should we take Allure on first Mediterranean cruise?

[cruiselife4me]

For me the ship IS the destination, but if you find you want to spend more time on the ship, shorten your time in port. Sight see for a morning and on another day an afternoon. Of course if you have a lot port expeditions booked, you may have less time on ship. Either way this is my outlook: you're going on a cruise so nothing else counts! Have a great time and don't forget to post your cruise review when you get back!!

[Pam bam]

For me the ship IS the destination, but if you find you want to spend more time on the ship, shorten your time in port. Sight see for a morning and on another day an afternoon. Of course if you have a lot port expeditions booked, you may have less time on ship. Either way this is my outlook: you're going on a cruise so nothing else counts! Have a great time and don't forget to post your cruise review when you get back!!

 

 

Hello have you been on the Allure before? Would ya get lost on it? Lol lol it looks very big, does the same caption be on it the hole time? Now the nearest thing I'v been on was irish ferries lol lol I don't have a clue what to expect, but I can't wait, I looks at loads of utube clips of the Allure,

 

 

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[Onessa]

Save your first Allure cruise for a cruise where you are willing to have the ship be your destination.

 

Following that logic...no one should book the new (almost as large as Allure and with all sorts of new toys onboard) Quantum class ships for any itineraries that include multiple/new ports...which will be most of them. Makes no sense.

 

We did Alaska on Radiance recently....with 5 stops...and still enjoyed the ship despite "multiple port excursions"...then on Indy just 6 weeks earlier...only 3 stops...still enjoyed both the ports and the ship...same holds true for every cruise ever taken.

 

These are cruises with excursions...not excursions and just "briefly hopping around on a ship in between".

 

A cruise experience is both the ship and any destination ports.

Your AK cruise experience underscores how smaller ships and port intenstive cruises go so well together. We've had the same experience - the Radiance and AK really are perfect together. We've done Spleandour and Brilliance in the Med and Baltic. There were very little on-board days, so we were able to enjoy the on-board amenities on not feel that we had "missed" anything on-board when we chose to spend every available moment in Stockholm or Athens or whereever.

 

When booking a cruise where the at-sea days are more numerous and when the ports are a bit more "relaxing" and less hectic; book the larger ships with the fuller complement of on-board activities.

 

And again for Med cruises, many of the ports themselves do lend themselves better to some of the smaller ships. Voyeguer even was a bit "big" in some ports (Mykonos springs to mind - we were there on three separate cruises - Voyeguer, Splendour and Solctice. Splenour and Voyeguer were were the only ship in port and on the Voyeguer cruise the town was a bit more crowded and several people were unable to book tours to Delios. Solctice were were there with another ship in port and it was kind of crazy)

 

Bigger ships have their place, but since the OP was looking for advice as to what factors should they consider in booking their first Med cruise, I really can only reiterate my experience -- in the Med, with the smaller ports, and with ports where you may need to travel an hour or more to many of the 'sights', where the itinerary has you getting into port at 6:00am and leaving at 6:00pm, my better cruise experience was on smaller ships.

[Nkelly14]

We are also booked on Allure to do the Western Mediterranean in August 2015. We previously did the Eastern Mediterranean on Navigator in September 2012. We booked Allure to leave from Italy. We did that also in 2012. We previously stayed, and will stay again, in Rome for 3 nights pre-cruise. 2012 was our first cruise overseas and we loved it. Can't wait to go again.

[Redrobo]

I mean the first for us and the Allure! We booked May 21, 2015 from Rome on the Allure because of the special and when I saw the cabins were selling out I rushed into it. Now I find out this is the first cruise the Allure will be in the Mediterranean - is that a bad idea? will the embarkation crew be ready for so many passengers (6000)? will the ports know what to expect? I'm getting cold feet - should I change? :confused:

 

The first port of departure is Barcelona so when you board in Rome there will be passengers returning to Barcelona. The ship alternates between the two posts embarking.

[BopRN]

We have reserved "on hold" the exact cruise for May 21st and have to decide tonite if we are going to keep the reservation. Never been to Europe, but have been on the Oasis...so we are very familiar with the class of ship. What works for us are the dates...Thursday to Thursday. We can avoid having to squeeze flights and pre-visit days in on the weekends. Plus my husband starts teaching summer semester which starts the following Monday...so only having 1 day to get over jet lag won't work....We will have 3 full days before going back to work.

I am not so sure we are getting a good deal on the price....with the 50% off sale, I know they jack up the prices anyway. Can't find another cruiseline with the same date and itinerary to compare it to...I am sure it was cheaper before all the cabins started to get booked. So we will make our big decision tonite.

