My wife (juadak1)and I are frequent cruisers with the majority of our sea time on Celebrity, but we wanted to see what the "big guy" was about. It is an amazing ship and the way they handled the over 6,000 passengers was just great. With the various excellent shows and dining venue selections they ensured no overcrowding anywhere on the ship. In fact, embarking and disembarking was as smooth and hassle free as on any smaller ship we sailed on. It truly was a enjoyable cruise and I recommend the ship to any and all. However, there is one issue frequent cruisers should be aware of - the automated award system.

This was our first time on RC and received Diamond status through Celebrity Elite status. So, whether the new automated award system is unique to just the Oasis/Allure or is companywide, I do not know. In any case, BEWARE! The usual benefit coupons had been replaced by an automated system, which I was informed had just been initiated 2 weeks before our Aug 10 sailing. We had problems with 2 of the "benefits" as follows: Per the Benefits handout, "(2507) FREE 30 minutes of internet usage. After usage, credit will be posted to your SeaPass onboard account prior to the end of sailing" The way they have this programmed in their system requires one to exceed 30 minutes of usage before any credit is applied. As a result, if you use 29 minutes each (as we did), no credit is applied. Only if one were to use 30+ minutes, is a 30 minute credit issued! Note: On the last morning there were several people at the counter complaining about this lack of credit. Per the Benefits handout, "(1101) Buy any wine, beer, or soda by the glass and get a second FREE" At meals, when drinks were ordered, no room card was used. Drinks (in our case-glasses of wine) were charged without any receipts or signatures directly through the knowledge of the servers (who were excellent). When my wife and I each ordered one glass of wine with dinners, no free drink was ever applied. Apparently, even though both of us were charged on the same bill, we needed to make sure the drinks were both but on one of our individual cards in order to get this benefit.

As I said, there were several people logging complaints about the system at the customer relations counter on the last day, so perhaps the problem has been resolved. If not, when you do sail on the Oasis (and I recommend you do), just be aware of the program quirks.