Oasis of the Seas

Item: Oasis of the Seas
Rating: 3
Author: eheathers

Oasis of the Seas Cruise Review to Caribbean - Eastern

eheathers

Contributor Level: Purser

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 6

Overall rating:

3 out of 5

Verified Review

7 Night Eastern Caribbean (Ft. Lauderdale Roundtrip)

Sail date: October 15, 2016

Ship: Oasis of the Seas

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 11298

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 8 years ago

Review summary

The boat itself was very impressive and the shows were amazing. The one downside to the size of the boat was that one had to book ahead if you wanted to see the shows. When we are on vacation we don't like having to be so structured.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

3 out of 5

We found the staff in the American Icon dining room not a attentive as in The Solarium or the dining room two floors above on deck 5. The Windjammer was difficult to maneuver, again because of the number of guests on board.

Onboard Activities

3 out of 5

Music on deck was really good. The wait staff on deck was great.

Entertainment

5 out of 5

The entertainment was nothing short of amazing. The singing, dancing, skating, water show and acrobatics was stunning. We didn't thin we would enjoy the ventriloquist but were very surprised by how great that show was.

Children's Programs

Not applicable

Service and Staff

3 out of 5

Our stateroom attendant Shawn was great. We started with another attendant who became ill and was not in our room for 5 days. We realize some of the policies had changed but would have appreciated having the robes in our room when we arrived.

Ship Quality

3 out of 5

We felt the ship was starting to show its wear. The carpets were particularly dirty and stained and our sofa in our stateroom was just plain dirty.

Cabin / Stateroom

3 out of 5

The sofa was dirty and the balcony was much smaller than on previous sailings.

Ship tip

You should book your excursions and shows well in advance before you board the boat.

Thumbs up

Ports of call

Ft. Lauderdale (Port Everglades), Florida

3 out of 5

Nassau, Bahamas

3 out of 5

15 Comments

micheles2266 8 years ago

Our family of 5 saw Cats the last time we were on Oasis... If you read a synopsis beforehand (just search on-line) it makes more sense ... It is still quite long and slow but I would go just to see the costumes and set... It is worth your time. And it is provided with your cruise fare and is a genuine Broadway show so my advice is don't pass it up!

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ginabrown 8 years ago

Thanks Meg! I booked it for the first night of the second cruise .... That way if we hear lots of negative reviews during the first cruise we can just pass on it! Sounds like you and my hubby thought the same thing of it!

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cruiserpaul 8 years ago

With respect to booking shows in advance... I booked all my shows online long before the cruise. It was very frustrating to me because even though I was making these bookings months before, the website still showed that many spots and popular times were already booked. Then you have the problem of the "available" times overlapping with other shows/activities that you might be interested in. So like I said.. the process was frustrating. On the ship though... none of the shows were actually filled. People just lost interest in these shows once they got into the cruise vibes. Many of the people I spoke to had cruised with the ship before and already saw them.. others were just not interested, the ship and the excursions were enough for them. At the beginning of each show there was a line for those who booked before hand. Believe it or not, this line was very small. Then they let those who booked go in first and then let random people to go in who made up the majority of the crowd. Another example to show that pre booking didn't make sense was the Aqua show. Every and anybody just walked in and found a seat. This Aqua Theater is located at the back of the ship and has access to it from many points. Cruisers flocked to the area very early and got seats. Me and my wife, who booked months before and reached 15 minutes before it started, had to stand in the background. A couple eventually got up and we got seats. CATS was another one. Online it said that many of the scheduled showtimes were already booked out but on the contrary, there were no lines for any of the shows and anybody could have just walked in. There were actually many empty seats. So like I said...from my experience, don't fret about booking anything before.

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ktolivia23 8 years ago

Glad to read this- I'll make sure that we book our shows in advanced! Thx for the tip

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meghad23 8 years ago

Gina, I saw it years ago in Toronto myself as well. It is Long, and they have an intermission as well, but not what I remember it. My BF just didnt get it. The set is phenomenal, but If you do not know what CATS is about, you will be lost.

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ginabrown 8 years ago

What did you think of Cats? My husband saw it in Toronto years ago but I have never seen it. I have it booked much to his dismay as he didn't like it at all.... but I remember my brother loved it and saw it a few times ! Different strokes for different folks!

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cruiserpaul 8 years ago

Some of the shows are not worth your time imo. If any of u want a heads up about any show, let me know..

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ginabrown 8 years ago

I'm on Oasis at end of Feb for 2 weeks (B2B) and was browsing My Cruises last week and was excited to see the shows had opened up already.... So we are booked for all the shows! Since they are only scheduled for certain days and times you just have to go for it! If we don't make one it's not the end of the world ... there is a lounge chair or bar some place on the ship lol!

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twangster 8 years ago

I can see your point about having to book shows. It's hard to know 90 days before if your going to feel like going to a show on a particular night. Not sure there is a better way to do it, the challenge of a big ship as you noted. One of the perks of a suite is the ability to just go to any show, except the comedy club.

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mattward 8 years ago

I suppose you missed out on excursions as well... being as you don't like having to be so structured, lol.

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mattward 8 years ago

With over 6,000 passengers on each sailing there needs to some structure. Other wise you could have 6,000 people trying to show up at the same time for a show, it simply will not work. For those of us that can plan ahead and reserve show times, it's a breeze.

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canigo 8 years ago

I'm with dargriff60. Same as home. We did our homework and read our e-mails that encouraged you to book before you sail. Worked well for us.

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ahowell54 8 years ago

Reserving ahead is not structure. Shows are only at certain times. If you don't want to be on a time schedule, don't go to the shows. That's the great thing about vacation-you do what you want!! Hope you had a great week

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jstcruizin 8 years ago

So we're you able to see all of the shows?

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dargriff60 8 years ago

You buy tickets to events at home, so same process

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