Oasis - Great Cruise Restart - (The indoor mask requirement was a negative)

Item: Oasis of the Seas
Rating: 4.4
Author: cruisellama

Oasis of the Seas Cruise Review to Caribbean - Eastern

cruisellama

Contributor Level: Captain

88 Days Till Next Cruise

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Reviews: 30

Helpful Votes: 552

Overall rating:

4.4 out of 5

7 Night Eastern Caribbean & Perfect Day (Miami Roundtrip)

Sail date: November 21, 2021

Ship: Oasis of the Seas

Cabin type: Suite

Cabin number: 1712

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 3 years ago

Review summary

A well appreciated restart cruise for use. Enjoyed a great Crown Loft suite on deck 17. Easy access to Coastal Kitchen and Suite Lounge. Did not like the on-board mask requirement. Found it cumbersome at times. Lots of un-vax kids on-board which drives the requirement for all the vaxed folks to mask up indoors. There are some inside vax only areas (like casino), that allow for removal of mask indoors. But it was something you always had to be wary of. Less selection of various dishes and desserts from pre-shutdown. Smaller food inventory being held and offered in dining venues. Wouldn't be surprised if things stay that way a while. Ship was only at about 60% capacity - that was a pleasant artifact of the times. This was our second cruise on Oasis, and the Amplifications to the ship are a definite positive to the experience. Playmaker sports bar is a great venue to watch the games while enjoying some pretty affordable and tasty bar food/drink.

Embarkation

5 out of 5

Very smooth. In fact we were on board much faster than we expected. Pre-planned embarkation times have advantages of mitigating crowds.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

4 out of 5

Good - but we noticed the actual offerings in the Windjammer to be less than pre-shutdown. Coastal Kitchen breakfast menu offered no changes over the 7-days, same menu items each day; however, they would bring things requested "off menu" from other dining facilities.

Onboard Activities

5 out of 5

As all Oasis class ships - more activities than can be had in a week. Having a good time can end up being a lot of work...

Zipline

3 out of 5

Takes longe to get harnessed up than for the ride. Did it pre-amplification and post. In the old days things went much faster, now they've added increased safety protocols which suck the fun out of it.

Jogging Track

5 out of 5

2.4 laps / mile. Its covered and think its the nicest track on the water.

Entertainment

3 out of 5

Great variety, but do to social spacing requirements, reservations had to be made and obtained to attend shows. Aqua Theater performance is mind blowing. Featured "Cats" theater production is well executed by talented performers, but personally the story line is silly.

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

The ship was staffed at about 60%, so those working, had a lot on their plates. All had great attitudes, and we're glad/thankful to be back, but they're getting burned out with the 100% mask requirement.

Ship Quality

5 out of 5

Very clean as expected. New cleaning protocols keeping the washy-washy continuous.

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5

Fantastic suite. Its a Crown Loft with up/down stairs. Two full baths - lots of room. Felt guilty leaving the room to go do things. Great steward kept things in good shape the whole cruise.

Ship tip

If you go to Coco Cay, consider booking the Beach Club for a day. Less people, more beach and a very good meal for decent price.

Thumbs up

Ports of call

Miami, Florida

4 out of 5

Perfect Day At Coco Cay, Bahamas

5 out of 5

Disney of water parks. Lots of free feature and of course some premium activities too. Plenty for the kids on the free side. Teens would really enjoy the high end water slides and zip lines.

Thumbs Up 0

Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas

3 out of 5

St. Thomas has an outdoors mask mandate that made touring somewhat stifling. Cut our island exploration short.

Thumbs Up 0

Philipsburg, St. Maarten

4 out of 5