podcasters a question: allure/oasis - did you encounter many lines on board the ship?

[disneyholic family]

The only cruise my sister has been on was on RCCL - i'm not sure which ship, i think the navigator of the seas.
This was a number of years ago - a cruise out of miami.

She absolutely hated it. Why? She said they had to stand in line for everything and many of the passengers on board weren't very good at standing in line (as in they were pushy and line jumpers) so it made it all very unpleasant.

Did you find that to be the case on the allure/oasis?

i mean with a gazillion passengers on board, it seems impossible that there wouldn't be lines everywhere.

were there lines? at restaurants? shows? cafes? at the various ports?

How does the line situation compare to that on the Disney Dream?

 

[DisneyKevin]

John, Matt, Roger, Kathy and I didn't encounter a single line...other then Starbucks and the Cupcake Cupboard, and that was only two or three people.

At every elevator bay, there is a large "movie poster" sized electronic board that does many things.

It shows you where you are on the ship and offers a list of possible destinations. You just touch where you want to go and the board shows you how to get there.

It also shows a list of all open dining locations and how busy each location is at that time.

We could look at the board and see that Wind Jammer was at 95% for breakfast, but Johnny Rockets (complimentary at breakfast), Park Cafe and the main dining room were at less than 20% full.

You could avoid crowds at every turn.

We did wait in line to see some of the shows, as people queued up until the theaters opened. I don't think we waited more than 3 minutes....and it wasn't really a line. It was more of a crowd waiting to get in.

The only issue I had on the cruise (and it happens on every cruise) is at the elevators.

I can't believe that people can not figure out that if they wait one second to let people off the elevator...there will be more room for them to board the elevator.

This is not RCCL specific. It happens on DCL as well.

It got so annoying that people would just push their way out. I walked smack dab into a woman that was trying to walk THROUGH me, and I'm a big guy. It's not like she didn't see me.

You might encounter a line if you insist on being part of the first wave getting off at a port, but folks that have early excursions were allowed to disembark first and then the general population.

Waiting 15 minutes alleviated this altogether. I never waited to get off or back on the ship.

The only negatives I saw had to do with the "ME FIRST NOW" mentality and what these folks don't realize is that they would be much further ahead if they just settled down a bit.

I watched people do everything in their power to thwart the "ME FIRST NOW" folks.

I don't want to suggest this was rampant or specific to this ship or cruise line.

These folks are in the parks, on the monorail, in the stores......we've all encountered them. The difference being that on a ship, you encounter them again.

 

[disneyholic family]

thanks for that detailed description Kevin!!!

i cannot believe that about the elevators!!!
I've always thought Americans are so polite about elevators (as opposed to where i live )

but it certainly sounds as if they have the allure well organized for such a large ship. It's amazing to think about that many people on a ship and you not really ever feeling it.

i really want to try it out, but i'm thinking it might be best for me to wait to cruise with my family or friends, rather than my sister/mom.
i could get a nice room (crown loft suite) for 7 nights on the allure for the same price as the one bedroom for 4 nights on the Dream.
But it's not the price that's the issue.
There does seem to be more to do for adults on the Allure.
On the other hand, maybe 7 nights is just too much for them.
I think they still might be better off on the Dream. Maybe not as much to do, but maybe what there is to do will be enough for them (as maybe they'll get tired anyway?).

it's all very confusing.

so is there any chance that there will be a podcast 5.0 on the allure/oasis?

..

 

[DisneyKevin]

so is there any chance that there will be a podcast 5.0 on the allure/oasis?

..

You just never know.....

 

[disneyholic family]

You just never know.....

based on your podcast review, it sounds as if it would be exceptionally fun for a large group of (kind of whacko) disers!

 

[Revan]

I just got off the Oasis yesterday and even though the ship was at capacity, I never felt that it was crowded. The first day at sea (second day sailing) we arrived on the pool deck at 9:30 and there were plenty of seats around the pool.

The only lines we saw were at the main dining room right before it opened, we just went into the Champagne bar for a pre-dinner drink to let the crowds get through. The lines for the Zipline and Waveriders did back up on the at sea days.

