Oasis questions

[momcat]

We will be traveling on the Oasis next June with our daughter, son-in-law, and grandchildren, who will be 7 and 10 at the time. This will be our first cruise on the Oasis, although we are Diamond on RCCL and Elite Plus on Celebrity.

We have severak questions we have not seen answered on the Oasis threads, so we are hoping some of you can help out.

1. We have not seen many reviews of the kids' program for these age groups. Have your kids had positive experiences with these activities? Problems?

2. My daughter's family has been on Disney cruises and they were totally enthusiastic. Any idea how the Oasis kids stuff compares? Are there specific times for interactions with the DreamWorks characters as there are on the Disney ships? If so, which characters are involved?

3. Also, on the Disney ships there were ship smartphones that the family could use to keep in touch with one another on the big ship. Is there any similar arrangement on the Oasis? The 10-year-old at least could certainly be responsible for using something like that.

4. Aside from the children's program, what activities are particularly appealing for kids of these ages?

5. Anything else we should be thinking to ask?

Thanks in advance! :confused:

[oneputt18]

Maybe this will help:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2345603&highlight=oasis+kids+club

[Clarea]

No smartphones on Oasis.

[BNBR]

Oasis doesn't provide smartphones to the best of my knowledge...

 

HOWEVER.... you can do what we did. Just buy an unlimited internet package for multiple devices. It's quite inexpensive, actually.

 

The kids can use a phone or even an iPod Touch, anything with wifi. Then just use Facebook messenger or similar app. You can make calls and text with Facebook messenger, so we were never disconnected from the people we wanted to remain in touch with.

 

I can't speak for the age groups you are asking about. But the kids section on Oasis is quite large with several rooms. I believe there is a science room, theater room, etc. etc. etc. The activities are constant. My niece was on Allure not long ago, 8 years old, and my sister said she wanted to do nothing else other than go to the kids programs, loved it to death.

 

I think everyone will have a great time.

[Grandma Dazzles]

There is a lot to do for kids on the Oasis. I would, however, check height/weight/age requirements for various things before promising. I don't think the kids can use the zip line, for example. My granddaughter did the rock climbing wall, and the staff member commented she just made the age cut off, which we had never thought of. She had turned 6 the week before the cruise.

[momcat]

Thanks, all. Keep those ideas coming.

[mooseman52b]

Oasis has breakfasts with the Dreamworks characters (Alex the Lion and others). They also have numerous photo ops, and a parade featuring many of Dreamworks characters on the promenade deck.

[klass2]

I do not have any experience with Disney cruises so I can't compare them to Royal.

 

But I have taken kids aged 7 and 10 on Royal cruises and they LOVE it. They hate when I pick them up. They spend a lot of time playing a game called gaga ball and doing various activities.

 

You can probably google and find the kids compasses for an oasis cruise to give you a better idea.

 

But yes I think they will have fun.

 

We go device free for our kids when we cruise except the teens who don't have a set room per say to be in.

 

I like to know where my kids are at all times. They are either in adventure ocean or with me.

 

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[1ParticularHbr]

Character appearances will be listed daily in your cruise compass and the character breakfast at $10pp is also a great way to get close-up time. On our past Dreamworks cruises we've had the Madagascar characters, Shreck characters, and Kung Foo Panda. One activity that you might look into pre booking for the kids is cupcake decorating class.

Edited August 1, 2016 by 1ParticularHbr

[vacation_mommy]

We will be traveling on the Oasis next June with our daughter, son-in-law, and grandchildren, who will be 7 and 10 at the time. This will be our first cruise on the Oasis, although we are Diamond on RCCL and Elite Plus on Celebrity.

We have severak questions we have not seen answered on the Oasis threads, so we are hoping some of you can help out.

1. We have not seen many reviews of the kids' program for these age groups. Have your kids had positive experiences with these activities? Problems?

2. My daughter's family has been on Disney cruises and they were totally enthusiastic. Any idea how the Oasis kids stuff compares? Are there specific times for interactions with the DreamWorks characters as there are on the Disney ships? If so, which characters are involved?

