Eschew

Now that I have seen the ship at dock in Fort Lauderdale up close and in person rather than just looking at pictures, all I can say is "I am impressed and I am undecided".

I am impressed at all the things that they managed to cram in there.

I am undecided as to if I want to cruise on the ship or not.

The ship is HUGH. There is no questions about it. There are 2 things that stands out when you see the ship for the first time. (1) The width, and (2) the height. Yes it is longer than the other mega ships, but not by the same proportion as to the width and the height. You have to see it to appreciate it.

Not too far away is a grand class Princess ship. It looked small in comparison (mainly from the width and the height).

I doubt it very much that you can explore the entire ship within a 7 day cruise unless you forgo doing anything else. Okay, you can walk through the whole ship but to experience everything that is on the ship, you will need more than 7 days.

The balcony cabins on the inside? I am not sold on it. Do you really want to hear the noise from the "community"?

Has anyone else seen the ship? I would love to hear everyone else's comments. It is all the rage in Fort Lauderdale for the past week, from economic benefits the ship is going to bring to the area to how it is going to revolutionize the cruise industry. Is it going to promote building even bigger ships or is it going to be a white elephant that RCL is going to struggle to fill all the cabins, especially in light of the recent RCL announcement that they will not dramatically reduce price to fill ships and would rather sail empty than deep discounts.

What do you think?

ira

Hi E,

>...[they] would rather sail empty than deep discounts. What do you think?<

Nonsense, hogwash and bullfeathers.

It is just like an airplane: you need a certain number of full-price passengers to break even, everyone beyond that is gravy.

As for the ship:
I've only seen pix.

I think that she is top heavy.
We don't have as many people in our little town as she will accommodate.
I am not happy with intimate groups of 3000 or more.

Dayenu

The balcony cabins on the inside? I am not sold on it. Do you really want to hear the noise from the "community"?

What's the appeal of having an inside balcony? Can you have your morning coffee in the bath robe? Unless they have inside fireworks, it's not for me

cruisin_tigger

This one carries 6000 passengers? I can't imagine it docking in some of the smaller ports, like Cayman or Cozumel, which can also get numerous ships in one day. Ugh. What a mass of people.

rncheryl

Saw it too, and same opinion. A cruise for the sake of the ship. Would not want a "balcony" overlooking a pedestrian area. Give me an ocean balcony any time. If price were not an issue, would sign up. But for now, not so much.

floridakathleen

Was on the vessel this weekend and in our day and a half aboard you could certainly experience most of the areas. Not all areas are going to be for everyone. Rooms except for loft suites seem to be about the same size as on Voyager or Freedom class ships and of course were brand new. We had a balcony room overlooking Boardwalk on the 11th floor and noise was never a problem. Out of 2700 total, there are some 1900 balcony rooms. We have always had a sea view balcony in the past and I am not personally sold on the interior balconies but then in my opinion any balcony is better than no balcony!
I did particulary like the many venues to eat either a casual meal or special dinner, far superior to any other vessel. Also the variety of shows is first rate.
Will be on for 7 days over Christmas and we will see how the additional people on board effect day to day operations. From what I saw this weekend all should be well.
Probably not the best cruise if all you wish to do is sit at the pool but if you are looking for variety, this might be the one for you.

Eschew

As I have said, you can walk through the ship but to experience everything the shp has to offer, you will need more than 7 days. Yes, floridakathleen is correct in saying that not all areas will be for all people so I guess you have to take your pick.

It seems that they created the ship to be the destination and not the itenary. So, you can have 7 sea days and no one will miss land. The ship makes the most money on sea days anyway (from F&B to Casino to shopping).

On Level 11 inside balcony, you shouldn't here the noise from below. I am still not sold oninside balcony. For me, a window looking outside is better than a balcony looking inside.

Giovanna

Even Arthur Frommer said it was a travesty, or words to that effect. How big is big enough? If this trend for megaships continues I think it could ruin cruising. Ports in particular could be a huge problem. As it is, 2-3 ships with capacities in the 1500-2000 range can pretty much become a city of themselves. I remember port days in Sorrento when the piazza was jammed with people. Not pleasant for those of us staying there, and I'm sure not for the residents, with the exception of business/restaurant owners. I am gregarious and like people, but won't sail with any ship with a capacity of 3,000, let alone twice that.

rncheryl

Are you cruising for the ship experience or for the destination? That might make all the diffenence (as well as $$$).

Eschew

rncheryl, very good point. My DW and I travel based on the itenary and not the ship. With the lay out of the Oasis, it sure looks like the ship is the destination and NOT the ports.

Giovanna

Well put Eschew. We too are itinerary cruisers. We want a good ship, but where we're going is most important. And it's nice to feel you're on a ship, not a floating city!

jacketwatch

Actually the ship being a destination in itself is becoming a reality these days. Personally I would luv to try this ship but would do so when the ports appeal to me, and the price too. I like the ship, at least from an overview perspective. The question about size boils down to when is too big not profitable. As long as there is a market for these types of ships they will be there. The good thing is there are many other ships out there for people who prefer a different style of cruising. AFAIK the bookings for the Oasis are packed so at least fornow RCI succeded in terms of recognizing a market so a ship of this type.

jacketwatch

Oops. I meant 'a market FOR a ship of this type."

Dayenu

I am just terrified to think, with all the tender problems and the crowds out of control on 2,000-sized ships - how will the solve getting people on land when they have 6,000 passengers? Will it be a riot too?

LLindaC

We are on the ship ij 6 weeks. Can't wait. We have sailed every new RCCL ship in thelast 9 years. End of January is our escape week. I could care less about the ports. The best parts of the Caribbean are (luckily) not accessible to crusers . We stay on the ship and enjoy the amenities much like the ones we have at a luxury resort. However, we have those wonderful moments of sitting on the deck watcjhing the world goby...