This cruise had a lot of European and Asian cruisers, which I thought was a little odd for a grade school break week in the US. This may have changed the dynamic around the "busy" areas, we had kids with us and spent a lot of time on the Sports deck, Boardwalk, and pools.

 

[disneyholic family]

I just got off the Oasis yesterday and even though the ship was at capacity, I never felt that it was crowded. The first day at sea (second day sailing) we arrived on the pool deck at 9:30 and there were plenty of seats around the pool.

The only lines we saw were at the main dining room right before it opened, we just went into the Champagne bar for a pre-dinner drink to let the crowds get through. The lines for the Zipline and Waveriders did back up on the at sea days.

This cruise had a lot of European and Asian cruisers, which I thought was a little odd for a grade school break week in the US. This may have changed the dynamic around the "busy" areas, we had kids with us and spent a lot of time on the Sports deck, Boardwalk, and pools.

i've spent the last few hours watching youtube videos of the oasis/allure.
they're from various times of year, but in all of them you see that there are chairs available everywhere - on deck, in the solarium, various places around the ship...it's amazing to me really....i remember wondering about that when i first read about the two ships and how many people they hold...the claim was all the neighborhoods would help spread out the passengers and i didn't believe it...but i guess it does work somehow...

no worries about the lines at the zipline and waveriders.....i have no plans on doing either (or the wall for that matter )

were you on the eastern or western?

 

[DisneyKevin]

The zipline and Flow Rider had lines on sea days.

The day we were in Jamaica, Matt and Kathy waited 10 minutes to zipline (harnessing took longer than the line) and when we went to watch the Flow Rider (3pm ish) there were six people there and they took turns riding every couple minutes.

 

[disneyholic family]

The zipline and Flow Rider had lines on sea days.

The day we were in Jamaica, Matt and Kathy waited 10 minutes to zipline (harnessing took longer than the line) and when we went to watch the Flow Rider (3pm ish) there were six people there and they took turns riding every couple minutes.

i think it was Walter who talked about the zipline in the podcast and his repeated mention of how very high up it is was enough to put any thoughts of it out of my mind. I am deathly afraid of heights. I'm not sure i'd even be able to watch anyone else doing it . But who knows, maybe after a few days i'll come around. I've been known to do things just to prove to myself i'm not really afraid for heights (like hiking along cliffs)...so that's probably more of a maybe...

as for the flow rider - at my age i know my limits.
it does look like a lot of fun - i love water in all forms, but a fall at my age isn't going to end well....and a fall is pretty much guaranteed....but that one i will watch!

 

[Revan]

i've spent the last few hours watching youtube videos of the oasis/allure.
they're from various times of year, but in all of them you see that there are chairs available everywhere - on deck, in the solarium, various places around the ship...it's amazing to me really....i remember wondering about that when i first read about the two ships and how many people they hold...the claim was all the neighborhoods would help spread out the passengers and i didn't believe it...but i guess it does work somehow...

no worries about the lines at the zipline and waveriders.....i have no plans on doing either (or the wall for that matter )

were you on the eastern or western?

We did the western - Labadee, Jamaica and Cozumel. I enjoyed Labadee the best, though it is no Castaway Cay. I didn't really enjoy Cozumel at all, we did the Playa Mia beach break and thought it was run down and dirty - the food was not good. Outside of the port Jamaica is just really sad - we went to Iberostar and though it was nice, the poverty we saw on the trip over really put a damper on the day.

I just listened to the podcast and the gang got it exactly right, the service was top notch - our stateroom attendant was excellent, the ship is incredible and there are some really nice bars. I too though the food in the main dining room was subpar compared to the Disney Dream I went on last year, though we did have some excellent courses - most of the offerings were just OK. Chops was excellent, we even got the Chops Fillet in the main dining room the last night since nothing on the menu was appealing to us.

If I sail again, I will book more speciality dining.

Our favorite bars were Vintages, the Champagne Bar and the outdoor bar in Central Park.

We went with a group of 13, including 6 children ranging from 8 - 14, oddly the kids had much more fun on this cruise than the dream - just more places to explore outside of the clubs.

