Royal Caribbean announced that it has decided not to add Dynamic Dining to the rest of the fleet, including the Oasis class cruise ships.

Royal Caribbean had previously announced it would be adding Dynamic Dining to its Oasis class cruise ships by the end of the year, but has now changed its plans.

In a statement to travel agents, Royal Caribbean explained its decision, "The revolutionary Dynamic Dining concept was created for Royal Caribbean International’s newest and most technologically advanced Quantum-class ships. It has been decided not to introduce the Dynamic Dining concept to the rest of the fleet, which was not specifically designed to support it, although previously announced for Oasis Class ships."

Guests who had booked Oasis of the Seas, Allure of the Seas and Harmony of the Seas will select from two seating times in the main dining room or My Time Dining.

Guests on Harmony of Seas who have already pre-selected the Dynamic Dining Classic option for their upcoming cruise will be assigned to either early or late seating to match their original choice of time. Guests who have selected the Dynamic Dining Choice option will be assigned to the My Time Dining program.  

All dining reservations for guests sailing on Harmony of the Seas should be converted by the end of July 2015.

Royal Caribbean's plans for Dynamic Dining have changed quite a bit since it originally was announced. The cruise line delayed the roll out of Dynamic Dining to other ships and subsequently added a Dynamic Dining Classic option that was closer to traditional dining.

When you are looking to pick the perfect Royal Caribbean cruise for your family, often you will find a few good choices to choose from and in many cases, it can come down to the ship class as the big difference. 

With over 20 ships in Royal Caribbean's fleet, there are a lot of choices and today we will compare two of the most popular classes of ships, the Oasis-class to the Voyager class.

The ships

The Voyager-class ships include Voyager of the Seas, Explorer of the Seas, Adventure of the Seas, Mariner of the Seas and Navigator of the Seas.

The Oasis-class ships include Oasis of the Seas, Allure of the Seas and Harmony of the Seas.

Ship size

The Voyager class ships were built between 1999 and 2003 and set the standard for what a large cruise ship is these days.  You will have a little over 3000 passengers onboard with you, has 15 decks and is 138,000 GT.

The Oasis class was first built between 2007 and 2010 with some new ships under construction since 2013.  On these ships, there are somewhere between 5400 and 6200 passengers, has 16 decks and is 225,282 –227,700 GT.

Both classes of cruise ships are large but the Oasis class is currently the largest in the world.  While the Oasis class dwarfs the Voyager class, they are both really big ships and essentially we are talking about a big class and a bigger class.

What's onboard

Voyager class ships are best known for their 350-foot indoor mall known as the Royal Promenade,that features indoor pubs, shops, cafes, and bars.

Activity options on all five ships board include a basketball court, at least 3 pools, a mini-golf course, a rock wall, an ice skating rink and on some ships a FlowRider surf simulator.

Royal Promenade on Navigator of the Seas

The Oasis class is known for having it all and have seven different "neighborhoods" that are areas of the ship with a distinct theme, such as a Royal Promenade, Boardwalk, Central Park and more.  There's also a slew of dining choices (25 in total) and Broadway shows.

You will find onboard Oasis class ships many of the same features of the Voyager class but larger and in some cases more of them.  For example, there are two rock climbing walls and two Flow Riders on the Oasis class.

Central Park on Oasis class

Both classes of ships have the same core offerings, such as the Adventure Ocean kids club, dining rooms, specialty restaurants, pools and more.

Significant differences

Besides the size of the ships, there are some key differences that will either be a plus or minus for you.  

The Oasis-class ships have a special pool splash area just for kids and babies.  On the Voyager class, you will find pools but no water play area for kids and no pool access for children with diapers. This can be a big factor for families with younger children.

H2O Zone on Oasis class ships

In terms of pricing, generally speaking the Voyager class ships tend to cost less and offer more variety in their itineraries.

Voyager class ships also offer a lot of the same onboard activities and entertainment that the Oasis class does, such as the ice skating rink, FlowRider, and Royal Promenade.

Both classes of ships have recently been refurbished over the last few years and have gotten new specialty dining options as well as updates to their staterooms.

For families with children under 18, the Oasis class offers a lot more in kids activities, both in terms of the Adventure Ocean club as well as activities.

In terms of dining, if you enjoy specialty restaurants and do not mind the extra cost, the Oasis class offers far more choices than any Voyager class ship.  If you want a Voyager class ship with a lot of specialty dining, Navigator of the Seas should be your pick.

Sabor Modern Mexican on Navigator of the Seas

Another key difference is the Oasis class ships have Broadway shows, such as Cats (Oasis of the Seas) and Mamma Mia (Allure of the Seas).  The Voyager class ships have Broadway caliber shows but they do not feature former Broadway shows.

