Thought I'd share some thoughts with you all on my recent RCL Oasis cruise. To give you background, I have been on over 25 cruises w/ Crystal, RCL, Princess, and Disney. We are diamond members on Royal Caribbean and were looking forward to checking out the newest, latest, greatest ship!

Here is a brief recap.

Pros: Embarkation and disembarkation are a snap! They've got this perfected! The ship is truly beautiful. Cabins are nicely appointed and appear slightly larger than other ships due to layout design. Different 'neighborhoods' are appropriately themed and nice to visit. Vast assortment of restaurants is nice. The royal promenade is very large and can adequately hold the crowds it needs for parades, etc. The cruise director is Richard Spacey and excellent at his job, as was his cruise staff. The performers were also top-notch and enjoyed!

Cons: As this is the most technologically advanced ship, we ran into the most technical difficulties! Aquatheater was not working, main theater had technical difficulties, in room tv didn't match up to what was supposed to be playing, 'televised' lifeboat drill didn't run properly, and even future cruise consultants computer wouldn't work properly to book a future cruise. When we were told our reserved showing of the "Oasis of Dreams" water show was cancelled due to technical difficulties, there was no replacement show for the evening... (even though we received a letter during embarkation saying they were working on the aqua theater and replacing the show with a 'variety' show and to still show up for reservations...)

There was no special seating being enforced for suite guests as there is on other ships in the theater or pool area (which are SMALL for that many passengers!). Internet rooms are a JOKE with only 6 terminals on 3 floors for over 6200 passengers! The staff was the most apethetic we've encountered and found out from one staff member that over 500 crew members have quit since the inaugural sailing. The Solarium was consistently hot hot hot as it's enclosed in glass. The pool area is only slightly better as it's too enclosed with steel and small windows. Smokers are everywhere, as are people with no common courtesy. We encountered more rude large family type reunion groups than ever before. Kids were unsupervised everywhere.

I realize this ship is new but nowhere near the 'inaugural' sailing whereby most of these technical issues would have been understandable.

If any of you are considering this ship or the Allure, just thought you might like to know what you're potentially in store for!

So overall a mixed review. Where did you cruise? I find that the area of the world where you cruise has a lot to do with the issues of smoking and unruly kids. On our most recent cruise on Royal Caribbean (SJU to BCN on the Adventure) smokers kept to their assigned areas so not a problem.

how much is your budget for this cruise?

Oasis (and soon the sister ship Allure) only do Eastern and Western Caribbean 7 day itineraries out of Ft. Lauderdale.

We were on a Western, going to Cozumel, Labadee, and Costa Maya.

Ports and budget were moot for us as this was a trip to see the ship. This class ship charges about $300 or more per person compared to any other Royal Caribbean class ship doing the same 7 day itinerary.

I received an email from RCCL today saying their prices will be adjusting down soon for the Oasis so I guess the newness has worn off....well, its the Allure's turn anyways

"Televised lifeboat drill?" What? You mean now you no longer have to go to your muster stations, you can just watch the drill from the comfort of your cabin? That's new and different. Remind me to skip a cruise on that one. This passed the coast guard?

Nope, you go to your muster station (sans life vest though) and watch the demonstration on the video monitor where ever you are.

I was "lucky" enough to be in the very first drill conducted this way and the drill kept repeating on the monitor until Captain Wright finally shut it down.

So much for being so technologically advanced...

Having recently seen the prices for the Allure of the Seas they are already much cheaper then those compared to Oasis of the Seas. Royal Caribbean cruises must have realised that there isn't much demand nor is there such a hype for Allure as there was for Oasis.

I think Royal Caribbean cruises will struggle to fill both these ships every week. Especially since they both do the same itinerary. Not that I am complaining hopefully it will mean cheaper cruise deals for us.

I sailed on the Oasis in early January, and your comments very much reflect our opinions as well.

The Oasis is a beautiful ship with top-notch entertainment and neighborhoods to satisfy everyone's tastes. However, we were very disappointed by the level of service, the quality of the food, and the crowds and behavior of the many thousands of other passengers. My wife and I have been on ~15 cruises on Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, Princess, NCL, and Carnival and we would have considered returning to all of the ships except the Oasis.

We are now planning our future cruises on smaller, more intimate ships with better service and food. We found some great deals on Azamara Club Cruises so we will be doing a European cruise next week and an Asian cruise in March. I'll try to post a trip report when I return.

How did you like Crystal? I would also like to take cruise with them (and Seabourne).

I personally do not like the hugs ships they are now pushing on all the lines. I much preferred the smaller ships of the old days like the Monarch of the Seas or the Majesty of the Seas, even the Nordic Empress (long ago). They can advertise all they want, I will still stick with ships that don't overdo the passenger load.

Crystal was very nice, top notch. But an older crowd. As long as you're ok with an older crowd, you get the best service, food, etc. Worth a look!