Are the Oasis class ships TOO big??

[Bloomin Onion]

I'm exploring cruise options for next year and several of the places we really want to visit including St. Thomas are on Oasis of the Seas or Harmony of the Seas, the largest class of ships not just within Royal Caribbean but in general. The marketing is proud of how big they are and how much they offer. But I'm curious if any of y'all think they're TOO big. Specifically does it take longer than usual to embark and disembark especially at the ports of call? Does the check in process take a lot longer, the lines within the ship for restaurants, stores, etc? The largest ships we've been on previously are Explorer of the Seas and the Norwegian Getaway. 

 

Also I noticed from the pictures a lot of the rooms have balconies overlooking the "Main Street" open area in the middle of the ship courtyard style. Is the soundproofing in these rooms really good enough where the noise from outside doesn't enter the rooms? 

[nelblu]

Not in my humble opinion.  They are fantastic ship with lots of things available be entertainment, dining or simply to explore.

[smokeybandit]

Not too big. I don't like Oasis class because it's too amusement park-like, but the size itself wasn't an issue.

[S.A.M.J.R.]

Oasis was the first ship DW & I cruised on.  Aside from immediately after the muster drill and immediately following shows, it never seemed crowded.  I was really surprised.  Maybe because it is so large with so many things to do/places to eat & drink, everyone was able to spread out.  

 

Can't help you on the sound proofing. 

[jalves]

I'm with those that say the Oasis class ships do not feel "too big".  RCL has done a great job of spreading the venues out around the ship.  Yes, you'll run into some waits for the elevator on embarkation and debarkation day.  Also when at a port, the will be a rush to get off when they first arrive.  But that's really about it for the crowd level concerns.  

[PolicromaSol]

21 minutes ago, smokeybandit said:

Not too big. I don't like Oasis class because it's too amusement park-like, but the size itself wasn't an issue.

 

Allure seems to have less of that from what I can see, but I guess your mileage may vary.

[CaptainBazz]

We were on the Wonder earlier in the year...5300 passengers...no long line to embark...easily got a seat in bars...easily got restaurant reservations...no time at all to disembark at ports...always got a bed in the solarium or by the pool...so no, not too big..lots of room for everyone.

[not-enough-cruising]

The oasis class ships are, in my opinion, perfectly designed to handle the amount of people. 
I have felt more crowded on Freedom class ships than I have on Oasis class. 

[Moltar]

The biggest problem in my opinion with the oasis class is you barely see the ocean the only time you see it is when you’re on the edges of the pool deck… The icon class seems to have fixed that problem.

Edited October 30, 2022 by Moltar

[TeeRick]

Dear @Bloomin Onion.  The question is one that can only be answered subjectively.   Too big for you might be just right for others.  Too big in ship size?  Or number of passengers (or too crowded)?  If you have sailed other ships and cruise lines, which ones fit your needs best?  

[time4u2go]

I find them to be too big in regards to the distance between different things on the ship.  It's can be a LONG walk.

[LinRon3]

Yea, it's funny.  We have felt crowding on some of the smaller ships, but the mega ships not so much.  We just got off the Symphony with 6000+ passengers and we always found a place [well, the pool deck can be locked out if not early like always; but solarium always had lounges].  One thing, you need to make show reservations first thing once onboard.  We've never been locked out of main shows [ice, aqua, or production]...but we have had to settle for a second or third showing [and usually can book only once per show per cruise depending].  Aqua shows seem more susceptible to cancelations [due to seas or weather], so book them as early as possible in case they have to postpone to another day [just our strategy anyway].  As far as embarkation, all has gone smooth for us for the Allure, Harmony, and Symphony.  But fair warning: the Port of Miami can be atrocious [why we try to book other ports if possible].  getting off the Symphony a few weeks ago was the worst we've EVER experienced.  We had a congo line all the way up Promenade, through hallway, back out onto deck 5, then twisting back through hallway to finally debark check out on other side of deck 5.  But that's just to get out into the chaos of cabs, shuttles, ubers, cars everywhere...everyone literally fighting one another for space to pick people up.  Terminal A [the RCI terminal] at least has shade.  I think there at least 5 other ships in port that day which contributed to the chaos.  But in defense of the Mega ships, probably more about Port of Miami than the Symphony [although, the congo line was very curious, ha]. 

