Eastern or Western Caribbean cruise on Oasis or Allure?

[Koz1]

We're considering booking a cruise on either Oasis or Allure for February or April 2015 to tie in with a Panama Canal full transit cruise from Fort Lauderdale to Los Angeles.

 

We've never visited the Caribbean and would appreciate thoughts from others on whether the Eastern or Western Caribbean would be a better choice for our first cruise in the area. We are not planning to swim - we like to travel for photography so want to go sightseeing at each of the ports.

 

The Eastern itinerary visits Nassau Bahamas, Charlotte Amalie St Thomas and Philipsburg St Maarten.

 

The Western itinerary visits Labadee Haiti, Falmouth Jamaica and Cozumel Mexico.

[Clarea]

I would choose Eastern. Kind of personal, but we enjoy St. Thomas and St. Maarten more than Jamaica and Cozumel.

[matj2000]

If you never been to either, It won't matter.

For the most part, the Caribbean islands are pretty much the same...

[mrpayroll]

If sight seeing is your main objective, i would go with Eastern. :)

[mcatmcat]

I prefer Easter but I pick my choice based in days at sea vs day at port and I try to avoid Nassau at all cost. Being there so many times that I consider it a day at sea lol

 

 

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[Gopher1934]

We have been to both many times but prefer Eastern

[Want2Cruise 701]

We prefer the Eastern.

[cruizinnoon]

Eastern. .. But would rather have the first port in coco cay rather than nassau

 

 

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[Great 2 B at Sea]

Definitely the Eastern, without a doubt. They have much better ports, too.

[dplusd]

Eastern for sure. St Thomas and St Maarten offer beautiful scenery. Much better than the Western ports.

[JamesEM]

Another vote for Eastern, nicer ports of call.

[notsomadhatter]

Photography? Another vote for Eastern!

[mychild]

I agree with the others. Go with Eastern.

[Lionesss]

Well, um....our family likes Western.

 

We enjoy busy activities, snorkeling, ziplining, climbing, so for us Eastern is nice to look at..........pretty...........but boring.

 

We enjoy the Western...............especially if sailing RCI, Labadee their private area is so nice!

 

But having done both in the past I am sure you will be okay with either being a new experience.

 

Sea Ya

[Koz1]

Photography? Another vote for Eastern!

 

Thanks everyone for your thoughts. It sounds like Eastern for us for this trip and we can try Western next time.

 

Now to research the Ocean View Balcony cabins on the Oasis and the difference between the various D categories - D1 to D8. We want to book this month while the BOGOHO offer is on.

[Clarea]

Thanks everyone for your thoughts. It sounds like Eastern for us for this trip and we can try Western next time.

 

Now to research the Ocean View Balcony cabins on the Oasis and the difference between the various D categories - D1 to D8. We want to book this month while the BOGOHO offer is on.

The differences are due to guest capacity and location. The size of the inside part is the same, but I believe the D1s have a larger balcony portion.

[Koz1]

The differences are due to guest capacity and location. The size of the inside part is the same, but I believe the D1s have a larger balcony portion.

 

Thanks Bob. I'll now read up on the different decks and locations on the ship.

 

Another question - for the Eastern itinerary would it be better to book a starboard or port side balcony cabin to possibly have a view of the islands on sail ins or sail outs? I imagine it's not as important as say an Alaska cruise where it's generally preferable to book the starboard side on a northbound cruise and port side for Southbound as for most of this cruise the view will be open ocean.

 

Looking at the map of the itinerary it appears to me that the starboard side may be better.

[Clarea]

Thanks Bob. I'll now read up on the different decks and locations on the ship.

 

Another question - for the Eastern itinerary would it be better to book a starboard or port side balcony cabin to possibly have a view of the islands on sail ins or sail outs? I imagine it's not as important as say an Alaska cruise where it's generally preferable to book the starboard side on a northbound cruise and port side for Southbound as for most of this cruise the view will be open ocean.

 

Looking at the map of the itinerary it appears to me that the starboard side may be better.

Oasis and Allure dock primarily on the starboard side. However, if there are lifeboat drills on that side, then they will dock on the port side. Also, docking on the starboard side does not always mean that side is facing the island because they could use a different side of the pier. In other words, you can't predict which side will be better.

[loupana]

I had the same question so I booked both, B2B on Oasis starts next Saturday May 17th...

[Cruise a holic]

We're considering booking a cruise on either Oasis or Allure for February or April 2015 to tie in with a Panama Canal full transit cruise from Fort Lauderdale to Los Angeles.

 

We've never visited the Caribbean and would appreciate thoughts from others on whether the Eastern or Western Caribbean would be a better choice for our first cruise in the area. We are not planning to swim - we like to travel for photography so want to go sightseeing at each of the ports.

 

The Eastern itinerary visits Nassau Bahamas, Charlotte Amalie St Thomas and Philipsburg St Maarten.

 

The Western itinerary visits Labadee Haiti, Falmouth Jamaica and Cozumel Mexico.

 

Having sailed to both on numerous occasions, I would suggest the Eastern. If you like to sightsee- you will enjoy those Islands- We aren't fans of Jamica nor Cozumel and sometimes do not even get off the ship- We do enjoy Labadee- as we like the beach-

 

You have two good choices and the ships are wonderful!! If you like the Broadway show Chicago- stay with the Allure- Hairspray- go on the Oasis-

 

Enjoy

[balcony4u]

If you like Photography, you should check out Paradise Point in St.Thomas...there was a live review last week on the Allure and the picture from this spot were great...made me want to go there on our trip:-)

[sonicbuffalo]

If you like Photography, you should check out Paradise Point in St.Thomas...there was a live review last week on the Allure and the picture from this spot were great...made me want to go there on our trip:-)

 

Folks who go to Paradise Point are missing out in a way. You can take a private excursion to Orient Beach and drive up higher than Paradise Point with a better view overlooking the harbor. We've done it several times and it's beautiful from up there!

 

Definitely do Eastern! It's simply the best!

Edited May 9, 2014 by sonicbuffalo

[nessz79]

We decided on Western only because we were so tired of Nassau and wanted to see Labadee. If it weren't for those 2 reasons, we'd definitely do Eastern. St Thomas and St Maarten are on our bucket list.

[Cruise a holic]

We decided on Western only because we were so tired of Nassau and wanted to see Labadee. If it weren't for those 2 reasons, we'd definitely do Eastern. St Thomas and St Maarten are on our bucket list.

 

Try to book a Cabana We truly enjoy the cabana! best to book asap as they run out quickly. Remember Labadee is really a beach owned by RC/celebrity, so if bad weather, people stay on board . It is a beach area in Haiti.

 

Enjoy

Edited May 10, 2014 by Cruise a holic