no problem.

My thought is that the Oasis Windjammer is smaller than onFreedom and in the first few days of the cruise I think most people are so useto going to WJ from previous cruises and don’t know the other breakfast options…Wewent to Johnny Rockets and the main dining room a few mornings. The MDR offers2 lines, Ala carte and buffet. There was a line for ala cart but not for the buffet. I would say take advantage of all breakfast options.

Are there any good public ocean viewing areas on Oasis?

I read this previously and didn’t really give it muchthought until we sailed Oasis. I missed the openness of Freedoms deck 5. Iloved walking out on deck 5 and seeing water and loved sitting in any of what seemedto be 100+ chairs on desk 5 of Freedom. I was disappointed in really only beingable to see out of Oasis at the Aft portion of Deck 5 and there were only 12deck chairs along the back.

Not a major thing but I liked on Freedom being away from thePool area and just taking in the view.

There is a Sun Deck on Oasis on deck 14 that you can access by goingforward port side but it was closed about half the time because I think it wasconsidered too windy.

Is Oasis dirty and showing its age?

Overall I thought she looked great but…I did notice several public areas wherechairs were VERY stained and looked as if someone defecated in it. While I amsure that’s not the case, I would have expected more from RCCL. I checked backon 2 areas later on in the cruise thinking they would have been cleaned butwere not.

Is CATS too long and is theater is empty after intermission?

I commented on this post before we sailed, trying to get anidea of the show. We got in line early because we wanted to be closer to thefront. The theater was full before show time. I would say that about 20% leftafter intermission. My son and I enjoyed the show and didn’t find it too long.My wife, not so much..haha. I don’t think that’s a reflection on theproduction, I think that’s just life. I like some movies that she doesn’t, Shelikes some TV shows that I don’t…it doesn’t make them bad shows…We all havedifferent tastes in life.

A few general notes or observations…

There are NO Drink cards offered anymore...or at least we were told. We did not buy thedrink packages because my wife would never drink her share to break even so weinquired about the “Drink Card” on Day 3 and was told at 4 separate bars thatthey are no longer offered by RCCL.

There was no Beer Card or Draft beer cards either.

I am still amazed that the number of people that will get ona completely full elevator. if was like Shriners getting out of those little cars...lol

On day 5 my son and I were hit with the Noro virus. There wasan outbreak onboard the ship. Because he is type 1 diabetic he was in severeketoacidosis and had to be taken to the hospital in Cozumel for furthertreatment. While the ships medical personal were good, I was not happy beingcharged $1100 for 3 Saline IV’s for him because of something that was not ourfault and that you can purchase for $15 each.

Thankfully after 3 more IV bags in Cozumel he and my wifewere back on the ship 15 minutes before sail away.

Yes we were quarantined while we were sick and they didoffer free room service (we had no appetite) and free movies (we slept off theillness)…but still a nice gesture I guess.

I would like to think that we are some of the most cautious people too, never touch the railings, use something to touch elevator buttons, carry hand sanitizer, always wash hands...so if we can catch it, anyone can

On that note I did notice a increased effort in wiping hand railings after the announcement was made but I think they could have donebetter with the elevators/buttons. I noticed no increased effort there.

After the public announcement about the outbreak I was MOREamazed at the amount of people that use the bathroom (number 2) and do NOT washtheir hands….YOU PEOPLE ARE THE PROBLEM…STOP living like ANIMALS (Not bitter atall)

I thought Central Park was one of the most beautiful partsof the ship…and it seemed no one was ever there though. It’s a great place to sit atnight and just listen to the music. We went every night after dinner and neverhad an issue finding a seat.

We did MTD…usually went between 5:45 and 6 each night exceptdays in port and never had a wait for a table and did have our same table everynight. I enjoyed having the same staff each night.

No Art auction is an hour...no matter what they tell you...haha

$10 t-shirts brings out the worst in people.

Fun review. Thanks for posting. Sorry you and your son got sick. Hope you are both fully recovered.

I liked the way you posed a question and then answered it....enjoyed the review...I’m on Oasis next January....my first mega-ship.....I saw Cats in London and I loved it!!!

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I also was on the cruise, thank you for your reviews....I will be posting mine tonight for tomorrow, I came down with the noro myself felt bad on the way home but fortunately made it home, was so sick sunday night and all day yesterday and night, starting to feel better, so glad your son is ok now, forget the money it cost you for the ships doctor, the main thing your son is ok! :D

How did your MTD work? Did you make reservations before you sailed/at the beginning of the cruise or the day before each meal? Or did you just show up each night? We're a party of two (sounds like you were three people?). It's our first ship with MTD, and we aren't quite sure what to do since 5:30-7:45 pm dining slots are all gone on the Cruise Planner.

Sorry about you and your son getting sick. Check your credit card and health insurance for coverage. If it was the ship that charged you so much for the three IVs, I wouldn’t be happy either considering the circumstance. Glad you are both ok.

Thank you for your honest observations. I enjoyed reading. We have a diabetic coming along on the cruise. Norovirus is making me a little concerned even with the extra precautions you took.

Sorry to hear you got sick.

If you were actually quarantined, and have official documentation, look into your travel insurance under Trip Interruption. You should be able to be reimbursed for the amount of your cruise days that you were under quarantine.

How did your MTD work? Did you make reservations before you sailed/at the beginning of the cruise or the day before each meal? Or did you just show up each night? We're a party of two (sounds like you were three people?). It's our first ship with MTD, and we aren't quite sure what to do since 5:30-7:45 pm dining slots are all gone on the Cruise Planner.

We did reserve our times before online.

There were 2 lines each night..one for reservations and one for none.

Others may know better but I think if you have reservations you can/will get the same table each night...if you dont have reservations you will get whatever table is available.

