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Confused :) Oasis of the Seas dining..


Jillyalex

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I just called RC to ask if Dynamic Dining is in effect on the Oasis? They didn't seem to know what is happening?? So, if I am going on a cruise in the "nearish future "  do I call and make a time reservation -Late or Early?? or how will this work? Also, I wanted to find out if the "Coastal Kitchen" is on the Oasis? They also didn't seem to know.. hmmm.. little confused where to get most up to date information..

 

Thanks for any info,

 

Cheers, Jill 

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Latest announcement I have seen is that the Traditional + MTD (My Time Dining) is in effect for Oasis indefinitely. So if you want early or late you need to call and request it, if you want My Time Dining then that should also be an option. The Main Dining Room has been divided into the new "name restaurants" but they are all serving the standard MDR menu not the new menus from Dynamic Dining.

 

Don't have any info for you on Coastal Kitchen.

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Thanks for the info regarding the MDR JTI.. I will give RC a call and see if I can put a time request in.. Also thank you JYLNN for information regarding the Coastal Dining room.. we booked a Grand Suite and wanted to make sure the Oasis had it on the boat..  

 

Cheers, Jill 

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So, I called RC today and they said there's a wait list for the early dining.. I asked for early dining when I booked back in December but they said they were doing Dynamic dining.. hope that I'm able to be taken off the waitilist.. I guess otherwise we will eat in the Coastal dining room for dinner and/or a specialty restaurant.. 

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I can sense your frustration...and to be honest, if it was me, I would be furious. To have been willing to make reservations back in Dec. but prevented from doing that b/c they were implementing DD and NOW be told that the early dining is full ??? Hmmm... you are way more understanding than I would be. As I recall, you are going on the Oasis in October ?? I am very surprised that all of the early dining times are filled for MTD. Hopefully they will shuffle things around and get you the times you want. Not to be snooty about it, but if you are paying the BIG BUCKS for a gold card they should make it a POINT to get you what you want. Why should you be stuck in the Coastal Kitchen ? You don't even know if you will LIKE the Coastal Kitchen for goodness sakes !

 

As a general rule, we ALWAYS book the very earliest dining time that they offer so that we can get dining OUT of the way. Nothing more annoying than being in the middle of a winning streak in the casino and having to get up to go EAT ! LOL Also, with the first "shift" they have not yet had time to get "behind" and so you are in and out quickly. Kinda like taking the first possible doctor's appointment time...nothing has yet gone wrong to screw up the entire day's schedule !

 

It is rather like the keystone cops - the mess that RCI is making with this whole DD on the Oasis class ships. It's kind of embarrassing, to be honest. When we were on the Oasis in Jan. it was somewhat understandable that they had not yet implemented this Dynamic Disaster (DD)(and I could NOT have been happier about still having the rotating menus !) but it's STILL not implemented YET and they don't even know if it will be implemented by October ? Whoever is in charge of this public relations fiasco should be FIRED immediately. You simply canNOT advertise something so prominently and then keep delaying and delaying its implementation. The same thing goes for this disaster of a new casino program. Delay after delay. Nobody knows what's going on. No one can answer a question. Customers simply do not know what to expect and that is a complete calamity from a public relations standpoint. It completely ruins the professional "brand" that RCI has enjoyed...up until recently. It is the OPPOSITE of classy. It's novice and amateur.

 

Oh well. Hang in there. Hopefully they will find you a place to sit somewhere, at some time with some kind of menu.

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OMGOSH WAAAYTOOO! You're hilarious! Yes I absolutely agree there is quite the mess with the DD changes.. I have cruised only on Carnival and this is my first experience with Royal.. not going to lie.. not really liking what I have seen so far! Especially since we booked back to back cruises on the Oasis for December and both in the Grand Suite.. so costing us a pretty penny :) I do a lot of research online and if I can't find the info I call the 1 800 Royal line.. of the 2 times I have called there I haven't had very good customer service.. for example.. put me on a wait list which I wouldn't have ever known about it I hadn't researched it! I said " how come I wouldn't have received an email stating the changes with dining? " no answer! anyways, I just want to continue on looking forward to my cruises :) I'm not a complainer type but do expect good service.. I have never had a problem on Carnival and hope the same once we actually get on the Oasis :)

 

PS yes, I would also like some concrete info about the casino program! I admit it! I like to gamble and it's nice to know that you willl receive some type of perks! No one seems to be able to tell me what happens with Royals Casino  program :)

 

Cheers, Jill 

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Well, Jill....even though I sound like a complainer, the truth is, I am not, either...in my heart-of-hearts. I think an increase in complaining and the increasing overall lack of patience with foolishness and poor service IS a function of age...without a doubt. I find myself LESS tolerant of stupid people and bad service as I get older... But with all of that said, and reflecting on the number of bitchy posts that I have made over the past couple of days, I truly do still believe in Royal Caribbean. Perhaps I just don't want to start "dating" a new cruise line. Starting over again would be...well...a nightmare. Who knows.