 

[Sarabi's Cubs]

The "ME FIRST" mentality is the one thing that drives me nuts on cruises. When we were at Easter mass on the Dream, there was actually a family that pushed their way up to the front of the communion line. That is something I had never seen before and was topped only by the woman who asked the ASL team who were signing the Golden Mickeys to move over because she couldn't see - DURING the show WHILE they were signing after she waltzed in right as the show started and sat in an empty seat in the front row. Amazing!

My only bad experience on RCCL a few years back was disembarkation. They had some crazy system where you couldn't exit until they called your color but the common areas of the ship were closed down so we were basically stuck in a stairwell for 2 hours and barely made our flight. Not fun!

Laurie

 

[mattincanberra]

Just thought I would chime in - I was really surprised with the lack of crowds, I was expecting to queue everywhere. As Kevin said above the only real queue was for Starbucks and the Cupcake store (although I have been in longer queues at a regular Starbucks).

I think the key is to use the information provided through the tv's and the directional boards - Windjammers always seemed very busy, but we found that you could get better food with no queue elsewhere.

My biggest tip - Giovvanes Table is open for Lunch on sea days - it's a $15 up charge per person and worth every cent.

Second tip - blue drinks are dangerous

 

[disneyholic family]

We did the western - Labadee, Jamaica and Cozumel. I enjoyed Labadee the best, though it is no Castaway Cay. I didn't really enjoy Cozumel at all, we did the Playa Mia beach break and thought it was run down and dirty - the food was not good. Outside of the port Jamaica is just really sad - we went to Iberostar and though it was nice, the poverty we saw on the trip over really put a damper on the day.

I just listened to the podcast and the gang got it exactly right, the service was top notch - our stateroom attendant was excellent, the ship is incredible and there are some really nice bars. I too though the food in the main dining room was subpar compared to the Disney Dream I went on last year, though we did have some excellent courses - most of the offerings were just OK. Chops was excellent, we even got the Chops Fillet in the main dining room the last night since nothing on the menu was appealing to us.

If I sail again, I will book more speciality dining.

Our favorite bars were Vintages, the Champagne Bar and the outdoor bar in Central Park.

We went with a group of 13, including 6 children ranging from 8 - 14, oddly the kids had much more fun on this cruise than the dream - just more places to explore outside of the clubs.

it's very sad about jamaica and cozumel - i guess it's good they get the cruises in - tourist money certainly must help them, at least a little - though i don't know how much of that money trickles down to the little people...

i think maybe i would like the eastern cruise better...though with the allure/oasis, it seems the ship itself is the destination!

The "ME FIRST" mentality is the one thing that drives me nuts on cruises. When we were at Easter mass on the Dream, there was actually a family that pushed their way up to the front of the communion line. That is something I had never seen before and was topped only by the woman who asked the ASL team who were signing the Golden Mickeys to move over because she couldn't see - DURING the show WHILE they were signing after she waltzed in right as the show started and sat in an empty seat in the front row. Amazing!

My only bad experience on RCCL a few years back was disembarkation. They had some crazy system where you couldn't exit until they called your color but the common areas of the ship were closed down so we were basically stuck in a stairwell for 2 hours and barely made our flight. Not fun!

Laurie

that wins! i don't think anyone can top that one!!! pushing to the front of communion line? that's got to be the worst ever!

Just thought I would chime in - I was really surprised with the lack of crowds, I was expecting to queue everywhere. As Kevin said above the only real queue was for Starbucks and the Cupcake store (although I have been in longer queues at a regular Starbucks).

I think the key is to use the information provided through the tv's and the directional boards - Windjammers always seemed very busy, but we found that you could get better food with no queue elsewhere.

My biggest tip - Giovvanes Table is open for Lunch on sea days - it's a $15 up charge per person and worth every cent.

Second tip - blue drinks are dangerous

sounds like a very intelligent use of technology - technology not just for the sake of technology but to truly improve the onboard experience...

i wonder what the chances are of the big ships ever coming to europe....(so that i might try them out without the great trek across the water)...