Oasis 9/12 cruise

[Cinerama]

I’m back from a first time cruise on RCL and the Oasis 9/12-19 (we have cruised Princess in the past). Most of it was fine only a few problems (not all RCL).

 

We left home 6:30am Saturday morning for our 9am flight from BDL to FLL. I know, we should leave the night before but we never do. Traffic came to standstill at one point and had me worried that we would miss out flight but, they we just picking up cones after doing some road work.

 

Flight was less than three hours so that was fine except they gave us no food not even a snack. Not a big deal with Southwest as your bags are free.

Grabbed a cab, waited in line with our fellow decks 3, 7 and 9 passengers for about an hour and we were in our OV cabin on deck 3 by 2pm.

 

We did have a problem with the MD dinner time as we were supposed to be traditional but My Time was on our cards. Talked to various staff and they were no help. Finally talked to someone on the phone and they said just do My Time on deck 3 for today and they would assign us a table the next day.

 

The next day we were not contacted by anyone so we talked to the maître D and he assigned us a table for dinner on deck 4. Later when we went back to our cabin, there was a letter with another table assigned to us on deck 5. So we had two choices and we picked the table on deck 4. It was a table for six but one couple was doing other restaurants most of the cruise and the other couple was 40 years younger than us and only talked to us when we started the conversation.

 

We decided to try the table on deck 5 which had 8 people and it was much better. The table was in the front of the dining room so a lot of traffic at first but after most were seated it was fine. We all had the same problem with traditional dinning changed to My Time on our cards so, that’s why they set up a table at the front.

 

On one of the days we had the meet and mingle which was fun. Did the slot pull, got $8 back from our $20. We also had a cabin crawl and got to see a Master Suite and Loft Suite.

 

I had the drinking package which was great. At dinner, after I finished a glass of wine, another one was there, I never had to ask. No lines at the bars either. Well worth the $57 a day.

 

Our cabin was nice, never had an OV before. We booked the OV as they had some special when I was online, only $750 as the inside cabins were $900 and the balcony was $1200. I kind of liked it in one way as better than a balcony; there was no railing to block the view.

 

The big production shows, (CATS and the water show) were great, better than what Princess has. The two comedians and the MC we also very good at the comedy show. We also liked the Headliner Ronn Lucas. The Frozen in Ice and Come Fly With Me shows was good, not great.

 

For excursions:

 

Labadee boat ride. We learned a lot about Haiti and it was very relaxing. They come around and ask if you want to buy any souvenirs but were not pushy. Some of the local fisherman also come around to show you there catch of the day

 

Falmouth Good Hope Cultural Explorer Pass. Lots of information and also great tour guides and bus drivers.

 

Cozumel Tequila Experience by Jose Cuervo. Besides the Tequila tastings (like wine tastings only with Tequila), lots of information on the history of Mexico or as the natives call it, the United Mexican States. They also provided a nice lunch and a little show with people climbing up this pole and coming down upside down twirling around the pole.

 

For disembarkation, we had a flight at 11am so we left around 8am and were in the cab at 9 to the airport. For breakfast that morning in the MD, we had to sit with another group of people as there were no tables for two. One of the couples was from Florida. The husband said before he retired, they lived in MA and he worked for a company in Southbridge. What a small world. I was born in Southbridge and lived there till we moved to CT when I was ten.

 

If you have any questions, I would be glad to answer them.

Edited September 24, 2015 by Cinerama

[cincicruisers]

Thanks for taking the time to post your review. Glad you enjoyed you cruise.

[wolfganghowell]

the other couple was 40 years younger than us and only talked to us when we started the conversation.

 

Comments like this always make me sad. On our first cruise, we were seated with 3 other couples, one of whom were in their 80s. Yep 40 years older than us. They were amazing tablemates - funny, interesting, engaged and the life of the party! It seems to be a growing trend for younger adults to immediately write off anyone that looks "older." About 5 years ago, we were seated with some 20 somethings. In attempting conversation with them, one guy said they had done an Alaska cruise and then proceeded to tell me, "YOU would have been the young one on that cruise." uhhhhh......thanks? :eek: Still not sure that was exactly a compliment! :D

 

Thanks for your review - did you visit any of the lounges? Any thoughts about the pools or Solarium?

[jigger]

Great info for our Feb, 2016 Oasis cruise.

[riclop]

Thanks for your review.