[Norwich Cruiser]

I think at certain times any class of ship can perhaps feel crowded but we’ve never found any “ o “ class ship to be more crowded than any other.

[nelblu]

1 hour ago, S.A.M.J.R. said:

Oasis was the first ship DW & I cruised on.  Aside from immediately after the muster drill and immediately following shows, it never seemed crowded.  I was really surprised.  Maybe because it is so large with so many things to do/places to eat & drink, everyone was able to spread out.  

 

Can't help you on the sound proofing. 

Reason is the neighborhood concept.  Only time that it seems crowded is when there's an event in the Promenade.  I'll you one place that it was crowded was in the Anthem Casino.

Edited October 30, 2022 by nelblu

[Preziosa]

I preferencer Oasis of the Seas and the other older Oasis class ships. Wonder of the Seas has to many changes in the back of the ship where the flowriders are. That s a shame.

[George C]

Sometimes I thought they were too big , but everything is spread out , so many food and entertainment choices that keep us coming back.

[Sunshine3601]

We sailed Oasis end of August with 6500+ passengers and it felt to crowded for us when it came to elevator waits, long lines for WJ, packed pool decks on sea days and lots of rude people, IMO.  

We did WJ twice and avoided after our bad experiences each time.   

There are plenty of food options.

We did boardwalk balcony on Allure and didn't care for it.   You have to keep your curtains closed unless you want others across the way to see right in your cabin and it was noisy to sit on the balcony.  No noise issue in the cabin.  I guess we are just oceanview balcony kinda people.

 

[mek]

I've been in a Central Park Balcony and if the door is closed here is very little noticeable noise inside.  But they are very nice in the evening when live music is played from around 7PM to 9:30PM. - great to sit on the balcony during that time.

[Jasukkie]

It's a plus/minus thing. Yes, there are more lines for food. There are also more options for food. It helps if you don't mind adjusting your schedules to avoid the most popular times. It is a big, and wide, ship, which helps to distribute crowds. I will never understand the appeal of hanging out on the dim promenade with no view of water but at any given time there are hundreds of people there. The change in muster drills makes the first day a lot easier by the way. 

[Ashland]

We love the Oasis, Freedom and Voyager class ship...never feel crowded. We'll see if we feel the same about ICON when we sail on her May 2024.

[GetToLivin]

On the contrary, we actually like Oasis class because it doesn't feel "full" or crowded. We also tend to sail throughout the school year though so that might play into it. My favorite is the Promenade, I like the width and not feeling like I have to single-file it when walking through spaces like that. We normally dine with the dinner-packages so lines really aren't an issue, can't speak to the MDR though. We try to sail on Oasis class when booking because it just fits our expectations and "room to breath" a bit more.

[la_croisiere_s'amuse]

I had similar concerns, but as others have said, I find that the neighborhood concept spreads out the crowds remarkably well. To be fair, I don't recall ever having more than 6k passengers on a sailing so I've never experienced a TRULY full Oasis class ship.

 

As on any ship, there are times and places where passengers accumulate and crowds form. But in my experience, crowding hasn't been the norm. I enjoy different classes for different reasons, so we tend to go back & forth, but I would never hesitate to book an Oasis class.

[Sizzlechest]

No. They're not too big. I would argue that some of the venues are not big enough. Music hall is too small. The Music hall is bigger on the smaller Anthem class ships. This is unfortunate since a lot of activities take place there.

[jcc1025]

We would agree with others. We have been on almost every class and our first cruise on Oasis we worried about the size and number of people. We have now sailed Allure a few times and we really like this class. I am always amazed at how they have organized the ship and all the areas that it actually feels smaller than some of the smaller classes. This is our favorite class. 

[edrussell]

Ask this question 1000 times and you get 1000 difference answers depending on who is answering it.  Things like line ups embarking and disembarking will change from ship to ship and even from sailing to sailing.  Depends on a million factors.  

 

In all honesty it was a bit slower getting off Enchantment OTS in Nassau as opposed to Oasis.  

 

One thing for sure is that the experience between the largest and smallest definitely differs.