What Makes the Oasis of the Seas Special - A Passenger's Perspective
Published Thursday, January 27th 2011This review of the Oasis of the Seas comes from one of our customers who has primarily sailed on premium cruise lines in the past. Based on the preferences of this customer, and our personal experience while on board the Oasis of the Seas, we suggested this particular cruise suggestion. It met, even exceeded their expectations. See what they have to say.
"Riding on the Oasis of the Seas was an incredible experience. Immediately any cruise aficionado would notice something different about the entire experience. First, getting on the ship was shockingly easy. I have cruised several cruise lines and it was never so streamlined. I mean… WOW! We walked up to the Gate, walked through security, quickly walked up to the window denoted for our cabin & name waited for 1 person to complete their transaction, signed a few papers and on we went. BAM! Done! The whole process was 15 minutes. It was incredible. Holland America out of Boston was a 2 hour entry process. Let me tell you, this was amazing! When you enter the ship you see how you are in a different world. The cobblestone Promenade is amazing. It feels like a high class mall rather than a ship, complete with unique stores and some fun options like a free pizza parlor, coffee shop (added cost applies for snooty coffee), and a cupcake store. It was incredible. The little details really make a difference. One of the fun options on the ship is the interactive displays you can find throughout. These touchscreen computers (full size flat screen monitors) describe directions to locations, event information, and other tidbits about the ship. It’s a fabulous interactive system that really helps with such an active and enormous ship. The displays appear in multiple languages as well for foreigners. Speaking of foreigners this ship is fabulous if you love an international feel. The ship is filled with languages and accents, and it feels as international as Las Vegas yet on the water. Outside of the 2 level Promenade was the Boardwalk which was a special treat. The Boardwalk features a free donut shop, and specialty restaurants such as Johnny Rockets, an ice cream parlor, and a seafood restaurant. Some added treats on the Boardwalk are a fun little surf clothing shop with my favorite surf attire, and a cute little candy store. The end of the Boardwalk features the entrance to 2 huge 42+ foot rockwalls which provided entertainment for the climbers and the watchers. At the end of the deck lay a fun deep pool with a 60’ highdive used for a water show which appears throughout the week. The outdoor theatre features high class lawn chairs as seating. Watching a water show outside on a cruise which huge LED displays was so unique and so fun. That’s just the beginning. The upper deck houses multiple sports outlets for the active types. This ship is built for active people, The 2 flowriders (surf machines) are hilarious to watch and fun to ride (I am sure but I didn’t risk it), Like miniature golf? Yep they have it. Zip line? It’s there… however you have to be willing to get weighed before you ride it and I opted a “no thanks” on the scale humiliation. J The ice skating rink was one of my favorites. Ice skating on a ship…? Could that be cooler? (Pun somewhat intended) It was great. There were 3 skate days I believed, and you can either bring your own skates or borrow theirs. Everyone does have to wear a helmet, and the rink is small, but it is really really fun. There is a Central Park which is full of thousands of plants. It’s quite nice, and lined with snooty restaurants, however it doesn’t leave much area to sit and just chill. There is one sitting area/coffee shop but challenging the crowds there is a bit of a challenge. There are rooms facing the Boardwalk and Central Park. I heard from people in those rooms that they were wonderful and the best of a balcony and a unique onboard environment. The ship doesn’t have large pools, but rather many small pools scattered throughout. In the end there is so much to do that the pools lose their importance, except to the kids. The kids have an incredible pool area with shallow pools and huge devices that shoot water and allow hours and hours of play time. This is a kid friendly ship. The children’s play area allows room for classes, science projects, drama productions an arcade and more. It’s quite snazzy! The buffet is a bit crowded but the food wasn’t bad. The dining room was nice, huge… I mean huge… 3 levels… the food was good, but the choices were more limited and overall less inspiring than Holland America, but seriously… after ice skating, who cares!? Looking at the size of the minisuites, left me a bit closterphobic , so we were blessed to move up to a Jr Suite which had a full couch a huge balcony, and a killer walk in closet. The closet was incredible because it was plenty big enough to change in, and there were probably 10 shelves for clothing. Closet space in the Jr Suites was incredible. The full size couch made my father happy, and the in room flat screen kept me entertained. The in-room system was unique. If you want to find out about events, check the wait at a restaurant, or sign-up for excursions you can do it all from the comfort of your room. The rooms have internet access as well (although slow and difficult to use), but if you have a laptop, the entire ship is one big fat WiFi zone. That was cool! I loved watching people rock climb on the Boardwalk while I checked email. I can’t close out a blog entry without mentioning the shows. Hairspray was unquestionably the best show on the ship. It was held in a theatre with 220 moving lights… uhh for those of you who don’t know theatre, that is called “THE BIG BUCKS!” They spent millions and millions on the lighting, the sets and it shows. The cast of Hairspray, well the 2 main characters, were straight off of Broadway and they were amazing… flat out amazing! I mean… did I say AMAZING! Really… amazing. Wow. Then additional shows held out through the week were an acrobatic show which was wonderful… not perfect – it’s not Cirque du Soliel but it was a good show with a lot of talent. All but 2 of the singers on the “off broadway” shows were wonderful. The standup comic was ok, but it was just a typical shipboard comic. The dive show was good. The plot line was a bit obscure, but there were wonderful gymnasts and divers and swimmers to enjoy. Overall there is no question that the shows on the ship far far far far supercede the quality of shows on most ships. Some serious theatre people might catch a few issues, but the shows were so far above other ships there are no complaints. The casino is nice, not too small… but poker is all computerized… odd… the wave of the future? The activities were a lot of fun. I loved all the trivia events, and was vying for jewelry making but there was just so much else to do. This is one ship that requires effort for boredom. The service is good, the people are nice. One “beef” they don’t have a drug store. Forget something? You may have problems. They sell small tiny teensy tiny quantities of everything and you pay a high price. So whatever you do, come prepared with your headache medicine, your girly products, mousse, whatever… whew! I spent $20 on a 1 day supply of things which would cost me $10 for a month supply at home and the only hair goo option is a small can of hairspray. I heard a lot of people complain about that. Ok – they have a fault… but for all the good? Once again… who cares? Private islands (aka: a rented city on an island) aren’t all they are cracked up to be, but our Western Caribbean trip was nice. I can’t say I was forever changed by the excursions (where as my time in Alaska will never leave my heart) but still it was a good experience. We traveled in the winter and we did get rained out of one excursion day and got canceled due to rocky seas on another day… but hey… the water was pretty and the ship was cool. So do you want to take a cruise? DEFINITELY TRY THE ROYAL CARRIBBEAN OASIS of the SEAS or her sister ship ALLURE of the SEAS! Enjoy!"
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