Live from ... Oasis of the Seas (Photos, First Impressions, Vignettes)

[Evil Jeremy]

Anyone know if there is a Ben and Jerrry's on the ship? I know there is a seperate RCCL ice cream palor, but what about Ben and Jerrys?

[Cruiserccl]

Anyone know if there is a Ben and Jerrry's on the ship? I know there is a seperate RCCL ice cream palor, but what about Ben and Jerrys?

 

I did not see it. They has a new ice cream place kinda like Cold Stone.

[High Hair High Seas]

Did anyone happen to take any pics of the gym that you could share? Thank you!

[Seaworthy01]

Does anyone happen to have pictures of balcony state rooms in the D - Category? Or any?

[bragstarr]

I just took a look at this thing. As much as I am looking forward to sailing on Oasis in January, it's almost too much to digest (pun intended). I kind of feel like I am walking through Disney World and reading all the food concessions and restaurants!

 

That being said--Last thing on the chart--Vitality Cafe. Wasn't there supposed to be free breakfast and lunch in there and then a dinner with a charge--healthy menu?

[ExploreroftheSeas92]

That being said--Last thing on the chart--Vitality Cafe. Wasn't there supposed to be free breakfast and lunch in there and then a dinner with a charge--healthy menu?

 

I think you are referring to the Solarim Bistro, which breakfast and lunch is included in your cruise cost while dinner is $20 per person.

[bragstarr]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bragstarr

That being said--Last thing on the chart--Vitality Cafe. Wasn't there supposed to be free breakfast and lunch in there and then a dinner with a charge--healthy menu?

 

I think you are referring to the Solarim Bistro, which breakfast and lunch is included in your cruise cost while dinner is $20 per person.

 

DUH! My error. I TOLD you I was getting totally confused. :rolleyes: I need a schematic of the ship with each place marked and prices on it!

[sideout1961]

How about leave the internet at home? You are on vacation!

[Tyron]

Did anyone happen to take any pics of the gym that you could share? Thank you!

 

check out the Oasis feature section.

http://www.cruisecritic.com/articles.cfm?ID=1054#

 

[avalon1025]

Hi Carolyn - I hope you had a good time on there. It was certainly a good experience! I had some other beefs with the mini-cruise that are probably better to talk to them directly over, since it's most likely that they won't apply to your typical cruiser.

 

We didn't get the invoice, but we did get charged. I like to be more prepared for the charges I made before I get off the ship. The in-room account review didn't work in our cabin either.

 

And I am a little miffed about the cards - no card, no invoice, no evidence of being there! haha outside of the Oasis hat that I bought and the coffee mug that Theresa bought.

 

Luckily, we got to keep our cards...luck of the draw?

[Oasis of the Seas]

There's no Ben & Jerry's --

 

Anyone know if there is a Ben and Jerrry's on the ship? I know there is a seperate RCCL ice cream palor, but what about Ben and Jerrys?

[Oasis of the Seas]

You make a great point with your comment about it almost being like Disney World with all the food concessions. That's absolutely the point :) -- not sure if you saw the post we wrote about decentralizing the buffet concept but boy, they're really trying to move people all over the ship so there are not huge queues anywhere. Breakfast is a terrific example of that (and it's noted in that post, on page 1).

 

Re the Vitality Cafe. It's reminscent of the spa eateries onbaord Celebrity ships and frankly it's lovely. It serves spa lunch and dinner (we had a dinner there and it was relatively delicious; think it will be the kind of place that on day 4, after eating too much already and running around too much it'll be a great place for a light meal).

 

There was breakfast served there -- but the dishes on the buffet inexplicably were the usual greasy buffet-style suspects like eggs, sausage, bacon, etc. I'd like to see Oasis do a better job of offering one heathly place three meals daily.

 

I just took a look at this thing. As much as I am looking forward to sailing on Oasis in January, it's almost too much to digest (pun intended). I kind of feel like I am walking through Disney World and reading all the food concessions and restaurants!

 

That being said--Last thing on the chart--Vitality Cafe. Wasn't there supposed to be free breakfast and lunch in there and then a dinner with a charge--healthy menu?

[Oasis of the Seas]

One of the questions and shall I say issues that came up this weekend on Oasis from readers and press colleagues both was that of nickel and diming. That term, as most of you know, refers to the increasing propensity of cruise lines to add a’la carte charges to services onboard.

 

I think that a lot of us have gotten used to the fact that you may have to pay a entrance fee to access specialty restaurants on almost all cruise ships. And in some cases, recently only of late, there are onboard eateries that have no charge – but then require passengers to pay for the food, variously priced, as if they’re on an on-land restaurant (NCL’s sushi bar comes immediately to mind).