[Cinerama]

 

Thanks for your review - did you visit any of the lounges? Any thoughts about the pools or Solarium?

 

The The Imprezza Duo were pretty bad. The piano player was always making mistakes.

 

The Perry Phillips Quartet were very good.

 

Sorry, those were the only lounge acts we listened to - too busy doing other stuff on the ship.

 

The Sports Pool was fun to play volleyball. Most of the pools were so crowded you couldn't swim. The Jacuzzi's were fine, not that crowded.

 

Didn't go to the Solarium.

[Coltsfan18]

The main dining room was open on disembarkation day? Do you know the hours?

[Clarea]

The main dining room was open on disembarkation day? Do you know the hours?

Something like 7-9am. It could vary, so check the "As You Depart" letter you will get.

[Coltsfan18]

Something like 7-9am. It could vary, so check the "As You Depart" letter you will get.

 

Thanks!

[Cinerama]

Something like 7-9am. It could vary, so check the "As You Depart" letter you will get.

 

Yes, i'm pretty sure it was 7 to 9.

[lizzy77]

We have B2B cruises booked on Oasis next April. Can you tell me when we are able to book for the shows. Is it 90 days out?

[Clarea]

We have B2B cruises booked on Oasis next April. Can you tell me when we are able to book for the shows. Is it 90 days out?

There is no set time for reservations to open. You might find shows opening at a different time than dining or excursions. Keep checking the website.

[sarahleebones]

Comments like this always make me sad. On our first cruise, we were seated with 3 other couples, one of whom were in their 80s. Yep 40 years older than us. They were amazing tablemates - funny, interesting, engaged and the life of the party! It seems to be a growing trend for younger adults to immediately write off anyone that looks "older." About 5 years ago, we were seated with some 20 somethings. In attempting conversation with them, one guy said they had done an Alaska cruise and then proceeded to tell me, "YOU would have been the young one on that cruise." uhhhhh......thanks? :eek: Still not sure that was exactly a compliment! :D

 

Thanks for your review - did you visit any of the lounges? Any thoughts about the pools or Solarium?

 

I agree! I've been told not to go on Holland America because everyone is "old". I haven't gone yet, but would not hesitate. I love the company of people that are far older than me. For the most part, they have amazing stories! On one Royal cruise, we had an 80-something yr old at our table who was such a riot. She was so involved. She went ziplining in Labadee! On her 80th birthday she went skydiving. She was a hoot!

[Susie51]

Thank you for your review. The cabin crawl sounds fantastic. That was so nice of the upper level categories of suites were part of the cabin crawl.

[mrbojanglezs]

I was also on this cruise so instead of making a new thread I will post a few things. This was our first cruise so keep in mind I have nothing else to compare to

 

Negatives First

 

1) I was disappointed in how small the pools were. For such a big ship I would have much rather seen one large pool rather than 2 or 3 small pools. If you wanted to go in the pool between 11AM and 4 pm it was like swimming in a sweat bath, they were absolutely packed, but maybe thats how all cruises are?

 

2) Wow, there were a ton of international passengers on this cruise. They said over 2,000 non English speaking people. I may be naive but these people always seemed to get in the way and were very pushy and rude

 

3) Casino is a second hand smoke cesspool, we had to walk through it a few times to get to the elevators to the shows and I gagged the entire time I feel bad for the dealers in there I hope they are paid well because they are losing some life expectancy in there.

 

4) Skip the pastries, they were all bland

 

5) Wasn't impressed with the activities during the day most were money grabs, we played bingo one day and it was $60 seemed expensive, just my wife played I wasn't paying $120 for bingo. Spa seemed way overpriced, if you want to get a massage go during a port day as its cheaper. We ended up laying by the pool/reading and drinking from 1-5, then having dinner, and going to karaoke a show or a game at night.

 

6) Disembarkation took for ever, we were done eating breakfast by 9AM we had a 10:15am time were not on our shuttle to the airport until 1PM, book an afternoon flight home unless you do the express disembarkation at 6AM

 

Positives

 

1) I absolutely recommend going to some of the specialty restaurants. I would recommend Giovannis Table and Chops grill both were the best meals on the cruise absolutely phenomenal.

