I try to cruise 2-3 times a year and have sailed 23 times; this was my 7th RC cruise. I took it because some passengers aboard last year's Allure of the Seas cruise said the Oasis was better! Boy, was I disappointed. I had an interior cabin because the balcony, which I usually book, was too expensive for May (have to pay double the cabin rate as a single traveller). Very claustrophobic. And although it was on deck 7, it was isolated as well. I met my cabin steward the THIRD day into the cruise. Naturally he did show up on debarkation morning, just in time for gratuities.

Food on Lido deck was great the first 3 days but went downhill from there. I no longer eat in Royal Caribbean's main dining room because of an embarrassing and insensitive formal night experience I had with their dining room staff a while back (they gave away my assigned seat to another couple, leaving me no place to sit; sat me at an 8-person table where I was the only diner). RC has cut back a lot. Infrequent live or canned music on the pool deck so that people began playing their own music from their tablets. The absence of music was quite noticeable. They no longer place beach towels in your room; you must get them from a towel station on the pool deck and there were times when only one station was open! Want popcorn with your movie? You have to pay for it. Other cruise lines provide it for free. For you smokers out there, the Oasis assigned a smoking area of approximately 60 feet above the pool deck, in front of a bar. Sixty feet on a passenger ship that accommodates 6,000+ people? Last year the Allure provided the entire side to smokers. No wonder people are smoking on their balconies. Other cruise lines provide a quiet area on a lower deck as an alternative place to smoke. Not RC. Who wants to smoke in the Casino.

Other noticeable differences include staff not as friendly as they once were, the cutting back of activities unless it involved spending more money, no box of tissues in your cabin unless you request it (same for bathrobes and ice). Embarkation was a bit chaotic but debarkation was better. Overall, I truly missed the WOW RC used to provide. I've gotten much better service and appreciation from Disney, Holland American, and even at times from Carnival. RC was one of my favorite cruise lines but no more. They won't budge on their high cabin rates although other cruise lines have adjusted their rates due to drop in oil prices. At least I have other options and will continue cruising for as long as I am able, just no so often with RC.