This is our 6th cruise in 5 years (I can't believe we turned into "one of those people") with one being on Disney and the rest on RCI. We are not experts and this is the first review I've written (a table-mate suggested I should). Why did we pick this cruise? We have a bucket list of cruise experiences we want to do, including going on a Quantum class and going on an Oasis class. We watched a show on the Travel Channel about Oasis and eventually booked the trip partially because of that, partially because we wanted the Quantum-class to work through its growing pains. We had our choice of Eastern or Western and picked Western. We already did the Western on Freedom a few years ago and thought that taking Oasis on the almost the same itinerary would allow us to focus our attention on the ship rather than the ports (we were wrong about that - I'll explain later).

I had pre-conceived ideas of what I'd experience - more walking than I'd like, lines at Windjammer, waits at the elevator, crowds in the common areas, etc. First, none of those were realized. I never felt crowded on this boat. If you are reading this and you've been thinking the boat is too big, take my word for it - it is not. If you can handle Freedom of the Seas, you can handle this. We had few waits. This ship has 6,300 guests on it.

On this cruise, we flew into Fort Lauderdale (our first cruise that wasn't out of Port Canaveral) and the process was smooth and fluid. We took the RCI shuttle service at the airport and it was quick, efficient and enjoyable. Actually better than all our Port Canaveral cruises. Check-in at the pier was also easy and quick. I think our plane landed at noon and we were on the ship a little after 1pm. Read more