Just off Oasis with a 3 year old

[staceyeileen]

We had the most amazing time on Oasis!! I cannot imagine a ship that is better suited for young children, and yes I have sailed Disney. This isn't really a review, but I wanted to give some thoughts on the experience as the mother of a 3 year old and answer any questions anyone had. I did save all of the Adventure Ocean activity papers and plan to scan them. Anyway, here are my somewhat random thoughts on Oasis from his perspective.

 

• Boardwalk - this was my son's favorite part of the ship. A carousel, elaborate balloon animals, face painting... needless to say, we spent hours here. He liked the play area right next to the Seafood Shack. There's a small 2 level play area that mimics a ship and the kids can go up top to "steer" it at the helm. Then next to that there's a small rowboat, and he had fun steering that while I sat in it. Then on the other side by Johnny Rockets there is a play car and gas station as well as a double decker bus that he enjoyed playing in. At least 3 carousel rides per day.
   
  
• Aqua shows - we did the main Oasis of Dreams show as well as Splish Splash, the comedy diving show. He did get a bit antsy during some parts of Oasis of Dreams, but overall he enjoyed it and sat through the whole show. He liked Splish Splash even more. It really had him laughing.
   
  
• Ice show- he was pretty mesmerized, and again sat through the whole show.
   
  
• Come Fly with Me - he really enjoyed this show! We sat pretty close to the front, so at times there were people flying or performing almost right over our heads.
   
  
• Sports deck - he liked this area of the ship as well. The mini golf course has a cute area just for toddlers to putt and a bean bag toss, which is great for keeping them out of the way of people who are actually trying to play golf. He got a kick out of watching people on the flow rider as well. And he enjoyed watching mommy on the zipline. :)
   
  
• H2O Zone - he loved this and had a ball! What a great kids water area. He even loved going in the fast current pool with daddy.
   
  
• Dreamworks characters - My son does not know who any of the Dreamworks characters are, but he still got a kick out of seeing them around the ship. They were everywhere it seemed. We did not do any of the character breakfasts because they didn't start until 8am, and we are early risers ready for breakfast at 7:30. We went to one parade on the Royal Promenade that had all the characters, and he loved dancing and singing along with them.
   
  
• Adventure Ocean - I was a bit nervous about whether he would like AO before this cruise. He is just barely 3 (1/29 bday), so no doubt was one of the youngest in the program. Also, we were on the Carnival Freedom last year when he was just 2, and we did not have much success with leaving him at camp. On Oasis, he always went to AO willingly and was so excited to tell us all that he did when we picked him up, so what more could I ask for really? Now, I don't think this is due to Carnival vs. RCL or anything like that - I'm sure the Carnival program is great! - but more just due to the fact that a 3yo is a lot more mature than a 2yo. He seemed to enjoy the time he spent there, which was a few hours per day. At the start of the cruise, we'd drop him off for the morning session (9am-noon) but as he adjusted to staying up later he did the evening session the last 3 nights of the cruise (7pm-10pm) and even did dinner with them one of those nights starting at 5pm while we dined at a specialty restaurant. Overall the AO facilities on this ship are top notch and pretty impressive. There is a dedicated theater just for the AO program, where he attended a movie night (first time he's ever seen a movie on a big screen! Little Mermaid I think), a black light puppet show, and the "Little People Live" show. He always had art projects for us whenever we picked him up. Just a really good experience overall. Oh, forgot to mention that they gave us a cell phone on the first day that we got to use for the entire trip. They never had to call us, but it sure was convenient to have for calling cabins and locating family members.
   
  
• My Time Dining - This was the first time we have ever done the non-traditional dining option. IMO, this is the way to go with a small child. We made reservations ahead of time for each night of the cruise based on our show schedule which we had also reserved ahead of time. Because we wanted to take our son to most of the shows, we always booked the earliest possible showtime, which was generally either 5PM or 7:30PM. If we had a 5PM show, we made a 6:15 dinner reservation. If we had a 7:30PM show, we did dinner at 5:45. The flexibilty was great! I am pretty sure that MTD gets you out of the dining room a lot quicker too. Most nights dinner was just over an hour long including dessert. We had the same awesome waiter every night and were never seated with strangers. We don't usually tip more than the recommended amount, but our waiter really deserved it with how well he treated my son.
  

