which one?

[Tin]

so my family and I are planning on a cruise to somewhere. Here is the case, this will be the first time ever that I travel with my parents in the last 15 years. My wife and I had been on 3 other cruises all with Carnival. So these are the one we looking at.

 

7 nights on Allure of the seas

 

Departs From Ft. Lauderdale (Port Everglades), Florida visiting Nassau, Bahamas >> Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas >> Philipsburg, St. Maarten

 

8 nights on Breeze

 

Departs From Miami, Florida visiting Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas >> St. John's, Antigua >> Road Town, Tortola, B.V.I. >> Nassau, Bahamas

 

we are in our late 20s, and my parents are in the early 50s. I like to hang out at the beach and do water activites. What we are looking for is fun things to do and great food to eat. help me decide on which cruise to go on.

[paul929207]

You will get the beach and water activities on both cruises. So it comes down to the food. If you like the food on Carnival, stick with them.

[spunkie4]

I like the ports on the Carnival cruise better. Since you have cruised with Carnival in the past, this will give you an additional cruise credit. Hopefully you will not be sharing a stateroom with your parents!

 

Shirley

[firefly333]

Allure would be fabulous, and better entertainment. the flow rider is fun if you are into trying that out and rock wall climbing and the zip line onboard.

 

I just came back again from Oasis and the ship to me is so fabulous I would do it again and again, just for the ship. I did see come fly with me twice the last couple of days, the acrobatic "musical". Our dive show was rescheduled because of the wind, but still worth seeing again (saw it in sept too) and saw splish splash and there was a little water show the last night not advertised before a concert on the screen at the aquatheater.

 

But Im assuming the price is at least double right?? thats why I have only done it twice. No comparison to carnival or even other RCL ships to me.

[Ashland]

Over these 2 choices I would opt for Allure..no one is ever sorry they chose to sail on this ship ;)

[Tin]

actually price is not too bad. For carnival it is around 650 and 850 for RCL. Does the big ship be crowded? I will not be sharing a room with my parent. Does food taste better? better quality? how was the show?

[firefly333]

actually price is not too bad. For carnival it is around 650 and 850 for RCL. Does the big ship be crowded? I will not be sharing a room with my parent. Does food taste better? better quality? how was the show?

 

The shows are close to professional qualify vs ameteurs at best on other ships. Its a Broadway show, Chicago, they pay royalties to show it. The dive show is a lot of gymnastics, but there is some high diving with olympic divers from around the world performing dives. (so is splish splash with some comedy thrown in for the kids which is show during the day). the comedy is the best Iv seen, though its not my favorite. Abba was the headliner on Oasis, not sure what Allure has. I never heard of Abba, but they are supposedly famous. They have 3 character breakfasts with different characters, (3 sea days), if you like to see fun and its a chocolate breakfast with milkshakes. Most people consider the ice show one of the best they had ever seen.

 

I thought the food was good, the lobster are for sure larger than on regular carnival and rcl ships. One night we didnt like anything on the menu, but Im picky.

 

Johnny Rockets is free for breakfast and I mostly ate there, because it was FAST, and never crowded when I went when they first open. It did get more of a crowd later on. NY hash browns with ham, onions, etc, or eggs any style with country hash browns, no fruit on the menu there.

 

Park cafe is a huge hit and the roast beef sandwiches are especially good, even for a picky eater like me and they have free little bags of chips and will toss you a salad or make paninis etc.. this place can get crowded on sea days .. but you can see on the computer on each deck how crowded each food venue is. red means its crowded. I also ate a lot in the solarium, healthy food, breakfast and lunch is free and salad stuff and fish etc. japanese soup for breakfast? the park cafe is open for breakfast as well if you like build your own bagels or breakfast burritos etc.

 

Was the food better than on Carnival?? Id say similar, but a nice change, and Im not wild about the new menus on Carnival with fried chicken nightly now. I get tired of the food on cruises, so Oasis/Allure is a nice change because it has more choices.

[firefly333]

This is a especially good pictoral review of Oasis, sister to Allure.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1293077&page=4

 

I did run into a few people who said the ship is just too big, older people who thought you had to walk too much to get around.

 

Oasis has different shows at different times and you get tickets ahead of time, so they move people around very well to keep things from feeling crowded, but once in a while like park cafe, with those roast beef sandwiches, did get crowded.

[griffy116]

Are you kidding? ALLURE! The ship itself is a destination!!

