Oasis 5-21-17 Sailing Review

[WhenIsLobsterNight]

I am just off the Oasis and thought I would offer a quick review. Let me first say that my family are extensive cruisers (around 20 cruises now) that are not loyal to any one cruise line. I am not a RCCL (or any other line) fanboy and have no problem criticizing things I did not like. We have sailed RCCL, Disney, Carnival, NCL, Celebrity and Holland. So I am going to list some quick things we liked and disliked.

 

Overall: We had a simply amazing time. The Oasis was in great shape and was clean throughout the ship. This ship is the largest we have been on and there are always things to do. I would certainly be willing to book that ship or ship class again.

 

Things we loved (in no particular order):

1. My daughters loved the teen center. Video games, parties, dinners, sports contests and many other activities kept them busy throughout the day. My youngest daughters is actually 11 and the teen center is for 12 to 17. However, she is tall and athletic and the 9-11 tween counselors thought she would would be better situated with the older kids which she loved. Her 14 year old older sister kept an eye on her all week and they both had a blast.

2. The food in the dining room was overall at a very nice quality. We found the beef options (steak, prime rib, tenderloin etc) to all be very delicious. There are much less seafood options in the dining room compared to other ships we have sailed. Often there is only one seafood option per night offered outside of the salmon option in the classic part of the menu. Deserts were so-so. The apple pie, dark chocolate cookie, baked alaska and a few others were excellent, but other desserts we would only take a bite or two of and did not care for.

3. We had the best waiter we have every had on a ship. He was friendly and energetic. One night he actually went down to a different dining room level to get us a dessert (dark chocolate cookie) we had enjoyed a few nights earlier. Apparently the desserts served each night are different on the three dining room levels. So we got to enjoy that dessert twice in one week which we thought was cool. On the final night of the sailing, my wife was not real excited about any of the dining options. Our waiter asked her what she thought of Indian food and she said she loved it. He then went down to the staffs dining quarters and brought her up Indian food made for the staff. She absolutely loved it and we have never had a waiter do anything like that before.

4. Comedy show was A+++. Have not laughed that hard in years.

5. Casino was pretty good. Slots are pretty old machines, but the selection of tables games were pretty good. I actually won around $1500 for the trip which was nice.

6. Embarkation/Debarkation and going ashore on the ports of call were all very smooth processes. No complaints at all on any of that.

7. Windjammer was pretty good. We pretty much just did that for breakfast, but the food was good for the most part.

8. Bars - Plenty of bars around the ship, but they are almost always full. Does not seem to be nearly enough bartenders compared to other lines we have sailed on. Drinks were pretty good though.

9. Fitness Center - A++. It was large and clean and I could actually get on the equipment for a workout, as there was plenty of equipment. I LOVED the giant track around the ship on level 5. It was nice having the track in an area of low foot traffic. Very well designed.

10. We have been there several times before, but we just love the Labadee area. Its well designed with tons to do. We had a great time.

11. Ship layout was nice. There were 6,300 passengers on board last week and it only felt crazy packed a few times all week. Arrive early at shows as that is when the crowds come into play.

12. Pool area was great. We always found either a chair or lounger if we looked for a few minutes. The pools are spread out which was nice.

13. We were on Deck 14 which is below the pool deck. We were very nervous going into the cruise that our room would be crazy loud and it was not. Even with a balcony room, we just could not hear much above us. It was well designed.

14. We had lunch in the sushi place and also the Mexican restaurant. Both were good, but not great in our opinion. Kids wanted Johny Rockets one day and it was also pretty good.

 

Things we disliked:

1. My wife likes cold soups. RCCL use to offer a chilled soup option nightly and there was only one all week.

2. We had the worst assistant waiter of any sailing we have ever had. Empty water and tea glasses were the norm for dinner each night. I have no idea where that guy would go during dinner, but we rarely saw him and I do not think he spoke 10 words all week to us. I realize he will get in trouble, but I am going mark him way down on my RCCL comment card I will be filling out soon. He was terrible.

