Oasis Western 3/2-3/9 Review With Pictures

[gskline]

We were on that cruise too.. We also rented a cabana. You can rent them 90 days out. Don't wait too long because there aren't that many. We paid $250. You get a special ride to the cabana and eat lunch in a special area.

You will also have your own person who will take care of you all day. A cooler and towels are provided in the cabana so you do not have to take towels or water.

You will love it. (There were 5 of us)

 

To add to the response from pamelajs, you rent the cabanas for Nellie's beach on the excursion page on Royal's website. Note that there are 3 different categories, with different price points: Over the water, Hilltop, and Beach cabanas. The over the water ones are $250. I believe the others are $225. Floating beach mats are also provided with the cabanas. No need to apologize for multiple questions:)

 

When I looked on the excursion page, it says that the Over the Water cabanas are $250 per person. Is that correct? I wanted to make sure I was reading it correctly. Pam and Christy, is that what you paid?

 

Greg

[ChristyLNDRN]

When I looked on the excursion page, it says that the Over the Water cabanas are $250 per person. Is that correct? I wanted to make sure I was reading it correctly. Pam and Christy, is that what you paid?

 

Greg

 

 

It's $250 PER CABANA, not per person. You only need to reserve it in one person's name.

 

Christy

[pamelajs]

When I looked on the excursion page, it says that the Over the Water cabanas are $250 per person. Is that correct? I wanted to make sure I was reading it correctly. Pam and Christy, is that what you paid?

 

Greg

 

Christy is right. Only reserve it under one name. Then when you go they will give you wristbands

[LTyler]

I wonder why they never put those on Allure? We would have definitely loved them. I don't know if the change over from the Solarium Bistro to Samba limits there room in anyway? As for Chair hogs, it does seem to vary from cruise to cruise and possibly time of the year.

 

They have a few of these on Allure but only upstairs in the suite area :(

[battchief1]

Wonderful review

[perkyblue]

What are the WOW cards that you mentioned? That must be something new. Something to recognize great service I'm guessing?

[Lionesss]

What are the WOW cards that you mentioned? That must be something new. Something to recognize great service I'm guessing?

 

Wow cards are used to recognize excellence in service. All passengers are supposed to get one when boarding. And then if and when an employee goes above and beyond the call of duty you give them the card. After they collect a certain number they are turned in for extra perks.....time off, and such.

The company my husband works for when you collect 5 you recieve a $10 gas card.

Sea Ya

[ChristyLNDRN]

Wonderful review

 

 

Thank you!!!!:)

[ChristyLNDRN]

Wow cards are used to recognize excellence in service. All passengers are supposed to get one when boarding. And then if and when an employee goes above and beyond the call of duty you give them the card. After they collect a certain number they are turned in for extra perks.....time off, and such.

The company my husband works for when you collect 5 you recieve a $10 gas card.

Sea Ya

 

 

Yep, we got two at boarding. Gave one to our cabin steward, and another to our waiter. Wish we had another to give to our favorite bartender, Francis in the Solarium bar.

[Sisley]

Hi!

 

I really enjoyed reading your review. It's really too bad you didn't have nice weather in Labadee.

I thought your dresses were very pretty on formal nights. May I ask where you got them from? Did you find that the ladies were appropriately dressed on formal nights. Were some wearing long dresses? What would you say was the ratio between cocktail dresses vs long dresses?

What was the dress code in the restaurants (if it's not formal night, did you see any women wearing cocktail dresses and long dresses)?

I know this subject is sometimes treated in other theads, but I would like your opinion on this particular subject.

 

Thanks! :p

[ChristyLNDRN]

Hi!

 

I really enjoyed reading your review. It's really too bad you didn't have nice weather in Labadee.

I thought your dresses were very pretty on formal nights. May I ask where you got them from? Did you find that the ladies were appropriately dressed on formal nights. Were some wearing long dresses? What would you say was the ratio between cocktail dresses vs long dresses?

What was the dress code in the restaurants (if it's not formal night, did you see any women wearing cocktail dresses and long dresses)?

I know this subject is sometimes treated in other theads, but I would like your opinion on this particular subject.

