Beachbum Posted May 28, 2018 Report Share Posted May 28, 2018 We just got off of Oasis of the Seas this past Sunday. There were six of use including two children (3 & 5) and my wife's parents who are in their late sixties. This was our first RC cruise. We have done Disney a couple of years ago and my wife and I did a carnival cruise 13 years ago. We arrived at MCO the day before and used Ace Luxury Transportation to transfer all of use to our hotel at Port Canaveral. I cannot say enough about Ace. They get great reviews and we had used them on our last Disney cruise. Communication is great and they are always inside the airport near the baggage claim holding a sign with your name. Uber is probably cheaper but i do all of the trip planning for the group so it just takes a level of stress away knowing that someone is waiting and can help me move all the luggage. This cruise had three port stops (St. Martin, San Juan, Labadee) and three full days at sea. We have never been to Labadee but have been to the others. I purposely booked this cruise because with the sea days it would be less moving around. With the young kids and the grandparents having some mobility/endurance issues i figured it would be more relaxing using the ship as the destinations. The first two days were sea days. We loved it. We could relax. The kids enjoyed the pool and of course the ice cream cones. The kids tried out the kid zone and my oldest loved it but my youngest became clingy and never went back. More on that later. The first morning we did a character breakfast with the kids. THey loved it. All the characters came around to the tables for pictures and dancing. The only complaint was the food service was really off that morning. I ordered an egg white omelette and took and hour to get it. When it arrived it was completely wrong. I am not picky so i was going to eat it because i did not want to wait for another. I took one of the kids to the bathroom and when i got back my wife had returned it. Never saw another one. A couple of other families had left because their younger kids grew restless while all the adults were waiting for food. Its a small complaint because i was not there to enjoy my breakfast. We were there for the kids and their food was quick and they loved it. So mission accomplished in my books. St Martin - we did the Capt Bobs boat excursion not booked through RC. JLMoran did a great review on them. I can second his review. Worth every cent. Food was good. Plenty of beer, water and soda. My wife is mostly vegan so they made here a separate meal which she liked. Capt was friendly and with 6 others on the boat besides us there was plenty of room. Capt Bob said since we had the small kids he put us with the smaller group which was nice for EVERYONE! Kids did great. We rented a house 4 years ago on St. Martin at Bay Rouge near Donald Trumps investment property. I had told our Capt about it and he made a stop there so we could see it. The destruction to the area and the whole island is horrible to see. Knowing what it looked like before and seeing it now made us sad. We love St. Martin and hope they are able to bounce back. San Juan - We went to the fort by Uber. Super easy. The kids enjoyed it. My kids love pirates so they were in heaven. AFter that Kids and grandparents went back to the ship. ALl needed naps from our long day at St. Martin. My wife and I went for a couple of drinks and some food. I found a place online called Casa Melaza casamelaza.com. The owners were great. We tried a flight of different rums and ended up buying a couple of bottles of Barralito 3 star. There is no distribution off of Puerto Rico of this rum. Owners said most of their business is from the hotels not the ships. It is just a few steps off of the road from all the shopping. I found that odd. If anyone is interested it is worth your stop and their prices are good. Owners were super friendly and had a great chat with them. Labadee - We rented a over the water cabana at Nellie's beach. Awesome!!! Luckily i bought this on a black friday sale for $395. I think i saw it for $525 at one point. Having a little cover from the sun was great. We got the first one since it was closest to the water and the least steep entrance. The farther ones are more private but this worked for us the best. Service was great. Golf cart to anywhere we wanted to go. I walked most places but the grandparents appreciated the rides. I bought an all day roller coaster pass. We can have a free passenger. My son went a few times with me and my wife went once. It was a lot of fun. Dining - We did the MDR for dinner all but one night. We were tired after St. Martin so we just did Wind Jammers that night. MDR service was excellent. Loved our servers. They were great with the kids. Food was good. Some things better than others but no real complaints. It was nice to sit down as a family and TRY and teach the kids some manners. We messed up the first formal night. I had it stuck in my head it was the 2nd sea day not Day 2. Did not really pay attention to the cruise compass that day. MY FAULT. We had dresses and slacks and nice shirts on but when we walked in a immediately realized my mistake. We offered to go change but they said we looked great and there was no need. We saw people dressed less. In the end we had a great dinner and felt comfortable. We had suits and nice dresses on the second formal night. We had planned on following the rules for both nights but thats what i get for not paying attention. Deluxe Drink Package - I bought our for 40/day on a sale during black friday. We basically only had to have 4 cocktails to win that fight. With 3 seas days, labadee and a short san juan day it worked in our favor. Countless bottles of water, a couple of specialty coffees a day, a few extra red bulls to keep me moving and a few fresh squeezed juices thrown in there. A rough guess is that between the two of us we saved $400-500. Never felt pushed to drink nor did i fell like i was over drinking. My kids get up early so being hungover is painful. I got up and ran 3 miles 4 different days at 6 am. 4 or 5 cocktails throughout the