Oasis of the Seas Review
Great ship, but not sure value for money is there.
Rating by category
Additional details
After many tries, my wife and I convinced our 2 sons (20 and 17) to do a cruise, so we decided to have a warm Christmas and head to the Caribbean. We chose Oasis of the Seas primarily due to the wide range of options for things to do, and we were not disappointed at all in that regard! We stayed 2 nights prior to the cruise at the Hilton Fort Lauderdale Marina and it was fine for what we needed.
On embarkation day we arrived at the terminal about 10:30, and were checked in very promptly with virtually no waiting. We spent about 30 minutes seated before getting on board, but had expected this so no worries there (beter than sitting at the hotel). Our suggested time was 12:30 but we were going to get onboard as soon as we could. Once onboard, we went to guest services to enquire about wi fi and the RCCl phones. We found out that the phones were not available any more, and decided to do the family wi fi package which was $280 for the 7 days. This turned out to be a very good choice, as we could all communicate via text anywhere onboard the ship, and our sons were still connected to their social media apps. The wi fi was excellent, speed was very quick, better than most hotels I have stayed at, and I travel quite a bit for work.
We had adjoining rooms overlooking Central Park (no balcony), and the rooms were well appointed and comfortable. Our room attendent was very good and looked after us well. To my mind the storage space was a bit less than I had experienced on other ships, but we managed just fine. Was the first (and likely last) time we had a room with no balcony, and I missed the connection with the outside and the fresh air that can be had, but with the full family it was not an option cost wise.
Cabin Review
Central Park View Stateroom
About as good as you can get for an inside cabin. The window overlooking Central Park was quite large and let in a lot of sunlight. Storage room seemed to be a bit lacking but was OK. Water pressure in the shower was excellent, but shower is tight! Bed was very comfortable, but the pillows were pretty poor.
Port Reviews
Cozumel
Had been to Cozumel before, so just headed downtown for a little shopping and some quiet time. My eldest son got a great deal on some Oakley knock off's so he was happy.
Fort Lauderdale (Port Everglades)
Pretty standard tour in double decker bus, but needed to kill some time and this was better than sitting in the airport. The tour guide was really good, he made it interesting and was a neat guy to talk to.
Falmouth
We had been to Jamaica before and done a tour, and so just wandered around the compound shopping. We did venture out into the streets and that was an experience. Our 20 year old son was offered week twice in 5 minutes and we were pressured for taxis, CD's and other stuff. Not really relaxing, but an experience.
Labadee
Really well laid out, the activities are spendy but we just wanted some beach time. Columbus Cove is a really good sandy beach, it is not really well signposted on how to get there but we figured it out. The beach buffet was OK, burgers, ribs chicken and a few salads, but have had better on other cruises.