Long time Disney cruiser considering Oasis out of Port Canaveral

m1ckeym0use1 · Dec 5, 2016

Hi all,

My wife and I have been on 9 Disney cruises, with our 10th coming up in January. When considering if we should plan to re-book on board, I took a look at pricing for January 2018. We could do a 7 day Caribbean on the RCL Oasis for about the same price as a 4 day Bahamas on the Dream. It's tough to not consider this option.

With DCL as pretty much our only cruising experience (and 1 Princess cruise about 15 years ago) I had a few questions about RCL and the Oasis.

Booking/Pricing

1. Is the deposit 100% refundable up to the PIF date? Is it 75 days out?
2. Is it similar to Disney in that we should book as early as possible for best pricing? If there is a sale or the price drops can we we-book without penalty?
3. I've read a few reviews where people report getting callbacks with offers for cheap upgrades. Are upgrades more common on RCL than Disney?
4. Looks like Costco has the best offer of a cash card back vs. some others stateroom credit... any reason not to go with Costco?

Dining/Drinks

1. We don't want to pack for formal nights. Are the main dining rooms made to be a big deal like on Disney? We'd probably just pick alternate dining on the formal nights.
2. We're soda drinkers. Can you get a soda included with your meals or is that an up charge? Can one person get the soda package and just share once in a while?
3. Is the dining good without having to pay/reserve the up charge restaurants?

Entertainment

1. I've read you have to book evening entertainment in advance. Is there also a charge for the entertainment, or are you just booking free tickets?

Do they dock or tender at their private beach in Labadee Haiti? Anything else we should keep in mind? I need to keep extra up charges in mind to make a fair comparison to Disney pricing.

Thanks in advance for any comments or suggestions. We really enjoy our Disney cruises but are wondering if trying something different is worth a shot.

starvenger · Dec 5, 2016

Full Disclosure: I've been on the Allure, not Oasis, but much of what I experienced should apply. Also my dad aka "grandpa" is the front man for our family cruises, so I don't handle that aspect - I just whip out the credit card when he says we gotta pay.

m1ckeym0use1 said:
Hi all,
Dining/Drinks

1. We don't want to pack for formal nights. Are the main dining rooms made to be a big deal like on Disney? We'd probably just pick alternate dining on the formal nights.

Formal nights are as much of a thing on Royal as it is on Disney. But I'm fairly certain that as long as you wear your usual dinner attire it would be fine. It is usually a good time to try out a specialty restaurant though.

2. We're soda drinkers. Can you get a soda included with your meals or is that an up charge? Can one person get the soda package and just share once in a while?

There is a charge for soft drinks. Royal Caribbean Blog actually had a good breakdown of the various options, including one for just soft drinks. In theory, the only person getting soft drinks should be the person who ordered the package, but I don't think the Freestyle cups discriminate, and if you speak to your waiter at dinner they may be able to provide a workaround for you.

3. Is the dining good without having to pay/reserve the up charge restaurants?

MDR and Windjammer about what you would expect, although Windjammer has a few South/Southeast Asian options if that is your thing. Park Cafe is as good as advertised, and Sorrento's serves pizza. I think I went into Solarium once, so I can't comment based on small sample size. Johnny Rockets is free for breakfast, and I would suggest eating breakfast there or at Wipeout Cafe for a much quieter experience (with a view).

Entertainment

1. I've read you have to book evening entertainment in advance. Is there also a charge for the entertainment, or are you just booking free tickets?

There is no charge for the entertainment, so what you're doing is reserving your time. This is because, unlike Disney, there are usually more than 2 performances of any given show, so you have slightly more flexibility to work around things like dinner plans or activities.

Do they dock or tender at their private beach in Labadee Haiti? Anything else we should keep in mind? I need to keep extra up charges in mind to make a fair comparison to Disney pricing.

They dock in Labadee, and tender at Coco Cay.

Two of the main difference in charges is that the soft drinks are not free on Royal, and there are no public washing machines. I am probably missing a couple of items. I would also say that there are probably more opportunities to be charged for things on Royal vs Disney, because they have more specialty restaurants and memorabilia/trinket sales on the promenade, but there is no requirement to buy anything.

Thanks in advance for any comments or suggestions. We really enjoy our Disney cruises but are wondering if trying something different is worth a shot.

I feel like you lose nothing by trying - it's still a cruise, and not a bargain basement one, so I think at the very least you will enjoy yourself. Will you enjoy it more than Disney? Consider this an "empirical study" on whether you will or not. Be sure to "test" all areas of the ship!

m1ckeym0use1 · Dec 5, 2016

Thanks for the info! That blog is quite helpful as well.

plutolovr · Dec 5, 2016

The big difference, which I like, is that with Royal you can spread out the purchases for extras and have them all paid for before your cruise. Shore excursions, drink packages, specialty dining packages, all of which can be paid for before you sail. With Disney everything gets added to your onboard account so you wind up with a big bill.