3. Also, on the Disney ships there were ship smartphones that the family could use to keep in touch with one another on the big ship. Is there any similar arrangement on the Oasis? The 10-year-old at least could certainly be responsible for using something like that.

4. Aside from the children's program, what activities are particularly appealing for kids of these ages?

5. Anything else we should be thinking to ask?

Thanks in advance! :confused:

 

We are just got off the Oasis last week with our kids, aged 11, 9 and 5 (one month shy of 6). The two older kids were in the 9-11 age group, and the young one was in the 3-5 age group. My kids only went to the kids club 4 nights, for about an hour or 2 after dinner - it was obvious however there were some kids that were there MUCH more. We have also sailed with Disney in the past.

 

From our experience, RC is a much more structured kids program. Every night there was a theme to the club (which you are told about in the kids navigator), and GROUP activities based around that theme. Unlike on the Disney cruise, they did not have the option of opting out and doing the computer or watch a movie if they didn't like the activity. At first, my kids really loved that aspect, since the first 2 nights they really liked the group activity. However, the last two nights they came back and were upset that the activities weren't that fun (their words, not mine) or the "team" they were on wasn't great. They both said they wished that there was an option to something else those nights. However, my youngest LOVED that the activities were all group things. For a child who likes to go off and do their own thing they might not have as much fun as on the Disney. One point though - even though my kids never complained about the Disney club - they never were thrilled to go, either - and when they did go to Disney they never interacted with the other kids, just went off and did their own things. I felt better knowing that they were being "forced" to do group activities, and not just by themselves.

 

Second - there is no Wave phone like on the DCL. However, we did see a lot of families with walkie talkies on board that they packed to use. They also sold walkie talkies in the gift store onboard. For us, we never really needed it - since we were either all together, or the kids were in the kid's club. I didn't let them venture out on the ship alone since there were so many people and it just didn't feel as intimate as the DCL cruises in the past.

 

My older kids were able to find a ton of things to do, and in the end walked away saying they liked the RC cruise more than the DCL (I preferred DCL though). We are just got off the Oasis last week with our kids, aged 11.5, 9.5 and 5 (one month shy of 6). The two older kids were in the 9-11 age group, and the young one was in the 3-5 age group. My kids only went to the kids club 4 nights, for about an hour or 2 after dinner - it was obvious however there were some kids that were there MUCH more. We have also sailed with Disney in the past.

 

From our experience, RC is a much more structured kids program. Every night there was a theme to the club (which you are told about in the kids navigator), and GROUP activities based around that theme. Unlike on the Disney cruise, they did not have the option of opting out and doing the computer or watch a movie if they didn't like the activity. At first, my kids really loved that aspect, since the first 2 nights they really liked the group activity. However, the last two nights they came back and were upset that the activities weren't that fun (their words, not mine) or the "team" they were on wasn't great. They both said they wished that there was an option to something else those nights. However, my youngest LOVED that the activities were all group things. For a child who likes to go off and do their own thing they might not have as much fun as on the Disney. One point though - even though my kids never complained about the Disney club - they never were thrilled to go, either - and when they did go to Disney they never interacted with the other kids, just went off and did their own things.

 

Second - there is no Wave phone like on the DCL. However, we did see a lot of families with walkie talkies on board that they packed to use. They also sold walkie talkies in the gift store onboard. For us, we never really needed it - since we were either all together, or the kids were in the kid's club. I didn't let them venture out on the ship alone since there were so many people and it just didn't feel as intimate as the DCL cruises in the past.

 

As far as character interactions, the biggest difference I saw was that unlike Disney, there wasn't massive lines to take pictures with the characters on the RC ships. This is probably because the Dreamworks Characters aren't as iconic as the Disney ones. We didn't take pics with ANY disney character when we were on the DCL cruise b/c I hated the idea of waiting in a huge line and wasting time. The trip on the Oasis we had pictures with Puss from Puss n Boots, a character from How to Train your Dragon, and a few other. We didn't seek them out (they are listed in the Navigator) but just happened to be walking by when they were out and about.

