My husband and I took his mother and her friend on a Western Caribbean cruise on Oasis of the Sea, embarking from Ft. Lauderdale. As noted below, this ship has some things to recommend it but one practice that is appalling.

Although I accept that the price on most cruise lines will be increased dramatically by tips (which the crew deserves) and having to pay for almost everything, including water, sodas, coffee drinks, wine (mediocre and over-priced) and liquor, this cruise line adds deception to the mix. In our first hour on board, we were greeted by crew bearing virgin pina coladas and bottles of rum. These were poured for us after the slightest nod of acceptance and only later did we find out they cost over $10 each. The same thing happened repeatedly, including at breakfast. Passengers were greeted at the entrance by crew with a juice machine handing out fresh orange juice. Only after they accepted it and took a sip were they informed they had to pay extra for it. This deceptive practice occurred every day in various parts of the ship. It's bad enough to extract every penny from passengers; doing so in this misleading way is inexcusable.

Before booking you should also know that this gigantic ship is only for those who like non-stop noise and who don't want to feel they're actually on the water. This criticism has nothing to do with the cruise line or ship, which is what it is (like a gigantic floating Las Vegas). My major criticism, set out above, has everything to do with the cruise line. Read more