Just off the Oasis

[cruisinisforme]

Well actually yesterday...lol but the day was long and I didnt have time to come post! I still have to get my pictures loaded but I am down in the florida keys right now so it may have to wait until tomorrow when I get home. But I am sure there are plenty of pictures going around.

 

I cannot begin to tell you all how much I loved the ship. It was even better than I possibly could have imagined. We quickly decided to go right to touring the cabins first since it was only open until 4. Some of the suites are beautiful and I would be happy to stay in any of them!!! The other rooms were to me just like all our other cruises.

 

We were assigned a D8 and I know on their website it says it is the same size, but we all agreed that they appear much smaller...and there is definitely less drawer space. Dont get me wrong they are still great, but as girls..well we use that space!!! The closets now have a new self closing feature so no more banging in the middle of the night, they soft shut themselves, its kind of cool! And to be one of the best improvements was the cabin doors now all open out!! No more slamming the bathroom door into the front door! I loved the setup of the new balconies, you now have to really comfortable chairs and a nice table, a regular one not the short ones they have always had...in all my cruises I have rarely ordered breakfast to the cabin because there was really no comfortable place to enjoy it..but now you can take it out to the balcony on that table and really enjoy that ocean!

 

The coolest thing we all agreed on was the new interactie sign on each floor. Get off the elevator..press find your cabin, enter the number and it tells you how to get there!! They also added a small arrow on each door right next to the number..all the arrows point to the front of the ship..so you will always know you are headed the right way. The sign is good for more things than finding your cabin though. Its basically the cruise compass. Ask it where to eat, where the shows are and it tells you what times and where to go and how to get there...It was the coolest thing, I have a video I will post soon.

 

Personally I thougth central park was nice..it was a great place to go and read, relax and just spend some quiet time....unforunately too quiet for me lol! I am sure many will love it though and use it just for those reasons!

 

Now the boardwalk was simply amazing!!!! It was so lively and fun, I know its mostly for kids but its a great place to hang out if you really want to hang out because its just so upbeat all the time. Didnt care for the donuts...thought they were kind of bland..but thats my own opinion. Loved the aqua theater and the show was fantastic too, you will not believe what they can accomplish in that small space!

 

The new restaurant additions are the best!! If you like seafood you are going to love the seafood shack! Wait until you see the selection. Honestly my group decided to forgo dinner so we could go to all the venue choices and try them instead. We figured we have all been to enough dinners since all but one of us was DP. It was a great choice. The new cafe has the BEST panninis...I can deifinitely see myself skipping the windjammer and going there for lunch...well there and the seafood shack.

[janetz]

Well actually yesterday...lol but the day was long and I didnt have time to come post! I still have to get my pictures loaded but I am down in the florida keys right now so it may have to wait until tomorrow when I get home. But I am sure there are plenty of pictures going around.

 

I cannot begin to tell you all how much I loved the ship. It was even better than I possibly could have imagined. We quickly decided to go right to touring the cabins first since it was only open until 4. Some of the suites are beautiful and I would be happy to stay in any of them!!! The other rooms were to me just like all our other cruises.

 

We were assigned a D8 and I know on their website it says it is the same size, but we all agreed that they appear much smaller...and there is definitely less drawer space. Dont get me wrong they are still great, but as girls..well we use that space!!! The closets now have a new self closing feature so no more banging in the middle of the night, they soft shut themselves, its kind of cool! And to be one of the best improvements was the cabin doors now all open out!! No more slamming the bathroom door into the front door! I loved the setup of the new balconies, you now have to really comfortable chairs and a nice table, a regular one not the short ones they have always had...in all my cruises I have rarely ordered breakfast to the cabin because there was really no comfortable place to enjoy it..but now you can take it out to the balcony on that table and really enjoy that ocean!

 

The coolest thing we all agreed on was the new interactie sign on each floor. Get off the elevator..press find your cabin, enter the number and it tells you how to get there!! They also added a small arrow on each door right next to the number..all the arrows point to the front of the ship..so you will always know you are headed the right way. The sign is good for more things than finding your cabin though. Its basically the cruise compass. Ask it where to eat, where the shows are and it tells you what times and where to go and how to get there...It was the coolest thing, I have a video I will post soon.

