In our first ship review by cruise expert Tom Baker, we go onboard Royal Caribbean’s new Oasis of the Seas. –Ed.
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Size Queens: Oasis of the Seas is five times larger than the Titanic, and the original Love Boat Pacific Princess could fit comfortably in the Oasis’ Opus Dining Room–amazing!
Overall I rate the ship a 10 for innovative features. I would choose to vacation on this ship.
Mark your calendar, there are currently two gay group and charters on sister ship
Allure of the Seas.
- Atlantis Events has a sold-out full ship charter in February of 2011 on identical twin ship Allure of the Seas, you might wait-list with rates starting at $1249pp.
- Aquafest Events has a Labor Day-Getaway Summer group September 4, 2011 on Allure of the Seas with rates starting at $759pp.
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- This is a great ship for families, both multi-generational and families traveling together.
Tom Baker aboard Oasis of the Seas
It’s great for couples, honeymooners, and singles!- While it has features for handicapped guests, it is a bit big and accessibility could be challenging although there were a large number of disabled guests on my cruise and they all seemed to be getting along just fine.
- I would not recommend this to seniors or for folks looking for a more traditional cruise experience. There is nothing traditional about this ship whatsoever…
- If you want to be part of something really special-cruise on this ship. You will pay a premium to do it but it is different than anything else out there.
- Bargain hunters-shop elsewhere. There are lots of great deals on cruises but this is an experience that is unique and promises to be for years to come!!!!
After sailing on some 250 cruise ships worldwide, I am in absolute amazement after disembarking the new Oasis of the Seas. For gay cruisers looking for something totally unique, Oasis of the Seas and her sister ship coming late in 2010 are here just for you…
Stats. As the largest cruise ship ever built, Oasis is 1,187 feet long, 208 feet wide, with 18 decks above the sea. There wow factor everywhere. I am overwhelmed by its architecture, array of cabins, entertainment venues, dining options, and massive size-again WOW!
Unique. Oasis and her to-come sister-ship are in a class of their own, There has never been anything like them and may not be anything to top them for many years to come. There are no plans to rival them by any other cruise line and even Royal Caribbean has no plans to top this incredible outing. It would be ten years before a ship could be drawn up, financed and built.
Pricing. These ships are so unique that they are collecting a premium price by guests willing to pay for something they cannot find on anywhere else. Deal seekers…sorry, this one isn’t for you. Prices start at a low of $1099 per-person for interior cabins. The cabins ands suites are bigger and better than any other ship in the company’s fleet. Smallest cabins start at 149 square feet; the largest suite is 1,524 square feet plus a balcony of 843 square feet.
Embarkation. The new terminal at Port Everglades (Fort Lauderdale) built exclusively for Oasis of the Seas and Allure of the Seas is the best designed and flowing terminal anywhere. Check-in took less than two minutes and boarding was within 20 minutes of arrival at the pier. Cabins are not open for embarkation until 1:00 p.m. but you can enjoy a welcome aboard meal, make spa appointments, and tour the ship to get a feel for your exciting cruise!
Cabins
Overview. I visited many cabins and suites, and felt all were above cruise industry standards, well decorated, and
A stateroom on Oasis of the Seas
ample for a cruise for 7-days.
Most of the cabins on this ship consist of balcony staterooms, standard at 182 square feet and balconies that range in size from 50-82 additional square feet depending on your location. Since 90% of the ships accommodations are this type of cabin, I will focus on this specifically. These are spacious rooms with twin or queen sized beds, a full sized couch, vanity, 32 inch flat screen television with internet connectivity and plenty of channels .
- Storage. There are three drawers for storage a couple of narrow cupboards, and a small refrigerator which will act as a mini-bar. The closet sits alongside the bed or next to the couch depending on the cabin configuration. There is ample storage for a couple (maybe for a third guest). There are a few shelves and a tiny safe one of the lower shelves. Cabin doors open outwards into an alcove so there seems to be more internal space.
- Bathrooms are well laid out with a long vanity but tiny, impractical sink. There is enough storage space for toiletries, although it’s awkward. The shower stall had nice space with sliding doors for total privacy.
- The phone is digital, easy to use, has a clock, alarm, and can be used for any reservations or room service. The same can be done by using your interactive cabin television.
Public Spaces
Oasis of the Seas has more dedicated space to passengers than any other in history.
I was particularly taken with two areas.
- The Royal Promenade spans decks 5 and 6. It is a huge area that offers the ships Guest Relations desk, coffee bar, Champagne Bar, photo shops, Pubs, Bars, Dining Venues, Cupcake Shop-they are delicious, and an amazing Rising Tide Bar. An elevator wine bar that travels from deck 5 to deck 8 (Central Park). It is a unique feature that has a wonderful waterfall that works under the bar as it moves up and down into a gorgeous skylight above embarking guests on decks 5 or 8. It is something to behold!