 

Well, that's all I can think of right now. Any other questions for me?

[jessabella]

What a great review..and defiantly appreciated..as we will take our daughter on her first cruise in September..she will be 2yr and 10m so will be interesting to see how she will do with the babysitting service. We would like to try two of the speciality restaurants whilst she is there and maybe a show on our own too:p

But like you said its all about the maturity level...At the moment it takes a long time for our daughter to warm up to groups of people ..so we are expecting that she will want to be with us..but we will try dropping her off and see how it goes ..hopefully she doenst scream the place down.:eek:

[Chicky2181]

Great info.....thanks!

 

Our daughters first cruise was on Allure when she was about 7 months old. We used the nursery a few times and it was great. Our next cruise is on Oasis this October. We actually sail on her 3rd bday. She is über social so we are hoping she is potty trained by then so that she can use the kids club. I'm happy to hear your son had a positive experience.

[Chicky2181]

I do actually have one question.......

 

I see that your son did dinner with the kids club. I've also read somewhere that they take them to the WJ. Do you know how exactly that works? Do they make the plates for the kids?

[CruiseGal777]

Thanks for writing this review! this gives me a sigh of relief as my kids were not thrilled with the kids club on the disney cruise either. it seems like there's a lot for the kids to do on this boat!

 

Two quick questions:

 

1. Were the kids club structured or more free play? My kids are use to a more structured day because of being in daycare.

 

2. your family dining experience you mention.. is my time dining the same as family time dining? I read about this and very intrested in trying this a few nights.

 

With My Family Time DiningSM, our expedited dining service, your kids (ages 3 – 11) are served their meals and then picked up by our Adventure Ocean® staff so you can enjoy the rest of the dinner. Other family dining options include the Windjammer or Sorrento's for great pizza.

Edited March 22, 2013 by CruiseGal777

[MAJPLO]

Thanks so much for the info. Our kids will be four and a half and six and a half when we cruise next month and I am glad to hear the positive reviews. I worried a bit about our younger since they won't be able to be together, but we are also traveling with my cousin's three year old. Your review gives me great relief :) thank you!!!

[jmpaull]

Thanks so much for the info. Our kids will be four and a half and six and a half when we cruise next month and I am glad to hear the positive reviews. I worried a bit about our younger since they won't be able to be together, but we are also traveling with my cousin's three year old. Your review gives me great relief :) thank you!!!

 

MAJPLO can you do a review of your cruise please or atleast let me know how it goes with you kids? My kids will be 4 1/2 and 6 when we go on Allure in April 2014.

[SB9]

Thanks so much for the info. Our kids will be four and a half and six and a half when we cruise next month and I am glad to hear the positive reviews. I worried a bit about our younger since they won't be able to be together, but we are also traveling with my cousin's three year old. Your review gives me great relief :) thank you!!!

 

MAJPLO can you do a review of your cruise please or atleast let me know how it goes with you kids? My kids will be 4 1/2 and 6 when we go on Allure in April 2014.

 

Another request please. My son will be turning 3 just before our cruise in 2014 on Oasis. We cruised on Allure last year to check out the ship before taking our son on his first cruise. Now we just have to work on the potty training (just starting soon). -Seth

[bmsm6]

Thanks for the great info! Did you do any excursions

With the 3 yr old? We are cruising Allure in a few months with our 3 and 5 yr old and debating if its worth trying an excursion or just staying on the ship.

Edited April 6, 2013 by bmsm6

[SB9]

Thanks for the great info! Did you do any excursions

With the 3 yr old? We are cruising Allure in a few months with our 3 and 5 yr old and debating if its worth trying an excursion or just staying on the ship.

 

Are you doing the western or eastern on Allure?

 

We have the Western scheduled and so Labadee will be just a beach day for us. Not sure about Falmouth, but I heard about Chankanaab in cozumel that was pretty nice.

[IttaBit]

Not to hijack, but we're doing the Eastern on Allure next year with our 3, 8, and 14 yo. We've been there so many times, we plan to just go to the beach and do a little shopping. Once before, we left our then 4 yo in the kids club on the boat while we went to Nassau. We left the pager with my grandparents who also sailed with us, told them to contact them if something came up, but I was worried being so far away from her, that we didn't really get to enjoy the time away. I don't think I'd do that again.

