Sorta LIVE— Oasis of the Seas — 9 days from Jersey- 8/4/23

[luckyinpa]

thanks for the extensive review. forgetting to give towels is terrible because everyone needs towels! id rather they forget the trash or making the bed. your review continues to justify me staying in suites. not that i need justification lol. but didnt go in the MDR last cruise and didnt miss it. CK really is better and the stewards are always excellent. if if you get a crown loft you even get 2!

 

i do hope they keep the jazz casino. was a nice respite from the crowded regular one and press your luck is fun!

[mac_tlc]

12 hours ago, dbancroft said:

The walkway from the casino to get to the diamond lounge and or blaze goes around the ice rink area on both sides so there does not seem to be a shared wall with the casino like the diamond lounge does. It might have just been that one night we went in at 11pm to sit for a while.

We did find the Diamond lounge a welcome respite from the crowds. Never crowded when we went in —- and the coffee machine was working every time we went in! 
 

mac_tlc

[mac_tlc]

10 hours ago, luckyinpa said:

thanks for the extensive review. forgetting to give towels is terrible because everyone needs towels! id rather they forget the trash or making the bed. your review continues to justify me staying in suites. not that i need justification lol. but didnt go in the MDR last cruise and didnt miss it. CK really is better and the stewards are always excellent. if if you get a crown loft you even get 2!

 

i do hope they keep the jazz casino. was a nice respite from the crowded regular one and press your luck is fun!

Our two prior family cruises in 2022 and 2021 were Star class, but the prices for this year were ridiculous. I’m someways, this year was better because everyone has their own room and space — although last year in the 4-bedroom Villa Suite was spectacular in every way. 

We are on Ascent in January, I’ll probably do a LIVE from that one too.

 

 

mac_tlc

Edited August 15, 2023 by mac_tlc

[CruisinBanka]

1 hour ago, mac_tlc said:

Our two prior family cruises in 2022 and 2021 were Star class, but the prices for this year were ridiculous. I’m someways, this year was better because everyone has their own room and space — although last year in the 4-bedroom Villa Suite was spectacular in every way. 

We are on Ascent in January, I’ll probably do a LIVE from that one too.

 

 

mac_tlc

Will be looking forward to your Ascent review as we will be on her 2 weeks after you! 

[xtremegk]

We were on, as well. Myself, DW, DS (5) and my folks. I'll share some observations here.

 

1. MDR - Had tempered my expectations some given what I've read on here...and they were exceeded in every way. Everything we tried was the right temperature and loaded with flavor. Truly enjoyed every meal in here. Service was AMAZING. We had Kunal & Benedict up on deck 5, and they were nothing short of spectacular. They gave our little guy a little extra attention, and Kunal had some kind of magic trick up his sleeve almost every night. Well deserved extra tips for them.

 

2. Windjammer - Never had a problem getting a table, always at the back, overlooking the mini-golf course (one of DS's obsessions). Food was always temperature appropriate, though I do wish they had some more rotating variety. Breakfast was the same thing every day, though there was enough of a selection that I had different things most days.

 

3. Entertainment - Aqua80 is the best show in the fleet. Not just diving show, but best show period. I could watch it a million times and never get bored of it. Ice show was good. Skipped CATS and headliners. Comedians were great, especially Al Romas.

 

4. Room servicing - We had no issues with once a day service (evening). Herman was friendly enough. Never looked stress. Not the friendliest steward, but not cold either. Asked what time our dinner was and always came while we were eating. Always made sure we had 2 sets of towels per person, paper compass every day. Zero complaints.

 

5. Crowding - We were 39 people shy of maximum capacity. Were there crowds at times? Of course. That said, we always found a single chair on deck 15, starboard (non-smoking) side, typically right after lunch. Worked perfect for us as DS would hit the slides in Splashaway Bay about 250 times per day, then head to the beach pool and the not-scalding hot tub (one of the starboard side hot tubs legit felt like an extra pot for lobster night).

 

6. Casino - Never had trouble finding a machine we liked on the non-smoking side. Some smoke smell, but never enough to bother my asthmatic mother. Donated enough to earn 400 points on this voyage.

 

7. Other food - El Loco Fresh and Portside BBQ were fantastic. DW hit El Loco Fresh almost daily for lunch because she liked it so much. Sorrentos always has 3 pizzas: cheese, pepperoni and a daily special (BBQ chicken, veggie, Caribbean Dream). Oatmeal raisin, lemon and coconut were the main cookies at Cafe Promenade -- only saw chocolate chip one night.

 

8. Ports - Did a Chill Island cabana in CocoCay and it was the smartest thing we've ever done. Makeva was our cabana genie and she was top class. It was hotter than Hades in Port Canaveral, Nassau and CocoCay, but gorgeous weather in Labadee. Walked to buy Mega Millions tickets in PC, easy walk. SpaceX launch (and booster on the dock) were nice bonuses. New port area in Nassau is nice, but was shocked at how Bay St. has deteriorated if you head left getting out of the port area. Went to Bahamas Rum Cake Factory and was surprised. Also walked (and regretted it) to the Queen's Staircase and Fort Fincastle. We were there on a holiday, so not much open. Labadee was spent at Columbus Cove. One jellyfish sting (CocoCay) and some sea lice (Labadee), but nothing more than minor nuisance.