[skylight]

We also booked Allure for 31 May from Barcelona. Looking forward to the experience of a large ship. Sailed Europe 3 times before on Celebrity. Have been to some of the ports before so will also have time to enjoy the ship. Barcelona is a lovely place with the best shopping. It is good to experience different ships. We will be staying a week before cruise somewhere and then onto Mykonos after the cruise as it is a long plane trip from Australia.:D

[transam84]

We just booked Allure for Oct 2015 after considering many other cruise lines, as well as vision class. For us it is the best choice and I am happy with it. We only have maximum of 10 days to be away, due to work and family, and I want to see Pompeii and Pisa and spend a few days in Rome. Although I know we will be exhausted, I like a lively ship. We sailed Oasis in March and loved every minute. I just love this class of ship. So I feel like Allure fit all my requirements. Yes, I agree that smaller may be better for most people, but my heavy requirements makes Allure perfect for us. Just go with what works for you is my feeling.

[Oh2Travel]

The Med is very port intense with long times in each port. I'd suggest a smaller, less expensive ship since you will spend so little time on the ship in Europe. When you are on the ship, you'll be dog tired and more likely to turn in early for the next 7am port.

Edited September 26, 2014 by Oh2Travel

[Aunt Sue]

I'm the original poster: thanks everyone for posting comments and we decided this was not the optimal cruise for us at this time. many opinions said that's too large of a ship, that we wouldn't be able to enjoy it on such a port intensive cruise and I had to ponder that. plus the other 2 in our party were grumbling about using their whole 2 weeks vacation at once, not to mention the high cost (the cruise itself wasn't expensive but the expensive flights, hotel in Rome, and excursions in 5 ports really add up). we decided that my husband and I will do the Mediterranean another time so we switched our reservation to Freedom of the Sea eastern Caribbean itinerary in March and we're all super excited! more port days means we'll get the drink package again and have a more fun and relaxing vacation this time. sorry Europe!

[cindivan]

I'm the original poster: thanks everyone for posting comments and we decided this was not the optimal cruise for us at this time. many opinions said that's too large of a ship, that we wouldn't be able to enjoy it on such a port intensive cruise and I had to ponder that. plus the other 2 in our party were grumbling about using their whole 2 weeks vacation at once, not to mention the high cost (the cruise itself wasn't expensive but the expensive flights, hotel in Rome, and excursions in 5 ports really add up). we decided that my husband and I will do the Mediterranean another time so we switched our reservation to Freedom of the Sea eastern Caribbean itinerary in March and we're all super excited! more port days means we'll get the drink package again and have a more fun and relaxing vacation this time. sorry Europe!

 

 

There are so many good options. And so many factors to consider. The Freedom is an awesome ship. You will have a great time!

 

 

We did the navigator in the med a couple years ago and it was incredible. We are doing the allure in the med in June for my son's HS graduation. But we also factor in what our three teen boys want, and they love the bigger ships. When DH and I travel alone when they are at college (sniff), I imagine we will enjoy smaller ships.

 

 

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[Aunt Sue]

more port days means we'll get the drink package again and have a more fun and relaxing vacation this time. sorry Europe!

 

I meant more sea days to have fun!

[Pencruise]

someone asked so here's the 7 nite itinerary: Rome, Naples, one day at sea, Barcelona, Mallorca, Marseille, Livorno. that's the reason we're embarking from Rome - so we can stay a few days beforehand instead of just the day in port.

 

I appreciate the suggestions to take a longer cruise but here's the rub: we're traveling with dd and her bf and they're already taking two weeks off work for this trip - can't expect them to miss 3 weeks of work - would you?

 

I realize now from the comments to my original question the Allure may not be the optimum ship for this trip but we decided it works for us so we're going to enjoy ourselves no matter what! we're not complainers - we'll wear our happy hats! :D (I will review post-cruise next year).

 

We are doing the same cruise as you the month after but embarking in Barcelona - Allure is a wonderful ship and they will be well organized for embarkation and disembarkation I am sure. Our son and family just did TA on the Oasis and he said that Malaga and Barcelona were well organized to handle all the passengers and when leaving the ship in Barcelona there was not even a line for a taxi to the airport. Rest assured you will have a wonderful cruise.

[gw2fll]

I've booked allure med in October next year and can't wait xx

 

 

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We are doing Allure in October 2015 also.

 

Looking forward to finally sailing her and the itinerary is a plus.