My husband and I, active seniors, are experienced cruisers. We sailed on Oasis of the Seas in June 2015 on the Eastern Caribbean itinerary and had a wonderful time, so decided to sail her again the week of Thanksgiving. We have sailed on other cruise lines during Thanksgiving week and not found overwhelming crowds, but that was not the case on Oasis. The usual passenger load is about 5000, which is big enough, but they told us that there were 6400 that week, and it was just too much. I think many of the staterooms which usually are occupied by two passengers were occupied by four, since it was such a significant number. With that many passengers, we found the elevators always crowded, lines everywhere we went, noisy restaurants, not the level of service we usually experience, and just in general not the relaxing atmosphere we expect in cruising.

That being said, there were lots of things we did enjoy. The shows are very high caliber. It was a thrill to see the full Broadway length production of CATS, the Aqua show is unique, Come Fly with Me had lots of special effects, Frozen in Time was an ice skating show, and the headliner, Jesse Hamilton, was a talented singer who had excellent stage presence. The 70s party hosted by the cruise director and his staff was fun.

We also enjoyed the ports of call. The ship docked at each port and it was nice not to have to use tenders. We hadn't been to Labadee in years and there are a lot more activities now. We were happy to relax on the beach, and lounge chairs were provided and lunch and restrooms were close by. The zip line, which we didn't try, looked amazing as it goes for hundreds of feet over the ocean, and lots of people were experiencing it. Read more