[beachchick]

Over these 2 choices I would opt for Allure..no one is ever sorry they chose to sail on this ship ;)

 

Not quite true. While many people love her, even some of our own members have not had a great time on Allure (or Oasis).

 

Are you kidding? ALLURE! The ship itself is a destination!!

 

If that's what they're looking for then that's great, but I think perhaps Tin's family could use more details about why Allure is the only/best choice.

 

We like St. Maarten, but I think Breeze's itinerary is better and it's an extra night and it's less expensive and the ship isn't exactly going to be small or have no onboard amenities or be old. It think those are important considerations. Although we are not loyal to any cruise line and are not Carnival cruisers, Tin is familiar with Carnival and might find that familiarity good for a first cruise with parents. I suspect either ship would be good for them, but the fact that Allure is basically a town on the water doesn't necessarily make her the ideal choice. There are many other factors involved.

 

As always, JMO.

 

beachchick

[Tin]

I'm bringing my parents, which had not have a real vacation in the last 5 years. I want something for them to enjoy and for us not to be bothered by them. The reason I narrowed it down to the 2 is that the time that I could take off. I will be going on the Magic which I believe would be the exact duplicate of the Breeze. A change would be good, but I am very open minded to other suggestion and/or port.

[beachchick]

Tin:

 

Thank you for the additional feedback. If you're looking for a ship where you won't have to spend much time with your parents, then maybe Allure would be the right choice. As you know, she is enormous with many, many, many options onboard. You could easily have your parents off doing something while you and your wife are doing something else. You mention that you wouldn't mind a change, which is another plus for Allure. I know this is super nosy (so tell me to butt out if you like), but when you say you don't want to "be bothered by" your parents do you mean you'd really rather not cruise with them, but feel obligated? If so, then I'd say Allure for sure. If you simply mean that you don't want to be joined at the hip (as they say), but want to have some time with them and lots of time for yourselves, then either ship would be good.

 

What are your dates? I couldn't find a mention of your time frame. Looking at eastern Caribbean and out of Florida, RCI's got Freedom and Navigator, both good options IMO. Freedom is also huge with tons of options onboard; Navigator is large enough that you should all be able to find things to do.

 

Best of luck finding just the right cruise for all of you.

 

beachchick

[Tin]

my wife does not fare well with my dad. She thinks that he is annoying. So she wants to spend time with them, but not to the point that we will be with them everyday. Lunch, dinner, show ok, but not like we are going to be with us every minute. So I have to make sure that they are being entertained in someway. We are looking at the week of 12/09/2012.

[trish1c]

If you are OK with either trip, for the sake of family harmony let your parents pick.

[sail7seas]

I agree..... let your parents choose.

 

We were at Cozumel two weeks ago with Allure. That wasn't a port call; it was an invasion with so many people.

 

We were on Nieuw Amsterdam and when ready to return to the ship, we went to the gangway and walked on.

 

The lines to reboard Allure were ridiculous. I'd hate that.

[Cruising89143]

I have cruised on the Allure three times with another cruise coming up next month and her sister Oasis, twice. I used to cruise on Carnival for many years. Haven't been back to Carnival since I moved to RCI. The Allure has to be experienced to understand what she is about. In my 26 plus years of cruising, they have had the best entertainment bar none. Her sister Oasis is the same. No other ship offers the dining choices that Oasis and Allure offer.

 

As far as crowding, never an issue on Oasis or Allure other than the elevators after a show or dinner lets out but I have had the same issues on Carnival, NCL and HAL. Actually this ship feels and is much less crowded than the smaller ships of RCI and other lines.

 

As far as getting on and off in port, one of the easiest and by far the easiest/fastest embarkation and debarkation ever. The terminal was built for the Oasis class.

 

I have photos in my link below of the Allure. She is a beauty. Be very careful of people giving you advice about this ship that have never stepped foot on board. Many have a negative attitude towards this ship due to her size. ;)

[Tin]

I let them pick and they decided that they will be going on the Allure. One problem solved. Now is time to start planning on what to do.

[Aquahound]

I let them pick and they decided that they will be going on the Allure. One problem solved. Now is time to start planning on what to do.

 

Allure (Oasis Class) is a destination in and of itself and they are simply the most amazing cruise ships at sea. Comparing other ships, even the newest of other lines, would be apples to oranges. Enjoy your cruise. The right choice was made!