 

2) We skipped the formal nights, they had all you can eat Lobster in the WJ night 1 and all you can eat king crab and mussels formal night 2. The dinners in the WJ during the formal nights were good. Main dining room food was okay I liked the selection in the WJ and when we wanted a good meal we did the specialty restaurants.

 

3) Wish there was more late night dining options but the pizza place was pretty good

 

4) We saw the diving show, ice show, stand up comedy show, and headliner. All were good. We skipped Cats glad we did all I heard was people complain about it. I had reservations for the Come Fly With Me show on day 7 but we decided to skip it, heard it was good.

 

5) Boat was like sailing on ice, never felt it move never got sick. Ship is massive.

 

6) Ship is well maintained and clean.

 

Tips:

 

If you want to eat in the Main Dining Room the first day the first thing you should do when you get to your room is make a reservation. They were packed the first day but we got upgraded to Solarium Bistro for free. Food was good there but it is "healthy food" theme so some of the portions were small or desserts were bland

 

If your on western Caribbean cruise, I highly recommend the zip line and definitely bring water shoes the beach at Labadee has huge rocks in the water, then you can use them at Dunns River Falls in Jamaica if you do that

 

I didn't sign up for the drink package until day 3 labadee (get the labadoozies!). I did this for cost savings I didn't see myself drinking enough 7 days straight) worked out good by day 7 I had enough of all the drinking.

 

Also you can easily share the drink plans (kind of) if you are the kind of people who like to sit in the bars and drink together all night then it would be tougher but for pool side drinks its a piece of cake just get one drink at one bar and another drink at a different bar. I did this a few times because my wife doesn't drink but wanted one or two frozen drinks

 

If your interested in any of the one time sales they have on the cruise (discounted purses, watches, gold etc...) get there early, these people are vultures, kind of sad really but if that is your thing get there 15 minutes early and get in front.

 

I will answer questions if anyone has any

[Cinerama]

I was also on this cruise so instead of making a new thread I will post a few things. This was our first cruise so keep in mind I have nothing else to compare to

 

Negatives First

 

1) I was disappointed in how small the pools were. For such a big ship I would have much rather seen one large pool rather than 2 or 3 small pools. If you wanted to go in the pool between 11AM and 4 pm it was like swimming in a sweat bath, they were absolutely packed, but maybe thats how all cruises are?

 

I stuck to the hot tubs, not as crowded. Sports pool was fine if you want to play sports which I did.

 

2) Wow, there were a ton of international passengers on this cruise. They said over 2,000 non English speaking people. I may be naive but these people always seemed to get in the way and were very pushy and rude

 

When we were waiting in line for the check-in (decks 3, 7 and 9), we were the only ones that spoke English. I didn't notice anyone that was rude or pushy on the ship.

 

3) Casino is a second hand smoke cesspool, we had to walk through it a few times to get to the elevators to the shows and I gagged the entire time I feel bad for the dealers in there I hope they are paid well because they are losing some life expectancy in there.

 

I did not notice the smoke at all. Maybe some people are more sensitive to smoke.

 

4) Skip the pastries, they were all bland

 

The pastries in the MD for breakfast were very good.

 

5) Wasn't impressed with the activities during the day most were money grabs, we played bingo one day and it was $60 seemed expensive, just my wife played I wasn't paying $120 for bingo. Spa seemed way overpriced, if you want to get a massage go during a port day as its cheaper. We ended up laying by the pool/reading and drinking from 1-5, then having dinner, and going to karaoke a show or a game at night.

 

Most were money grabs? Almost 100 activities each day from 6:30 am to 5:15 pm and about 10 cost money. I do agree that their bingo is expensive, a lot less with other cruise lines.

 

6) Disembarkation took for ever, we were done eating breakfast by 9AM we had a 10:15am time were not on our shuttle to the airport until 1PM, book an afternoon flight home unless you do the express disembarkation at 6AM

 

We were done with our breakfast in the MD at 8am and at the airport at 10am doing the express.

 

Positives

 

1) I absolutely recommend going to some of the specialty restaurants. I would recommend Giovannis Table and Chops grill both were the best meals on the cruise absolutely phenomenal.

 

My wife didn't want to spend the extra money so we always ate in the MD. We used the money we saved towards the drinking package

 

2) We skipped the formal nights, they had all you can eat Lobster in the WJ night 1 and all you can eat king crab and mussels formal night 2. The dinners in the WJ during the formal nights were good. Main dining room food was okay I liked the selection in the WJ and when we wanted a good meal we did the specialty restaurants.