 

Bottom line - you are not going to find a more fascinating, interesting and BUSY ship than an Oasis class ship. They are in a class of their own - the really BIG class. Many people do NOT like the size and overall "feel" of the really big ships b/c they don't think the big ships have that "intimate cruise" feel...whatever that means. Some believe it is more like being on a big, floating city than a cruise ship. I think these must primarily be people who sailed during the era of the Titanic who are used to the aristocratic snootieness associated with cruising. JUST KIDDING ! I am not one of those people. I LOVE the big ships. I think you will, too. I hope that all of this pre-cruise angst doesn't spoil the anticipation for you....b/c IMO, the anticipation of a cruise almost always actually exceeds the excitement of the cruise itself. I LOVE all of the planning and checking and researching and evaluating and imagining. It's almost anti-climactic (sp??) when you GET to the actual cruise part b/c it's over so quickly !

 

It will all work out. I'm sure they will get you the early dining slot that you want. Are you doing regular dining or My Time Dining (MTD) ? To be honest, there is absolutely no difference for me...I always do MTD at 5:30 every night anyway. I might as well be in the regular dining early seating group. Creatures of habit. That's just what we do.

 

The casino on the Oasis is very nice. As with all of the cruise casinos it is THE smokiest place on the ship so that's always a big negative...but I am a former smoker and a militant smoker's rights advocate so I just ignore it. Second hand smoke is an overblown issue anyway, right ? :) The current Casino hostesses on the Oasis are excellent....WAY better than the one they used to have - UGH. Go see them right away and they will help you get into Club Royale. Remember - throw the big cash around - in and out with big $$$

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Hey WAAAYTOOO :)

 

Thanks for your message.. I love the big ships too!! the bigger the better! I know people talk about crowds but I don't necessarily find them busier cause there's more space for everyone to spread out! 

 

Planning! absolutely love the pre cruise planning.. from the Cruise itself to airfare, hotels, excursions etc!! I love finding deals! Almost become obsessed with it hahahaha... 

 

Don't worry, I won't let the few glitches ahead of time taint me with RC..  I think it will all work out :) 

 

Casino! I agree with the smoke factor.. I'm an ex smoker too,, it doesn't bother me at all :) you can always find non smoking areas if people are that bothered :)  I'm really looking forward to the Casino on the Oasis! I'm picturing it to be large!! I hope lots of slots to chose from :) 

 

Have you ever been to St Martens? apparently there is a beach there by an airport and a casino too ? I will do more research but looks like you have cruised a lot and might know what I'm talking about..  ( the planes land super low over the beach?? )

 

Cheers, Jill 

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I have been to St. Maarten a number of times. I cannot remember any casinos on the island but I'm probably wrong. I rarely gamble off the ship. One exception that I made was once on Antigua. There is a casino right next to the cruise ship terminal where my husband and I went one afternoon just before getting back on the ship. We played Blackjack and I won a nice little stack of cash. When we got back to the ship and I mentioned to one of the casino dealers that I had been gambling at that casino on shore they laughed and said that I was the FIRST person they had EVER heard that had WON money there....they said people usually LOSE there. I counted myself lucky and never went back to that little casino again !

 

I think you are probably talking about Maho beach. That's the beach on the French side where the airplanes come in low right over the beach. Actually, I have never been to Maho beach...so I can't tell you if there is a casino there or not, but we have it on our agenda to go there on our trip in May on the Freedom. I guess I will find out then.

 

It has been my experience that casinos on most of the Caribbean islands are usually old, dark, dank and a little on the sleazy side. There is one shining example of a very nice island casino and that is on Curacao (my FAVORITE island !) in the area where they renovated the old fortress and put in shops, restaurants and yes, a casino. Of course, I cannot recall the name of that little casino or the name of that little development but it very nice...somewhat large by Caribbean island standards and bright, clean and very cool (good air conditioning, I mean....). ...and then there is the very beautiful casino at Paradise Island in Nassau....absolutely beautiful...but that's practically in the US so I don't really count that one. Aruba has some beautiful casinos in their high end resorts and Bonaire has a couple. San Juan has some but they are typically very small. For the most part, the casinos on other islands aren't very appealing and we tend to steer clear.

 

The casino on the Oasis class ships are very big as ship casinos go. Probably the only casino bigger than that on a ship (that I have been on, anyway) was on the NCL Epic...and even it wasn't that much bigger. OF course, you are correct...there are parts of the casino that are "non smoking" but you really cannot get away from the smoke even in the non smoking sections. It's just something you have to deal with if you're going to be a cruise ship gambler !

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I passed by three casinos when walking along the entire Front Street. One was Rouge et Noir Casino, and another was nearly across the street from it. These two were somewhat in the middle of the length of the street, going to the left after getting off the water taxi. The third was way down at the far end (closest to the cruise ship piers).

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Of course you are right, Don. Some lines have eliminated smoking COMPLETELY on the ship but I have never cruised on any of those lines. Since I started cruising when I was still a smoker and I gained most of my seniority while still smoking I have just stuck with the smoking lines even though they are slowly but surely eliminating the areas where smokers can engage. I guess they will eventually squeeze them all out but I will remain an advocate for smokers' rights.

 

Glad the rest of you were paying more attention than me on St. Maarten. I truly don't recall any casinos but as I said b4, I wasn't looking for them, either.

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