 

Thanks! :p

 

Thanks for reading along, and thanks for commenting on the dresses!

 

The first dress (silver) I actually borrowed from a friend. There is a bit of a story behind the 2nd dress (beige). When my mom passed away a few years ago, there were a few things I couldn't bear to part with when I went through her closet. One was that dress...she had worn it to my wedding. It was a full length gown, so I had it shortened to cocktail length with the intent of wearing it on formal night. My dad really loved that I wore it again too:)

 

I did find that the ladies were dressed appropriately on formal nights, perhaps more so than the men! Overall, I thought everyone looked great for the most part. I did see some long dresses, but would say there were definitely more of the cocktail length.

 

The dress code in the specialty restaurants was pretty consistently smart casual. I honestly did not notice what the women were wearing there...when we walked in, everyone was seated! I can tell you that I wore a skirt & top one night, dress pants and top one night, and I did wear a long dress the last night when we were in Chops without feeling overdressed.

 

Hope that helps!

[Sisley]

It does help! Thank you. I'm so sorry about your loss. Your mother had great taste. That beige dress is absolutely gorgeous!!

[Darkkskyzz]

Wow cards are used to recognize excellence in service. All passengers are supposed to get one when boarding. And then if and when an employee goes above and beyond the call of duty you give them the card. After they collect a certain number they are turned in for extra perks.....time off, and such.

 

The company my husband works for when you collect 5 you recieve a $10 gas card.

 

Sea Ya

 

I do like the idea of being able to give an extra "nod" to someone who provided outstanding service. Do you just get the one per person, or can you get more from the ship?

Would my teenager get one to give?

[ChristyLNDRN]

I do like the idea of being able to give an extra "nod" to someone who provided outstanding service. Do you just get the one per person, or can you get more from the ship?

Would my teenager get one to give?

 

 

Lots of varying experiences with WOW cards from what I read on other threads. Have seen some reports where people said they were delivered to their stateroom, or picked up extra at guest services, and others that said they could only be obtained at check in. Sounds like it is a bit inconsistent from ship to ship.

[jeanigor]

Lots of varying experiences with WOW cards from what I read on other threads. Have seen some reports where people said they were delivered to their stateroom, or picked up extra at guest services, and others that said they could only be obtained at check in. Sounds like it is a bit inconsistent from ship to ship.

 

I would hope that there would be a way to formally recognize exemplary service while on board. I highly doubt that it would happen only once throughout the course of an entire week.

[tyry]

Was this one meant for the Middle Age Drama Queen and her sinus issues? If so, wrong thread:)

 

EEK :eek: - that's what I get for having multiple tabs open. I had wondered what happened to my post. So sorry about that!

 

I think I mentioned, but I followed yours closely as well as we are on the Oasis Western next month. I really appreciate all the details and menus. Definitely helps with planning.

[ChristyLNDRN]

EEK :eek: - that's what I get for having multiple tabs open. I had wondered what happened to my post. So sorry about that!

 

I think I mentioned, but I followed yours closely as well as we are on the Oasis Western next month. I really appreciate all the details and menus. Definitely helps with planning.

 

LOL, that was actually pretty funny, because I had just had my son allergy tested the day you wrote that, and it confused me for a minute:)

 

Thanks for reading along, and have a great trip!!!!

[NY2NH2008]

DH and I are going with two other couples in September. I am so glad I saw your review - now I am very excited! Booked a cabana based on your review- even on a rainy day, it looked awesome.

 

Thank you so much for your detailed report- super helpful!

[ChristyLNDRN]

DH and I are going with two other couples in September. I am so glad I saw your review - now I am very excited! Booked a cabana based on your review- even on a rainy day, it looked awesome.

 

Thank you so much for your detailed report- super helpful!

 

 

Glad you found it! Enjoy your cruise, and the cabana:)

[cruzkitty]

Christy-your Review and pictures were Awesome! I sailed on the Oasis almost 2 years ago, and have booked again for this Sept. It is definitely my favorite cruise so far! Loved your pics of the Cabanas. We had one on Princess Cays a few years ago, but they were not "Over the water" like yours. But still a great experience.

