Just Okay

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 4

Review summary

This was our 35th cruise on RCL, starting in 2002 on Explorere of the Seas. We sailed on Oasis of the Seas on its' preinaugural cruise in December 2009 and many times since. After trying for many years we finally got our family to join us. It was the first cruise for the grandchildren and only the second RCL cruise for their parents and our sons mother-in-law. We really wanted to get everyone excited about cruising on RCL so were hoping for a super experience. At best it was just okay, so here's the good and not so good of this Thanksgiving family cruise. Even though Oasis is 14 years old she is still looking good. The hard working crew keeps her that way and as usual are to be commended for their hard work. Even though management has decided to reduce cabin service to once a day, our cabin attendant came by every evening to bring out the sofa bed for our grandson. We selected morning service and asked to have the sofa bed put away to allow for more space during the day. The servers in the MDR were great, especially interacting with the 4 grandchildren, ages 16-11, who were curious about where the servers were from, their work schedule, family life, etc. The staff on the flow rider were very helpful, working and coaching our oldest as she took to the stand up board, which she qualified as advanced after her first visit even though she had never been on a flow rider before this trip. They seemed impressed with her athleticism and abilitiy to quickly react to their coaching. As usual the musicians, ice show and aqua show, were all outstanding. Portside BBQ is new to Oasis and featured Wesley Spangler, a country music performer. He was very engaging with the audience as well as being a very talented musician and entertainer. He is tucked into a corner of the resturant but makes the most of the space he is given. Oh yes, the BBQ is outstanding. The rock band Phoenix performed in the theater and if you like 80's rock music, they were great. Now for the not so good. This voyage had over 2,000 teenagers and children out of the 6,600 passengers on board, basically unsupervised and roaming free all over the ship. For the most part they were well behaved and added a youthful spirit to the cruise. Unfortunately we did observe some instances where obvious teen age kids were be severed alcohol and shareing with their friends. Of course we had young ones being incouraged by their parents to ignore rules, such as not climbing on and into the car on the promenade for example, or just letting them run all over the place. The first thing that made this cruise difficult was the dependence on the RCL app. Starting with signing up for activities and entertainment. For us we anticipated receiving an email stating that our docs were available to complete our registration as we had on previous cruises. We received that email well after this information was available on the app. This also happened with signing up for entertaiment and activities. The app itself can be confusing and takes a considerable amount of time and practice to use. Even our tech savy children said the app was poor. The loyalty program on this ship was all but nonexistent. We attended the upper tier program with probably less than 150 other Crown and Anchor members. On all other cruises we received an invitation to this event in our cabin at least the day before. On this cruise we only found out about it by reviewing the daily planner, which we requested a paper copy of, the night before the event. The event was extremely brief. Members of the Auqua 80's show performed, the Captain, hotel manager and loyalty ambassador were introduced by the cruise director, the three top Pinnacle guest were announced and that was it. Less than 15 minutes. No Q&A, no big announcements about the future, nothing. The number of C&A members on board our cruise was posted on the screens. Interestingly to us was that on a ship withover 6,600 guests, there were less than 1,500 C&A members on board. There were only 7 Pinnacle and 167 Diamond plus members on board which I found quite telling. We are not foodies or food snobs, thus we foud the offerngs in the MDR to be very good and plentiful. As mentioned earlier our servers were outstanding. Unfortunately our seating arrangement were not what we requested and our request to change once on board was blown off. We made our reservation in April but were told that by then they already were unable to have us all at one table and we were lucky to have two tables next to each other. Unfortunately these tables were located at the entrance which meant constant traffic, noise and displeased passengers arguing with the Maitre d'. It also meant we had different servers for each table which resulted in one table being served much more quickly than the other. Finally, there must be a better way to have My Time Dining. While I have no idea why people want to stand in long lines waiting for a table is beyond me. Watching the staff flip tables while trying to enjoy your meal is not condusive to fine dining, one of the customs the MDR was once noted for. There are three levels to the MDR. Why doesn't Royal designate one level or whatever space is required and have an area that reinstates all the eligance and charm that was one the hallmarks of cruise ship dining? My bet is that there would be a significant demand for such an area, an area that does not rush patrons through their meals, where dress codes are required and enforced, where the noise level is reduced and people can enjoy dining instead of just eating. While the afore mentioned shows were outstanding the bulk of the entertainment missed the mark. "Cats". Why? The music is great but the storyline is just wierd. We saw "Cats" a few years ago on Oasis before they altered the production they had on this cruise. That show was the entire broadway version complete with intermission and many, many folks did not return after the intermission. The abbreiviated version now on Oasis did not fair much better. The theater was half full and many again left during the show. "One Sky" was okay but not as outstanding as other production shows we have seen in the past. The high flying aerials, accrobatics and displays of unbelivable skills were missing. What was missing for sure were shows we have become so accustomed to seeing. There was no Welcome Aboard or Farewell Show, no family comedy show or any show for families. In fact there were nights when nothing was happening in the theater. The Cruise Director and staff on this cruise were poor at best. There were scheduled events, like teen dodge ball, where event staff never showed up. The required Belly Flop and Sexy Man competitions were conducted poolside where views were limited and those who just wanted to enjoy the pool were stuck. On other Oasis class ships the aqua theater was used for these and other events providing a much better venue for all who wanted to see or participate in the event. Finally, the senior staff and officers were AWOL. There was no Captains welcome aboard, no "Captains Corner", no tours, behind the scene in the theater or bridge tours for upper tier Crown and Anchor members. There was absolutely no plan for the exceptional number of children and teenagers on board thus events like ice skating and laser tag were booked immediately, in fact we never saw a time to sign up them. An experienced activities director should have known the requirements for these events would be extremely high on a holiday cruise and made more opportunities for these events. The teen area was also all but ignored by the staff. Hopefully this will help you plan wether or not you really want to spend the extra dollars for a "Holiday Cruise" and if you do you know what to expect. As for the impression this cruise made on our family it was not what we had hoped for. There definitly was no "Wow" from the grandchildren and lots of "When we went on Carnival..." from the parents and motherin-law. At least we tried.

Embarkation

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

Onboard Activities

Entertainment

Children's Programs

Service and Staff

Ship Quality

Cabin / Stateroom

Ports of call

Labadee (Cruise Line Private Island)

Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas

Perfect Day At Coco Cay, Bahamas

Disembarkation

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