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First time on Oasis-so many questions


Va4fam

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Our first cruise on Oasis is a little over 6 months away.   Optimistically hoping we are sailing by then....PLUS my birthday and Halloween are the same week as the cruise!  Never sailed on an Oasis class ship and need some help.

On Quantum class ships, you can prebook certain onboard activities (Ifly, Northstar, etc) in advance.   What are some of the Oasis onboard activities that can be prebooked?  Nothing is showing up in the cruise planner as of today.  

What are the activities/reservations that need to be made as soon as we get on board?   We definitely want to go to the AquaTheater show, zipline, and waterslides.  

Can't wait to try Coastal Kitchen.   We have a JS which I think means dinner seating only, but explanation of how it works would be helpful.

Going with the 3 night dining package.   Best 3 choices?

What time does Portside BBQ open/close?

We have a guarantee Junior Suite but no room assignment.   Are there any not-so-great JS rooms on Oasis and are they ocean balconies?

What else is there to do on Oasis (Oasis class) that we haven't seen before?

 

Very excited and appreciate any and all suggestions!   Stay Safe my friends.

 

 

 

 

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All shows need to be reserved prior to boarding, especially the adult comedy show (it fills up fast).  Keep checking your cruise planner and book as soon as it opens.

Chops and 150 Central Park are good dinning choices.  Solarium or Park Cafe are good places for embarkation day lunch, less hectic than the Windjammer.

Not done suites yet so I can't help you on any of that stuff.

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57 minutes ago, Va4fam said:

Our first cruise on Oasis is a little over 6 months away.   Optimistically hoping we are sailing by the and my birthday and Halloween are the same week as the cruise!  Never sailed on an Oasis class ship and need some help.

On Quantum class ships, you can prebook certain onboard activities (Ifly, Northstar, etc) in advance.   What are some of the Oasis onboard activities that can be prebooked?  Nothing is showing up in the cruise planner as of today.  The entertainment should show up to be booked about 90 days out  

What are the activities/reservations that need to be made as soon as we get on board?   We definitely want to go to the AquaTheater show, zipline, and waterslides.  The aquatheatre show can be booked in advance, for dates see the question above, get the earlier in the cruise shows, as weather and waves often wreak havoc with the show  

Can't wait to try Coastal Kitchen.   We have a JS which I think means dinner seating only, but explanation of how it works would be helpful.

Yes, dinner only, depending on the sailing you May struggle to get in each night, you’ll need to be flexible with times. Most ships will only allow JS to make day of reservations 

Going with the 3 night dining package.  Best 3 choices? Any reason for the three night? There’s often not a huge difference between 3 night and unlimited, the unlimited gives you access to the specialty lunches. But I’d go Jamie’s, Izumi, and CP150 or Chops

What time does Portside BBQ open/close? Your best bet is going to be a recent cruise compass, they are available in the cruise compass portion of the blog  

We have a guarantee Junior Suite but no room assignment.   Are there any not-so-great JS rooms on Oasis and are they ocean balconies? Not many bad ones, some are in higher trafficked areas, but most stay pretty midship  

What else is there to do on Oasis (Oasis class) that we haven't seen before? One of our favorite things is to listen to classical guitar remixes in Central Park  

 

Very excited and appreciate any and all suggestions!   Stay Safe my friends.

 

 

 

 

Answers in the questions 

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Thank you @DandA and @Andrew72681 for your responses.   Very helpful.  So much to learn......

Are you suggesting that the UDP is a better option than the 3 night?   We typically are Windjammer and Dining Room people but enjoy some variety at times.   Most likely go with Izumi, Jamie's, and probably CP150 plus we get to try Coastal Kitchen if we are lucky.   Dinner is not always a priority for us, We are so busy with relaxing or doing the activities that it can get in the way of a good time. 

Great suggestion to book the Aqua Theater for early in the trip.   Do they do the same show or does it vary?

Can you book the Broadway-show in advance?  Which one is it?  

Does anyone know if the JS rooms have a minifridge?  Does the bathroom have a tub AND a shower or is it all in one?

Does Oasis have WOW bands and are they useful or just a novelty?

 

 

 

 

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21 minutes ago, Va4fam said:

 Dinner is not always a priority for us, We are so busy with relaxing or doing the activities that it can get in the way of a good time. 

This is very important.  If you think that you may NOT be interested in eating a big meal every night then I would definitely advise against the UDP.  Not only do you get a specialty restaurant every night but you also get a specialty dinner at lunch on sea days.  That can add up to a LOT of food.  If you think you will be skip meals here and there, you are definitely better off with the 3 night package.

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58 minutes ago, Va4fam said:

Thank you @DandA and @Andrew72681 for your responses.   Very helpful.  So much to learn......

Are you suggesting that the UDP is a better option than the 3 night?   We typically are Windjammer and Dining Room people but enjoy some variety at times.   Most likely go with Izumi, Jamie's, and probably CP150 plus we get to try Coastal Kitchen if we are lucky.   Dinner is not always a priority for us, We are so busy with relaxing or doing the activities that it can get in the way of a good time. 

Great suggestion to book the Aqua Theater for early in the trip.   Do they do the same show or does it vary?

Can you book the Broadway-show in advance?  Which one is it?  

Does anyone know if the JS rooms have a minifridge?  Does the bathroom have a tub AND a shower or is it all in one?

Does Oasis have WOW bands and are they useful or just a novelty?

 

58 minutes ago, Va4fam said:

Yes you can book the broadway show in advance & it is Cats
Oasis does have WOW bands - some people love them others not so much.  I like them for the convenience of not having to have seapass card unless getting off ship in a port. 