 

My wife loves to see me dressed up so we always do the formal nights. But, most of the people were dressed for WJ. On Princess most people do wear the proper attire.

 

3) Wish there was more late night dining options but the pizza place was pretty good

 

Yes, the Pizza was fine.

 

4) We saw the diving show, ice show, stand up comedy show, and headliner. All were good. We skipped Cats glad we did all I heard was people complain about it. I had reservations for the Come Fly With Me show on day 7 but we decided to skip it, heard it was good.

 

At the end of the performance we saw of Cats, they were given a standing ovation.

 

5) Boat was like sailing on ice, never felt it move never got sick. Ship is massive.

 

Agree. The smoothest cruise ship I have been on

 

6) Ship is well maintained and clean.

 

Agree.

 

Tips:

 

If you want to eat in the Main Dining Room the first day the first thing you should do when you get to your room is make a reservation. They were packed the first day but we got upgraded to Solarium Bistro for free. Food was good there but it is "healthy food" theme so some of the portions were small or desserts were bland

 

If your on western Caribbean cruise, I highly recommend the zip line and definitely bring water shoes the beach at Labadee has huge rocks in the water, then you can use them at Dunns River Falls in Jamaica if you do that

 

I didn't sign up for the drink package until day 3 labadee (get the labadoozies!). I did this for cost savings I didn't see myself drinking enough 7 days straight) worked out good by day 7 I had enough of all the drinking.

 

Also you can easily share the drink plans (kind of) if you are the kind of people who like to sit in the bars and drink together all night then it would be tougher but for pool side drinks its a piece of cake just get one drink at one bar and another drink at a different bar. I did this a few times because my wife doesn't drink but wanted one or two frozen drinks

 

Your not supposed to share

 

If your interested in any of the one time sales they have on the cruise (discounted purses, watches, gold etc...) get there early, these people are vultures, kind of sad really but if that is your thing get there 15 minutes early and get in front.

 

I will answer questions if anyone has any

Edited September 28, 2015 by Cinerama

[sojodave]

My wife and I was on this cruise and we had a blast. We heard one of the service people said that our cruise had the least amount of children all year. That was what we were hoping for when we booked this cruise...:)

 

When we were on Labadee, we went to Columbus Cove and we were one of the few English speaking people on the beach. One problem everyone had was people kept moving chairs into the isle row and there was no way to get to the water. One funny story, I was in the Windjammer for breakfast waiting in line for bacon. A small oriental woman jumped the line and took her bare hands into the scolding hot bacon. She dropped it on her plate like it was hot because it WAS...:eek: The guy behind me says, "she steals my bacon, she deserves to lose a hand".

 

One thing RCCL could do to make debarkation much smoother is actually look at people's number when they are getting ready to leave, they should have someone at the door to look at the numbers. The foreign passengers all left at the same time and caused a huge pile up on the ramp. We were dumb and left at our time(21) and their was a Brazlian family in front of us that had 53. My wife started looking at numbers in peoples hand and almost everyone had higher numbers than us.

[CP3o]

I didn't sign up for the drink package until day 3 labadee (get the labadoozies!). I did this for cost savings I didn't see myself drinking enough 7 days straight) worked out good by day 7 I had enough of all the drinking.

 

 

I will answer questions if anyone has any

 

Thanks for adding info! How was the bar service on the island? I'm also tempted to start a package on day 3 at Labadee but had about convinced myself to wait another day. A beach day is a no brainer for enjoying drinks but I think I'm used to port beach visits where I can stay parked in a lounger and drinks come to me.

 

With some of the reports of understaffed bars, I wouldn't want to get a package just to stand in line waiting for a drink much of the time (because servers that do wander around aren't taking orders, they are selling items not included in the package; labadoozies in special cup.)

 

I think someone has mentioned small size of cups as well so that would be a drag. Just wondered about your experience. Right now I'm leaning toward buying a few larger labadoozies the regular way in the bigger cup and bringing waterbottles to stay hydrated and start the package the next day.

[mrbojanglezs]

Thanks for adding info! How was the bar service on the island? I'm also tempted to start a package on day 3 at Labadee but had about convinced myself to wait another day. A beach day is a no brainer for enjoying drinks but I think I'm used to port beach visits where I can stay parked in a lounger and drinks come to me.

