kearney

We have sailed on both Allure and Oasis. They are really similar ships in my opinion. However, Allure has "Mama Mia" while Oasis has "CATS". I prefer "Mama Mia". I would pick ship based on departure port and itinerary. I like them both. This class is really worth experiencing. One point though... if you really like to see the ocean, you will need to consider an ocean view cabin of some sort. Unlike, smaller and older Radiance class ship, there are few ocean views from public areas.

Some differences vs. the past:

- No more flaming baked alaska, midnight buffets or chocolate buffets or ice sculptures

- More optional expenses --- drink packages, internet packages, specialty restaurants and options that cost extra in the main dinning room (eg if you want a whole lobster or prime steak.... lobster tails still offered on 2nd formal night on 7 day cruise)

- Can prepay gratuities before sailing

- amazing entertainment options, more spa services, also bigger and better suites

- I consider any meal I don't have to cook a great meal, many complain about the food... but I have never had a bad meal.. given the thousands being served. I am surprised at the overall quality.

Cruise lines are in a no win situation. I see complaints on the NCL board as well as this thread about not getting information quickly. It could be that neither line informed passengers earlier because they just made the decision. If they made a decision early not to head to a port... and a few hours later conditions improved, people would be ticked off that they changed the port too early. Corporate types actually dont sit around trying to figure out how to screw their customers. Not a good business model. As for getting a full refund.. one reason the ticket outlines a policy allowing change is that no business known to be impacted by weather would survive. Unlike an airline the ship has been loaded with perishable provisions and a huge crew which has to be paid regardless of whether they go to port A or not.

If changes like this really bother you, you might consider staying at a resort of some sort during non hurricane season. But even then there is the possibility of having a week of rain.

The most memorable trips I have taken are the ones that did not go perfectly. Those are the trips I remember. Somehow I still had fun and brought back great stories. My advise is to take a class in meditation and then when things happen... practice some of those techniques to help lower your blood pressure and help improve your outlook... all you can really do.

Inside or outside? I love chops but I always felt crowded inside on Liberty and Enchantment. Our anniversary is the first night and DW loves to eat outside. We have dinner schedule for 8pm.

I was talking about inside... but outside could work.

I prefer Giovanni's. Chops atmosphere was much more hectic and while service was very good our food was ready so quickly we felt rushed. Also it was so noisy it was easier to converse with the people sitting next to us than with each other. If you get a dinner package (I am not sure what ships offer these) but you might try 150 Central Park (if you are on Oasis class). Very nice atmosphere and service ... quieter, although I like the menu in Giovanni's better

Hi! So I haven't really sailed since before the whole ala carte pricing became popular on Royal. They now have beverage packages, internet packages and purchasing specialty restaurants before boarding. I'm trying to figure out what is worth the $$.

 

So I drink on cruises but mostly wine. My fiancé will be for sure having beer. Do those that drink moderately - heavy on board feel like the package is worth the money? Also I used to just buy a cruising package through Verizon. Is the internet package they offer reliable? Worth the $$?

 

Also I've never been on a ship with a Giovannis. I've done Chops and Portofino. My fiancé is a huge steak guy so I'm pre booking Chops. What does cruise critic think of Giovannis? Thank you all for your input!!!

On our recent Allure cruise we took part in one of their dinner packages... specifically 4 dinner package. The way this works is that you get a discounted price on the package, but you must agree to do one of the meals on day one or two of the cruise. Also you do not know what restaurant you get until you get on board. Once on board you schedule your meals. If I do this again I would probably go with a 3 night package and instead of signing up for dinner night one.. I would schedule the dinner for day two. Then when I get on board I would look for a deal for the first night. A couple we ran into were offered $30 for both of them at Chops on night one. You will find the waiters wandering around the prominade trying to sell you restaurants... I think this is a better deal for day one.

It appears that the breakeven point on the drink package is about 4 drinks a day. If you are looking at beer only it is probably a lot higher. I would bring the two 750ml bottles of wine that you are allowed to bring on board when you board and then purchase drinks separately. We are diamond, so we usually go to the diamond lounge during happy hour and have a few cocktails before dinner and then purchase a glass at dinner. We also bring a nice bottle of wine or two and bring them to the dining room. They do not charge for opening the wine, but I usually tip extra for it.

If you are willing to share you might consider getting internet for one device and then share it. You will have to have one device log off before the other one can log on, but do you both need to be on the internet at the same time?