I enjoy eating healthy meals and enjoying the gym. Also, I take 1-2 hour power walks on the decks and through the halls. There are so many ways to turn a cruise into a "biggest loser" week. I avoid the casinos and shopping talks. Ditto for art auctions and bingo.
RCCLdoes a great job with crowds. You never feel crowded in any area. Not so for Princess, whose ships are poorly designed.

Ahoy...I'll send a REAL trip report shortly

Noriboating

Just came off the Voyager, another megaship. It is absolutely amazing how they move people around without lines. No problem with tenders, dining room, or pool seating. The food was just OK, except in the specialty dining rooms which I highly recommend. I know you have paid for the food but an extra $20pp gets a meal that would cost approx $80plus pp on land and 2-3 hours of serious dining is a great way to experience fine cuisine.
The Oasis was in port and , although larger than the Voyager, seemed similar in many ways.
Next trip- Celebrity Solstice, which I hear is beautiful.

Eschew

Larry, thanks for the tip on the coffee card. They were not flogging it and I have to ask to get them. Bought 2 and then I found out I have coupons. So I ended up with 4 coffee cards (60 specailty coffee) for the trip. I still have a card and a half left and the staff told me to use it on my next trip.

Have not seen too much post from you lately. What have you been up to? Bought half a dozen bottles of Lizano. They are good. Have to get more when I head back there next time.

You maybe right that I might want to cruise a week on it and see what happens. It would be quite different from just get on board, take a look, stay overnight and get off. The last price I check, you can cruise on the Oasis for $500 on a 7 day Western Caribbean in Jan/Feb 2010 so it is not expensive. But the ports are the same old same old. However, just to escape the cold weather, any place warm is good.

It sure sounds like people who have made comments that they liked the Oasis put the ship as the destination rather than the ports of call. With commnets like "I could care less about the ports" and " We stay on the ship and enjoy the amenities much like the ones we have at a luxury resort", I can see why they build the Oasis.

If you ask any executives from a cruise line, they will all tell you the same thing: they would love to be at sea at all time so they can make more money from the passeneger. I can so see it coming, 7 days round trip cruise on the Oasis to nowhere. There is no ports to stop and distract you from the ship!

Here is another comment on the inside balcony cabins: unless you like to see people on the zip line go right past your balcony, or look down from your balcony and see the people walk by etc etc ...

The interesting thing is that a few ports have to build extra facilites to accomodate this shiip. Wonder what would happen if the ship decided to go elsewhere, unless they made a promise to stay for so many yeras. There goes the variety of itenary and ports of call.

When it is new, everyone talks about it and want to try it. After the novety wears off, I wonder if it is still the "destination".

jacketwatch

Hello Eschew: I'm still here but have been pretty busy lately. I miss posts from Percy too. I hope his hand has improved. I'm glad you liked the Lizano sauce. Our tour guide said its like a CS version of Worchestire sauce and I can sort of see that. As for the long terms effect of the wow! factor we have to see that for repeat cruisers but OTOH how many 1st timres will be sailing her? I suppose if bookings go down so will the price to compensate. For me I like to be wowed. I still remember how we felt when we first embarked on the AOS and of course that is topped by the Freedom class ships and not the Oasis class. For us the ship AND the ports do matter so hopefully some day we'll be on the Oasis providing the port interest is there too or unless we get a deal we can't refuse. Anyway no cruises planned for now. We are going to India in about 1 yr. and this summer for the 1st time in ages we plan a "staycation" which I'm looking f/w to actually. Unless the honey-do list goes streoid on me. . Nah, that couldn't happen could it???

Eschew

Hello Larry, glad to see you still active here. You, stop crusing for a year? I can't see it. How long are you planning to be away? Have you looked at Azamara? They have ships positioned there. Staycation is over-rated.

I have read some cruise critics reviews on the Oasis and most were positive and very impressed by the sight and sound (example: sound track of birds and crikets around central park, the amount of vegetation, the size of the ship etc)

However, there were 2 reviews that jumped out at me. Both are long time cruisers and RCL diamond and RCL diamond plus members and they were relatively negative.

One reviewer said "Oasis is a ship with class... first class and coach class" and went on to suggest that unless you are in a suite, you should bring your own towel. The same reviewer also wrote: "I walked on the Oasis like a kid on Christmas morning. I walked off realizing there really isn't a Santa Claus. I walked on the Oasis a Royal Loyal Diamond member. I walked off a dissatisfied customer." OUCH!

The other reviewer paid $17,000 for the trip, was in a suite and left unhappy as well. He also said something about the towels. (What's with the towel? Are they charging for the use of a towel?) Here is a quote: "Having sailed with RCCL so many times, I truly expected something special. If this ship was to set a new standard in cruising it has not, or maybe it has. It would appear that RCCL has cheapened its product and lowered its standards. We had planned to book an Alaska Cruise while onboard, but have chosen to spend our vacation dollars elsewhere. When you start counting towels, toiletries and towel critters something is definitely wrong."

There were also comments on the AquaShow. A high diving act on rough sea ... that would be a disaster waiting to happen. Well, I guess you just can't win them all ....

LLindaC

I meant to clarify- our January cruises are to get some relaxing warm time away from the cold. Caribbean ports are therefore not important. When we visit caribbean islands, I choose places that are not near where cruisers stop. It takees an effort to find really nice spots away from major ports. If we were to cruise the Meditteranean or Russia, the ship WOULD be secondary. However, I am not ready to do Europe on a cruise ship. We prefer a different experience there.