3. Our Cats show was cancelled with a key performer being ill. My wife was quite disappointed.

4. Electronic poker tables in the casino did not work once all week.

5. Overall the shows in the evening were not as good as we are used to. Water diving and ice skating shows were fun, Cats was cancelled, Comedy show was great and the rest of the week there was not many shows. Other lines like Disney simply crush RCCL for entertainment. No comparison at all.

6. The smaller scale events like the Love and Marriage show, belly flop contest etc were always packed houses. You have to go early if you want a decent seat to see the events.

7. I caught a cold on the ship the last two days. It was just a cold, but annoying nevertheless. Never had that happen before on any sailing on any line.

8. There is a lot of "upselling" the first few days. This is not a RCCL problem, it is really all cruise lines these days.

9. Mentioned it already, but lack of bartenders really needs to be addressed. RCCL use to walk around trying to sell you drinks everywhere you went on a ship. Now that people have drink packages, they do all they can to discourage you from actually having a drink with the long lines at bars. RCCL is easily the worst we have seen with any cruise line in this regard.

10. Our room (14706) never really was able to get to a cool temperature. Even with the AC on full blast coldest temperature and our balcony door closed and locked the room just never really cooled off. We traveled with another family in the room next door and they had the same issue. Thankfully we had pretty good weather all week. I cannot imagine how that room will be in a few months when the temperature are another 20 degrees warmer each day.

 

Those are the things that popped into my mind. Again, overall it was a great week and we had a blast. If anybody has a quick question I would be happy to try and answer it.

[Clarea]

... Our room (14706) never really was able to get to a cool temperature. Even with the AC on full blast coldest temperature and our balcony door closed and locked the room just never really cooled off. We traveled with another family in the room next door and they had the same issue. Thankfully we had pretty good weather all week. I cannot imagine how that room will be in a few months when the temperature are another 20 degrees warmer each day. ... .

Thanks for the report. We've had the same issue with room temp on both Oasis and Allure.

[js]

Thank you so much for your review. We, too, are not loyal to any one line (sailed NCL in February and again this July, CCL Vista in February 2018 and Oasis August 2018) so I'm happy to read your comparisons.

 

When we sail Oasis, I'll be with my family of four (dh and I in our 50s), dd-24 and ds-20, my sister's family of five, with three boys under 13 and my 72 year old mom and I chose this ship for us hoping there is something for everyone. The only negative comment my sister had made was just to say that my nephew asked if there were slides when he saw the pictures (and I've learned there are no slides but not a deal breaker LOL).

 

I am one of those crazy people that exercise six times a week, even on vacation so the gym is important to me and happy you made a comment about it. What times does the gym open? Did you run on a treadmill? If so, it sounds like you were able to get one when you arrived. Did you happen to notice any rowing machines? If so, were they newer models or ones with chains? Did you run on Deck 5, if so, what time did you go that you didn't encounter too many people to maneuver around? Did the gym have showers to use (NCL doesn't but CCL does)? Steam room? Or, were those just for spa passengers? Were there complimentary classes held in the early mornings (I get to my gym at 5 am so don't want to start too much later on vacation) no later than 8 am? I won't pay extra for classes on vacation, they are included in my gym membership so I can forgo those on vacation.

 

Did you have four in your cabin? We will have three in our cabin since my dd is brining a friend so they have an inside across the hall from our three hump balcony cabins I booked on Deck 6 (Boardwalk deck).

 

Did you do MTD? Early was too early for us and late was too late for my sister's family so I'm hoping that MTD will work okay for us. I do plan on making reservations for us each night when that opens to help alleviate a long wait each evening.

 

Bummer about the drinks and waiting. We will all be getting the drink package (with exception of my mom) and that doesn't make me happy LOL We don't have any problems on CCL or NCL with our drink packages but I've also found that frequenting a couple of bars and tipping also helps but I know it shouldn't have to be that way.

 

Where did you and your dh end up each evening? Did you stay out and have a few drinks after a show or dinner?

I'm also trying to get an Over the Water Beach Cabana on Labadee but see they haven't opened that up yet for booking. We had one two years ago when we sailed Independence on NYE and hoped to get one for our trip next summer.

 

Did you fly in the night before? Where did you stay?

 

Thank you so much for all your help and happy you had a great week!

