Back from Oasis of the Seas Cruise, quick review.

[cingroomer]

Embarking in Port Canaveral was long and hot, we arrived at 11:45, long lines, didn't move quick, finally boarded ship at 1:10. We headed to our cabin which was ready, dropped what we had then headed to a Cafe on Deck 8 (Boardwalk) we were told about. Food was ok, except the soup...all the soup we found out the entire week is just puree, unless it specifically says has noodles, otherwise its just broth. This place had a make your own salad line so that was good, they also had premade salads and sandwiches and desserts and specialty coffees, open until 3 each day so you can take back to room. Egg salad was horrible, tuna fish barely ok, waldorf salad just some apples with mayo....salads do NOT look like the ones in the case, be forewarned.

After lunch we walked through the Entertainment and Shopping area, its really crowded, like a floating mall and they have bands playing there and games going, that sort of thing. Its a cool area.Sorrento pizza and Cafe Promenade there, open till 2 am, so of course, thats the place to be late night.

We had dinner reservations for Solarium Bistro that night and I really liked this place. The appetizers and desserts are buffet, nice salad bar, entree is order. Bright, cheerful, healthier good food and faster than the MDR. It over looks the pools and ocean. We ate here several times. Its a pay restaurant for dinner (sometimes) but not for lunch or breakfast and normally much quieter.

Sunday evening we had ressies for the adult comedians, they were funny, picking on the audience, quick, great sense of humor and not raunchy, which I really appreciated. Outside of the Comedy club is always the smell of popcorn, 2.50 for a small bag, but tasty.

Monday was seaday and while the ship has a lot of pools and hottubs and bars, and is crowded there are seats somewhere, lots and lots of lounge chairs. Adult pool small but adequate. There are some towel stations around to get your towels since they are not provided in the room. I don't like that. Anyway, we ordered room service for breakfast then settled in the Solarium for the day. Had lunch in MDR and dinner as well. We had reservations set for the week for our time dining so it didn't over lap with our evening entertainment reservations. Allow 2-2.5 hrs for dinner, yes, it does take that long when there are 6400 people on the ship. Dinners in the MDR are ok, not good for people that don't eat meat, their fish selection is fish no one at our table ever heard of, and they seem to include mushrooms (yuk) in everything. The soup is awful (except French onion is ok) breads and rolls delicious. Food portions much larger than on other ships. Only things exceptional I had all week were the Crab Cakes and Lobster tails. Everything else was just ok.

For entertainment, the Headliner show (Abba) and CATS and Come Fly With Me were all excellent. We didn't get to see the Aqua show, which brings me to this. Be sure to check you tv messages several times a day. Ours had been cancelled and rescheduled several times and unfortunately we missed the Aqua show because of this.We had room service a few times, the wings are good but messy. They bring the food pretty quick too. The entire ship seems to have a problem with food temps, colds aren't cold and hots aren't hot, but that doesn't bother me as much as it did some of the people we travelled with.

The staff is very friendly, they talked about their time with the company, their families, how much they liked working there, how they were trained etc. The guys working the cafes are quite slow so don't be in any hurry if you go to them. Customer service lines were never long so they must have been able to help the people quickly, though for a problem I had, it took them 4 calls and 2 days to get it right.

Breakfast in the MDR can be ala carte or buffet, however, I will warn you, that one day we went for ala carte and there was a 35 minute wait for eggs...and no fresh orange juice.

Veronica was our waiter in the MDR most of the time and really good, very sweet girl.

As for the room itself, it was certainly not what I expected. Balcony room on 12, bathroom extremely small, the shower is pathetic, like getting in a Star Trek tube, beam me up Scotty, literally can't turn around in it. No shower gel, some horrible shampoo, take your own. No counter space or drawers in bathroom...not kidding...and the sink is about thigh high. really a bad design. The sleeping area, my bed was shoved up to the very small closet you can barely get in, no drawers, a few shelves. Can't watch tv in bed either since it was across from the couch with was by the sliding doors. I did not like this room and will not ever get it again, room 12554. The room steward was ok, though I had a casino voucher and my glasses on the night stand and they both disappeared.

I never made it to he Zip Line or Rock Climbing but I did watch others and it looked like fun.

The ship rocked much more than I thought it should with it being so large, however, come to find out that they had a broken stabilizer, so I'm quite sure that made the difference. It wasn't enough to bother any of us though.

The reggae band at the pool was fun, I really enjoyed that, plus they played in the evenings in one of the venues. Another band in Dazzles was absolutely unreal, I could listen to them all night.

There seems to be a lot going on at once and then nothing, so you will definitely get down time. Debarking was a nightmare, but I don't think it was there fault, I think it was customs. Our 9:00 debark happened at 10:45 so beware if you are needing to catch a plane.

All in all it was ok, not sure if I would go again unless I got a really good offer, I'd certainly do a different room. The ship seems overwhelming the first couple of days but is easy to figure out. It is huge though, like a floating mall.There are some things I missed from other cruises I've had and some things I liked better. I hope if you are reading this and going to be on her that you've got a few hints of help.

