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I booked this cruise when the ship was still empty so I had my pick of cabin. I spent a lot of time trying to find the best cabin. We had three members of our family on this cruise and usually do forward facing ocean view staterooms but on the Oasis the only ones that accommodated three or four were in the bowels of the ship. As a result we had to go for a balcony.
Condition:
The cabin was new but showed evidence of heavy wear. Their were some stains on the couch and some clothing size stickers stuck to places like the TV. It looked like it was probably a kids cabin during a previous sailing.
Layout:
It was a fairly typical cabin layout. It has the new interlocking design but unless your looking for it you probably wouldn't realize it. Many people prefer the bed near the balcony as it can be tight to get past but I preferred this cabins layout with the bed near the bathroom. It allowed for the seating area to have an ocean view and feel more connected to the balcony area. It certainly led to me using the balcony more as a result of sitting right their vs being all the way across the cabin divided by a bed.
Location:
I loved this location! I spent a lot of time looking for the perfect spot and this seemed to be it. The cabin is situated that it is the first balcony but has one above so their is no worry of people looking down (the balconies don't start in an even column). Located on deck 9 is nothing. That means that their are no unnecessary crowds in the lobbies or people walking around the deck who are not sleeping their, but your only one deck up from Central Park for easy access to the whole ship. This is the only deck (outside the Loft Suites) that is entirely cabins on the ship.
Noise:
Nothing. Their are no activity areas anywhere near the cabin to cause noise and we never ever heard any noise from our neighbors. The only noise complaint would be from the balcony door which did have a bit of a wind whistle if closed but not locked.
Wind:
It was the first balcony but it really did not have and more of a wind issue that other cabins. I have to take a 1/2 star off for the wind noise in the cabin though.
View:
Great view. My favorite part of having a forward facing cabin is seeing where we are going. Having the first balcony allowed us to lean out and look past the forward balcony divider to see all the way around the front of the ship as well as all the way toward the stern as any balcony offers.
Balcony:
The balcony was nice and had two tables with a high table. This was a nice touch verse the coffee tables that most balconies feature. I spent many nights sitting out their with my laptop looking over the days videos and pictures.
Privacy:
No issues that would not be on other balconies and then less. Their is only one neighbor instead of two so that's fewer people to worry about looking around the divider. No balcony can avoid that issue but this at least cuts the chances in half.
