My husband and I have cruised 7 times, all but 2 with Royal Caribbean. We were so excited to go on the Oasis of the Seas, especially after our fabulous cruise last year on Independence of the Seas, which was amazing.
We liked that the layout of the ship was similar (although MUCH larger), but at least we felt like we weren't in foreign territory. We had amazing service from our cabin attendant (Dwi) and our restaurant servers (Marilyn and Augustino). They really were the highlight of our trip. They were so friendly and personable, always looking to please us and quick to respond to requests. 5+ stars for them!
We noticed right away that the staff seemed overworked. Overall, service on the ship was much lower than what we had encountered previously on Royal Caribbean. Bar staff was very limited for most of the cruise. One bar waiter in the Schooner Bar was downright rude. He definitely should not be working on a cruise ship! But, for the most part, people just seemed overworked.
Very comfortable. I would choose a room mid-ship next time. This ship was so large and it seemed like we were constantly walking from one end of the ship to the other.
We basically flew to Fort Lauderdale, had dinner and left the next morning. Easy to get in and out from this port.
We walked from the boat and went shopping. People were friendly and shopping was pretty good. It was pretty cool and windy, being so far north in January.
We took a taxi to Coki beach. We were greeted by a lady who took care of us for the day. She helped us acquire chairs, food, drinks and watched our items while we swam. When we were ready to leave, she connected us with a return trip to the ship. Of course we tipped her, but having her take care of us was worth it. Beautiful beach with some nice snorkeling right off of the beach.
We booked an external excursion with Captain Bob for a boat ride/snorkel/swim. They were amazing and I can tell why they get such great ratings on Cruise Critic and other sites. They took us around most of the island and gave us a real sight-seeing tour. The water was extremely choppy and we were unable to swim with the turtles and stingrays, but everything else was amazing. Included with the $109 fee was lunch/soft drinks/water and beer. The lunch was AWESOME!!! I couldn't believe that they provided a full 6-hour tour plus food and drinks for that price. Definitely highly recommend!