[Cruisegirl6]

Hello and thank you for the review! The past two sailings people were talking about not having water on the ship, that the toilets were backed up and some said no water for two days, did you encounter this problem?

[cingroomer]

Hello and thank you for the review! The past two sailings people were talking about not having water on the ship, that the toilets were backed up and some said no water for two days, did you encounter this problem?

Nope, there was never a problem with that...thankfully. LOL Sooooo many old people on board and lots and lots of those scooters too.

[Tulsacoker]

Thanks for writing your review cingroomer. My wife and I will be on Oasis soon for the first time

[Cruisegirl6]

cingroomer so glad you didn't have that water issue. When we were on the Oasis this past April same thing, so many schoolers and wheelchairs. We will be back in 13 days on her.

[mac66]

Interesting review. Was this your first time on RCI or cruising in general? I ask because you mentioned how small the room/bathroom/shower was. I've been on four different cruise lines and the rooms are all pretty small except for the suites.

 

When we were on the Oasis I thought the food was pretty good for a cruise ship. Didn't have any problem with food being too cool. Of course any cruise is dependent on the date you go on it. We tend to book off peak times when the ships are less crowded. The clientele tends to be different during holidays and during the peak vacation seasons.

[otterden]

and they seem to include mushrooms (yuk) in everything.

 

Thanks for the review but this was by the most useful thing for me....massive food allergy to mushrooms, which will greatly complicate things for us :(

[cingroomer]

Interesting review. Was this your first time on RCI or cruising in general? I ask because you mentioned how small the room/bathroom/shower was. I've been on four different cruise lines and the rooms are all pretty small except for the suites.

 

When we were on the Oasis I thought the food was pretty good for a cruise ship. Didn't have any problem with food being too cool. Of course any cruise is dependent on the date you go on it. We tend to book off peak times when the ships are less crowded. The clientele tends to be different during holidays and during the peak vacation seasons.

 

I've done 3 RCCL, 1 Norwegian and 8 Carnival cruises. Our Norwegian was by the far the biggest bathroom, Carnivals are small also but do have plenty of counter space and shelves under the counters as well as being quite a bit wider. The room size itself is pretty well comparable except this one had exceptionally small closet and no drawers unlike the others. Also, placement of the bed away from the doors seemed odd, though some may like that. I personally like to lay in bed and look out the door at the ocean. I do think this cruise had an excessive amount of people, they stated several times that there were more than normal amounts so I do believe that had an effect on food service and maybe even quality.

[momofmab]

I agree with your assessment of the cabin on Oasis, particularly the bathroom & shower. I don't know how anyone fits more than 2 people in these cabins. Also, we could never get anything but warm water from the bathroom faucet.

 

Prior to our cruise, I had heard a lot of complaints about slow service in the MDR but we never experienced it, despite being on a full ship during the Easter Week cruise. Maybe we were early enough eaters (usually 6:30 or 7pm) to beat the crowds.

[JaniceB]

Thank you for your review. I am sailing the Oasis soon and so thanks for the tip about checking the TV for schedules.

[davekathy]

Thanks for taking us along on your cruise.

[orville99]

We got off Oasis on Sunday, and debarkation was delayed for more than an hour because there was only one CBP agent in the terminal (at first). A second one showed up around 9:00. We were supposed to be off before 10:00 and didn't get the go-ahead to exit until 11:00. They were still clearing customs at noon. (we went over to the Cove for lunch, and there were still a flood of cars coming out of the garage after we finished.) This is not the first time we've experienced that type of delay, and I felt sorry for anyone that booked an early return flight.

Edited October 2, 2018 by orville99

[mkam2821]

I've noticed that as the ships have gotten bigger the bathrooms (and closets) have gotten smaller. We've done almost 20 cruises, Royal, Holland, Carnival, Princess and Costa (and a couple on lines that are no longer sailing) and have had cabins ranging from inside to balcony (one junior suite on Princess but it was no larger than the outside cabin on HAL except for the 2 tvs) The largest bathrooms were on HAL. I think on all 6 of those we took on HAL we had a bath tub with shower. They also had nice cabinets flanking the bathroom mirror that held toiletries. Now I pave to put most cosmetics etc. in the area around the desk in the cabin itself.

 

On the other hand I think we're paying less now than we did for a cabin 15 years ago!

[Eslader]

Also, we could never get anything but warm water from the bathroom faucet.

 

Because it isn't being piped through miles of earth like it is on land. The ground is a terrific refrigerator that the ship can't take advantage of.

[The Sunset Glow]

How was the pizza at Sorrentos? Is it better than it used to be?

 

People are reporting it being much better on other ships lately. One of my daughters is a picky eater but loves pizza. We'll be on Oasis at the end of the month.

[leisuretraveler223]

This certainly speaks to a lot of the differences week to week! I sailed Oasis in August and found boarding and debarkation to be a breeze, arriving around the same time, we went from curb to ship in 20 minutes- as a party of twelve! Debarkation was also a breeze.

