My Oasis of the Seas - Top 10

[lazydayz]

After weathering Hurricane Irma, we embarked Oasis OTS on Sept. 17, 2017. After 50 cruises, hubby and I decided to give Oasis a try.

 

We had an awesome cruise. Rather than do a full review, I compiled by personal Top 10 list. YMMV, but each of the following really added up to a great cruise.

 

10. Labadee and Kayaking - this port is beautiful and does offer the opportunity to get the Caribbean feel. We did the 1.5 hour kayak tour, which goes to the real Labadee, a fishing village. You just row by but it was fun to see the Haitians who live there. On the way back, we stopped at a nice beach and were able to swim for about 15 minutes.

 

9. The Diamond Lounge - what a great space. Our cabin was located on the same deck so it was very convenient for us. We used it in the morning for coffee and checking out the menus for the day. On some days, we came in the afternoon to read. And on some evenings, we enjoyed the cocktail hours (4:30 to 8:00). While bar service was a little slow, it was understandable as the place was usually packed and hey, the drinks and food are free.

[lazydayz]

8. Serenity and the Giant Hot Tubs. This was a great place to relax. On one evening, we skipped the Diamond Lounge and went to the Serenity Hot Tub instead. What a great place to watch a sunset.

 

7. Jazz on Four. The Remedy was the jazz band onboard and they were very good, and versatile. Most evenings had a theme as to the type of jazz they would play.

 

6. Ziplining. How cool is that? This is a very short zipline but just the fact that I could zipline on a ship made my day. They are very cautious and the staff takes great care of you. We had a short line on the last day, and a small rain delay, but the whole process took less than 30 minutes.

[lazydayz]

5. The Captain. He was very informative and kept us informed about the new Hurricane, Maria. He promised to keep us safe and a week of great weather. He delivered, as we only had maybe 10 minutes of rain during the entire week. He is also the only Captain to come up to us and introduce himself (this was in Coastal Kitchen). Very personable.

 

4. The Shows (excluding CATS). We really enjoyed the dive show, Come Fly with Me and the ice skating show. Those dives from the high dive are incredible. The ice show was amazing and no one fell.

 

3. The Prohibition Party. I had read many reviews of this, some good, some not. There were probably 30 guests, and about 20 of them dressed for the occasion. Foxy was the host and she did a great job. The jazz band played and alcohol flowed freely. If you don't buy the drink package, this is a great opportunity to try a lot of different drinks. The back of newspaper has the drink menu. There was a dance contest, with extra points for using the pole. Too funny.

[lazydayz]

2. Coastal Kitchen. We dined there on six evenings and the food is incredible. Service was a little off the first night, but that is usually true for the first night in the MDR too. So we rolled with it, and ended up being incredibly happy with the food and the service.

 

1. Giovanni's. We reserved before boarding for my birthday dinner. We ate outside and listened to live classical music. Both of us had the filet and it was delicious. The waiter went over to Chops and got me a carrot cake slice. Nice touch.

[Dennis#1]

Great review. I enjoyed reading your posts. We were on the Oasis in April. Thanks.

[lazydayz]

Great review. I enjoyed reading your posts. We were on the Oasis in April. Thanks.

 

Thank you. I was a little leery of booking the Oasis, thought it might be too big. But the neighborhood concept works so well, the only times it felt crowded were the muster drill and the 70s Disco Party.

[tinatark]

I was on the same sailing! In a CLS on 17!

 

You probably never saw us, but our best friends were with us (also in a CLS) with their 4 year old twin girls... everyone saw them!

 

I LOVED Captain Per! Saw him in the suite lounge a few times.

 

Not so crazy about the cruise director. NEVER saw him around the ship!

[lazydayz]

The twins are super cute!

 

I liked the cruise director (though not enough to make the top10). He looks like Gary Shandling, and is very self-deprecating. Mostly I liked that he didn't make those annoying announcements all day long.

[Ocean Dancer]

Very nice mini review. I liked your format.:D

[lazydayz]

Very nice mini review. I liked your format.:D

 

Thank you!

[George C]

Thanks, still a year away from 1st Oasis cruise

[Kilmarlic]

Less than 3 weeks til I'm sailing on the Lady O. Love your list approach.