[staceyeileen]

We did not do any excursions with our son. We did bring him off the ship in Labadee but the weather was so horrible that day we basically just ate lunch and went back on board. In Cozumel he stayed on board with my mom while DH and I went snorkeling for a few hours. In Falmouth my mom and I just did some shopping at the port and he napped in the stroller the entire time. Speaking of naps, he does not nap at home anymore but he napped every day on the ship! We wore him out :D

 

Regarding the dining questions, he did eat one night in the kids club when we had a reservation at Giovanni's. They do take them to the WJ and I assume they make up plates for them since I know my son wouldn't even be able to reach the food on the buffet line. When I picked him up, they had a list of everything each child had eaten for dinner, so I know he had 1/2 slice of pizza and some french fries. It was nice that they did that.

[alisatj]

Great info! Thanks for taking the time to share. I do have some more questions :). I have 3 yo twins, so your info is really interesting to me!

 

- Do they take the kids from the Adventure Ocean area to do other things - like H20 Zone or mini-golf or whatever? Or are they always in the same area?

 

- Do they have those tiny potties for kids at AO or all they all full-sized? Just wondering what I need to work on with my kids in that area ;).

 

I'm also glad to hear he napped! That would be great if mine also do the same. I love a good nap :p.

[need_a_holiday]

We did both dining options on rhapsody and they were great. Family time dining - sat down at 6pm early seating, kids finished two courses by 6:40, walk them to the door to hand over to ocean adventure staff member, go back to our dinner. WD dining option was 3 times in 10 days - dropped them at adventure ocean at 5:45, staff take them down to wj for dinner, we go to the dining room. I thought this was better as the kids had more time to eat and ate with their friends.

[cruisingwithtwins]

Thanks for posting this. I am cruising with my 3yo twin boys in October on Oasis and they will be 3.5. I have one who it potty trained, and a few months to train the other.

 

I'm glad your son enjoyed the entertainment and the boardwalk. That is why we chose this ship.

 

Did he try skating? Can you seek 3 year olds in the solarium/cantelevered hot tubs? My one guy asks for 'the big bath tub' as soon as he sees a pool.

 

I also love nap time, and plan to use my balcony during that sacred 2 hours each day.

[Keith1010]

Great review.

 

Keith

[CruisinWithMySweetie]

Thanks so much for sharing! We are considering a cruise on Oasis in March with DD who will have just turned 3 (we cruised previously with her at 11 months on Freedom). We will have to decide whether to bring Grammy with us again.

[NanciRDH]

Great info! Thanks for taking the time to share. I do have some more questions :). I have 3 yo twins, so your info is really interesting to me!

 

- Do they take the kids from the Adventure Ocean area to do other things - like H20 Zone or mini-golf or whatever? Or are they always in the same area?

 

- Do they have those tiny potties for kids at AO or all they all full-sized? Just wondering what I need to work on with my kids in that area ;).

 

I'm also glad to hear he napped! That would be great if mine also do the same. I love a good nap :p.

 

 

The younger kids stay in their zone...they will go to the different activity rooms as a group for the science, art and the mini theatre, but they don't take them to play anywhere else, and never swimming, too much liability i think. Pirate night is the exception, they will have a parade and "take over" the ship. It's really cute, be sure to find when and where to catch them, and have your camera ready! There is so much for them to do, they may never want to leave!

 

I didn't peek at the potties on Oasis or Allure, but I did on Serenade because at that time she was tiny and newly trained. They had the squatty potties, and a step stool too. They assured me they would make sure she could get up ok, but from there she was on her own.

 

My DD would nap when AO was closed between 12 and 2, it worked great knowing it was closed then, and she didn't fight me because she knew she could go back in the afternoon and stay up late. She roomed with her teenage sisters, and started sleeping in like they did, which we all enjoyed.

[AshLMol]

We had the most amazing time on Oasis!! I cannot imagine a ship that is better suited for young children, and yes I have sailed Disney. This isn't really a review, but I wanted to give some thoughts on the experience as the mother of a 3 year old and answer any questions anyone had. I did save all of the Adventure Ocean activity papers and plan to scan them. Anyway, here are my somewhat random thoughts on Oasis from his perspective.

