I had read all the reviews on the Oasis ahead our our trip, and was skeptical that any ship could live up to the "hype" that I was reading. We have been on several RCL and Celebrity cruises in the past, and have enjoyed each one. However, it was hard for me to believe that this ship could be so different.

Embarkation was a breeze. We were on the ship and eating lunch at the Park Cafe within 20 minutes once they started boarding. That was good advice that I'd learned from prior reviews... skip the uber crowded Windjammer on the first meal and go directly to the Park Cafe for a salad and roast beef sandwich. We went straight from lunch to the zip-line, which had no line whatsoever. Soon our 12 year old son was on the Flow Rider having a blast.

I won't try to repeat what everyone else has been saying. We made our reservations for my time dining in advance as well as all of the shows. That was the advance planning. We went right into each show with no hesitation and had great seats. I'd seen plenty of cruise ship shows before, and could typically take or leave them. On this ship, we didn't miss any - and were blown away by almost all of them. Hairspray and Come Fly Away were both broadway quality in our opinion, far exceeding anything we'd ever seen before on a ship, both in terms of set and performance. The headliner was Mo5aic, a tremendous group that we had previously enjoyed on America's Got Talent. The Comedy show was better than any I had seen aground. Usually there's one funny comedian, and you suffer through the others. These guys were all hilarious, and had a great rapport with the audience. Read more