- The 6 level high Central Park area which spans an area in length of nearly 500 feet and flanks two massive
glass enclosed stairwells and elevator shafts that transverses from top to bottom of this massive luxury liner. The gorgeously landscaped Central Park is filled with tropical trees, plants, and flowers-nearly 12,000 and lined with elegant boutiques, bars, and fee-based alternative restaurants that offer gourmet international cosine. There is a really awesome dining venue that is like a bistro market called the Park Cafe which is open for breakfast and lunch and was popular.
These are only two of 7 neighborhoods–I could go on and on but you get the picture.
Dining Venues
There are dozens of dining venues on this ship ranging from the casual Windjammer Cafe on Deck 16 to the massive and most popular Opus dining room spanning decks 3-5, Sorrento’s Italian Cafe on the Royal Promenade, and the gorgeous gourmet fee based 150 Central Park. I tried a number of venues and found the food to be above Royal Caribbean standard (impressive as I was on a travel agent/press junket as guinea pigs for this massive start up ship). The quality was good to excellent and the variety would give the most sophisticated palate a run for their money. A week onboard would not even allow one to try everything this ship has t offer unless you spent your entire time running from venue to venue…
Service
Was friendly from stem to stern. While the ship is ramping up and half the staff has never worked on a ship before, a pleasant hello was always in order from the staff met throughout the ship. I think this will be a very friendly ship. All staff that I spoke with was very proud and happy to be a part of this one-of-a-kind exciting cruise ship.
Entertainment If you ever thought you would be bored on a cruise ship, Oasis will prove you wrong. It has seven unique neighborhoods–each with a theme and unique style giving the ship a kaleidoscope of style and decor.
- Rock climbing, ice skating, flow-riding, or zip lining are available.
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Ziplining on board Oasis of the Seas
- Oasis has a huge number of entertainment venues ranging from the professional Broadway Opal Theater which will have production shows and a full rendition of the popular show Hairspray.
- Aqua-Theater offers a great aquatic and diving show.
- Excellent gym, pools, and fitness areas–perfect for the gym-bunnies!
- Royal Promenade parades with themes ranging from 70’s disco to zany cirque like costumes
- Multiple dance clubs both indoors and out.
- Jazz club, karaoke club, comedy club, strolling singers, musicians, piano bar, live music everywhere
- Beautiful ice skating rink with magnificent ice show,
- and much more…
My Top 10 Favorite Things
- The best designed user-friendly “find it” board. The ship has easy access electronic maps telling you how to find your cabin, public spaces, daily programs, and dining venue capacity offerings everywhere. It is well signed and fairly easy to find your way around.
- It has the best architecture of any cruise ship ever built-period!
- There is an incredible array of comfortable and well designed cabins suites for all budgets and tastes
- The food is above par for any other Royal Caribbean ship I have been on and the variety of dining venues is exceptional.
- The Aqua Theater and many entertainment venues will never allow for boredom as there are so many multiple options for everybody.
- The spa and gym are among the best I have seen anywhere in the World
- This ship will WOW kids and teens of all ages with the most extensive and cool programming and dedicated areas. It is amazing!!!!
- The Central Park area is romantic and high-end, filled with designer shops, wine bars, and gourmet dining venues. It is perfect for adults, honeymooners and up market travelers looking for the BEST!
- Embarkation and disembarkation was the easiest of any ship I have even been on
- This ship has the most variety of any ship I have ever been on-book a cruise on it and enjoy all that it has to offer.
10 Things I Did Not Like
- The ramp at embarkation was way to steep for almost anybody but it is being corrected.
- The shower head does not slide up and down bad for shorter guests who cannot reach it.
- The Boardwalk and Central Park cabins face each other so privacy is a real issue.
- The bathroom sinks in virtually all standard cabins is tiny and your head will hit the mirror if you stoop down to use it properly-use caution!
- The noise factor is higher than most ships due to huge cavernous spaces and hard surfaces
- The Windjammer Cafe is smaller than most other Royal Caribbean ships and although the design is excellent, the space is very crowded.
- The pool areas albeit designed well and there are many of them are small. I think when the ship is full, there will be some issues finding deck chairs in the sun and around the pool itself.
- One must have a reservation for all shows. This does not allow for flexibility for people like me who decide on the cuff. It is more like going to Las Vegas.
- The ship has some going up and around to get to certain places making transverse difficult. This isn’t bad but could have been planned better.
