Did the Chipmunk Survive? My Mini Review of Oasis May 14 - May 21 (Western)

[MrsKC08]

Well, our final day was a sea day and it's always a sad day for sure. However, this time we were both quite ready to go home. I missed our two fur babies and by this time in the week I was having a little bit of anxiety about Theo. So many "what if's" were rolling around in my head. But we were going to make the best of our last day.

 

We started in the Solarium, which was our regular routine for the week. This time we opted for two lounge chairs instead of the clam. There was a nice breeze this morning and it wasn't very hot at all. It was quite relaxing and I think we both drifted off into dream land for a bit. There is just something about this area of the ship that is relaxing, until you get some loud people who gather in the chairs right behind you. Our serenity was quickly dwindling, so it wasn't long before we moved on from the Solarium and did some final exploring around the ship.

 

Frozen in Time

Our final reserved show for the cruise was the ice show. This is quite possibly one of my favorite shows on the larger RCCL ships. It just amazes me the things they can do on such a small rink on a moving ship no less. This particular show was centered around Hans Christian Anderson and a few of his famous children stories like The Red Shoes, The Ugly Duckling, The Emperors New Clothes, The Little Mermaid and the Snow Queen. Our show was quite empty, most likely because it was the last day of the cruise and the show was at 5pm and many people probably already caught it earlier in the week. We were able to get prime seats on the side of the rink, which is our preferred location over the seats in the front. I think you just get a better view and perspective from the side.

 

 

 

 

Our First and ONLY trip to Guest Services

In checking our onboard account from our TV this particular evening, we noticed that the charge for our luggage valet had gone through, however it was for the $25 per person instead of what it stated on the TV. They showed me the paperwork at the counter, but I showed them the photo I took with my cell phone of our TV screen when we enrolled. Long story short, the $10 was refunded to our account with very little issue. I did tell them though, that they really need to update the information on the interactive TV so this issue doesn't become bigger with many more people having to make that visit to guest services.

 

Upon our return to the cabin after dinner, we found an envelope with all our Luggage Valet information, including our boarding passes and luggage tags. Just like with everyone else, we needed to put our luggage (except for our carry-ons) outside our door by 11pm.

[MrsKC08]

Final Thoughts

All in all we enjoyed our time on the Oasis. I mean, it's hard to have a bad vacation while at sea in my opinion. Between Harmony and Oasis, we enjoyed the Harmony much more so than this cruise for many different reasons. While on the Harmony, Sabor was an ale carte restaurant and still had the tableside guacamole which was fantastic! We had planned on having a meal at the Sabor on Oasis, but during our sailing Royal had changed this restaurant from ale carte to a set price of $19 per person. Quite honestly, this is was drove us away more than the fact that they no longer do tableside guacamole. When we ate there on the Harmony, our bill was about $15 for both of us, so we knew that even though it is now all you can eat, we just couldn't justify the cost for it. Heck, we wouldn't pay that much at our favorite mexican restaurant back home. Personally, I think that this is going to hurt this restaurant. Secondly, the main production show (Grease) was so much better than Cats. We really enjoyed the decor and cabin better on Harmony as well as the wow bands and the bionic bar. There were a few other little things here and there as well, but those were the main things.

 

Too large! This was our second time on an Oasis class and we have ultimately decided that it is just too large for our liking and as others have said, you lose some of that feeling of being on a cruise ship with little chances at water views. It never really felt crowded, but it's just a lot of walking from one place to another when you are doing different activities. The Freedom class still remains our favorite so far, but I haven't tried the class just below it which is on my radar to do at some point.

 

Food is always subjective and something that should be taken with a grain of salt. What one person likes, another might find revolting. I am also aware of the fact that food quality and presentation has changed dramatically over the past two decades. On this particular cruise, all of our food was very good...with the exception of the scrambled eggs at breakfast. My husband had no problem with the eggs, but I couldn't bring myself to even eat them by the second day. Even the lobster was very tasty on our second formal night. We ate breakfast at Johnny Rockets one morning (very good option) as well as WipeOut Cafe, and Solarium Bistro. We attempted the Windjammer once for lunch and once for dinner. The food was ok, but the little pods for the food displays are kind of a mess. There was never a true "end of line" and people just jumped in. Park Cafe is a great place to have lunch with their salad options and the roast beef sandwiches! We also enjoyed the MDR for lunch a couple of days as well. Just remember that this is only available on sea days on deck 3!

