Of all the trips we've taken, this was one of them.

Cruises: 2-3 cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 45

Review summary

Let me begin this review by stating that I am not a bitter person. An opinionated jerk with a bad attitude, maybe, but I’m not bitter. Oasis of the Seas The ship itself is extraordinary. It is HUGE, but it is manageable. Sadly, we left the ship without exploring all there is to see, but we were well occupied while there. With the exception of a couple of elevator buttons that did not work, the ship is well maintained and in tip-top condition. All of the crew that we met and dealt with were outstanding. No issues there at all. However, the overall experience was disappointing, and I do not think that it is due to having set our expectations too high. This was an expensive vacation, and I think Royal Caribbean made little effort to make this the cruise experience it should be. Let’s start with lack of information. The ONLY time we heard an announcement inside our stateroom was the safety drill instructions just after getting onboard. There was NEVER another announcement that we could hear from inside the room or while outside on the balcony. And, those that we DID hear while roaming the ship, were unintelligible due to a combination of choppy English and a less than up to par public address system. All elevator lobbies have an interactive display of current ship information and an interactive “you are here” that will guide you to where you need to go. Why can’t this also display current / recent announcements? Or, better yet, why isn’t the Royal Caribbean phone app used for displaying announcements in a text format? Honestly, I was wondering if being informed was an extra charge? Everywhere we turned, it seemed like there was something that “costs extra”, so was / is there also a charge for information while onboard? It seemed we were constantly running across something that having instructions for would have been nice. And please don’t tell me it was the onboard television network that had what we needed. For disembarking, we were instructed to tune into channel 37. When you get there, you get the video with the instructions and the cruise director is holding a different sheet of paper and telling us we were watching channel 41. So even this was out of date. It wasn’t until after we had waited in line on deck 5 to be seated for dinner that we were told “My Time” dining was on deck 3. Why isn’t something like that clearly noted somewhere? And since we’ve jumped to that subject, we told the sales rep with RC that we wanted reserved seating at a group table each night. That didn’t happen. Each night we were seated at a different 2-person table, different area of the main dining room…and, of course, with a different wait staff each night. So much for getting to know someone. And…we packed extra clothes because RC makes a big to-do about the dress code for the main dining room. No t-shirts, no shorts, no flip flops. Why wasn’t this enforced? Every night, including formal nights, there was a steady stream of classless guys in shorts, t-shirts and flip flops. RC seriously drops the ball by not enforcing the dress code. Why not hang a “Welcome to Carnival” sign at the entrance? As for the food in the main dining room, it is good. Not great, but good. It is an insult to be handed a menu with the limited choices and then at the bottom see “other options” that we can pay extra for. How deep is RC into the pockets of those specialty restaurants paying rent for space on that ship? It’s bad enough that half of the “Cruise Compass” is dedicated to pushing you toward eating at the high-priced venues, but to also have it shoved down your throat while eating in the main dining room? Show some class Royal Caribbean. Another totally classless act by RC is the “private” island of Labadee. So, this area is “owned” by Royal Caribbean and only Royal Caribbean vessels can dock there? And Royal Caribbean includes this as a stop on the cruise because it is such a special place and they want everyone to enjoy it…as long as you pay extra to do it. Not one “public” beach for passengers to go to and enjoy the sand and surf??? They ALL have a price tag. I don’t know how far you have to walk there to find a simple souvenir shop, but after walking as far as the coconut rum vendors in front of the “No Swimming” posted beach area, I was not willing to walk any farther. I turned around and went back to the ship. I guess my refrigerator will survive without a Labadee magnet. And you may notice I did not mention my wife as having gone onto Labadee with me. She had spent that morning seeing the doctor because of a sinus infection brought on by allergic reactions to something onboard combined with a reaction to the cigarette smoke ever present in the non-smoking side of the casino. The smell of the smoke hits you as soon as you exit the elevators. Even walking around from the port side of Studio B, it hits you when you enter the casino area. That is just wrong. If it can’t be filtered out through air exchangers, it needs to be banned. And I guess there is no point in mentioning those who smoked on the non-smoking side. Again, why doesn’t RC enforce the rules? Are they that afraid of offending someone by holding them to a standard? And finally (you probably thought I would never get here), kids with children who are not mature enough to be parents. One reason we opted for the late September sailing was our thinking that children would be in school. And based on the number of “packs” of pre-teen children that were running loose on board without supervision, It seems there were a lot of schools not in session. If you have unruly children and you don’t have the backbone to discipline them or keep them in line, go to Disney World or Universal. If you are going to sit in the main dining room and watch your children run around being disruptive, YOU are the problem, not them. Grow up and show some responsibility for yourself and your children, and at the very least, show some respect for the people around you. And before you think we had a miserable time, we didn’t. We met several really nice couples and made some friendships that I expect will be long lasting. We met a couple at the hotel before sailing and we palled around with them all week, having a great time. We saw the “Cats” production and it was a fantastic show (long, but really good) and also the ABBA tribute band, whose show was really well produced. We loved the ADULT ONLY solarium area. It would be nice if the pool there were bigger, but we had fun. And those Mimosa Happy Hours…Oh, Baby! The bar staff knew my name and only had to ask “How many?”. Those were awesome. And my wife left the casino with more money than she took in with her, so another big positive! This was just our second cruise in the twenty-four years we’ve been together, so we’re obviously not seasoned enough to know all the little secrets to making the experience better. But, we thought with it being Royal Caribbean, we wouldn’t have to be travel experts. We’ll know better the next time. Whether or not we will use RC again is up for debate.

Embarkation

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

Onboard Activities

Entertainment

Children's Programs

Service and Staff

Ship Quality

Cabin / Stateroom

Ports of call

Port Canaveral, Florida

Philipsburg, St. Maarten

San Juan, Puerto Rico

Labadee (Cruise Line Private Island)

Disembarkation

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