The Odd 2 Day Cruise on Oasis

[VillaHappy]

I always recommend taking a practice cruise before the real cruise.

 

What a great idea to do a practice cruise! For those who, for whatever reason, are intimidated by booking a longer cruise.

[Alter Ego]

Looking forward to hearing about this short cruise. Just checked the roll call, and seems like there are a few unhappy passengers.

 

I'm guessing 2 days on a ship this size, without the usual procedures in place to disperse the passengers, doesn't work very well. Whenever I read reviews of Oasis, people are always shocked that it doesn't feel crowded. The reviews I've seen for this 2 day say the opposite.

[Alter Ego]

$$$

Those two days sitting empty would cost millions

 

I'm going on one of the two 5 day cruises in the Mediterranean. I suppose they could have added an additional day to each of those cruises and increase the price.

 

Nevertheless, I can't imagine it would make up what they are getting for this little 2 day trip. I believe it was sold out and the prices were high (there were several price cuts on my cruise).

 

I think it was pretty smart to do the short cruise - although I think 3 days would have been better than the two! Smaller price for the many people wanting to see this ship and hopefully will then plan a longer voyage.

[Cordine]

i can't wait to see her in Rotterdam!

Going to watch her coming in on september 30th and leave rotterdam October 14th!

[MattInFLL]

Well, I'm back.

 

Some impressions:

 

At peak times, you certainly could tell the ship was full, but overall, considering how many pax are onboard, I would say Royal does a great job at managing crowds.

 

This really didn't feel like a "booze cruise" to me - far different energy than you get on Majesty, IMHO. It was an expensive cruise for 2 days - if people were only interested in drinking, there were much cheaper cruise options. It was not a predominately young crowd - not an old one either.

 

Everyone said "you can't experience Oasis in 2 days!" I disagree. If this were my first cruise, I probably would have been hankering for more time. But since I have sailed Royal so many times, I didn't feel shortchanged. What did I miss? Chops, Izumi, Solarium Bistro, Hairspray and Frozen in Time. I've done Chops plenty of other times, I'm not a fan of sushi (although Izumi is a lovely venue), and the menu at the Solarium wasn't peaking my interest. I've seen Hairspray before (not on a ship) and I think the ice shows (while always nice), are the same ship to ship.

 

Oh and I did miss my chance to zip line - the line was long the first day and I opted for another activity on the second day at that time.

 

Plenty of people got off the ship in Nassau and so there was plenty of time to explore the ship. Pretty sure I saw all of it.

 

I did the "Thermal Suite" - I think $30 for a day pass is pretty steep for what you get. 4 thermal beds and 3 sauna/steam rooms, and very few amenities. Not having complimentary sauna or steam on a ship this size seems ridiculous.

 

I'm glad I paid a little more to upgrade from the JS to GS and got the "Suite" perks. I loved the special sun deck on Deck 17 with its own bar. Very tranquil up there. I enjoyed the CL, too, but the DL is actually a bit more "fun" and down to earth. Israel and Allan are great at what they do, but it's kind of stuffy. I can't remember the DL concierge's name off the top of my head, but he seemed a lot more "approachable." Also, the special seating for Oasis of Dreams came in very handy as I was running late.

 

Oasis of Dreams is very entertaining, but not like "O" at the Bellagio. I realize it's a much more limited venue and they have to scale the show to what they have. I just wasn't personally wowed.

 

Brasserie 30 for lunch was nicer than Windjammer certainly, and service was excellent. Wish I had done the Tutti salad, though. I had the chicken sliders. Very good, but I have to admit that when you are in a "finer" restaurant, I find it odd when they bring ketchup in the Heinz squeeze bottle and plop it on the table. The banana dessert was excellent.

 

I invited a friend for dinner in my suite - the other Suite perk, being able to order off the MDR menu into your cabin. Allan, the CL concierge, had given me the Saffron menu (the usual day 2 formal menu), but they substituted Pimiento (the Italian menu), since there was no formal night on this cruise. Pimiento is actually one of my favorite menus, so that was OK, once we cleared up the confusion (Allan was embarrassed and had my stateroom attendant get me the right one immediately). But it took well over an hour for dinner to arrive. The food was hot and good, but we had to scarf it down to get to Oasis of Dreams on time. Not sure I would do that again.

 

Excellent cruise director - very funny. Name escaping me. Quest was as entertaining as always.