[DRW2]

Thank you for sharing your input! My kids and I will be going on the Oasis at the end of July for our first ever cruise. :) I've been enjoying seeing more posts from people regarding their experiences. Some of the previous posts had me concerned I had chosen wrong. :confused:

[kruzerci]

10. Our room (14706) never really was able to get to a cool temperature. Even with the AC on full blast coldest temperature and our balcony door closed and locked the room just never really cooled off. We traveled with another family in the room next door and they had the same issue. Thankfully we had pretty good weather all week. I cannot imagine how that room will be in a few months when the temperature are another 20 degrees warmer each day.

 

Those are the things that popped into my mind. Again, overall it was a great week and we had a blast. If anybody has a quick question I would be happy to try and answer it.

 

We were on the same sailing. We had a great time, too, but agree that the up-selling was so excessive. I'm on vacation and already booked specialty restaurants, I don't want to be hounded in the promenade and at lunch to buy specialty restaurant and drink packages!

 

We were in 9700 and thought the same thing. I woke up a lot during the night because I was warm. We didn't have that issue with JS cabins on Oasis and Allure in the past, but the whole ship was really warm last week.

[WhenIsLobsterNight]

Thank you so much for your review. We, too, are not loyal to any one line (sailed NCL in February and again this July, CCL Vista in February 2018 and Oasis August 2018) so I'm happy to read your comparisons.

 

When we sail Oasis, I'll be with my family of four (dh and I in our 50s), dd-24 and ds-20, my sister's family of five, with three boys under 13 and my 72 year old mom and I chose this ship for us hoping there is something for everyone. The only negative comment my sister had made was just to say that my nephew asked if there were slides when he saw the pictures (and I've learned there are no slides but not a deal breaker LOL).

 

I am one of those crazy people that exercise six times a week, even on vacation so the gym is important to me and happy you made a comment about it. What times does the gym open? Did you run on a treadmill? If so, it sounds like you were able to get one when you arrived. Did you happen to notice any rowing machines? If so, were they newer models or ones with chains? Did you run on Deck 5, if so, what time did you go that you didn't encounter too many people to maneuver around? Did the gym have showers to use (NCL doesn't but CCL does)? Steam room? Or, were those just for spa passengers? Were there complimentary classes held in the early mornings (I get to my gym at 5 am so don't want to start too much later on vacation) no later than 8 am? I won't pay extra for classes on vacation, they are included in my gym membership so I can forgo those on vacation.

 

Did you have four in your cabin? We will have three in our cabin since my dd is brining a friend so they have an inside across the hall from our three hump balcony cabins I booked on Deck 6 (Boardwalk deck).

 

Did you do MTD? Early was too early for us and late was too late for my sister's family so I'm hoping that MTD will work okay for us. I do plan on making reservations for us each night when that opens to help alleviate a long wait each evening.

 

Bummer about the drinks and waiting. We will all be getting the drink package (with exception of my mom) and that doesn't make me happy LOL We don't have any problems on CCL or NCL with our drink packages but I've also found that frequenting a couple of bars and tipping also helps but I know it shouldn't have to be that way.

 

Where did you and your dh end up each evening? Did you stay out and have a few drinks after a show or dinner?

I'm also trying to get an Over the Water Beach Cabana on Labadee but see they haven't opened that up yet for booking. We had one two years ago when we sailed Independence on NYE and hoped to get one for our trip next summer.

 

Did you fly in the night before? Where did you stay?

 

Thank you so much for all your help and happy you had a great week!

 

The gym is quite large. My workouts consisted of free weights, stretching and running on the track. I was always in the gym after breakfast around 9, so I am not sure exactly when they open. I think it is pretty early though. There were a good number of treadmills, elliptical machines and other cardio pieces. There always seemed to be a few open of everything. I did not see a rowing machine, but would be surprised if there was not one. They really do a have great assortment of weights and machines in there. Deck 5 is a high quality two lane track with a soft rubber flooring. It is EXTREMELY well made. Walkers on the right lane and runners on the left lane. There is no traffic on the track except for people working on. You have views of the ocean while you run. I loved it. I did not do any spa services or classes, so I am not sure if I can comment on any of those. I would be shocked if any person that loves to workout was unhappy with the fitness area. It is the best I have ever seen on any ship.

