Oasis vs Allure - Review

[jszarmach]

My wife, 3 year old, and I went on the Oasis of the Seas on January 20, 2011 on the “western Caribbean” tour, and again on the Allure of the Seas on March 22, 2011 on the eastern Caribbean – almost 60 days apart.

 

Here is our review/comments on which was better…

 

Pre-cruise show booking winner: Oasis. From our understanding, each cruise director chooses shows, and show times. We found that the show times offered on the Oasis were more convenient. In addition, getting seats for the shows we wanted was much easier on the Oasis. For us, it seemed that the Allure was like an amusement park that allowed in more guests than the rides would accommodate – like getting into Disney World, but the lines were too long for the rides. This could be due though to the fact that the Allure is newer and has more passenger interest however. But for whatever reason, on the Oasis, we got the shows we wanted at the times we wanted – and they all seemed to jive with our port and sea days. The Allure did not make full advantage of sea days.

 

Welcome aboard! winner: Oasis. Shortly after boarding, we were greeted with a parade on the Royal Promenade deck by employees from each department – which we thought was great. We did not get the same parade when we first boarded the Allure, but I should say they had a parade at a later day/time.

 

Cruise Director winner: Oasis. The cruise director (Allan Brooks) on the Allure was mildly entertaining at best and is simply not in the same league as Richard Spacey on the Oasis who is a natural talent. Richard is everywhere, where Allan is not (sometimes only seen on video and not in person!). Richard Spacey is so entertaining, I would go so far as to book a cruise solely on his presence or not – even if it were on a smaller ship. He is that good. If you are lucky enough to sail with him, take the effort to find out where he will be at all times.

 

Main Dining Room Food: Oasis was the winner by far. Though the food is theoretically the same, we liked every entrée on the Oasis. In contrast, we hated almost every entrée on the Allure. For example, in our opinion, the “Surf and turf” (filet and shrimp) should be renamed to “Roast beef and shrimp” since the quality was so poor (Allure). We took two bites, and sent it back to the kitchen with a request for the chef to consider another profession. Deserts were same quality on both (good). I’m sorry to say the Windjammer has better entrees than the main dining room on the Allure in my opinion.

 

Guest Services winner: Oasis. The first thing we did when we boarded on both ships was visit Guest Services to arrange for in-room babysitting for very specific dates and times. On the Allure however, despite the assurances by the Guest Services representative, when the day came, they had no record of our request for a sitter. We again went over the schedule, and on the second scheduled day, they had the incorrect times.

 

At one point, we received an email on the in-room TV/computer stating that our excursion “was cancelled due to lack of other participants.” We learned later (too late) at the reservation desk that the email was sent out “in error” and that our excursion had not been cancelled. No email was sent the day prior however to indicate the previous email was in error. To make matters worse, it took 3 attempts to get a refund which was not something I wanted spend time on when I was supposed to be relaxing. Overall, the guest services on the Allure were not as polite or good.

 

Stateroom (overall): Winner – Oasis. Upon arrival on the Allure, we noticed the spell of raw sewage in our room and in the hallway. When we asked our stateroom attendant, he said it was likely because of the rougher seas which had stirred up the ship. About 4 days into the cruise, I found a maintenance man in the hallway working in a closet. When questioned, he admitted he was looking for a sewage vent leak and said he found it. In addition, our stateroom TV/ship’s computer had issues and was not ready for prime time. Guest services admitted it was not reliable (for example, I couldn’t create a Wifi account). Our stateroom’s door lock was “binding up” and it took many attempts to open the door. Maintenance had to be called. One of our dresser drawers fell apart (along with ball bearings) and had to be repaired. Somehow, when we checked it after it was repaired, we found a pair of dirty men’s underwear and undershirt in the drawer (not mine). We removed the underwear using a clothes hanger and called for a hazmat team (guest services) and were told it likely got “hung up” in the dresser when a previous guest “over-packed” the drawer. Our 14th floor room balcony in Central Park on the Allure was unusable due to sound of air from equipment (A/C air handlers and ducts?) and we spent a total of about 15 minutes one morning eating breakfast but no more. It was a complete waste of money to have a balcony. Our 11th floor room on the Oasis in the area of the Boardwalk was fine.

 

The Oasis did NOT show its age and the rooms were equally good. There is no benefit to choosing the Allure “because it is newer” (in my opinion). In addition, it seems they may have spent less on decorating common areas on the Allure -- like they were running short of money or time. For example, on the underside of the aft area near the Zip Line (high above the Boardwalk), the Oasis has a cool sculpture of a person hang gliding from the underside. On the Allure, the underside of this area is decorated with cheap looking circles that look like they were extras from a Target store. The Oasis seams more complete and coordinated in terms of its artwork and décor – though many places are similar on both ships.

 

Head Waiter winner: Oasis. We didn’t see the head waiter on the Allure until the 3rd or 4th day. This may have been because we were seated so far from the main dining room. The head waiter (Daniel) on the Oasis however took the effort at dinner, but also took the time to find us in the Windjammer for breakfast to make sure our 3 year old had what she wanted! Most times he already KNEW what she wanted and made sure she had it! The head waiter in the Allure didn’t go above and beyond.

 

Waiter: Equally very good on both.

 

Assistant Waiter: Equally good on both.

 

150 Central Park (Restaurant): Equally good on both ships. Chef came out to meet us on the Allure however. The chef did not come out on the Oasis.

 

Windjammer: Equally good on both ships.

 

Schooner’s piano player winner: Oasis. The piano player on the Oasis was a much better player and singer. The piano player on the Allure didn’t have a great voice but his comedic skills were better. He had A.D.D. though, and couldn’t keep to one song all the way through. It was annoying and did not make for a romantic visit.