 

Chito, my cabin attendant was quite competent and allowed me to stay in the cabin until 9am this morning. Disembarkation felt pretty slow, and was a little off because so many people were carrying off their own bags, but it actually did move along. From my cabin to exiting the terminal took an hour.

 

I took a lot of pics, and will post them soon.

 

In the end, I marveled at Oasis of the Seas. She is such a technical wonder. And I enjoyed myself. But not sure I need to go on her or Allure for a week. I think I prefer Freedom class.

Edited September 1, 2014 by MattInFLL

[Familygoboston]

Thanks for the review! Sounds like you packed a lot in for just 2 days. I've done two weeks and still think I missed a a few things! ;)

[rhuntington3]

Glad you have a fun cruise!

[cruisinfanatic]

Did the bee die? ;) :D

 

 

[MattInFLL]

The bee did not die, but did start flying erratically. ;)

[NorbertsNiece]

Just wondering why they had this little 2 day cruise instead of just heading over to Europe? Anyone know?:confused:

 

Trying to figure this out..... following the TA they have 2 identical five night cruises then a 7 night to Rotterdam..... this little taster cruise will be how to fill the days I'm guessing

Edited September 1, 2014 by NorbertsNiece

[MattInFLL]

Actually, what seems odd is that they didn't figure out a way to give us 3 days, instead of 2. Seems like one of the following cruises could have been shorter by a day before dry dock.

 

This 2 day cruise was selling for as much as $800-$900 per day at one point (glad I booked early!) and the ship sold out. Considering it can be hard to get a lot of people on a TA, especially one as long as the one leaving today, it seems like they made a smart business move.

 

I've been reading posts from my fellow roll callers - seems like some did not enjoy this trip at all or had major complaints. Thankfully, I didn't have those issues.

[Alter Ego]

Actually, what seems odd is that they didn't figure out a way to give us 3 days, instead of 2. Seems like one of the following cruises could have been shorter by a day before dry dock.

 

 

I do agree that a 3 day makes more sense (to me), but they are doing another 2 days before Allure goes over too.

 

I wonder if they think 3 days would compete with their usual 3 day trips? Like you said, they made a LOT of $$ on these 2 days - I wonder if, mentally, people would be less likely to pay $800 a day when other ships charge $250 or $300? There's probably some breakeven point analysis performed.

[MattInFLL]

One additional impression - this was a 2 day cruise, but they ran it like a Day 1 and Day 2 of the eastern itinerary. That was a mistake. You had a sold out ship of many passengers new to Oasis, who all wanted to experience Oasis, and yet the ship expected that most people would act as if they were on a 7 day cruise, and explore Nassau. That did not happen. Reports are that more than 50% stayed on board. And so, there were almost no activities planned on board, and they appear to have run out of breakfast foods in Windjammer. At the pool, there were no fresh towels available by 1:30 and I never saw the towel station replenished, or even an attendant. At 4:30, it was the same. I got a towel because they had a pile of towels up on the "suite only" sun deck. After 2pm, the usual departure time out of Nassau, there were some more pool crew visible (waiters, attendants, etc), but the lack of pool service and activities definitely ruffled feathers. Just generally, this goes to why the cruise was not really a success. No one really thought ahead.

 

As I said, I still had a good time. Just too bad that some of the things happened as they did.

[rolloman]

The ship was oversold. So much so, in the end, they frantically worked deals with booked passengers to get it to an acceptable passenger count.

 

The ship was extremely crowded throughout, more so than I have seen on any of my past Allure or Oasis voyages.

 

Due to ship relocation process, the crew was a bit disheveled.

 

Everything was limited compared to a normal voyage. This includes shows, ammenities, activities, luggage delivery, food. You name it.

 

The fact is, this 2 day voyage should be termed as a clumsy house warming party. To think one could equate this bad sample as the equavalent to a typical 7 day is rather foolish. There is no way anyone experienced all this ship has to offer in this two day trip.

 

In reality it should have been accepted in the beginning this Oasis "snack" cruise would be awkward. Oviously some folks walked away as feeling duped.

 

Personally I had a great time. As always. If anything I came home exhausted from cramming in as much as I possibily could.

 

In closing, could Royal have done a better job? Certainly. Hopefully they will use this example going forward in the event they do a future 2 nighter on one of the new builds again.

 

For the record, I left the ship at 8:15 AM and started my car at 8:30 AM.

