Tylor

I have been on Oasis. The Oasis Class ships offer the same children's programs, which are the best in the Royal Caribbean fleet. Like you said, only differences are shows, some restaurants, and Allure features a Guess store in the Royal Promenade. Both ships have a Coach store in Central Park.
 
Oasis leaves Saturday and Allure leaves on Sunday. A suggestion for picking one over the other would be price, departure preference, and show preferences.

Here is a great link to dining menu's from Allure of the Seas courtesy of Gambee. http://cruisewithgambee.com/royal-caribbean-menu/
Drink menu's are also shown. Dining room menu's are fleet wide, however you might see some substitutions. There are variations in the menus.

My first cruise was on Disney Cruise Line.  We sailed on the Disney Wonder and loved it.  
 
Cruised with Disney several more times, getting up to Gold status but I had cruised with RC once mixed in there and then for our honeymoon and saw huge price difference and went with Mariner of the Seas and never looked back.
 
I've also sailed on NCL and didn't love it so I keep coming back to RC for the quality that pnyxprss cited as well as the value I feel RC offers you.  

Here is a great link to dining menu's from Allure of the Seas courtesy of Gambee. http://cruisewithgambee.com/royal-caribbean-menu/
Drink menu's are also shown. Dining room menu's are fleet wide, however you might see some substitutions. There are variations in the menus.

This is true. I say exactly the same thing. Play it by day. I would even say there are 2 menus during a 7 night cruise that I don't particularly care for anything on the menu, so I tend to skip those nights and opt for a specialty restaurant. 

This is a great thread! My first cruise was on Explorer of the Seas in 2005. I didn't know anything about cruising. I had never logged onto Cruise Critic. I never looked at any deck plans. My group of 6 got on the ship and had the time of our lives. 
 
I think that is what made the trip so great. I truly believe people are really anal planners today, because they don't want anything to go wrong. It is almost like they are expecting things to go wrong. "When you're planning Life happens". I've seen people ask a million question on Cruise Critic, make spreadsheets of all the activities, the times they happen, etc. They want to see photos of the staterooms, how big is the shower, etc. Does it really matter how big the shower is? 
 
It just takes all the fun and excitement out of the whole trip. And yes I know some people are high anxiety and don't like the be "surprised" by things they don't know about. I think that is probably why, like Bryce said, for most their first cruise was their best. Mainly because they didn't have any expectations at all.
 
I've taken several cruises with big groups and I've been mainly in charge of planning the trip. I will tell you having to make reservations for everything, making sure people make it to shows, dinner, etc. really does take the fun out of it. You feel exhausted by the end of the trip and it isn't as enjoyable as when my wife and I just go and can cut loose for the week. 

I am wondering if anyone else suffers from there first cruise being there best cruise?  It might be this way because you don't know what to expect and you are wowed by every thing you see and do on that first cruise.  Our first cruise was The Serenade of the Seas as was my parents and my husbands parents.  After that we all tried a different cruise line separately and were slightly disappointed.  Could it be that The Serenade is just an awesome ship?  Has anyone else experienced this phenominon?  We have since been on several cruises that were excellent, but they still don't seem to quite measure up to that first one.

I have noticed that, for the most part, everyone's first cruise LINE is their favorite cruise line. People (guilty) seem to be fearful that they won't experience the same level of (service, food quality, show quality, etc) on a different cruise line.

I have been on Oasis. The Oasis Class ships offer the same children's programs, which are the best in the Royal Caribbean fleet. Like you said, only differences are shows, some restaurants, and Allure features a Guess store in the Royal Promenade. Both ships have a Coach store in Central Park.
 
Oasis leaves Saturday and Allure leaves on Sunday. A suggestion for picking one over the other would be price, departure preference, and show preferences.

I have been on Oasis. The Oasis Class ships offer the same children's programs, which are the best in the Royal Caribbean fleet. Like you said, only differences are shows, some restaurants, and Allure features a Guess store in the Royal Promenade. Both ships have a Coach store in Central Park.
 
Oasis leaves Saturday and Allure leaves on Sunday. A suggestion for picking one over the other would be price, departure preference, and show preferences.

Looks like a Freedom class ship is going to Galveston in 2015. My money is on Liberty of the Seas.

My wife works in public health and would tell you that infectious virus/disease outbreaks happen all over the world and are very hard to control. The situation isn't Royal Caribbean's fault, but unfortunately they take the blow and are forced to deal with the problem which ultimately affects their bottom line.
 