Bars and the Drink Package is something that is talked about a lot on these boards. We both pre-purchased the drink package through our cruise planner prior to our cruise. Many people think it isn't worth the cost, but to us it is a value in many ways. Most importantly, this part of our bill is already paid and we don't have to worry about it at the end of our cruise! Secondly, it opens up the ability to order different drinks/new drinks that we have not tried before. We didn't have to worry if we didn't like the drink, we could just order a different one. Also, remember that this includes the drink options in the free style machines (we never used these the entire week), still and sparkling water, fresh squeezed OJ (this is so yum) and smoothies and fresh juices in the vitality cafe by the spa on top of the premium coffee and cocktails, beer and wine! I would also suggest that you purchase this prior to your cruise, because the price on board is almost $20/day more than what we paid through our cruise planner. Keep in mind that they also offer a drink card midway through the cruise for $79 that will give you 10 drinks for that price. There is also much talk about the fact that drinks aren't as strong when you have the drink package. We didn't find this to be true. Matter of fact, our drinks were quite strong many times during the week.

My Time Dining worked well for us this cruise. It was our first time doing this option (we normally choose late traditional), and although we had the little issue on the first night, the rest of the week was perfect. We never had to wait when we arrived for our reservation. Matter of fact, there were a couple times we were a little early by about 15 minutes and we were still sat right away. The one thing that I was concerned about was having a different waiter each night and not having the familiarity with someone who knew what we liked and how we liked it before we ever sat down. To our delight, we were able to keep the same waiter from day 2 throughout the rest of the week. Now that we know the ability to do this, we would definitely choose this again.

Staff was friendly and accommodating throughout the week. Our room steward was not very good and probably the worst we have ever had. We didn't even see him or know who he was until day 2 and then never saw him again. Our room was also not cleaned to the standard that we normally find with RCCL. Our cruise director was definitely the worst we have ever had. It wasn't until day 3 that we even knew what he looked like. He was never at any of the events he should have been at (Quest, 70s dance party, etc). He was just absent all week long. Abe (Harmony) and Richard Spacey have been our two favorite CD's with RCCL.

Beds are also a little subjective. Sometimes people like them hard, sometimes soft. We prefer something softer. Because of the concern I had about the comfort of the bed, I sent an email prior to our cruise to special needs requesting a mattress topper. I've heard some say that they have been told they no longer have these, but we didn't find this to be the case. Our bed had the topper placed on it before we arrived and we found our bed quite comfortable.

Embarkation and Debarkation were probably the smoothest we have EVER had. We always enjoy sailing out of Canaveral because it always goes smoother than Fort Lauderdale. This was no exception for this cruise. We were on the boat within 40 minutes of my dad dropping us and our luggage off and doing the luggage valet, we were able to walk off with our carry on piece and from leaving our cabin to sitting down for breakfast at Grills was about 30 minutes tops!

I think that about does it for the tips, from what I can think of right now. But if you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask. I also have the cruise compasses that I will post later today.

[MrsKC08]

Here is the Don't Miss The Show "Showtimes at a Glance" sheet.

Dont Miss The Show.pdf

[MrsKC08]

Cruise Compasses. Somehow I have misplaced the one for day 3. I apologize for that. I'm sure I have it somewhere but I can't lay my hands on it.

Compass Day 1.pdf

Compass Day 2.pdf

Compass Day 4.pdf

Compass Day 5.pdf

Compass Day 6.pdf

[MrsKC08]

Cruise Compass for Day 7 and Excursion information for Western itinerary.

Compass Day 7.pdf

Excursion Info.pdf

[njmomof2]

I much enjoyed your report. I was only able to see some of your pictures here at my office, and of course, the ones that I missed the most were of your fur babies and Theo.

 

I'm dying to know how he managed with you gone so hopefully you'll give an update on him.

 

ETA: I was driving my son and his friends up to school today, and saw a chipmunk running across the street. It made me think of you and I actually told the kids about your report and how your husband built an aviary for him.

Edited June 2, 2017 by njmomof2

[OCSC Mike]

Thanks for posting the compass'! 2 more days...

[dd likes to cruise]

Who was the cruise director? We did Oasis in Feburary and enjoyed whoever it was. I think I'll remember his name if I hear (read) it.

[az_2_nc2013]

Who was the cruise director? We did Oasis in Feburary and enjoyed whoever it was. I think I'll remember his name if I hear (read) it.

 

I was on the same cruise, and it was Jimmy Rhodes. Didn't see him much at all. We saw the activities director, Magic Marvin, much more often throughout the week- he was great!

[OCSC Mike]

Too large! This was our second time on an Oasis class and we have ultimately decided that it is just too large for our liking and as others have said, you lose some of that feeling of being on a cruise ship with little chances at water views. It never really felt crowded, but it's just a lot of walking from one place to another when you are doing different activities. The Freedom class still remains our favorite so far, but I haven't tried the class just below it which is on my radar to do at some point.

