Carnival cruiser tries Oasis of the Seas

[jimbo5544]

Many know me here as a loyal Carnival cruiser (and commentor) . We recently tried the Oasis of the Seas on a 3/15/14 sailing and I posted a review (my first) over on the Royal main page. I have been somewhat reluctant to post a link to the review here (for several reasons) but after much thought I decided to do so. Here is a link for anyone interested in seeing my thoughts and some comparison between to two lines from my perspective.;)

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2013755

[fergusonvt]

I've only been on 1 CCL cruise to date (another booked for 2016) but we also did our first RCI cruise this year on a slightly smaller ship, Independence of the Seas. While the ship was beautiful and we did have a great time I had just as good a time last year on the Valor. My husband really liked the wave rider and the climbing wall neither of which I did. I do agree with you about the entertainment. The ice show which was about a violin and the various people that owned it through several hundred years. It was amazing much of which can be attributed to the violinist who was fantastic.

 

Embarkation was so easy. We basically just arrived at the port, got our Sea pass cards and walked onto the ship. We were in a D1 aft corner balcony and the balcony and room were huge. I thought the food comparable to the 2 NCL and 1 CCL cruise we had been on. We did the steakhouse on the Indy and both my husband and I felt Carnival's was better. We will definitely sail on RCI again at some point in the future. We tend to sail whatever line has the ship and itinerary we are looking for. I guess we'll have to try one of RCI's behemoth ships in the future.

[Topo Gigio]

Thx for your review. Interesting..

[gregg204]

Many know me here as a loyal Carnival cruiser (and commentor) . We recently tried the Oasis of the Seas on a 3/15/14 sailing and I posted a review (my first) over on the Royal main page. I have been somewhat reluctant to post a link to the review here (for several reasons) but after much thought I decided to do so. Here is a link for anyone interested in seeing my thoughts and some comparison between to two lines from my perspective.;)

 

Hey Jimbo, I went on over to the other side and read your review. I think it was well written and very fair. I'm also a Carnival die hard that hopes to try the Oasis or Allure one day soon. Anyway, glad you enjoyed yourself.

[jimbo5544]

Hey Jimbo, I went on over to the other side and read your review. I think it was well written and very fair. I'm also a Carnival die hard that hopes to try the Oasis or Allure one day soon. Anyway, glad you enjoyed yourself.

Thanks. We are glad that we sailed her. We def. did enjoy the ship and the cruise. I am still in awe on how that ship is.

[jimbo5544]

oops...meant how big that ship is.

[Mysticks1]

Thanks for posting the link. That was a very well-written and informative review. I hope to sail on Oasis or Allure one day. Hopefully after Quantum starts sailing their pricing will drop a bit. I loved my two cruises on Freedom and Mariner and will be back to Royal eventually.

[jimbo5544]

Thanks for posting the link. That was a very well-written and informative review. I hope to sail on Oasis or Allure one day. Hopefully after Quantum starts sailing their pricing will drop a bit. I loved my two cruises on Freedom and Mariner and will be back to Royal eventually.

Thanks I enjoyed writing it. Wish I had taken more pictures to load into the review. In the past here, I get a little overwheled at how good some of the review are and how hogh they set the bar. I very much enjoyed the process of writing it. A little each day on my ipad....

[JinxyB]

I will have to read your Oasis review! As a frequent Carnival cruiser (13), I am just off the Allure of the Seas yesterday and all I can say is WOW and I am spoiled forever. The Carnival Freedom was in port yesterday next to the Allure and it looked like a tugboat compared to the massive Allure! While the Oasis and Allure are in a class of their own, Royal Caribbean really puts Carnival to shame in all areas. I have been venturing out to other lines in the last few years (NCL, Princess), having grown tired of the Carnival product. While I will continue to sail Carnival, they are no longer my first choice and I am willing to pay more for a better vacation experience.

[golfadj]

Thanks for your review. Very fair and well written.

 

I have liked carnival but entertainment has really gone downhill and will be doing our first Princess cruise next month probably following with going back to RCCL in the fall.

[jimbo5544]

Thanks for your review. Very fair and well written.

 

I have liked carnival but entertainment has really gone downhill and will be doing our first Princess cruise next month probably following with going back to RCCL in the fall.

Thanks Stu. Entertainment was the biggest difference we found. I actually thought of some of your prior comments in this area as I put the pieces of the review together.

[reerun25]

Thanks for posting the link here. As a relative newbie to cruising, and only having sailed on CCL, I enjoy reading reviews of other ships/cruise lines. I would love to sail on one of the mega-ships, just for the experiance, but we have been very pleased with all of our cruises, and for the money, CCL suits us right now. Once the kids are out of college and married, my wife and I might try another line, but even though we have nothing to compare CCL to, we love it and will continue to sail.

 

Also, I thought your review was well-balanced...

[Jamman54]

GREAT balanced review Jimbo!! Didn't know you had it in you!!! :D

Funny, we had the Oasis booked in 2011, but had to cancel. We are planning to try the Oasis or Allure someday. The Quantam, even though she will be in our backyard, doesn't interest us either.

Thanks again for taking the time to post it!!

[jandj1224]

Just curious if you have ever sailed on the Breeze and if so how it compares...

[golfadj]

Thanks Stu. Entertainment was the biggest difference we found. I actually thought of some of your prior comments in this area as I put the pieces of the review together.