 

Personally I thougth central park was nice..it was a great place to go and read, relax and just spend some quiet time....unforunately too quiet for me lol! I am sure many will love it though and use it just for those reasons!

 

Now the boardwalk was simply amazing!!!! It was so lively and fun, I know its mostly for kids but its a great place to hang out if you really want to hang out because its just so upbeat all the time. Didnt care for the donuts...thought they were kind of bland..but thats my own opinion. Loved the aqua theater and the show was fantastic too, you will not believe what they can accomplish in that small space!

 

The new restaurant additions are the best!! If you like seafood you are going to love the seafood shack! Wait until you see the selection. Honestly my group decided to forgo dinner so we could go to all the venue choices and try them instead. We figured we have all been to enough dinners since all but one of us was DP. It was a great choice. The new cafe has the BEST panninis...I can deifinitely see myself skipping the windjammer and going there for lunch...well there and the seafood shack.

 

 

Thanks so much! Can't wait to see your pics. :)

[mafig]

How did the buffet look to you. Do you think it'll be very crowded?

 

Did you go to the casino?

 

How about the main restaurant? We've requested a table for two. Did you happen to notice if there were many of them.

 

 

Thank you for taking the time to post. So happy you liked the ship.

 

:)

[RoyalCaribbeanLover]

Janet,

 

Glad you had a great time. Thanks for the info. The signs to sound amazing and can't wait to play with them. I am glad to hear that there are nice choices for lunch other than the Windjammer.:) Now if the 2 weeks would go by faster:p.

[cruisinisforme]

Ok it was getting long and I decided to post it...you know how CC can be and I didnt want to lose what I had done. The new windjammer is kind of odd..instead of being long its on both sides. We all had some issues with it...and personally I am going to put my faith behind RCCL since I have always believed they have handled crowd control well and that this was just an issue because it was the first sailing.

 

Basically the breakfast was bad....no bacon to be found..people were standing waiting for them to bring things out..the egg station had a line longer than I have ever seen on any ship. Again I am saying this with a grain of salt because I have cruised RCCL too many times and have never seen that happen...the ship was not sailing full so you would have thought they could have handled it better...but it still was the first official sailing so hopefully they will work all that out.

 

The addition of food in the new solarium area is great too. First the solarium is about as beautiful as you can imagine, but now you dont even have to leave, they serve breakfast and lunch, with many healthy choices and I think its going to be enjoyed by many.

 

The pool area was one of the best I have seen. The two pools on either side, they have done away with the risers and no one will be complaining about the suite guests getting their own area, they are now on a different deck with their own private bar so the pool area is open to all!!!! The pool bar was great, was rounded and went around both sides, much larger with stools going almost to the center but they leave a large area in the center with no stools...much nicer for people walking up wanting a drink and now not having to ask other people to get thru them.

 

I usually love the sky bar, but not so crazy about this one...now thats a personal issue because its mostly in the sun and I usually go to the bar for some sun relief...others may love this for the exact opposit reason.

[cruisinisforme]

I have so much to tell, hope I can remember it all!! I have always been a schooner bar person..and I really did love the new schooner bar...but miss the old one. The one feature I do love about it is that it now overlooks the royal promenade so it is really nice and tends to keep it more lively.

 

We went on the bar that goes up and down...its totally cool...but I will tell you what would keep us off of it is that it only serves champagne and soda...so bring the drink you want with you or you wont get it.

 

Love the new boleros, it was so pretty and upbeat and its right in the middle of the royal promande...the disco is down one floor and honestly the best setup of any disco I have been on...I have always hated the seperation of the dance floor from the rest of the place...now you can pretty much see everything from where ever you are, and they gave the smokers their own little section off to the side that is still a place where you can see everything but not close enough to bother you if you dont smoke.

 

The on air club was amazing and again right on the royal promenade...I guess I keep using the word upbeat but honestly that is how they designed so many of these places.

 

We did try the cupcakes friends on our roll call asked us to do it for them...and to be fair...it wasnt just me..there were 5 of us. We got the red velvet and the chocolate one...the frosting was super delicous...but none of us cared for the cupcakes...now with that said we ran into several people who loved...so its going to be subjective to your own likings.

