Great Excursions--Disappointing Cruise Line
Oasis of the Seas Cruise Review to Europe - Western Mediterranean
Contributor Level:
Purser
Cruises: 4-6 cruises
Reviews: 2
Helpful Votes: 27
7 Night Spain France & Italy (Barcelona Roundtrip)
Sail date: June 16, 2024
Ship: Oasis of the Seas
Cabin type: Balcony
Cabin number: 7584
Traveled as: Family (older children)
Reviewed: 5 months ago
Review summary
Great overall experience with the ports. Royal Caribbean did not live up to the hype and expectations with their food and services.Embarkation
Although it said we would be turned away if we arrived early, we were moved quickly through the line and on board within 30 minutes at the Barcelona port.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
This was our first cruise on Royal Caribbean. I am VERY ANGRY over the food. We signed up for MY TIME DINING, unaware that we needed to RESERVE A TIME to go eat once we got on board. This is absolutely ridiculous! We dressed up for formal night and were told there were no tables available until aftr 9:30pm. I paid my money just like everyone else and we did not get to eat in the main dining room one time! We spent money and time preparing for the experience we never got to enjoy. After being on excursions all day in 100 degree heat, we were not prepared to wait until after 9pm each night to eat.
The food in the Windjammer was acceptable, but not any better than Carnival Cruise's. It was always crowded, of course. That was not a suprise.
We also paid for the soda package where we could refill our cups with unlimited soda refills. This was 70 dollars per person and the machines were often out or order or out of ice, so you had to walk to anotther place on the ship to try to find one that worked properly. This was not worth the hassle.
Breakfast was very organized in the Windjammer and people did not have to stand in long lines for omelettes, which was nice.
Onboard Activities
We played name that tune, and some trivia. The majority of activities and shows were later int he evening, so we did not attend because we were tired from shore excursions. I did not find much variety in the activities offered.
Entertainment
We did not get to attend.
Children's Programs
No children traveled with us.
Service and Staff
Everyone was very helpful and friendly. Guest services moved people along quickly. I was disappointed to hear from a female employee that Royal Caribbean does not treat women very well, as there appears to be a male hierarchy for higher level positions. She stated women were often dismissed as not having anything valuable to contribute. This is disappointing to hear.
Ship Quality
Layout and design were good. We love the Central Park area. It is obvious that this ship is older and in need of updating, however.
Cabin / Stateroom
The cabin was comfortable and fairly roomy. The glass ont he balcony needs to be cleaned from hard water deposits to truly enjoy the view sitting down.
Ship tip
Book your dining time in advance!
Thumbs up
0
Ports of call
We did not do an excursion here, but scheduled our own activities. Barcelona is very welcoming, clean, and the people are very friendly and helpful.
Palma De Mallorca, Balearic Islands
We did the Easy Palma bus tour. We had a great view of the city and good historical information. No bathrooms at our stop.
We did a short tour of Pisa in the morning. There were a number of difficult guests on board this tour and this frustrated our tour guide. He was not a very engaging guide. He kept repeating himself over and over again duing the tour, as if he was searching for how to translate into English what he wanted to tell us. The area around the laning tower was great. Lots of little vendors to shop from and food trucks, etc.
In the afternoon, we also did the TUSCAN FARMHOUSE EXPERIENCE. THIS WAS AMAZING! Our guide was an older lady named Nicolletta. She was hilarious, very knowledgeable and engaging. We learned all about the area, the farm, and the process for making their wines and olive oils.
We were met at the end of the driveway by two horse drawn carts that took us all up the road to the farm. We were served a full course meal of two different kinds of pastas and sauces, along with bread, olive oil, two different kinds of wine, and a light dessert. It was great exploring the gardens and grounds and touring the facilities. We also got to sample several sifferent wines, liquers, honey, and olive oils int he tasting room/gift shop. It was fantastic!
Our trip back to port was a sing along for about the first hour of our ride. Nicolletta really knows how to work a crowd and I would do it all over again!
We hired a private driver and guide through Tiber Limousine Service to help us tour the city. Andrea was fantastic and we saw everything we wanted to see. We did not go into the Colisseum or Vatican, but were able to view everything from the outside and learn of the history through Andrea's knowledge and experience. He took us to a restaurant in town for lunch and we had a wonderful meal and some shopping.
We were picked up and dropped off directly at the port, so it was easy for us to get where we wanted to go.
We used Andrea and Tiber Limousine Service again this day and hired a private guide for a tour of the ruins at Pompeii. Our guide at Pompeii was named Cyra and he is a certified archaeologist. We spent two hours touring the highlights and it was wonderful. This guide was also arranged for us through Tiber Limousine Service.
After Pompeii, Andrea drove us to Sorrento for lunch and shopping. We had plans to go to Positano, but part of the road was closed due to a collapse of the cliffs.
Sorrento was great! We ate lunch at La Maison Douce. We had pizza cappriciosa and limoncello spritzers. It was amazing! We were told the pizzas would be 'personal pan' size, but these pizzas were much larger than that and could easily be shared by two people.
We engaged in some shopping after lunch and found some specialty shops we had looked up online before our trip. Augusto and Luca's inlaid woodworking shop has many beautiful treasures. We chose to purchase two small items as mementos of our time in Sorrento.
Once again, we were picked up and dropped off here at the port. You do have to walk a ways from the ship to get to the parking area at the port.
Disembarkation
We did the stay awhile program, so we did not have to get off the ship so early. We did have to be out of our room by 8:30, which was not a big deal, but we were no longer able to access the wifi we had purchased, so we had to sit for several hours with nothing to do but sit. It was fairly easy to locate our luggage and exit the port.
Traveler Photos