 

Why thank you. Most importantly how is the baby doing. Seizure must have been rather scary. Great that there were people around who knew exactly what to do.

 

We have thought of sailing either Oasis or Allure but dont like their itineraries having been to their ports many times.

 

Nope to do one this fall and will seriously consider trying out one of these ships.

Edited March 31, 2014 by golfadj

[jimbo5544]

Thanks for posting the link here. As a relative newbie to cruising, and only having sailed on CCL, I enjoy reading reviews of other ships/cruise lines. I would love to sail on one of the mega-ships, just for the experiance, but we have been very pleased with all of our cruises, and for the money, CCL suits us right now. Once the kids are out of college and married, my wife and I might try another line, but even though we have nothing to compare CCL to, we love it and will continue to sail.

 

Also, I thought your review was well-balanced...

Thanks for the comments. Our views on cruising is much the same as yours.

[jimbo5544]

GREAT balanced review Jimbo!! Didn't know you had it in you!!! :D

 

Funny, we had the Oasis booked in 2011, but had to cancel. We are planning to try the Oasis or Allure someday. The Quantam, even though she will be in our backyard, doesn't interest us either.

 

Thanks again for taking the time to post it!!

Thanks Jeff! Actually your last two reviews are a good portion of why I chose to do the review. I really had thought reviews were like adding another to do of something once we returned home. I did not find that to be the case.:)

[jimbo5544]

Just curious if you have ever sailed on the Breeze and if so how it compares...

We have sailed the Breeze. It is our favorite Carnival ship, we love her (so much so that two of our next three cruises will be on her). That being said, from a ship perspective it is apples and oranges. The Oasis is huge, the separate neighborhoods ( I did appreciate what that meant until I go on the ship), the way they displace the crowds, etc are remarkable. It's almost like trying to compare a disney trip to a cruise. For us though, bigger was not necesarily better. Elevators as a point were almost always crowded (not like a Carnival ship when that happens near dinner time), thats just one example. It's just different. Long winded answer to your question, they are really different. Cruising on the Oasis is more of an experience than a cruise (at least to us). We are ready to go back to cruising.

[jimbo5544]

Why thank you. Most importantly how is the baby doing. Seizure must have been rather scary. Great that there were people around who knew exactly what to do.

 

We have thought of sailing either Oasis or Allure but dont like their itineraries having been to their ports many times.

 

Nope to do one this fall and will seriously consider trying out one of these ships.

He is fine, thanks for asking. It was scary, and both of his parents are nurses. I do now know a way of skipping lines getting back on the ship now (but I hope to never have to use that again).

 

I was not in love with the ports so much (except the Cozumel Bar Hop)and probably would have chosen eastern over western (only because we have done western so many times). This cruise just fit for us. Two additional things come to mind. The first was how little of the motion of the ocean we felt on this ship (not sure how much that was factored by how calm or not so calm the seas were for this cruising) and the ship never got over 15 knots. My guess would be that she would burn to much fuel so they arranged ports that were closer and time was needed (to go faster). This is nothing more than a guess on my part. I am sure someone here can either confirm or correct me on that.

[sonicbuffalo]

We're getting excited for our Allure cruise in September.....I'm sure we'll have a great time!

[jimbo5544]

We're getting excited for our Allure cruise in September.....I'm sure we'll have a great time!

I cannot imagine having a bad time on any ship. There is certainly a lot to offer on these these mega ships. Have you sailed on the Oasis or Allure before?

[sjn911]

I sure loved your review jimbo5544..i think it is great to enjoy the pluses of all the different kinds...

 

Truly if you love being on the water I agree..hard to define anything that is bad in all ways on a cruise ship unless a complete rat hotel..and we are so fortunate in US to have so many nice levels/types to try and so many places to go..things can go wrong..that's life..but if you can find a window or sit outside gazing at the ocean...I think it is HEAVEN and one can get over it and soothe alot of things...And I LOVE sleeping in a moving vessel..trains too.

 

Sarah

Edited April 1, 2014 by sjn911

[jimbo5544]

I sure loved your review jimbo5544..i think it is great to enjoy the pluses of all the different kinds...

 

Truly if you love being on the water I agree..hard to define anything that is bad in all ways on a cruise ship unless a complete rat hotel..and we are so fortunate in US to have so many nice levels/types to try and so many places to go..things can go wrong..that's life..but if you can find a window or sit outside gazing at the ocean...I think it is HEAVEN and one can get over it and soothe alot of things...And I LOVE sleeping in a moving vessel..trains too.

 

Sarah

Thanks, I really enjoyed doing the review, actually much more so that I had thought I would. I agree about relaxing on a ship (never slept on a train (well amybe a short commute, so I can't comment on that).

[DTC]

Awesome review!! My son has been bugging me for years to try that ship. We r currently booked for an 8 day on freedom in an aft wrap for $3100. Cant touch a regular balcony on oasis for that. And ports are crappy in my opinion!! Just cant justify it!!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[jimbo5544]

Awesome review!! My son has been bugging me for years to try that ship. We r currently booked for an 8 day on freedom in an aft wrap for $3100. Cant touch a regular balcony on oasis for that. And ports are crappy in my opinion!! Just cant justify it!!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Cost was def a factor as well as the perception (reality?) of hitting you $$ at every turn in the path. Add to that, they don't have anything like early saver, so we ate 800 in price drops. It's expensive, at least more so than Carnival.