 

I always grimace when I hear people talk about cruising as “all inclusive”. It’s a great value – but it’s never been all-inclusive, not even on luxury lines. You’ll always pay for things like shore excursions, liquor, spa treatments, casino gambling, Internet access, art auctions and the like.

 

Back to Oasis though. There’s seems to be an extra sensitivity to the concept of nickel and diming and it definitely does have a lot more restaurants that charge for entry than we’re used to. It’s also got more additional food-related fees, such as cupcakes in the Cupcake Cupboard and food items in Izumi, its Asian restaurant, than we’ve seen before.

 

The explanation for that, says Adam Goldstein, is as follows:

 

“ We are offering, included in ticket price, where you can get as many culinary and entertainment as you can get here. We also have never offered as many additional charge opportunities as we have. They exist for charge because if they didn’t charge they wouldn’t exist. You can’t expect to subsidize options that only some guests will want. We’re trying to balance this array of features, included in ticket price, and for charge, in an appropriate way. We are very conscious of this.”

 

It may interest you to know that Royal Caribbean charges for none of its recreational activities, not even the new zipline, the first in cruising, even though land-based resorts do levy fees for this kind of stuff. Notes Goldstein, “It’s very clear that people would pay to do the zipline.”

 

So why not charge?

 

In this case, he explained that Royal Caribbean really has created a personality for itself around the array of recreational features it has onboard, which also include ice skating, rock climbing, and the Flow Rider surf simulator. To promote those so heavily – and then require people to pay – wouldn’t be fair, Goldstein explains the reasoning: “We have a collection of active opportunities that are suggestive of the brand. Let’s include that in the price so the message is consistent, so you can have more active experiences even though we risk there will be lines.”

 

 

 

Carolyn

[Oasis of the Seas]

It's a lovely sentiment, sideout1961, but I think for a lot of us -- we do need to be able to check in, even on vacation. And this ship will not make that easy.

 

How about leave the internet at home? You are on vacation!

[Oasis of the Seas]

Whoops I got these two confused in my post about Vitality Cafe. Was definitely referring to Solarium Bistro.

 

We had a big debate the other night, while dining there, about how much the dinner cover charge is -- $20 wow. That's too high. I wouldn't pay it for the experience we had.

 

Carolyn

 

 

I think you are referring to the Solarim Bistro, which breakfast and lunch is included in your cruise cost while dinner is $20 per person.

[scottlad]

You were not allowed to keep your SetSail cards which are tied to one of your own credit cards?

Thats very odd.

Ive always kept my SetSail cards plus the fact that this in itself is a very active credit card that pulls from my very real money.

When did they take your cards from you?

:

While I like to keep my cruise card as a souvenir as well, there isn't a security issue with them electing to take it back. Your card isn't a credit card in itself and can't be used anywhere else.

[Oasis of the Seas]

One of the by-products of Oasis of the Seas’ multiple options and massive capacity is that the anxiety about getting into restaurants and entertainment venues of choice – which already exists in big ship cruising – will be at an even higher level.

 

That’s why Royal Caribbean is, with Oasis, introducing a reservations’ system that far surpasses even what NCL offers. On NCL, for instance, which also has multiple dining venues, there are real-time flat screens posted throughout the ship that alert you to which restaurants have wait times and which have space. Oasis has those boards (though on my cruise they clearly were not operational because it’d say that Seafood Shack is lightly used and I’d be turned away at the door).

 

But Oasis has gone beyond that in an effort to eliminate queues and the kind of “there’s no room for you here” disappointment that is big ship cruising’s Achilles heel. As on other ships, you can pre-book tours, spa treatments and restaurants. Here, you can also pre-book entertainment offerings such as “Hairspray,” ice-skating and other events.

 

On Oasis, pre-booking will be for many of us a necessity if you want to make sure you get to see some of the shows that are most exciting. And there’s irony to that. Because cruising, which for a decade now has really been emphasizing that life aboard is flexible rather than, as was traditional, stuffy and regimented. And if you go on Oasis and you do have specific preferences, you’re going to have to prebook. Which, by the time you get on the cruise, you have a full weeks of activities means that all planned out for you.

 

It’s a necessary evil but don’t tell me that cruising like that is a flexible, free-spirited vacation.

 

I don’t think anyone’s going to know how well the reservation system will work with Oasis until revenue cruises begin. But at the press Q&A Saturday, Richard Fain addressed the issue by saying “Reservations systems are necessary [on other cruise lines] because there’s not enough capacity so they have to ration what they have. We have more opportunity, more availability. This is a system so people can plan because there are so many more choices. In addition, it allows us to plan better. If we know that there’s a huge demand for a particular activity, we can augment it. We don’t sell out in advance, if you don’t get on and book it in ten minutes you’re not going to see it.

 

“The anticipation is part of the pleasure.”

