One cruise on Allure or TWO on Carnival's newest ship?

[Chrisconn]

Thought we were all set to book Allure...but I just priced out a cruise on Carnival's newest ship. It is HALF the price! (Same length, same amount of people, same type of balcony cabin.)

 

We could actually do two back to backs on Carnival for the same price of one week of Allure.

 

So those of you that have cruised both, tell me, why is Carnival so much cheaper??? Is the experience that much different?

[ceraz23]

Unfortunately I have not yet sailed on Allure (coming up in Oct) however I have been on 3 Carnival cruises, the last being on the Magic for a 9 day Mediterranean last June. My sailing on the Magic was a fantastic time, good food & service, absolutely no complaints. Although I'm sure the Allure is great and I can't wait to try it, I can't imagine that 1 cruise on Allure could beat out a b2b. Despite all of the unique features of Allure, it's probably fairly comparable to Carnival in most aspects. There's also a lot more up-charge venues on Allure, so factor that into your cost as well.

[jebuell]

Hrm... Most of the time I'd say RCI anyday over CCL, but if it's the difference between one cruise or a B2B, I'd probably go for the B2B.

[Tapi]

Lots of people comparing Carnival and Royal Caribbean today. :)

 

Our cruise aboard the Allure was almost twice as much as our last cruise aboard the Carnival Dream (AND not even the same categories! Boardwalk window on the Allure, Balcony on the Dream!).

 

Here's my take: Both were great cruises, both were very enjoyable. but also very different. HOWEVER, Allure is something that we were glad to experience ONCE. It was worth every single extra penny. If you'd ask me BEFORE I sailed on the Allure, I would've told you to go on that ship just to experience it. Now that I've done it, I would go for the 2 cruises on a newer Carnival ship (specially if it's the Breeze).

 

Carnival delivers a nice product, but be realistic. It's a budget oriented product. Food, entertainment and service are good, but are VERY standard and far from innovative.

 

Feel free to click on my reviews below (Allure of the Seas and Carnival Dream). It might give you a better idea about how these two compare...

[Tapi]

Despite all of the unique features of Allure, it's probably fairly comparable to Carnival in most aspects.

 

I beg to differ. The overall experience between the Allure and anything offered on Carnival are VASTLY different. There's very little comparison...

[Pichu21]

If you can afford it and don't mind going all in, then ALLURE ALL THE WAY. You won't be disappointed. ;)

[LaShelle2]

I would go on the carnival and wait for allure's price to drop. I would not do a b2b. I prefer to spread my vacation budget out over several cruises.

[ksuds]

If your not picking a cruise to achieve a certain status (diamond, diamond plus), I would go with the back to back.

[Chrisconn]

Thank you, Tapi- your reviews were really helpful! It sounds like you enjoyed both cruises, but that there was more of a "wow" factor on Royal Caribbean.

 

We have older kids that I think will really enjoy the bells and whistles on the Allure. Guess I, too, will have to get over the sticker shock!

 

Many thanks.

[MikeNJ1109]

We have enjoyed our RCL cruises in the past ... and are looking forward to sailing on either the Allure or the Oasis at some point in the future ... but give us an opportunity to take two cruise vacations for the same price as one, and we'll take that every time.

 

Michael and Silke

[cruisethesea]

for our honeymoon, we did a B2B , one on carnival and one on RCCL. i loved this! i would vote a b2b anyday but i was wondering, is there another ship in port the day you return for the same or less price so you can switch to that ship and have a different experience? we liked this so that it doesnt get too boring, bc we find carnival to be a little boring...rccl not so much! so id vote b2b even if it is carnival and maybe switch the ship up the 2nd week! just get off one and on another! it was super eaasy to do we enjoyed it!

[Tapi]

Thank you, Tapi- your reviews were really helpful!

 

Guess I, too, will have to get over the sticker shock!

 

Many thanks.

 

You welcome! :)

 

I believe someone mentioned it as well, but when figuring out how much your vacation is going to cost, factor in the onboard spending. The Allure will offer you more "opportunities" to spend!

[wales4ever]

2 - or book a cheaper cabin and have 3 cruises......

[emelvee]

This has come up with us with Carnival vs. Disney...usually Disney is about twice the Carnival cruises we've priced. We'd love to try Disney, but I'd rather take two Carnival cruises for the same price. I'd be the same way on Oasis/Allure vs Carnival.

[Cruzaholic41]

Thought we were all set to book Allure...but I just priced out a cruise on Carnival's newest ship. It is HALF the price! (Same length, same amount of people, same type of balcony cabin.)

 

We could actually do two back to backs on Carnival for the same price of one week of Allure.

 

So those of you that have cruised both, tell me, why is Carnival so much cheaper??? Is the experience that much different?

 

That is a very tough choice. If you have 2 weeks to do a B2B and cost is a factor, then I would have to say Magic is probably the way to go.

 

Allure does cost more, but is worth every single penny more. These 2 ships are not comparable. Comparing 1 week cruises, there is no comparison whatsoever. Allure really is that much better.

[ceraz23]

I beg to differ. The overall experience between the Allure and anything offered on Carnival are VASTLY different. There's very little comparison...

 

I guess I will find out..