 

 

 

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Totally agree with you @WAAAYTOOO on the dining.   But who knows, we were not big dining room people at all until our cruise on Empress at end of February.   We finally understood the appeal of getting to know your dining room staff and allowing them to get to know you.   We were definitely spoiled.   Obviously not many choices for dining on Empress!

Thanks @TheJones for the Wow Band info.   We had them at Disney and they were awesome.   Are they waterproof?

How does it work with drink packages......do you scan the Wow Band or still have to use a SeaPass card?

 

 

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On 4/15/2020 at 7:48 PM, Va4fam said:

Are they waterproof?

How does it work with drink packages......do you scan the Wow Band or still have to use a SeaPass card?

They are waterproof! 

We got Wow bands with our JS (so don't be like us and rush to get in line to buy them, and then have to wait in another line to have them credit us again!). 

We weren't huge fans of them. It was convenient if we were just going to the pool or to grab a bite real quick. Not all of the bars were able to scan them on Harmony when we went. That  meant we needed to bring them just in case and that kinda defeats the point. And even if the bar took them, sometimes the scanner would be amid passengers or on the other side of the bar; it just made for some weird Twister-like body contortions ? And at dinner, it was just easier to take out a card vs. taking off a watch-band.   

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On 4/14/2020 at 5:23 PM, Va4fam said:

Going with the 3 night dining package.   Best 3 choices?

Izumi Hibachi, 150 Central Park & Giovannis

On 4/14/2020 at 5:23 PM, Va4fam said:

What time does Portside BBQ open/close?

Refer to a past Cruise Compass: https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/cruise-compass?ship=275

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8 hours ago, S0nny said:

 

We weren't huge fans of them. It was convenient if we were just going to the pool or to grab a bite real quick. Not all of the bars were able to scan them on Symphony when we went.   

We were on Symphony just last February and never found one venue that wouldn't accept them.  We only touched our Sea Pass cards when we left the ship at ports.

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@SpeedNoodles......so you are a fan of the Wow bands?   Did they consistently work or did you have issues?   Do you get to choose your color (my wife wants to know)?

Speaking of Symphony, we are booked on her for October of '21.   She will (hopefully) be our 2nd Oasis class ship and we will (even more hopefully) be Diamond members by then.   A lot of things need to improve to make that happen.  

 

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After reading through the Cruise Compasses for the March 1st Oasis sailing (thanks for the link @Matt) I see they used the Aqua Theater for a concert by the Journey tribute band.   Is that a better venue than the music hall?   What other activities are held at the Aqua Theater?

 

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I had the ultimate dining package on Oasis last December. All signature restaurants are amazing, so it's really up to you as to what restaurant you think you would like the best. Look at the menus online and see what interests you.

When it comes to WoW bands, they went on sale on the first day. I thought it was well worth it. Never had to take my card out except when leaving the ship. For drinks, or food, I just took the band off and handed it to the server. No problems.

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We have mixed reviews with the WOW bands, they did offer about 4 different colors and were able to may our choice.  It took a couple days before we managed to latch them properly so they wouldn't fall off.   DW had to go fishing in the porcelain pond once to retrieve hers.   :6_smile:  It was easier to just hand the sea pass card to the waiters to get a drink, than keep taking of it off.  Where it came in handy was opening the door to the cabin.   I would like to see RCCL to develop the wow band to the same level that Princess has done for the medallion where the waiters have i-pads that can take your drink orders and scan the wow band at the table.

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17 minutes ago, DandA said:

Where it came in handy was opening the door to the cabin.

This is my favorite use of wowbands. I hate having to dig in my pockets for the card.  And since I'm often carrying things (or children), it's easier to wave my wrist.

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44 minutes ago, Matt said:

This is my favorite use of wowbands. I hate having to dig in my pockets for the card.  And since I'm often carrying things (or children), it's easier to wave my wrist.

Yes that is my fav as well, when coming back with a couple hot coffees in the AM,  who wants to chance waking up their significant other just to open the door  ?

 

 

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So I've been thinking about the Wow bands and had another question.   If I have drink package, I usually give both seapass cards to bartender, waiter, etc.   What do the Wow band users do when ordering drinks for 2?

I was mistaken about my cabin being a Guarantee JS....that's actually for my reservation next January on Anthem.   I have an actual assigned room number for a JS on deck 7.  Does anyone know how to get the maps/deck plans so I can plot the location? 

Does the JS have a stand alone shower or is it the tub/shower combo?

We've done Izumi many times but never Izumi/hibachi.   Do they have actual hibachi tables or just serve it hibachi style?

 

 

 

 

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I had the wow band in January on Harmony. Loved it, not a single problem anywhere. Biggest issue i had with them is they wanted us to take them off on the waterslides which was inconvenient .

 

Pro tip. Wear it upside down ( the circular  side on the bottom of your wrist) for easy scanning at the bars. This way you dont have to contort your hand every time you get a drink. Slightly harder to get into the room wearing it like this but i was getting drinks way more than going in and out of my room.

 

As for the getting drink for your partner, i had varied results with getting drinks for my wife. I found that at my 2 main bars after the first day they were fine giving me 2 drinks without having her band. Those 2 bars would see me going and get my drinks started before i even ordered some times too, the had me pegged because im a creature of habit.At the poolside bar Morning was a mudslide for me and a bloodymary for the wife, afternoon was a kraken lava flow, night time was a beer. If i was going a drink run i just had her give me her band just in case. They come on and off easy.

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