 

 

Carolyn

[GotDrums]

While I like to keep my cruise card as a souvenir as well, there isn't a security issue with them electing to take it back. Your card isn't a credit card in itself and can't be used anywhere else.

Thank you very much for your reply.

I do realize that its not a credit card in itself but it is still linked with my credit card.

Thats why I would like to be the one who carrys the card off the ship.

Not saying that anyone on RCCL would try to cheat me I love this cruise line.

I just has a bad experience on billing on the Navigator which got worked out in the end but tied up close to a grand of my money for around a month.

Not a good experience

So maybe Im being to careful.

Still look forward to my Critter cruise on the Oasis Dec 1.

It will be a great experience and in spite of any short comings its still great to be able to be on a cruise these days.

Peace

Tim:cool:

[idjaffe]

One of the questions and shall I say issues that came up this weekend on Oasis from readers and press colleagues both was that of nickel and diming. That term, as most of you know, refers to the increasing propensity of cruise lines to add a’la carte charges to services onboard.

 

I think that a lot of us have gotten used to the fact that you may have to pay a entrance fee to access specialty restaurants on almost all cruise ships. And in some cases, recently only of late, there are onboard eateries that have no charge – but then require passengers to pay for the food, variously priced, as if they’re on an on-land restaurant (NCL’s sushi bar comes immediately to mind).

 

I always grimace when I hear people talk about cruising as “all inclusive”. It’s a great value – but it’s never been all-inclusive, not even on luxury lines. You’ll always pay for things like shore excursions, liquor, spa treatments, casino gambling, Internet access, art auctions and the like.

 

Back to Oasis though. There’s seems to be an extra sensitivity to the concept of nickel and diming and it definitely does have a lot more restaurants that charge for entry than we’re used to. It’s also got more additional food-related fees, such as cupcakes in the Cupcake Cupboard and food items in Izumi, its Asian restaurant, than we’ve seen before.

 

The explanation for that, says Adam Goldstein, is as follows:

 

“ We are offering, included in ticket price, where you can get as many culinary and entertainment as you can get here. We also have never offered as many additional charge opportunities as we have. They exist for charge because if they didn’t charge they wouldn’t exist. You can’t expect to subsidize options that only some guests will want. We’re trying to balance this array of features, included in ticket price, and for charge, in an appropriate way. We are very conscious of this.”

 

It may interest you to know that Royal Caribbean charges for none of its recreational activities, not even the new zipline, the first in cruising, even though land-based resorts do levy fees for this kind of stuff. Notes Goldstein, “It’s very clear that people would pay to do the zipline.”

 

So why not charge?

 

In this case, he explained that Royal Caribbean really has created a personality for itself around the array of recreational features it has onboard, which also include ice skating, rock climbing, and the Flow Rider surf simulator. To promote those so heavily – and then require people to pay – wouldn’t be fair, Goldstein explains the reasoning: “We have a collection of active opportunities that are suggestive of the brand. Let’s include that in the price so the message is consistent, so you can have more active experiences even though we risk there will be lines.”

Carolyn

 

I HATE to be nickel and dimmed:

Cup cakes, ice cream, room service (at times), Chops, 150, Giovanni's, Vintages, JRs, Seafood Shack, Solarium, Izumi, Spa, coffee....

 

The list seems to go on and on.

 

RCCL and Oasis in particular, is the most expensive cruise lines of the "mass market" (by FAR). That said, I don't believe that this nickel and dimeing is warranted. Charge another $50 per passenger, and due away with all the "little charges". Leave the top end extras (like 150, chops) and get rid of the charges at JR, the ice cream, cupcakes, etc.

 

We are a prime example of the customers that RCCL are loosing. We are major cruise people - 2 - 3 trips a year..most with the full family. We choose Carnival most of the time - because of what services are offered and at the price it is offered.

 

Eventually, the nickel and dimeing will cost RCCL. They will look at the full list of "extras" and choose another line, or a land based vacation.

[cps10]

You make a great point with your comment about it almost being like Disney World with all the food concessions. That's absolutely the point :) -- not sure if you saw the post we wrote about decentralizing the buffet concept but boy, they're really trying to move people all over the ship so there are not huge queues anywhere. Breakfast is a terrific example of that (and it's noted in that post, on page 1).

 

I agree with the fact that there are many stations within the buffet area (Windjammer Marketplace). One thing that did turn me off was the proximity of the exact same food groups. For instance, you have your corned beef hash and eggs and pancakes at one station. Then you skip a station, and then the next station is the same food as the first. If there will be more stations that de-centralize it, then have different foods on them. I do understand that it does a great job of lowering lines, but I get some food and get excited about more possibilities, just to find that the second station over is the same stuff. What I am getting at I guess here is that the variety or choice was not as great as I expected.

