Are the RC newer, larger ships too overwhelming?

[luv2sleep]

I have a child with pretty severe social anxiety. He goes to a special school because of this. I am looking at the Harmony OTS ship. Even to me it looks anxiety provoking. So huge compared to a Disney ship! So much to do! So many places to eat! How do you all even decide what to do every day? Is going on this ship a mistake? I am worried it will overwhelm him so much that he won't want to leave the room. Even on the DCL Magic and Wonder he struggles with the numbers of people everywhere and those ships are much cozier. Thoughts? Thanks!!!!

 

[Mpadovani2]

I had similar concerns about the number of people before our October cruise on Oasis. I had sailed every other class on RCL many times. I found the Oasis to be magnificent. The neighborhood concept spreads people out nicely and I have found them to be much less crowded than any Disney ship. And the number of pools make it less human soup than any Disney ship. The nice thing about Oasis is you can do anything you want each day without much crowd. I might avoid the royal Promenade during busy events and hours as it can be a little overwhelming. Other than that you can stroll through Central Park or visit the boardwalk and mostly feel like you are the only one onboard. I wouldn’t hesitate in the least. The other class I might recommend is the Radiance class. Again, sometimes feel like you are the only one on board.

 

[DisMommyTX]

We are going on and Oasis-class ship for the first time this summer, and I can't wait! In 20 cruises I have never seen anything as anxiety-inducing as the pools on the DCL Magic. We have found that the number of passengers and size of the ship are not as important as the layout and flow. My kids don't usually like the kid's clubs, so we are looking forward to trying lots of the different family activities together on the Oasis. I am also stressing about planning the dinners and shows, but we have scheduled early dining as a fall-back.

We usually look at the daily planner each evening and mark the things we MIGHT be interested in doing the next day. Each person chooses one thing they want to do most--maybe a show or the water slide or a specific meal/restaurant. Then throughout the day we DO NOT try to do everything happening onboard. As the day goes on, we decide what we want to do based on timing of our top picks but really just relax and play it by ear. If we don't get to something one day, it becomes a higher priority the next day.

DS also has anxiety and special needs and prefers to avoid loud crowds. It's great if you can decide major things you DON'T want to do and head to a different part of the ship at that time. The pools are empty during the major shows, and trivia/game shows are fun during the mega deck party. Specialty restaurants are much more relaxed at 5:30 than 7:30 and room service beats the buffet for breakfast any day. We have 2 adults and 2 kids, so DH often brings food back to the cabin for the ones who don't feel like facing the crowds. Even movies by the pool or doing a puzzle in the library can be great ways to relax. A favorite vacation memory is sitting on an open side deck reading and pointing out dolphins to DS playing on his ipad next to me. Bigger ships have more options, but you shouldn't feel like you have to do it all.

 

[OKgirl]

We have sailed on Oasis and Harmony (just off harmony 12/23/17) and love the flow of these larger ships. There is so much to do that the pools and pool decks never seemed as crowded as they do on other ships we have sailed. My family often split up because kids wanted to do different things. (on afternoon, DD 5 would want to go to kids club, DS 10 would want to go see the new Planet of the Apes movie in 3D, and DS 12 wanted to do Abyss slide and hang out watching movies in the room). I felt that there is so much to do for different tastes/ages that the crowd spreads out throughout the ship. Sometimes I would take DD5 to the Boardwalk for face painting and carousel rides and other times the boys and I would watch a movie under the stars (new Spider Man movie and new Pirates of the Caribbean movie). My husband and I did Chef's table one night which was a great experience! I also like the variety of rooms available (We've fallen in love with the junior suites...) I think I'm in love with the larger ships now (and my kids are too!)

 

[nkereina]

We did Oasis last April and I agree that the size of the ship helps to spread the people out. We found crowds to be most noticeable during peak meal times at the buffet, trying to exit the gangway when first arriving in port, and also boarding/leaving the ship. But once on the ship, there were plenty of places to escape the crowds.

I'm a big planner to begin with but felt I needed to do a lot of planning prior to our cruise in order to maximize our time and take advantage of all the options. It was a bit like Tetris, trying to fit in everything based on show times and available reservation times. But it all worked out and I think we saw everything we wanted to and ate everywhere we wanted to. Very much enjoyed it!

 

[keishashadow]

We are going on and Oasis-class ship for the first time this summer, and I can't wait! In 20 cruises I have never seen anything as anxiety-inducing as the pools on the DCL Magic. We have found that the number of passengers and size of the ship are not as important as the layout and flow. My kids don't usually like the kid's clubs, so we are looking forward to trying lots of the different family activities together on the Oasis. I am also stressing about planning the dinners and shows, but we have scheduled early dining as a fall-back.

We usually look at the daily planner each evening and mark the things we MIGHT be interested in doing the next day. Each person chooses one thing they want to do most--maybe a show or the water slide or a specific meal/restaurant. Then throughout the day we DO NOT try to do everything happening onboard. As the day goes on, we decide what we want to do based on timing of our top picks but really just relax and play it by ear. If we don't get to something one day, it becomes a higher priority the next day.

DS also has anxiety and special needs and prefers to avoid loud crowds. It's great if you can decide major things you DON'T want to do and head to a different part of the ship at that time. The pools are empty during the major shows, and trivia/game shows are fun during the mega deck party. Specialty restaurants are much more relaxed at 5:30 than 7:30 and room service beats the buffet for breakfast any day. We have 2 adults and 2 kids, so DH often brings food back to the cabin for the ones who don't feel like facing the crowds. Even movies by the pool or doing a puzzle in the library can be great ways to relax. A favorite vacation memory is sitting on an open side deck reading and pointing out dolphins to DS playing on his ipad next to me. Bigger ships have more options, but you shouldn't feel like you have to do it all.

Always employed the daily planner strategy you suggest on past cruises. It's a cruise, want to relax sort of mentality

We too are on our first Oasis sailing in the Spring. it struck me that on a large ship where you are able/encouraged to book shows in advance, that would put the Kabosh on being spontaneous as to headliners.

Have read many posts on other boards with many disappointed cruisers who waited in standby lines and never were able to enjoy them.

I'd rather have the shows booked, will cancel & try to readjust if for some reason we cannot get it together on any given day.

Same thing with anytime dining. I reserve a time slot, even on formal nights find there can be a degree of flexibility if you contact them same day.