Trip Report! Oasis Of The Seas - 1/6-1/12 - Nurovirus Cruise

[ashezap]

On 1/15/2019 at 12:24 PM, Host Clarea said:

 

I agree, I've never seen clotted cream biscuits on Oasis class!

 

You had me at clotted cream!! That’s one thing I love about celebrity is in the buffet on the solstice they had scones with jam and clotted cream at teatime. I. Had. Them. Everyday!!! Yum. 

[Ocean Boy]

9 minutes ago, ashezap said:

 

You had me at clotted cream!! That’s one thing I love about celebrity is in the buffet on the solstice they had scones with jam and clotted cream at teatime. I. Had. Them. Everyday!!! Yum. 

OMG, someone who actually likes that blood clot stuff.😯

[ashezap]

4 hours ago, brillohead said:

Question for you, @ashezap -- are you purposely misspelling norovirus to avoid search engine hits to your thread?

Just curious about the rationale....

Not sure if there is a moderator out there that knows how to correct my spelling mistake, but I sure would appreciate it! 

[ashezap]

2 minutes ago, Ocean Boy said:

OMG, someone who actually likes that blood cut stuff.😯

 

Did you mean bloody stuff? Lol

 

I have nearly 100% English ancestry...  I think it’s in my genetics to not fare well in humidity and love tea, scones and clotted cream 😂

[Ocean Boy]

1 minute ago, ashezap said:

 

Did you mean bloody stuff? Lol

 

I have nearly 100% English ancestry...  I think it’s in my genetics to not fare well in humidity and love tea, scones and clotted cream 😂

I'm a physician. The word clot is associated with only one thing to me.... blood.

[brillohead]

3 hours ago, ashezap said:

Not sure if there is a moderator out there that knows how to correct my spelling mistake, but I sure would appreciate it! 

You can use the "report post" link (upper right hand corner) and then put your request in the box that pops up.  

Reports go to the moderator team and someone can take care of it for you. 

[dwhe]

4 hours ago, ashezap said:

 

Did you mean bloody stuff? Lol

 

I have nearly 100% English ancestry...  I think it’s in my genetics to not fare well in humidity and love tea, scones and clotted cream 😂

It's like a magnet to me, any sign that says afternoon tea or cream tea served here I'm in.

[kernow]

Can't believe people don't like clotted cream. Living in Cornwall we have it with all desserts, all the tourists buy big tubs to take home.

 

I've only ever seen the real stuff on ships that sail out of the UK, didn't realise that Celebrity has it on other ships too.

 

Next time I eat it I'm sure I'll think of blood though!

[ashezap]

So far no refund yet and we have reached the two week point. I emailed RC guest services a few days ago to let them know about some of the issues we had (unrelated to the Norovirus) and that we didn’t use much of our beverage package. I received an email saying someone was assigned to it and working on it and they would get back to me but again, haven’t heard anything.Come Monday I guess I’ll give them a call but I don’t think anyone else has heard anything either. Very interesting! 

[zdad59]

18 minutes ago, ashezap said:

So far no refund yet and we have reached the two week point. I emailed RC guest services a few days ago to let them know about some of the issues we had (unrelated to the Norovirus) and that we didn’t use much of our beverage package. I received an email saying someone was assigned to it and working on it and they would get back to me but again, haven’t heard anything.Come Monday I guess I’ll give them a call but I don’t think anyone else has heard anything either. Very interesting! 

 

The lack of use of the drink package is an interesting point.   If they are refunding the entire cruise, I wonder if they'll refund the ENTIRE cruise. 

 

Thanks for keeping us posted.

[ownedbypets]

1 hour ago, ashezap said:

So far no refund yet and we have reached the two week point. I emailed RC guest services a few days ago to let them know about some of the issues we had (unrelated to the Norovirus) and that we didn’t use much of our beverage package. I received an email saying someone was assigned to it and working on it and they would get back to me but again, haven’t heard anything.Come Monday I guess I’ll give them a call but I don’t think anyone else has heard anything either. Very interesting! 

  

 

Why didn't you use much of you drink package?

[Valentinegirls]

We sent in our hotel receipts the next day. Got a form reply email. I called the person we were assigned to & she just called me back yesterday. I was not as pleasant or patient as I would normally be. 10 days to return a phone call is not acceptable. Per our “person” refunds are being processed. She couldn’t tell me 1/2 of what the charges & credits on our bill were. Couldn’t tell me our total refund. Couldn’t tell me when or where my un-refundable gift card money would be going. After spending an hour on the phone & getting no-where I asked her call me back when she actually knows “something”. I’m not overly impressed with things so far. 🤷🏼‍♀️

[Valentinegirls]

My BF didn’t use 3 days of his drink package as he was sick & could only stomach water. No refund as far as I was told.