Giovanni's is my favorite specialty restaurant.. then 150 Central Park. Giovanni has a more interesting menu to me, but the atmosphere in 150 is more romantic. If you get the dinner package you can go most(but not all) of their specialty restaurants, so I would suggest trying 150, if you purchase the package. By the way you can always order a Chops steak in the main dinning room. In the main dinning room they have several extra cost items (eg steak and lobster). As I understand it the steak is from Chops... probably prime... and they cook it in the kitchen for the main dinning room. That will cost less than going to Chops. Also you can get a whole lobster for a relatively modest add on...also in the dinning room. Remember on most 7 day cruises they serve lobster tails (not whole lobster) on the second formal night. It will be called the Fishermans platter. have fun

While I prefer the menu in Giovanni's, I found 150 Central Park to be more romantic. At Giovanni odds are that you will be seated at a row of party of two tables... The way this is set up it is easier to talk to the person next to you than your spouse. 150 Central park had tables that were more private. The menu is great, but I have a preference for Italian.....

We also tried Chops... the tables seemed even closer together there... and it was kind of loud... hard to hear anyone. Of course I have old ears :)

When I read some of the posts, I can not help but think of Sheldon Cooper (Big Bang Theory).... "is this sarcasm".

Anyway, we were on Oasis last October and on Allure a few weeks ago. Honestly I saw very little difference in the appearance of the two ships... both seem contemporary and in good shape. I suspect cabin condition depends upon the passengers that have occupied them over the years. Some people are harder on cabins than others.

I did not really study the staff, but I will say that the cabin attendant we had on Allure was probably the best one we have ever had. She anticipated our needs in a way that most have not. EG she noticed that we had brought wine on board, and made sure we had glasses and an opener... later she noticed the number on our tags was for a late departure and asked if we would like an earlier departure tag. There wasn't a time I went to the cabin that she was not nearby. I have been on cruises where we almost never saw the attendant.... or at least rarely saw them.

We were on the Oasis sailing where a passenger smashed up the cabin and later jumped. So I suspect that cabin looked a bit rough. The only issue I noted in our cabin were small holes in the curtains that allowed light in the room. No biggy but I did notice this.

Now we are not picky people having sailed on the US Constitution and Norway (formerly the France). Ships that a few years later were hauled away for scrap. But despite their lack of modern features were truly elegant ships and you knew you were at sea... sometimes more than you might like.... when in rough seas.

I would not worry about the ship, it is just a fabulous experience. Have fun

We have cruised on a number of RCCL ships. I like the Radiance class for itineraries, like Alaska, where the views are a key part of the trip. In this smaller class ship you can see the outside from all around the ship. But the caribbean's views are not that dramatic so the Oasis class works for me there... provided I have an ocean view balcony cabin.

My husband is not as mobile as I would like, so we usually get a cabin near the aft elevator. The reason is that it is an easy ride to the boardwalk, central park, prominade and various bars and the main dinning room.

For a ship as large as it is, the neighborhood design helps to spread out passengers, so it does not feel crowded. The ship has more and larger elevators than the Freedom class, which also helps move people.

When I book directly with RCCL I tend to locate the Cruise Compass for a similar itinerary to get an idea on what is going on... and use the company website to get an idea on when the shows will start. I first make dinner plans and then when shows are available for reserving I then make those reservations. I too prefer not to have to plan out everything, and often make changes on the fly. I am told that except for the Comedy club which is quite small... that you can often get into the shows without reservations... so I am not sure how important it is to reserve in advance. But I now find that it is fun to layout the cruise in advance...

The shows on Oasis and all RCCL ships is great. I will say that I did not enjoy CATS. I think that you have to sit close to the stage to get into the story. It just did not work for me. The cast was great, as were the sets, costumes etc. It is just with the exception of one or two songs... it just was not that memorable (pun not intended).

I have only been on two NCL cruises. Alas we got the noro virus on the last. I dont blame the cruise line, but well it does impact my perceptions regardless. I also felt that there were too many extras. Although since then RCCL has done the same.

My husband and I are Diamond, this means that we get three cocktails/day ....more if you go to the Diamond lounge. This is enough for up... we can always purchase an extra glass of wine or two if we want to.... I understand you need to drink 4 cocktails to breakeven on the package... just too much for me.

Don't miss the ice show, Quest and the marriage show are great too, and are rebroadcast on the ships TV. It is a lot of fun and worth going to once. If the weather is off, you might try going to one of their art actions... just to experience it. I have never purchased anything, but it was fun to do once. The headliners are usually good as well. The last cruise on Allure they had a great jazz quartet that performed at various events.

