Which Oasis/Allure itinerary?

[jtpost84]

I am sure this has been answered 1,000,000 times already but wanted to get everyone's opinon on which itinerary to go with on the Allure or Oasis:

 

#1) Labadee, Haiti; Falmouth, Jamaica; Cozumel, Mexico

#2) Nassau, The Bahamas; St Thomas; St Maarten

 

To give a little bit of context, I will be traveling with my wife and a group of friends. We are all 30 years old.

 

Is there one that you would hands down go with?

 

Thanks for all of your help!

Joe

[LMaxwell]

#1. Labadee is a great private island day. The alternative is Nassau which is not a great anything and WAY too short of a stop to begin with.

 

Falmouth itself is not a nice area outside of the recently built port shopping; but there are plenty of excursions to whisk you away.

 

Cozumel is always a good time; plenty to do there.

 

Of all the ports listed St. Maarten is my favorite though.

[LBumb]

hands down imho is eastern

at falmouth i longer get off the ship

[Aquahound]

You'll see folks speaking not so well of Falmouth...and I don't disagree...but I also feel that way about Nassau on the eastern route. So, that's a wash in my opinion.

 

Personally, I prefer the Western route, mainly because of Labadee. Also, Cozumel is, in my opinion, a better excursion port than St. M and St. T.

[Mark_UK]

West in best IMO!

 

Labadee - jet skiing

Cozumel - dolphin swim at chankanaab

Falmouth - horse riding in the sea

 

Makes for a fantastic week!

[LA_CA_GAL]

Loved Cozumel.

 

It has just about everything to offer. We did America's Cup Yacht Race in the morning, then did the Private Driver to the wild side.

 

But, loved St. Thomas and St. Martin.

 

I suggest you decide what is of interest to your group, and then do the research on the port of call boards to determine which is best.

[champagne123]

I agree with everyone here.

 

Oasis we did the Western

Allure we did the Eastern

 

Hate Nassau....

Hate Jamaica....

 

Cozumel is a blast

Love Labadee

[Cd24747]

When are you going? Come on the Allure with us February 16th!!! Eastern. LOVE St Maarten.

[CruisinAg]

For me these ships are the destination. I prefer Eastern because personally I find the scenery in St. Thomas and St. Martin prettier... and because I can use the Bahamas stop as another sea day to enjoy the ship.

[GTO-Girl]

We have always preferred the Eastern (love St Thomas/St Martin) over the Western, but we did the Western on the Allure in November and had a blast!!!

 

Labadee - great private island - so pretty!!!

 

Falmouth - just walked around the port, but still enjoyed it very much. All the locals there were so friendly!!

 

Cozumel - did an all inclusive at Nachi Cocum - the best day ever!!!!

[Familygoboston]

It's a tough choice...

Other things to consider:

 

-Western starts on Sunday, that gives you a travel day on Sat if that's an issue

 

-western has a sea day on the first full day of the cruise (day 2) that's also formal night in both itineraries, but it comes after the port of Nassau on Eastern. That matters to some because they like to do spa or appointments, have extra time to dress up etc. But the ship leaves Nassau at 2, so there is time to still do those things

 

-for people into "beach" Labadee and Cozumel and St Martin offer great beaches

 

-For people into shopping and wandering around town, St Martin and St Thomas have the larger shopping districts with more of the big name stores.

 

-for people into action and adventure, Jamaica, and Labadee offer "thrill" excursions, Cozumel and St Thomas offer better snorkel type excursions

 

-st Thomas and St Martin are best for private sailing excursions

 

- if you are into culture tours on St Thomas, St Martin and the long excursion to the Mayan ruins in Cozumel will appeal

 

An excellent book to get or download, is Fodors Caribbean, there is a 4-5 page entry for every island and it offers a list of 3 top things that island is known for, as well as a list of attractions. By leafing through you can quickly tell what's for you!

Edited January 22, 2014 by Familygoboston

[LMaxwell]

It's a tough choice...

Other things to consider:

 

-Western starts on Sunday, that gives you a travel day on Sat if that's an issue

 

 

Oasis and Allure switch off itineraries each week. You can take either itinerary on a Saturday or Sunday depending on the week and ship.

 

But the rest of your point is valid; on Allure you depart Sunday which gives you Saturday as a travel day. If you wanted a travel day with Oasis you are also using at least Friday (more time off work).

[DonTreadOnMe]

You can't go wrong either way. You may want to consider the number of boats that would be in port on St Thomas/St Martin when you would be there.

 

We had 6 in port on St Martin last week and it was pretty crazy.

[Lionesss]

This summer will be our 5th. time doing the western.

 

We LOVE Labadee, and enjoy the other ports.