John VN · Dec 6, 2016

Deposit refundable up to 90 days according to our rebook last week while on Oasis. First time RCL after many Disney. We received a call 5 days before cruising for an upgrade from balcony to Junior Suite for a few hundred extra. Our rebook while on board was for 2018 in a Grand Suite and YES, it's like 7 days Oasis for 4 days Disney.

m1ckeym0use1 · Dec 6, 2016

John VN said:
Deposit refundable up to 90 days according to our rebook last week while on Oasis. First time RCL after many Disney. We received a call 5 days before cruising for an upgrade from balcony to Junior Suite for a few hundred extra. Our rebook while on board was for 2018 in a Grand Suite and YES, it's like 7 days Oasis for 4 days Disney.

Thanks John, I appreciate the info. So what were your thoughts in general of the Oasis and RC after many Disney cruises? We're pretty much in the same situation.

Denise W · Dec 6, 2016

We have been on 7 Disney cruises, one Carnival, 2 NCL, one Celebrity, and 3 RCL, the last being Anthem of the Seas at the end of October. We loved them all, and don''t find a big difference except that Disney is much more expensive. We want to try Oasis next.

Denise

OKW Lover · Dec 6, 2016

We are on board the Oasis right now doing a 7-night Western out of Port Canaveral. I'll try to respond to some of your questions:

m1ckeym0use1 said:
1. Is the deposit 100% refundable up to the PIF date? Is it 75 days out?

Yes, refundable up to the PIF date. Off hand I don't know when that is for these cruises though. Your TA will tell you.

m1ckeym0use1 said:
Is it similar to Disney in that we should book as early as possible for best pricing? If there is a sale or the price drops can we we-book without penalty?

Always best to book early, but yes if the price drops you can rebook as long as you aren't past your PIF date.

m1ckeym0use1 said:
I've read a few reviews where people report getting callbacks with offers for cheap upgrades. Are upgrades more common on RCL than Disney?

I think they are, but you still shouldn't count on one. Take it as just good fortune if you are offered one.

m1ckeym0use1 said:
Looks like Costco has the best offer of a cash card back vs. some others stateroom credit... any reason not to go with Costco?

Yes, if you need the expertise of a real TA to advise you about thing like you are asking here. We prefer to book through Dreams Unlimited Travel (the sponsor of the DIS) and appreciate their advice and their on board credit.

m1ckeym0use1 said:
We don't want to pack for formal nights. Are the main dining rooms made to be a big deal like on Disney? We'd probably just pick alternate dining on the formal nights.

Just had our first formal night yesterday and I did see a lot of folks dressed up. But certainly not everybody. You can be comfortable if you like.

m1ckeym0use1 said:
We're soda drinkers. Can you get a soda included with your meals or is that an up charge? Can one person get the soda package and just share once in a while?

No, soda is charged for at meals as well. The soda package is for one individual.

m1ckeym0use1 said:
Is the dining good without having to pay/reserve the up charge restaurants?

Its pretty much equal to the Disney MDR's.

m1ckeym0use1 said:
I've read you have to book evening entertainment in advance. Is there also a charge for the entertainment, or are you just booking free tickets?

I haven't seen any entertainment that was an up charge.

m1ckeym0use1 said:
Do they dock or tender at their private beach in Labadee Haiti?

They dock. We just departed 30 minutes ago.

John VN · Dec 6, 2016

OKW Lover said:
We are on board the Oasis right now doing a 7-night Western out of Port Canaveral...........They dock. We just departed 30 minutes ago.

DW booked Oasis Western Grand Suite while on board last Wed. We are planning on Zip-Line while at Labadee. Did you do it???? We reserved March 2018 but will see what is available when May 2018 comes up since that will be our 45th Anniversary and we honeymooned in Jamaica. Planning on the FY1F Excursion, Go Native Jamaica and bringing some supplies for the school children.

OKW Lover · Dec 7, 2016

John VN said:
We are planning on Zip-Line while at Labadee. Did you do it????

No way. I'm just not a zip line kind of person. Did talk to others who did do it and they enjoyed it. Good luck.

eskimoinparadise · Dec 7, 2016

m1ckeym0use1 said:
Hi all,

My wife and I have been on 9 Disney cruises, with our 10th coming up in January. When considering if we should plan to re-book on board, I took a look at pricing for January 2018. We could do a 7 day Caribbean on the RCL Oasis for about the same price as a 4 day Bahamas on the Dream. It's tough to not consider this option.

With DCL as pretty much our only cruising experience (and 1 Princess cruise about 15 years ago) I had a few questions about RCL and the Oasis.

Booking/Pricing

1. Is the deposit 100% refundable up to the PIF date? Is it 75 days out? Fully refundable, but the PIF date may have moved out to 90 days recently
2. Is it similar to Disney in that we should book as early as possible for best pricing? We always book opening day, and about 50% of our cruises have had a price drop that we've been able to take advantage of If there is a sale or the price drops can we we-book without penalty? You don't re-book on RCL, you just call and get the existing booking re-priced.
3. I've read a few reviews where people report getting callbacks with offers for cheap upgrades. Are upgrades more common on RCL than Disney? They're rare on both lines
4. Looks like Costco has the best offer of a cash card back vs. some others stateroom credit... any reason not to go with Costco?