 

I am happy to say we made the new Oasis commercial! The camera guy just loved us...I had made us all rhinestone shirts and we could not have been stopped enough asking where we got them. We also had a couple of other items I had made when I post my pictures you will see them..I could have made a fortune selling lol.

 

Ken Rush as always was a great as ever...you can tell me anything you want about cruise directors, but I love that you will see ken all over the ship. I have been on many cruises where you dont even see a CD...yet ken is always out and about. I also liked that I saw Adam Goldstein too...again I just feel that it is nice that the executives can come out and enjoy their own ship..he was up on deck with us when they were filiming the zipline spot and had his kids there with him...I personally think it shows the customers that he cares too...I hate when people in charge are never seen..just my own personal opinion though

[cruisinisforme]

I did go to the casino but only to see it, we got a very late start so they didnt even allow you to start gambling until pretty late and by that time we were so busy with other things I didnt have time to go back. We know people who did though (and won lol) and said they loved the new slot machines.

 

I never found the internet cafe..but I meant to see it...and I also cant believe I never got to the concierge lounge, although we did find francois on the ship and talked to him for a bit.

 

The staff were about as excited as can be..they all had such great attitudes and lucky for me several of them I knew already from other ships! I think they were all excited about bringing this awesome ship over.

 

Oh yeah and in case your all wondering who I am...we were the girls holding the sign that sam champion came over and talked to! He loved us...we were told by all the GMA people to put the sign away they didnt want signs...and then we went up to the pool deck and he saw we made a sign and was so excited they asked us to move just to be there when he came on!

[emmy]

Janet..wonderful thoughts here of your first look at Oasis. Okay when will the RCI commercial be playing..let us know :)

 

Okay any peak into the Diamond Club and where is it located?

 

You looked wonderful on GMA :)

[cruisinisforme]

He told us to look for it within a week! We were all pretty excited

 

We didnt get in the diamond or concierge lounge..but mostly because they were just open for viewing and not for use..so it wasnt quite the same..and there was so much to see in so little time I think in the end we just forgot! lol

 

Ok im headed out to enjoy so beautiful florida keys sunshine, let me know what questions and Ill answer them when I get back!

[emmy]

He told us to look for it within a week! We were all pretty excited

 

We didnt get in the diamond or concierge lounge..but mostly because they were just open for viewing and not for use..so it wasnt quite the same..and there was so much to see in so little time I think in the end we just forgot! lol

 

Hope we get to see the commercial here in Canada :)

 

another important question...did you get to sleep:D

[cruisinisforme]

LOL Not much let me tell you..I more than made up for it last night I was so tired. I think we went to bed around 2:30 but we had to be up at 5:30 for GMA...might as well just have stayed up...and my friends were getting on the majesty right after this..I told them they were going there to sleep lol. They kept us on the ship really late too..we didnt get off until after noon and they had all the restuarants and such open so you could really enjoy everything right up until the time you left.

 

Embarkation and Debarkation was easy and painless and the new dock is awesome.

[mafig]

How did the main dining room look?

[tiggypooo]

Someone asked a question about the Buffet area.

I, for one, thought that it was very poorly laid out. It is 2 seperate areas with their own entrances, which I thought made each one small and inefficient.

There are 4 (if I remember properly) round serving stations up the middle, with the drink station on the side.

People were going both ways around the buffet. I saw at least 10 collisions, with people looking at food and not where they were going.

In between people trying to get around the stations, servers were trying to carry hot containers of food, to replace the empty ones.

Very unorganized and confusing and there was only 3000 people onboard instead of 5000.

[molly361]

He told us to look for it within a week! We were all pretty excited

 

We didnt get in the diamond or concierge lounge..but mostly because they were just open for viewing and not for use..so it wasnt quite the same..and there was so much to see in so little time I think in the end we just forgot! lol

 

Ok im headed out to enjoy so beautiful florida keys sunshine, let me know what questions and Ill answer them when I get back!

 

Hey, welcome to the Keys. That's where I live. :) Looking forward to seeing a picture of your cabin. We have a D8 booked for late next year.

