Oasis of the Seas is the ship to go on. It is large, beautiful, has entertainment pretty much for everyone, and plenty of food. Staff is friendly and is willing to serve and please. Specialty dining is almost unnecessary, except for the Port Side BBQ. Also, Mexican food is free, which may be important. Aqua show is an absolute must. Get an app to full experience. I recommend this ship and cruise line.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
Very easy. We waited in line outside for about 20 minutes. Then, the only wait was while other's checked in. So security held people by the metal detectors in lines of about 20. But all and all, after asking basic questions, the embarkation proceeded. My experience, it was one of the fastest to date.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
4 out of 5
Main dining room food was very good to great. Waiter was eager to please, and gave us what we wanted. But waiter was a bit too chatty. So between him, his assistant, and the person selling wine, it was a bit too much, being asked every 5 minutes if everything was ok.
Buffet was mediocre. Yes there were options, and some Indian food as well. But many items were kind of dry, and appeared to have been made in haste. While there was taste, it screamed other, more simpler cruise lines. So this was not the Royal Caribbean mark, I was not very pleased. Staff was also trying to please, but was not very well trained in culinary etiquette. For example, when my plate had food on it, they would place another item on top and not on the side. So it felt like feeding time, as opposed to the meal. If you are offered to go to the Solarium Bistro instead of main dining room, don't do it. That is especially true on formal nights.
Mexican food was basic but good.
I want to take a moment and speak about the Portside BBQ. The smell of barbeque was pleasant and inviting. The design of the place was very good. The country music guitar performer was a great touch. Unfortunately, the food was not that great. Once I ordered a rack of spareribs. The ribs were hard and meat looked red. While it was smothered with BBQ sauce, it was not the BBQ I am used to on shore and was not pleased at all. Another time I got a turkey leg and corn. Turkey leg was also red. But tasted pretty good. Not sure what technology they are using on board, but the color of meat was alarming, or unusual to the dish prepared, while meat was well done and falling off the bone. Their specialty drink was minty and pleasant. I enjoyed it. There were always a lot of people in that place. The atmosphere was fun and relaxed.
Lastly, many fruit, especially melons on board was not very ripe, and often hard to chew.
Onboard Activities
3 out of 5
I tried all the pools. My favorite was main pool. So I kept my things at the beach pool, and swam in the main. I did that to hide from the sun. Beach pool has ocean water. The pools are heated. Jacuzzi was nice too. But as always smelled chlorine, which was probably necessary. There was unnecessary excess of pool attendants by each pool. One would've suffice. Pool attendants were checking to make sure that there was order, and passengers didn't exceed maximum allowed amount of folks in the pool. Life guards made sure that everyone was safe. Unfortunately, they allowed babies with diapers to go in the pool. We even saw a baby urinating in the water, which then mixed with the pool water at the beach pool. Royal needs to step it up with enforcing no babies in the pool or jacuzzi.
All else I observed, but enjoyed watching others nevertheless. Flowrider, zipline, and sports court seemed to be favorites. Golf was always occupied as well.
Entertainment
5 out of 5
Shows: Ice show was pretty good. Cats was well played, but we weren't too excited by the play itself. The best show was Aqua show. I saw it twice. If there is one thing you will see on your voyage, see that. Great performance and athleticism. Synchronized swimming. Cliff-like diving. Walking on the rope. Amazing sound track. I also did a silent dance party, which was nice.
I did silent dance party, which was nice. Jazz room was very nice with posh seating, and good music. Promenade performances by the rock band was cool too. BBQ Country music was pretty great. Guitar music at the central park was pleasant. In addition, I must mention that I am a big fan of music. So when I hear music, I pay close attention. Whoever is responsible for the ambient music design, is a genius. Even in the dining room, there was a pleasant chilled EDM, Latin, and other compositions and remixes playing subtly. Try music in the evening at the Central Park while the virtual bugs are chirping, and real birds are passing by at times.
Pool band played good tunes, and performed well. The choice of music was great as well. It wasn't just your typical by the pool overplayed songs. So the variety was plentiful, and the performance was admirable.
Children's Programs
No children traveled with us.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
For the most part, staff everywhere was eager to please and pleasant. Guest services was best we ever experienced. Most of cafes and stores we visited had pleasant staff.
There were isolated incidents, but they were too infrequent to mention.
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
The primary reason we chose Oasis of the Seas is to explore the ship, and not for the itinerary which we were on twice already. We were not disappointed. The ship's design is unique to say say the least. I am not going to spend time listing everything ship has. But if I were to live on one ship, this would be it. My favorite is central park and promenade. The Boardwalk is unique with their carousel and other things.
Cabin / Stateroom
4 out of 5
We had a regular external balcony on deck 11. The bed seemed too narrow. Not sure why, but this was very obvious this voyage. The door to the balcony was hard to operate, and required a healthy effort to open. This is unusual. It would be nice if the balcony outdoor barrier glass was cleaned.
All else was good. I loved the water pressure and different settings on the showerhead. The bathroom was ok size by the cruise standards. The cabin was clean. While there is not a lot of room to move around between the bed and sofa area, all and all it had enough space to move around.
Ship tip
Must get the app for full experience. This is a tech savvy voyage. When you board, the very next thing you want to do is book your shows, Etc. using app. Take a walk at the Central Park at night. Eat in the main dining room as much as possible. The quality and type of of food is very good to excellent. Solarium may be windy at times. So bring some clothes.
This is on and off port. So nothing to say except you need a car to get there. If you want to visit anywhere, it will cost you unless ship offers tours.
We liked that there is a pier, and you actually get off the ship instead of using the boats. Given it was windy, we stayed at the harbor beach and then the pool. But there was plenty of beach chairs for one ship. Food was pretty good. Fruit was plenty, and better than on the ship.
We were third ship on in town. So we got the farther pier. That pier had construction going. Given it was windy, all the dust was getting in the eyes, and mouth. The water in the Blue Lagoon was waste to knee deep. So no real swimming. Also, since we were a third ship in, they made us go the the end of the beach, where the chairs weren't comfy. The food was about $25 per person. Drinks were pretty good and generous. People were great as always. That being said, if I knew what I know today, I would stay on the ship this time around.
All I can say is, when it was my time to go, it literally took 10 minutes from the time we left the ship to the time we got to the car pickup area. Even customs, all they did was scan my face and I was good to go.
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