 

Sea Ya

[Ambiverol]

We are in our early 30's and have done each multiple times. We prefer the eastern, but would not hesitate to do western if it fit our schedule better.

 

We don't really like Nassau or Falmouth anymore, but you can surely have a good time in either. The ship spends such a short time in Nassau, that it's pretty worthless. Haiti is cool for the low stress, relaxing beach day.

 

St. T./St. M. are still really enjoyable to us. There is a lot to do, and I feel like the areas are more...refined maybe? You'll find vendors more pushy in Mexico, Jamaica, and Haiti. On the flip side, I don't think those countries versions of OSHA and such are too strict and you'll be able to find more adventurous/boozy excursions.

[jenninlaca]

I don't the you can really go wrong with either but we are choosing to repeat the Western, after experiencing both in the past. There main reason is Labadee. If your group plans to get the drink package keep in mind that you can use it on a Labadee and also the beaches and food there are included with no need to pay for transportation or sit In traffic (lots of traffic on St Thomas and St. Martin with a lot of ships in port). Labadee is beautiful, easy, and included with the price of the cruise. Falmouth has a really nice area to shop inside the port and if you are into adventure excursions there are so many options. People who post here that they "hate Jamaica" or Falmouth often have experienced nothing other than the area outside the port gates where they got hassled by locals. But book an excursion and that is not an issue. Cozumel is not as nice as St Martin or St Thomas in terms of scenery but there is so much to do. And agree that Nassau is just a wasted port. So it's 2 ports vs 3.

 

Other considerations are that Western is sometimes a bit cheaper and sometimes the seas can be rougher on the Eastern route but of course that varies by weather.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

[05mak05]

You'll see folks speaking not so well of Falmouth...and I don't disagree...but I also feel that way about Nassau on the eastern route. So, that's a wash in my opinion.

 

Personally, I prefer the Western route, mainly because of Labadee. Also, Cozumel is, in my opinion, a better excursion port than St. M and St. T.

Of all the ports mentioned, Cozumel is our favorite. We also love Nachi Cocom. Ports in Jamaica are just awful & so is Nassau.

[Vanilla]

The one that has Labadee as a stop.

[Ashland]

The Saturday sailing on Oasis eastern caribbean :D

 

But nothing can compare to our all time favorite when the Indy did the 8 nighter with San Juan, St Maarten, St Thomas & Labadee...AMAZING !!

Edited January 23, 2014 by Ashland

[jtpost84]

Thanks everyone. This is a lot of great feedback...there seems to be a slight preference towards the Western Caribbean overall but everyone seems to agree they are both great itineraries.

[riclop]

#2 love St marteen.

[JAYRAY1259]

I am sure this has been answered 1,000,000 times already but wanted to get everyone's opinon on which itinerary to go with on the Allure or Oasis:

 

#1) Labadee, Haiti; Falmouth, Jamaica; Cozumel, Mexico

#2) Nassau, The Bahamas; St Thomas; St Maarten

 

To give a little bit of context, I will be traveling with my wife and a group of friends. We are all 30 years old.

 

Is there one that you would hands down go with?

 

Thanks for all of your help!

Joe

 

Hey Joe, We did the Western on Allure in 2012 and the Eastern on the Oasis in November 2013. First of all, you will have a great time on either the Oasis or the Allure. The ships are so close in amenities that it's hard to choose. We loved both of them. They are truly floating cities. We enjoyed our seas days on these two ships, mainly because we have been to all these island venues quite a bit. If there is one complaint that I have is that they pretty much only do the same islands all the time. That being said, it's understandable because of their gargantuan size there aren't too many Caribbean ports that can accommodate them. I'm sure that that will change in time because these islands will start to dredge their harbors and extend their pier facilities to lure them. One visit from one of them is equal to two regular ships.

As far as the islands go I think we like the western Caribbean if only because the Nassau day is just a waste. You have to be back to the ship by about 1:30PM I would much rather be at sea. Labadee is a nice destination. Only RCCI ships go there. so it's not packed like sardines and they have really improved the facilities there. Very clean and a real enjoyable beach day. Jamaica can be fun if you choose a good shore excursion and there is lots to do in Cozumel. St. Thomas is great for shopping and a trip to St. John's is a nice day. St. Martin's is also great for shopping and there are some great beaches there too. Both of these islands have good shore excursions. Try the Sea Trek diving scooters if you go to St. Thomas.

Most people that I spoke to on these ships, that have done both venues agreed that the Western Caribbean was more enjoyable. If you like to shop though, you can't beat St. Thomas and St. Martin. Believe me though, you will not go wrong with whatever one that you choose.

I hope that you guys enjoy your cruise. Take care and God bless, Joe and Libby Wright