I didnt notice much of a line for the no reservation line each night.

You can always go to the dining room on the day you board and make/adjust reservations there too. They are open at 11am I believe.

Thank you for your honest observations. I enjoyed reading. We have a diabetic coming along on the cruise. Norovirus is making me a little concerned even with the extra precautions you took.

I honestly never thought we would get sick. We did everything we could (or so I thought).

Please be extra extra careful...You know how severe/deadly ketoacidosis is/can be.

I wonder if it was a serving utensil at the windjammer?...I dont know but I sure wish I knew how.

I also was on the cruise, thank you for your reviews....I will be posting mine tonight for tomorrow, I came down with the noro myself felt bad on the way home but fortunately made it home, was so sick sunday night and all day yesterday and night, starting to feel better, so glad your son is ok now, forget the money it cost you for the ships doctor, the main thing your son is ok! :D

Sorry to hear you got it too....I wish I knew the final count.

So far my wife did not and thank god she didnt because she was able to be with him at the hospital.

Yes I agree and glad he is ok...it was very serious and scary.

The ship bill will probably be nothing compared to the Cozumel hospital...lol.

I also was on the cruise, thank you for your reviews....I will be posting mine tonight for tomorrow, I came down with the noro myself felt bad on the way home but fortunately made it home, was so sick sunday night and all day yesterday and night, starting to feel better, so glad your son is ok now, forget the money it cost you for the ships doctor, the main thing your son is ok! :D

Sorry to hear you got it too....I wish I knew the final count.

So far my wife did not and thank god she didnt because she was able to be with him at the hospital.

Yes I agree and glad he is ok...it was very serious and scary.

The ship bill will probably be nothing compared to the Cozumel hospital...lol.

Not sure of the final number either, but as of day 6, there were 47 people affected.

Glad you're all doing better!

Many (most?) reviews of the Oasis fail to mention the Solarium Bistro. We had buffet lunch there on departure day (no line), breakfast 2 mornings (mini WJ with no line) and dinner 2 nights (Greek/Mediterranean food, appetizers and desert buffet, entrée served).

Also the Wipeout Café is the only place on Oasis that makes omelettes to order.

Strange to hear about the drink card. Was in the cruise compass on day 4 in February.

...Also the Wipeout Café is the only place on Oasis that makes omelettes to order. ... .

Johnny Rockets and the Main Dining Room also make omelettes made to order.

Thank you pretty much feeling all better now. I did hear that number 47 on day 6.

(y)Thanks for the review - very nicely done. (y)

Many (most?) reviews of the Oasis fail to mention the Solarium Bistro. We had buffet lunch there on departure day (no line), breakfast 2 mornings (mini WJ with no line) and dinner 2 nights (Greek/Mediterranean food, appetizers and desert buffet, entrée served).

 

Also the Wipeout Café is the only place on Oasis that makes omelettes to order.

 

Strange to hear about the drink card. Was in the cruise compass on day 4 in February.

Very true...many more options on Oasis. I think many cruisers that were use to only having WJ as a breakfast option, it took a few days for them to figure out there are other places to go.

I was surprised to hear about the drink cards too...was actually looking forward to getting one....I was told this is fleet wide but I dont know.

Question: I've never had to decide if I'm a la carte or buffet in theMDR for breakfast. I've always had something from the menu, but I took from the buffet too. Are you saying I can't do that now?

(y)Thanks for the review - very nicely done. (y)

Thank you...was my first shot at doing one...I tried to keep it brief but that didnt work...haha

Question: I've never had to decide if I'm a la carte or buffet in theMDR for breakfast. I've always had something from the menu, but I took from the buffet too. Are you saying I can't do that now?

There were 2 lines at the MDR for breakfast seating.

Left side was if you wanted to order off the menu...they took you to a table and sat you and gave you a menu.

Right side was if you just wanted to do the buffet...similar but smaller than WJ...they seat you at a table and then you go up to the buffet yourself. The only thing you could "order" was coffee/Tea

Hope that answers your question...if not let me know...Thx

We were on the April 15th sailing as well. I am so sorry that you and your son got sick. We managed to escape it. I did notice a great effort by the staff to do extra cleaning and such. I noticed at the Windjammer (before the announcement) that they were frequently changing out the utensils.

I too felt very disconnected with the ocean on this sailing. We had an oceanview room but missed being able to sit in a bar or something and enjoy the view. Windjammer was the only place to do that.

We really enjoyed CATS. We did not enjoy the poor audience manners. But I guess when people are on a cruise they feel differently about common courtesy during a show. (And I know this won't change.)

We felt the service was exceptional everywhere we went on the ship. We were looking for the drink cards too.

Thanks for the review. Brought back happy memories for us (our 3 boys first cruise was on the FOS -- been on it 3 times and loved it every time). We did the OOS this past December and headed back in December.

It is amazing to me that a ship that large doesn't seem crowded. Thanks again and so sorry you got sick.

Thanks we cruise rccl a lot but going on first oasis cruis later this year

Thanks for the review. Brought back happy memories for us (our 3 boys first cruise was on the FOS -- been on it 3 times and loved it every time). We did the OOS this past December and headed back in December.

 

It is amazing to me that a ship that large doesn't seem crowded. Thanks again and so sorry you got sick.

Thanks.

Do you have a preference between the 2 ships?

I think if I had to pick between Freedom and Oasis I would pick Freedom for the openness of desk 5 and great aft balcony's...but I would so miss Central Park.

Johnny Rockets and the Main Dining Room also make omelettes made to order.

Sorry Bob, I forgot about the MDR although I was more thinking of quick serve. And the omlettes at JRs are limited to cheese and ham and cheese.