[Chrisconn]

Allure does cost more, but is worth every single penny more. These 2 ships are not comparable. Comparing 1 week cruises, there is no comparison whatsoever. Allure really is that much better.

 

This is good to hear. I doubt we'd do a B2B, but I do want to be able to justify literally spending DOUBLE on a cruise!!!

[kneught77]

Lots of people comparing Carnival and Royal Caribbean today. :)

 

Our cruise aboard the Allure was almost twice as much as our last cruise aboard the Carnival Dream (AND not even the same categories! Boardwalk window on the Allure, Balcony on the Dream!).

 

Here's my take: Both were great cruises, both were very enjoyable. but also very different. HOWEVER, Allure is something that we were glad to experience ONCE. It was worth every single extra penny. If you'd ask me BEFORE I sailed on the Allure, I would've told you to go on that ship just to experience it. Now that I've done it, I would go for the 2 cruises on a newer Carnival ship (specially if it's the Breeze).

 

Carnival delivers a nice product, but be realistic. It's a budget oriented product. Food, entertainment and service are good, but are VERY standard and far from innovative.

 

Feel free to click on my reviews below (Allure of the Seas and Carnival Dream). It might give you a better idea about how these two compare...

 

Incredible review by the way... wondering if you have pictures of inside your cabin? My sisters are staying in room 7325. Just curious to how the window looks and how it compares to a regular inside cabin.

 

Thanks in advance :D

[SNJCruisers]

This is good to hear. I doubt we'd do a B2B, but I do want to be able to justify literally spending DOUBLE on a cruise!!!

You're comparing balconies on the Allure vs the new Carnival ship. Since the Allure sails out of Ft Lauderdale, am I to infer that the Carnival ship is the Breeze, which goes out of Miami? I will sail on the Allure someday and I am looking forward to it, but if you can do a B2B on the Breeze in a balcony for the same price as one week on the Allure....it's a no brainer. Do the B2B. I would even downgrade the cabin so that you have more spending money for drinks, excursions ,etc.

I don't know which dates you're looking at, but doing a quick comparison without even factoring in port charges, the 1/20/13 Allure is 1249 for a balcony and the Breeze is 589 for the 1/13/13 6 day sailing and 959 for the 1/19/13 8 day sailing. So that makes the B2B 300 more and you still need to factor in the extra week of port charges.

[Pumbaamd]

QUOTE: "Carnival delivers a nice product, but be realistic. It's a budget oriented product. Food, entertainment and service are good, but are VERY standard and far from innovative." UNQUOTE

Well said. Food and service and entertainment ("Chicago" for one example) were outstanding on our Oasis and Allure cruises.

Boardwalk, Central Park, Aqua Theater, the new Solarium, Flow Rider, zip line, and much, much more. No CCL B2B can compare.

Rick and Deirdra

[KrystalWaters]

If it's the Breeze, Dream, or Magic they have Cove Balconies too:D

[Tapi]

Double Post :o

[Tapi]

Incredible review by the way... wondering if you have pictures of inside your cabin? My sisters are staying in room 7325. Just curious to how the window looks and how it compares to a regular inside cabin.

 

Thanks in advance :D

 

We were in 7323. Nice cabin with plenty of natural light. If you get close to the glass and look to the right, you can see part of the Aqua Theater (although you can't really see the performances) and a very partial view of the ocean. Not a bad option, but next time I would pick a regular ocean view. The cabin was in the most part VERY quiet, BUT keep in mind that these cabins are right above Rita's Cantina. Twice during the week they host Rita's Fiesta with a live DJ so it gets loud for a couple of hours.

 

Here are some pictures:

 

THE CABIN

 

THE BATHROOM

 

THE WINDOW

 

PARTIAL VIEW OF THE AQUA THEATER AND THE OCEAN

 

RITA'S FIESTA (We actually attended the second time they offered it in an attempt to "join them if you can't beat them")

[gilboman]

I beg to differ. The overall experience between the Allure and anything offered on Carnival are VASTLY different. There's very little comparison...

 

depends what you're comparing. Service, food, demographics. Same. More bells and whistles different.

 

But unless parking lot fair kiddie rides are why you go on a cruise, the experience is actually pretty interchangeable between RCI and carnival.

 

Both are catering to the masses with corners cut where they can with the huge and most important goal of fitting in as many people as they can on a ship. Everything is standard to good, but will never be outstanding on either lines.

 

So what is the vast difference? a 9second zipline?

[gilboman]

This has come up with us with Carnival vs. Disney...usually Disney is about twice the Carnival cruises we've priced. We'd love to try Disney, but I'd rather take two Carnival cruises for the same price. I'd be the same way on Oasis/Allure vs Carnival.

 

But thing is, Disney offers a higher end experience across the board compared to Carnival. Not so with RCI vs Carnival.

 

going on the big RCI ships is like going to the biggest mall in the country. You see the parking lot and go wow!!! But you go in and after 10mins, you see same stores, same stuff and it's no different than going to your regular mall. But you want to goto the biggest one just to take a look, but stores, service etc.. is all the same.

 

That sums up RCI best, it's like the biggest mall but other than size, it's no different. I mean, do you need an abercrombie, abercrombie and fitch, holister, aeropostale and american eagle in the same mall?? lol