 

• Boardwalk - this was my son's favorite part of the ship. A carousel, elaborate balloon animals, face painting... needless to say, we spent hours here. He liked the play area right next to the Seafood Shack. There's a small 2 level play area that mimics a ship and the kids can go up top to "steer" it at the helm. Then next to that there's a small rowboat, and he had fun steering that while I sat in it. Then on the other side by Johnny Rockets there is a play car and gas station as well as a double decker bus that he enjoyed playing in. At least 3 carousel rides per day.
   
  
• Aqua shows - we did the main Oasis of Dreams show as well as Splish Splash, the comedy diving show. He did get a bit antsy during some parts of Oasis of Dreams, but overall he enjoyed it and sat through the whole show. He liked Splish Splash even more. It really had him laughing.
   
  
• Ice show- he was pretty mesmerized, and again sat through the whole show.
   
  
• Come Fly with Me - he really enjoyed this show! We sat pretty close to the front, so at times there were people flying or performing almost right over our heads.
   
  
• Sports deck - he liked this area of the ship as well. The mini golf course has a cute area just for toddlers to putt and a bean bag toss, which is great for keeping them out of the way of people who are actually trying to play golf. He got a kick out of watching people on the flow rider as well. And he enjoyed watching mommy on the zipline. :)
   
  
• H2O Zone - he loved this and had a ball! What a great kids water area. He even loved going in the fast current pool with daddy.
   
  
• Dreamworks characters - My son does not know who any of the Dreamworks characters are, but he still got a kick out of seeing them around the ship. They were everywhere it seemed. We did not do any of the character breakfasts because they didn't start until 8am, and we are early risers ready for breakfast at 7:30. We went to one parade on the Royal Promenade that had all the characters, and he loved dancing and singing along with them.
   
  
• Adventure Ocean - I was a bit nervous about whether he would like AO before this cruise. He is just barely 3 (1/29 bday), so no doubt was one of the youngest in the program. Also, we were on the Carnival Freedom last year when he was just 2, and we did not have much success with leaving him at camp. On Oasis, he always went to AO willingly and was so excited to tell us all that he did when we picked him up, so what more could I ask for really? Now, I don't think this is due to Carnival vs. RCL or anything like that - I'm sure the Carnival program is great! - but more just due to the fact that a 3yo is a lot more mature than a 2yo. He seemed to enjoy the time he spent there, which was a few hours per day. At the start of the cruise, we'd drop him off for the morning session (9am-noon) but as he adjusted to staying up later he did the evening session the last 3 nights of the cruise (7pm-10pm) and even did dinner with them one of those nights starting at 5pm while we dined at a specialty restaurant. Overall the AO facilities on this ship are top notch and pretty impressive. There is a dedicated theater just for the AO program, where he attended a movie night (first time he's ever seen a movie on a big screen! Little Mermaid I think), a black light puppet show, and the "Little People Live" show. He always had art projects for us whenever we picked him up. Just a really good experience overall. Oh, forgot to mention that they gave us a cell phone on the first day that we got to use for the entire trip. They never had to call us, but it sure was convenient to have for calling cabins and locating family members.
   
  
• My Time Dining - This was the first time we have ever done the non-traditional dining option. IMO, this is the way to go with a small child. We made reservations ahead of time for each night of the cruise based on our show schedule which we had also reserved ahead of time. Because we wanted to take our son to most of the shows, we always booked the earliest possible showtime, which was generally either 5PM or 7:30PM. If we had a 5PM show, we made a 6:15 dinner reservation. If we had a 7:30PM show, we did dinner at 5:45. The flexibilty was great! I am pretty sure that MTD gets you out of the dining room a lot quicker too. Most nights dinner was just over an hour long including dessert. We had the same awesome waiter every night and were never seated with strangers. We don't usually tip more than the recommended amount, but our waiter really deserved it with how well he treated my son.
  

 

Well, that's all I can think of right now. Any other questions for me?

 

 

Ok, so how potty trained was your 3 yo when you used AO? Mine is there but has random accidents...so that is my main concern. I am hoping I can get her to go #2 when she is with us, I don't mind her wiping #1 herself as she does now anyways!

[Ashland]

Ok, so how potty trained was your 3 yo when you used AO? Mine is there but has random accidents...so that is my main concern. I am hoping I can get her to go #2 when she is with us, I don't mind her wiping #1 herself as she does now anyways!

 

This is an old post 2013...doubtful the poster (s) will post back.