[kk99]

Hi Janet,

Thanks for all of the early info. Ya'll looked great on GMA. I loved all the sparklies! Would you be so kind to kick it off and post on the cabin thread I started for the Oasis. This was done on the Solstice, and it was a great help to everyone booking cruises to pick their cabins. Can't wait to see all of your pictures. Here's the thread http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1093515

Kelcie

[jillybabes]

Great review Janet, looking forward to your pictures and seeing the commercial...So happy that you got to experience a Pre-Inaugural and all the perks that go with it:p...See you in October:D!!!

[zales]

Janet, how was the D1 balcony?

[mafig]

Did you look at the shops on board?

 

How did Coach look? Did it appear fully stocked?

[beastiemom]

Janet-

 

You said the doors open out, not in. Do yo mean the cabin doors? The only concern I would have would be that if you were walking down the hall and doors were opening into the hall that you could get wacked by a heavy door.:eek: Or did I misunderstand?

[jaspercat]

Thanks Janet for the great comments! It's going to be long 11 months :).

[Aqua Bliss]

Janet-

 

You said the doors open out, not in. Do yo mean the cabin doors? The only concern I would have would be that if you were walking down the hall and doors were opening into the hall that you could get wacked by a heavy door.:eek: Or did I misunderstand?

 

I thought the same thing, that would make for quite a dangerous hallway...! She must have meant that the *bathroom* doors open in???

[cruisinisforme]

I havent loaded all my pictures yet but the hallways are done differently now, you should see them all soon and then you can tell what I mean. They moved the closets to in the cabin further so it allowed them to move the cabin doors back and as you are walking down the hallways two cabins doors are right next to each other but set back a little so it will not interfere. I know its kind of hard to explain.

 

Now I cant speak for others, but we had two cabins right next door to each other and could hear everything that was said in the other cabin...kind of annoying to be honest.

 

The balcony dividers also open differntly now too, they just slide back so you wont hear any banging on them either if you choose to open the balconies up with rooms side by side.

[cruisinisforme]

Couple of other things I thought of, watch out for those light switches lol. They have now apparently put one master light switch by the bathroom door and it controls all the lights in the cabins..now this is a good feature except for one thing....when my roomate went to bed the only light on was the light above her head when she hit the switch for it...I could not for the life of me figure out how to turn the damn lights on, there were so many switches and the only one I could consistently get turned on was the one above her head since it was the one on when she hit the master switch...I talked to a few other people about this who had the same problem..most of us thought we lost power in our room because it even controls the bathroom light lol.

 

They also put a small bar outside the main dining room so while you are waiting you can get drinks. Along with that they put a self serving wine bar where you can swipe your card and get some wine, prices started at $2 for an 2 ounces this way if you wanted to just taste the wine before getting a full glass you knew if you liked it or not.

 

If you are on any of the pre inaugurals and want your room key....beware they are taking it from you when you get off the ship!!! I would go to guest relations and tell them I lost my key and get a new one lol..myself and everyone around me wanted their key.

[emmy]

Along with that they put a self serving wine bar where you can swipe your card and get some wine, prices started at $2 for an 2 ounces this way if you wanted to just taste the wine before getting a full glass you knew if you liked it or not.

 

 

I have seen a photo on the boards of this wine tasting dispenser Thanks for bringing this up. Is this just outside the main dining rooms? I had heard of this but thought it was just at Vintages. I am wondering if it is available only at dinner time.

[eroller]

I havent loaded all my pictures yet but the hallways are done differently now, you should see them all soon and then you can tell what I mean. They moved the closets to in the cabin further so it allowed them to move the cabin doors back and as you are walking down the hallways two cabins doors are right next to each other but set back a little so it will not interfere. I know its kind of hard to explain.

 

Now I cant speak for others, but we had two cabins right next door to each other and could hear everything that was said in the other cabin...kind of annoying to be honest.

 

The balcony dividers also open differntly now too, they just slide back so you wont hear any banging on them either if you choose to open the balconies up with rooms side by side.

 

 

This all sounds exactly like CELEBRITY SOLSTICE, which I'm sure is exactly where they got the idea from. On SOLSTICE I never heard anyone next door.

 

Attached is a corridor from SOLSTICE, with the two cabin doors recessed on the left. If there are connecting cabins, then there is a set of outer doors. If they are not connecting then no outer doors.

 

Ernie