[joyful1nh]

9 hours ago, ashezap said:

So far no refund yet and we have reached the two week point. I emailed RC guest services a few days ago to let them know about some of the issues we had (unrelated to the Norovirus) and that we didn’t use much of our beverage package. I received an email saying someone was assigned to it and working on it and they would get back to me but again, haven’t heard anything.Come Monday I guess I’ll give them a call but I don’t think anyone else has heard anything either. Very interesting! 

 

I received the full refund today.  I posted more information on our meet and mingle thread about how I reconciled the amount of the credit.  

 

[ONECRUISER]

10 hours ago, ashezap said:

So far no refund yet and we have reached the two week point. I emailed RC guest services a few days ago to let them know about some of the issues we had (unrelated to the Norovirus) and that we didn’t use much of our beverage package. I received an email saying someone was assigned to it and working on it and they would get back to me but again, haven’t heard anything.Come Monday I guess I’ll give them a call but I don’t think anyone else has heard anything either. Very interesting! 

Usually takes this long. So not surprised refund can come in 2-3 different amounts on different days. Like say its $999, might get $666 then $333 another day. Dont know why but at least dozen times came like that. A drink package would normally be prorated, you do 6 days came back one day early so get one day back. Did they state you would get all that back?

Edited January 26, 2019 by ONECRUISER

[davelinde]

We got our fare back except for $66 which was the port tax for Haiti I believe.
I was also happy to see we got all 7 of the Crown and Anchor days credited.
I see the CDC site updated to indicate Norovirus was confirmed.
We have booked another cruise on an Oasis class in the fall.

 

So I have a few other observations on the ship in general before I forget - looking for feedback on our next cruise on RCCL Oasis class.  We were warned away from the WJ several times by crew indicating other venues would be less crowded.   On boarding we took that advice and went to the Solarium Cafe... getting a table there was very hard and the buffet line was huge.  For our next cruise I'm looking for advice on where to get a light lunch without the heavy crowd on boarding day.

 

As I noted before the steam and sauna were for a fee - I cannot remember any cruise having a full sauna and that has always been something I enjoy.  For our next cruise I'm wondering how to get the best price on access to the sauna.

 

And finally - in the MDR I was not so happy to get a choice of  Medium rare or Medium well for all beef and the lamb.  I got mostly medium rare and found it just a little too rare for my taste.  I tried one steak medium well and, predictably it was too well done.  For our next cruise I'm wondering how to get meat done medium.

[CruiszBug]

I got my OBC and cruisefare refunded this past Friday (Jan 25). I did have to call to have my points adjusted. I was only given half, but that was easily corrected. Can't wait to find another awesome RCCL cruise!

[John&LaLa]

We ended up with a fare refund of around $650. But it was a free cruise through the casino.

 

We also got a replacement certificate for a free cruise good through end of year.  

[poncho1973]

On ‎1‎/‎29‎/‎2019 at 8:40 PM, John&LaLa said:

We ended up with a fare refund of around $650. But it was a free cruise through the casino.

 

We also got a replacement certificate for a free cruise good through end of year.  

 

It's a darn shame that you cruise so infrequently that you'll never get a chance to use it!  ;-)

[TwinPeaks2]

We are three cabins still waiting for Oasis noro cruise refunds. Called Crown & Anchor today, no refund status, told to allow 3-4 weeks. Already past three weeks.

[ashezap]

So I got some closure today on the whole situation. I had emailed RC with a list of things I found worrisome on my cruise (other than the noro) shortly after the sailing. I received an email saying that I should expect a call or email about my concerns soon. This was at least 2 weeks ago. I ended up getting the cruise fare refund when mostly everyone else did but frankly, my biggest concerns were components of the romance package I didn’t receive and the beverage package I felt a bit roped into and then barely used. So I received a phone call today from a rather passive aggressive woman, letting me know that I recieved a refund for my cruise fare. It went something like this. 

 

“Hi there Mr. , I’m calling to let you know you received a refund for 6 days of your cruise fare in the amount of $____ on this date and a refund of your one days cruise fare of $____ on this date. “

 

“Yes I know, thank you.”

 

“We also recieved an email stating that you didn’t like the entertainment or the wine you got with your romance package”

 

”no no... I did send an email saying several things including that we expected better wine and it wasn’t chilled but there were components of the romance package that were missing altogether and that we felt rushed into purchasing a drink package we barely used”

 

”uh-huh I apologize, but you won’t be receiving a refund for those things because we have already processed the refund in cruise fare” 

 

“ um.. ok... didn’t everyone get a refund in cruise fare?”