Don't forget to check out the front of the ship, the Solarium area and the spa.... at least take a tour. The gym can get busy, but worth dropping by on day one to see if you want use it.

I really like the Oasis class ship. I do hope that in future designs they add more ocean view areas like bars/restaurants etc. On the Radiance class you can see the ocean while standing at the main elevators and from various restaurants, bars etc.

Have a good cruise regardless of what ship/line you select

The Majesty just does 3 & 4 night cruises. Those are party cruises. What did you expect?

You know, we have done about 19 cruises, most on RCCL but also other lines. We mostly do 7 day cruises and only once did a three day cruise over the Memorial Day weekend. It was one of our first cruises, so I really did not think of how a short holiday cruise might be different than a 7 day cruise. Looking back it was one of our more interesting cruises... with a lot of different types of people. We had the college party kids, an insurance company cruise complete with the corporate suck up who kept trying to chat up the head guy and assorted odd characters.... there were two guys I swear were mob hit men... one looked like the evil guy in the movie Ghost who gets taken away by to shadow figures. The people were so interesting I actually started writing down character details I thought I could use in a book. Now I am not a writer but I really found so many different and interesting people. Since then the passengers have not been nearly as fascinating. Not to say that they aren't nice, just that I have seen no mob hitmen types since :)

nice to know.... hopefully it was a boat that broke free from harbor during the storm and not a case of losing crew during the storm.

I traveled to Europe alone at 16, flew from DC to Luxemburg... found my way to train station and took the train to the Netherlands were I stayed with grandparents for several weeks. When I was 20 my sister and I would go drinking in DC and stay out late and go to after hours parties. Walked down dark streets in Georgetown at 2am. I look back at that now and realize how lucky I was.

Things have changed, I did not have to worry about drugs being slipped into my drink. Perhaps I should have, but I think I had a guardian angel who kept me from serious harm.

I think Jamaica is just too dangerous. The other places less so, but I would still be hesitant to let them go off on their own. It is a difficult balance... people have to learn to take care of themselves and they will never learn... but are these the places to do that?

Because people do not know where Cruise Critic News is and as members, we should be nice and answer questions over and over. But, in his defense, it can get frustrating.

Thank you I learned something from this post. I stumbled across the message boards trying to learn more. I think some people have been on CC so long that they forget some people are not as familiar with the site.

Thanks

It has been a few years, but last time I was in Jamaica they had bill boards warning about kidnapping. I don't like to wander around there. It really depends upon how well you know your girls. But I would not allow them to wander alone anywhere but Grand Cayman. You hear a lot about gang crimes in parts of Mexico... even well know tourist areas. I am not sure if the areas you mentioned are areas of concern. Now a tour run through RCCL might be safer, since at least you know that they will hold the ship if late, but there is just too many things that can happen if they go out alone. I can't help but recall that girl that disappeared in Aruba.

glad i saw this post. i have sailed on carnival exclusively for the last few years and am going on royal for the first time since i was diagnosed with sleep apnea in a few months. i have always brought a power strip/extension cord on board to be able to extend the cpap cord to the desk, but this prompted me to check out royal's site to see how to handle that on my upcoming trip.

 

for anyone else with a cpap, you can go to the special needs page on rccl's site where there's an option for "bringing cpap on board." if you click that and submit the form, it states that they will provide you with distilled water and an extension cord, which is great!

I had to make a call to Royal for some reason, cant recall why, but while on the phone the customer service rep asked if there was anything else she could help me with and she went ahead and made a special notation about the CPAP. When we got on board our attendant noted that the Oasis class has an outlet just under the bed.. so this worked out well. Better than having one laying across the floor. But older ships dont have this feature.

Wow, so clueless! It's not all about the cruise line passengers, there is the matter of the jobs for those Haitians who depend on the money spent by passengers...so you think a double hit of the hurricane to devastate them and then their only source of income to leave would be the thing to do?!....off soap box.

When your store is on fire, you first concentrate on putting out the fire... then helping the customers. The question is do you wait until search and recovery has ended or show up with thousands of passengers while the Haitians are still trying to locate family members. At this point the major bridge is gone.. and that is a solid structure not a hut. So I think the poster's point was about the Haitians facing likely serious results of a cat 4. If RCCL can provide needed provisions great. But I think the poster was genuinely concerned about the lives of those there... not clueless at all.

