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I had taken an interest in the Oasis Class ever since they were calling it the "Genesis" project, and having never been on a cruise, I figured I couldn't go too wrong in starting here. As a musician, almost all of my 'co-workers' in the industry had done the cruise-ship circuit, so I had perhaps an overly negative or certainly cynical outlook going in.
Once the crowds of the first few hours of boarding were dissipated throughout the ship, there were only a handful of times through the week where I was bothered by any crowding (as one might expect with 8000+ people on board), and there were plenty of spots on the ship where you could complete escape almost all human contact if you wanted. Sure, the elevators are an easy target for criticism following any major entertainment event, but my wife and I wound up taking the stairs almost the whole week, once we realized that the ship is a full-blown curated art gallery, with the stairwells being the primary gallery space.
The maintenance of the ship is immaculate. You couldn't tell the ship had been inservice more than a month - I didn't see a single rust spot anywhere on the ship...no ripped carpet, no scratched wood panel...literally perfect. Same goes for our stateroom. Lots of room, balcony was great, room service was fantastic.
The food in the main dining room was totally satisfactory (I've read a few reviews from people disappointed with the food, and felt that they were being pushed to the 'pay' restaurants on board). I didn't find this to be the case...yes, you could find some really interesting dishes at the Sushi Restaurant, or Rita's Cantina, or the Steakhouse, but I never felt disappointed with any of the meals in the Adagio Main Dining room.
Entertainment was superb. As a musician, I have to say that the main showband was one of the tightest I'd ever heard, and both the Aqua Theatre and the main theatre had great offerings, well above what I was expecting, and only maybe one or two notches below a Vegas-level show.
Only disappointment the whole week was the selection and price of the Jamaica excursions...way too expensive, and not very interesting. I'd rather have stayed on board and just enjoyed a quiet day.
All in all, I really enjoyed the ship, and has given me interest to cruise again. Given that I figured this would be a one-time-thing to knock off a bucket-list, and someone who has travelled a lot, I'd say 'hat's-off' to RCLL and the Allure team.
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