 

“Yes sir”

 

“um.. ok..  thanks for letting me know. Not sure I’ll be cruising with Royal again anytime soon”

 

”ok, I apologize. Have a nice day” 

 

“ok bye” 

 

what a weird uncomfortable conversation! Apologize might as well be a word that means “I am speaking through my mouth hole” because that’s how she said it. Why would you call me to tell me I’m not getting refunded for the things I brought to their attention?!?  Not even a “thank you for bringing those things to our attention, but due to policy we can’t refund those things right now” or “oh yes we will look into that”, or a “We checked and you’re right,  it doesn’t look like you recieved the right breakfast, the evening canapes or the photo that was included in your romance package”  on better yet “I’m sorry for the valuable time you lost on this vacation”  ?!? 

 

With all that said, im not very impressed with the bedside manner of the customer service folks at royal. When all is said and done I’m coming to 2 possible conclusions 

 

1. (The most horrifying!) I may be growing out of cruising and therefore things just don’t impress me as much on a cruise... the culture of “adding on” and paying a “premium” for things is annoying... and this noro Cruise was just the icing on the cake. 

 

2. If I do cruise again, I’m not sure I’d ever be able to pick RC again. The ship was too big and I really felt like quality was sacrificed more than other cruises I’ve been on. They literally forgot several elements of a package I bought, I had to ask for other in room things I bought to be sent to my room, entertainment is nothing special, the selling is crazy over the top, the food was marketed as better than it is... I never felt “pampered” like I’ve felt on celebrity (ironically RC’s sister line) and Disney’s smaller ships. 

 

Don’t get me wrong!!! It was very nice that they refunded everyone the cruise fare and I enjoyed the dining package and the ship was cool for the first few days. but I had other concerns and things that didn’t meet my expectations that I wanted at least acknowledged and instead, I now feel like I’ve been pushed aside and am speaking to some uninterested woman who just sees me as a number on a list of people she has to call back. Her monotone “uh huh I apologize” is the unforgettable last word from a company who’s experience I’ll surely never forget. I’ve worked guest service for 13 years in some insanely high pressure places during some very difficult times and I can easily tell when someone could care less. 

 

Oh well... maybe I’ll try again some day in the distant future when royal or celebrity comes out with something new and amazing... but for now, I think it’s time to travel on land and try to immerse myself in the culture of new territories as my vacation of choice. 

 

Thanks for reading all! 

[Thorben-Hendrik]

RCI does not care about you.... their business is just running too good to want customers to come again! 🙄

[Biker19]

9 hours ago, ashezap said:

 

1. (The most horrifying!) I may be growing out of cruising and therefore things just don’t impress me as much on a cruise... the culture of “adding on” and paying a “premium” for things is annoying... and this noro Cruise was just the icing on the cake. 

Nothing horrifying about realizing the current state of main line cruising is not for you. 

[brillohead]

10 hours ago, ashezap said:

So I got some closure today on the whole situation. I had emailed RC with a list of things I found worrisome on my cruise (other than the noro) shortly after the sailing. I received an email saying that I should expect a call or email about my concerns soon. This was at least 2 weeks ago. I ended up getting the cruise fare refund when mostly everyone else did but frankly, my biggest concerns were components of the romance package I didn’t receive and the beverage package I felt a bit roped into and then barely used. So I received a phone call today from a rather passive aggressive woman, letting me know that I recieved a refund for my cruise fare. It went something like this. 

Nothing in that exchange was even remotely passive-aggressive.  I recommend not using phrases you're not actually familiar with in the future.

Not exactly sure how you could be "roped into" purchasing a beverage package -- I've been on multiple RCI cruises and have never once felt remotely pressured into buying a beverage package.  And it wasn't RCI's fault that you chose to not avail yourself of the benefits of your beverage package.  

Maybe your email about the missing elements of your romance package would have gotten more attention if it hadn't been chock full of irrelevant information like the beverage package that you had buyer's remorse for, the behavior of other guests, and your dislike of the entertainment.   

When you provide a huge laundry list of vague complaints, it's easy for a corporation to just disregard your entire letter.   By contrast, a short and factual message (I paid for ABCDE and only got A and C but not BDE and I am requesting a refund in the amount of X) is much more likely to be taken seriously and obtain the result you're looking for.  

[ownedbypets]

From reading your review and looking at all of your pictures it seems that you did use your drink package quite often.