 

We did have four to a cabin with a balcony. Its cramped, but manageable.

 

We did early dining. We like having the evenings open after dinner. Yes, 5:30 is a bit too early to eat I agree. I liked it better when it was 6:00.

 

In the evenings we were in the casino, listening to live music (we like the Pub Bar singer), going to shows, sitting in the hot tub or really anything that sounded good that night. I got hot in the casino all week and gambled a bit more than normal.

 

We flew in the night before and stayed at the Wyndam Lake Buena Vista near downtown Disney. The hotel was just so-so. We would not stay there again. The kids enjoyed the shopping area. It was nice not being stressed about flying in that morning. We live in Kansas and there is no room for error when traveling sailing day. We have done it before and had a very close call once. We actually were the last two to get on the ship one time thanks to a flight delay and vowed to not do that before. Flying in the night before is 1000 times better.

[easyboy]

Thanks for your objective review.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[cstimmons]

did you happen to get a copy of the teen cruise compass?

[cleophus12]

js--We were pleasantly surprised with MTD. We also like to eat around 6-6:30. I had made reservations for the nights we wanted to eat in the MDR and we were quickly seated. Only one night did we have a problem. For some reason, our reservation wasn't showing up on their screen in the MDR, so they seated us upstairs. Even then we waited less than 5 minutes. Our wait staff was very good up there too, but we missed our regular wait staff that we had each night in American Icon.

[WhenIsLobsterNight]

did you happen to get a copy of the teen cruise compass?

 

I am sorry, I did not get that. I remember there being a teen compass the first day and I am not sure I saw one after that. Instead, they used a chalk board in the teen hangout room to write down the events of the day. My kids checked that frequently and would come and go as they wished. My youngest is very athletic and would attend the soccer, basketball or any other athletic type activity. My oldest is very musical and would attend the dances, karaoke and any other event that would involve music. They both felt they had a lot of activities that fit their personalities. They each had a total blast in the teen area and our sailing had a lot of teens that participated in activities.

[mchin]

Thanks for posting your review. I have a question on the teen club. My DD is now 12 and will be part of the teen activities, but our nephew is only 11 (will be 12 the end of June). Did you need to check your 11 year old into adventure ocean first and ask them to move her up to teen club or did you just ask the teen club? Also, do you have any of the teen club daily activity sheets you can post?

[WhenIsLobsterNight]

Thanks for posting your review. I have a question on the teen club. My DD is now 12 and will be part of the teen activities, but our nephew is only 11 (will be 12 the end of June). Did you need to check your 11 year old into adventure ocean first and ask them to move her up to teen club or did you just ask the teen club? Also, do you have any of the teen club daily activity sheets you can post?

 

We took our daughter to the 9 to 11 year old club and she was literally almost in tears. The kids in there were much smaller than her. The counselor asked my daughter if she loved sports. My daughter said yes. The counselor then asked me if I had another daughter in the teen club and I said yes. My other daughter is 14. She then gave me her name (Maria I think) and told us to go to the teen club and tell them Maria sent you. I introduced myself to the teen counselor, said Maria had sent us and he had me fill out a one page document authorizing my 11 year old daughter to be in a club with kids 12-17. After that, she could come and go as she pleased. The fact you will have one in the 12-17 age group and another very close to that should allow you to get in like we did. I am not sure how it work if you had a child that is 11 and knew nobody else in the 12-17 year old range, but I am guessing you would get in for the week...I do not have any of the teen sheets. We threw away all those papers already.

[disgal]

Thanks for the report. We've had the same issue with room temp on both Oasis and Allure.

 

ugh. I'm hoping this isn't an issue with our CPV room but it will be July when the caribbean is about 90 degrees during the day. ugh. I so wish we could have gone another month but couldn't.

 

OP, thank you for the review! :) Very succinct and made some good points. And yeah, it's hard to beat Disney on the entertainment. Actually, my fav part of that cruise were the 2 bathrooms in a stateroom!! :D Why hasn't every RC ship copied that, I don't know!! Fantastic!