- The Central Park area on Deck 8 where the gorgeous plantings is very muggy and does not have enough breeze going through it.
Conclusion: The pros far outweigh the cons in the big scheme of things. A colleague asked me if I would vacation on this ship and I was very quick to say YES!!!
Mark, 
Brian Legacy, 
Jay and 5 others are discussing. 
parag, 
Marc and 2 others are discussing. 
That is the most unexpectedly delightful thing I loved about Oasis. 
Intheknow is discussing. 
Lee is discussing. 
Cruise Ships is discussing. 
Cruise Ships is discussing. 
Jake is discussing. 
Joseph 11:53 am on April 24, 2010 Permalink |
I’m a little worried at how hard Atlantis has been finding it to fill up some of these itineraries. The Baltic cruise in 2008 was fantastic. I’d consider going on this one, but we just got back from the North Asia cruise & can’t take another 2 weeks off of work.
Randall Shirley 7:00 pm on April 24, 2010 Permalink |
Europe seems to have soooo many available mainstream itineraries these days, I personally think it may be losing some of its cruise appeal–especially considering the cost associated with airfare, and generally hotels on both ends of the sailing. There are obviously plenty of gays who haven’t yet been, but those who can afford the European itineraries have likely already been. So the market for these cruises may now be much more budget-oriented, and a lot of people in that demographic (including me) may be choosing to sail closer to home for now.
Peter 10:13 pm on April 28, 2010 Permalink |
Yes they do appear to be having their own entertainment – see beloww copied from their website.
Fresh and exciting entertainment abounds, starting with our signature productions in the modern 1000-seat theater. Featuring our hilarious comedians, unique variety entertainers, Broadway stars, massive stage productions, special guests, and much more.
Intimate venues showcase the best in gay and lesbian cabaret talent, including our own unique piano bar singers. Novel cultural options abound, including gues
Randall Shirley 10:25 pm on April 28, 2010 Permalink |
Thanks for clarifying, Peter. However, to my eyes, they don’t seem to be putting the emphasis on entertainment that I’ve seen in the past–no big names are mentioned. In fact, the description doesn’t sound much different than standard cruise fare, and I’ve edited my original post as I now see that they’ve mentioned late night parties. However, it seems they’re downplaying those aspects by lumping them in with the ship’s regular shows, casino, and features.
Don’t get me wrong–I’m not saying Atlantis won’t put on a nice and unique cruise. I’m sure it’ll be loads of fun. I’m just trying to spot places where they might be able to pull their pricing model closer in line with mainstream cruising.
Philipp' 3:22 am on May 2, 2010 Permalink |
Still seems a bit pricey, as we have been on non-specifically-gay cruises. If there is a weak interest from the american market, Atlantis would do well to market to European clientele. We would be able to take a train to the port. While we know the cities, it is always nice to visit them by sea. Local entertainment would cost less (at least, no travel to/from expenses).
DIEGO 11:46 pm on June 18, 2010 Permalink |
Hello, I’m looking for to go to the next tryp trhu copenaghen and amsterdam, I’m single but I heard that if you go by yourself it’s neceseary to page doble amount of the price. That’s true? it’s possible to share?
I will appreciate if some one can inform me
Diego
Jay 11:29 pm on July 11, 2010 Permalink |
Atlantis is not worth the value….. Boring entertainment, 500+ more for the same room on the same ship to the same place…. Last years cruise was a mess to Mexico, and the entertainment was exactly the same…. My friends and I are not going back.
Brian Legacy 1:17 pm on January 18, 2012 Permalink |
I agree Atlantis has been using the same entertainment for years. They think that a drag queen is what the gays want to see. Not everyone is 21 as they show in their ads, and some of us could care less about a man in a dress. It’s always the same, a Drag Queen, a Gay Piano Player, A Gay Singer YIKES how about using your imagination we are much more than that, look around there is great GAY talent out there. If you are going to charge us more for a cruise you had better start giving us more. (I am done with Atlantis and RSVP until I hear better prices and BETTER entertainment.
Mark 2:11 pm on February 4, 2012 Permalink |
I agree, I might be gay but I do NOT want to see a man dressed as a woman. I want a man to act and look like a man. Dump the drag shows.
The double price for a gay cruise as compared to a normal cruise is a concern for many of us who have been on gay cruises from day one. They are having difficulties filling the ships as many gay men are going on normal cruises for 1/2 the price and just traveling in a group. Another thing to consider is they are booking some of the gay cruises on carnival cruise line, the parent company of Costa… where you can be killed for no extra charge. Carnival is well know as the trash of the cruise ship industry. DO NOT BOOK IT. Carnival is not worth the normal rate and it will never be worth the double price of a gay cruise.