Edited September 2, 2014 by rolloman

[marci22]

This 2 day cruise was selling for as much as $800-$900 per day at one point (glad I booked early!) and the ship sold out. Considering it can be hard to get a lot of people on a TA, especially one as long as the one leaving today, it seems like they made a smart business move.

 

$900 per person per day? Was this for a suite? How were the balcony prices?

[Clarea]

One additional impression - this was a 2 day cruise, but they ran it like a Day 1 and Day 2 of the eastern itinerary. That was a mistake. You had a sold out ship of many passengers new to Oasis, who all wanted to experience Oasis, and yet the ship expected that most people would act as if they were on a 7 day cruise, and explore Nassau. That did not happen. Reports are that more than 50% stayed on board. And so, there were almost no activities planned on board, and they appear to have run out of breakfast foods in Windjammer. At the pool, there were no fresh towels available by 1:30 and I never saw the towel station replenished, or even an attendant. At 4:30, it was the same. I got a towel because they had a pile of towels up on the "suite only" sun deck. After 2pm, the usual departure time out of Nassau, there were some more pool crew visible (waiters, attendants, etc), but the lack of pool service and activities definitely ruffled feathers. Just generally, this goes to why the cruise was not really a success. No one really thought ahead.

 

As I said, I still had a good time. Just too bad that some of the things happened as they did.

Interesting. They deal with sea days every cruise, but they didn't figure that most would treat Nassau as a sea day.

[CRUISEBOY305]

The bee did not die, but did start flying erratically. ;)

 

it was probably drunk after biting you. lol

[MattInFLL]

Marci - at one point that was for an inside. But lots of people paid north of $500 per day for regular cabins.

 

Erik. No comment :)

[kwazi07]

Marci - at one point that was for an inside. But lots of people paid north of $500 per day for regular cabins.

 

Erik. No comment :)

Prices for Oasis and Allure are always more expensive than other ships. On any ship a 2 night should cost cost no more than $400.

 

How families afford 7 nights on O/A, I do not know. If anyone has any tips I would like to know as we are a family of 5 :)

[CRUISEBOY305]

Prices for Oasis and Allure are always more expensive than other ships. On any ship a 2 night should cost cost no more than $400.

 

How families afford 7 nights on O/A, I do not know. If anyone has any tips I would like to know as we are a family of 5 :)

 

I book early and pay over time.

[MattInFLL]

Andy -

 

Oasis and Allure definitely command a premium, but there was some pricing on this one that was really off the charts.

 

And they seemed to be getting those rates. The ship is a draw. But you can do 7 days on a Freedom class for less money, and have just as good a time, IMHO.

Edited September 2, 2014 by MattInFLL

[InsideCruiser]

Prices for Oasis and Allure are always more expensive than other ships. On any ship a 2 night should cost cost no more than $400.

 

How families afford 7 nights on O/A, I do not know. If anyone has any tips I would like to know as we are a family of 5 :)

 

Family Interior Stateroom during the 3rd/4th/5th free sale?

[kwazi07]

Andy -

 

Oasis and Allure definitely command a premium, but there was some pricing on this one that was really off the charts.

 

And they seemed to be getting those rates. The ship is a draw. But you can do 7 days on a Freedom class for less money, and have just as good a time, IMHO.

I know...we really want the Central Park. Do Freedom class ships fell uncrowded as the Oasis class supposedly do? That is another draw for us to Oasis or Allure.

 

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

[MattInFLL]

I think they feel equally crowded/uncrowded. The ships are so large and Royal does a good job of managing the crowds that often times you don't feel like the ship is packed. There are times when things will feel packed, like at some of the parades or when everyone is heading to a certain show or peak lunch time, but that is true for any size ship.

 

I personally only felt the "crowd" a few times on Oasis. It was the same for me on Liberty.

[CRUISEBOY305]

I think they feel equally crowded/uncrowded. The ships are so large and Royal does a good job of managing the crowds that often times you don't feel like the ship is packed. There are times when things will feel packed, like at some of the parades or when everyone is heading to a certain show or peak lunch time, but that is true for any size ship.

 

I personally only felt the "crowd" a few times on Oasis. It was the same for me on Liberty.

 

Honestly, prior cruises on Oasis and Allure Ive never felt like the ship was crowded. I did this time. I think it was because people were out trying to do as much as possible in such a short time.

 

I don't feel freedom class to be that crowded at all. Only when something is going on in the promenade.