 

Not really sure what to say about the stateroom. I've been on twenty plus cruises, and it's basically a standard balcony cabin. Yeah, the shower is small, and the room is a little cramped. But it's pretty much exactly what I expect. I will concede the storage on Oasis isn't quite as well thought out as some ships, but this was a minor issue.

 

We enjoyed the MDR and the food actually exceeded my expectations. I do believe you get a better experience in the MDR as a larger group. The two tops and four tops are kind of lost in the bustle. But our table of twelve got great service. As far as the food goes, I find the items that lend themselves to cooking in large volume were excellent (prime rib, lasagna, lamb, etc...), and the only disappointments were the things that don't lend themselves to this (we had a seafood pasta one night that wasn't great, but that is a dish best made one at a time). The soups I had were enjoyable. The mushroom comment is a bit of a puzzle, but I like mushrooms. I didn't notice an overabundance of them however.

[Dajbman22]

Just a quick question. You stated you had your embarkation lunch at a cafe in the Boardwalk. Are you actually referring to the Park Cafe in the Central Park area, or is there another lunch venue on Oasis I was previously unaware of?

[orville99]

Just a quick question. You stated you had your embarkation lunch at a cafe in the Boardwalk. Are you actually referring to the Park Cafe in the Central Park area, or is there another lunch venue on Oasis I was previously unaware of?

I believe the Dog House and Johnny Rocket's on the Boardwalk are open for lunch on embarkation day, along with the Solarium Bistro and the Wipe Out café.

[The Fun Researcher]

You hit on a lot of the things we didn't care for on the Oasis class as well, as well as some highlights.

 

Crowds everywhere, felt like a floating (albeit nice) mall.

Love Dazzles, a proper night club. Lots of dining options.

 

Dan

[Smokey Mountain Tim]

Hi Cindy, did you make it to the M&M? I wish they would have us introduce ourselves so we would know who is who since everyone leaves immediately.

Alot of what you wrote was true for us as well. My wife says that the crabcakes were the best she ever had and the lobster was better than the last ten or so sailings. I thought that the filet with bernaise sauce and the rack of lamb were outstanding. I know food is subjective, but we believe the food on Freedom OTS was better. The shows were good and we too missed the aqua show due to weather both nights. It was definitley rockin and rollin with the waves this week. Very unusual. And you are right about the amount of seniors and scooters aboard this week. My biggest pet peeve this week were the adults who would arrive last at an elevator but be the first on. Sorry, didn’t mean tonhijack your thread

[cingroomer]

Hi Cindy, did you make it to the M&M? I wish they would have us introduce ourselves so we would know who is who since everyone leaves immediately.

Alot of what you wrote was true for us as well. My wife says that the crabcakes were the best she ever had and the lobster was better than the last ten or so sailings. I thought that the filet with bernaise sauce and the rack of lamb were outstanding. I know food is subjective, but we believe the food on Freedom OTS was better. The shows were good and we too missed the aqua show due to weather both nights. It was definitley rockin and rollin with the waves this week. Very unusual. And you are right about the amount of seniors and scooters aboard this week. My biggest pet peeve this week were the adults who would arrive last at an elevator but be the first on. Sorry, didn’t mean tonhijack your thread

 

Yes, we were at the M&M, my husband won a water bottle and the couple with us won a hat. We were on the right side of the room behind the string of people that won everything LOL I thought it went a bit long though I enjoyed Jeff (the cruise director) and thought he was funny. Yes, I wish we could have all introduced ourselves with our CC names...in the past, the ones I have been on were just people walking around talking and were able to do that. This one was a bit different.

[cingroomer]

I believe the Dog House and Johnny Rocket's on the Boardwalk are open for lunch on embarkation day, along with the Solarium Bistro and the Wipe Out café.

 

From what I was also told, because of the fact that this ship was loaded, many people 4 to a room instead of just 2 and we sailed at full capacity, more restaurants were open than usual AND that is why the Solarium Bistro was no charge for dinner (which we did enjoy a lot).

[JaniceB]

I thought the solarium bistro was no charge just reservations for dinner.

[orville99]

From what I was also told, because of the fact that this ship was loaded, many people 4 to a room instead of just 2 and we sailed at full capacity, more restaurants were open than usual AND that is why the Solarium Bistro was no charge for dinner (which we did enjoy a lot).

 

Solarium Bistro has been free for more than a year - they dropped their cover charge in spring 2017. When we were on Oasis in March 2017, they still had the cover charge, but were waiving it for MTD overflow passengers, and when we sailed her again in May 2017 it had been dropped entirely. We usually do the Bistro for dinner at least three times (and every morning for breakfast) on all of our Oasis cruises. We find their food preparation, service, and atmosphere for dinner much better than Coastal Kitchen (we've given up eating there).

[bettingthebear]

We're leaving on Sunday - do you require a reservation for dinner in The Solarium? Or can you just show up?