[js]

The gym is quite large. My workouts consisted of free weights, stretching and running on the track. I was always in the gym after breakfast around 9, so I am not sure exactly when they open. I think it is pretty early though. There were a good number of treadmills, elliptical machines and other cardio pieces. There always seemed to be a few open of everything. I did not see a rowing machine, but would be surprised if there was not one. They really do a have great assortment of weights and machines in there. Deck 5 is a high quality two lane track with a soft rubber flooring. It is EXTREMELY well made. Walkers on the right lane and runners on the left lane. There is no traffic on the track except for people working on. You have views of the ocean while you run. I loved it. I did not do any spa services or classes, so I am not sure if I can comment on any of those. I would be shocked if any person that loves to workout was unhappy with the fitness area. It is the best I have ever seen on any ship.

 

We did have four to a cabin with a balcony. Its cramped, but manageable.

 

We did early dining. We like having the evenings open after dinner. Yes, 5:30 is a bit too early to eat I agree. I liked it better when it was 6:00.

 

In the evenings we were in the casino, listening to live music (we like the Pub Bar singer), going to shows, sitting in the hot tub or really anything that sounded good that night. I got hot in the casino all week and gambled a bit more than normal.

 

We flew in the night before and stayed at the Wyndam Lake Buena Vista near downtown Disney. The hotel was just so-so. We would not stay there again. The kids enjoyed the shopping area. It was nice not being stressed about flying in that morning. We live in Kansas and there is no room for error when traveling sailing day. We have done it before and had a very close call once. We actually were the last two to get on the ship one time thanks to a flight delay and vowed to not do that before. Flying in the night before is 1000 times better.

 

Thank you so much for your information! Being that you got to the gym at 9 am would be a very crowded time for the gym and happy to hear it was very manageable. Also, since I'll be on Deck 6 it will be great to have the running track one flight down from me, thanks so much for that information, which is new to me.

We enjoy the pub on the promenades and my dh spends time in the casino so I guess we may follow in your footsteps LOL

 

We are DVC members and also own a 3 bedroom TS in Orlando so very familiar with that area and also was thinking about spending a night or two in Disney prior to our trip. I also saw there was an Orange Lake Country Club by the Port, which looks really great but haven't seen anyone on here stay there before. I'll decide where we are staying beginning in September.

 

Thanks again and welcome home!

[js]

js--We were pleasantly surprised with MTD. We also like to eat around 6-6:30. I had made reservations for the nights we wanted to eat in the MDR and we were quickly seated. Only one night did we have a problem. For some reason, our reservation wasn't showing up on their screen in the MDR, so they seated us upstairs. Even then we waited less than 5 minutes. Our wait staff was very good up there too, but we missed our regular wait staff that we had each night in American Icon.

 

Thank you for this information. I am guessing you made reservations prior to boarding, correct? We will be a family of 11 so I want to do this prior to boarding. I'm the only one that will be doing any planning for the cruise since my sister just goes with the flow and my mom just follows what I plan :o. I do not want to be

asking everyone each morning what time I need to go ask for reservations for the evening, I just want it done.

 

Thanks!

[pinkandgreenmom]

To the poster asking about the gym and free classes: there were usually two stretching classes offered per day (one was 6 pm and I think the other was 7:30am ish), and at least one Abs class per day - I think that was at 7 am. These were half hour long. I do not remember any other free classes.

 

Sometimes the sliding doors to the track on Deck 5 were locked early in the AM. (I work out around 6 am). The trick to getting on the track if the doors are locked is to enter the spa on 6, walk down the ramp to the gym, and in the middle of the gym is a wide set of stairs going down, those stairs will take you down to the walking track on 5 and the door there was never locked (at least at the times I tried).

 

When I was on the running track in the 6-7 am time frame, there'd be maybe a dozen other people on it. It would get more crowded around 8 am.

[js]

To the poster asking about the gym and free classes: there were usually two stretching classes offered per day (one was 6 pm and I think the other was 7:30am ish), and at least one Abs class per day - I think that was at 7 am. These were half hour long. I do not remember any other free classes.