I personally think Royal Caribbean has handled the situation with care and a timely response. They really don't have to offer anyone anything, however Richard Fain said due to the situation Royal Caribbean isn't able to offer a world class vacation and so therefore they are cutting the cruise short and offering partial refunds.
 
I believe this was the right thing to do in these circumstances. And I believe they really do care about their guests and take personal responsibility for what happens to them, which has obviously been shown.
 
And despite all the negative press, RCL stock is up 3% on 4th quarter earnings report. A good job well done.

It wont help you all that much now, but each day the menus are posted outside the restaurant so you could make a game-time decision.
 
As much as I preach about booking specialty restaurants in advance, you usually can get a walk up table, especially if you're flexible with times.

Not shocking, lobster is not kosher. My wife and I don't eat it either.  ;)

Good finds! 

My guess is either 2015 or 2016 one Oasis class ship has to be moved to make way for Oasis 3

Welcome!  :D
 
 
There are many knowledgeable people on this forum to help answer any questions you may have! Welcome to the community.

So far I've made reservations for Izumi, Sabor, Chops and Giovannis on my Navigator of the Seas cruise.
 
Hi, my name is Matt and I'm addicted to specialty restaurants!

No....am doing another cruise on Enchantment in now 18 ish days.....lol

With Quantum being built at Meyerwerft, its hard to miss all of the excitement going on with Norwegian right now, as Getaway has recently launched/had her first passengers on board, etc...  I was watching a youtube video of Kevin Sheehan 'introducing' Getaway, and he was talking about the "waterfront" feature on the Breakaway/Getaway and said: "as a matter of fact, I know one of the ships thats about to launch is copying that"  
 
Do you think we should expect to possibly see a 'waterfront' on Quantum?  After seeing pictures of the waterfront concept on Breakaway, it looks like a really cool feature. 

almost like a strip mall of bars/restaurants around the outside of the ship (like the traditional promenade deck but extroverted?)   

I think this video would be far more accurate than any written description I could attempt... lol    its not a great video, overall, but it gets the point across. 
 
 

Norwegian Cruise Lines announced this week they are offering a new pre-paid dining package for their specialty restaurants.
 
From Cruise Critic
 
So the question is, should Royal Caribbean offer something like this too?

Granted, NCL's food in general wanes behind Royal, if you ask my opinion.  Certainly their MDR food isn't as good as Royal's.  
 
If offered by Royal Caribbean, would you buy it?

I go to the Port Everglades webcam and watch "my" ship sail away each week. This becomes an addiction very quickly. Then stake out where you'll be on sail away day. I did as much research as I could (without going overboard) on Oasis so I knew where everything on the ship was. That way I wasn't "wasting time" trying to find my way.
 
TIP: Deck 14 forward on the left side only is a door to access the area above the bridge. There are 2 doors actually, but only the left side is open for use. You'll have to go down the stateroom hallway to get to this area, but it is neat on sail away, and not many people venture up there so it isn't crowded. At least it wasn't when I went in 2012.

I go to the Port Everglades webcam and watch "my" ship sail away each week. This becomes an addiction very quickly. Then stake out where you'll be on sail away day. I did as much research as I could (without going overboard) on Oasis so I knew where everything on the ship was. That way I wasn't "wasting time" trying to find my way.
 
TIP: Deck 14 forward on the left side only is a door to access the area above the bridge. There are 2 doors actually, but only the left side is open for use. You'll have to go down the stateroom hallway to get to this area, but it is neat on sail away, and not many people venture up there so it isn't crowded. At least it wasn't when I went in 2012.

I don't know where you'll be staying in the Ft. Lauderdale area, but you probably only have a couple options. 1: Rent a vehicle and drive yourself there and back. This might be pricey as you'll have pay for the vehicle the week while you're on the ship. 2: Take a taxi back and forth, which will also be expensive.
 
I'm not familiar with West Palm Beach airport, so not sure about other options. Fort Lauderdale Airport is almost in walking distance to the port. If you fly into FLL you'll likely see Oasis of the Seas (among other ships if they are there) from your plane window.
 
Enjoy your trip on Oasis of the Seas! It's a magnificent ship and you'll be WOWed from the moment you step onboard!
 
Just to tease you, here is what you'll first see...