 

Adventure Ocean winner: Oasis. Better activities were scheduled on the Oasis. On the Allure, there was a boy who threatened to “crack open the skull” of my 3 year old girl. They called us to come pick her up instead of asking her what happened. When I questioned staff about the incident, they said they had to speak with the boy’s parents several times and that this wasn’t an isolated incident. We had no such problems on the Oasis.

 

Cabin Attendants: Equally good.

 

Captain: Equally good.

 

Shows: Equally good (mostly). Hairspray and Chicago were equally good, though the actress playing Roxie Hart had a weak voice in my opinion. The Oasis orchestra/band was better. High diving during the Aqua Theater shows on the Oasis were better though the “circus ring leader” on the Allure added a little fun (so draw there). Did I mention the show schedules on the Oasis were better?

 

Elevators: No winner. Be prepared to wait around for elevators, especially for dinner.

 

Other stuff…

 

On the early morning of a shore day at 4:40 am on the Allure, Guest Services made a SHIP WIDE (in cabin) announcement for two boys who had presumably snuck out of their staterooms. Considering kids more than likely sneak out every night, we thought it was totally unreasonable to wake up the entire ship at 4:40 AM. The Captain made no apology or explanation the next day. Due to rough seas, the sewage smell, PLUS the announcement, we had a poor night sleep and it ruined our day. Thumbs down to the Allure.

 

The Nassau Bahama stop is almost worthless with the 1:30pm departure time. There is simply not a lot of time before you have to head back to the ship. We decided not to spend money on an excursion and the “free” tour of Atlantis only offers access only to places where you will drop money: mainly the casino and shops. Only your wallet is welcome. The rest of Atlantis is off limits and out of sight. To make matters worse, since it is a shortened stop, everyone arrives back at the ship at the same time and the lines are long for the desperate and frantic efforts to confiscate alcohol before re-boarding.

 

On the Oasis, we were seated in the main dining room within sight of the chandelier. On the Allure, we were seated around the corner and foreword -- in a seating area that becomes a specialty restaurant during other times. We were so far removed from the “real” dining room that we could not hear the live music, see the chandelier, and the view was more like that of an average restaurant or good diner. We were on the largest ship in the world and had one of the smallest dining rooms – land or sea.

 

In my opinion, the so called “DreamWorks experience” added nothing to the Allure. Though we have a 3 ½ year old daughter, she was not interested in the characters from the start. Secondly, it seemed the only time a DreamWorks character was around, it was on the Royal Promenade for pictures with the professional (as in YOU PAY) photographer. Using your own camera was not allowed “due to copyright reasons.” Given that the characters were not desirable to my 3 year old, they were sparsely visible, and you had to pay if they were around, the DreamWorks experience is worthless and in my opinion no reason to book.

 

I have to admit the ‘70s party on the Royal Promenade on the Allure was AWSOME. I have to give the cruise director a little credit there. If you do go on the Allure, don’t miss this.

 

In review, our experience on the Oasis was much better. The fact that it is “older” makes no difference. The cruise director is better as is the food and staff. My wife and I agree that we would not go back on the Allure again, however would go on the Oasis in a heartbeat.

 

Joseph W. Szarmach Jr.

[molly361]

Thanks for the great review. We were on the Oasis last May and are trying Allure in November

[Cruising89143]

Having been on both ships, Allure is the winner for me but not by much. Now that Oasis has Dreamworks more than likely the parade schedule will change to match that of Allure.

 

I like the additions to the Allure that Oasis did not have but would cruise on either one again with Allure being my first choice.

[ChickonRules]

Thanks so much for this helpful review. We were thinking which one to book either the Oasis or Allure since we thought since it looks exactly the same, the quality would be the same so we thought the only difference was that Allure is newer but thanks to your review, we know there's so much more than that. We chose the Oasis but I have a few questions...

 

1) Is the cruise director always the same of different?

2) I'm not sure if you mentioned this but did you choose MTD? Did you ever have to wait?

[cruiseturbo]

Wow, sounds like anything that could go wrong for you did. Sorry that you had such a horrible experience on the Allure however I don't think this is the norm.

 

I have sailed on both ships and as you can see from my signature, am sailing on the Allure two more times this year. I would definitely pick the Allure over the Oasis because some of the changes they made are more to my liking. I enjoy Rita's Cantina on Allure over the Seafood shack on Oasis, the hotdog stand on Allure is much more appealing than the donut shop on Oasis, I found the artwork on Allure more to my liking than the art work on the Oasis, etc.

 

I caution anyone reading my review as well as the review above, to base your entire decision on these reviews. Everyone likes different things and some people seem to have more issues than others, or maybe they deal with the issues differently. So please do your research and read several reviews and talk to several people before you decide which ship would be right for you.

 

Debra;)

[JokerABC]

Thanks for taking the time to write this review. But all the readers should take the comparison with a grain of salt. The MDR food is a clear winner in the Oasis? Let's get real here.

[mister exec]

Joseph - I am amazed that this is your FIRST post on CC! Thanks for a very thoughtful and thorough comparison.

[rosebud1g]

Do you remember what night had the surf and turf? I want to

dine at specialty restaurant that night- it is my LEASTfavorite dinner

in the MDR. The meat was tough. I didnt like it either. I know the strip

steak and chicken is an alternate, but I dont want eat in the MDR.

[pabrett46]

Thanks very much for your review. We are thinking of trying the Allure next after Oasis. I hope we have a better experience than you did. I do agree that Richard Spacey was fantastic. I've also heard that Allan Brooks isn't that great. I hope when we book he'll be on holidays..:)