 

I hope you sail on the Quantum and give us a review of the Ship-LOL...:D

[ChristyLNDRN]

Christy-your Review and pictures were Awesome! I sailed on the Oasis almost 2 years ago, and have booked again for this Sept. It is definitely my favorite cruise so far! Loved your pics of the Cabanas. We had one on Princess Cays a few years ago, but they were not "Over the water" like yours. But still a great experience.

 

I hope you sail on the Quantum and give us a review of the Ship-LOL...:D

 

Actually, Quantum will be in my neighborhood since I am in DE....just a quick 2 hour drive:D

 

Enjoy your cruise in September.

[pittsburghgirl]

Departure Day and final thoughts:

 

Our alarm went off at 5:30:eek: and as I looked out our balcony, we were inches from the dock.

 

We hit Park Cafe when it opened right at 6:00.

 

We walked off the ship, with no lines, at 6:20. We were not the first ones off, so I'm guessing some folks must have been off between 6 and 6:10.

 

Customs took all of 5 minutes.

 

This is probably a good place to note that my passport was expiring just under 4 months after we completed the trip. I know it is recommended that your passport not expire for 6 months after you complete your travel, and that travelling with or without a passport is a hot-button issue around here. When we booked at 46 days out, I just didn't feel comfortable sending it out for renewal in that time frame, and I didn't want to pay for expediting the renewal. My passport didn't get a second glance at check in, it was not a problem. I did have my birth certificate and my marriage license showing my name change as backup just in case.

 

To save time, we had parked right in the lot at the port. I have read great reviews about Park N Go, and I know it would have been cheaper but I wanted no part of having to take a shuttle to our car when we had such a long drive. It was $105 to park for the week. For what it's worth, I saw a Park N Go shuttle sitting there as we were leaving. We were in our car and on the road at exactly 6:30.

 

After a looooooooooooong drive, we got home just after midnight. Sent the grandparents home. Teared up a bit when I kissed the kids. They both woke up just enough to smile at me, and went back to sleep.

 

 

 

Random note I had written down to include: We had an outlet on top of the desk in the vanity area in our cabin...I thought I had read that on Oasis, you had to crawl under the vanity to get to the outlet, but this had been corrected on Allure. I'm not sure if they have fixed this in all cabins, or if it was because we were in a D1, but whatever the case, the outlet was right there.

 

Final thoughts:

 

What an awesome trip! Just what DH and I needed to spend some time as a couple, and recharge our batteries as parents.

 

The ship was simply a marvel, and in great condition.

 

Service was consistently excellent throughout the week.

 

I would rate the food as consistently good to very good.

 

Entertainment: Best that I've had on any cruse so far, hands down.

 

Passengers: Really enjoyed that this was an international crowd. If I'd had to guess, I'd say it was maybe 60% US, 40% non, but that's a rough estimate. I never saw roving packs of teens, or misbehaving children pushing all the buttons in the elevators:) Disclaimer: We did spent a large amount of time in the adults-only solarium.

 

I would cruise this class of ship again in a heartbeat, with our without the kiddos. I'm hoping to sail with my dad on Allure, hopefully eastern, in a year or two.

 

I can't think of anything else profound at the moment...I think I covered most of it along the way. Thanks to all for reading along and joining me in reliving an amazing vacation! I'd be glad to answer any other questions that come up! Until next time.....cheers, and Happy Sails!!

 

--Christy

 

 

Absolutely wonderful review. RC should hire you! Sounds like a wonderful trip. We are going on the same trip on Aug 3rd. Thank you for all the time you put into that! You have helped a lot of people!

[DreaAST]

Thanks for posting such a good review :)

[ChristyLNDRN]

Absolutely wonderful review. RC should hire you! Sounds like a wonderful trip. We are going on the same trip on Aug 3rd. Thank you for all the time you put into that! You have helped a lot of people!

 

Thanks for posting such a good review :)

 

Thanks for reading, and thanks for the comments! It's fun to see my review pop up again every now and then...reminds me of what a great trip it was:)

 

Cheers!

Christy

[kalowa]

Loved the review, even more excited now for my October cruise. Thank you!