You seem so young to be limiting yourself to 5 star experiences. I am an old fart. Years ago when planning a trip to Bermuda we decided to forgo a hotel and instead stay at a bed and breakfast. Frankly high end hotels are so insulated from life around you. I will always remember the experience in Bermuda. If you have ever seen the BBC program "Faulty Towers", well that was this hotel. I still smile just thinking about the proprietor and her helper and the great guests. I have traveled throughout Europe for work staying at some of the best places, but what I remember and treasure are these experiences where nothing was perfect... and well that made it perfect. So I hope in addition to staying at fabulous hotels and restaurants... you experiment more. As you get older it is harder to take a risk and you will naturally settle into a pattern that you are comfortable with.

Back to the question at hand. If you really want the 5 star experience, I would suggest one of the luxury cruise liners. These ships are more tailored for the type of experience you are used to. RCCL tries to appeal a broad range of passenger interests, and sometimes this means missing the mark on occasion for some. Best wishes

I wondered about the revised itinerary as well. I am not sure that after being hit by a cat 4 storm that either place will be in the position to take on 5500 passengers. I suspect they will at the very least be considerable clean up.... hopefully nothing worse.

I see that there are several RCCL ships that will be in Key West, so that is probably out... assuming a ship as large as Allure can be docked there. I wonder if they will end up with more days at sea... with perhaps a Nassau stop... assuming it misses them.

I just hope this thing weakens soon, this is the last thing Haiti and Jamaica need...

Sorry this happened. ...just curious though. I can think of at least 4 outlets in the cabin. How many things do you need plugged in at any one given time? :confused:

One problem is for people who use CPAPs. This often requires an extension cord of some type to get from desk area to bed. On our recent trip on Allure we found out that there is another outlet that was just under the bed. Actually we had no idea until recently that there was this ban. If you need to use a CPAP on other ships, if you contact attendant they will provide what ever you need. I think they are concerned about poor quality devices that could lead to a fire. I do find it interesting that they allow hot rollers, but not irons. I guess they don't want a lot of angry women like me on formal night :)

I wonder if they will be able to keep the Allure schedule. If the storm is cat 4 hitting Jamaica and Haiti, I wonder if the port will be in good shape for docking. Suspect the people living there will be dealing with more pressing issues than servicing visitors. Key West looks full and not sure Allure could even dock there. They may end up with more days at sea instead of in port.

Prayers for those in the path of this massive storm.

Great insights - we haven't been on Oasis yet - and haven't been out of Tampa either. I think any 4-5 day cruise might have the demographic where Drinking might be out of hand potentially. longer cruises not during spring break on either line are more relaxing.

Betty

I had not considered that. The Brilliance trip we took was the last sailing before the ship headed to Europe. I did not notice it being a party boat. Now we are diamond so we were in the Diamond lounge a lot and did not hang out by the pool so we might have missed that. One interesting observation on this trip was that the diamond lounge was filled with Europeans. Turns out many of them lived in Florida during the winter and did the crossing and our cruise... in the spring. It was cheaper than flying home for the summer and fall. Now that is the life. While I really like the Oasis class, I miss the Viking lounge and its panoramic views. Really enjoy spending time there. On Oasis we tended to either sit on our balcony or in the diamond lounge with its limited ocean view. I am not a sun person, so the pool and solarium were not places we hung out at. As I say my only negative comments about Oasis is lack of ocean views from public areas like bars and restaurants...

The bridge in the Tampa port limits the size ships that can go out of Tampa. The destinations I believe are more limited... eg Key West (which I love) and Cozumel. As I recall they stop sailing out of Tampa sometime in April... and the ship moves. This may not be the case in 2017. We had a very nice 5 day cruise on Brilliance. I love this class ship.

Next year Oasis will go out of Port C. I have not sailed out of there for quite a while, but the Oasis Class ship is something to experience. Despite its size it does not feel as large as it is. We prefer an ocean view balcony cabin, but I would love to try one of the inside balcony cabins just to see what it is like. Central park area seems like it would be more quiet than the boardwalk section of the ship.

something to consider. The Radiance class ship... like Brilliance has a lot of ocean views throughout the public parts of the ship. On the Oasis class ships, if an ocean view is important you really are going to be happier with an ocean view cabin, because there are limited ocean views in the public areas. One of the limitations of this class.

I loved departing from Tampa. At the time my husband was recovering from knee surgery and when I pulled up to drop off luggage they had valet service. I am very cheap, but decided to try this. It was a bit more expensive, but when we arrived back in Tampa we had our car very quickly... turns out we could see it from the ship.

