The Oasis of the Seas is a huge ship, and the first in the Oasis class ships, but she’s also beautiful with something for everyone. However, even though this is a large ship, Royal Caribbean has done a few things to make the ship easier to navigate as well as know what’s going on. Below are a few tips that are good for the Oasis of the Seas as well as some that expand to all of the Royal Caribbean ships.
First of all, during your cruise planning you can pre-book your specialty dining and much of the entertainment onboard. This is actually recommended as with a ship this size (over 225 thousand tons!) and with up to 6300 passengers, not counting the 2150 crew, there aren’t any venues on the ship that will hold even half of the people. The shows do have stand-by lines but because they are limited the best choice is to pre-book your shows. Shows are only held on certain days, thus you’ll want to work your schedule to see all of the shows. If you forget to print out your schedule before you leave home it’s not a problem as you can also find it on your stateroom TV.
RCTV is a wealth of information! Here you can see a list of the plans you have pre-booked, such as your specialty dining and shows. One of the important areas here is your folio, which is your stateroom charges. Guests can’t use cash on the ship so everything is charged to the stateroom key. You can see the ongoing charges on the TV. If you see anything that isn’t right, just go to Guest Services for assistance. It’s best to go there early morning, or very late night, as the line there can be quite long during the day.
You should check your messages daily. Any updates to your reservation, special promotions and special events you may want to attend. Oasis of Dreams is often canceled due to the weather or rough seas. Because of this you’ll want to book that show for early in your cruise. By doing this, you’ll have other chances to see it if it’s cancelled. You can makes those changes at Guest Services as well.
Not sure where you want to dine? You can see all menus right on your TV, from the main dining room to the specialty restaurants. You can also see how busy the restaurants are so you can tell where you want to go and when.
Speaking of dining, you can get a great breakfast at Johnny Rocket’s. As of this writing breakfast is without the usual surcharge for that location. This is not as busy as other breakfast locations and a nice way to enjoy the morning on the Boardwalk.
The zipline, FlowRider, ice skating and rock wall require a signed waiver. This activity waiver can be done on the RCTV. The activies band picked up at any of these locations will be good for your entire cruise.
Even the elevator holds some nice little tips. After a few days at sea it’s very easy to forget what day it is. No worries! Most elevators have the day of the week just inside the door. If you’re at the port just push the button with a star and it will take you to the gangway. Some of the buttons have a picture to help you find the sports deck, Central Park, the Boardwalk, entertainment and promenade. These can be quite crowded so it may be faster to just go the direction the elevator is going. You can then ride back the direction you want to go.
Near the elevators you’ll see the Wayfinder, which is interactive. Because of this you can find tips for the location you are looking for so you can easily get there.
The sliding door to the balcony helps control the themostat. Because of this be sure to keep the door shut tightly and locked in order to have a cooler stateroom.
There are several pools aboard the Oasis of the Seas if you want to cool off. Although most of the pools are fresh water, the beach pool is saltwater while guests can also enjoy several hot tubs.
These are just a few of the tips to make your cruise just a little more enjoyable. Now it’s time to book your own cruise and see what little things you can find!
