Celebrity Cruiser Sails Oasis of the Seas

[Aquahound]

 

 

[bajathree]

Nice pix Paul:cool:

[tfrcal]

Technically, you were on the second largest cruise ship. The Allure is six inches longer. :D

[Jo and Rob]

Hi from the largest ship on the Seas!

 

 

Not any more! Allure of the Seas is 5cm bigger!

We were on the preview sailing of the Allure (sister of the Oasis) and it is truly a magnificient ship. Take a look at this video of Allure:

http://howarthfamily.smugmug.com/Video/Independence-of-the-Seas/12450438_BftuL#1110119821_gaiRS-A-LB

 

I'm delighted you are having a great time. We thought the Oasis class would be too big for us but the design is so clever it didn't feel too big at all and we would definitely go on the Allure again if we got the chance!

[cadburysmom]

Loving this thread! :D

 

Wanted to thank Elena7seas and all who have contributed thus far....

 

Friends are trying to talk me into joining their Allure cruise in August and I was VERY hesitant until reading this thread...especially after recently enjoying a wonderful Summit cruise to Bermuda in a CC cabin, my budget only allows for an inside cabin but as the OP had and enjoyed hers as well, I'm 99% sure I'll book.

 

Only hesitation is it's an "inside guarantee". Yikes...

[reginab1979]

We came back from the Oasis in May and have always gone with Celebrity in the past. For us, Oasis was a destination ship. Frankly, we were disappointed after the week was over and would never do it again. The ship itself was beautiful and our cabin (ocean view, balcony) was perfect but I think we have gotten used to a certain standard with Celebrity which we didn't find on the Oasis.

 

The entertainment on Oasis is first class, however in order to attend the various venues you must book those events months in advance in order to get a seat. It's really difficult to say what you're doing to actually feel like doing on a particular day of your cruise two months before you sail. Your entire vacation is dictated by a itinerary of times and appointments. Even my time dining requests that you make reservations. No taking off your watch and kicking back on the Oasis.

 

The Oasis felt, to us, like a giant floating hotel with little exposure to the sea; very closed in. Some of the outside areas, like the Solarium were enclosed in glass. I don't want glass between us and the sky. Some areas were outragously crowded like the Windjammer buffet and the Royal Promenade. By weeks end we found ourselves longing for the peace and tranquility of the Lawn Club or the outside stern bar on the Summit.

 

The food in the MDR was not nearly as good as any of the MDR food we've experienced on any of the Celebrity ships. But you have to understand that they are serving 6,000 people. They can only do so much. Some meals were excellent. Some were terrible. Windjammer can be and often is a disaster. Friends of ours brought along their 80 year old mother who had to be literally rescued by staff at the buffet as she was elbowed and shoved by guests there. We went to one special dining venue, 150 Central Park and found the meal good, but not excellent. We enjoy wine very much and found Vintages not nearly to the standards of the Cellar Masters on the Celebrity ships. RCCL suffers from not having Sommeliers like Celebrity has. Vintages offers nearly only California wines while Cellar Masters has a huge selection. Wine tastings on the Oasis is rather silly. On Celebrity we've had some awesome tastings and don't mind paying for them.

 

To conclude, if you're a Celebrity cruise person my advice to you is to stick with Celebrity. Save your money, find some awesome destination and book a cruise with a REAL cruise ship.

[cadburysmom]

We came back from the Oasis in May and have always gone with Celebrity in the past. For us, Oasis was a destination ship. Frankly, we were disappointed after the week was over and would never do it again. The ship itself was beautiful and our cabin (ocean view, balcony) was perfect but I think we have gotten used to a certain standard with Celebrity which we didn't find on the Oasis.

 

The entertainment on Oasis is first class, however in order to attend the various venues you must book those events months in advance in order to get a seat. It's really difficult to say what you're doing to actually feel like doing on a particular day of your cruise two months before you sail. Your entire vacation is dictated by a itinerary of times and appointments. Even my time dining requests that you make reservations. No taking off your watch and kicking back on the Oasis.

 

The Oasis felt, to us, like a giant floating hotel with little exposure to the sea; very closed in. Some of the outside areas, like the Solarium were enclosed in glass. I don't want glass between us and the sky. Some areas were outragously crowded like the Windjammer buffet and the Royal Promenade. By weeks end we found ourselves longing for the peace and tranquility of the Lawn Club or the outside stern bar on the Summit.

 

The food in the MDR was not nearly as good as any of the MDR food we've experienced on any of the Celebrity ships. But you have to understand that they are serving 6,000 people. They can only do so much. Some meals were excellent. Some were terrible. Windjammer can be and often is a disaster. Friends of ours brought along their 80 year old mother who had to be literally rescued by staff at the buffet as she was elbowed and shoved by guests there. We went to one special dining venue, 150 Central Park and found the meal good, but not excellent. We enjoy wine very much and found Vintages not nearly to the standards of the Cellar Masters on the Celebrity ships. RCCL suffers from not having Sommeliers like Celebrity has. Vintages offers nearly only California wines while Cellar Masters has a huge selection. Wine tastings on the Oasis is rather silly. On Celebrity we've had some awesome tastings and don't mind paying for them.

 

To conclude, if you're a Celebrity cruise person my advice to you is to stick with Celebrity. Save your money, find some awesome destination and book a cruise with a REAL cruise ship.

Thanks for your input.

You've definitely touched on my concerns. And couldn't agree more with viewing Allure as a "destination" ship.

 

Having said that, I suddenly have a week free in August and other than Summit to Bermuda that I just sailed in June, all other Celebrity ships are in Europe or Alaska. Cost of airfare getting to either is outrageous so considering Summit again but the price has risen and Allure is offering a somewhat decent fare.

 

Thanks again for your input. Defiinitely gives me something to think about.

[reginab1979]

Thanks for your input.

You've definitely touched on my concerns. And couldn't agree more with viewing Allure as a "destination" ship.

 

Having said that, I suddenly have a week free in August and other than Summit to Bermuda that I just sailed in June, all other Celebrity ships are in Europe or Alaska. Cost of airfare getting to either is outrageous so considering Summit again but the price has risen and Allure is offering a somewhat decent fare.

 

Thanks again for your input. Defiinitely gives me something to think about.

 

You're kind of in the same "boat" as we were when we booked the Oasis. We had that open week in May and couldn't find anything with Celebrity because they had pulled all their ships out of the Caribbean. I usually schedule my vacation weeks around cruise choices but unfortunately I did it backwards for 2011. Shame on me! I really wish that Celebrity would keep a 7 day cruise ship in the Caribbean for the summer. Not ALL of us want to go to Europe. Good luck on whatever choice you come up with.

[The Big Booper]

Insides on the Allure are 174 sq ft, quite large. It almost felt like an E Balcony on RCI.

 

There are 20 places to eat and when eating breakfast at a high volume time, we avoided the "Jammie. Johnny Rockets is free for breakfast as is the Solarium Grill.

 

And don't forget Cafe Promenade.

 

The electronic flat panel info boards were amazing; think of a five foot high Ipad, located all over the ship.

 

We spent two weeks on the Allure and still didn't do all that we wanted to.