day at the pool, 1 or 2 at dinner, and the 1 or 2 after dinner never felt to much. If a cruise was port heavy i could see not buying it. It worked for us and was nice not worrying about the end result aka the BILL. Kids Club - My oldest loved it. He is 5 but turns six the summer and when they saw him they instantly said he would be happier probably with the older kids (6-8 yo). Daughter did not but i think it was her being three more so than the activities. Having the kids separated probably hurts us a little. My daughter may have stayed if he was with her. Once you check them in they can not change locations. I liked Disneys a little better because they have less restricted hours and a little bit more free play, but my son loved it and getting back there after dinner was his first thought. The kids are able to roam freely between areas. The staff was great and my son was glowing and talking a mile a minute about what they did and the friends he met. Disembark-We walked off around 0650. Was out of the terminal by 0715. Super easy. Ace Luxury Transportation called me 4 different times to direct me to him and where he was parked. We were at the airport and through security by 0815. Flight was not till 1225. I had worried we would be pushing it. Again Ace is awesome and highly recommend. Communication was awesome and extremely helpful. Observations - -Room Attendant (Gena) was awesome. -We had room 12594 which was a superior balcony room (larger balcony on the "bump") Room was nice. Clean and relatively roomy for a cruise ship. We enjoyed the balcony. -I had read some critics on other sites about how rude everyone was on this ship (staff and guest). I did not find that at all. People were more than kind and staff was very pleasant. All staff everywhere stopped and talked to the kids. I thought the service was great. -The ship is aging but by and large looked great. A few stains in the carpet here and there but very clean. -Weather was great despite rainy Florida and returning to TS Alberto. We loved this cruise. We booked under a kids sail free promotion. It was more than half of a disney cruise of the same length. My kids never missed Disney at all. They loved the small wonders too. Had a lot of fun trying to find them. It gave mommy a few minutes to herself. I could definitely see doing another RC cruise in the future. We like to try a lot of different vacations/experiences so it will probably be a couple of years before we do it again. Thank you for all the tips. I have read this blog a ton and used so many tips from so many people. It was a huge help. So thank you to one and all for that help. Next trip is September. We are taking the kids back to Iceland. Thank you for listening to me babble. Lovetocruise2002, Sweety, Todd W and 6 others 7 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sweety Posted May 28, 2018 Report Share Posted May 28, 2018 Thank you. I am glad your family had an awesome time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JLMoran Posted May 28, 2018 Report Share Posted May 28, 2018 Thanks for the great review. Really happy that you had a great time on Capt. Bob’s! And that was a fantastic rate you got for the drink package, better than just about anything I’ve seen quoted here. Also glad the kids and grandparents had fun. Did they take large part in the snorkeling and beach time with Capt. Bob’s, or mostly stayed on the boat? Which dining time did you have, traditional or my time dining? Given the complaints that have been voiced here about staff service at dinner time vs your positive review, I’m curious to see where your data point lies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beachbum Posted May 28, 2018 Author Report Share Posted May 28, 2018 Sorry Forgot about the shows. I pre-booked all the shows. They were all great. We did not see Cats. My 3 yo was with us (she would not go back to the kids club) and it was almost just as fun to watch her. Her eyes were wide open and a big smile on her face. She was awe struck. The adult comedy shows was awesome. both comedians had us laughing. We were impressed with the quality of the entertainment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovetocruise2002 Posted May 28, 2018 Report Share Posted May 28, 2018 @Beachbum thanks for sharing. Glad to hear that you all had a great time and that the kids loved it. Taking the my own kids on their first Oasis class ship next March. They are older than yours but according to them RCL rocks DCL in every way, except in the selection of shows on the stateroom TV lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beachbum Posted May 28, 2018 Author Report Share Posted May 28, 2018 @JLMoran The kids did everything for the most part. We brought their own goggles and life vest with us. The last snorkel area was a little much for my 3 yo so she stayed with the grandparents on the boat and her and the Capt. fed the fish some bread. The grandparents did about half of it. They stayed on the boat more towards the end. I was worried it would be too much for them but they loved it and would do it again. As far as dining..... We had the 5:30 seating due to the kids. a little bit a push sometimes to get ready for early dinner but we always made it. At times the food was a little slow for the adults. The kids food came out very quick. At 6:45 the kids club staff would meet you at the entrance of the dining room and take the kids up the deck 14. My son would clean his plate and have dessert and ask about every minute if it was time to go meet them yet. I would say two nights were slow and the other nights were better. It wasnt our servers though. I noticed all tables were slow those nights. Our kids were fed so not a huge deal. Our main server was good, but our assistant server was awesome. He needs promoted. (which i will reflect in my survey to RC). He made dolls, swans and other characters out of the napkins for my daughter. After first night he had our drinks waiting on us when we set down. Since we had the drink package i guess he figured it was not that much of a risk to have that waiting. Iced tea for the grandparents and milk