 

My older kids were able to find a ton of things to do, and in the end walked away saying they liked the RC cruise more than the DCL (I preferred DCL though). The additional activities the older kids could do (not the 5 year old) were the rock wall (have to be 6 years old), the ice skating (all ages), the zip line (must be 75 pounds which they just came in at), and the Flow Rider (boogie board only, not tall enough for the stand up surfing). They also preferred the pool / water area since it was much bigger than the DCL cruise and not as crowded. On the DCL you couldn't move at all in the pools and just had to stand there and watch the movie - on the Oasis the kids pool was definitely busy but still enough room to swim around, jump, etc. They also LOVED the "washing machine" - which was a small pool that had a current pushing them around in a circle. It was a huge hit with all of them.

 

The hardest part for me was that I compared every aspect of the cruise to our previous Disney experience. In the end - nothing will compare to DCL attention to detail and service - but DCL paled in comparison on the number of things the kids could do.

[Queen of Oakville]

You asked about character interaction.

 

there is no character interaction on Royal.

 

There will be photo ops and character breakfasts, but that is it. There is a guy/girl in a suit and they will pose for pictures and that is where it ends.

 

On Disney, there is "interaction" and it is an experience.

 

A few examples:

 

Disney - the program says that you Princess Belle will be at a given location from 4:00 to 4:30. You show up at 4:25 and you will know when you get in line, whether you will meet Belle or not. If the line is too long, you will be told that Captain Hook is coming next and you have the choice to wait or not.

Royal - you stand in line at 4:00 and the line is long. You can be front of line and if there is a switch at 4:30, too bad, you get who is there when you make it to the front.

 

Disney, you are walking down a hallway and run into Princess Tianna while she is on her way to/from a character meet. She will stop and talk and dance with you and make you feel like a princess too.

Royal - you see Gloria on her way to the character meet. If you are lucky, you will get a wave, and the handler will tell you where to go and stand in line.

 

At the character breakfasts, the characters will travel from table to table. Then handlers will allow you to take a few pictures but then the characters are rushed off to the next table.

 

 

 

Disney specializes in the character experience. On Royal, it's a photo op and nothing more.

 

For someone coming from DCL, they should be given clear expectations or they will be disappointed with the "experience" on Royal.

Edited August 2, 2016 by Queen of Oakville

[BNBR]

To be fair, I never saw any real lines to meet the characters on Oasis. Usually they were completely empty. And Disney rushes characters from table to table at character breakfasts as well.

 

I'm not saying Royal is on par with Disney, but I thought the characters around the ship were a nice touch.

[LuCruise]

We were on Allure (sister ship) in April with our kids who were 10.5 and 6 years. The pool and splash area is a lot of fun. They even liked the beach pool and whirl pools. My 10.5 year old loved the FlowRider (boogie version) and zipline...but it depends on their height. Both kids loved the rock wall. There is mini golf, ping pong, etc. I know I'm missing other things that I can't think of. We also joined some of the cruise compass activities such as a scavenger hunt, dance class, trivia, etc. Just check out the ship...Boardwalk, Central Park, etc

 

There are multiple DreamWorks meet and greets a day. Just check your compass. No lines, but yes, as others have said, it's not a huge interaction (not that our kids tried to talk to them). Be sure to catch one of the parade times (one is near the beginning, one is on the last evening...same parade). We also did the character breakfast which is nice (small fee).

 

The Aqua and ice shows are not to be missed (both have an evening show and a daytime DreamWorks one). We also liked the other shows but it depends on your kids if it's for them (and what kind of show you have for headliner).

 

Our kids didn't want to go to the kids club so I can't comment about it...but I've heard good things.

 

The Oasis class is amazing. Our kids absolutely loved the cruise.

Edited August 2, 2016 by LuCruise

[momcat]

Thanks so much for your wonderfully helpful comments.