[lazydayz]

Less than 3 weeks til I'm sailing on the Lady O. Love your list approach.

 

Thanks. I am jealous! Lady O is a great ship with a wonderful crew. Enjoy.

[lazydayz]

Thanks, still a year away from 1st Oasis cruise

 

 

"The waiting is the hardest part." Pretty sure you will love it. Best advice I received was to book shows as soon as they become available then plan rest of your day around the show time. Also, skip Cats or if you go, pick a seat by a door if you want to make an early exit. We stayed for 30 minutes.

[BillOh]

8. Serenity and the Giant Hot Tubs. This was a great place to relax. On one evening, we skipped the Diamond Lounge and went to the Serenity Hot Tub instead. What a great place to watch a sunset.

 

 

 

Which tub are you referring to as the Serenity hot tub?

[BillOh]

 

10. Labadee and Kayaking - this port is beautiful and does offer the opportunity to get the Caribbean feel. We did the 1.5 hour kayak tour, which goes to the real Labadee, a fishing village. You just row by but it was fun to see the Haitians who live there. On the way back, we stopped at a nice beach and were able to swim for about 15 minutes.

 

 

Thanks for your thoughts on this. While I use to be able to do a marathon in 4 hours, my upper body strength is less I've had many friends take up kayaking and this excursion looks like fun. Did the locals paddle out to sell you things? Maybe the Kayaks don't have any storage? We stopped on Waverunners and when I told them I had no money they pointed to the "glovebox" where my wallet was.

[BillOh]

Thanks, still a year away from 1st Oasis cruise

 

 

Especially for this class of ship, I highly recommend you join your roll call. Lots of great info and helps pass that time.

[lazydayz]

Which tub are you referring to as the Serenity hot tub?

 

 

It is on the side of the ship, before you get to the Solarium Bistro. It is huge. There were maybe eight of us in there, and there was room for 20 more.

[lazydayz]

Thanks for your thoughts on this. While I use to be able to do a marathon in 4 hours, my upper body strength is less I've had many friends take up kayaking and this excursion looks like fun. Did the locals paddle out to sell you things? Maybe the Kayaks don't have any storage? We stopped on Waverunners and when I told them I had no money they pointed to the "glovebox" where my wallet was.

 

Welcome. When you stop at the beach for swimming, they try to sell you things. I bought a bottle of water and told the other vendors I was going swimming, and they left me alone. They didn't care if you had cash, said you could pay the kayak guy back at port.

 

Kayaks have zero storage, but there is a chase boat. They would hold your cell phone and take photos of you. Hubby and I just carried a small case with some cash and sail and sign card, which we kept with us.

 

This was a fun excursion, though it does take some upper body strength. Luckily my husband loves his rowing machine and for him, this was a pleasure.

[Clarea]

It is on the side of the ship, before you get to the Solarium Bistro. It is huge. There were maybe eight of us in there, and there was room for 20 more.

Never heard them called Serenity. Most often, I seem those referred to as the cantilever hot tubs.

[lazydayz]

Never heard them called Serenity. Most often, I seem those referred to as the cantilever hot tubs.

 

 

My bad, but aren't they in the Serenity area? I know there were no children in the hot tub and it was very quiet.

[Clarea]

My bad, but aren't they in the Serenity area? I know there were no children in the hot tub and it was very quiet.

Maybe another cruise line uses the term Serenity. RC calls that area the Solarium.

[lazydayz]

Maybe another cruise line uses the term Serenity. RC calls that area the Solarium.

 

 

Gotcha. I cruise a lot on Carnival so was confusing Solarium and Serenity. I should have said the Solarium cantilevered hot tubs. Thanks for the clarification. I appreciate the wealth of information you bring to this board. Much appreciated.

[badinnplaid]

As someone about to get on Oasis in the very near future, I found this very helpful and interesting! Quick follow up--do you recall any specifics of the drinks available at the Prohibition Party?

[lazydayz]

Thank you. At the Prohibition Party, There was an old fashioned, a gin fizz and three others. All were good and they must have gave me 10. I promise I didn’t drink them all! You are going to have a great time.