for the kids. Most of the time i would be taking my last sip and the next one would come out. After the second he would ask. For dessert you brought me a double shot of espresso automatically. Our main server was ill one night and his replacement was didnt know us but he did a great job under the circumstances. My wife is mostly vegan and they did a great job figuring out would she could have and made her some special dishes a few times. I feel like we are a very easy to please family. It wasn't all perfect but it was pretty good. My wives father's biggest complaint was that when he asked for steak sauce they would not leave the bottle. By the third night they had a two bottles waiting for him. We had a good laugh about it. Quality of food was good. I have had better and i have had way worse. Some dishes were better than others. I thought the lobster was over cooked. I live on a barrier island in North Carolina and eat fresh seafood all the time. So i figure i am kind of a seafood snob. The lobster was fine even over cooked a little. THat character breakfast was pretty bad as far as service goes, but maybe that was just a bad day for everyone. @JLMoran If you have a specific question i am happy to answer as best as i can. I am no cruise expert like others here. JLMoran 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beachbum Posted May 28, 2018 Author Report Share Posted May 28, 2018 @Lovetocruise2002 My son would agree with the TV selection haha! Besides a little more flexible hours with disney which was not that big of a deal my son loved it and is still talking about all the fun he had. Lovetocruise2002 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beachbum Posted May 28, 2018 Author Report Share Posted May 28, 2018 @JLMoran Also the Head Server was present all the time. The previous cruises we have done we only saw them the last night to ask for a tip basically. He was at our table at least once if not more every night. He even filled our waters a few times. I was part a closed facebook group for this sailing and i probably saw 10+ positive comments about the servers being awesome. I dont have another RC cruise to compare it to but our experience with the MDR was very positive. JLMoran 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skid Posted May 28, 2018 Report Share Posted May 28, 2018 @Beachbum Thanks for your great review. We have not sailed Oasis class yet but are looking forward to our booking for next May. You have now made me wish that we booked it for an earlier time! We did just get off Adventure and, like your experience, the head waiter came by to chat every night and also at CocoCay and even during breakfast. And never asked about tipping-even on the last night. Hopefully people are having this good experience on all RCL ships. Thanks again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted May 29, 2018 Report Share Posted May 29, 2018 23 hours ago, Beachbum said: I had read some critics on other sites about how rude everyone was on this ship (staff and guest). I did not find that at all. People were more than kind and staff was very pleasant. All staff everywhere stopped and talked to the kids. I thought the service was great. This is why I always tell people to ignore reviews they read online about such and such being old or dated or the food being bad. Just because one person thinks that, doesn't mean it will be your experience. Todd W, whitsmom and MikeK 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beachbum Posted May 29, 2018 Author Report Share Posted May 29, 2018 @Matt Totally agree. You have to take that stuff with a grain of salt. I also feel like how you are treating people is important. I wonder if perceived rudeness is just a response to how they are acting towards the staff ie being inpatient and demanding. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twangster Posted May 29, 2018 Report Share Posted May 29, 2018 1 hour ago, Beachbum said: @Matt Totally agree. You have to take that stuff with a grain of salt. I also feel like how you are treating people is important. I wonder if perceived rudeness is just a response to how they are acting towards the staff ie being inpatient and demanding. I've yet to experience rude or bad crew on any RCI cruise. I've often wondered how people come to this conclusion. An unrealistic expectation? Not really sure. whitsmom and MikeK 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whitsmom Posted May 29, 2018 Report Share Posted May 29, 2018 We have had really good luck with the crew members also. On the Oasis last summer, our cabin steward wasn't the most friendliest but he did a good job. Our daughter's on the other hand was so friendly & outgoing and even made a point to address us also that we looked forward to meeting him the the hallway. In the dining room, we had a wonderful crew also. My SNL wanted to do some of the dining packages and we talked him out of that (due to our wonderful memories of dinners past). When we were asking all the grands (21, 19, 11, & 9) what they enjoyed the most and ALL of them said "Our Nightly Dinners!" was at the top of the list. MikeK 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mworkman Posted May 29, 2018 Report Share Posted May 29, 2018 16 minutes ago, whitsmom said: My SNL wanted to do some of the dining packages and we talked him out of that SNL? First thing that comes to mind is Saturday Night Live Lovetocruise2002 and whitsmom 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WAAAYTOOO Posted May 29, 2018 Report Share Posted May 29, 2018 I'm guessing son-in-law ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mworkman Posted May 29, 2018 Report Share Posted May 29, 2018 8 minutes ago, WAAAYTOOO said: I'm guessing son-in-law ? Your guess sounds better than mine WAAAYTOOO 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whitsmom Posted May 29, 2018 Report Share Posted May 29, 2018 57 minutes ago, WAAAYTOOO said: I'm guessing son-in-law ? Yes! I didn't think that one thru... WAAAYTOOO 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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