 

Happy to answer questions anyone has.

[Jerseygirl1416]

19 hours ago, PATRLR said:

Can you elaborate on this?  I haven't been on RCCL in over a decade, got very used to Vibe on NCL and I'm hoping the Solarium gives us some escape from the mobs.  We've already learned the Solarium Bistro will be closed for the duration of the August 20 sailing, so, now wondering why else we might be disappointed with Solarium.

 

Thanks for your reporting through the 9 days.

Vibe and RC Solariums are not really comparable. Vibe is much more exclusive than the Solariums.

[joand452]

On 8/7/2023 at 5:23 PM, CTSandy said:

Is there any video poker in the smoke free casino?  Thanks for any info!

There is on Wonder. On the left, just past the cashier’s window.   My husband plays video poker. 

[PATRLR]

53 minutes ago, Jerseygirl1416 said:

Vibe and RC Solariums are not really comparable. Vibe is much more exclusive than the Solariums.

I am aware, which is why I wrote "I'm hoping the Solarium gives us some escape from the mobs" and not "I hope solarium is the same as Vibe"

 

[Jerseygirl1416]

1 hour ago, PATRLR said:

I am aware, which is why I wrote "I'm hoping the Solarium gives us some escape from the mobs" and not "I hope solarium is the same as Vibe"

 

So the short answer is no it won’t give you some escape from the mobs. Hope this helps!

[PATRLR]

18 minutes ago, Jerseygirl1416 said:

So the short answer is no it won’t give you some escape from the mobs. Hope this helps!

Well, there should be some relief in so much as there won't be any kids.  I've found on most ships, the adult areas tend to be less crowded than the non-adult areas.  Hoping that to be the case on Oasis.  We'll see soon.

 

[LobsterStalker]

1 hour ago, PATRLR said:

Well, there should be some relief in so much as there won't be any kids.  I've found on most ships, the adult areas tend to be less crowded than the non-adult areas.  Hoping that to be the case on Oasis.  We'll see soon.

 

Hasn't been the case on my O class sailings... Not as many chairs as the main pool deck area , so stays very crowded

[SailyaCruise]

On 8/7/2023 at 12:24 AM, dbancroft said:

We saw the launch from our balcony. This is the best pic

Howdy neighbor. Enjoy your cruise!

[SailyaCruise]

On 8/14/2023 at 8:27 PM, luckyinpa said:

thanks for the extensive review. forgetting to give towels is terrible because everyone needs towels! id rather they forget the trash or making the bed. your review continues to justify me staying in suites. not that i need justification lol. but didnt go in the MDR last cruise and didnt miss it. CK really is better and the stewards are always excellent. if if you get a crown loft you even get 2!

 

i do hope they keep the jazz casino. was a nice respite from the crowded regular one and press your luck is fun!

Agree. We stay in CL suites as well and pretty much eat in CK or fee restaurants. We avoid MDR and Windjammer like the plague. 

Edited August 17, 2023 by SailyaCruise

[bayportkat]

Thanks for all the info!  I am on a b2b on Oasis now and was hoping you can help me.  My family is joining us next week and asking what the special dress nights are. I honestly haven’t paid attention. I know there is White night and Caribbean. Is there anything else that you recall for me to tell them?  

[nferr]

On 8/10/2023 at 8:45 PM, Ocean Boy said:

I get up at 4:30 AM and get to experience an empty ship every day.... for a little while.🙂

 

Yikes. I'm a night owl. Usually don't go to bed till around 2am. Even on a cruise I normally get up around 10am.

[mac_tlc]

1 hour ago, bayportkat said:

Thanks for all the info!  I am on a b2b on Oasis now and was hoping you can help me.  My family is joining us next week and asking what the special dress nights are. I honestly haven’t paid attention. I know there is White night and Caribbean. Is there anything else that you recall for me to tell them?  

Here is the dress descriptions from the Cruise Compass:

Day 1- Casual

Day 2- Formal

Day 3- White Casual

Day 4- Caribbean 

Day 5- Casual

Day 6- Dress your Best

Day 7- Caribbean

Day 8- Dress to Impress

Day 9- Casual

 

Day 6 and 8 seemed to mean turn your baseball cap around 🙄. 
 

 

mac_tlc

 

 

 

[wolfcathorse]

On 8/12/2023 at 4:05 PM, mac_tlc said:

For @wolfcathorse and @DELTABLUE ,

 

currently on Oasis and Captain is Capt. Goran and CD is Katie.

 

 

mac_tlc

 

 

thanks, that's what I had on my chart. Thank you for confirming.