Both the Radiance class ship and Oasis class have their pluses. One thing I really liked about sailing out of Tampa, was that on the first night we had dinner at Portofino's... a specialty restaurant... we were one of perhaps six couples in the restaurant...and we ate as the sun went down as we watched the ship slowly sale out of the large Tampa bay. Alas there is no such view in the speciatly restaurants on Oasis

We have booked Oasis and want to get some good opinions, ideas, tips, etc. about the dining. What specialty restaurants are your favorite? Do you know the prices of them individually? If you had to choose one, which would it be? Thanks in advance!

We sailed on Allure back in early Sept. We signed up for a 4 night specialty package at $90/person. A few observations: first of all any mean I don't have to cook is a good one, so I am not as critical as other posters. While I love a good steak, I felt that Chops was more rushed that I would have liked. Since the menu is limited, I blame this on the meal being ready sooner that I was prepared. The staff did not rush us... it is just that the food was ready very quickly. We chose to eat twice a Giovanni, I felt the menu had a wider selection that interested me. 150 Central park had the best atmosphere, but the menu was a bit less interesting... why we ate their once instead of twice.

If I were to do this again, I would probably either 1) go with a three night package and have my first meal on the second night. Then when I got on board I would see if I could get a really good deal for the first night. One couple did Chops night one for $30/two. 2) The other idea is that instead of eating at speciatly restaurant... on nights where the dinning room menu is not interesting... go ahead and order a full lobster for an additional fee or a nice steak.... as I understand it the extra charge steaks in the dinning room are actually from chops, probably a prime vs choose steak... they prepare it in the dinning room kitchen, but a better cut of beef... hence the extra charge.

We brought two nice bottles of red wine which we brought along to the specialty restaurant. They did not charge a corking fee, but we did add extra tip for this service. I have not tried the samba grill or other specialty options. On Oasis we did go to the Solarium bistro. One thing I miss on Oasis class ships... is being able to dine as the sun goes down with a nice view. The Solarium Bistro and Samba Grill would give you that option. Might be a nice option on night 1, since these restaurants tend to be quiet on night one... just a thought

I tried to make sense of their deals, but noticed that sometimes the gross price changed making the discount meaningless. I have found myself setting up a spreadsheet and attempting to track prices over time to determine a good price. After doing that a while I have found that the best idea is to set your own optimal price for specific class of cabin on a specific class of ship and if the pricing is within that range it is a good deal. I recently booked on board for the first time, the price was a bit higher than what I had booked for the cruise, but I thought I would track prices and ask the cruiseline to match if I found a better deal. So far they have generally been higher. Today was different at it would save me about $35 on cost of cruise, but not sure what happens to the onboard credit..... so I will hold off a while and see if I get a better deal closer to full payment date.

Generally the best pricing I have gotten has been when the cruise is about 2-3 weeks out.. But I like the whole looking forward thing.

I am curious, but the pricing for a balcony cabin on an Oasis class ship seems a bit better than on smaller ships, I assume that this is because of the margins being better on the larger ship. Another observation is that cruises around 9/11 seem better, I assume people would rather not fly... great for those driving to port

We have sailed in rough weather before being essentially chased by hurricane Denis a number of years ago. Cruise ship captains will do everything that they can to provide a safe and enjoyable experience. However, a borderline Cat 5 storm is not your typical hurricane and I am wondering just how well any captain can avoid some the the strong wave action that they are likely to encounter. Since OP is not a frequent cruiser, I would hate for you to have a bad experience which would turn you off to future cruises... I would seriously look at your travel insurance policy to see if there is a way to postpone this cruise to another time. If you do stay on the ship, you might investigate securing a cabin that is central and low... to minimize motion. That might at least make the trip more comfortable should you hit high waves.

Just RIDICULOUS. I have posted many times that I am not a smoker and smoke does not and never will bother me. I grew up with it. (dad). We always had it in:

Restaurants, bars, grocery stores, movie theater's, airlines, buses, EVERYWHERE. Now...you cannot smoke anywhere and I see people outside in snow storms having a cigarette.

 

When people are in the SMOKING SECTION and one has a problem with it..GET OUT..GO AWAY. Don't wave your hand back and forth in front of your face....don't cover your nose with your hands....don't give dirty looks...etc. Smokers have had all their rights pretty much taken away from them and non smokers will NEVER be happy.

 

While I am on a rant...I as so sick of the smoking threads. I don't know what they accomplish other than people complaining about it and saying the same things over and over and over again.

If you don't like the thread, don't read it.... if you don't like smoking in the smoking section leave. However, I dont like dealing with smoke in my room. Had that problem last cruise and frankly I just kept the door shut, I did not want to accuse someone without proof and I did not want to invade their space by looking around the barrier.... now that I know the rules more clearly... I wont be that forgiving in the future.