Where the ships sail

The Voyager class ships have spread to nearly every corner of the globe.  At the time of this blog post, there are two Voyager class ships based in Asia and Australia, one in the United States, one in Puerto Rico and many traveling to Europe in the summer.  You will find a great deal of port options on a Voyager class ship.

Voyager of the Seas in Sydney

The Oasis class ships are traditionally based in Florida although Royal Caribbean has started to send them to Europe for the summer.  As of the time of this blog post, the home ports for all Oasis class ships will still be in Florida.

Conclusions

Voyager class ships offer a lot for very likely less cost than the Oasis class.  You still get a decent variety of specialty dining, pools, and lots to do .  

The Oasis class offers it all and has more for families with young children to enjoy.  It still has premium pricing so you will likely pay more for it on average.

Both classes are large ships and with the recent refurbishments to the Voyager class, the differences are not as wide as they once were.

Honorable mention for the Voyager class goes to Navigator of the Seas.  It seemingly had the best refurbishment with a slew of restaurants, virtual balconies and more.

Honorable mention for the Oasis class is Harmony of the Seas, which will debut in 2016 and will have water slides, a first for Royal Caribbean ships.

Which class do you prefer? Is Voyager class a better choice or do you think there's no beating Oasis class? Share your opinion in the comments below!

Royal Caribbean made headlines when it announced its next Oasis-class cruise ship, Harmony of the Seas, would have water slides and now it looks like sister ships Oasis of the Seas and Allure of the Seas will also get them.

Royal Caribbean CEO Michael Bayley told TTG that water slides were also likely to be fitted on Oasis and Allure of the Seas.

Michael Bayely said, “I’d like to bring water slides to the Oasis-class - on Allure and Oasis as well, all four ships [a fourth ship is due for delivery in 2018].”

There's also the possibility that water slides could be added to the Quantum-class as well, “We haven’t asked the question with our design team yet about how we would put them onboard, but if we could then we would.”

Last December, Royal Caribbean made headlines when it ordered a third Oasis-class cruise ship and then went on to order 3 Quantum-class cruise ships.  It turns out Royal Caribbean might not be done ordering new cruise ships.

UBS Investment Research cruise industry financial analyst Robin Farley says Royal Caribbean currently has an option for a fourth Oasis-class order.  If ordered, that fourth Oasis-class ship would be delivered in mid-2018.

Royal Caribbean must decide relatively soon, as the option for the fourth Oasis-class ship expires in December.

Farley feels lower prices to build new ships, thanks to lack of new ship builds recently, are what may compel Royal Caribbean to consider yet another new cruise ship order.

Royal Caribbean has come to an agreement to get an unsecured loan for up to €892 million to finance its third Oasis-class cruise ship. COFACE, the export credit agency of France, will guarantee 100% of the financing, according to a filing.

As soon as the loan is funded, it will amortize semi-annually and will mature 12 years as soon as STX France shipyard delivers the new ship, which is currently scheduled for the second quarter of 2016.

Interest on the loan is expected to accrue at a fixed rate of 2.6%, including the applicable margin, or at a floating rate equal to EURIBOR plus 1.15%.

Société Générale is serving as facility agent and mandated lead arranger, BNP Paribas as documentation bank and mandated lead arranger, and HSBC France as mandated lead arranger.

The Puerto Rico Tourism Co. (PRTC) has signed a deal with Royal Caribbean that will bring Oasis class cruise ships to the island of Puerto Rico in 2014, according to Caribbean Business.

Royal Caribbean's Oasis class cruise ships are the largest in the world and bring 5,400 passengers.   PRTC Executive Director Luis Gerardo Rivera Marín did not indicate weather Oasis of the Seas or Allure of the Seas would visit the island, but Marín did say the ship would dock at Pier 3 in Old San Juan.  Furthermore, naval architects have been at the pier to verify pier compliance.

Included in today's third quarter financial results, Royal Caribbean confirmed that it is in negotiations for the possible construction of a third Oasis class cruise ship that would delivered in middle to late 2016.

Royal Caribbean has not entered into any sort of agreement at this time, it does hope to place an order by the end of the year.  The new ship is expected to cost less on a per berth basis than either of the first two Oasis-class vessels.

Royal Caribbean chairman Richard Fain confirmed the news during his talks, "The Oasis of the Seas and Allure of the Seas have proven themselves to be exceptionally attractive ships by generating the highest guest satisfaction ratings in the fleet coupled with very compelling financial returns. Ordering another such ship for delivery in 2016, at a lower cost, with better energy efficiency is very consistent with our balanced goals of prudent growth, return improvement and debt reduction."

This third Oasis class ship would be in addition to the other two Sunshine Class ships Royal Caribbean has already ordered and is in the process of being built.