Dining/Drinks

1. We don't want to pack for formal nights. We never pack for formal nights anymore. you will find only about half of the MDR crowd dresses up on formal nights. Are the main dining rooms made to be a big deal like on Disney? No, not even close. We'd probably just pick alternate dining on the formal nights.
2. We're soda drinkers. Can you get a soda included with your meals or is that an up charge? Can one person get the soda package and just share once in a while? Soda package is about $8/day
3. Is the dining good without having to pay/reserve the up charge restaurants? Yes, and there are a lot more options than on Disney

Entertainment

1. I've read you have to book evening entertainment in advance. Is there also a charge for the entertainment, or are you just booking free tickets?

Do they dock or tender at their private beach in Labadee Haiti? Oasis class ships are too large to do any tender ports. Anything else we should keep in mind? I need to keep extra up charges in mind to make a fair comparison to Disney pricing. Just like Disney, you can do an entire week without spending anything extra (other than your bar tab), or as much as you want. Essentially everything that's free on Disney is free on Oasis (except for the soda package).

Thanks in advance for any comments or suggestions. We really enjoy our Disney cruises but are wondering if trying something different is worth a shot.

The only question I have no info on is Costco - we always book direct with RCL and Disney. We are Platinum on Disney and Diamond+ on RCL, and we always choose our next cruise based on ports and price - sometimes Disney wins, and sometimes RCL wins, but we've never had a bad cruise on either line.

John VN · Dec 7, 2016

eskimoinparadise said:
The only question I have no info on is Costco - we always book direct with RCL and Disney. We are Platinum on Disney and Diamond+ on RCL, and we always choose our next cruise based on ports and price - sometimes Disney wins, and sometimes RCL wins, but we've never had a bad cruise on either line.

WOW!!! Disney wins sometimes even with the newer pricing???

m1ckeym0use1 · Dec 7, 2016

Thanks everyone for the replies and info. I think we're going to give this a try for January 2018.

OKW Lover · Dec 7, 2016

eskimoinparadise said:
we always book direct with RCL and Disney.

When you book direct you pass up any extra perks (on board credits) that your TA also offers yet you still pay the same price. That's why we always use a TA for cruises.

RAD · Dec 7, 2016

Also on the Oasis now. A couple things that we noticed:

- A prior responder said you have the option to pay for excursions/extra charge restaurants later then time of booking. I didn't get that option, asked for a CC at that time and charged right away.
- Keep an eye on the bill, ourselves and another couple traveling with us have seen bogus charges showing up, and some Guest Services reps we've dealt wih fight us on them.
- Lots of upwelling.
- If you get an upgrade offer to a junior suite, jump on it, worth it in our opinion for the space and Coastal Kitchen access.

OKW Lover · Dec 7, 2016

RAD said:
If you get an upgrade offer to a junior suite, jump on it, worth it in out opinion for the space and Coastal Kitchen access.

Coastal Kitchen is a gem. So far we've eaten there 3 out of the 4 nights on board. Their breakfast is also very good.

eskimoinparadise · Dec 8, 2016

John VN said:
WOW!!! Disney wins sometimes even with the newer pricing???

Occasionally. We have two Dream cruises booked that were $200-300 less than the same week on RCL's Majesty, and we have Fantasy Eastern booked for 2018 that is the same price (within $100) as Oasis sailing the same week. Oasis was a Western, and we prefer Eastern, so Disney won on ports.

eskimoinparadise · Dec 8, 2016

OKW Lover said:
When you book direct you pass up any extra perks (on board credits) that your TA also offers yet you still pay the same price. That's why we always use a TA for cruises.

Minimal benefit compared to being able to control my own bookings and being able to negotiate directly on price drops without having to hope my TA is around to answer the phone. Besides, we usually book 3-4 cruises at a time when we're on board, so we already get OBC. Most (if not all) of the recent TA promos offer the exact same perks that I can get if I book direct.

DnA2010 · Dec 8, 2016

eskimoinparadise said:
Occasionally. We have two Dream cruises booked that were $200-300 less than the same week on RCL's Majesty, and we have Fantasy Eastern booked for 2018 that is the same price (within $100) as Oasis sailing the same week. Oasis was a Western, and we prefer Eastern, so Disney won on ports.

Seriously? what prices do you have booked at? Oasis is half the price of Fantasy every time I check! Even getting a VGT on Fantasy, it was still have the cost of our Oasis cruise!

plutolovr · Dec 8, 2016

RAD said:
Also on the Oasis now. A couple things that we noticed:

- A prior responder said you have the option to pay for excursions/extra charge restaurants later then time of booking. I didn't get that option, asked for a CC at that time and charged right away.
- Keep an eye on the bill, ourselves and another couple traveling with us have seen bogus charges showing up, and some Guest Services reps we've dealt wih fight us on them.
- Lots of upwelling.
- If you get an upgrade offer to a junior suite, jump on it, worth it in our opinion for the space and Coastal Kitchen access.

If you were referring to my post about the charges, then you mis-understood. I said you paid for them ahead of time, not at the end of the cruise.

Long time Disney cruiser considering Oasis out of Port Canaveral

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