 

My wife and I feel the same way, although we've only been on Allure once while we've been on Freedom once, Mariner twice, and Voyager once. IMO, the class right below Freedom is very similar to Freedom, just a bit smaller. The one thing we loved about Allure was Central Park Cafe (we had lunch/snack there just about everyday). I know the other ships now have some version of Park Cafe, but it's not the same thing. I was upset when I learned that Oasis was replacing Freedom at Canaveral since it's only just over an hour drive for us. It's been 5 years since we were on Allure though so I'm ready to give Oasis-class another shot to see if I still feel the same way... which is a good thing since we're leaving Sunday.

[MrsKC08]

I was on the same cruise, and it was Jimmy Rhodes. Didn't see him much at all. We saw the activities director, Magic Marvin, much more often throughout the week- he was great!

 

 

Yes, Jimmy Rhodes. He was a huge disappointment. Magic Marvin was in essence our CD! He was everywhere.

 

 

Lynn & Ken

[OCSC Mike]

Yes, Jimmy Rhodes. He was a huge disappointment. Magic Marvin was in essence our CD! He was everywhere.

 

Someone had posted that Jimmy had injured his knee pretty badly and that's why Marvin had to take over many of his duties. I believe there's a new CD now and Jimmy was getting his 2nd MRI when Oasis got back to port.

[MrsKC08]

I much enjoyed your report. I was only able to see some of your pictures here at my office, and of course, the ones that I missed the most were of your fur babies and Theo.

 

I'm dying to know how he managed with you gone so hopefully you'll give an update on him.

 

ETA: I was driving my son and his friends up to school today, and saw a chipmunk running across the street. It made me think of you and I actually told the kids about your report and how your husband built an aviary for him.

 

 

I'm glad you enjoyed reading along.

Sorry you missed some of the photos. I will share some here.

I have to say that I had quite a bit of anxiety over Theo, and honestly couldn't get home fast enough the day we returned from the cruise. But, I'm happy to say that he survived and was perfectly fine while we were gone. I have noticed though that since we have been home he hoards away most of his food now. I guess he wants to make sure he always has a supply.

 

The above photo was the night we found Theo. You can see he has come a long way!

 

 

Lynn & Ken

[MrsKC08]

Someone had posted that Jimmy had injured his knee pretty badly and that's why Marvin had to take over many of his duties. I believe there's a new CD now and Jimmy was getting his 2nd MRI when Oasis got back to port.

 

 

Well, all I can say is you could not tell anything was wrong with his knees the few times we saw him. Besides, he should have been to many of the things that he was absent from.

 

 

Lynn & Ken

[MrsKC08]

My wife and I feel the same way, although we've only been on Allure once while we've been on Freedom once, Mariner twice, and Voyager once. IMO, the class right below Freedom is very similar to Freedom, just a bit smaller. The one thing we loved about Allure was Central Park Cafe (we had lunch/snack there just about everyday). I know the other ships now have some version of Park Cafe, but it's not the same thing. I was upset when I learned that Oasis was replacing Freedom at Canaveral since it's only just over an hour drive for us. It's been 5 years since we were on Allure though so I'm ready to give Oasis-class another shot to see if I still feel the same way... which is a good thing since we're leaving Sunday.

 

 

I'm curious to hear what you think of Oasis when you return. I'm sure you'll have a great cruise though. We were bummed when we heard Freedom was leaving Canaveral as well.

I've got my sights on the Adventure which is a class below Freedom. If I could find a cruise on that ship that fits into our plans I would definitely like to try her out.

 

 

Lynn & Ken

[OCSC Mike]

I'm curious to hear what you think of Oasis when you return. I'm sure you'll have a great cruise though. We were bummed when we heard Freedom was leaving Canaveral as well.

I've got my sights on the Adventure which is a class below Freedom. If I could find a cruise on that ship that fits into our plans I would definitely like to try her out.

 

Now that I've begun posting and not just lurking before cruises I will definitely try to post a review when I get back. It won't be as in-depth as yours and probably won't have photos but I'll share my overall thoughts and hopefully daily reviews if I jot down some notes (my memory sucks and certain aspects of a cruise tend to become a blur when it's over).

 

 

If you liked Freedom I'm confident you'll like Adventure. As I mentioned, we've been on that class of ships 3 times and when we went on Freedom after that we thought it was very similar, just bigger with a few new features.

[scorpluvsdolphins]

Another cruiser not happy that the Oasis replaced the Freedom.

 

 

 

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[MrsKC08]

Hi guys. Coming back to give you a tip to check your credit card statement after you return home. I noticed that I was charged $6.19 more than what my final bill was. I made a quick call and had it taken care of without issues. Apparently to their records, it was for a bottle of the Evian water that they have in the cabin, which we did not drink!

 

If you need to contact them after you return home, the number is 800-256-6649