 

Sometimes the sliding doors to the track on Deck 5 were locked early in the AM. (I work out around 6 am). The trick to getting on the track if the doors are locked is to enter the spa on 6, walk down the ramp to the gym, and in the middle of the gym is a wide set of stairs going down, those stairs will take you down to the walking track on 5 and the door there was never locked (at least at the times I tried).

 

When I was on the running track in the 6-7 am time frame, there'd be maybe a dozen other people on it. It would get more crowded around 8 am.

 

Thank you SO much!

I just cut/paste your information since I am VERY bad with directions and put with my Oasis travel information. I would be working starting at 6-7 am so this is very helpful. Thank you, too, about the classes. NCL has Boot Camp and a few others starting at 5 pm or so, which isn't very helpful to me but they do offer the abs and stretching in the morning. I'll check out the times for Oasis. Thank you so much again!

[wingman2014]

4. Electronic poker tables in the casino did not work once all week.

 

Hopefully this will be fixed by the time we go this December. Love playing "Texas Holdem"

[BillOh]

Things we disliked:

 

2. We had the worst assistant waiter of any sailing we have ever had. Empty water and tea glasses were the norm for dinner each night. I have no idea where that guy would go during dinner, but we rarely saw him and I do not think he spoke 10 words all week to us. I realize he will get in trouble, but I am going mark him way down on my RCCL comment card I will be filling out soon. He was terrible.

 

 

I was going to say so our Assistant Waiter for our 4/29 Adventure cruise got transferred to Oasis ;) Ours was a young lady so that is not the case.

 

On the serious side, thanks for your thoughts, very interesting reading.

[mchin]

We took our daughter to the 9 to 11 year old club and she was literally almost in tears. The kids in there were much smaller than her. The counselor asked my daughter if she loved sports. My daughter said yes. The counselor then asked me if I had another daughter in the teen club and I said yes. My other daughter is 14. She then gave me her name (Maria I think) and told us to go to the teen club and tell them Maria sent you. I introduced myself to the teen counselor, said Maria had sent us and he had me fill out a one page document authorizing my 11 year old daughter to be in a club with kids 12-17. After that, she could come and go as she pleased. The fact you will have one in the 12-17 age group and another very close to that should allow you to get in like we did. I am not sure how it work if you had a child that is 11 and knew nobody else in the 12-17 year old range, but I am guessing you would get in for the week...I do not have any of the teen sheets. We threw away all those papers already.

 

Awesome! Thanks. I'm glad to hear they are flexible.

[mchin]

What was your itinerary? Any thoughts on the ports?

[WhenIsLobsterNight]

What was your itinerary? Any thoughts on the ports?

 

We had three stops. We went to St Maarten first and we chose to hang out on a beach that was near the ship. My daughter got her hair braided and the girls swam in the ocean for hours. It was a relaxing day until I decided to rent a jet ski in the afternoon and that was a total blast. My daughter sat behind me and we got one up to 74mph on the digital speedometer. My heart was racing during that, but it was so much fun. Second stop was San Juan. We walked around the nearby forts and did some shopping. The girls had some teen event in the afternoon they both wanted to get back for, so we did not stay on San Juan all that long. Final stop was Labadee. We got there early and parked our loungers under a large coconut tree on Columbus Beach. We tanned in the sun, swam and the girls got one day passes for the nearby water slide. It was relaxing. Overall it was just a ok itinerary. My favorite place to visit is Alaska on a cruise. I think I also prefer the western Caribbean itinerary a bit more than the one we did as I love Jamaica. My daughter plays on a traveling competitive soccer team and a good portion of the summer was just not open this year. We had a one week opening to cruise (which was two days after the girls got out of school) this year and took it. Therefore, we did not have the luxury of being picky on ports of call this trip. No complaints though, it was a great cruise.

[The Original Panama Jack]

Thank you for sharing your input! My kids and I will be going on the Oasis at the end of July for our first ever cruise. :) I've been enjoying seeing more posts from people regarding their experiences. Some of the previous posts had me concerned I had chosen wrong. :confused:

 

I was on Oasis in 2015 and booked it again for 2019. Had a great experience previous and that is why I booked again. Wonderful ship and love the amenities that a large ship offers.

 

You will have an awesome time!!!!