We returned from a 7 day cruise aboard the Oasis over spring break 3/2013 to the western caribbean. I was initially concerned about going on a ship this large as we have done Disney Magic with our kids in the past and found the size of that ship very manageable. This was a nice surprise. It came with some effort and patience which in the end payed off with a great vacation.

Embarkation at the Fort Lauderdale port was probably the easiest we have ever had. The luggage porters were friendly and efficient, quickly taking our bags. After a quick run through the scanners we walked right up to a check in desk with no waiting and within 15-20 minutes we were walking on the Oasis. In truth walking onto the ship is a little like being instantly transported into the heart of a shopping mall. There were not welcoming and directing personnel there to great you as on Disney which to first timers may be overwhelming. We proceeded directly to the elevator and to our veranda room on deck 8.

We had two rooms side by side but not connecting to share with our teen boys. They are 14 and 16 making privacy mandatory for all of us! The rooms were well laid out and although I had read about issues with storage we were quite pleased. It may have been an issue had we shared a room with the boys as we have in the past. I had also read about outlets being hard to reach and under the vanity. This was not the case as there was a round raised outlet on the top of the vanity. The bathrooms were a decent size. Toiletries were not provided other than a shampoo dispenser in the shower, but you could ask your room attendant for them (the boys did). Read more