[Longhorn Cruiser]

RCCL and Oasis in particular, is the most expensive cruise lines of the "mass market" (by FAR). That said, I don't believe that this nickel and dimeing is warranted. Charge another $50 per passenger, and due away with all the "little charges". Leave the top end extras (like 150, chops) and get rid of the charges at JR, the ice cream, cupcakes, etc.

.

 

Wow, you would actually spend $50 a person for Johnny Rockets, ice cream and cupcakes? Considering they only charge $4.95 at JR and $2.50 for cupcakes, I would rather pay as I go..Thank you. The extremely minimal charges actually serve as crowd control on a ship this size. You could never get into JR or the seafood shack if there was no charge. Kids alone would fill up these venues.

 

Its amazing people are willing to spend $8.95 for the drink of the day plus gratuity (you do get to keep the glass) but when they charge $2.50 for a cupcake, people complain.

[Oasis of the Seas]

Cruiserccl is right -- there is no Ben & Jerry's. The new ice cream parlor on the Boardwalk takes its place (loved the mango variety, fresh and fruity; vanilla was just OK...do miss the B&J, frankly!).

 

I did not see it. They has a new ice cream place kinda like Cold Stone.

[Oasis of the Seas]

Whether you are looking to shop for holiday gifts, souvenirs or just yourself, here are the options:

 

On the Royal Promenade

 

* Prince and Greene. This is an upmarket boutique selling designer wear and accessories, including swimsuits from Michael by Michael Kors and Trina Turk, Ed Hardy tees, and sunglasses from Prada and Gucci to Marc by Marc Jacobs. Couldn't help but walk out with a new pair of designer shades...

 

* The Shop. Here, you'll find your typical ship magnets, keychains and logo wear, and massive Oasis of the Seas ship models, which were in high demand (one woman was buying SEVEN -- zero idea how she was getting them home, hopefully there was no flight involved).

 

* Solera. This is the spot for duty-free beauty buys, like makeup, and men's and women's fragrances. Featured brands include Chanel and Smashbox among others. One note: There's no Clinique, commonly found on ships.

 

* Port Merchants. Duty-free booze. Nothing out of the ordinary here.

 

* Focus. Forgot your camera? Hit up this photo shop.

 

* Willow. Less high-fashion than Prince and Greene, Willow sells casual sportswear as well as natural and organic clothing. Look too for the World of Good line, whose proceeds benefit socially responsible artisans and non-profit orgs globally.

 

* Regalia. This is the spot for fine jewelry and watches; brands include Tag Heuer, Roberto Coin and more.

 

On the Boardwalk

 

* Star Pier. Teens will like the skater duds and surf styles, including swimwear by Roxy, at this retail outlet dedicated exclusively to that age group. Even I was tempted to buy a pair of funky beaded sandals here!

 

* Candy Beach. This is not the first at-sea candy shop -- MSC and Carnival have them -- but it's the first for Royal Caribbean. Bulk candy is sold by weight: $2.99 for a quarter pound, $11.99 for a full pound. The selection is varied (from old-school licorice to modern Sour Patch Kids), but I wish they had those sugar-coated fruit slices -- the thin ones, not the chubby fruit jellies.

 

* Pinwheels. Goods include clothing and toys for kids -- LOVE the pirate-themed Lego sets. You can also buy, natch, pinwheels :)

 

* Pets at sea. Read about it here!

 

In Central Park

 

* Coach. Ladies, start your shopping engines ... this is the first Coach leather goods store at sea! We were pleasantly surprised to see that it is selling the current season's styles in handbags and accessories; prices are comparable to those on land.

 

* The Parkside Gallery. Here, you can purchase upscale, original artwork.

 

* Picture This. Time to redo your family portrait!

 

On the Pool Deck

 

* Breeze. Stock up here on fun-in-the-sun items like tote bags and skin care products, and light beach reads.

 

--Melissa Paloti, Managing Editor

[pepsicruiser]

Thank you very much for your reply.

I do realize that its not a credit card in itself but it is still linked with my credit card.

Thats why I would like to be the one who carrys the card off the ship.

Not saying that anyone on RCCL would try to cheat me I love this cruise line.

I just has a bad experience on billing on the Navigator which got worked out in the end but tied up close to a grand of my money for around a month.

Not a good experience

So maybe Im being to careful.

Still look forward to my Critter cruise on the Oasis Dec 1.

It will be a great experience and in spite of any short comings its still great to be able to be on a cruise these days.

Peace

Tim:cool:

 

 

 

If I remember correctly the SeaPass card was taken as we left the ship. We had to have it scanned and not returned. But if having a souvenier card is important to you just go down to Pursers desk during sailing and tell them you lost your card. They will issue you a new one and you can keep the old one.

[Cruising89143]

How about leave the internet at home? You are on vacation!

 

 

That's not always possible.