 

With some of the reports of understaffed bars, I wouldn't want to get a package just to stand in line waiting for a drink much of the time (because servers that do wander around aren't taking orders, they are selling items not included in the package; labadoozies in special cup.)

 

I think someone has mentioned small size of cups as well so that would be a drag. Just wondered about your experience. Right now I'm leaning toward buying a few larger labadoozies the regular way in the bigger cup and bringing waterbottles to stay hydrated and start the package the next day.

 

They do not have full service bars on Labadee. I don't remember if you could get any mix drinks because I didnt ask I just had beer and labadoozies. They served the labadoozies in small clear cups but I didn't care because I had the unlimited I had probably 4 or them and 1 corona. I didn't wait long at the kiosks for drinks but they didn't have waiters walking around like you would see at an all inclusive. They Had a special drink when you first get off the pier of rum in a sliced open coconut but it was bland. They only have bottle water on the island and the drink package includes it so keep that in mind. Day 3 was a good option for me. Keep in mind you have to try to pound them in the evening on the other port days if you go on shore during day to make the drink package worth it on those days so it's nice to be able to use the package at labadee

 

Also your back on the ship by 5 so you have the rest of the evening to drink what you didn't on the island.

Edited September 29, 2015 by mrbojanglezs

[Ustayhungry]

Great review thanks. What day do they serve lobster in the main dining room?

 

 

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[Cinerama]

Great review thanks. What day do they serve lobster in the main dining room?

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

You can order lobster in the MD every day but you have to pay $29.95 for it.

 

 

Thanks for adding info! How was the bar service on the island? I'm also tempted to start a package on day 3 at Labadee but had about convinced myself to wait another day. A beach day is a no brainer for enjoying drinks but I think I'm used to port beach visits where I can stay parked in a lounger and drinks come to me.

 

With some of the reports of understaffed bars, I wouldn't want to get a package just to stand in line waiting for a drink much of the time (because servers that do wander around aren't taking orders, they are selling items not included in the package; labadoozies in special cup.)

 

I think someone has mentioned small size of cups as well so that would be a drag. Just wondered about your experience. Right now I'm leaning toward buying a few larger labadoozies the regular way in the bigger cup and bringing waterbottles to stay hydrated and start the package the next day.

 

The bar where we were sitting had only one bartender and he only had beer and some frozen drink. I didn't have to wait long to get drink.

Edited September 29, 2015 by Cinerama

[Ustayhungry]

You can order lobster in the MD every day but you have to pay $29.95 for it.

 

 

 

 

The bar where we were sitting had only one bartender and he only had beer and some frozen drink. I didn't have to wait long to get drink.

 

Thank you!

[mrbojanglezs]

On the Western Caribbean cruise the lobster day was the 2nd formal night in the MD which I believe was the night before Cozumel which would be Day 5.

 

Also keep in mind they have all you can eat lobster in the Wind Jammer first formal night which is Day 2 and all you can eat king crab and mussels in the WJ formal night 2 Day 5

[CP3o]

They do not have full service bars on Labadee. I don't remember if you could get any mix drinks because I didnt ask I just had beer and labadoozies. They served the labadoozies in small clear cups but I didn't care because I had the unlimited I had probably 4 or them and 1 corona. I didn't wait long at the kiosks for drinks but they didn't have waiters walking around like you would see at an all inclusive. They Had a special drink when you first get off the pier of rum in a sliced open coconut but it was bland. They only have bottle water on the island and the drink package includes it so keep that in mind. Day 3 was a good option for me. Keep in mind you have to try to pound them in the evening on the other port days if you go on shore during day to make the drink package worth it on those days so it's nice to be able to use the package at labadee

 

Also your back on the ship by 5 so you have the rest of the evening to drink what you didn't on the island.

 

Thanks for the info! Did you see servers walking around with the sports bottle looking labadoozies with the big straws? I know they aren't included with the drink package but they seem handy for keeping drink cooler longer and sand free. I wonder if you could use package and pay a little extra to cover "souv cup".

[Clarea]

Thanks for the info! Did you see servers walking around with the sports bottle looking labadoozies with the big straws? I know they aren't included with the drink package but they seem handy for keeping drink cooler longer and sand free. I wonder if you could use package and pay a little extra to cover "souv cup".

Yes, I think they charge something like $3.95 for the souvenir cup.